Week 3_Reading 2


(Q, 211b) When Meng Tian is confronted by the Second Emperor’s envoy, he remonstrates accusations of his guilt. The envoy serves as a bridge between the Second Emperor and Meng Tian—Tian must first convince him so as to get the chance to do the same with the Emperor. (Q, 212m) Tian calls on a story from antiquity to underline the importance of examining the threes and fives (the true situation at hand, according to Watson’s footnote). Tian’s parable details a story of King Cheng’s movement from ignoring the threes and fives to actually examining them. The King initially believes the ministers’ reports of Dan, the Duke of Zhou’s, planned revolt. But the key moment occurs when King Cheng moves towards the archives, finding there documents holding Dan’s verbatim experience. Thus, the King understands that he’s been duped by the ministers, and goes back on his initial assessment. (Q, 212b) This parable holds a clear parallel to Tian’s own situation—Tian represents the misjudged Duke and the Emperor represents King Cheng. Tian hopes to convince the envoy with the incentive that it was King Cheng’s acknowledgment of error and remedying of the situation which allowed him to flourish. Whereas Tian’s counter-examples—of Emperor Jie’s and Emperor Zhou’s failure to acknowledge their mistakes—are ones of death and downfall. Thus, Tian appeals to the envoy’s desire for the Emperor’s success by presenting him with this cause-and-effect specimen. (Q, 213t) But the bridge fails, the envoy refuses to relay the message to the Emperor. Why? The envoy’s response suggests that he is paralyzed by the law—the imperial decree had closed off his mind, and cast out room for him to move towards any kind of original reasoning. Instead, this envoy functions somewhat like an automaton, refusing to examine the present moment as it unfolds out of his commitment to the law. This law doesn’t urge one towards seeing, as Tian suggests, rather it functions as a sort of blindfold, closing off opportunities for dialogue with the unfolding present, keeping men still in their thought and sight.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final 1

    1. What caused the feudal lords to believe that the Lord of the West received the mandate? (58mb) After the Lord of the West was released by Chow, he continued secretly carrying out good deeds (58mt). Since he was imprisoned by Chow, in the first place, because the latter believed his accumulating virtue to be a threat (57b-58t), his discretion made sense. But regardless, the feudal lords took notice and came to him for unbiased insights (58mt). When the Yu and Jui journeyed to Chou for help, they gained insight regarding their legal dispute without even needing to see the Lord of the West (58m). As they witnessed the farmers yielding on the boundary path, the people yielding to their elders, they felt something: ashamed (58m). The issue they were coming forth with was itself considered shameful by the Chou people, and as they had no interest in humiliating themselves, they turned back (58mb). This shame they felt led them to their solution: they followed the example of t...
Read more

Week 7

Tuesday, 10/10  In re-reading The Five Emperors this week, I was struck by the closing remarks, where Sima Qian describes the uncertainty surrounding the history of The Huang-Ti, stating that other scholars’ “words are not appropriate” and that “even civil officials or old masters would have trouble explaining” the history of The Huang-Ti (N17 2nd p.). His resulting account includes the “words which are the most appropriate” (N17 2nd p,b). What might Sima Qian mean by “appropriate”?  Perhaps an “appropriate” account is one that emphasizes virtue. Sima Qian’s account of The Five Emperors provides clear examples of the actions and characteristics of virtuous rulers. Sima Qian also remarks that his intent is that The Five Emperors be the first chapter of his “basic annals” (N17b). By making virtue the starting point, Sima Qian is showing us that virtuous government is in our nature, we only need to retrieve the virtuous nature shown in The Five Emperors. Sima Qian’s virtuous begi...
Read more

Conclusion

Nienhauser: Why can’t King Wu sleep? King Wu can’t sleep (63m) because he hasn’t “secured Heaven’s protection.” (63mb) At least according to Sima, it seems that he has done nothing but good works to the benefit of many. There is a hint on 62m that the area had been “pacified and the situation was not yet settled,” and so he sets to settling. He “cleared the roads and repaired…altars”, (62t) had his RectifierScribe read Chow’s crimes to Heaven (62mt), and claims he has been charged to, among other things, “receive the great mandate of heaven”. (62m) There are many more things he does on 62b-63t: He feeds the poor, honors the dead, makes records on behalf of the government, and rewarded the meritorious. These deeds are not enough, as nearing his own death, Sima relates that “the world was not yet settled.” (64m) Yin had failed as “heaven didn’t enjoy the Yin offerings” (63m): this left them vulnerable and led to King Wu’s “success.” (ibid.) Is Heaven hard to please, or is Wu missing so...
Read more