Polite and refined

Author: Chen Liangyun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-11-01
Features: Seeking beauty may not bring beauty; not seeking beauty may bring beauty. Seeking ugliness may not bring ugliness; not seeking ugliness may bring ugliness. Not seeking beauty or ugliness leads to neither beauty nor ugliness, which is called the mystery of unity. The beauty of decoration is indeed artificial beauty, but it cannot be deliberately pursued. The beauty of decoration conceals or distorts the essential beauty of the aesthetic object. Thus, this "seeking beauty" loses the true and good beauty, which is "injuring the inner by decorating the outer, harming the spirit by holding onto emotions, and obscuring the essence by seeing the decoration," leading to the opposite result, "seeking not ugliness may bring ugliness." In aesthetic creative activities, it is best not to regard the pursuit of beauty as an external utilitarian purpose, but to enter a spiritual realm of "non-action yet non-inaction," cleansing the preconceived notions of seeking beauty and concealing ugliness, allowing one's creative abilities to be freely expressed. "Not being led by external influences, responding to matters as they arise, and adapting to things as they come" follows the natural course and achieves perfection effortlessly. In aesthetic psychological activities, deliberately using "decoration" to enhance "essence" is not good, and being rigidly bound to "essence" for "decoration" is also not good. "Never forgetting the essence for a moment will lead to being trapped by nature; in a hundred steps, never forgetting one's appearance will lead to being burdened by form." Being trapped by the former means "destroying decoration by emotions, thus losing decoration"; being burdened by the latter means "destroying emotions by decoration, thus losing emotions" (as seen in Explanatory Discourses and Errors and Designations). In summary, only when the creative spirit enters a highly free realm can great works of natural and effortless beauty be created. The Huainanzi blends and develops the views of Taoism and Confucianism on "essence and decoration," sometimes forcefully patching together contradictions. However, under the continuous development and deepening of aesthetic understanding of "essence and decoration," it proposed a new theory closely related to it—"spirit controls form"—and made theoretical contributions to the field of artistic creation (music, dance, and painting, etc.). This point will be discussed by the author in the next section Art and Taoism.
Chapter 2: The Foundational Theory of Chinese Literature—The Proposal of the "Essence and Decoration" Concept
From its initial motivation, the proposal of the "essence and decoration" concept stemmed from personal self-cultivation, extending to social affairs, and expanding from speech and diction to cultural undertakings that served society, such as rites and music. Among the three types of "decoration"—political transformation, achievements, and self-cultivation—the "decoration" of self-cultivation was merely adapted to the needs of the former two. Within the "decoration" of self-cultivation, the "decoration" of speech and diction was often listed alongside the "decoration" of attire and was even more emphasized in terms of the expression of spoken language in contexts such as conversations between rulers and subjects, and diplomatic ceremonies. Only when speech and diction were recorded on bamboo slips and silk were requirements for the "decoration" of written language introduced. "Books cannot fully express speech, and speech cannot fully express meaning; the sages established symbols to fully express meaning," as stated in the Book of Songs, Small Yue, People of Du, is an early conscious expression of the "decoration" of written speech and diction. From the spoken "decoration" of speech and diction to the written "decoration" of speech and diction, the earliest form of Chinese literature thus emerged. Due to the different combinations of speech and diction expressing varying literary styles, early literary genres such as poetry, prose, and fu also emerged. From the era of the Three Hundred Poems to the rise of fu literature during the Han Dynasty, there were no developed creative theories for various literary genres. The fundamental creative principle that poets and scholars followed in their writing practice remained "harmony between essence and decoration." How personal aspirations were expressed and how speech and diction were employed all involved the handling of the relationship between "essence" and "decoration." Unlike the "essence and decoration" concept before this period, when writers discussed certain insights from their creative practice, and when theorists commented on some written literary works, their aesthetic awareness of "decoration" and "essence" became more conscious and intense, continuously introducing and developing new content, thus giving rise to new literary concepts. Reviewing the development of Chinese literary theory, "decoration" and "essence" can be said to belong to the foundational theories. This chapter will briefly examine how the philosophical concept of "essence and decoration" was transferred to the literary field and its evolutionary process.
Section Text. Article. Literature
Inspired by the "celestial arts," literature emerged as the "human arts," imitating the natural "decoration" with artificial embellishments, and from "decoration" came the concept of "composition." The term "composition" appeared multiple times in the Analects. Confucius described Yao as "radiant, with composition"; Zigong described Confucius as "your master's composition is worth hearing." However, these "compositions" did not refer to works composed of characters (academic articles) but rather to their "human arts" that followed the "celestial arts" ("Yao followed the celestial and great"). The official book of the state of Qi during the late Spring and Autumn period, the Examination of Craftsmanship, discussed the "painting and decoration" when discussing the origin of "composition": In painting and decoration, the five colors are mixed; the east is called blue, the south is called red, the west is called white, and the north is called black. The sky is called black, and the earth is called yellow. Blue and white alternate, red and black alternate, and black and yellow alternate. Blue and red are called "composition," red and white are called "pattern," white and black are called "reverse," and black and blue are called "reverse." The five colors together are called "embroidery." Mixing the positions of the four seasons and five colors to create patterns is called "skill." In all painting and decoration, the base is white. Blue, red, white, and black alternate in "composition," "pattern," "reverse," and "reverse." "Pattern" has multiple meanings; red and white alternating is called "pattern," which is synonymous with "composition"; its extended meaning is the manifestation of literary style, similar to "manifestation." The Doctrine of the Mean states that the way of heaven and earth "is not seen but manifests" (Chapter 26), and the way of the gentleman "is obscure yet manifests," both meaning manifestation and clarity. Since "things are mixed," there is "composition," and "without pattern, there is no expression." Thus, "pattern" also means the manifestation of the combination structure of literary style, and "mixing the positions of the four seasons and five colors to create patterns" combines both the manifestation and combination of the five colors. In the Book of Songs, Small Yue, People of Du, there is the line "words have pattern," where this "pattern" means orderly expression. The earliest use of the term "composition" appears in the Analects, as well as in Qu Yuan's Nine Songs, Ode to the Tangerine, and Xunzi, Non-Adherence to the Twelve Scholars. The former refers to natural phenomena, and the latter refers to institutional norms, neither involving the "composition" of speech and diction. The term "composition" for written literary texts only became popular during the Han Dynasty. Liu Xi, in the Explanation of Names, Interpretation of Terms, stated: "Decoration is to gather various colors to form brocade, and to gather various characters to form meaning, like embroidery." According to its origin, "composition" is a visual concept that evokes aesthetic beauty. The Han people regarded written language as "various colors," thus all studies of "speech and diction" fell under the category of "composition." The Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of Confucian Scholars, records Gongsun Hong's words: "I carefully examine the edicts and laws issued as 'composition,' elegant in language and profound in meaning." In the Book of Han, it directly referred to the various written works of scholars as "composition," such as saying "compositions include Sima Qian and Sima Xun," or "Liu Xiang and Wang Bang became famous for their compositions." Thus, the "compositions" of these people included historical texts, fu, and discourses (including edicts, laws, and regulations). Ban Gu, in the preface to the Famous Capitals Fu, gave a high summary and evaluation of Han Dynasty "compositions": Some expressed the sentiments of the people and conveyed satire, while others proclaimed the virtue of the ruler and demonstrated loyalty and filial piety. Graceful and elegant, they were recorded for posterity, and were also second only to the Odes and Elegies. Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Xiaocheng, they were discussed and recorded, totaling over a thousand pieces, and the "compositions" of the great Han Dynasty shone brightly, rivaling the styles of the Three Dynasties. This passage not only provides a general statement of the content and function of "composition" (later expanded by Cao Pi as "composition is the great undertaking of governing the state and the immortal achievement of enduring fame"), but also particularly points out that "composition" (including fu) had become one of the two literary genres alongside "poetry." With the written "composition" being defined as "the gathering of characters like embroidery," the traditional concept of "decoration" shifted its focus, and the concepts of "decoration" in rites, music, and attire gradually faded. The aesthetic intention of "decoration" thus focused on speech and diction. Liu Xie said: "The words of the sages and sages are collectively called composition; what else is there but decoration?" (from The Art of Rhetoric, Emotion and Decoration). "Decoration" refers to the literary style of "words," meaning that composition requires artistic language and the pursuit of linguistic beauty. The art of literature is the art of language, and this fundamental element of literary theory is already contained within the concept of "composition." The term "literature" first appeared in the Analects: "Literature, Ziyou and Zixia." Confucius listed "literature" alongside "virtue," "speech," and "political affairs," referring to the study of "human arts," specifically the study of historical texts. He also said: "A gentleman studies literature" and "if there is surplus strength after governing, then study literature." In Confucius' view, "literature" was sometimes a behavior, but fundamentally, it was a field of study. Xunzi provided a clear explanation: "Humanity's engagement with literature is like the polishing of jade. The Book of Songs says: 'To cut, to polish, to carve, to grind,' referring to learning. The jade of Hezhi, from the village of Jingli, when polished by a jade carver, becomes the treasure of the world." (from Xunzi, General Principles). This field of study naturally included the study of "composition," such as how to make oneself "decorated" and manifest. Xunzi also discussed: "All people do not dislike speaking of what they are good at, and gentlemen are even more so. Therefore, giving words as gifts is more valuable than gold, jade, and pearls; observing people through their words is more beautiful than brocade and embroidery; listening to people through their words is more pleasant than the sound of bells, drums, zithers, and lutes." (from Xunzi, Non-Adherence to Similarity). In summary, "composition" and "extensive learning" combined to form the original concept of "literature." Even Mozi, who opposed "carved decoration," also mentioned "literature": "All speech and discourse follow the path of literature, and it is impossible not to establish moral principles first. If speech lacks meaning, it is like setting the sun and moon on a round hook; even with skilled artisans, they cannot make it right." (from Mozi, Non-Adherence to Fate). Connecting "speech and discourse" with "literature" and deriving "moral principles" from "literature," this "moral principle" also referred to historical records and customs. Speech and discourse must be supported by historical records and customs, citing classics and examples, so that one can speak with meaning and demonstrate knowledge. During the Han Dynasty, the connotation of the term "literature" changed slightly because the Han people called the "words" with literary style "composition," giving "composition" a specific meaning, and its scope was greatly reduced compared to Yao's "composition" and Confucius' "composition." Thus, "composition" was separated from "literature," and "extensive learning" alone took the meaning of "literature."