Huashu

The ''Guanzi'' is an encyclopedic compilation of materials named after the 7th century BCE philosopher Guan Zhong, Prime Minister to Duke Huan of Qi. The Han Dynasty scholar edited the received ''Guanzi'' text circa 26 BCE, largely from sources associated with the 4th century BCE "Jixia Academy" in the capital of Linzi.

Although most ''Guanzi'' chapters philosophically characterize , other sections blend doctrines from Confucianism and Daoism. For example, the ''Neiye'' chapter has some the oldest recorded descriptions of Daoist meditation techniques.

When you enlarge your mind and let go of it,

When you relax your vital breath and expand it,

When your body is calm and unmoving:

And you can maintain the One and discard the myriad disturbances.

You will see profit and not be enticed by it,

You will see harm and not be frightened by it.

Relaxed and unwound, yet acutely sensitive,

In solitude you delight in your own person.

This is called "revolving the vital breath":

Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly.

Han learning

The Four Books of Confucianism , are Chinese classic texts that Zhu Xi selected, in the Song dynasty, as an introduction to Confucianism: the ''Great Learning'', the ''Doctrine of the Mean'', the ''Analects of Confucius,'' and the ''Mencius''. The Four Books were, in the and Dynasties made the core of the official curriculum for the .

''Great Learning''

The ''Great Learning'' was originally one chapter in '''' . It consists of a short main text attributed to Confucius and nine commentary chapters by Zeng Zi, one of Confucius's disciples. Its importance is illustrated by Zeng Zi's foreword that this is the gateway of learning.

It is significant because it expresses many themes of Chinese philosophy and political thinking, and has therefore been extremely influential both in classical and modern Chinese thought. Government, self cultivation and investigation of things are linked. It links together individual action in the form of self-cultivation with higher goals such as ultimate world peace as well as linking together the spiritual and the material. In addition, by defining the path of learning in governmental and social terms, ''the Great Learning'' both links the spiritual with the practical, and creates a vision of dao that is radically different from that presented by Daoism. In particular, ''the Great Learning'' sets Confucianism as being this-worldly rather than other-worldly. Finally, ''the Great Learning'' also creates a conservative political discourse. Instead of basing its authority on an external deity, the Great Learning bases its authority on the practices of ancient kings.

''Doctrine of the Mean''

The ''Doctrine of the Mean'' was also one chapter in ''''. By tradition, the ''Doctrine of the Mean'' is attributed to Confucius' grandson Zisi.

The purpose of this small, 33-chapter book is to demonstrate the usefulness of a golden way to gain perfect virtue. It focuses on the "way" that is prescribed by a heavenly mandate not only to the ruler but to everyone. To follow these heavenly instructions by learning and teaching will automatically result in a Confucian virtue. Because Heaven has laid down what is the way to perfect virtue, it is not that difficult to follow the steps of the holy rulers of old if one only knows what is the right way.

''Analects of Confucius''

The ''Analects of Confucius'' is a record of speeches by Confucius and his disciples, as well as the discussions they held.

Since Confucius's time, the ''Analects'' has heavily influenced the philosophy and moral values of China and later other East Asian countries as well. The imperial examination, started in the and eventually abolished with the founding of the Republic of China, emphasized Confucian studies and expected candidates to quote and apply the words of Confucius in their essays.

A particular point of interest lies in Chapter X of the book, which contains detailed descriptions of Confucius's behaviors in various daily activities. This has been pointed at by Voltaire and Ezra Pound to show how much Confucius was a mere human. Simon Leys, who recently translated ''Analects'' into French and English, said that the book may well have been the first in human history to describe the life of a man.

''Mencius''

The ''Mencius'' is a collections of conversations of the scholar Mencius with kings of his time. In contrast to the sayings of Confucius, which are short and self-contained, the ''Mencius'' consists of long dialogues with extensive prose.

Mencius argued that human beings are born with an innate moral sense, but that society corrupted it through lack of a positive cultivating influence. Therefore, the goal of moral cultivation is to return to the people's innate morality. Consistent with his belief in the individual, Mencius contended that it was permissible for people to overthrow or kill a ruler who ignored the public's needs or ruled harshly.

Han Fei

The Five Classics is a corpus of five ancient books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself.

Classic of Changes

The ''Classic of Changes'' or the Book of Changes , also known as the ''I Ching''.

Classic of Poetry

The ''Classic of Poetry'' or The Book of Odes , made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs; 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities; 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.

Classic of Rites

The ''Classic of Rites'' , social forms and ceremonies , a restoration of the original Lijing, lost in the third century B.C., describes ancient rites and court ceremonies.

Classic of History

The ''Classic of History'' is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early period and before. It contains examples of early Chinese prose.

Spring and Autumn Annals

The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' , a historical record of the state of Lu, Confucius's native state, from 722 B.C. to 479 B.C. written by Confucius, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.

Beyond the 5 Classics

The ''Classic of Music'' is sometime referred to as the sixth classic, but was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty. What remains now forms one of the Books in the ''Classic of Rites''.

Five Precepts (Taoism)

''Dream of the Red Chamber'' , originally ''The Story of the Stone'' , is well-known as the Chinese tragic novel, masterpiece of Chinese literature and one of the Chinese Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the mid 18^th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is attributed to Cao Xueqin .

The novel is believed to be semi-autobiographical, mirroring the fortunes of Cao's own family. As the author details in the first chapter, it is intended to be a memorial to the women he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants.

The novel is remarkable not only for its huge cast of characters and psychological scope, but also for its precise and detailed observation of the life and social structures typical of 18th-century Chinese aristocracy.

This novel was published anonymous . This is because of the prevalent in the and Dynasties.

Language

The novel, written in Vernacular Chinese and not Classical Chinese, is one of the works that established the legitimacy of the vernacular idiom. Its author is well versed in Classical Chinese – with tracts written in erudite semi-''wenyan'' – and in Chinese poetry. The novel's conversations were written in a vivid which was to become the basis of modern spoken Chinese, with influences from Nanjing Mandarin .

Themes

The novel is normally called Hung Lou Meng or Hong Lou Meng , literally "Red Chamber Dream". "Red Chamber" was an idiom for the sheltered chambers where the daughters of wealthy families lived. It refers to a dream that Baoyu has, set in a "Red Chamber", where the fates of many of the female characters are foreshadowed.

The name of the main family, "賈", is a homonym with another Chinese character "假", which means false, fake, fictitious, deceitful or sham. Thus, Cao Xueqin suggests that the novel's family is both a realistic reflection and a fictional or "dream" version of his own family.

Buddhist idea is that the whole world is "red dust" , merely illusory and to be shunned. Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that to find , one must realize that the world is but a dream from which we must awake; and one should retire from the world, withdraw from society . But this novel don't think so. It lay stress on reality, especially on social reality; and its purport is questing truth and good in life. This thought was regarded as a religion by some Qing people.. The main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, possibly a reincarnation of the Shenying Servant. The Crimson Pearl Flower is incarnated now as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional Lin Daiyu. Baoyu is predestined in this life to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai. This love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes forms the most well-known plot line in the novel.

Characters

Dream of the Red Chamber contains an extraordinarily large number of characters. Nearly thirty of them are considered major, and there are six hundreds of minor ones besides. Jia Baoyu is the male protagonist. Females take center stage and are frequently shown to be more capable than their male counterparts. The names of the maids and bondservants are given in the original pinyin pronunciations and in David Hawkes' translation.

Baoyu and Jinling Twelve Women

*Jia Baoyu - the main protagonist. The adolescent son of Jia Zheng and his wife, Lady Wang . Born with a piece of luminescent jade in his mouth , Baoyu is the heir apparent to the Rongguo line . Frowned on by his strict Confucian father, Baoyu prefers reading ''Zhuangzi'' and Chinese opera novels to the Four Books basic to a classical Chinese education. Baoyu is highly intelligent, but hates the fawning bureaucrats that frequent his father's house. He shuns usual men, considering them morally and spiritually inferior to women. Sensitive and compassionate, Baoyu holds the view that "girls are in essence pure as water, and men are in essence muddled as mud."

*Lin Daiyu - Jia Baoyu's first cousin and love interest. She is the daughter of Lin Ruhai , a Yangzhou scholar-official, and Lady Jia Min , Baoyu's paternal aunt. The novel proper starts in Chapter 3 with Daiyu's arrival at the Rong-guo House shortly after the death of her mother. Beautiful but fragile emotionally, prone to fits of jealousy, Daiyu is nevertheless an extremely accomplished poet and musician. The novel designates her one of the Jinling Twelve Women, and describes her as a lonely, proud and ultimately tragic figure. Daiyu is the reincarnation of the Crimson Pearl Flower, and the purpose of her mortal birth is to repay the water that Baoyu watered as her tears to Baoyu. She is one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life and shares the first place of Jinling Twelve Women with Xue Baochai.

*Xue Baochai - Jia Baoyu's other first cousin. The only daughter of Aunt Xue , sister to Baoyu's mother, Baochai is a foil to Daiyu. Where Daiyu is unconventional and hypersensitive, Baochai is sensible and tactful; a model Chinese feudal maiden. The novel describes her as a beautiful and intelligent girl like snow, but also very reserved. Although reluctant to show the extent of her knowledge, Baochai seems to be quite learned about everything, from Buddhist teachings to how not to make a paint plate crack. Also one of the Jinling Twelve Women, Baochai has a round face, fair skin, and, some would say, a voluptuous figure in contrast to Daiyu's willowy daintiness. Baochai carries a golden locket with her which contains words given to her in childhood by a Buddhist monk. Baochai's golden locket and Baoyu's jade contain inscriptions that appear to complement one another perfectly. Their marriage is seen in the book as predestined. She is also one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life.

*Jia Yuanchun - Baoyu's elder sister by about a decade. Originally one of the in the imperial palace, Yuanchun later becomes an Imperial Consort, having impressed the Emperor with her virtue and learning. Her illustrious position as a favorite of the Emperor marks the height of the Jia family's powers. Despite her prestigious position, Yuanchun feels imprisoned within the four walls of the imperial palace. Redologies think that in original lost work, eventually Yuanchun's sudden death precipitates the fall of the Jia family, included in Jinling Twelve Women.

*Jia Tanchun - Baoyu's younger half-sister, by Concubine Zhao, bondwoman to Jia Zheng. Brash and extremely outspoken, she is almost as capable as Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng herself compliments her privately, but laments that she was "born in the wrong womb," since concubine children are not respected as much as those by first wives. Tanchun is nicknamed "Rose" for her beauty and her prickly personality.

*Shi Xiangyun - Jia Baoyu's second cousin, Grandmother Jia's grand-niece. Orphaned in infancy, she grows up under her wealthy maternal uncle and aunt who use her unkindly. In spite of this Xiangyun is openhearted and cheerful. A comparatively androgynous beauty, Xiangyun looks good in men's clothes, and loves to drink and barbecue meat by herself . She is forthright without tact, but her forgiving nature takes the sting from her casually truthful remarks. She is learned and as talented a poet as Daiyu or Baochai. Also one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life.

*Miaoyu - a young nun from Buddhist cloisters of the Rong-guo house. Extremely beautiful and learned, while also extremely disdainful and not gregarious; loves clean too much. The novel says she was compelled by her illness to become a nun, and shelters herself under the nunnery in Grandview Garden to dodge political affairs. She likes Zhuangzi's article. Also one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life.

*Jia Yingchun - Second female in the generation of the Jia household after Yuanchun, Yingchun is the daughter of Jia She, Baoyu's uncle and therefore his eldest female cousin. A kind-hearted, weak-willed person, Yingchun is said to have a "wooden" personality and seems rather apathetic toward all worldly affairs. Although very pretty and well-read, she does not compare in intelligence and wit to any of her cousins. Yingchun's most famous trait, it seems, is her unwillingness to meddle in the affairs of her family. Eventually Yingchun marries a new favorite of the imperial court, her marriage merely one her father's desperate attempts to raise the declining fortunes of the Jia family. The newly married Yingchun becomes a victim of domestic abuse and constant violence at the hands of her cruel, abusive husband.

*Jia Xichun - Baoyu's younger second cousin from the Ningguo House, but brought up in the Rongguo House. A gifted painter, she is also a devout Buddhist. She is also the sister of Jia Zhen, head of the Ningguo House. At the end of the novel, after the fall of the house of Jia, she gives up her worldly concerns and becomes a Buddhist nun. She is the second youngest of Jinling Twelve Women, described as a pre-teen in most part of the novel.

*Wang Xifeng , alias Sister Feng - Baoyu's elder cousin-in-law, young wife to Jia Lian , niece to Lady Wang. Xifeng is hence related to Baoyu both by blood and marriage. An extremely handsome woman, Xifeng is capable, clever, amusing and at times, vicious and cruel. Undeniably the most worldly of the women in the novel, Xifeng is in charge of the daily running of the Rongguo household and wields remarkable economic as well as political power within the family. Being a favorite niece of Lady Wang, Xifeng keeps both Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia entertained with her constant jokes and amusing chatter, plays the role of the perfect filial daughter-in-law, and by pleasing Grandmother Jia, rules the entire household with an iron fist. One of the most remarkable multi-faceted personalities in the novel, Xifeng can be kind-hearted toward the poor and helpless. On the other hand, however, Xifeng can be cruel enough to kill. Her feisty personality, her loud laugh and her great beauty formed refreshing contrasts to the many frail, weak-willed beauties that plagued the literature of 18th-century China. Xifeng's name translates to "Prosperous ".

*Jia Qiaojie - Wang Xifeng's and Jia Lian's daughter. The youngest of the Jinling Twelve Women, she was a child through much of the novel. After the fall of the house of Jia, she married the son of Granny Liu's landowner neighbour and lead an uneventful life in the countryside.

*Li Wan - Baoyu's elder sister-in-law, widow of Baoyu's deceased elder brother, Jia Zhu . Her primary task is to bring up her son Lan and watch over her female cousins. The novel portrays Li Wan, a young widow in her late twenties, as a mild-mannered woman with no wants or desires, the perfect Confucian ideal of a proper mourning widow. She eventually attains high social status due to the success of her son at the Imperial Exams, but the novel sees her as a tragic figure because she wasted her youth upholding the strict standards of behavior.

*Qin Keqing - daughter-in-law to Jia Zhen. Of all the characters in the novel the circumstances of her life and early death are amongst the most mysterious. The author has clearly edited the present edition. Apparently a very beautiful and flirtatious woman, she carried on an affair with her father-in-law and died before the second quarter of the novel. The present text hint at death by suicide.

Other main characters

*Grandmother Jia , née Shi. Also called the Matriarch or the Dowager. The daughter of Marquis Shi of Jinling. Grandmother to both Baoyu and Daiyu, she is the highest living authority in the Rongguo house and the oldest and most respected of the entire Clan, yet doting. She has two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng, and a daughter, Min, Daiyu's mother. Daiyu is brought to the house of the Jias at the insistence of Grandmother Jia, and she helps Daiyu and Baoyu bond as childhood playmates and, later, kindred spirits.

*Jia Zheng - Baoyu's father, a stern disciplinarian and Confucian scholar. Afraid his one surviving son would turn bad, he imposed strict rules and occasional corporal punishment for his son. He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines.

*Lady Wang - Baoyu's mother, a Buddhist, primary wife of Jia Zheng. Because of her purported ill-health, she hands over the running of the household to her niece, Xifeng, as soon as the latter marries into the Jia household, although she retains overall control over Xifeng's affairs so that the latter always has to report to her. Although Lady Wang appears to be a kind mistress and a doting mother, she can be in fact cruel and ruthless when her authority is challenged.

*Jia Lian - Xifeng's husband and Baoyu's paternal elder cousin, a notorious womanizer whose numerous affairs cause much trouble with his jealous wife. His pregnant concubine eventually died by his wife's engineering. He and his wife are in charge of most hiring and monetary allocation decisions, and often fight over this power.

*Xiangling - the Xues' maid, born Zhen Yinglian , the kidnapped and lost daughter to Zhen Shiyin , the country gentleman in Chapter 1. Her name is changed to Qiuling by Xue Pan's spoiled wife, Xia Jin'gui .

*Ping'er - Xifeng's chief maid and personal confidante; also concubine to Xifeng's husband, Jia Lian. The consensus among the novel's characters seem to be that Ping'er is beautiful enough to rival the mistresses in the house. Originally Xifeng's maid in the Wang household, she follows Xifeng as part of her "dowry" when Xifeng marries into the Jia household. She handles her troubles with grace, assists Xifeng capably and appears to have the respect of most of the household servants. She is also one of the very few people who can get close to Xifeng. She wields considerable power in the house as Xifeng's most trusted assistant, but uses her power sparingly and justly.

*Xue Pan - Baochai's older brother, a dissolute, idling rake who was a local bully in Jinling. Not particularly well studied, he once killed a man over a servant-girl and had the manslaughter case done over with money.

*Granny Liu - a country rustic and distant relation to the Wang family, who provides a comic contrast to the ladies of the Rongguo House during two visits. She eventually rescued Qiaojie away from her maternal uncle who wanted to sell her.

*Aunt Xue , née Wang - Baoyu's maternal aunt, mother to Pan and Baochai, sister to Lady Wang. She is kindly and affable for the most part, but finds it hard to control her unruly son.

*Qingwen - Baoyu's handmaiden. Brash, haughty and the most beautiful maid in the household, Qingwen is said to resemble Daiyu very strongly. Of all of Baoyu's maids, she is the only one who dares to argue with Baoyu when reprimanded, but is also extremely devoted to him. She was disdainful of Xiren's attempt to use her sexual relation with Baoyu to raise her status in the family. Lady Wang later suspected her of having an affair with Baoyu and publicly dismissed her on that account; angry at the unfair treatment and of the indignities and slanders that attended her as a result, Qingwen died shortly of an illness after leaving the Jia household.

*Xiren - Baoyu's principle maid and his . Originally the maid of the Dowager, Xiren was given to Baoyu because of her extreme loyalty toward the master she serves. Considerate and forever worrisome over Baoyu, she is the partner of his first adolescent sexual encounter during the early chapters of the novel.

*Zijuan - Daiyu's chief maid, ceded by the Dowager to her granddaughter. She is a very faithful companion to Dai-yu.

*Yuanyang - the Dowager's chief maid. She rejected a marriage proposal to the lecherous Jia She, Grandmother Jia's eldest son. After Grandmother Jia's death during the clan's declining days, she possibly commits suicide.

*Mingyan - Baoyu's young, male servant-attendant. Knows his master like the back of his hand.

*Xueyan - Daiyu's other maid. She came with Daiyu from Yangzhou, and comes across as a young but sweet girl.

*Jia She - elder son of the Dowager. He is the father of Jia Lian and Jia Yingchun. He is a treacherous and greedy man, and is an extreme womanizer.

*Lady Xing - Jia She's wife. She is Jia Lian's mother.

*Concubine Zhao - concubine of Jia Zheng. She is the mother of Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan. She longs to be the mother of the head of the household, which she fails to do. She plots to murder Baoyu with black magic, and it is believed that her plot cost her her life.

*Jia Huan - son of Concubine Zhao.

Notable minor characters

*Qin Zhong - Qin Keqing's younger brother. He is a good friend and classmate to Baoyu.

*Jia Zhen - head of the Ningguo House. He has a wife, Lady Yu, a younger sister, Jia Xichun, and many concubines. He is greedy.

*Lady Yu - wife of Jia Zhen. She is the sole mistress of the Ningguo House, and a loving, caring woman.

*Jia Rong - Jia Zhen's son. He is the husband of Qin Keqing. He is an exact copy of his father. He is the Cavaliar of the Imperial Guards.

*Third Sister Yu - fiancee to Liu Xianglian. Very beautiful. Because of Jia Baoyu's carelessness and Liu Xianglian's misunderstanding, She finally suicided with the gift for marriage given by Xianglian.

*Second Sister Yu - concubine to Jia Lian. She is a beautiful and modest young lady. She was the concubine who Wang Xifeng affected so badly that she committed suicide by swallowing gold. She is the elder sister of Third Sister Yu.

*Sheyue - Baoyu's main maid after Xiren and Qingwen. She is very beautiful and caring, a perfect complement to Xiren.

*Qiutong - Jia Lian's other concubine. Originally a maid of Jia She, she was given to Jia Lian as a concubine. She is a very proud and arrogant woman.

*Sister Silly - a maid who does rough work for the Dowager. She is guileless but amusing and caring. She unintentionally informs Daiyu of Baoyu's secret marriage plans.

Homonyms

The homonyms are one of the features of this book. In this book, many characters' and places' names have their special meanings. Some are satire, some are sigh. This is one of Red Chamber Dream's arts. Rouge Inkstone's note pointed out some hidden meanings inside them.
* Huzhou — Groundless speaking
* Zhen Shiyin — True things were hidden under
* Zhen Yinglian — Really should be pitied
* Feng Su — Costum
* Huo Qi — Disaster starts / Fire is on
* Jia - False, fake, fictitious, deceitful or sham .
* Zhen - Real, true
* Jia Yucun — Unreal words; In fact is not ; Unreal words exists
* Qing Keqing — Sensation should be belittled / Sensation can topple
* ''Yuan''chun, ''Ying''chun, ''Tan''chun, ''Xi''chun — Originally, Should be sighed
* Dian'er — Scapegoat
* Zhang ''Youshi'' — Something is going to be on
* Jia Mei — Suppose disappear
* Wei Ruolan — Smell is like orchid

Versions

The textual problems of the novel are extremely complex and have been the subject of much critical scrutiny, debate and conjecture in modern times. Cao did not live to publish his novel, and only hand-copied manuscripts survived after his death until 1791, when the first printed version was published. This printed version, known as the Chenggao edition, contains edits and revisions not authorised by the author.

Rouge versions

The novel, published up till the 20th century, was anonymous. Since the twentieth century, after Hu Shi's analyses, it is generally agreed Cao Xueqin wrote the first 80 chapters of the novel.

Up until 1791, the novel circulated merely in scribal transcripts. These early hand-copied versions end abruptly at the latest at the 80th chapter. The earlier ones furthermore contain transcribed comments and annotations from unknown commentators in red ink. These commentators' remarks reveal much about the author in person, and it is now believed some may even be members of Cao Xueqin's own family. The most prominent commentator is Rouge Inkstone , who revealed much of the interior structuring of the work and the original MS ending, now lost. These MS are the most textually reliable versions, known amongst scholars as "Rouge versions" . Even amongst the some 11 independent surviving manuscripts, small differences in some characters used, rearrangements and possible rewritings made the texts vary a little from another.

The early 80 chapters brim with prophecies and dramatic foreshadowings which also give hints as to how the book would continue. For example, it is obvious that Lin Daiyu will eventually die in the course of the novel; that Baoyu and Baochai will marry; that Baoyu will become a monk; various characters will suffer in the snow; and that the whole estate will finally be consumed by flames.

Most modern editions have the first 80 chapters based on the Rouge versions.

Chenggao version

In 1791 and Cheng Weiyuan brought together the novel's first movable type edition. This was also the first "complete" edition of ''The Story of the Stone'', which they printed as ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. While the original Rouge manuscripts have eighty chapters, ending roughly three-quarters into the plot and clearly incomplete, the 1791 edition completed the novel in one hundred and twenty chapters. The first eighty chapters were edited from the Rouge versions, but the last forty were newly published.

In 1792, Chen and Gao published a second edition correcting many "typographical and editorial" errors of the 1791 version with a now-famous preface. In the 1792 preface, the two editors claimed to have put together an ending based on the author's working manuscripts, which they bought from a street vendor.

The debate over the last forty chapters and the 1792 preface continues. Most modern scholars believe these chapters were a later addition, with inferior plotting and prose to the first eighty chapters. Hu Shih argued that the ending was simply forged by Gao E, citing the foreshadowing of the main characters' fates in Chapter 5, which does not agree with the ending of the 1791 Chenggao version.

Other critics suggest Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan were duped into taking someone else's forgery as an original work. A minority believe the last forty chapters contain Cao's work.

The book is normally published and read in Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E's one hundred and twenty chapter version. Some editions move the last forty chapters to an appendix. Also some modern editions did not include the last forty chapters.

Translations

The complete, published English translations are:

* ''The Story of the Stone'', David Hawkes and John Minford, Penguin Classics or Bloomington: Indiana University Press, five volumes, 1973-1980 . David Hawkes translated the first eighty chapters and John Minford translated the last forty.

* ''The Dream of the Red Chamber'', New York, U.S.A.: Penguin Group 1996. ISBN 0146001761

* ''A Dream of Red Mansions'', Gladys Yang and Yang Hsien-yi, Beijing: Foreign Language Press, three volumes, 1978-1980.

The typescript of a complete, unpublished translation, by BS Bonsall, is .

Previous incomplete translations include:

* Florence and Isabel McHugh's 1958 translation, which follows the German translation of Franz Kuhn.

* H. Bencraft Joly's translation, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh, 1892-1893, which translated the first fifty-six chapters, now available on Project Gutenberg.

* Native Wang Chi-Chen's abridged translation, largely translated in 1929, then augmented for publication in 1958.

Translations

*, by H. Bencraft Joly from the Gutenberg Project
* a complete Typewriter-edition translation by Dr. B.S. Bonsall

Other links

*
*
*
*
* - China Daily. Raymond Zhou. November 12, 2005.

Dongpo Academy

The Dongpo Academy or Dongpo Academy of Classical Learning , was an located in Hainan, China. It was originally built in 1098 in memory of the Song dynasty literary figure, Su Dongpo, who was exiled here.

The ''Zaijiutang'' is the building where Su Dongpo lived and gave lectures during exile. The Dongpo Academy is located near the town of Zhonghe, 40 km from Danzhou city. It is now a tourist attraction.

Donglin Academy

The Donglin Academy , also known as the Guishan Academy , was originally built in A.D. 1111 during the Northern Song dynasty at present-day Wuxi in China. It was originally a school where the neo-Confucian scholar Yang Shi taught, but later fell into disuse.

In 1604, during the Wanli era, Gu Xiancheng (顧憲成 Gù Xiànchéng, , a Ming Grand Secretary, along with Gao Panlong , a scholar, restored the Donglin Academy on the same site with the financial backing of local gentry and officials. The academy gave its name to the resulting Donglin movement.

The Donglin Academy can be found at 867, Jiefang Donglu, Wuxi City.

De (Chinese)

De is a key concept in Chinese philosophy, usually translated "inherent character; inner power; integrity" in Taoism, "moral character; virtue; morality" in Confucianism and other contexts, and "quality; virtue" or "merit; virtuous deeds" in Chinese Buddhism.

The word

Chinese ''de'' 德 is an ancient and linguistically complex word. The following analyzes it in terms of semantics, graphics, and etymology.

Meanings

The ''Hanyu Da Zidian'', defines twenty meanings for ''de'' 德, translatable as follows:
*1. Rise, go up, climb, ascend.
*2. Morals, morality, virtue, personal conduct, moral integrity, honor.
*3. Denoting a wise/enlightened person with moral character.
*4. Kindness, favor, grace, graciousness.
*5. Grateful, gratefulness, thankful, indebted.
*6. Benevolent rule, good government, good instruction.
*7. Objective regulations/rules.
*8. Quality, nature, basic character, characteristics, attribute.
*9. Intention, purpose, heart, mind. For example: "Be of one heart and mind".
*10. In Five Phases theory, a reference to seasonally productive energy/air.
*11. First growth, initial stage, beginning of something.
*12. A phoenix-head pattern/decoration.
*13. Blessings, good fortune, happiness, resulting from benevolent actions.
*14. Used for ''zhí'' "straight, just".
*15. Used for ''zhí'' "to plant, grow, establish". Plant a tree.
*16. Used for "get, obtain, result in".
*17. A national name. An abbreviation for the Republic of Germany during World War II.
*18. A star name.
*19. A river name. Another name for the Yellow River.
*20. A surname.
This dictionary provides early usage examples, and all of these ''de'' meanings occur in Han or pre-Han Chinese classic texts, except for number 17 .

Translating ''de'' into English is problematic and controversial. Arthur Waley believed that ''de'' was better translated "power" than "virtue", and explained with a "bank of fortune" metaphor.

It is usually translated 'virtue', and this often seems to work quite well; though where the word occurs in early, pre-moralistic texts such a translation is in reality quite false. But if we study the usage of the word carefully we find that ''te'' can be bad as well as good. What is a 'bad virtue'? Clearly 'virtue' is not a satisfactory equivalent. Indeed on examining the history of the word we find that it means something much more like the Indian ''karma'', save that the fruits of ''te'' are generally manifested here and now; whereas ''karma'' is bound up with a theory of transmigration, and its effects are usually not seen in this life, but in a subsequent incarnation. ''Te'' is anything that happens to one or that one does of a kind indicating that, as a consequence, one is going to meet with good or bad luck. It means, so to speak, the stock of credit that at any given moment a man has at the bank of fortune. Such a stock is of course built up partly by the correct carrying out of ritual; but primarily by securing favourable omens; for unless the omens are favourable, no rite can be carried out at all.

Based on the cognate relation between ''de'' and ''zhi'' "to plant", Waley further noted the early Chinese regarded planting seeds as a ''de'', hence it "means a latent power, a 'virtue' inherent in something."

The linguist Peter A. Boodberg investigated the semantics and etymology of ''de'' 德, which he called "perhaps the most significant word, next to ''tao'' 道, in ancient Chinese macro- and microcosmology."

The standard translation for it is "virtue," both in the sense of inherent quality and in that of moral excellence, but with the validity of the traditional rendering somewhat shaken by Arthur Waley's insistence on interpreting it as "power." Indeed, it is believed by many scholars that the term originated in the mytho-magical period of Chinese speculation when ''tê'' was conceived as a kind of ''mana''-like potency inherent in substances, things, and human beings, a potency which, on the one hand, made them true to their essence, and on the other, made possible their influencing of other entities. It appears often as if it had been imagined as a kind of electric charge permeating the thing in question, waxing or waning in accordance with some mysterious law, and capable of being transmitted, in the case of living beings, from one generation to another. Contrary-minded students of ancient Chinese philosophy dispute this interpretation as rather narrow and possibly anachronistic, and point to the fact that ''tê'' had early acquired, at least in Confucian literature, ethical connotations close to our "virtue," that is, as moral, and only rarely amoral or immoral, efficacy. They find, therefore, no quarrel with rendering ''tê'', almost invariably, as "virtue." Philologists are, however, troubled by the absence in the Chinese term of any connotations reminiscent of the Latin etymon ''vir'', such as manliness and virility. They remind us that ''tê'' is free from any contamination with sexual associations and differs in that from its great counterpart, ''tao'', the Way, which, in one or two expressions, such as ''jên tao'' 人道, "the way of men and women," is suggestive of sexual activity. Other recommended translation, such as "energy" and essential quality," seem also inadequate from the etymological point of view.

Victor Mair explains that the difficulty of accurately translating ''de'',

…is evident from the astonishing sweep of thoughtful renderings of its meaning: power, action, life, inner potency, indarrectitude , charisma, mana , sinderesis , and virtue, to name only a few of the brave attempts to convey the meaning of ''te'' in English. Of these, the last is by far the most frequently encountered. Unfortunately, it is also probably the least appropriate of all to serve as an accurate translation of ''te'' in the ''Tao Te Ching''.

Mair concludes that Daoist ''de'' is best translated "integrity", which "means no more than the wholeness or completeness of a given entity," and like ''de'', "it represents the selfhood of every being in the universe."

Characters

''De'' is usually written with the Chinese character in both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese, but it has logographic variants of and or .

Most Chinese characters are composed of a , which provides semantic information, and a phonetic, which hints at pronunciation. The earliest written forms of ''de'' 惪/德 "power; virtue" are bronzeware script and seal script characters from the Zhou Dynasty . The former character ''de'' 惪/悳 combines the "heart; mind" radical 心 and a ''zhi'' 直 "straight; upright; erect" phonetic. The latter character ''de'' 德 adds the "step; walk; locomotion" radical 彳, which abbreviates the "go; walk; travel; conduct; behavior" radical 行 . In , 徳 is classified as a ''jōyō kanji'' for common usage and 德 as a ''jinmeiyō kanji'' for writing proper names.

Etymologies

Boodberg undertook a "graphophonetic analysis" of ''de''. Based on the phonetic element ''zhi'' 直 "upright; erect" and the radical 行 suggesting movement, he translates ''de'' as English ''arrect'' "set upright; direct upward" or ''insititious'' "ingrafted; inserted" potency . Interpreting the 心 "heart; mind" to connote "innerness", he takes the prefix from Latin ''indoles'' "innate quality; natural disposition" to further neologize ''indarrect''. Boodberg concludes that the noun ''de'' is best translated ''enrective'' in the passive sense of power, or ''arrective'' in the active sense of influencing others. He says the Chinese understood ''de'' as potent but not coercive, and as arrective rather than corrective. Since early texts describe ''de'' 德 as an acquired quality, he proposes it is a paronym of ''de'' 得 "to acquire; to obtain", which is a common definition of ''de'' "power; virtue". Lastly, he notes a possible etymology of "see straight; looking straight at things; intuition" because early ''zhi'' 直 graphs depicted a straight line over an 目 "eye" .

Victor H. Mair proposes a etymology for ''de''.

''Te'' was pronounced approximately ''dugh'' during the early Chou period . The meanings it conveys in texts from that era are "character," " intentions," "quality," "disposition," "personality," "personhood," "personal strength," and "worth." There is a very close correlation between these meanings and words deriving from Proto-Indo-European ''dugh'' . And there is a whole series of words derived from the related Teutonic verbal root ''dugan''. There are Old High German ''tugan'', Middle High German ''tugen'', and modern German ''taugen'', all of which mean "to be good, fit, of use." There is another cognate group of words relating to modern English "doughty" that also contribute to our understanding of ''te''. They are Middle English ''douhti'', ''dohti'', of ''dühti'' .

According to Axel Schuessler's new etymological dictionary of Old Chinese , ''de'' < *''t?k'' 德 "moral force, virtue, character; quality, nature" is probably in the same word family as ''de'' < *''t?k'' 得 "to get" and perhaps ''zhi'' < *''dr?k'' 直 "straight; right". It quotes the proposal of Edwin G. Pulleyblank that ''de'' 德 and ''de'' 得 are cognate with Tibetan language ''thub'' "a mighty one, one having power and authority".

Taoist usages

Classic texts of philosophical Daoism frequently refer to ''de''.

The ''Daodejing''

''De'' is a keyword in the ''Daodejing'' where it occurs 44 times, compared to 76 occurrences of ''dao''. The title refers to a textual division between the ''Daojing'' and the ''Dejing'' . The modern compound word ''daode'' means "morality, ethical principles, ethics, moral philosophy". Two common ''de'' themes are its connection with the ''dao'' and its usefulness in managing people.

The first ''Daojing'' theme is the interrelationship between ''de'' and ''dao''. "Such the scope of the All-pervading Power. That it alone can act through the Way." . The so-called "''De'' Chapter" has the greatest number of occurrences.

The man of highest "power" does not reveal himself as a possessor of "power";
Therefore he keeps his "power".
The man of inferior "power" cannot rid it of the appearance of "power";
Therefore he is in truth without "power".
The man of highest "power" neither acts nor is there any who so regards him; The man of inferior "power" both acts and is so regarded.
The man of highest humanity, though he acts, is not regarded;
Whereas a man of even the highest morality both acts and is so regarded;
While even he who is best versed in ritual not merely acts, but if people fail to respond
Then he will pull up his sleeves and advance upon them. That is why it is said:
"After Tao was lost, then came the 'power';
After the 'power' was lost, then came human kindness."
After human kindness was lost, then came morality,
After morality was lost, then came ritual.

Here is another example.

Truly, if one uses the Way as one's instrument, the results will be like the Way; if one uses the "power" as instrument, the results will be like the "power". If one uses what is the reverse of the "power", the results will be the reverse of the "power".

For to those who have conformed themselves to the Way, the Way readily lends its power. To those who have conformed themselves to the power, the power readily, lends more power. While to those who conform themselves to inefficacy, inefficacy readily lends its ineffectiveness.

Compare this third example.

Tao gave them birth;
The "power" of Tao reared them,
Shaped them according to their kinds,
Perfected them, giving to each its strength.
Therefore of the ten thousand things there is not one that does not worship Tao and do homage to its "power". No mandate ever went forth that accorded to Tao the right to be worshipped, nor to its "power" the right to be worshipped, nor to its "power" the right to receive homage.
It was always and of itself so.
Therefore as Tao bore them and the "power" of Tao reared them, made them grow, fostered them, harboured them, brewed for them, so you must,
Rear them, but not lay claim to them,
Control them, but never lean upon them,
Be chief among them, but not manage them.
This is called the "mysterious power."

Chapters 10 and 65 also use this ''xuande'' phrase.

The second ''Daodejing'' theme is the efficacy of ''de'' for statesmanship . A sage ruler can acquire sufficient ''de'' to influence his subjects through, in effect, ''wuwei'' government.

You cannot rule men nor serve heaven unless you have laid up a store;
This "laying up a store" means quickly absorbing,
And "quickly absorbing" means doubling one's garnered "power".
Double your garnered power and it acquires a strength that nothing can overcome.
If there is nothing it cannot overcome, it know no bounds,
And only what knows no bounds is huge enough to keep a whole kingdom in its grasp.

Compare this description of using one's accumulated ''de'' to affect others.

The best charioteers do not rush ahead;
The best fighters do not make displays of wrath.
The greatest conqueror wins without joining issue;
The best user of men acts as though he were their inferior.
This is called the power that comes of not contending,
Is called the capacity to use men,
The secret of being mated to heaven, to what was of old.

Mair interprets these ''de'' occurrences.

As it is used in the ''Tao Te Ching'', ''te'' signifies the personal qualities or strengths of the individual, one's personhood. ''Te'' is determined by the sum total of one's actions, good and bad. Therefore it is possible to speak of "cultivating one's ''te''." Like karma, ''te'' is the moral weight of a person, which may be either positive or negative. In short, ''te'' is what you are. ''Te'' represents self-nature or seal-realization, only in relation to the cosmos. It is in fact the actualization of the cosmic principle in the self. ''Te'' is the embodiment of the Way and is the character of all entities in the universe. Each creature, each object has a ''te'' which is its own manifestation of the Tao.

The ''Zhuangzi''

The ''Zhuangzi'' uses ''de'' 191 times. Many contexts praise Daoist "integrity; inner power", some mock Confucianist and Mohist "virtue", and others make ''de'' wordplays. One of the chapter titles is "''De chong fu''" .

Several of the ''Zhuangzi'' translators explain the difficulties of rendering ''de'' into English. Frederic H. Balfour succinctly glosses ''de'' with Greek and Chinese.

德. In ethics, Virtue — ''Αρετη'' ; in physics, Energy — '' δυναμι?'' . 道 is the 體 of which 德 is the 用 .

James Legge gives this footnote to the "''De'' Chapter".

論德, 'About the Attributes;' of T?o, that is. It is not easy to render teh here by any other English term than 'virtue,' and yet there would be a danger of its thus misleading us in the interpretations of the chapter.

The 'virtue,' is the activity or operation of the T?o, which is supposed to have come out of its absoluteness. Even Han Fei so defines it here, — 'Teh is the meritorious work of the T?o.'

Fung Yu-lan cites two examples.

Next, we come to the conception of ''Tê'', or virtue. Lao Tz? said:

"''Tao'' produces a thing; ''Tê'' maintains it." – "''Tao Tê Ching''," ''51''.

Chuang Tz? said:

"That which things get in order to live is called ''Tê''." – ''Chapter XII''.

So ''Tê'' is what an individual thing receives from ''Tao''. The total spontaneity of all things is ''Tao''. The spontaneity that an individual thing receives from ''Tao'' is ''Tê''. As some commentator said, the relation between ''Tê'' and ''Tao'' is just like that between the water in river or lake, and water in general.

Burton Watson , whose translation will be cited below, describes the subtle connotations.

In nearly all cases I have rendered ''te'' as "virtue" except where it has the meaning of a favor or good deed done for someone, This word presents certain difficulties in Chuang Tzu. Sometimes he employs it to mean conventional virtue — that is, virtue in the Confucian or Mo-ist sense — in which case it has bad connotations; at other times he employs it in a good sense to mean the true virtue or vital power that belongs to the man of Tao. I prefer not to try to distinguish these two usages in the translation because I do not wish to impose upon the English a distinction that is not explicit in the original. The reader should keep in mind, incidentally, that the words "virtue" and "gain" or "to get" are homophones, and this fact is the basis of frequent puns and word plays — that is, the man of true Taoist virtue is one who, as we would say in English, has "got it."

Victor H. Mair differentiates ''Zhaungzi'''s contextual usages of ''de''.

In Confucian or conventional contexts, ''te'' is translated as "virtue." In Taoist or unconventional contexts, it is translated as "integrity." The most etymologically precise equivalent in English is the archaic word "dough."

''De'' was central in Daoist cosmology, and the ''Zhuangzi'' frequently explains it with ''dao'' "the Way" and ''tian'' "heaven; god". Chapter 12, "Heaven and Earth", has two good illustrations.

In the Great Beginning, there was nonbeing; there was no being, no name. Out of it arose One; there was One, but it had no form. Things got hold of it and came to life, and it was called Virtue. Before things had forms, they had their allotments; these were of many kinds, but not cut off from one another, and they were called fates. Out of the flow and flux, things were born, and as they grew they developed distinctive shapes; these were called forms. The forms and bodies held within them spirits, each with its own characteristics and limitations, and this was called the inborn nature. If the nature is trained, you may return to Virtue, and Virtue at its highest peak is identical with the Beginning. Being identical, you will be empty; being empty, you will be great. You may join in the cheeping and chirping and, when you have joined in the cheeping and chirping, you may join with Heaven and earth. Your joining is wild and confused, as though you were stupid, as though you were demented. This is called Dark Virtue. Rude and unwitting, you take part in the Great Submission.

Pervading Heaven and earth: that is the Way. Moving among the ten thousand things: that is Virtue. Superiors governing the men below them: that is called administration. Ability finding trained expression: that is called skill. Skill is subsumed in administration; administration in duty; duty in Virtue; Virtue in the Way; and the Way in Heaven. Therefore it is said, those who shepherded the world in ancient times were without desire and the world was satisfied, without action and the ten thousand things were transformed. They were deep and silent and the hundred clans were at rest. The Record says: "Stick to the One and the ten thousand tasks will be accomplished; achieve mindlessness and the gods and spirits will bow down."

''Zhide'' occurs seven times . For instance,

When a man has perfect virtue, fire cannot burn him, water cannot drown him, cold and heat cannot afflict him, birds and beasts cannot injure him. I do not say that he makes light of these things. I mean that he distinguishes between safety and danger, contents himself with fortune or misfortune, and is cautious in his comings and goings. Therefore nothing can harm him.


"Hence it is said: the Heavenly is on the inside, the human is on the outside. Virtue resides in the Heavenly. Understand the actions of Heaven and man, base yourself upon Heaven, take your stand in virtue, and then, although you hasten or hold back, bend or stretch, you may return to the essential and speak of the ultimate."

The people have their constant inborn nature. To weave for their clothing, to till for their food — this is the Virtue they share. They are one in it and not partisan, and it is called the Emancipation of Heaven. Therefore in a time of Perfect Virtue the gait of men is slow and ambling; their gaze is steady and mild. In such an age mountains have no paths or trails, lakes no boats or bridges. The ten thousand things live species by species, one group settled close to another. Birds and beasts form their flocks and herds, grass and trees grow to fullest height. So it happens that you can tie a cord to the birds and beasts and lead them about, or bend down the limb and peer into the nest of the crow and the magpie. In this age of Perfect Virtue men live the same as birds and beasts, group themselves side by side with the ten thousand things. Who then knows anything about "gentleman" or "petty man"? Dull and ununwitting, men have no wisdom; thus their Virtue does not depart from them. Dull and unwitting, they have no desire; this is called uncarved simplicity. In uncarved simplicity the people attain their true nature.


Then along comes the sage, huffing and puffing after benevolence, reaching on tiptoe for righteousness, and the world for the first time has doubts; mooning and mouthing over his music, snipping and stitching away at his rites, and the world for the first time is divided. Thus, if the plain unwrought substance had not been blighted, how would there be any sacrificial goblets? If the white jade had not been shattered, how would there be any scepters and batons? If the Way and its Virtue had not been cast aside, how would there be any call for benevolence and righteousness? If the true form of the inborn nature had not been abandoned, how would there be any use for rites and music? If the five colors had not confused men, who would fashion patterns and hues? If the five notes had not confused them, who would try to tune things by the six tones? That the unwrought substance was blighted in order to fashion implements — this was the crime of the artisan. That the Way and its Virtue were destroyed in order to create benevolence and righteousness — this was the fault of the sage.

This parable blaming sages for losing the primordial ''dao'' and ''de'' has several ''Zhuangzi'' parallels. Here are two.

So it is said, With the sage, his life is the working of Heaven, his death the transformation of things. In stillness, he and the yin share a single Virtue; in motion, he and the yang share a single flow. He is not the bearer of good fortune, nor the initiator of bad fortune. Roused by something outside himself, only then does he respond; pressed, only then does he move; finding he has no choice, only then does he rise up. He discards knowledge and purpose and follows along with the reasonableness of Heaven. Therefore he incurs no disaster from Heaven, no entanglement from things, no opposition from man, no blame from the spirits. His life is a floating, his death a rest. He does not ponder or scheme, does not plot for the future. A man of light, he does not shine; of good faith, he keeps no promises. He sleeps without dreaming, wakes without worry. His spirit is pure and clean, his soul never wearied. In emptiness, nonbeing, and limpidity, he joins with the Virtue of Heaven.


So it is said, Grief and happiness are perversions of Virtue; joy and anger are transgressions of the Way; love and hate are offenses against Virtue. When the mind is without care or joy, this is the height of Virtue. When it is unified and unchanging, this is the height of stillness. When it grates against nothing, this is the height of emptiness. When it has no commerce with things, this is the height of limpidity. When it rebels against nothing, this is the height of purity.

The Yellow Emperor said, "Do-Nothing-Say?Nothing — he's the one who is truly right. Wild-and-Witless appears to be so. But you and I in the end are nowhere near it. Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know. Therefore the sage practices the teaching that has no words. The Way cannot be brought to light; its virtue cannot be forced to come. But benevolence — you can put that into practice; you can discourse on righteousness, you can dupe one another with rites. So it is said, When the Way was lost, then there was virtue; when virtue was lost, then there was benevolence; when benevolence was lost, then there was righteousness; when righteousness was lost, then there were rites. Rites are the frills of the Way and the forerunners of disorder. So it is said, He who practices the Way does less every day, does less and goes on doing less, until he reaches the point where he does nothing, does nothing and yet there is nothing that is not done." Now that we've already become 'things,' if we want to return again to the Root, I'm afraid we'll have a hard time of it! The Great Man — he's the only one who might find it easy.

This theme of sagely rulers using the powers of ''de'' recurs in the "Heaven and Earth" chapter.

Heaven and Earth are huge, but they are alike in their transformations. The ten thousand things are numerous, but they are one in their good order. Human beings are many, but they are all subjects of the sovereign. The sovereign finds his source in Virtue, his completion in Heaven. Therefore it is said that the sovereign of dark antiquity ruled the world through inaction, through Heavenly Virtue and nothing more.

The man of kingly Virtue moves in simplicity and is ashamed to be a master of facts. He takes his stand in the original source and his understanding extends to the spirits. Therefore his Virtue is far?reaching. His mind moves forth only when some external thing has roused it. Without the Way the body can have no life, and without Virtue, life can have no clarity. To preserve the body and live out life, to establish Virtue and make clear the Way — is this not kingly Virtue? Broad and boundless, suddenly he emerges, abruptly he moves, and the ten thousand things follow him — this is what is called the man of kingly Virtue.

One of the Inner Chapters has a dialogue between Confucius and Duke Ai of . The Duke describes meeting a hunchback named Ai Taito, who was famously ugly and charismatic, and asks about his incredible popularity, which the Master attributes to formless and water-like ''de''.

Confucius said, "I once went on a mission to Ch'u, and as I was going along, I saw some little pigs nursing at the body of their dead mother. After a while, they gave a start and all ran away and left her, because they could no longer see their likeness in her; she was not the same as she had been before. In loving their mother, they loved not her body but the thing that moved her body. When a man has been killed in battle and people come to bury him, he has no use for his medals. When a man has had his feet amputated, he doesn't care much about shoes. For both, the thing that is basic no longer exists. When women are selected to be consorts of the Son of Heaven, their nails are not pared and their ears are not pierced. When a man has just taken a wife, he is kept in posts outside and is no longer sent on missions. If so much care is taken to keep the body whole, how much more in the case of a man whose virtue is whole? Now Ai T'ai?t'o says nothing and is trusted, accomplishes nothing and is loved, so that people want to turn over their states to him and are only afraid he won't accept. It must be that his powers are whole, though his virtue takes no form."


"What do you mean when you say his powers are whole?" asked Duke Ai.


Confucius said, "Life, death, preservation, loss, failure, success, poverty, riches, worthiness, unworthiness, slander, fame, hunger, thirst, cold, heat — these are the alternations of the world, the workings of fate. Day and night they change place before us and wisdom cannot spy out their source. Therefore, they should not be enough to destroy your harmony; they should not be allowed to enter the Spirit Storehouse. If you can harmonize and delight in them, master them and never be at a loss for joy, if you can do this day and night without break and make it be spring with everything, mingling with all and creating the moment within your own mind — this is what I call being whole in power."


"What do you mean when you say his virtue takes no form?"


"Among level things, water at rest is the most perfect, and therefore it can serve as a standard. It guards what is inside and shows no movement outside. Virtue is the establishment of perfect harmony. Though virtue takes no form, things cannot break away from it."

The ''Zhuangzi'' is famous for wordplay and witticism. Several passages make puns between ''de'' "obtain" and ''de'' "integrity; virtue" . The "Autumn Floods" chapter quotes a "perfect ''de'' does not ''de''" proverb; "I have heard it said, 'The Man of the Way wins no fame, the highest virtue wins no gain, the Great Man has no self.' To the most perfect degree, he goes along with what has been allotted to him." . ''De'' derogatorily means "virtue; morality" in some contexts mocking the Confucians, Mohists, and School of Names. For instance, this derision of their sophistry: "There is left, there is right, there are theories, there are debates, there are divisions, there are discriminations, there are emulations, and there are contentions. These are called the Eight Virtues." . Translating the witty words of ''Zhuangzi'' can be highly complex. A final instance mentions five types of ''xiongde'' , but only lists the first one ''zhongde'' . Compare these ''de'' translations by Watson and Mair .

There is no greater evil than for the mind to be aware of virtue, and to act as though it were a pair of eyes. For when it starts acting like a pair of eyes, it will peer out from within, and when it peers out from within, it is ruined. There are five types of dangerous virtue, of which inner virtue is the worst. What do I mean by inner virtue? He who possesses inner virtue will think himself always in the right, and denigrate those who do not do as he does.

There is no greater affliction than for integrity to be possessed by the mind and for the mind to be possessed by its eye. Once ruled by the mind's eye, a person looks inward, and when she looks inward she is defeated. There are five types of malevolent integrity and the chief among them is egocentric integrity. What is meant by "egocentric integrity"? She who has egocentric integrity is possessed by self-love and ridicules whatever she does not do herself.

The word ''bade'' 八德 "eight virtues/powers" first appears in the "Discussion on Making All Things Equal" chapter. Although many ''Zhuangzi'' commentators and translators try to give ''de'' "some special meaning other than its ordinary one of "virtue" in this context", notes Watson, "I believe Chuang Tzu is deliberately parodying the ethical categories of the Confucians and Mo-ists."

The Way has never known boundaries; speech has no constancy. But because of "this," there came to be boundaries. Let me tell you what the boundaries are. There is left, there is right, there are theories, there are debates, there are divisions, there are discriminations, there are emulations, and there are contentions. These are called the Eight Virtues.

Later Confucianists misread this Daoist context and moralistically interpreted ''bade'' as ''xiao'' 孝 "filial piety", ''di'' 悌 "sibling piety", ''zhong'' 忠 "loyalty; fidelity", ''xin'' 信 "trust; believe", ''li'' 禮 "ritual; rites; courtesy", ''yi'' 義 "righteousness; right conduct", ''lian'' 廉 "upright; honorable; integrity", and ''zhi'' 恥 "humility; shame".

Confucianist usages

The Four Books of Confucianism give some insightful explanations of ''de'' "virtue". Note that the following quotations cite Charles Muller's scholarly translations of the ''Analects'', ''Doctrine of the Mean'', ''Great Learning'', and ''Mencius''. The more familiar translations of James Legge render ''ren'' "; human-heartedness" as "perfect virtue", which occasionally creates confusion with ''de'' as "virtue". Compare their translations of these two ''Analects'' passages.

Yen Yüan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "To subdue one's self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself and return to propriety, all under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from others?"

Yen Yüan asked about the meaning of humaneness. The Master said, "To completely overcome selfishness and keep to propriety is humaneness. If for a full day you can overcome selfishness and keep to propriety, everyone in the world will return to humaneness. Does humaneness come from oneself, or from others?"

The Master said, "Let the will be set on the path of duty. Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped. Let perfect virtue be accorded with. Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts."

Confucius said: "Set your aspirations on the Tao, hold to virtue, rely on your humaneness, and relax in the study of the arts."

The ''Analects''

''De'' occurs 40 times in the Confucian ''Lunyu'' or ''Analects''. While Confucius extolled ''de'' "virtue; morality" — "If you are virtuous, you will not be lonely. You will always have friends." — he frequently criticized his contemporaries for having lost it. He described ''de'' as something that one can augment, and praised sage kings who governed through its compelling powers.

Confucius claimed that the rulers of ancient China had ''zhide'' "perfect/ultimate ''de''" . The two examples below mention the legendary Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun, , the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, and Tai Bo, who ceded the throne to his nephew King Wen.

Confucius said: "T'ai Po can be said to have had a perfected level of virtue. He declined the rule of the kingdom three times, without the people knowing about it."

Shun, with five ministers, was able to successfully govern the empire. King Wu said, "Altogether I have ten ministers." Confucius said, "Their ability is the issue. Don't you think so? When the T'ang and Wu dynasties combined, they had as many ministers as you, with a woman and nine men. King Wen controlled two-thirds of the empire, and with this, served the Yin. Indeed, the virtue of Chou can be called the epitome of virtue!"

Good government is a central ''Analects'' topic, and the following citations illustrate the importance of ''de'' for rulers and officials.

Confucius said: "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."

Confucius said: "If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves."

Confucius said: "The Superior Man cares about virtue; the inferior man cares about material things. The Superior Man seeks discipline; the inferior man seeks favors."

Someone said: "What do you think of the saying: 'Repay harm with virtue'?" Confucius replied, "Then how will you repay virtue? Repay harm with Justice and repay virtue with virtue."

Chi K'ang Tzu asked Confucius about government saying: "Suppose I were to kill the unjust, in order to advance the just. Would that be all right?" Confucius replied: "In doing government, what is the need of killing? If you desire good, the people will be good. The nature of the Superior Man is like the wind, the nature of the inferior man is like the grass. When the wind blows over the grass, it always bends."

In this wind and grass simile, ''de'' clearly does not mean moral "virtue", but something like "nature; character". Compare these two semantically similar usages.

Confucius said: "Heaven gave birth to the virtue within me. What can Huan T'ui do to me?"

Confucius said: "The Southerners have a saying: 'If a man is not constant in his self-cultivation, he cannot be a shaman or a healer.' It is a good proverb. If you are not consistently developing your virtue, what can you give to others? You will not even be able to give a diagnosis."

Confucius recurrently disparaged his Spring and Autumn Period contemporaries for having diminished their natural ''de'' virtue. One notably ironic ''Analects'' passage accuses the Master himself of having lost it.

Chieh Yu, the madman of Ch'u, passed by Confucius, singing: "Phoenix! Phoenix! How your virtue has declined! Your past cannot be corrected, But your future is yet to come. Give up! Give up! Those who involve themselves in Government now Will be in danger." Confucius jumped down, wanting to talk to him, but he ran away, so Confucius couldn't talk to him.

Here are some Confucian quotations about the rarity of people who possessed true ''de'' "virtue".

Confucius said: "Yu, those who understand virtue are few and far between."

Confucius said: "Even over a long period of time, there have been few people who have actualized the Mean into Manifest Virtue."

Confucius said: "I have never seen one who loves virtue as much as he loves sex."

Confucius said: "The virtuous will certainly have something to say, but those who have something to say are not necessarily virtuous. The humane man is always brave, but the brave man is not necessarily possessed of humaneness."

Confucius said: "Clever words disrupt virtue. Lack of patience in small matters leads to the disruption of great plans."

Confucius said: "The 'conventional townsman' is a thief of virtue."

Confucius said: "To apprehend the Tao and lecture on it before actualization is to throw away your accumulation of virtue."

This last quote implies that ''de'' can be accumulated, and Confucius was not completely pessimistic about virtue going astray. For example , he praised his disciple as "a Superior Man, a man of enhanced virtue." These four contexts describe ''de'' as a measurable force that one can "return," "cultivate," "extend," and "heighten".

Tseng Tzu said: "When they are careful to the end and continue in reverence after are long gone, the virtue of the people will return to its natural depth."

Confucius said: "Having virtue and not cultivating it; studying and not sifting; hearing what is just and not following; not being able to change wrongdoing: these are the things that make me uncomfortable."

Tzu Chang said: "Keeping one's virtue without extending it; trusting the Tao without enriching it. What can you gain? And what can you get rid of?"

Fan Chih, while strolling with the Master among the Rain Dance altars, said, "May I ask how to heighten virtue, overcome wickedness and resolve delusion?" The Master said, "An excellent question! If you take care of your responsibilities before you seek your own gain, won't this heighten your virtue? If you attack your own evil rather than the evil of others, won't you overcome wickedness? If, because of a moment's anger, you endanger your own life, as well as that of your parents, is this not delusion?"

The ''Great Learning''

The ''Da Xue'' or "Great Learning" is an early Confucianist text that was transmitted as a ''Liji'' chapter. The brief main passage, which is attributed to Confucius, repeats the phrase ''ming mingde'' , which Legge translates "illustrate illustrious virtue".

The way of great learning consists in manifesting one's bright virtue, consists in loving the people, consists in stopping in perfect goodness. … The ancients who wanted to manifest their bright virtue to all in the world first governed well their own states.

The received ''Great Learning'' includes nine commentaries. The first one was supposedly written by Zeng Zi, a disciple of Confucius. It explains ''mingde'' by quoting three ''Shujing'' sections, an otherwise unknown bathtub inscription of King Tang of Shang, and a ''Shijing'' ode.

In the "Announcement to K'ang" it is said, "He was able to manifest his virtue." The "T'ai-chia" says, "He contemplated Heaven's unveiled mandate." The "Canon of Yao" says, "he was able to manifest his lofty virtue."

The inscription of the bath of King T'ang said, "If you renew yourself for one day, you can renew yourself daily, and continue to do so." In the "Announcement of K'ang" it says, "carry out the renewal of the people." The ''Book of Odes'' says, "Even though Chou was an ancient state, its mandate was sustained anew." Therefore there is nothing in which the Superior Man does not fully exert himself.

The ''Doctrine of the Mean''

The ''Zhongyong'' or ''Doctrine of the Mean'', which like the "Great Learning" above was included in the ''Liji'', uses ''de'' 22 times.

While Confucianist texts generally describe the ''de'' of humans, one passage portrays that of ''guishen'' .

Confucius said: "The overabundance of the power of spiritual beings is truly amazing! Looking for them, they cannot be seen. Listening for them, they cannot be heard. There is nothing that they do not embody. They cause the people of the world to fast for purification, and wear beautiful clothes in order to participate at the sacrifices. They are overflowing, seeming to be above, seeming to be on the left and on the right. The ''Book of Odes'' says: 'Trying to investigate the spirits, we cannot reach them. How could we possibly grasp them with our thoughts?' The manifestation of the subtle and the inconcealability of sincerity is like this."

Note how the ''Doctrine of the Mean'' attributes almost mystical powers to ''cheng'' .

Sincerity is just 'perfecting' and the Way is just 'following.' Sincerity is the beginning and end of all things. Without sincerity there is nothing. Thus the Superior Man values the process of "becoming-sincere." But sincerity is not "just-perfecting"; it also means "perfecting all things." To perfect yourself, you need ''jen''. To perfect others, you need wisdom. The virtue of our nature is that it is none other than the Way by which inner and outer are merged. Thus we can always use it to set things right.

Only that person who has fully actualized sincerity is able to adjust the strings of the Great Net of the World; is able to establish himself in the Great Root of the World; is able to understand the transformations and the nurturing of Heaven and Earth. So sincere is his ''jen''; so unfathomable is his depth; so vast is his spaciousness. Who is able to understand this, but one who has the firm, acute, luminous sagely intelligence – who is permeated with Heavenly Virtue?

Two passages use the compound ''dade'' .

What a good son was Shun ! His virtue was that of a sage, he was venerated as an emperor. His wealth included everything within the four seas. He is sacrificed to in the ancestral temple, and his sons and grandsons have preserved his name. Therefore we can say that the greatly virtuous always attain their appropriate position, always receive their proper reward, always get their recognition and are always long-lived.

Confucius transmitted the legacy of Yao and Shun and modeled his character on that of Wen and Wu. He was ruled by the Heavenly seasons from above, and combined the Earth and Waters below. He was like Heaven and Earth, which have nothing they do not support, and nothing they do not cover. His function was like the revolution of the four seasons, the alternation of sun and moon. He nourishes the myriad things and they grow up together without harming each other, and they follow their courses simultaneously without interfering with each other. His smaller power is like the rivers and streams. His great power is seen in deep transformations. This is why Heaven and Earth are called "great."

The ''Doctrine of the Mean'' also mentions the concept of ''zhide'' "perfect ''de''".

How great is the Way of the sage! Superabundant, it develops all things, extending up to Heaven. How excellent it is! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of conduct; it waits for the right person and then functions. Hence it is said: "If you do not perfect your virtue, the perfect Way cannot be actualized." Therefore the Superior Man esteems his virtuous nature and follows the path of inquiry, extending himself in breadth and greatness, penetrating all subtleties, penetrating its height and brilliance, following the course of the actualization of the Mean. He reviews the old and learns the new, thickening his character through the valorization of propriety.

The ''Mencius''

''De'' 德 "virtue; character" occurs 41 times in the ''Mengzi'' or ''Mencius''. Many occurrences are in quotations, for instance 6A6 and 6A17 quote ''Shijing'' odes 260 and 247. Mencius frequently quotes Confucius about ''de''; 3A4 quotes the ''Lunyu'' 12:19 wind and grass metaphor, and 7B37 quotes 17:13 about "Conventional townsmen are thieves of virtue." Three common ''de'' thematic usages are that wise rulers can utilize its powers, should employ people with ''de'', and should understand how it affects friendship.

The first and most frequent Mencian teaching is that a ruler should develop his ''de'' as a means of controlling people.

The king said: "What kind of qualities are necessary for real kingship?" Mencius said: "Take care of the people, and no one can oppose you."

There was king Wen, moreover, with all the virtue which belonged to him; and who did not die till he had reached a hundred years — and still his influence had not penetrated throughout the kingdom.

Mencius said, "He who uses force as a pretense of Humaneness is the de-facto strongman among the princes. But such a strongman must have a large state in order to be effective. The man who uses his virtue to practice Humaneness is the true king. To be a real king you don't need an especially large territory. T'ang did it with only seventy li and King Wen did it with only one hundred li. When you use your power to force people into submission, they will never submit with their hearts; it is only because they don't have enough strength to resist. When people submit to virtue, they are happy from the bottom of their hearts, and they submit sincerely, the way the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius."

Mencius said, 'When right government prevails in the kingdom, princes of little virtue are submissive to those of great, and those of little worth to those of great. When bad government prevails in the kingdom, princes of small power are submissive to those of great, and the weak to the strong. Both these cases are the rule of Heaven. They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.

Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, 'People say, "When the disposal of the kingdom came to Yü, his virtue was inferior to that of Y?o and Shun, and he transmitted it not to the worthiest but to his son." Was it so?' Mencius replied, 'No; it was not so. When Heaven gave the kingdom to the worthiest, it was given to the worthiest. When Heaven gave it to the son of the preceding sovereign, it was given to him. … 'In the case of a private individual obtaining the throne, there must be in him virtue equal to that of Shun or Yü; and moreover there must be the presenting of him to Heaven by the preceding sovereign. It was on this account that Confucius did not obtain the throne.'

Mencius said, 'The administration of government is not difficult — it lies in not offending the great families. He whom the great families affect, will be affected by the whole State; and he whom any one State affects, will be affected by the whole kingdom. When this is the case, such an one's virtue and teachings will spread over all within the four seas like the rush of water.'

'Confucius said, "The flowing progress of virtue is more rapid than the transmission of royal orders by stages and couriers."'

Note how these last two examples describe rapidly flowing powers of ''de''.

The second related theme is that rulers should seek out and employ those individuals who have ''de''.

If a prince hates disgrace, the best course for him to pursue, is to esteem virtue and honour virtuous scholars, giving the worthiest among them places of dignity, and the able offices of trust.

Mencius said: "Humaneness brings glory and non-Humaneness brings disgrace. So if you hate disgrace but still involve yourself in what is not Humaneness, it is like hating moisture and living in a basement. If you really hate it, you should honor virtue and respect the good. Install good men into positions of rank and give jobs to people of ability."

Therefore a prince who is to accomplish great deeds will certainly have ministers whom he does not call to go to him. When he wishes to consult with them, he goes to them. The prince who does not honour the virtuous, and delight in their ways of doing, to this extent, is not worth having to do with.

Chien asked, "How do you go about 'just being content'?" Mencius said, "If you value virtue and enjoy Rightness, you can be content. Hence the gentleman in dire straits does not lose his sense of Rightness, and when successful, does not lose the Path. Since he does not lose his sense of Rightness when in dire straits, the gentleman is able to keep a grasp on himself. Since he does not lose the Path when he becomes successful, the people are not disappointed in him."

Hsien-ch'i? Mang asked Mencius, saying, 'There is the saying, "A scholar of complete virtue may not be employed as a minister by his sovereign, nor treated as a son by his father." … Mencius replied, 'No. These are not the words of a superior man. They are the sayings of an uncultivated person of the east of Qi.'

A third theme in ''Mencius'' is the connection between ''de'' and friendship.

Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, 'I venture to ask the principles of friendship.' Mencius replied, 'Friendship should be maintained without any presumption on the ground of one's superior age, or station, or the circumstances of his relatives. Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.'

During the frequent interviews of the duke M? with Tsze-sze, he one day said to him, "Anciently, princes of a thousand chariots have yet been on terms of friendship with scholars — what do you think of such an intercourse?" Tsze-sze was displeased, and said, "The ancients have said, 'The scholar should be served:' how should they have merely said that he should be made a friend of?" When Tsze-sze was thus displeased, did he not say within himself, — "With regard to our stations, you are sovereign, and I am subject. How can I presume to be on terms of friendship with my sovereign! With regard to our virtue, you ought to make me your master. How can you be on terms of friendship with me?" Thus, when a ruler of a thousand chariots sought to be on terms of friendship with a scholar, he could not obtain his wish — how much less could he call him to his presence!'

One final example of Confucian ''de'' usages is this context where the word has a markedly negative meaning, semantically opposed to moral "virtue".

Mencius said, 'Qiu acted as chief officer to the head of the Ji family, whose evil ways he was unable to change, while he exacted from the people double the grain formerly paid.'