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shirley chan

COSMOLOGY, SOCIETY, AND HUMANITY:TIAN IN THE GUODIAN TEXTS (PART I)1

Recent archaeological discoveries in China have presented us withmaterial (previously) lost for over 2,000 years that now enables us tostudy the development of early Chinese literature, thought, language,and script. One of these amazing finds is the Guodian bamboo manu-scripts unearthed in 1993 in a tomb from the historical state of Chu inpresent-day Jingmen City, Hubei Province.2 Dated to the latter half ofthe Warring States Period (475–221 bce), they have attracted theattention of scholars, providing us with knowledge of the formidableintellectual discourses of ancient Chinese thinkers.

My study offers a brief survey of the possible connotations oftian as presented in the Guodian Chu bamboo manuscripts. Bylooking at some of the passages from the corpus, I will show howtian in the Guodian texts can be categorized in three ways thatare not mutually exclusive: as natural law and cosmic order, moralprinciple and sociopolitical order, and individual experience (coin-cidence). These interpretations are presented as integral to a philo-sophical approach whereby moral norms correspond to the naturalorder in an integration of the way of heaven and the way of man(that is, humanity or the way fulfilling the qualities that definehuman beings)3 calling in turn for an awareness of the distinctiveroles of human beings and heaven. The Guodian manuscripts showthat the seemingly divergent theories of tian, that is, as the “unity ofman and heaven” and as the “distinction between man and heaven,”are not diametrically opposed or mutually exclusive. Rather, theknowledge of the latter enables the former to be realized. Thisconclusion is placed in the context of the particular situation of theWarring States Period during which the Guodian texts were origi-nally composed. I will argue that in the Guodian texts, tian is amultifaceted entity and is often used in various combinations ofthe following three senses: first, as the source of the natural law orcosmic order; second, as a general description of social and moral

SHIRLEY CHAN, Senior Lecturer, Chinese Studies, Department of InternationalStudies, Macquarie University. Specialties: traditional Chinese thought, Chinese philoso-phy, early Chinese texts. E-mail: Shirley.chan@mq.edu.au

Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Supplement to Volume 38 (2011) 64–77© 2012 Journal of Chinese Philosophy

norms or patterns; and third, as the source of synchronous eventsand personal experiences. However, due to constraints of length, thiscurrent article will focus on the first category. The conceptualizationof tian as the principle of social and moral norms, and determinantof synchronous events and individual experiences will appear in aforthcoming article.

I. TIAN in the Early Texts

It is not my intention to discuss in detail the concepts of tian (heaven)in early texts, but I accept that, in general terms, they are relevant to,and moulded according to, the ideas and principles advocated byvarious schools of thought. For example, for the Daoists, tian is relatedto nature and is part of the cosmic world; in the Guanzi , tianrefers to natural order and is discussed along with the concept of“constancy” or “eternality” (chang ) by alluding to its regularity andthe constant activities of the natural cycle;4 tian in the Mozi isdepicted from a religious perspective as loving without discriminationthrough rewarding those who obey its will by acting righteously.5

Without providing a systematic or detailed discussion of the concept,Confucius seems in the Analects (Lunyu ) to have had adynamic concept of tian: tian is a natural phenomenon,6 a source ofmorality,7 and a determinant of the success of an individual’s missionof cultural transmission.8

It is also accepted that the doctrines in early Chinese philosophyconcerning the relationship between human beings and heaven canbe divided into two major streams: the integration of humanity andheaven (tianren heyi ) and the distinction between the way ofman and the way of heaven (tianren youfen ).9 While theydid not actually use the expression “unity of man and heaven,” theDaoists are believed to be the earliest thinkers to promote the ideathat people are part of nature and should comply with the heavenlyprinciple. Mencius’s view has a more moral, or ethical dimension:goodness is not an arbitrary construct of the human mind, but isinherent in human nature, endowed by heaven. Thus, by relatinghuman nature to heaven, he pointed out that, by knowing their nature,people would come to understand the way of heaven. Xunzi , onthe other hand, emphasized the severance of humanity from heaven,taking the later from a natural perspective, and thus differentiatedtheir roles.10

Examining the concept of tian in the Guodian texts will help us tounderstand the attitude of the author(s) toward this multifacetedentity and thus establish the tendencies, if not the original qualities, of

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their ideas. It will also help us reflect on the evolution of the conceptof tian in the Warring States Period, to which these excavated bambootexts have been dated. My discussion will revolve around passages inthis excavated corpus containing or relating to the concept of tian,though it will focus on what scholars have categorized as “Confuciantexts” and the miscellaneous writings of the Thicket of Sayings(Yucong ).11 Daoist texts in the Guodian cache, such as theLaozi , will also be referred to wherever relevant.

II. TIAN as Nature and the Natural Order

As part of the cosmic world tian (heaven) is often depicted as thesource of things and the source from which related principles andregularities are derived. Tian in this context resembles nature andnatural order. In the Yucong 1, tian is depicted in relation to naturalorder; it is where the myriad phenomena receive the fundamentalprinciple of existence, namely transformation and development:

All things come into existence from non-being. There is tian andthere is order (ming); there is object (wu) and there is name. Tianconstitutes constant principles and classifications, and peopledevelop patterns for regulating things. There is order (ming) andthere are measurements (order [xu]) and names, and only then thereare principles; . . . There is tian and there is order; there is earth andthere is form (xing); there is object and there is appearance (rong);there is family and there is name.12

[ 1 , , 2 ,13 14

3 , 5 . . . , , 12, 1315]

Also, in the Yucong 3:

Tian’s principled model is formed, and it is then that human beingsand the various things are in order in such way; when things are given(time), they are patterned, and that what earth can nourish and growlies in causation.[ , 17 , , 18 ,1916]There is tian and there is ming; there is (ming and there is xing); theseare what is referred to as (the essence of) life.[ , , 68b17]

In these passages, tian is understood from a naturalistic dimension asthat from which the birth and source of all things is derived. Signifi-cantly, the notions ming , wu , ming , xing , du (xu ), androng that are mentioned may refer to specific prescriptions andassigned functionalities, objects, names, forms, measurements (orderlysequence) and appearances and, by extension, features, courses and

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manifestations, transformation and related natural patterns andcharacteristics of various things and happenings in the natural world.These concepts of ming, wu, ming, xing, xu, and rong point to theawareness of prescribed order, principles, and assigned functions andactual correspondence of all things. The whole universe is a creationof order of various things of different natures that makes it possible toclassify them. Furthermore, a macrocosmic–microcosmic parallelismbetween the natural and human worlds is developed. The words “tiansheng gun/lun, ren sheng qing , ” (Tian constitutesconstant principles and classifications, and humans develop patternsfor regulating things) indicate that heaven and humans are respec-tively responsible for creating the cosmic pattern and reinforcing thispattern of order in the human world. In other words, humans’ creativ-ity is guided by heaven.18 The notion of li (ordered patterns) as“reasoning principles/patterns” and “managing things in compliancewith the essence of patterns and inherent principles” is introduced:with tian forming the principled model or schema (xing ), all things,despite their multiplicity, are put into or develop their patterns andprinciples. In other words, tian is not only the source or cause ofexistence of all things and phenomena, it also prescribes the embod-ied patterns (with principles and reasoning) in the process ofthe formation of things.19 Strip 17 makes the claim that “ ,

,” which means the heavenly model provides patterns andthe inherent principles of structures that humans and things adhere to(this is emphasized through the word “si ” meaning “such” and“this”). In brief, inherent in every thing produced by tian are specificprinciples about its coming into being (sheng ) and its becoming(cheng ).

The above notion is extended when tian is mentioned in relation toits complementary aspect ming , literally, to command, to assign,life, mandate, or decree. Such a juxtaposition of tian and ming isillustrated in the concept of xing , the nature with which things areendowed. As the first lines of the Guodian text Nature Derives fromMandate (Xing Zi Ming Chu ) suggest, tian is the source ofming, which prescribes the xing or nature of various things: “Naturederives from ming and ming is conferred by tian” (Xing zi ming chu,ming zi tian jiang. , ). Xing, in this context, denotesthe attributes, including form and functionalities, that contribute tothe life and growth of a particular species; xing also contributes to theinherent qualities of things:

An ox is born and grows large, a wild goose is born and stretchesupward; their nature [makes them so].

, , . . . 720

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If tian is responsible for endowing various entities and species (includ-ing human beings and other animals) with life and growth, theirdistinctive features, and patterns of development and principles, thequestion remains, what is human nature? How can human nature beunderstood? This leads us to a significant statement in the Yucong 1that, of the things produced by tian, humanity is the most important:“Of the hundred things produced by heaven, it is humanity that isof greatest value” (tian sheng baiwu, ren weigui , ;Yucong 1).

Weigui means “be important/noble or dignified”; the copula “wei”in this construction helps to expose or emphasize the subject “ren”

.21 Literally, “(among the hundred things) it is human beings thatare of the greatest value.” Given that what is endowed and producedby tian refers to both inborn nature (being), and the end result ofgrowth and development (becoming), the concept of human natureembraces both of these. These two, of course, are interrelated, as theinborn nature of xing also determines the principle of the course oftransformation and development. With this understanding, the weiguihere is accomplished through the combination of inborn natureendowed by heaven and the cultural development of human beings,which I shall elaborate further. The Yucong 1 further explains howhuman beings are endowed with certain distinctive features with theirassigned functionalities:

All creatures of blood and qi possess (the capacities of) happinessand anger, cautiousness and gravity. In their bodies are appearance(that is, bearing/deportment/carriage), colour (that is, complexion/facial colour/facial expression) and voice, smell and taste, disposi-tional energy and intent. All things have their roots and (courses of)growth, their ending and beginning. Bearing and complexion aresubject to the eyes, voice are subject to the ears, smell to the nose,taste to the mouth, aura to demeanour, and intention to the heart.[ , , ; , ,

, , 49 ,, , , , ,

52 ( )]

Here, “all creatures of blood and qi” ( fan you xueqi zhe )refers to human beings who are the principal “creatures of blood andqi.”22 As creatures of blood-qi, human beings are endowed with dis-tinctive attributes of life and life-giving principle. This inborn natureof human beings, in particular the derivative abilities to sense, to feel,to think, to correspond, to interact, and to engage, makes social trans-formation or cultural construction possible. The Xing Zi Ming Chucontained in the Guodian corpus states that the various emotionalcapacities and responses to external stimuli are qi and are part ofhuman nature:

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. . . the qi of happiness, anger, sadness, and grief is (called) none otherthan nature. When it [that is, qi] appears on the outside, it is because(external) things have laid hold of it. Human nature derives from themandate; the mandate descends from Heaven. The dao begins inqing; qing [natural disposition] is derived from xing [humannature] . . .[ , , ,

, 23]

The Xing Zi Ming Chu discusses in detail the human ability to observemusical performances and experience the stages of mental activitythat correspond to physiological responses and physical movements.Along with the sensual experience of hearing (wen ), listening to(ting ), and observing (guan ) musical performances, listeners areable to share emotions and feelings with the musical performer(s) andsmoothly internalize what is entailed in the music. This indicates therelative ease of natural and spontaneous activities compared withpsychological striving or mental exertion.24 In a neutral sense, theprocess of sensual experience meets natural human sensual desires inthe form of emotional aspirations, which if not satisfied will be detri-mental to well-being.25 In other words, music and ritual are significantbecause they elicit sincere moral emotions by directing our intentionto moral engagement, while satisfying our sensual needs, which are anintegral part of our xing.26 In this way, the human spirit or emotions,which define humanity’s distinctive nature, are drawn out by theexternal situation. Moral cultivation is a process of integrating humannature (endowed by heaven) and cultural practice initiated by thesages.

Indeed, by illustrating the nature of various things derived fromheaven, the texts point to a possible channel leading to the integrationof the way of humanity and the way of heaven, and the correspon-dence of the former to the latter. This is condensed in the one sen-tence, “to examine closely the way of heaven so as to transform thecharacter of the people” (cha tiandao yi hua minqi ).All things arise from one source: heaven. How are we to understandthe way in which things, human beings, in particular, should be prop-erly placed in the totality of things that arise from this source? Theshort answer, underlined by this passage, is to understand the way ofheaven in order to manifest the way of humanity. The way of heavenand the way of humanity are interconnected. Here, the purpose ofobserving the way of heaven relates to knowing the functions andcausal relations symbolized by and expressed in the great transforma-tion (hua ), the process by which all things come into being andexistence, and in this particular context, call into being the people’smoral sense endowed by heaven. For a junzi (a gentleman), torealize and understand the distinctive moral features endowed by

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heaven is to ultimately transform and imbue with morality the char-acter of the people. This is a process induced through the practice oftraditional culture (i.e., through the teachings embodied in the [Con-fucian] classics of the Rites, the Documents, the Poetry, the Changes,and the Spring and Autumn Annals). The following passage suggeststhat the unique cultural value of this process lies in its function ofbringing together the way of heaven and the way of humanity, pastand present:

The Changes is that by which the way of heaven and the way ofhumanity may be brought together; the Poetry is that by which theintent of past and present may be integrated; and the Spring andAutumn Annals integrates events past and present. The Rites is adescriptive account of interactive activities; music is something for(moral) development or teaching. (The Documents is) something for(XXXX);[ , 37 , 3927

, 41 , 42 ,43 ( , ) 4428]

The character hui literally means “to assemble,” “to cooperate,”“to join together,” “to bring together/cause to assemble” and “tosynthesize.”29 To relate this reading to the earlier discussion of theregular patterns, the order, and the principles from which things aredeveloped, we may suggest that to unify the way of humanity and theway of heaven means that the cultural pattern created by humanbeings should be in accord with the inborn nature of human beingsand principles of development endowed by heaven. The Guodiantexts stipulate that “if government cannot establish a cultural pattern[for moral transformation], what is inborn in man will not reach whatit is meant to be” (Zheng budawen, shenghu budaqiran ,

). This means that to transform and develop the peo-ple’s moral character (hua minqi ) is to harmonize humannature (xing/shenghu ) with external factors such as the cul-tural practices of music and rituals (wen ).The purpose of music andritual here is thus to extend or cultivate or, as suggested in the Xing ZiMing Chu, to awaken and to draw out people’s inborn moral sensi-bility. In this sense, we may tend to accept that at least some part, if notall, of human nature has morally desirable elements and is deemed tobe developed through cultural practice.

To follow the way of heaven is to put in order what is endowed toman by tian to ensure proper development and growth of goodnessthrough cultural practice. This is a parallel to the notion of li that wearrived at earlier.30

It is no accident that the Guodian corpus discusses qi and qing, bothof which are free flowing in nature and essential to the life process, as

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part of human xing. The features and capacities derived from humanxing produce morally congenial sensual feelings and spirit. They aremorally congenial because they are spontaneous emotional tenden-cies conducive to moral development, waiting to be evoked by exter-nal stimuli. Related to this is the unique characteristic of ritual, whichgrows out of these sensual and emotional needs of humans. Ritual andmusic, in turn, bring out human sentiments and cultivate moral feel-ings. This is spelt out in the Yucong 2:

Qing (dispositions) derive from xing (human nature); li (rituals)derive from qing (dispositions); awe derives from reverence; thesense of shame derives from awe . . . love derives from xing; intimacyderives from love; loyalty derives from intimacy.[ , , 1 , , 2 , ,3 . . . , , 8 931]

While the Yucong 2 points out that human xing can also constituteimmoral characteristics,32 it confirms that the ming bestowed byheaven is consistent with pursuing the proper way, and that:

All regrets derive from ceasing to follow the way; all guilt comes fromthings one has failed to carry out . . . Those who understand minghave no blame, and those who possess virtue do not swerve (from theway).[ , 38 , 39 . . . 47

4833]

If our interpretation is correct, the above words suggest that theuniqueness of human nature lies in the rational–moral faculty ofthe self-consciousness in manifesting the moral–humane potentialwithin.34 The feelings of regret (hui ) arising from not abiding by theway have the following implications: first, people do not always makea correct judgment and thus may fail to act in accordance with theproper way, and second, people do possess consciousness and doexperience a personal affective state such as remorse and regret aftercommitting an improper act or losing their moral orientation.Accord-ing to Mencius, these feelings of regret and shame are inborn humanattributes. Their “bestowal” by heaven is not the end result of func-tionalities, but what is required of individuals to accomplish the taskof becoming a complete human being. The words yidao , buxing

, and buyi signify that the uniquely human quality of con-cretely expressing heaven is found in the ceaseless pursuit of morality.To know and realize this decree (ming ) from Heaven is whatqualifies someone as “one who possesses virtue” (youdezhe ),an analog of “one who knows ming” (zhimingzhe ). Here, theword zhiming should not be taken as passively accepting destiny.Rather, it points to the fortitude and knowledge of understanding and

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fulfilling assigned duties (as an individual) in any given context inorder to qualify as human.35

The seemingly naturalist perspective of tian has moral implications:people should and can maximize their moral potentialities as decreedby tian by steadfastly adhering to moral principles. More significantly,those who find pleasure in acquiring and practicing virtue make pos-sible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life: we see,similar to the Yucong, the Guodian text The Five Conducts (Wuxing

) confirms the function of the sensual organs as well as theemotional responsiveness and intellectual capability of heart-mind inthe process of moral cultivation. The Wuxing further stipulates thatone who harmonizes (he ) and assimilates/conforms (tong ) sen-suality with affective and cognitive response (of heart-mind) in moralpractice will gain the greatest joy and easiness:

Ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands, and feet are faculties that are gov-erned by heart-mind.When the heart-mind says “yes,” none dares notto say “yes”; when the heart-mind says “agree,” none dares not to say“agree”; (when it says) “advance,” none dares not to advance; (whenit says) “withdraw,” none dares not to withdraw; (when it says) “godeep,” none dares not to go deep; (when it says) “remain shallow,”none dares not to stay shallow. When there is harmony (between thesix faculties and the heart-mind), there is conformity. When there isconformity there is perfection . . . What is bestowed by heaven onhumaness is (from) heaven; what is imposed by people on people is(by) practice. Those who are happy upon hearing the way are thosewho love humaneness; those who are in awe upon hearing the wayare those who are fond of righteousness; those who are reverentupon hearing the way are those who love ritual; those who are joyfulupon hearing the way are those who are fond of virtue.[ , , ; , ; 45 ,

, ; , ; , ; ,, 46 . . . ,

, 36 , ,, 5037]

A junzi (gentleman) esteems his qing [natural dispositions], attachesvalue to his sense of propriety, makes excellent his refinement, makesappealing his demeanor, delights in his dao, and takes pleasure in histeachings. (And) it is by this means that he achieves an attitude ofdeep reverence for it/them. . . .[ , [ ], 20 , , , ,

. . . 2138]

The ability to coordinate with the heart, with a keen perception of thefaculties as a response to external things will result in integratedhumanism. This is combining what heaven endows with the practicesimposed by man, that is, the cultural creators (youwei ) or thesage (shengren ) who established and created such cultural pat-terns as music and rituals. As stated in Xing Zi Ming Chu:

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The Odes, the Documents, the Rites and the Music were all initiallyproduced by men. Through effort, the Odes were composed; througheffort, the Documents were preached; through effort, the Rites andthe Music were promoted; the sage compared the types, analysedthem and assembled them into categories; he observed theirsequence and re-arranged them; he comprehended their [ideas of]propriety and refined them; he sorted the emotions/feelings[expressed or inspired by them], and made them manifest or inter-nalized. He then used them again for teaching. Teaching is thereforethe means by which virtue is born in the centre.[ , , ,

, ,, ,

, , 39]

The Xing Zi Ming Chu recognizes both the biological basis of humannature and human spirit/emotions/feelings endowed by tian and ming,and the role that social constructs (that is, rituals and music, andrules of propriety embodied in the sages’ teachings) play in moralcultivation.40

By relating ming and tian in the above contexts, we can infer fromthe texts that tian is responsible for the production and assignment ofthe myriad things, and that ming refers to the specific features andfunctionalities, including xing, the inborn nature and principle ofdeveloping to full completion, that tian imposes on things. Humanityis of the greatest importance and ultimately the noblest because, as adynamic complexity of qi, emotions, intent of heart-mind, appearance,and body, tian confers ming as inborn and the capacity for individualsto complete and perfect themselves in moral practice. To accomplishthis human goal of cultivation, the sages are believed to have initiatedthe process of regulating human relations by setting cultural practicethrough integrating the constant principle of tian.

MACQUARIE UNIVERSITYSydney, Australia

Endnotes

I would like to express my gratitude to the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for funding myresearch project on the Guodian texts between 2009 and 2011. The early draft of thisarticle was presented at the 10th Colloquium on Confucianism organized by Institute forAdvanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University,Taiwan,July 7–15, 2009; the 16th International Conference on Chinese Philosophy, organized bythe International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP) and Fujen University, Taiwan,July 8–11, 2009; and at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Western Branch of the AmericanOriental Society, University of California, Los Angeles, on October 16–17, 2009. I thankteachers and colleagues who gave me generous feedback and comments on this article, inparticular, Professors Xu Fuchang, Chen Zhaoying, Li Chenyang and Philip J. Ivanhoe,and Drs. Derek Herforth, Sue Wiles, Newell Ann Van Auken, and Lance Eccles. I am

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grateful to the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Professor Chung-ying Cheng, and the two blind reviewers, who offered insightful comments to improve thearticle for publication. I thank the coeditor of this special issue, Professor Justin Tiwald,for the final proofreading and copyediting. I would also like to thank Managing Editor,Dr. Linyu Gu, for her professional manner and editorial suggestions throughout all ourcorrespondence.

1. Part II will be published as a sequel in the Journal of Chinese Philosophy 39, no. 1(2012).

2. At present, Guodian is the only tomb found to contain exclusively philosophical texts.There are sixteen texts inscribed on approximately 800 bamboo slips. The slip textswere divided into three major categories: Daoist; Confucian, and miscellaneoussayings that have not been ascribed to any of the traditional schools of thought. Themanuscript texts have been transcribed into modern standard Chinese characters andwere published with images of the slips by Jingmenshi Bowuguan, edited as ChuBamboo Slips from the Guodian Tomb (Guodian Chumu Zhujian )(Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe, 1998). In this article, all transcribed texts and stripreference numbers of the Guodian manuscripts are based on this 1998 publication.

3. With this understanding, I will use the translations “the way of humanity” and “theway of human beings” interchangeably.

4. In “Conditions and Circumstances” (“Xingshi” ) of the Guanzi, we find:“Heaven does not change in its constancy; . . . earth does not vary in its regu-larity; . . . spring, autumn, winter, and summer do not vary their seasonal activities.From ancient times to the present, this has always been so. Guanzi: Political, Eco-nomic and Philosophical Essays from Early China, Vol. I, trans. W. Allyn Rickett(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985), 62–64.

5. For example, in “Will of Heaven” (“Tianzhi” : “Those who obey the will ofHeaven, loving without discrimination, aiding others, will surely obtain a reward;those who oppose the will of Heaven, by discrimination and unfriendliness and bydoing wrong to others, will surely obtain a punishment” (Mozi: Basic Writings, trans.Burton Watson [New York: Columbia University Press, 2003]).

6. The Lunyu, “Yanghuo” .7. For example, this can be seen in the Lunyu, “Shuer” .8. The Lunyu, “Bayi” , “Zihan” , “Xianjin”, .9. Also see Zhang Dai-nian,“Theories Concerning Man and Nature in Classical Chinese

Philosophy,” in Man and Nature:The Chinese Tradition and the Future, ed.Tang Yi-Jie,Li Zhen, and George F. McLean, Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Life Series III.Asia, Vol. 1 (Lanham: University Press of America; Council for Research in Valuesand Philosophy, 1989), 4–5.

10. It is generally believed that Zhang Zai of Song was the first to use the term “unityof humanity and heaven,” emphasizing by this the inherent capacity of human beingsto understand the heavenly way. Ibid., 4.

11. My approach of taking the texts as a whole accords with the fact that they werediscovered in the same collection and that the ideas contained in them were at leastwhat the owner/tomb occupier tended to accept—even though it is also possible thatthe tomb occupier has just as easily collected texts from different schools.

12. Here I follow Qiu Xigui , who suggests the character gun should be readlun , meaning principles and classification (lei ), in Jingmenshi Bowuguan, ed.,Guodian Chumu Zhujian (Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe, 1998), 200. All English trans-lations of the Guodian texts in this article are mine.

13. The character lun means “rationale, principles, and classifications” or “order” as in“ ” in the Shangshu ; when the character appears as in thewords “renlun” ( ) it means “human relations.” I thank one of the blind reviewersfor alerting me to this clarification.

14. Scholars read “ ” as which does not make the sentence intelligible. ZhouFengwu suggests it should read “hua .” See, Zhou Fengwu,

, in 21. I propose that it is the character“ qing”, which according to the Shuowen Jiezi means “the regulations/

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regulating patterns of things” (Shi zhi zhi ye ) a character which has a similarmeaning to “hua ” (Shuowen Jiezi: Jiaoxing ye To teach proper conduct.).See, Zong Fubang, Chen Shirao, and Xiao Haibo, eds., Guxun Huizhuan(Beijing: Shangwu Yinshiguan, 2003), 284.

15. “Yucong 1” (Thicket of Sayings 1).16. “Yucong 3” (Thicket of Sayings 3). I follow Liu Zhao ’s reading of

zaizao . Liu Zhao, Guodian Chujian Jiaoshi (Fuzhou: FujianRenmin Chubanshe, 2003), 208, 214.

17. “Yucong 3.”18. The correspondence of humankind’s role as cultural creators to the heavenly patterns

and principles will be discussed in the next section.19. I am grateful to one of the blind reviewers for pointing out the different translations

of “li” . While there is a general tendency of translating the character”li”as “pattern” in the pre-Buddhist period, and reserving “principles” for Neo-Confuciansm, it seems to me in the various contexts of the Guodian texts that theterm li may have already gradually acquired a progression of meanings from experi-enced pattern to natural order and the embodied principles of good order. Instead ofexclusively meaning either “patterns” or “principles,” li appears to be referring to thenatural order/ patterns and its inherent principles of sustaining the pattern. I thereforeinclude these interpretations in my translations and my discussion. I also thankProfessor Chung-ying Cheng for clarifying this. Such an understanding of the conceptof li as patterns and the inherent principles can be found in other early texts. Forexample, the Jie Lao chapter in the Hanfeizi also expounds therelationship between dao and li; see The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu:A Classic ofChinese Political Science, trans. Wen-kwei, Liao (London: Arthur Probsthain, 1959),191–92. Based on the early texts, it can be suggested that, as a noun, li is related todao/way , “root/principle” (ben ), “character/pattern” (wen ), “orderlysequence” (shun ), essence (benxing ), “reasoning principle” (daoli ), or“reason” (shili ). It is what defines and explains what things are and how thingsare. Li as transitive verb means something like “put in order, bring order to,organize according to a pattern, principles of things” so that they can develop prop-erly. My interpretation and reading of the text are based on the assumption that thecharacter li in the Guodian manuscript should be read , as suggested by scholars.

20. “Xing Zi Ming Chu” (Nature derives from Mandate).21. I thank one of the blind reviewers for making clear this function of the word “wei” in

this sentence.22. A blind reviewer has correctly pointed out that “youxueqizhe” refers to a wider scope

of creatures than human beings, and that humans are merely the most interesting orimportant case for the author’s purposes. Therefore, humans are the principal “crea-tures of blood and qi” under consideration. In an earlier version of this paper, Iadopted the translation “blood-qi,” but Linyu Gu, one of the editors of this journal,pointed out that in this context, xueqi refers to specific or concrete allotments ofblood and breath rather than general energy. I agree with her and have accepted hertranslation.

23. “Xing Zi Ming Chu.” To Confucius, blood and qi accounted for motivational charac-terisitics in different stages of one’s life and needs to be carefully guided accordingly.See, Lunyu, “Jishi” . Later, Mencius emphasized the moral dimension of qi inhuman beings, which if nourished, together with the determination and guidanceof heart-mind, will form pervasive moral force. See Mengzi, “Gong Sun Chou I”

. Although well known for his belief in “human nature is originally bad,”Xunzi admittedly illustrated the unique value of human beings and the way theyenjoy a prominent position for they in comparison to other things and species,because men possess qi, life, intelligence and sense of appropriateness. Xunzi,“Wangzhi Pian” . Also see Hsun Tzu [Xunzi]: Basic Writings, trans. BurtonWatson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 45.

24. Furthermore, the profound, powerful influence of good music on listeners is notlimited to the very moment of listening but is long lasting and can even overcome thebasic desire for food. This is exemplified in the Analects where Confucius was

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described as “not being able to notice the taste of meat for three days” after hearinga musical performance of Shao (“Shuer”).

25. The original in the Xing Zi Ming Chu is , , ,(The eyes’ love of beauty, the ears’ pleasure in [the sound of] the voice

[we should perhaps imagine troupes of entertainers—musicians, singers and dancershere], is about the qi of anxiety [where, if the desire is not satisfied], people have notrouble dying for these things). By “in a neutral sense” I am referring to the discussionin this article about how our natural sensual desires, which is part of our xing, may ormay not be morally desirable. Which aspects of these elements are drawn out andaffirmed depends on external stimuli. For example, good and bad music will havedifferent impacts on the process of cultivation.

26. It can be seen from the text that music is the most effective tool for generating moralsentiments and, for the author of the Xing Zi Ming Chu, it very often involvesarousing natural and genuine emotional responses. The function of music in moraltransformation has also been explicitly discussed in other early texts, for example, the“Records of Music” in the Book of Rites. Music, for Xunzi, is effective in moraltransformation because it satisfies the natural human desire for sensual pleasure.“Yuelun Pian” . While recognizing qing as part of human nature, Xunzitended to relate it to natural desire (yu ), which was based on self-interest.

27. Scholars suggest that the second shi should read zhi .28. “Yucong 1.”29. Zong Fubang et al., eds., Guxun Huizhuan (Beijing: Shangwu

Yinshuguan, 2003), 1050–1051. According to the Shuo Wen Jie Zi , huimeans he , “to join,” “to be in accordance with,” and “to combine,” suggesting theinterconnectedness of knowledge of the way of heaven and the way of humanity.

30. A lengthy conversation in the Zuozhuan explicitly illustrates the functions of ritualand music in harmonizing the natural character of all things between heaven andearth, so that all will be put in order and endure (Xieyu tiandi zhi xing, shi yi changjiu

, ). Rituals were applied in different realms so as “to rule allthings in between heaven and earth by following their principles” (ze tiandi )and “to put in order human qi, in compliance with the essence of human nature” (shunminqi ). The use of the characters ze (to comply with), yin (to follow),sheng (to grow, to develop), feng (to esteem), jing (to endure), xiao (toeffect), xiang (to imitate), and xie (to assist) confirms the suggestion that thefunction of ritual is to follow and extend the nature of things while at the same timeas “making [it] appropriate” (yi ) and “regulating” (zhi ) the patterns of things.See Zuozhuan, “Zhaogong 25th Year.”

31. “Yucong 2” (Thicket of Sayings 2).32. “Desire derives from xing, calculation derives from desire; rebellion derives from

calculation; conflict derives from rebellion; partisanship derives from conflict; greedderives from desire; rebellion derives from greed; wavering derives from rebellion.”( , , , , , ,Yucong 2).

33. “Yucong 2.”34. These in Mencius’s words are the four sprouts of morality (siduan ) (“Gongsun

Chou I” ). Realizing this moral sensitivity in one’s heart/mind is thusknowing what Heaven has endowed one with and thus possessing the knowledge ofHeaven (“Jinxin I”) .

35. It is in this context that Confucius declares that knowing ming is the prerequisite forbecoming a junzi: “Without recognizing ming, it is impossible to be a junzi.” (Buzhiming, wuyi wei junzi , ) (Yao Yue) .

36. While some scholars read the sentence “shi yi jing yan ” as “the junzibecomes a respectful person” (see Tu Zongliu and Liu Zuxin , GuodianChumu Xianqin Rujia Yishu Jiaoshi (Taipei: WanjuanLou, 2001), 158. It is possible, as Derek Herforth has suggested in correspondence,that “jing ” is a mental state that a junzi would have achieved after going throughwhat is listed in the process of cultivation that he himself has now passed through.

37. “Wuxing” (The Five Conducts).

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38. “Xing Zi Ming Chu.”39. Ibid.40. I have made a more detailed study of this in “Human Nature and Moral Cultivation

in the Guodian Text of the Xing Zi Ming Chu (Nature Derivesfrom Mandate),” Dao: Journal of Comparative Philosophy 8, no. 4 (2009): 26. Alsosee Franklin Perkins, “Recontexutalizing Xing: Self-Cultivation and Human Naturein the Guodian Texts,” Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Supplement to 37 (2010):16–32.

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