From Clan Manners to Ethical Obligation and Righteousness: A New Interpretation of the Term yi

From Clan Manners to Ethical Obligation

and Righteousness: A New Interpretation

of the Term yi m

JINHUA JIA AND KWOK PANG-FEI

Yi, a term denoting one of the primary concepts of Confucian ethics, has proven to

be one of the most difficult terms to interpret and translate. It has been rendered as

'righteousness', 'rightness', 'right conduct', 'propriety', 'justice', 'morality', 'duty', 'sense

of duty', 'obligation', and so forth. The aim of this article is to open new avenues to discuss

the original and extended meanings of yi by the means of paleographic, archaeological, and

socio-cultural studies.

Xu Shen IrF'R (55-149) defines yi as a huiyi #M compound (compound ideogram): "Yi is one's own awe-inspiring bearing, deriving from wo [we, I] and yang [sheep]" H,

B5lil?fSlfe, fXSfit^.1 Xu's definition of yi is quite close to its original meaning, but his

analysis of its structure is not exact. Wo is also a phonic determinative. The Qing scholar Song

Bao ^ffi said, "Yi is pronounced as wo. In ancient times, yi and wo are [sic] phonetically

identical."2 Song is correct. According to the phonetic reconstruction of wo and yi in

archaic Chinese by Dong Tonghe it 1^1 IS,3 Bernhard Karlgren,4 and Zhou Fagao M&M,5 both characters belong to the same ge tfc rhyme group and share the same final. Hence

wo is the semantic-phonic constituent for yi and should be the etymon. This conclusion

is supported by both received literature and archaeological discoveries. For example, yi

iBt and yi 4ft, wei [$ + li] and wei [y^+8i] are interchangeable in early texts.6 In the

newly unearthed bamboo scripts of the Warring States period, the graph wo $c is used

We would like to thank Professor Li Zehou and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions that helped to strengthen many arguments in this work.

1 Xu Shen, Shuowen jiezi WlXM^-, cited as incorporated in the Shuowen jiezi gulin zhengbu hebian WLXte^fclE^m (Taipei, 1975; hereafter cited as SWJZGL), v. 10, p. 353.

2 Song Bao, Xiesheng buyi t^5M$l, cited as incorporated in the SWJZGL, v. 10, p. 357.

Dong Tonghe, Shanggu yinyun biaogao Ji'S'WrS^^ (i944; reprint, Taipei, 1991), pp. 184?185. 4Bernhard Karlgren, Grammata Serica Recensa (1957; reprint, Taipei, 1972), no. 2a-g, 2r-t; Zhongguo yinyunxue

dagang^Mm-^^XM, trans. Zhang Hongnian PM^^ (Taipei, 1972), p. 234. 5 Zhou Fagao, Hanzigujin yin hui l^S^Wi (Hong Kong, 1979), pp. 109, 260. 6 See Zheng Xuan %~? (127-200) and Kong Yingda ?L!Iii (574-648), Liji zhengyi ISbBjEH, "Tangong

shang" tt^?, in Shisanjing zhushu tHl?i?S, 7.1284c; Guo Pu MM (276-324) and Xing Bing MM (932 1010), Erya zhushu fltft&Si (Shisanjing zhushu), 7.52a; Lu Deming E?D&hjj (ca. 550-630), Jingdian shiwen iJliJt

(Siku quanshu), 6.10a, 11.196a, 30.20a; Hong Xingzu Y^RIR. (1090?1155), Chuci buzhu MS?M?? (Beijing, 1983), p. 116.

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34 Jinhuajia and Kwok Pang-fei

as a loan word for yi H,7 and the graphs yi [a], yi po], or yi [S] are variant forms

ofy/.8

Xu Shen defines wo as a first-person pronoun: "Wo, one applies to call himself Sc,

jfi Jt ? if -fe.9 However, this is a later extension, not the original meaning of wo. In the Oracle

Bone Inscriptions (OBI), wo is written as in Fig. I,10 which is a pictograph of a kind of axe

weapon.11 It connotes mainly two meanings in the OBI. First, it is used as plural first

person pronoun. After examining all the applications of wo as first-person pronoun in OBI,

Chen Mengjia W9% makes an important conclusion that it is only used as plural pronoun,

meaning 'we', 'our', or 'us'.12 Second, wo is also used as the name of a clan, a place, and an

individual person or diviner in OBI.13 It is notable that many ancient clans used weapons

as clan-name insignias, especially axes and dagger-axes (ge ic). Two pictographs of axes from

the Dawenkou ^vSCP culture have been identified by scholars as clan-name emblems.14

Many scholars believe that in the oracle bone and bronze inscriptions of the Shang and

Zhou, pictographs of axes or dagger-axes, which appear in a variety of shapes, might have

been used as clan-name insignias.15 Cao Dingyun WSH even suggests that the ancestors of

those clans which used a dagger-axe as a clan sign and pictographs with dagger-axe elements

during the Shang period belonged to the clans of the Xia state.16 Although he challenges the clan-name insignia theory that was first put forward by Guo Moruo ?ft W- ?? and followed

by many scholars, Xiaoneng Yang agrees that it suits a large portion of pictographs. He

further puts forward a two-stage theory on the evolution of the pictographs and pictorial

inscriptions: the first stage began in the prehistoric period, and the second stage dates from

7Jingmenshi Bowuguan fflfWt##lt&, Guodian Chumu zhujian $tf/?MHyrj M (Beijing, 1998), "Tang Yu zhi dao" BA2.M., p. 157, strip 9; "Yucong yi" rail % p. 194, strip 23; "Yucong san" iiH, p. 209, strip 5; and Ma

Chengyuan M&M, ed., Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhushu ?.M\$%}ffiWLWiiW%LYlM (Shanghai, 2002), vol. 2, pp. 165-166, strip 8, pp. 170-171, strip 11, p. 173, strip 13.

8 For yi [ a ], see Guodian Chumu zhujian, "Zhongxin zhi dao" !&{&2.M, p. 163, strip 8. For yi [a>'], see Guodian Chumu zhujian, "Ziyi" $8^, p. 129, strip 1; "Yucong yi," p. 198, strip 93; "Yucong san," p. 210, strips 24, 25, p. 211, strip 37; and Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhushu, "Jian dawang bohan" $? A .T-?fi ?, p. 196, strip 2;

"Cao Mo zhi zhen" H!ffi.3LM, p. 264, strip 33. For yi [3% + J~\, see Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhushu, "Ziyi" #8^, pp. 174-175, strip 1. 9 Xu Shen, Shuowen jiezi, cited as incorporated in the SWJZGL, v. 10, p. 347.

Liu E I'JÎ, Tieyun canggui HcH^H (Lithographic ed., 1904), 219.3; Dong Zuobin M.W%, ed., Yinxu wenzi

yibian ffli$L %?Z>Hi (1948; reprint, Taipei, 1994), no. 4604. 11 See Lin Yun WM, "Shuo qi, wo" eft lie $c, cited as incorporated in Jiagu wenzi gulin ?#^^li^, ed. Yu

Xingwu f ft7f and Yao Xiaosui #fc#ii (Beijing, 1996; hereafter cited as JGWZGL), v. 3, pp. 2431-2433; Li Shi

^H, "Shi e" If ?c, Jiagu wenzi congkao ̂it^t5?!!^ (Lanzhou, 1997), p. 121. 12 Chen Mengjia, Yinxu bud zongshu l&îhif^sE (Beijing, 1988), pp. 94-96. 13 See Chen Mengjia, Yinxu bud zongshu, pp. 158-159; Rao Zongyi H^6i, Yindai zhenbu renwu tongkao

fflifttir AÎM^, cited as incorporated in theJGWZGL, v. 3, p. 2428; Bai Yuzheng ftidf, "Qiwen juli jiaodu" ^ ;?; |l #ij f$ si, cited as incorporated in the JGWZGL, v. 3, p. 2428; Zhang Bingquan 3i3ft$I, Yinxu wenzi bingbian kaoshi WL^X^n^Û, cited as incorporated in the JGWZGL, v. 3, pp. 2428-2429.

14 See Qiu Xigui îiî, "Hanzi xingcheng wenti de chubu tansuo" M?-M$LfflM$}%R$?&i&, Zhongguo yuwen ÛSTBulfc 3(1978), pp. 165-166; William G. Boltz, The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System (New Haven, 1994), p. 48; Tang Lan f^'ffi identifies these two pictographs as jin Jx and yue E&; see his "Cong Dawenkou wenhua de taoqi wenzi kan woguo zuizao wenhua de niandai" f?X^XnXit^'^^'X^f-^'^^MM. ?-XikiftîX,

Guangming ribao 3fcTO$x July 14, 1977. 15 See Ding Shan Y\h,Jiaguwen suo jian shizu ji qi zhidu ^'u'JCBf^&MR^Mf^. (Beijing, 1956), pp. 93?99; William G. Boltz, The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System, p. 48; Xu Zuoyun (Cho-yun Hsu) fF-f^S, Xi Zhou shi WMIi (Beijing, 1994), p. 40.

16 Cao Dingyun, "Yindai zuhui 'ge' yu Xiaren houyi shizu" f&ftMWL^^'M.k'*&MfcM, Kaogu yu wenwu

^-Smc?} 1989.1: 72-79.



From Clan Manners to Ethical Obligation and Righteousness 3 5

the establishment of the dynasties around 2000 B.C.E. In the second stage, "when the alleged

clan signs became more diverse and pictographic, they reflected the increase in and greater

variety of groups, the popularisation and standardisation of certain sacrificial rituals and the

continued evolution of writing."17 The pictograph of wo might also have originally been a

kind of axe weapon used as clan-name insignia by some clans,18 and thus it was naturally

applied as 'we' or 'us' by chiefs of the clans to represent their groups. Then, at a later stage

it was incorporated into the writing system and became a common pronoun of first person.

As for the other constituent of yi, Xu Shen defines it as yang -?- (sheep). Duan Yucai (1735

1815) interprets yang as a symbol of good and beauty.19 Some modern scholars do not find

this interpretation satisfying.20 Inspired by Li Xiaoding's interpretation of the pictograph of

mei H (beauty)21 and based on an analysis of the pictograph of yi (Fig. II),22 Liu Xiang S'J M

explains its upper part as placing feathers on wo, which means to decorate the weapon.23 Xu

Jinxiong ft" i?. ft believes that yi was a kind of ritual weapon and its upper part symbolises decoration of feathers or a hook.24 Following their suggestions, We further elaborate that the

upper part of yi is a symbol for the feathers which are meant to decorate wo, the clan-name

insignia, so as to symbolise the awe-inspiring manners (weiyi & ft) of the clan.

Apart from graphical analysis, there is documental and archaeological evidence supporting

the interpretation of the upper part of yi as depicting feathers. First, a kind of sacrificial dance

involving the use of feathers is called Yi H or Yi III. The Jian M (development) hexagram in

the Zhouyi reads: "Nine at the top: the wild goose gradually draws near the land. Its feathers

can be used for the Yi dance. Good fortune" ? A, :M W\ fi* m, g M *S ffl J? fi, ̂f.25 Mao Qiling

17 Xiaoneng Yang, Reflections of Early China: Decor, Pictographs, and Pictorial Inscriptions (Seattle, 1999), pp. 17-18,

141, 148, 154, 101-102. 18 In the oracle bone inscriptions, wo $c is sometimes used as tribe name, and yi ti and several other compound

graphs with wo as etymon (*,?,f) are used as place names, which are also highly likely to have been tribe names; see Xu Zhongshu t& W f?, Jiaguwen zidian ?it3t^ A (Chengdu, 1998), pp. 13 79-13 84. In the Zhou dynasty, there

was still a Wo clan, as is seen in the Wo zu ding zhi $c ii J $P; see Zhang Shichao ?M ttt SI et al, Jinwen xingyi tongjie ?3t^HfflJ&? (Kyoto, 1995), PP- 2980-2984. 19 Duan Yucai SZESc, Shuowen jiezi Duanshi zhu Wi X ffl ? IS: R vi, cited as incorporated in SWJZGL, v. 10, p. 353

20 Li Xiaoding ^^'M,Jiagu wenzi jishiW'n'X^MW (Taipei, 1991), v. 4, p. 1323. Li Xiaoding says, "The upper part [of mei] does not derive from yang, but looks like a pictograph of a person

wearing feathers on the head as ornament. This is why it means 'beauty'. Since this graph is similar to yang, it was

wrongly transformed to yang" ?.^fVt?-, ^ & A rt S 33 $ fifo, $##ll?. \>XW^4-, Wl^%^4-^. See his Jiagu wenzi

jishi, v. 4, p. 1323. Wang Xiantang ilfi ^, Xu Zhongshu tl^ff, and Yao Xiaosui accept this suggestion. See Wang, "Shi you mei" ̂ SH, Zhongguo wenzi ^MX^F 35 (1970), p. 2; Xu, Jiaguwen zidian, p. 416; JGWZGL, v. 1, p. 224.

22 Dong Zuobin M.\^%, ed., Yinxu wenzi jiahian f&f&.SC^f^Wi (1948; reprint, Taipei, 1976), no. 3445.

23 Liu Xiang, Zhongguo chuantong jiazhiguan chanshixue 4JSf$^tMf^SJM^'f; (Shanghai, 1996), p. 112. 24 Xu Jinxiong, Zhongguo gudai shehui: Wenzi yu renleixue de toushi ̂M^iXU'lt: Jc?^AM^($M%l (Taipei,

1995), PP- 526, 548.

Wang Bi ? 3S3 (226?249) and Kong Yingda, Zhouyi zhengyi ffi H IE H, in Shisanjing zhushu + ZE M li H (Beijing, 1980), 5.63c; Richard Wilhelm, 77ze J c/zrn^ or Book of Changes, trans. Cary F. Baynes (Princeton, 1967), p. 208.

Wilhelm follows Hu Yuan's #3 IS (993-1059) and Cheng Xi's $M comments that "lu" (^ should be "yunlu" H8& and translates it as "cloud heights." Mao Qiling 3i nf ?? (1623?1716) and others do not agree with Hu and Cheng, but their suggestions of "e" W or "bei" B? do not seem to be convincing as well (Mao Qiling, Zhong shi Yi ffl&B, 22.i8a/b, SKQS; Gao Heng '&?, ed., Zhou yigujing jinzhu M^^M4"&., (Beijing, 1984), pp. 316-317). So here we still keep the original character "lu". This citation is from the line statements (xiaoci 5LWt) of the Jian hexagram. Scholars in general agree that in the Zhouyi, the hexagrams and their line statements are the earliest parts that

represent the accumulated experiences of divination of Western Zhou court scribes. See Edward L. Shaughnessy, "I ching," in Early Chinese Texts: a Bibliographical Guide, ed. Michael Loewe (Berkeley, 1993), pp. 217?219.



36 finhuafia and Kwok Pang-fei

explains ytM as a kind of instrument used in dance, which was made of feathers.26 However,

in ancient times, dances were often named after the instruments being used, so yi may also

mean a kind of sacrificial dance. As a matter of fact, among the sacrificial dances recorded in

the Zhouli Ml la,27 one is called Huang Jrl or Yi ii which was used in the sacrificial ceremony of praying for rain. The "Wushi" Hffl (Dance Masters) section in the Zhouli records,

"They direct the Huang dance and are dance leaders at the sacrificial ceremonies in times of

drought" Wi Je H, frfr W M -? 91 IL . Zheng Zhong % M explains: "The Huang dance is a dance in which dancers wear feather headdresses. It is also written as Huang or Yi" iS H m ?@ H, m ̂ Mi [33 + 3?], ̂H; "In the Huang dance, the dancers wear feather headdresses and decorate their clothes with halcyon plumes" ISf, KSIiil, *i??t %i28 Xu Shen also explains Huang [^B + S] as "a kind of dance. The dancers wear feather headdresses when making sacrifice to the stars."29 In the OBI, huang Jfe is written as in Fig.

Ill, which some scholars believe to be a pictograph of a feathered headdress or a crown.30

Archaeological discoveries also support this interpretation. For example, as is well known, a

major feature of the Liangzhu culture is the theriomorphic-mask motif. The Liangzhu jade

artifacts, especially cong jade-cubes (yucong 3? W), are dominated by theriomorphic masks

(Fig. IV).31 The typical components of these masks are a frontal face, two striking eyes, and

a feathered crown. Scholars in general agree that cong jade-cubes were ritual artifacts, and the

theriomorphic masks represented deities. As the theriomorphic masks are strikingly similar in

style, and all the cong cubes are engraved with these masks without exception, some scholars

suggest that it represented a unified deity which was close to the Shang concept of a High

26 Mao Qiling, Zhongshi Yi, 22.i8a/b. 7 Early modern scholars had in general agreed that the Zhouli was a product of the Warring States period (for

a summary of the scholarship, see William G. Boltz, "Chou li," in Early Chinese Texts, pp. 25-29). Recent studies, however, have suggested an earlier dating. After a comparative study of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions and the Zhouli, Zhang Yachu "M&ftl and Liu Yu i'JM assert: "The main body of the Zhouli is consistent with or close to the Western Zhou governmental organization as seen in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou"; see Zhang

Yachu and Liu Yu, "Qianyan" mf W, Xi Zhou jinwen guanzhi yanjiu M M i? X IT M fijf %; (Beijing, 1986), p. 3. From a synthetic examination of archeology and literature, Liu Qiyu S'J^S^f concludes that the Zhouli is a compilation of Western Zhou sources concerning governmental organisation compiled no later than the Spring and Autumn

period, and although materials of the Warring States and Han were added later, the bulk of it is a reliable Zhou text; see Liu Qiyu, "Zhouli zhenwei zhi zhen ji qishu xiecheng de zhenshi yiju" J^IS Mik3i ?R % m 'M f& 1%%Mf? Ji, in Gushi xubianl^?.M?%; (Beijing, 1991), pp. 619-653. 28

Zheng Xuan andJia Gongyan WkM (fl. 650-655), Zhouli zhushu W\W3M, "Diguan situ: Wushi" itfet^: H^, in Shisanjingzhushu, 12.721b; "Chunguan zongbo: Yueshi" W'B'^fO: ^Bfp, 23.793b. In the ShimingM%* (Congshu jicheng chubian Hft^ft $c!U$9, 1.1b), Liu Xi 2'JSR glosses the character yu M (rain) as yu 33 (feather), suggesting that when bird feathers are in motion, they will disperse like rain. Liu Xiaonan I'J^l^ suggests that Liu Xi's gloss originated from matching the sound yu with the element water in the five-phase thought, with yu representing the sound corresponding to water ("'Yu, yu ye' yinxun yuyuan bianzheng" "M, 33ife # ?Wlu M?)\ IE, Dalu zazhi AI^UpS

91.4, 1995: 35-36). F Salviati speculates that these feathers represent the antecedents of feathered immortals in Han art ("Bird and Bird-Related Motives in the Iconography of the Liangzhu Culture," Revista degi Studi Orientali

58.1?2, 1994, pp. 133?160), but Roel Sterckx thinks this argument is difficult to corroborate; see The Animal and the Daemon in Early China (Albany, 2002), pp. 129, 287m 31. About the relationship between feathers, dances, and

rain-praying ceremonies, see also Marcel Granet, Festivals and Songs of Ancient China (London, 1932), pp. 152-155, 170m 2.

29 Xu Shen, Shuowen jiezi, cited as incorporated in SWJZGL, v. 4, p. 199. 30 See Wang Rongbao ffi?*, "Shi huang" M M, Guoxue jikan ifffiJ 1.2 (1923), p. 4; Li Xueqin ^#iJ,

"Lun xin chu Dawenkou wenhua taoqi fuhao" f&ffliX^tnJCit^^W^, Wenwu z?tJ 12 (1987), pp. 75-85. 31 Zhejiangsheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo Fanshan kaogudui W\ tt % X $) =*? ^f $f % ff\ M iii =*? "fi" W*, "Zhejiang

Yuhang Fanshan Liangzhu mudi fajue jianbao" WiK??tfifoih&%Mi&^MM% Wenwu 3ttJ 1 (1988) pp. 10-29,

Fig. 20; Zhejiangsheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo W\fLiftJCl$l3ff~?'ffifLff\, "Yuhang Yaoshan Liangzhu wenhua jitan yizhi fajue jianbao" & tfi % ib&miCik^ i? it fckMiS*B, Wenwu 1 (1988), pp. 36-47.



From Clan Manners to Ethical Obligation and Righteousness 37

God.32 Those masks are quite similar to the pictograph of huang 3L33 This supports Zheng

Zhong's explanation about the Huang dance. The fact that this dance is also called Yi it or

Yi IS (the latter was derived from the former, and the two characters were interchangeable

in early texts; see below) hints that the graph yi it is related to feathers.34

Second, archaeological artifacts also attest the relationship between feathers, clan signs,

and weapons. The theriomorphic mask of the Liangzhu tribes with a feather crown worn

on the head of a deity is also found on jade-axes excavated at Liangzhu sites (Fig. V).35

Some Liangzhu jade-axes are simply decorated with feather markings.36 Many Shang

and Zhou bronze weapons are also decorated with theriomorphic masks, which wear

feathered headdresses or feather crowns (Fig. VI and Fig. VII).37 Further dagger-axes,

spears and halberds of pre-Qin times are often decorated with feathers (Fig. VIII).38 These

archaeological artifacts demonstrate the pictographic structure of yi.

To summarise, the upper part of yi may be interpreted as a depiction of feathers, which

denotes placing decoration on wo, the clan-name insignia. This interpretation is in accordance

with Xu Shen's definition of yt as "one's own awe-inspiring bearing". Wo was originally

a kind of axe weapon, so it could inspire awe; yi is meant to symbolise the decoration

on wo, so it could inspire a sense of demeanour and beauty. In addition, considering the

relationship between the feather symbolism and the theriomorphic mask, the implication

of awe-inspiring bearing becomes more apparent. Nevertheless, just as wo was only used to

represent the "we-group" at the beginning, yi might first have been only used to represent the

"awe-inspiring manners" of the clan or of the chief of the clan (who was the representative

of the clan), not of the individual. In addition, in ancient times chiefs of clans were often also

sacrificial priests, and the performance of sacrifices was always accompanied by songs and

dances.39 Yfs relationship with dance may also originally have represented the "awe-inspiring

manners" of clan dances.

Regarding the significance of yi it, later written as yi fit, which is listed in the ren A

(man) section in the Shuowen jiezi and is defined as "regulations and shapes of awe-inspiring

32 Liu Bing i'J^, "Liangzhu wenhua yucong chutan" tk^Xit^HM^JlW;, Wenwu 2 (1990), pp. 30-37. 33 Du Jinpeng tt^ll, "Shuo huang" tftJlL, Wenwu 7 (1994), pp. 55-63. Hayashi Minao #B^^c has argued

that the feathered headdress in Liangzhu, Longshan, and Yin artifacts was related to rain magic; see his "Zhongguo gudai yiwu shang suo biaoshi de qi zhi tuxiangxing biaoxian" 41 Iii "S" f ? il $J -t$x3<7F$}M.2-Mi$t.$E3iM, tr. Yang

Meili mil III, Gugong xueshujikan $Tga # tfj ^ T'J 9.2 (1991): 31?73. However, if the theriomorphic mask represented the deity or High God, its power and function would be much complicated. 34 Gao Heng suggests that feathers were used in gentle dances (wenwu 'XW), and shields and axes were used in

martial dances (wuwu &W); see his Zhouyigujingjinzhu, p. 317. However, according to pre-Qin texts, there was no

such definite differentiation. For example, the Wan H dance was a martial dance (See Zuo Qiuming iEXrM, Du

Yu ttBI, and Kong Yingda, Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhengyi # #C 2E'ff IE H, the 28 year of Duke Zhuang, in Shisanjing zhushu, 10.1781c), but its performers danced with feathers in their hands (See Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhengyi, the $t year of Duke Yin, 3.1727c).

35 Zhejiangsheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo Fanshan kaogudui, "Zhejiang Yuhang Fanshan Liangzhu mudi fajue

jianbao," pp. 15?16, Fig. 26. See Zhejiangsheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, "Yuhang Yaoshan Liangzhu wenhua jitan yizhi fajue jianbao,"

pp. 39-40, Fig- 16. 37 Wang Yutong T. H f&, "Jingmen chutu yijian tongge" ffl PI LB +.

- ft"- M ~%, Wenwu 1963.1: pp. 64-65; Zhongguo

shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo 4^ II ?t II" 14-fH& ^ ^? #f flffi, Yinxu fajue baogao HMftOTR n (Beijing, 1987), Fig. 188: 10; Hayashi Minao #Q^^, Chugoku kogyoku no kenkyu + M ̂ 3E <D ff % (Tokyo, 1991), Fig. 4: 85, 4: 97.

38 Hayashi Minao, Chugoku In Shujidai no buki 4*Is9%x MlB#iX<D jj?2? (Tokyo, 1995), pp. 99-103, Fig. 113: 3. For detailed discussion of this issue, see Marcel Granet, Festivals and Songs of Ancient China, (London, 1932)

pp. 147-206.




bearing" Hife, AM^LJ&tfl,40 which is very close to Xu Shen's definition of yi H as "one's own awe-inspiring bearing". Although he does not clearly indicate that yHH is derived from

yi H, Xu's definition of yl\9k shows the initial relationship between the two characters. The term weiyi, "awe-inspiring bearing", is an important term in the Zhou dynasty and appears

frequently in early writings. It appears fifteen times in the Shijing W M.41 The Liji ISIS

records: "There are three hundred types of rituals and three thousand types of awe-inspiring

bearing" IS Hi H If, ilHf;42 "There are three hundred types of regular rituals and three

thousand types of etiquette" ISHH, ft IS Hi1.43 The Dadai liji ;? JRIBiB records these as

Confucius' words, "As for the three hundred types of rituals, I shall strive my best to learn

[all of them]; as for the three thousand types of awe-inspiring bearing (weiyi), it is difficult

[to know all of them] ",44 According to Zheng Xuan's annotation, the "three thousand

types of awe-inspiring bearing" or the "three thousand types of etiquette" refer to the rites

recorded in the Yili fH IS,45 which consist largely, though not exclusively, of detailed and

specific descriptions of the ritual ceremonies, etiquette, and bearing of a shi dr, a low-ranking

member of the aristocracy.46 The Zuozhuan &W records that, in the thirty-first year of Duke

Xiang, when the Marquis of Wei asked Beigong Wenzi 4k t^^C^f to define weiyi, Beigong answered:

Having majesty that inspires awe is what we call dignity (wei $). Presenting a pattern that induces

imitation is what we call bearing (yi fi). When a ruler has the awe-inspiring bearing of a ruler,

his ministers fear and love him, imitate and resemble him, so that he can hold possession of his

state, and his fame continues through long ages. When a minister has the awe-inspiring bearing

of a minister, his inferiors fear and love him, so that he can keep his office, preserve his clan,

and rightly order his family. All classes downwards are like this, and it is by this that high and

low are made firm in their relations to one another. A song of Wei states, "My awe-inspiring

bearing is mixed with ease, and cannot be made the subject of remark". This shows that ruler and

minister, high and low, father and son, elder and younger brother, husband and wife, the great

and the minor, all have an awe-inspiring bearing. ... Therefore, a gentleman inspires awe when

occupying a high position and produces love by his beneficence; his advancing and retiring are

according to rule; his intercourse with others affords a pattern; his countenance and steps excite

the gaze; the affairs he conducts serve as laws; his virtuous actions lead to imitation; his voice and

air diffuse joy; his movements and doings are elegant; his words are distinct and brilliant. When

thus he brings himself near to those below him, he is said to have an awe-inspiring bearing.47

Beigong's long speech defines the content, types, and ethical significance of weiyi. The

content of weiyi includes one's bearing, behaviour, conduct, speech, and even voice. The

types of weiyi vary with one's role in family and society; this answers why there were as many

40 This is a citation in Xu Kai's &$? Shuowen xizhuan sft3tff #; the current version of Shuowen only explains yi as 'regulations' St&; cited as incorporated in SWJZGL, v. 7, p. 184.

41 Maoshi, no. 26, 220, 247, 249, 253, 254, 256, 260, 264, 274, 299.

42 Liji zhengyi, "Zhongyong" ^iff, 31.1633c.

43 Liji zhengyi, "Li qi" M2?, 10.1435b.

44 Gao Ming Mm, ed., Dadai Liji jinzhu jinyi kWM.^^^.^% (Taipei, 1984), 60.235. 45

Liji zhengyi, "Li qi," 10.1435b. 46 See William Boltz, "I li," in Early Chinese Texts, pp. 234-243. 47

Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhengyi, 40.20i6b/c; James Legge, The Chinese Classics (Taipei, 1994), 5.566?567.




as three thousand types of weiyi. The ethical significance of weiyi concerns the maintenance

of the continuation of kinship groups and the social hierarchy.

All these three aspects of weiyi are closely related with the sense of ethical obligation, another extended meaning of yi it. Xunzi ^ ~f clearly defines yi as ethical obligation:

Man's strength is not equal to that of the ox, and his running is not equal to that of the horse,

yet the ox and horse are employed by him. How is this? I say that men are able to live in kinship

groups (qun S),48 whereas others are not. How is it that men are able to live in kinship groups? I

say that it is because of their social distinctions (fen ft). How is that the social distinctions can be

carried out? I say that it is because of [ethical] obligations (yi il).49

The reason men could differentiate themselves from animals is that men were able to organise

kinship groups with distinctions that "noble and humble have their ranking and elder and

younger maintain their disparity" JtlSW^f, H?ilW#..50 The key for maintaining these

distinctions of human relations was yi, ethical obligation, as Xunzi further illustrates: "To

regard the noble as noble, the superior as superior, the virtuous as virtuous, the aged as aged,

and the elder as elder -

all these are the ethical relations of obligations" MM, ^^, ? H, ^^,

##, it^Lfi%lll.51 The Liji defines yi in the same way:

What are called human obligations? The father is kind, and the son is filial; the elder brother

is nice, and the younger one is fraternal; the husband is dutiful, and the wife is obedient; the

elder is gracious, and the younger is submissive; the sovereign is humane, and the subject is loyal. These ten are called human obligations. Mil!AH? XB, f^; flk, ??; km, ??H; UK, ?m; Mir.,

&&.-x-%mzAm.52

What the gentleman defines as obligation is that both noble and humble have their tasks in the

world, m-fzmmm^, ti^ns^^K53

[Duke Zhou] intended to let King Cheng know the obligations of father and son, lord and

subject, and elder and younger. [ M & ] '& ̂ $ ."-F: ?n X -f 8 E ^ #J Z H til.54

Thus, yi is a set of human obligations and ethical standards which fit one's role and status in

the kinship group as father or son, elder or younger, lord or subject, or in other words, it is

the conventional norms of right conduct concerning the relationship between an individual

and his group. As Peter Boodberg insightfully suggests: " Y/ seems to be contrasted to jen,

...

as operative in a narrower sphere of obligations, that of one's immediate loyalties to family,

elders, feudal lords, companions, fellow-clansmen, in short, to the 'we' group, rather than in

The Liji records, "What is the mourning of three years for? It is for accordance with human feelings and setting up the regulations of rites, so that the kinship groups (qun) can be exhibited and the near and distant relatives or the noble and humble members can be ranked". Zheng Xuan explains: "Qun refers to kinfolk" MMM2.M$L. Kong Yingda annotates: "Qun means the kinship within the five grades of mourning attire" $ if II SB 2. IS tfe (Liji zhengyi, 58.ia-b). The five grades of mourning attire include nine generations?from a man's great-great-grandfather to his

great-great-grandson)?and three clans?father's clan, mother's clan, and wife's clan. For a detailed discussion of the term qun, see Jinhua Jia, An Interpretation of'Shi keyi qun,' T'oung Pao 87 (2001): 1?13.

49 Wang Xianqian 4~:5fcit, ed., Xunzijijie ^^^M (Beijing, 1988), "Wangzhi" '+:$!!, 5.164.

50 Xunzijijie, "Li lun" W.Wk, 13.347; "Fu guo" H1^, 6.179.

51 Xunzijijie, "Daliie" X?&, 19.491.

52 Liji zhengyi, "Li yun" Mil, 9.1422c.

Liji zhengyi, "Biao ji" ^bE, 32.1640c. Liji zhengyi, "Wenwang shizi" ~X -Hltt^, 20.1404c.




the realm of broader human contracts encompassing the 'you' and 'they' groups."55 Some

scholars follow Boodberg's argument and interpret yi in terms of role obligation, as A. C.

Graham defines yi as "the conduct fitting to one's role or status, for example as father or son,

ruler or minister".56 Graham further cites the Han Feizi tt #T to explain yi's relationship

with its cognate yi ]=?:

"Right" [yi il] belongs to the service of minister to lord and inferior to superior, the degrees of

father and son or noble and base, the dealings of friends and acquaintances, the portions of kin

and stranger as insider and outsider. When minister serves lord and inferior cherishes superior, son serves father and base respects noble, friends and acquaintances help each other, and kinsman

and stranger are treated as insider and outsider, each of these in the manner fitting to him, "right" is said of the fittingness [yi "a].57

Nevertheless, we should also note that these role obligations were further extended to

represent the general social standards of right conduct "encompassing the 'you' and 'they'

groups" during the Warring States period at the latest. For example, in the famous debate

between Gaozi and Mengzi, when Gaozi defined both "treating the elders of Chu like

elders and treating my own elders like elders" as yi H and Mengzi actually agreed with this

definition,58 yi had become a general set of social standards and connoted the meaning of

righteousness. This semantic extension is also embodied in the concept of zunxian VR,

respecting the virtuous, which was popular during that period. In both the Liji and the

bamboo manuscript Tang Yu zhi dao i8f H 2, il (Way of Yao and Shun) discovered from

Guodian, the authors define ren i~, humaneness, as "to love one's kinsman" (aiqin fi M) and

yi IS as "to respect the virtuous": "Humaneness means human, and the most important

thing in humaneness is to love one's kinsman. Righteousness means fittingness, and the most

important thing in righteousness is to respect the virtuous" ̂#, Aife, IS^^C. H#, JEtfe, M-MM A.59 The bamboo manuscript further stresses the concept of respecting the virtuous

by illustrating the legends of Yao % and Shun ̂ abdicating and handing over their crowns

to the virtuous (shanrang W IS):

To love one's kinsman and to respect the virtuous. To love one's kinsman, therefore there is filial

piety; to respect the virtuous, therefore there is abdication and handing over one's crown to the

virtuous. . .. Filial piety is the utmost humaneness, and handing over one's crown to the virtuous

is the ultimate righteousness. %&% %. M$#, 3?gift$. . . . #, f.Z%&. W, itSfe60

55 Peter Boodberg, "The Semasiology of Some Primary Confucian Concepts," Selected Works of Peter Boodberg, comp. Alvin Cohen (Berkley, 1979), p. 39.

56 A. C Graham, Disputers of the Tao (La Salle, 1989), p. 11. See also William G. Boltz, "Review of Richett, Guanzi," Journal of American Oriental Society 106 (1986) 4, p. 844; Heiner Roetz, Confucian Ethics of the Axial Age: A Reconstruction under the Aspect of the Breakthrough toward Postconventional Thinking (New York, 1993), p. 113.

57 Wang Xianshen .T.5fc1K, Han Feizi jijie $t#^MM (Xuxiu Siku quanshu 0&M?#), 6.ib-2a; Graham,

Disputers of the Tao, p. 111. 58 Mengzi, 6A4.

Liji zhengyi, "Zhongyong" ^M, 52.401b; Guodian Chumu zhujian, 157. In the Liji, "aiqin" is written as

"qinqin" IRIS, regarding one's kinsman as kinsman. 60 Guodian Chumu zhujian, 157; Liao Mingchun 0^3#, Xinchu zhujian shilun MttifiWltttfe (Taipei, 2001), pp.

24-26.




Mengzi also emphasises that to respect the virtuous means "the Son of Heaven should regard

a common man as a friend" ^TMJK^ and "the superior respects the inferior" ?% F.61

This concept challenged the old role-obligations and "encompassing the 'you' and 'they'

groups", and therefore caused some doubts and oppositions. For example, both Xunzi and

Han Feizi denounce the stories that Yao and Shun handed over their crowns to the virtuous

as "false sayings" 0W and "against the obligations of lord and subject" Si"Ei^.62 In

order to refute this kind of doubt and opposition, Mengzi stresses the compatibility of the

two concepts: "To regard the noble as noble and to respect the virtuous represent the same

obligation/righteousness" MM, ^R, Kit tfe.63 The author(s) of the Way of Yao and Shun

also unify the two concepts in the rubric of ren (humaneness) and yi (righteousness): "To

love one's kinsman but forget the virtuous, this is humane but not righteous. To respect

the virtuous but to abandon one's kinsman, this is righteous but not humane" ffflSIl,

In conclusion, yi m was originally a pictograph that symbolised decorating wo S?, a kind

of axe weapon which might have been used as clan-name insignia by some clan groups, with

feathers. From this basic significance, it evolves into two interrelated branches of meaning.

The first is the 'awe-inspiring manners' of a clan, which is later gradually extended to indicate

the stratified bearing and etiquette of clan members, and eventually, of society as a whole.

The second is clan 'obligation', which is also extended to indicate the stratified obligations

and righteous conducts of all members of society. Since both 'awe-inspiring bearing' and

'obligation' are originally prescriptions for shaping characters, motivating one to behave, act,

feel, and desire in the proper ways, with 'awe-inspiring bearing' emphasising the liturgical

side and 'obligation' the ethical side, and both are determined by one's role in the kinship

group and society and regulated to sustain the blood lineage and social hierarchy, they are

intimately related to one another and originated from the same character.

The first branch of meaning, which seems to be more primitive than the second, is later

written as yi fit. In the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou to the Spring-Autumn

periods and the excavated bamboo scripts of the Warring States period, the sense of 'awe

inspiring bearing' is represented by the character yi il or its loan words and variant forms

of wo ft, yi [a], yi [a?-], and yi [^?],65 and y/fH is not universally present in extant pre-Qin

inscriptions and manuscripts.66 Thus, the separation of yi il and yf fH seems to have happened

quite late, perhaps in the early Han.

61 Mengzi, 5B3.

62 Xunzi jijie, "Zhenglun" lEifo, 12.331-34; Han Feiji jijie, "Zhongxiao" &#, 20.1a. 63 Mengzi, 5B3. Guodian Chumu zhujian, p. 157; Liao Mingchun, Xinchu zhujian shilun, 25. For example, see Zhongguo shekeyuan kaogu yanjiusuo ^ll3tL^4l^^^fiJF^#?, Yin Zhou jinwen jicheng

WiW\&~%1^$L (Shanghai, 1984), No. 4170, mid-Western Zhou; No. 238, late Western Zhou; No. 2811, mid- to late Spring-Autumn period; No. 6010, late Spring-Autumn; Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhushu, vol. 1, pp. 151, 177, 192, 195, 198; vol. 2, pp. 166, 170, 173; vol. 4, p. 196; Guodian Chumu zhujian, pp. 129-31.

66 He Linyi fa#Mi? reads a character from the unearthed Houma mengshu HJ3?]&1lr (late Spring-Autumn period) as yf fit, but scholars in general are still uncertain about this character. See He, Zhanguoguwen zidian WM^^t^^k

(Beijing, 1998), p. 857; Shanxi sheng wenwu gongzuo weiyuanhui ill W W3t$} T.fN;Hft#, Houma mengshu ̂-l^t

(Beijing, 1976), p. 360.




Appendix

Fig. I Fig. II Fig. Ill

Fig. IV Fig. V

Fig. VI Fig. VII Fig. VIII



From Clan Manners to Ethical Obligation and Righteousness: A New Interpretation of the Term yi

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