Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异)

Since Halloween is this Saturday, I thought I'd talk about Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异), a collection of nearly 500 supernatural stories written by the Chinese author Pu Songling (蒲松龄) during the early Qing Dynasty (late 17th-18th century). While the stories are short and entertaining, they often contain moral lessons or social commentary. Here is one story...

L. A FLOOD

IN the twenty-first year of K’ang Hsi there was a severe drought, not a green blade appearing in the parched ground all through the spring and well into the summer: On the 13th of the 6th moon a little rain fell, and people began to plant their rice. On the 18th there was a heavy fall, and beans were sown.

Now at a certain village there was an old man, who, noticing two bullocks fighting on the hills, told the villagers that a great flood was at hand, and forthwith removed with his family to another part of the country. The villagers all laughed at him; but before very long rain began to fall in torrents, lasting all through the night, until the water was several feet deep, and carrying away the houses. Among the others was a man, who, neglecting to save his two children, with his wife assisted his aged mother to reach a place of safety, from which they looked down at their old home, now only an expanse of water, without hope of ever seeing the children again. When the flood had subsided, they went back, to find the whole place a complete ruin; but in their own house they discovered the two boys playing and laughing on the bed as if nothing had happened. Some one remarked that this was a reward for the filial piety of the parents. It happened on the 20th of the 6th moon.

A thought for the day...

"All existing things are really one. We regard those that are beautiful and rare as valuable, and those that are ugly as foul and rotten. The foul and rotten may come to be transformed into what is rare and valuable, and the rare and valuable into what is foul and rotten."

-Zhuangzi (庄子, 369-286 B.C.E. )

Zhuangzi was an influential philosopher that lived during the Warring States Period. His view on life could be considered pessimistic; as life is limited, Zhuangzi saw it foolish to pursue knowledge (something unlimited) in an impermanent existence. For Zhuangzi, knowledge is relative, i.e. one perceives things differently depending on their role in the world. For example, in the fourth section of "The Great Happiness", Zhuangzi expresses pity to a skull he sees lying at the side of the road. Zhuangzi laments that the skull is now dead, but the skull retorts, "How do you know it's bad to be dead?"

Another famous parable that Zhuangzi wrote of is typically referred to as "Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly" (莊周夢蝶 Zhuāng Zhōu mèng dié):

"Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi. Between Zhuangzi and a butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things."

Although considered a Daoist philosopher, Zhuangzi knew little about Daoism himself. His ideas pertaining to relativism and the impermanence of things had a strong influence on the Chinese school of Chán (or Zen in Japanese) Buddhism.

Here is a link to Zhuangzi's famous self-titled work: http://www.daoisopen.com/ZhuangziTranslation.html

Thousand Character Classic (千字文)

The Thousand Character Classic (千字文) is a Chinese poem used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children. It contains exactly one thousand unique characters. It is said that Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty (r. 502-549) made 周興嗣 (Chow Hing-Ji) compose this poem for his prince to practice calligraphy. The original title of the poem was 《次韻王羲之書千字》 and it is sung in the same way in which children learning Latin alphabet writing do with the "alphabet song".

Here is a link to the complete essay, available in Chinese characters, Pinyin, and English:

http://www.angelfire.com/ns/pingyaozhuan/tce.html

☯Daoism (道教): A short introduction

Mohism (墨家)

Founded by Mo Di (usually known as Mozi), Mohism, or Moism, is a Chinese philosophy that evolved at the same time as Confucianism in the Warring States Period (475-221BC). Mo Di's philosophy was described in the book Mozi, compiled by his students from lecture notes.

Mohism and Confucianism are considered renowned schools in ancient Chinese philosophy. Though also rooted in the cultural tradition of the Western Zhou Dynasty (about 11th century -771BC) like Confucianism, Mohism focused on the importance and methods of "doing good for the society" and "removing the bad things from society."

The theoretic premise for this notion is Mozi's famous thought of universal love -- an equal affection for all individuals. This universal love is what makes people good. The advocacy of universal love was a target of attack by other schools, most notably the Confucians, who believed, for example, that children should hold a greater love for their parents than for random strangers.

Meanwhile, Mozi, the founder of Mohism, thinks that the wisdom and power of heaven and god greatly surpasses that of ancient saints. Heaven can punish and is a force to encourage moral righteousness.

In Mohism, morality is not defined by tradition, but rather by a constant moral guide that parallels utilitarianism. Traditionalism is inconsistent, and humans need an extra-traditional, supernatural guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general utility.

The social philosophy of Mohists is aggressive and enterprising. Their usual attitude is "If I can't do it, who can?" Not only do they discuss universal love and condemn aggression in the relationships among countries, families, and individuals, they also participate in various anti-war movements and social constructions. Mohist philosophers also strive to realize their ideal of an equal and harmonious world. From the perspective of a common citizen, they also contribute to the simple and conservative trend in Chinese philosophy by underlying thrift, prudence, and stopping waste.

Self-Introduction

Xi'an Forest of Stone Tablets (碑林)

The Xi'an Stone Tablets Museum (碑林) contains the largest collection of stone tablets. The museum houses over 3000 stone tablets with a history of over 900 years, and these are all treasures of ancient China's calligraphy masterpieces. The museum also has some of the best of the Han and Tang Dynasty stone calligraphy carvings, and it also contains the largest stone tablet library of ancient historical records.

The museum was founded in 1087, and contains various stone tablets dating as far back as the Han Dynasty (206BC). The museum is world famous for preserving ancient Chinese stone tablets which record historical events, and cultural developments within China.

All together, there are 3,000 tablets in the museum, which is divided into seven exhibitions halls, which mainly display works of calligraphy, painting and historical records.

The Analects of Confucius (论语)

The Analects of Confucius (论语) was written between 479 BCE - 221 BCE and serves as a central text of Confucianism. It is a collection of recollections / stories pertaining to Confucius by his former students. Through these stories, one can see Confucius' ideas on a wide range of topics, e.g. propriety, filial piety, governance, morality, etc.

Prior to the rise & creation of the PRC in 1949, the Analects were studied by most Chinese students in mainland China, and one was not considered "educated" unless he or she had read Confucius' works.

There is a great respect for educators in China, and this tradition dates back to Confucius.

Excerpt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8i3q5LyiKs

Four Great Classic Novels (四大名著)

The Four Great Classical Novels, or Four Major Classical Novels (Chinese: 四大名著) of Chinese literature, are the four novels commonly counted by scholars to be the greatest and most influential in classical Chinese fiction. Well known to every Chinese reader in the 20th century, they are not to be confused with the Four Books of Confucianism. These books are considered to be the pinnacle of China's achievement in classical novels, influencing the creation of many stories, theater, movies, games, and other entertainment throughout China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

In chronological order, they are:

* Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義) (14th century)
* Water Margin (水滸傳) (14th century),
* Journey to the West (西遊記) (16th century)
* Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢) (1791)