Plato and Confucius on Poetry

8/10/2019 Plato and Confucius on Poetry

1/30

In Quest of Harmony: Plato and Confucius on PoetryAuthor(s): Zong-qi CaiSource: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 49, No. 3, Human "Nature" in Chinese Philosophy: APanel of the 1995 Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies (Jul., 1999), pp. 317-345Published by: University of Hawai'i PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1399898.

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2/30

IN

QUEST

OF HARMONY: PLATO

AND

CONFUCIUS ON POETRY

Zong-qi

ai

University

f llinoist

Urbana-Champaign

Plato

427?-347?

B.C.)

nd Confucius

ca.

551-479

B.C.)

ived

only

bout half

century

part,

ut

n

two

culturally

nrelated orlds. he

influencef these wo

thinkers

n humankindan be measured

nly

on

the

grandest

cale of time nd

space.

For bout wo nd

a

half

millennia,

he

houghts

fPlato

nd Confucius ave

shaped

all

aspects

of life

n

those

two

largest

ultural

pheres

hat re

known,

respectively,

s

the

West

nd the

East. o

compare

latonic

nd Confucian

hought

is to embark

n an

expedition

ack to

the

fountainheads

f

Western nd

Eastern

cultures.

y

omparing

he deasofPlato nd

Confucius,

e can

observe imilarities

and differencesetween hese ulturesttheirnfancyndbetter nderstandhy

the wo

great

raditions

ould

develop

s

they

id. For

his

eason,

lato-Confucius

comparisons

bound

n

the

works

f

comparative

hilosophy.'

While

hese om-

parisons

over broad ntellectual

pectrum,

hey

eldom

xplore

he

topic

ofthe

aestheticsf

poetry.

o

bring

ue attentiono this

opic,

would

ike o consider he

two thinkers'iewsof

poetry

n

relationo their roader

ducational, thical,

nd

philosophical

oncerns.

The

respective

heoriesf

poetry

fPlato nd Confuciuss we understand

hem

today

re

very

much

he

products

f enturies

f

ritical

nterp'retation.

either lato

nor

Confucius

onsciously

et ut oformulate

theory

f

poetry.

hey

oth ame

to

discusspoetrynthecourseof conversationsr "dialogues"with heir riendsr

pupils.

lato'snotion

f

poetry

s not

xactly

he

ame

as

Confucius',

ith

egard

o

both

ts

ntological

mplications

nd

ts

eferential

cope.2

For

Plato,

oetry

s

a

very

broad

ategory

or

hose

works,

omposedby

human

eings

r

thedivine

muses,

that re

usually

hymed,

etto

music,

nd cast

n

the

form

f n

epic

or a

tragedy.

Confucius

id not ntertainuch

generalized

otion f

poetry,

ordid he discuss

so extensive

range

f works

n

the

Analects

Lunyu

)

as

Platodid

in his

dia-

logues.3

onfucius' ttentions fixed oton

poetry

n

general,

ut

on

the Book of

Poetry

Shi

ing

4.)

(hereafter

he

Poetry),

he arliest hinese

nthology

f

ncient

poems

nd

songs.

Ever

incethe

Han, however,

onfucius'

emarksn the

Poetry

havecustomarilyeenconsideredo be commentsnpoetryngeneral s much s

on a

single nthology.

hanks

o

this

ngenious

dentificationf

the

Poetry

ith

poetry,4

onfucius'

emarks

ave become an

invaluable ource of

ideas about

poetry

nd have taken

n

phenomenal ignificance

s

a coherent

heory

f

that

subject.

In

the Western ritical

radition,

lato's conversational emarks n

poetry

have

undergone

similar

rocess

of transformationnto coherent

heory

f

poetry.

Proceeding

o the discussion

below,

we willsee that he theories f

poetry

f Plato

PhilosophyEast& West Volume49, Number3 July 999 317-345 317

?

1999

by

University

f

Hawai'i

Press

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3/30

and Confucius arrantlose

comparison,

n

terms ot

nly

f

deas

expressed

ut

also

of

their

asting

nfluence

n

the Western nd Chinese ritical raditionss a

whole.

TheEducational

ystems

fPlato nd

Confucius:

heCultivationf ntellectualnd

Moral

Harmony

ForbothPlato nd

Confucius,

oetry

s

not

pure

belletristic

ursuiteparate

rom

intellectual, oral,

nd utilitarianoncerns.

ather,

t s an

integralart

f

broad

system

f education

hey

ach

seek

to

institute

n

the

hope

of

producing

n elite

educated lass to

run

n ideal

government

f the

best,

he

wisest,

nd the most

virtuous.5

he modelmembersf his lite lassfor

lato re

philosophers

rwould-

be

philosophers,

nd

for

onfucius,

unzi

Rf

or

gentlemen.

incethe heories f

poetry

f

Plato

nd

Confuciusre formulated

n

the broader ontext f their is-

cussions

f

ducation,

brief

omparison

f

heir ducational

ystems

s

necessary.

The coreof Plato's

ducational

ystem

s

a

rigorous,ighly rogrammatic

ulti-

vation f intellectualarmony

hrough

music nd

physical

raininggymnastics),

intellectualtudies

mathematics,

eometry,

nd

astronomy),

nd

pure reasoning

(dialectic)-a

lifelongnterprise

o

be

completed tep-by-stepy

the

young

uard-

ians

of

his deal

republic.

Theeducation

f

young

uardians

ust

egin

with

music,

which lato

xpressly

claims

o

nclude iterature.

his

s because

young

uardians

re too weak

bodily

o

developrhythm

nd

harmony

hroughhysical raining.

hat

omes ftermusic s

gymnastics.

f

numerous

ossibleways

of

training

he

body,

Plato

recommends

militaryymnastic,

haracterized

y

the endurance f coarse

food and

physical

hardship.

or

him,

his

imple ymnastic

s the

parent

f

health

n he

body

s

simple

music s that f emperancenthe oul.6A manwho has beenthroughuch gym-

nastic omes o

possess

not

nly

n excellent

hysique

ut

lso

the

wisdom f not

wishing

o

lengthen

is

own life

eyond

he

point

f tsusefulness

o the

public.7

Emphasizing proper

alance between

gymnastics

nd music

education,

lato

notes that

he

mere thlete ecomes oo muchof a

savage,

nd that he mere

musician

s

melted nd softened

eyond

what s

good

for

im."8

Having

cquired

hardiness

hrough ymnastics

nd

gentleness

hrough

music,

youth's

oul

will

become

so

well-proportioned

nd harmonious

hat t "will move

spontaneously

towards

he rue

eing

f

verything."'

Atthis

tage,

however,

oung uardians

re still oo delicate

mentally

o deal

with bstracteasoning.eforembarkingnthe ontemplationf rue eing, hey

must

lso

go through rigorousraining

n

arithmetic,

eometry,

nd,

to a lesser

extent,

stronomy.

hese three

ciences erve

n

their

wn

ways

to

prepare

im

for he dialectic r

purereasoning.

rithmetic

ompels

the

soulto reason bout

abstract

umber,

nd rebel

gainst

he

ntroductionf visible

or

tangible bjects

into

the

argument."10

s far s

its

finer

bstract

part

s

concerned,

geometry

eads the

soul to turn ts

gaze

toward

where

[all]

isfull

f

perfection

f

being.""11

ccording

to

Plato,

astronomy,

r the motionof

solids,

is the sister

cience

of

Pythagorean

318

Philosophy

ast& West



4/30

harmonics.

t s

to the

ye

as

the atters

to the ar-both

beingwrongly

oncerned

with he

materialnd sensible atherhan he ternal nd immutablen heaven.

As

Benjamin

owett

bserves,

nly

f

t s "studied

with view o the

good

and not fter

thefashion

f he

mpirics"

oes itbecome

worthyubject

f

tudy

or

youth.12

Young

guardians

re to

have

completed

heir

raining

n

these

ciences s well

as

in music nd

gymnastics

y

he

ge

of

wenty.

he best romhe lass of

wenty-

year-olds

re

promoted

o the

higher

onor f

being

aught

what Platocalls the

"inter-communionnd

connection"

f

the sciences.13

his

elect lass

is to

have

masteredhe

knowledge

f the"natural

elationship

fthem

the ciences]

o

one

another

nd to true

eing,"

nd

consequently

ave

a

comprehensive

ind

r dia-

lectical

alent

y

he

ge

of

hirty.14

hen,

hemost

romising

f

his elect lass

will

be

promoted

othe till

igher

onor

f

being aught

ow o

"giveup

theuse of

ight

and the other enses nd

[be]

in

company

with ruth

o attain bsolute

eing."15

After

ive

years

f uch

philosophical

tudy,hey

will

be sent ackto

the

world

nd

will hold

military

r other fficeso

be

proved

irm

gainst emptations

nd

adver-

sities.

Finally,

hen

they

reach

fiftyears

f

age,

those

who

have

distinguished

themselvesnpoliticalervicendinthemasteryfknowledgereready t last o

approach

he bsolute

ood through

ialectic,

he

nly

cience hat oes

away

with

hypotheses

nd

goes

directly

o the first

rinciple.

y

meansof dialectic r

pure

reasoning,

hey

raisethe

eye

of the soul to the

universal

ight

which

ightens

ll

things,

nd behold he bsolute

ood."16Notably,

nthe

process hey

will

not

nly

bring

bout transcendentalransformationf he

oul,

but lso find

n

the

bsolute

good

the

"patternccording

o

which

hey

re to

order he State nd the

ives

of

individuals,

nd theremainderf heir

wn ives

lso."17

After

hey

ave

performed

their wn duties nd

brought

heirike o be therulers

f he

tate,

hey

will

depart

to the slands f the Blest nd dwell there" nd will be

honored s

demigods

n

publicmemorialsndsacrifices.18

Like

Plato,

Confucius

laces

the cultivation

f

harmony

t the center f his

educational

ystem.

What

he wantshis

pupils

o

cultivate, owever,

s

primarily

moral

harmony

atherhan ntellectual

armony.

hereas he

Platonic ntellectual

harmony

ulminatesn

the

cognition

f the absolute

ruth,

onfucianmoralhar-

mony

eads

one toward he achievementf the

supreme

moral

virtue f ren

fI,

which is

inclusive

f

but not limited o the

meanings

f

goodness,humanity,

benevolence,

nd

many

ther irtues.19 hat

nifies

ll

these oncrete

irtues

s

the

ideal of the

most

erfect

nward nd outward

armony

hat an ever

be achieved

by

human

eings.Although

onfuciuseldom

peaks

f

hemanifestationf ren

n

individualersons, eregardshe ttainmentfren s theultimateoalofhisbroad

educational

rogram.

Like

Plato,Confucius elieves hat ducation hould

begin

with he

study

f

poetry,

n account of tsbeneficial ffects n the

young

mind.As to

whatcomes after

the

study

of

poetry,

however,

Confucius holds a view

quite

different

romPlato's.

Whereas

Plato next ntroduces

hysical

educationand the abstract

ciences,

Con-

fucius

proceeds

to his central ask of moral

ducation. For

Confucius,

moraleduca-

tion is not a matter

f

imposing

n his

disciples

an elaborate set of

ritualistic ules

Zong-qi

ai

319



5/30

governing

heirnner nd outer ife.

ather,

t s

a matterf

helping

hem o

cultivate

a harmoniousharacternd

to establish

armonious

elationships

ith

people

of

differentocial trata.

For

Confucius,

gentleman

s

one who

has

successfully

ultivated

oth nner

and outer

armony. gentleman

isplays

spirit

f

temperance

nder ll circum-

stances.

emperance,

minor

irtueo

ome,

s

of ardinal

mportance

o

Confucius,

because t sthe

key

o

developing

ne's harmoniousharacter.tmeans he void-

ance ofextremes

n

one's

thought,peech,

ndaction.20

Confucius

lways

has the

Golden

Mean ortheMiddleCourse

zhongdao

F)

foremostn his

mindwhenhe

depicts

gentleman.

venwhen

praising gentleman's

oral

haracter,

onfucius

stresseshat isvirtuesre never

eveloped

oa

fault.

gentleman

s,

ike heMaster

himself,

affable

et

firm,

ommanding

ut not

harsh,

olite

but

easy."21

He

is

"proud

utnot

uarrelsome"

n

some

occasions,

nd

"conciliatory

utnot ccom-

modating"

n

others.22

After

gentleman

as

achieved

harmony

n

temperament,earning,

nd con-

duct,

onfucius

elieves,

e should e entrustedith he

responsibilities

f he

tate.

Byconductingisprivatendpublic ifenthe piritfproprietyndtemperance,

he

helpsbring

he ntire

ociety

nto

harmony.

n

serving

is

parents, gentleman

wearsan air of reverencend exerts imselfo the

utmost;

n

serving

is

supe-

riors,

e

s

punctilious

nd

ready

o

ay

downhis wn

ife;

n

dealing

with

riends,

e

is

always

rue o

his

words;

n

treating

is

nferiors,

e

always

generously

rovides

for heir eeds

nd

exacts

heir

ervice

n

fair

manner;23

nd when

acing

eaven,

great

men,

nd Divine

ages,

he

always

tands

n

awe.24Thanks o

his

doption

f

these

roper

ttitudes,

e comes o

enjoy

harmonious

elationship

ith ll

people.

His filial

iety

wins he ffectionf

his

parents

nd

enhances

amilial

armony.

is

loyalty

arns

him

rust rom is

superiors

nd contributeso the

harmony

etween

superiorsnd inferiors.is trustworthinessinshimfriendsnd brothersromhe

"Four eas" and hence

trengthens

is

bondwith

his

equals.25

His

generosity

nd

compassion

ain

he

respect

nd

support

fthemultitudend

help

promote eace

and

harmony

n

he

ociety

t

arge.

n

hort,

is

nward

armony

ill

radiate

ar

nd

wide,

reaching

rom is

ndividualelf o the

family

o the tate nd to

the

heavenly

Dao.

Unlike

lato,

onfucius

oes

not

prescribe

definiteimetableor is

program

ofmoral ducation.

here re no ndicationshat e

expects

is

disciples

o attain o

a certain

ind fmoral

armony

y

given

ime.

However,

onfucius oes cherish

in his mind broad

pattern

f

spiritual rogress,

hich s akin

o

Plato's

n

some

ways.He givesussomehintsfthat atternhenhetalks bouthisownspiritual

progress:

TheMaster

aid,

Atfifteenset

my

heart

pon earning.

t

hirty,

had

plantedmy

eet

firm

pon

he

ground.

t

orty,

no

onger

ufferedrom

erplexities.

t

ifty,

knewwhat

were he

biddings

f Heaven.At

ixty,

heard hemwith ocile ar.At

eventy,

could

follow hedictates f

my

wn

heart;

orwhat desired

o

longer

verstepped

heboun-

daries

f

right.26

320

Philosophy

ast& West



6/30

If

we

place

this nd

other

assages

ited bove

alongside

whatwe have read nthe

Republic,

e can

see that lato nd Confucius

esign

heir chemes f education

with he

omparable

bjectives

f

chieving

nner nd outer

armony.

hilePlato

emphasizes

he

achievementf

the

harmony

f the mind

n

ever

higher

ealms

f

human

hought,

onfucius

tresses

he

expansion

f nnermoral

harmony

o ever

broader

ealms f human xistence.

urthermore,

e can see thatboth hinkers

subscribeo

comparable

road ime rames or ne's spiritual

rogress.

heyboth

believe

that ne's

spiritual

ife

begins

with ducation

n

poetry

nd

the

arts,

ro-

gresses

hrough

he

development

f nward nd outward

armony

n

thecourse f

middle

ge,

and culminates

n

the ttainment

f

absolute

nowledge

r the

ponta-

neous

wareness f

he

heavenly

ill.

The

Use

of

Poetry:

eneficial

ersus

armful

ffects

Both lato nd Confucius

ave mixed iews bout heuse of

poetry

n

their duca-

tional

ystems.

n theone

hand,

hey

ndorse

he

use of

poetry

s a

good

toolfor

cultivatingntellectualr moral armony.heyhold hat oeticharmonyroduces

more ubtle nd

efficacious

mpression

n one's consciousnesshan ther

ypes

f

harmony.

n theother

and,

hey

egard oetry

s one ofthe east

mportant

ub-

jects

of

study

nd

give

t no more han n

auxiliary

ole

n

their

espective

duca-

tional

ystems.

oreover,

hey

ear heharmfulffectsf

poetry

temming

romts

appeal

to emotion nd

sensual

leasures.

o

prevent

uchharmful

ffects,

hey

eek

to ban theuse of

poetry

or ater

tages

f

ducation

rto weed out he

nfluencef

bad

poetry.

In

the hird ookof

he

Republic,

lato

gives

detailed

xplanation

f heuse-

fulness

f

poetry

nd music:

Hence, laucon,

continued,

he ecisive

mportance

f

ducation

n

poetry

ndmusic:

rhythm

nd

harmony

ink

eep

nto he ecessesf he

oul nd ake he

trongest

old

there,

ringing

hat

race

f

body

ndmind hichs

only

o

be found

n

one who s

brought

p

n

he

ight

ay.

Moreover,

proper

raining

n

his

ind

makes man

uick

to

perceiveny

efectr

ugliness

n

rt r

n

nature.

uch

eformity

ill

ightlyisgust

him.

pproving

ll that

s

lovely,

e willwelcomethomewith

oy

nto

is

oul,

nd

nourished

hereby,

row

nto

man

fnoble

pirit.

ll

hat

s

ugly

nd

disgraceful

e

will

rightly

ondemnndabhorwhile e is still oo

young

o

understand

he

eason;

nd

when eason

omes,

ewill

reet

er

s a

friendith hom is

ducationasmade im

long

amiliar.

I agree, e aid; hats he urposef ducationn iteraturendmusic.27

Here Platoendorses

he use of

poetry

nd

musicfor wo

reasons.

irst,

hey

an

arouse inthe

young

a

healthy

versionto the inharmoniousnd the

ugly.

Second,

they

an

bring

bout

the

grace

of

body

and

mind.

Through oetry

nd

music,

Plato

maintains,

he

grace

of

harmony

nd

rhythm

shall flow nto the

eye

and

the

ear,

like a

health-giving

reeze from

purerregion,

nd

insensibly

raw the soul from

the

earliest

years

nto ikeness nd

sympathy

ith he

beauty

of reason."28

Among

Zong-qi

ai 321



7/30

the

poems

and

types

f music

uitable or he

young,

e

particularly

xtols wo

simple

inds:

hose

bout bravemanwho "meets he

blows ffortune ith

firm

step

and a

determinationo

endure,"

nd those bout a

prudent

man who acts

moderately

nd

wisely

n

times f

riumph.29

Plato

rejects

heuse of

poetry

or ater

tages

f

education

s

vehemently

s he

endorses tfor he nitial

tage.

n

Book 10 of

the

Republic,

lato urns round

o

deliver iswell-knownondemnationf

poetry:

I

think,

e

aid,

hat

e

may airly

esignate

im s the mitatorf hat hichhe thers

make.

Good, said;

hen

ou

all

him

who s hird

n

he escentromaturen mitator?

Certainly,

e

aid.

And

he

ragic

oet

s

an

imitator,

nd

herefore,

ike ll other

mitators,

e s thrice

removedromhe

king

nd romhe ruth?

That

ppears

obe

so.30

While

n

his

arly

works lato ensures ome

poetry

or ts mitationf

vil,

herehe

condemnsoetry holesale orts ctof mitation,otwithstandingtspossiblemi-

tation f

good

morals.He criticizes

oetry

otfor thical

easons,

ut on

philo-

sophical

rounds.

oetry

s

not o

be admitted

nto

is deal

republic

ecauseof wo

related

pistemological

easons.

irst,

oetic

mitation

oes not eadthe oul

beyond

particular

bjects

f

senseto an

apprehension

f universalsr ideas of which

he

absolute ruths constitutive.

s Richard

annicht

oints

ut,

or

lato the bsolute

primacy

f ruthttained

hilosophically

i.e.

dialectically

ia

recourseo the

deas)

entails he

rejection

f mimetic

oetry,

ince

by

representing

he

given

world t

merely epeats

tand to that xtent emains

n

doubtful

istance

rom

hetruth

f

Ideas."31

econd,

oetic

mitationxcites

assions

n

he

base

part

f

he

oul,

while

keepingncheck hereason f hebetterart f he oul. nthis egard,latowrites

that he mitative

oet

"awakens nd nourishesnd

strengthens

he

feelings

nd

impairs

he reason

..

[and thus]

mplants

n evil

constitution,

orhe

indulges

he

irrational

ature."32

Probably

ecause this

broad ttack n

poetry

ccurs n

the last

book of the

Republic,

t s oftenmisconstruedo

represent

lato'sfinal iew of

poetry.

n

any

case,

it

is

treated

s such

in

manywidely

used critical

nthologies,

here he

passage

above

is

presented

n

isolation rom lato'smore

positive

omments n

poetry.33

his

nevitably

ives

rise o thecommon

misconception

f Plato

mong

studentsfWestern

oetics

s an avowed

nemy

f

poetry.

Plato'snegativeiew dvanced nBook 10 of heRepublichouldnotbe seen

to

have

uperseded

is

fairly

ositive

iew f

poetry

n

his

arly ialogues

nd

n

he

early

booksof

the

Republic.

nstead,

is two

conflicting

iews houldbe

placed

alongside

each other s twodifferent

ompeting

ides of his

theory

f

poetry,

ach of

which was toexert remendousnfluence n Western riticism t differentistorical

periods.

Plato's shift o the

negative

view indicatesnot a

final

onclusion,

but

ust

anothernew

perspective

n

poetry eveloped

after e became the

disciple

of Soc-

rates.34

Apart

from

he

influence f

Socrates,

his

adoption

of

this

new

perspective

322

Philosophy

ast& West



8/30

also

has

something

o do with he

hanging

ontextsfhisdiscussion.n

discussing

theeducation

f

young uardians

n the

arly

ooksofthe

Republic,

t s

only

oo

naturalhat

lato

istinguishes

ood

and bad

poetry

nd

lays

down he

principle

or

the

proper

se of

poetry.

When he ontext f his

dialogue

hanges

o his

heory

f

ideas

n

Book

10,

t

s

equally

ensible or im o denounce

oetry's

ondage

o the

world f

enses.

In he

ight

fPlato'sdeaof he

philosophical

issions a doubleourney-first

the

scent o theworld f deas nd then hedescent ack otheworld f

enses35-

we can better

nderstandis

two

conflicting

iewsof

poetry.

e

takes

positive

view

of

poetry

henhe sees

it

from

he

perspective

f he scent nd

recognizes

ts

usefulness

s a

stepping-stone

o

higher

trata f

piritual armony.

owever,

hen

seeingpoetry

rom he

perspective

f

the

descent

nd

confronting

ts

degenerate

nature s

an

imitation,

e

cannot ut

mbrace

negative

iew nd

propose

o ban-

ish tfrom

is deal

republic.

ut

n

doing

o,

he means

nly

o

expose

he

nferiority

of

poetry

o transcendental

deas,

not o ban an

expedient

se

of t n the

ensible

world.

As a

matterf

fact,

ccording

o

Plato,

when

philosopher-kings

escend ack

to the ensibleworld,heyhould eekto reorderhatworld fterhepatternound

in

the

bsolute

ood. Poetry,

mong

ther

hings

f

ense,

s

to be re-created ith

view o

llustrating

he xistence f

universals

eyond

he

ensible

world.

Such

a

revisionist

iewof

poetry

s evident

n

Plato's

Timaeus, aws,

nd other

dialogues

writtenfter he

Republic.

he

following assage

from he

Timaeus s

representative

f Plato's

evisionist

iew

of

poetry

n

his

ater

ialogues:

Moreover,

o

much

f

music s

is

adapted

o he ound f

he oice nd o he

ense f

hearing

s

granted

ousforhe

ake

f

harmony;

nd

harmony,

hich

asmotionskin o

the evolutions

f

ur

ouls,

s

not

egardedy

he

ntelligentotary

f

heMuses s

given

by hem ith view o rrationalleasure,hichsdeemedobethe urposef t n ur

day,

ut

s meant

o orrect

ny

iscord hich

may

ave risenn

he ourse f he

oul,

and obe our

lly

n

bringing

er nto

armony

nd

greement

ith

erself;

nd

rhythm

toowas

given y

hem

or

he ame

eason,

n

account f he

rregular

nd

graceless

ways

which

revail

mong

mankind

enerally,

nd o

help

s

gainst

hem.36

This

passage

mounts

o

something

f

reversal

f heview

f

poetry ut

orward

n

Book 10

ofthe

Republic.

n

Book

10,

poetry

s condemned or

ts

dealing

with he

appearances

f sense nstead f the

uprasensible

ruth.

uthere he ound

ofthe

voice and the ense f

hearing ring

o

disgrace

o

poetry.

n

the

ontrary,hey

re

described s

constitutivef

poetic

harmony

kin

o "revolutionsf

he oul."

Poetrys censurednBook10 for ts rousal fpassions r the irrationalrin-

ciple."

Here ts

harmony

nd

rhythm

re endorsed s

a welcome

lly

n

correcting

any

discord

n

he oul nd

"bringing

er

nto

armony

ith erself."

ust

s William

C. Greene

points

ut,

Plato omes to befriend imself

o

poetry gain

n

his ater

dialogues

because

he

himself

ppears

there s "a

poet

who has achieved a

greater

degree

of

truth nd hence a

greater

eriousness f

purpose"

of

poetry.37

nthe

light

of thisreaffirmationf

poetry's

sefulness or

raining

he

philosophical

mind,

Plato

inthe

Laws

begins

all over

again

to discuss the

educational use of

poetryust

as he

Zong-qi

ai 323



9/30


10/30

harmony

f

well-governed

tate nd the ocial

discord

f

n

ill-governed

tate.

y

observing

he

depictions

f

good

and

bad

governments

n

he

Poetry,

e believes

hat

one

can

learn,

s

Wang

Fuzhi

itAZ

(1619-1692)

says,

to makeuse of

praise

nd

satire o establish code

of

rightness."47

Qun

is

glossed

s "to

keepcompany

nd

try

o

improve

ne another"

y

Kong

Anguo48

nd

"to

be

accommodating

ut

not o

follow he ide f bad customs"

y

ZhuXi.49n

glossing

his erm,he

xegetes

ndoubtedly

ear nmind his emark

y

Confucius:

Men who

keep

company

ll

day ong

butnevermention

ightness

nd

who are

given

o

petty

cts

of

cleverness,

re indeeddifficult."50he

exegetes

assume

hat

y

theterm

un

Confuciusmeans

not

only rejection

f bad human

company

utalso

an establishment

f

good

human

ompany

overned y

moral

rightness

s

exemplified

nthe

Poetry.

Yuan s

glossed

s "to remonstrate

ith he ord

by

meansof

grievances"

y

Kong

Anguo

nd as

"to

air

grievances

ithout

eing ngry"

y

Zhu

Xi. f

aken it-

erally,

his erm

would

imply

mean to air

grievances"

nd would

give

he

wrong

suggestion

hat onfucius

ncourages eople

to vent heir

rievances

y

means f

poetry.his s,ofcourse,n contradictiono Confucius'dvocacy fproprietynd

emotional

estraints.51

n

order

o

prevent

uch a

misunderstanding,any xegetes

see

fit o

explain

he erm s indicativef

he ubtlemannernwhich

eople xpress

grievances

oward heir

ulers

n

the

Poetry.

or

nstance,

hang

Juzheng

k)iE

writes hat

he

Poetry brings

orth

orrows nd

grievances

rom

eneath arnest

admonitions,

et

keeps

he entimentf

oyalty.

aving

earnt

his,

ne

will know

howto handle

rievances."52

Basedon the

glosses

f he our

erms,

e can see that

onfucius

ncourages

he

study

f the

Poetryargely

s an aid

to one's cultivationf moral

harmony.

ike

Plato,

onfucius

egards

he

tudy

f

he

Poetry

s the nitial

tage

n

cultivating

his

moral armony.onfuciusays, Let manbe inspired y hePoetry,et traighty

the

rituals,

nd

perfected

y

music."53

ccording

o the

nterpretation

f Bao Xian

gJ

(6

B.C.-A.D.

65),

to be

"inspired

y

the

Poetry"

s to have one's moral ulti-

vation

nitiated

y reading

he

Poetry,

nd to be "set

straight

y

rituals"

s

to have

oneself stablished

n

firmmoral

round.

o be

"perfectedy

music,"

iu

Baonan

J~ij@

1791-1855)

explains,

s

to haveone's moral

ualities

efined

y

music nd

brought

o

completion.

Judging

y

his

arrangements

f the

ubjects

f

education,

onfucius

ndoubt-

edly ssigns

n

auxiliary

ole o the

tudy

fthe

Poetry.

hen

mentioning

he ub-

jects

n

the rder

f

earning,

e

places

the

Poetry

nd the

rts

efore

ther

ubjects:

"The Masterook ourubjects or is eaching:ulture,onductf ffairs,oyaltyo

superiors

nd the

keeping

f

promise[s]."54

f

these

our

ubjects,

hefirstncom-

passes

literaturend

the arts

n

the broadest

ense,

nd the next hree over

the

major aspects

of

his moral education.This

sequence

from iteratureo moraledu-

cation

is also reflected

n another

passage:

"A

gentleman,"

he

says,

"who is

widely

versed in letters

nd at the same time knows how to

submithis

learning

o the

restraintsf

ritual s

not

likely,

think,

o

go

far

wrong."55

However,

when

talking

about these

subjects

n

the order f

their

mportance,

e

places

literaturend the arts

Zong-qi

ai 325



11/30

last.

Set

your

mind

n the

Way,

base

yourself

pon

morality,lace

your

epen-

dence

on the

Good,

and dabble

n

polite

rts."56

lthough

onfucius

imself

oes

not

xplain

he reason or

lacing

oetry

nd

the

rts t the bottom

f his

educa-

tional

program,

t

s nonetheless

ot

difficult

o see

why

he

chooses to do

so.

In

denouncing

he icentiousontentndflorid hetoric

n

omeworks

n

he

Poetry,

e

betrays deep

fear f heharmfulffects

roduced y

n uncontrolledse of

poetryand the arts.

Although

e does nottranslatehis ear nto

sweeping njunction

against

oetry,

s Platodoes

in

Book 10 ofthe

Republic,

e feels

mpelled y

t o

lay

down strictmoral nd aesthetic

rinciples

or

oetry

nd

the rts

n

general.

shallreturno discuss hesemoral nd aesthetic

rinciples

elow.

TheAdmirationor

oetry:

heUltimate

ood

n the

Beautiful

Plato nd Confuciusdmire

oetry

nd the rts s much s

they

ear hem

or

heir

unparalleled

ower

ftransformation.

longside

he nstances

f

one's

mind

eing

corrupted

nd led

astray y poetry

nd

the

arts,

hey

oth nvision

ircumstances

where ne'smind s iftedotherealm f heultimateood bypoetryndthe rts. n

observing

uch

circumstances,

hey mphasize

ow

poetry

nd the rts

nableone

to

suspend

ne's

senses nd

achieve direct ommunion ith heultimate

eality

n

the ourse f rtistic

ntuition.

n

praising

his

ransformingower,

hey

everseheir

customary

iews f

poetry

nd the rts nd consider hem nstrumentalo

achieving

the

highest

orm

f

ntellectual

r

moral

armony.57

Contrary

o

he ommon

onception

fPlato s the

nemy

f

oetry,

e canfind

n

his

earlydialogues

n

impassioned

lorification

f

poetry

hat

has been

largely

neglected y literary

ritics.

n

the

following assages

from he

Phaedrus nd the

Symposium,

or

nstance,

e

sings

he

praises

f

deal

poetry

ith he

amefervors

thehighRomanticsilldo more han womillenniaater. here, ot nly spoetry

not

alledan imitationhrice emoved rom

he

ruth,

t

s auded s

an

embodiment

of

thetruth.

ikewise,

ot

only

s the deal

poet

not

denigrated

s

the artificerf

falsehood,

e

s acclaimed s themaker

r

creator

orthy

f he itle

f

philosopher.

SOCRATES:

Go andtell

Lysias

hat

o the

ountainnd chool f he

Nymphs

e

went

down,

nd

were

idden

y

hemohim

nd

o

other

omposers

f

peeches-to

omer

andother ritersf

poems,

hetheret omusic

r

not;

.. to

llof

hem

e are o

ay

that

f

heir

ompositions

rebased

n

he

nowledge

f he

ruth,

nd

hey

an

defendr

prove

hem..

then

hey

re obe

called,

ot

nly

oets,

rators,

egislators,

ut

worthy

of

higher

ame,

efitting

he

erious

ursuit

f heirife.

PHAEDRUS:

What amewould ou ssigno hem?

SOCRATES:

Wise,

may

ot all

them;

or hats

a

great

amewhich

elongs

o God

alone,-lovers

f

wisdomr

philosophers

s their

odest

nd

befitting

itle.

Phaedrus

278)58

She

answers

me as

follows:

There

s

poetry,

hich,

s

you

know,

s

complex

nd

manifold.

ll

creation r

passage

f

non-being

nto

being

s

poetry

r

making,

nd the

processes

f all art re

creative;

ndthemastersfarts re all

poets

r makers."

Very

true."

Symposium

05)s9

326

Philosophy

ast& West



12/30

In these

wo

passages

Plato avishes

pon

he deal

poet

whole

rray

f

eulogistic

terms,

uchas "lovers

f

wisdom,"

legislators,"

makers,"

creators,"

nd

"phi-

losophers"-even

hough oets

re

what

most

eople

expect

o see

in the

writings

of the

Romantics,

nd

not n those f Plato.

Given hecommon

misconception

f

Plato's

iews

oncerning

oetry,

ne

may

be

more han

urprised

o findhese

du-

latory

erms

n

such

bundance

n his

writings.

o understand

hy

Plato hooses

o

praise

poetry

n such

unqualified

erms, e must onsider is viewson particular

beautiful

hings,

niversal

eautiful

orms,

he bsolute

eauty,

nd Love. nhis

arly

dialogues,

written

eforehe

development

fhis

heory

f

deas,

Plato onceives

f

the bsolute

ruths

absolute

eauty,

hich

nifiesll

beautifulorms

ying

ehind

the

beautiful

hings.

or

him,

ove

s the divine

utflow

f the absolute

eauty

o

beautiful

orms

nd

through

hemobeautiful

hings.

t salsothedivine

nthe

oul

of

human

eings

hat

nspires

im o search or bsolute

eauty hrough

he

follow-

ing

teps:

He

who

romhese

scending

nder

he

nfluence

f

rue

ove,

egins

o

perceive

hat

beauty.. tobegin romhe eautiesf arthndmountpwardsor he ake f hat

other

eauty,

sing

hese

s

steps nly,

nd

romne

going

nto

wo,

nd

romwo

o ll

fair

orms,

nd

romair

ormsofair

ractices,

nd romair

ractices

ofair

otions,

ntil

fromair

otions

e rrivest

thenotion

f bsolute

eauty,

nd t ast

nows

hat he

essence

f

beauty

s.

This,

my

ear

ocrates,

aid he

tranger

f

Manitineia,

s that

ife

above llothers

that]

anhould

ive,

n he

ontemplation

f

beauty

bsolute....60

This

process

f

earching

or bsolute

eauty

trikes s as

analogous

o the

process

of

scending

oward

he

bsolute

ruthet

forth

n

the

Republic

nd to be

discussed

below.

Both

processes

re

characterized

y

the

passage

as

proceeding

rom he

concrete

o

the

bstract,

rom

he

particular

o the

universal,

nd from

heuniversal

tothe bsolute. hemajor ifferenceetweenhese woprocessessthat heformer

is a

direct,

nmediated

eap

fromesthetic

xperience

o transcendental

nowledge,

and the

atter

s a

gradual

scent

oward he

amedestination

hrough

he

cquisition

of he

harmonies

f he

ense,

he

body,

he

ntellect,

nd the oul.

Considering

he

proximity

f aesthetic

xperience

o transcendental

nowledge

n

theformer

roc-

ess,

it

makes

good

sense

forPlato o

assign, mong

ther

onorable

ppellations,

the name

of

philosopher

o the

poet.

Inasmuch

s the

poet

is

inspired y

the

divine

Love of

beauty

nd

in

turn

nspires

he same

in

others,

lato sees

fit o

declare

n

he

ymposium

hat Love

s a

good

poet

nd

accomplished

n ll the ine

arts."61

It must e emphasizedhatwhen Platopraises he dealpoetandpoetrynd

talks

bout

hedirect

eap

to

transcendental

nowledge

hrough

esthetic

xperience

or

the ove

of

beauty,

e is not

hinking

f

ny

real

poets

r of

ny xisting

oetical

works. o

him,

ll

poets

f arlierimes

nd ofhis

wn

time-including

omer,

he

greatest

master-fall

far

hort

f

the

ideal of a true

poet.

None of their

worksmeas-

ures

up

to the

ideal of true

poetry.

Consequently,

he

chooses to

identify

he

ideal

poet

withthe

creating eity

n the Timaeus

nd with

philosophers

who are

"'true'

servants

f

Eros,

beauty,

and

the Muse."62 On

the other

hand,

he

unhesitatingly

Zong-qi

ai 327



13/30

showshis ow

regard

or eal

mimetic

oets y

isting

hem s the

ixth fnine

rders

of ives

possible

or allen

ouls.63

his

ranking

s

way

downfrom

hefirst

rder f

philosophers,

nd the

only

people

more

owly

han

he

poets

re manual

aborers,

sophists,

nd

tyrants,

n

that rder."64

et,

n

pite

fhis

deliberate

xclusion freal

poets

nd

poetry

rom

is

praises,

what Plato

has said

about the

ideal

poet

and

poetry

oes become he

ource fthe

worship

f

real

poets

nd

poetry

n

theRen-

aissance nd theRomanticra.65

It

s true hat

n

the ater

ialogues

lato,

having

eveloped

his

heory

f deas

and

expounded

ntellectnd

reason s a favored

means f

chieving

ranscendental

knowledge,

o

longer peaks

o

admiringly

f he

poet

nd

poetry

s he

did

in

the

early

dialogues.

Nevertheless,

nsofar

s he

always

sees the

absolute

ruth,

he

absolute

eauty,

ndthe

bsolute

ood

as

being

ne

and never

ettisons

is

heory

f

beauty,

lato

may

e

assumed o

believe,

n

his ater

s well s his

arly

ife,

hat

he

absolute

can be

approached

ither

y hypothetical

cience f

dialectic r

by

he

directntuitionf he

over f

beauty,"66

ven

hough

he over f

beauty

s,

o

him,

more

philosopher

han real

poet.

LikePlato, onfucius olds

poetry

nd the rtsnthe

highest

steemwhenhe

comes to

consider heir

esthetic

mpact.

n

the three

assages

o be

examined

below,

Confucius

bserves he

ransforming

ffectsf

poetry

nd music n

hisown

moral

onsciousness nd

identifiesuch

aesthetic

xperience

with

elf-forgetting

spontaneity,

he

highest

orm f moral

harmony

n

his

philosophical

ystem.

n

so

doing,

e

virtually

oves

oetry

nd

the rts rom he

peripheral

o the

entral

art

of his

eachings.

When heMaster

eard he hao

n

he

tate f

Qi,

he

became bliviousf he

aste f

meat

or

hreemonths.e

said,

I

never

xpected

hatmusic ould e

brought

o

per-

fectionikehis."67

Nowhere lse

in

the

Analectss Confuciuso such

n extent

verwhelmed ith

oy

or

sadness,

r admirationr

disgust.

onfuciuss

described

s

beingvery

ond f

meat.Whenhe admits is

pupils,

he

nly

hing

e

will

ccept

rom

hem s a bundle

of

meat-be itcalled a

gift

r tuition.

o

in

his

case,

the

forgetting

f the aste f

meatfor hreemonths

an be taken s a

metaphorical

tatement

bout he trans-

formationf

his state f consciousness. or

modern ritic

nfluenced

y

Kantian

aesthetics,

hismental

ransformationf

Confucius

may

seem to

exemplify

ure

aesthetic

xperience,

s it s

marked

y

ts

urge

f

ensuous

leasure

the

alate

or

meat)

nd

by

ts

nduring

ffect

threemonths).

uthe also

praises

he

Shao68

lse-

where s "beingperfectlyeautifulndperfectlyood."69Apparently,e takes he

Shao to be a

supreme

xample

f esthetic

nd moral

erfection,

ot

esthetic

er-

fectionlone. Like

Plato,

e holds hatmoral irtuend

aesthetic

eauty

re

not t

odds,

butbound

up

with

ach other.The

perfectly

ood

mustbe

perfectly

eautiful.

Just s

Plato

speaks

of his world of

ideas as

being

absolutely

good

and

absolutely

beautiful,

onfucius

ings

he

praises

of his dealized Golden

Age

in

both moral nd

aesthetic erms.

328

Philosophy

ast& West



14/30

TheMaster

aid,

Great

as

Yao s

a

lord.

reatnesss

only

or

eaven,

et

ao

matched

it.

How

ublime

eople

ould

not ind name or t.Noble nd

grand

rehis ccom-

plishments

uminousrehis ultural

mbellishments "70

The case

of

Confucius

eing ransported

y

theShao

is not he

only

nstance

f an

intense

tate

of moral onsciousness

nterfused

ith esthetic

xperience.

f

we

recallConfucius'escriptionf hisownspiritualrogress,ewill ee that he elf-

forgetting

pontaneity,

he

highest

orm f

moral onsciousness e achieves t

the

age

of

eventy,

s akin

o,

fnot

ntirely

dentical

ith,

heightened

tate f

esthetic

experience

ntainted

y pecific

tilitarian

ndsor

non-purposiveness.

This

merging

f the

highest

moral onsciousness

with

esthetic

xperience

becomes

ven more vident n the

passage

cited

below.71

he

passage

s

part

fa

conversation

onfucius

as with our f his

disciples:

ilu

Tf ,

Ran You

f$},

Gongxi

Hua

/;S ,

and

Zeng

Xi

fh.

Confucius

sks hese our

upils

o tell

him

what

mploymenthey

ach would seek

f

heirmerits ere

recognized

y

some-

one.

The first

eplies

hat

he would

ask to

lead

a

country

f a

thousand

warriors

threatenedypowerfulnemies ndhit ynaturalalamities,romisingo endow

the

people

with

ourage

nd to teach hem he

way

of

right

onduct n

three

ears.

The

second

pupil

replies

hat

he would

ask to

govern region

f

roughlyixty

o

seventyeagues

nd

promise

o have

the

people

well

provided

or

n

the

pace

of

three

years.

The third

eplies

hat

he

would like to assumethe

duty

f a

junior

assistant

n

performing

arious

ourtly

eremonies.

hen,

he ourth

s

called

upon

o

give

his

reply:

Tien

Zeng

i],

what bout

ou?

Thenotes f he itherne was

oftly

ingering

ied

way;

he

put

t

down,

ose nd

repliedaying,

fear

my

words

ill

ot e so well

hosens those f he therhree.he

Masteraid,What arms therenthat? ll hatmatterssthat ach hould ame is

desire.

Tseng

si

Zeng i]

aid,

At he

nd

f

pring,

hen

he

making

f

he

pring

lothes

hasbeen

ompleted,

o

go

with

ive imesix

newly-cappedouths

nd

ix

imeseven

uncappedoys,

erform

he ustration

n

he iver

,

ake he

ir t heRain ance

ltars,

and hen

o

home

inging.

he

Master eaved

deep igh

nd

aid,

am

with

ien.72

This s

perhaps

ne of the

most

heatedly

ebated

passages

n

the

Analects.

Why

does Confucius

xpress

subtle

isapproval

f

he

firsthree

upils'

hoices,

which

all seem o be

in

ine

with is

ustomarymphasis

n active

articipation

n

politics

and on the bservance

f

rituals?

hy

oes he

give

n

explicit

ndorsementf

Zeng

Xi'schoice,which eems ll too similar o thecourseofnonaction dvocated y

Daoists?

His

disagreement

ith he

firsthree

s

not oo difficulto

understand,

s he

himself

xplains hortly

o

Zeng

Xi

thathe

disagrees

ith hem ecause

they

were

asking

for

kingdom

r an

official

ost

and lacked the virtue f

yielding rang

).

In

other

words,

Confucius

disproves

heir hoices to be

those

of

non-purposive

ction

because

they

are not untainted

by personal

ambitions.As to his

agreement

with

Zeng

Xi,

Confucius

gives

no

explanation

nd has left

osteritypeculating

bout it

Zong-qi

ai 329



15/30


16/30

perception

f the

deas

(divine

harmony),

r

upset

ne's mental

quilibrium

nd

incline ne to

inappropriate

ctions. n

the

grounds

f hese

negative

ffects,

lato

proposes

o censor arious

inds f

poetry

nd banish he

poet

from

is

republic.

n

premodern

imes

Confucius

as

widely

believed

o have edited

ut thousands

f

poems

n moral

rounds

nd thus educe he xtant

orpus

f he

Poetry

o

merely

three

undred

nd

five

ieces.Though

iscrediteds a mere

myth

y

most

modern

scholars,his elief houldnotustbedismissedutofhand.

Considering

onfucius'

harsh

erdicts

n licentious

orks,

t s at least

plausible

onjecture

f

whatCon-

fuciuswould

ike o

do

with

he undesirable

oems

n

the

Poetry.

n

udging

he

contentnd

form

f

poetry

nd

music,

lato nd

Confucius

oth

dhere o the

ame

goldenprinciple

f

implicity.

or

hem,

implicity

eadsto the

good

and the

beau-

tiful,

s

multiplicity

eadsto thebad and

the

ugly.

here re

plenty

f

xamples

hat

tellus how these wo ancient

hinkers

pply

heir

imilar

tandards

f

aesthetics

o

the

valuation

f

particular

orks.

Inthe

firstwobooks f he

Republic,

lato dentifieshe ives

f

gods

and

good

men s

good

contents f

poetry

nd

music.

For

Plato,

implicity

n

content

means

that odsmust e singularlyood-devoidof ny races f vil ndeedsorwords-

and remain

o under

ll

circumstances.

ny

ontraryepiction

f

heir

ives s con-

demned

y

him

s the

usurpation

f

simplicity

y multiplicity

r

duplicity.

mong

numerous

xamples

f

such

tampering

ith

odly implicity,

e

cites he

battle f

gods,

the

metamorphosis

f

gods by

magic

or

illusions,

he

terrifying

ords

nd

scenes

concerning

ades,

the

unseemly

amentationsnd

laughter,

nd drunken-

ness nd

softness

nd

indolence

n

the

works f

Homer,

eschylus,

nd

others. or

Plato,

ll

theseblatant

dulterations

fthe

ingular oodness

n

poetry

re no

small

matter,

s

they

re

boundto

corrupt

he

soul of the

young,

he

hope

of his

deal

republic.

e is

particularly

earfulhat ll

theseuntruths

ouldcause

the

young

o

form n erroneous otion fthegodsandadmire atricides,ratricides,nd other

violent cts

willfully

ttributedo

those

gods,

and

that he

young

would

ape

the

unbecominganguages

nd deeds

falsely epresented

n

poetical

works,

nd

act in

ways

hat ot

nly pset

he

harmony

f

heir wn

oulsbut

hreatenhe

harmony

f

the

tate

t

large.

n

viewof his

rave anger,

lato

makes he

ensorship

f

poetry

hisfirstrder f

business

n

the

building

f

his

republic:

Then he

irst

hing

ill

e to

establish

censorship

f he

writersf

fiction,

nd et

he

censors eceive

ny

ale ffiction

hich s

good,

nd

reject

he

bad;

and

will

esire

mothersndnursesotell heir

hildrenhe

uthorizednes

nly.

et hem

ashion

he

mind ithuch ales,venmoreondlyhanheymouldhe odywith heirands;ut

most f hose hich

re

now n

usemust

e discarded.77

The

scope

ofPlato's

roposed

ensorshipncompasses

heform

s

well as the

on-

tent f

poetry.

As Mihail I.

Spariosu points

ut,

Plato

believes that

poetry

an

"affect

the soul of the future

uardians

not

only

through

ts ontent r

tales

(logoi, mythoi),

but also

through

tsdiction

lexis)

or its manner f

presentation."78n

other

words,

the formof

poetry

s,

to

Plato,

inseparably

bound

up

with its

content.

"Beauty

of

style

and

harmony

nd

grace

and

good

rhythm

epend

on

simplicity,"

he

Zong-qi

ai

331



17/30

announces-"I

meanthetrue

implicity

f a

rightly

nd

nobly

rderedmind nd

character."''79

onversely,

e

argues

hat

ugliness

nd

discord nd

inharmonious

motion re

nearly

llied to ill

words nd

ill

nature."80

iven

his

traightforward

identificationf formwith

ontent,

t s all butcertain

hatPlatowouldestablish

simplicity

s

thecriterionf

good

form nd

denounce laborate

multiplicity

s the

trademarkfbad form.

This s

exactly

hat lato oeswhenhe discusses he

tyle

fdramaticmitation.

According

o

Plato,

no

one should llow himselfo

play

more han

ne character

type

n a narrativer

dramatic

epresentation

ecause

"the

ame

person

will

hardly

be able to

play

a serious

art

n

life,

nd at the ame time o

be

an

imitatornd

imitate

any

ther

arts

s

well."81

So,

for hose

who

wish

o imitate

ll,

he

gives

this

ractical

dvice:

they

hould mitaterom

outh pward nly

hose haracters

which re suitable o their

rofession-theourageous, emperate,oly,

ree,

nd

the

ike."82

lthough

e admits hat

pantomimicerformeray

have hemiracu-

lous

power

of

imitating

nything

nd

holding

hildren nd their

ttendants

like

spellbound,

lato ontendshat we mustnform

im

hat

n

our

tate

uch s he are

not

permitted

oexist; he aw willnot llowthem."83

nalogous

ohiscriticismf

the

mixed

tyle

f

imitation

s his

opposition

o

the

mixed

tyle

f

harmony

nd

meter.

e censures

he

multiplicity

fnotes

r

panharmonic

cale"

and

agrees

o

banish the

rtificersf

yres

ith hree ornersnd

complex

cales,

r hemakers

f

any

other

many-stringeduriously

armonizednstruments."84

he

only

nstruments

to

remain

nhis

tate

rethe

imple lyre

nd

harp

or se

n he

ity"

nd a

pipe

for

use

by hepherds

n

he

ountry.85

e

subjects

heuse ofmetero the ame

rules,

s

he warns

eople

not

o

seekout

omplex ystems

f

meter,

r

metersf

very

ind,

butrather

o

discover

what

rhythms

re the

expressions

f a

courageous

nd har-

monious

ife."86

Indiscussinghe works ontainednthePoetry,onfuciusudgesthem ya

moral-aesthetic

tandard f

simplicityomparable

o that f Plato

n

manyways.

Like

lato,

e

regardsingular

oral

oodness

s thehallmarkf

good poetry.

ust

s

Plato ommends

he

proper ortrayals

f

gods

n

ome

of

Homer's

works,

onfucius

praises

hewholesome ontentsf

he

Poetry

s a

whole: "Three undred

oems87

may

be

summed

p

in

this

hrase:

no

departing

rom

he

right."'88

henhe dis-

cusses "The

Osprey,"

he

firstnd

the most amous

oem

n

this

poetical

ollec-

tion,

he

speaks

admiringly

f its fine moral-aesthetic

ualities:

The

song

of

'The

Osprey'

s

passionate

without

eing

icentious,

orrowful

ithout

eing

vex-

ing.""89

his

udgment

f the

poem

s

a

moral s

well

as aesthetic ne. Confucius

praises tsobservanceftheprinciplef theMiddleCourse n the avoidance f

emotional

xtremes.

n

themeantime e

tacitly

eferso the

bsenceofexcesses

n

form

nd

style.

he word

yin

4,

rendered ere s

"licentious,"

riginally

eant

"excessive"

in

the time of

Confucius,

and

only

later took on the

meaning

of

"debauched."

In

explaining

his

passage,

traditional

hinese

commentatorsendto

interpret

thisword

in

these two senses

alternately. aking

the word

yin

n its

original

ense,

we can assume thatConfucius s here

commenting

n the absence of excesses in the

332

Philosophy

ast& West



18/30


19/30


20/30

less

significant

ind

han he ntellectual

r moral

armonyrought

bout

by

those

other

ubjects.

However,

when

hey

ake

note

fthe

ransforming

esthetic

xperi-

ence afforded

y poetry

n certain

ircumstances,

hey

oth

dentify

uch

aesthetic

experience

with he attainmentf blessed

harmony

ith

he

ultimate

eality-the

Truth nd

the

will

of Heaven.

n

udging

oth he content nd

forms f

particular

poetical

works,

hey

oth

dopt

he

tringent

oral-aesthetictandard

f

implicity,

asthey elieve hatimplicityeads oharmonynd order ot nlyn hemind f n

individual,

ut

lso

inthe ffairsfhuman

ociety

t

arge.

Moreover,

o

ensure hat

poetry

ill contributeo the enhancementf inward

nd outward

armony,

hey

both eekto exercise

rigorous

ensorship

f t nd

expunge

whatevers not

ingly

good

n

content

nd what s

excessive

r

overly

laborate n

form.

While hecommon oncernsoflato nd

Confucius ith

harmonyive

rise o

all these imilar

iews,

heir ifferentiewsof

ultimate

eality

ead them o

pursue

harmony

nd

develop

their

heories

f

poetry

long

different

xes.

Benjamin

Schwartz

ives

n

excellent

nalysis

f

the

fundamental

ifference

etween

heir

views f he

ultimate

eality.

In

Plato

we

find

yawningbyss

etween truth

rrivedt

through

he

podictic

necessity

f

thedialectic

nd

of mathematical

easoning

nd a

world f

"opinion"

derived

aphazardly

rom

n

observation

f he haos

f

ordinary

uman

xperience.

Confuciusoes

not ise

rom

he

haos f he

world f

particulars

o

a realm

f ternal

forms

ince,

nhis

iew,

he ao emains

ndissolubly

inkedo he

mpirical

orld.102

For

Plato,

he ranscendental

ruth

s

to be arrived

t

by pursuing

armonylong

verticalxis.103n

discussing

lato's

ystem

f

ducation,

e

have

already aught

glimpse

f

his

ascending

cale of

harmonies-from

hat f

poetry

t

the

bottom,

through

hoseof

gymnastics,

athematics,

eometry,

stronomy,

nd

dialectic,

o

that f the divine phere t theapex. IntheTimaeus, latodepicts his cale of

harmoniesromhe

pposite

irection,

s he

traces he

riginative

armony

n

God,

through

ts

manifestation

n

celestial

movements,

o the

sublunary

armonies f

human

hought,

ensations,

nd

physical

odies.

By

ontrast,

onfucius elieves

hat he

Dao

is

to be

realized

y

extending

ar-

mony long

horizontalxis.104

nlike

lato,

e

does

not

onceive he

Dao to be a

transcendental

ntity

hat,

ike

Plato's

God,

is

to be

transmitted

hrough

vertical

chainof

beings y

the

pure

hinking

f a

philosopher-king.

nstead,

e

regards

he

Dao as an "immanent"

rinciple

f deal human

rder

o

be

realized

n

the

midst

of

one's

private

nd social

life. or

him,

he realization f

the

Dao means

firsto

achieveperfectnward armonyfthe elf ndthen oestablish erfectarmony

with ll other

eople

t home nd

abroad

n

a

manner

ppropriate

o

one's

status

n

a hierarchical

ociety.

f

one achieves

uch

perfect

nward nd

outward

armony,

Confucius

elieves,

ne

will

attain

he ideal

of

ren

and

becomeone

with

he

Dao at work n

all human

relationships.

When

such a

person

becomes a

ruler,

he

must f

necessity

ring

bout the realization f the

Dao in all levels

of human exis-

tence

and hence achieve a

long-lasting eace

and

prosperity

nhis

state.

Although

Confuciushimself

oes

not

expound

his

concept

of

harmony

n

these

terms,

he

is

Zong-qi

ai

335



21/30

believed

y

Zhu

Xi

to have

set

forth

process

f

extending

he concentric

ircles

of

harmony

rom ithin

ne's

heart o the ntire

orld:

Things eing nvestigated,

nowledge

ecame

complete.

heir

nowledge

eing

om-

plete,

heir

houghts

ere

incere. heir

houghts

eing

incere,

heir

earts

ere

hen

rectified.heir earts

eing

ectified,

heir

ersons

ere ultivated.heir

ersons eing

cultivated,heir amilies ereregulated.heir amilieseing egulated,heirtateswere

rightlyoverned.

heir tates

eing

rightly

overned,

he

whole

kingdom

as made

tranquil

nd

happy.105

This

passage

omesfrom he

Great

earning

Daxue

SI),

originally

chapter

rom

the

Book of

Rites

Liji

AE)

and latermade one of the four onfucian anonical

books

by

Zhu Xi.

Although

his

assage

s

not

ikely

o have

ome

fromhemouth f

Confucius

s ZhuXi

argues,

6

itdoes

present

n a nutshell onfucius' orizontal

pattern

f

harmony,pon

which is ducational nd

sociopolitical

rograms

s

well

as his

heory

f

poetry

re founded.

Plato's erticalnd Confucius' orizontal

atterns

f

harmony

eveal wodiffer-

entpathseading o the ttainmentftheultimatearmony.lato's erticalattern

betokens n

epistemological

rocess.

or

him,

o climb

up

the

cale

of harmonies

means o

gain

ver

more bstract

nd rarefiedorms

f

knowledge

ntil ne enters

the hreshold

f

pure hinking

nd the

reality

f

being.

Within

his ertical

attern

f

harmony-or,

o be

exact,

logo-rational

armony"

s

Spariosu

alls

t 07-action s

of

econdarymportance.

s David

L.

Hall and

Roger

. Ames

point

ut,

Plato nd

his dealist ollowers

nterpretpraxis

s

activity

n

accordancewith

he normative

principles

f

knowledge."108

or

Plato,

ctive

ociopolitical

ife

mainly

erves hese

two

purposes:

o test

he

ffectsf uch

pistemological

ursuits

n the haracterf

younger

earners,

nd to

reorganize

uman

ociety

n the modelof

the

absolute

knowledge.109

In

contrast,

onfucius'

orizontal

attern

races

n existential

rocess.110

or

Confucius,

o

expand

heconcentricircles

f

harmony

eans o

live moral

ri-

vate

ife,

o

practice iliality

nd other irtues

n

one's

family,

o conduct

ocial

and

political

ffairs

roperly,

nd

thereby

o

bring

rder o the tate nd

peace

to

the

world.

Within

his horizontal

attern

f

harmony,pistemological

ursuit

s of

secondary

mportance.

t s true hat

hu

Xi,

n

editing

nd

elucidating

he

Great

Learning,

ttachesmore

mportance

o the

cquisition

f

knowledge

han

ny

other

major

Confucian,

ncluding

onfucius

imself. e choosesto

glossgewu

tVO

as

"to

investigate

hings"

nd zhizhi

R~

as

"to extend

ne's

knowledge"

nd to

take

these wo nitialteps s the oreof hehorizontalatternfharmonyetforthnthe

Great

earning.

till,

hu's

dea of

nvestigatinghings

nd

extending nowledge

s

nothing

ikePlato's dea

of

pure pistemologicalursuit.

hilePlatobelieves

hat

the attainment

f absolute

knowledge

s inand of itself he end and reward

f

epis-

temological

pursuit,

hu

Xi

holds that

he extension f

knowledge

to the utmost-

namely

the

grasp

of

li

#I,

the absolute

principle

of all

things-marks

only

the

beginning

fan

eminently

thical

way

of

living

hat

promises

o

bring

bout

perfect

harmony

n ever

broadening

ealms f

human ife.The fact hatZhu

Xi,

the

greatest

336

Philosophy

ast& West



22/30

Confucian

dvocate

f

knowledge,

till olds

pistemology

n subordinationo

the

act of

iving

s a

testimony

o the

econdary

mportance

f

pistemological

ursuit

n

Confucius'

orizontal

attern

f

harmony.

The

theories f

poetry

f Plato

nd

Confucius,

uilt n

their

ertical

nd hori-

zontal

patterns

f

harmony,

nevitably

xhibit

fundamental

ifferenceetween

Documents

Plato and Confucius on Poetry