The Book of Literary Design

25. Notes and Letters

Notes and Letters The great Shun said, "Letters serve the purpose ofrecording." It was the events ofthe time that were recorded. The words ofthe sages were put together in a body of letters and, in that sense, letters took over from and controlled language. Yang Xiong said, "The spoken word is the voice of the heart and the profession of letters paints its picture. As the voice and the picture takes shape, we can tell the men ofbreeding from the scum." Thus letters let, or let out. They let out the spoken word, displaying it on bamboo and wood tablets. The process is symbolized by the Guai hexagram ofthe Yijing and the lesson is that the message of letters should ideally be clear and definitive. In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties politics were a leisurely activity and letters were few and far between. During the Spring and Autumn period diplomatic exchanges began to grow and missives and messengers both flourished. Rao Chao gave Shi Hui a note, Zijia complimented Zhao Xuan with a letter, Wuchen of Chu sent Zifan word, and Zichan offered Xuanzi warning. If you examine these four letters with due care you will see that they are not unlike the kind of verbal communication you would expect when two persons meet. We also know that the Duke ofLu sent a letter ofcondolence to the Prince of Teng, from which we may conclude that messages delivered by diplomats were very often written. Among the seven Warring States letters of rare beauty were delivered from land to land and by Han times the usual mail bag was a richly mixed bag. Sima Qian's letter to Ren An, Dongfang Shuo's to Gongsun Hong, Yang Yun's to Sun Huizong, Yang Xiong's to Liu Xin ... these were all expressions 96 I The Book ofLiterary Design of liberal minds, each in possession of a peculiar grace, each the working out of a beating heart on a roll of pure silk. Among the Latter Han epistolary pieces Cui Yuan's were the best. In the Wei period of three Kingdoms times Ruan Yu's letters "winged their flight", Kong Rong's were deemed worthy ofcollection even when they existed on halved scraps; Ying Qu who took a great interest in the events of the day tried to write elegantly but did not quite succeed. The letter that must be admired for its exalted spirit and magnificent style is Ji Kang's termination of a friendship. Zhao Zhi in his letter on separation wrote with the passion of youth. Chen Zun dictated his missives, but managed to make each and every one different; Mi Heng was his master's amanuensis, but he knew so well the appropriate degrees of intimacy: these last two were rare for talents in letter-writing. All in all letters are an extension ofthe spoken word. Given that the spoken word is the means to dispel the sense of oppressiveness, to glorify gaiety, letters, however orderly in appearance, ought also to give free rein to personal qualities and, ignoring constraints, make glad the heart. Civilized, refined, relaxed, letters can be a social intercourse ofthe mind. Etiquette must be solemnly observed where the engagement is between those who are socially unequal. Before the Warring States period sovereigns and subjects alike wrote plain letters. It was only because codes of behaviour were instituted in Qin and Han times that reports and memorials came into existence, and soon, even within feudal states, one would speak pompously of memorialization documents of which one remarkable example was Zhang Chang's upward letter to the Jiaodong dowager. In the Latter Han, when titles and grades gradually came to be taken seriously, you report-recorded (zouji) to the top ministers and report-noted (zoujian) to the generals of the provinces. To record was to verbalize one's thought, to send in one's private thoughts to the suitable departments. To note, as in "report-note", was to make manifest, to make manifest and thus to record one's private feelings. Cui Shi report-recorded to a top minister (or was it a general?) and the letter was a shining example of humility. Huang Xiang report-noted to the general ofJiangxia and what he wrote was a model ofreverence. Liu Zheng wrote less public letters that were beautiful and instructive, but because they failed to be included in Cao Pi's account, are now forgotten by the world. Ifhowever you will disregard reputation and...