Daxue and Zhongyong: Bilingual Edition

5. Zhongyong 中庸: Using the Centre

Zhongyong 中庸: Using the Centre Notes 注: Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 Commentary 疏: Kong Yingda 孔穎達 212 Daxue and Zhongyong 中庸 Zhongyong:《禮記》 Li ji 31 陸曰： 「鄭云： 『以其記中和之為用也。庸，用也。孔子之孫子思作之， 以昭明聖祖之德也。』 」 1 《正義》 曰：案鄭 《目錄》 云： 「名曰 《中庸》 者，以其記中和之為用也。 庸，用也。孔子之孫子思伋作之，以昭明聖祖之德，此於 《別錄》 屬 〈通 論〉 。」 Comment: Both early commentators here quoted endorse Zheng Xuan’s initial reading of yong 庸 as yong 用 in the sense of “to use” or “to apply,” which is the Shuowen definition. Appropriate English renderings could be “Using the Centre,” “Using the Middle Way” or “Using the Mean.”2 We have chosen the first as being most in keeping with the comments of the Li ji commentators. As Haloun has pointed out, words such as “balance” and “equilibrium ” are not entirely satisfactory. What seems to be indicated in the subsequent passages is the central point between “going beyond” and “not reaching.” There is, however, the problem of the later equating of yong 庸 with chang 常. 1 The reference is to Zheng Xuan’s 鄭玄 San Li mulu 三禮目錄—see CSJC, 12:442. Lu Deming’s 陸德明 (550–625) statement can be found in his Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文, CSJC, n.s., 39:70. 2 This issue is discussed at some length in the introduction to the Zhongyong and in the “General Introduction.” Zhongyong 中庸: Using the Centre 213 Using the Centre Lu [Deming] states: “Zheng [Xuan] said: ‘In taking this to be a record of using the centre and harmony, yong 庸 is equivalent to yong 用 (to use, apply). Confucius’ grandson, Zisi wrote it in order to display clearly the virtue of his sage ancestor.’” The Zhengyi says that according to Zheng’s Mulu: “The title Zhongyong 中 庸 takes this to be a record of the use of the centre and harmony. Yong 庸 is equivalent to yong 用 (to use, apply). Confucius’ grandson, Zisi [Kong] Ji 子 思孔伋, wrote it to display clearly the virtue of his sage ancestor. In the Bielu, this is included in the “Tonglun.”3 3 A work by Liu Xiang 劉向 (c. 79 BCE–c. 6 CE), no longer extant. A version of the revision of the Bielu by Liu Xiang’s son, Liu Xin 劉歆 (50 BCE–23 CE), survives in the “Yiwenzhi” chapter of the Han shu 漢書. 214 Daxue and Zhongyong ZY1: 天命之謂性，率性之謂道，脩道之謂教。[1]道也者，不可須臾離 也，可離非道也。[2]是故君子戒慎乎其所不睹，恐懼乎其所不聞。[3] 莫見乎隱，莫顯乎微，故君子慎其獨也。[4]喜怒哀樂之未發謂之中， 發而皆中節謂之和。中也者，天下之大本也。和也者，天下之達道 也。[5]致中和，天地位焉，萬物育焉。[6] Comment: The first issue with this section is whether it is part of the original work or not. Doubt was raised in particular by Wang Bo 王柏 (1194–1274), primarily because the title Zhongyong does not occur in this section. Nonetheless, it is an important statement of one of the central components of the work—the thesis that nature is decreed by Heaven and that it is innate and inherently good. The true Way is to follow this nature, to put it into practice, and by putting it to effective use, displaying it to others, so teaching them. There are several specific issues in interpretation as follows: (i) How should xiu 脩 be read in the opening statement? Following the commentary, it is taken as zhi 治, but not in the sense of “regulate” which Legge, for example, uses (Haloun has pointed out the difficulties of this). We have taken zhi 治 in the sense of “administer” which we have rendered somewhat freely as “properly practising,” whether in terms of the self or in administration more generally. (ii) Whether the verbs du 睹 and wen 聞 in the third sentence should be taken as active or passive. Following the commentary, they are taken as passive but the active form may be more appropriate on grammatical grounds, i.e. he is cautious about what he does not see or hear. (iii) The sentence “故君子慎其獨也,” which also appears in the Daxue 大學: Does this mean when he is alone and unobserved, as the commentary suggests, or is it referring to some inner and hidden component of the self—“uniqueness” (Ames and Hall), “inner core” (Haloun)? 注 ZY1 (鄭玄) [1] 天命，謂天所命生人者也，是謂性命。木神則仁，金神則義，火神則禮，水 神則信，土神則知。 《孝經說》 曰： 「性者，生之質命，人所稟受度也。」 率，循 也。循性行之，是謂道。脩，治也。治而廣之，人放傚之，是曰 「教」 。{率， 所律反。知音智，下 「知者」 、 「大知」 皆同。放，方往反。傚，胡教反。} [2] 道，猶道路也，出入動作由之。離之惡乎從也？{離，力智反，下及注同。 惡音烏。} [3] 小人閒居為不善，無所不至也。君子則不然，雖視之無人，聽之無聲，猶戒 慎恐懼自脩正，是其不須臾離道。{睹，丁古反。恐，匡勇反，注同。閒音閑， 下同。} * Text from the classical commentaries in { } brackets primarily contains pronunciation guides for certain Chinese characters; this has been omitted in the English translation. Zhongyong 中庸: Using the Centre 215 ZY1: What Heaven decrees is called “nature.” Complying with nature is called the “Way.” Properly practising the Way is called “teaching.” [1] The Way cannot be departed from even for an instant; if it can be departed from it is not the Way. [2] This is why the noble man is on guard and cautious where he is not seen; this is why he is fearful and apprehensive where he is not heard. [3] There is nothing more apparent than what is hidden; there is nothing more manifest than what is obscure. Therefore...