enter the grove
The Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove – celebrated mavericks who escaped the oppressive life of the court for wine, poetry and philosophy amidst the bamboo forest. But who were these sagely iconoclasts? What were their names and why are they worthy? And what about other mysterious lists we read about? The four books? The six schools? The nine tribes? Seven Worthies is dedicated to diving into Chinese history and culture, one list at a time.
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fresh roots, new shoots
4 Evils of Government
Confucius was asked by Zizhang, one of his younger disciples, what a man must be like to be suitable for a government post. It’s a good question with an appropriately Confucian emphasis: getting yourself right before attempting to rule others. Somewhat gnomically, Confucius replies that that the key is to respect the five ‘beautiful traits’ and to avoid the four ‘abhorrent ones’ (or the ‘four evils’). After a discussion of the beautiful traits, Zizhang asks for the bad ones.
4 Symbols & the 28 Mansions
The four symbols, which could be translated 'signs', are the traditional way of dividing the night sky. Each quadrant then gets subdivided further into seven 'mansions' (宿), which is something like a resting place or a temporary lodging, making a total of 28. They are linked to the movement of the moon, so that each mansion is crossed in turn as the moon orbits the earth.
5 Essential Skills of the Charioteer
Driving a chariot in the Shang and Zhou dynasties was serious business. Generally led by a team of four horses and surrounded by troops, chariots were the mainstay of military strategy; so much so that charioteering is one of the 'Six Arts' listed in the Book of Zhou (周禮, 2nd century BCE). A later commentator laid out the list though, as we shall see, quite a bit of guesswork is needed to decipher the items.
6 Hallmarks of a Good Bow
In his Dream Pool Essays of 1086 (夢溪筆談), Shen Kuo (沈括) gives six qualities to look for in a good bow. Next time you're looking for a composite bow à l'ancienne, be sure to take this checklist along with you.
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