7 Feelings of Cheng Yi
feelings of Cheng Yi 7 Feelings are problem for the Neo-Confucian, Cheng Yi. In his view, these seven feelings have the power to corrupt people’s original purity if allowed free rein. Even though human nature starts off pure, the social world that we inhabit corrupts it. The task we all face, therefore, is the endless struggle of protecting this tender shoot of goodness from the onslaught of life at large. This list of seven feelings is an interesting departure from notions more familiar to the Western reader, such as the Seven Deadly [...]
5 Virtues of a Thief
virtues of a thief 5 Robber Zhi (盜跖) is one of the stock characters of the Zhuangzi, frequently invoked to poke holes in the tenets of other philosophers and generally Confucians. This cheeky list, which sums up the ‘dao’ of being a thief, is a comical subversion of the qualities that the ruists (Confucians) espoused. The satirical passage is part of a broader point; the sages disturbed the natural order by introducing the artificial desire for virtuous qualities. Though a few good people may result, the society they create gives rise to [...]
5 punishments & the protest of Yi Ting
punishments & the protest of Ti Ying 5 Ti Ying （緹縈）was the youngest daughter of a doctor condemned to receive one of the five corporal punishments of Han Dynasty China. Defying the societal restrictions on her sex, Ti Ying travelled to the capital to intercede on her father's behalf, boldly petitioning the emperor Wen (漢文帝, 203-157 BCE). Instead of appealing on the basis of her father's good character, she took on the whole system of corporal punishment itself, pointing out the inhumanity of the penal code. The emperor was [...]
Seven Worthies launched
The Seven Worthies goes live The Seven Worthies site has gone live! We start with just the seven worthies themselves - the group of scholars and officials from the third century AD who assembled in a bamboo grove to discourse on philosophy away from the pressures of court life. I hope that this list of seven, which gives the site its name and is the inspiration behind it will soon be joined by many more of the exciting-sounding lists from Chinese philosophy and historiography - the eight immortals, the three kingdoms, the four treasures. There's still more to do [...]
