Beyond the Troubled Water of Shifei: From Disputation to Walking-Two-Roads in the Zhuangzi

310 Pages·2019·2.047 MB·English

by  Lin Ma, Jaap van Brakel

Beyond the
Troubled Water of Shifei
SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture
—————
Roger T. Ames, editor
Beyond the
Troubled Water of Shifei
From Disputation to
Walking-Two-Roads in the Zhuangzi
Lin Ma and Jaap van Brakel
Work on this book is supported by the Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social
Sciences, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the
Research Funds of Renmin University of China. 18WZX010

(cid:26657)(cid:18070)(cid:9141)(cid:18840)(cid:315)(cid:289)(cid:7798)(cid:15228)(cid:24363)(cid:9370)(cid:11022)(cid:17964)(cid:22906)(cid:11854)(cid:13130)(cid:18974)(cid:8432)(cid:18830)(cid:12229)(cid:12443)(cid:7637)(cid:17964)“(cid:13783)(cid:26374)”
Cover art: Lu Zhi (1496–1576). Zhuangzi Dreaming of a Butterfly. Ming dynasty,
mid-sixteenth century.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2019 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ma, Lin, 1970– author. | Brakel, J. van (Jaap), author.
Title: Beyond the troubled water of Shifei : from disputation to walking-two-roads in
the Zhuangzi / Lin Ma and Jaap van Brakel.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, 2019. | Series:
SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018036000 | ISBN 9781438474830 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781438474847 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Zhuangzi. | Methodology. | Philosophy, Comparative.
Classification: LCC BL1900.C576 M29 2019 | DDC 299.5/1482—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018036000
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Photogragh taken by Ma Lin in Kunming, Yunnan, China. Text on top reads: Renjian
youjing (cid:7778)(cid:25915)(cid:11813)(cid:10283) “A place of tranquility in the human world.” Calligraphy by Yang
Shen (cid:14578)(cid:12534) (1488–1559, Ming dynasty), who resided in Yunnan for thirty years.

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Note on Referencing xiii
Introduction xix
1 Preliminaries 1
Necessary Preconditions of Interpretation 1
Against the Ideal Language Assumption 3
Underdetermination of Meaning and Interpretation 8
Would “On Its Own Terms” Be Possible? 9
Part I
The Troubled Water of Shifei
2 Projection of Truth onto Classical Chinese Language 15
The Harbsmeier–Hansen Dispute 15
Looking for the “Is True” Predicate in Classical Chinese 18
Conceptual Embedment of Shi (cid:13783) and Its Congeners 19
Transcendental Pretense in Projecting “Theories of Truth” 21
The Later Mohist Canons 25
3 Competing Translations of Shifei (cid:13783)(cid:26374) 31
4 Variations of the Meaning of Shi 39
Shi as a Demonstrative 39
Shi as Meaning both “This” and “Right” 41
Modifiers of Shi 43
viii / Contents
5 Dissolution of Dichotomies of Fact/Value and Reason/Emotion 49
Are There Dichotomies in Classical Chinese? 49
Fact/Value Dichotomy in Western Philosophy 54
6 Rightness and Fitting 57
Nelson Goodman on Rightness and Fitting 57
Setting up the Quasi-universal of Yi (cid:11076) and Fitting 62
7 Shi and Its Opposites and Modifiers in the Qiwulun (cid:28402)(cid:16913)(cid:23166) 67
Non-English Translations of Shifei 67
Bi/Ci ((cid:12068)/(cid:15116)) and Shi/Fei 74
Shibushi (cid:13783)(cid:7605)(cid:13783), Ranburan (cid:16606)(cid:7605)(cid:16606), Kebuke (cid:9111)(cid:7605)(cid:9111) 78
Qing (cid:12397) and Shifei 82
Modifiers of Shi in the Qiwulun 85
Graham’s Contrasting between Yinshi (cid:9864)(cid:13783) and Weishi (cid:16482)(cid:13783) 89
Translations of Yinbi (cid:9864)(cid:12068), Weishi, and Yinshi 95
Part II
From Disputation to Walking-Two-Roads in the Zhuangzi
8 Is Zhuangzi a Relativist or a Skeptic? 109
Zhuangzi and Relativism 109
Relativities versus Relativism 114
Hansen and Graham’s Relativistic Interpretations of
the Zhuangzi 118
Zhi (cid:18317) and Skepticism 121
9 Zhuangzi’s Stance 129
Stance Instead of Perspective or Set of Beliefs 129
No Fixed Meanings (Weiding (cid:14034)(cid:11074)) 135
Walking-Two-Roads (Liangxing (cid:8465)(cid:22516)) 141
Doubt and Rhetorical Questions 149
Buqi Erqi (cid:7605)(cid:28402)(cid:20404)(cid:28402): Achieving Equality by Leaving
Things Uneven 155
10 Afterthoughts 161
Do the Ruists and Mohists Really Disagree? 161
Is Zhuangzi’s Stance Amoral? 170
Contents / ix
Appendix 179
The Zhuangzi—Key Notions 179
Zhuangzi’s Text(s): What Are the Authentic Chapters? 180
The Big (Da (cid:10447)) and the Small (Xiao (cid:11191)): Early
Interpretations and Disagreements 184
The Qi (cid:28402) and Lun (cid:23166) of Wu (cid:16913) 188
The Sages 193
Dao (cid:24571), Tian (cid:10449), and “the One” 198
Ziran (cid:20882)(cid:16606) and Hundun (cid:15846)(cid:15412) 201
Wuwei (cid:13704)(cid:16482) and Wuyong (cid:13704)(cid:17616) 203
Notes 209
Works Cited 253
Name Index 271
Subject Index 277