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Thursday, June 2nd, 2022
08:48
13.3 The Rectification of names, a sort of Chinese Hermeneutics that seeks to align speech with that of objective reality so as to maintain social harmony.
08:52
13.5 The Master said, If a man can recite from memory the three hundred odes of the Poetry but, when you entrust him with governance, he is unable to express his meaning, or, when you send him to the four quarters on diplomatic missions, he is unable to make replies on his own initiative, though he may have learned much, of what use is he?
Unable to express how much this passage appeals to me; the rote recitation of doctrine in place of understanding permeates even the seven heavens.
09:54
17.11 The Master said, Li, li – is jade and silk all we mean by it? Music, music – are bells and drums all we mean by it?
17.19 The Master said, “I wish to be wordless.” Zigong said, “If you never spoke, then what would we disciples have to pass on?” The Master said, “Does Tian speak? Yet the seasons turn and the creatures of the world are born. Does Tian speak?”
10:18
Finished the text, will read the appendices now. Textual depth can't be overstated. Intertwined with history, culture; veritably an emblem of patterns to behold. A lot to take in, extremely helpful that I'd primed myself with prior overviews.
Sunday, June 5th, 2022
19:10
Unsure if noted prior, I've decided to go through the Four Books to cap off Confucianism. Once again using Robert Eno's online translation for The Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean.
Affairs have their roots and branches, situations have their ends and beginnings. To know what comes first and what comes after is to be near the Dao.
20:54
Perfect genuineness is the Dao of Tian. Making things perfectly genuine is the Dao of humankind.
I really enjoy this passage. Many words could be said for so few; I will hold there.
21:10
The Master said, “Ignorant yet fond of acting by his own lights; of low station yet fond of relying only on himself; born in this generation and returning to the Dao of old: disaster will surely reach such as these.”
Good passage on the nature of license to shift the pattern of one's society; thinking of it in a reactionary context—hard to escape my biases and concerns for the modern day in this regard—but thought-provoking all the same.
21:27
Finished the texts, very short but honestly the most interesting to me out of the canon so far, partially due to their concise nature, but also due to how in some form they represent a culmination of my understanding; I would read a passage and understand some of the nuance therein that would be confirmed by the attached footnote. My grasp tightens, but there is also so much depth here that I could never hope to traverse without a great deal of studying, I'm sure. Enjoyable all the same. Last but not least, Mencius.
Thursday, June 2nd, 2022
08:48
13.3 The Rectification of names, a sort of Chinese Hermeneutics that seeks to align speech with that of objective reality so as to maintain social harmony.
08:52
13.5 The Master said, If a man can recite from memory the three hundred odes of the Poetry but, when you entrust him with governance, he is unable to express his meaning, or, when you send him to the four quarters on diplomatic missions, he is unable to make replies on his own initiative, though he may have learned much, of what use is he?
Unable to express how much this passage appeals to me; the rote recitation of doctrine in place of understanding permeates even the seven heavens.
09:54
17.11 The Master said, Li, li – is jade and silk all we mean by it? Music, music – are bells and drums all we mean by it?
17.19 The Master said, “I wish to be wordless.” Zigong said, “If you never spoke, then what would we disciples have to pass on?” The Master said, “Does Tian speak? Yet the seasons turn and the creatures of the world are born. Does Tian speak?”
10:18
Finished the text, will read the appendices now. Textual depth can't be overstated. Intertwined with history, culture; veritably an emblem of patterns to behold. A lot to take in, extremely helpful that I'd primed myself with prior overviews.
Sunday, June 5th, 2022
19:10
Unsure if noted prior, I've decided to go through the Four Books to cap off Confucianism. Once again using Robert Eno's online translation for The Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean.
Affairs have their roots and branches, situations have their ends and beginnings. To know what comes first and what comes after is to be near the Dao.
20:54
Perfect genuineness is the Dao of Tian. Making things perfectly genuine is the Dao of humankind.
I really enjoy this passage. Many words could be said for so few; I will hold there.
21:10
The Master said, “Ignorant yet fond of acting by his own lights; of low station yet fond of relying only on himself; born in this generation and returning to the Dao of old: disaster will surely reach such as these.”
Good passage on the nature of license to shift the pattern of one's society; thinking of it in a reactionary context—hard to escape my biases and concerns for the modern day in this regard—but thought-provoking all the same.
21:27
Finished the texts, very short but honestly the most interesting to me out of the canon so far, partially due to their concise nature, but also due to how in some form they represent a culmination of my understanding; I would read a passage and understand some of the nuance therein that would be confirmed by the attached footnote. My grasp tightens, but there is also so much depth here that I could never hope to traverse without a great deal of studying, I'm sure. Enjoyable all the same. Last but not least, Mencius.