When Life is Too Rich--chinese

As I write this we are in the midst of the biggest two-day meldown in the stock market in ages (oops, the Dow and NASDAQ have just "corrected"). I, like most, am losing my shirt, even though my advisor and everyone I have read says that this is a mystifying collapse. That makes it much better of course; it must not be as real if it is mystifying.

So, while not knowing what to do on that front, I am continuing on my Chinese learning but am finding, as I pursue things in the method I outlined here, that the insights gleaned come in such rapid and significant fashion that I must stop, reflect, retain, write and make sure I have internalized all the good things I learn. I feel like a person standing in front of the most massive and delectable banquet known to man, seeing hundreds of food objects I love or would love to taste, and realizing that for my health and enjoyment I can only eat, and then savor, about two or three of them. Thus, in the last few days the learnings in Chinese have become so significant for me that I simply have to stop, reflect, write and then try only to learn as much as can be enjoyably retained.

One point I made in my 2010 book It's All the Basics: Teaching & Learning for the 21st Century is that a great part of learning, even to this day, is memory. Memory needs to be caressed and well-treated in order to give its magnificent yield to us. Thus, in order to "save my memory," I need to stop, take stock on what I have learned, and savor the learning. The only "fear" I had at first is that if I take this long in trying to learn, then there will not be enough time to master all the things in the world that I truly want to understand. But that is a false concern; if each day's learning is full, and each day gives lessons of power and purpose, then one cannot really worry about the long run. It may not "take care of itself," but it will have to be placed where it belongs--in the future.

A Modern-Day Four-Character Proverb--Introduction

Most of the four-character proverbial Chinese sayings that have resonance to this day are rooted in hoary antiquity. Indeed, I will tell one in the next essay. But I found one today that comes from the late days of the Qing Dynasty (?), which ended in the early 20th century. I just love the fact, don't you (?), that I now can write Chinese characters in my script. The four character epigram is ????--in pinyin it is tou(1) tian(1) huan(4) ri(4). The only apology I offer is that I will have to reproduce the characters in their traditional, rather than simplified form. For many characters that makes no difference, of course, and it will give me/you a chance to learn the difference between the two.

Normally these four characters are translated "distort the truth by despicable means" or "perpetuate a giant fraud," but the literal meaning of the words gives us an unforgettable picture of fraud and corruption.

First, we should know that it was coined by a late Qing dynasty journalist (??--ji(4) zhe(3)) named ??? (Li(3)bao(3)jia(1)--note that the difference in the second character between the simplified "bao" and the traditional "bao" is 12 characters-the simplified has 8 and the "monster" traditional one has 20. But, as you can see, there is learning galore already, as names, dynasties, historical periods, the difference between traditional and simplified, are all coming into focus. Just as the beginning of any task requires intensive cultivation and investment, so the beginning of this historical/four-character/traditional/computer program mastery takes loads of time.

Going further, this journalist wrote a book in the early 20th century (he died in 1906) depicting the corrupt state of public officials at the time. Indeed, the topic this opens for study is the way that the Confucian examination system, which helped make the country strong for more than a millennium, might have contributed to an "anti-technology" approach to culture that caused most to think that China was simply not prepared for the 20th century (and they were right). The issue for me is to reflect on the way that a past tradition, which captures so much rich material, may enable future growth and openness to a creative future. That is, is it possible to have strongly rooted sacred traditions, traditional philosophical material, things that "worked" for you at one time, and then, in a new climate, still use those things to make a transition to this "modern world" or, in fact, do the traditions need to be thrown out? Is America only great in creativity/innovation because it can forget its history so easily?

The Book and the Epigram

Li bao jia's book was entitled "?????" which is translated "Recording the Contemporary State of Officialdom," where the phrase "guan(1) chang(3)" which begins the title is used in a derogatory fashion. In it he tells the story of a merchant filled with dirty tricks, named ??? (Yin(1) zi chong(2)). So immoral is Yin that he "tao(1) tian(1) huan(4) ri(4)." Here is where a literal reading of the words gives us ingiht, and makes us smile. The word "tou(1)" means "steal," tian(1) can mean many things, but here it means "sky" or "heavens," "huan(4)" is the normal verb for change or exchange and "ri" can mean "day" or "sun." Thus, this yields, "he steals the sky to exchange the sun"--a vivid picture of ambition, public corruption--i.e., probably done in a fashion that all could see it, and the huge scale of it all. By putting it in these terms, also, the author has made us see the ultimately futile nature of it. If you really wanted to change the universe, you replace the sun. Otherwise you are just playing little games--even if these little games contribute to the moral decline of your culture.

Conclusion

Thus, this four character gem, tou tian huan ri, not only gives us a vital picture of life in the waning days of the "old order" in China, it invites us to consider many subjects. For example, how do we express vivid truth? Can we (re)claim a pictorial way of speaking? What was life like in the waning days of the Qing dynasty? What was the "mind set" of the elites and others? To what extent did traditional learning lead to complacency, an unwillingness to be open, etc? Is that a "fatal" defect in traditional learning or is there flexibility in it? Then, just as an immersion in primary texts in other languages or archival work in your native language makes you immediately aware of realities you never knew existed, we are invited to consider the nature of Chinese names (given, courtesy, other names awarded a person), the plethora of four-character sayings, and the way that many of them deserve their own separate meditation. In addition, as we learn more and more Chinese characters, we are invited to consider whether we can reconstruct our entire way of communicating to be closer to the classic "four character" Chinese way of speaking.

As you can see, after just that four-character learning, I was ready to call it a day. But other things beckon, and I probably will have to return to another priceless Chinese saying.

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