The birth of classicism in China

Yang Xiong (53 B.C.-18), the subject of my lecture, devoted most of his early career to describing in detail the pomp and splendor of the places visited by the court during imperial hunts and trips to the provinces. In his mature works, he turned his attention to another space of representation: the Classics; both a refuge for the imagination, in which he found solace, and a foundation for reform (political reform as well as redefinition of the self). More than any other figure in pre-Song history [1], it was Yang Xiong who defined the ideals associated with the idea of "classical scholarship", the culture of books and reading in early China, for subsequent generations (whether they were aware of it or not). Much of Yang's work presents a series of precepts defending the intelligibility of the Classics and neoclassics, and the sublime utility of the models derived from them. What these reference texts offer, in Yang's eyes, is a means (which has stood the test of time) of making contact with the Ancients through an immersion that encourages the adoption of a life of simplicity and contentment. In this way, one is led to give up devoting one's time to the ceaseless acquisition of ever fragmentary knowledge, in order to embark on the arduous undertaking of self-development, required by the emulation of true greatness. In this way, Yang directly prepares his readers for Tao Qian, Ge Hong and Li Qingzhao, authors who take refuge in the idea of the charm of bookish culture when faced with the difficulties of harsh reality.

As is well known, Yang was the most famous court poet of this period, and the author of three neoclassical works written in imitation of the Analects, the Yi jing and the didactic manual Cang Jie pian. One aspect of Yang's work that is often downplayed or misinterpreted is his long involvement - for decades - in a haogu ("love of antiquity") movement, associated with Liu Xiang and Liu Xin, two members of a female branch of the imperial lineage. Most historians of the Han period base their research on the existence of a well-defined, state-sanctioned classical tradition, definitively formulated around 136 BC, a century before Yang. Fukui Shigemasa, however, has already demonstrated that this vision of the distant past is anachronistic. Building on Fukui's thesis, this presentation suggests that our representation of Han politics and society may be distorted by the fact that we view them unreflectively through the prism of Eastern Han haogu . Haogu reformers championed the idea of "small government", claiming that the highly centralized and centralizing leadership of the early Western Han period had dramatically loosened the ties between the Han throne and its subjects, alienating local populations and calling its legitimacy into question. Wars of expansion and the constant proliferation of imperial cults had proved ruinous, and additional taxes and drudgery had been imposed on the poorest. Expenditure had to be cut, and frugality was firmly (but erroneously) associated in the minds of Haogu reformers with a return to the supposedly simpler times of old. However, the Haogu reformers had other ambitions in addition to politics. They were responsible for spectacular advances in cartography, astronomy, music theory and the philosophical system of the Five Elements (relatively new at the time). These men, who had privileged access to the Han imperial collections, established the first library catalog; in addition, they produced the first critical reviews of recognized editions that we use today [2], the first etymological dictionaries and collections devoted to Unusual Words 殊言 [3], the brief judgments of historical figures that we know from the later qingtan 清談 and the discourse that makes reading and classical scholarship the very definition of Chinese culture. This discourse was anchored in a series of eight interrelated propositions, postulated by Yang, expounding the pleasures of Classical study. In Abstract, these eight essential points are:

We commonly think of study in general, and the study of the Classics in particular, as merely tools for achieving specific goals in life (e.g. promotion, a long life, acquiring factual knowledge, etc.), but unless we consider the sages of antiquity to be idiots, it seems unlikely that they would have devoted their entire life's work to such mediocre ends, ends which are either inaccessible to humans (immortality, for example), or independent of the efforts of the person who desires them (as is a promotion).
If we take a closer look at the proper ends of classical scholarship, it seems that the inventions of the sages are intended to facilitate human interaction with the social and cosmic order, since this is the subject addressed by all sages. Humans share with many other creatures the need to eat and reproduce, but what is unique to humans is the powerful desire to be the active member of a thriving community that stands the test of time. However, this kind of community can only be sustained through the beauty and rigor embodied in the manifestations of aesthetics, such as ritual, music and classical scholarship.
The institutions designed by the wise - first and foremost the Five Relationships (prince-subject, husband-wife, parent-child, brother-brother, and friend-friend) - perfect the Five Social Virtues (humanity, commitment to duty, respect for propriety and ritual, wisdom and loyalty) and even enhance the Five Interactive Abilities (sight, hearing, speech, posture and thought) that "innate nature [4] possesses". Becoming a scholar simply means learning how to wield these virtues and institutions in order to develop to the full the potential inherent in human abilities, since it is only "through scholarship that these abilities come to function properly".
Only mature humans - not wild beasts or birds - can learn to distinguish reliably between apparently similar things. The greatest difficulty for humans is separating what is mere mimicry from what is pure aesthetics. Mimicry is based on the superficial, while aesthetics is linked to the deep pleasure of recognizing the value of old systems and applying them to new situations.
Classical scholarship in particular can greatly expand our awareness of human potential, as it presents multiple examples of effective and ineffective action. In this way, it multiplies the number and scope of experiences we are likely to encounter in a single lifetime [5]. Good scholars contemplate and confirm the human possibility of creating an aesthetic order from their own personal experiences, from the teachings of the old masters who created successful structures and new writings that match the classics in form, style and quality.
Wisdom consists in applying the flexible structures invented by the sages to current problems. To understand this wisdom is also to recognize implicitly that the wise men's discourse on human nature and their creation of institutions have as their common premise a genuine explanation of human capacities and the place of humans in the cosmic and social order.
According to Yang's definition, anything that enables people to function at the peak of their specifically human capacities is an inexhaustible source of pleasure. Those who follow the Way know the many pleasures that can be derived from their efforts to improve their characters and abilities. The most advanced on the Way know that the path they have chosen has enabled them to become "the most outstanding examples of their own species [6]".
Yang doesn't go so far as to guarantee that this learning will always be a pleasure: he knows that feelings of inferiority or incompetence are an incentive to self-development. But even so, the sage who wishes to attract less-advanced human beings to the Way must use their passion for sensual pleasure, urging others to imitate his admirable charisma, or listing the obvious attractions of reading and studying the Classics. The wise man, being a connoisseur of life's pleasures, can easily accomplish this task.

All of the above suggests that our representation of late Western Han is in dire need of revision. I'm currently working on a website entitled "Chang'an 26BC" dedicated to the analysis of proven archaeological evidence from the Late Western Han period. As this site is in preparation, it is not yet public, but the correlation between visual and literary documents has already proved very useful.

References

[1] According to David R. Knechtges, "The Liu Xin/Yang Hsiung correspondence", Yang arrived at the Han court around 22 BC. Liu Xiang is his (slightly older) contemporary and rival.

[2] See Marc Kalinowski, "La production des manuscrits dans la Chine ancienne : Une approche codicologique de la bibliothèque de Mawangdui", Asiatische Studien/Etudes asiatiques, 57 (2003.4), 849-80.

[3] This seems to be the title given by Yang to what we nowadays call Fangyan 方言 (usually called "Dialectal Words" or "Correct Words").

[4] For the Abstract, see (in order) FY 1/9; FY 3/14; FY 2/12-13; 5/26.

[5] FY 7/1 suggests that the study of the Classics allows fleeting glimpses of places and times that are too distant to be fully grasped (and are all the more precious for it), making the study of the Classics a great pleasure. Interestingly, a recent article in the Science Times section of the New York Times says that what our imagination makes us "see" affects our neural connections as substantially as what our eyes allow us to perceive. See also FY 12/12, which talks about the transformations of sages as preserved in writing.

[6] FY 13/27.