Xunzi's 'Jie Bi' (Unveiling Concealment): On the Wholeness of the Dao, Cognitive Limitation, and the Fortune of Being Unobstructed
This paper offers an in-depth interpretation of the 'Jie Bi' chapter in Xunzi, investigating the epistemological origins of the 'calamity of obstruction' described by the Pre-Qin philosophers. By analyzing the concept that 'the Dao is constant in its entirety yet utterly transformative,' the essay reveals the dilemma of human cognition being fixated on 'a single corner' and elucidates the transcendental value of Confucius's 'benevolence and wisdom unhindered,' aiming to understand how to escape cognitive bias.
Section 1: The Tradition of Sophistry and Master Hui Shi’s Debates
"Master Hui was obstructed by Rhetoric, unaware of Reality." (惠子蔽于辞而不知实。)
Master Hui, or Hui Shi, was a famous sophist (Ming Jia, 名家) from the State of Song during the Warring States period. Master Hui was renowned for his exquisite debates and peculiar propositions.
According to the Zhuangzi, "Tian Xia" (天下), Master Hui proposed more than ten famous theses, the most famous including:
"The ultimate great has no outside, called the Great One; the ultimate small has no inside, called the Small One."
"Nothing of thickness can be accumulated, yet it can span a thousand li."
"Heaven and Earth are of equal lowness; mountains and marshes are of equal flatness."
"The sun at noon is already slanting; things in the act of being born are already dying."
"The Great Sameness differs from the Small Sameness; this is called the difference of Small Sameness. All things are completely the same and completely different; this is called the difference of Great Sameness."
"The South is infinite yet has an end."
"Today I travel to Yue, yet I arrive yesterday."
"Interlocking rings can be undone."
"I know the center of the world; it is between Yan in the north and Yue in the south."
"Universal love for all things; Heaven and Earth are one body."
These propositions seem absurd, yet they contain profound contemplation on fundamental concepts like space, time, sameness/difference, and the finite/infinite. Master Hui Shi attempted to use these extreme propositions to expose the limitations of conventional cognition, challenging the framework of concepts people habitually use.
For instance, "Heaven and Earth are of equal lowness; mountains and marshes are of equal flatness"—common sense dictates Heaven is high and Earth is low, mountains are high and marshes are low, which seems indisputable. But Master Hui Shi proposed that from an absolute perspective, all distinctions of high and low are relative; there is no absolute high or low. This method of thinking indeed breaks the rigid framework of common sense and inspires people to contemplate matters from a higher vantage point.
Again, "The sun at noon is already slanting; things in the act of being born are already dying"—the sun begins to slant the moment it reaches its zenith; things begin to die the moment they are born. This reflects a deep insight into change—everything is in flux; any state is transitional; there is no absolutely static state. This insight highly resonates with the doctrine of constant change (Bian Yi) in the I Ching.
The problem, however, is that Master Hui Shi immersed himself so deeply in these linguistic and conceptual debates that he detached himself from the actual state of affairs. In the realm of "Rhetoric" (Ci, 辞), he traveled further and further away, forgetting that "Rhetoric" should serve "Reality" (Shi, 实)—the actual state of things.