Xunzi's 'Jie Bi' (Unveiling Concealment): On the Wholeness of the Dao, Cognitive Limitation, and the Fortune of Being Unobstructed

Section 2: "Rhetoric" and "Reality"—The Fundamental Problem of the Name-Reality Relationship

The relationship between "Rhetoric" (Ci) and "Reality" (Shi) is essentially the relationship between "Name" (Ming, 名) and "Reality" (Shi, 实)—a core issue in pre-Qin philosophy.

"Rhetoric" here refers to speech, concepts, and debate—the linguistic realm. "Reality" refers to the actual state of affairs—the actual world. The normal cognitive process should be: first observe "Reality," then use "Rhetoric" to describe and analyze "Reality." "Rhetoric" is the tool, "Reality" is the goal. The tool serves the goal; the goal does not submit to the tool.

Master Hui Shi’s error was in reversing the relationship between "Rhetoric" and "Reality"—he did not use "Rhetoric" to describe "Reality," but used "Rhetoric" to construct a purely conceptual world detached from "Reality." In this purely conceptual world, he could derive all sorts of astonishing conclusions ("Heaven and Earth are of equal lowness," "Today I travel to Yue, yet I arrive yesterday"), but these conclusions were often disconnected from the actual state of the real world.

Confucius placed great emphasis on the consistency between "Names" and "Reality" (Ming Shi Yi Zhi, 名实一致). The Analects, "Zi Lu" (子路), records:

"Zi Lu asked, 'If the lord of Wei awaited you to undertake the governance, what would you set right first$17' The Master said, 'It must be rectifying the names!' Zi Lu said, 'Is that so$18 You are indeed eccentric! What needs rectifying$19' The Master said, 'How crude, You! When a gentleman does not know something, he should refrain from speaking about it. If names are not correct, language will not be in accordance with the truth of things. If language is not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried to success. If affairs cannot be carried to success, rites and music will not flourish. If rites and music do not flourish, punishments and fines will not be appropriate. If punishments and fines are not appropriate, the people will not know where to place their hands and feet. Therefore, the gentleman ensures that his names can be spoken, and his words can be put into practice. The gentleman is never careless in what he says.'" (子路曰：‘卫君待子而为政，子将奚先？’子曰：‘必也正名乎！’子路曰：‘有是哉，子之迂也！奚其正？’子曰：‘野哉，由也！君子于其所不知，盖阙如也。名不正则言不顺，言不顺则事不成，事不成则礼乐不兴，礼乐不兴则刑罚不中，刑罚不中则民无所错手足。故君子名之必可言也，言之必可行也。君子于其言，无所苟而已矣。’)

This passage is highly important. Master Confucius pointed out that "rectifying names" (Zheng Ming, 正名) is the starting point for all political action. If names (concepts) are not correct, speech will not be smooth; if speech is not smooth, affairs will not succeed. This is the correct path from "Rhetoric" to "Reality": first correct the names (make concepts accurate), then correct speech (make discourse coherent), and finally correct affairs (make actions effective).

Master Hui Shi’s debates violated this path. He did not start from "Reality" to test "Rhetoric"; instead, he worked purely on the level of "Rhetoric," deducing various astonishing conclusions (like "Heaven and Earth are of equal lowness") and then congratulating himself on discovering some great truth.

In Xunzi, "On Names" (Zheng Ming), Master Xunzi provided a more systematic critique of the Sophists' debating style:

"Confusing names with names" (以名乱名)—such as arguing "killing a thief is not killing a man"—manipulating the polysemy of concepts to obscure the issue. "Confusing names with reality" (以实乱名)—such as asserting "mountains and abysses are flat"—using extreme examples to deny general concepts. "Confusing reality with names" (以名乱实)—such as asserting "a hill is not an ox"—using logical deduction of concepts to negate the actual attributes of things.

Master Xunzi pointed out that the common error in these three debating styles is severing the correspondence between "name" (rhetoric) and "reality." The correct approach is: "Use names to point to reality, use speech to convey meaning, and use argumentation to reveal cause." (以名举实，以辞抒意，以说出故。) "Rhetoric" always serves "Reality," never supersedes it.