A Deep Study of Xunzi's 'Jie Pi' Chapter: On the Cognitive Foundations of the Mind—Emptiness, Unity, and Tranquility
This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the core proposition in Xunzi's 'Jie Pi' concerning the nature of cognition: 'How does man know$41 By the mind. How does the mind know$42 By being empty, unified, and tranquil.' It systematically interprets the dialectical relationship and philosophical implications of 'emptiness' (xu), 'unity' (yi), and 'tranquility' (jing) in cognition, tracing their ancient intellectual origins to reveal the systematicity and sophistication of Pre-Qin cognitive theory.
Section 1: The Fundamental Distinction Between "Excellence in Things" and "Excellence in the Dao"
Master Xunzi presents an extremely important distinction in this passage:
"The farmer is excellent in the fields, but cannot be the teacher of farming; the merchant is excellent in the market, but cannot be the teacher of the market; the artisan is excellent in his craft, but cannot be the teacher of crafts. There is a person who possesses none of these three skills, yet can be made to govern the three offices. This is called one who is excellent in the Dao. There are those excellent in things. Those excellent in things manage things by things (yi wu wu 以物物); those excellent in the Dao manage things by encompassing them (jian wu wu 兼物物)."
The core of this passage is the difference between "Excellence in things" (jing yu wu) and "Excellence in the Dao" (jing yu dao).
"Excellence in things" is mastery of a specific, concrete domain. Farmers master agriculture, merchants master trade, artisans master craft—they each reach a high level in their respective fields.
But those "excellent in things" have a fundamental limitation: they can only function within their area of expertise and cannot govern the whole picture. A farmer cannot manage the Ministry of Agriculture ("teacher of farming"), a merchant cannot manage commerce ("teacher of the market"), and an artisan cannot manage industry ("teacher of crafts"—qi shi 器师)—because governance requires not just mastery of specific techniques, but also comprehension of the whole situation and understanding of fundamental principles.
"Excellence in the Dao" is mastery of the fundamental principle. The "Dao" is the universal principle that permeates all specific domains—it is not a specific skill, but the general principle that allows all skills to find their proper place.
Those excellent in things manage specific affairs using specific methods ("managing things by things"). Those excellent in the Dao are able to oversee all specific affairs ("encompassing them all").
The profound implication here is that "Singularity" (Yi) exists on different levels. Focusing on things (Yi Yu Wu) and focusing on the Dao (Yi Yu Dao) are both forms of "Singularity," but they are of entirely different orders. Focusing on things leads to mastery of one thing; focusing on the Dao leads to the ability to govern all things.