An Inquiry into the Core of Xunzi's 'On Rites': The Origin of Rites, Textual-Structural Logic, and the Way of Elevation and Reduction

Section 4 Development of the Problematic Consciousness

Before delving into the main text, it is necessary to organize and expand upon the core problematic consciousness of this article. Reading these four passages from Master Xunzi’s Discourse on Rites, we can pose at least the following manifold questions:

Regarding the Origin of Rites:

Why does Master Xunzi make "humans are born with desires" the logical starting point for Rites$24 What exactly is the concept of "desire" (yu) within Master Xunzi’s system$25 Is it purely negative, neutral, or even possess some legitimacy$26 "When desires are present but unsatisfied, they cannot help but seek"—what is the relationship between "desire" (yu) and "seeking" (qiu)$27 What does "unsatisfied" (bu de) imply$28 Material scarcity, or the inherent nature of desire itself$29 "When seeking lacks measure and boundary, contention cannot be avoided"—what do the four characters "measure, quantity, division, boundary" (du liang fen jie) mean$30 Do these four terms each refer to something distinct$31 "The Former Kings detested this chaos"—who are the "Former Kings"$32 Are they specific historical figures, or an idealized concept$33 Does the "detestation" (e) of chaos imply mere dislike or serious concern$34 "Established Rites and Righteousness to differentiate among them"—how should "establish" (zhi) be understood$35 Is it creation or discovery$36 Were Rites created out of thin air by the Former Kings, or did they discover a natural law and institutionalize it$37 "Thereby nurturing human desires and satisfying human demands"—why "nurture" desire rather than "extinguish" it$38 How does this fundamentally differ from the Buddhist path of extinguishing desire or the Daoist path of reducing desire$39 "This ensures that desires do not exhaust material things, and material things are not subjugated by desires"—what do "exhaust" (qiong) and "subjugated" (qu) mean$40 "When the two support each other and grow"—does "support each other" (xiang chi) imply confrontation or mutual sustenance$41 Does "and grow" (er zhang) mean they increase together$42

Regarding Culture (Wen) and Principle (Li):

"Honoring the root is called culture (wen)"—What is the "root" (ben)$43 Why is "honoring the root" called "culture" (wen)$44 Conventionally, the "root" should relate to "substance" (zhi), and "culture" to "embellishment." Why is honoring the root instead called "culture" (wen)$45 Does the term "culture" (wen) here have a special meaning$46 "Embracing utility is called principle (li)"—What is "utility" (yong)$47 Why is "embracing utility" called "principle" (li)$48 Does "principle" here mean order or texture, or does it mean reason or law$49 "When the two combine to form culture, they return to the Great Unity (Da Yi)"—What state is the "Great Unity"$50 Is it related to the "Dao" spoken of by Daoists$51 "This is called Great Flourishing (Da Long)"—Is "Great Flourishing" the highest state of Rites$52 What is its relationship to the "flourishing" (long) mentioned later$53

Regarding the Process and Levels of Rites:

"Begins with simplicity" (shi hu zhuo)—What is the meaning of zhuo (梲)$54 Commentators have long debated this. Does it mean "to shed" (simplicity, unadorned), or does it refer to something else$55 "Completed in culture" (cheng hu wen)—Since the completion of Rites lies in "culture" (wen), is this wen the same as the wen in the previous passage$56 "Ends in joyful calibration" (zhong hu yue jiao)—What is "joyful calibration"$57 Does "joy" (yue) mean delight, and "calibration" (jiao) mean verification or comparison$58 Or does it have another meaning$59 "Emotion and culture are both fully realized" (qing wen ju jin)—Does "fully realized" (jin) mean exhausted or perfected$60 "Emotion and culture alternately prevail" (qing wen dai sheng)—Does "alternately prevail" mean one wins out over the other, or that they substitute each other$61 "Reverts to emotion to return to the Great Unity" (fu qing yi gui Da Yi)—Why does the "lowest degree" also "return to the Great Unity"$62 Is the Great Unity not the highest state$63 Why can the lowest degree also return to the Great Unity$64 Does this imply a dialectic of "the extreme of misfortune leads to fortune"$65

Regarding Flourishing, Reduction, and the Sages’ Attainment:

"Rites use material things as their utility, use nobility and baseness as their culture, use abundance and scarcity as their differentiation, and use flourishing and reduction as their key principle"—What is the relationship among these four elements$66 Are they parallel or successive$67 "When culture and principle are elaborate, and emotion and utility are restrained, this is the flourishing (long) of Rites." Why is it the flourishing (long) of Rites when culture and principle are elaborate but emotion and utility are restrained$68 Does this imply that the more flourishing the Rites, the more concise their emotional content$69 Does this contradict the ideal of "emotion and culture are both fully realized"$70 "The superior man achieves the utmost flourishing above, exhausts the utmost reduction below, and resides in the middle"—Why must the superior man navigate between flourishing, reduction, and the middle$71 "His steps, gallops, and swift flights do not go beyond these"—What do the phrases symbolizing walking, galloping, and flying swiftly symbolize$72 "This is the altar-space and court of the superior man"—Is "altar-space and court" a literal reference or a metaphor$73 "If he resides perfectly in the middle, moving deftly and grasping the order implicitly, he is a Sage"—What do "moving deftly" (fang huang) and "grasping the order implicitly" (qu de qi ci xu) mean$74 What is the distinction between the Sage and the superior man$75 "That which is deep is the accumulation of Rites; that which is great is the expanse of Rites; that which is high is the flourishing of Rites; that which is bright is the perfection of Rites"—Do the four terms depth, greatness, height, and brightness constitute the four dimensions of Rites$76 What is their relationship to the flourishing/reduction system discussed earlier$77

All such questions are what this article seeks to explore deeply. The following sections will proceed according to the order of the text, interpreting passage by passage and sentence by sentence, while continuously introducing original texts from other pre-Qin classics for correspondence and verification.