The Tapestry of Vignette Collections A Study of the “Chu shuo” Chapters of Hanfeizi: Their Composition and Function

By engaging in close analysis of the “Chu shuo” vignette chapters in Hanfeizi, this thesis seeks to explore the possible process of composition, the potential role such vignette collections play in the Hanfeizi compilation, and how they relate to the social background of the late Warring States period. In chapter I, I examined the traditional assumption that the guideline texts are composed prior to compiling the vignettes and point to counter-evidence that suggests that the collections of vignettes were compiled independently of the guideline texts. In the succeeding chapters I further demonstrate the possibility of understanding the guidelines as superimposed upon existing collections, and reading them as a device for organizing and incorporating inherited textual materials. As I argue in chapter II, we can observe a difference between the materials incorporated in the inner and outer “Chu shuo” chapters, respectively, which seems to mirror a corresponding difference between the Hanfeizi chapters before and after the “Chu shuo” vignette collections. While the focus of the earlier chapters of Hanfeizi and the two inner “Chu shuo” chapters is very much on well-known legalist ideas, the outer “Chu shuo” and the later Hanfeizi chapters argue for these ideas in the context of a debate with proponents of competing teachings. Correspondingly we see in the outer “Chu shuo” chapters a greater heterogeneity in the materials that are incorporated. As I further argue in Chatper III, this is a more obvious case of what seems to be the function the “Chu shuo” chapters perform: to appropriate circulating contemporary textual traditions toward supporting the legalist agenda of Hanfeizi as a whole. Meanwhile, the unique textual structure of the “Chu shuo” chapters and its critical position in the entire compilation reflect a shifting attitude toward historical materials. As representation of the past, historical narratives are invalidated as either unreliable or irrelevant, while the value of these narratives is shifted towards their ability to represent an ahistorical understanding of human nature. Thus the structure of the narrative and the timeless principles they are capable of illustrating become more important than their historical settings. My analysis of the “Chu shuo” chapters shows how structural features on various levels of the text – first, individual vignettes and their interrelatedness, second, individual chapters of the compilation and, third, the compilation as a whole – can indicate meaningfulness behind an otherwise seemingly arbitrary compilation of vignette materials that ends up being included in the Hanfeizi: it can be better understood as a deliberate composition that has implications for how the compilation was supposed to function, for it sets an interpretive pattern guiding readers in the correct understanding of the text and potentially in using it in the political debates of the day. Chapter I: “Chu shuo” as “Stored Illustrations” In this chapter and the following, I will focus on the six well-known but nonetheless largely neglected “Chu shuo” chapters of the Hanfeizi compilation, chapters 30 to 35. Following a description of the basic structure shared by these six chapters, I will attempt to offer another angle for consider why alternative versions of vignettes are included in these collections. This question has engaged the attention of many scholars and plays an important role in the debate over the authorship of these chapters. Through this close study, I hope to demonstrate that the compilers of Hanfeizi likely worked with pre-existing vignette collection in some shape or form, and in fact, I would also like to demonstrate that the unique structures of these chapters reflect an effort toward organizing and preserving such existing textual materials and cultural traditions. The Basic Structure of the “Chu shuo” chapters What unites chapters 30 to 35 is their overarching textual structure, a rather unusual one among early Chinese literature. Two distinct types of text are present in each of these chapters: a set of maxims called jing 經, followed by a collection of vignettes, usually referred to as shuo 說. The first type, jing, occupies the opening of each chapter, typically consisting of terse phrases stating a certain principle or maxim, followed by equally concise phrases naming a set of anecdotes or vignettes as illustrations for this maxim. The opening of each “Chu shuo” chapter lists three to seven such jing texts. As a label, jing could not be more pertinent. The jing texts function exactly according to the basic meaning of jing: they are literally the warp threads stringing together the subsequent vignettes and weaving them into the tapestry of a larger argument. I therefore translate jing as “guideline” to emphasize its function as the common thread guiding the arrangement and reading of the vignettes; this translation also alludes to the basic function most, albeit not necessarily all, of these jing texts perform; they are guidelines for how the ruler should govern his subjects. Following the list of jing in each chapter is a collection of vignettes, mostly anecdotes but intermingled with a small number of short expositions. The guideline texts divide these vignettes into groups and allot them as illustrations to different guidelines. For instance, the first nine vignettes in chapter 30 are illustrations for guideline 1, and the next 12 (or 14, if the two vignettes offering alternative accounts to their preceding anecdotes are counted as independent vignettes) are illustrations for guideline 2, etc. Unlike the jing section, the vignette section of the “Chu shuo” chapters is not clearly labeled. Most scholars of the Qing and later periods prefer call these sections shuo 說 [illustrations], which is what they are mostly labeled as in modern editions. The early editions, however, often offer no specific designation for the vignettes, although in some of these editions they are labeled as zhuan 傳 [traditions]. Scholars such as Gu Guangqi 顧廣圻 and Chen Qiyou 陳奇猷 have opted for shuo in view of the title “Chu shuo,” as well as the shuo zai 說在 [it is illustrated by] phrase that often appears in the jing sections, just as in the text quoted below. 1 I will also follow this convention and name the vignette section shuo, or “illustrations.” Here is an example of a typical guideline text, the first of the seven listed in chapter 30: 觀聽不參則誠不聞,聽有門戶則臣壅塞。其說在侏儒之夢見竈,哀公之稱 莫眾而迷。故齊人見河伯,與惠子之言亡其半也。其患在豎牛之餓叔孫,而江乙之 說荊俗也。嗣公欲治不知,故使有敵。是以明主推積鐵之類,而察一市之患。2 Without seeking multiple sources to verify what is seen and heard, the truth cannot be gleaned. If one’s hearing has certain passageways, then subordinates are liable to block them. This is illustrated by the story of the midget seeing a stove in his dream and Duke Ai interpreting the saying “without the multitude one is misled.” Thus the man of Qi revealed the River Elder, and Huizi talked about being “half lost.” The peril of this is illustrated by the story of Shuniu starving Shusun, and Jiang Yi discussing the folk-saying of Jing (Chu). Duke Si wanted to take charge of the situation but was not informed, thus creating enemies. Therefore an insightful ruler extends what the mass of iron characterizes to other things, and observes the peril of one market. The underlined text is the maxim or teaching that is to be illustrated by the vignettes alluded in the text following the phrase qi shuo其說在 [It is illustrated by]. As I try to reflect in the translation, the allusions to the vignettes are hardly understandable without prior knowledge of the actual vignettes themselves. It is also possible that the Warring States users of such a text would have understood it without any problem, since they might have been very familiar with these stories already. Nevertheless, it seems doubtful that any reader is supposed to be able to completely understand the jing text all by itself, since some of its references, such as “the peril of 1 As Chen Qiyou points out, “’illustrations’(Shuo) was not present originally. The Ling edition (Ling ben凌本) has ‘traditions’(zhuan 傳), and what is below is the same. The Zhao edition (Zhao ben趙本) has the two character ‘to the right are traditions’ (you zhuan 右傳) at the end of the chapter, and it is the same for the inner and the outer “Chu shuo” chapters.” Chen Qiyou then expresses his opinion that “what is following is not zhuan but shuo, as Gu Guangqi already stated” (Chen Qiyou 1958, 526) 2 Wang Xianshen 1998, 211-212. one market” (yi shi zhi huan 一市之患), seem too vague to function as unambiguous allusions to one particular story. All six of the “Chu shuo” chapters follow the general structure that is introduced here, but there are some slight variations. Unlike the “Nan” chapters, which also contain a sizable number of anecdotal texts, the “Chu shuo” chapters are labeled not with numerals, but with spatial terms. The first two chapters are the upper (chapter 30) and lower (chapter 31) parts of the inner “Chu shuo,” while the last four are the “upper left” (chapter 32), “lower left” (chapter 33), “upper right” (chapter 34), and “lower right” (chapter 35) parts of the outer “Chu shuo.” While all of the “Chu shuo” chapters follow the jing – shuo structure, the two inner chapters (30 and 31) are introduced with one more layer of text that summarizes the teachings in all of their guideline texts. Thus at the beginning of chapter 30, we find the phrase