The Idea of Created Nature in T'ang Literature
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9215162 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Edward H Schafer (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1965 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 153 |
| Publication date | 1965-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy East and West (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8221 • E-ISSN: 1529-1898 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1397336 |
| OpenAlex | W2317296766 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
IN A FAMOUS ESSAY written while he was in exile in Lingnan, the great T'ange (618-907) writer Liu Tsung-yiianb describes a singular rock formation which resembled man-made fortifications. In his essay he asks the purpose of Fashioner of Creatures (tsao wu chec) in creating such a startling object in a remote part of the southern mountains, among savage tribes, rather than close to civilization, where it might be properly appreciated. Rejecting such popular explanations as It is to comfort worthy gentlemen sent here in disgrace, he leaves us in doubt as to its true meaning. Herbert Giles's translation of this curious discourse makes it appear that the occurrence of natural ramparts far from urban centers caused the writer to doubt, finally and fatally, the existence of a creator. Giles interpreted this creator in Christian terms, as is apparent in the title of his translation, Is There a God ? His interpretation assumes too much. Plainly Liu Tsung-yiian was a little puzzled, or pretended to be puzzled, by the presence of this monumental pseudo-artifact in a remote wilderness, and wondered why a creative spirit did not always accommodate its best choices to current taste, but there is no evidence that he seriously doubted the Fashioner's existence. His explanation of the wonder is a rather ironic one, implicit in his rejection of the notion that a divine shaper would place his handiwork here merely for the solace of exiled politicians. Liu Tsungyiian loved solitude in Nature. A natural stone masterpiece set on a far frontier was no more evidence of a flaw in the divine plan than was the presence of a rare flower or a secret waterfall in a similar place. Men of sensitive, serene, and contemplative temperament will find such divine gifts wherever they may be. The writer's doubts, then, were merely rhetorical, aimed against a trivial conception of the aims of creation. He was a teleologist, but not a superficial one
Epistemology · Chinese history and philosophy · Japanese History and Culture · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2023 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |