attended the first of my holiday lectures on UCV2206: Chinese Thought and Culture today. i'm reserving my judgement on the module (and chinese thought and culture in general), but here are some wise chinese sayings that supposedly came from the philosophers that created the foundations of chinese values...
Lao Zi on Dao (the Way):
"The Way that can be spoken of is not the eternal way; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The unnameable is the beginning of Heaven and Earth, the nameable is the mother of all things." (you say ".....what?")
"The way is forever nameless." (you say... "okay.....?")
"All things in the world come into being from Being; and Being comes into being from Non-being." (you say.......... "wtf.")
"From Tao there comes one. From one there come two. From two there come three. From three there come all things." (you stop saying anything.)
and moving on! more of Lao Zi on Reversal, the Invariable Law of Nature:
"Reversal is the movement of the Tao."
"To go further and further means to revert again."
"Weakness is the function of Tao. Softness and weakness conquer firmness and strength."
andddddd. Lao Zi on Non-action:
"In governing the people, the Sage empties their minds but fills their bellies, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones. He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, and ensures that the clever never dare to act."
which seems on the surface to be nonsensical. i'm waiting to know what's beneath the surface.
also, Confucius said this about Ren (benevolence):
"Fan Zhi asked about Ren, Confucius said, 'Love men.'" ...which might just explain why the China gay scene is so sprightly, LOL.
and then for my favourite, by Zhuang Zi, who dictates, "The duck's legs are short, but if we try to lengthen them, the duck will feel pain. The crane's legs are long, but if we try to shorten them, the crane will feel grief. Therefore we are not to amputate what is by nature long, nor to lengthen what is by nature short."
and if i have any conclusion about my first day of class, it is that chinese sounds ghastly translated into english. and that i wish my instructor would just speak in chinese instead, and give us the actual chinese quotes.
