Wenandwu
Wén(Chinese:Văn) andwǔ(Chinese:Võ) are a conceptual pair inChinese philosophyand political culture describing opposition and complementarity of civil and military realms of government. Differentiation betweenwenandwuwas engaged in discussions on criminal punishment, administrative control, creation and reproduction of social order, education and moral transformation.[1]
The concept was formed during theSpring and AutumnandWarring Statesperiods, and best articulated in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE. However, until recently it was not much discussed by the Western scholars because of their inaccurate perception of the importance ofConfucianismin the pre-imperial and early imperial era, and their understanding of Confucianism as pacifist in its nature.[2]An example of the last is provided byJohn K. Fairbank:“Warfare was disesteemed in Confucianism... The resort to warfare (wu) was an admission of bankruptcy in the pursuit ofwen[civility or culture]. Consequently, it should be a last resort... Herein lies the pacifist bias of the Chinese tradition... Expansion throughwen... was natural and proper; whereas expansion bywu,brute force and conquest, was never to be condoned.”[3]
History of the terms[edit]
Attested inShang dynastyoracle bones,the earliest uses were in theposthumous epithetsof certain Shang ancestors, the first recorded – conveniently, for both – beingWen Wu Ding.[4]The most common use case ofwenin the epigraphic record is in appellations to dead ancestors, where it shared semantic space of general positive eulogy with precisely the wordshuáng(Hoàng) andliè(Liệt). Any bases for why one was selected over another are not apparent.[5]
The posthumous names of theZhou dynasty(1046–256 BCE) founders,King WenandKing Wu,represent the two terms as standing in the "father-and-son" relationship.[6]WenandWubecame the most popular posthumous names ofregional lordsduring the Zhou dynasty, butWenin particular saw no usage until nearly the end of theWestern Zhou,when central power was significantly weakened, suggesting the possibility of royal exclusivity akin to a ritual trademark.[7]
The first archaeologically attested use ofwenandwuas common terms outside of posthumous epithets or as synecdoche for the Zhou founders dates to the Spring and Autumn period, where a ruler of the state ofQinused them to describe some of his positive qualities while asserting his assidiousness in acting as a responsible lineage head.[8]In the transmitted literature, the terms occur at the earliest strata of the earliest texts, theShijingand theShangshu,but the precise meaning ofwenin particular is indeterminate from context.[9]
Shuoyuan,compiled byLiu Xiang(77–6 BCE, Han dynasty), gives a classical example of the terms' balancing against each other:
King ChengenfeoffedBo Qin[the Duke of Zhou's son] as the Duke of Lu. Summoning him, he addressed him, saying: "Do you know the Way of acting as the ruler over the people?... Should you possesswenbut lackwu,you will have no means to awe those below. Should you possesswubut lackwen,the people will fear you but not draw close. Ifwenandwuare implemented together, then your awe-inspiringvirtuewill be achieved. "[10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^McNeal (2012),p. 8.
- ^McNeal (2012),pp. 1–6.
- ^Yuan-kang Wang,Harmony and war: Confucian culture and Chinese power politics.Columbia University Press, 2011:14. Quote from John K. Fairbank, "Varieties of the Chinese Military Experience," in Chinese Ways in Warfare, ed. Frank A. Kierman Jr. and John K. Fairbank (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1974), 7–9.
- ^Falkenhausen (1996),p. 11.
- ^Falkenhausen (1996),pp. 6–7.
- ^McNeal (2012),pp. 13–14.
- ^Falkenhausen (1996),pp. 8, 15.
- ^Falkenhausen (1996),p. 5.
- ^Falkenhausen (1996),pp. 2, 19.
- ^McNeal 2012,p. 15, translating fromJundaochapter of theShuoyuan.The source translateswenandwurespectively as "the civil" and "the martial". The words are returned to original here to clarify the interaction of the terms without overloading them with additional meaning.
Bibliography[edit]
- Falkenhausen, Lothar von (1996). "The Concept of Wen in the Ancient Chinese Ancestral Cult".Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR).18:1–22.doi:10.2307/495623.JSTOR495623.
- McNeal, Robin (2012).Conquer and Govern: Early Chinese Military Texts from theYi Zhou shu.Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.