Without sincerity, neither things nor selves exist
from 'miracle eyelashes' to the 'beginning and end of all things'
Iconography of sincerity (2):
Billboard for an eyelash studio in Beijing.
The Chinese character chéng is pronounced makoto in Japanese (the kun reading). Its meaning shifting to ‘loyalty’, makoto is one of the ‘seven core values’ of bushido, the way of the samurai:
MAKOTO – Truthfulness
“The kanji for makoto is composed of two parts: at the left stands the character for to speak, a mouth that produces words. At the right stands the character sei (成, Chinese cheng), which means to accomplish, to succeed.
Makoto means truth in word and action, to follow truly the Law of the Universe.”
Remember that when choosing your next set of false eyelashes…
A short text today, popular on many websites, restating some previous points.
Xu Chenggang: scientific rationality assumes 'sincerity'
Qin Hui: ‘talk Human with humans, talking Zombie with zombies’)
Sincerity, start of everything in Confucian culture
[parallel text version here]
“The beginning and end of all things is sincerity; without which nothing can exist.
The core of Confucianism, many claim, is ren 仁 [benevolence, humanity]. This certainly makes sense in ethical terms. But more than an ethical or moral doctrine, Confucianism is a vast system of ideas that are on terms of equality with Western religion, ethics and philosophy.
When talking about religion, we must talk about tian [Heaven, the Divine] and tianming [will or mandate of Heaven].
When talking about philosophy, we must talk about cheng [sincerity]. Cheng-sincerity is a cardinal concept in the Confucian system of thought.
‘Cheng-sincerity' is the fundamental world outlook of Confucianism. ‘The beginning and end of all things is cheng-sincerity; without which nothing can exist.' In the view of Confucianism, without 'cheng-sincerity', nothing would be able to exist; everything relies on 'cheng-sincerity' for its existence. Cheng is 'truth' in the sense of having objective existence: objective reality, its attributes and laws.
The meaning of ‘self-completion’ is ren [benevolence, humaneness]; completion of things, is zhi [knowledge]' to develop oneself freely, to perfect oneself, and to fully embody one's own existence in accordance with the way of heaven is 'benevolence'; to know the law of development of things is wisdom. Having said that, everyone should understand that 'sincerity' is equivalent to 'truth' in the modern sense. Of course, the concept of 'honesty' is not only metaphysical, but also includes the metaphysical, that is, it is both the truth and the objective fact itself. Some people say that Confucianism is existentialism, while others say that Confucianism is rational thinking. The reason is here.
Confucian philosophising uses 'truth' (cheng-sincerity) to evoke the idea of the unity of nature and man. The existence of both 'wo' [I, self] and the world depend on 'truth' (cheng-sincerity). Follow the Way intuitively and be your true self. 'That which is cheng-sincere is not only sincere in itself: it thereby becomes something.'
Confucianists must not only seek their heart-nature inwardly, but also clarify the rationality of things outside. To deal scientifically and rationally with a worldly thing, it is necessary to 'study it, interrogate it, think it through, discern it, and put it into practice.' In order to deal rationally with (others) beyond oneself, one must cherish them as one does oneself. Fully grasping 'cheng-sincerity' is almost impossible. 'There are things about it even sages don't know,' and 'the kingdoms of the world can be levelled, feudal rank can be resigned, gleaming swords can be sheathed, yet the Mean is unattainable.' Once undergoing transformation, 'The Way of utmost sincerity is known in advance.' This is not idealism. 'The past is not forgotten, and the future is a teacher.' Knowing history enlightens the present. Knowing the rational principle of things then, one must be able to judge their future according to their laws.”
In future posts we’ll look into some objections to this image of human perfection. We’ll ask how much of the idealism of ancient China, the ferocity of feudal Japan, is at work in contemporary policies like the social credit system, and statements like these: