In the fourth section, we delve into a higher level of what constitutes an image—the beauty of imagery. Professor Ye Lang, an aesthetician from Peking University who specializes in Chinese aesthetics, has summarized this concept quite aptly. His summary is excellent: “Beauty lies in imagery,” which speaks to the spirit of Chinese aesthetics. I very much agree with this.
In the first volume of the Appended Judgments (Xici Zhuan), Confucius said, “Writing cannot fully express words, and words cannot fully express meaning.” If that is the case, then how can the meaning of the sages be perceived? Confucius replied, “The sages established images to fully express meaning, created hexagrams to fully reveal truth and falsehood, and appended judgments to fully articulate words. They adapted and interconnected these to fully explore benefits, and encouraged and inspired through them to fully manifest divinity.” This passage beautifully encapsulates the essence of the beauty of imagery.
As you all know, in the Analects, there was a day when Zengzi, Zilu, Yan Hui, Ran You, and Confucius were together. Confucius grew tired from lecturing, much like I am today, and suddenly said, “Well, tomorrow is the weekend. What are your thoughts?” Zilu, Zigong, and Ran You all shared grand ambitions. However, it was Zengzi who said, “I don’t have many aspirations. I just want to bring an ancient zither, gather five or six children and seven or eight young companions, along with five or six like-minded friends. We’ll dress simply and go to the Yi River—in Shandong, near the Yimeng Mountains. You know, the Yi River? We’ll go there to dance, sing, and play the zither.” To this, Confucius responded, “I’m with Zeng,” meaning he agreed with Zengzi’s idea.
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