‘Matter’ as a Spiritual Phenomenon

Chen Shaoming

Abstract:This paper,starting with the classic proposition of “drawing imagery by observing matter” fromCommentaries on the Book of Changes,analyzes the connotations of such key concepts as imagery,matter,and observation and reveals the internal mechanism of this ancient way of thinking about the world and the conceptual factors contained in understanding matter.The present author outlines a genealogical picture of matter through multi-level distinction between matter and implements,practical matter and symbolic matter,social symbols and spiritual symbols,and intuition and association in spiritual symbols.On this basis,taking memorabilia and cultural relics as associative symbols,this paper describes the experience of human life and consequent historical consciousness,as well as how to enrich our spiritual lives by observing matter.At the same time,by examining some classic cultural relics,it demonstrates the possible breadth and depth of spiritual “matter.”

Keywords:drawing imagery by observing matter,symbols,cultural relics,spirit

From a philosophical point of view,phenomena taken for granted in daily life are often profound and unfathomable.“Matter” (wu物) is such a concept.The objects that it refers to are everywhere in experience,but it is far from being limited to objects of perceptual experience or even physical discussion.Opening up the concept of “matter” not only brings understanding of the natural world but also is conducive to a deeper understanding of the spiritual world.The ready-made classical idea of “drawing imagery by observing matter”(guan wu qu xiang观物取象),is a convenient way for us to start.

‘Drawing Imagery by Observing Matter’[Refer to page 57 for Chinese.Similarly hereinaft er]

This is a classic description in theBook of Changesof ancient sages’ way of thinking to master the world:

Sages see the profound intricacies of the world,so they compare them to concrete images,and these images symbolize their proper meanings.Thus they are called symbols.(“Appended Remarks I”[系辞上])

In ancient times,when ruling the world,Fuxi looked up to observe the celestial signs,looked down to observe the landscape,watched the patterns of all living beings and all things proper to exist on earth,and used human figures close by for symbols and all objects from afar for symbols.By all these he created the eight trigrams to illuminate the divine and bright virtue and to classify the characteristics of all things.(“Appended Remarks II” [系辞下])

This passage contains three instances of the characterxiang象,each with different meanings.In “these images symbolize their proper meanings” (xiang qi wu yi象其物宜),xiangis used as a verb.In “thus they are called symbols” (shigu wei zhi xiang是故谓之象),it refers to the divinatory image,and in “to observe the celestial signs” (guan xiang yu tian观象于天) it refers to the heavenly image.None of these involve the character’s original meaning,namely the image of an elephant as an animal.The analysis in “Commentaries on Laozi’s Teachings” [解老]in theHanfeiziis very enlightening for us to clarify the relationship between the various meanings ofxiang:“People rarely see living elephants,but when they do get the skeleton of a dead elephant,they imagine the living elephant by the present picture,so they all call what they imaginexiang.” This is the most vivid interpretation of the wordxiangxiang想象 (imagine).Based on this,drawing imagery by observing matter is the conduct of structurally simplifying the form of objects of experience.It can exist in thinking and can also be ref lected in symbols or patterns.“In heaven signs are formed;on earth f igures are created.Thus changes can be seen” (“Appended Remarks I”).

Thexiangof celestial signs is to connect some galaxies into a form similar to things on the earth,such as the Big Dipper and Altair.As for hexagram images,that is,the hexagrams composed of three pairs ofyinandyanglines,in fact,they have no direct connection with facts.They must be regarded as the product of an evolution from image to symbol.Just like the evolution of characters from pictograph to ideograph,meaning is finally determined by definition rather than intuition.From divination lines to hexagrams,it is a system of thought developed by the ancients to simulate and grasp complex things.This meaning ofxianghas been very abstract.Sincexiangis the basic way of understanding or expressing all things,all things can also be calledwanxiang万象 (every phenomenon on earth).

Wu物 (matter) is another key character.“All matter has appearance,image,sound,and color” (Zhuangzi,chap.19),which is a common understanding.But the reason for using the character 物 to express it is also an interesting one.The Etymological Dictionary of Characters[说文解字]explains:“物 refers to all things.Cattle are large creatures,and numbers originate from celestial signs like cattle being pulled,so it follows 牛 as its component on the left and is pronounced as 勿 on the right.”1Xu Shen 许慎,The Etymological Dictionary of Characters [说文解字],ed.Xu Xuan 徐铉 (Beijing:Zhonghua Book Company,2013),24.Of course,things are not limited to cattle,but comparing things with cattle may indeed be related to their characteristics.For example,cattle are large animals,domesticated and important labor partners or property of human beings,so their value is obvious and it is convenient to take them as examples.In fact,cattle and horses are similar,one used for carrying burdens and the other for traveling.To use cattle or horses for all things may be coincidental.Whether cattle,horses,or elephants are used to refer to general things,the rule is that one thing is used to refer to all things (all images,all beings,and all kinds).The diversity of all things can easily penetrate into the concept of “matter.” Therefore Mencius said:“Things are all diff erent,and that is the natural state of things” (Mencius3A:4).

Going from matter to image involves observation.Observation is a visual action,also describable as looking,seeing,viewing,or watching.An analysis of visual phenomena or the action of observing should include several elements.The f irst is the observer,that is,the observing agent.The second is the goal,that is,the object of the observation,be it macro or micro,static or dynamic.The third is the manner of observation,including the choice of angles and even the tools used.The fourth is the process of observation,and the f ift h is the result.Because of the many variables,the results will diff er.Among them,the biggest problem is that looking does not necessarily lead to seeing.According to chapter 14 of theZhuangzi,this is called “looking at something but not seeing it;chasing something but not reaching it,” or “listening to it but not hearing its sound;looking at it but not seeing its shape.” There are many possible factors,such as physical reasons like the objects perhaps being unclear or transparent;or physiological reasons like poor eyesight.There may also be a problem of method,for example of the object is blocked by other objects,if the light is insufficient and no physical measures are taken to assist.Of course,if the observer is inattentive,even things in the observer’s line of sight may go unnoticed.

In the visual actions,observing has a deeper meaning than seeing.The objects of observation are generally large in scale,such as the sky or landscape.An isolated glance gives only a fragment of the object.The content is very limited.This requires a dynamic process or an extended time to grasp the whole picture of the object.It can also be said that observing is the superposition of seeing fragments,just as film is a series of divided pictures,and continuous projection makes a complete display of the scene.In the process of observing,previous experience is the basis for understanding the later experience.Mao Zedong observed the snow,“The scenery of the North,/frozen for thousands of miles,/snowing for ten thousands of miles,” from “inside and outside the Great Wall” to “up and down the river” (“Qinyuanchun:Snow” [沁园春·雪]),all within the f ield of vision.However,this field of vision goes beyond the scope of visual action.It is the splicing of visual experiences in different regions by the mind.Therefore this action involves progressing from a visual operation to thought.In short,the object of observation is not limited to scale (observing the sea),but also involves dynamic things (observing customs),and more importantly,it even involves the abstract truth beyond the visual form.Thus we have what are calledguandian观点 (points of view),guannian观念 (ideas or concepts),and evenshijie guan世界观 (worldviews).2Chen Shaoming 陈少明,“Life’s Spiritual Context:Rediscussion on theZhuangzi’s Mode of Discourse” [生命的精神场景——再论《庄子》的言述方式],Journal of Sun Yat-sen University (Social Sciences Edition) [中山大学学报（社会科学版）],no.3 (2020):87—93.

The original order of “drawing imagery by observing matter” is first observation,then matter,and then imagery,which shows the process of action.Conversely,our analysis proceeds from imagery to matter and then to observation,which reveals the logical structure of an experience.Observation is the key and secret to turning matter into imagery.First,we should regard the target as something recognizable,and then express it with some abstract visual images,which is called “drawing imagery” or taking an image.Image refers to the structural similarity between the expression and the surface existence of what is expressed.Symbol is the symbolic act of expressing the object with images.Although according toCommentaries on the Book of Changes[易传],the important purpose of image taking is to make tools,that is,to make tools needed for life and production,the spiritual or mental pleasure of mastering things experienced by human beings in the mental act of image-taking or observing will become the psychological basis for the later development of aesthetics and even artistic conduct.At the same time,the cognitive conduct of matter is completed by taking images,which itself contains rich ideological content,both static observation and dynamic association.The image it takes can be either a visual image or a conceptual image.This is also the psychological mechanism of the diversification of the meaning of matter.Ernest Cassirer (1874—1945) believes that the human being is not so much a rational animal as a symbolic animal.The development of culture is thus as follows:

No longer in a merely physical universe,man lives in a symbolic universe.Language,myth,art,and religion are parts of this universe.They are the varied threads which weave the symbolic net,the tangled web of human experience.All human progress in thought and experience ref ines upon and strengthens this net.3Ernst Cassirer,An Essay on Man:An Introduction to a Philosophy of Human Culture (New Haven:Yale University Press,1944),43.

As far as traditional Chinese experience is concerned,drawing imagery by observing matter is the pioneering or foundational intellectual step of cultural symbolization.

A Genealogical Analysis of Matter[59]

Commentaries on the Book of Changeshas long pointed out the signif icance of classifying matter and things:“Ideas are gathered by categories;things are collected by groups”(“Appended Remarks I”).It is a mode of thought that endows the phenomenal world with order and is the embodiment of human rational ability.However,how to set the standards or categories of classification is a complex problem.For the purposes of this paper,the standard of classification needs to meet the definition of the relationship from ordinary things to spiritual phenomena.It is divided into four levels:matter and mind,nature and artificiality,practicality and symbolism,and society and spirit.Logically the four have a progressive relationship,which explains the nature,function,social nature,and spiritual nature of things.

First,matter and mind,combined,are the division of the circumference of existence.In Chinese philosophy,this is related to Wang Yangming’s 王阳明 (Wang Shouren 王守仁,1472—1529) proposition that “nothing exists outside the mind.” Wang Yangming’s uses the word “matter” in a broad sense,which includes the principles of things.Therefore he remarks,“Principles of matter are never outside my mind.If I seek them outside my mind,there will be no such principles.If I look for my mind outside those principles,then what matter is my mind?”4Wang Shouren 王守仁,“Reply to Gu Dongqiao” [答顾东桥书],inInstructions for Practical Living II [传习录中], in vol.2 ofComplete Works of Wang Shouren [王文成公全书],eds.Wang Xiaoxin 王晓昕 and Zhao Pinglue 赵平略(Beijing:Zhonghua Book Company,2015),52.However,it is easy to understand that there are no principles outside the mind,and it is diffi cult to convince people that there is nothing existing outside the mind,and so there is an illustrative story about Wang Yangming watching f lowers in Nanzhen:

When Wang Yangming visited Nanzhen,one of his friends pointed at the f lower tree in the mountain and asked,“You say there is nothing outside the mind,but these blossoms bloom and then fall up here in the mountains all on their own.What does that have to do with my mind?” Wang replied,“Before you see the f lower,both the f lower and your mind remain silent.When you come to see the f lower,the color of the f lower brightens up.This shows the f lower is not outside your mind.”5Wang,Instructions for Practical Living III [传习录下],in vol.3 ofComplete Works of Wang Shouren,133.

A little distinction shows that the object of discussion between Wang and his friend is the same flower tree,but they are referring to different “things.” For his friend,it is a natural phenomenon in the physical sense,which can exist independently of the mind (consciousness).Wang’s “thing” is the aesthetic image entering the mind,which is a ref lection of the soul.Likewise,when looking at a sculpture,some people focus on its material scale or weight and others on its artistic image.The former is a natural object and the latter is a symbol.The difference of images depends on the different motivations for observing a given object.However,although the former cannot replace the latter,there is no latter without the former.For Wang Yangming’s friend,without natural objects,beauty has no basis for manifestation.For Wang,without the mind’s attention,“things” can be looked at but they cannot be seen.This means that the same thing can have diff erent images.

Second,there are two kinds of things:natural and artificial.The latter is called an implement (qi器).The world shows us innumerable things,but things in their natural states do not meet our needs,and some of them are even obstacles to our survival.Therefore it is necessary to make use of some materials,directly and indirectly.Direct utilization involves such things as sunlight,air,water,and natural food,as well as naturally-shaped stones and trees.Indirect utilization is to select some materials as processing materials,that is,to engage in the production of implements.The difference between implements and objects is that implements are designed for specif ic purposes,and their creation is inf luenced by people’s ideas.However,the most basic implement for living,production,or labor is transformed from specif ic materials.At the same time,the design of its structure or shape is also related to how it is applied under specif ic material conditions.That is to say,the practicability or utility of the device is based on the combination of purposefulness and physics.

Third,practicality and symbolism refer to categories of implements.Both are made manually,but their functions are different.The latter are non-practical appliances or the non-practical functional side of the appliance.It takes implements as symbols to express other meanings beyond practicality.Therefore,although this also includes the purpose of production,the physical properties of materials and structures are not the essence of the work.The easiest example to cite is art.Heidegger writes:

So the piece of equipment is half thing since it is characterized by thingliness.Yet it is more,since,at the same time,it is half artwork.On the other hand,it is less,since it lacks the self-suffi ciency of the artwork.Equipment occupies a curious position intermediate between thing and work—if we may be permitted such a calculated ordering.6Julian Young and Kenneth Haynes,trans.and eds.,Martin Heidegger:Off the Beaten Track (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,2002),10.

According to this analysis,the materials for making the farmer’s shoes are objects,the shoes are products or implements,and Van Gogh’s paintingShoesis a work of art.In fact,the farmer’s shoes and the painting are both implements,but one is practical and the other symbolic.Because shoes also have aesthetic requirements in design,it is said that they are yet “inferior to works of art.” This kind of object—implement—art analysis ref lects the profound and subtle progressive relationship from nature to artificiality and from utilitarianism to spirit.

Certainly not all symbols have such romantic signif icance.Another more classical way of classif ication is from things to products and to commodities (especially money).This is the logic shown by Marx’s theory of political economy,in which products have dual value(use value and abstract value) due to the duality of labor (concrete labor and abstract labor).Abstract value is the basis upon which commodities are able to have exchange value.The focus here is on commodities,which is another identity of implements beyond utility.The general form of commodities is practical products,but for producers,their value is not utility but exchange.Things as commodities are only the symbols of exchange value.Money,especially paper money,best represents the symbolic meaning of commodities.Gold and silver may cause confusion between utility and symbol because they are precious metals,but paper money clearly shows that its value is not the material itself but the wealth data it symbolizes.Therefore the logic of things—products—commodities in political economy is similar to the idea of object—implement—art in ontology.In short,implements can be symbolic as well as practical.So what is the diff erence between symbolic things,such as art and money?

Fourth are social symbols and spiritual symbols.Money and art can represent two kinds of symbols respectively,but they are not limited to these two kinds.The value of money is determined by the institution that has the legitimate right to issue money.Its materials,types,and patterns and the most important currency values are approved by specific program design before they can be issued and used.We can also regard this phenomenon as a kind of social convention.John R.Searle takes it as an example of creating institutional facts:

We can treat the X object itself as having the Y status by convention,as we can treat coins as money,or the line of stones as a boundary,but to do that is already to assign a linguistic status,because the objects now are conventional public symbols of something beyond themselves;they symbolize a deontic status beyond the physics.7John R.Searle,The Construction of Social Reality (New York:Free Press,1995),110.

Besides money,there are at least two kinds of token or ritual vessel that represent social values.Credentials are used as evidence of a certain covenant,such as widely used signatures,seals,pledges,ancient troop-dispatching symbols,and personal written instructions.They are signals used to remind relevant parties to implement or maintain certain rules of conduct.And ritual vessels,as symbols of authority or rank,correspond to a certain order.Ancient tripods,imperial jade seals,and dragon robes,as well as modern national flags,national emblems,or religious mantles and scepters,play a role in a specific political or religious community.

The function of art is diff erent.It plays a role in improving aesthetic taste or cultivating sentiment by stimulating the internal emotions of its creators or appreciators.However,the degree or scope of art’s function is varied or uncertain,because it is not achieved through the constraints of social rules.So-called spiritual activity refers to the kind of conscious activity that frees itself from the concern of desire or utility in daily life.It can be pure ideological creation or emotional taste and ref lection caused by things.Besides works of art or aesthetic objects,there are other types of items that can trigger spiritual actions,such as souvenirs and cultural relics.Of course,social symbol and spiritual symbol are only one category of concepts.Some non-practical things in life,such as sacred objects and gift s,may contain mixed social or spiritual elements.Sacred objects,including divine tablets,sacred objects,and sacrif icial objects,represent some supernatural power.Gift s vary among individuals,groups,and countries according to diff erent relationships or opportunities.

The progressive classif ication of matter and mind,nature and artif iciality,practicality and symbolism,and society and spirit can not only provide a comprehensive conceptual framework for the diversity of things,it is also coherent from the most primal mind to the most elevated spirit,taking care of the mind’s understanding of the diversity of ways of giving meaning to things.

Objectif ication of Spirit,as Exemplif ied by Memorabilia and Cultural Relics[61]

Let us return to the relationship between mind and matter.Things can be stored outside the mind but also enter into the mind.What are called things in the mind are what become the objects of human experience or knowledge.Objects (especially implements) are not isolated things.They have a living background.Therefore things that enter the mind also carry relevant situational information,not copies of things outside the mind.It is worth noting that things entering the mind and things outside the original mind will have their own independent destinies.The cluster of bamboo that Wang Yangming saw and the trees and f lowers that he saw have long disappeared,but they exist in the mind of the readers of hisInstructions for Practical Living[传习录]in every generation.Moreover,even if we have not seen the original bamboo or f lowers,it does not prevent us from reconstructing their appearance through poetry,calligraphy,and painting.8Chen Shaoming,‘‘‘Nothing outside the Mind’:From Existence to Reconstructing Meaning” [“心外无物”：从存在论到意义建构],Social Sciences in China [中国社会科学],no.1 (2014):68—84.Therefore old friends,objects,or antiques may be a component of our spiritual world.

Spiritual activities can reflect on internal knowledge and experience when they are not directly related to the current environment,or obtain inspiration and passion beyond utilitarian signif icance through the feeling of external objects.When this emotion is projected onto a specific object,it forms a phenomenon of spiritual objectification.This spiritual objectification can have different types.There are intuitive ones,such as in aesthetics.Viewing a painting,a f lower,or a sacred symbol,the mind can be non-reasoning and illogical in its mechanism.Another kind of meaning comes from association,which is guided by the source of objects,related experiential tracing,and emotional experience.Discussions of aesthetic objects and sacred symbols lie beyond the scope of this paper.The following focuses instead on associative items,such as memorabilia and cultural relics.

What are memorabilia? Abstractly speaking,they are objects that can arouse people’s memories and nostalgia for specific characters and events.They refer to both specific years for the mind and the fluctuations of emotion.Memorabilia are divided into two categories.One is specially designed,such as commemorative medals,monuments,or memorial buildings,and custom gift s;the other consists of evolutions of daily necessities.When daily necessities become memorabilia and are kept or collected,it is oft en aft er their practical signif icance has disappeared.Special memorabilia are divided into two types:one is to commemorate the past,such as the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall;the other is to commemorate the present for the future such as the Wenchuan Earthquake Monument.Of course,they can also be used in daily use,such as with historical patterns on money or stamps.In addition,the memorial significance is obtained through the naming of daily things,especially buildings.For example,Zhongshan Memorial Hall in Guangzhou is a large-scale conference or performance center.Or like the John F.Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on the Boston waterfront.Generally speaking,these designed memorabilia or souvenirs are mostly collective,while those pure memorabilia converted from daily necessities are oft en private,even if they may be collected by others (such as the personal belongings of celebrities).When personal belongings are associated with a specif ic social fact,they are not limited to personal meanings anymore.

Personal memorabilia have no practical value.They are not as good as gold and silver.They are not like artistic or religious objects that can be shared spiritually.In fact,they are useless to others.The reason why people need them is related in the f inal analysis to human nature.Memory is an important spiritual mechanism.It is not only a means of storing experience and knowledge but also a way of self-identif ication.Humans are f inite entities,meaning not only that we are limited in our spatial scale but also that we live in the present moment under the constraints of time.However,people are not satisfied with limited existence in spirit;we need to expand the capacity for life through foresight and review.Foresight is the imagination and planning of the future and the prospect of expanding life.And in looking back we can re-experience the past,retain the lost and unrepeatable time,and connect the past with the present.The existence of memorabilia is to remind and awaken the sleeping experience in the ordinary fatigue and experience the depth of life in retrospect and nostalgia.Its spiritual value is above practical value.9Chen Shaoming,“Nostalgia and Cherishing the Past:From Psychology to Culture” [怀旧与怀古——从心理到文化],Philosophical Researches [哲学研究],no.10 (2011):43—50,128.

Cultural relics are the enlargement of personal memorabilia in time and space.In terms of time,cultural relics generally exceed a person’s life span and can be extended from a lifetime to inf inite generations;in space,the sharer of its meaning needs to expand from individuals or a few people to a larger cultural community.Therefore cultural relics are memorabilia of the trans-temporal and -spatial cultural community.In terms of memorial value,the relics of those associated with historical figures or events will call more attention to themselves,just as the weapons deployed by generals are very diff erent from those wielded by nameless privates.If there is no specif ic historical information,it depends on the technological level and age of the artifacts,which can represent the level of civilizational development.For a souvenir specially designed for an event,the producer oft en gives a specif ic meaning to the commemorative event and evaluates it as being right or wrong,or good or evil.For those who hold the opposite position at the same time,it not only has no value,but may even have negative value.However,once the distance of time is long enough and souvenirs themselves having become cultural relics,no one takes them as being right or wrong or good or evil with the original experience as the standard of choice,whether collected or viewed.For example,a souvenir endorsed by a dictator still has collectors’ value.10Chen Shaoming,“From Ancient Grace to Cherishing the Past:An Analysis of the Philosophy of Value” [从古雅到怀古——一种价值哲学的分析],Philosophical Researches,no.4 (2010):102—108,129.

For the concerned or directly related parties,memorabilia awaken the memory of an experience,and the people,events,and things that once existed may be remembered.However,cultural relics can be trans-generational relics,which may not be accompanied by those parties,and then the relevant background is not obtained from direct experience.At this time,the way to trace the background changes from one of memory to one of imagination,that is,reconstructing the relevant historical picture in consciousness with the help of textual interpretation.Due to incomplete information and the differences in everyone’s historical knowledge,diff erent audiences naturally have diff erent appreciation of cultural relics.Therefore,recalling calls for the ability to remember,and imagination requires culture.The more distant and subtle things are,the higher are the requirements for cultural cultivation.If the preservation of private memorabilia is a sentimental attachment to individual destiny and a manifestation of human self-restraint,then the collection of cultural relics is a treasure of human history and the proof of culture.Both are breakthroughs in people’s own limitations.The former breaks through the current limitations in spirit,and the latter breaks through the limitations of individual life to pass on the spirit across the epochs.

Cultural Relics and Culture[63]

The spiritual pursuit of culture originates from life itself,and life is based on the utilization of things.This “thing” was first valued for its natural physical properties.The so-called“drawing imagery by observing matter” aims to observe images and make implements:“What can be seen is the image;what can be shaped is the implement;how to make and use it is called the method.When the implement is made for repeated use by all people,even without being understood,it is called divine” (“Appended Remarks I”).The history of civilization is the history of making implements.From implements of fishing and hunting,farming,breeding,transportation,fortifications,houses,weapons and even writing,making implements is actually making use of natural things and making tools.The“Evolution of Rituals” [礼运]in theBook of Ritescombines the utilization of tools with the implementation of rites.At the same time,it also develops such non-practical ritual and music instruments asqin琴,se瑟,guan管,qing磬,zhong钟,andgu鼓,that is,ritual instruments,which are also a kind of symbols.There are two types of ritual instruments here.One is to take practical tools as instruments to coordinate social order or as symbols to symbolize sacred beliefs.This is the result of the change of the use of objects.The other is the direct production of artifacts that specif ically serve non-utilitarian goals,that is,musical instruments or other aesthetic objects.Future generations also have monuments specially set up for public events or f igures,such as steles,towers,or memorial archways,which also function as ritual instruments.

All of the above objects,whether daily necessities,symbols,or ritual vessels,or things that change from the former to the latter,may eventually become cultural relics through the changing of the times.The best example of this transformation is the ancient tripod.The tripod was originally an ancient kitchen utensil with the container supported by long feet and it could be used as both a cooking utensil and a container.It was a daily utensil for royal families or nobles.However,in the sacrif icial ceremony of “presenting sacrif ices,preparing his tripod,and playing the zither,harp,pipe,chime,bell,and drum” (Book of Rites,“Evolution of Rituals”),the tripod was transformed into a ritual vessel.Its weight,volume,shape,and manufacturing cost symbolized wealth and nobility and ref lected loft y meanings involved in sacrificing to gods.Moreover,it further became a symbol of the majesty of political power.According to “Duke Xuan,Third Year” [宣公三年]inZuo’s Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals[左传],when King Zhuang of Chu (d.591 BCE) asked about the size and weight of the tripod,Wang Sunman 王孙满 (f l.606 BC),a minister of Zhou refused to answer but stressed that although the tripod moved from Xia to Shang and from Shang to Zhou with the transfer of power,remarking that the secret of power “lies in virtue,not in the tripod.” This clearly shows that the tripod was valued as a symbol of Heaven’s mandate that honored virtue,something completely unrelated to its physical properties.Therefore later generations used the phrase “winning the tripod” to express their ambition for supreme power rather than the possession of treasures.However,the signif icance of today’s surviving ancient tripods,like the Simuwu Tripod or Duke Mao Tripod,is limited to collecting cultural relics,not showing power.

A society can educate future generations in history and culture by preserving cultural relics and paying tribute to their ancestors.The means involved include establishing museums to collect small artifacts and maintaining and protecting large monuments.Generally speaking,cultural relics are mostly relics that have lost their signif icance for daily(or social) life,but some items may have dual or even multiple meanings at the same time.The ship of Theseus in Western philosophy can be used as an analytic example.Suppose a wooden ship used all year round needs continuous maintenance,and eventually the original materials of the whole ship have been replaced.The question raised here is:is this ship the same as the one originally built? The answer can be based on diff erent views.From the perspective of material science,it is naturally not the same ship.From the perspective of the demand to continue to serve as a means of transportation,this problem is meaningless.Whether or not it is the same ship as before does not hinder its continued use.From the perspective of cultural relics,it is the same ship.Imagine that if the ship is old enough and rich in information,its routes,goods,passengers,and even stories will make it full of charm and reverie.Who would say that the stories in diff erent periods are scattered on diff erent ships? Therefore,we can understand why society has invested huge f inancial and material resources in the restoration of cultural relics,especially large historic sites.

For historic sites,damage and mutilation are inevitable.Maintenance is the main means for prolonging their life,just as people prolong their lives by treating diseases.For ruins that have been completely destroyed,sometimes reconstruction is also a worthwhile measure.Today the Yueyang Tower,which stands on the bank of Dongting Lake,has been repeatedly devastated by f loods,f ires,and wars and rebuilt at least eight times,as proven by the eight architectural models next to it showing its successive appearances.It was the repeated relay of reconstruction that has provided a material vehicle for Fan Zhongyan’s范仲淹 (989—1052) “Memorial to Yueyang Tower” [岳阳楼记]since the Northern Song dynasty.“Memorial to Yueyang Tower” has established the reputation of the Yueyang Tower,which is the power of spirit.At the same time,the famous verses left by the poets who climbed up the grand tower in different times have also become witnesses to the historical profundity of this famous tower.The preservation of large monuments makes it easy for visitors to feel immersed in historical scenes.The monuments can also be viewed collectively,which is conducive to the spiritual resonance of visitors.A city with historic sites and museums has not only architecture but also history.

Small cultural relics can be scattered in private collections or displayed in museums.Small relics are characterized by delicacy,being easy to grasp and easy to appreciate.In regard to the impact of expansion,small pieces are also convenient for replication,especially one-to-one replication.Reproduction is not making a counterfeit but a representation of the production of the original.Its derivative relationship with the original gives a special conceptual connection.The reproduction and diff usion of small cultural relics is essentially the sharing of the spirit symbolized by cultural relics.From the perspective of the spiritual legacy in cultural relics,if the maintenance of monuments is an extension of time,then the reproduction of antiquities is an expansion of space.

What can best reflect the cultural expansion by reproducing cultural relics is classic calligraphy.Taking the “Preface to Lanting Poems” [兰亭序]as an example,the original secretly transmitted for seven generations.In the few decades from Emperor Taizong of Tang(r.626—649) to its burial,only a few people have witnessed the authentic work.However,it has become a classic model to establish Wang Xizhi’s 王羲之 (303—361) status as a top calligrapher.So how can those who have never seen its true face become its admirers in later millennia? The secret is in the imitations of the original.Before the original “Preface to Lanting Poems” was hidden,some imitations or copies had been left by famous offi cials or copiers under the edict of Emperor Taizong and they would become substitutes for the original work in the future.Those exquisite imitations would also become the objects of the worship for calligraphers.We can fully compare this imitation or copying to the reproduction of small cultural relics.However,there are differences between simple copying and imitation.The former is a mechanical behavior and focuses on the result,while the latter is an experiential process including spiritual input.Handwriting,like a voice,is a unique personal symbol.Therefore,imitating ancient calligraphy is the behavior of admiring the ancients and the cultivation of spirit.The ideal standard is not the image but the resonance of the spirit.Because there is more than one early imitation or copy of the original work,many styles of models have proliferated;in addition,the underdevelopment of early printing resulted in the derivative phenomenon of “imitating the imitation.” A seed thus has grown into a giant tree,from which the Wang tradition of calligraphy has formed.Hence we can see that cultural relics are not only used for nostalgia but also have signif icance for promoting spiritual construction.

Conclusion [65]

Mind is opposite to matter,and the mind is the spirit.Spirit is not the involution of consciousness but rather can project toward the experience of life.The analysis of spiritual activities directed toward objects is the way to reveal this power.The world is made up of matter.Humans are not only a part of matter,but they also have factors beyond matter,namely the existence of mind.The inseparability of mind and matter is the secret to the world’s meaning.