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A Dedication to Classics Scholarship 27

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The study of classics scholarship (jingxue, 经学) is a branch of traditional Chinese
learning that deals with practical statecraft as well as the wisdom of Dao (道)orthe
Way. Despite ups and downs in history, classics scholarship has kept its essence,
represented by such concepts as ren (仁, benevolence/humanity) and li (礼, rites/
ritual), in the cultural traditions of the Chinese people and as the genes of Chinese
culture.

1 A Tentative Exegesis of Classics Scholarship

1.1 A Glossary of Jing (经)

The word jing has several meanings as explained in ancient literature. The
“Etymology” of Explanation of Script and Elucidation of Characters (《说文解字 · 糸
部》) contains an entry under the radical for “silk”(糸): “Jing means to weave silk
threads. It is composed of a semantic radical for silk and a phonetic radical for its
pronunciation.” Duan Yucai (段玉裁 1735–1815) (Xu, 2005, p. 644) gives the
following explanation:

Jing means to weave silk. The vertical threads or warps of silk are known as jing,which are
the first to be assembled on the loom; it is onto these that the wei (纬)orhorizontalthreads
(wefts), are attached. This analogy pertains to the Three Standards (三纲), the Five
Constant Virtues (五常), and the Six Classics (六艺), which are the eternal co-ordinates
between Heaven and Earth. The Elder Dai’s Great Record of Rituals (《大戴礼》)notes:
“The north-south longitude is called jing and the east-west latitude is called wei” (Xu,
2005, p. 644).

This is therefore the basic concept of the word jing, namely the silk threads for
weaving in the longitudinal direction of the fabric. This literal sense was later
extended but basically confined to two usages. First, it is used as a noun with the
connotation of “constant Dao, or path.” A passage in Zuo’s Commentary on The
Spring and Autumn Annals (《左传》)defines it as:

You Ji (游吉?–506 B.C.E.) had an audience with Zhao Yang (赵鞅?–476 B.C.E.). The latter
asked about the rituals of bowing and conceding,and of dealing with complex situations. You
Ji replied, “These are models of conduct, not rituals.” Zhao Yang rejoined, “May I venture to
ask what you mean by rituals?” You Ji replied, “I have heard my late senior official Zi Chan

1 It refers to the study of Confucian classics, which is also called “studies of the Six Classics,”
namely the scholarship on The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of
Music, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals, encompassing annotations and
exegeses on classics, explication of the principles of classics, and discussions of such subjects as
textual inheritance and traditions, as well as the origins of various schools.