Wisdom in Ancient Chinese classics?

Why is there so much wisdom in ancient Chinese classics? First, one must understand that Chinese grammar is loose. For that reason, statements are subject to interpretations. Many interpretations were proposed for Chinese classics over the last 2000 years. The wisest and most convincing interpretations were passed on. As a result, even the most obscure statement could become a wise one. I argue that the wisdom in ancient Chinese classics actually comes from collective interpretation!

Ancient Chinese is difficult to understand

1. Grammar in Chinese in loose.
   In Chinese, the same word can often be used as noun, verb (both transitive or intransitive) or adjective. The subject is often omitted. Tense is not shown in words, nor is gender or plurality. So the same sentence could be interpreted in many different ways.
2. Ancient Chinese writing was brief
   Characters were calved into hard objects, such as tortoise shells and (later) bamboos. Carving is laborious. So authors were brief in their writings.
3. The language has evolved
   The vocabulary and grammar used then are unfamiliar to readers today.

Ancient Chinese writings needed notes

The meaning in many ancient Chinese writings were ambiguous. The same sentence may be interpreted in different ways. Over the years, notes (注) have been written for major literatures, especially Confucianism writing (because of its importance). These annotations were not ideal:

1. These notes sometimes disagree with each other;
2. Some annotations were themselves unclear. So commentaries (疏) have been written to explain them.

Over time, more and more interpretations of the same literatures were offered. In an attempt to reduce confusion, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) defined 13 Confucius classics (十三經), together with a set of officially recognised notes and commentaries (十三經注疏), as material for their examinations. Ming's attempt to standardise interpretations partly illustrated the serious confusions on the classics.

The wisdom comes from collective interpretation

Survival of the fittest applies to the many notes and commentaries: the wise ones and the most convincing ones tend to be passed on to future generations.

The notes and commentaries, plus the interpretations by teachers, inject wisdom into ancient literature. As a result of collective interpretation, even the most obscure statements could become wise statements. Ironically, the more obscure a statement, the wiser it could become, because there is more room for interpretation!

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• Just add imagination