Fan (Daoism)

In ancient China, the term ''fan'' () became associated with a basic concept within Daoism: the ''Daodejing'' remarks "Reversal is the movement of the Way ... Being is born from nonbeing." Daoist texts use ''fan'' in three interconnected meanings: as 'return to the root', 'cyclical return', and 'return to the contrary'. In Chinese cosmology, everything in the universe emerges from the primordial Dao, continually transforms, and inevitably returns to it, which parallels the eternal return in philosophy or cyclic model in physical cosmology. ''Fan'' is also significant in Chinese alchemy and Daoist meditation.

Terminology

The word is relatively common in both ancient and modern Chinese, and is semantically complex. A dictionary of pre-modern Chinese lists five translated meanings:

# 'turn over', 'invert', 'turn upward'
# 'turn back', 'reverse', 'go back', 'revert', 'return', 'turn round', 'repeat', 'do again'
# go counter to', 'contrary', 'opposite', 'oppose; rebel', 'revolt
# look inside', 'introspection
# on the contrary', 'nevertheless', 'despite (the foregoing)'

The second meaning is also unambiguously written as , a phono-semantic compound combining as a phonetic element with the radical . This character has two alternate pronunciations: , and —also written as , with the radical .

The Chinese character was originally a compound ideograph with a and a line , interpreted as representing either some item that the hand is turning over, or the turning motion itself.

Axel Schuessler's dictionary of Chinese etymology reconstructs Old Chinese for , which is cognate with < , < , and probably < . The Sino-Tibetan etymology is evident in Tibetan '(monetary) interest', 'exchange', and Lepcha 'price' and 'buy'.

Related terminology

Early Daoist texts use ''fan'' with two near synonyms. has translation equivalents of: "1. Return home; return whence one came, originally or recently; go back to, retreat to; come full circle; recede; withdraw. 2. Take refuge with, as though going home; bring allegiance to; find haven with, resort to. 3. A daughter going to her new home in marriage. 4. Give back, return to its proper place or owner; restore, make restitution...". or "tautologically enlarged" (Karlgren) by the radical translates as meaning: "1. Go back over the same road, retrace; return, repair to; repeat(edly), duplicate; again, once more; resume restart, start over... 2. Return to earlier state, restore, renew. 3. Reply to, respond... 7. "Return" name of 24th hexagram of ''Yijing''."

''Fan'' () and ''huan'' () both have the significance of 'reaction' or 'return', as "when some kind of reverse change takes place as the result of a former action, or when a cyclical process brings back the phenomena to a state similar to that at the beginning, or identical with it."

''Daodejing''

In the classic ''Daodejing'' the terms , , and each share the semantic field of 'reversal', 'return', 'reversion', 'renewal'. The philologist Victor H. Mair says that all three "suggest the continual reversion of the myriad creatures to the cosmic principle whence they arose", which corresponds with the philosopher Mircea Eliade's "myth of the eternal return".

''Fan'' occurs four times in the ''Daodejing'':

''Fan'' expresses the idea of reversal. Things constantly changing into their opposites, winter turns into summer, day into night, similar to yin-yang processes: yin becomes yang, yang again becomes yin. It is the cyclical motion of history and natural processes, implying that things and situations eventually change into their counterparts.

occurs fourteen times in eight sections of the text. Six occurrences are in the word , which is a compound of two synonyms.

The remaining occurrences are simply of ''fu'' alone.

''Fu'' or ''fugui'' is a return to one's origin, as in the biblical saying "... for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19). It expresses the transitory nature of all existence; beings appear, exist for a while, and then disappear to make room for new beings.

''Gui'' occurs eleven times in the ''Daodejing'', including the six ''fugui'' and mentioned above.

The Chinese philosopher and historian Fung Yu-lan said that ''fan'' meaning 'reversion' and ''fu'' meaning 'return' refer to the greatest of all the laws underlying phenomenal change: "if any one thing moves to an extreme in one direction, a change must bring about an opposite result".

''Zhuangzi''

The ''Zhuangzi'' reiterates the ''Daodejing'' concerning the importance of returning or reversing.

occurs 90 times in the text, such as:

The text uses the 'return' synonyms ''fu'', ''gui'', and ''fugui'' 50 times, 34 times, and twice, respectively. The ''Zhuangzi'' mentions the ''Daodejing'' theme of 'returning to the root', 'origin', or 'beginning'.

Two chapters mention "returning to the simplicity of the unhewn log" (cf. ''Daodejing'' 28 above).

''Huainanzi''

The ''Huainanzi'' ('Writings of the Huainan Masters'), a collection of essays by scholars in the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan. It quotes from many pre-Han schools of thought, including Huang–Lao Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism.

''Fan'' is a key concept in the ''Huainanzi''. The text conceives all cosmic and human realms in terms of the basic , i.e. the 'fundamental peripheral' framework in which any move from a 'branch' state back toward a 'root' state is marked as a 'return' or 'reversion'. On a cosmic level, ''fan'' characterizes the Dao itself, as all phenomena tend over time (through death, decay, or destruction) to revert to the undifferentiated root from which they emerged. Second, on a human level, the return or reversion process can unlock great potential power in the adept of Daoist cultivation.

The ''Huainanzi'' uses several near-synonyms with ''fan'' referring to the Daoist doctrine of "returning to one's original, undifferentiated nature", a pervasive theme that occurs more than ninety times in fifteen of the twenty-one chapters. They include , , , and . Non-differentiation refers to the "perfect beginning before distinction, division, multiplicity and separateness emerged: everything was smoothly and harmoniously blended into one compact whole; everything was simultaneously 'together'."

The ''Huainanzi'' describes the ability of a ''zhenren'' ('genuine/true person') to "return to the origin — the state of primordial undifferentiation, the perfect beginning before things appeared as distinct and separate".

The text frequently transfers specific attributes of the Daoist ''zhenren'' genuine person to the sage ruler. For instance, the ''Huainanzi'' says:

Even though the text asserts that certain changes, such as developments in human social and political institutions, are not ultimately reversible, it concedes that effective governance depends upon political leaders returning to the root by through personal cultivation.

''Daodejing'' (16) "Heaven's creatures abound, but each returns to its roots []" is quoted in one Huainanzi'' passage:

Interpretations

The French sinologist Isabelle Robinet analyzed how commentators and interpreters broadly understand ''fan'' () in three interrelated meanings: "return to the root", "return cyclically", and "return to the contrary".

Return to the root

First, ''fan'' indicates 'returning to the root'. is a basic Daoist expression, as seen in the ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'' above. In a literal sense, "''fan'' is the root" (Heshang Gong), it is 'to return to the root' (Lin Xiyi), and "to return to the beginning" ( Deng Yi). In contexts that identify the ''Dao'' with the human spirit or nature, Shao Ruoyu speaks of ''fan'' "returning to the interior", Li Yue suggests "to return to the empty spirit," and Su Che says "to return to ". An early example of this first meaning is the Guodian Chu Slips manuscript entitled '' Taiyi Shengshui'' (, The Great One Generated Water), which states that Water, after being generated, returns (''fan'') to the Great One (Taiyi) [] to assist it in forming Heaven.

The ''Daodejing'' translator D. C. Lau refuted the usual interpretation that ''fan'' "turn back" in "turning back is how the way moves" refers to endless cycles of development and decline; Something weak inevitably develops into something strong, but when this process reaches its limit, the opposite process of decline sets in and what is strong once again becomes something weak, until decline reaches its lowest limit only to give way once more to development. Lau reasoned that if change is cyclic and a thing that reaches the limit in one direction will revert to the opposite direction, then the central Daoist precept that "To hold fast to the submissive is called strength" becomes both "useless" because if both development and decline are inevitable, the purpose of the former is to avoid latter, and "impracticable" because it advocates that we should remain stationary in a world of incessant change. Instead of "cyclic return", Lau reinterpreted ''fan'' to mean "return to one's roots". The ''Daodejing'' says that once a thing has reached the limits of development, it will inevitably return to its roots and decline, but says nothing about redevelopment being equally inevitable after the return.

Return cyclically

Second, Robinet cited a Chinese cosmogonic interpretation is that ''fan'' means "cyclic return; beginning anew", referring to the reversal of a force that, when it arrives at its apogee, then declines, due to a complementary force in cyclical alternation "like a ring" (e.g., Chen Xianggu, Zhang Sicheng, and Lin Xiyi). On a phenomenological level, ''fan'' is the rhythm of life's movements. When something has grown to its , it decreases or reverses to its contrary, as do Yin and Yang or night and day. For instance, the ''Liezi'' says, "Death and life are one imegoing and one imereturning", and the ''Yijings explains that the Dao is "one [time] Yin and one [time] Yang." The first and second meanings are essentially identical (Lin Xiyi's commentary gives both), but in different realms. For the universe, ''fan'' denotes returning to its cosmic Origin, the Dao, or the Void. Analogically, for people, ''fan'' is returning to the original Void that is the basis for their .

Norman J. Girardot says the Dao is a living thing that follows a "law of cyclic return", which manifests creative activity and life-giving force. Beginning in its primordial condition of ''hundun'' chaos, the Dao "goes out" ( or ) giving birth to all phenomenal things, finally reaching an "apogee" ( or ) of movement, at which point it reverses itself and "returns" (''fan'') to its beginning state. The "life" of the Dao is generated by and returning in on itself, going out and coming back in a spontaneous and creative way characterized by its ''ziran'' (lit. "self-so") freedom of movement.

According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the Return to the Dao is one of the most important basic concepts of Daoism: within the universe's rhythmic fluctuations and transformations, all things eventually return or revert to the Dao from which they emerged.

Return to the contrary

Third, Robinet said ''fan'' can metaphysically mean "return to the contrary initial state", by which the cause of a thing is not the same as the thing itself, but rather its opposite. Wang Bi says "in movement, if we know that there is non-being (), all things interpenetrate". He also describes ''fan'' as the "Dao of ''ziran''", which is to say that it is a natural law of motion for renewing the source. Lu Xisheng says ''fan'' is the reversal that form begins from the formIess. ''Fan'' has different ontological meanings according to whether it refers to our closed world, in which everything is finite and forever reverses to its opposite or initial state, or refers to the absolute Dao that is infinitely void and limitless, transcending changes and reversals.

The sinologist Bryan W. Van Norden says ''fan'' "reversal" in the ''Daodejing'' is the fact that things tend to change over to their opposites, for example, "things may be diminished by being increased, increased by being diminished". Another context asks a rhetorical question about ) to illustrate the unpredictability of reversals. "It is on disaster that good fortune perches; It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches. Who knows the limit? There is no straightforwardness. The straightforward changes once again into the crafty, and the good changes once again into the monstrous."58, tr. Van Norden says any conscious effort to anticipate changes in the world is doomed to failure, because no one knows the "limits" or points at which reversal will occur. One should instead avoid self-conscious thinking and rely on mystical insight into the ''Dao''. He agrees with D. C. Lau that cyclical change is not inevitable, the ''Daodejing'' says disaster "crouches" beneath good fortune, but it does not "necessarily follow" it. For instance, it is possible that a person can overcome the strong by being weak, yet avoid becoming strong themself, while maintaining ''wuwei'', for "reversal is the movement of the ''Dao''."

A professor of Chinese philosophy and religion says notion of ''fan'' suggests not only the need to "return" to the Dao, but also that the Daoist way of life would inevitably "appear the very opposite of 'normal' existence, and that it involves a complete revaluation of values".

Eric Sean Nelson philosophically interprets as "unending transversal without a terminating synthesis". The Dao is characterized by motility and reversibility, "reversal is the ''daos movement", but reversibility does not end with the first ''fan'' reversal, whether it is a return to the root, nature, or the origin. "All reversal is itself further reversible, as the source returns to and moves toward itself repeatedly without finality or a concluding synthesis." The dialectic of non-identity and the mutuality of opposites means that reversal can be infinitely transversed.

Daoist alchemy and meditation

Cosmogenic reversion or inversion (, ) is central to Chinese alchemy, which comprises elixir-compounding ''waidan'' ("external alchemy") and psychophysiological ''neidan'' ("internal alchemy"). Notions range from a general ''fan'' ("returning") to cosmic unity to more specific or . ''Huanyuan'' in Daoist ''neidan'' is equated with the goal of returning to one's in Chan Buddhism.

''Waidan''

External ''waidan'' alchemy conceives of the cosmos as the outcome of spontaneous processes. Daoist cosmogony typically involves the progression from Nonbeing to Oneness, followed by the emergence of the ''yin'' and ''yang'' principles, which join in generating and differentiating the myriad beings. Inversion, return, or reversion to the original state can be achieved by reversing the cosmogonic process through re-enacting its developmental stages in inverse order. These notions are the basis for all main ''waidan'' practices. Through cyclical refining and smelting, the alchemical ingredients revert to their original condition, and yield their ''jing'' (, "pure essences"). This In this way, the cosmos is restored to its original, timeless state, allowing the adept to gain access to the corresponding state of timelessness or immortality.

''Neidan''

Internal ''neidan'' alchemy uses cosmological language both to explain the fundamental cosmic configurations and to guide adepts to a primordial order, with the belief that inverting the cosmogonic process will ''fan'' ("return") to the pre-cosmological state of existence. Daoist mystics not only ritually and physiologically adapt themselves to the alternations of nature, but are said to create an internal void that permits them to return to nature's origin.

Returning to the embryo

"Return" is an essential term in Daoist ''neidan'' alchemical literature, for example, the term refers to mentally repeating one's embryonic development, emphasizing "the return of the physical freshness and perfect vital force of infancy, childhood, and even fetal life". As mentioned above, the ''Daodejing'' (28, cf. 55) says, "If eternal integrity never deserts you, You will return to the state of infancy", which suggests that "human vitality is fully charged upon parturition and constantly discharges with every natural cycle of breath". Returning to the origin, the womb, or the embryo implies the idea of "rebirth and renewal as a kind of countercurrent to ordinary life".

Physiological alchemy

One of the most central ideas in physiological alchemy is "retracing one's steps along the road of bodily decay"; in addition to the above and meaning "regeneration; reversion", other technical terms include , , and . A related ''neidan'' theory is making certain bodily fluids, particularly products of the salivary and testicular glands, flow in a direction opposite to the usual, which is expressed by such terms as or . Authors of Daoist alchemical texts repeatedly give cosmogony as the chief example for the process of , a series of stages that lead to degeneration and ultimately to death, whereas ''neidan'' is based on the opposite notion of . The ultimate task of a ''neidan'' alchemist is to the normal processes of the cosmos.

''Hui''

The term ''hui'' ( or , "return; turn backwards; reverse") is regularly used in Taoist expressions such as and . In ''neidan'' terminology, means "to convert", while connotes flowing against the current and refers to a Daoist sexual practice that supposedly "makes the essence go up" into the brain. ''Hui'' is synonymous with ''fan'' ("turn back; reverse"), exemplified by the ''chengyu'' idiom .

Meditation

In Daoist meditation, ''fan'' ("return; turn back; revert") takes on a more technical meaning in terms such as or , both of which denote turning one's attention and perceptions inwardly. ''Fanzhao'' figuratively means "turn back one's gaze; turn one's sight inward", which ''neidan'' adepts practice in order to "illuminate the plethora of anthropomorphized cosmic elements that make up the inner pantheon".

Non-Daoist traditions

Besides Daoist inner alchemical texts, the notion of turning inward (''fan'' or ) is also prevalent in Buddhist and Confucian traditions. For example, the Ming dynasty Neo-Confucian Zhou Rudeng (, 1547–1629) urged his followers to practice a number of contemplative practices: self-reflection (; ), inner contemplation (), and self-regulation ().

References

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External links

The Tao as a Path
Stephen W. Sawyer
Daoism
''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''

{{Chinese philosophy

Chinese culture
Taoist philosophy
Concepts in Chinese philosophy