Pu (Daoism)

''Pu'' is a Chinese word meaning "unworked wood; inherent quality; simple" that was an early Daoist metaphor for the natural state of humanity, and relates with the Daoist keyword ''ziran'' (literally "self so") "natural; spontaneous". The scholar Ge Hong (283–343 CE) immortalized ''pu'' in his pen name ''Baopuzi'' "Master who Embraces Simplicity" and eponymous book ''Baopuzi''.

Terminology

''Pu'' can be written with either of the variant Chinese characters or , which are linguistically complex.

Characters

Both and are classified as radical-phonetic characters, combining the semantically significant "tree" radical (commonly used for writing names of trees and wooden objects) with the phonetic indicators ''pu'' or ''bu'' .

The Chinese character ''pu'' was first recorded on Chinese bronze inscriptions from the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BCE), and the character ''pu'' was first recorded in Chinese classics from the Warring States period (475-221 BCE).

When the People's Republic of China promulgated simplified Chinese characters in 1956, the established variant ''pu'' (with 6 strokes) was chosen to replace the traditional Chinese character ''pu'' (with 16 strokes).

One of the two (c. 168 BCE) Mawangdui silk manuscript versions of the ''Daodejing'', discovered in 1973 by archeologists excavating a tomb, uses a rare textual variant character for ''pu'' : ''wò'' "a house tent (esp. with a wooden roof)", written with the "tree radical" and ''wu'' "room; house" phonetic. The "B" text, like the received version, uses ''pu'' 8 times in 6 chapters; the "A" text uses ''wò'' 6 times in 4 chapters and has lacunae in chapters 19 and 57. The (c. 121 CE) ''Shuowen jiezi'' defines ''wo'' as ''muzhang'' "wood canopy", and the (early 3rd century) ''Guangya'' defines it as ''choumu'' "curtain; cover". These variant words ''pú'' < *''phrôk'' "unworked wood" and ''wò'' < *''ʔôk'' "house tent" are semantically and phonologically dissimilar.

Pronunciations and meanings

The comprehensive Chinese character dictionary ''Hanyu Da Zidian'' lists 2 pronunciations and 8 meanings for the character , and 6 pronunciations and 11 meanings for ; which are summarized below.''Hanyu Da Zidian'' (1987: 2:1291, 2:1154)

The glyph can be read:
*''pǔ''
#"unworked wood",
#"cut down; fell trees"
#"nature; essence; intrinsic quality" (compare English ''in the rough'')
#"simple; plain; unadorned; unaffected"
#"(economics) net cost"
*''pú''
#"grow thickly (of plants); shrub"
#"an oak tree"
#"attached; affixed"

The glyph can be read to mean:
*''pǔ''
#"unworked wood; natural; plain; etc." (= ''pǔ'' )
#"large"
#" uncured meat"
*''pū''
# "root; basis; origin"
#"beat; hit; an instrument of torture" (= ''pū'' )
*''pò''
#"tree bark; (esp.) magnolia bark" in ''houpo'' "''Magnolia officinalis'' bark (used in Traditional Chinese medicine)"
#in ''pòshù'' "''Celtis sinensis'', Chinese hackberry"
*''pō''
#in '' pōdāo'' "a kind of two-handed sword"
*''Pú''
#"a surname", namely Park (Korean surname)
*''Piáo''
# "a surname"

The ''Erya'', which is the oldest Chinese dictionary, defined ''pu'' and ''supu'' as "oak" names (in "Explaining Trees" chapter 14). First, ''pu'' is defined as ''bao'' (14:45). Guo Pu's ''Erya'' commentary identified this ''pu'' tree as ''yupu'' "''Quercus acutissima'', saw-tooth oak" (which occurs in the ''Shijing'' below). ''Bao'' is usually read ''fu'' "drumstick", and Guo noted this name ''bao'' denoted "a kind of oak [] that grew in clumps", and quotes the ''Shijing'' usage as ''baoli'' instead of ''baoli'' "bushy oak" (see below). The ''Bencao Gangmu'' says there are two varieties of ''hu'' "''Quercus mongolica'', Mongolian oak", the ''bao'' is small and grows in clumps while the ''li'' is tall and has large leaves. Second, ''supu'' is defined as ''xin'' "heart; mind" (14:64). Guo identifies ''supu'' (cf. reverse ''pusu'' in the ''Shijing'' below) as ''husu'' (with ''hu'' "Mongolian oak"), the "''Quercus dentata'', daimyo oak". While ''xin'' "heart; mind" is a common Chinese word, this ''Erya'' definition is the only known context in which it names a tree. The ''Yijing'' uses ''xin'' to mean "thorn; prick": "Among varieties of wood it means those which are firm and have much pith".

The ''Shuowen Jiezi'', the first Chinese dictionary of characters, simply defines ''pu'' as ''mupi'' "tree bark; wood with bark", and ''pu'' as ''musu'' "plain wood; unworked lumber" (later meaning "lignin" in scientific terminology).

Returning to the central Daoist meaning of ''pu'', Pas and Leung challenge the stereotyped "uncarved block" translation of ''pu'': "The idea implied in it comes closer to 'wholeness', which is also contained in 'uncarved block', except that 'uncarved block' has been reified. As a result, what was an excellent analogy of the Tao has become sterile and counterproductive." Citing the ''pu'' translations of Séraphin Couvreur "wood that has not been worked on; simple, without ornament, without disguise" and Bernhard Karlgren "wood in its natural state, not worked: rough, plain, natural, simple"; Pas and Leung conclude: "it is obvious where the expression 'uncarved block' came from, but the addition of 'block' is an interpretation. The term means 'plain wood, uncarved wood'."

Etymology

Reconstructions of Old Chinese pronunciations have transformed Chinese etymology. Old Chinese reconstructions of ''pu'' or ''bu'' include:
*''bú'' < *''pûk'' or *''b'ûk''
*''bú'' < *''puk'' or *''b'uk'' "shrubby trees", ''pŭ'' < *''p'uk'' "rough; unadorned", and ''pò'' < *''p'ǔk'' "trim unworked wood; robust, solid"
*''pú'' < *''phruk''
*''bú'' < *''puk'' or *''buk''
*''pú'' < *''phrôk'' "to trim wood", "in a natural state, unworked"
* ''pŭ'' < *''pʰˤrok'' "unworked wood"

Victor Mair suggests that ''pu'' < *''phluk'' "unhewn log" is "almost certainly related to the English word "block," which probably derives from the Indo-European root ''bhelk'' (beam)".

Axel Schuessler says the etymology of ''pú'' < *''phrôk'' "to trim wood" could either be an "aspirated iterative derivation" from ''bāo'' < *''prôk'' "cut up, peel, pluck", or "belong to the homophonous etymon with the basic meaning 'in a natural state, unworked', as in ''pú'' 'in a natural state', 'unworked precious stone' ".

Early textual references

''Pu'' occurs in some of the earliest Chinese classics, frequently in Daoist ones.

Shijing

Two odes in the ''Shijing'' "Classic of Poetry" use ''pu'' compounds to mean "an oak".

''Pusu'' occurs in Ode 23: "scrubby oaks", "a clump of oaks", "low shrubby trees". The Mao commentary describes the ''pusu'' as a 小木 "small tree". The ''Erya'' (above) writes this reversible compound as ''supu'' .

''Yupu'' is the name of Ode 238, which records using this tree for firewood: "the ''yih'' and the ''p'oh''", "the oak clumps". Commentaries describe the ''yupu'' as a "dense and shrubby tree".

In addition, Ode 132 has ''baoli'' : "the bushy oaks", "a clump of oaks", "luxuriant oaks". The ''Erya'' has ''baoli'' , writing ''bao'' as "an oak" instead of "bushy; luxuriant".

Shujing

The ''Shujing'' "Classic of History" (''Zhoushu'' , ''Zicai'' " Chinese catalpa lumber" section) uses ''pu'' once in the compound ''pozhou'' (''po'' "trim unworked wood" and ''zhuo'' "hack; chop off"): "as in working with the wood of the rottlera, when the toil of the coarser and finer operations has been completed, they have to apply the paint of red and other colours", "It is as when one works on catalpa wood; when he has toiled in trimming and carving it, he should take measures for making it red or green". Legge notes that ''pu'' means "the rough fashioning of the work" and ''zhou'' means "the fine finish given to it". Karlgren quotes the Han commentator Ma Rong that ''po'' denotes "wood that has not yet been worked into a utensil; unworked wood", and concludes ''po'' means "to treat the unworked wood (in the first rough cutting); to trim" is a variation of the same stem as ''pu'' "in a natural state; simple".

Daodejing

Six ''Daodejing'' chapters use ''pu'' , two of them twice, for a total of 8 occurrences.

Chapter 19 parallels the near-synonyms ''su'' "raw silk; white; plain; simple; quiet" and ''pu'' "unworked wood; plain; simple", and was the source for Ge Hong's pen-name Baopuzi "Master who Embraces Simplicity".
*Evince the plainness of undyed silk, Embrace the simplicity of the unhewn log; Lessen selfishness, Diminish desires; Abolish learning and you will be without worries. (19)
Holmes Welch describes ''pu'' "the Uncarved Block" and ''su'' "Raw Silk" as symbols that Laozi used to expound his basic doctrine of "the return to our original nature". In modern usage, ''pu'' and ''su'' mean "plain," but originally ''pu'' "was wood as it came from the tree before man had dressed it", while ''su'' "was silk that man had never dyed or painted."

Chapters 28 and 57 mention simple ''pu'' in reference to ''shengren'' "sages", Chapter 15 similarly refers to ancient Daoist adepts and describes ''pu'' as ''dun'' "sincere; honest; plain".
*If eternal integrity suffices, You will return to the simplicity of the unhewn log. ... When the unhewn log is sawn apart, it is made into tools; When the sage is put to use, he becomes the chief of officials. For Great carving does no cutting. (28)
*The sage has a saying: "I take no action, yet the people transform themselves; I do not interfere in affairs, yet the people enrich themselves; I desire not to desire, yet the people of themselves become simple as unhewn logs." (57)
*Those of old who were adept in the Way were … hesitant, as though crossing a stream in winter; cautious, as though fearful of their neighbors all around; solemn, as though guests in someone else's house; shrinking, as ice when it melts; plain, as an unhewn log; muddled, as turbid waters; expansive, as a broad valley. (15)
Among all the ''Daodejing'' occurrences of ''pu'', chapter 28 is the only case in which the transmitted and excavated versions are significantly different – the transmitted text has an extra grammatical particle ''zhi'' "a possessive marker; a 3rd person pronoun" after ''yong'' "use; employ". Robert G. Henricks explains this small grammatical change between the standard text saying the sage ''yong zhi'' "uses it" and the excavated silk text saying ''yong'' "is used". The transmitted version "When the uncarved wood is broken up, it is turned into concrete things. But when the sage uses it, he becomes the leading official." should be read "When uncarved wood is cut up, it's turned into vessels. When the Sage is used, he becomes the Head of Officials." D. C. Lau says the traditional passage "seems to say that when the uncarved block shatters it becomes vessels. A vessel is a specialist who is only fitted to be an official. Hence the sage when he makes use of these vessels becomes the lord over the officials.", but in Mawangdui passage, "The meaning is very different. The uncarved block is a symbol for the sage. Just as the uncarved block becomes vessels when it shatters so does the sage become the chief of the officials when he allows himself to be employed, and just as the uncarved block is ruined when it becomes useful, so does a sage become ruined when he becomes useful." The word ''qi'' "vessel; utensil" is translated here as "tools", "concrete things", "vessels", "specialists", and "officials".

Chapters 32 and 37 both address ''houwang'' "feudal lords and kings" and describe the ''Dao'' as ''wuming'' "nameless", while 37 also calls ''pu'' "nameless".
*The Way is eternally nameless. Though the unhewn log is small, No one in the world dares subjugate it. If feudal lords and kings could maintain it, The myriad creatures would submit of themselves. (32)
*The Way is eternally nameless. If feudal lords and kings preserve it, The myriad creatures will be transformed by themselves. After transformation, if they wish to rise up, I shall restrain them with the nameless unhewn log. By restraining them with the nameless unhewn log, They will not feel disgraced; Not feeling disgraced, They will be still, Whereupon heaven and earth will be made right by themselves. (37)
Chapter 37 has a minor textual difference between ''buyu'' "not desire" in the standard version and ''buru'' "not disgrace" in the Mawangdui version.

Lau explains ''pu'' in the ''Daodejing'' primarily means "the uncarved block is in a state as yet untouched by the artificial interference of human ingenuity and so is a symbol for the original state of man before desire is produced in him by artificial means".

The (c. 3rd century CE) ''Heshang Gong'' commentary version of this Daoist text interchangeably writes ''pu'' as both and . Three chapters (28, 32, 37) use in both text and commentary, and one (15) uses in both. One (19) uses in text and in commentary, and another (57) uses in text and in commentary.
*"If they change and want to rise, the ego will suppress them by means of the [] simplicity of the nameless."; "The ego is the personality. The [] simplicity of the nameless is Tao. If all beings change into their selves, but afterwards revert to desire and exhibit shrewdness and hypocrisy, the princes and the king are obliged to suppress personality by means of Tao and Te." (37)
*"Simple like [] unworked wood."; "What is simple is material and firm. The form of unworked wood is not yet carved. Within one ought to take care of the spirits, outwards one ought not to be pretentious." (15)
*"Look at simplicity and hold fast to [] naturalness."; "To look at simplicity corresponds to holding fast to simplicity and keeping to truth as well as to not looking at externals. To hold fast to [] naturalness corresponds to looking at real naturalness in order to show it to the subjects. Thereby one may become a model." (19)
*"I am without desires, and the people are [] simple of themselves."; "If I am always without desires, if I do away with externals, then the people will follow me and remain [] simple and natural." (57)

Of nine ''Daodejing'' chapters without or in the text, three (3, 38, 41) use in commentary, and six (17, 64, 68, 71, 80, 81) use . For examples,
*"He [the saint] always induces the people not to know and not to desire."; "Return to [] simplicity and retain purity." (3)
*"Sincere words are not beautiful."; "Sincere words are true words. What is not beautiful is [] simple and real." (81)

Welch paraphrases the ''Daodejing'' relationship among ''pu'', '' de'' "inherent character; inner power", and '' wuwei'' "non-action; non-doing". Outwardly, one cannot achieve ''de'' "until you have erased the aggressive patterns etched by society into your nature. You must return to your natural self, to [''pu'']. You must discard morality and ambition, for if you keep these you will never be capable of compassion, moderation, and humility. When you discard some of your wishes, you will have them all." Inwardly, one performs several cultivations. "For, to achieve the outward [''pu''] you will have to cultivate a [''wuwei''] of the mind. And when the mind is quiet,

Zhuangzi

''Pu'' occurs 20 times in the (ca. 3rd century BCE) Daoist classic ''Zhuangzi''. The standard ''Zhuangzi'' text writes ''pu'' both with the 16–stroke character six times in three chapters (9, 13, and 31) and with the 6–stroke variant character fourteen times in six chapters (7, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 20), which evidences the heterogeneous textual origins. For instance, the word ''pubi'' (with ''bi'' "low; mean; vulgar; unsophisticated") is written both "crude, mean [heart]" (chapter 31) and "simple and unsophisticated [people]" (10).

A frequently occurring ''Zhuangzi'' metaphor contrasts returning to ''pu'' "unhewn log" with carving ''qi'' "vessels" (which means "specialist; official" in ''Daodejing'' 28).
*In a world of ultimate integrity, men would dwell together with the birds and the beasts. ... Equally without desire, this is called [] "the simplicity of the unhewn log". With [] the simplicity of the unhewn log, the people would attain their nature. ... Therefore, if [] the simple, unhewn log remained intact, who would carve a sacrificial vessel from it? ... The [] carving of the unhewn log into [] instruments is the fault of the craftsman; the impairment of the Way and integrity with humaneness and righteousness is the error of the sage. (9)
*Lie Yukou">Liezi "came to believe that he had barely begun to learn. ... He took no sides in affairs and [] whittled himself back to the simplicity of the unhewn log. Clodlike, he stood alone in his physical form. Sealed off against perplexity, in this manner he remained whole to the end." (7)
*"I have heard it said, 'After all the carving and chiseling, [] Return to the simplicity of the unhewn log'." (20)

Another ''Zhuangzi'' chapter uses this term ''fupu'' "return to simplicity".
*If you were to meet someone who understands great plainness, who subscribes to nonaction and [] returns to the simplicity of the unhewn log, who embodies his nature and embraces his spirit, so as to wander through the common world, you would really be surprised! (12)

See also

* Buddhist ethics
* Tabula rasa
* Ziran

References

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Footnotes

Further reading

* Baxter, William H. (1992), ''A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology'', Mouton de Gruyter.
* Girardot, Norman J. (1988), ''Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism: The Themes of Chaos (Hun-Tun)''], University of California Press. pp
7056117

* Karlgren, Bernhard (1950), "The Book of Documents", ''Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities'' 22:1–81.
* Kraemer, Kenneth (1986), ''World Scriptures: An Introduction to Comparative Religions'', Paulist Press.
* Legge, James (1871), ''The She King or Book of Poetry'', in ''The Chinese Classics'', vol. 4, Oxford University Press.
* Legge, James, tr. (1865), ''The Shoo King'', in ''The Chinese Classics, vol. 3, Oxford University Press.

External links

pu (Daoism)
Britannica Online Encyclopedia

''Houpo'' 厚朴
Hong Kong Baptist University School of Chinese Medicine.

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