Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

Typological Features of Chinese Culture in the Ming Dynasty (1398-1644)

 

 

477

dreams. According to Chinese concepts, the sage is immersed in the 

contemplation of the missing. This was noted by the writer-monk Dong 

Yue,

6

 who compared dreams with clouds, constantly changing their 

appearance, and stated that the creative imagination allows penetration into 

the dynamic prototypes of life.

7

 

From this it follows that the principle of correlation, of 

interconnectedness - rather than cause-and-effect - is typical of Chinese 

culture, capturing the relations between phenomena, revealing their likeness 

or kinship. The similar interacts with similar, answers and sympathises with 

it. One of the characteristics of correlative thinking is the construction of 

sets of interrelated phenomena. Attribution of something to a particular 

type means that it is in a state of belonging to the positive or negative 

sphere of being (yang-yin), to one or another archetype. The idea of 

transformation, vividly and originally presented in Chinese culture, provides 

the basis for further specialisation and complexity within the artistic 

experience.

8

 

The cosmos, in this world view, is a unified resonant system formed 

by a reboant conjugate on the basis of universal sympathy with other 

phenomena and forms. In the world-organism it is not causation that 

prevalis, but the process of impact-response. Man, through the force of his 

sincerity (zhong), is capable of influencing the universe, which responds in 

accordance with the nature of the impact. For the Chinese consciousness, 

an intention towards cognition and reflection on universal metamorphoses 

and transformations is typical. The Chinese cosmos is subordinate to the 

principle of beauty. The cosmos is decorated, “patterned” (wen), and in 

humans this intricacy is manifested in culture expressed through 

hieroglyphic writing. In the Axial Age, the term “wen” meant the sacred 

tattoo of shamans and priests. Then it  came  to  be  understood  as  any 

ornament, and later it came to mean “writing” or “culture expressed in 

graphic signs.”

9

 Thus, the cosmos is revealed in a person through writing. 

Any pattern, written symbol or hieroglyph represents an element of cosmic 

ornamentation, hence the reverent attitude people hold towards the written 

text and culture, which continuously “weaves” its various patterns and 

designs. 

                                                 

6

 Dong Yue (1620-1686): late Ming Dynasty writer-monk who wrote the novel A 

Supplement to the Journey to the West (1640). 

7

 Brandauer 1978, p. 96. 

8

 Schwartz 1985, p. 350-382. 

9

 Golygina 1971. 

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R. K. Bazhanova, D. E. Martynov, Y. A. Martynova 

 

 

478

This world view was developed in the ancient Chinese tradition;

10

 

later, Buddhism brought new ideas and images. In Zen Buddhism (Chan),

11

 

for example, the principle is demonstrated in the famous story of the 

“Flower Sermon.” Once, the Buddha held up a flower in front of his 

disciples and smiled. Only one student, named Mahakasyapa, understood 

the teacher’s gesture and also smiled. At that moment he attained a moment 

of enlightenment. His smile signified the direct transmission of wisdom by 

the Buddha without instruction or writing.

12

 As per the doctrine of Chan, 

wisdom is passed in a special way from heart to heart without relying on 

written signs. Monastic practices, such as caning monks who are immersed 

in a meditative state, illogical “questions and answers,” paradoxical 

statements and discussions between teacher and student are all ways of 

concentrating the consciousness and bringing about the spontaneous 

momentary awakening of the true “self,” the realisation of one’s Buddha 

nature. 

The essence of Chan teaching consists of calming the heart, cleansing 

the mind and engaging in discussion with a wise mentor: then wisdom and 

insight will follow. But a shift is required, so the master must give the 

student a push towards consciousness. A Chan philosopher would call these 

pushes “cuffs” or “shoves to indolent pupils.” In the West, as in Japan, 

these mental shoves are called “koans” and interpreted as “paradoxical 

dialogues of the Zen masters.” In Chinese, the genre is called “gongan” or 

“jifengyu,” literally “speech like a sharpened sword.”

13

  Gongan  is  a 

component of Eastern correlative thinking, where the unusual becomes the 

norm and when the ordinary turns into a paradox. The opportunity to play 

with the world, turning it upside down, and thus to return to the cause of 

adopted evaluations, represents a specific method of educating the 

consciousness. 

Alexander Maslov sees the origin of paradoxical dialogues in legal 

practices of 5

th

-8

th

 century China. Judicial decisions were often made not as 

a result of investigation, but as a consequence of hearing the responses of 

the defendant. The ability of the defendant to offer exactly the right 

description of reality (at least right for himself) correlated directly with 

whether he would be found guilty or not. The Zen master, as if presiding 

over a judicial court, punishes followers’ weak abilities and metes out 

                                                 

10

 Malyavin 2003, p. 275-276. 

11

 In the West, this is best-known by its Japanese pronunciation - Zen. 

12

 Maslov, Loginova 2009, p. 26. 

13

 Ibid., p. 6. 

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