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Reconsidering Yan Shu's "Worldly-wise and Self-preserving" Personality

Shao Mingzhen   

  1. the School of International Chinese Studies at East China Normal University
  • Online:2019-03-25 Published:2019-06-11
  • About author:Shao Mingzhen, Ph. D., is a professor in the School of International Chinese Studies at East China Normal University. Her area of academic specialty is the literature of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
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Abstract: Ouyang Xiu once evaluated his teacher, Yan Shu, with a verse, "Fifty years of affluence and leisure, always worldly-wise and self-preserving." However, the expression of "worldly-wise and self-preserving" has been misinterpreted as a criticism and further regarded as Ouyang Xiu's final evaluation of Yan Shu. In fact, neither "affluence and leisure" nor "worldly-wise and self-preserving" has derogatory meaning back then. On the philological level, "worldly-wise and self-preserving" (mingzhe baoshen) originates in The Book of Songs and is recognized by Zhu Xi as an accomplishment. In its original sense, people who are worldly-wise and self-preserving not only devote themselves to state affairs but also possess positive characters such as disinterestedness and selflessness. This reference is substantially different from the expression's current significance of being tactful and selfish. Only by clarifying this semantic discrepancy can we rectify the distorted image of Yan Shu and unveil his true personality.

Key words: worldly-wise and self-preserving, commendatory term, Yan Shu, reconsideration

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