Attending to Affairs

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.1

Word count: 1.1K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

He who excels at adapting to change cannot be trapped by cunning. He who understands the Way cannot be startled by the strange. He who discerns words cannot be confused by speech. He who grasps righteousness cannot be moved by profit. Therefore the gentleman thinks broadly and listens widely, advancing and retreating in accord with law, acting and resting in keeping with measure; he wishes his hearing and seeing to be extensive, but his selection to be cautious; his learning to be broad, but his conduct of himself to be earnest. Seeing the crooked, he knows the straight; seeing the ornate, he knows the substance. His eyes are not seduced by dazzling colors, his ears not disordered by flattering words. Though offered the wealth of Qi and Lu, his will does not shift; though told of the longevity of Wang Qiao and Chi Song, his conduct does not change. Only then can he unify his Way and steady his conduct, accomplish his tasks and establish his merit.

Editor's review

"Si Wu" is a short chapter on self-cultivation and discernment, written in disciplined prose that advances layer by layer. It opens with four parallel statements—beginning with "he who excels at adapting to change cannot be trapped by cunning"—establishing that the truly accomplished person is unmoved by cunning, by strange tales, by words, or by profit. It then turns to the gentleman's discipline of "thinking broadly and listening widely," "selecting cautiously," and "conducting himself earnestly," stressing that one's hearing and seeing should be broad while one's choices should be careful. The line "seeing the crooked, he knows the straight; seeing the ornate, he knows the substance" is especially striking, urging readers to discern substance amid a welter of appearances. The latter half contrasts the wealth of Qi and Lu with the longevity of Wang Qiao and Chi Song to highlight a resolve that neither shifts nor changes, culminating in "unifying his Way and steadying his conduct." Short yet broad in scope, the piece suits daily reading as traditional cultural cultivation, and rewards rereading in today's noisy information age, where the tension between "thinking broadly" and "choosing carefully" can be felt anew.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy traditional short essays on self-cultivation and seek calm, focused reading
Modern readers concerned with information discernment and independent thinking
Chinese-language teachers and students in need of short classical texts
Readers interested in the gentleman's character and integrity

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a complete philosophical system or lengthy argument
Readers who prefer plot and lack patience for discursive prose
Readers looking for step-by-step self-help guides

Reading tips

Copy and read it passage by passage, summarizing each layer of argument in your own words after finishing it.
Write "think broadly and listen widely, select cautiously" on a note and reflect on it against your daily information habits.
Read it alongside chapters on self-cultivation in the Analects and Xunzi to notice differences in wording.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
思务第十二

FAQ

What does the title "Si Wu" mean?

The source gives no explanation of the title. From the text, the whole piece revolves around "thinking broadly and listening widely" and "selecting cautiously," with its core in thought and attending to fundamentals. Readers may take it as a discussion of what one's thoughts should be devoted to—where thinking should land and how to choose—without insisting on a single interpretation.

How should one understand "he who excels at adapting to change cannot be trapped by cunning"?

The gist is: one who excels at adapting to change cannot be cornered by cunning. The next three sentences share the same structure, saying respectively that one who understands the great Way is not disturbed by the bizarre, one who discerns words is not confused by rhetoric, and one who grasps righteousness is not moved by profit. Together the four sentences stress the resistance to interference that inner cultivation brings.

Is this short piece suitable for daily reading?

Yes. It is brief and clearly structured, and can be read over three or four days, savoring one layer each day. There is no need to rush; the point is to place your own circumstances within the judgment of "seeing the ornate, he knows the substance." Steady accumulation yields more than reading it all at once.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.