Title

Understanding of Languages, Embodiment & Sage 

Author

Rur-bin Yang 

Genre

Article  

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Abstract

   This is one of the series of my papers on the problems of embodiment of body in Mencius; it attempts discuss the relationship among hearing (perception)、truth and personality. I propose four main points. First, according to Mencius, any sound is not only the physical-physiological movement, it is also the transformed entity of spirit, sound is the outer aspect of the inner invisible personality. Second, the human body is a combined structure of synesthesia: all perceptions are homogenerous, the five sensations and spiritual activities can be translated into each other. Therefore, a well-cultivated sense of hearing presupposes the existence of a well-cultivated body, and vice versa. Third, the idea of a sage in Mencius is not limited to the field of ethics or of nature; it also requires the transformation of the quality of perceptions, especially those of sound and hearing. Fourth, in order to understand and evaluate the languages well, students should discipline their own individual minds and bodies; furthermore, they also should understand the essence of history and society.