Jacqueline Mok’s Reviews > A New Practical Primer of Literary Chinese > Status Update

Reading this through a modern lens, I can't help but think 魏牟's disdain for 公孙龙 was rather... obnoxious? But I do not know their history. Mayhaps公孙龙was the original mf. Researched 公孙龙's philosophy, indeed rather frivolous to my plebeian mind. But it just didn't sit well with me that 魏牟elevated 庄子's philosophy to one that could withstand the test of heaven and hell. 老庄would have lol-ed?

The last 2 chapters look insurmountable...

FINALLY completed Lesson 34, albeit shakily. I said I couldn't follow the logical leaps of Zhuang Zi even in modern Chinese. Turns out (according to Rouzer), some parts may have inadvertently got left out in the process of copying, and some could have been interpolated (elsewhere) and removed (!!!) I am frustratedly in love with this, if there is such a thing.

The sentence structure of this one single page is so dense, it's taking me a lifetime to wade through. It's not helping either that the logic behind Zhuang Zi's message is so meandering. I still have no good idea what he's trying to drive at even after reading the modern Chinese translation. 人之所知不若其所不知. I'm feeling this viscerally...

I wanted to learn Classical Chinese to read 庄子. Turns out this book has passages from 庄子 itself! Laughing at how 老庄 alludes to the self-congratulatory confidence of the sages. Confucius isn't spared (either? especially?) "...仲尼语之以为博。此其自多也, 不似尔向之自多于水乎?" So it isn't just me who finds these ancient sages preachy and hmmm... overly self-righteous?

As I read more excerpts from Chinese classics, I'm starting to appreciate where some of the toxic Asian parent traits came from. In <李寄>, a young girl offers herself as sacrifice to a demonic serpent because she's merely one of her parents' useless six daughters, who "既不能供养，徒费衣食，生无所益", and ergo “不如早死". In short, this girl believed a child with no value to her parents can be dispensed with, and this was celebrated (!)

Finally a passage I can understand at least 75% of without translation! To my modern mind, I was rather perplexed by why one cannot have fish and the paw of a bear at the same time. But then I realised that the pre-requisite to having it all is a fridge, a good supply chain or both. Clearly missing elements in Mencius' time.

I've always heard people say 独乐乐(le4 le4)不如众乐乐(le4 le4), but apparently that is incorrect! So this came from 孟子, who got 齐宣王to conclude that it was better to enjoy music as a collective rather than alone. So it's actually 独乐乐(yue4 le4)了不如众乐乐(yue4 le4). But even my predictive text doesn't recognise the correct pinyin and I've got to input the proverb using the wrong pinyin or I get something nonsensical like 赌约了不如众约了.

吾惛，不能进于是矣。愿夫子辅吾志，明以教我。我虽不敏，请尝试之。
I'm humbly saying this to Prof Rouzer, but I suspect 齐宣王 is being pagro, and 孟子is just obliviously going on and on...