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james behuniak jr.

HITTING THE MARK:ARCHERY AND ETHICS IN EARLY

CONFUCIANISM

Early Chinese thinkers routinely use archery as a metaphor forethical experience. Yang Xiong, for instance, drawing on this long-standing tradition, describes the entire ethical life in terms of archery:

Cultivate character (xiushen ) and let it be your bow. Rectifyyour thoughts and let them be your arrows. Establish appropriate-ness (yi ) as your target. Settle, aim, and let the arrows fly. You arecertain to “hit the mark” (zhong ).1

This article attempts to reconstruct the archery metaphor and to drawout some of its implications for our understanding of early Confucianethics. Attention will be paid to certain motifs and analogies in themetaphor,as well as to the history and mechanics of the archery contestitself, the institution in relation to which the metaphor had its meaning.It is here argued that the archery metaphor suggests a lot about howearly Confucian thinkers understood the relationship between socialroles and personal character, the nature of ethical ends, the enjoymentof ethical life, the nature of self-reflection in the face of moral trans-gression, and the origin and nature of ethics itself.The sport of archeryin early China was more of a community ritual than an individualpastime, and this article argues that the social dimension of the sportneeds to be recognized in order to adequately understand the meta-phor in context. In thinking about the philosophical implications of thearchery metaphor, the insights of John Dewey will be used on occasion.Dewey is the only Western philosopher of whom I am aware that usesthe metaphor of archery in a manner that bears some philosophicalresemblance to the early Confucians.2

I. Position, Discharge, and ZHI

For early Confucian thinkers, archery has two distinct elements: skillin positioning, to ensure proper aim; and strength in discharge, to

JAMES BEHUNIAK JR.,Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Colby College.Specialties: Asian philosophy, American philosophy, philosophy of religion. E-mail:jbehunia@colby.edu

Journal of Chinese Philosophy 37:4 (December 2010) 588–604© 2010 Journal of Chinese Philosophy

ensure that an arrow reaches its target. Mencius likens wisdom(zhi* ) to the first element and sagacity (sheng ) to the second. Ashe says:

To begin in a sound way is a matter of wisdom (zhi*). To carry aprocess through to the end is a matter of sagacity (sheng). Wisdom islike skill [at the beginning]. Sagacity is like strength [in carryingthrough]. In discharging (you ) an arrow from a hundred paces out,arriving [at the target area] is a matter of strength. As for whether ornot the arrow “hits the mark” (zhong), this is not a matter ofstrength.3

In archery, the quality of one’s aiming is distinct from the strength ofone’s release. Analogously, in ethical experience, “wisdom” involveshaving the proper “stance” to realize what is ethically “appropriate”(yi) at the outset, whereas “strength” indicates willingness and theeffort put into acting on it. Both elements, however, can be regardedas derivative from something more primary. In archery, when anarrow is let loose, it is the unity of position and discharge that consti-tutes the shot itself.4 The shot takes place as a whole. Analogously, inthe Confucian ethical framework, there is a unifying notion denotingboth aim and strength simultaneously, a notion from which the ele-ments of “position” and “discharge” can be derived. As Menciussuggests, this notion is primary in ethical experience:

Prince Dian asked, “What is of concern to the scholar-official(shi )?”Mencius replied, “zhi .”

“What do you mean by zhi?”“I mean humanity (ren )5 and appropriateness (yi); that is all

. . . Humanity (ren) is where one is positioned ( ju ). Appropriate-ness (yi) is the path. To be ‘positioned’ in humanity ( juren ) andto ‘proceed out’ in appropriateness (youyi ) is the sum concern ofa great person.”6

For Mencius, zhi is the all-encompassing ethical term.7 It simulta-neously denotes the “position” from which aims are formulated andone’s ability to “discharge” them with conviction. As Mark Lewisexplains, the single term zhi denotes the entire “moral conception ofpersonality” for the early Confucians; it represents, in his words, thewhole “thrust of a person’s being.”8

As a holistic expression of one’s ethical character, zhi indicatesquality of judgment, the strength of intention, aspiration, and deter-mination, and the ability to realize goals. According to the Chinesetradition, it is impossible to feign one’s zhi. In Zhou times, it wasbelieved that zhi could be “observed” (guanzhi ) in ritualisticsettings such as poetry recitations.9 In line with this tradition,Confucius assesses the quality of his disciples in how they “voice their

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zhi” (yanqizhi ) when posed with open-ended questions.10

Archery rituals also provide an important means by which to assesspersonal character in ancient China, and this was perhaps the mostimportant means among the Zhou aristocracy.11 Every male persontook up archery as one of the traditional “Six Arts” (liuyi ).12 Thesport was considered so important that, on the birth of a son, a bowwould be hung on the left-hand side of the door to herald his arrivalinto the world.13 When it came time to recruit male persons for civilservice, an archery contest was held to assess the personal character ofeach. As Mary H. Fong explains, this “major archery ritual” (dashe

) was “the sole means of testing the competence of prospectivegovernment officials, literally the entrance examination to the serviceof the Zhou king.”14 Held twice a year, in spring and autumn, itmarked the culmination of an educational “course” (xu ) thatspanned the early years of male education.15 The function of archeryas a culminating experience in this curriculum was so important thatMencius considers the entire “course” (xu) to have been one inarchery (she ).16 Thus, when philosophers like Mencius employarchery as a metaphor for ethical competence, it is with an under-standing that archery is an important factor in revealing the “thrust”of one’s personal character.

As a component in the archery metaphor, zhi is the most generalterm that defines the “conviction” with which the shot is let loose.17

Mencius relates that when Master Archer Yi first taught humanbeings to shoot, he demanded that one’s zhi be fully set on drawingthe bowstring, and required that all subsequent students do thesame.18 The “Meaning of Archery” (sheyi ) chapter of the Lijilocates the term accordingly:

The meaning of archery is to let loose; some say, to shoot. As forletting loose, each archer lets loose his/her personal zhi.19

As a comprehensive term in ethical psychology, zhi contains withinitself elements that are usually distinguished in philosophical analysis:elements such as “goal,” “choice,” and “effort.” Chung-ying Chengdemonstrates as much in his discussion of the term:

[Zhi] is a choice and decision the self makes in view or in recognitionof an ideal value or a potential reality that can be achieved throughone’s efforts. . . . Zhi is furthermore a vision or a goal that can beprojected into the future and pursued and actualized in time by one’sefforts.As a future goal or vision, zhi is a choice of value and a choiceof a form of life that one comes to embrace and identify with as one’sinnermost own.20

Thus understood, as a component in the archery metaphor zhiincludes within itself both the “target” at which one aims and the

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“effort” put into reaching it. Moreover, to take aim at a target iden-tifies one with a “form of life” pursuant to that particular goal, a formof life that becomes one’s “innermost own.”

This is made clear in a passage from the “Meaning of Archery,” inwhich the “targets” at which one aims are identified with the roles thatconstitute one as a person. Thus:

One who makes of oneself a father (weirenfuzhe ), aims atthe father target; one who makes of oneself a son, aims at the sontarget; one who makes of oneself a ruler, aims at the ruler target; onewho makes of oneself a subject, aims at the subject target. So it is thateach particular archer aims at his own personal target.21

The target metaphor suggests that the “shooting” identified with zhi isa holistic activity wherein means and ends are coterminous. In otherwords, one becomes a father through aiming to be a father, and onebecomes a ruler through aiming to be a ruler. This notion, that aperson is identical to his/her role-fulfilling activities, also finds expres-sion in Confucius’s account of the optimal community as one in which“the rulers rule, ministers minister, fathers father, and sons son.”22 ForConfucians, the ideal person is one whose identity as a person isindistinguishable from the activities that express the social roles thatone aspires to realize. Living such roles and doing what is appropriatewithin them is always the ethical “target.” According to the archerymetaphor, moral wisdom refers to the “position” ( ju) one assumes inorder to hit that target, which also corresponds to the “humanity”(ren) that one brings to the “shot.” Meanwhile, ethical strength refersto one’s ability to “go the distance” in reaching the target, which alsocorresponds to the courage and willingness to do what is “appropri-ate” (yi) in the roles that define one’s person. Together, one’s “posi-tion” and “discharge” indicate the entire thrust of one’s being as anethical person. They indicate one’s zhi.

II. Archery, Roles, and Enjoyment

The notion of “self” suggested in the Confucian archery metaphor issimilar to one that Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont articulate interms of Confucian “role ethics.” The idea that cultivating such a selfis regarded as enjoyable is also included in their treatment. In thewords of Ames and Rosemont:

Each of us is the sum of the roles we live—not “play”—in ourrelationships and transactions with others. The goal of living, then, isto achieve harmony and enjoyment [le ] for oneself and for othersthrough acting most appropriately in those roles and relations thatmake us uniquely what we are.23

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To cultivate a self through taking on roles and to ethically “hit themark” (zhong) while living them out is a social achievement thatbrings immediate “enjoyment” (le) in the doing. Archery, being asport, here shows itself to be an apt metaphor for Confucian ethicalexperience. Like any sport, archery is something communal anddesigned to bring enjoyment to each of its participants. “Sport,” asJames W. Keating explains, is precisely activity undertaken along withothers for its own rewards:

In essence, sport is a kind of diversion which has for its direct andimmediate end fun, pleasure, and delight. . . . The primary purpose ofsport is not to win the match . . . but to derive pleasure from theattempt to do so and to afford pleasure to one’s fellow participants inthe process. . . . Sport, then, is a co-operative endeavor to maximizepleasure or joy, the immediate pleasure or joy to be found in theactivity itself.24

Using “sport” as a metaphor for ethical experience underscores thatethical living should also be the sort of activity that is undertaken forits own sake. As Mencius makes clear, the motivation to do what is“appropriate” (yi) cannot be located “outside” (wai ) of its ownactivity.25 In other words, ends and means must remain unified. Ascommonly recognized in the Western tradition of virtue ethics, trulyethical acts are not works that are done out of “duty” or even becausethey are “virtuous.” Such “outside” (wai) considerations divide activ-ity into means and ends, making the ethical act something one has toor ought to do.The essence of “sport” is similarly violated the momentit becomes something that one is required or expected to do. TheEnglish word “sport” is derived from the Middle English desport andthe Old French desporter, meaning precisely the release from workthat is in any way laborious or mandatory.26 Truly ethical activity, likesport, is done out of enjoyment (le) and for its own sake.As Confuciussays, “to simply recognize [what is right to do] is not as good as beingfond of it; and being fond of it is not as good as enjoying it (lezhi

).”27 It is already true, as Ames and Rosemont say, that “the mostimportant thing in the human experience [for Confucians] is thequality of the relationships that locate one in community and consti-tute one as a human being.”28 The ideal, then, of the ethical sportsmanwho remains firmly “positioned” in associated life and “hits the mark”(zhong) by doing what is appropriate is an extension of these cher-ished goods. For Confucians, being ethical is “sports-like” in that thepleasure and significance that comes with doing it also comes fromdoing it.

By exploring the connection between archery, “enjoyment” (le),and the continuity between means and ends, one comes to see how“targets” operate within Confucian ethics and within the archery

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metaphor itself. To John Dewey, for whom archery also serves as ametaphor for ideal human conduct, it is important that all “targets”grow out of the satisfaction one derives from aiming at them. “Menshoot and throw” instinctively, explains Dewey, but they soon discoverthat there is pleasure found in the simple act of taking aim:

Liking the activity in its acquired meaning, they not only “take aim”when they throw instead of throwing at random, but they find ormake targets at which to aim. This is the origin and nature of “goals”in action. They are ways of defining and deepening the meaning ofactivity.29

As Dewey sees it, human beings do not shoot because targets exist.Instead, human beings set up targets so that shooting itself is mademore rewarding and significant. Any target or “end,” so understood,operates as a means of directing present activity toward significantresults. To “take aim” and to “hit the target” are qualities of activity inits optimal mode. Neither quality marks its cessation.To hit a target atwhich one aims, Dewey suggests, is “as truly the beginning of anothermode of activity as it is the termination of the present one.”30 Simi-larly,“hitting the mark” in the Confucian archery metaphor refers notto a discrete act with a fixed end, but rather to what Cheng refers toas a “form of life” that is chosen and embraced as one’s “innermostown.” This holistic process: taking aim, shooting, and enjoying theactivity, are encompassed in the notion of zhi. This process manifestsitself in large part through the roles that one lives; and it is rightlyunderstood as a process, not as an isolated act. To do what is appro-priate as a parent, for example, in a single instance, is hardly theterminus of parenthood. Parenthood instead is a process of continu-ally aiming at parenthood. Parenting means cultivating the “wisdom”and “strength” to become and remain a good parent. The metaphori-cal “target” of parenting, then, operates as what Dewey calls an “end-in-view” or “aim.”31 It does not indicate a terminal end, but rathersomething that directs and redirects activity in directions that aremeaningful, desirable, and significant. This is how ethical “targets”operate in the Confucian archery metaphor.

As such, “hitting the mark” (zhong) cannot be considered apartfrom the concrete process of taking aim and shooting; nor can it behypostasized and imposed as a “duty” or fixed as an terminal “end”without losing its natural status as an active good.This, as Dewey says,“puts the centre of moral gravity outside the concrete processes ofliving.”32 Mencius would agree with Dewey. Whenever duties, virtues,or ends are overdetermined and fixed “outside” (wai) the circuit ofconcrete activity, there is the risk of alienation and a resultant decayin the ethical quality of activity. Such a situation, as Dewey sees it,unfolds as follows:

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If generation after generation were shown targets they had no part inconstructing, if bows and arrows were thrust into their hands, andpressure were brought to bear upon them to keep shooting . . . somewearied soul would soon propound to willing listeners the theorythat shooting was unnatural . . . that the duty of shooting and thevirtue of hitting are externally imposed and fostered, and that other-wise there would be no such thing as a shooting-activity—that is,morality.33

Genuinely ethical behavior requires an identification of “self” withthe “target” at which one aims. It is not enough to simply be presentedwith a target in the form of a “duty.” Truly ethical targets entermeaningfully into the very activity of taking aim and shooting: theholistic process that Confucians identify with zhi. Here it is the activityrather than the end that is primary. “Strictly speaking,” says Dewey,“not the target but hitting the target is the end in view; one takes aimby means of the target,” meaning that, through the target, the shooteris “realizing his end at every stage.”34 In this way, ethical “targets”emerge only with the realization of one’s innermost aims andpurposes.

An episode in the Lüshi Chunqiu makes a similar pointabout the importance of identifying oneself with a target:

Master Liezi once “hit the mark” (zhong) in archery. He presentedthis to Master Guanyin. Master Guanyin asked: “Do you realize whyyou hit the mark?”

Master Liezi said, “I do not.”Master Guanyin said, “Then it is unacceptable.”Master Liezi withdrew and practiced for three years. Again, he

presented himself.Master Guanyin asked, “Do you realize why you hit the mark?”Master Liezi replied, “Yes, I do.”Master Guanyin said,“That is acceptable. Now maintain [this level

of engagement] and do not lose it.”35

For Confucians, just happening to hit a target does not make one agood archer (pace Zhuangzi).36 Nor, in the context of the archerymetaphor, does accidentally hitting a target reveal anything aboutpersonal character. According to Confucians, to be a good archerone must incorporate the “target” holistically into one’s activity,identifying oneself with the “aim” and the “shot” taken. Only thendoes one realize the meaning and significance of the whole “shoot-ing” enterprise, and only then does the shooting become enjoyable(le) and thus revealing of character. The archery metaphor assumes,as Dewey says, that “there is nothing in which a person so com-pletely reveals himself as in the things which he judges enjoyableand desirable.”37

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III. The Archery Contest and the Social Self

Thus far, the archery metaphor has suggested that ethical marksman-ship is realized within a social context through the embodiment ofroles that constitute one as a person, and that “hitting the mark”brings enjoyment and is done for its own sake. While similar in someways to Western virtue ethics, the ethics embodied in Chinese archeryis distinct. First, it is distinct in that sociality is always essential to itspractice.38 Confucian ethical targets emerge within the field of asso-ciated living. Accordingly, there are no Confucian “virtues” that canbe cultivated alone. More to the point, the traits of Confucian ethicsare too numerous and particular to reduce to any cardinal set of“virtues” or “roles.” While yi, ren , li , and zhi* are sometimeslisted as “cardinal virtues” in Western scholarship,39 they are moreadequately understood as interrelated aspects of a single, organicethical character; or, as they are for Mencius, simply the generic traitsthat mark us as human (renxing ). Treating these as separate“virtues” can sometimes be illuminating, but there is little that onecan say about yi, ren, li, or zhi* that does not immediately implicatethe other three.40 Thus, if they are to be “virtues,” they are mostadequately understood in terms of the “unity of virtues.” Zhu Xiregards them as such, and he identifies “humanity” (ren) as that whichlinks them together.41 The important point, in any case, is that “flour-ishing” (or eudaimonia) for the Confucian self is something that canonly be achieved through engagement in associated human life.

Now, it is perhaps somewhat odd for us to think of archery in termsof our association with others. Western antiquity, after all, is repletewith “stories of superlative marksmanship on the part of individuals,”ancient heroes such as Agamemnon and Ulysses were good archers;and then there are individuals such as William Tell and Robin Hood,who displayed marvelous feats of marksmanship.42 Western traditionsdo not suggest that there is any constituent need for other people inorder to register one’s skill as a marksman (the example of WilliamTell having to shoot an apple off his son’s head notwithstanding). TheChinese archery tradition, however, is different. The Chinese archerycontest was an event that took place in full observance of “ritualpropriety” (li),43 and as such it was not about lone individuals trying tohit targets in a display of their privately owned gifts. Archery was anelaborate, highly stylized affair, the details of which contribute to amore adequate understanding of archery as a metaphor in the Con-fucian mind. According to some accounts, Confucius himself wouldstage archery contests.44 By the time of Mencius, however, it wouldappear that the remnant, ritualistic wing of the ru had evaporated,and along with it went the Zhou-inspired contests. Still, the archery

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metaphor remains a conceptual extension of ideals embodied in theoriginal practice, so that practice deserves our consideration.

At its heart and core, the traditional archery contest, as distinct fromthe biannual contests sponsored by the Zhou kings, was a socialoccasion.45 There was a formal host, a principal guest, and a master ofceremonies.Once participants in the contest had assembled,the masterof ceremonies would oversee the division of the group into two teams.Three leather targets were set up at distances increasing in difficulty.Each team would be divided into three groups according to skill level.Each participant would then pair up with a member of the opposingteam in the same skill class. During each round, three pairs of adver-saries in the respective classes would take their shots, four arrows at atime.When a shot hit the target, a point was scored for the team of thearcher who shot it, provided it was the target designated for his skilllevel.The arrows would then be collected and the next six participantswould enter the field. There would be a total of three rounds for eachpair before the final tally was taken and victory declared to the teamwith the most points. Such were the bare mechanics of the contest.46

The aesthetic embellishments that decorated the bare mechanics aretoo numerous and detailed to fully recount. Careful attention was paidto the music played, the proper handling of implements, the properdirection in which objects and participants were to face, the sequenceof entry and exit, the seating arrangements, and much else. Further-more, as a large-scale social event, liberal amounts of wine wereconsumed.The time and attention devoted to the etiquette of drinking:rinsing the glasses, pouring the wine, and toasting one another, easilymatched or exceeded the time and attention devoted to the actualbusiness of the sport. The Shijing relates the scene in livelyverse, with commentary sharply critical of those who became drunk atthe contests.47 Such criticism is consistent with the Confucian idealwhen it comes to drinking. It is said of Confucius that he“set no limit tohis wine, but he never got crazy.”48

Properly run, the archery contest was a highly refined aestheticevent. On the shooting field, contestants carried out movements to theaccompaniment of various musical scores. The set pieces of music (le)were themselves designed to promote and express the enjoyment (le)of the contest itself.49 It is recorded that Confucius found the choreo-graphed syncopation to be one of the most challenging aspects of thecontest. He appears to have relished the challenge:

“How is an archer to shoot? How is an archer to listen? Releasing theshot in perfect time with the musical note; moreover, to shootwithout missing the center of the target. Only one of consummatevirtue can do this! Someone not as consummate cannot be relied onto “hit the mark” (zhong).50

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As Derk Bodde suggests, “elegance [during the contest] was appar-ently judged to be as important as the actual skill in hitting themark.”51 The archery contest, then, was considerably more than justan archery contest. It was a social event that showcased the refine-ment and elegance of its participants. It promoted ritual propriety,civility, and taught one how to win and lose. Moreover, it fosteredcamaraderie among competing parties. It is significant that competi-tion was between teams and not between individuals. Victory anddefeat extended to groups, not to lone archers; and in the end, theexperience transcended even team affiliations. For at the close of thecontest, in a final show of camaraderie, the winning side wouldhumble itself to the losing side by serving up one last cup of wine. Ina closing ceremony, each pair of archers would approach a platformon which the winner would stand while the loser sat to receive his cup.Once the wine was consumed, the two participants would exchangecourtesies before yielding to the next pair. This component of thecontest deeply impressed Confucius. He regarded the gesture as sym-bolic of how exemplary persons ought to behave in all contentioussituations. As he says:

Exemplary persons are not contentious, except when they must be, asin the archery contest. Ascending the hall, they bow and defer toothers; and together on descent, they drink a salute. This is howexemplary persons compete.52

Confucius recognizes that even in the midst of contention, there isvirtue in grace, humility, civility, and camaraderie. In fact, any numberof virtues: decorum, community-mindedness, fairness, as well as thegood natured enjoyment of oneself in the company of others, are allembodied in the Chinese archery contest.

The archery contest represents to Confucius the importance ofcivility in contentious situations. As he suggests, if one fails to “hit themark,” there should be no ill-will toward the winning party. Nor,incidentally, should one seek to readjust the target, for as the Lüshi-chunqiu says, “When an archer shoots and fails to hit the mark, if hejust resets the target, how is he going to improve himself at ‘hitting themark’ (zhong)?”53 Instead, when an archer fails to “hit the mark,” theproper response is “self-reflection” (zifan ). As Mencius says:

Archers make sure [their stance] is correct (zheng ) before lettingthe arrow fly. If one fails to hit the target, one does not blame thewinners, but rather “turns back” ( fan ) to find the reason inoneself.54

The archery metaphor tells us a lot about what Mencius regards as the“object” of self-reflection, that to which one “returns” when the markis missed.As it turns out,“self-reflection” is not a survey of motives in

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private psychological space, nor is it a review of reasons for or againstacting on some impulse, nor is it coming to realize the directives ofsome moral apparatus “inside” the self. As suggested in section IVbelow, since the arena in which ethical actions “hit or miss” is whollywithin associated life, “self-reflection” in the face of moral transgres-sion amounts to considering how genuinely associated one is in the“field” of ethics itself.

IV. Archery, Self-Reflection, and the “Field” of Ethics

Recall that, for the Confucians, archery involves two things: skill in“positioning,” to ensure proper aim, and strength in “discharge,” toensure that an arrow reaches the target. Mencius likens wisdom (zhi*)to the first element and sagacity (sheng) to the second.55 As Menciusalso suggests, “humanity” (ren) correlates with the element of “posi-tioning” ( ju).56 Thus, in the archery metaphor, “humanity” is whereone “returns” when one fails to “hit the mark.” It is the “position”from which one’s stance can be evaluated for its “correctness”(zheng). Mencius teaches, accordingly, that if one fails to effectivelyexpress concern for others, one must turn to examine one’s own“humanity” (ren).57 Similarly, when one is treated inconsiderately,it is to one’s own “humanity” (ren) that one must turn.58 Howevercounterintuitive it may seem, the “object” of self-reflection is thepresence or absence of human association. To reflect on the “self,” inother words, is to reflect on the quality and sincerity of one’s relation-ships with other people.59

As Mencius sees it, if on “self-reflection” one finds oneself sincereand committed in one’s associated living, then one can trust the“appropriateness” (yi) of the acts and judgments “discharged” fromthat “position.” In the Confucian estimation, so long as one remainscorrectly “positioned” with respect to others in associated life, onecannot stray far from the mark. As Confucius says, “If one’s zhi is seton ‘humanity’ (ren), one can do no wrong,”60 and when it comes topassing judgment, Confucius says that “only the person of ‘humanity’(ren) can be approving or disapproving of others.”61 Mencius providesa vivid account of what Confucian “self-reflection” looks like in thelatter instance:

In the event that someone treats her in an unacceptable manner, theexemplary person will turn to herself and say: “I must be lacking in‘humanity’ (ren) and be without ritual propriety (li); otherwise, howcould such things happen to me?” If, upon self-reflection, she findsherself established in human association and not lacking in ritualpropriety, and yet the unacceptable behavior continues, she will turn

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to herself and say,“I must have failed to commit my best (zhong ).”If, upon self-reflection, she finds that she has given this person herbest, and yet the unacceptable behavior continues, she will conclude,“This person is unruly. As such, how can he be distinguished from ananimal? What can one do about an animal?”62

As prescribed by the archery metaphor, the “archer” in this case firstturns to seek the reason for ethical misfire in the self. Once it isdetermined that her “position” ( ju) is firm, she can be confident thatthe shot “discharged” from that position is both wise (zhi*) andappropriate (yi). It is suggested in the Mengzi that sincere“self-reflection” (zifan) can lend one tremendous courage andstrength in the face of adversity. Here, the “courage” (yong ) ofConfucius is cited as exemplary. Confucius is reported as having saidthat, if he finds himself “upright and well-poised” (suo ) on self-reflection, he would go forward “even if thousands of people opposedhim.”63 Such “strength” in discharge correlates to the second compo-nent of the archery metaphor: the unyielding conviction and perse-verance befitting of the Sage (sheng), a distant but achievable goal.64

Sagehood aside, it is understood that for most people correct “posi-tioning” remains a primary concern in ethical experience.65 Havingproper ethical sensibilities is fundamental. Such wisdom (zhi*) beginswith adopting the correct “stance,” one that is “positioned” in theConfucian dao .Without wisdom at the beginning, the “strength” ofone’s conviction is irrelevant, as the arrow is likely to miss the mark.As Mencius puts it:

Exemplary persons draw back the bow, and they “stand” (li )squarely in dao before letting the arrow fly.Those who are able, dothe same.66

For Mencius, dao is the “field” of ethics, the arena wherein targets aredeveloped, aims are taken, and shots are released. To be firmly posi-tioned in this dao is the only way that one will “hit the mark” (zhong).The irreducibly social nature of ethics here becomes evident. The“field” of ethical experience, like the “field” of the traditional archerycontest, is populated not with separate, numerically distinct “archers”but with social, role-bearing participants engaged in communal activ-ity supported and ennobled through “ritual form” (li). As such, thearchery contest represents associated humanity itself. The two ideas,in fact, are functionally equivalent.As Mencius says,“humanity” (ren)is like archery,”67 and as the “Meaning of Archery” teaches: “Archeryis the dao of humanity (ren).”68 As for what ren itself signifies toMencius: “humanity (ren) is what it means to be ‘human,’ and toaccord with this and teach it is dao .”69 For the early Confucians, themoral dao is bound up with the human community of which one is a

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part. In the Confucian tradition, as for Dewey, “all morality is social,”not because it ought to be, but just because it is.70 Without otherpeople, there would be no ethics. Similarly, without archery contests,there would be no targets, no aims, no hits, and no misfires.

As such, “humanity” (ren) is not a private “virtue” but rather afunction of one’s integration in interpersonal relationships: a measureof how integrated the “self” is with others in sympathy and deference.Mencius explains:

Everything is here with us. There is no greater joy than inspectingone’s own person and finding it well-integrated (cheng ). Toconduct oneself in a way that shows persistent consideration for thedemands of others (shu ): this is the shortest route to “humanity”(ren).71

Accordingly, for Mencius, “self-reflection” (zifan) in the face ofethical difficulty means to reflect upon one’s “humanity” (ren). Itmeans to rely on one’s experience with others for the wisdom (zhi*) todo what is appropriate (yi). As the early Confucians see it, the firmerone is “positioned” ( ju) in associated life, the more attuned one is tothe demands of others (shu): the only real factor in ethics.

In this case, the “field” of ethics is as wide as the arena of humanassociation, and the dao that extends from this field is furthered byadvancements in the human experience. As Confucius says, “it ishuman beings who are able to broaden dao, not dao that broadenshuman beings.”72 The archery metaphor suggests that there are normsthat govern the ongoing dao of associated human life, and there areseveral qualities of personal conduct and attitude that make for excel-lence along the way. Poise, civility, elegance, decorum, community-mindedness, sincerity, and camaraderie might suggest itself as atentative list, but the inventory of concrete “virtues” is probablyendless.The key, perhaps, is to recognize that the primary componentsof Confucian ethics: yi, ren, li, and zhi*, are bound together in a singlewhole: not only in the zhi that defines personal character, but in thecommunal nature of ethics itself. So much, at least, is suggested in thearchery metaphor.

COLBY COLLEGEWaterville, Maine

Endnotes

The author wishes to thank both the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy, forproviding a stimulating venue in which to present this article in its initial stages, and theEditor-in-Chief, Chung-ying Cheng, for his care in suggesting ways to improve the articlein its final stages.

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1. Yang Xiong, Yangzi Fayan (“Model Sayings”), 3.1.2. I am not suggesting that Dewey and the Confucians are identical in their use of the

archery metaphor, but I do think that Dewey’s thinking can help to illuminate specificaspects of the metaphor that early Confucians meant to convey. While the philoso-phies of Dewey and the Confucians are similar in many respects, they are alsodifferent in many respects, especially in respect to the priority of custom and tradition.See May Sim, “Dewey and Confucius: On Moral Education,” Journal of ChinesePhilosophy 36, no. 1 (2009): 85–105.

3. Mencius, 5B, 1.4. This can be compared with the principles of archery in the Zen tradition, wherein all

elements of the shot “flow together without a break.” See Eugen Herrigel, Zen in theArt of Archery (New York: Vintage Books, 1981), 43, 61.

5. The translation of ren as “humanity” requires some explanation. The term mightalso be translated variously as “human-heartedness,” “benevolence,” “compassion,”and “authoritative conduct.” The meaning of the term is indeed broad. As RogerAmes and Henry Rosemont explain, the term refers to “one’s entire person: one’scultivated cognitive, aesthetic, moral, and religious sensibilities.” See Roger T. Amesand Henry Rosemont Jr., The Analects of Confucius (New York: Ballantine Books,1998), 49. The fact that the term refers to certain habits and attitudes that make usqualitatively “human” (ren ) is manifest. For Confucians, these traits are cultivated,activated, and realized only in the midst of human associations. As Confucius sees it,ren is a virtue that stems directly from the family (see Analects, 1.2). According to itsetymology in the Shuowen lexicon, the character is composed of the “human” (ren )radical along with the number “two” (er ).This underscores the relational characterof the traits deemed “human” in this tradition.The most adequate English translationof ren might be something like “associated humanity,” which captures the graphicmeaning of the Chinese character as literally as possible. The term humanity is usedhere for the sake of simplicity.

6. Mencius, 7A, 33.7. I refrain from translating zhi in this article. The meaning of the term becomes

clearer as discussion proceeds, but not so transparent as to correspond precisely withany single English word or phrase.

8. Mark Edward Lewis, Writing and Authority in Early China (Albany: State Universityof New York Press, 1999), 162–63.

9. Lewis, Writing and Authority, 162, 329.10. Analects, 11.26.11. As it says in the “Meaning of Archery,” “Sheyi ” chapter of the Liji :

“moral character is observed” (guande ) through the archery contest. Liji 46.2.See James Legge, Li Chi: Book of Rites, vol. 2 (New York: University Books, 1967),446.

12. The “Six Arts” are Ritual, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy, andMathematics.

13. Liji, “Neize ,” 60. See Legge, Li Chi, vol. 1, 471–72. Here, the gender exclusivityof archery is made painfully clear: “males take up archery and females do not”(nanshenüfou ). The birth of a female person was heralded not with anarchery bow but with a handkerchief hung on the right side of the door.

14. Mary H. Fong, “The Origin of Chinese Pictorial Representation of the HumanFigure,” Artibus Asiae, 49, no. 1/2, (1988–1989): 11.

15. Stephen Selby, Chinese Archery (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2000), 65.16. Mencius, 3A3.17. In the Book of Documents, Shangshu the “conviction of the shot” (shezhi-

youzhi ) appears as a metaphor. See “Pangengshang ,” 7.18. Mencius, 6A,20.19. Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 450–51. Translation is my own.20. Chung-ying Cheng, “A Theory of Confucian Selfhood: Self-Cultivation and Free

Will in Confucian Philosophy,” in Confucian Ethics: A Comparative Study of Self,Autonomy, and Community, ed. Kwong-loi Shun and David B. Wong (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2004), 131–32.

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21. “Meaning of Archery,” Sheyi, Liji 46.8. See Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 451.Translation is myown.

22. Analects, 12.11.23. Henry Rosemont Jr. and Roger T. Ames, The Classic of Family Reverence: A Philo-

sophical Translation of the Xiaojing (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,2009), 11.

24. James W. Keating,“Sportsmanship as a Moral Category,” Ethics 75, no. 1 (1964): 28, 29,30.

25. Mencius, 6A,4–526. Keating, “Sportsmanship,” 27.27. Analects, 6.20.28. Rosemont and Ames, Classic of Family Reverence, 76.29. John Dewey, Human Nature and Conduct, MW 14: 155–56. All quotations from

Dewey are referenced to Jo Ann Boydston, ed., The Collected Works of John Dewey,37 vols. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1969–1991).“MW” stands for“Middle Works” and “LW” stands for “Late Works” in this series.

30. Dewey, Human Nature and Conduct, MW 14: 156.31. Ibid., MW 14: 155.32. Dewey, Ethics, LW 7:278.33. Dewey, Human Nature and Conduct, MW 14: 160. Italics added.34. Dewey, Democracy and Education, MW 9: 112–13.35. See John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, trans., The Annals of Lü Buwei (Stanford:

Stanford University Press, 2000), 216. Translation is my own.36. Zhuangzi’s comment strikes me a rhetorical, but as recorded: “Zhuangzi said, ‘Some

archers, without initially taking aim, still “hit the mark” and we call them good archers.There! Everyone in the world is a [Master Archer] Yi. Is this acceptable?’ Huizireplied, ‘Okay.’ ” Zhuangzi Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinological IndexSeries, Supplement no. 20 (Beijing:Yenching University Press, 1948), 66/24/38–39. Seealso: Burton Watson, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1968), 267. Translation is my own.

37. Dewey, Quest for Certainty, LW 4: 209.38. Rosemont and Ames address the differences between “role ethics” and virtue ethics

in Rosemont and Ames, The Chinese Classic of Family Reverence, 40–45.39. See, for example, Bryan W. Van Norden, Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early

Chinese Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 40, passim.40. I would suggest that Dewey’s characterization applies in the Confucian case. Dewey

writes,“The mere idea of a catalogue of different virtues commits us to the notion thatvirtues may be kept apart, pigeon-holed in water-tight compartments. In fact, virtuoustraits interpenetrate one another; this unity is involved in the very idea of integrity ofcharacter.” Dewey, Ethics, LW 7: 257.

41. Zhu Xi, in his commentary to Mencius, 2A,7, explains that ren “links all four virtuestogether.” See Van Norden, trans., Mengzi:With Selections from Traditional Commen-taries (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2008), 47–48.

42. Eugene S. McCartney, “Folklore of Marksmanship,” The Classical Journal 22, no. 2(1926): 140. Italics added. See also Eugene S. McCartney, “Marvelous Feats ofArchery,” The Classical Journal 35, no. 9 (1940): 537–41.

43. Ames and Rosemont define li as the “communal grammar that locates persons inmeaningful, reciprocal roles and relations within their families and communities.” SeeRosemont and Ames, Classic of Family Reverence, 38.

44. “Meaning of Archery,” Sheyi, Liji 46.7. See Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 449.45. By some accounts, there were four main types of archery contests, and they varied in

function. See Selby, Chinese Archery, 50–51.46. According to tradition, the archery contest was an event institutionalized by Duke

Zhou and held according to instructions recorded in ritual texts. It is difficult toascertain the accuracy of the tradition or the precise historicity of the received texts.One can, however, learn a lot about the contest from descriptions available. My briefaccount is reconstructed from the “Ritual Observances of the District-Level ArcheryMeeting,” Xiangsheli ( ) and “Great Archery Meeting,” Dashe chapters in the

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Yili , see John Steele, The Yili or Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial, vol. 1.(London: Probsthain, 1917), 74–121; 150–88; and “The Meaning of Archery,” Sheyichapter in the Liji, see Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 446–53. I also draw from K. C. Wu’sinsightful account of the ancient contest in Kuo-Cheng Wu, The Chinese Heritage(New York: Crown, 1982), 437–44.

47. One section reads: “When the guests have drunk too much, they shout out andbecome obnoxious.They disorder the dishes.They keep dancing in a fantastic manner.Thus, when they have drunk too much, they become insensible of their errors. Withtheir caps on one side, as if falling off, they keep on dancing and will not stop. If, whenthey have drunk too much, they just took leave, both they [and their hosts] would behappy. But remaining after they are drunk is what is called ‘doing injury to virtue.’Drinking is a good institution, but only when there is good deportment in it” (Mao220, abridged). See Legge, The Chinese Classics, vol. 4 (Taipei: SMC Publishing, 2000),395–400; see also Authur Waley, trans., The Book of Songs (New York: Grove Press,1960), 296. The translation here is a slightly modified hybrid of Legge’s and Waley’stranslations.

48. Analects, 10.849. “Meaning of Archery,” Sheyi, Liji 46.3, 5–6, passim. See Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 447–48.

The same word, le, means both “music” and “enjoyment” and is used to signify bothin the text.

50. Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 453.51. Derk Bodde, Chinese Thought, Society, and Science (Honolulu: University of Hawaii

Press, 1991), 293. In ancient China, the connection between archery and physicalelegance stretched well beyond the parameters of the archery contest. The intimacybetween the two is plainly evident in the Shijing:

Hey-ho! So handsome and accomplished! Magnificent in stature!What elegance in his high forehead! What motion in his beautiful eyes!What skill in the swift movement of his feet!What a master of archery.

(Mao 106, abridged). See Legge, The Chinese Classics, vol. 4, 161; see also Waley, TheBook of Songs, 22. The translation here is a slightly modified hybrid of Legge’s andWaley’s translations.

52. Analects, 3.753. Knoblock and Reigel, trans., Annals of Lü Buwei, 101.54. Mencius, 2A, 7. Cf. Zhongyong , 14.55. Mencius, 5B, 1.56. Ibid., 7A, 33.57. Ibid., 4A, 4.58. Ibid., 4B, 28.59. For a brief discussion of “humanity” (ren ) in this context, see Endnote #5 above.60. Analects, 4.4.61. Ibid., 4.3.62. Mencius, 4B, 28.63. Ibid., 2A, 2.64. For a discussion of the attainment of Sagehood and its status as a “distant goal” in

early Confucianism, see Rosemont, “An Unintegrated Life Is Not Worth Living,” inConfucius Now: Contemporary Encounters with the Analects, ed. David Jones (LaSalle: Open Court, 2008), 157–58.

65. Confucius himself subordinates “strength” in the archery metaphor. As he says: “Inarchery, the concern is not to pierce the leather target. This is because the strength ofarchers is not the same. Such is the ancient way” (Analects, 3:16). This observation iscorroborated in Sect. 51 of the “Ritual of the District Archery Meeting,” Xiangshelichapter of the Yili that suggests that archery is all about “Ritual in shooting, notpiercing the target” (lishebuzhupi ). At the archery contest, contestantswere divided into groups according to the distance they were able to shoot. Archersare not expected to reach targets beyond their current strength. With practice,however, strength could increase. Ethical life as presented in the archery metaphor

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should be understood as an orderly process wherein “position” is of first importance,and “strength” is something that comes gradually.

66. Mencius, 7A, 41.67. Ibid., 2A, 7.68. “Meaning of Archery,” Sheyi, Liji 46.11. See Legge, Li Chi, vol. 2, 452. Translation is

my own.69. Mencius, 7B, 16.70. Dewey, Human Nature and Conduct, MW 14: 16, 217, 219.71. Mencius, 7A, 4.72. Analects, 15.29.

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