Interpreting “Sincerity” in the Doctrine of the Mean

Scholars have different interpretations of the concept of “sincerity” (誠Cheng) in the Doctrine of the Mean (《中庸》). Its simplest interpretation comes from Shuowen Jiezi (《說文解字》 Explanation of Script and Elucidation of Characters), in which “sincerity” (誠) means “truth” (信) (“誠，信也”). With the same component “言” in both characters, they are actually interchangeable. The most vital interpretation from the perspective of life is the character “孚” (Fu), which is originally explained as “the chick子under the bird’s claws爪It means truth.  (“卵孚也。從爪從子。一曰信也。”)”.

How is the character “孚” interpreted as “truth”? Xu Kai (徐鍇, 920-974), a Chinese exegesis interpreter, proposed an interesting interpretation (“鳥之孚卵皆如其期，不失信也。鳥袌恆以爪反覆其卵也。”). When birds hatch their eggs, they often roll their eggs laboriously, which could give even warmth to each egg, so that their offspring would grow healthily. Therefore, the expected date of hatching would be accurate and won’t be failed. Thus, a moral expectation is built between truth and life.

The life meaning of truth is not isolated or accidental. During the Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC), a bamboo slip named The Way of Loyalty (《忠信之道》) directly refers to “truth” as heaven. It is recorded that, “Truth, as a moral principle, enables all things to be accomplished and all virtues to be established. (“信之為道也，群物皆成，而百善皆立。”) ” In this way, truth embodies the moral power of gathering life and nurturing all virtues. After all, truth is a virtue endowed by Heaven!

Confucius (孔子，551 BC - 479 BC) once said, “What does Heaven need to say? The seasons proceed as usual, and all things grow as usual. What does Heaven need to say? (天何言哉？四時行焉，百物生焉，天何言哉？)” (The Analects of Confucius, Yang Huo 《論語‧陽貨》). “Sincerity” (誠) has the radical “言”,  but it is by no means a flowery rhetoric. Its will is exposed in the movement of heaven and earth. The Way of Loyalty responds to Confucius’ words: “What can be encountered without appointment is the will of Heaven (“不期而可遇者，天也”).” The coming and going of the seasons leave no trace like a goat hanging in the tree with their horns (leaving no trace on the ground), however, the coming and going of the seasons never break its trust with people. For Heaven, there’s no need to make an appointment!

In a word, “sincerity” contains the meaning of commitment and expectation, and it is also related to the vitality of all lives. Therefore, “sincerity” can be interpreted as being faithful, symbolizing heaven impartially and universally nurturing all things. Therefore, “sincerity” reflects the goodness and beauty of heaven and earth in creating things and the integrity of the universe. If we consider the ontology of all things, “sincerity” symbolizes the consciousness of creating life. We look into the world and then look into ourselves, where exactly is “sincerity”?

Wonder is often everywhere. Looking up at the stars, looking down at the land, and even looking into our body, it seems that everything is permeated by a kind of subject consciousness that connects and organizes this complex material world to form a vast life network, driving all things to grow and reproduce in an orderly and natural way.

The boundless universe above us contains two hundred billion galaxies, which vary in shape, size, and distance. At first glance, they seem to be randomly scattered in the dark space, but they actually show a high degree of hierarchical structure. The force that drives the movement of galaxies and star systems, arranges their shapes, and shows their own self-repair abilities cannot be explained by physical forces alone. The force that maintains the balance of the universe is actually the will that maintains the existence of its vast organism. No wonder the astrophysicist Richard Conn Henry (1940- ) exclaimed that the universe is spiritual. Let’s examine the land beneath our feet. The underground world of a forest is composed of a huge life web of countless trees connected by fungi. Fungi provide plants with water and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and enhance the trees’ resistance to pathogens, high temperature, and drought. The reason why fungi can build a vast and complex underground information network is due to their tenacious life force. They build magnificent underground “cities” to exchange information and complement each other. Take the human body as another example. The body is composed of two hundred kinds and tens of trillions of cells, which perform their respective functions and tirelessly maintain the healthy survival of the body. The sincerity of tens of trillions of cells forms the will of life. (If we say a cell is not sincere or faithful, it would be a cancer cell, which betray our body, and try to swallow its master. It damages life and therefore becomes notorious.) “Sincerity” is the original driving force that gathers life and creates vitality.

The Doctrine of the Mean speaks of “sincerity” as the root of universal life, which is sublimated into the ontology of all things. The classic explores the principles of life creation and the maintenance of life. The vast universe, the wonderful world of fungi, and the delicate structure of the human body are not a chaotic mess. They all show the miracle of life. In the Doctrine of the Mean, the characteristics of “sincerity” are manifested as follows. Firstly, the pursuit of sincerity should never cease, which emphasizes spirit of life movement and striving. Secondly, the expression “sincerity is the beginning and end of all things; without sincerity there would be nothing” means that sincerity is the only motive to life creation. Thirdly, sincerity has the morality of balance and harmony, and the creation of life is reflected in the concept of balance. The “Zhong” (中) in the Doctrine of the Mean has the meaning of balance and harmony in ontology, evolving from static balance in the transcendental world to the dynamic balance in the physical world. The following are important messages from the Doctrine of the Mean:

When joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are not yet expressed as a response to other things, they are in a state of balance. When they are expressed in words and deeds in accordance with the rites, harmony is achieved. Balance is the foundation under heaven, while harmony is the universal rule under heaven. When the state of “balance and harmony” is achieved, heaven and earth will be in their proper places, and all things will grow and flourish. (喜怒哀樂之未發，謂之中；發而皆中節，謂之和。中也者，天下之大本也；和也者，天下之達道也。致中和，天地位焉，萬物育焉。)

The Doctrine of the Mean employs personification to discuss the balance of the universe with human emotions. This rhetorical device symbolizes the intrinsic connection between nature and humans. Zuo’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals (《左傳‧昭公二十五年》) says: “the general population experiences emotions of love, hate, delight, anger, sadness, and joy. These six emotions originate from the influences of six types of qi (energy). Therefore, it is important to conscientiously adhere to suitable principles and classifications in order to regulate these six emotions (民有好、惡、喜、怒、哀、樂，生於六氣，是故審則宜類，以制六志。).”

Du Yu (杜預，222-285), a minister and strategist in Wei and Jin Dynasties, once explained, “Rituals are created to control the six emotions of love, hate, delight, anger, sadness, and joy, so that they do not exceed the proper limits (為禮以制好、惡、喜、怒、哀、樂六志，使不過節。).” The ancients were so romantic that they poetically attributed the six emotions of humans to the six natural meteorological phenomena of yin, yang, wind, rain, darkness, and brightness. The concept of emotional restraints was already quite mature in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC) and was inherited by the Doctrine of the Mean.

“Not yet expressed (未發)” refers to a transcendental, metaphysical state of tranquility while “expressed in a proper and measured way (發而皆中節)” refers to the balanced state after we interact with external things and adjust our behaviors. “Balance (中節)” means to acknowledge that emotions are the inherent basis (fundamental principle) of morality and human relationships. “Balance” is something internalized while “harmony (和)” is the effort to adjust externally, and the two maintain a high degree of consistency. “Balance and harmony (和)” together can “stabilize heaven and earth (天地位)” and “nourish all things (萬物育)”, achieving perfect equilibrium of virtues to maintain the order of heaven and earth and provide the necessary conditions for the growth of all things. This is called “sincerity (誠)”. In other words, “sincerity” embodies the most fundamental force of life nourishment ---- equilibrium, on which all things depend for growth.

The Book of Changes (《周易》) recorded Hexagram Zhong Fu (中孚卦), whose image is composed of the wind above (上風，“巽”) and the water below (下澤，“兌”). “Zhong Fu” is what we call “sincerity”. The Tuan Zhuan (《彖传》Explanations to the Book of Changes) says, “In Zhong Fu, we have the (two) weak lines in the innermost part (of the figure), and strong lines occupying the central places (in the trigrams). We have the attributes of pleased satisfaction and flexible penetration. Sincerity thus will transform a country (“中孚，柔在內而剛得中，說而巽，孚，乃化邦也。”).” As the hexagram shows, the third and fourth lines are yin lines wrapped inside by two yang lines above and below. The second and fifth lines are both yang lines in the middle. Therefore, Zhong Fu is the image that aims to educate and transform the state. The Tuan Zhuan also said, “Zhong Fu, with sincerity in the heart and benefit in uprightness, corresponds to the way of Heaven (“中孚以利貞，乃應乎天也”).” Zhong Fu embodies the virtue of heaven and deeply influences the state, and its praise for the virtue of “sincerity” is the same as that in the Doctrine of the Mean. According to what we discuss, we can’t help but be amazed at the great significance of the concept of sincerity in traditional culture.