Zhenren
Zhenren is a Chinese term that first appeared in the Zhuangzi meaning "a Taoist spiritual master" in those writings, as in one who has mastered realization of the Tao. Religious Taoism mythologized zhenren, having them occupy various places in the celestial hierarchy sometimes synonymous with xian. Zhenren has been used in various ways depending on the sect and time period.
Linguistics of ''Zhen''
The common Chinese word is linguistically unusual. It was originally written with an ideogram depicting "spiritual transformation". It originated in the Taoist Tao Te Ching that has similar characteristics to the Ancient Chinese term Jūnzǐ that appears in the early Confucian classics.Characters
The archaic Chinese character 眞 was reduced into 真, which is the Traditional Chinese character, Simplified Chinese character, and Japanese Kanji. This modern character 真 appears to derive from under, but the ancient 眞 has "upside-down person; transformation" at the top, rather than. This antiquated zhen 眞 derives from seal script characters. It is tentatively identified in the earlier bronzeware script, the first Chinese dictionary of characters, gives small seal script and "ancient text" forms of zhen 眞, noting origins in Taoism. It defines 眞 as "A xian transforming shape and ascending into Heaven", and interprets 眞 as an ideogram with 匕 "upside-down person", 目 "eye", and ∟ "conceal" representing the xian plus 八 representing the conveyance. In Coyle's interpretation,The etymological components suggest transforming to a higher level of character, thus genuineness is to be conceived as fundamentally transformational, that is, as an ongoing process of change. As Wang Bi's commentary to the Yijing suggests, zhen is in "constant mutation." By envisioning a new image, it appears, with zhen, the writers of the Laozi and Zhuangzi wanted to distinguish their teaching from others.
Duan Yucai's Shuowen commentary confirms that zhen originally depicted a Taoist zhenren and was semantically extended to mean cheng 誠 "sincere; honest; true; actual; real". It explains the ideographic components in Taoist xian terms, 匕 for hua 化 "change; transformation", 目 for the "eyes; vision" in neidan practices, ∟ "conceal" for invisibility; and, it notes three traditional xian conveyances into the heavens.
Duan differentiates two semantic sets of words written with the zhen 真/眞 phonetic element and different radicals. The first words basically mean chongshi 充實 "real; solid; substantial; substantiate; fill out; strengthen".
- tian 塡/填 "fill in; fill up; stuff; block"
- tian 鎭 "weigh down; press upon; control"
- tian 闐 "full; abundant; rumbling sound"
- zhen 瑱 "earplug; earring"
- zhen 縝 "fine; close woven; careful"
- cao or shen 愼 "careful; cautious; circumspect"
- dian 顚/顛 "top of the head; fall on the head; totter; tumble"
- dian 巓/巔"mountain peak; summit; fall down"
- dian 傎 "topple; overthrow; fall"
- dian 蹎 "stumble; trip; fall"
- dian 癲/厧 "crazy; demented; epileptic"
- zhen 槇 "tip of a tree; fallen tree"
Etymology
Tōdō envisions that the original "upside-down zhenren" ideograph pictured a sacrificial victim zhen 眞 "falling into; fitting into" a burial pit being tian 塡 "filled in", and proposes an etymon of *TEN "full; stuffed".
Schuessler's etymological dictionary cites Ming- and Yuan dynasty-era transcriptions of. It suggests etymological connections with Tibetan bden pa "true" and possibly Chinese zhēn 貞 "divination, divine; test; verify; faithful; loyal".
Semantics
The root word of zhenren is, which has a special Daoist meaning of a person's "true, original, undamaged character".The Hanyu Da Zidian, which lists meanings in order of historical development, defines 15 for zhen:
- 道家称"修真得道"或"成仙"的人。 [Taoist term for a person who has "cultivated perfection and attained the Tao" or "become a xian".]
- 精；淳。t is employed as a special term to contrast with the transitoriness and superficiality of "man-made" formalities. In this novel approach, "genuineness" is not understood as any sort of "unchanging reality," but rather has to do with change and "cultivation." The first time we encounter zhen in the Inner Chapters [see Zhuangzi 2 below] is in the context of the flux and interrelatedness of life and death, where "genuineness" is something ever-present, yet without any apprehensible fixed "identity".
How cavernous and dark! Yet within it there is an essence. Its essence is quite real; Within it there are tokens.
The greatest whiteness seems grimy. Ample integrity seems insufficient. Robust integrity seems apathetic. Plain truth seems sullied.
Cultivated in the person, integrity is true. Cultivated in the family, integrity is ample. Cultivated in the village, integrity lasts long....
Daoist usages of ''zhenren''
While the Dao De Jing has the first occurrences of zhen "true; real; etc.", the Zhuangzi has the first recorded usages of zhenren "true person". Later zhenren meanings are found in Buddhist and other texts.''Zhuangzi''
The Zhuangzi has 66 occurrences of zhen, 19 of them in the compound zhenren. Burton Watson translates it as "True Man", and notes "Another term for the Taoist sage, synonymous with the Perfect Man or the Holy Man." The most descriptive zhenren passage repeats it 9 times.There must first be a True Man before there can be true knowledge. What do I mean by a True Man? The True Man of ancient times did not rebel against want, did not grow proud in plenty, and did not plan his affairs. A man like this could commit an error and not regret it, could meet with success and not make a show. A man like this could climb the high places and not be frightened, could enter the water and not get wet, could enter the fire and not get burned. His knowledge was able to climb all the way up to the Way like this.
The True Man of ancient times slept without dreaming and woke without care; he ate without savoring and his breath came from deep inside. The True Man breathes with his heels; the mass of men breathe with their throats. Crushed and bound down, they gasp out their words as though they were retching. Deep in their passions and desires, they are shallow in the workings of Heaven.
The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss. He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all. He didn't forget where he began; he didn't try to find out where he would end. He received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again. This is what I call not using the mind to repel the Way, not using man to help out Heaven. This is what I call the True Man....
This was the True Man of old: his bearing was lofty and did not crumble; he appeared to lack but accepted nothing; he was dignified in his correctness but not insistent; he was vast in his emptiness but not ostentatious. Mild and cheerful, he seemed to be happy; reluctant, he could not help doing certain things; annoyed, he let it show in his face; relaxed, he rested in his virtue. Tolerant, he seemed to be part of the world; towering alone, he could be checked by nothing; withdrawn, he seemed to prefer to cut himself off; bemused, he forgot what he was going to say....
Therefore his liking was one and his not liking was one. His being one was one and his not being one was one. In being one, he was acting as a companion of Heaven. In not being one, he was acting as a companion of man. When man and Heaven do not defeat each other, then we may be said to have the True Man.
Guo Xiang, the earliest known Zhuangzi editor and commentator, explains this passage.
The zhenren unifies Heaven and man, and levels the myriad extensions. The myriad extensions do not oppose each other, and Heaven and man do not overcome each other. Thus being vast he is one, being dark he is omnipresent – he mysteriously unifies the other with his own self.
Watson's "True Man of ancient times" and "True Man of old" translate, which the Zhuangzi uses 7 times. For instance, this contrast with the
Therefore the Holy Man hates to see the crowd arriving, and if it does arrive, he does not try to be friendly with it; not being friendly with it, he naturally does nothing to benefit it. So he makes sure that there is nothing he is very close to, and nothing he is very distant with. Embracing virtue, infused with harmony, he follows along with the world – this is what is called the True Man. He leaves wisdom to the ants, takes his cue from the fishes, leaves willfulness to the mutton.
Use the eye to look at the eye, the ear to listen to the ear, and the mind to restore the mind. Do this and your levelness will be as though measured with the line, your transformations will be a form of compliance. The True Man of ancient times used Heaven to deal with man; he did not use man to work his way into Heaven. The True Man of ancient times got it and lived, lost it and died; got it and died, lost it and lived. Medicines will serve as an example. There are monkshood, balloonflower, cockscomb, and chinaroot; each has a time when it is the sovereign remedy, though the individual cases are too numerous to describe.
Another Zhuangzi chapter depicts zhenren as oblivious to punishment.
Governing is a difficult thing. To dispense favors to men without ever forgetting that you are doing so – this is not Heaven's way of giving. Even merchants and peddlers are unwilling to be ranked with such a person; and although their occupations may seem to rank them with him, in their hearts they will never acquiesce to such a ranking. External punishments are administered by implements of metal and wood; internal punishments are inflicted by frenzy and excess. When the petty man meets with external punishments, the implements of metal and wood bear down on him; when he incurs internal punishment, the yin and yang eat him up. To escape both external and internal punishment – only the True Man is capable of this.