Ma, R. (2000). Water-related figurative language in the rhetoric of Mencius. In A. Gonzalez, & D. V. Tanno (Eds.), Rhetoric in intercultural contexts [Volume 22 of the International and Intercultural Communication Annual] (pp. 119-129). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Abstract:

Mencius (371?-289? B.C.) was a prominent Confucian philosopher of social order and humanism. His use of water-related figurative language enforced the acceptance of benevolence as a major principle of political rule and promoted the retention of his messages in the auditor. The ultimate goal was, however, to transcend his main theme, "The benevolent has no enemy," over the figurative language. Through the transcendence it was believed that the benevolent leader is able to overcome any difficulty including a disaster caused by water.

Water-related Figurative Language in the Rhetoric of Mencius

The status of Confucianism as the orthodox philosophy in China can be traced back about 2,000 years (Fairbank & Reischauer, 1973). Confucianism has also entered three other cultural areas since its rise in China: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam (Tu, 1992, p. 109). Despite the iconoclastic attack on Confucianism during the May Fourth Movement beginning in 1919 and in the Communist ideology, a revival of Confucianism was reported in China recently (Ching, 1994; Tu, 1992, pp. 102-103).

Some scholars attribute the dominance of the Confucian doctrine in ancient China to the advocacy of Mencius (e.g., Oliver, 1971, p. 161; Pye, 1984; Suzuki, 1914, p. 64). According to Pye (1984),

The heavy influence of Confucianism on communication in East Asian has been addressed in previous research (e.g., Bond & Hwang, 1986; Chang & Holt, 1991; Lee & Campbell, 1994; Yum, 1988). However, the rhetoric of Mencius that seemed to have a direct impact on the widespreading of Confucianism has been investigated in only a few publications (e.g., Oliver, 1969, 1971). The purpose of this study was to analyze the rhetoric of Mencius from a selected perspective and the social reality that his rhetoric attempted to construct. First, the water-related figurative language in the rhetoric of Mencius was identified. Second, the social reality that his discourse attempted to construct in the Chinese culture was discussed.

Chinese rhetoric has been compared with its Western counterpart in previous research (e.g., Garrett, 1991, 1993a, 1993b; Garrett & Xiao, in press; Lu, 1994; Oliver, 1961, 1969, 1971; Xiao, 1995, 1996). Xiao (1995) claimed that at the end of the 19th century rhetoric in some Western books was so culture-bound that a Chinese translator had to "rhetorically" adapt some original arguments to his Chinese audience. Similarly, Tan Sitong had to search for "a meaningful way of mediating the Chinese and Western modes of experiences" in his book, A Study of Humanity, which was written in 1896-1897 and has been referred to as the first Chinese "manifesto of egalitarianism" (Xiao, 1996, pp. 38-39). Garrett's (1991) examination of the rhetorical tradition in China yields that "the most powerful form of persuasion . . . was for persuaders to embody their beliefs in their own lives and persons" (p. 196). She also notes that, in ancient China, persuasion was usually targeted at one individual (usually the ruler) (Garrett, 1991, 1993a). In dealing with this one-person audience, "the situational, psychological, and interpersonal factors often had much more bearing on success than the logical validity of the inferences" (Garrett, 1991, p. 299). This consideration in Classical Chinese rhetoric is also reported in Lu's (1994) study on the theory of persuasion developed by Han Fei Zi (Han Fei Tzu) in the 3rd century B.C.

The hybridization of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism constitutes the mainstream Chinese philosophy. While Buddhism was imported from India, Confucianism and Taoism were deeply rooted in China. McAleavy (1967) contends that they can be viewed as three religions of China (p. 15). However, there is no superpower introduced in the original text of either Confucianism or Taoism. The Chinese version of Buddhism is not so exclusive as many religions in the West, so most Buddhists in China can worship their ancestors as well as the Buddha. None of the three explicitly prohibit people from affiliating with the other two. It also has been argued that Confucianism is more compatible with other traditions than most religions:

The three, according to Chan (1953), "have been mutually penetrated, interrelated, and partially identified" and "have become 'three roads to the same destination,' as the Chinese people are fond of saying" (pp. 180-181).

Both Confucianism and Taoism promote social harmony, yet by different means. Taoism, according to Oliver (1961), sponsors a rhetoric emphasizing wu-wei (the avoidance of action), wu-hsin (negation of mind), and te (the principle of spontaneous functioning).¹ Confucianism, on the other hand, has prescribed moral codes for both individuals and governments. Confucian virtues include, but are not limited to, jen, or benevolence; yi, or righteousness; hsin, or faithfulness; and li, or propriety. Jen and yi have also been translated as "humanity" and "justice" respectively by Dobson (1963). Confucius urged people to adhere to the highest standards for five key role relationships--between ruler and subject, neighbor and neighbor, father and son, husband and wife, and brother and brother. Oliver (1971) states that "The central theme of Confucianism was that ethical conduct creates conditions that result in just and harmonious human relations" (p. 124). Yum (1988) further argues that "As a philosophy of humanism and social relations, Confucianism has left a strong impact on interpersonal relationships and on communication patterns [in East Asia]" (p. 374).

Mencius, the Latinized form of the name Meng Tzu, was a prominent disciple of Confucius in the period of Warring States (403-222 B.C.), which, according to Garrett (1993a), "witnessed nearly-continuous and brutal warfare between many city-states struggling for hegemony, or less ambitiously, for survival" (p. 22). Garrett (1993a) also notes that "there was an especially intense and self-conscious interest in persuasion, argumentation, and social influence" due to the social and political instability of this period (p. 22). Chai and Chai (1961) write that the period of Warring States was "an age of feverish intellectual activity in which many schools of thought developed in a fantastic heterodoxy that . . . threatened to undermine orthodox Confucianism" (p. 50). The situation "provided the stimulus for Mencius' brilliant lifelong defense of Confucianism" (p. 50). Chai and Chai (1973), however, ascribe the successful development of Confucianism by Mencius largely to his idealistic approach:

During the period of Warring States, Mencius traveled to many states, including Liang, Yen and Chi, trying to convince feudal lords as well as others to accept a key concept of Confucian political philosophy, "benevolent government." To meet challenges in a chaotic era, Mencius, in his dialogues with others, applied different rhetorical skills to promote the concept. For example, his use of analogies and examples has been discussed in previous studies (e.g., Lau, 1970, pp. 235-263; Oliver, 1971, p. 169; Richards, 1932, pp. 44-47). His argumentative style has also been noted. As one of his disciples Kung Tu asked, "Master, the people beyond our school all speak of you as being fond of disputing. I venture to ask whether it be so." Mencius replied, "Indeed, I am not fond of disputing, but I am compelled to do it" (Legge, 1895, p. 279).² When comparing Mencius with Confucius, Legge (1895) holds that Mencius adopted a more "vehement" style in expressing his views (p. 47).

The discourse of Mencius was recorded in the book that bears his name, the Meng Tzu (The Work of Mencius). The Meng Tzu, as one of the Four Books in traditional Confucian education in China, is believed to be the writing of Mencius himself and his disciples (e.g., Chai & Chai, 1973, p. 50; Fung, 1948, p. 68). A significant number of figures of speech (similes and metaphors) can be found in the Meng Tzu. A notable cluster among these figures of speech was water-related, such as "inundation," "rain," and the general term, "water." They were frequently used in association with power or superpower.

Ivie (1987) argues that "metaphor is at the base of rhetorical invention" (p. 166). Through clustering similar metaphors, the speaker's "system of metaphorical concepts" can be identified (p. 167). Foss (1989) indicates that metaphor is not just a decorative use of language, it also "constructs a particular reality for us according to the terminology we choose for the description of reality" (p. 189). She also notes that by organizing reality in particular ways, our selected metaphors, which contain implicit assumptions, points of view, and evaluations, "prescribe how we are to act" (p. 189). Therefore, "metaphor does not simply provide support to an argument; the structure of the metaphor itself argues" (p. 190).

While a complete investigation of the thought of Mencius and its differences from other Chinese philosophers is beyond the scope of this study, an examination of his water-related figures of speech should provide a good example and some insight into his rhetorical practice. The approach adopted in this paper thus includes an analysis of water-related figures of speech identified in the Meng Tzu based on Ivie's perspective on the use of metaphors.

Persuasion, as Burke (1950) notes, is an "identification" process (p. 21). "Identification" involves shared sensation, concepts, images, ideas, attitudes, etc., among communicators (p. 21). Common experience or perception enables communicators to become "consubstantial" (p. 21). Water-related figurative language in the discourse of Mencius can first be viewed from this "identification" approach.

The choice of water-related figurative language by Mencius could be traced back to a shared legendary history. In China, the history before Shang dynasty (1751-1111 B.C.) is treated as legendary due to the lack of written evidence. However, many legendary events are widely accepted. According to the legendary history, people suffered heavy casualties from inundation before the reputed founder of the Hsia dynasty, Yu, reduced the water to order (Fu, p. 11). As Mencius mentions in one of his dialogues:

In a different occasion, he repeats the same occurrence:

Although inundation or flood exists almost everywhere within the history of humanity, the one that Mencius remarked was obviously a major one, in which the whole "universe" or "Middle Kingdom" sank into water. Not only could the flood inflict extreme tragedy on people, but it would also register as an irresistible superpower in them and their descendants. Mencius also indicates the following:

In spite of the vagueness with the quotation, the inundation was a significant event in ancient China.

As noted by Cherwitz and Hikins (1983), people trying to communicate ideas can neither subjectively create nor objectively present the reality around them, and social interaction is just an exchange of different perceptions among them. In other words, people communicate based on their perceived reality. The "real" reality has little to do with them unless it becomes perceived. Similarly, whether the history of inundation was "real" was no longer important once it had become perceived by the general public. After the superpower of water was commonly perceived, "water" became a much more powerful word than it had been before.

An important theme in the dialogues between Mencius and others is that morality, including benevolence and righteousness, is the essential element of all truth. It projected the following specific theme in the political context: "The benevolent has no enemy" (Legge, 1895, p. 136). Because of the special meaning that water had for his contemporaries, a skillful connection between the law of water and his law of morality could equate the two and make the former widely accepted. In one occasion, Mencius mentioned the law of water directly:

In other occasions, the law of water was implied and connected to the law of morality. The following are some examples:

Differences among different waters were also likened to differences among different people. In the following example a person whose reputation was beyond his or her merits was compared to the water without spring:

Furthermore, a moral leader, according to Mencius, is as captivating as the rain in a time of drought:

The above statement was repeated for the second time in a different occasion (Legge, 1895, p. 273). The water mentioned here explicitly represented power in a positive direction.

Ivie (1984) notes that the interplay of metaphor and logic constituted a major symbolic resource in Ronald Reagan's rhetorical efforts. According to Ivie (1984), Reagan used the metaphor of savagery and a set of decivilizing vehicles to establish assumptions about Soviet conduct and to lead to his discussion of major issues of foreign affairs. Martin and Martin (1984) reveals implied arguments and rhetorical reinforcers as being two factors leading to the success of Barbara Jordan's speech given at a national women's conference. Implicitly expressed arguments and the schematic repetition of some words (rhetorical reinforcers), as argued Martin and Martin (1984), enabled Jordan to create shared perceptions and reassurances in her audience. Implied arguments in connection with repeated water-related figures of speech were also found in the discourse of Mencius. Take the "opportune rain" for instance, the following logical sequence lay behind the statement:

1. The falling of opportune rain will be greatly appreciated by the people;

2. the (benevolent) deed of a leader is like the falling of opportune rain;

3. so the (benevolent) deed of a leader will be greatly appreciated by the people.

Through the shared meaning of water, Mencius used "opportune rain" to create a shared meaning of morality. The common experience served to bridge other gaps in perceptions. The figures of speech as reinforcers had deepened the conception of the statements and the referents that they sponsored. In other words, when water was interconnected with his proposal for action or his claim of truth, the latter became easily recognized and remembered.

Water-related figurative language has also elevated the main theme in the rhetoric of Mencius, "The benevolent has no enemy." By using the figurative language the ethical standards that he was advocating were raised in the auditor's mind to a level as significant as water. The real purpose, however, was to make his ethical standards transcend these figures of speech. These figures of speech provided a path for his auditor to appreciate his main theme, which was not to be replaced by water. To Mencius, though water is powerful, benevolence and righteousness are even more encompassing. One with these virtues was able to solve any problem including a disaster caused by water. The benevolent founder of Hsia dynasty, Yu, for example, successfully reduced the water to order. Mencius mentioned the following:

That the virtues of a leader can gain prevalence over the power of water was also mentioned in a dialogue Mencius had with the King Hsuan of Chi:

Flood made people desert their homes. Tyrannizing forced people to betray their political leaders. Nevertheless, people could not always do what they wish to do, especially when they faced a powerful flood or tyrant. Only a benevolent leader could modify the exigency for them. The statement, "to deliver them out of the water and the fire," implied that the benevolent leader could overcome the huge power of tyranny as well as water. Instead of being resisted as an enemy, the benevolent leader would be treated as a leader of a relief team, and sincerely welcomed. The power of water, in this situation, surrendered its first place to the power of morality.

According to Ivie (1984), the transcendence of main theme over figures of speech can be a key to decide whether the use of figures of speech by the rhetor is effective. Ronald Reagan's use of the metaphor of savagery in his speeches answered questions about the issue of foreign affairs (Ivie, 1984, pp. 39-50). The metaphor of savagery was, as Ivie (1984) states, not the final goal of his speeches. Through the use of theme metaphors, Reagan skillfully guided the audience to his main theme--how to maintain a strong America and face the Soviet threat. However, there is a major difference between Reagan's transcendence over the metaphor of savagery and that of Mencius over water-related figures of speech. The metaphor of savagery used in the former suggested a concept that the auditor had yet to identify, while water-related similes and metaphors in the latter were based on a common experience with water. In this sense, water-related similes and metaphors adopted by Mencius were more effective in transcending a main theme than did Reagan with the metaphor of savagery.

As previously mentioned, while Confucianism has become the orthodox philosophy in China for a long period of time the rhetoric of Mencius is an integral part of this philosophy. Most of his rhetoric was presented in a political context, so its influence on the political thoughts in China has been persistent. For example, his water-related figurative language tends to guide the thinking of many Chinese on political affairs. The political thoughts derived from his water-related figurative language that have been predominant in China can be summarized as follows:

It is widely recognized that Mencius argued for the moral qualities of a leader and people's right of revolution in the case of an unethical sovereign (e.g., Legge, 1895, p. 167). Tu (1992) notes that Mencius, as a cultural elite in the Confucian tradition, "felt that he represented the conscience of society, and therefore the populace as a whole, whereas he saw the leader of the state as basically representing something like a private interest of a small group" (p. 132). Tu (1992) has also attributed the long history in China of student demonstrations to this cultural tradition (p. 132). The doctrine of Mencius is often transmitted through the sharing of his water-related figurative language. For example, it is commonly accepted that people would flock to a ruler who has no pleasure in killing, just as "water flows downwards with a rush, which no one can repress" (Legge, 1895, p. 137) and that the benevolent leader should punish the tyrannizing ruler in order to deliver people "out of the water and the fire" (Legge, 1895, pp. 170-171). While Confucius underscored mutual obligations involved in the five key role relationships, Mencius championed valuing ordinary people in a traditional monarchy. Mencius stated that "The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the lightest" (Legge, 1895, p. 483). His doctrine was thus not popular among some rulers in China and Japan (Chiao, 1980, p. 6). The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1328-1398 A.D.), for example, was reported to express discontent and disrespect toward the Meng Tzu (p. 6).

No matter whether the political thoughts advocated by Mencius through his water-related figurative language were appreciated by his one-person audience (the ruler), these thoughts, according to Fung (1948), "have exercised a tremendous influence in Chinese history, even as late as the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Chinese Republic" (p. 74). His water-related figurative language has, in a sense, served as a vision shared among Chinese people, from which predictions are made regarding the destiny of a political system. Both the Communist government in mainland China and the Nationalist government in Taiwan incorporated the water-related figurative language in their political slogans before the 70s. They expected to defeat the other in order to deliver their fellow Chinese "out of the water and the fire." Although the meaning for water per se has not been created consistently in the rhetoric of Mencius, water constantly symbolizes a major source of power. A benevolent leader is either represented by this power or able to overcome this power.

Water-related figurative language was an important component in the rhetoric of Mencius, which unveils the main theme of his political philosophy. The choice of water was due to the unique social and historical milieu in which his rhetoric was performed. From a rhetorical point of view, his figurative language was used effectively in supporting the main theme, "The benevolent has no enemy." Because water was perceived to be powerful, the connection of benevolence to water enhanced or even enforced the acceptance of benevolence as being powerful. It also promoted the retention of the message in the auditor. The real purpose of the adoption of figurative language was to communicate the main theme and to make the transcendence of the main theme over the figurative language inevitable. Through the transcendence a benevolent leader was believed to be able to solve problems caused by any superpower including water.

Jamieson (1980) maintains that the understanding of recurrent patterns observable in the surface language was important in explicating one's rhetoric (p. 51). Through clustering the water-related figurative language used by Mencius, his rhetoric on "benevolent government" and the impact of his rhetoric on Chinese communication become more manifest.

ENDNOTES