Meanings of Life, Nov.

7 The History of Meaning in China and Japan

Meanings of Life in China
--Confucius and Laozi/Zhuangzi were the founders of two leading philosophical traditions in Chinese
history, with very different implications for meanings of life. Confucius set forth a deep belief in tradition
and in hierarchy to ensure social coherence in a chaotic world; Laozi and Zhuangzi flouted tradition and
hierarchy, and advocated following a natural way that transcended the human world. Consider
Zhuangzi refusing to mourn his wife, and refusing to pay obeisance to his ruler.
--In Chinese history, the Taoism of Laozi/Zhuangzi was transmuted into popular religion quite removed
from their philosophy; Confucianism, on the other hand, became the dominant ideology of the Chinese
Empire, as codified in the examination system: consider the implications of the examination system for
meanings of life. Throughout Chinese history, there has been a link to the natural / supernatural world
through funerary rites, if not overt faith in a world beyond.
--Modernization in China, and its effects on meanings of life. Communism is a secular meaning of life
seeking to supplant religion, particularly in the context of China’s history over the past two centuries.
Consider Lei Feng, in this week’s reading—reshaping meaning of life to be wholly subsumed by the
state: why did such idealism get subverted into cynicism? Think: Would the world be better if we were
all like Lei Feng—if we all believed in the overwhelming goodness of our leaders and their ideology?

Meanings of Life in Japan

--Japanese writings through history show an extraordinary mixture of this-world orientation and next-
world orientation, largely based on Buddhism. Classic works of literature may on one page discuss
this-world aesthetics, and on the next page discuss how one should think only of the next world.
Perhaps for many Japanese, the other world did not matter; but this is unclear—maybe this was true
only of the elite, who could afford detachment. Most ordinary people apparently did believe in
reincarnation and in gods: the six karmic realms of reincarnation of medieval Japan, including gods,
humans, and “hungry ghosts,” apparently formed a “basic map of reality” for most Japanese.
--Were life meanings for most ordinary Japanese, Chinese, and Europeans throughout history more
similar than different? Perhaps so: the major divisions would have been by age and gender, within the
bounds of one’s isolated village life. The brevity and suffering in human life would have made belief in a
world beyond this one irresistible in all these different societies; but there has also been a much greater
family-centeredness in Japan and China than in the United States as a basis for life meaning. Why?
--The nation: Consider “The Imperial Rescript on Education.” Chinese communism and Japanese
nationalism: making the state the ultimate meaning, reflecting European trends in the 19th century.
--Today, to what extent have Japan, China, and Western societies in common shifted from belief in the
supernatural, to belief in meaning as found in money and self? Religion is flourishing in the United
States, Japan, and China; yet the deepest meaning for most people seems to be this world.
--Consider my own research on contemporary beliefs in life after death in Japan, China, and the US.

Ikigai and its Meanings in Japan and Elsewhere

--Throughout most of Japanese history, ikigai has meant “playing one’s role”: individual volition was
often suppressed: playing one’s social role to its total fulfillment was key. Consider the 47 ronin.
(However, this gets complicated: giri versus ninjo). Other histories show a similar pattern: consider
Hinduism’s Bhagavad-Gita; the Old Testament’s Book of Job. What are the larger implications of this?
--It was only in the late 19th century that ikigai began to shift in its meanings in Japan, to become instead,
“individual fulfillment.” For several decades ikigai disappeared from dictionaries, only to reappear with a
wholly subverted meaning. Why did this happen? (Consider Durkheim and Weber in this context)
--Japan today: Japan is not a group-oriented society, while the United States is individualistic: it’s more
complex. The cultural ideal of Japan today is individual self-realization, but social pressures and
institutional structures may not allow that. The cultural ideal in the U.S. may be living for others, but
social pressures and institutional structures may not allow that. The most overtly individualistic people
I’ve ever met are Japanese; the most overtly group-oriented individuals are American. Why?
--China today: not a communist society in most respects but a capitalist society, probably more
capitalist than Japan. What does this indicate for life meanings? (Consider Lei Feng again…)