in the grove
in the grove
The Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove – celebrated mavericks who escaped the oppressive life of the court for wine, poetry and philosophy amidst the bamboo forest. But who were these sagely iconoclasts? What were their names and why are they worthy? And what about other mysterious lists we read about? The four books? The six schools? The nine tribes? Seven Worthies is dedicated to diving into Chinese history and culture, one list at a time.
bamboo roots
bamboo roots
new shoots
new shoots
worthy
reads
worthy
reads
musings
musings
How to Train your Charioteer
I had never given too much thought to chariots in Ancient China until I came across a list in the Book of Zhou (周禮, 2nd century BCE) of the five essential skills of the charioteer. As I started to explore this intriguing resume, I realised that my mental image of the chariot had been totally wrong. I had been imagining a very nimble thing for a solitary rider, or perhaps a pair: essentially, I suppose, a Spartan chariot or something out of Ben Hur. In reality, these things were much more like tanks - large, armoured, packed with gear, and frequently accompanied by large numbers of protecting troops.
How to Choose a Bow in Ancient China
My latest list is Shen Kuo's 'Six Advantages of a Bow', which I came across while trawling Joseph Needham's magisterial Science and Civilisation in China in search of information about chariots for another forthcoming list. He introduces this list almost as something which presents the relative advantages of the good old bow and arrow (perhaps against swords or more heavier weaponry). On a closer look at the list, though, that is a misleading translation: the point is not that the bow and arrow is superior to other weaponry (not least because that would make nonsense of one of the items that the "sound of the bowstring is clear and sharp"); it is more like a list of the qualities or hallmarks of a good quality bow . In other words, an influencer buyer's guide circa 1000 CE.
