Carlo wrote:
>Have you read Dan Pearlman's book, the Barb of Time? How do you feel
>about his emphasis on a unity in the Cantos embodied on page 42: "One of
>the most important metaphysical principles of Confucianism, the
>philosophy that informs the Cantos from beginning to end (as we shall
>see), is just this holistic principle expressed by the sage and rendered
>thus in Pound's translation
>
> The celestial and earthly process can be defined in a single
> phrase; its actions and its creations have no dulaity.
>
>on page 43 Pearlman adds "In the Cantos Kung stands for the principle of
>order, the force of reason, intelligence, human-heartedness, whereas
>Eleusis stands for Dionysian energy, the life-force itself."
>
>Dr. Pearlman believes in a unified structure for the Cantos that is
>achieved in large part by his more benign and consistent (with Pound)
>view of Confucious. Do you think Dr. Pearlman is wrong? Is his
>interpretation of Confucious influence too soft-headed . . .?
The Pearlman quotes about the role of Confucius in the Cantos deserve
special attention, I agree. I think Pearlman is right in saying that
Confucianism as a doctrine (or philosophy) is what unifies the Cantos, what
Pound uses to give it ORDER. However, Confucianism is much more than
Pearlman says it is. It was much more for Pound, and it was (and has been)
much more for educated Chinese. No disrespect to Pearlman is intended by
such remarks, or by anything which follows.
Pearlman's thesis about the SIGNIFICANCE of Confucius for Pound may be
inadequate because 1) it lacks knowledge of the Chinese language, or 2) it
lacks knowledge of Chinese history. Even more important though, it takes
little cognisance of the MANY specific parallels between Confucian and
fascist thought WHICH POUND HIMSELF STRESSED. Knowledge of the "pictorial"
qualities of the Chinese language are crucial in this discussion because
Pound views the characters [ideograms] this way, and because he himself
attributes certain meanings to certain characters.
Pound's use of ideograms in the Cantos, in some cases, bears a direct
relation to his espousal of fascist political philosophy. An obvious
illustration of this point lies in the poet's frequent use of the character
* Hsin1. Analysis of * Hsin1 is extremely useful, not only because Pound
employed it in the Cantos as often as he did any other character (nine
times), but also because he himself set forth quite explicitly, in his prose
writings, his interpretation of the character. In a note to Fenellosa's
"The Chinese Written Character," Pound calls * Hsin1 "the character from the
Confucian incitement to never-ending revolution" (Con., 96). The phrase
"never-ending revolution" is a translation of Mussolini's "rivoluzione
continua."
Pound is tying Confucianism and fascism to a particular ideogram. This
connection is not as artificial as it might at first seem, since the
ideogram bears a resemblance to the "fasces" (from which "fascism" derives
its name). The fasces, most of you know, was a bundle of rods tied around
an ax1 and borne before Roman magistrates, as a symbol of the officials'
power to grant life or death . The character * Hsin1, Pound observes,
is composed of hatchet, to erect and wood. It is
to cut down wood, to renew, renovate, improve the
state of it; . . . There is the growing tree at the
base (left), the orderly arrangement above it, and
the axe for cutting away encumbrance.
(Con., 96).
Pound made the connection between Confucius, Mussolini's fascism, and the
ideogram *Hsin1 quite explicit in his political tract Jefferson And/Or
Mussolini. In Chapter 29, entitled "Kung" (Confucius), Pound reproduces in
large letters the Chinese characters Hsin Jih Jih Hsin* * * *, literally
"new day day new," or "make it new day by day." The italicized note beneath
the four characters says "Confucius on 'La rivoluzione continua.'" Later he
observes, "The first ideogram shows the FASCIST AXE for clearing away the
rubbish (left half) the tree, organic vegetable renewal" [emphasis added]
(JM, 113).
The basic feature underlying the philosophies of Mussolini and Confucius is
revealed when Pound is called upon to defend the two men as thinkers. In
the chapter 28 of Jefferson And/Or Mussolini, Pound had shown himself
sensitive to accusations that Mussolini was a dictator. Pound's defense was
that
Mussolini has steadily refused to be called
anything save "Leader" (Duce) or "Head of Govern-
ment," the term dictator has been applied by foreign
envy, as the Tories were called cattle stealers. It
does not represent the Duce's fundamental concep-
tion of his role.
His authority comes, as Eirugina proclaimed,
"from right reason" and from the general fascist
conception that he is more likely to be right than
anyone else.
(JM, 110)
He concludes the tract with a credo.
I assert again my own firm belief that the
Duce will not stand with despots and the lovers
of power but with the lovers of
ORDER
(JM, 128).
In the chapter entitled, "Kung," Pound shows himself sensitive to those
criticizing his interest in Confucius. "As to the mysteries of genius," he
says, "I am reproved for citing Confucius" (JM, 112). His answer to this
reproof is that,
The people who fail to take an interest in Kung
fail, I think, to observe WHAT Confucian thinking
leads to.
For 2,500 years, whenever there has been
ORDER in China or any part of China, you can look
for a Confucian at the root of it [emphasis added]
(JM, 113).
Then follow the characters * * * * Hsin Jih Jih Hsin, which Pound
translates here as, "renovate, day by day, new." Pound's polemic strategy in
Jefferson And/Or Mussolini relies partly on convincing the reader that the
Italian leader's approach is both new and time-honored. The 2,500-year
successful history of Confucianism is supposedly proof that Mussolini's
approach is correct. Both the Confucian monarchs and Mussolini strove for
"ORDER."
There are many more examples of this sort. I cite the example of Hsin1 here
because it fits into our discussion of the issue of "order" in Pound's
poetry and in his politics. If one looks at all 239 Chinese written
characters (some, like Hsin1, used as many as nine times) a pattern will
emerge. Many people talk about the ideogrammic method, but so many
(Pearlman included) ignore the pictures in the ideogram, their values, their
meanings, and the implications of the signifiers. Pound did not ignore the
meaning-bearing components in the characters, and this fact should have
fairly serious implications for the way we interpret Pound.
Furthermore, Pound urged his readers to READ HISTORY. He urged his readers
to study Confucius. That should mean doing more than simply accepting the
orthodox Confucian interpretation of history (something Pound did accept) or
ONLY reading the texts of the FOUR BOOKS, and other Confucian classics as
edited by the most conservative Confucian scholars (of the Sung School of
Learning, again something Pound limited himself to). Pound's ignorance
---(deliberately chosen ignorance) of the Taoist and Buddhist critiques of
Confucianism, his ignorance (deliberately chosen) of the historical
movements, such as the T'ai P'ing rebellion, which undermined Confucian
belief--- was absolutely essential to maintain the Confucio-fascist myth he
was trying to construct.
Regards
Wei
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