忠經 Zhong Jing #3
冢臣章 Great Official Chapter
(PD) Mt Seoraksan Republic of Korea
Skies, earth, footprint...
(Photo clarity, angle, and wording by Larry Neal Gowdy)
Copyright ©2019 October 24, 2019
The third chapter of 忠經 (Zhong Jing) is titled 冢臣章, which is loosely interpreted to be Burial-mound Official Chapter. 冢 (zhong) generally implies 'burial mound, eldest, grand, great, mausoleum, mound, prime, supreme'. From a firsthand point of view, a large Asian burial mound is of an important individual within one's life — such as a king or emperor — and the thought of the burial mound raises heart-felt feelings of high respect and honor for the individual... the grave is of a great individual. Since the words 'burial mound' sound displeasing in modern English cultures, then the choice of title is to be Great Official Chapter.
臣 (chen) implies 'courtier, minister, official, servant, statesman, vassal'. Not many years ago, government employees were publicly known as 'public servants'. Today, government employees are often interpreted to all be 'rulers'. Within the context of Zhong Jing, perhaps the favored choice is to use the English word 'official' while interpreting the title to have been given to an individual who was a worthy servant to the public.
'Become official matter-thing noble, Devotion it root {also}, Root upright and future transform capable.' (draft translation of a sentence within 忠經 Zhong Jing chapter 3 冢臣章)
Chapter 3 is brief, and rather spartan of explanations, but the general idea points towards how virtue in the present enables an individual to change-transform in the future. It appears that some of the patterning of the sentences might have been formed from ideas found within 道德經 Dao De Jing.
'Thighs forearm move regard-to lower, First head follow regard-to upper, Use his righteousness together, His heart not separate.' (draft translation of a sentence within 忠經 Zhong Jing chapter 3 冢臣章)
The sentence also relates to the topic of body language within chapter 1. It is visible when an individual's body language does not harmonize with mental choices, and also visible when mental choices do not harmonize with the heart. The sentence's 'righteousness' implies numerous qualities that include honesty and a fairness that is evaluated upon reasoning. A later chapter further explains that correct reasoning is the logic based upon firsthand observations of Nature.
'Reach devotion, not-have footprint'. (draft translation of a sentence within 忠經 Zhong Jing chapter 3 冢臣章)
Devotion is an inner thing, not an outside thing.