The Song of Zengxi: Part 1 (NK)


 Analect 11.26

“Zengxi stopped strumming his zither, and as the last notes faded away he set the instrument as side and rose to his feet.”


    This line appears almost precisely in the middle of an unusually long analect, and it arrives with an unexpected beauty and subtle grace that compels us to reimagine the scene.  For, we did not realize until this line that Zengxi had been playing the zither throughout the Master’s dialogue with the other three disciples.  A discussion concerning the rather banal subject of career aspirations.  We know from the first line that everyone was “seated in attendance” and that mid-way through the dialogue the music “stopped”, but we are never told that Zengxi began playing the zither, nor does it seem unusual to the company that he had been playing it.  It is as though he had always been playing it. So, how does it change our reading to now imagine that Zengxi has all along been strumming his little zither in the background?

    With what patience!  With what care!  Zengxi ends his song and responds to the Master’s question.  First he simply “stopped strumming”.  Strumming, not playing?  I know nothing about playing the zither but to play the zither seems to play it with concentration and attention, to strum the zither seems to play it with ease.  Then, and this is the really lovely detail, he allows the “last notes” to fade away.  How long did it take for those notes to fade away?  What did the others think about this little (perhaps, melodramatic) performance of his?  We do not know.  When thinking about these “last notes” living out their time in the open air amongst the Master and his disciples we may recall the hint of melancholy frustration in the Master’s voice when he says “because I am older than any of you”.  Time is running out.  Time is now being taken advantage of.  It may not be the right time to apply oneself to political aspirations, as the Master’s response to the first three disciples might suggest.  With that in in mind we may notice that the effect of Zengxi having allowed those last notes to hang in the air is to have slowed down time for a moment.  Only after which does he set down the zither.  And, after all the talk of “armed invasions” and “diplomatic gatherings”, with their attendant connotations of noise and movement, this performance of his seems to have (re)established a mood of calmness, to have reset the scene.  This mood of calmness now leads to his next act of subtle drama: his rising to his feet.  Why this gesture?  It does not say any of the other disciples rose to their feet.  The Master “turns” to each disciple and they “answer”, like a watch hand ticking around the circle.  Only Zengxi rises to his feet, and the reader will be forgiven for having half-expected him to fly off in pursuit of those last notes.

Speaking of “time” and “flying off” it appears as though it is time for me to fly off.  So we will leave Zengxi standing there with wind in his hair (he won’t mind) and we will call this “Part 1” of Zengxi’s song.

Comments

  1. JakeFebruary 15, 2022 at 2:30 PM

    Hey Mr. Kaelesch,

    Wow. You've dug into the Analect and made it all the more beautiful. I really enjoyed reading this. Upon my own read of the Analect I did not pay much attention to essence of time that you have written about. It is fascinating think of the calming and "slowing" effect of the music on the Master. I wonder if that is one of the reasons why Confucius seems to be so entranced by music. For a few moments is he is relieved of his duty to Goodness? Maybe it helps combine his interest in ritual with his need for human harmony? From this is his mind clearer?

    See you in class,

    Mr. Stotlemeyer

    ReplyDelete
  2. Krishnan VenkateshMarch 4, 2022 at 8:20 PM

    Beautiful post. I can't imagine that "strumming" is a good translation. I don't think one "strums" a zither. Here's a performance by an SJC alum to give you an idea of how a zither is played:

    https://youtu.be/9EepddTVTwg

    ReplyDelete

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