Post by Airy Yeh on Oct 14, 2015 19:25:13 GMT
What did Chi Ch'ang learn from Kan Ying? How do you interpret "Real archery dispenses with both bow and arrow" (p.237)?
In the beginning of the story, Chi Ch'ang's attitude toward archery was concrete and focused on the hands-on skills. He wanted to be the best master at shooting the arrows, which is the external aspect of archery. He had learned his shooting skills from Master Wei Fei the best he could and when he felt that he had surpassed the master Wei Fei, he felt proud and almost arrogant. He tried to kill his master Wei Fei because he felt that he had to kill him in order to become the best shooter.
When Chi Ch'ang went to learn under the guidance of Kan Ying, he became a completely different character. He was now unassuming and humble. He did not care about surpassing anyone's skill. His focus was internal and directed toward achieving an inner peace and sense of self rather than the external pursuit of competition. Kan Ying taught Chi Ch'ang the spiritual aspect of archery. He taught him that the purpose of archery is not to shoot, kill, and win, but to find meaning in life and find internal growth and peace. Chi Ch'ang learns that his sense of self and value is not latent in the external aspects of life such as what others think and where he stands relative to others in competition, but in his own individual sense of self and unique value. In this story and in The Pursuit of Fudaraku, the public is swayed by the examples of a glorified character and they passively follow their footsteps. The public in The Expert serves to glorify Chi Ch'ang at the same time is a contrast to what he had learned and become.
Therefore, I think that "Real archery dispenses with both bow and arrow" (p.237) conveys that the real aspect of archery is not so much in the external aspect of shooting and competing, but in its internal way and its humanistic teachings. In other words, bows and arrows are symbols of the external things of life that do not give one a true sense of meaning and spirit. Competition and what others think are not useful and should not be emphasized. There is no need for bow and arrow in real archery because it is a way for one to understand the true sense and identity of self and meaning in life. Kan Ying teaches Chi Ch'ang to eradicate the external things that do not give meaning and purpose and to pursue the internal. In the same sense, Kan Ying would teach that archery itself is external and meaningless because it could be interchanged with other representations/names such as kendo, judo, tae kwon do. I think that is why Chi Ch'ang forgets the name and the purpose of the bow and arrow at the end on page 239.
Question: On page 237 when Kan Ying and Chi Ch'ang initially meets, Kan Ying shoots down a kite without using any tool and impresses Chi Ch'ang. Was this real, coincidence, or was it symbolic of the fact that it impressed him? How could he do that?
In the beginning of the story, Chi Ch'ang's attitude toward archery was concrete and focused on the hands-on skills. He wanted to be the best master at shooting the arrows, which is the external aspect of archery. He had learned his shooting skills from Master Wei Fei the best he could and when he felt that he had surpassed the master Wei Fei, he felt proud and almost arrogant. He tried to kill his master Wei Fei because he felt that he had to kill him in order to become the best shooter.
When Chi Ch'ang went to learn under the guidance of Kan Ying, he became a completely different character. He was now unassuming and humble. He did not care about surpassing anyone's skill. His focus was internal and directed toward achieving an inner peace and sense of self rather than the external pursuit of competition. Kan Ying taught Chi Ch'ang the spiritual aspect of archery. He taught him that the purpose of archery is not to shoot, kill, and win, but to find meaning in life and find internal growth and peace. Chi Ch'ang learns that his sense of self and value is not latent in the external aspects of life such as what others think and where he stands relative to others in competition, but in his own individual sense of self and unique value. In this story and in The Pursuit of Fudaraku, the public is swayed by the examples of a glorified character and they passively follow their footsteps. The public in The Expert serves to glorify Chi Ch'ang at the same time is a contrast to what he had learned and become.
Therefore, I think that "Real archery dispenses with both bow and arrow" (p.237) conveys that the real aspect of archery is not so much in the external aspect of shooting and competing, but in its internal way and its humanistic teachings. In other words, bows and arrows are symbols of the external things of life that do not give one a true sense of meaning and spirit. Competition and what others think are not useful and should not be emphasized. There is no need for bow and arrow in real archery because it is a way for one to understand the true sense and identity of self and meaning in life. Kan Ying teaches Chi Ch'ang to eradicate the external things that do not give meaning and purpose and to pursue the internal. In the same sense, Kan Ying would teach that archery itself is external and meaningless because it could be interchanged with other representations/names such as kendo, judo, tae kwon do. I think that is why Chi Ch'ang forgets the name and the purpose of the bow and arrow at the end on page 239.
Question: On page 237 when Kan Ying and Chi Ch'ang initially meets, Kan Ying shoots down a kite without using any tool and impresses Chi Ch'ang. Was this real, coincidence, or was it symbolic of the fact that it impressed him? How could he do that?