Pu occurs in some of the earliest
Chinese classics, frequently in Daoist ones.
Shijing Two odes in the
Shijing "Classic of Poetry" use
pu compounds to mean "an oak".
Pusu occurs in Ode 23: "scrubby oaks", "a clump of oaks", "low shrubby trees". The Mao commentary describes the
pusu as a 小木 "small tree". The
Erya (above) writes this reversible compound as
supu .
Yupu is the name of Ode 238, which records using this tree for firewood: "the
yih and the ''p'oh
", "the oak clumps". Commentaries describe the yupu'' as a "dense and shrubby tree". In addition, Ode 132 has
baoli : "the bushy oaks", "a clump of oaks", "luxuriant oaks". The
Erya has
baoli , writing
bao as "an oak" instead of "bushy; luxuriant".
Shujing The
Shujing "Classic of History" (
Zhoushu ,
Zicai "
Chinese catalpa lumber" section) uses
pu once in the compound
pozhou (
po "trim unworked wood" and
zhuo "hack; chop off"): "as in working with the wood of the rottlera, when the toil of the coarser and finer operations has been completed, they have to apply the paint of red and other colours", "It is as when one works on catalpa wood; when he has toiled in trimming and carving it, he should take measures for making it red or green". Legge notes that
pu means "the rough fashioning of the work" and
zhou means "the fine finish given to it". Karlgren quotes the Han commentator
Ma Rong that
po denotes "wood that has not yet been worked into a utensil; unworked wood", and concludes
po means "to treat the unworked wood (in the first rough cutting); to trim" is a variation of the same stem as
pu "in a natural state; simple".
Daodejing Six
Daodejing chapters use
pu , two of them twice, for a total of 8 occurrences. Chapter 19 parallels the near-synonyms
su "raw silk; white; plain; simple; quiet" and
pu "unworked wood; plain; simple", and was the source for Ge Hong's pen-name Baopuzi "Master who Embraces Simplicity". • Evince the plainness of undyed silk, Embrace the simplicity of the unhewn log; Lessen selfishness, Diminish desires; Abolish learning and you will be without worries. (19) Holmes Welch describes
pu "the Uncarved Block" and
su "Raw Silk" as symbols that Laozi used to expound his basic doctrine of "the return to our original nature". In modern usage,
pu and
su mean "plain," but originally
pu "was wood as it came from the tree before man had dressed it", while
su "was silk that man had never dyed or painted." Chapters 28 and 57 mention simple
pu in reference to
shengren "sages", Chapter 15 similarly refers to ancient Daoist adepts and describes
pu as
dun "sincere; honest; plain". • If eternal integrity suffices, You will return to the simplicity of the unhewn log. ... When the unhewn log is sawn apart, it is made into tools; When the sage is put to use, he becomes the chief of officials. For Great carving does no cutting. (28) • The sage has a saying: "I take no action, yet the people transform themselves; I do not interfere in affairs, yet the people enrich themselves; I desire not to desire, yet the people of themselves become simple as unhewn logs." (57) • Those of old who were adept in the Way were … hesitant, as though crossing a stream in winter; cautious, as though fearful of their neighbors all around; solemn, as though guests in someone else's house; shrinking, as ice when it melts; plain, as an unhewn log; muddled, as turbid waters; expansive, as a broad valley. (15) Among all the
Daodejing occurrences of
pu, chapter 28 is the only case in which the transmitted and excavated versions are significantly different – the transmitted text has an extra grammatical
particle zhi "a
possessive marker; a 3rd person pronoun" after
yong "use; employ". Robert G. Henricks explains this small grammatical change between the standard text saying the sage
yong zhi "uses it" and the excavated silk text saying
yong "is used". The transmitted version "When the uncarved wood is broken up, it is turned into concrete things. But when the sage uses it, he becomes the leading official." should be read "When uncarved wood is cut up, it's turned into vessels. When the Sage is used, he becomes the Head of Officials."
D. C. Lau says the traditional passage "seems to say that when the uncarved block shatters it becomes vessels. A vessel is a specialist who is only fitted to be an official. Hence the sage when he makes use of these vessels becomes the lord over the officials.", but in Mawangdui passage, "The meaning is very different. The uncarved block is a symbol for the sage. Just as the uncarved block becomes vessels when it shatters so does the sage become the chief of the officials when he allows himself to be employed, and just as the uncarved block is ruined when it becomes useful, so does a sage become ruined when he becomes useful." The word
qi "vessel; utensil" is translated here as "tools", "concrete things", "vessels", "specialists", and "officials". Chapters 32 and 37 both address
houwang "feudal lords and kings" and describe the
Dao as
wuming "nameless", while 37 also calls
pu "nameless". • The Way is eternally nameless. Though the unhewn log is small, No one in the world dares subjugate it. If feudal lords and kings could maintain it, The myriad creatures would submit of themselves. (32) • The Way is eternally nameless. If feudal lords and kings preserve it, The myriad creatures will be transformed by themselves. After transformation, if they wish to rise up, I shall restrain them with the nameless unhewn log. By restraining them with the nameless unhewn log, They will not feel disgraced; Not feeling disgraced, They will be still, Whereupon heaven and earth will be made right by themselves. (37) Chapter 37 has a minor textual difference between
buyu "not desire" in the standard version and
buru "not disgrace" in the Mawangdui version. Lau explains
pu in the
Daodejing primarily means "the uncarved block is in a state as yet untouched by the artificial interference of human ingenuity and so is a symbol for the original state of man before desire is produced in him by artificial means". The (c. 3rd century CE)
Heshang Gong commentary version of this Daoist text interchangeably writes
pu as both and . Three chapters (28, 32, 37) use in both text and commentary, and one (15) uses in both. One (19) uses in text and in commentary, and another (57) uses in text and in commentary. • "If they change and want to rise, the ego will suppress them by means of the [] simplicity of the nameless."; "The ego is the personality. The [] simplicity of the nameless is Tao. If all beings change into their selves, but afterwards revert to desire and exhibit shrewdness and hypocrisy, the princes and the king are obliged to suppress personality by means of Tao and Te." (37) • "Simple like [] unworked wood."; "What is simple is material and firm. The form of unworked wood is not yet carved. Within one ought to take care of the spirits, outwards one ought not to be pretentious." (15) • "Look at simplicity and hold fast to [] naturalness."; "To look at simplicity corresponds to holding fast to simplicity and keeping to truth as well as to not looking at externals. To hold fast to [] naturalness corresponds to looking at real naturalness in order to show it to the subjects. Thereby one may become a model." (19) • "I am without desires, and the people are [] simple of themselves."; "If I am always without desires, if I do away with externals, then the people will follow me and remain [] simple and natural." (57) Of nine
Daodejing chapters without or in the text, three (3, 38, 41) use in commentary, and six (17, 64, 68, 71, 80, 81) use . For examples, • "He [the saint] always induces the people not to know and not to desire."; "Return to [] simplicity and retain purity." (3) • "Sincere words are not beautiful."; "Sincere words are true words. What is not beautiful is [] simple and real." (81) Welch paraphrases the
Daodejing relationship among
pu,
de "inherent character; inner power", and
wuwei "non-action; non-doing". Outwardly, one cannot achieve
de "until you have erased the aggressive patterns etched by society into your nature. You must return to your natural self, to [
pu]. You must discard morality and ambition, for if you keep these you will never be capable of compassion, moderation, and humility. When you discard some of your wishes, you will have them all." Inwardly, one performs several cultivations. "For, to achieve the outward [
pu] you will have to cultivate a [
wuwei] of the mind. And when the mind is quiet, [
pu] will deepen. It will become a faculty for intuitively sensing the order of the universe — the [Dao] that can be named."
Zhuangzi Pu occurs 20 times in the (ca. 3rd century BCE) Daoist classic
Zhuangzi. The standard
Zhuangzi text writes
pu both with the 16–stroke character six times in three chapters (9, 13, and 31) and with the 6–stroke variant character fourteen times in six chapters (7, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 20), which evidences the heterogeneous textual origins. For instance, the word
pubi (with
bi "low; mean; vulgar; unsophisticated") is written both "crude, mean [heart]" (chapter 31) and "simple and unsophisticated [people]" (10). A frequently occurring
Zhuangzi metaphor contrasts returning to
pu "unhewn log" with carving
qi "vessels" (which means "specialist; official" in
Daodejing 28). • In a world of ultimate integrity, men would dwell together with the birds and the beasts. ... Equally without desire, this is called [] "the simplicity of the unhewn log". With [] the simplicity of the unhewn log, the people would attain their nature. ... Therefore, if [] the simple, unhewn log remained intact, who would carve a sacrificial vessel from it? ... The [] carving of the unhewn log into [] instruments is the fault of the craftsman; the impairment of the Way and integrity with humaneness and righteousness is the error of the sage. (9) •
Liezi "came to believe that he had barely begun to learn. ... He took no sides in affairs and [] whittled himself back to the simplicity of the unhewn log. Clodlike, he stood alone in his physical form. Sealed off against perplexity, in this manner he remained whole to the end." (7) • "I have heard it said, 'After all the carving and chiseling, [] Return to the simplicity of the unhewn log'." (20) Another
Zhuangzi chapter uses this term
fupu "return to simplicity". • If you were to meet someone who understands great plainness, who subscribes to nonaction and [] returns to the simplicity of the unhewn log, who embodies his nature and embraces his spirit, so as to wander through the common world, you would really be surprised! (12) ==See also==