A Confucian “rationalist” is bumped off by a wraith – a suggestive tale with a protective effect of a black cow. This gives us a glimpse of the chIna pendulum swinging between the “ultra-rational” & believing poles even in the past, with Maoism as a recapitulation of the former.
Zong Dai was the Inspector of the Commandery of Qingzhou. He abolished the excessive cults and wrote a fine treatise on the non-existence of ghosts, which no one could refute. One day a scholar wearing a grey headcloth and carrying a name card came to visit Dai. They discussed various issues and when they began to talk about the non-existence of ghosts, the scholar shook his robe and left, saying, “You have terminated our blood offering for twenty some years, but since you had a black cow and a bearded servant, we could not bother you. Now your servant has abandoned you and the cow is dead, today we are able to get the better of you." As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared. Dai died the next day.
Both poles existed at once too. For ex: Confucius demythologized atleast 3 myths of Yellow Emperor – his slaying of one footed Kiu; his slaying of their god of war Chi Yu; his four faces like Brahma. But he acknowledges spirits & ghosts, asking people to respect them & stay far.
- sapratha
Agreed – certain Confucian authors apparently produced an array of interesting Phantasmal literature. While some won’t like this comparison, in the H sphere we could say that the mImAMsA rationalism showed some superposition with the “irrational”.