ATCCT — Dismissal – Mépris

The so-called « sophists », Chinese and Greek, defend and promote provocative claims such as « a white horse is not a horse ». These surprising mottos are very difficult to refute, and much easier to dismiss as self-evidently false absurdities, « not even wrong », « not worthy of an answer ». This is the case with the following by Huan T’an [1] :

Kung Sun Lung, le cheval blanc et le garde frontière

Un premier passage expose la doctrine de Kung-sun Lung
Kung-sun Lung was a dialectician who lived at the time of the Six Kingdoms. He wrote a treatise on “Hard and White” and, to illustrate his theory, said that a white horse is not a horse. To show that a white horse is not a horse, he said that “white » is that by which one names the color and horse that by which one names the form. The color is not the form, and the form is not the color.  (Fragment [135A], p. 124)

Un second passage s’étonne de telles affirmations:
There are now people who doubt everything. They say that the oyster is not a bivalve, that two time five is not ten. (p. 1)

In a third passage reports the rebuttal from a frontier official, who has kept his good sense,  frontier; such a claim « cannot cross the frontier”
Kung-sun Lung often argued that “a white horse is not a horse”. People could not agree with this. Later, when riding a white horse, he wished to pass through the frontier pass without a warrant or a passport. But the frontier official would not accept his explanations, for it is hard for empty words to defeat reality. (Fragment 135B, p. 124)
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Huan T’an  (-43, +28) Hsin Lun (New treatise). Translated by Timoteus Pokora. University of Michigan, Center for Chinese studies, 1975.

Rire de Talent Prometteur

Excerpt from Ba Jin, Family (Chia)

Two days later […] the revision of the articles for the next issue of the magazine took place. The youngest attended as usual. When he arrived, Such as smile read aloud a police proclamation forbidding women to wear their hair short. The young man was already familiar with it; it was said to be the work of a blossoming talent (1) of the ancient dynasty. The content, simplistic, and even the form, not very correct, aroused the gaiety of all the listeners at each sentence.
— This is really making fun of people! What does it mean? exclaimed Such as smile, while throwing the sheet on the ground.
— We could publish this masterpiece in the next issue under the heading « Let’s laugh a bit », proposed Reserve of benevolence.
— Bravo! applauded the girl.

All approved. Somebody added that it would be good to attach a scathing refutation.

(1) Official title of the ancient dynasties, generally translated by the term: bachelor.

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Extrait de Pa Kin, Famille. Traduit du chinois par Li Tche-houa et Jacque(line Alezaïs. Paris, Flammarion, 1979.


Le surlendemain […eut lieu la révision des articles pour le n°8. Le cadet y assista comme d’habitude. Á son arrivée, Telle que Sourire lisait à haute voix une proclamation de la police interdisant aux femmes de porter les cheveux courts. Le jeune homme la connaissait déjà; elle était, disait-on, l’œuvre d’un talent en fleur (1) de l’ancienne dynastie. Le fond, simpliste, et la forme même, peu correcte, suscitaient à chaque phrase la gaieté de tous les auditeurs.
— C’est vraiment se moquer des gens! Que veut-il dire? s’écria Telle que sourire en jetant la feuille à terre.
— On pourrait publier ce chef-d’œuvre dans le prochain numéro sous la rubrique « Histoire de rire”, proposa Réserve de bienveillance.
— Bravo ! applaudit la jeune fille.
Tous approuvèrent. Quelqu’un ajouta qu’il serait bon de joindre une réfutation cinglante.

(1) Titre officiel des anciennes dynasties, traduit généralement par le terme : bachelier.