Schuyler Cammann

The Magic Square of Three in Old Chinese Philosophy and Religion

The Old Chinese philosophers and religious thinkers, in spite of their traditional reverence for the written word, often left ideas unsaid, or only indirectly expressed-either because they and their fellow scholars took them for granted or because the fuller exposition formed part of the esoteric learning that was orally transmitted from teacher to disciple. Some of the key ideas that they did not explicitly set down were expressed in various symbols; but, again, they seldom passed on the meanings of these in books, probably for similar reasons.l However, an important symbol can sometimes be deciphered by a process of patient analysis, with constant reference to the contemporary books and surviving traditions; and, when this is successful, the recovered meanings not only can often serve to supplement the literary texts of that time but may also uncover forgotten traditions, thus giving us new knowledge of the old ideas and beliefs.2 An especially fine example

The Symbolism of the Cloud Collar Motif

YUN CHIEN, or “cloud collar,” is the later Chinese name for a four-lobed (more rarely eight-lobed) pattern of considerable antiquity. The name apparently arose during the Middle Ages, when the pattern was adapted to form an actual collar for decorating the upper part of robes. Figures 1 and 2 show late examples of such collars. This pattern was also painted around the necks of vases and jars in later Chinese ceramics; but we shall see that it had numerous other uses in China and elsewhere, for it was widely distributed across Asia. In recent centuries the pattern has been considered purely ornamental by the Chinese and other peoples, yet there is ample evidence to show that it originally served as a cosmic symbol.1 Thus it provides a good example of the way in which a given motif may change its meaning and finally lose all significance with the decline of old traditions.

The Panchen Lama's Visit to China in 1780: An Episode in Anglo-Tibetan Relations

In the autumn of 1773, the Panchen Lama of Tashilhunpo, Lobzang Paldan Yeshes, sent a letter to Warren Hastings in Calcutta. He was writing to ask for clemency on behalf of his vassal, the rajah of Bhutan, who had recently been defeated by the East India Companys soldiers in a border war. For some time, the officials of the company had been discussing how they might open relations with Tibet, and to Hastings this seemed the opportunity they had been waiting for.

The Eight Trigrams: Variants and Their Uses

The trigrams were traditional East Asian symbols, each composed of three straight lines, either solid or broken in the center. Known in China as the pa kua, these played a prominent part in Chinese religion, philosophy, and proto-science for more than two thousand years. Taoist priests, sages, and scholars used them extensively in astrology, geomancy, and other forms of divination, as well as in medicine and alchemy, and the trigrams provided motifs for artists and artisans in various media. Taken in pairs, they also composed the hexagrams that formed the basis for divination in the I-ching.

A Dictionary of Symbols

The unvarying essential meanings of around 1,000 symbols and symbolic themes commonly found in the art, literature and thought of all cultures through the ages are clarified.