Awar rages in the academies of our daybetween the supporters and decriers of multiculturalism, its opponents claiming that it detracts from the study of the western heritage. While it is good that we, as westerners in the main, should learn about the glories and shortcomings of western civilization, it is equally important that we realize that not all that is worth knowing about lies in the West.
To drive home the above point, rather than engaging in the customary rhetorical flourishes, I have chosen to undertake on behalf of the readers of this column a brief, and admittedly cursory survey of some of the artistic and literary riches which two non-western nations -- China and Japan -- have to offer. Granted, this is an unusual approach, but it is well in keeping with "seeing is believing."
We begin our journey in the literary realm. The western literary tradition does not lack in gifted poets, able to express in verse haunting thoughts and emotions, but such individuals are plentiful in the East as well. The names of Li Po, Tu Fu and Weng Wei, for instance, are well known to those familiar with Chinese literature.
As an example, I invite you to examine this splendid poem by Chang Pi, dating from the 11th century, on the age-old theme of romantic love: "I go in a dream to the house of Hsieh-/Through a zigzag porch with arching rails/ To a court where the spring moon lights/ forever/ Phantom flowers and a single figure."
And here are two others from the renowned Japanese poet Basho: "The shell of a cicada:/
It sang itself/ Utterly away" and, "Tell me the loneliness/ Of this deserted mountain,/ The aged farmer/ Digging wild potatoes."
But the Chinese and Japanese literary traditions have more to offer than poems. "The Dream of the Red Chamber," by Ts'ao Hsueh-Ch'in, describes the decline of an important scholar-official family. It is reckoned as the greatest work of fiction in Chinese literature.
"The Tale of Genji" is another novel of exceptional merit written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Japanese imperial court. The novel, which dates from the 11th century, details the adventures and romances of Genji, a younger son of an aging emperor. "The Tale" is the most famous of all Japanese novels.
There is much to be gained from the study of the visual arts of Japan and China as well, for there is plenty to thrill the eye and stir the soul. The range of mediums and styles is so great that picking out a "typical" Japanese or Chinese painting is as futile as attempting the same with European art. There are works in most of the mediums with which westerners are familiar, as well as in less familiar fields such as calligraphy.
Miyagawa Choshun, Ando Hiroshige, Nonoguchi Ryuho and Katsushika Hokusai are outstanding examples of painters of "ukiyo-e", or "pictures of the floating world", as works which illustrated the distractions of the Edo (now called Tokyo) middle classes were called. Hokusai, perhaps the best known in the western world of those who worked in this medium, is justly renowned for the print entitled "The Great Wave," but he made many others with the ability to astound and delight.
The contributions of the school of Zen Buddhism must not be overlooked. Zen, which had its origins in China in Chan Buddhism, had a great influence on many aspects of Japanese culture, not least in the "koans," which are non-rational sayings and riddles used in meditation. One example of a koan is the following, from the Chan Buddhist koan collection called "Mumonseki":
"Basho Osho said to his disciples, "If you have a staff, I will give you a staff. If you have no staff, I will take it from you."
While the above may seem like nonsense to those unacquainted with form, further investigation will reveal that there is more to this koan than there seems.
Zen's influence was not limited to enigmatic epigrams, however. The Zen temple gardens embody an attitude to nature in total opposition to the gardens of Versailles, in that they try to work with nature instead of overcoming it. A good example is Rokuonji Garden, which is located in Kyoto, and contains the Golden Pavilion; who can look at it and not be enchanted? Such an individual would likely not benefit from instruction in the wonders of Rome and Greece either.
There are many more wonderful things and places which one could mention, but the above will have to suffice. The important thing is that this piece serve as an indicator that there are things out in the non-western world worth investigating, even if it means one must postpone the pleasure of reading Schopenhauer's "The World as Will and Idea." It will be driven home to those who investigate further that being impelled to take a single course about non-western cultures is far from being the burden they had assumed.
