Truth in Pre-Han Thought

Truth and the way in Xúnzǐ

“…Provided the modality of correctness alluded to is semantic, rather than some other standard, this expressive function gives us a firm starting point from which to identify terms in pre-Hàn discourse that play a role similar to or overlapping that of "true." In previous research, I have argued that at least three terms in classical Chinese have expressive roles that overlap in this way with that of truth: dàng ("fitting," "apt," "on the mark"), rán ("so," "like this"), and shì ("this," "right") (Fraser, 2012;Fraser, 2020aFraser, , 2020b. 12 A major difference between these terms and "true" is that none of them is used primarily to express semantic assessments.…”

“…The Xúnzǐ writings offer numerous examples in which an opponent's assertion is cited and rejected as "bù rán," or "not so," in a context in which this evaluation can justifiably be interpreted as a counterpart of "not true." A particularly clear example I have discussed previously (Fraser, 2020a) is a passage that rejects the assertion, purportedly by Mencius, that "people who study, their nature is good" (23/10). The content of Xúnzǐ's rebuttal strongly suggests that in this context, the appraisal "shì bù rán," or "this is not so," amounts to an evaluation that the assertion is not true.…”

“…Writers who have defended related points includeGraham (1989),Loy (2008),Robins (2010), Fraser (C. Fraser, 2012C. Fraser, 2020aC.…”