the soul of the far east-第11章

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first　place；　it　is　never　used　to　predicate　a　quality　directly。　　A　Japanese　does　not　say；　〃The　scenery　is　fine；〃　but　simply；　〃Scenery；　fine。〃　Secondly；　wherever　this　verb　is　indirectly　employed　in　such　a　manner；　it　is　followed；　not　by　an　adjective；　but　by　an　adverb。　　Not　〃She　is　beautiful；　but　〃She　exists　beautifully；〃　would　be　the　Japanese　way　of　expressing　his　admiration。　　What　looks　at　first；　therefore；　like　a　copula　turns　out　to　be　merely　an　impersonal　intransitive　verb。

A　negative　noun　is；　of　course；　an　impossibility　in　any　language；　just　as　a　negative　substantive；　another　name　for　the　same　thing；　is　a　direct　contradiction　in　terms。　　No　matter　how　negative　the　idea　to　be　given；　it　must　be　conveyed　by　a　positive　expression。　　Even　a　void　is　grammatically　quite　full　of　meaning；　although　unhappily　empty　in　fact。　　So　much　is　common　to　all　tongues；　but　Japanese　carries　its　positivism　yet　further。　　Not　only　has　it　no　negative　nouns；　it　has　not　even　any　negative　pronouns　nor　pronominal　adjectives；　those　convenient　keepers　of　places　for　the　absent。　　〃None〃　and　〃nothing〃　are　unknown　words　in　its　vocabulary；　because　the　ideas　they　represent　are　not　founded　on　observed　facts；　but　upon　metaphysical　abstractions。　　Such　terms　are　human…born；　not　earth…begotten　concepts；　and　so　to　the　Far　Oriental；　who　looks　at　things　from　the　point　of　view　of　nature；　not　of　man；　negation　takes　another　form。　Usually　it　is　introduced　by　the　verbs；　because　the　verbs；　for　the　most　part；　relate　to　human　actions；　and　it　is　man；　not　nature；　who　is　responsible　for　the　omission　in　question。　　After　all；　it　does　seem　more　fitting　to　say；　〃I　am　ignorant　of　everything；〃　than　〃I　know　nothing。〃　It　is　indeed　you　who　are　wanting；　not　the　thing。

The　question　of　verbs　leads　us　to　another　matter　bearing　on　the　subject　of　impersonality；　namely；　the　arrangement　of　the　words　in　a　Japanese　sentence。　　The　Tartar　mode　of　grammatical　construction　is　very　nearly　the　inverse　of　our　own。　　The　fundamental　rule　of　Japanese　syntax　is；　that　qualifying　words　precede　the　words　they　qualify；　that　is；　an　idea　is　elaborately　modified　before　it　is　so　much　as　expressed。　　This　practice　places　the　hearer　at　some　awkward　preliminary　disadvantage；　inasmuch　as　the　story　is　nearly　over　before　he　has　any　notion　what　it　is　all　about；　but　really　it　puts　the　speaker　to　much　more　trouble；　for　he　is　obliged　to　fashion　his　whole　sentence　complete　in　his　brain　before　he　starts　to　speak。　　This　is　largely　in　consequence　of　two　omissions　in　Tartar　etymology。　　There　are　in　Japanese　no　relative　pronouns　and　no　temporal　conjunctions；　conjunctions；　that　is；　for　connecting　consecutive　events。　　The　want　of　these　words　precludes　the　admission　of　afterthoughts。　　Postscripts　in　speech　are　impossible。　　The　functions　of　relatives　are　performed　by　position；　explanatory　or　continuative　clauses　being　made　to　precede　directly　the　word　they　affect。　　Ludicrous　anachronisms；　not　unlike　those　experienced　by　Alice　in　her　looking…glass　journey；　are　occasioned　by　this　practice。　　For　example；　〃The　merry　monarch　who　ended　by　falling　a　victim　to　profound　melancholia〃　becomes　〃To　profound　melancholia　a　victim　by　falling　ended　merry　monarch；〃　and　the　sympathetic　hearer　weeps　first　and　laughs　afterward；　when　chronologically　he　should　be　doing　precisely　the　opposite。

A　like　inversion　of　the　natural　order　of　things　results　from　the　absence　of　temporal　conjunctions。　　In　Japanese；　though　nouns　can　be　added；　actions　cannot；　you　can　say　〃hat　and　coat；〃　but　not　〃dressed　and　came。〃　Conjunctions　are　used　only　for　space；　never　for　time。　Objects　that　exist　together　can　be　joined　in　speech；　but　it　is　not　allowable　thus　to　connect　consecutive　events。　〃Having　dressed；　came〃　is　the　Japanese　idiom。　　To　speak　otherwise　would　be　to　violate　the　unities。　　For　a　Japanese　sentence　is　a　single　rounded　whole；　not　a　bunch　of　facts　loosely　tied　together。　　It　is　as　much　a　unit　in　its　composition　as　a　novel　or　a　drama　is　with　us。　　Such　artistic　periods；　however；　are　anything　but　convenient。　　In　their　nicely　contrived　involution　they　strikingly　resemble　those　curious　nests　of　Chinese　boxes；　where　entire　shells　lie　closely　packed　one　within　another；a　very　marvel　of　ingenious　and　perfectly　unnecessary　construction。　One　must　be　antipodally　comprehensive　to　entertain　the　idea；　as　it　is；　the　idea　entertains　us。

On　the　same　general　plan；　the　nouns　precede　the　verbs　in　the　sentence；　and　are　in　every　way　the　more　important　parts　of　speech。　The　consequence　is　that　in　ordinary　conversation　the　verbs　come　so　late　in　the　day　that　they　not　infrequently　get　left　out　altogether。　For　the　Japanese　are　much　given　to　docking　their　phrases；　a　custom　the　Germans　might　do　well　to　adopt。　　Now；　nouns　denote　facts；　while　verbs　express　action；　and　action；　as　considered　in　human　speech；　is　mostly　of　human　origin。　　In　this　precedence　accorded　the　impersonal　element　in　language　over　the　personal；　we　observe　again　the　comparative　importance　assigned　the　two。　　In　Japanese　estimation；　the　first　place　belongs　to　nature；　the　second　only　to　man。

As　if　to　mark　beyond　a　doubt　the　insignificance　of　the　part　man　plays　in　their　thought；　sentences　are　usually　subjectless。　　Although　it　is　a　common　practice　to　begin　a　phrase　with　the　central　word　of　the　idea；　isolated　from　what　follows　by　the　emphasizing　particle　〃wa〃　（which　means　〃as　to；〃　the　French　〃quant　a〃）；　the　word　thus　singled　out　for　distinction　is　far　more　likely　to　be　the　object　of　the　sentence　than　its　subject。　　The　habit　is　analogous　to　the　use　of　our　phrase　〃speaking　of；〃that　is；　simply　an　emphatic　mode　of　introducing　a　fresh　thought；　only　that　with　them；　the　practice　being　the　rule　and　not　the　exception；　no　correspondingly　abrupt　effect　is　produced　by　it。　　Ousted　thus　from　the　post　of　honor；　the　subject　is　not　even　permitted　the　second　place。　　Indeed；　it　usually　fails　to　put　in　an　appearance　anywhere。　　You　may　search　through　sentence　after　sentence　without　meeting　with　the　slightest　suggestion　of　such　a　thing。　　When　so　unusual　an　anomaly　as　a　motive　cause　is　directly　adduced；　it　owes　its　mention；　not　to　the　fact　of　being　the　subject；　but　because　for　other　reasons　it　happens　to　be　the　important　word　of　the　thought。　　The　truth　is；　the　Japanese　conception　of　events　is　only　very　vaguely　subjective。　　An　action　is　looked　upon　more　as　happening　than　as　being　performed；　as　impersonally　rather　than　personally　produced。　　The　idea　is　due；　however；　to　anything　but　philosophic　profundity。　　It　springs　from　the　most　superficial　of　childish　conceptions。　　For　the　Japanese　mind　is　quite　the　reverse　of　abstract。　Its　consideration　of　things　is　concrete　to　a　primitive　degree。　　The　language　reflects　the　fact。　　The　few　abstract　ideas　these　people　now　possess　are　not　represented；　for　the　most　part；　by　pure　Japanese；　but　by　imported　Chinese　expressions。　　The　islanders　got　such　general　notions　from　their　foreign　education；　and　they　imported　idea　and　word　at　the　same　time。

Summing　up；　as　it　were；　in　propria　persona　the　impersonality　of　Japanese　speech；　the　word　for　〃man；〃　〃hito；〃　is　identical　with；　and　probably　originally　the　same　word　as　〃hito；〃　the　numeral　〃one；〃　a　noun　and　a　numeral；　from　which　Aryan　languages　have　coined　the　only　impersonal　pronoun　they　possess。　　On　the　one　hand；　we　have　the　German　〃mann；〃　on　the　other；　the　French　〃on〃。　　While　as　if　to　give　the　official　seal　to　the　oneness　of　man　with　the　universe；　the　word　mono；　thing；　is　applied；　without　the　faintest　implication　of　insult；　to　men。

Such；　then；　is　the　mould　into　which；　as　children；　these　people　learn　to　cast　their　thought。　　What　an　influence　it　must　exert　upon　their　subsequent　views　of　life　we　have　but　to　ask　of　our　own　memories　to　know。　　With　each　one　of　us；　if　we　are　to　advance　beyond　the　steps　of　the　last　generation；　there　comes　a　time　when　our　growing　ideas　refuse　any　longer　to　fit　the　childish　grooves　in　which　we　were　taught　to　let　them　run。　　How　great　the　wrench　is　when　this　supreme　moment　arrives　we　have　all　felt　too　keenly　ever　to　forget。　　We　hesitate；　we　delay；　to　abandon　the　beliefs　which；　dating　from　the　dawn　of　our　being；　seem　to　us　even　as　a　part　of　our　very　selves。　From　the　religion　of　our　mother　to　the　birth　of　our　boyish　first　love；　all　our　early　associations　send　down　roots　so　deep　that　long　after　our　minds　have　outgrown　them　our　hearts　refuse　to　give　them　up。　　Even　when　reason　conquers　at　last；　sentiment　still　throbs　at　the　voids　they　necessarily　have　left。

In　the　Far　East；　this　fondness　for　the　old　is　further　consecrated　by　religion。　　The　worship　of　ancestors　sets　its　seal　upon　the　traditions　of　the　past；　to　break　which　were　impious　as　well　as　sad。　　The　golden　age；　that　time　when　each　man　himself　was　young；　has　lingered　on　in　the　lands　where　it　is　always　morning；　and　where　man　has　never　passed　to　his　prosaic　noon。　　Befitting　the　place　is　the　mind　we　find　there。　As　its　language　so　clearly　shows；　it　still　is　in　that　early　impersonal　state　to　which　we　all　awake　first　before　we　become　aware　of　that　something　we　later　know　so　well　as　self。

Particularly　potent　with　these　people　is　their　language；　for　a　reason　that　also　lends　it　additional　interest　to　us；because　it　is　their　own。　　Among　the　mass　of　foreign　thought　the　Japanese　imitativeness　has　caused　the　nation　to　adopt；　here　is　one　thing　which　is　indigenous。　　Half　of　the　present　speech；　it　is　true；　is　of　Chinese　importation；　but　conservatism　has　kept　the　other　half　pure。　From　what　it　reveals　we　can　see　how　each　man　starts　to…day　with　the　same　impersonal　outlook　upon　life　the　race　had　reached　centuries　ago；　and　which　it　has　since　kept　unchanged。　　The　man's　mind　has　done　likewise。

Footnote　to　Chapter　4

＇1＇　Professor　Basil　Hall　Chamberlain：　The　Japanese　Language。


Chapter　5。　Nature　and　Art。

We　have　seen　how　impersonal　is　the　form　which　Far　Eastern　thought　assumes　when　it　crystallizes　into　words。　　Let　us　turn　now　to　a　consideration　of　the　thoughts　themselves　before　they　are　thus　stereotyped　for　transmission　to　others；　and　scan　them　as　they　find　expression　unconsciously　in　the　man's　doings；　or　seek　it　consciously　in　his　deeds。

To　the　Far　Oriental　there　is　one　subject　which　so　permeates　and　pervades　his　whole　being　as　to　be　to　him；　not　so　much　a　conscious　matter　of　thought　as　an　unconscious　mode　of　thinking。　　For　it　is　a　thing　which　shapes　all　his　thoughts　instead　of　constituting　the　substance　of　one　particular　set　of　them。　　That　subject　is　art。　To　it　he　is　born　as　to　a　birthright。　　Artistic　perception　is　with　him　an　instinct　to　which　he　intuitively　conforms；　and　for　which　he　inherits　the　skill　of　countless　generations。　　From　the　tips　of　his　fingers　to　the　tips　of　his　toes；　in　whose　use　he　is　surprisingly　proficient；　he　is　the　artist　all　over。　　Admirable；　however；　as　is　his　manual　dexterity；　his　mental　altitude　is　still　more　to　be　admired；　for　it　is　artistic　to　perfection。　　His　perception　of　beauty　is　as　keen　as　his　comprehension　of　the　cosmos　is　crude；　for　while　with　science　he　has　not　even　a　speaking　acquaintance；　with　art　he　is　on　terms　of　the　most　affectionate　intimacy。

To　the　whole　Far　Eastern　world　science　is　a　stranger。　　Such　nescience　is　patent　even　in　matters　seemingly　scientific。　　For　although　the　Chinese　civilization；　even　in　the　so…called　modern　inventions；　was　already　old　while　ours　lay　still　in　the　cradle