Ignorance is Bliss: The Chinese Art of Not Knowing

Foreword
	References
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
1 Introduction: The Chinese Art of Not Knowing
	Nande Hutu
	Chapter Synopsis—Reading Guide
	Research Methods
	Why This Book, and Why Read It?
	Phrasings, Characters, Quotations and Translations
	References
Part I Hutu in Traditional Society
2 The Daoist Sage Fool and the Confucian Learned Man
	Hutu Web of Meanings
	Hutu and the Language of the Vague and Indistinct
		Early Use
		Etymology
		Semantic Associations
		Vagueness (Mohu)
	Early Chinese Philosophy
		Features of Early Chinese Philosophy
			Pragmatism as a Result of the Socio-Historical Background
			Ars Contextualis: Chaos and Order
			Correlative and Dialectical Thinking in a Holistic Cosmology
			Language and Its Relation to Chinese Patterns of Thinking
			Chinese Epistemology
		Notions of Truth
			Dao in Confucianism
			The Dao of Daoism
		Knowledge and Wisdom the Confucian and Daoist Way
			Confucian Knowledge and Wisdom
			The Daoist Sage as a Moral Fool
	The Culture of Vagueness and Not Knowing
	References
3 The Art of Not Knowing: A Scholar’s Paradox
	Feudal Society
		Bureaucracy, Social Inequality and the Elite Culture
		Role Modelling and Official Morality
		Rule by Law
	Zheng Banqiao, the Eccentric
		From Artist to Official, and Back to Artist
		Zheng’s Philosophy of Life
		Nande Hutu’s ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’
			The Story of the ‘Stupid Old Man’
			The Dialectics of Being Smart and Muddleheaded
			Letting Go to Obtain Peace of Mind
	Tao Yuanming, the Lover of Life
	Su Dongpo, Victim of His Own Smartness
	The Ultimate Paradox: To Be or Not to Be Smart
		Light-Hearted Social and Moral Engagement
		Criticism and Self-Preservation
		Contemporary Smart Scholar(-Official)s
	References
Part II Hutu in Contemporary Society
4 The Modern Wisdom of Playing Dumb
	From Official’s Motto to Popular Self-Improvement Market
	Attitudes and Capacities of the Wisdom of Playing Dumb
		The Art of Not Contending
		Overcoming Hardness with Softness
		The Art of Letting Go and Giving Way
		The Art of Rejoicing in Fate
		The Paradox of the Clear Water Without Fish
		Smartness May Overreach Itself
		The Propensity for the Middle Way
		Disadvantage Is a Blessing
		Great Wisdom Looks like Foolishness
		Being Natural, Unrestrained and Carefree
	Smartness-Based Classification of People
		‘Minor/Major’ Smartness and Muddleheadedness
		Real and Fake Muddleheadedness
	Modern-Day Self-Cultivation
	References
5 The Wisdom of Playing Dumb in Practice
	Hutu Pragmatism
	Face Work
	Playing Dumb: Some Contexts of Application
		Health
		Love Relations and Marriage
		Family Life and Kinship Relations
		Student Life
		Professional Life
			Colleagues
			Leadership Positions
			Business and Business Management
	Politics and Officialdom
		Practical Wisdom for Successful Officials
		Contented Citizens in the Harmonious Society
		The Policy of the Ignorant Masses
	Outside the Hutu Orbit: Soulmates, Foreigners and the Web
	A Strategy for a Detour to Success
	References
6 The Psycho-Social Appeal of the Wisdom of Playing Dumb
	A Disorienting Society
	Harmonizing Wisdom
		Harmony
		Intrapersonal Harmony
			Elderly: Harmonizing Mind-Body
			Middle-Aged
			Youth
		Harmonizing Interpersonal Relations
		Harmonizing Society
	Hutu Coping Strategies
		Conflict Avoidance
		Emotional Control
		Rationalization
		Self-Consolation
		The Paradox of Active vs. Passive Coping
	Modern Needs: Self-Achievement and Spiritual Freedom
	Self-Transcendence and Self-Preservation
	References
7 The Moral Code of Playing Dumb
	Moral Code: What’s in a Name?
	Critical Voices
		Hutu-Ism as Wrong Ideology
		Muddling Through
		Self-Advancement and Self-Promotion
		‘The Harmonious Society’ vs. ‘The Policy of the Ignorant Masses’
	Moral Guidelines
		Hutu-Morality
		‘Social Conduct’ and ‘Handling Things’
		‘Minor Matters’ and ‘Major Matters’
		Conscience
		Moral Principles
		Due Proportion
	From Non-Action to Crazy Action, and in Between
		Justified Non-Action
		Harmfulness
		(Non-)Benevolent Magistrates
		Crazy Upright Magistrates
	Smart Hutu: Experience, Age and Effort
	References
8 Conclusion: The Culture of Vagueness in Transition
	Rehashing Ancient Wisdom
	Merging of the Three Teachings
	Dialectical and Holistic Thinking in Terms of Change
	References
9 Postscript: Hutu at the Crossroads of Knowledge and Information
	Hutu and the Logic of Silence
		Strong Ties Versus Weak Ties Rationalities
	Hutu as Two Types of Silence
		Hutu as the Primordial Silence
		Small Is Beautiful
		Hutu as Silencing
		Context of Use for Hutu as Silencing
	A Chronological Overview of the Hutu Strategies
		Hutu Discourse in Traditional China
		Hutu Discourse in Contemporary China
			Commodification of Hutu Skills
			Mounting Criticisms
			Morality to the Rescue
	Hutu at the Crossroads of the Global Village
	References
Index