Document Type : Original Article
Highlights
The Chinese character Jing 經 as fundamental or sacred writ possess multifaceted symbolic dimensions. By studying these dimension, one can elucidate approximately twenty distinct concepts associated with the word. The philosophical Chinese method of Word-Symbol-Meaning (yan-xiang-yi) suggests that we identify an intermediary term bridging Jing and the concept of "sacred book." Examining the graphical etymology of the Jing ideogram, we observe warp threads on a loom. This connection to weaving symbolism provides the desired intermediary term. A cluster of interrelated Chinese characters, all rooted in metaphysical principles, revolve around the symbolism of weaving with gubernatorial, sociological, and cosmological applications. The ancient Chinese have viewed woven fabrics, nets, or any interconnected structure as representing the cosmic order, which forms the cosmological foundation of traditional societies.
Central to this symbolism is the primordial act of God as the Weaver, intricately weaving the threads of divine possibilities into the fabric of creation. These threads are envisioned as two categories: warp and weft, analogous to Yin and Yang or Heaven and Earth. This cosmic fabric, the Universal Veil, akin to the Hindu Māyā, both represents the Weaver through His act and conceals Him behind the veil. In the Huainanzi, the Dao is described as possessing warp and weft threads that intertwine harmoniously. When the Dao manifests as the Named Dao, it connects myriad branches with countless leaves. Also, the Grand One (taiyi 太一) is portrayed as the Weaver, encompassing Heaven and Earth, balancing Yin and Yang, and knitting the net of eight directional endpoints while weaving the web of six coordinates. This imagery evokes both Indrajāla, Indra's net, and the Upanishadic symbol of spider, creating its web from its own substance, moving upon it, and retracting its threads. This symbolizes Brahma's creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe. However, the spider's weaving method more closely than weaving on a loom, resembles the arts of netting, crochet, and knitting, particularly circular knitting. The crochet hook, the primary tool, as a symbol represents the Universal Intellect, the instrument of creation. The tool’s shape echoes the Arabic letter alif, the first of all letters, or the Supreme Pen (al-qalam al-a'lā) in Islamic teachings. The function of the hook at the end of this tool, grabbing and knotting, mirrors that of the universal intellect extracting the thread of archetypal causes from the skein of primordial Hyle and interweaves individual realities, giving them form and determination. In knitting, though not always, two needles are typically used, representing the dual poles of manifestation: Purusha and Prakriti in Hinduism, Heaven and Earth in the Far East, or Pen and Tablet in Islamic esotericism. In knitting, the duality of warp and weft is represented by the "front" and "back" weave, not in terms of texture but in terms of the dual states that make the weave. Thus, the front and back weaves in knitting represent again the intertwining of Yin and Yang within the fabric of the universe.
How, then, did the ancient Chinese apply the term "warp" to the concept of a sacred or fundamental book? One theory is that in ancient Chinese bookbinding, split bamboo strips were vertically connected with threads. This led to later methods where the spine and stitching of a book resembled the warp in textiles. However, this theory is inadequate, as stitching is generally considered a secondary aspect of a book. It is unlikely that the ancient Chinese primarily associated books with "warp" based solely on stitching. Another theory suggests that since "warp" was considered more fundamental than "weft" in ancient China, and served as the holder and stabilizer of the weft, sacred texts were named "warp" due to their stabilizing function. While this theory is more accurate, it falls short as the desired and comprehensive intermediary term to show all the symbolic dimensions. The only thing that stabilizes is not sacred text, and the most important function of the sacred text is not stabilization.
René Guénon has elucidated that the concept of "warp" as the vertical thread in textiles is applied to fundamental or sacred texts because they "descend" through the various realms of the Being, connecting all levels like the Vedantic sutrātmā (the thread of the Ātmā). In contrast, interpretive texts are referred to as "weft" as they elaborate on the multiple meanings revealed in the Jing books or "warp" within a specific level of existence. In the symbolic etymology of Jing, Guénon's statement is the most precise ever made, explaining the various aspects of "warp" as a symbol for sacred books. This arises from the opposition between warp and weft, the foundational nature of warp relative to weft, the verticality of warp versus the horizontality of weft, and the fact that weft, like warp, is applied to specific types of texts. We can now easily locate the place of "warp" as sacred texts within the symbolism of weaving. Just as warp is the primary thread in the "formation" (takwīn) of the macrocosmic and microcosmic fabric, sacred texts are considered the primary thread in "revelation" (tanzīl). They provide a firm rope for returning to the "Mother of Books," as termed in Islam, thereby stabilizing and reinforcing the systems of governance, society, and religion akin to strong warp threads on a loom.
Other than relation of the concept of sacred book to warp in weaving, this concept is connected to multiple meanings that all fall within the scope of the meanings of the word Jing including the craft of weaving, tensioning, passing through, path, straight, criterion, measure, cause, management, controlling, method, and perpetuity. Sacred book is primarily linked to two concepts derived from "warp": "tensioning" and the craft of "weaving" itself. "Tensioning," which refers to the establishment and tightening of warp threads on the loom, symbolizes the connection of celestial principles to the Earth. However, the function of the sacred book, which weaves together the warp and weft of celestial truths and earthly laws, is entirely the craft of "weaving" and is perfectly corresponded with both the macrocosmic and microcosmic textiles. The concept of "passing through" illustrates the descent of the sacred book through the levels of existence, implying passing through those levels. This "path" is simultaneously the way by which a person returns to the source of the sacred word by traversing the "straight" path. Moreover, the sacred book serves as a "criterion and measure" that corrects human understanding of celestial truths and also determines social laws; for this reason, it will be the "cause" of human perfection, provided that one refers to the book for "management and control" of affairs and avoids straying from the course. Therefore, the "method" of interaction at the human state and the journey towards truths are all in the grasp of sacred texts. Finally, unlike books that are subject to the changes of time, sacred book transcends temporality and possesses "permanence and perpetuity."
