NISHI Junzo, Philosopher of Modern Japan, What NISHI Junzo remained for us
TANAKA Akio
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Yi-jing is one of the five great classics in China. I was taught it at the University from philosopher NISHI Junzo. From the spring to the autumn of a certain year of ancient Chinese thought history , he lectured us the Yi-jing, that is usually estimated as the Chinese fortune-telling. But the book has deep and wide theoretical and philosophic fields than our modern thinking.
NISHI also taught us at the lecture the method of future-telling using the divining sticks. The lecture was at the morning, so the hearer were almost a few and sometimes when entering the class the student was only one by me. Such a time he calmly said to me from the lecture desk, " Today's lecture is to cancel, isn't it?" Soon after one student entered in the class and successively several came in the class and NISHI began the lecture as the usual calm style.
He taught us the numerous fantastic philosophical themes through his tranquil and pleasant speech. Yi-jing 's vast world consists with circle form alike spring again after severe cold winter.
The Yi-jing' s world is exactly infinite, and this infinity can be clearly grasped and understood for its circularity. For my understanding the characters in language, this recognition of circularity is very important and probably become the foundation of the structure of language over the characters or words' structural intuition.
NISHI also taught us Laozi, Sunzi and Zhuangzi at the other year's lectures. His speech was also descent and accurate. If the lecture be on print, his speech became one fin book as it was. His profound sayings remained till now as his class' atmosphere.
One day before he ended his lecture he described one strait tree on the blackboard. The tree stood in the black sky of the board. The branches were spread freely to the sky. He lengthen one thin branch to the sky by his white chalk minutely and said to us, "This is the 'miao 妙' of Laozi." He put his chalk on the desk and his lecture was over.
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