Cobie

Exactly. The 5 translations I quoted above, are by some of the most respected Sinologists. Indubitably so. I will not start quoting those as well because, as you say, there is no convincing certain people anyway.

E. M. Chen 80 A small state with few people. Let the implements (ch'ih) for ten and hundred men be unused, Let the people fear death such that they do not move far away. Although there are boats and carriages, There are no places to ride them to. Although there are weapons and armours, There are no occasions to display them. Let the people again tie ropes and use them (as memory aids). Let them enjoy their food, Consider their clothing beautiful, Be contented with their dwellings, And happy with their customs. The neighbouring states overlooking one another, The dogs' barkings and cocks' crowings are heard from other states,

Chad Hansen 80. Primitivist Independence 'Small' the state and 'few' the people. Bring about that having artifacts by the tens and hundreds yet they won't use them. Bring it about that the people "weight" death and don't venture far. Although they have boats and chariots, they don't have reasons to ride in them. Although they have armour and weapons, they don't have reasons to marshall them. Bring it about that humans revert to knotting string and use that. "Sweet' their food; "beautiful' their clothing. 'Peaceful' their neighborhoods; 'pleasant' their customs. Nearby states can see each other. And hear the sounds of each other's chickens and dogs. The peoples reach old age and death without any interaction

Victor Mair also 80 Let there be a small state with few people, where military devices find no use; Let the people look solemnly upon death, and banish the thought of moving elsewhere. They may have carts and boats, but there is no reason to ride them; They may have armor and weapons, but they have no reason to display them. Let the people go back to tying knots to keep records. Let their food be savory, their clothes beautiful, their customs pleasurable, their dwellings secure. Though they may gaze across at a neighboring state, and hear the sounds of its dogs and chickens, The people will never travel back and forth, till they die of old age.

DC Lau too uses the imperative 80 Reduce the size of the population and the state. Ensure that even though the people have tools of war for a troop or a battalion they will not use them; And also that they will be reluctant to move to distant places because they look on death as no light matter. Even when they have ships and carts, they will have no use for them; And even when they have armor and weapons, they will have no occasion to make a show of them. Bring it about that the people will return to the use of the knotted rope, Will find relish in their food And beauty in their clothes, Will be content in their abode And happy in the way they live. Though adjoining states are within sight of one another, And the sound of dogs barking and cocks crowing in one state can be heard in another, yet the people of one state will grow old and die without having had any dealings with those of another.

Henricks even uses the imperative mood: 80 1. Let the country be small and people few— 2. Bring it about that there are weapons for "tens" and "hundreds," yet let no one use them; 3. Have the people regard death gravely and put migrating far from their minds. 4. Though they might have boats and carriages, no one will ride them; 5. Though they might have armor and spears, no one will display them. 6. Have the people return to knotting cords and using them. 7. They will relish their food, 8. Regard their clothing as beautiful, 9. Delight in their customs, 10. And feel safe and secure in their homes. 11. Neighboring states might overlook one another, 12. And the sounds of chickens and dogs might be overheard, 13. Yet the people will arrive at old age and death with no comings and goings between them.

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In your opinion, what is 巫 (wu1 - witch)?

Righto, so this is 祭祀文化 (jìsì wénhuà - sacrificial culture). ~~~ 祭祀 jìsì - to offer sacrifices; to worship {崇拜 chóngbài - to worship} 文化 wénhuà - culture 祖先 zǔxiān - ancestors

“A shaman in shamanism is considered to be a person who has mastered mysterious knowledge and has the ability to enter the state of "man-god", with the ability to prophesy, heal, communicate with the spiritual world, and travel to the spiritual world.” 薩滿信仰中的薩滿被認為是掌握神秘知識，有能力進入「人神」狀態的人，有著預言、治療，與屬靈世界溝通，以及旅行到屬靈世界的能力。 Sà mǎn xìnyǎng zhōng de sà mǎn bèi rènwéi shì zhǎngwò shénmì zhīshì, yǒu nénglì jìnrù `rén shén'zhuàngtài de rén, yǒuzhe yùyán, zhìliáo, yǔ shǔ líng shìjiè gōutōng, yǐjí lǚxíng dào shǔ líng shìjiè de nénglì. https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/萨满教

Interesting that ‘Gotama’ means ‘bright light-darkness’. ~~~ Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ (siddhārtha, “one who has accomplished an aim or object, successful, prosperous”), from सिद्ध (siddha, “achievement”) + अर्थ (artha, “meaning, purpose”).

thought better of it

The name Gautam (also transliterated as Gautama or Gauthama and a vrddhi patronymic of Gotama) is one of the ancient Indian names and is derived from the Sanskrit roots "gŐ(गः)" and "tama (तम)". "Tama" means "darkness" and "gŐ" means inter alia "bright light". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buddha

“hello” 2u2. Welcome to the forum.

自然 zi4 ran2

Interesting. By this way of looking at it, I consider Jesus a shaman.

In your opinion, what is “sacrificial culture”? And how is it different from “shaman”? ~~~ https://anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0102/china/ “… oracular activity typical of the Shang …”

Thought better of it.

In your opinion, what does a shaman do? And how is it different from 巫 ?

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

Yes, Confucius was a clever clogs - “All people are impermanent, so none of them can be witch doctors” [they would have cured themselves ]. Clearly most of the ancient Chinese had another mindset, as they did practice shamanism. (See post above and https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/54424-jade-emperor/?do=findComment&comment=1000505 )

Exactly. 薩滿 sà mǎn The meaning of the separate characters is irrelevant, they were chosen for their sound. I think so too, because I see them used interchangeably: The Shang period had two methods to enter in contact with divine ancestors: the first is the numinous-mystical wu (巫) practice, involving dances and trances; and the second is the method of the oracle bones ...” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_shamanism The tradition of shamanism in China began in prehistoric times “… 薩滿信仰在中國的傳統始於史前時代 …” sà mǎn xìnyǎng zài zhōngguó de chuántǒng shǐ yú shǐqián shídài https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/萨满教

Not always, see dictionary, “… to create a false or misleading impression … Statistics sometimes lie” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lie

Hi DA WEI. Welcome to the forum. Yes, I’d like to hibernate (like the moomintrolls ).

@Lairg thank you for your reply. ~~~ In Mahapralaya the ‘void’ is total darkness. … In Daoism the ‘void’ is total light only. 無極 wu2 ji2 - “no ridgepole“ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuji_(philosophy) @ChiDragon Why is the void ‘darkness’ for some and ‘light’ for others?