An Interpretation Of Wang Bi's "Analysis Of Speech And Meaning"

The relation between speech and meaning is a problem lying dormant in our thought and life, the solution of whick has long been confined within two opposite trains of thought - speech is capable and incapable of conveying the whole meaning. Wang Bi's "analysis of speech and meaning" was a result of his rational thinking over the above problem In his analysis, Wang Bi specifies that the "meaning" he said is the meaning of the Sage; speech and image are vehicles of the Sage to "obtain the properties of the enlightened holy spirits" and to "imitate the styles of the things on earth". The meaning conveyed by speech and image are the ultimate principles of the universe. The "meaning" is also the Sage's understanding to "the Origin" and "Non-being", which represents the truth for human beings to preserve their inherent nature. Therefore, the "meaning" conveyed by speech and image is the Sage's meaning instead of any personal intention or will. Wang Bi affirms that the "meaning" must be expressed by speech and image together. We can understand the meaning according to speech and image. Through "analysis of speech and meaning", Wang Bi clarified the different functions of speech, image and meaning.Wang Bi never tries to stop before the two traditional solutions, nor does he try to solve his problem in such ways. He starts by proving that the meaning is the foundation of speech and image, followed by making "understanding image through speech" and "understanding meaning through image" as the methods of recognition,and then proves that obtaining meaning is the purpose of speech and image as expressive methods. Finally, he gets the viewpoints of "obtaining meaning while forgetting image" and "obtaining image while forgetting speech".Wang Bi's "analysis of speech and meaning" is an echo to his metaphysical pondering of "non-being as noumenon" and his Sage complex, which reflects his deep concerns to thought and reality. Therefore, the "analysis of speech and meaning" cannot be simply taken as a discovery of a new method; it's really a solution returning to life.