Hey guys, back on my MDZS grind again, and today, I wanna talk about Baoshan Sanren and her disciples - Cángsè Sanren, Xiao Xingchen and Yanling Daoren.
More specifically, their names and the symbolisms behind said names.
So, let’s start off with possibly the easiest one. Bàoshān Sànrén (抱山散人)
Her name can be broken down into Bào (抱) , Shān (山) and Sànrén (散人)
So, let’s tackle this piece by piece, shall we ? First off - Bào
抱, means literally “to hug” or “to embrace”.
However, in some Confucian classics (for example, the Shūjīng), it is used in addition to other words to mean to protect, to cherish, or to nurture.
For example, as in this sentence from the Shujing, “夫知保抱攜持厥婦子，以哀籲天” - “The men know to protect and embrace, lead and support their wives and children, and with sorrow appeal to Heaven”
Here, we can see “抱” as part of the phrase “保抱” (bǎo bào), where 保 (bǎo ) means to protect, defend, guarantee, while 抱 (bào) means to hold, carry, hug, and cherish. Put together, the phrase implies a parental kind of love, like a nurturing and protective embrace
It should be noted that Baoshan Sanren’s name contains only the latter bào, not the former bǎo. This is important, because bào only implies “holding”, in the sense of the physical act or the emotional sense of “holding on to” an emotion or feeling. But it doesn’t imply protection. Only bǎo implies that, and Baoshan Sanren lacks bǎo.
Remember, out of all her “children”, she wasn’t able to protect any of them. She cherished them, nurtured them, held them… but wasn’t able to guard them
In addition, in poetry, “bào” often appears as a way to signify holding onto some emotion. For example, 抱憾 (bào hàn), “embracing regret” or 抱恨 (bào hèn), “holding on to sorrow”.
Of all her children that she allowed to leave her mountain, none survived. I bet she’s holding onto some regrets. And most importantly, holding onto, as her name implies…
Shān (山) means, literally, “mountain”. Now, I thought that this might have some deeper, poetic meaning. In fact, I thought of putting a whole aside about the shan shui style of art here. Except… 山 is literally just the radical for mountain. I don’t think there’s much to read into here….
Sike !! If you’re mentally ill enough, there’s ALWAYS something to read into !!
In the context of the Bagua, the “eight trigrams” - a set of symbols intended to illustrate the nature of reality as comprising mutually opposing forces reinforcing one another - the mountain is linked to the Gen (艮) trigram (☶), which also represents the concept of a mountain.
This trigram, represented by 001 in binary. This is also one half of Hexagram 52, which is literally just Gen stacked on top of itself.
So, let’s tackle the hexagram first, shall we ? In the I Ching, Hexagram 52 (Gen) or “Keeping Still”, represents the power of stillness, inner calm, and meditation. It signifies a time to halt action, find mental and physical tranquility, and gain clarity by not forcing situations. It advises becoming like a mountain—immovable and peaceful—to cultivate deep wisdom and stability.
All of that, I’m sure you agree, is VERY Baoshan Sanren
Now, returning to the trigram of Gen. It also symbolises “keeping still”, being the conceptual equivalent of a mountain, deeply rooted and calm. As such, it is also in the “earth” phase of the Wuxing. The Earth element, it should be noted, is seen as STRONGLY family-oriented (hint hint)
The direction associated with it is northeast, between the black, stable, and enduring North, which represents power , and the azure, growing, renewing, East, which represents authority. Baoshan Sanren is, indeed, a stable being with power and authority.
Listen, there’s just not a whole lot we know about Baoshan Sanren, okay ? There’s only so much terminal autism can do !!
However, there is one concept I want to visit here. The Gate of the Ghosts (鬼门关, Guǐmén guān), or the Devil’s Gate, is a mythical pass into the Underworld. Legend has it that on their way to the Ghost Country, the dead must pass through this gate. It is, also, believed to stand in the Northeast.
The Gate of Ghosts plays a significant role in the traditional Ghost Festival, celebrated on the seventh month of the lunar calendar. According to mythology, every year, on the first day of the month, the King of Hell opens the Gates of the Ghosts to allow those who have suffered and been imprisoned in hell to exit there
For a short time, they are allowed to wander the living world and enjoy it. In contrast, the month is seen as an unlucky time for the living, with tradition dictating that one should not get married or move to a new house during it.
Despite this, the Ghost Festival has become an expression of filial piety and virtue, as people use the time to sacrifice to their deceased relatives and otherwise pray for their blessing.
In other words, Gen is also associated with a thing associated with ghosts, that is seen as deeply unlucky and yet virtuous ? Hmm… where have I heard that before ?
On the flip-side, if we look at the Earlier Heaven's Direction of Gen, we see that it is instead northwest. This is important, because, in Chinese tradition, the northwest is the direction that governs "mentor luck" - support one receives from influential people in their life (do you see what I mean)
On top of that, it is the direction that represents the head of a household - specifically, a MALE head. Though, of course, Baoshan Sanren would have taken on that role for her children. In addition, a properly balanced northwest corner is said to bring about strong leadership abilities, while "afflicted" - for example, by worldly dust - northwest corners can create problems for the people associated with them
The northwest is also associated with Mount Buzhou, the one broken pillar of heaven, causing the sky to tilt to the northwest, which is the direction both heavens and stars move. I'm sure there's a sick-ass metaphor you can make out of that.
Oh, and fun fact, it's also associated with the animal of a dog.
Fun fact, other Hexagrams Gen appears in are Hexagram 18 - Ku (Gen over Xun, representing wind blowing at the foot of a mountain, both stagnant air that breeds decay and the persistent effort needed to "clear the air" and restore order"), or "Repairing Decay" - Hexagram 26 - Da Xu (Gen over Qian, representing "Heaven within the mountain", symbolising immense power that is stored and managed wisely) or "The Taming Power Of the Great" - and Hexagram 41 - Sun (Gen over Dui, representing a mountain rising out of a lake. As the lake evaporates to feed the clouds, they nourish the mountain, showing how decrease in one area nourishes another. It represents the virtue of simplicity, voluntary sacrifice, and emotional management) or "Decrease"
Now, I can't tell if I'm going insane, but all of those are VERY apt to MDZS, right ? Especially 41 ? 41 is basically Wei Wuxian to a T, 18 represents the way he constantly sought to repair "decay", and 26 representing how, despite EVERYONE thinking he was being irresponsible with his power, it turned out that he knew best after all.
Do I think this is intentional symbolism ? No. That would be... clinically insane. Thankfully, that's exactly what I am
Now. That brings us to our final piece of the Baoshan Sanren puzzle - the SMALLEST, probably, of the four we have to tackle - her title "Sànrén" (散人)
To put it simply. A Sanren is... difficult to explain. It is a honorific title for a Taoist practitioner. While the more commonly used term is Daoren (which we will be revisiting in a second, when we get to poor, poor, Yanling Daoren), there are two definitions to Sanren: (i) a person who is simple, useless and disregarded by the world, or (ii) a free-spirited and unrestrained person who is unconcerned with the world.
It should be noted, while "useless" sounds like a harsh word to English ears. It has an entirely different connotation here. In his work Ren Jian Sh (The Realm of Human Interaction), Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi explains it through a story -
Once upon a time, a carpenter brought his disciple on a trip. When they arrived at the country of Qi (齐国), they saw a gigantic tree. A large crowd had gathered around to observe the tree, and so did the disciple. After some time, the disciple said, “I’ve been travelling with you for some time now. It’s the first time we have encountered such a humongous tree, but you aren’t even looking at it. Why is this so?” The carpenter replied, “Sigh. It’s a shame, that’s just loose wood (散木 / sàn mù). If it was used to make a boat, the boat would sink. If it was used to make a coffin, it would rot. If it was used to make furniture, it would spoil easily. If it was made into a beam, it would be overrun with insects. This type of wood is useless, that’s why the tree has grown to be so large.”
That very night, the spirit god residing in the tree appeared in the carpenter’s dream and said, “Are you comparing me to wood that can be used? Take a look at the pear trees, hawthorn trees, grapefruit trees and camphor trees. Their fruits will be plucked when they are ripe, destroying their branches in the process. This is the suffering they have to bear, just so that they can be of use. Hence, they can never grow. This is the way of the world. I seek to be useless, and my wish has been granted.” The tree then uses the word 散 to reprimand the man, saying, “A scattered person (散人 sànrén) like yourself who’s about to die, what would you know about loose wood?”
Thus, I believe in the case of Baoshan Sanren, the "Sanren" exists to mean the first explanation - a person who is disconnected from the world, so that it cannot harm her, who does not contribute to it herself, and thus does not get "cut down for wood". When we get to explanation about Cangse Sanren, I will explain how she fits the OTHER description of "Sanren"
However, it is important to note that both Baoshan Sanren and Cangse Sanren share their surname. Obviously, in-universe, this has an explanation. But out-of-universe, it draws a parallel between the two - neither could protect the child they cherished, raised, and embraced from death.
