ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE SAGES (SHENG) IN ANCIENT CHINESE THOUGHT

The idea of the sages (sheng) is one of the key notions of Ancient Chinese thought which is used to designate a perfect person. The problem of the personification of the sages, which is analyzed in this paper, is caused by the multiplicity of their depiction in Ancient Chinese texts. Most generally the interpretations of these notions may be melted down to two fundamental traditions: sheng could refer to particular figures of the real or imagined past or could stay impersonal. Each of these traditions had its advantages and drawbacks, yet in the end they were not juxtaposed, but rather complementary.