*4.1. Chengxin*

We have shown that *cheng* and *xin* are synonyms and are often used together to form the compound *chengxin*. From the Western Zhou to the Spring and Autumn period, *xin* was already an important virtue, referring to sincere, devoted trustworthiness and faithfulness in a person's or a state's words/writings and conduct (Chen 2006, pp. 335–43; An 2004, pp. 119–21). Confucius listed *xin* as one of the four subjects he taught his students (*Analects*, 7.25). In Confucian classics such as the *Analects, Mencius*, *Xunzi*, and the *Records of Ritual*, as well as newly excavated manuscripts, *xin* appears numerous times, in most cases referring to sincere, trustworthy, and faithful words, writings, and conduct in dealing with interpersonal relationships and cultivating one's moral character. In the *Xunzi*, the compound *chengxin* appears three times, all of which refer to ethical-moral virtues, with two of them stating that "sincere trustworthiness functions as the spirits" (*chengxin sheng shen* 䃐ؑ⭏⾎ and *chengxin ru shen* 䃐ؑྲ⾎, 3.12, 14.3). This reminds us of the religious-ritual origin of *cheng*2 and *xin* and the close connection between the two.

Moreover, this ethical-moral virtue also developed into a fundamental criterion in Confucian aesthetics. The classical commentary to the Qian Ү hexagram in the *Book of Changes* attributes to Confucius the statement, "Refining writings to establish sincerity" 㝙䗝・ަ䃐, which extended the sincerity and trustworthiness of supplicatory writings to that of a ruler's statements and teachings (Wang and Kong 2000, 1.18a-19b). Liu Xie, however, in citing this statement, returned it to its meaning as a basic feature of supplicatory writings:

Supplicants and scribes present their trustworthiness,

relying on the diction of writings.

In general varied writings blossom gorgeously,

but to make the spirits descend must be truthful.

Refining writings to establish sincerity,

There will be no qualms of conscience.

⾍ਢ䲣ؑ, 䋷Ѿ᮷䗝.... ࠑ㗔䀰Ⲭ㨟, 㘼䱽⾎उሖ. ؞䗝・䃐, ൘ᯬ❑. (Fan 1958, pp. 176–77)

Clearly, Liu Xie was well aware that the connection between writings and sincerity originated from the supplicatory writings for sacrificial rituals, and so he established sincerity-trustworthiness as a fundamental criterion for this kind of writing. Later, Confucian scholars such as Cheng Hao 〻仒 (1032–1085), Zhu Xi ᵡ⟩ (1130–1200), and others extended this criterion to all kinds of discourses and writings (Li 1986, pp. 95.2445; Wang and Gu 2001, p. 18).
