THE PA-KU WEN-CHANG or the Chinese Eight-Legged Essay

The Pa-Ku Wen-Chang was a form of writing developed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties as a part of the civil service exams the Chinese had to pass to qualify for government positions. A parallel today would be our A-P exams. From the 15th. through the 19th. centuries this format, constructed through eight stages, characterized much of Chinese writing in that it was the measuring stick to evaluate a candidate's attainments. Quite often the applicants were given a Confucian saying which they then had to explicate through this form.

The Chinese approaches with parallel forms and a specified number of sentences in each paragraph were very formulaic, often creating a mechanical tone. To avoid this and to put the emphasis on developing a point-counter point or antithesis emphasis, what I list below is not a strict interpretation of the ancient form. I do feel, though,  by using hypothetical questions, a very formative approach is developed for the emerging student writer. And it does provide a nice alternative to the traditional five paragraph essay!

Below is a suggested structure.

• LEG I: The Opening -two or three sentences to introduce the topic or the problem.
• LEG II: The Amplification -five or six sentences which elaborate upon, clarify, and justify the topic presented in Leg I.
• LEG III: Preliminary Exposition -a possible explanation of or solution to the problem presented in the topic.
• LEG IV: Initial Argument -an explanation of arguments which undermine the previous explanation, refuting those claims (good point-counterpoint or alternative viewpoint writing).
• LEG V: Other Arguments -with each argument presented the student should offer a rebuttal or a hypothetical question which suggests the invalidity of the point.
• LEG VI: Latter Arguments -any other arguments not previously presented should be raised here. The idea is to structure the arguments so that you can narrow to the main argument (and most plausible solution) which follows this leg.
• LEG VII: Final Argument -here the strongest, most solid argument is presented. The previous arguments may have had merit, but the attempt here is for the student to develop and then dismiss weaker lines of reasoning as he or she points to the most sound line of thought. Obviously, the student must think through the entire construct before beginning the writing.
• Leg VIII: Conclusion –Concluding remarks are made here. To keep the conclusion from being a mere summary of previous points, the student should try to deduce a broader understanding from the original topic or problem or to synthesize this understanding to a broader parallel.

Again, what is suggested above is not an exact replica of the Chinese form, but it has been modified to help enhance the student’s ability to write argumentative or antithesis essays.

To warm the student up, I would suggest the teacher extract a saying or problem from one of the classical writings presented earlier to practice on in class discussion.

POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS:

      SHOCK brings success.  Shock comes---oh, oh!  Laughing words---ha, ha!  The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, and he does not let fall the sacrificed spoon and chalice…The I Ching

     The resolute scholar and humane person will under no circumstances seek life at the expense of humanity.  On occasion they will sacrifice their lives to preserve humanity…Confucius

     Tzu Lu asked about the worship of ghosts and spirits.  Confucius said: “We don’t know yet how to serve men, how can we know about serving spirits?” 
“What about death?” was the next question. 
Confucius said: “We don’t know about life, how can we know about death?...Confucius: The Analects

     After Rama slays Ravana and rescues Sita, Sita undergoes an ordeal by fire to clear herself of suspicions of infidelity.  Thus, after being sacrificed by the gods, why does Rama continue to question her chasity?...The Ramayana

     The tale of two birds in The Upanishads (translated by W.B. Yeats with the help of a Sanskrit scholar):

          Two birds, bound to one another in friendship, have made their homes on the same  tree.  One stares about him, one pecks at the sweet fruit.
          The personal self, weary of pecking here and there, sinks into dejection; but when he understands through meditation that the other---the impersonal self---is indeed spirit, dejection disappears.
          He who has found spirit, is spirit…The Upanishads

For further information, please contact   llawson@collegiate-va.org

Also  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-legged_essay