The Classic of Wisdom

The Classic of Wisdom is a collection of long and short poems detailing how a follower of the Flow should ideally act.

### Published on

Still a work in progress.

The Classic of Wisdom is the earliest book of Shengshi, and still a work in progress. However, the first stanzas of the book outline the three key teachings of the Flow student.

## Poems

The Classic of Wisdom is entirely composed of poems telling students of the Flow and worshipers of Shengshi how to act and think. The Classic is divided into a total of fifteen chapters, though only the first has been written.

### **Chapter 1: The Three Forks**

> *In knowing the Flow, a sound mind is key;*
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> With wisdom in tow, the way splits in three:
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> The saintly is humble,
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> With manners upheld;
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> The chosen will bargain,
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> So enmity’s quelled;
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> The wise act as such, respectful of all,
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> Like undisturbed rivers, the Flow is unstalled.
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> In knowing the Flow, a soul must know change:
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> The morphing of forms, of content and range.
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> The river will slither
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> Past hard rock and stone;
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> The landscape; reborn
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> With threads, water-sown.
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> The tapestry shifts and twists and turns;
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> In studying Flow, it is this one must learn.
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> In knowing the Flow, the soul must have heart.
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> A saint of the Flow, with emotions can’t part.
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> The river turns right,
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> A mind of outrage;
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> The river turns left,
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> The mind of a sage.
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> The river is fickle, thus even the wise
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> Carries a sword, should conflict arise.
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*The first chapter details the ideals of "the wise", or whom Shengshi deems to be worthy of his blessing.*

## **Chapter 2: Filial Piety**

The River owes its existence to its Source, whether that be tributaries or the World Spring itself.

If a student is to obtain understanding of the Flow, the student must think of itself as the River:

A student’s gods, parents, master, elders, friends - all are Sources to the River that is life.

The student must therefore revere these with respect and loyalty, the degree of which is decided in accordance with the Five Relationships.

### **The Five Relationships**

There are five relationships every student of the Flow must keep in mind at all times:

**God and Mortal:**

 To a God, a Mortal is lesser than a single speck of sand on an endless beach. The mere act of prostrating oneself before such incredible beings is insufficient beyond belief; it is expected that the student employs self-deprecating vocabulary in the presence of a God, and use nothing but the most respectful language known to it - and even this is only raking at the surface of just how insignificant the Mortal is in this comparison. A God may behave as they wish in the face of mortals, but every mortal should advocate this rule. The Mortals owe the Gods everything, and they should be honoured unconditionally for that.

**Parent and Child:**

Second only to the Gods are a student’s Parents, without whom the student would not exist. As the individuals who gave birth to and raised the student, the Parents are to be respected and loved unconditionally. Parents should likewise strive to set good examples for their Children and raise them to be proper, well-mannered mortals. However, for the Child, even in the face of Gods and Masters, loyalty to one’s Parents is paramount, despite the potential cruelty or neglectfulness of said Parents. A Child who gives up its Parent for wealth or favours, or simply out of spite, is the worst of ingrates.

**Master and Servant:**

Third comes the relationship between the Master and the Servant, without which society crumbles. Much like a Parent and a Child, the Master functions much as a Parent to the Servant, and acts as responsibly and as diligently as a Parent would in the face of the Servant’s affairs. The Servant likewise has a duty to honour and respect its Master.

**Elder and Younger:**

Fourth comes the relationship between young and old, where the old is to be respected unconditionally for the years of experience and seniority; however, an Elder is also expected to show respect to the Younger, for the Younger may possess experience or knowledge that the Elder cannot grasp.

**Friend and Friend**

Fifth comes the relationship between Friends, where age and seniority both matter, but pale in comparison to the bond - a good Friend is never to be forsaken or shamed by the student, lest it will find itself without any quite soon.

### The Headwaters - The Way of the Master

A Shengshese master is defined as anyone who by right of divinity, conquest, status or wealth lords over at least one other individual. As the Servants are expected to follow certain rules, so must the Master be guided by ritual and expectations.

> As a true master speaks, the voice is like the wind to the grass - with every breath, the servants bow.
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> As a true master watches, the sight is like the light of Helipolis - all-touching, all-seeing.
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> As a true master listens, the ears are like a flood - as it spreads, it consumes all in the four directions.
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> As a true master acts, the hand is like the delta - it forks out in every direction, giving to all who are in need.
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**In other words, a good master is charismatic, observant, open to criticism and requests from its servants, and generous.**

A poor master mirrors these qualities with their opposites. An uncharismatic master gathers no support; a master blind to the affairs of the kingdom will soon see it fall; a master unwilling to hear criticism and the voices of the people invites rebellion and instability; and a greedy master warrants a replacement.

### The Tributary - The Way of the Servant

A Shengshese servant is anyone who serves a master, be it a servant to a king or a serf to a landlord. They are expected to show undying loyalty and respect towards their masters, but should their master against all odds be cruel and unworthy, they have three rules to rely on.

> A drop of clear water in a pool of mud does not make the mud clear; neither can a speck of mud in a crystalline river soil the entire stream.
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This means that a consistently cruel master will not be worthy of anyone’s loyalty despite occasional efforts to compensate; and that a consistently good master will still be worthy of loyalty despite occasional atrocities.

> The line between a loyalist and a traitor is as fine as Nanhese silt
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The cruel master will see anyone leaving the ranks as a traitor, but those who oppose the cruel master may see the defectors as loyal to their own cause. Likewise, those who support the cruel master are seen as loyal by the master, but regarded as traitors by the oppressed.

> All masters are to be respected, but only the good ones are to be served.
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This one is rather self-explanatory: Respect is to be shown to all, but there is no need to slave before a poor leader.

### The Current - The Way of the Act

When the student knows their relationships and their places in them, the student will focus on the act. The act is defined as one’s behaviour towards others and falls into two categories: basic and relative.

The basic act is expected to be mastered and advocated by everyone, even the divine. It contains all basic rules that keep society from destabilising and breaking apart. The rules of the basic act are as follows:

1. Murder is forbidden.
2. Thievery is forbidden.
3. Adultery is forbidden.
4. Regardless of relationship, one must always treat others with respect, so that oneself can be worthy of it.
5. Regardless of relationship, one must always treat others’ lives as equal to oneself’s, so one may be worthy of it.
6. Unless impossible, all conflicts are to be avoided - a harmonious solution built on compromise is always better than one built on superiority.
7. Intentionally obstructing others’ affairs unwarranted is forbidden. One's task is one's life.
8. All rivers are to be treasured and respected as if they were holy - while all may drink and bathe in the rivers of Galbar, damming up rivers is a grave insult to Shengshi, as well as an unforgivable crime to those downriver. This is forbidden.

The relative act is based on interpersonal relationships, and is therefore considerably more intricate. The relative act changes depending on the student’s relation to the person it is conversing with, with the only constant being that any student is nothing compared to the gods, and must all act the same way towards them regardless of social status. For each of the five relationships, the relative act is described as such:

Parent-child: A parent has total authourity over the child, but this does not necessary mean that they need to use it. A respectful parent must realise that a child is a student to be taught and not a slave to be subdued. Therefore, a proper parent should respect a child's need to learn and explore the world, but at the same time keep it from straying from the way of the Flow. The parent should bring up the child properly and teach it art, respect and honour. To this end, it is the child's duty to be diligent in its studies. A child should always treat its parents with the respect they deserve, both in preparation for future relationships and as a gratuitous gesture for raising them.

Master-servant: The relative act between master and servant is described in the chapter on the Headwaters and the Tributaries.

Elder-younger: The elder should treat the younger with respect, and the wisest among them will realise that the superiority of age is not necessarily an indicator of greater wisdom. One who is younger may be more knowledgable than one who is older. Likewise, one who is younger should always respect the elder as if they were wiser and never set themselves above them - such arrogance is not to be tolerated.

Friend-friend: Friendship is perhaps the greatest bond between individuals, with brotherhoods and sisterhoods forming despite a lack of blood-connection. To this end, friends are rather free to decide how to act towards one another, though an underlying tone of respect and loyalty is to be felt at all times.