The idiom xiāng yóu xīn shēng (相由心生), “the appearance stems from the mind” can also be translated as “perception turns with the soul.” Literally, the saying means “the appearance is born of the heart”; however, the character 心 (xīn) is often used to indicate the mind or feeling.
It is said that the expression was first used by Guiguzi (鬼谷子), an ancient Chinese philosopher and educator during the Warring States Period (475–221 B.C.).
It can also be found in “Essay on Mind and Appearance” written by the Daoist sage Chen Xiyi (陳希夷) during the Song Dynasty (A.D. 960–1279).
The following story explains the meaning of the idiom:
One day, a young Su Dongpo (蘇東坡), a great genius during the Song Dynasty, went to a temple with Monk Foyin to meditate. After meditating, Su felt very comfortable and at ease. He asked the monk how he had looked while meditating. Foyin replied: “You looked like a Buddha statue, very solemn!”
Su was very pleased.
The monk then asked Su what he had looked like during meditation. Su, joking with the monk, answered: “You looked like a pile of cow dung!”
The monk did not say anything. Seeing the monk was not angry with his words, Su thought he had bested the monk.
Su had a younger sister named Su Xiaomei who was very talented. When Su returned home, he smugly told his sister about the conversation with the monk.
His sister thought for a while and then gently said: “My dear brother, you have lost. Monk Foyin has the heart of a Buddha, so he saw you like a Buddha. You looked at him with a heart of cow dung, so you saw only cow dung.”
Hearing his sister’s words, Su became lost in thought. He realized the monk had cultivated himself quite well, so he was always able to keep kindness in his heart even when he was wronged.
This story explains that one can only see things in a positive light and offer a constructive response when one has compassion in the heart.
The idiom xiāng yóu xīn shēng (相由心生), or “the appearance stems from the mind” is used both as a warning as well as to describe how appearances can be altered by changing one’s mind.
Note:
1. Guiguzi lived around 400–313 B.C. His real name was Xu Wang. He was the founder of the School of Diplomacy of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Many of his students became famous. One of them was Sun Bin who wrote the famous “36 Stratagems.”
2. Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shi, was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song Dynasty.
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