The relationship between the human and nonhuman worlds plays an important role in defining the development of civilizations. Specific relationships are formed through specific geography and milestones such as the creation of fire, agriculture, and domestication of animals. These factors create unique perspectives and ideas on how the human and nonhuman worlds should interact. However, somewhere between the physical, earthly nonhuman world and the intellectual, heavenly human world, lies the human body. Just as specific perspectives are formed around the human and nonhuman worlds, the human body also takes on vastly different perspectives respective to different societies. However, the human body often finds itself at a similar crossroads between human and nonhuman forces. The human body is a key symbol for defining dichotomies depicting human and nonhuman relationships in early-civilization societies. This is evident when viewing ancient texts that show the body as a bridge connecting worlds, a physical descriptor, and bodily, sexual actions as a transformative power.
Perceptions of the human body influence human and nonhuman relationships as demonstrated by the body being a bridge between the human and nonhuman worlds. For example, the foundational Daoist text, the Zhuangzi, recites a story of the philosopher Zhuang Zhou dreaming himself leaving his body and becoming a butterfly. He writes, “He did not know whether Zhou had dreamed he was a butterfly, or a butterfly had dreamed he was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction” (Ebrey 30). This depiction of the human body shows the body as subjective and capable of deception. It acts as a vessel for the human consciousness rather than an extension of it. Zhou’s body in this story exists somewhere between the nonhuman world of the butterfly and the human world of consciousness. This shows a clear distinction between the human and nonhuman as reflected by intelligent consciousness in Zhou and the human world that is capable of thought and philosophy and the lack thereof in the butterfly and nonhuman world. For Zhou, the nonhuman world simply exists while the human questions why she exists. The human body provides critical insight into teasing apart this relationship.
The Confusion thinker, Dong Zhougshu, demonstrates another instance of the human body linking the human and nonhuman worlds in his text, Heaven, Earth, and Man. He writes, “Look at the human body. How superior it is to that of other creatures and how much like Heaven… Everything above the belt is Yang, everything below it Yin, each with its own part to play. Yang is the vital energy of Heaven, Yin of earth” (Ebrey 58). In this example, the human body is literally caught between the human world of Heaven, which is described as giving destiny to humans, separating them from other creatures, and the physical, nonhuman world of the earth. Like Zhou, Zhougshu also puts the human and nonhuman worlds in opposition of each other with human body in the center. However, instead of being concerned with dreams and conscience, Zhougshu considers the duality of Yin and Yang, earth and Heaven. This presents a different way to view the distinction between the human and nonhuman, but in both, the human body is in the center. The relationship between the human and nonhuman worlds can be dissected through viewing the human body as the center point.
The human body also shows relationship to the human and nonhuman worlds by using physical descriptions. For example, in the biblical tale of Jacob and Esau, the eponymous characters are put in opposition through their physical characteristics. Jacob tells his mother, “Behold, my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man” (Genesis 23). On top of this, Esau is described as brutish, impatient, and liked by his father, while Jacob is cunning, quiet, and liked by his mother. These physical and personal characteristics are reflected in how they portray their different lifestyles; Esau hunts while Jacob farms. Hunting is thus seen as brutish and simpler while farming takes patience and intelligence. Hunting is also wild and more connected to the nonhuman world, while farming is closer to civilization and the human world. Bodily characteristics can indicate how close one is to the human or nonhuman world.
This motif of hair and wilderness is also seen in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. In the epic, Gilgamesh is depicted as strong, abusive, and a tamer of nature. In opposition to him, is Enkidu, created in the wild, innocent and hairy. “Coated in hair like the god of the animals, with the gazelles he grazes on grasses” (George 5). This explicitly shows how hair is connected with animalistic and wild character traits of the nonhuman world. As Jacob and Esau represent farming and hunting with their physical beings, Gilgamesh and Enkidu represent civilization and wilderness, clear indicators of human and nonhuman distinction. The human body is again used to show human and nonhuman worlds in opposition with each other.
The physical and bodily act of sex is also a key way ancient authors have used to describe the barrier between human and nonhuman forces. For instance, the Epic of Gilgamesh presents Enkidu’s transition to civilization as a result from coupling with the harlot, Shamet. “When with her delights he was fully sated, he turned his gaze to his herd. The gazelles saw Enkidu, they started to run, the beasts of the field shied away from his presence… [he] was weakened, could not run as before, but now he had reason, and wide understanding” (George 8). Sex is presented as a transformative force that immediately makes the wilderness turn against Enkidu as he gains knowledge, and it even physically disables Enkidu, as he cannot run the same as before. This shows a clear dichotomy between wilderness and human. After this irreversible act, Enkidu abandons his old life in the wild, nonhuman world, to join civilization. He even has his hair groomed to tame his wild characteristics.
A similar sexual action occurs in the Aboriginal legend, Moon and Morning Star. Moon and Morning Star are two brothers who travel the world with no purpose, creating the landscape as they go along. Yet, eventually their lives are changed after engaging in sexual contact. “In wrestling they had touched each other’s bodies, in singing their voices had blended; but the products of their creation embodied an element that was missing in their own relationship… creation that was the product of two creators” (Reed 114). Like Enkidu, Moon emerges from the bodily union with new purpose in life. Moon and Morning Star transition along a dichotomy from individual creation of the natural environment to a shared, human creation. Sex, again, demonstrates the transformation from the nonhuman world to the human one.
In conclusion, the human body is a critical manifestation of human and nonhuman relationships in ancient texts. Through the bridging of the human and nonhuman worlds, providing physical signifiers, and having transformative power, the human body is a powerful symbol. The body takes on new shapes in each civilization, but it always finds itself in the opposition of conflicting forces: dream and reality, earth and Heaven, hunting and farming, the wild and civilization, and individual and shared creation. While varied in their approaches, these dichotomies all boil down to a basic division between the nonhuman and the human worlds with the human body in between. Each of the ancient texts provides a different perspective on the human body that is reflected in defining the specific boundary between human and nonhuman forces.
Works Cited:
Ebrey, Patricia. Chinese Civilization: A sourcebook, 2nd Edition. New York, The Free Press. 1993.
George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin Books. 1999.
The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version. 1974.
Reed, A.W. Aboriginal Legends. Sydney, Reed New Holland. 1999.