Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not at what is contrary to propriety

Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not at what is contrary to propriety is a Confucian injunction that the novel places in both ethical argument and coded speech. In one scene, a scholar recites it to challenge XuanTong’s attack; in another, apparently casual talk about the moon and mooncakes disguises a clue that A'Zhu is trying to extract. The contrast makes propriety a question not only of what people do, but of how words are used and understood.

Ethical Appeal in Combat

During the confrontation with XuanTong, a scholar who has not yet found his Analects sees that his companion is struggling against the monk’s twin knives. He reproves XuanTong through a series of Confucian sayings, including the injunction to avoid improper sights and sounds, and extends its logic to speech and action. His charge is that XuanTong’s indiscriminate, lethal attack shows no self-restraint and therefore violates propriety.

The saying is not an abstract ornament: it is deployed to interrupt violence by making conduct answerable to an ethical standard. The scholar argues that bravery alone does not make a person virtuous, and that someone unwilling to be killed should not kill others. His appeal combines moral authority with direct reasoning, though the scene gives no evidence that the argument persuades XuanTong or ends the fight.

A Saying Turned into a Clue

The injunction’s concern with seeing and hearing also resonates with Xiao Feng’s attempt to interpret Madam Ma and A'Zhu’s conversation. Madam Ma says that the moon is round and bright, although Xiao Feng recognizes that clouds obscure it and that the second day of the lunar month cannot bring a full moon. A'Zhu answers that it will be full on the fifteenth, then connects the date to Ma Dayuan’s death. Their talk turns to salty or sweet mooncakes, leaving Xiao Feng uncertain about the apparent digression.

The moon and mooncakes are not merely conversational details. Madam Ma later explains that these remarks echoed private, flirtatious exchanges she had shared with Bai Shijing on the fourteenth night of the eighth month. A'Zhu’s response did not fit that hidden context, allowing Madam Ma to recognize that the supposed visitor was not who she claimed to be. The scene turns hearing into an interpretive test: words that sound ordinary to an outsider carry a second meaning for someone who knows their history.

Speech, Secrecy, and Interpretation

A'Zhu also uses conversation to draw out the identity of the figure called the “leading big brother.” Madam Ma withholds the name but describes a person with great standing, a formidable reputation, and the ability to command tens of thousands. She adds the direction southwest and demonstrates an acupuncture-point technique by tearing the window paper. Taken together, the clues point A'Zhu toward Duan Zhengchun, the South-Stabilizing Prince of Dali.

Once Madam Ma warns her not to reveal the secret, A'Zhu promises silence through an oath carefully framed around Bai Shijing rather than herself. Her performance shows how speech can meet a listener’s expectation on its surface while evading its intended force. The episode therefore places the Confucian warning beside a more equivocal practice: careful listening may disclose what a speaker conceals, but language can also be shaped to mislead or escape accountability.