Shun: Conditions for Changing from False Self to True Self

Introduction: A Sage King Who Bloomed in the Worst Environment

The story of ‘Shun,’ one of the Five Emperors of ancient China, is known as the height of patience and filial piety. Between his blind father, stepmother, and half-brother Xiang who tried to kill him, Shun was constantly under threat of his life. Nevertheless, he did not resent his parents, and ultimately, with his extreme devotion, he was chosen by Emperor Yao to ascend the throne.

From the perspective of psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, Shun’s life is a great psychological journey showing how the ego throws off the shackles of the ‘False Self’ and realizes the ‘True Self’ in a harsh environment.

1. Harsh Environment and Formation of the ‘Compliant False Self’

Shun’s father, along with his stepmother, constantly tried to murder him. They would have him dig a well and then cover it with dirt, or have him repair a roof and then remove the ladder and set it on fire.

• Compliance for Survival: In an environment where a child is not loved by their parents but rather threatened from a young age, they create a ‘compliant false self’ that perfectly matches the parents’ demands to survive. Shun’s extreme filial piety toward the parents who were trying to kill him can be seen as a kind of extreme psychological defense mechanism and ‘compliance’ for survival.

2. The Inner ‘Core’ That Protected the True Self

The great thing about Shun is that he did not just comply with his parents, but did not lose his moral core and vitality in the process. According to Winnicott, the ‘True Self’ comes from one’s own vivid feelings and spontaneity, not from the demands of others.

• Creative Patience: Shun wisely survived every time his parents tried to harm him, and even after fleeing, he returned to serve them. This was not submission, but ‘creative patience’ that protected his internal subjecthood by practicing the value he believed was right (filial piety). The environment was like hell, but his core was not contaminated by external stimuli.

3. Birth of a Sage King: Completion of the Social Self Beyond the False Self

The fact that Shun ascended the throne after being recommended by Emperor Yao and ruled the whole world peacefully means that the ‘True Self’ he had has now expanded into social influence.

• Integrated Ego: Winnicott said that a healthy adult is a state of harboring the ‘True Self’ with vivid energy inside the shell of the ‘False Self’ that acts appropriately socially. Shun completed a mature social self by integrating past traumas, such as giving land to his brother Xiang to rule instead of taking revenge.

Conclusion: Your Environment Does Not Determine Your Essence

Shun’s story gives us hope that “no matter how barren the environment, it cannot completely annihilate your ‘True Self’.”

If you feel like you are living as a ‘False Self’ now because of the expectations and pressures around you, think of Shun’s patience. Even if you comply with the environment for a while, if you do not lose the most truthful voice (True Self) inside you, the day will come when you will shine like your own ‘sage king.’ You are not a victim of your environment, but the sovereign who protects and cultivates your inner self.

In the next post, through ‘Izanagi and Izanami,’ the beginning of Japanese mythology, we will look at the psychology of how the energy of conflict and opposition finds balance and stability.