智欲圓而行欲方         淮南子主術訓(下)

The Club’s name and motto come from the Zhushuxun 主術訓 chapter of Huainanzi 淮南子, a collection of Chinese essays written during the early Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD). The above phrase simply states zhi 智 (“knowledge/wisdom”) is yuan 圓 (“a circle”) and xing 行 (“conduct/behavior”) is fang 方 (“a square”). The Zhushuxun chapter discusses how knowledge/wisdom is a circle, endless, and comprehensive; and how conduct/behavior is a square, follows rules, and has limitations. Club members chose to translate the character yuan 圓 as “circle” for its name, “Square and Circle Club.” For the motto, the same character is translated as “round” and xing 行 as “deed,” resulting with “in deeds be square, in knowledge be all-round.” The Club’s logo was created subsequently to symbolize the round and square concepts expressed in Huainanzi.