Zi Gong once asked Confucius, "How can I be a scholar?" That is how to be a scholar. Confucius said, "It is a scholar to be ashamed of doing things and make the Quartet live up to your life." (The Analects of Confucius Lutz) This answer not only shows the official identity of a scholar, but also points out the most basic conditions and responsibilities as a scholar: first, to know shame, that is, to regulate one's behavior with moral shame, and second, to "make the four sides live up to your orders", that is, to be able to complete the tasks entrusted by the monarch in talent. The former is a requirement for scholars' moral quality, while the latter is a requirement for scholars' practical ability. The unity of these two aspects is the image of a qualified taxi, that is, a perfect Confucianism. Xunzi wrote an article entitled "The Efficacy of Confucianism", in which he described the image and social function of Confucianism in this way: "A Confucian is politically beautiful in this dynasty and vulgar in the next." "Beauty and custom" should constantly cultivate one's morality, improve moral quality and set an example; "American politics" means "making good use of the world", formulating various etiquette norms and political and legal systems for the society to stabilize social order and the lives of the rich.
Based on the above analysis of the basic social mission of Confucianism, scholars and gentlemen, it can be said that the main content of primitive Confucianism is about the self-cultivation moral norms of scholars and the political principle of governing the country. Moreover, from Confucius, Mencius to Xunzi, all kinds of moral norms and principles of governing the country they put forward are very specific norms and principles practiced in life, rather than general abstract metaphysical principles.
There is a certain reason why people call the study of Confucius "benevolence". Because Confucius regards "benevolence" as the most fundamental moral norm of a gentleman. For example, he said, "A gentleman is not as good as fame? If a gentleman has no final food, he will violate benevolence and will do it again. " ("The Analects of Confucius") There are many comments made by Confucius in response to his disciples' questions about benevolence, all of which are specific norms and principles to follow when conducting actions. For example:
When answering Fan Chi's question about benevolence, someone said, "A benevolent person can be said to be benevolent if he suffers first." There is a saying: "Love" ("Yanyuan").
Answering Yan Yuan's question about benevolence, he said, "Self-denial is benevolence." (Yan Yuan)
When answering Zhong Gong's question about Ren, he said, "When you go out, you will see a distinguished guest, making the people like a big sacrifice. Don't do what you don't want, don't do it in the state, and don't complain at home. " (Yan Yuan)
When answering Sima Niu's question about benevolence, he said, "Benevolence is too much." (Yan Yuan)
Answer Zhang Wenren: "Being able to do five things in the world (courtesy, tolerance, faithfulness, sensitivity and benefit) is benevolence." (Yang Huo)
Another example is: "Clever words make color, fresh and righteous." (Xue Ji and Yang Huo) "Rigid, resolute, wooden, dull and benevolent." ("Xianwen") and Confucius said, "Filial piety is also the foundation of benevolence!" ("learn to learn") and so on. , are all normative principles observed in concrete practice.
The Analects of Confucius also records a lot of Confucius' remarks about answering questions and taking part in politics, which are also very specific normative principles to be observed in practice. For example:
Answering Zi Gong's question about politics, he said: "With enough food and soldiers, the people will believe it." (Yan Yuan)
When Qi Jinggong asked about politics, he said, "Jun Jun, minister, father, son." (Yan Yuan)
He replied to Zhang Wenzheng: "Live tirelessly and do it faithfully." (Yan Yuan)
Ji Kangzi asked about politics, and he said, "A politician is justice. Zi Shuai is right, who dares to be wrong? " Then he said, "Why kill a son for politics? Children want to do good things, and people want to do good things. A gentleman is virtuous, but a villain is virtuous. The wind on the grass must be suppressed. " (Yan Yuan)
When answering Lutz's question about politics, he said, "First of all, be diligent" and "be tireless". (Luz)
When answering Zhong Gong's question about politics, he said, "First, there must be a division, forgive small mistakes and cultivate talents." (Luz)
When answering Ye Gong's question about politics, someone said, "Those who are near are happy, and those who are far away come." Some people say, "Haste makes waste. Haste makes waste, but seeing small profits can't be a big deal. " (Luz)
When answering Zhang's question about politics, he said: "Respect the five beauties and shield the four evils, and you can go into politics." (Yao Yue) and so on.
In addition to further developing Confucius' thought of cultivating oneself by benevolence, Mencius is also famous for preaching the theory of benevolent government, and its content is also very specific. For example: "Benevolence must start from the boundary." The so-called "serious world" means "dividing fields for profit" and "making people produce continuously" (Meng Ziliang). Then there is the content of Zhou Wenwang's "benevolent government", which he often cites as examples, namely: "The tiller in September 1st, the official is the leader of the world, the city is closed to laughing and not levying, the beam can't help but not bury the sinner" (Liang Xia), and "respecting the virtuous and enabling" (Gong Sun ugly business) and so on. Mencius also theoretically explained why benevolent governance is necessary and why benevolent governance is possible. But most of his theoretical explanations are perceptual and intuitive. For example, in his view, because everyone has "compassion", "compassion" and "kindness", the former king also had "compassion", which originated from politics, that is, "benevolent politics", and so on, to demonstrate the basis of benevolent politics. Explain the possibility of benevolent government with the theory that "a benevolent person pushes benevolence by what he loves, not by what he doesn't love" (Dedicated) and "I am old and young" (Hui Liang Wang Shang).
Although the practical norms and principles put forward by Confucius and Mencius in governing the country by self-cultivation are very specific, they also contain strong idealistic elements, that is to say, they place more hope on the consciousness of human nature. Therefore, Confucius strongly emphasized "self-denial and self-respect", "self-cultivation and self-cultivation" (virtuous writing) and "benevolence depends on oneself" Mencius, on the other hand, believed that as long as he constantly expanded his compassion, shame and evil, resignation, right and wrong (for ugly grandchildren) and appeasement (for Gao Zi), people's conscience and virtue could be restored.
Compared with Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi's thought is more realistic. While paying attention to etiquette and moral education, he also emphasized the punishment function of the political and legal system. He believes that human nature is not so beautiful, and following the natural development of human nature will inevitably lead to social chaos. Therefore, we should guide people's natural nature with propriety and justice, that is, the so-called "transformation and falsification", and then make it conform to the principles and requirements of group society. Therefore, while emphasizing the importance of self-cultivation and moral consciousness, Xunzi emphasized the educational and normative functions of "teacher" and "law". For example, he said: "It is the nature of today's people to be profitable and obedient, so they fight for their lives and resign;" Born with disease and evil, follow it, so thieves are born with loyalty to death; It is appropriate to be born with a desire for eyes and ears and a good sense of sound, so fornication is born with courtesy and righteousness. But from the perspective of human nature, obeying people's feelings will be divorced from competition, suitable for committing chaos and returning to violence. Therefore, there must be a way to learn the law, a way to be polite and righteous, and then out of words, it is in line with the arts and sciences, and it is governed by it. " ("Xunzi's theory of evil nature") also said: "The courtesy, so the body is also; Teacher, so courtesy also. How can you be rude? It is also right to know the ceremony without a teacher. " "So, it is impossible to flirt, there is no teacher without a teacher. Not studying law, but for personal use. For example, color discrimination or blindness, sound discrimination or deafness, chaos or inaction. " ("Xunzi's Self-cultivation")
Similarly, Xunzi's principles of governing the country, such as "distinguishing groups", "living in groups" and "the way of unity", including the ideal specific strategies of "sovereign power" and "enriching the country and strengthening the country", and even his "theory of ceremony", "theory of music" and "rule by monarch" can be said to be very realistic. On the basis of affirming the social hierarchy and professional division of labor that had been formed at that time, it stipulated the inherent rights and status of each member of society and required them to perform their duties, so as to achieve the harmony of the whole society. Of course, this does not mean that Xunzi's principle of governing the country has no idealism. Because, if there is no idealism in his theory, then his theory will not have any attraction, and he cannot be called a thinker.
Primitive Confucianism, from the end of the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, is one of the "outstanding schools" with wide influence in society. The theory of moral cultivation advocated by them had a far-reaching influence on the "scholar" class, but the ideal political system and the principle of governing the country they designed were too divorced from the social reality of feudal lords at that time because of their main spirit, that is, unifying the whole country and giving priority to etiquette and law. Therefore, the original Confucianism is different from the Confucianism that later became the basis of the actual social system. It's just a general theory about moral cultivation and political ideals. In our discussion below, people will see that it is very important to distinguish this difference.
The fourth stage of the development of Confucianism in China is the modern neo-Confucianism, which began with Kang Youwei and blended modern western democratic and scientific thoughts. /kloc-After the mid-9th century, with the disintegration of the feudal system in China, Confucianism represented by sexology also declined. At this time, under the military, economic, political and cultural invasion and infiltration of foreign capitalism, China is facing a critical situation of national subjugation and extinction, and a large number of advanced China people are struggling to save the country and survive. At this time, Confucianism, whether at the institutional level or the ideological level, played a role in hindering social reform and progress to a considerable extent. Even Tan Sitong, a man of lofty ideals in the Reform Movement of 1898, loudly appealed to people to break the trap of feudal ethics. Under the impact of western economy, politics and culture, Confucianism has been severely criticized, so that it cannot survive without reform.
I think that the transformation of Confucianism in China to modern times, or the connection and integration between traditional Confucianism and modern western culture, began with Kang Youwei. Because Kang Youwei always expressed loyalty to the Qing royal family and actively supported zhang xun restoration, his image as a royalist surpassed that of a reformist in many people's minds. In fact, Kang Youwei was one of the earliest and most influential bourgeois enlightenment thinkers in modern China. He used Confucianism, especially Confucius and Lemmon, to publicize his ideal of reform and reform under the banner of trusting orphans to reform. On the one hand, when he publicized the western social and political theories and philosophies at that time, he always quoted classics from the Confucius and Mencius theory of the traditional Confucianism in China to prove that the social reform plan he promoted was also the ideal pursued by the ancient sages of China; On the other hand, he also made a lot of new explanations and plays to the Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius, which made it conform to the western culture that people knew at that time, and proved that the traditional Confucianism he admired was completely in line with the trend of the times.
Kang Youwei gave a comprehensive and brief introduction to Confucius' theory. He said: "Confucius' way is based on benevolence, its principle is public, its method is flat, its system is in the text, it is reflected in different names, and its use is advancing with the times." Then, he gave full play to it and said, "If the husband is peaceful, everyone has the right to independence;" Relying on civilization, everything belongs to barbarism; If the Lord is male, then everyone has great happiness; If the Lord is kind, then things will be safe. Depending on the authority, everyone does not infringe; It depends on advancing with the times, and it will be flexible if it is beneficial. " From this brief introduction, we can clearly see that Kang Youwei explained and developed Confucius' way with the social and political theory of modern western bourgeoisie. Kang Zhu's "Seeking benevolence and benevolence, Confucius says love" says: "Universal love is benevolence. Confucius said that benevolence is different, which is the original meaning of kindness to others. " (The Analects of Confucius, Yan Yuan, Volume 12) Here, Kang's meaning is just the opposite of the above meaning, and his idea of "benevolence is benevolence" is also different from what Han Yu said. His theory of fraternity already contains some elements of modern bourgeois fraternity thought. He linked "the benevolent loves others" with Zi Gong's saying "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" (The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang), explaining that "the so-called fraternity, equality and freedom are just violations of human freedom!" ("Taking Confucianism as the Country and Teaching Heaven" As for Confucius' "Governing by Doing Nothing", what is its harmony? What is a husband? Gong Ji is in the south. It is interpreted as "Shun is an official, so he governs by doing nothing". The rules of democracy are determined by the Constitution, deliberation by the House of Representatives, and administrative officials. Knowing that the teacher is tin and the public is the choice is a respect for oneself and can be ruled by doing nothing. If you don't respect yourself, you will abuse the monarchy and scratch the constitution, and there will be no cure. So, if you do nothing, you have no responsibility, but you should respect it. This shows that constitutional monarchy and democracy are responsible for the laws of the government. Today, Europeans do this for the righteousness predicted by Confucius. "(The Analects of Confucius, Volume XV, Wei Linggong) and the interpretation of Mencius'" Qiu Min is the son of heaven "as" people who live in harmony with * * * and elect the president (the theory of saving the nation) "can be said to be everywhere in Kang Youwei's works. Influenced by the Kang family, Tan Sitong advocated benevolence. He also believes that "benevolence" takes "communication" as its first meaning, and the embodiment of "communication" is "equality". Therefore, he said that the fundamental spirit of Confucius' theory is: "Abolish the monarch and advocate democracy, and turn inequality into equality." (benevolence)
There is no doubt that Kang Youwei worships and believes in Confucianism, especially Confucius and Mencius. He believes that there are some basic things in traditional ideology and culture that can never be removed. But at the same time, he is a person who advocates reform and change. Although he opposed the complete abolition of democracy and monarchy, he also opposed sticking to feudal monarchy and advocated bourgeois reformism and constitutional monarchy. Therefore, from beginning to end, Kang Youwei used Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius to promote modern western democratic thoughts, rather than to demonstrate the monarchy. At the same time, in Kang Youwei's process of linking Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius with modern western democratic political theory and philosophical theory, although there are many places that are mechanically applied, far-fetched and even naive, it is undeniable that there are also some explorations and efforts to transform traditional Confucianism into modernity (perhaps this kind of exploration and efforts is not conscious). So I always think that if the concept of modern neo-Confucianism refers to the integration of Confucianism and modern western ideology and culture, then Kang Youwei should be the first person.
However, Kang Youwei's exploration of the modern transformation of Confucianism was unsuccessful. One of the main reasons is that he still wants to bind Confucianism at the level of political system with Confucianism at the level of ideological cultivation. Not only did he never think of distinguishing these two different levels of Confucianism, but he even advocated transforming Confucianism into a religion and making Confucianism the state religion in the Constitution. Under the historical conditions at that time, these ideas were hardly accepted by people who were struggling to overthrow feudal autocracy.
/kloc-after the 1920s, due to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, the feudal autocratic political system existed in name only. Therefore, in addition to a few people in power who continue to try to link Confucianism with the social and political system, more people regard Confucianism as a traditional ideological and cultural heritage and do academic research. What these people care about is how to integrate Confucianism and western culture under the impact of western culture, how to inherit and carry forward the excellent tradition of Confucianism, and how to maintain the spirit of national autonomy. At this time, a group of scholars concerned about the fate and future of Confucianism appeared, such as Liang Shuming, Xiong Shili, Ma Yifu, Qian Mu, Feng Youlan and He Lin. They all interpreted and developed Confucianism on the premise of integrating Chinese and western cultures, and even established a new Confucian system. And their * * * same desire can also be said to include the modern interpretation of Confucianism, so as to carry forward the traditional national culture and make it play an active role in the ideological and moral cultivation of contemporary people and the establishment of national subject consciousness.
In an article entitled "New Development of Confucianism" in the1940s, He Lin put forward the slogans of "establishing new Confucianism" and "new development of Confucianism", and thought: "Just like the introduction of Indian culture, a new Confucianism movement was set off in history, the introduction of western culture will undoubtedly greatly promote the new development of Confucianism. The input of western culture has given Confucianism a test, a big test of life and death. If Confucianism can master, absorb, integrate and transform western culture to enrich itself and develop itself, Confucianism will survive, revive and have new development. " (See "Culture and Life") This means that traditional Confucianism can get new development as long as it is good at grasping, absorbing, integrating and transforming the essence of western culture. In fact, most of the neo-Confucianism systems developed in this period have this feature. For example, Feng Youlan's "Neo-Confucianism" system is the development of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties on the basis of absorbing and integrating modern neo-realism theories and logical methods. He Lin's "New Mind Theory" system is the development of Song Wang's mind theory on the basis of absorbing and integrating modern western new hegelianism. As for Xiong Shili, I think it is most appropriate to call his philosophical system the "New Yi-ology" system, from the classical Chinese version and the vernacular version of "The Theory of New Consciousness" to the original Confucianism and Gan Kunyan. In this system, he not only integrated the thoughts and methods of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and metaphysics in China's traditional culture, but also widely adopted Bona's modern western neo-Kantism and Bergson's theory, which made positive development for Confucianism with Yi as the core.
From the twenties to the late forties (even the early fifties), modern neo-Confucianism developed actively, with rich content and theoretical depth and value. Their achievements and existing problems deserve our careful study and summary. The theoretical depth and systematic influence of the development of modern Confucianism are worth studying.