He also believes that because reason is the origin of all things in the universe, there must be a reason why everything is "why", and the purpose of understanding truth can be achieved by studying the truth of things.
Neo-Confucianism, also known as Yi Li or Daoism in ancient China, was founded by Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong and Zhang Zai in the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi continued to develop, and finally the Southern Song Dynasty saw Zhu Ji's success. Therefore, this kind of Neo-Confucianism is usually called "Zhu Cheng Neo-Confucianism", which is the official thought of the Yuan Dynasty and subsequent dynasties. Scholars who study Neo-Confucianism are called "Neo-Confucianism".
Neo-Confucianism began in the Northern Song Dynasty, flourished in the Southern Song Dynasty, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and gradually declined after the middle of Qing Dynasty. It is a new Confucianism developed after the Song Dynasty. In addition to the expansion of traditional Confucianism and the social situation, it also integrates a lot of Buddhism and old ideas. Since the Song and Ming Dynasties, the famous Neo-Confucianism masters are: Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, Er Cheng (Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi), Luo Congyan, Zhu, Lu Jiuyuan, Emperor Wen of Sui, Zhen, Wei Liaoweng, Xu Heng, Wu Cheng, Cao Duan, Xue Jue, Wu Yubi, Qiu Jun,.
Metaphysics prevailed in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism and Taoism prevailed in Tang Dynasty, and Confucianism was no longer exclusive to one family. However, Zhu completed the transformation of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty. Zhu's profundity lies in putting Confucius and Mencius in an authentic position, sorting out Dong Zhongshu's yin and yang elements, Zhang Zai's, Zhou Dunyi's and Cheng Cheng's viewpoints, as well as the highly unified philosophical thought of Buddhism and the speculative spirit of Taoist inaction, and carefully constructing a profound new Confucian system. The shortcomings of Confucianism in world outlook and methodology have been overcome. This makes the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism never waver again. In the 700 years after the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism has always been regarded as orthodox and very suitable for the patriarchal clan system.
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Zhu pushed Confucianism to a new height, making it a milestone in the development history of Confucianism. When it comes to Neo-Confucianism, people will immediately think of the slogan of "keeping integrity and destroying human desires". Before the development of Neo-Confucianism, "benevolence" was the central idea of Confucianism. Although it is a kind of hierarchical love, benevolence is based on human nature. Although traditional Confucianism also advocates filial piety and chastity, abstinence is not strong. After the development of Confucianism to Neo-Confucianism, it has a strong color of asceticism. Cheng said: "Generally speaking, when a person has a body, he has selfishness, and it is difficult to be one with the Tao." He also said: "It is natural that no one wants it." Taking diet as an example, Zhu explained: "Dieters naturally demand delicious food, and so do people." (Zhuzi school. Volume 13), after the Song Dynasty, there are few "and sing wild poems in Wuliu?" Poets like Li Bai in China.
Cheng Yi is serious and upright, sacred and inviolable, and even unreasonable, which is actually the "Taoist face" seen by later generations. In terms of female chastity, Cheng Yi thinks: "... whoever matches it, if you match someone who has lost his virginity, he will lose his virginity." Someone asked Mr Cheng Yi, "A widow is poor and helpless. Can she remarry? " Cheng Yi put forward that "absolutely not. Some people are afraid of freezing to death and starving to death. They just use hunger and cold as an excuse. You know, starving to death is a trivial matter, but dishonour is a major event." (Volume 22 of Cheng's suicide note) Take this as a standard to measure a virtuous lady. Their good scholar Zhu (1130-1200) also agrees with this statement in "A Book with Teacher Chen": "Yesterday, Mr. Yichuan tried to discuss this matter, thinking that starvation is a trivial matter and dishonor is a major one. From the secular point of view, sincerity is pedantic; However, it is not easy to know a gentleman's view of self-knowledge and reason. Advocate women's "single-mindedness" and suppress "human desire"
Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism opposes the nihilism of Buddhism and Taoism, thinking that it ignores the ethical and moral order, but at the same time, it draws lessons from many expositions of Taoism in Taoist thought as the material of Confucian metaphysical philosophy system. In fact, this is the concrete expression of the Confucian classic "University", which says that "the good knows its evil and the evil knows its beauty".
Zhu's ideological system is broad and profound, and his teaching methods are relatively approachable, so he can gather the achievements of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty. Zhu is another Confucian master after Confucius. Many of his works have been carefully studied. He and his co-editor Jin, as a ladder to understand the four books (referring to Zhou, Er Cheng and Zhang), think that the four books are the ladder to the Five Classics, and Jin is a must-read for later Confucian scholars.
After Zhu, scholars in the Ming Dynasty pushed Confucianism to the other extreme-the study of mind.
After the Qing Dynasty, the trend of "anti-Neo-Confucianism" was once formed. Since then, Yan Yuan strongly opposed the silence and virtual learning, denouncing Zhu's "full of nonsense" and "self-deception" and "Zhu Cheng's way is immortal, and Confucius' way is immortal". He deeply felt that "it was the failure of talents and what happened in the world that made Song learn". He said: "It is shameful for Zhu to lead the world into old paper and exhaust his physical and mental strength to be a weak and useless person!" After the May 4th Movement, intellectuals tried their best to break the situation of "cannibalism" and even agreed with Neo-Confucianism. The decline of China began in the Song Dynasty, in which Zhu's Neo-Confucianism was the chief culprit.
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Neo-Confucianism of Cheng and Zhu is the general name of Zhu thought in Northern Song Dynasty, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi and Southern Song Dynasty.
Er Cheng was Zhou Dunyi, the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty, and his works were co-edited by later generations as "Henan Shicheng's suicide note". They regard "rationality" or "justice" as the highest category of philosophy, and think that rationality is ubiquitous and immortal. It is not only the origin of the world, but also the highest criterion of social life. In the poor management method, Cheng Hao emphasized "quietness" and "sincere heart"; Cheng Yi "respects the Lord" and emphasizes "learning from others". On the theory of human nature, Cheng advocated "eliminating human desires and preserving justice", and made a thorough explanation of this view to make it more systematic. The emergence of the theory of "two processes" marks the formal formation of the ideological system of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty.
Zhu in the Southern Song Dynasty inherited and developed Cheng Cheng's thought and established a complete and exquisite ideological system of objective idealism.
He believes that Tai Chi is the foundation and noumenon of the universe, and Tai Chi itself contains the principle of harmony, and the principle of harmony comes first. The principle of Taiji is the synthesis of all the principles, which is perfect and beautiful, transcending time and space, and is the moral standard of "all goodness". On the theory of human nature, Zhu believes that people have the nature of "destiny" and "temperament". The former comes from Tai Chi theory, which is absolutely good. The latter can be divided into clear and turbid, good and evil. People should change their temperament through "respect" and "poverty". Zhu also pushed this principle into the history of human society, and thought that "the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members" were the "popularization" of this principle, and people should "get rid of human desires and preserve justice" and consciously abide by the feudal moral norms of the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members. The appearance of Zhu's theory marks the development of Neo-Confucianism to a mature stage.
During the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, most rulers of past dynasties supported Cheng Zhu's Neo-Confucianism as the official ruling thought, and therefore Cheng Zhu's Neo-Confucianism became the standard of right and wrong in people's daily words and deeds and the main content of understanding and practice. In the historical process of more than 600 years after the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism has played an active role in promoting people's theoretical thinking, educating people to understand books, cultivating people's sentiments, maintaining social stability and promoting historical progress. At the same time, it also had a huge negative impact on the historical and cultural development in the late feudal society of China. Many people regard Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism as a stepping stone to fame and fortune. They persist in preaching word by word, which makes the development of Neo-Confucianism more and more divorced from reality, becoming an empty talk that will not help the world, a dogma that binds people's hands and feet, and a tool of "killing people by reason", thus reflecting the limitations of its class and times.