Chinese Studies Life
Northern Song Dynasty Neo-Confucian Cheng Hao has a poem "Autumn Occasionally Comes": "I have nothing to do when I am free, and I sleep in the east window. Already red. All things are calm and contented, and the joy of the four seasons is the same as that of others. The way is visible to the world, and the wealth is not the same as the poor and the low." This poem expresses a man who has experienced the world. , the life realm of a wise and insightful philosopher who is "broad-minded, transcending the world, and integrating nature and man".
The theory of realm of life is an everlasting and ever-lasting humanistic topic in traditional Chinese culture. It is also a frequently discussed topic today. A poem from the Tang Dynasty goes, "Life is endless from generation to generation, but the river and the moon are only similar every year." Throughout the ages, as long as human beings still exist, the realm of life is an unavoidable problem. Isn't it? Faced with the shocking desolation of values ??and lack of humanities in China today, we still need to explore and respond to the theory of realm of life from time to time.
When talking about the realm of life, the word "realm" is also commonly used in our daily lives today. For example, when we criticize a person for his or her low moral level, we often say that his (her) realm is low; we say that this person's moral level is low. Noble, then praise him for his high level. The word "realm" spans all aspects of Chinese people's lives. Wang Guowei wrote a famous book "Human Words", in which the main category is "realm". In this book, Wang Guowei emphasized that the realm of life is the premise of the literary realm. Poems cannot be written well without the realm of life. From Wang Guowei's thoughts, we can clearly see that the core of Chinese culture is the issue of life, and the realm of life is the humanistic sentiment that traditional Chinese academics strive for. I think that the theory of life realm from the perspective of Chinese culture is the unity of ideal and reality, eternity and presentity, and generally has the following aspects:
The first aspect of the theory of life realm is The doctrine of personality. In traditional culture, the realm of life is directly related to the realm of personality. Westerners place greater emphasis on the performative nature of personality and believe that a person's inner thoughts and outer expressions can have two sides and do not necessarily have to be unified inside and outside. They attach more importance to people's privacy, probably because of this; while the Chinese have been since ancient times So far, personality phenomena are viewed more from a moral perspective. Although the term personality did not exist in ancient China, the concept of "character" related to it has been around for a long time. In the Confucian classic "Book of Rites·Zhenyi", there is a saying that "words have things and actions have characters. If you live, you cannot take them away." If you have ambitions, you can't take away your reputation even if you die." The "character" mentioned here refers to the unity of inner morality and outer behavior.
From Confucius to the Simeng school’s "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Great Learning", what is highly praised is inner sincerity and self-cultivation. To this day, what we Chinese hate most is the double-dealing in daily life. . The so-called personality refers more to the moral realm of unity of inside and outside. The level of this moral realm is based on the outlook on life. Most of the ancient Chinese ideological doctrines teach people how to behave, and of course they also involve issues of the realm of personality. The realm of personality respected in ancient China is a kind of moral spirit and strong willpower with self-recognition, which reaches a transcendent state of flowing side by side with heaven and earth and becoming one with the universe. "The Book of Changes" puts forward that "Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement" and "The terrain is smooth, and a gentleman carries things with kindness." These are the portrayal of this perseverance and profound personality realm, and they have still become our spiritual training to this day.
At the same time, the realm of life is also related to a person's basic morality. It is not mysterious. No matter how the times develop, these moral bottom lines will not change. During the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, a school building collapsed. A teacher leaned on the table and sacrificed his life to save four students under the table. At the same time, in another place, there was a teacher who abandoned his students and escaped first during the earthquake. Afterwards, he shamelessly promoted himself under the clamor of a group of "post-moderns". However, in contrast, the realm of life is very different. This is an indisputable fact.
The second aspect of the theory of life realm refers to the spiritual realm. Without the illumination of the spiritual fire, one cannot achieve the noble realm of personality.
According to the explanation of "The Dictionary of Buddhism" edited by Ding Fubao, "What the mind climbs and travels on is called the realm." This sentence means that the level that the mind climbs and travels to is called "the realm", that is, the realm. It refers to the state of spiritual cultivation achieved after liberation from worldly interests. Confucius said: "Those who know are not as good as those who are good, and those who are good are not as good as those who are happy." He believed that there are three realms of morality, the first is understanding and knowing, the second is liking, and the third is taking pleasure in it. This clearly refers to the sequential climbing and sublimation of three moral realms. Mencius once said when discussing the realm of personality: "What is desirable is called good, what is called self-belief is called faith, what is fulfilled is called beauty, what is fulfilled and glorious is called great, what is great and transformed is called holy, what is holy but unknowable is called God. "The basis for the division of this kind of personality realm is actually knowing the sky with all your heart, having the meaning of spiritual experience, and being close to religious belief.
"The meaning is profound" and contains rich life philosophy and wisdom. The "Summary of the General Catalog of Sikuquanshu" commented: "Therefore, the Book of Changes is a book that infers the way of heaven to clarify human affairs." Zhang Juzheng loved the "Book of Changes" so much that he "put a string in his seat and played with it often" and declared that " The miraculous use of the sage in the world is all contained in this book." The life wisdom of "The Book of Changes" is prominently displayed in the following aspects.
The way of life of "continuous self-improvement"
The observation and approach to the world and nature are the basis for the creation of Bagua and the book "Book of Changes". It shows people a magnificent picture of the movement of heaven: "Hardness and softness rub against each other, eight trigrams sway with each other, drum with thunder, moisten with wind and rain, the sun and moon move, one cold and one heat, the Qian Dao becomes a man, and the Kun Dao becomes a woman , Qian knows the beginning, and Kun creates things. ""As the sun goes by, the moon comes, and as the moon goes by, the sun comes, and the sun and the moon rise one after another. When the cold goes, the heat comes, and when the heat goes, the cold comes. The cold and the heat push each other and the years come. !" ("Book of Changes·Xici")
"The Book of Changes" emphasizes that people should "match their virtues with heaven and earth", and "the way of humanity" should be in line with the "way of heaven." This gave rise to an eternal famous saying: "As heaven moves forward, a gentleman will strive to constantly strive for self-improvement." "Continuous self-improvement", as the way of life advocated by "The Book of Changes", mainly includes two meanings. The first meaning is "strong". "Jiangjian" means strong and vigorous. It is highly praised by "Zhouyi" and appears frequently in the book, such as "vigorous and civilized", "vigorous but not trapped", "moving and vigorous, strong and responsive" and "vigorous and civilized". "Xun, strong and determined", "strong and solid, radiant with each passing day" and so on. It must be pointed out that the "strongness" advocated in the "Book of Changes" does not refer to the kind of unlimited strength. According to its idea of ??"extreme strength leads to the opposite", if it is too strong, it will easily break. Therefore, "strongness" should be moderate and just right, which is the "hardness in the middle" and "the strength in the middle" that it emphasizes.
The second meaning is to struggle endlessly. "Book of Changes" believes that all things in the world are constantly growing, and even dry poplars can "generate ladders" and "generate flowers" ("Yi Da Guo"). "Book of Changes" uses 64 hexagrams to symbolize all things, but the order of the 64 hexagrams is a bit puzzling: "Jiji" is ranked 63rd, and "Weiji" is listed at 64th, which is the last hexagram position. . Its mystery and profound meaning lie in revealing the truth: nature and society are an open system that is constantly developing and changing, and has no end, so people also need to keep making progress. "The Book of Changes" also believes that even in difficult situations, people must still make unremitting efforts. The hexagram image of "Trapped" is "Dui" on the top and "Kan" on the bottom. The ridge is water, and Dui is marsh. Water under the marsh means that there is no water in the marsh, so the creatures in the marsh are in a dangerous situation, so it is named. The hexagram says: "sleepy". "Yi·Chen·Xiang" says: "There is no water in the lake, and if you are trapped, a gentleman will kill himself to achieve his ambition." This requires people not to lose confidence in difficulties, but should strive hard, and even give up their lives in order to realize their ideals. This pursuit of "continuous self-improvement" is not only the great wisdom that guides life, but also the basic spirit of the Chinese nation.
The rules of dealing with "clear times" and "flexibility"
It is not easy to deal with people in this world, so "The Book of Changes" puts forward the "clear times" and "flexibility" in dealing with things. These two important rules.
” Therefore, the admonitions that “A strong dragon has regrets” brings to us are: first, when people occupy high positions, they are easily separated from the masses, and there is a situation of being “high but without people”, so we should avoid it; second, high positions are where power is concentrated. The center is often the focus of conflicts, and it is often "too cold to be in a high position", so we should be careful; thirdly, high positions are often accompanied by success, fame, and flowers, which can easily lead to pride and complacency and become a "regretful" person, so we should be careful.
"When walking on the frost, the ice is coming." When people walk on the frost, the cold winter is coming and the ice is coming. This sentence means nature on the surface, but it actually means life. It is very profound and vividly explains that good and bad fortunes in human affairs come from "gradualness". In this regard, "Yi Wenyan Kun" further explains: "A house that accumulates good deeds will have residual happiness, and a house that accumulates bad deeds will have residual disasters." "A minister kills his king, and a son kills his father, it does not happen overnight, it happens gradually", emphasizing the two concepts of "gradual" and "accumulation", and further puts forward the point of "knowing how much": "It knows almost ?The slightest movement can predict good or bad luck. A gentleman does something when he sees an opportunity, not waiting for the whole day. "This is a warning to us: "Don't do good deeds because they are small, and don't do evil because they are small." We need to be aware of the subtleties and guard against the subtle changes.
"Modest, prosperous, and a gentleman will eventually end." Here, " "Qian" means modesty, "Heng" means prosperity, and "end" means good results. It means that as long as you are modest, you can prosper and get good results. "The Book of Changes" explains "modesty" from the ways of heaven, earth, gods, and humanity respectively. " Principle: "The way of heaven is full of loss and modesty, the way of earth is full and full of flow, the ghosts and gods are full of harm and blessings are full, and the way of human beings is evil but full of humility. "("Yi·Qian·彖") Open the long scroll of history: Shang Tang, Zhou Wenwang, Tang Taizong and other famous monarchs were humble and prudent, courteous to virtuous officials, and either conquered the world or won the long-term peace and stability of the dynasty; while King Zhou of Shang and Emperor Yang of Sui Because of their arrogance and arrogance, they tyrannized their subjects, causing the destruction of a powerful dynasty. On the long road of life, how many people have achieved great success because of their modesty and prudence, and how many people have ruined their future because of their arrogance and complacency. "The Book of Changes" gives us an important warning. ''
What is the classic culture of Chinese studies?
Author: Jian Xiao
Chinese studies, also known as "Hanxue" or "Hanxue" "Chinese studies" generally refers to traditional Chinese culture and academic disciplines, which include historical, cultural and artistic characteristics, with historical, continuity, national and national characteristics.
It is said that Chinese studies include ancient Chinese philosophy, literature, history, medicine, mathematics, ethics, religion, etiquette, textual criticism, politics, economics, military science, as well as calligraphy and painting, music, drama, astrology, etc. ("Siku" "The Complete Book" contains the main content of Chinese studies, divided into four parts: Classics, History, Confucianism, and Collection). Chinese studies take pre-Qin scholars and Confucian philosophy as the mainstream, and they have a profound impact on the development and evolution of China's traditional culture. Among them, Legalism, Military Thought, Confucian Thought, Taoist Thought, Mohist Thought, and Miscellaneous Thought were formed. These thoughts discuss how to govern the country and society from different aspects, and how to establish people and people, people and society, and people. The harmonious relationship with nature gradually formed the traditional cultural concepts of the Chinese nation. This concept and thought not only profoundly affects the Chinese society, but also affects the current world.
The purpose of Chinese studies is to "for The heaven and the earth establish the mind, establish the destiny for the living people, carry forward the unique knowledge for the saints, and establish peace for all generations. ”
The contemporary value of Chinese studies is far-reaching. Studying and promoting Chinese studies is conducive to arousing the cultural consciousness, cultural self-confidence and cultural identity of the Chinese people, is conducive to national integration and cultural integration, and is conducive to enhancing national cohesion. , is conducive to improving the cultural literacy, moral quality and spiritual outlook of the people, and is conducive to the unity, development and prosperity of the Chinese nation.
Chinese ancient culture is a lucky gift left to us by our ancestors, and it is also the course of national culture. The precious fire left behind after the baptism of wind and rain. Even though mankind has entered the electronic age, science and technology are changing with each passing day, and new inventions are constantly emerging, traditional culture still plays an indelible role.
Among the four major ancient civilizations in the world, why is China the only one that is full of vitality and will never decline? When Western powers carved up the world, why did many countries disappear or be annexed, but China has survived through disasters? It is because the Chinese nation has a long and profound history. The traditional culture includes Confucianism, Taoism and the spirit of the dragon, the essence of which is: "continuous self-improvement" and "loyalty and virtue". This is the root of our invincibility.
Traditional Chinese studies have important reference significance for educating people, governing the country, and managing politics. Therefore, conducting Chinese studies education is the need of the country, the need of the nation, as well as the needs of individuals and society. As a Chinese, it is a pity not to know your own Chinese culture. Therefore, through everyone’s efforts, our Chinese studies can be further developed.