Introduction to Confucius

Confucius (September 28, 551 BC - April 11, 479 BC), whose surname was Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi, Lu State, in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and was of Han nationality. English: Confucius, Kung Tze. Confucius was a great educator and thinker in ancient my country, the founder of Confucianism, and a world cultural celebrity. According to "Historical Records - Confucius' Family", Confucius's ancestors were originally aristocrats of the Song Dynasty (today's Shangqiu area in Henan Province). His sixth generation ancestor Kong Fujia was killed during the civil strife in the Song Dynasty. His great-grandfather Kong Fangshu wanted to evade pursuit. , fled from the State of Song (now Xiayi County, Shangqiu, Henan) to the State of Lu. Confucius was born in Changping Township, Zouyi, Lu State (now Luyuan Village, southeast of Qufu City, Shandong Province) on September 28, 551 BC (the twenty-seventh day of the eighth lunar month); on April 11, 479 BC (the lunar calendar) On February 11th), Confucius died at the age of 72 and was buried on the Surabaya River in the north of Qufu City, where Confucius is today. Confucius' words and deeds are mainly contained in the collection of quotation-style prose "The Analects" and "The Four Books".

Confucius built his body based on five elements and two rituals formed his nature. For the rest of the saints, those who have a lot of gold energy are strong and decisive, those who have a lot of wood energy are simple and upright, those who have a lot of fire energy are vigorous and vigorous, those who have a lot of water energy are clear and harmonious, and those who have a lot of earth energy are calm and vigorous. , those with more yang energy will be bright and bright, while those with more yin energy will be silent and subtle. Since his temperament is limited, no matter how good he is, he will still be a partial saint. These seven sons have many things that are not consistent with each other, and many words that are not consistent with each other. What they have in common is a big foundation and a big problem.

Kong Yan lived in poverty, why not harm the world because of his benevolence? I have the means to conquer the world with benevolence, and my heart of benevolence to conquer the world has never been forgotten...

According to legend, Confucius was called the Confucian Boy Bodhisattva. Or he said: "My master is the ancestor of all generations of gentlemen, and he is a child. A child is a child. A child is a child. He is a child, my teacher. How can it be strange that a Confucian is a Buddhist? And the monk is called a bhikkhu. "Qiu, the master is taboo. The monk is a disciple of the Buddha. How can he be a disciple of the Confucian scholar?" Children are also called pure and without falsehood. Manjushri is one of the seven Buddhist masters, and he is called Manjushri, a boy who benefits. Shancai attains supreme enlightenment in his life, and is called a boy with good wealth. Even the forty-two sages, who have "the abode of childlike innocence", all admire the extreme virtues and are not just children. That means. Therefore, it is said that a great person does not lose his innocent heart. Ruofu Bhikkhu is Sanskrit. Sanskrit bhikkhu, this is a beggar, it is also said to destroy evil, it is also said to fear demons. Bi is not a combination, hill is not a hill, it is just the pronunciation and not the word. For example, the Sanskrit word "Nawu" refers to the meaning of "Nanwu". "Nanwu" takes the "south" of "north" and "south". Alas! When the Master is born in the country of Zhu, he will promote Buddhism to save all living beings; when Sakyamuni appears in the country of Lu, he will expound Confucianism and Taoism to teach all generations. The same is true for changing places. The actions of the great sage are completely unknown to all emotions. Those who are Confucian cannot destroy Buddhism, but those who are Buddhist can only destroy Confucianism?

When Confucius was young, he served as a high-ranking official in the state of Lu, and he governed the country very well. Corrupt officials fled to other countries one after another, and the leaders of other countries also became very respectful of the state of Lu.

But he spent most of his life engaged in education. It is said that he had as many as 3,000 disciples, including 72 sages, and taught many knowledgeable and talented students. "Peach plums all over the world" came from here. Confucius served as the military commander of the State of Lu, and later traveled around the country with his disciples. Finally, he returned to the State of Lu and concentrated on teaching. In the five thousand years of Chinese history, the person who had the greatest influence on the character and temperament of the Chinese nation was Confucius. When he was alive, he was known as the "Holy Saint", "Muduo of Heaven" and "Eternal Saint". He was one of the most erudite scholars in the society at that time, and was revered as the Holy Saint (the Saint among Saints) and the Eternal Saint by later generations. Teacher's example. He was named Qiu because his parents once prayed at Niqiu Mountain for the birth of a son. He once edited "Poems" and "Books", settled "Rites" and "Music", prefaced "Book of Changes", and wrote "Spring and Autumn" (some say it is "Spring and Autumn"). Written by Anonymous, revised by Confucius).

Confucius’ thoughts and theories had a profound impact on later generations. Jiang Guanghui believes that “faced with the reality of the Spring and Autumn Period when the princes were constantly fighting and the people were in dire straits, Confucius did not create an external, transcendent, omniscient and omnipotent savior like religious scientists—regulating people’s thoughts and behaviors through revelations and oracles. Instead, we look back at history and look for wisdom from the ancient "sage kings". Confucius said that he "states without writing". In fact, he uses "narrating" as "writing" and achieves the superposition and integration of values ??through contemporary interpretations of historical traditions. Transformation. He is upright, optimistic, and enterprising. He pursues truth, goodness, and beauty throughout his life, and pursues an ideal society throughout his life. His success and failure are all related to the strengths and weaknesses of his character. It has influenced Chinese people for thousands of years, especially Chinese intellectuals.

Edit this section of political career

Confucius wanted to pursue an official career since he was in his 20s. He paid great attention to world affairs, often thought about various issues of governing the country, and often expressed his opinions. By the age of 30, he had become somewhat famous. In the 20th year of Lu Zhaogong, Qi Jinggong summoned Confucius and talked with him when he visited Lu. Discussing the issue of Duke Mu of Qin's dominance, Confucius got acquainted with Duke Jin of Qi. In the 25th year of Duke Zhao of Lu, civil strife broke out in Lu. Duke Zhao of Lu was forced to flee to Qi. Confucius also left Lu and went to Qi, where he was appreciated and treated favorably by Duke Jin of Qi. He even planned to grant Confucius the fields in the Nixi area, but was stopped by the official Yan Ying. In the 27th year of Lu Zhaogong, the officials of Qi wanted to harm Confucius. After Confucius heard about it, he asked Qi Jinggong for help. Qi Jinggong said: "I am old. It can be used. "Confucius had no choice but to flee back to Lu in a hurry.

In the State of Lu at that time, the political power was actually in the hands of the officials' retainers, who were called "accompanying ministers in charge of state affairs." Therefore, although Confucius had two opportunities to enter politics, he gave up until the 9th year of Lu Dinggong was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Central Capital. , Confucius was 51 years old at this time. Confucius governed Zhongdu for one year and made outstanding achievements. He was promoted to the rank of Little Sikong, and soon he was promoted to the rank of Great Sikou, taking charge of the affairs of the Prime Minister. The Lu State was in great rule. In the 12th year of Duke Dinggong of Lu, Confucius tried to weaken the three Huan clans (the Jisun family, the Shusun family, and the Mengsun family). They were called Sanhuan because they were the three grandsons of Duke Huan of Lu. The political power of the Lu state at that time was actually in their hands. , and some retainers of Sanhuan controlled Sanhuan to varying degrees) and took measures to destroy the three capitals (that is, demolishing the castles built by Sanhuan). Later, the action of falling into Sandu was abandoned halfway, and the conflict between Confucius and Sanhuan was also exposed. In the 13th year of Duke Dinggong of Lu, the State of Qi sent 80 beauties to the State of Lu. The Ji Huan family accepted the female musicians. The monarchs and ministers were obsessed with singing and dancing and ignored government affairs for many days. Confucius was very disappointed. Soon the State of Lu held a suburban sacrifice. After the sacrifice, they were sent as usual. The meat sacrifices were not given to Confucius when they were given to the officials, which showed that the Ji family did not want to use him anymore. Confucius left the state of Lu as a last resort, went to foreign countries to find a way out, and began a journey around the countries. In this year, Confucius 55 years old.

Confucius brought his disciple Confucius tomb to Wei State first. Wei Linggong began to respect Confucius very much and gave Confucius a salary of 60,000 yuan according to the salary standard of Lu State, but did not give him any official position or let him Participate in political affairs. Confucius lived in the state of Wei for about 10 months. Because someone slandered him in front of Duke Ling of Wei, Duke Ling of Wei became suspicious of Confucius and sent people to openly monitor Confucius' actions. So Confucius took his disciples to leave the state of Wei and planned to go to the state of Chen. . When passing by Kuangcheng, he was besieged for 5 days due to a misunderstanding. He fled Kuangcheng and arrived at Pudi, where he encountered a rebellion by the aristocrat Gongshu of the Wei Kingdom and was besieged again. After escaping, Confucius returned to the state of Wei. Duke Linggong of Wei was very happy to hear that Confucius' master and apprentice had returned from Pudi, and went out of the city to greet him personally. After that, Confucius left Weiguo several times and returned to Weiguo several times. On the one hand, this was because Wei Linggong was good and bad to Confucius. On the other hand, Confucius had no place to go after leaving Weiguo, so he had to return.

In the 2nd year of Duke Ai of Lu (Confucius was 59 years old), Confucius left Wei and traveled through Cao, Song and Zheng to Chen. He lived in Chen for three years. Wu attacked Chen and the war was in chaos, so Confucius left with his disciples. , the people of Chu heard that Confucius had arrived at the junction of Chen and Cai, and sent people to meet Confucius. The officials of Chen and Cai knew that Confucius had objections to what they were doing, and were afraid that Confucius would be re-employed in Chu, which would be detrimental to them, so they sent laborers to besiege Confucius' master and disciples in the middle of the road, without any access to the village. After leaving the store, he ate all the food he had brought and was without food for 7 days. Finally, Zigong found the Chu people. Chu sent troops to meet Confucius, and Confucius' master and disciples were saved from death. When Confucius was 64 years old, he returned to the Kingdom of Wei. When he was 68 years old, with the efforts of his disciple Ran Qiu, he was welcomed back to the Kingdom of Lu, but he was still respected and not used. In the 16th year of Duke Ai of Lu, Confucius was 73 years old. He fell ill and died without recovery.

Edit this paragraph Confucius’ character

He forgets to eat when he is angry, and forgets his worries when he is happy

When he was 62 years old, Confucius once described himself like this: “When he is angry, he forgets to eat, and when he is happy he forgets his worries. "I forget my worries, and I don't know that old age is coming." At that time, Confucius had led his disciples to travel around the country for 9 years. After going through many hardships, not only was he not appointed by the princes, but he also almost died. However, Confucius was not discouraged and remained optimistic and persisted in himself. The ideal, even knowing that it is impossible to achieve. Confucius said: "Being rich and noble without justice is like floating clouds to me." In Confucius' mind, doing justice is the highest value of life. When there is a conflict between wealth and poverty and morality, he would rather suffer poverty than give up morality. However, his belief in living in poverty and enjoying the Tao cannot be seen as not seeking wealth, but only seeking to maintain the Tao. This is not in line with historical facts. Confucius once said: "Wealth and honor are what people want; if they don't follow the right way, they won't get it. Poverty and lowliness are what people hate; if they don't follow the right way, they won't get it." " If you are rich and can be asked for, even if you are a man with a whip, I will do it. If you can't ask for it, just follow what I like."

I am never tired of learning and teaching people

Confucius is famous for his love of learning. , showed a strong interest in all kinds of knowledge, so he was versatile and knowledgeable. He was famous at that time and was almost regarded as an omniscient sage. However, Confucius himself did not think so. Confucius said: "The sage is my No, I am never tired of learning, and I am never tired of teaching." Confucius studied impermanence. He would worship anyone who had knowledge and something he didn't know as his teacher. Therefore, he said, "If three people are walking together, they must be my teacher." . Walking the Straight Path Confucius was an upright man by nature and advocated walking the straight path. He once said: "As for me, who will discredit and who will praise me? Those who are praised will have to be tested. As for the people, the reason why the three generations have been straight and straight "Historical Records" records that when Confucius was in his thirties, he asked Laozi for courtesy. When he was leaving, Laozi said: "Those who are wise and thoughtful and close to the dead are those who are good at discussing others and endangering themselves." People are evil. He who is the son of others should not be self-reliant, and he who is the subject of others should not be self-respected." This was Laozi's kind reminder to Confucius. He also pointed out some of Confucius's shortcomings, which were that he looked at problems too deeply and spoke too sharply, which hurt him. Some people with status will bring great danger to themselves. Be kind to others Confucius founded a moral theory centered on benevolence. He himself was also a very kind person, compassionate, helpful, sincere and generous to others. "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", "The beauty of a gentleman is the evil of being a gentleman", "Be kind to yourself and blame others less", etc. are all his principles of life.

Edit this paragraph Confucius’ Thoughts

The essence of Confucius’ thoughts and doctrines can be found in the book "The Analects", which contains 20 chapters and more than 11,000 chapters. Character. The Analects of Confucius contains quotations from Confucius, and some are records of the words and deeds of Confucius's disciples. They are the recollections of Confucius' words and deeds by Confucius's disciples and his subsequent disciples. This book had a profound and huge impact on Chinese history. Its ideological content, way of thinking, and value orientation have long been integrated into the blood of our nation, precipitated in our lives, and formed the personality of our nation. The book "The Analects of Confucius" focuses on the core connotation of Confucianism - benevolence. "Benevolence" is the center of all theories, and all norms about "benevolence" and "happiness" are nothing more than means, serving the ultimate perfection of the morality of "benevolence". As a representative of Chinese culture, "The Analects of Confucius" was introduced to North Korea and Japan as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties. Japan's "Dabao Order" also designated it as a compulsory course for Japanese students. After the missionary Matteo Ricci translated it into Latin in 1594, it was translated into Italian, French, German, English, Russian and other languages, and was widely spread in Western countries.

Confucius’s thought centered on “benevolence” and believed that “benevolence” means “loving others”. He put forward arguments such as "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" and "", advocated the principle of "loyalty and forgiveness", and believed that the implementation of "benevolent government" should be based on "propriety": "Restraining oneself and restoring propriety is benevolence." Regarding the religious superstition of ghosts and gods since the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, they adopt a skeptical attitude, thinking that "if you don't know life, how can you know about ghosts" and "if you don't know fate, you can't be a gentleman". He also pays attention to the combination of "learning" and "thinking", and puts forward the views of "learning without thinking is a waste, thinking without learning is peril" and "reviewing the past to learn the new" and other views. He pioneered the private teaching style, advocating teaching in accordance with aptitude, "teaching without distinction", "never tired of learning, never tired of teaching", emphasizing that "a gentleman will love others when he learns the Tao, and a villain will learn the Tao easily". In politics, he put forward the idea of ??"rectification of names", believing that "lords, ministers, fathers, sons and sons" should all live up to their "names", and proposed that "not worry about fewness but about inequality, not worry about poverty but worry about insecurity" point of view. Since the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism has become the cultural orthodoxy of feudal society for more than two thousand years and has had a profound influence.

When it comes to governing the country, Confucius paid great attention to the suffering of the people, called for benevolent government, and hoped that rulers would treat the people with benevolence and righteousness. He said that "tyranny is fiercer than a tiger." He also emphasized that no matter what laws and regulations, rulers must We must first set an example, "If your body is upright, you can do it without being told; if your body is not upright, you can't do it even if you are told." In interpersonal communication, Confucius emphasized loyalty and forgiveness.

"Loyalty" means treating people with loyalty and honesty, and treating things with due diligence; "forgiveness" means treating oneself with respect to others, "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you, don't do to others." "The beauty of a gentleman is not to do to others. The evil of adulthood.” In dealing with the world, Confucius advocated self-love and love for others. Confucius was cautious about destiny, and he believed more in man's own power. He believes that "sexuality is similar, but habits are far apart", and everything depends on the individual's acquired efforts. Of course, there are also some thoughts in "The Analects" that deviate from the historical trend, such as his political retro tendency, his overemphasis on hierarchy and order, his introverted personality value orientation, etc., all of which are undeniable. The development of Chinese society has brought negative impacts, and we need to correct them with modern consciousness. But the flaws do not hide the flaws. In the pre-Qin era when human civilization had just begun to dawn, our ancestors had such profound wisdom about life, which is enough to make us descendants proud of it.

The new development of Confucian thought in modern times refers to the New Confucianism that emerged under the conditions of the collision and blending of Chinese and Western civilizations after the introduction of modern Western civilization into China. The emerging "popular Confucianism" is another result of the development of contemporary New Confucianism.

The Four Books

Attached:

"Knowledge" - the essence of Confucius' thought

Confucius was not only a great thinker; An educator, he has summarized many meaningful and inspiring educational ideas and methods of acquiring knowledge from his long-term educational practice. In an era of great social change such as the late Spring and Autumn Period, the conservative slave-owning aristocracy was unable to cope with the changes in real life. It was also impossible for the slave-owning aristocracy itself to cultivate talents that could adapt to the requirements of social development. But from the perspective of the development of the entire society, a group of talented people are needed to solve the various complex problems that occur in real society. Confucius adapted to the needs of the society at that time, gave people knowledge through education, and became the earliest educator in the history of our country.

Confucius proposed that "there is no distinction without education." Although there are various interpretations of this sentence, it does include the need to expand the scope of education so that educated people are not limited to slave owners and nobles. There should be no doubt that of. Confucius himself practiced his idea of ??"education without distinction", so he said: "As long as you give me ten pieces of dried meat as tuition, I will never fail to teach." ("The Analects of Confucius·Shuer") This approach of his , played a big role in the talent problem that urgently needed to be solved at that time. Of course, Confucius' "education without distinction" is not for all classes, nor is it for cultivating talents to serve the whole people, but to cultivate more talented people who can adapt to the requirements of social development and serve the ruling class. . Even so, Confucius' educational activities ended the "official learning" monopolized by the aristocrats in the past, and began the private teaching of knowledge. The so-called "academic common people" originated from Confucius. From this point of view, it was beneficial to the development of society at that time.

Not only that, through his long-term educational practice, Confucius summed up a lot of experience that is consistent with people's cognitive laws. However, Confucius's thoughts in this regard are not a matter of epistemology itself, but mainly about education. Summary and summary of methods and methods of seeking knowledge.

First of all, Confucius emphasized that people’s knowledge comes from learning. Although he also talked about "general knowledge" and "only superior wisdom and inferior foolishness remain unchanged", it shows that Confucius is still bound by traditional thinking. But we can see from his specific educational activities that he does not attach great importance to this. What he said is that "sexuality is similar, habits are far apart" is his own opinion, which is obviously inconsistent with the view of "generating knowledge". Confucius never considered himself to be "supremely wise", nor did he say which person was "supremely wise". He even believed that Yao and Shun also made mistakes. Regarding himself, he said: "I am not a person who is born with knowledge. I love the ancients and am keen to pursue them." ("The Analects of Confucius·Shuer") He is very studious. His own comment to himself is: "One of the ten most talented people in the world." In the city, there must be someone as loyal as Qiu, who is not as eager to learn as Qiu Zhi." ("The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang") He praised the studious student Yan Hui and said: "There was Yan Hui who was eager to learn, but unfortunately he died short-lived. This is also the case today." "("The Analects of Confucius") Zi Gong asked: "What does Confucius call Wen?" Confucius replied: "He is quick and eager to learn, and he is not ashamed to ask questions. This is why he is called Wen." 》) It can be seen that Confucius paid great attention to learning and believed that human knowledge comes from learning, and human moral character can also be obtained through learning. Therefore, what he said about "generating knowledge" has almost become an empty talk, and he did not pay attention to it in fact.

The knowledge Confucius advocated learning generally has two aspects: First, knowledge gained from studying ancient documents and regulations and systems, which can be said to be historical knowledge. The Analects records that Confucius learned from the past There are many ways to gain knowledge from historical documents and regulations. He himself said that he "states without writing, and believes in the past." In the "The Analects of Confucius Xiangdang", except for a few sections, most of them talk about ancient systems, and Confucius studied these things. Judging from the content of Confucius's teachings, most of them are ancient documents, regulations and systems, etc. "Confucius used four kinds of content to educate students: documents from past dynasties, rules of life and behavior, loyalty to friends, and faithfulness to friends." ("The Analects of Confucius") ·Shuer") The "documents of the past dynasties" mentioned here are "Poetry", "Book", "Ritual", "Music" and so on. The second is knowledge gained from real life, which can be said to be practical knowledge. But Confucius mainly paid attention to observation and not much to practice. In particular, he despised production practice. In the Analects of Confucius, there are many places where Confucius advocated paying attention to learning in life. For example, he said: "If you hear more, choose the good ones and follow them; if you see more, you will know them." , choose the good ones and follow them, and change the bad ones" ("The Analects of Confucius·Shu Er"), "Don't be ashamed to ask" and so on. But it was very wrong for Confucius to despise production practice. Once his student Fan Chi asked him for advice on growing crops and vegetables. Not only did he say that he was inferior to old farmers and vegetable growers, he also scolded Fan Chi and said: "Fan Chi is really a bastard." You villain! If a ruler values ??propriety, the people will not dare to be disrespectful; if a ruler values ??righteousness, the people will not dare to disobey; if a ruler values ??trustworthiness, the people will not dare to conceal the true feelings. , people from all over will come to seek refuge with their children on their backs, so there is no need to grow crops by yourself!" ("The Analects of Confucius·Zilu") Confucius said such words to show that he was a thinker of the exploiting class, and the exploiting class has always been himself. Do not work and despise work.

Secondly, Confucius summarized certain laws of learning and derived some general laws for understanding things, and used this as his method to guide students to learn.

He proposed that repeated learning can make people understand more deeply and acquire new knowledge. He said: "Review the past and learn the new" ("The Analects of Confucius: Weizheng"), "Learn and practice from time to time" "("The Analects of Confucius·Xueer") etc., this is what it means. Although Confucius did not explicitly talk about the laws of development of things that can be obtained by analyzing past experience, he already knew that experience can be learned from past knowledge, which is helpful for understanding current things. Confucius often asked others for advice, learned knowledge from others, and then used it to teach others. He said: "Do I have a lot of knowledge? No. An ordinary person asked me, and I didn't know anything about his question. But after I questioned him on both sides of the question, I got a lot of inspiration, and then I told him as much as I could." ("The Analects of Confucius·Zihan")

According to "The Analects of Confucius", the state of Lu was in the country at that time. It prospered under Confucius' administration. But this is unlikely because Confucius did not hold any important position in Lu or other countries. Legend has it that Qi, the neighboring country of Lu, was worried that Lu would be too powerful and would threaten Qi, so in order to undermine Lu's reforms, it sent hundreds of fine horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the princes of Lu. The princes of Lu State indulged in comfort and enjoyment and turned a blind eye to government affairs. They even did not go to court for three days in a row. Confucius was extremely dissatisfied and embarked on a long journey (traveling around various countries), visiting some small countries in north-central China, including Wei, Song, Chen, and Cai. He preached his political beliefs, but no country implemented them. At the age of 53, Confucius was promoted to the rank of Grand Sikou. After serving in the state of Lu for two years, Confucius resigned from the post because he was extremely dissatisfied with the politics of the princes. Confucius returned to his hometown to teach at the age of 68 and accepted many disciples. In his later years, he and his disciples compiled the Five Classics, the crystallization of the wisdom inherited from the sages.

Unable to bear the dual grief of losing his son and his own hard work, Confucius passed away at the age of 72 (or 73).