Chapter 13

Zigong said: "The Master's articles can be obtained and heard; the Master's words about nature and the way of heaven cannot be obtained and heard."

Zigong: One of Confucius' closest disciples, his surname was Duanmu Mingci (520 BC - 456 BC), the originator of Confucian businessmen, and a native of Wei Guoli (now Jun County, Hebi City, Henan Province) in the late Spring and Autumn Period. The grandson of Zang Boyu, the Xian doctor of Wei State, he is an outstanding representative of Confucianism and one of the ten philosophers of Confucius. He is good at eloquence, has the ability to help the world, and is savvy in handling affairs. He once served as the prime minister of Lu and Wei. Zigong was also good at business and was the richest among Confucius' disciples.

"Duanmu Legacy" refers to the honest business culture left by Zigong, which has become the god of wealth believed by the people. Zigong was good at cultivating goods and had the style of "a gentleman loves money and gets it in a wise way", which was highly praised by the business community in later generations.

Zhang: People like to call Zhang "Li Zao" Zhang, but in fact it should be called "Yin Shi" Zhang, Zhang Congyin Cong Shi. According to "Shuowen": Zhang Youyin consists of ten meanings. "Yin" refers to "music" and "music"; "ten" does not refer to a number, but means "end", that is, the end.

Xu Shen’s explanation of “ten” is obviously influenced by Laozi’s theory of “starting from one and ending with ten”. “One” is the beginning of all things, and “ten” is the end of all things. The combination of "yin" and "十" means that the music is played once and is called a chapter.

Some people also think that "Zhang" is the original character of "Zhang", and its original meaning refers to patterns and literary talent. From the pattern, it was extended to a seal engraved with seals, and then to a logo.

The pattern is bright and prominent, which is extended to mean obvious and conspicuous, such as "it is obvious to cover up". Then it is extended from significant to praise. After the above two meanings, it is written as "张". Chapter is also a chapter of music, and by extension refers to a paragraph of poetry.

Regulations are written provisions divided into chapters, so "chapter" is also extended to rules and regulations, such as "articles of association". Movements are regular, so "Zhang" is extended to mean order and order.

Sex: refers to human nature. Confucius also mentioned that "people are similar in nature, but habits are far apart." The "nature" here refers to the innate matrix and conditions of people. "Similar in nature" means that everyone has similar natural endowments when they are born. But after learning, the gap becomes wider. The importance of learning is emphasized here. It is not synonymous with "sex" in this article.

Tiandao: The laws of change of the sun, moon, stars and climate. The ancients called the laws of movement of the sun, moon and stars "stars", and the laws of weather changes called "meteorology". The laws of heaven are "stars" and "meteorology" changing patterns.

For example, the "Emperor Star" representing the emperor is relatively dim, which means that the power of the emperor in the world is about to fall and his status is declining.

? "The Doctrine of the Mean" says: "All things grow together without harming each other, and the Tao runs parallel without conflict." The Tao refers to the "Way of Heaven." The way of heaven operates according to certain laws, so the way of heaven also refers to the "law" of all things.

? The way of heaven reflects the way of the world. If the way of the world does not run according to the laws of heaven, it is called "no way". "The way of heaven rewards those who work hard" means that the normal way of the world will give more rewards to those who work hard.

The ancients believed that changes in the way of heaven heralded changes in world affairs, which was a typical idealist epistemology, so astrologers who specialized in observing the sky emerged.

Many people understand the way of heaven as destiny, which is wrong. Confucius mentioned destiny many times. He even believed that "if you don't know destiny, you can't be a gentleman." Destiny is objective and materialistic, and it is given by God. Our "mission".

The full text is understood as: Zigong said: "We can hear the teacher's narration about "Poetry", "Book", "Ritual", "Music" and other documents; we can hear the teacher's remarks about human nature and the way of heaven. I've never heard of it."

Confucius's thought is a practical objective materialist thought. He does not want to discuss the good and evil of "human nature" because the issue of human nature is a very complicated issue. It's hard to explain clearly.

As for the "Way of Heaven", it is a typical idealist thought. It has always been firmly believed by many people. Before holding sacrifices or conquests, you must first "observe the sky" and see the will of God before making a decision. .

For example, the "King Wu Zheng Shang" gui unearthed in Lintong, Shaanxi Province in 1976 has records about "observing the sky" to predict bad luck. The ruling class also likes to use "the way of heaven" to confuse people's hearts and prove the legitimacy of their position.

But many people expressed disbelief. For example, Xunzi during the Warring States Period and Wang Chong during the Eastern Han Dynasty raised doubts. Confucius also expressed doubts, so he did not want to discuss this topic. "Zuo Zhuan" says: "The way of heaven is far away, but the way of humanity is so close and beyond our reach. How can we know it?" The way of heaven is a distant and misty thing, so how can we understand it?

Humanity is the most real thing, so it is better for us to be more humane when dealing with others.

Confucius focused on cultivating students' realistic spirit, and adopted an attitude of not describing human nature and the way of heaven. He only showed them by example. If they want to know more, students need to further their studies to be satisfied.

? The debate about human nature

Confucius did not talk about the topic of "human nature", but his disciple named Qi Diao and Kai was the first person in the history of human civilization to discuss human nature. A person who carried out objective interpretations, Qi Diaokai (a native of Cai State in the late Spring and Autumn Period, now a native of Shangcai, Henan Province) first advocated the theory of "good and evil" in human nature, and proposed the concepts of "natural principles" and "human nature".

Qi Diaokai believes that as an individual natural person, human nature has good and evil sides, just like the heaven and earth have yin and yang, people have high and low, and water has clear and turbidity.

If a person promotes good, he will be good; if he indulges in evil, he will be evil. Human nature determines human emotion, human emotion determines human heart, and heart governs human behavior such as "morality" and "righteousness."

People with a kind nature will express beautiful emotions and eventually behave kindly. Therefore, the country and society must use publicity and education and other means to "suppress evil and promote good", form a good social atmosphere, and cultivate people's kindness.

Qi Diaokai’s objective understanding of human nature eventually formed the basis of Chinese ethics and greatly influenced later generations of scholars. Especially the hundreds of schools of thought in the pre-Qin period.

Qidiaokai’s view of human nature was strongly supported by Confucius’ disciple Mi Zijian and his disciple Gongsun Nizi. Shishuo, a thinker in the early Warring States Period, firmly believed that human nature has “good and evil”. Shizi believed that human beings are born with There are two natural attributes of "good" and "evil". The difference between "good" and "evil" lies only in the "nurturing" acquired. If you cultivate good, good will grow, and if you cultivate evil, evil will grow.

Wang Chong during the Eastern Han Dynasty said in his "Lunheng": "The Zhou people believed that 'human nature has good and evil qualities. If you cultivate people's good nature and cultivate it, they will be good.' If evil is cultivated, evil will grow." Shishuo greatly promoted Qi Diao's theory of human nature and made an indispensable contribution.

The Yasheng Mencius first proposed the "theory of good nature". Mencius created the idealist theoretical system of Confucian philosophy. He believed that the human heart is "good". He believed that everyone's heart has four "good ends", which flow out of the "heart of right and wrong", "shame and evil" "Heart of compassion", "Heart of compassion", "Heart of resignation". The goodness of human nature is like water, flowing down naturally. However, people's "good ends" are easily blocked, so these ports must be cleared through education or environmental influence.

Mozi had a student named Gao Buhai who proposed the theory of "no good and no evil" in human nature. Gaozi believed that human nature is like running water, and the direction of its flow is determined by the environment.

Gaozi held several debates in the Jixia Academy of Qi, the earliest public university and social science academy in the world. Gaozi said: "Life is called sex", "Food and sex are , sex." Human nature is the same as water. "Water is not divided into things", and nature is "not divided into good and bad".

Gaozi also said that "taking human nature as benevolence and righteousness" is like "taking wolfberry and willow as cups and stems".

Gongduzi, a student of Mencius, once said: "Nature can be good or bad; therefore, if civility and martial arts flourish, the people will like good; if secrecy and rigor flourish, the people will like violence." '

Xunzi at the end of the Warring States Period believed that human beings are born "evil". Everyone has desires, everyone likes to pursue fame and fortune, everyone is selfish, and people's "good" nature It's just "hypocrisy".

So everyone needs to be educated and disciplined. Xunzi said in his "Encouragement to Learning": "Therefore, wood will be straightened if it is roped, and metal will be sharpened if it is sharpened." There is an obvious tendency of "Legalist" thinking in it.

Li Si and Han Fei, two disciples of Xunzi, were thorough supporters of the theory of "evil nature". They advocated the use of severe punishments to govern the country and bring peace to the people. Especially Han Fei, whose Legalist thoughts are very extreme.

Li Si and Han Fei became important representatives of Legalism, which proves that Legalism is one of the branches of Confucianism.

? The great debate on human nature triggered by the lacquer carving has lasted for centuries. At this time, on the other side of the earth, the three major philosophers of ancient Greece, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, were also discussing it. Same problem. They also have a master-disciple succession relationship.

? Socrates emphasized self-moral perfection, Plato, like Mencius, clearly proposed the theory of good nature, and Aristotle also proposed the "dual theory of good and evil", which is similar to Qidiao Kai's "good and evil" theory. "Yangweiguan" is very close.

Aristotle, who is called the "father of human ethics" in the West by Western countries, was born more than a hundred years after Qi Diaokai. Therefore, Qi Diaokai is undoubtedly the "father of human ethics in the world."