The shape of "benevolence" is two people. Why are they "benevolence" At the same time, why did Confucius give "benevolence" such an important meaning? The reason is that human society is made up of people, but people in society are not isolated, but interrelated. Society is the connection between people. People do not exist in isolation, but as a connection. There are no isolated people, only people who are connected.
China's tradition respects people the most, so it also respects the relationship between people the most. Therefore, Confucian classics attach importance to honesty as well as righteousness and reason. "Honesty" means fully respecting your inner nature, your most natural and true thoughts. Therefore, the definition of "sincerity" in The Doctrine of the Mean is "self-pity" and "not self-deception", that is, being satisfied with oneself and not self-deception.
"Honesty" emphasizes doing things according to one's own mind and meaning, while "reason" and "righteousness" emphasize respecting each other's meaning on the basis of respecting oneself. Mencius said: "those who are of the same mind are called rational justice", that is, rational justice is the consensus "will" and "public will" rather than "private will"
In short, "sincerity" is aimed at the individual's mind, and "righteousness" is aimed at the connection between people.
More importantly, the Confucian tradition holds that the individual's honesty does not conflict with the linked righteousness, and if the individual is really honest, it will inevitably achieve righteousness. In other words, the human mind has the functions of mutual consideration and internal connection. "Righteousness" is not imposed by the outside world, but comes from people's own hearts. Therefore, Mencius put forward the theory of "internal meaning" and opposed the theory of "external meaning"
"Internal meaning" means that meaning comes from people's hearts, while "external meaning" holds that meaning is an external rule. Modern people think that morality is an external standard and regulation. When people want morality, they are obeying the rules and sacrificing themselves. This is a typical "foreign meaning" theory, which also means that China has deviated too far from the tradition, too savage and too westernized.
In order to better explain "righteousness", Mencius put forward the view of "four-sided heart". The "four ends" are the four sources and foundations, that is, the human heart is the foundation of the four "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom", which are all grown from the human heart. "Compassion is the purpose of benevolence; The heart of shame and evil is also the end of meaning; The words of the heart are the end of the ceremony; The heart of right and wrong is also the end of wisdom. "
People are contacts, and society is a big network of contacts. The basic unit of this connection is the connection between two people, that is, the connection between two people. Therefore, as "two people", "benevolence" refers to the basic unit of contact. Any complex society and complex connection can be decomposed into the connection between "two people" and "benevolence". In other words, "benevolence" is the cornerstone of contact, society and social order. All the contacts between "two people" are harmonious, so the whole society is harmonious.
Therefore, "benevolence" is China's traditional basic social unit and basic way of thinking. The ancients in China viewed and analyzed the society from the perspective of "benevolence", and even looked at everything from the perspective of "benevolence".
For example, the "three cardinal guides" denounced by modern people are three kinds of "benevolence", namely, the alliance of monarch and minister, the alliance of father and son, and the alliance of husband and wife. "The monarch and the minister" are two people, father and son are two people, and husband and wife are two people. This is actually a "two-person world" under the consideration of specific scenes and collective actual background.
So there is nothing wrong with the "three cardinal guides" itself. In any era, the "three cardinal guides" will be the "general guide" and "program" of society. In any era, the relationship between parents and children, the relationship between superiors and subordinates, the relationship between young and old, the relationship between teachers and students, and the relationship between husband and wife are all important issues that individuals need to face and are the cornerstone of society. We can't handle these relations correctly, and how can a good social order be achieved if the society can still be so harmonious?
"Benevolence" is the cornerstone of society, and it is also based on one's mind and one's heart. "Benevolence" is actually the unity of individuals and others. Therefore, it is inappropriate to interpret benevolence with modern collectivism and individualism. They have different basic thinking modes. In the mode of "benevolence", there is no isolated individual, and people must exist in contact, and people must be "benevolence". But in the "individualism-collectivism" model, isolated individuals are the basic premise, "individualism" is centered on isolated individuals, and "collectivism" is the sum of isolated individuals.
Therefore, some "masters of Chinese studies" interpret China's tradition as attaching importance to the collective and neglecting the individual, which is nonsense, because China's tradition neither considers the individual existence in the sense of individualism nor the collective existence in the sense of collectivism, and the thinking mode of "individualism-collectivism" is simply wrong.
Benevolence denies the atomized individual and thinks that "benevolence" is the basic state of human existence. This is the fundamental opposition between Confucianism and modern culture, more precisely, between China culture and western culture.
Further study of history, especially through the analysis of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, reveals that the formation of the concept of "benevolence" and the formation of thinking mode are based on "contract" and the long contract practice in ancient China.
The Book of Changes said: "In ancient times, knotting was the rule, and later sages used calligraphy easily, and hundreds of officials could rule, and all peoples could observe." The knot and deed here are two kinds of contracts that existed and used in ancient China. A knot is a pair of ropes and a contract is a pair of wood chips.
The prototype of "two people" is the two sides of a contract, the contact between people is actually a contractual relationship, and "benevolence" is a contractual relationship. "Honesty" is also based on contract practice. It can be said that "benevolence" means contract, and contract means benevolence.