The origin of integrity in Chinese traditional culture
1. The germination and establishment of the concept of integrity
1. The meaning of integrity
Ethical integrity in China traditional culture can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. The concept of "sincerity" has appeared in Shangshu, the earliest historical document in China, and there is a record in Shangshu Taijiaxia that "God is impermanent and enjoys honesty". The "sincerity" here mainly refers to the piety of believing in ghosts and gods. In the same Book of History, there are also records about "faithfulness". For example, Book Kang Wang says: "Credibility is clear to the world", and Zhou Shu says: "Promise is true, but if you don't believe it, everything will be dissatisfied". Before the Spring and Autumn Period, "faithfulness", like "sincerity", was mostly used for religious belief in ghosts and gods. After being advocated by Confucianism, "honesty" and "faithfulness" gradually got rid of religious color and became practical moral norms. In ancient China, "sincerity" and "faithfulness" were used more and earlier alone, but less and later when they were used together. Guan Zhong, a famous politician in the Spring and Autumn Period and the founder of pre-Qin Legalists, used "honesty" and "faithfulness" together. He clearly said: "Honesty comes first in Wang Gui. Those who are honest will have a knot in the world. " ("Guan Zi Shu Yan") believes that honesty is the guarantee to gather people's hearts and unite the world. At the end of the Warring States Period, Xunzi also used "honesty" and "faithfulness" together. "Honesty gives birth to god, boasting about birth and confusion." ("Xun Zi Yan Bu") means that honesty and trustworthiness can produce magical social effects, on the contrary, boasting and false birthdays will produce social confusion. In Zhouyi, "sincerity" has got rid of the pure religious color and has the moral significance of daily human relations. In the Book of Changes Gan, it is said that "rhetoric is sincere, so it is also important to live in the industry", and it is believed that a gentleman should be honest and sincere in his speech and argument in order to make contributions. Although "sincerity" did not form a theoretical concept in Confucius, he talked about "benevolence" in many places, and the inner meaning of self-cultivation and love for others is closely related to "sincerity". In Mencius' view, "honesty" gradually became an important theoretical concept to experience moral noumenon and regulate people's moral behavior. He said: "Honest people, the way of heaven is also; If you think sincerely, you will learn from others. Those who are sincere and do not move are not there; If you are insincere, you will not be able to move. " Mencius warned people that "honesty" is the basic law that conforms to heaven and humanity. Xunzi gave full play to Mencius' thought of "sincerity" and began to involve in politics with "sincerity", expanding "sincerity" from the way of being a man to the way of managing the world, and pointed out that "sincerity" is "the foundation of political affairs". In the Confucian classic Book of Rites University, "sincerity", as one of the "eight items", has become an important link to connect "things", "knowledge" with "righting the heart", "self-cultivation", "keeping the family in order", "governing the country" and "leveling the world", and has become the joint point of moral internal cultivation and external development, which has the function of promoting moral perfection.
In Confucianism, "faithfulness" gradually got rid of religious color and became a practical moral standard. "Faith" was earlier combined with the way of governing. Confucius placed great emphasis on the important role of "faith" in governing the country, and thought that even if we "go to the army" and "go to eat" when governing the country, we can't "believe" because "people can't stand without faith" (The Analects of Yan Yuan). Not only that, Confucius also proposed that "faithfulness" is the moral standard of the intersection between countries: "A country that has traveled thousands of times, respects things and believes." Mencius inherited the basic idea of "faithfulness" from Confucius, and further listed "friends have faithfulness" (on Mencius Teng Wengong) as "five ethics" with "father and son are related, monarch and minister are righteous, couples are different, and their ages are orderly", which became the basic standard and ethics norm of moral evaluation in feudal society in China. Xunzi also regarded the existence of "faith" as an important moral standard to distinguish between "gentlemen" and "villains". It can be seen that, as the originality of China's Confucianism, Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi all regard "faith" as the basic principle that must be observed in life and politics.
In ancient China, "sincerity" and "faithfulness" were used more and earlier, but less and later. Guan Zhong, a famous politician in the Spring and Autumn Period and the founder of pre-Qin Legalists, used "honesty" and "faithfulness" together. He clearly said: "Honesty comes first in Wang Gui. Those who are honest will have a knot in the world. " ("Guan Zi Shu Yan") believes that honesty is the guarantee to gather people's hearts and unite the world. At the end of the Warring States Period, Xunzi also used "honesty" and "faithfulness" together. "Honesty gives birth to god, boasting about birth and confusion." ("Xunzi is meticulous") that is, honesty and trustworthiness can produce magical social effects, on the contrary, boasting and false birth will produce social confusion. To the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi still explained the letter with sincerity, and the letter with sincerity. Because "sincerity" and "faith" have similar meanings, they are often used interchangeably in real life. However, if we look closely, there are still subtle differences in the normative meanings of "sincerity" and "faith" and their respective emphases: "sincerity" refers more to "sincerity in the heart", while "faith" focuses on "trusting others outside"; "Honesty" is more of a self-requirement for moral individuals, while "faithfulness" is more of a two-way or multi-directional requirement for social groups. "Honesty" refers more to the inner virtue of moral subject, while "faithfulness" refers more to the externalization of "inner honesty", which is embodied in socialized moral practice. Of course, this distinction is not of absolute significance. The two are interrelated and mutually external. "Honesty" is the basis and foundation of "faith", and "faith" is the external embodiment of "sincerity". Just as Zhang Zai, a philosopher in the Northern Song Dynasty, said, "Honesty means faith, selflessness means prestige" ("Zhang Zai Ji Zheng Meng Tian Dao"), "Honesty" and "faithfulness" * * * both guarantee the practice of our moral norms. Because of this, when introducing the moral concept of honesty in ancient China, we will no longer strictly distinguish the two, but collectively refer to them as "honesty".
2. The germination of the concept of honesty
The morality of human society is gradually produced in the long-term labor and life. China is one of the earliest cradles of world civilization. According to the earliest discovered Yuanmou, at least 1.7 million years ago, the ancestors of the Chinese nation had worked, lived and multiplied on the land of the motherland. In the primitive society, the level of productivity was very low, the means of production were public, and there was no class or country. What was social integrity like at that time? As there is no written record, we can only make the following analysis.
In primitive society, hunting is a basic productive labor and a basic means for the survival and continuation of races. It is recorded in "Dead Bodies": "There were many animals in the world, so hunting was taught." Hunting is a collective activity, which requires the participants to coordinate and act together. This requires that every hunter can abide by the pre-arranged agreement and the hunting activities can be carried out normally. If a few people don't keep their promises, the hunting results will be affected; If most people don't keep their promises, hunting can't be carried out. It can be seen that the labor of * * * will inevitably produce the concepts and requirements of keeping promises and keeping promises.
The emergence of the concept of honesty in primitive society can also be seen from the records of keeping promises and keeping promises of ethnic minorities in remote areas who were still in the primitive society stage before liberation in China. For example, in Qian Ji, it is recorded that when Miao people tried their own cases in ancient times, the procedure was: "Make an offer, publish an inch of wood and judge it by letter." The record in Tengyue State Records is even more interesting: "There is a custom in foreign countries, and all loans are used on credit. I don't know the words, but I only use woodcut as a symbol, and I hold my own half, so I am rewarded as promised." This shows that honest behavior has emerged in social life. For another example, before liberation, the Dulong people in Gongshan were still in the stage of barter, and pigs were universal equivalent in exchange. The ratio was as follows: a pig was equivalent to an 8-inch pot or 5-barrel corn; A medium-sized pig is equivalent to a 1-foot-6-inch pot or 1-barrel corn; A big pig is equivalent to a 1-foot-8-inch pot or 15-barrel corn; A big fat pig is equivalent to a 2-foot pot or 25-barrel corn. As a result of this convention, people can consciously abide by it in exchange. It can be seen that the internal commodity exchange at the end of primitive society has shown the essence of keeping promises.
regarding the moral features of primitive people in ancient China, we can see from the records in the Book of Rites and Liyun: "The trip to the main road is also a public service, so we should choose the talents and abilities, and keep faith and cultivate harmony. An old friend is not only a relative, but also an only son. Let the old get a sense of end, be strong and useful, be young and have a strong point, and be widowed, lonely and disabled. Men have points, women have returns. If the goods are abandoned to the ground, there is no need to hide them in yourself. You don't have to do it for yourself. "It's because of this that you try to keep it closed, but you don't do it, because you steal thieves and don't do it, so you don't keep it closed outside, which is called great harmony." This not only reflects the concept of public ownership, equality and mutual assistance in primitive society, but also the meaning of "honesty and harmony". Although there were wars in primitive society, human beings finally walked out of barbarism and moved towards civilization with the help of "faith-upholding and reconciliation".
3. Establishment of the concept of honesty
After a long period of tempering with blood and fire, mankind has finally entered a class society. Yu, the leader of Xia tribe, broke the "abdication" system and established the hereditary Xia Dynasty, which marked the formal birth of slavery society in China. Shang Dynasty was the second slave country in the history of our country. Because a large number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions and other unearthed cultural relics and ancient books were unearthed, we had a better understanding of this dynasty. The characteristics of Shang dynasty are: the society is connected by clan blood relationship, the ancestor worship is combined with the worship of gods, and the ethical thought and religious consciousness are mixed. As Hou Wailu said in "A General History of China Thought", "We searched through Oracle inscriptions and found no abstract words, let alone terms about moral wisdom. ..... there is no obvious sign of the concept of rights and obligations within society. " Here, "there is no obvious sign of the concept of rights and obligations within society", in fact, there is no obvious ethical concept. Although the words filial piety, virtue and propriety have appeared in Oracle inscriptions, their connotations have no ethical meaning. According to textual research, the word filial piety in Oracle inscriptions is connected with the old word and the word teaching, while the word ritual refers to the sacrificial vessel containing double jade. Therefore, these words cannot be used as moral norms.
around 11 BC, Zhou Wuwang destroyed the business and established the Western Zhou Dynasty. At this time, the words such as filial piety, virtue and courtesy appeared in the Oracle inscriptions of Yin Shang Dynasty began to have ethical and moral significance. On the basis of summing up the historical lessons of the rise and fall of Xia and Shang Dynasties, the rulers in the early Western Zhou Dynasty put forward the ideas of "taking orders with virtue" and "matching heaven with virtue". Ji Dan, the Duke of Zhou, runs through many conversations and orders with ethical thoughts. He thinks that virtue is dictated by heaven, and the Shang Dynasty perished because "Heaven is not rich, but I don't know what virtue is". Therefore, he summed up a set of ethical and moral norms with father's kindness, son's filial piety, brother's friendship and brother's respect as the main contents, and thought that this was a code of conduct given by God to the people. It can be seen that the ethics of the Western Zhou Dynasty is obviously mysterious.
From the late Shang Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, honesty, as an important part of China's traditional ethics, began to appear in inscriptions on bronze. For example, on the Wang Ding in Zhongshan, "I know my loyalty (words and body)" was cast. The word (body) here is the letter word now. Words and deeds are combined into letters, that is, what you say should be fulfilled and what you do should be done. This vividly embodies the ideological connotation of honesty. At the same time, the earliest documents in our country also began to have records about honesty. For example, in the Book of Changes, words speak for themselves, and it is said that "those who are helped by others believe." In Yi Chuan Gan Classical Chinese, there is a saying: "A gentleman is loyal to virtue and studies, so he is also loyal to virtue. Rhetoric is sincere, so it is also a career. " Here, I have talked about both faith and sincerity. And the following record: "Japan and China are the market, to the people of the world, to gather goods from all over the world, and to trade and retreat, each in his place" reflects the situation that people in ancient times kept their promises and engaged in commodity trading.
In the Book of Songs, one of the six classics in ancient Chinese literature, there are also many records about honesty, such as "Swear to the Truth" in Wei Mang. "People don't believe what they say in Zheng Feng." In "Feng Wang", "If you don't believe it, it's like a day." In Daya, "If the king still believes in it, then the world thinks it is the law." Wait a minute.
In Shangshu, the earliest collection of historical documents in China, there are also records about honesty. For example, in Book Kang Wang, there is a saying that "credibility is well known in the world", and in Zhou Shu, there is a saying that "if you don't believe it, you will be dissatisfied with Pepsi".
from the above, we can see that the concept of good faith in ancient China has been completely established at this time. With the invention of writing, the ethical concept of human beings has gradually moved from empirical to theoretical, and the connotation of honesty has become more and more abundant, which indicates that our ancestors have entered the threshold of civilization. The Chinese nation is at the forefront of the history of human civilization in terms of ideology and culture.
Second, the concept of honesty in the pre-Qin period
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a period of great changes in the ancient history of China. This stage is the period when China changed from a slave society to a feudal society and the feudal system was established. On the one hand, the establishment of the feudal system accelerated the economic development, on the other hand, it promoted the ideological and cultural progress. The development of feudal economy provided material conditions for the prosperity of academic culture. The rise of private schools represented by Confucius at this stage has created a large number of people with rich knowledge and experience and provided a good environment for academic prosperity; However, the complicated contradictions in the society during the period of institutional reform have created spokesmen for people of different classes, so there has been a situation of "a hundred schools of thought contend" in which various schools of thought have emerged side by side, and schools of thought are numerous. At this time, the schools of Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Ming and Fa came into being, which produced different regions, accepted different cultural traditions, represented different classes and strata, and focused on different issues. But strangely, their views on ethics and morality, especially on honesty, were basically the same, and an interesting cultural phenomenon of "convergence under refutation" appeared. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were frequent wars among governors, and they often signed agreements and covenants with each other. The observance and implementation of these covenants mainly depend on the restraint of moral power. Anyone who can keep his promise will have moral strength and win the hearts of the people, so he can get the support of the people and succeed in his career. The rich practice of social integrity requires thinkers to sum up and improve their theories, which leads to the opinions of various schools on ethics and morality.
The following is an overview of the opinions of major schools on honesty.
1. Confucian honesty
The Confucian concept of honesty is closely combined with its theory of "benevolence". Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, put forward the theory of "benevolence", taking "benevolence" as the highest moral criterion, and believed that people should value profit over righteousness, and have the virtues of filial piety, loyalty and faithfulness, among which faithfulness plays an important role. There is a passage in The Analects of Confucius Yan Yuan: "Zi Gong asks about politics. Confucius said:' Enough food, enough soldiers, and the people believe it. Zi Gong said,' If you must leave, which comes first? Yue' to soldiers. Zi Gong said,' If you must leave, which comes first? Said:' Go to eat. Since ancient times, people have died, and people have no faith. From Confucius' answer, we can see that Confucianism attaches importance to honesty in politics. In the Analects of Confucius Zi Lu, Zi Gong asked Confucius, "What kind of scholar is he?"? "Confucius replied:"' It's a scholar to be ashamed of yourself and make the quartet live up to its mission. 呫:' Dare to ask second? Said:' Clans call it filial piety, while township parties call it younger brother. Yue' dare to ask second? Said:' Words must be done, and actions must be fruitful. What a mean person! Suppression can also be the second time. Here Confucius regards honesty as one of the personal moral requirements of a scholar. From then on, Confucius' saying that "words must be kept, deeds must bear fruit" has become the eternal famous saying of China people. In the Analects of Confucius for Politics, Confucius also said: "People who have no faith don't know what they can do. "In other words, if people lack honesty, they can't live in the world, and people can't be human. Because of this, Ceng Zi, a student of Confucius, regards "making friends without believing" as one of the contents of "I visit my body three times a day". Due to the emphasis on honesty, as a great religion,