The core idea of ??"benevolence" should be "benevolence and charity",

The core idea of ??"righteousness" should be "justice and service to the public",

"Ritual" The core idea of ??"zhi" should be "honesty and law-abiding",

The core idea of ??"wisdom" should be "advocating wisdom and seeking truth",

The core idea of ??"faithfulness" should be "honesty and trustworthiness" ".

"Benevolence" refers to the mentality of sympathy, care and love, that is, "the heart of benevolence." Regarding "benevolence", it first came from "Shangshu". "Shangshu" says: "To be lenient and benevolent, to show faith to the people" means that Shang Tang used the virtue of forgiveness and benevolence to clearly trust the people of the world. The earliest meaning of "Ren" is "relatives". "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Ren means benevolence" and "Ren means closeness". It mainly refers to the "love" between family members and clan relatives. This kind of "benevolence" is only limited to family relatives. With the evolution of history, the meaning of "benevolence" has been further expanded, from "relatives" to "lovers". Lao Tzu said: "Be kind and benevolent". It means to be friendly, sincere and selfless when interacting with others. Confucius once said: "A man with lofty ideals and benevolence will not harm his benevolence by seeking life, but will kill himself to achieve benevolence." Here "benevolence" has become the highest state of life morality. In order to maintain "benevolence", one can "kill oneself", that is, one can sacrifice one's own life to maintain this moral concept. It can be seen that while the emotional scope of "benevolence" has expanded from family to society, the moral connotation and moral status of "benevolence" have also been further enriched and improved, becoming the first element of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.

"Yi" refers to integrity, integrity and morality, that is, the "spirit of justice". The original meaning of "righteousness" refers to a person's appearance, and is people's pursuit of close friendship and beauty and kindness in interpersonal interactions. "Shuowen Jiezi" once explained, "Yi (righteousness) is the dignity of oneself. Follow me and follow the sheep." It means that "righteousness" is a person's external image and inner cultivation. We admire the image and image of the sheep. To be self-restrained, be as gentle, kind and beautiful as a sheep. The "righteousness" mentioned here mainly refers to a kind of beautiful and kind emotion and integrity. In our lives, sheep have been the first of the six animals since ancient times and are the most beautiful food. Chinese people respect sheep very much. When the ancients created Chinese characters, they used the word "sheep" for the most beautiful things. For example, sheep and fish constitute "fresh". In the minds of Chinese people, sheep and fish are the most delicious food and the most delicious food. The most beautiful Chinese words "beauty" and "kindness" have the word "sheep" on them, and they are all constructed with "sheep" as the main radical. This reflects people's pursuit of the beautiful realm of sheep. And regard this realm as the character that Chinese people should pursue and the morality that should be promoted. "Shuowen Jiezi" explains "righteousness" by linking it with "beauty" and "goodness". "Beauty" and "goodness" are prefixes of "sheep", and the traditional Chinese character "yi" of "righteousness" is also prefixed with the prefix "sheep". Therefore, justice, beauty, and goodness are synonymous. The ancients emphasized "loyalty", which refers to such a beautiful and kind state and the integrity of justice. Confucius highly praised the virtue of "benevolence" and advocated "sacrifice oneself to become benevolent". Mencius highly praised the virtue of "righteousness" and said that one should "sacrifice one's life for justice." "Kill oneself" and "sacrifice one's life" have the same meaning and the same realm, which shows that Mencius placed "righteousness" and "benevolence" in an equally important position. We talk about traditional Chinese virtues as the five main elements of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness", which are usually simplified into "benevolence, righteousness and morality". It can be seen that the most important of these five elements are the two virtues of "benevolence" and "righteousness" , are the two most core and basic elements. The ancients said: "Benevolence is an honor, being unbenevolent is a disgrace", "being righteous is an honor, betraying righteousness is a disgrace", which shows that the traditional Chinese moral concept of honor and disgrace also takes whether "benevolence" and "righteousness" are achieved as the main criteria.

"Li" refers to the rules of etiquette, politeness and etiquette, that is, "the rules of etiquette". "Li" was originally a custom and ritual in primitive society for worshiping gods and praying for blessings. "Book of Rites·Biaoji" says, "The people of Yin respected the gods and led the people to serve the gods, putting ghosts first and then etiquette." This refers to a kind of ritual and custom. At that time, "ritual" was not regarded as a moral norm or morality. principles and moral concepts to be clarified and promoted. With the further development of society, the understanding and understanding of "ritual" have also undergone new changes. "Book of Rites·Biaoji" says, "The people of the Zhou Dynasty respected etiquette and gave alms to them; they respected gods and stayed away from them when dealing with ghosts; they were loyal to others when they were close to others." It said that the people of the Yin Dynasty respected gods, but the people of Zhou respected gods and kept away from them when dealing with ghosts, and began to stay away from them, and " "Making rites and making music" gradually standardizes these etiquettes, specifically regulates what kind of etiquette should be performed under which circumstances, what kind of etiquette should be performed, what kind of courtesy should be paid attention to, and advocates the use of "rituals and music" to govern the world. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the content of "rituals" underwent creative changes, and "rituals" began to be promoted as moral principles. There is a line in the "Book of Songs", the oldest collection of poems in our country, "A rat has skin, but a human has no manners; a human has no manners, what will happen if he is not dead?", which means: Look at the mouse, it still has a face, how can you be a human being? Etiquette; if a person has no etiquette, what else will he do if he doesn't die? Confucius also has a famous saying: "Restrain oneself and return propriety to benevolence", which means that everyone should restrain their improper desires, impulsive emotions and incorrect words and deeds, and do "see no evil, hear no evil, and do no evil". "If you say something that is not propriety, do not do anything", so that your sight, hearing, words, actions and every move must comply with the provisions of "propriety". This shows that "ritual" has been placed in a very important position in the field of morality to be respected, regulated and advocated.

Guan Zhong, a famous statesman and thinker in ancient times, even put forward the concept of "rituals and integrity, the four dimensions of a country" and put "rituals" at the top of moral norms, indicating that "rituals" have gradually been standardized from the original customs and rituals. As a kind of moral education and moral concept, it is sublimated to the first of the four major elements of governing a country. The Chinese have always placed "propriety" in an important position. We use etiquette to show that we are civilized. Failure to follow etiquette is uncivilized. It can be seen that "ritual" also plays an important role in traditional Chinese virtues.

"Wisdom" refers to the ability to distinguish right from wrong, good and evil, and know oneself and others, that is, "the power of wisdom." "Wisdom", as one of the basic elements of traditional Chinese virtues, has appeared in written records very early. Confucius often said: "There are three ways of a gentleman: a benevolent man does not worry, a wise man does not worry, and a brave man does not fear." "The Doctrine of the Mean" says: "Those who are wise, benevolent and courageous are the greatest virtues in the world." The familiar saying in "The Analects of Confucius" "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, it is knowing", which means that no matter how rich a person's knowledge is, there will always be problems that he does not understand, so he should have a pragmatic attitude. Only in this way can he learn more. More knowledge is wisdom. The "knowledge" mentioned here means "this is wisdom, this is intelligence, this is the wise man". On the basis of inheriting and developing the intelligent and wise thoughts of Tang Yao, Yu Shun, Shang Tang, etc. on understanding oneself, understanding society, understanding right and wrong, and understanding good and evil, Confucius and Mencius enriched the specific ideological content of "wisdom" and enhanced The status of "wisdom" as a moral requirement in moral norms has been eliminated, making it a new moral concept and value orientation with universal significance, and one of the most basic requirements for people's ideological, moral and civilized qualities.

"Trust" refers to the character of honesty, trustworthiness, firmness and reliability, and mutual trust, which is the "product of integrity". "Trust" is not simply honesty, credit is the most basic connotation of "trust". It not only requires people to be honest and trustworthy in their actions, but also reflects people's firm and reliable understanding of a certain thing or a certain idea, and reflects the mutual trust between people and between people and things. relation. Without a foundation of firmness, reliability and mutual trust, it is difficult for people to be honest and trustworthy in their actions. Regarding "faith", as early as ancient times, our ancestors knew it and actively promoted it. The sages and sages of the past dynasties have emphasized "faith" in books, and even some classical literary masterpieces such as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", and "A Dream of Red Mansions" also emphasize the moral concept of "faith". About the human interpretation and story depiction of "letter". "Zuo Zhuan: The Twenty-fifth Year of Duke Xi" records: "Faith is the treasure of the country and the shelter of the people." This means that the ruler's "faith" is the foundation of a country and the basis for the survival of the people. Lao Tzu said: "Words, good faith". This means that you must keep your word when speaking. Confucius also said, "If a person has no loyalty, he cannot stand in the world." He also said, "If a person has no faith, he does not know what he can do." He also regarded "Be true to your words and be resolute in your deeds" and "Respect and be trustworthy" as the basic requirements for regulating the words and deeds of his disciples, and regarded integrity as the basis of a person's life. Mencius regards integrity as the cornerstone of society and the criterion for life. He said, "Sincerity is the way of heaven. Those who think about sincerity are the way of man. Those who are sincere and unmoved have not existed; dishonesty has not existed." The explanation of "the active one" is the proof. In "Zhenguan Zhengdao", Wei Zheng, a famous prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, said: "Virtue, etiquette and integrity are the outline of a country", emphasizing "faithfulness" as the outline of governing a country. "Old Book of Tang" says, "The only thing that protects you is your integrity." "Shangshu" writes: "Trust is clear to the world." There is a very famous idiom in "The Book of Songs" called "Swear to the utmost". Such an understanding of "faith", promotion of "faith", and worship of "faith" have survived like an evergreen tree in the fertile ideological and cultural soil of the Chinese nation from ancient times to the present. , indicating that "faith", as an important part of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, has always been affirmed and promoted by people.

So, how do you view the five basic elements of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness? Judging from the relationship between the five major elements, they are interrelated, interdependent, and mutually supportive. Together they form the foundation of the traditional moral building of the Chinese nation, and can also be said to be the pillars of the moral building. From the basic connotation, "benevolence" is mainly the emotion of mutual care, mutual respect and mutual love between people. It is a moral norm for the harmony, harmony and coordinated development of all things in the world; "righteousness" is An attitude of transcending oneself, facing reality, and being righteous; "ritual" is a standard and rule for establishing interpersonal relationships and social order; "wisdom" is a person's vision and ability to understand himself, understand society, resolve conflicts, and deal with problems; "Faith" is the moral code for people to interact and deal with. "Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" are the core values ??and basic requirements of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation. They are the five most important social moral norms that we must follow well. From the comparison of various combinations of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" are the basic obligations and main conduct that people should fulfill, and they have a basic position in moral construction. Judging from the history of the emergence and development of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness" have an original position in the long history of the moral construction of the Chinese nation. From the comprehensive and rich system of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness" have a dominant position.

Judging from the extensive and far-reaching impact of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation on social progress, "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness" drive the development of the entire social moral system and the improvement of social moral levels. plays an important role in virtue.