To "carry on the unique learning for the saints" means to inherit and carry forward the cultural thoughts of the great saints. "Place to the saints" refers to the past, past, and historical saints, specifically Confucius and Mencius; "Jue Xue" refers to a discontinued or lost theory, which specifically refers to Confucianism and Mencius' Confucianism.

The source of this sentence is

Continuing the unique learning for the saints is the third sentence among the four sentences in "Hengqu Quotations".

This quotation was proposed by Zhang Zai.

Zhang Zai, courtesy name Zihou, was born in Chang'an and was known as Mr. Hengqu in the world. His representative works include Zhengmeng, Jing Xue Li Ku and Yi Shuo.

Among them, "Zheng Meng" is the most important.

"Meng" is the name of a hexagram in the "Book of Changes". The hexagram contains the phrase "Meng to nourish righteousness".

Meng means ignorance and ignorance; Zheng means correction. This means that they must be cultivated from childhood.

Zhang Zai said: "It is the merit of a saint to raise his disciples and make them righteous." This is where the title of the book comes from. I have excerpted the most famous passage from the original text of this sentence for you to refer to~

Establish a heart for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the unique knowledge for the saints, and create peace for all generations.

The translation is also released for everyone to facilitate your understanding:

The scholar’s ??heart should be for the world, his destiny should be for all people, and he should inherit and carry forward the unique knowledge of the saints. We should create a foundation of peace for all generations. It states the ambitions and pursuits that scholars should have: the world, all peoples, the way of sages, and the foundation of peace.

These four sentences can best express a person’s responsibility and mission to the country and society. The words are concise and comprehensive, but the realm is grand. It can be said that the "Four Sentences of Hengqu" are the spiritual quatrains of the Chinese people, which are equivalent to the spiritual coordinates. No matter where they are, Chinese people all over the world feel the same way, and it has very strong national cohesion.

You may not be able to understand the meaning by just reading the article. This must be interpreted in conjunction with Zhang Zai’s Neo-Confucian theory

His Neo-Confucian views can be divided into the following two parts.

First, the theory of Taixu. This is his cosmology. He believes that the ontology of the universe is the unified energy of Taixu. "Taixu" is also called "Taihe". All things are born from it. When all things die and perish, they still disperse into Taixu. Taixu is Qi is not absolutely empty.

Zhang Zai's "Taixu" contains the unity of one and many, existence and non-being, and all things arising from it follow certain transformation laws. For example, "Zhengmeng·Taihe Pian" says: "If there is an image, there is a right, and the right will be the opposite; if there is an opposite, there will be hatred, and the hatred will be resolved by reconciliation."

All phenomena have opposites. In two aspects, the directions of movement of the two are necessarily opposite. On the contrary, they hate each other, and hatred means struggle. The result of the struggle must be reconciliation.

This is also the way of thinking in traditional Chinese philosophy. Others such as "nothing can be isolated", "movement does not come from outside", "if two are not established, one cannot be seen", "no two things in the world are similar", "gold and iron sometimes rot, and mountains sometimes Words such as "Destroy, all tangible things are perishable" and "Impermanence is permanent" all embody the law of interconnection and transformation between things.

Zhang Zai also studied various natural phenomena and had his own understanding of cold and heat, tides, solar and lunar eclipses, wind and rain, thunder, animals and plants, etc. All in all, Zhang Zai’s Qi monism belongs to materialism.

Second, the theory of sex and the view of the unity of nature and man. Hengqu talks about nature, which is divided into two types: the nature of heaven and earth and the nature of temperament. The nature of heaven and earth refers to the entire qi, while the nature of temperament refers to individuals.

The concept of unity of nature and man is deeply reflected in the article "Xi Ming", such as his famous sentence "Establish a mind for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living people, carry forward the unique knowledge for the saints, and create peace for all generations." ", which is the idealism of the unity of nature and man, was summarized by contemporary philosopher Feng Youlan as "Four Sentences of Hengqu". Establish a belief system for society, lay the foundation for the destiny of the people, inherit the thoughts and scholarship of the former saints, and open up the cause of peace for all generations.

These four sentences involve many aspects such as spiritual value, meaning of life, inheritance of academic traditions, social ideals, etc. They can best show the broadmindedness of Confucianists, and can also best reflect the Confucianists’ knowledge and aspirations. It can be regarded as a summary of Zhang Zai's life ambitions and ideals.