The original sentence "Make a heart for heaven and earth, make a life for the people, link the past with the future, and be peaceful for all generations" is a famous saying of Zhang Zai, a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhang Zai is a native of Hengqu Town, Fengxiang County (now Meixian County, Shaanxi Province), known as Mr. Hengqu in the world. Therefore, these four sentences are also called "four sentences of horizontal canal" by contemporary philosopher Feng Youlan.
"Make a heart for heaven and earth". In Zhang Zai's view, "standing in the heart" means "standing in the sky", because the sky "can make the world happy", thus making the world generally accept moral values such as the principle of benevolence and filial piety.
Make a living for the people. The ancients generally believed that "a person's life is destiny takes a hand", and individuals can do nothing in the face of fate. However, Zhang Zai believes that as long as people make their own moral efforts, they can control their own destiny in spiritual values, thus giving life meaning. Therefore, "making a living for the people" means choosing the right destiny direction for the people and establishing the meaning of life.
"A lesson from the past." "Most Holy" refers to the saints in history. The so-called saints in Confucianism actually refer to personality models and spiritual leaders. Neo-Confucianism generally believes that the study of Confucian sages failed to continue the study of Confucianism in the pre-Qin period from the Han Dynasty, but reached the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties for thousands of years.
"Open peace for the world." Duke Zhou and Confucius both put forward the social and political ideals of "peace" and "great harmony", and even some politicians in the Northern Song Dynasty put forward the idea of "harmony".
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Zhang Zai (1020—107765438+February 6th), born in Hengqu Town, Fengxiang County (now Meixian County, Shaanxi Province), was a thinker and educator in the Northern Song Dynasty and one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism. Known as Mr. Hengqu in the world, Zhang Zi is honored as a saint, and he is thirty-eight in the west of Confucius Temple. His famous saying, "Make a heart for heaven and earth, make a life for the people, link the past with the future, and create peace for all generations", was called "four sentences in a horizontal canal" by contemporary philosopher Feng Youlan. Because of its simplicity and grandeur, it has been praised by people throughout the ages.
Reference: Four sentences in Hengqu _ Baidu Encyclopedia