Confucius' so-called "ceremony" is not only the etiquette that the monarch, father and son, husband and wife, brother and master and apprentice should adhere to, but also a kind of mind and attitude that a gentleman should adopt to treat everything without external influence and inner confusion after distinguishing right from wrong through "benevolence". From the historical analysis, the essence of "ceremony" is to maintain the aristocratic rule of slave owners.
The ideal feudal social order advocated by Confucianism is the distinction between nobility and inferiority, between young and old, and between relatives and friends. It requires people's lifestyle and behavior to conform to their social and political status within the family, and different identities have different codes of conduct, which is courtesy. Rites have distinct class nature and differences. Therefore, the ancients pointed out that the characteristics of etiquette are "different" (Xunzi Yue Lun) or "different" (The Book of Rites and Music). During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty, people who talked about the ceremony unanimously emphasized that the function of the ceremony is to maintain social differences based on hierarchy and blood relationship, which can best explain the meaning and essence of the ceremony. Xunzi (see Xun Kuang) said: "There are always points in human nature, which are greater than points, and points are greater than courtesy." Another cloud said, "Therefore, the case of the former king aims at dividing the courtesy and righteousness, making the distinction between the noble and the humble, the difference between the old and the young, and the ability to know wisdom and folly, so that everyone can get their own things and their own places." The Book of Rites says: "Therefore, the philosophers decided to be intimate, suspicious, different and distinguish between right and wrong. The stem also says "pro-killing, respecting the virtuous, etc." , courtesy is born. Han Feizi (see Han Fei) said: "Courtesy ... the friendship between the monarch, the minister and the father is also the reason for your dignity." Dong Zhongshu Yun: Owner is arranged according to grade, grade, size and distance. "The White Tiger with Tongde Theory" says: Rites are therefore "orderly, upright and humane. "All these words prove that courtesy is a different code of conduct, and it is by no means a universal norm that is universally applicable.
"Rite" is a code of conduct that is full of differences and varies from person to person, so "different fame and position, different manners" (Zuo Zhuan Zhuang Gong Eighteen Years). Everyone must choose the ceremony corresponding to his status according to his social and political status. People who meet this requirement are polite, otherwise it is immoral. For example, Bashu dance is a gift from the emperor, and Dr. Qing is only allowed to use four Shu. Lu Ji's family performed the emperor's ceremony with Qing, and the court held Bashu dance. Confucius thought it was disgraceful and said angrily, "This is tolerable, but why not?" Blocking the door with a tree against burial was a gift used by the monarch and was adopted by Guan Zhong. Confucius criticized him for not being polite. Ceremonies such as crowns, weddings, funerals, sacrifices, and rural drinking in past dynasties were all formulated according to the rank, rank, official position and non-official position of the parties, and there were complicated regulations on the costumes, utensils and ceremonies used, which could not be misused. In the family, the gifts of father and son, husband and wife and brothers are different. The gift of the Son of Man is to set a pillow mat for parents at night, greet them in the morning, tell them face to face when you go out, and tell them face to face when you come back, don't live in the southwest corner of the room (where distinguished people live), don't sit in the middle of the mat, don't take the middle road, don't stand in the middle of the door, and don't save private money. Only through different rituals can we determine the identities and behaviors of all kinds of people in the family and society, so that everyone can perform their duties. This is what "the monarch, minister, father, son and brother are unsightly" (Book of Rites Quli) means.
Both the ruling class and Shu Ren are bound by etiquette. The so-called "no less than Shu Ren" is not that Shu Ren is rude, but that Shu Ren has limited financial, material and time to prepare gifts. More importantly, the talents of nobles and doctors do not apply to Shu Ren. For example, in Shu Ren, there is no temple sacrifice. It is used for sleeping.
What does Confucius actually mean by "ceremony"?
The main meaning of "ceremony" advocated by Confucius is "code of conduct". The functions of this "ceremony" include:
1. Political role: the so-called "ritual system" and "rule by courtesy" establish various laws and regulations to regulate people's behavior and achieve the role of governing the country.
2. Social function: The so-called "ethical code" is to regulate people's behavior through various social etiquette such as holiday customs, birthday celebrations, weddings, funerals and sacrifices, so as to achieve the effect of changing customs.
3. The role of human consciousness: the so-called "people are ruthless, such as courtesy?" This is the greatest contribution of Confucius, who endowed the rigid "ceremony" with the soul of "benevolence", hoping that through education, people can observe their lives from the external code of conduct, thus awakening their hearts and becoming gentlemen determined to cultivate themselves.
The Connotation of Confucius Rites
Rites, that is, Zhou Li, Zhou etiquette. Including sacrificial ceremony, father-brother ceremony, monarch-minister ceremony ... To put it bluntly, Confucius inherited the "Zhou Li" in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and maintained the ruling order of the "Zhou Li".
What is the content of Confucius' polite story?
There is a Confucius in Shandong. He is a great thinker and educator. This man knows everything. His thoughts have fully influenced China people for thousands of years, and I believe this influence will last for thousands of years. Legend has it that he has 72 apprentices, all of whom are outstanding and extraordinary.
One of the disciples is called Rangeng, an excellent one. Once when he was crossing the river, he saw a girl fall into the river and risked her life to save her. Later, the girl's father gave him a cow to express his gratitude to Rangeng (at that time, the cow was not cheaper than the current Mercedes-Benz BMW). Rangeng just needed a cow and accepted it unceremoniously. Later, people accused Rangeng of being so rude, saving people and taking things. Embarrassed and wronged, Rangeng went to ask Confucius what to do. Confucius told him that if you collect well, no one will take risks to help others, and no one will be brave.
Confucius also had a disciple named Yan Hui, who was very famous. At that time, Confucius and his disciples were from Shandong, which is now Shandong. At that time, the war was raging, and a country captured soldiers from other countries and turned tattoos on their faces into slaves. Many prisoners of war in Lu are slaves of other countries. In order to save these slaves, Lu * * introduced preferential policies. If people redeem slaves in Lu, they can not only pay the ransom, but also get rewards. However, Yan Hui redeemed many slaves in Qi, which was praised by people, but Confucius told him angrily that your move would hurt the prisoners of Lu, and no one dared to redeem them in the future. Yan Hui was surprised. Confucius said that you are a rich class, and you can have a lot of money to redeem slaves for free, but most Lu people don't have the money. If they redeem slaves in the future, people will definitely compare you and look down on him, but they can't afford it financially. When Yan Hui woke up, he immediately went to collect the reward.
People are naturally self-interested, that is, any action and any words are in the direction that is beneficial to them, which includes spiritual and material interests. But egoism is different from selfishness. Selfishness is to gain your own interests at the expense of others. It is difficult for people to do things that are not good for them (except a few extremely noble people), just like Rangeng is a very honest and straightforward person who takes the cow away when necessary. Yan Hui didn't need money, but he needed fame, so he took it. We can't give up our own (deserved and necessary) interests to serve other interests, which is a bit contrary to human nature and may be counterproductive.
One day when Kong Qiu was six years old, he was playing a "courtesy" game with A Niu next door, which his mother taught him. Kong Qiu plays the prime minister and A Niu plays the monarch. Put all kinds of pottery beans, plates and other things on the street-this is specially made by Wu Piao, the Potter of Linxiang's mother. For this reason, her mother also knitted him half a piece of cloth to express her gratitude.
The sun shone on Kong Qiu's face, chubby as an apple, but serious, and bowed solemnly to A Niu. Suddenly, A Niu jumped up from the position of the monarch, pointed to Kong Qiu's back and smiled. He was about to speak when Kong Qiu looked up and glared at him and said, "How can a monarch leave his seat without observing the etiquette during the sacrifice? Still laughing, what a scandal! " A Niu ignored him and said with a smile, "What a strange man." Kong Qiu was about to say something, but he felt a pair of hands on his shoulder, and he couldn't help turning around.
At the moment when he looked back, Kong Qiu saw a face that he would never forget in his life. This face is like this: locks of hair are not tied together, and the forehead is full of wrinkles, but the lower part of the face is smooth, except for a scar about 5 cm on the left cheek, no beard, long eyebrows, a big round face like a washbasin and a big mouth. This is his face, look at his body: his clothes are so tattered that his left sleeve has disappeared. He has a crumpled bag on his shoulder. My head, face and clothes are covered with dirt, as if I had just turned over the mound and climbed out again. Kong Qiu's face froze, but immediately calmed down, stroking the man's head and said, "Uncle, you must have walked a long way, right? Why else is your hair so messy? You must be from a barbarian area, otherwise how can you be so poor? " The man smiled, and two front teeth were sadly exposed and said, "What's your name, little friend?" Kong Qiu didn't answer, but asked, "Uncle, you haven't answered my question yet. It is impolite. " That person should be >>
What are the eight rites in Confucius' etiquette? 5 points
Benevolence, courtesy, wisdom, loyalty and filial piety
What is Confucius' idea of propriety?
The study of governing people with "courtesy" as the pillar is actually Confucius' thought of governing the country. Confucius inherited the idea that propriety is the foundation of governing the country since the Western Zhou Dynasty, and formed the overall concept of governing the country and ensuring security through etiquette and music education.
Confucius was dissatisfied with "there is no way in the world" and the turbulent society at that time. With a strong sense of hardship and salvation, he traveled around the world and advocated "morality" and "rule by courtesy". He said: "Governing the country by virtue is like Beichen, where there are many stars." He put forward "courtesy is the country" ("advanced"), which embodies his understanding of the status and role of etiquette in politics.
Confucius held a very respectful attitude towards The Rites of Zhou, but in fact there were gains and losses. Innovation in inheritance aims to save the world. Confucius is a great advocate of "Zhou Li". In The Analects of Confucius, he talked many times about his yearning for the rites and music of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Confucius said: "Zhou Jian is the second generation, and he is depressed about literature." I followed Zhou. " ("Bashu") "Zhou Zhide can be described as the ultimate virtue." (Taber) "If you are useful to me, I am the Eastern Zhou Dynasty!" (Yang Huo) "What! I have been declining for a long time, and I no longer dream of Duke Zhou. " In the final analysis, this attitude of talking about peace and affection is conservative, because no matter how good the ceremony is, it only represents a lost era, although that era was indeed brilliant.
If Confucius really faced the social situation of the collapse of rites at that time and blindly defended the Rites of Zhou, he must be an out-and-out conservative. However, in fact, he also has many dissatisfaction with Zhou Li. On the premise of praising Zhou Li, he has many gains and losses on the Zhou Li issue. For example, "Zhou Li" attached importance to offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods, while Confucius, when answering Fan Chi's question, advocated: "Serving the people and staying away from ghosts and gods can be described as the unity of knowing and doing." (Yongye) Luz asked ghosts and gods, and Confucius told him clearly: "If you can't serve people, how can you serve ghosts?" (Advanced) His disciples all think that "Zi is not strange, not powerful, not chaotic, not god." (Shu Er) Confucius valued personnel over ghosts and gods, and innovated the basic spirit of Zhou Li. Another example is that the patriarchal clan system and hereditary system stipulated in Zhou Li were also broken by Confucius here. His "Xing Cai" (Luz) broke the respect for relatives, advocated "Scholar" (Zhang Zi), and opened the door to learning.
Confucius creatively put forward the idea of "benevolence" through the gains and losses of "Zhou Li", making it the commanding height of his whole ideological system, and cooperating with "Li", governing the people while cultivating self-cultivation and achieving a good social order on the basis of perfecting human relations.
On Confucius' understanding of propriety and benevolence
Confucius s understanding of propriety and benevolence;
Confucius advocated the virtue and virtue of "benevolence and courtesy" at the individual level. The ideological system of virtue and Taoism is based on the theory of goodness of human nature ("one yin and one yang refers to the Tao, and those who follow it are also good, and those who succeed are also people"), aiming at establishing the human pole ("three-pole Tao"), and connecting with human nature, heaven and tunnel, and the golden mean will become a complete methodological ideological system in due course.
Confucius' theory of benevolence embodies the spirit of human nature, while Confucius' theory of propriety embodies the spirit of etiquette, that is, order and system in the modern sense. Humanism is the eternal theme of mankind, which is applicable to any society, any era and any * * *, and order and institutional society are the basic requirements for building a civilized human society. This humanitarianism and order spirit of Confucius is the essence of China's ancient social and political thought.
The highest ideal of Confucius in his later years is called "Great Harmony". In the world of great harmony, people in the world love each other and all the people in the world, not only their families, but also their parents and children. Children can get warmth and care, lonely people and disabled people can rely on them, men have their own things, and women have a satisfactory home. There is no fraud, no thief, no road to pick up, no door to close at night, everyone is honest with each other, talent selection, and the trip to the avenue is also a public service.