"The way of the lower class" is the foundation and starting point of the "way of the gentleman", but this does not mean that to achieve the "way of the gentleman" one must follow this path. We cannot exclude many other ways from this. Possibility, you must know that the most fundamental appeal of Confucianism is to abandon the so-called absolute truth. For the development of individual personality, the Lower Shidao is just a reliable path that can be followed and has sufficient historical verification. It is in this sense that we talk about the Lower Shidao. This principle is also reflected in what we will talk about later. The sergeant said.

Previously, when we discussed the overall "gentleman's way", we mentioned that the true connotation of the so-called "gentleman's way" is nothing more than "learning" and "learning". Then, obviously, the "lower scholar's way" as the starting point of "gentleman's way" is naturally a conditional embodiment of this connotation. The so-called "condition" is nothing more than taking into account the inevitable needs of specific personality in the real society and historical process. If we do not consider this limitation and just pursue the idealized ultimate personality, then the most likely result will be the falsehood and hypocrisy repeatedly shown to us in Chinese history. Although we admit that False elements are inevitable in ideology, but we also know that this falseness must be kept within certain limits and subject to necessary control. Only in this way can we say that this is a relatively "good" or Talk about a healthy ideological system. On the contrary, when this falsehood begins to spread without restriction, we must reflect on and update it.

Returning to our discussion of xiaoshidao, let’s look at the specific connotations of “learning” and “xi” in xiaoshidao. From the most macro perspective, we have to say that xiaoshidao is mainly acquired through "learning". This does not mean that "learning" is not considered in xiaoshidao, but there is a difference in the importance of the two. In the Confucian concept of "Xi", it is mainly infiltrated and cultivated. In short, it is a quality or temperament naturally obtained in the communication and interaction between an individual and the surrounding environment. Its formation requires long-term precipitation, and its performance is also stable and solidified. As the saying goes, "the country is easy to change, but the nature is difficult to change." In today's more scientific terms, the formation of an individual's psychological mechanism and emotional characteristics mainly depends on the individual's growth environment. This environment can range from family, school, teachers, friends, to ethnicity, country, cultural background, etc. , it is these inner qualities that have been formed over a long period of time and cannot be quantified or simply surfaced to form the most solid and basic personality expression of an individual, and this kind of personality is what we can distinguish in the normal social sense. , the independent existence of difference. For an individual, this personality is actually his only reliance when facing various difficulties and pains in life. For society as a whole, the overall personality of this kind determines the health of the entire society, or From the perspective of popular economics, it is the operating cost of society as a whole.

As a footnote to this situation, we look at how people behave in today's increasingly globalized world. It is not difficult to see that all kinds of chaos, gloom, distortion and even violence and madness, as well as the resulting conflicts between people and within themselves, are of course mainly due to historical development, but only because of historical development. In this specific case, the false and hypocritical ideology that pervades the entire human race cannot be blamed in any way.

In short, what is acquired through "acquisition" is the quality that makes a person called a "person". It basically determines an individual's emotions and so-called character, and determines the relationship between the individual and others. The way of communication and cooperation determines what kind of people he can accept and what kind of people he can be accepted by. Now we call this ability more directly the so-called "emotional intelligence". Let's take a look at "learning" below. There is a general judgment in different professional fields today that for a person who has received basic modern education and training, as long as he can spend a year in almost any specific field, With about 10,000 hours of study and practice, you can become a professional in this industry. But the phenomenon we have observed is that only a small number of people can do this. In other words, only a small number of people have the necessary learning ability. In fact, we have to say that this kind of simplified and almost purely technical learning is far from the connotation of "learning" in the Confucian concept, but despite this, there are still very few people who can do it. So we can't help but ask why most people are unable to carry out this kind of learning that is easy to follow and not too difficult. Obviously, the most direct answer to this question is the lack of personal learning ability mentioned above, and we want to say This is a fatal flaw, because it directly lacks the motivation to learn, or the motivation is distorted. The most straightforward example is that individuals cannot really answer the question of why they learn. And this has to be traced back to a person's basic feelings, which is why "Xi" is particularly important in Xia Shi Dao. In addition to its own connotation, "Xi" supports and promotes "Xi" at this level. study". In addition, we would also like to say that the actual accurate expression of "learning" in Xia Shi Dao should be "imitation" or similar semantics. We will talk about this later when we compare it with "Xue" in Zhong Shi Dao. Therefore, when we discuss Shidao, we mainly focus on "Xi", and "Learning" is only occasionally mentioned.

We say that in the practice of Shidao, the main gain is a kind of emotion acquired through "learning". So specifically speaking, the most fundamental and basic reason for the existence of this emotion is that Confucianism has always The "filial piety" we are talking about can even be said to be the precursor of any human emotion that we can perceive, including the so-called "love", "fraternity", "great love" and so on that we vigorously promote today. On the surface, it seems to be a far nobler and grander emotion than "filial piety". To pop the soap bubble of this so-called "fraternity", it is basically enough to simply ask why. If you can fully answer why, I think this kind of "love" feeling is well-founded, reliable, and It is worthy of congratulations and learning, but if not, then the empty talk of general and unrealistic "fraternity" will be absurd and even despicable. Instead of doing this, it is better to start from the people around you who are related to you by blood. Respect and understanding them is always more feasible than understanding and respecting strangers. In fact, isn’t this the case for all learning methods? If you can't handle the things at hand that are related to you well, how can you make effective judgments and responses to far more grand, huge and abstract existences?

Undoubtedly, "filial piety" is mainly a kind of emotion. So, what kind of emotion is "filial piety"? Or what does this "filial piety" have to do with the above-mentioned "love" that we seem to be familiar with? Let's first look at the classical connotation of "filial piety". "Filial piety" has always been the foundation and starting point advocated by Confucian practice. However, after "The Analects", like other Confucian ideas, "filial piety" has inevitably been completely Ideology, this is the logic of history. Naturally, such "filial piety" not only formed the foundation of traditional Chinese society, but also became a stubborn fortress of classical Chinese patriarchal society. Its role is exactly the same as that of the monotheistic system in Western history.

The starting point of this kind of "filial piety" is the natural bond between people, that is, the inheritance relationship of blood. We say that this is completely legitimate and frank, but due to historical limitations, it mistakenly regards this connection as Pushing towards complete absoluteness, that is, emphasizing absolute obedience to parents and blood relatives at the individual level, this deviates from the basic purpose of Confucianism, that is, the basic tenet of the Doctrine of the Mean. We should be able to clearly find this when we look at the "Analects" now. It is different from the purely ideological judgments of later generations. "Filial piety" in this sense cannot avoid the fate of being completely dogmatized. As a result, the entire concept of "filial piety" we see is only used to emphasize the absolute obedience of children to their parents. Its essence is to transform a vivid and natural The emotions of energetic people are ossified into the constraints of an external relationship. In fact, this is equivalent to weakening and killing the overall vitality of the crowd, because this is to use a life phenomenon with rich connotations in a simple and easy-to-control form. Most of the countless stories of filial piety handed down from classical China are annotations of such a situation.

The above is the manifestation of this "filial piety" at the individual or family level, and it goes beyond that. There has never been a complete separation of individuals and society, especially in classical Chinese society. This kind of "filial piety" also determines the basic operation mode of Chinese society. Its role is most directly reflected in the social legal system. Since ancient times, China's legal system and ethical rules have been inseparable. In fact, this is not the case in any society. It is a natural thing in the ancient history of a nation, but due to the relationship between civilization and tradition, it is more obvious in classical China. We know that the theoretical essence of the legal system is based on reason, or more strictly speaking, based on so-called logic, and its performance is naturally completely dogmatic and formal. Then, after accepting the element of "filial piety" based on emotion, the performance and effect of the law can be imagined. We will not discuss this issue here. We will simply draw a general judgment or say The conclusion is that this kind of alliance is really a helpless move, which not only distorts "filial piety", but also reduces the authority of "law"; it makes people feel ridiculous about such "filial piety", and it also makes people unable to confirm it at all. Believe in the dignity of the law.

So, since "filial piety" is a kind of emotion, let us simply return it to its basic emotional connotation and take a look at the inner meaning of "filial piety" in this sense, so as to Then we need to grasp the characteristics it brings out before we can consider implementing it. Let us start from the most basic fact, that is, the relatively independent existence of individual people we observe. This fact makes us ask, who am I? Where do you come from and where are you going? What was born? Different civilizations or human groups have different answers to this question. We do not want to study and judge this issue in detail here. This is a follow-up matter. We are just pointing out another equally basic fact, that is, no matter how independent you are as an individual, at least in terms of blood inheritance, you are still a link in a long chain. On the one hand, you inherit it directly from your parents, and on the other hand, your children inherit it. From you, no matter how great or humble the individual is, compared to this chain, it is not so precious that it needs to be written down. Because, for all the gatherings of causes and conditions in this world, you cannot eliminate the influence of the past, just like today gives birth to tomorrow. This kind of integrated wholeness cannot be simply divided by atomized thinking. This is essentially " The rational basis of "filial piety", when this rationality gradually settles down, it condenses into the emotional existence of what we call "filial piety".

In other words, "filial piety" mainly expresses people's recognition and respect for this blood-based civilization inheritance. Its core is the inheritance of civilization. Of course, we say "civilization" in this sense is For a civilization in a relatively narrow sense, the continuation of blood is its most natural form. The combination of the two constitutes the entire connotation of what we now call "filial piety". With this basic judgment of connotation, it is easier for us to look at the so-called "filial piety" behavior, that is, the external performance. Of course, all these judgments are within the scope of xiaoshidao and are absolute. It is not accepted by Confucianism. Then, the above-mentioned absolute obedience to parents obviously cannot be regarded as "filial piety", or it cannot be judged as "filial piety" just for this reason. Of course, respecting parents is still a high probability act, but " "Filial piety" obviously has a broader direction. At least, from the perspective of civilization inheritance, understanding and inheriting the thoughts and emotions of the fathers and ancestors, and educating one's own offspring in this way, is the most basic responsibility of a corporal, or Say "filial piety". All judgments of "filial piety" should be based on this inherent principle. In this way, we will find that many of the so-called "filial piety" models spread in classical Chinese history are actually "unfilial" in nature. This is natural, because such "filial piety" has been purely ideological and dogmatic. "filial piety", its content is of course false.

From an individual sense, "filial piety" enables natural people to obtain the basis of existence and become a "social person" in the true preliminary sense. It is the unity of thinking and emotion, and is an individualized person. The basis for settling down and establishing a life. From the scope of the xiaoshidao we are talking about now, this is also the basis of "learning". Without this foundation, "learning" in the true sense will become a very difficult or even almost impossible thing. For this reason, most of what is built is a mirage-like illusion.

As for "ti", we say it is a natural extension of the connotation of "filial piety". To quote Mencius' famous saying, "When I am old, I am in harmony with other people's oldness; when I am young, I am in harmony with others' youngness." If you practice it yourself, you will naturally be able to understand and respect others in the same situation. At the same time, this is also the main source of personal social identity. We can even go one step further and say that "ti", as a basic emotion originating from "filial piety", can be interpreted to a large extent as what we often call "love" today. Of course, this "love" It is by no means an empty, general, indescribable "love", but a specific and subtle love, the most basic human love that is infiltrated in our daily life, such as the love of brothers, the love of husband and wife, the love of friends, and so on. , constitutes the most basic social living environment for a natural person. In this way, we take "filial piety" as the foundation and "twinship" as the branches, and a basic and sound individual personality can be established. This kind of personality is the goal we need to achieve in the xiaoshidao.

In the previous section, we mainly talked about Shidao from a relatively individual level, focusing on the precipitation and shaping of emotions. If we follow the classification standards of traditional Confucian appeals, it should generally fall into the so-called " The aspect of developing “mind”. But as we all know, Confucianism pursues a complete system, and the individual is only one aspect. At any time, the consideration of the society as a whole cannot be missing. Otherwise, even the seemingly easy and not too demanding corporal path will be equally difficult to achieve. This fact has been undoubtedly demonstrated in the imperial history of ancient China.

We say that "filial piety" forms the basis of the corporal's basic emotions and the ethical norms it gave rise to, but after all, these still work within a relatively narrow scope. On a broader social level, what does the corporal rely on? The conclusion is undoubtedly "the law". Of course, we have to emphasize that the laws referred to here are mainly derived from the Western legal system, rather than the codes of classical China, because in essence, there is no "law" in the true sense of classical China. Regarding this point, there is no completeness The analysis will be discussed in subsequent chapters and will be skipped here for now. In short, what is needed is a legal system based on reason, especially logic, that can strictly and basically completely reflect the division of social interests. Such laws are essentially derived from metaphysics. I emphasize this point because only in this way can we make up for the metaphysical elements that Confucianism inherently lacks at this level, and thus it is meaningful. Otherwise, just returning to the "pre-legal" state barely established based on personal emotions such as "filial piety" will only become a meaningless repetition of history.

The core of the legal system we are familiar with now, or the popular legal system, is derived from the legal principles of ancient Rome, and its essence is actually the embodiment of the social governance norms of the ancient Greek metaphysical system. And we also know that Confucianism essentially completely abandons metaphysics, so at first glance there is a contradiction between the two. Let’s explain this problem below. In fact, based on our previous discussion of the so-called xiaoshidao, it is not difficult to know that the so-called xiaoshidao is originally a definition of metaphysics. Correspondingly, the concept of "filial piety" is also a Confucian metaphysical concept and does not have any absolute meaning.

At the individual level, as a concrete personality, Xia Shi Dao’s ethical status is very clearly defined. You must know that only an ideological system based on metaphysics can segment the world in such a compartmentalized manner. Therefore, As far as the corporal's achievements are concerned, there is no irreconcilable contradiction between the internal cultivation of character and external social norms. In this way, the external social environment of Shidao was established. This is a rigid, quantified, predictable and perceptible world mainly dominated by the legal system. There is no such thing as "concrete" in such a world. All people are regarded as a completely undifferentiated "personality" and exist. In fact, it is what we call "human rights" today. Naturally, the existence of such "people" Of course they are equal. If we look at this issue more theoretically, this is actually Confucianism’s acceptance of metaphysics.

We might as well examine this issue more deeply. The so-called macro aspect of the social nature of "people" is nothing more than politics, that is, the social display of relationships between people. If "the way of the lower scholar" is the foundation of the "way of the gentleman", then obviously its social manifestation is naturally the overall political norms of Confucian society, or the basis of the governance method. So what kind of foundation is this? Based on our discussion above, it is obvious that absolute equality, or the equality of individual personalities without distinction, is the so-called principle of equality before the law. This is the basic principle established by the outside world of Shidao, the so-called absolute democracy. But it’s important to note that Corporal Shido’s world is only part of our actual political world. We emphasize its foundation and rationality, but we cannot exceed its boundaries. Real politics is composed of multiple factors, or different worlds. We will mention this issue when we talk about "Zhongshi Dao" in the future. , in short, it should be noted that real politics, or society, is a more advanced existence than abstract ideas, so "low moral education" is only one of its elements and cannot be replaced.

In this way, through this combination of inside and outside, the whole of Xiashidao is basically established. Internally, this is the starting point of adulthood, and externally, this is the starting point of social construction. Or we can also say figuratively that this is the most basic world of Confucianism, but it is also a complete world. It provides the necessary foundation for the more spectacular and magnificent world of Confucianism. It is said to be complete because this world exists completely within the scope of time and space. The continuity of bloodline embodies the element of time, and the rigor and meticulousness of the law embodies the element of space. This is of course a metaphysical world, but it is also a stable and orderly world. In fact, the metaphysics we talk about is originally used to provide a certain order.

The training of corporals is a methodological issue. We know that the only source of the so-called correct method lies in the object itself. The social manifestation of Xiashidao is essentially a matter of historical progress, which is beyond the scope of influence by individual will, so it is not within the scope of our discussion here. A natural, well-ordered, fair and just social atmosphere has a greater positive impact on individuals. , it is naturally easier to become a corporal. This is the so-called social education cost problem. However, endogenous problems are always more essential. It determines the external performance and the overall direction. Therefore, we must consider the individual Let’s continue to discuss this issue.

As mentioned before, the essence of "Gentleman's Way" is nothing more than "learning, learning". So, as the partial and restricted foundation of "Gentleman's Way", "Xiaoshi's Way" is naturally mainly This issue is just a bit biased. "The way of a corporal" is mainly based on "learning", and the influence of the environment is more important to a corporal's achievement. Or to put it bluntly, a corporal essentially has no ability to "learn", and a corporal's "learning" is just pure It is just the acquisition of formal knowledge, which we will discuss later. We can very specifically identify the environment here as a family, or family. What needs a little explanation is that this family is not exactly the typical monogamous family model that we are familiar with now. Of course, this is today It is not the mainstream, but the ethical constitution under the broader blood ties. It can be said that the family is the only cradle and the breeding ground for corporals. Without a family in the true sense, there is no such thing as a corporal. The external social environment, such as schools, etc., at the corporal level, serve more as a place and channel for acquiring knowledge, and are a branch of the corporal rather than the backbone. The reason is very simple, because the core "filial piety" of a corporal as we have always said can only be obtained through the family environment. Without this environment, it is impossible to talk about "filial piety".

So, next, we need to talk about family. We must emphasize that a family that can cultivate corporals must be a real family. The so-called real family refers to the real feelings between family members. This realness is the natural connotation of the family. If a family exists only by relying on external constraints, such as law, it is a purely false family, and its consequences are more terrible than having no family at all. Falsehood is not within the discussion of Confucianism, or even any valuable human culture. Of course, our next question is how the above-mentioned real family is created, which directly leads to the ethical issue of marriage. In fact, whether it is the orders of parents, the words of a matchmaker, or complete personal choices, these are all external forms. The basic value of a real marriage is to inherit the bloodline and continue the family. The choice of form is only influenced by the external society. It’s just a conditional restriction.

In other words, marriage itself is an extremely important part of the corporal's way. It is the most important content and form of the corporal's life. Putting aside the surface, what marriage essentially represents is the connection of blood and the blending of the family. In the world of the corporal, this is It represents the flow and extension of time and space. Only in this time and space can life gain necessary meaning. It can be said that if the core connotation of "filial piety" was more reflected in the relationship between parents and children in classical society, then in modern society, it is mainly reflected in the marriage relationship. The reason for this change is attributed to the social Structural changes caused by life and production methods. From here we can also see that "filial piety" is an essential existence and is by no means a simple form. At the same time, we can also understand that "filial piety" is actually a simplified state of Confucianism's highest pursuit of "benevolence". It is the so-called "consistency" in the category of corporals. When diverged, it is a mature and stable marriage and family. When condensed, it is a stable corporal. Basic personality is the foundation of society. Without this foundation, a real society cannot be constructed.

Through family exposure, the most precious basic emotions of an individual are acquired, and the corporal personality is established. Let's briefly talk about the "learning" side of the corporal. The corporal does not emphasize "learning", but it is not impossible. As mentioned above, the corporal in this aspect is mainly technical learning and imitation, which is a process of acquiring necessary living abilities and accumulated civilizational achievements of mankind. This process is generally restricted and restricted by social conditions. Compared with emotional cultivation, It is relatively simple and of low importance, so it will not be described in detail. The only thing that needs to be emphasized again is that within the scope of xiaoshidao, "learning" is the foundation. Without "learned" emotions, the consequences of technical learning are unpredictable and blindly a large amount of miscellaneous so-called knowledge. Acquisition is an ignorant and even dangerous behavior. With emotional protection, such a necessary and extensive coverage will become the basis for us to move towards a higher personality existence, which is the "Senior Sergeant's Way" that we will discuss later. and conditions. This statement is not alarmist, because the so-called knowledge system of human beings must be fragmented, dogmatic, and metaphysical in nature, and its inherent inevitable contradictions will be reflected after accumulating to a certain extent. If the individual personality is built on this On the basis of fragmentation, there is no chance for growth. A more in-depth discussion of this issue can only be completed in the upper part of Shidao. Here we will quote this result first. This is also the rational reason why we have repeatedly emphasized the importance of emotional factors in the formation of personality. Emotions not only provide the basic driving force for the so-called intellectual development, but also provide the necessary buffer and protection when intellectual development encounters obstacles, which is basically inevitable.

Finally, let’s make a more formal conclusion. That is, the role of teachers or mentors in training corporals is minimal, because what they represent is fundamentally a force of social education, which is divorced from the reality of corporals. Only family, or parental blood relations, is the decisive factor in becoming a corporal.

The world composed of xiaoshi is the basic world of Confucianism, and xiaoshidao is the basic principle, or ideology, of this world. This world provides the material and cultural foundation for the more advanced Confucian world. At the macro-social level, this world is mainly based on the aforementioned ethical principle with "filial piety" as its core, and the legal principle with "rationality", that is, the natural equality of individual personality, as its core. There are potential contradictions between the two. It cannot be solved at this level, but needs to be traced back to the world of "Zhongshi Dao".

For the individualized corporal personality, in addition to the basic responsibilities to the family, the main socialized personal quality requirement is integrity. This kind of integrity is not an empty and unreal so-called " "Integrity", but integrity in a definite legal sense, which reflects the corporal's respect for the fair and general agreement of society as a whole.