Studying things to gain knowledge

Interpretation: Explanation: Ge: reasoning; Zhi: seeking. Study the principles of things to gain knowledge. From: "Book of Rites·Da Xue": "The way to know is to study things, and to know after studying things." Example: Gu Bi in the West regarded ~ as the foundation of learning. This is not the case in China. How can it be so based on the wisdom of the people? Yan Fu's "Yuan Qiang" Grammar: linked forms; used as predicates; refers to the study of the principles of things to obtain knowledge explanations

Studying things to achieve knowledge

1. Calligraphy

Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty He was the first to comment on "investigating things to achieve knowledge". Since Song Confucianism separated "The Great Learning" from the "Book of Rites" and became a part of the "Four Books", the meaning of "investigating things to achieve knowledge" has gradually become a hot topic of debate among later Confucian scholars. Until now. The popular interpretation in society today about "investigating things to achieve knowledge" is based on part of the views of Zhu Xi's theory in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is believed that "investigating things to achieve knowledge" means studying things to obtain knowledge and principles.

Seeking truth from facts

"Seeking truth from facts" includes what is now called the spirit of "seeking truth from facts", but its connotation is far richer than "seeking truth from facts". The difference between today's popular views and Zhu Xi's views lies in the explanation of "zhizhi". Zhu Xi's so-called "knowledge" refers to intelligence - including wisdom and knowledge - while in the modern popular view, "knowledge" only refers to knowledge. This change in concept may be due to the influence of the popular materialist views in today's society.

2. Pseudo-study

Although Zhu Xi was a great Confucian in the history of Confucianism, the reason why his view of "investigating things to gain knowledge" became mainstream in later generations was not because of the success of later generations. Confucian scholars generally agree. In fact, Zhu Xi's teachings were denounced as "pseudo-science" during the Southern Song Dynasty due to political partisanship. Many Confucian scholars in later generations also vigorously criticized Zhu Xi's theoretical views on "investigating things to achieve knowledge." However, because Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on the Four Books" was officially adopted as the criterion for selecting scholars in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, and since Ming Taizu began to respect Zhu Xi's theory as the only official ideological authority in the "Four Books", Zhu Xi's theory became even more important in the Ming Dynasty. The official dogmatic views on imperial examinations lasted for more than 500 years during the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Xi's views on "investigating things to achieve knowledge" became a generally popular view in later generations under the authority of official dogma for hundreds of years. Therefore, in the Westernization School in the late Qing Dynasty, subjects such as physics and chemistry were called "Gezhi", which is the abbreviation of "Studying things to achieve knowledge".

Historical Doctrine Views

Overview

The true meaning of "investigating things to gain knowledge" has been an eternal mystery in the history of Confucian thought. From Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who first wrote annotations for "The Great Learning", to modern Confucian scholars, they have been arguing for more than a thousand years, and there is still no conclusion. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Zongzhou said: "In the theory of investigating things, there are seventy-two lawsuits in ancient and modern times!" ”; and over the past three hundred years from Liu Zongzhou to the present, many different opinions have been added. Scholars throughout the ages in China have debated the concept of "investigating things to gain knowledge." Here are some examples of the main interpretations of the original text by major Confucian scholars over the past one thousand years, and briefly describe the main ideas of each school in bold text:

Eastern Han Dynasty

Zheng Xuan: Things come and happen according to people's knowledge, habits and preferences. "Ge, come." Things are still things. If he knows the depth of goodness, then good things will come to him. He knows that if evil is deep, evil things will come. It's good to speak and do things that suit people. Sincerely, maybe. 』

Tang Dynasty

Kong Yingda: Things come and happen according to people's knowledge, habits and preferences. "The way to know is to study things. If you can learn, you will know." Ge, come. If you already know something, then you can rely on what is coming; if you know the goodness deeply, then good things will come; if you know the depth of evil, then evil things will come. It is said that good deeds will follow when people do good deeds, and evil deeds will follow when people do evil deeds. It is said that good and evil come according to what people like. If you observe an object and then know where it is, once the object comes, you will know where it is good or evil. When something good comes, you know it is good; when something bad comes, you know it is evil. Since you can know it, you can do good and not do evil. Li Ao: Everything is felt, and the heart is clear and unconfused. "Things are all things." The grid person means coming and arriving. When an object arrives, one's mind clearly distinguishes it and does not respond to the object, which is the way to know. 』[9]

Northern Song Dynasty

Sima Guang: Resist the temptation of external things, and then know the ultimate virtue. "There is no human relationship that does not tolerate good but hates evil, admires what is right but is ashamed of what is wrong." However, those who are good and true are outnumbered, and those who are evil but not true are actually many. Why? They are all lured by things, forced by things, and swirled until they know nothing; wealth and honor dampen their wisdom, while poverty and lowliness cloud their minds. "Ge means defending and guarding." If you can protect yourself from external objects, then you can know the true way. Zheng's approach is based on grid, which may not be what the ancients intended. 』

Cheng Hao: Investigate the truth of things, and the intellect is not enslaved by external objects. "Ge, Zhiye." If you exhaust your theory and turn to things, then physics will be exhausted. "When things come, they know how to arise, and when things come to their aid, if they don't use their knowledge, then their sincerity will not change." If you are sincere and determined, your mind will be right and you will begin to learn things. Cheng Yi: Study the truth of things thoroughly, so that you can understand the truth of nature in your own heart. "The pattern is still poor, and the things are still rational. It is still said that the rationale is poor." If it is exhausted, it will be enough to achieve it; if it is not exhausted, it will not be achieved. "Everything in front of you is just an object, and everything has its own reason." Just like the reason why fire is hot and the reason why water is cold, as for the relationship between king, minister, father and son, these are all principles. 』『Ge, Zhiye, means that it is as poor as physics. 』『Ask: "Is the object an external object? Is it an object in the middle of nature?" He said: "It doesn't matter, everything in front of you is nothing but an object. Everything has its own reason, such as the reason why fire is hot and the reason why water is cold. As for the relationship between king and minister, father and son, "It's all principles."

"Things are still things." Everything will make sense if you exhaust its rationale. 』

Southern Song Dynasty

Zhu Xi: Studying the truth of things thoroughly leads to the ultimate intellectual understanding. "Ge, Zhiye." Things are still things. Exhaustively extrapolate the principles of things, and try to reach the extreme. "The so-called knowledge lies in the investigation of things. If I want to know something, I only know the things but cannot understand them." Everything in the human heart is without knowledge, and everything in the world is without reason. However, the existence of principles is not exhausted, so the existence of knowledge is not exhausted. Therefore, starting teaching from "Great Learning" will surely make the scholars know everything in the world, and they will be enriched by the principles they already know, and strive to the extreme. As for exerting force for a long time, once it is suddenly penetrated, the surface and interior of all things will be subtle and rough, and the overall use of my heart will be clear. This is called the structure of things, this is called the perfection of knowledge. ", "Therefore, the way to knowledge lies in observing the facts and observing them. The one who is qualified is called the ultimate. For example, the pattern of "Ge Yu Wenzu" is extremely impoverished. 』

Lu Jiuyuan: Cultivate your mind and not be distracted by things, and regain the knowledge of heavenly principles. "What Heaven gives to me is this heart." Everyone has a mind, and everyone has a mind. The mind is a mind. "This principle is that what Heaven gives to me is not caused by external factors." If you understand this principle, you are the master. If the true power is the Lord, external objects cannot be moved, and heresy cannot confuse. 』『The heart must not be anchored in one thing, but must be self-reliant. The human heart is originally idle and careless. If the thing is taken away, if it has spirit, it will be good if it comes out immediately; if it goes away all the time, it will be bad. Those who check things are also those who check this. Fuxi looked up and looked down at the Dharma, and he tried his best to do it. Otherwise, the so-called investigation of things is just an end. "At the beginning of learning, there must be signs of self-doubt in the second stage of learning; and in the end, there must be the reality of self-control; this is the ancient personality's contribution to knowledge. 』

Li Liwu: Thoroughly study the content of things described in "The Great Learning". "Things have their origin and end, which refers to the mind, body, family, country, and world." Things have an end and a beginning, which refers to integrity, sincerity, integrity, cultivation, Qi, Zhi, and peace. The world is derived from the mind and body, from the beginning to the end. From the rule of peace to the investigation of things, there must be a beginning. 』 "The investigation of things means that things have their origin and end. To know is to know the sequence of things. It covers the origin and end of things, the end and beginning of things, and knows the sequence of exertion. Husband and wife, what are the things that come from the body, mind, family, country, and world? 』

Ming Dynasty

Wang Yangming: Correct the career and material environment, and achieve the true nature of one's own heart and conscience. "To achieve knowledge" is not what the post-Confucian people call expanding their knowledge, but to achieve the good knowledge in my heart. A person of conscience is what Mencius said: "Everyone has a sense of right and wrong." The heart of right and wrong can be known without worrying about it, and can be understood without learning. This is why it is called conscience. This is the nature of destiny, the essence of my heart, and the natural conscience. "Things are things. Whatever the intention is, there must be something. The thing where the intention is is called a thing." The pattern is correct, and it means correcting what is not correct in order to return it to correctness. Correcting what is not right is called eliminating evil. Those who return to the righteous are said to be good. This is what is called grid. ", "The heart is the master of the body, the mind is the origin of the heart, the knower is the body of the mind, and the object is the use of the mind. Ruyi is used to serve relatives, that is, the affairs of relatives must be fulfilled. The laws of heaven allow me to serve my relatives and my conscience, and my selfish desires can be carried to the extreme. If you know the truth, your intention will not be deceived, and you can be sincere; if your intention is sincere, your heart will not let go, and you can be righteous. Checking things is like checking the ruler's grid, which is to correct the irregularities and return them to the right. ”, “Searching for things is the only way to reach perfection. Once you know the best, you know how to measure things. ""Gewu" is like the "Ge" of Mencius's "Great Personality King's Heart". This is to get rid of the righteousness of his mind and make his true nature righteous. But the intention is to get rid of what is not right and make it right. That is to say, there are laws of nature at all times and everywhere. That is poor reasoning. 』『The pattern is correct; correct the incorrectness to return it to correctness. "The absence of good and evil is the essence of the heart. The existence of good and evil is the movement of the will. Knowing good and evil is conscience. Doing good and eliminating evil is the pursuit of things." ”, “To address matters to one’s conscience at any time is to investigate things. 』

Wang Gen: Reflect on your own behavior and understand the roots of virtue. "The grid is like the grid of the format, which is called the Hou Jie Jie." My body is a square, and the world and the country are squares. If I draw a square, I will know that the square is not straight, and the square is not straight. Therefore, we only look for the right moments, but not the squares. If the moments are right, then the square will be square, and if the square is square, then the grid will be formed. Therefore, it is called Wu Ge. The up, down, front, back, left, and right sides of my body are objects, and the vertical and horizontal lines are grids. 』 "Knowing the essence of things is to know the origin; sincerity and righteousness are the foundations of self-cultivation; the root and the end are consistent, so loving people, governing others, and being courteous to others is also the way to understand things." Not being close to someone, not treating someone, and not responding to something, means that one's actions are inconsistent with one's heart, and then turn against oneself. After studying things, you will know how to turn against yourself. Turning against yourself is the skill of studying things. What about the opposite? Just rectify yourself. On the contrary, benevolence governs respect and rectifies oneself. When one's body is upright, the world will return to him. If one's self is upright, everything will be upright, and then one's body will be at peace. 』

Qu Ruji: By stopping at what should be done, one can achieve the knowledge of perfection. "There are three couples in the shot, and they couple with two people. The upper couple stops at the upper couple, the middle couple stops at the middle couple, and the lower couple stops at the lower couple. The place where the three couplings should stop is determined by the painting ground, which is also the name of the thing. Therefore, "The Great Learning" says that things are the place where things should stop. Ge, Zhiye. Those who check things are the ones who should stop at the right place. 』

Ou Yizhixu: Practice mind-only awareness and turn your consciousness [20] into the wisdom of wonderful observation. "Those who rectify their minds turn the eighth consciousness into the wisdom of the great round mirror; those who are sincere in their intentions turn the seventh consciousness into the wisdom of equality, and those who know it well turn the sixth consciousness into the wisdom of wonderful observation; those who observe things, do mind-only consciousness observation , Understand that the world, countries, roots, bodies, objects, and realms are all things that appear in your own mind, and there is nothing else outside your mind. 』[21] Hanshan Deqing: Be aware of all things in the external environment and turn them into true knowledge in your own mind. "Things are external objects. What has always been against me is the state of seeing, hearing, perception, sight, hearing, speech, and movement." Knowledge is true knowledge, which is the light of wisdom of one’s own self. "The pattern is the pattern of "Yu Ge's three seedlings"; if I understand it with sincerity, it will immediately transform and return to me." The so-called sincerity penetrates gold and stone, and feels like dolphins and fish; "Use delusional knowledge and delusional thinking." The old things are incompatible with me.

Those who were at odds with me have now transformed into the wonderful realm of my heart! Object turns into knowledge and becomes one with me. It is a sentimental style, so there is no doubt about it. 』[22]

Qing Dynasty

Sun Qifeng: "The principle of my nature is rooted in heaven, embodied in the heart, contained in a pure body, and developed into The use of spiritual intelligence, the development of spiritual intelligence as the most unified thought, is the conscience. That is, with the emergence of good knowledge, I can recognize the true nature of my nature, and I can use my good knowledge to restore the essence of my nature. This is what the prince's good knowledge says, which is exactly in line with my nature and cannot be wronged. The principle of my nature is rooted in the sky and embodied in the heart. It is unified into the greatness of Yilun and dispersed to become the principle of all things and all things. It is the principle of all things and all things, that is, the existence of my nature. The principle of my nature is the principle of all things. The principle of exhausting the principles of all things is beneficial to my nature. This is what Zhuzi said, that is, the principles of things are exhausted. It is also consistent with my nature and cannot be wronged. Prince Gai has obtained the essence of my nature, Zhu Zi has obtained the completeness of my nature. If you don't get the essentials, it will be overflowing without the foundation; if you don't get it all, it will be omitted and not what it should be. However, the so-called essentials are those that govern the whole. They are not outside of the overall rationale, and there is no other so-called essentials. The so-called completeness means that it is all about its essentials and is not outside the essentials. There is a different so-called completeness, which is what I call the unity. 』

Yan Yuan: Personal practice and verification lead to intellectual understanding of things. "The pattern of investigating things has been upheld by the king's discipline and the Zhu's discipline. Since the time of Han Confucianism, it seems that it has not been stable." The Yuan Dynasty said that it should be like the pattern of "hands to block fierce beasts" in history books, and the pattern of "killing them with hands", which is the teaching of the Six Arts of Confucius. "The Duke of Zhou teaches people the six arts, which are based on human relations and daily use. Therefore, it is said that "cultivation of the Tao is teaching." The six virtues that cover the three things are discovered as six lines, and practical things are six arts. This is what Confucius "learns and practices from time to time"; it is also the so-called "investigation of things". 』

Yinguang: Examining things leads to knowledge and correct interpretation. The explanation is: Examining things to eliminate illusions and selfish desires, so as to reveal the mean and uphold Yi knowledge. This thing is the selfish desire in the heart that is not in line with natural principles and human feelings. Once you have selfish desires, everything you know and see will be biased and incorrect. If you eliminate these illusions and unrealistic selfish desires, you will not be biased and will not be easy to change, that is, the true understanding inherent in the mind will manifest itself. Every move is reasonable and unobtrusive. This saint established a great method for self-cultivation and mental healing for future generations in the world. Xiu Qi Zhiping is here. This is also true of being transcendent and becoming a saint. This is the easiest way to work hard. And the benefits obtained will depend on each person's efforts, whether it is a virtuous person, a saint, or even a Buddha. What's worse? It is a pity that later Confucians did not observe things, and regarded things as things and knowledge as knowledge. It is based on the root of the root and considers the end of the branch to be the end of the branch. He also considers the root of the root to be the root of the branch. Not only does it not reflect the sage’s intention, it also messes up the sage’s writings. Why do you say it? If you want to be sincere in what you mean, you must first know it. To know things, you need to investigate things. This method is extremely labor-saving, extremely simple, and can be achieved as soon as you think about it. If I don't talk about it and let people push my knowledge to the extreme, exhaust the principles of things in the world, and hope to be sincere and correct their minds, then there are very few people in the world. Confucianism in the Song Dynasty mistakenly regarded objects as foreign objects, so later Confucianism only talked about sincerity and integrity, but did not mention style. This principle is extremely obvious, and those who claim to have the hearts of saints misinterpret it. The sage teaches people how to cultivate themselves and their minds, but it is obscure and obscure. Not sad. If it is dedicated to self-governance, then one method of investigating things will be sufficient. Once selfish desires are gone, all evil will be eliminated and all good will arise, so this is sufficient. If you want to make everyone in the world get rid of selfish desires and show correct knowledge, you must advocate karma and retribution. Anyone who wants to benefit himself has no time to consider whether others benefit or not. If you know the cause and effect of good and evil, it follows you like a shadow, like a echoing sound. If the sound is harmonious, the sound will be smooth, and if the shape is straight, the sound will be smooth. When you understand this, you don't expect to check things, but you are willing to check things yourself. Therefore, when Confucius praised the Book of Changes, he said at the beginning that a house that accumulates good deeds will surely have remnants of happiness, and a house that accumulates bad deeds will surely have remnants of disaster. Accumulation of good deeds and accumulation of bad deeds are the result. If there is more happiness and more disaster, then the result will be fruitful. Jizi's Chen Hongfan also said at the end of the day, Xiang uses the five blessings, and the power uses the six poles. This actually shows the cause of the previous life and the result of this life. Xiang, Shunye. Use, use, gain. It is a violation of prestige. Extremely poor. What you did in your previous life was contrary to the right path, leading to the consequences of misfortune in this life. Post-Confucianism does not pay attention to the arts and sciences, and once it is attributed to the king's government, it violates the laws of nature and falsely accuses the king's government. If a child is born into a rich family, he will enjoy happiness; if he is born into a poor family, he will suffer. How could the king's government order his child to be born? The fourth of the five blessings, good virtues, is the habit of cultivating virtues in the previous life. One life span, two riches, three well-beings, and five final exams are the fruits of practicing Taoism and virtue in the previous life. One of the six poles is bad luck, the second disease, the third worry, the four poverty, the five evils (ugly appearance is called evil) and the sixth weakness (soft body is called weak) are the consequences of doing many things that are not in accordance with morality and justice in the previous life. How can we get it? All belong to Wang Zheng.

Modern

Ding Zhaozhong: "The spirit of studying things to gain knowledge" I am very honored to accept the special honorary award awarded to me by "Looking" weekly for the "Love for China" essay. My father grew up with traditional Chinese education, and my education was partly traditional education and partly Western education. In memory of my father, I wrote the article "Remembering". Over the years, I have met many Chinese students in school, so I would like to take this opportunity to talk to you about how Chinese students studying natural sciences should understand natural sciences. In traditional Chinese education, the most important books are the "Four Books". "The Great Learning", one of the "Four Books", says this: The starting point of a person's education is "investigating things" and "promoting knowledge." That is, knowledge is obtained from the exploration of objects. There is no more appropriate use of this term to describe the development of modern scholarship. The basis of modern scholarship is field exploration, which is what we now call experiments. But traditional Chinese education does not pay attention to the true study of things and the pursuit of knowledge. This may be because the purpose of traditional education is not to seek new knowledge but to adapt to a fixed social system. "The Great Learning" itself says that the purpose of studying things to gain knowledge is to enable people to achieve sincerity, integrity, self-cultivation, family order, and country governance, so as to pursue the highest realm of Confucianism - peace in the world.

Because of this, the true meaning of studying things to gain knowledge has been buried. Everyone knows Wang Yangming, the great theorist of the Ming Dynasty. His thoughts can represent the traditional Confucian attitude towards experiments. One day Wang Yangming wanted to follow the instructions of "The Great Learning" and start with "investigating things". He decided to "grid" the bamboo in the yard. So he moved a stool and sat in the yard, facing the bamboo and thinking about it for seven days. However, he failed because of a headache. This gentleman clearly mistook exploring the outside world for exploring himself. Wang Yangming’s views were understandable in the social environment at that time. Because the traditional Confucian view is that there is unchanging truth in the world, and truth is understood from the heart by "sages". After the sage knows the truth, he spreads it to ordinary people. Therefore, the principles in the scriptures can be "extrapolated to the four seas and spread throughout the ages." This view, experience tells us, cannot be applied to the current world. I am a person who studies science, so let me first talk about the importance of experimental spirit in science. The history of scientific progress tells us that new knowledge can only be obtained through field experiments, not through self-examination or philosophical talk. The process of experiment is not passive observation, but active and planned detection. For example, if we want to know the properties of bamboo, we must plant bamboo trees to study its growth process, and we must cut off the leaves and take them to a microscope for observation. Knowledge cannot be gained by just standing by and watching. The process of experimentation is not a random measurement, it requires careful and specific planning. It is particularly important to have an appropriate goal that serves as a guide throughout the exploration process. As for how to select this target, it depends on the experimenter's judgment and inspiration. A successful experiment requires vision, courage and perseverance. From this we can understand why breakthroughs in basic knowledge are rare. We can also understand why academic progress in history has only relied on the critical discoveries of a few people. Today, Wang Yangming’s thoughts continue to dominate the minds of some Chinese scholars. Because of this cultural background, most Chinese students prefer theory and despise experiments, and prefer abstract thinking rather than hands-on practice. Chinese students often do very well in their homework and score nearly 100 points in exams, but when faced with research work that requires ideas, they often feel at a loss. In this regard, I have personal experience to prove it. I grew up with a traditional education. When I studied physics at an American university, I initially thought that as long as I "worked hard" and followed the teacher's instructions, everything would be smooth sailing, but this was not the case. As soon as I started doing research, I immediately realized that I couldn’t just rely on teachers, I needed to make my own decisions and come up with ideas. I didn’t know how much hardship I suffered because I wasn’t prepared in advance. What made me most hesitant and panicked was that the only way at that time - to immerse yourself in reading to cope with everything, was of no help to the actual needs. I feel that the true spirit of studying things to achieve knowledge is not only indispensable in academic research, but also indispensable in dealing with today's world environment. In today's general education, we need to cultivate the spirit of experimentation. That is to say, whether we study science, humanities, or personal actions, we must retain a skeptical and truth-seeking attitude and rely on practice to discover the truth of things. The world and social environment are changing rapidly now. The exchanges between different cultures in the world are also getting closer and closer. We cannot blindly accept what was believed to be the truth in the past, nor can we wait for instructions from “academic authorities.” We need to make our own judgment. In today's era of drastic changes in the environment, we should re-understand the true meaning of studying things to gain knowledge as stated in scriptures thousands of years ago. This meaning has two aspects: first, the only way to seek the truth is to explore things objectively; second, the process of exploration is not a passive stand-by, but an imaginative and planned exploration. I hope that our generation will have new understanding and thinking about investigating things and improving knowledge, so that the experimental spirit can truly become a part of Chinese culture.

Others

The original texts of the above views are just excerpts and brief introductions by important scholars. In fact, there are many different views in history.

Today's "Gewu Zhizhi"

"Gewu Zhizhi" is a phrase that expresses the relationship between cause and effect. The original text of "Book of Rites·University" says, "Things have their origin and end, and things have their beginning and end" (the end and beginning are the cause and effect), "Knowing the order of things is the shortest way", "...the object is organized and then the destination is known." (Wisdom can only be obtained when things are differentiated and differentiated), "...it is originally chaotic and cannot be managed at the end. What is thick is thin, and what is thin is thick and does not exist. This is called knowing the origin, and this is called knowing. "It can be seen from this that [Ge] refers to analysis and discernment. Therefore, "investigating things to achieve knowledge" refers to discerning the importance, sequence, cause and effect, good and evil of things, etc., in order to guide one's words, deeds and thinking.