Meaning: Heaven and earth are the creation of all things. To establish a mind for heaven and earth means that scholars understand the principles of creation of all things and make the way of heaven manifest. Confucianism pays attention to the state of existence, not talking about strange forces and chaos, but the two levels of destiny and life, which are now material and spiritual. From the material point of view, there is sufficient food and clothing, and from the spiritual point of view, ethics, politics and religion ensure that the people live in peace and contentment.

The original sentence comes from the Northern Song Dynasty thinker Zhang Zai.

Zhang Zai (1020-December 6, 1077), courtesy name Zihou, was a thinker, educator and one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. . He is known as Mr. Hengqu in the world, and is honored as Zhang Zi. He is honored as a sage and is enshrined in the 38th place in the west veranda of the Confucius Temple. His famous sayings of "establishing a heart for the heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, carrying forward the unique knowledge for the saints, and creating peace for all generations" were called "Four Hengqu Sentences" by contemporary philosopher Feng Youlan. Because of their simplicity and grand meaning, they have been praised throughout the ages.

Zhang Zai, Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao are collectively known as the "Five Sons of the Northern Song Dynasty". His works such as "Zheng Meng" and "Hengqu Yi Shuo" have survived.

Extended information:

The writing background of Hengqu's Four Sentences:

In the second year of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhang Zai served as secretary of Chongwen Academy. At that time, Wang Anshi carried out the "New Law" ", hoping to get Zhang Zai's support. Zhang Zai did not oppose the reform, but he proposed that he could not "teach jade men to pursue the pursuit of beauty", so he and An Shi "spoke too much. Later, his brother Zhang Jin was convicted for opposing the reform, and Zhang Zai resigned. Returning to his hometown, he made a living by giving lectures and writing books.

Zhang Zai was an outstanding thinker and emphasized practice and "outer kings". They are different, but their stance of advocating the application of classics is completely the same. He advocated "practicing ethics" in Guanzhong, and even wanted to combine the discussion of "well fields" in "Zhou Li" with his own ideas to raise funds to purchase land in Guanzhong. To put it into practice.

His four sentences in Hengqu "Establish a heart for the world, establish a destiny for the people, carry forward the unique knowledge of the past saints, and create peace for all generations." "The main point is that the rites of the Zhou Dynasty were restored to create peace, but the sergeants were not doing well, and their talents and ambitions could not be displayed. They could only lecture and write books to create a Taoist school.