When reading history, you must see the opportunities that sages have to control chaos. The advancement and retreat of wise men and gentlemen is the investigation of things. This is a famous saying by Cheng Hao. Below is the dynasty that the author Cheng Hao was from. It is for reference only. Let’s take a look.
Cheng Hao of the Northern Song Dynasty (1032-1085), also known as Mr. Mingdao, was born in Huangpi County, Hubei Province. A great Confucian in the Song Dynasty, a Neo-Confucianist and educator, he was awarded the title of "Sage" and was enshrined in the 38th place in the east veranda of the Confucius Temple. He and Cheng Yi are brothers and are known as "Er Cheng" in the world. In his early years, "Er Cheng" studied under Zhou Dunyi, the founder of Neo-Confucianism, and established his own Neo-Confucian system during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu.
His family has been an official for generations. His great-grandfather Cheng Xizhen served as Shangshu Yubu Yuanwailang; his grandfather Cheng Yu once served as Huangpi County Magistrate; His father, Cheng Jue, was too young to return to his hometown, so he lived in Huangpi. He served as a county lieutenant in Huangpi County and later became a doctor in Taizhong. Er Cheng was born when his father was a captain in Huangpi County. He was deeply influenced by his family's education since childhood, and was especially influenced by his father Cheng Jue in political thought. He was famous for his non-Wang Anshi's new laws.
After being elected as a Jinshi in the second year of Jiayou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1057), he served as the chief registrar of Hu County, the chief registrar of Shangyuan County, the magistrate of Jincheng in Zezhou, and the prince Zhongyun, supervising the censor and supervising the wine tax in Ruzhou. He is the judge of Zhenning Army and the prime minister of Zongning Temple.
At the beginning of Shenzong's reign, he served as censor. Because he had different political views with Wang Anshi, he was not reused, so he concentrated on academics. The original biography of "History of the Song Dynasty" states: "I have the ambition to seek the Tao. It spreads among various schools, and has been in and out of the old and Buddhist scholars for decades. I have returned to seek the 'Six Classics' and finally obtained it." He founded "Luo School" with his younger brother Cheng Yi and laid the foundation of Neo-Confucianism. In terms of education, he successively set up schools in Songyang, Fugou and other places, and devoted himself to educational research. He wrote a lot of books and formed a set of educational ideological systems. Cheng Hao proposed that the purpose of education is to cultivate saints, "A gentleman's learning must reach the saints. Those who do not reach the saints but themselves will be abandoned." Those who are filial should be filial, and those who are younger should be younger, and they should be respected as they are, and they are just saints." That is to say, the highest purpose of education is to make the educated follow the laws of nature, be kind to the people, love things, and abide by feudal ethics. "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" are "knowing", "If you read the Analects of Confucius and "Mencius" but don't know it, is it ridiculous to think that there are many? ""The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" must also be studied, "The way of the great university is to understand the virtues and understand the principles." And "The Doctrine of the Mean" "The principles of heaven are not as brilliant as the principles of heaven, and they are not enough to teach the Doctrine of the Mean." In short, education We must use Confucian classics as teaching materials and Confucian ethics as the basic content of education. Cheng Hao also proposed that reading is to "clarify the principles" and pay attention to reading methods. At the end of the chapter", this is a "big problem for scholars". Like his Neo-Confucianism, Cheng Hao's educational thoughts have a profound impact on later generations. Later generations, in order to seek the origin of academic tradition, built a temple or academy in memory of the place where he lectured. In the first year of Jiayou's reign (1056), Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty established the Ercheng Temple in the place where the Book of Changes was taught in the capital (to the left of Fanta in Kaifeng, Henan). In the 20th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1489), Li Yan, the governor of Henan, built the Ercheng Temple in Daliang Academy. Er Cheng was enshrined in the lecture hall. Songyang Academy was also established to commemorate Er Cheng. "Songyang Academy Chronicles Preface" states: "Songyang Academy was the place where the Sutras of the Song Dynasty were kept. Master Liang Cheng stayed here to give lectures to his disciples. "Ye".
In the thirteenth year of Jiading of Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty (1220), Cheng Hao was given the posthumous title of "Chun Gong" and Cheng Yi was named "Zheng Gong". In the first year of Chunyou of Emperor Lizong (1241), he was granted the posthumous title "Chun Gong". Cheng Hao was granted the title of "Henan Bo" and Cheng Yi was granted the title of "Yichuan Bo", and they were "worshiped in the temple of Confucius". In the sixth year of Zong Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty (1455), he ordered the construction of Liangcheng Temple in the style of Yanzi (i.e. Yan Yuan), with more than 60 front and rear halls, verandahs, and rooms. In the 25th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Ercheng became a Confucian scholar and became a sage, ranking above Confucius and his disciples, as well as other Confucian scholars in the Han and Tang Dynasties. In the same year, Emperor Kangxi gave Liang Cheng the plaque of "Xue Da Xing Tian".
Er Cheng's works include "Henan Cheng Family's Posthumous Letters", "Henan Cheng Family's Foreign Letters" and "Henan Cheng Family's Posthumous Letters" compiled by later generations. "Mr. Mingdao's Collected Works", "Mr. Yichuan's Collected Works", "Er Cheng Cui Yan", "Jing Shuo", etc. Cheng Yi also wrote "Book of Changes". Er Cheng's theory was later inherited and developed by Zhu Xi and other Neo-Confucianists in the Southern Song Dynasty, becoming "Cheng Zhu". "School.
Cheng Hao Neo-Confucianism holds that the two Cheng's theories are different in some aspects, but the basic content is the same. They both use "reason" or "Tao" as the basis of all theories, and believe that "Principle" is the "natural principle" that precedes all things. "Everything is just a natural principle." "Everything is based on reason." It goes against the principles of nature. It puts forward the simple dialectical idea that things are "right", emphasizing that human nature is inherently good, and "nature is the principle." Due to different qi, human nature has good and evil, so turbid qi and viciousness are actually human desires. If human desires blind the original mind, it will harm the principles of nature. Therefore, to teach people to "preserve the principles of nature and destroy human desires", we must first "know the principles of tomorrow". "Principles" means that we must understand the principles of things day by day. After accumulating a lot, we can suddenly understand them. It advocates the cultivation method of "cultivation requires respect, and learning leads to knowledge". Er Cheng promoted feudal ethics and advocated the formation of a relationship between monarch and ministers within the family. Cheng Yi also opposed women's remarriage, claiming that "death by starvation is a small matter, but disobedience is a serious matter." The evil was deep.
Cheng Hao and his younger brother Cheng Yi were both the main founders of the Song Dynasty Dynasty, and they were known as "Er Cheng" in the world. Because the Ercheng brothers had lectured in Luoyang for a long time, they later called their studies "Luoxue". Ercheng developed the philosophy of mind and numerology from Mencius to Zhou Dunyi, and established an idealist Neo-Confucian system with "Heavenly Principles" as the core. The most important academic proposition put forward by Er Cheng is "all things are just one natural principle". They believe that the two qi of yang and yin and the five elements are only the materials used by "Li" or "Heavenly Principle" to create all things. Starting from Ercheng, "Li" or "Heavenly Principle" is used as the highest category of philosophy, that is, as the ontology of the world. , and the hierarchical system of human society and the corresponding social moral norms are also the specific manifestations of "the law of heaven" in human society. "The king, ministers, father and son, the law of the world, cannot escape between heaven and earth."
Although Er Cheng’s theory of human nature is based on the theory of the goodness of nature of the Simeng school, Er Cheng’s theory of human nature further deepens the theory of the goodness of nature and answers a series of questions about why nature is the best and why evil factors arise. Question, Er Cheng believes that human nature has a difference between "nature of destiny" and "nature of temperament". The former is the embodiment of heaven's principles in human nature, without any damage or distortion, and therefore is perfect and flawless; the latter is the embodiment of gas. What is born is inevitably eroded by "qi" and causes disadvantages, so it has evil elements. Er Cheng believes that the natural state of human nature is the reflection of "natural principles" in human beings, and therefore is the highest good. The goodness in human nature is naturally the essential feature of its "natural principles", while evil is manifested in human beings who are not in compliance with the rules of morality. Desires and emotions are called "human desires" or "private desires" by Ercheng. , "Human Desire" is the opposite of "Heavenly Principle", and the two are incompatible. If "Natural Principle" is strong, "Human Desire" will be destroyed, and if "Human Desire" is strong, "Natural Law" will be weakened. It can be seen from this that the proposition of "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires" put forward by scholars in the Song Dynasty actually has a certain positive significance and cannot be completely negated.
The "Tianli" theory founded by Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi played a very important role in the history of ancient Chinese thought. It had an important and far-reaching impact on ancient Chinese political and philosophical thoughts, and was influenced by later generations. It was respected by successive feudal dynasties and gradually evolved into the dominant thought in the late feudal society of my country for nearly a thousand years.