first, as my teacher, Professor Chen Yinque of Tsinghua University, once said, the "three cardinal guides and six disciplines" in White Tiger Tong is the essence of China culture. What do you mean by "three cardinal guides"? It is the monarch, the father and son, and the couple. Of course, what he said is that the monarch is the minister, the father is the son, and the husband is the wife. There are dross here. For example, husband and wife should be equal. How can a man become a woman's class? Let's not talk about it for the time being. "Six Ji", one is the fathers, that is, the brothers and sisters of their fathers; Second, brothers; Third, people; Fourth, the uncles, that is, the people in the mother's family; The fifth is the teacher; Sixth, friends. He said that this "three cardinal guides and six disciplines" is the center of China culture, and I think what he said is very reasonable. Because since mankind has its own society, there must be a rule to maintain it, otherwise the society will be in a mess. Why are there traffic policemen on the road now? Why are there traffic lights? This is a kind of rule, a kind of rules and regulations, which requires everyone to abide by, so that social life can be carried out. Without these rules, social life cannot be carried out. The "three cardinal guides and six disciplines" in White Tiger Tong stipulated all the interpersonal relationships in the society at that time.
secondly, there is another expression of our culture, which is our characteristic, that is, "style, ambition, integrity, sincerity, cultivation, uniformity, governance and equality". It means eight steps, namely, to learn from things, to know, to be upright, to be sincere, to cultivate one's morality, to keep one's family in order, to govern the country and to level the world. Starting with yourself is to understand things, know things later, and find out the rules. There is no need to talk about integrity and sincerity. Self-cultivation is to cultivate yourself, then put your family in order, cure your family, and then run the country. After running the country, it is to level the world, that is, from one's heart to the world. So, what is the country and what is the world? In the Zhou Dynasty, countries like Qi, Yan and Zheng were countries, while the world referred to China in the whole Zhou Dynasty. Now China and Japan are called countries, and the world is the world. Individuals should proceed from the heart, be sincere and sincere, and always push to govern the country and level the world. The steps of this system belong to the category of ethics and politics, which is not found in any other country.
thirdly, "propriety, justice, honesty and shame are the four dimensions of a country". In other words, propriety, justice, honesty and shame are the four pillars of the country. In addition to this formulation, the ancients also put forward such statements as "filial piety and faithfulness, courtesy and integrity", all of which have similar meanings.
the above three aspects are the first and most important contents of ancient ethics. Knowing these three aspects, we can generally understand the most basic contents of China's ethics. Our moral ethics is comprehensive and systematic. Of course, there are many other contents. We need to write a history of China ethics to elaborate.
China's traditional morality is the essence of China's traditional culture, and its particularity in the world's human civilization heritage is very obvious. Why do you say that? Because any country in the world, from ancient Greece to ancient India, although each country has its own moral norms and every nation has its own moral norms, China is unique in the world in terms of its comprehensive content, age and scope. At present, there is a term called Han cultural circle in these countries around China, such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, etc. Countries belonging to Han cultural circle are basically influenced by China.
We have always said that China is one of the four ancient civilizations. The more archaeological discoveries we make now, the more it proves that our history is long. With the continuous progress of archaeology, I estimate that there will be not only Xia and Yu in archaeological discoveries in the future, but also more ancient Yao and Shun, and they will develop further. In a word, my opinion is that the more archaeological discoveries, the longer our history. This is from the historical time of formation.
Then, from the specific content, the characteristics of our nation are more obvious.
For example, the concept of "filial piety" is included in the "Three Cardinals and Five Permits". Except for China, all countries in the world are not so specific. How to prove it? You can take a look at the current social situation in Europe and compare it with us. Of course, young people are not as loyal and filial as before, and we don't advocate "cutting the flesh to treat the mother". But for the moment, young people in China are much more filial than those in other countries, although the degree is not as good as before. I study languages, and one thing is very interesting: to translate the word "filial piety" into English, we have to use two words. What's the reason? Although it can't be said that there is no filial piety in foreign countries, filial piety is not a very important concept, so two words have to be used in translation. What are the two words in English? It is the "piety" and "respect" of children, and in Chinese, a "filial piety" is enough. This shows that the word "filial piety" has the characteristics of China.
I think two points in China's ethics are worth advocating. The first point is about integrity and integrity. One should have bones. Aren't we still talking about the Sixth Company of the People's Liberation Army? The article also talks about character. Bones are originally about a physiological thing. When applied to people, they mean that people should talk about integrity. Mencius said that wealth can't be lewd, poverty can't be moved, and power can't be bent. This is called a gentleman. We are not afraid of wealth, poverty or power, which is not found in other countries. It's enough to say that as a person, I have my personality and indomitable spirit. No matter how big an official or rich you are, I won't buy your account if you do something wrong. There are many examples In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a Mi Heng who dares to scold Cao Cao, not afraid that he can kill people. In modern times, Zhang Taiyan, when Yuan Shikai lived in Zhongnanhai and proclaimed himself emperor, went to the Xinhua Gate of Zhongnanhai to scold Yuan as emperor. This kind of backbone is not advocated in other countries. The word "backbone" is also difficult to translate. When translated into English, we have to use two words: moral "resistance power" or "indomitable power". We use one word "integrity" and "backbone", which is so concise and clear. In China's novels, there are people like Mi Heng. Why do we worship Bao Gong? It is because he is too mighty to bend. The emperor has the power of life and death, but the emperor still refuses to buy it when he makes a mistake; Although the dignitaries are rich and powerful, Bao Gong still doesn't buy it. This kind of conduct is not advocated in foreign countries.
I often tell young people that they should not only have personality at home, but also have national dignity when they go abroad, and they should not forget that they are from China.
the second point is patriotism. It is China who really advocates patriotism in the world. For example, even children know the story of herding sheep in Beihai, Su Wu. Yue Fei, an anti-Jin hero who wrote "Man Jiang Hong", his patriotic spirit has been passed down from generation to generation. Later generations built a temple for him in Bian Zhuan, West Lake, Hangzhou. Another example is Wen Tianxiang. Everyone knows his famous saying, "Since ancient times, no one has died, so take care of the heart and shine on the history." His ancestral temples are found all over the country. There are many patriotic heroes in modern times, such as Zhang Zizhong and Tong Linge in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and so on.
Of course, we should talk about patriotism in different occasions. For example, in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, China called patriotism a good word, because we are just, invaded and oppressed. The "patriotism" of oppressing others, invading others and killing others is false, and it is militarism and fascism. So when we talk about patriotism, we should make two points: first, we will never invade others, and second, we will never let others invade. In this way, patriotism is linked with internationalism and integrity.
Regarding the position of China's traditional morality in the history of world civilization, I think it's best to give an example first. Everyone knows the book "Goethe's Conversation". In the conversation between Goethe and ekman on January 3, l827, Goethe said: I read a book by China today-"Good Biography". China people are amazing. In the eyes of China people, man and the universe are one (this is the harmony between man and nature that I have promoted in recent years). Men and women are in love, polite and polite to each other. It can be said that "Good Biography" is at the same level as "Wonders of Modern and Ancient Times" at most in the history of China literature, and even the history of China literature will not write it. But when it spread to Europe, Goethe, the first representative of European culture at that time, praised it greatly. But he is well-founded. Although our country's novels with the theme of gifted scholars and beautiful women are somewhat idealistic, like The West Chamber. However, in the view of the western cultural masters at that time, at least China's mind was high. Isn't this point pointed out by Goethe worth remembering?
I think that from the development trend of world culture, China culture, including the essence of China's morality, will play a more important role in the development of human spiritual civilization in the 21st century. This is what I expected.