It is Zhang Zai’s famous saying to establish a heart for the world and to establish a destiny for the livelihood of the people.
"Establish a heart for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, carry forward the unique knowledge for the saints, and create peace for all generations." These four sentences are the destination of Zhang Zai's lifelong learning in the Northern Song Dynasty, and they are also the essence of his thoughts. It is where Mr. Feng Youlan calls it "Four Sentences in Hengqu".
Zhang Zai (1020-1077), courtesy name Zihou, was a native of Hengqu Town, Meixian County, Shaanxi Province. He was a famous thinker and educator in the Northern Song Dynasty, one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism, and the founder of Guanxue. Called "Mr. Hengqu".
Establishing the heart for heaven and earth
"The heart of heaven and earth" was first seen in the hexagrams of "Fu" in Zhouyi, which said: "Fu, does it see the heart of heaven and earth?" Here " "The heart of heaven and earth" refers to the regularity of the growth and decline of yin and yang in everything between heaven and earth. Zhang Zai's thoughts were deeply influenced by the Yi Study. He once taught "The Book of Changes" on a tiger-skin chair in Chang'an and wrote "Hengqu Yi Shuo". Therefore, his so-called "Heart of Heaven and Earth" is closely related to the Yi Study.
Zhang Zai used "Taixu is Qi" to explain the origin of the universe and the ontology of the world, which is the embodiment of simple materialism. He also proposed the theory of "one thing and two bodies", which believes that everything They are all composed of two sides of the unity of opposites.
The "heart of heaven and earth" established by Zhang Zai, which reveals the laws of movement and change of things, is simple dialectical materialism based on the Yixue philosophy. "Book of Rites" says: "Man is the heart of heaven and earth, the end of the five elements, food, taste, sound, and the person born of color."
Heaven, earth, and man are an organic whole , man is the one who can know and be aware between heaven and earth, so he is called the "heart of heaven and earth". This is an affirmation of human status in the universe and a high degree of consciousness of human subjectivity. There is no "heart" in heaven and earth, but people have "heart". Because "man" is the heart of heaven and earth, "human heart" embodies the "heart of heaven and earth".
Zhang Zaiyun: "Heaven has no heart, and the heart is in the heart of man." Human beings project their own values ????between heaven and earth, becoming one with heaven and earth. "Xi Ming" says: "Qian is called father, Kun is called mother; I am indifferent to Yan, but I am in the middle. Therefore, the obstruction of heaven and earth is my body; the commander of heaven and earth is my nature. People, my compatriots; things, I am with you."
The idea of ??"people and things are harmonious" inherits and develops the Confucian concept of "benevolence, people and things", extends the object of benevolence to all things, and enhances the connotation and realm of the Confucian value concept of "benevolence". The so-called "building a heart for heaven and earth" means establishing a value system with "benevolence as the core" for human society.
Just as Mr. Ma Yifu summed up: As a scholar, one should not seek benevolence, love benevolence and disdain benevolence. Being able to do this is to establish a heart for heaven and earth. In Zhang Zai's view, "establishing one's heart" is also the heart of "establishing heaven's principles", because heaven's principles "can make the world happy and accessible", so that "the world" (society) will inevitably universally accept moral values ??such as benevolence and filial piety. We have the word "benevolence".
Establishing a destiny for the sake of the people
"Establishing a destiny" originates from Mencius' thought. "Mencius: Consuming the Heart" says: "Those who have exhausted their hearts know their nature. If you know their nature, you know the heaven. Preserve your heart and nourish your nature, so you serve heaven. If you are young and live for a long time, you must cultivate your body before it is too late." Therefore, the reason for establishing a destiny is that no matter how long a person lives, he must use his own moral efforts to understand nature with all his heart and soul, and control his own destiny in terms of spiritual values.
Zhang Zai’s so-called "establishing a life for the people" means that all people in the world have a place to settle down and live a life. "Settle down" means that life is settled, and "establishing destiny" means that the soul has settled down and the spirit has a place to rely on. Zhang Zai particularly emphasized the care and care for vulnerable groups such as the orphans, the weak, the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, so that their lives should be taken care of.
"Xi Ming" says: "Respect the elderly, so they grow long; be kind to the lonely and weak, so they are young; saints, they are virtuous; virtuous, they are beautiful. Everyone in the world is tired and disabled , alone, widowed, are all my brothers who have fallen into trouble without complaining."
"Spiritual support" means trying to improve the spiritual level of the people and enable them to establish a correct outlook on life and values. , moral values, noble sentiments and spiritual pursuits.
"The Doctrine of the Mean" says: "The destiny is called nature, the will is called Tao, and the cultivation of Tao is called teaching." "Cultivation of the Tao" is not just self-cultivation, but on the basis of self-cultivation, cultivating oneself to satisfy the people, rectifying others and oneself, thinking about the common people in the world, educating the world, and making the world return to benevolence, that is, through various education and enlightenment channels, Let the correct thoughts be deeply rooted in people's hearts.
"Establishing a life for the people" means establishing correct spiritual value orientation and values ??for the people and building a spiritual home. We have to use the word "teaching".