First, the controversy over "religion"
At first glance, the question of whether Confucianism is a religion is put forward with reference to a specific religious (such as Christianity) cultural form. The answers are divided into two groups: negative and positive. The reason of the negative school is that Confucianism attaches importance to people but not to God, and its thoughts are atheistic or inclined. Since the May 4th Movement, thinkers who believe in science and sympathize with Confucian moral ideals, such as Liang Qichao and Cai Yuanpei, have held this position. There are two kinds of affirmators: system and concept. Among institutionalists, scholars with Marxist background, such as Ren, have the clearest arguments. Its main basis is that Confucianism worships ghosts and gods, and heaven is the highest personality god. Traditional worship of heaven and earth, including Confucius, is a god. In addition, Confucian classics are doctrines that convey God's will, and political organizations of past dynasties are also religious organizations.
Also focusing on institutional observation, there are studies based on western empirical social sciences, such as the work of overseas scholar Yang Qingkun. He divided religion into two structural forms by means of structural-functionalism: "One is institutionalized religion, which has its own beliefs, rituals and organizations independent of other secular social systems." It is a social system with its own basic concepts and structural system. The other is mixed religion, whose theology, rituals and organization are closely combined with the concept and structure of secular system and other aspects of social order. Mixed religious beliefs and rituals develop their organizational system into an integral part of an organized social form. In the mixed form, religion has systematically penetrated into all major aspects of China people's social life. Therefore, in China, the weakness of formal religious organizations does not mean that the structure system or important role of religion is lacking in China culture. "Yang summarized the whole culture of China, including Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. He believes that whether Confucianism is a religion depends on the definition of religion. Confucianism in a broad sense includes the transition from godlessness to default deity. But the main feature is non-divine. Because it has also developed a set of ideological system to deal with the so-called ultimate problem, especially pointing to some ultimate moral significance, which has a strong religious role. At the same time, it has a far-reaching impact on the social and political order, so it must be treated as a social politics with religious characteristics.
Another school that affirms that Confucianism is a religion is the school of ideas, which is mainly influenced by modern Christian theology (especially the view of "ultimate concern") and is mostly related to the ideological tendency of modern neo-Confucianism, such as the views of scholars such as Liu, Liu and Liu. Their general formulation is not that Confucianism is a religion, but that Confucianism is a "religion". Professor Huang Junjie's summary is: "Confucianism has its religious connotation, and the so-called religion in this statement does not refer to the well-organized institutionalized religion, but refers to the yearning and awe of the followers of Confucian values for the transcendental ontology of the universe, and believes that there is a sense of * * * and interaction between man and the transcendental ontology of the universe. This belief is a rich and splendid religious sentiment. "
The emphases of these different theories are slightly different, some focus on whether there is a belief object (personality god), some focus on its social function (whether it undertakes the role of moral education), and some emphasize its spiritual value (metaphysical pursuit beyond experience), each of which has mastered or characterized some (or some) characteristics of traditional Confucianism or Confucianism. At the same time, these different arguments will also give way to the concerns of other competitive viewpoints. If we fully affirm that Confucianism is a religion, we may also accept that its thoughts entered the WTO instead of being born. On the other hand, those who advocate the "religiousization" of Confucianism may admit that it tends to be atheistic, just like those who deny that Confucianism is a religion. Actually, the answer really depends on the definition. However, it is not easy to give a correct definition of "religion". If we use the word "religion" to describe the existing social and cultural phenomena, we must find a concept that can summarize all the characteristics of the major religions in the world (not referring to Confucianism for the time being), and its connotation must be very small, so it is irrelevant to apply it. If a concept is based on a certain religion (such as monotheism), the result may exclude some recognized religions. For example, in ancient China, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism were regarded as one, while Zhang Taiyan, a close friend, regarded Buddhism as an atheistic religion with only the function of moral education. If the standard is too strict, there are problems in using it. We can only say that religion is what Wittgenstein called "family similarity". Therefore, all the definitions of religion only have the instrumental meaning of "ideal type" and cannot be regarded as the real definition of the object world. All the above statements about the relationship between Confucianism and religion actually have a "family similarity" relationship. In this regard, these different arguments reveal the different characteristics of Confucianism from different aspects, including ideological orientation and social functions, which is of great significance, especially in communicating the understanding of Chinese and Western cultures. Just as we use philosophy to explain Confucianism, Taoism, metaphysics and Neo-Confucianism today, at least, it is helpful to find a place for them in the modern academic pedigree, even if this academic pedigree is shaped by western learning. However, it also means that these concepts are not the only way to explore problems. We not only need to expand our understanding of concepts such as religion and philosophy, but also discuss problems with concepts of other disciplines, including the inherent concepts of middle school itself.
Based on the above discussion, this paper intends to put aside the question and return to the discussion of the traditional meaning of Confucianism "teaching" on the premise of definitely discussing whether Confucianism is a religion. This is our attempt to reread The Analects.
Second, teaching and speaking.
It is indeed an ancient phenomenon to call Confucianism "religion". Mr. who advocates Confucianism as a religion at least lists the following examples for us:
With strong persistence, there is life to talk about: wealth and longevity, peace and chaos, inherent destiny, and no profit or loss ... while Confucianism believes that Taoism is a thief in the world. ("Mo Zi Fei Ru")
Yan Wang's teacher, Chen, is chaste and quiet. He is a nation, loyal to the past, knowledgeable in six books, eager to learn classics, old and tireless, and should be loyal to Confucianism around him. Can give this matter. ("A Little Biography of Jin Chen")
Bao Puzi said: Zhong Ni, the sage of Confucianism; Laozi, the sage of Tao. Confucianism is close and easy to see, so there are more followers. ..... Huang San in the past, rule also; Since the emperor, Confucianism has also. (Bao Puzi Sainan)
Q: Confucius regards the Five Classics as the Tao, which can be followed by the arch and the shoe. This Confucius said, nothing is in a trance, I don't see its meaning, I don't refer to it, why talk to the sage? ("The Confusion of Mou Zi")
Although none of the above examples can directly draw the conclusion that this "religion" is an institutional religion, whether it is praise or disapproval of Confucianism, it implies that we can understand it more simply from the aspects of education, upbringing or enlightenment. If "teaching" is regarded as an act, it involves teaching and being taught, teaching content, teaching purpose, teaching system, teaching methods and so on. Of course, these contents will change in the history of Confucianism, but the outline dimensions are roughly the same. It should be said that most of these problems have been widely discussed in modern academic circles, although the conclusions may not be consistent. For example, the history of thought or philosophy has various opinions on the teaching content. Relatively speaking, there is little discussion about how to teach Confucianism. The history of thought, especially the history of philosophy, focuses on the teaching content, especially the teaching theory, which conforms to the conventional disciplinary thinking. But for the ancient enlightenment or Confucian life, it is like leaving the line to say what you know, and its meaning is incomplete. Zhu can be said to be a man with outstanding achievements and great influence on the perfection of Confucianism. When reasoning, he attached great importance to Confucius' teaching methods:
Master teaches people, talk about it bit by bit, and go together to synthesize a big thing.
And what Confucius taught people has its own reasons. Sages teach people, why not teach them all to do Yan Zengdi's career? The followers of Zigongzi Road stopped at Zigongzi Road because they stopped there. Like "self-denial", although it is only to teach Yanzi to say so, it is not bad to teach others.
Confucius taught many people, and it was passed for a long time to pay attention to some things today and some things tomorrow. If you plow a barren land, plow some seeds today and some seeds tomorrow, and turn for a long time. Although it is not everywhere, there is no reason for it.
Zhu noted that Confucius taught students in accordance with their aptitude, step by step, and this experience benefited from his traditional lifestyle which was the same as that of the previous generation of Confucianism. These words in genre are what he said when discussing The Analects with his students. The Analects of Confucius is a record of Confucius' teaching, not a textbook of Confucius. Confucius' teaching books are classics such as Poetry and Spring and Autumn Annals, but The Analects of Confucius is a model of later Confucian teaching. Paying attention to the genre of The Analects is very important for understanding its content. Historian Qian Mu said in teaching The Source of China History:
Now it is said that China's historiography has two paths. For example, Mandarin, national policy, are memorizing words, all handed down from Shangshu. But in the era of Confucius, memorizing words took another road, that is, the hundred-character formula. Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi are Confucianists, while Laozi and Zhuangzi are Taoists, each writing a book. Such as The Analects of Confucius and Laozi, have developed into another road, which China people call "Zishu". China people developed historiography by studying Confucian classics. As we said, Shangshu and Chunqiu are both in the study of Confucian classics. However, historiography has developed another set of sub-studies, which only records "words" From what they say, we can study their ideas.
So, what is a "speech"? Qian made this distinction: "Words and ideas are slightly different from philosophy. Words are closely related to things, but they are not thoughts. Thought can be divorced from things, but it is not philosophy. Philosophy is a special ideological structure. " "On the other hand, words must be thoughts, and philosophy must also be thoughts. We can say that casually speaking means that these words have become philosophy in a special way. This is not a difference in words, but a difference in way of thinking. " The "philosophy" in Qian's mind is a complete set of theoretical philosophy developed in modern western countries. In this respect, its definition is very pertinent. We must expand this concise statement a little. Philosophy is a concept with a special structure, mainly the logical structure of thinking. Its expression mainly depends on writing rather than saying, and it is a theory recorded in words. Its effectiveness generally has little to do with who is the author, who is the reader and under what circumstances. Words are connected with things. This "word" is a word, not a word. In most cases, speaking is not a monologue, but a specific person, a specific environment, and a specific object. Moreover, unlike news reports, the key to news reports lies in the authenticity of the content, which has nothing to do with who reports and who reads it. Therefore, "words" are "things". In fact, few important things are silent. The so-called memorizing words means memorizing words with words as the center. But obviously, what is worth remembering by historians is not ordinary words, but "established" words, that is, words that tell some important principles and values. The Analects of Confucius is a classic of Confucian "remembering words". In this way, what money says is too general. For example, the contents of Taoist Laozi and Confucian Xunzi are basically just narratives and have nothing to do with things. Zhuangzi and Han Feizi, for example, have stories, but they are all creations rather than records. They are all different from the Analects of Confucius and should be interpreted differently.
Since The Analects is a record of Confucius' mentoring and daily words and deeds, and a model of Confucianism, it is logical to discuss the essence of Confucianism from the understanding of The Analects. And the way of saying things through memory reminds us that we can't just talk without doing it. Most researchers attach importance to the principles in The Analects (what is benevolence? ) or system (such as paying attention to ceremony), this paper focuses on "discourse", that is, the lifestyle expressed by dialogue. For the original Confucianism, this way of life is true, but for the post-Confucianism, it is ideal. Compared with the arguments about whether Confucianism is a religion mentioned in the previous section, this orientation puts the problem at the most basic level. Our goal is not to draw a conclusion exclusive to the above related theories, but to try to provide a supplementary way of thinking.
Third, teaching methods: taking "benevolence" as an example
What does Confucianism teach? Some people think courtesy, while others affirm benevolence. Confucius said: "The courtesy of self-denial is benevolence", and he also said: "What is courtesy when people are heartless? People are heartless, so what are you happy about? " (Bashu) It can be seen that the two are closely related. Rite is an act, and benevolence is an idea. Although Confucius respected, practiced and taught rites, he was not the creator of rites (order and ceremony). The contribution of saints lies in thoughts. According to statistics, the word "Li" appeared 462 times and the word "Ren" appeared 33 times in Zuo Zhuan. The word "Li" appeared 75 times in The Analects of Confucius, and the word "benevolence" was 109 times. Explain that in the Analects of Confucius, which is centered on memorizing words, benevolence is the main purpose of word creation. It is natural that the history of philosophy or the history of ideas is devoted to "benevolence". But what is "benevolence" is often confusing. Finn Gleiter said:
Benevolence has various translations in English, such as kindness, humanity, love, kindness, virtue, masculinity, the best state of masculinity and so on. For many readers, "benevolence" seems to be a virtue, an all-encompassing virtue, a state of mind, a combination of attitude and emotion, and a mysterious unity. Its relationship with some important concepts such as "reason" is still very vague.
This description is very representative, but it is not a problem caused by foreign cultural barriers, and it is difficult for modern China scholars to say it. Qian Mu believes that as long as we look at the problem in a western way of thinking, we will be unable to move forward: "If Confucius talks about benevolence, we should learn from the way Westerners talk about philosophy and Confucius talks about benevolence today. Then, as Confucius said in The Analects of Confucius, the meaning of "fortitude is plain and close to benevolence" is infinite, but it is only a sentence at present. Another example is' a benevolent man will do what he says' or' a benevolent man will suffer first and then benefit'. If we make an article about Confucius' benevolence in The Analects of Confucius and organize it into a structure according to western philosophy, I'm afraid none of these words will be used, or they will become unimportant. "The way westerners talk about philosophy is to regard the Analects of Confucius as a theoretical work. Assuming that it has a clear premise, it will define GAI and provide sufficient arguments. The arguments are not logically contradictory. But the Analects of Confucius is not, which has caused confusion. Reluctantly, it makes people feel distressed. Shallow people will be despised because they are not philosophical enough.
The safe way is to return to the text and enter the context of dialogue, that is, to recall the specific plot of Confucius' teachings. Of course, there are almost word-for-word exegesis and textual research results about the text of The Analects of Confucius for reference. Here, we don't want to add a little dispensable content, but try to understand the correlation between Confucius' educational methods and his teaching contents through the analysis of Confucius' benevolence, so as to show the characteristics of Confucian classic tradition. Throughout the Analects of Confucius, Confucius' theory of benevolence can be divided into three types, including principled judgment, giving general examples and answering questions. The following examples are analyzed respectively:
1, principle judgment:
Zi Gong said, "What if you can give to the people and help them? Can you say that it is a benevolent person? " Confucius said, "Anyone who is kind will be holy! Yao Shun is still sick! Benevolent people want to be a man, but they want to be a man. It can be said that the benevolent side has already existed. " (Yongye)
Nakamiya wenren. Confucius said, "Going out is like seeing a distinguished guest, which makes people like bearing a big sacrifice. Don't do what you don't want, don't do it in the state, and don't complain at home. " Zhong Gong said, "Yong is not sensitive, please talk to me!" (Yan Yuan)
Ask Ren. Confucius said, "Love." Seek knowledge. Confucius said, "Know people." Fan Chi failed to arrive. Confucius said, "If you complain, you can be straight." Fan Chi stepped back and saw Xia Zi. He said, "I also learned about my hometown from my master. Confucius said, "What is to set things right?" "Xia Zi said," how rich you are! Shun the world, choose the public and follow it, give it, and the unkind stay away. Soup wins the world, choose the public and follow it, give it to Yi Yin, and stay away from the unkind. " (Yan Yuan)
Yan Yuan asked Ren. Confucius said, "Self-denial and courtesy are benevolence. A day of self-denial and self-denial, the world will return to benevolence. For benevolence, for yourself, for people? " Yan Yuan said, "What's the purpose?" Confucius said, "see no evil, don't listen to evil, don't say evil, and don't move if you are evil." Yan Yuan said, "Although I am not sensitive, please talk to me!" (Yan Yuan)
These four familiar quotations are all Confucius' answers to students' questions about benevolence. Their similarity lies in that they not only judge the specific matters of benevolence, but also give reasons or principles for evaluation. For example, "If you want to set yourself up, you can achieve it", "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", "Love" and "Self-denial is benevolence". The scope of the first three articles has nothing to do with empirical facts, but an attitude and an abstract moral belief. Moreover, "one's own desire" and "one's own unwillingness" are complementary to each other, and "love" is a more concise summary of this. The three are consistent in principle, so philosophers often use this as the basis of their argument. "Self-denial and courtesy are benevolence" is also a principle in form. Confucius praised ceremony and thought that ceremony and benevolence were consistent, so there was no problem. Confucius' remarks about "benevolence" as a truth or principle are not necessarily his personal opinions, but may also be an extension of previous or recognized statements. For example, in the thirty-third year of Zuo Zhuan Xi Gong, Ji said, "I heard about it, went out as a guest, served as a sacrifice, and was kind to others." For example, in the twelfth year of Zuozhuan in Zhao Gong, King Chu Ling couldn't help hearing the poem Zhao Qi, which was very difficult. Hearing this, the master sighed, "The ancients also had aspirations, self-denial and courtesy, and benevolence. If King Chu Ling can do this, will he be humiliated in Ganxi? " But Confucius accepted or affirmed these thoughts and immediately thought that this was the principle of teaching people. However, etiquette is not an abstract moral purpose, but a variety of specific codes of conduct. Whether every etiquette conforms to the principle of "love" is hard to agree with, at least in the eyes of contemporary people. From this perspective, these are two parallel but not necessarily consistent principles. Logically speaking, it will be a bit troublesome.
2. General rules
General rules are also divided into different types, involving personality, behavior norms and so on. Talk about personality, such as: "clever words make color, fresh and kind." (Learning) "The knower is not confused, the benevolent is not worried, and the brave is not afraid." (Zi Han) "Strong and inflexible, close to benevolence." (Lutz) "You are brave and sick, and you are confused. People are ruthless, very sick and chaotic. " (Tabor) said that the behavior is: "Disciples are filial when they enter, and they are filial when they leave. They are sincere, believe that they love all people. However, if they are kind and have spare capacity, they will study literature. " (Learning) "Being rich and expensive is what people want; If you don't follow the path, there is nowhere. Poverty and meanness are human sins; Don't go if you don't get it by the way. Isn't it good to be famous if a gentleman goes to benevolence? If a gentleman has no final food, he will violate benevolence and will do it again. " (Li Ren) "The benevolent person is benevolent, and there is no harm to benevolence, but killing himself." (Wei Linggong) In addition, there are some observation experiences, such as "I don't see any good or evil people. Kind people are the best; Those who are evil but not kind, those who are kind, don't impose unkindness on them. Can you work hard on benevolence for a day? I have never seen anyone who is weak. There is a cover, but I didn't see it. " (Li Ren) "A gentleman who is not kind has a husband, and a benevolent person has no villain." These general principles are not principles, but intuitive judgments of certain behavioral phenomena. It is not directly derived from the above principles, that is, the causal relationship between the two can not be seen, and it is difficult to apply it to other problems. However, the phenomenon involved is typed, and it also plays a demonstration role in self-cultivation or behavior norms in similar experiences. "It can be said that the benevolent side has already existed", that is, it has the effect of drawing inferences from others.
Step 3 identify doubts
There are principles and general principles, but there are still exceptions. The following three dialogues show Confucius' efforts to dispel doubts for his disciples:
Meng Wubo asked, "Is Luz kind?" Confucius said, "I don't know." Ask again. Confucius said, "You are also a country thousands of times, which can be endowed with. I don't know its benevolence. " "What can I ask?" Confucius said, "Seek truth from one city and thousands of rooms, and there are hundreds of riders at home, so you can slaughter them. I don't know its benevolence. " "What about red?" Confucius said, "Master Chi, if you stand in the court, you can talk to the guests. I don't know its benevolence. " (Gong Yechang)
Zhang Zi asked: "Your third official, Wen Zi, is your son and has no joy;" Three times, there is no democracy. The management of the old Lingyin must report to the new Lingyin. What is it? " Confucius said, "Loyalty." Yue: "Is it benevolent?" Said: "I don't know, how can I be kind?"
"Cui Ziji jun, Chen Wenzi has a horse ten times, and abandoned it. As for other countries, they said,' You are also my doctor Cui Zi.' Violate it. One of the states said, "You are my doctor, Cui Zi." Violate it. What is this? Confucius said, "I see. Say, "What about the benevolent? Say, if you don't know, how can you be kind? "(Gong Yechang)
Lutz said, "Duke Huan killed Miyako for a long time and told him to die suddenly, but Guan Zhong didn't die." Say, "heartless?" Confucius said, "Duke Huan and the Nine Kings don't use chariots, but they also control the power of the clock. That's it! That's it! "
Zi Gong said, "Guan Zhong is not kind. Duke Huan killed Miyako for a long time, but he couldn't die. " Confucius said, "Guan Zhong is the public, the tyrant and the conqueror of the world, and the people have been blessed so far. Guan Zhong, I'm afraid I'm already left-handed! If a man and a woman forgive him, they will cross the ditch unconsciously. " (Constitutional issues)
All three examples involve how to look at specific people and things from the perspective of "benevolence", but the emphasis is different. The first example is the evaluation of the general conduct of three students. Confucius' answer is not to give an abstract evaluation, but to point out their respective commensurate work, that is, to affirm their respective personalities and talents at different levels. But they all "don't know their benevolence." This means that in the eyes of Confucius, the general entrepreneurial spirit or ability is not enough to be the standard for evaluating "benevolent people." The second situation involves the specific behavior of people. Confucius' evaluation is "loyalty" and loyalty to duty; First, it is "upright" and does not collude with evil. As for "benevolence?" Then "unknown, how can I be kind?" Benevolence is not necessary, but loyalty and purity are also valuable. The third case is a famous example of Confucius' theory of human nature. Although Guan Zhong may not be benevolent in everything, he may even have acted against benevolence or humanity. But he has made great achievements and maintained a civilized lifestyle, so he should be kind. Evaluating a person is obviously much more demanding than evaluating an action. Because it is not difficult for a person to do a good deed, but it is difficult to do it all his life. On the other hand, if a person has achieved a historic career, even if there are many trivial problems in his life, Confucius does not advocate grasping them. Confucius did not provide a clear standard of "benevolence" at any time. Postmodern readers may think that this is the performance of his old man's "doing whatever he wants". But Confucius is not a judge, nor does he grade people, nor does he want to provide fixed indicators. This way of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude only refers to the concept of benevolence and encourages people to pursue upward moral ideals in social life.
The way the Analects of Confucius teaches "benevolence" is that Confucianism aims at perfecting human personality. It is not a set of theories, but an enlightenment practice. Readers who pursue Kant's ethics will be dissatisfied and even impatient. Their view was summed up by their critic MacIntyre: "The essence of rationality lies in formulating universal, unconditional and internally consistent principles. It can be seen that the principles stipulated by rational morality can and should be followed by all people, and are independent of the environment and conditions, that is, they can be followed by every rational actor in any situation. Therefore, standard tests are easy to design; Can you agree that everyone will always follow? " The last question reveals MacIntyre's distrust of this abstract ethics that emphasizes the western virtue tradition. However, we should discuss our views on this issue according to ancient Confucianism.
First, the educational model with "benevolence" as the core embodied in The Analects accords with the experience of human moral practice. Almost everyone's moral consciousness or moral experience is formed from childhood, and parents, relatives and teachers are all our moral enlighteners. The way of teaching is to encourage, demand or blame, and it is forbidden to do different things. More importantly, set an example and let children gradually form a sense of whether to do something. The moral level of the enlightener and the consciousness of education play a decisive role in the maturity of the moral consciousness of the educated. In a word, no one obtains moral consciousness by studying ethical principles. Ethical theory cannot replace the role of enlightenment. Confucius in The Analects of Confucius played the role of such an enlightener. However, he is not an ordinary parent or teacher, but an enlightenment teacher of an era. He has a principled view of morality, but it is not just an abstract principle.
Secondly, the concept of virtue with the goal of personality perfection is not a complete and consistent ideological system. At least, there are both moral problems and personality problems in personality, which belong to different value categories. At the same time, on moral issues, different virtues may produce contradictions or conflicts under certain conditions. For example, loyalty and filial piety may be incompatible, but an unkind person may be a brave person, and so on. Therefore, ethics aimed at unconditional abstract moral principles cannot meet the requirements of moral education. It is the concreteness and inherent essence of virtue that requires constant reflection and weighing in moral practice, so as to make a decision on action. For example, should the father who stole the sheep report it? Or is a rude person worthy of respect after doing something big? How to prevent courage from being reckless and caution from being indecisive? Wait, this is a question that Confucius constantly helps students to solve doubts in their daily life.
Third, morality guides practice, and personality is reflected in behavior. Because life is a constantly changing natural process, when people face all kinds of new life experiences, there is naturally a process of how to apply the inherent moral norms to the new experiences. Once the new experience is divorced from the established principles, there is a question of how to treat the established moral principles. Especially in the era of "ritual collapse and bad music", that is, the era of rapid changes in social order, new things and old ideas often conflict. In this case, the reflection on the old morality is put on the agenda. Confucius consciously faced the moral dilemma of the times and developed a value system with "benevolence" as the core in the practice of reflection and enlightenment. This system is not a theoretical form, but a value essence.
Mr. Xu said: "The' benevolence' in The Analects of Confucius often corresponds to different levels of the questioner's personality, and the reference to benevolence is also different. But this is not a parallel difference, but a level difference. Of course, differences in parallelism can also be correlated. But this is often the external relationship between different things. The difference between levels, whether it is uploaded from bottom to top, is the internal relationship of three-dimensional complete life. " Education is neither a theory nor a practical learning activity. It is a practice in itself and a process of shaping moral personality. At the same time, although this practice originated from Confucianism and is an ancient way of life, it is not unrelated to contemporary moral life. As long as human beings are not only animals that act according to the law, and as long as personality is still valued, this tradition has valuable experience.
Fourth, the role of teachers.
The central figure in The Analects of Confucius is Confucius. However, the image of Confucius has changed from the present life to the past dynasties. Those who choose their goodness will at least have various honors such as saints, plains kings, good history and teachers. However, the master himself is not worthy to be a saint; Speaking of Su Wang, today's writers say that there are many "strange meanings"; Compared with Liang Shi, poems and Chunqiu are actually classics. It seems that only the image of "teacher" is the strongest. In the traditional worship of "heaven and earth monarch", heaven and earth are empty, monarchs are constantly changing, and relatives are also changing each other. Only the supreme teacher Confucius did not move. Confucius presented to us in The Analects of Confucius is a model of being a teacher.
Teachers are related to teaching, and teachers are the main body of teaching. However, the different teaching objects, contents, purposes and means also make the types of teachers vary widely. In the tradition of China, there are teachers who "take officials as teachers", strategists, craftsmen, musicians, painters and other artists. Confucius is a teacher, not limited to majors or objects. Because education and personality perfection, in his view, are what everyone needs. It is said that the predecessor of Confucianism was Zhou Guan's Musician. That is not an ordinary musician, but a Cyrillic official position. Of course, this kind of rites and music can be taught, but the tradition is limited to the aristocratic class. Historical Records Confucius Family says that "Confucius teaches music with poems and books", which shows that what Confucianism taught has been handed down. However, after "teaching without class", the teaching purpose changes with different objects, and the nature of teachers is also different. When Uncle Cheng, a doctor in the Jin Dynasty, quit his martial arts life, he said, "People's livelihood is three, and things are the same." Father gives birth, teacher teaches, and you eat. It is one thing for a father not to be born, not to eat long, and not to teach at home. Only there will it kill you. Report life and death, report strength, and people's way is also. I dare to waste people's ways with self-interest. Why did you teach me? " ("Mandarin" volume seven Jin language one, "Wu Gong cut wings, kill mourning hou". This kind of teacher, mentioned side by side with your father, is Confucius' teacher. But before Confucius, there was no model of "teacher" to follow, so there was no such role norm. Confucius emphasized the name correction, which meant that he wanted to be "Jun Jun, minister, father and son", but there was no such thing as "master and apprentice".
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