The difference between Taoism and Taoism
Taoism is a school of philosophy and Taoism is a religious belief. Taoist thought was formed in the pre-Qin period, and it was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that the word "Huang Lao" was combined with the concept of immortal worship. As far as it is concerned, this worship has nothing to do with Taoist thought. Both Lao Zi and Zhuangzi treat death with a fairly calm mind. The reason why the two are related may be that Taoist literature describes the image of a fairy who understands and embodies Tao. Therefore, it is absurd for Taoism to respect Laozi as the Sect and pursue cultivation into immortality, which has always been a misunderstanding. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Chong, based on Taoist thought, wrote an atheistic book, Lun Heng, which made a comprehensive criticism of the popular fairy magic at the end of the Han Dynasty and gained a high position in the history of China's thoughts.
In the west, Taoism and Taoism are collectively called Taoism, and they are distinguished by religious Taoism and philosophical Taoism. Western scholars generally believe that Taoism is the product of the corruption of pure philosophy, while Taoist supporters believe that Taoism and Taoism are complementary in thought.
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The Development and Composition of Taoist Thought
Taoism originated from Laozi at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and there was no such name in the pre-Qin period. The word "Tao" was used to summarize this school initiated by Laozi, which began in the early Han Dynasty. Taoism was also called a moralist at this time. Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, once wrote a paper entitled "On the Essentials of Six Classics", which summarized the pre-Qin philosophers into six schools: morality, Confucianism, Mohism, fame, dharma and Yin and Yang, and expounded the essence, gains and losses of the Six Classics. Taoism prevailed in the early Han Dynasty, and Sima Tan was also a disciple of Taoism, so he gave the highest evaluation to Taoism. He pointed out that Taoism has the advantages of the other five schools, while avoiding their shortcomings. Used to govern the country and cultivate self-cultivation, get twice the result with half the effort. In the Han Dynasty, King Huainan committed suicide because of rebellion. The theoretical weapon used by conspirators is the theory of Huang Lao, and the theory of Huang Lao's inaction is seriously challenged, which gradually leads to the decline of Taoist thought. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism alone, it no longer became the mainstream thought in China. Since then, Taoism has penetrated into all aspects of China culture, and metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties is the most obvious revival trend.
In the pre-Qin period, many factions can be generally distinguished, and Taoism is no exception. There are 37 Taoist works and 933 articles in the History of Chinese Literature and Art written by Ban Gu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of which are works in the pre-Qin period. The main schools of Taoist thought are: Lao Zi, Zhuangzi and Huang Lao School. In addition, Yang Zhu's ideological trend may have influenced Laozi and Zhuangzi, but at the same time it merged into them. Different schools have different ideological centers, either tending to govern the country or governing the body. Taoism in Sima Tan mainly refers to the Huang-Lao School.
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Taoist thoughts and concepts
Although the schools of Taoism are different, the main idea is the same: taking "Tao" as the foundation, doing nothing and being natural, and attaching importance to things.
The core of Taoism is "Tao". Laozi once said in his works: "Things are born in harmony, and they are born naturally. Little ha! How rare! Independent and unchanging, it can be the mother of heaven and earth. I don't know its name, so I say it. " (Chapter 25 of Laozi) This idea evolved from Heaven, but it is different from Heaven. Laozi put forward that Tao is the origin of the universe and the law of the movement of all things in the universe. This view was later supported by various schools of Taoism and became the most basic core of Taoism. Different schools have different understandings of "Tao", but in the history of China's philosophy, the concept of "Tao" was used to explore the origin of all things in the world for the first time, which opened China's tradition of discussing metaphysics. This is one of the outstanding contributions of Taoism.
"Inaction" is regarded by Taoism as one of the important characteristics of "Tao". Not inaction, but aimless action without careful consideration. "Its inaction, its shun also? What is a husband? Gong Ji is in the south. " Didn't Shun Di rule by doing nothing? What did he do? Just to maintain their dignity, let people respect the ground to the south. Taoism believes that any purposeful behavior may lead to the deviation of the behavior itself. "Six parents are unfilial." When we advocate filial piety and harmony, family members themselves are not honest and harmonious, otherwise they don't need these. Statements expressing similar views can be found everywhere in Taoist works. Seeing how to deal with problems, the attitude of "inaction" can be applied to politics as well as self-cultivation. On the premise of adhering to the essence of "inaction", Taoist factions usually give "inaction" richer connotations.
Taoism regards the value of life as more important than external things, mainly referring to fame and fortune. Laozi emphasized that rulers must pay attention to their own health, not fame and goods. Since then, various schools have put forward the view that light things and heavy body. Zhuangzi and Liezi raised the idea of "inner sainthood" to a new height.
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Laozi
Laozi, Myths and Legends in China, 1922.
Laozi (also known as Tao Te Ching) is one of the most translated ancient books, and it is also one of the most difficult and problematic texts in all China documents recognized by the west. On the whole, Lao Tzu tends to govern the country. On the outlook on life, Lao Tzu advocates "self-denial, self-abasement, self-denial". Politically, it is proposed to "govern by doing nothing" and do nothing without doing anything. Starting from the binary opposition of nature, Laozi subverted people's consideration of traditional values.
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Tao cannot be said.
Both Lao Zi and Zhuangzi realized that language is powerless in the face of ultimate reality. The world that Laozi has repeatedly observed and thought about is a world that conforms to common sense. No matter how real such a world is, its main features are not permanent. And "Tao" can't be predetermined or named in terms of its unspeakable eternity. It doesn't mean anything that can be named. It does not exist, that is, it is equivalent to nothing. This is a kind of reality that can't correspond to any finite existence or nameable entity, but it is obviously true and the root of all finite reality. "Born lonely, independent and unchanging, there is no danger in walking around." Born in front of heaven and earth, silent and empty, independent and unchanged, because it is full of everything, it does not feel tired. Here, I can even feel Laozi's answer to time and space from the philosophical level. At the same time, Laozi connects nothing with the world of existence, that is, nothing is eternal, while existence is short-lived and limited. Laozi believes that the non-human universe and the nature we can feel operate in a spontaneous and inaction way like Tao. The natural inaction we feel is the manifestation of Tao, and nature exists in Tao in this way.
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Laozi's natural inaction and scientific view
Compared with the "heaven" declared by Confucianism, the use of the word "Tao" means that Laozi holds an atheistic view, and any mention of "heaven" mostly means that there is an intentional and irreversible force behind it, which is contrary to Taoist inaction. Laozi believes that the operation of nature is spontaneous and the manifestation of the "Tao" without purpose. All limited existence is born out of nothing and returns to nothing, which is the peak of Taoist philosophy. But Laozi explained this proposition with "Mystery is both a mystery and the ultimate wonderful door". This means that Laozi firmly believes that the inaction operation mode of nature cannot be verified, because the scientific investigation of nature is opposite to inaction. However, this does not mean that Taoist thinkers are not familiar with the contemporary view of nature (science). When describing the empirical world of common sense, Lao Tzu also paid attention to the binary opposition of nature, while Zhuangzi showed a profound understanding of the view of nature.
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Human domain
Laozi has a deep concern for the field of human beings. Because "Tao" exists in all limited existence, man himself is the manifestation of nature. People are alive and can enjoy it, but at the same time, they should be prepared to leave without regret. Death is the birth of limited existence and the return of inevitable diseases brought by Tao to non-existence. Regarding the way of life, Laozi advocates "survival of the fittest" and emphasizes "survival of the fittest". Laozi believes that the desire for people who live in "Tao" and are also the manifestations of "Tao" should be quite simple and limited, and the desire for people themselves should be completely abandoned. But the reality is that "Tao" has been separated in the field of human beings, which Lao Tzu attributed to two factors. First, the rise of civilization has made people have new goals in wealth, power and moral perfection (Lao Tzu is also considered to be completely primitive); The second is the moral degeneration of human beings.
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Political sphere
Laozi's primitivism is also reflected in the political field, but it is not anarchism. There are many suggestions and warnings to the rulers in Laozi. They think that the rulers should make the people eliminate their desires, make the people pursue "benevolence and righteousness" carelessly, and be full of insidious cunning, and at the same time take inaction measures. Among them, Lao Tzu believes that only the sages of Taoism, that is, those who understand and embody Tao, can declare the end of civilization and restore the people to the original state of Tao without desire or desire. Laozi once divided politics into four levels. One is "I don't know why", which makes education beyond words. The people don't know who is in charge, go with the flow and live in peace; Second, "praise the people with relatives", influence the people with morality, govern the people with benevolence and righteousness, and the people all praise the rulers; Third, "fear", governing the people with politics and religion, intimidating the people with criminal law, and the people are very afraid; Fourth, "humiliating", using political power to fool and deceive the people, the people will rise up and overthrow it.
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Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi is the successor and developer of Laozi's thoughts, and his works show that his thoughts covered all kinds of thoughts at that time. Later generations often refer to him and Laozi as Laozi, and he is one of the most important representatives of Taoism. Zhuangzi has a very obvious pessimism, with life as the center and self-cultivation as the main theme, and the concept of "inner holiness" was brought to the extreme by Zhuangzi. After Buddhism was introduced into China, it was greatly influenced by Zhuangzi's philosophy, and Zen came into being. Zhuangzi's personal philosophy was used by later generations to advocate the cultivation of artistic spirit, to break the transcendental spirit of the unity of self and nature, and to understand the world with an aesthetic attitude, which had an important influence on China's poetry, painting and many other artistic fields. Zhuangzi has also made considerable achievements in literature, and his masterpiece "Wandering around" is one of the peak works of pre-Qin prose.
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Zhuangzi's way
Although Zhuangzi also admitted that "Tao" is the origin of all things, it is different from Laozi's "Tao". Laozi holds that Tao does not exist, but appears naturally. Zhuangzi holds a different view. While supporting the non-existence of Tao, Zhuangzi paid more attention to the connotation of existence in Tao than Lao Zi. Tao in Zhuangzi shows infinite diversity and creativity. Zhuangzi not only attributed the existence of Tao to nature to some extent, but also tried to describe the indescribable Tao more accurately than Lao Zi. He not only paid attention to the laws of natural circulation, but also turned his attention to unpredictable and unpredictable changes. This creative appreciation of nature has also had a considerable impact on future generations.
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Zhuangzi's View of Reality
In Zhuangzi, many questions raised by Zhuangzi's good friend Hui Shi are described. The pre-Qin period, represented by Hui Shi and GongSunLong, caused the peak of the language crisis in ancient China. Many paradoxes put forward by them have aroused people's extensive concern about existence and influenced the way of thinking about the world at that time and later generations. Zhuangzi was also influenced by the thoughts of famous artists. He affirmed the limited reality of things. "What the husband said is not bragging, but what the speaker said has some truth." Speaking doesn't mean blowing, after all, some words have already been said. ) that is, if language is not affected by daily false consciousness or prejudice, language may be consistent with the ontological expression of things. "People's wet sleep leads to partial death of lumbar disease,? But what? " When people sleep in wet places, their backs will hurt, and so will loaches? Zhuangzi thinks that language can tell things, but whether morally or intellectually, we can't talk about it in a right or wrong way. Only under the condition of non-existence, all existence and relations can find their origin. For the daily experience world, it is a conditional reality and basically empty (similar to Buddhist philosophy). Different from Laozi's preference for ethics, Zhuangzi advocated observing the world from an aesthetic and artistic perspective rather than a scientific attitude, so he showed absolute value neutrality to the limited existence of nature.
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Human domain
Zhuangzi also tried to answer the question of separation in the human field. Unlike Laozi's primitivism, which tried to liberate people from the distorted environment of advanced civilization, in Zhuangzi's philosophy, the morbid state of human consciousness is innate, and there is no primitivism solution. Zhuangzi was keenly aware that in Laozi's view of sages, sages consciously designed schemes to keep people away from the state of civilization, and there were contradictions here.
Zhuangzi's philosophy of life emphasizes "unity" and "freedom".
Zhuangzi believes that the morbid state of human consciousness makes people focus on the ever-changing world around them. People's likes and dislikes, right and wrong become fixed through various forms, even though people are dying like the limited existence of the world around them, they are still stubborn. This is the origin of the idea of "uniformity of things", that is, an absolute and just understanding of all limited things, transcending the differences between things, avoiding treating external things with subjective tendencies such as right and wrong, size, quality and so on, breaking the spiritual limitation of people's self-centeredness and reaching the realm of uniformity of all things, which is the peak of Zhuangzi's philosophy. Zhuangzi deeply realized that man is different from other natural things, and he can have a completely different view on the same thing as long as he denounces the other party as "wrong" (the conflict between Confucianism and Mohism was the best evidence at that time, and Zhuangzi expressed considerable disappointment). However, if they coexist in the Tao, what is right or wrong?
If he can achieve "unification", then he can achieve "freedom". This is another important concept in Zhuangzi's philosophy, which is the highest realm of individual spiritual liberation, that is, living in a world without contradictions. The liberation of Zhuangzi is the liberation of the main form. He does not deny contradictions, but only emphasizes the subjective liberation of contradictions. Zhuangzi used "inaction" to explain this term, which is different from Lao Zi. Here, "inaction" is not a political principle, but a free and unrestrained state in which the mind is not dragged down by foreign objects. This state, also known as "nothing to do", is that there is nothing relative. At this time, people abandoned selfishness, fame and fortune and were completely immersed in the universe. "Take the meaning of heaven and earth, resist the debate of six qi, and swim endlessly." This sentence is generally regarded as the theme of carefree travel, and it is also the theme of Zhuangzi. This is a state of unity of mind and Tao.
Zhuangzi's concern for the human field has a strong sense of reality, and he has a deep feeling and extreme helplessness for oppression, disputes and filth in life, so his philosophy of life is easily accepted by losers in real life.
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Zhuangzi's challenge.
Zhuangzi's philosophy was challenged by Hui Shi, and Hui Shi was both a friend and an opponent. Although they also denied the realistic view of people's common sense position, they had differences in the field of people. When Zhuangzi put forward the concepts of "uniformity of things" and "freedom", Hui Shi pointed out that human beings are still limited in nature. How can such a person appear? Can they transcend their own limited bondage and reach the realm of unity with Tao?
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Huanglao school
The mainstream Taoism in the Warring States Period. "Huang" is the Yellow Emperor, "Lao" is Lao Zi, and the school of Huang Lao refers to the school that relies on the Yellow Emperor to carry forward Lao Zi's thought. This school of thought is obviously different from that of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and there are differences to some extent. The important feature of this school is its close contact with legalists. In recent years, China defined the Huang-Lao School as a combination of Taoism and Legalism, while in the west it was called "goal Taoism" or "tool Taoism". This school mainly discusses social and political issues.
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The ideological origin of Huang-Lao school
During the Warring States period, influenced by Taoist thought, a number of special figures were born in various schools such as Confucianism, Mohism, famous artists and Legalists at that time. They all have the following Taoist temperament: they are not influenced by the wrong ideas of good and evil in their social environment. Xunzi Zheng Lun: "People have little passion, but they all want more from their feelings." People really have few desires, but they believe that they have many desires. ) is one of the maxims of such people. They can tolerate the insults and abuses that the world gives them, because they know that these insults can't defile their true dignity. In their inner indifference to the world, there is a kind of spiritual independence as profound as Laozi and Zhuangzi. This inner peace finally produced such a special figure as Shen Dao, who was classified as the representative of Taoism and Legalism. His particularity is that Taoism has become a tool to promote his social goals.
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Huang Lao's "Tao"
Sima Tan once summed up the Huang-Lao School: "Take nothingness as the foundation and take imitation as the use." The Huang-Lao school regards Tao as a tool, and this Taoist view, which conflicts with inaction, is bound to be different from Laozi and Zhuangzi.
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Huang Lao School's Political View
The Huang-Lao School disagreed with Laozi's primitivism, and the political order was also regarded as "natural". Shen Dao believes that system and civilization are the concrete manifestations of Tao. This is because Shen Dao has peace of mind, no prejudice, no value judgment, and is completely independent of other people's living conditions, and finally obtains that "law" is the ultimate embodiment of "Tao". Shen Dao advocated that "saints are not enough to convince people, but they are enough to convince people." A saint can't convince many people, but a powerful position is enough to make others yield. This is different from the "technique" of Shen Buhai, a pioneer of legalism. Therefore, the political proposition of the Huang-Lao school is that "the monarch does nothing and the minister does something". The king can only rely on the purposeful activities of his subordinates to maintain his inaction. On the basis of the system, he entrusted the responsibility to others, but he just integrated the system with his spirit.
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The influence of Taoist thought
Taoism was not long in the history of China, and was soon replaced by Taoism, but Taoist thought was integrated into the society in an all-round way. Taoism is also widely spread in the west. Both Schopenhauer's voluntarism philosophy and pessimistic attitude towards life, and Heidegger's ontology and ontology have been influenced to varying degrees, and his attitude towards natural inaction has been accepted by many westerners.
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Philosophical influence
Different from Confucianism's strong concern for moral practice in ethics, Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts cover all aspects of philosophy, and they are complementary in essence.
Laozi and Zhuangzi thought put forward the ultimate concept of "Tao", which can't be said, but can only be realized, and also laid the main tone of Taoist thought, that is, what we can experience is only limited existence, and as a non-existent "Tao", we can only realize but not realize.
On the theory of knowledge, both Laozi and Zhuangzi advocated to look at the world with dialectical thinking, and Zhuangzi proposed to know knowledge with an attitude beyond knowledge.
In ethics, Zhuangzi's philosophy of life has a far-reaching impact on later generations. Today, Zhuangzi's philosophy of life has been adopted by people in China and the West. Laozi criticized Confucian morality and advocated a kind of simplicity.
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Political influence
Taoism had a brief glory in the ancient political history of China. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Taoist thought represented by the Huang-Lao School occupied the historical stage, and ministers such as Emperor Wendi and Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, Chen Ping and Shu Tian all praised Taoist thought from top to bottom. The most representative is Cao Can. When he was in the state of Qi, he governed the country with the political policy of "governing by inaction and the people governing by security", and the people governed by security and the state of Qi. After Xiao He's death, there was no innovation during his succession to the Prime Minister's country, which was based on the laws formulated by Xiao He. Even so, it is praised by the people as "keeping it still, and there are more people than people", and it is also evaluated by historians as "following the training of the grass and keeping it".
The political peak of Taoist thought appeared in the period of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty and Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, which is called the rule of Wenjing in history. In the Han dynasty, "the son of heaven can't be flat, so he will ride the general in an ox cart." Developed to "the capital has hundreds of millions of money, and it is impossible to teach." The millet in Taicang, agarwood, is exposed, corrupt and inedible. There are horses in the streets and lanes, and there are groups between buildings. "("Hanshu Shihuozhi ") The key figure to maintain this policy is Dou Taihou, who always adhered to this route until the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty after her death.
During this period, Liu An, the king of Huainan who advocated the study of Huang Lao, failed in rebellion and committed suicide. From then on, the Huang-Lao School began to decline. By the time Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty exclusively respected Confucianism, Taoist thought had withdrawn from the political arena. After the Three Kingdoms, Wei and Jin Dynasties, Taoism gradually changed into Taoism, and there was no political action.
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Artistic influence
Laozi and Zhuangzi have never talked about art themselves, nor have they expressed their views on whether art is valuable. The influence of Laozi and Zhuangzi on the later art lies in that the realm of life displayed by their thoughts is an artistic life (especially Zhuangzi's philosophy of life). During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Taoist thought had a substantial influence on China's art mainly through metaphysics.
The influence of painting
In figure painting, the theme of describing the character's morality has changed, but the style of "vivid portrayal" advocated by Gu Kaizhi has risen.
In landscape painting, "nature" is the most important aesthetic character, while in color, the wind pressure of ink painting has dropped, and green landscape has become the mainstream. Ancient landscape painters almost never broke away from the influence of Taoist thought, and the rise of landscape painting itself was also influenced by Taoist thought.
In painting techniques, we pay attention to the combination of reality and reality and spiritual freedom. Take "technology into the Tao" as the highest realm of a painter's life.
The influence of music
Laozi's "bland and tasteless" and "loud and musical" have formed the important aesthetic character of Chinese guqin. The combination of Laozi's "lightness" and Confucianism's "harmony" formed the viewpoint of "lightness and harmony". In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Bi defined "lightness" as "moderation, order, no rhyme, no noise, no foot sound" in "Piano Music of Sydney", which played a negative role to some extent. Yin Da Xi Sheng, based on the music of sound, affirmed the eternal beauty of silent music and emphasized the importance of overtones, which became the ultimate pursuit of Qin people in past dynasties.
In the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhi sharply criticized the proposition of "Qin people forbid it" in the typical Confucian aesthetic thought based on Zhuangzi's "returning to the truth from the law", and put forward that "Qin people, heart also, Qin people, yin also, sing their hearts also". The essence of Qin Zhe Xin Ye is to define music as the art of freely expressing thoughts and feelings, and its fundamental value is the expression of feelings, not the tool of feudal rule. This view of taking nature as beauty and pursuing guqin to express people's feelings freely is of great significance to the development of guqin music.
Dramatic influence
Influenced by Zhuangzi's philosophy of life, China's drama aesthetics regards "advocating truth" as the soul of China's drama. In essence, China's plays show a kind of personality realm and true self, often with a civilian flavor.
In terms of creative techniques, it is based on Zhuangzi's allegorical techniques, based on life and refined from life.
Unconsciousness is the highest realm of creation and performance. Tang Xianzu took Zhuangzi's "Being God, Being Empty and Floating" as his performance requirement for actors.
Confucianism, also known as Confucianism, is called Confucianism because some people think it is a religion. At first, it refers to the master of ceremonies at weddings. Since the Han dynasty, it refers to the ideological system with benevolence as the core founded by Confucius (5565438 BC+479 BC, Lu people in the Spring and Autumn Period). Confucianism, called Confucianism for short, was the mainstream school of consciousness in ancient China. Since the Han Dynasty, it has been the official thought of China in most historical periods and the mainstream ideological basis of ordinary China people. Confucianism has exerted a profound influence on China, East Asia, Southeast Asia and even the whole world. After the Qing Empire, the last dynasty that took Confucianism as an official school, was replaced by the Republic of China, Confucianism was most impacted by foreign new culture. However, after all kinds of shocks, disasters and even the official regime's attempt to completely eradicate Confucianism, Confucianism is still the core value of the broad masses of people in China, and is regarded as the representative of China culture and the symbol of national tradition in the world.
Confucian thoughts and ideas
Confucianism refers to the thought of Confucian school, which was founded by Confucius, a thinker at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucianism founded by Confucius has formed a complete ideological system on the basis of summarizing, generalizing and inheriting the traditional culture of respecting relatives in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Sima Qian said in Historical Records Confucius Family: "Confucius made the Spring and Autumn Period because of historical records, went to seclusion, and eventually lost his public for fourteen years and twelve men." According to Lu, pro-Zhou, so Yin, three generations of luck. " Confucius, the founder of the Confucian school, said: "You can't keep your word" (The Analects of Confucius) is the essence of his own thought.
Confucian philosophy pays attention to people's cultivation and establishes a harmonious relationship with the people around them. Treat your elders with respect and courtesy. Friends are sincere and trustworthy, "keep your word to your friends". Be honest and love the people. Being a man is self-aware and conscientious. "A gentleman is born from the basis of business." . Rulers should be benevolent and love the people. "Governing the country by virtue is like Beichen living in its place and the stars are * * *." . Treat people with love, "I am young and people are young." I am old, and people are old. ".Be loyal to your boss. "You should be polite to your officials, and you should be loyal to your officials. "... honor parents and relatives. "Parents, don't travel, be sure to have a good trip. ","today's filial piety can be improved. As for dogs and horses, both can be kept; Disrespect, why not? ".Respect knowledge," Listen in the morning and die at night. "He is good at absorbing the strengths of others." Meet Si Qi, meet Si Qi. "Advocate people to achieve the moral realm of gentleness, kindness, courtesy, frugality and compromise.
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Characteristics and position of Confucianism
Confucianism is different from other religions. Ordinary religions often try to unify the universe, setting the issues of "nature" and "science" and "man" and "society" under one system, while human beings' understanding of "nature" and "science" is increasing, so the previous assumptions of religion have become fallacies. On some basic issues that could not be understood at that time, various religions made various fabrications. Confucianism is not concerned with "nature" and "science", but with people and society, which is an eternal topic of mankind. On these eternal topics, Confucianism has established a value system with eternal value.
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history of Confucianism
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The background of Confucianism
During the Spring and Autumn Period of Confucius' life, the profound crisis caused by irreconcilable contradictions within society shook the authority of traditional culture, and the spirit of suspicion and criticism of traditional culture increased day by day. Even Confucius, who was a founder of Yao and Shun and a civil servant, had to inject the spirit of the times into his own ideological system and transform traditional culture appropriately in order to establish a new harmonious order and psychological balance in social practice. This situation was particularly prominent in the Warring States period, when people experienced great changes.
What kind of social model will be in the future has become a big problem that attracts worldwide attention and has caused a big debate in the ideological circle. At that time, a hundred schools of thought contended on behalf of the interests of all social classes and strata, and put forward their own opinions one after another. One of the most important debates is how to treat traditional culture. In the ideological confrontation around this issue, Confucianism and France are the most representative schools. They are evenly matched, tit-for-tat, and British people gather. They are all outstanding scholars. In addition, there are Mohism, Taoism, Yin and Yang schools, which can be described as an era in the history of China where a hundred schools of thought contend.
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The formation of Confucianism
Before Confucianism, the aristocrats and freemen in ancient society received the traditional socialized education of Liu De (wisdom, faith, holiness, benevolence, righteousness and loyalty), six lines (filial piety, friendship, harmony, marriage, benevolence and sadness) and six arts (courtesy, music, shooting, imperial, calligraphy and mathematics) through Confucianism. From the teaching content, the social education in ancient China was completely based on the values, habits, customs, codes of conduct, norms and other cultural elements formed by the Chinese nation in a specific living environment for a long time. Confucianism absorbed all these cultural elements and rose to the theoretical level of the system.
Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, broke the monopoly of the ruling class on education for the first time, from "learning in the official" to "teaching without distinction", which spread traditional culture and education to the whole nation. In this way, Confucianism has a solid national psychological foundation, which is accepted by the whole society and gradually Confucianism the whole society. However, Confucianism adheres to the principle that "Tao can't be three generations, and law can't be inferior to king" (Xunzi Wang Zhi).
The connotation of Confucianism is rich and complex, and the feudal imperial power gradually developed basic theories and ideas, namely, the unity of monarch, minister and father, and the distinction between Chinese and foreigners.
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Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism alone.
Before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the ruling thought of the Qin Dynasty was legalist thought. After Qin Shihuang burned books to bury Confucianism, Chinese characters were still in the primary stage and did not have the function of accurate expression, orthodox Confucianism had basically disappeared. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the mainstream thought at that time was Taoism, and the so-called "Yellow Ruling by Doing Nothing".
Dong Zhongshu put forward "the unification of spring and autumn" and "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", emphasizing that Confucianism is the philosophical basis of the country and putting an end to other ideological systems. In view of the collapse of tyranny in the Qin dynasty, the ruling class realized the necessity of benevolent governance to maintain the stable rule of the dynasty, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted his idea. Since then, Confucianism has become orthodox, and the Confucian classics of the Four Books and Five Classics have also become prominent. By this time, Confucius had been dead for more than one hundred years. Dong Zhongshu developed the part of Taoism, Yin-Yang School and Confucianism that was beneficial to the rule of feudal emperors in specific policies and became a new Confucianism.
During the popularization of Confucianism in Han Dynasty, many social problems were solved. Confucianism tends to manage the country with benevolent policies, and politicians use this as a basis to limit the excessive concentration of land and establish a sound road.