In the eyes of western readers, Confucius is just a wise man, and his words are either aphorisms or aphorisms. This view is naturally insufficient to explain the profound and great influence of Confucius' thought. Without a more profound and unified belief or system, it is impossible to rule a country by a set of maxims as Confucius ruled China. Confucius' prestige and influence are so great that the solution to this difficult problem must be sought from other places. Without a convincing set of truth, even aphorisms will be tedious. The Analects of Confucius is a Confucian bible and a set of moral lessons, which let westerners know something about Confucius mainly through this book.
In short, Confucius' thought represents a rational social order, with ethics as the law, personal cultivation as the foundation, morality as the foundation of governing the country and self-cultivation as the root of political cultivation. From this point of view, the most thought-provoking feature is the abolition of the difference between politics and ethics. Its method is ethical, which is completely different from the legalists' emphasis on making Qiang Bing rich by severe punishment and harsh laws. Confucius' theory is also absolutely positive, requiring people to be responsible for human beings and society. The so-called responsibility to the world is very different from Taoism. In fact, Confucianism holds a humanistic attitude, completely ignores metaphysics and mysticism, and only pays attention to basic interpersonal relationships. What's the use of immortality in the supernatural world? The most powerful theory in this unique humanitarianism is that "the standard of man is man". With this theory, as long as an ordinary person follows the goodness in human nature, even if he initially pursues the Confucian way of being a man, he does not need to seek perfection in the sacred ideals of any gods.
More precisely, Confucianism aims to re-establish a rational feudal society, because the feudal society of the Zhou Dynasty at that time was on the verge of collapse. Confucianism certainly advocates a clear class. To understand this situation, we must go back to the collapse of Confucius' feudal system at that time and the situation hundreds of years later. At that time, there were hundreds of male-level countries in China, large and small, which were independent, but the strong ones kept growing in territory and national strength, and often went to war with other countries. The emperor of the Zhou Dynasty was called the king of China, who ruled the whole country, but in fact his reputation was empty and extremely declining. Even Confucius and later Mencius traveled all over the world, begging them to be benevolent and save the people from fire and water, but they also disdained the former Zhou Emperor. This is in contradiction with his theory of building a rational society and respecting Zhou Wang. At that time, the domestic situation was extremely chaotic, the Zhou family declined and the empire weakened. Even if I go to court, it's no use. Although there is a treaty between countries, it is shattered in an instant, and alliance and reconciliation are difficult to last. More soldiers, higher taxes, bullying and violence. It is really embarrassing and unsuccessful to discuss between countries at any time. Scholars and wise men began to decide the strategy of attack and defense, the strategy of war, not to be interested, to distinguish between gains and losses. Strangely, at that time, among scholars and intellectuals, the division of national boundaries gradually disappeared. They traveled around the world and their relatives and friends were changeable. However, the loss of the ancient ritual system, the disorder of respect and inferiority, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the anomie of politics and religion have made people with keen minds struggle to find ways to set things right and return to governance. In this atmosphere, people who are extremely free-thinking, intelligent and sensitive express their opinions, and a hundred flowers blossom and compete for beauty, forming the golden age of China's philosophy. Or despise the ethics of Laozi and Zhuangzi; Or advocate that everyone should work with their own hands to make a living, such as communism and its disciples in childhood, while Mozi advocates a single god, worships God, teaches people to be humane, not selfish, even stifles asceticism, and even goes to extreme exclusion of music. In addition, there are sophists, ascetics, hedonists, naturalists and so on. As a result, many people, like Europeans today, began to doubt culture and wanted to return to the primitive life in ancient times, just as some thinkers today wanted to return to the African jungle or Bali, east of Java. Like modern Christians, Confucius believes in moral strength, educational strength, artistic strength, cultural and historical traditions, a certain degree of international moral behavior, and high moral standards among people. These are some beliefs of Confucius.
In other words, Confucius can almost be regarded as an anarchist, because his highest political ideal is that all people live in harmony in society, so there is no need for a government to manage society. This is also implied in these words. He said: "I am still alive after hearing the lawsuit. Will it, so there is no lawsuit? " But how can we achieve such a non-litigation situation? In the following article, he gave a different explanation. But don't misunderstand that the ultimate goal of Confucius' administration is the same as that of punishment, courtesy and pleasure. The Book of Rites says: "Rites are based on their aspirations, and they are happy to reconcile their voices. Politics is based on their behavior, and punishment is used to prevent them from being raped. Ritual, music and criminal politics are all extreme, so come out and govern with the people's hearts. "
Confucius was never satisfied with the political order achieved through severe punishment. He said: "The Tao should be political, and the people should be punished without shame. Tao is virtue, courtesy, shame and dignity. " Politically, Confucius thought there were two levels. He once said that if Qi went further, it would reach the cultural level of Lu, that is, it would reach the first stage of governing the world. If Lu goes further, it will reach the level of real civilization, that is, it will reach the second stage of governing the world.
(B) Ceremony-a rational society
Confucianism is also called "Confucianism", "Confucianism" or "ethics" in China. Western readers will immediately feel that the meaning of etiquette is much more complicated than pure etiquette, or that Confucius' thought is a set of false truths. We must take this problem seriously, because the word "rites and music" is common in Confucius' works, and it seems to contain Confucius' whole system of society, just as the word "benevolence" seems to contain the essence of Confucius' lessons on personal behavior. The essence and importance of the word "rites and music" will be discussed in detail later in this book. Now it is only necessary to point out that Confucius' own definitions of "politics" and "ceremony" are one and two, and two and one. Politics is "right" and ceremony is "the rule of things" (see Article 28 of the Book of Rites). The word "China" can't be expressed in one word in English. In a narrow sense, this word means "ceremony" and "etiquette", but in a broad sense, it only means "ceremony"; In the highest philosophical sense, it is an ideal social order, and everything has its place, especially in feudal society with reasonable festivals. As mentioned earlier, feudal society is in the process of collapse.
Confucius tried to realize his ideal, but he devoted himself to restoring social order. In this society, everyone must love each other and respect those in power. In society, public worship and celebration must be manifested in ceremonies and music. Of course, this sacrificial ceremony must be a primitive religious ceremony, but what we call "ethics" is characterized by its semi-religious nature. Because the emperor sacrifices to heaven, this is one aspect of religion, but on the other hand, it also teaches people to be kind, law-abiding and respect their elders in family life. In offering sacrifices to heaven, the ancestors of those in power are sacrificed, the land is sacrificed, and the rivers and mountains are sacrificed. These religious sacrifices are different. There are several records in The Analects of Confucius and The Book of Rites that Confucius did not know the significance of these sacrifices to the royal ancestors. If he does, it will be easy to rule the world. In this respect, Confucianism is similar to most of Moses' commandments, and it is much easier to compare Confucius and Moses to other philosophers in Confucianism. Rites advocated by Confucianism, like the precepts of Moses, include both religious laws and regulations and norms of life, which are regarded as an inseparable whole. After all, Confucius was a man of his time. As the French philosopher Comte said, he lived in a "religious" era.
The whole ethical code system includes a social organization plan, and its conclusion is a huge knowledge, including the ritual rules of religious sacrifice, the rules of feast, riding and shooting, the behavior standards of boys and girls, and the care of the elderly. The best way to carry forward this kind of true knowledge of Confucius is Mo Ruo Xunzi. At the same time, Xunzi and Mencius are enemies of Mencius academically, and their philosophical thoughts are fully expounded in the Book of Rites, which is enough to reflect Xunzi's views.
(3) benevolence
The essence of Confucius' philosophy, I think, lies in his assertion that "the standard of man is man". Otherwise, the whole set of Confucian ethics will go bankrupt completely and have no practical value. The whole Confucian philosophy of rites and music is "righteousness", and the kingdom of God is in people's hearts. Therefore, if an individual intends to "cultivate one's morality", the best way is to follow the goodness of his nature and stick to it. This is the essence of Confucius' ethical philosophy. The result is "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you". Confucius has a very refined and extremely high meaning about benevolence. Except for his two disciples and three historical figures, he will never easily approve the word benevolence. Sometimes people ask him if a person is "benevolent", and nine times out of ten he refuses to use this word to address contemporary people. Confucius pointed out in the book "The Doctrine of the Mean" that "he who climbs high will feel inferior, and he who walks far will be complacent". He once said that filial piety is the foundation of benevolence.
So the original meaning of benevolence should be his pure state. Developed the concept of "courtesy", focusing on "restraint". In general English, we say who is a real man and who is a real person among acquaintances. The meaning of this word is very close to the word "benevolence". On the one hand, we gradually understand why Confucius refused to give the badge of "benevolence" to the good people of his time and called it benevolent, but today we are willing to give the highest meaning of the word "real person, real person" to our contemporaries. (Lincoln) Naturally, he deserved it. On the other hand, in our opinion, it is not so difficult for a person to get close to "benevolence". As long as his heart is right, he will look down on those hypocritical words and deeds; As long as he wants to be a "real person" and a "benevolent person", he can do it. Confucius said that if people want to be "benevolent", they only need to be good children, good children and good citizens first. Isn't our statement exactly the same as that of Confucius and Mencius? I think it is very accurate and appropriate for me to translate China's word "benevolence" into English. Sometimes it can be translated into kind-ness, just as the word "ceremony" can be translated into ceremony, ceremony and etiquette in some places.
(4) Self-cultivation is the foundation of governing the country and leveling the world.
Confucian ethical approach to political issues has been clearly explained. The simplest and most clear statement is: Confucius believes that a country composed of dutiful sons and loving brothers must be a well-organized, peaceful and peaceful society with good public order. Confucianism traces the rule of the country back to Qijia, and from Qijia back to personal cultivation. This statement is very similar to what modern educators say. The chaos in the world now lies in the failure of education. Taking world order as the ultimate goal and personal accomplishment as the beginning of writing, the logical connection between them is described in detail in the chapter "Ethics and Politics" of this book. From this perspective, it is not difficult to understand that China people attach importance to proverbs, because those proverbs are not independent of each other, but a rich and comprehensive philosophy.
From the perspective of modern psychology, this truth can be divided into two parts, namely, habit theory and representative theory. The emphasis on filial piety (I might as well translate it as "being a good son and daughter") is based on the theory of habit. Confucius and Mencius made it clear that they have developed the habit of loving and respecting at home, and they will certainly respect other people's parents and brothers and the heads of state in the future. Every family is used to charity, then the whole country will be used to charity; Every family is used to comity; Then the whole country must get used to comity; To make disciples love their parents and brothers and respect their elders, they must lay a correct spiritual attitude and moral foundation for good citizens in the process of growing up.
(5) Judges
The theory of imitation, or the power of example, has produced the intellectual class and "sage politics". Intellectuals and the upper class must also be the moral upper class, otherwise they will lose their qualifications as the upper class. This is what Confucius called a gentleman, as we all know. The gentleman mentioned by Confucius is by no means the "superman" mentioned by the German philosopher Nietzsche. A gentleman is just a morally kind and gentle person. At the same time, he is studious, thoughtful and always calm and cautious. He is convinced that he will set an example for the people and will certainly influence the society. No matter what a person's personal situation is, he always enjoys himself and has some contempt for luxury. Confucius' moral lessons are all manifested in gentlemen. The word "gentleman" in Chinese was very popular in the era of Confucius, but Confucius gave it a new meaning. In some places, its past meaning is the same as that of "king", and it can never be translated into the English word gentleman; ; Elsewhere, it obviously means an educated gentleman. Because of the upper class of scholar-officials, the two meanings of the word gentleman are mixed, and their meanings are quite similar to those of the "philosopher emperor" mentioned by the Greek philosopher Plato. The theory of setting an example is fully discussed in The Analects of Confucius. Confucius was too confident about the influence of moral behavior. Once, a corrupt official Ji Kangzi told Confucius that bandits and thieves were rampant in his country, and he was deeply worried. Confucius told him bluntly: "If you don't want to be a beggar, don't steal." If you are not greedy, if you reward the thief to steal, he will not go. )
Hundreds of years after Confucius' death, and then in the history of China, Confucius' high reputation and his legacy status can be attributed to three factors. First, Confucius thought is particularly attractive to China people; Second, China's classical academic and historical knowledge is exclusive to Confucian scholars, while other schools at that time ignored China's classical and historical knowledge. At the same time, China's ancient knowledge itself is extremely valuable; Third, Confucius' personal reputation is admirable. In our world, there are some great teachers whose influence is mostly because of their lovely personality, not because of their profound knowledge. We think of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates and the Italian saint Saint Ji Fang. They didn't write any important works themselves, but they left such a deep impression on the contemporary world, and their influence is indelible and even enduring. Confucius is as lovely as Socrates. Socrates' deep love for Plato is enough to prove that this is due to his character and thought. It is true that Confucius deleted the Book of Songs and wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals, but the tradition of Confucius inculcating people is only recorded by disciples and future believers.
In Confucian works, there are many different descriptions of Confucius' character. When we discussed the golden mean, we mentioned some first. Yan Hui, a disciple of Confucius, once praised Confucius and held him aloof as a mysterious and unknowable thing. Yan Hui said: "The higher you lift, the stronger you drill;" Look ahead, suddenly behind. " The following paragraphs are the best description of Confucius. One of the paragraphs is: "With Li, be brave but not fierce, be respectful and safe." Confucius' own description is particularly good. Once, a monarch asked a disciple of Confucius who Confucius was, but the disciple didn't answer. When he came back, he told Confucius about it. In the Analects of Confucius, there is such a passage: Ye Gong asked Confucius about Luz, but Luz gave the wrong answer. Confucius said, "You Xi didn't say,' He is a man who forgets to eat when he is angry, and forgets his worries when he is happy, but he doesn't know that he is old. "In this passage, we can easily see the happiness, enthusiasm and spirit of Confucius's life. Confucius said several times that he was not a saint, but "never tire of learning and never tire of teaching". Here is a passage that can illustrate Confucius' efforts. This shows that Confucius has his moral ideals, and he knows his mission, so he is confident.
The touching thing about Confucius' character lies in his kindness and gentleness, which can be clearly seen from his tone of speaking to his disciples. The dialogue between Confucius and his disciples recorded in The Analects of Confucius can only be regarded as a humorous ramble between master and apprentice, occasionally embellished with a few meaningful warnings. With this attitude, reading of the analects of confucius, Confucius said a few words at the most casual time, which was wonderful. For example, I like the following passage very much: One day, when Confucius was chatting with two or three close friends, he said, "Do you think I am embarrassed to tell two or three of you something? Honestly, I really have nothing to hide from you. I was born like this in Kong Qiu. " The original text is:
Confucius said, "Two sons and three sons, do you keep me a secret? I have nothing to hide. If I do nothing and don't work with two or three sons, it's Ye Qiu. "
On another occasion, Confucius made fun of his disciples' behavior. After hearing this, Confucius was puzzled by his disciples. Confucius said, "Order is the ear of the play." The implication is that Confucius is not opposed, but in favor. This is because Confucius is indeed an optimistic old gentleman. No matter who wants to ask him for advice, he always welcomes him with grace. As can be seen from the following things, this thing is just like the record in the biography of Jesus in the New Testament of Christianity. Jesus once said to his disciples, "Let the children come to me." The thing is this: the residents of a village are annoying because of dishonesty. Several young people in the village went to see Confucius, and Confucius' disciples were quite dissatisfied when they learned that Confucius had actually seen them. Confucius said, "Why are you so hard on them? I think it's important that they come to me for advice, not how they behave after they leave. Since people come to see me sincerely, I value their sincerity very much. Of course, I can't guarantee their future behavior. "
The paragraph reads as follows:
It's hard to talk to each other. When the boy looked at it, the master was confused. Confucius said, "It is better to retreat than to advance. Only what? If a person is clean, he will be promoted. If he is clean, he will not be guaranteed to leave. "
But Confucius is not always gentle, because he is also a living "real person". He can sing and be very humble, but he can also hate and despise people like an ordinary real person, just as Jesus hates those Jewish jurists. There has never been a great man in our world who is not hateful. Confucius is sometimes rude. The Analects of Confucius records that his old man said four or five very mean words in front of people. His rudeness is impossible for today's Confucianism to show. What Confucius hates is those good gentlemen who don't distinguish between good and evil, and those hypocritical "homesickness wishes". He said that they are "thieves of virtue". Once, a homesick figure named Ru Sade wanted to see Confucius. The Analects of Confucius records:
I'm sorry to see Confucius. Confucius talked about diseases. Will be ordered to leave home and sing with an instrument so that they can be heard.
This is clearly heard that Confucius is at home. This passage puzzled all Confucian scholars. Because they think Confucius is a saint, not a mortal, and has always been polite. This orthodox view naturally completely deprived Confucius of his humanity. Another passage in the Analects of Confucius also puzzled Confucian scholars, and it was also recorded in Mencius. The story goes like this: A corrupt official named Yang Huo gave Confucius a pig's hoof. Because Yang Huo and Confucius didn't like each other, when Confucius was not at home, Yang Huo sent a pig's trotter to Confucius' house to show his respect. When Confucius was not at home, he also paid special attention to thanking Yang Huo. There is such a passage in The Analects:
Yang Huo wanted to see Confucius, but Confucius didn't. This dolphin belongs to Confucius. After Confucius died, he went to worship him. ...
Confucius, a musical instrument capable of singing and dancing, such as lyre and harp, rewrote the Book of Songs with music, and was of course an artist. I have pointed out that Confucius is a man who loves music and etiquette. It can also be proved from the following that Confucius has the temperament of a religious scholar like the Episcopal Church, and he loves rites and music. But this is in stark contrast to Jesus' indifference to the laws, prophets and rituals in religion and his aversion to them. On the Sabbath, Jesus ordered people to go to a hole in the ground to save an ox. Confucius may or may not agree with such a thing. Zi Gong, a disciple of Confucius, once suggested that sheep be omitted from the sacrificial ceremony. Confucius said, "Give, you love the sheep, and I love the ceremony." The first paragraph in The Analects of Confucius goes like this:
Zigong wants to tell Crescent about the sheep. Confucius said, "Kick me, I love my sheep, and I love my ceremony."
Because Confucius has a profound artistic temperament, he said that people's education should start with learning poetry, followed by encouraging people's behavior, and finally "achieving happiness." It is also recorded that if Confucius likes to listen to people sing, he will always ask people to sing it again, and he will also participate in singing where the lyrics overlap. Because Confucius has such artistic temperament, he is also very picky about food and clothing. I have pointed out elsewhere that he is so picky about his diet, which may be why his wife left him. For example, the season of food is wrong, and Confucius doesn't eat that kind of food; If the cooking method is wrong, Confucius will not eat it; Confucius did not eat the wrong ingredients. He refused to sit down because the seat was wrong. He also has a good eye for how to match the colors of clothes. Modern seamstresses can easily understand why Confucius used a black sheepskin robe with a black face, a white sheepskin robe with a white face and a fox skin with a yellow face. Confucius also made some inventions in clothing. He covered the quilt more than half as long as himself to avoid getting cold feet. In order to do things conveniently, he wants his right sleeve to be shorter than his left sleeve. Rarely can he think of such a wonderful idea, but this wonderful idea may make his wife angry and run away. Confucius' aristocratic temperament even made Confucius tend to divorce his wife. Confucius himself, two generations later, his sons and grandchildren either divorced or separated from his wife. In the Confucian tradition of Confucius, there have been three and a half generations of divorces with his wife, including Confucius himself, his great disciple Ceng Zi and Ceng Zi's protege Zisi. According to records, Confucianism spread to the fourth generation of master Mencius (Zisi was educated) and almost divorced his wife. Although these Confucian masters are not particularly rich, they are all nobles, which is beyond doubt.
One of the most important characteristics of Confucius is enough to really show that his reputation has been so long because Confucius was knowledgeable and eager to learn all his life. Confucius himself has said it many times. Confucius himself admitted that he was not the kind of person who was "born to know". He is just a man who never tires of learning and never tires of teaching. He admitted that "in a city with ten rooms, there must be loyal and reliable people." Not as good as Qiu Haoxue. "He thinks that one of the sad things is to neglect his studies. I found a sentence in what he said, which is as sorry as modern archaeologists feel. He wanted to rebuild the ancient religious etiquette, so he went to Qi State to visit the ancient customs of Xia Dynasty, and went to Song State to visit the religious customs and etiquette of Shang Dynasty, but found nothing. He said, "I can say the summer ceremony, but I can't ask for it." Can talk, but Song can't be overcast. Lack of literature. That's enough. I can collect it. In other words, Confucius is basically a historian. He tried to study and preserve the submerged ancient etiquette system from the customs, antiquities and documents that existed at that time. He did his best. It was he who compiled the Five Classics. Strictly speaking, as Zhang Xuecheng, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, said, "The Six Classics are all history", so the Five Classics are history books, which are different from the Four Classics. I think Confucius was so highly regarded, not necessarily because he was the greatest wise man of that year, but because he was the most profound scholar of that year, and he was able to impart ancient classics to his disciples. At that time, there was rich knowledge of ancient political system and more knowledge of ancient religious ceremonies. Some parts of those ancient theocracies have declined, and some parts are gradually declining, especially the ancient ritual system of Shang Dynasty. These situations can be seen in the five classics edited by Confucius. It is said that Confucius has 3,000 disciples, among whom 72 are proficient in The Book of Songs, The Book of Songs and Rites. Confucius firmly believes in the value of history, because he believes that human culture will inevitably continue. In The Doctrine of the Mean, we can see that Confucius believes that there are three necessary conditions for the great cause of governing the country and calming the world: personal morality, political status and historical tradition. Without one to govern, it is not enough to succeed and win the trust. No matter how good the political system is, there is no hope of success on this condition alone. As a result, the academic research on Confucius has developed into a rich historical heritage, which was completely lacking in other schools at that time. Therefore, I personally think that the reason why Confucianism can surpass other schools such as Taoism and Mohism is partly because of the philosophical value of Confucianism itself and partly because of its academic status. Confucian teachers can really come up with something to teach students, and students can really learn something and gain something. That set of true knowledge is history, and other schools can only boast their own opinions and opinions, whether it is "universal love" or "for themselves", with no specific content.
Confucius' amiable wit must be mentioned here. Because this can show that Confucius lived a full and happy life, which is quite different from the dogma of Song Neo-Confucianism that stifled vitality and ruined scenery, thus showing the simplicity and greatness of Confucius.
But we think that Confucius' unique humor is the best humor, which is naturally revealed when Confucius satirizes himself. There are many times when Confucius can laugh at his superficial shortcomings or admit that others' criticism of him is pertinent. His humor is sometimes just a slight joke between their teachers and students, which has no deep meaning at all.