The Spring and Autumn Period is different from any other era.
This is the first period of great change in the history of China. Under the appearance of frequent wars, all aspects of society are undergoing drastic changes.
At this time, the ruling order of slavery gradually disintegrated, the system of rites and music gradually disintegrated, and officials suspended their studies, leading to the rise of private schools. Intellectuals began to break free from the shackles of the system and their bodies and minds were greatly liberated. Coupled with the needs of the reform and expansion of various vassal States, the literati class came into being and gradually stepped onto the political stage.
Generally speaking, the gentry class is composed of the elite of the common people, including some educated aristocratic children. They get their own needs by their own abilities rather than their origins, and they are active in all fields of society, playing an important role in the history of China.
Counselors are a special group in the literati class. They not only serve the rulers directly, but also are direct practitioners of various political theories. However, they can't do whatever they want, because the ultimate decision-maker is the monarch.
Although the counselor's words and deeds can affect the monarch's decision-making, their lives are firmly in the hands of the monarch, which determines that the counselor should have the ability to assess the situation and try to figure out your inner heart.
As Liu Xiang said in the Preface to the Warring States Policy in the Western Han Dynasty, those who plan things should make money from the situation and draw from time to time. Therefore, their plans to help the needy and lose everything are correct. Although I can't stand China's education, it is also a trend of racing against time.
Looking at the advisers in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, we can easily find that these people are extremely confident in the political activities of various vassal States.
So what causes psychological counselors to be highly confident? When we take this question to look at the counselors in that period for more than two thousand years, we seem to hear their extremely arrogant answer: that's because we have a clear self-awareness.
Starting with the connotation of "scholar", this paper discusses the self-cognition of counselors in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and then discusses why they are highly confident.
Counselors and monarchs in the Spring and Autumn Period
The connotation of "scholar".
Scholars and things are counted from the beginning, the last ten and the eleventh. -"Shuo Wen Jie Zi"
The appellation "Shi" originated very early, and the quotation above is Xu Shen's explanation of the word "Shi" in Shuo Wen Jie Zi. But now we are not very clear. The interpretation of the word "scholar" in past dynasties is very complicated, but they are all out of the category of "things". Of course, things here don't refer to things, but to the names of people who do things, 0755-7900.
The connotation of "scholar" has also changed in the historical development. In Xia and Shang dynasties, adult men were called scholars. At that time, such people were mainly engaged in farming activities. Therefore, some scholars believe that the original taxi actually refers to farmers engaged in manual labor.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the connotation of scholar changed, and it was used to refer to people who had certain talents and were in charge of some basic affairs. For example, "White Tiger Tong" records that a scholar is based on morality and is good at art, that is to say, as a scholar, he should put morality first and immerse himself in the six arts, and a farmer engaged in manual labor becomes Shu Ren.
Grade diagram
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, "scholar" has become a special class between doctors and ordinary people, and it is the lowest class in the aristocratic class. However, literati also became the ruling class in ancient times, and their status was further improved. If we look at them now, they are people with status, as recorded in the Book of Rites: kings, public servants, doctors and officials.
With the development of the times, great changes have taken place in the society during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the class restrictions between societies have also been broken. Some declining nobles were kicked out of the feudal system, and some civilians broke free from the bottom, resulting in more and more taxis between nobles and civilians, and finally formed the gentry class.
As a very special group of scholars, counselors' activities are more frequent and eventually form a force that can influence the current situation. Their self-confidence is the basis of all political activities, so where their self-confidence comes from requires them to have a clear self-awareness of themselves first.
Self-cognition of counselors in the Spring and Autumn Period.
No matter how different the thoughts of the pre-Qin philosophers are, they are completely consistent in expressing the spirit of self-responsibility. -"Zuo Zhuan Zhao Zhuan Gong Seven Years"
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the status of Zhou royal family weakened and etiquette collapsed. As the carrier of knowledge, the literati class began to step onto the historical stage on a large scale. In troubled times, counselors pay great attention to their words and deeds, and self-knowledge is the basis of all their activities. As Yu Yingshi said, although the pre-Qin philosophers had different ideas, they all showed "convincing people with virtue".
contention of a hundred schools of thought
Under this trend of thought, the self-awareness of counselors is obviously manifested in three aspects, namely, "Tao does not follow the monarch", "not entering danger, not causing chaos" and "choosing the master without setting the boundary" Let's analyze it in detail.
Let's start with "Tao but not Jun".
As a counselor, if you want to realize your self-worth, the premise is to find a monarch who is willing to "work hard for it." However, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, monarchs who shared their political views and were willing to indulge their strategies did not always find the right one. When they think that the monarch can't adopt his own opinions or the monarch who works for them is incompetent, they will find another monarch. As the saying goes, good birds choose wood and live.
In the political activities of counselors, when their beliefs conflict with their willingness to participate in politics, most counselors would rather give up their political status and stick to their political opinions. For example, in The Scholars China Culture, it is recorded that the squire was seventy and failed to achieve his goal. Sun Shuai left three times without regret. Why? I can't agree with him, that is, what Jiang Taigong and Sun Shuai know is "Tao does not follow".
Let's just say that "a dangerous country does not advance, and a chaotic country does not live."
Under the conscious consciousness of "obeying the Tao but not obeying the monarch", the counselors refused to "commit themselves to each other" easily when they got the approval of their own monarch, because they still insisted on "not entering dangerous countries and not creating chaotic countries" and ignored the approval of a fatuous monarch.
Shuo yuan za Yan
Under the influence of this understanding, some counselors even publicly declare that they are "the king of inaction" in order to show their own style. If they can't find their own "monarch" or no one appreciates them for the time being, all they do is wait.
Letters in the Warring States Period recorded a conversation between Zi Gong and Confucius about jade. Zi Gong said, "Simeiyu is hidden in the clouds? Ask good people to sell? " Confucius said, "Sell it, sell it! "I'm waiting for Jia" means Zi Gong asked Confucius whether to hang a piece of jade or sell it. "Confucius said," Sell it. I'm waiting for someone who knows the goods. "
Although it seems to be about whether to sell jewelry, it is actually a metaphor for people, that is, people waiting to appreciate themselves. This is also a political attitude of counselors, but not all counselors are good at waiting, and they also advocate "going out".
Later, he said: "A scholar has no fixed country and has to choose his teacher." .
In the Spring and Autumn Period, in the fair trade of wisdom and power, in order to better grasp the initiative and let the monarchs in the world see their abilities, the advisers would choose to actively wander among the vassal States, but this also led to their belief that "a scholar has no fixed country and only chooses the Lord".
Psychological counselors will travel to many countries to find a stage to show themselves, so at that time, the country where they were born is not necessarily the country they want to serve. So at that time, it was a fashion for the counselor class to "spend all their time in Qin Chu". When talking about the advisers in the Warring States period, Ye Shi also pointed out: However, people who traveled during the Warring States period were their career.
Wuqi reform
If you want to find such a bright example of this period, Wu Qi is it.
Counselors will go through all kinds of hardships in the process of finding the monarch, and sometimes even be persecuted. Sima Xi and Fan Ju are such examples. According to the Analects of Confucius, Sima's kneecap teeth were in Wei in Song Dynasty, which means Sima was fined to cut off his kneecap in Song Dynasty, but his ribs were broken and his teeth were knocked out in Wei Dynasty. But in the end, both of them made great achievements.
But then again, as a cloth counselor with no background, how can it be smooth sailing if you want to make great achievements? As Mencius said: the sky will be great for you, and you must first suffer from your heart, your bones and muscles, your skin and your body. Of course, this rule also applies now, so when your life is not satisfactory, have you ever thought about the hardships experienced by the ancients before their success, and do you have any motivation?
The counselor's high self-confidence in the Spring and Autumn Period.
They are all talented people. When you spend time, they can do what you can. They are surprisingly resourceful, turning the corner and sending death for survival. It is also gratifying and impressive. -"Historical Records and Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi"
Counselors are self-aware, but that doesn't mean they will be highly confident, because they need to be hard while the iron is hot. Even if they have clear self-knowledge, they have no ink in their stomachs, no wisdom in their heads and no self-confidence. So where does the counselor's confidence come from?
Bamboo slips recording the words and deeds of ancient counselors
As quoted by Liu Xiang above, psychological counselors should be able to "strategize, even wise men worry" and achieve "saving lives and saving lives".
Super strategy.
From the political activities of the advisers in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it is not difficult to find that their ingenuity is very profound, especially those strategists who are active in "diplomatic" activities and strategize and win thousands of miles away. Their originality often shows an overwhelming way.
They have an optimistic attitude to stick to their views. In order to put their ideas into practice, they shuttled between countries and were tested by practice. Although they sometimes hit a wall everywhere, they can make repeated efforts. Although their political opinions were not all accepted by the princes, they also made these monarchs feel refreshed.
From now on, these counselors were forward-looking at that time, and they have walked to the forefront of the times with their own wisdom. Therefore, on the whole, counselors' grasp of social laws is relatively accurate.
Statue of Fan Ju
Whether it is "kingly way", "overbearing", "humane" or "one size fits all", it has had a great influence in a certain period of time, especially Fan Ju's proposition that "a close attack is better than a distant friend". He pushed his luck, and his ruler was the ruler of a king, which further promoted the unification of divided China.
The great influence of political activities.
If the counselor's strategy is the first step of their self-confidence, then their remarkable effect in political activities and the huge social repercussions caused by the strategy further stimulate their self-confidence psychology. In the present words, their efforts have been rewarded, which will naturally inspire people to move forward.
In the book, when talking about Su Qin's policy of unifying the longitudinal army, he said: The world is big, the people of all nations, the power of governors and the power of counselors all want to decide Su Qin's policy, and then put forward the conclusion that "the wise men are from the world". It is also recorded in Historical Records Biographies of Lu Zhonglian and Zou Yang: Are Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi honest people? Anger and vassal fear, harmony and the world out, we can see the great role played by counselors in political activities.
Counselors in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Middle Warring States Period
What we are talking about here is not the power in the hands of counselors, but the power transformed by clever thinking that scares the people and even the monarch. From now on, it is not an exaggeration to call them the embodiment of wisdom.
In addition, the results of the activities carried out by the counselors not only promoted the social division to unity, but also promoted the changes of social systems such as economic taxation, political county system and cultural contention. It is the remarkable political effect of this column that makes this group exude confidence.
To sum up, the counselors' high self-confidence in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was based on their sober self-awareness, superb strategies and remarkable effects of their own political activities.
However, under the torrent of many counselors in politics, the space for the choice of talents by the monarch and ministers has also been expanded, further stimulating the outbreak of this group's own potential. After all, it is impossible for everyone to achieve a high position.
Ancient monarch
In addition, the monarchs at that time were not all loyal and literate people from the heart. In order to be strong and survive, they had to win over and use this group of advisers, and the final decision-making power was still firmly in the hands of the monarch. All they need is the intelligence of the counselors, which of course needs to be exchanged with power or wealth, but in spite of this, it provides an environment for the counselors to survive and play their own strategies.
Under the influence of many factors, it also led to the important position of counselors in history. It can be said that the times have created counselors, and counselors have guided the development of the times.