Confucianism, also known as Confucianism, originated in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and is one of the hundred schools of thought such as Taoism, Mohism, Legalism and Yin and Yang. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it has become the orthodox thought of China society. If you count from Confucius, it has a history of more than 2500 years. With the change and development of society, Confucianism is constantly changing and developing from content, form to social function. If we make a comprehensive survey of the content, form and social function of Confucianism, some people think that Confucianism has four distinct historical development stages in China. Because people have different understanding and evaluation of Confucianism, they also have different prospects for the future of Confucianism. In my opinion, Confucianism, as one of the cultural subjects circulating in China for more than 2,000 years, has a rich and profound ideological theory, which has a wide influence on East Asian countries, even an important part in the history and culture of some East Asian countries such as North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam. With the revitalization of China and East Asia, it will be more and more conscious and valued by countries and people in this region. At the same time, as one of the main representatives of eastern culture, the complementarity between Confucianism and western culture is attracting more and more attention from people of insight in the world. Therefore, I am optimistic about the future development of Confucianism. Of course, to obtain the premise of this development, we must first require Confucianism to have an open spirit, not only to continue to absorb and integrate the essence of various schools in China, but also to actively absorb and integrate the essence of western culture. At the same time, we must "choose its goodness and use it" (Xunzi Wang Ba), and make a new explanation in line with the spirit of modern society. In this regard, I think that through the joint efforts of various schools of Neo-Confucianism since the 1920s, including a large number of scholars who are currently called the second and third generations of Neo-Confucianism, as well as scholars from South Korea, Japan, Singapore and other countries, there are still many achievements and lessons so far, which prove the possibility and necessity of the modern development of Confucianism.

I have always appreciated the efforts made by the second and third generation of neo-Confucian scholars to promote the modern development of Confucianism, and their spirit of loving China's traditional culture. However, regarding the orientation of the future development of Confucianism, I don't agree with the theory of "three unified structures" put forward by the second and third generation scholars of Neo-Confucianism. The so-called "three unification and construction" was first put forward by Mr. Mou Zongsan. 1948, he wrote in the article "The Origin of Reviving the Goose Lake Academy": "From Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi to Dong Zhongshu, it was the first period of Confucianism, and Song Mingru was the second period, and now it has entered the third period. The cultural mission of the third period of Confucianism should be' three systems at the same time', that is, reopening the knowledge of life to achieve great orthodoxy, completing the establishment of democratic regime to continue political unity, and opening scientific knowledge to establish academic unity. " Later, in 1958, the Declaration of China Culture Informed the People of the World, which was jointly signed by Mou Zongsan, Tang Junyi and Xu, once again stressed the need to develop the Confucian "study of mind and nature", "so that the people of China can not only learn from the study of mind and nature, but also consciously regard themselves as the subject of moral practice". At the same time, politically, this is what contemporary neo-Confucianism said. The current mission of Confucianism is mainly to develop the specific content of "contributing to the outer king" from the study of "inner sage and outer king". Mou Zongsan still insisted on this position in a speech in 1979. He said: "The responsibility of the third development of Confucianism is to create a new king that this era needs, that is, to create a new king. ..... The new king demanded by the present era is science and democratic politics. " (See the Modern Significance of China Culture from the Current Mission of Confucianism. See Time and Feelings.)

It is true that science and democracy are the requirements of today's times, and there is no doubt about it. However, is it possible or necessary to bring it into the category of "continuing political unity" and "establishing academic unity" of Confucianism? This is a controversial issue.

When Mr. He Lin talked about "establishing new Confucianism" and "new development of Confucianism" in the1940s, he pointed out in particular: "We don't need to seek the science of Confucianism, nor do we need to make Confucianism scientific." There is some truth in this sentence. It should be noted that the meaning of Mr. He Lin's sentence does not mean that we should not study Confucianism with a scientific attitude and method, but rather that some people at that time made a simple comparison between Confucianism and natural science. For example, he said, "Because science aims at studying the laws of nature, it has its own independent field. ..... In terms of spiritual life, a scientist may believe in Christianity, convert to Buddhism, or respect Confucius and Mencius, but the science he invented belongs to an independent public science, and there is no distinction between Christianity, Confucianism and Buddhism. On the contrary, Confucianism also has its special functions and independent fields to guide life, improve spiritual life and promote moral values, without seeking its scientificity. In other words, there is no need to attach scientific principles to play Confucianism. " Regarding the development orientation of modern Confucianism, I would like to add a sentence to Mr. He's words, that is, "We don't need Confucian politics or politicized Confucianism." What I mean by adding this sentence is that it is not necessary to link Confucianism with natural science, but from the perspective of historical evolution, Confucianism should not be used to unify the country's ideological model and link Confucianism with "continuing political reunification."

Of course, this is not to deny that many ideological and theoretical elements can be extracted from Confucianism to inspire and promote scientific development and improve the political system and social environment. On the contrary, many thinking methods in Confucianism are of great enlightening significance for overcoming some one-sidedness in western empirical scientific thinking methods; Similarly, many political ideals, principles of governing the country, bureaucratic personality and other theories in Confucianism are also very conducive to improving the current political system and environment. The inheritance and new interpretation of Confucianism is completely influenced by the profundity and persuasiveness of its theory, and it is a free and equal competition with other Chinese and western theories. The second and third generations of contemporary neo-Confucianists integrate Chinese and Western cultures, love the traditional cultural spirit of China, and strive to interpret Confucian thoughts and theories with modern spirit to adapt them to modern society. Their intentions are hard to say, and their spirit is really admirable. Contemporary Neo-Confucianism adheres to the traditional principle of "returning to the original and innovating, keeping the routine and adapting to changes", which is a principle full of dialectical thinking. However, because most of them have the emotional color and thinking mode of Confucian unity to some extent, in their efforts to complete the cultural mission of "upholding the Confucian orthodoxy", "continuing the political orthodoxy" and "establishing the academic orthodoxy", they left the impression on the general public more than "returning to the basics" and "keeping the norm" and less than "innovation" and "flexibility". However, the orientation of "three systems simultaneously" is also very easy to arouse the rebellious psychology of ordinary people, especially young people, and reject it.

Therefore, in view of the historical experience and lessons and the progressive trend of the times, it is debatable that the contemporary neo-Confucianists put forward that "opening up a new ocean king" (with "three unification and co-construction" as the core) is the main orientation of the current Confucian development. As far as the present situation and development of today's society are concerned, it is necessary to separate traditional Confucianism from political system and religious tendency, which is conducive to the development of Confucianism. Therefore, compared with the contemporary neo-Confucianism's orientation of "new external kings", it seems to me that the study of "new internal saints" of Confucianism is more needed by society and has broad and far-reaching development prospects. The so-called "inner sage" here mainly refers to those theories in Confucianism about guiding life cultivation, improving spiritual life, promoting moral values, coordinating group rights and integrating the relationship between man and nature. If we can closely combine the problems and spirit of the times and fully expound the modern significance of these Confucian theories, it will be of great benefit to the spiritual civilization construction of today's society and achieve its corresponding results (also known as "foreign kings"). Ancient Confucianism will also sprout new meaning and new life.

2. The general characteristics of Confucian school.

It is a theory that attaches importance to this life and cares about society. Confucius devoted himself to the pursuit of social justice and accommodation under the feudal system, or under the feudal system and the official medical system. He probably didn't think that contemporary ills could be corrected outside the feudal system. But advocated returning to the purest ancient saint Wang Zhidao. In his time, it was natural to support ethics with ideal history. Confucius said that he "does not keep his word, and his deeds will bear fruit."

To understand Confucius, we must first understand his times. Confucius' interest in managing ordinary things seems to be boring and mediocre. But we must understand that he lives in a turbulent era, where wars break out between countries, the weak become the battlefields of big countries, and law and order are maintained only by personal force and intrigue. The hunting, war and extravagant life of the nobles made the people miserable and their lives were like dirt. For such an era, Confucius' thought is revolutionary. Although there are many words about monarch and minister in The Analects, it seems to be "pedantic training" today. As long as we understand the background of this era, we can understand that these words are a sincere condemnation of the weaknesses and sins at that time. The condemned people are powerful and can easily kill them.

Confucius is undoubtedly the greatest educator. Before him, we only knew that there was a school that taught shooting. He was the first person who explicitly said "education is classless". Those who are taught by him and are ready to engage in politics and diplomacy need not worry about their family background. From this, we can see the origin of the official system in the future. People who are interested in learning can serve the monarch as scholars or officials without asking about their life experience. Confucius often said that it was a great honor to be in politics. As for how Confucius taught his disciples, we can know the general outline from what disciple Zeng Shen said. Ceng Zi said.

"A gentleman is more expensive than Tao. Three: moving posture, Philip Burkart suddenly slowed down; Positive color, close to letters; It will be much more embarrassing to say it. " In another place, Confucius answered "benevolence" and said:

"When you go out, if you see a distinguished guest, let this person be like a big sacrifice. Do as you would be done by. You have no complaints at home and no complaints at home. "

Confucius' early disciples were mostly ministers of other countries, and his later disciples were mostly engaged in education and social philosophy. There are many people whose names and occupations can be tested.

Education is not restricted by class privilege, which is a revolutionary proposition. Although this proposition has led to the bureaucracy of learning to be an official, it also contains elements of modern democracy. There are different opinions on the truth of Confucius' democratic thought, but we should be clear about this issue, because from the sociological point of view, democratic thought has an important relationship with natural science. Gu Jiegang 7 believed that Confucius supported feudal society at all; Mei Siping 1 thinks he is a great counter-revolutionary. In China, this issue is naturally closely related to current political issues and the respect of conservatives. Other scholars, such as Guo Xx, focus on the revolutionary thought in Confucius' life and theory, taking Confucius' sympathy for the traitor Lu in the Three Kingdoms as an example.

Some disciples of Confucius were accused of encouraging the rebels to meet Mozi and Zhuangzi. Both Mohist and Zhuang's disciples know that rebellion begins with the poor. Chen Sheng, the first to rise up against Qin, called himself "King Zhang Chu". He took Confucius, the eighth grandson of Confucius, as his counselor. This scholar died in the autumn of Chen Shengzhi in 208 BC, and many Confucius and Mohist disciples were attached to his banner.

Confucius seems to advocate that governing the country should be based on the welfare and happiness of the whole people. The way to achieve this goal is not to strictly enforce man-made laws, but to make good use of good customs and habits that are regarded as the natural laws of heaven. People who can use them properly need real wisdom, knowledge and compassion. Such people will seek everything. A talented person who manages the world does not need family background and wealth. He only needs proper personality and knowledge, which can be cultivated through good education, so education should be popularized.

From what has been said above, we can draw a conclusion of great significance to science. If everyone can receive education, then everyone can know the truth. Only through education, experience and talent can he increase his discriminating ability and become a member of the "observation group". Confucian scholars understand this kind of ideological democracy, and Confucius often admonishes his disciples to be "suspicious" and praises the "lack of history" for leaving a blank instead of reluctantly writing suspicious words. And once said;

"By teaching you what you know, what you know is what you know, and what you don't know is what you know."

This is a good motto for modern scholars engaged in science. But the early Confucianists were far less interested in natural science than in personnel. Confucius once encouraged his disciples to learn poetry, and cited other reasons, saying that they could "know more about the names of birds, animals and plants". He also said that he agreed with the southern proverb that "a man without perseverance cannot be a witch doctor". There are signs that Zeng Shen, one of the great disciples of Confucius, was interested in science, which can be compared with the later natural yin and yang scholars. But that's all.

Confucianism believes that the universe is the sky and morality is the longitude and latitude. Their so-called "Tao" mainly refers to the ideal realm in the world society. This significance is obvious in their attitude towards the spiritual world and knowledge. Although they didn't separate the individual from the people in the society, nor did they separate the people in the society from the whole nature, they always advocated that the only legitimate object of studying human beings was the people themselves.

Therefore, in the whole history of China, Confucianism is opposed to using science to understand nature, and seeks the scientific basis of technology and technology to carry forward technology.

Fan Chi invited him to learn about crops, and Confucius said, "I am not as good as an old farmer." Please learn to be a nursery and say, "I am not as good as the old nursery." This is also a modest word for traditional technicians, but it is a pity that the following sentence:

When Fan Chi went out, Confucius said, "I am a villain in Xu Fan ... If you have good talent, good justice and honesty ... then people in the four places will carry their sons. How can you use crops? " . However, the history of two thousand years shows that courtesy, righteousness and faith are not enough to solve all human problems. Nevertheless, Confucius' proposition still has its greatness. I want to quote a few more words to illustrate Confucius' concern for society.

When Lord Ye asked about politics, Confucius said, "Those who are near are happy, and those who are far away come."

The son, however, has a servant, and the son said, "Its element." . You Ran said:

"What's the point?" Say: "rich". Yue:

"If you have money, why bother?" Say, "teach it."

Fan Chi asked Ren, and Confucius said "love". When asked about knowledge, Confucius said, "Know people."

Early Confucianism regarded morality and politics as a whole, regarded those in power as parents, and both the monarch and the people were upright. As for what is morality, peace and justice, the meaning is clear and there is no model. According to a chapter in the Analects of Confucius, Confucianism, but still before the Han Dynasty, started the theory of "correcting names". This theory was the most famous in Xunzi Xun Qing School in the 3rd century BC. The meticulous use of nouns and profound meanings can be seen in the ancient history "The History of Killing Thirty-six Kings in the Spring and Autumn Period". Either "killed" means that the murderer is guilty, or "killed" means that the murderer is legal. The murderer is considered legal because the murdered person has lost his way as a monarch. There is democratic thought in Confucius' knowledge. He thinks that the name of a country's monarch is ordered by heaven, but it is actually taken from the people, that is, the destiny is for the people. One hundred years after Confucius, this theory was specially developed by Mencius, the successor of Confucianism. In the sixty-seventh century, the question of whether people have the right to resist disobedient monarchs was debated by religious scholars in Europe and concluded by Confucianism two thousand years ago. The revolutionary tendency of Confucianism on this issue, while advocating orthodoxy, is probably one of the factors, which makes later scholars more easily troubled by the dynasty.

The following paragraphs can confirm the above statement:

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about politics, and Confucius said to him, "Politicians are right, handsome boys are right. Who dares to be wrong? " Ji Kangzi was stolen and asked Confucius. Confucius said to him, "If you don't want it, don't steal it." Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about politics: "There is no way to kill, but there is a way. What? Confucius said to him, "if you are a politician, how can you kill him?" Children want to be good, while the people are good, gentlemen are virtuous, villains are virtuous, and the wind on the grass will be suppressed. "

Zi You said, "The ancients suppressed it, and I heard the master say,' A gentleman learns Tao and loves others, but a villain learns Tao.' Ding Gong asked, "A word can prosper the country. What's the matter?" Confucius said to him, "Don't do what you say. People say it is difficult to be a monarch, but it is not easy to be a minister. Knowing that it is difficult to be a monarch, isn't it just a word to prosper the country? " He said, "In a word, what is the reason for losing your country? Confucius said to him, "Don't do what you say. Everyone says that no happiness is king, but it's good to do what they say, isn't it? If you don't do well, you won't violate it. Didn't you almost lose your country in one sentence? "As for how Confucius trained his disciples to be officials, we can see it from the following two paragraphs:

When Luz asked Shi Jun, Confucius said, "You can't cheat, but you can commit it."

Confucius said, "Benevolent people don't live, but die." Confucius said "Tao" is the way for people to get along properly in society, which is based on what Confucius said: "With participation, my Tao is consistent." Zeng Zi said, "Wei." When the child came out, the master asked, "What is it?" Ceng Zi said: "The master's way is loyalty and forgiveness."

This is the truth of cooperative society, and the relationship between people is complementary and not conflicting. But this is considered to be contained in all the truths of nature, so human kindness and altruism are in harmony with the supreme authority in the universe. This supreme authority is not a person or thing imagined in ancient times, but an awesome "heaven" abstracted. Confucius himself thought that Heaven "knew" and "praised" his career. In the book The Doctrine of the Mean, the consistent truth of the universe is clear:

"The way of heaven and earth, it can be a word. If it is not the same thing, it is a biological accident. The way of heaven and earth is rich, noble and leisurely. There are so many things in the sky today, and they are endless. The sun, the moon and the stars are related, and everything is there. Today, the husband's land, a pinch of soil, is wide and thick, carrying Hua Yue but not heavy, vibrating the rivers and seas without leaking, and everything is carried. Today, there are as many stones as there are, and they are vast, where there are plants and animals, and where there are treasures. There is as much water as a spoonful today, which is unexpected. Giant salamanders, mosquitoes, arowana and turtles are born, and wealth is cultivated.

With this natural model, we will continue to look at what Confucius said: "People's life is straight, and those who fail are lucky enough to be spared." This is the starting point of the debate on good and evil of human nature. Philosophers in China have spent a lot of time on this issue, and we will return to this issue soon, because he has a lot to do with scientific thought.