During the Spring and Autumn Period of Confucius' life, the political system based on blood clan in the Western Zhou Dynasty had collapsed, and the "Zhu Xia" national community based on cultural identity was taking shape. This is the era when China people's cultural awareness first occurred. Classicism became fashionable, and some people began to think about the problems of heaven, life and world order. Cultural education, which was originally monopolized by nobles, is gradually flowing into the people. Confucius is the representative and master of the spirit of this era. He initiated a hundred schools of thought during the Warring States Period. Yi Zhuan, Chun Qiu, Xiao Jing and The Analects of Confucius are the main works to understand his own thoughts. The life philosophy of "benevolence" is a subject repeatedly discussed by Confucius and his disciples. Confucius will tell the true meaning of "benevolence" at different times for different disciples. Generally speaking, Confucius' "benevolence" is what Ceng Zi called "loyalty and forgiveness". Confucius also said: "fortitude, stupidity and kindness." "Clever words, fresh and righteous." It tells us that "benevolence" means sincerity and pragmatism, which cannot be exaggerated or violated. Zi Gong once asked Confucius, "What if you can give alms to the people and help others?" ? Can you call it a benevolent person? Confucius said, "Anyone who is kind will be holy! "Yao Shun is still sick! Benevolent people want to be a man, but they want to be a man. It can be said that the benevolent side has already existed. " Confucius told Zigong not to aim too high, but to start from himself and then push others. Zhuan Sun was too ambitious, and Confucius thought that his personality might be a little extreme, so Confucius told Zhuan Sun that there are five ways for benevolent people: "Public, tolerant, trustworthy, sensitive and generous. Respect is not insulting, forgiveness is popular, faith is responsible, sensitivity is meritorious, and forgiveness can make people. " Confucius told Zhuan Sun that he should be strict with himself and lenient with others. Be strict with your self-cultivation, respect and tolerate others, and be kind to others. This is a kind way. Yan Yuan is a model student among Confucius' disciples. Confucius once praised him for "his heart is not inhuman in March". Confucius only hoped that he could further restrain himself with "courtesy"! The Analects of Confucius Yan Yuan: "Yan Yuan asked about benevolence. Confucius said:' Self-denial and courtesy are benevolence. A day of self-denial and self-denial, the world will return to benevolence. Benevolence depends on itself, but on others?' Yan Yuan said,' May I ask its purpose? Confucius said,' see no evil, don't listen to evil, don't say evil, and don't move if you are evil.' Yan Yuan said,' Although the reply is not sensitive, please tell me. "RanYong good moral character, and political talent, a former JiShi slaughter. When he asked Ren, Confucius said, "When you go out, you will see a distinguished guest and make the people like a big sacrifice. ".Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you, and don't complain at home or in the state. Confucius' answer is more political. Confucius told ran yong that the way to be kind is to treat people with courtesy and make them love. In this way, the public will have no dislike for you, that is, kindness. Sima Niu is talkative and impetuous. When he asked Confucius what benevolence was, Confucius told him that "benevolent people also avoid it", revealing the importance of caution. Zi Gong asked about benevolence, and Confucius told him the importance of "helping benevolence with friends" by metaphor: "If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. Living in a country is also a saint and a doctor, and a benevolent person is a friend of the people. " Confucius also earnestly warned us: "Different people have different opinions, and the wise have different opinions." "There is no survival to harm benevolence, and there is killing to become benevolence." And "is it evil for a gentleman to be famous?" If a gentleman has no final food, he will violate benevolence and will do it again. "The social order ceremony of' Li' is' the golden mean', and the Song and Ming Neo-Confucians also interpret it as' Li'." Sima Qian's Preface to Taishi Gong states: "Rites are used to save people, while music is used to make peace. "Let's look at Confucius' explanation of etiquette-The Analects of Confucius-Taber:" Confucius said,' Being respectful and rude is tiring, being cautious and rude is embarrassing, being brave and rude is chaotic, and being straight and rude is twisting. "Ceremony, but also" true feelings ",someone who outranks you must set an example for the people. So Confucius went on to say-a gentleman is loyal to his relatives, and a benevolent person is prosperous. People don't steal from the old. "Ceremony is not extravagance and waste, but the true feelings; It is better to be frugal and humble than extravagant and grandiose-The Analects of Confucius: "The essence of Fang Lin's courtesy. Confucius said,' What a big problem! Ceremony, not luxury, is quite frugal; It's easier to mourn than to grieve. "The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo": "Confucius said:' Li Liyun, jade is on the cloud? Happy clouds, happy clouds, bells and drums? "Ceremony is a respect for the universe. Expressing respect for heaven and earth by asking etiquette —— The Analects of Confucius Eight-legged essay: "When a son enters a big temple, he asks everything. Or:' Who is the son of a man who knows manners? When you enter the temple, you ask everything. "Zi listened and said," This is a gift. "Gentlemen and villains Although gentlemen and villains are distinguished by their identities, Confucius does not think this is the only difference. What is more important is self-cultivation and realm. Confucius has many explanations for this. For example, he said, "A gentleman is moderate, but a villain is anti-moderate. "The golden mean" ("impartiality, no fault") is the highest realm of self-cultivation, and it is also a method with rich and subtle connotations. It is also put forward that "a gentleman is dressed, respects his eyes, looks as scary as others, but not arrogant", which shows that it is a great event for a gentleman to dress. See Hanfu for details about the clothes that Confucius admired. In the past hundred years, many people hate the golden mean, which is probably misunderstood as a hypocrite's collusion with evil, flattering the world and unprincipled behavior. In fact, this kind of homesickness is exactly what Confucius hates. He said: "Homecoming is also a thief of virtue." In his view, if we can't reach the golden mean, madness is the second best realm. After all, "crazy people make progress, and stubborn people make a difference." Confucius also said: "A gentleman is figurative, while a villain is figurative." "A gentleman is knowledgeable in literature, either as a gift or as a husband!" "Quality is better than literature, literature is better than history, gentle, and then a gentleman." "An upright person is open-minded and poised, while a narrow-minded person is anxious." "A gentleman has no worries about not having enough to eat, living a peaceful life, being sensitive to things, being cautious in speaking and being upright. It can be said that he is eager to learn. " "Scholar's way three: the benevolent is not worried, the knower is not confused, and the brave is not afraid." "A gentleman doesn't attract people with words, and he doesn't waste words with others." "A gentleman is Thai but not arrogant, and a villain is arrogant but not Thai." "The gentleman is poor, and the villain is poor." "A gentleman is not as good as Zhou, and a villain is not as good as Zhou." "The gentleman is harmonious but different, and the villain is not harmonious." Correcting the name is the most important political proposition of Confucius. We can thoroughly understand the meaning of Confucius' name correction from the following story: When Confucius arrived in Wei for the third time, a great event happened in Wei. It turns out that Wei Linggong loved his wife Nanzi before, and wanted to pass the public office to Nanzi's illegitimate child. So the eldest son Kuaiqin tried to assassinate Nanzi in order to protect the public position. Unfortunately, the murder plan failed. When Wei Linggong heard the news, she flew into a rage and wanted to kill her son. Kuaiqin fled to Jin and declared war on Jin. Just as Wei Linggong wanted to ask Confucius a question about array law, Confucius said, "You should learn from beans. Things in the army are not learned. " The next day, Confucius left the country with excitement. Now that Gong Ling has passed away, Kuaiqin is not in China, and Kuaiqin needs to inherit the public position to safeguard it. However, at this time, Kuaiqin also returned to Weiguo under the escort of 8 Jin Army, and the father and son turned against each other. Confucius was sad to see it in his eyes! One day, Luz asked Confucius: "Wei Jun takes the son as the government, and the son must learn it first?" Confucius took pains to say to Luz: "If the name is not correct, the words are not smooth, and the words are not smooth, nothing can be done. If you don't do something, you won't be able to be polite and happy, and the punishment is not correct. The punishment is not correct and the people are at a loss. " From the above story, we can know that the purpose of rectifying the name is to maintain a well-ordered society, so that people can follow certain norms and not live in an unpredictable state. Many people think that Confucius wants to restore the rites and music of the Western Zhou Dynasty, while others think that he only advocates a new world order in the name of restoring the past. For Confucius, faith is not only a personal virtue, but also a basic political principle. When Zigong asked about the main points of politics, Confucius said, "Eat enough and have enough soldiers, and the people will believe." The most important thing is the third point. He said: "Death has existed since ancient times, and people can't stand without faith. "Rule by virtue, Confucius said:" The Tao should be political, the people should be punished, and the people should be exempted, shameless. Tao is virtue, courtesy, shame and dignity. "Confucius was once a great commander in chief in charge of punishment. How could he not know the direct effect of severe punishment? But Confucius deeply felt the social worry of "people are free and shameless", so he advocated educating people with morality and ethics, thoroughly washing people's hearts and inspiring people's goodness, which is the right way to help the people! [Editor] Confucius' educational philosophy and teaching reality Confucius' teaching has four aspects: writing, action, loyalty and faith. (The original text can be seen in The Analects of Confucius), which refers to ancient documents such as poems, books, rituals and music; Doing is virtue; Loyalty means doing your best; Faith is honesty. Confucius attached great importance to ancient documents, especially poems, rituals and music. He believes that these three kinds of knowledge are very important for the cultivation of people's temperament. "The Analects of Confucius Taber": "Confucius said,' Xing is in poetry, ceremony is in ceremony, and success is in music. "Poetry can arouse people's likes and dislikes; Rites make people advance and retreat properly, so that they can stand in the world; Music can make people develop a perfect personality. By the way, Confucius once praised the Book of Songs like this: "Boy, why don't you learn poetry? "Poetry can be aroused, observed, grouped and hated. Your father is far away, and you know the names of birds, animals and plants better. " Tired of studying and teaching, Confucius became the "Great Sage" of China. He advocates "no class", with as many as 3000 students. Judging from the Analects of Confucius, what he teaches students is only the answers to the necessary questions in daily life and the clarification of the necessary conditions for people to get along with each other. Its way is reasonable and ordinary, easy to know and easy to operate; But if you use it on your body, you will be cultivated, if you use it at home, you will be neat, if you use it in your country, you will govern your country, and if you use it in the world, you will be flat. Confucius became a world celebrity mainly because of his profound influence on China culture. . Confucius and China Culture Confucius is one of the philosophers, but "ancestors described Yao and Shun, and charted civil and military affairs", which is the epitome of China culture. The Qin Dynasty ruled the country by legalism, while the Western Han Dynasty ruled the country by "inaction" before Huang Lao Wu Di. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu proposed "forbidding a hundred schools of thought and exhibiting the Six Classics", which established and consolidated the dominant position of Confucius in China culture and restored the orthodox position of the Six Classics. Confucius also became a representative figure of China culture. Shao Yong pointed out: "Confucius praised the Book of Changes, prefaced the Book of Changes by Yao Shun, deleted the Book of Songs by Wen and Wu, and changed the Spring and Autumn Annals by Huan and Wen. Since Xi, Xuan, its ancestor also; Since Yao and Shun, he has occupied five emperors. Since the article, his martial arts, the son of three kings also. Since the beginning, the words have been handed down, Sun Ye. " [18], that is to say, Confucius sorted out the Six Classics and integrated the cultures since Huang San, the Five Emperors, the Three Kings and the Five Bo Dynasties, which is called "Mastery". Liu Yimou, a master of Chinese studies, regarded Confucius as "the center of China culture". "The culture of the first few thousand years relied on Confucius; Thousands of years of culture, thanks to Confucius; Without Confucius, there would be no China culture ". Qian Mu also believes that "Confucius was the first saint in the history of China. Before Confucius, the history and culture of China should have accumulated for more than 2,500 years, and Confucius collected its achievements. After Confucius, the history and culture of China have evolved for more than 2,500 years, and Confucius created its new system. For five thousand years, the instruction of China's historical process and the establishment of China's cultural ideal have had the deepest influence and the greatest contribution, and almost no one can compare with Confucius. " [19] and Zhu Zeng lamented: "Heaven is not born, but the earth will last forever." "Zhuzi, Volume 93". The second lecture on the Three People's Principles of People's Livelihood written by Sun Yat-sen, the father of the country: "This is the real people's livelihood, which Confucius hopes. "Confucius' theory has a far-reaching influence in the surrounding areas of China, such as the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Vietnam and other places, forming a Confucian cultural circle in East Asia. Since the world's first Confucius Institute was established in Korea on June 5438+065438+ 10, 2004, by February 65438+2009, 583 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms had been established in 87 countries around the world, becoming a global brand and platform for spreading Chinese culture and promoting Chinese teaching [20]. [Editor] The people who sacrificed Confucius by emperors in previous dynasties began with Emperor Gaozu. " Hanshu Gaudi Ji: "If you cross Lushui, you are too loyal to Confucius. "It goes without saying that the school worships Confucius." History of Etiquette in the Later Han Dynasty: "In the second year of Yongping, ... it is more important to raise three young people than to avoid harmony; Counties, counties and Daoxing townships all worship saints Zhou Gong and Confucius when drinking at school. "Wen Tong Kao": "After two years of Zhenguan, I stopped worshipping Duke Zhou and promoted Confucius to a saint". Since the Han Dynasty, although Confucius' teachings have been worshipped all over the country, those who set up temples to offer sacrifices are close to religious nature, because people's hearts have gradually deepened and their heels have increased. At first, Confucius didn't want to create a religion, and there were not only one or two emperors or scholars, but the teachings of fake Confucius were also ignorant. [2 1] In order to commemorate Confucius, later generations built Confucius temples to worship Confucius in many parts of the world. Since 1952, Confucius' birthday has been designated as Teacher's Day in Taiwan Province Province. In Chinese mainland, with the revival of China culture after the reform and opening up, the activities of offering sacrifices to Confucius rose.