Ji Kang thought that the society at that time was already a society where politics could not help itself. Ji Shiling was late, inherited the capital, relied on respect and power, and killed the world to serve his own self-interest. It will be a disaster for Qiushan if he is arrogant and prevents soldiers from taking advantage of the situation. Punishment is based on punishing violence. Today, it is a threat to honest people. Used to be the world. Today, it is a suit. You can guess its minister. There are many funerals, and the country falls! In essence, the country has reached the point where you are not a monarch, you are not a minister, and you are on the verge of extinction. Therefore, Sima's famous religion is just a mask to cover up his ugly image and an effective tool to grab fame and fortune. They hide their ears and steal the bell under the guise of a famous religion. Sima's group usurped the famous Confucian religion and turned it into a tool for plotting to seize power. Ji Kang saw through the painstaking efforts and concentration of Sima Group, because his strong sense of morality was ravaged by reality, so he dealt with a man as he deals with you, and the best way to hit the nail on the head is to make nature rather than Tang Wu thin, thus uncovering their hypocrisy and showing their sins to the world. He changed from his belief in Zoroastrianism to his anger at the hypocritical Zoroastrianism at that time, and then developed into a denial and transcendence of Zoroastrianism. This is the split of Ji Kang's personality, and its essence is the opposition between Confucianism and Taoism, between nature and Taoism, and between ideal and reality. This seems to put Mingjiao in a secondary position, but in fact it gives Mingjiao a metaphysical foundation and makes the idealistic theory of destiny gain a refined and even fascinating form. Ji Kang, on the other hand, openly demanded to get rid of the shackles of Zoroastrianism, believing that Zoroastrianism was not created by nature, but by the rulers. He pointed out: establish benevolence and righteousness to raise their hearts; Make it a birthright to stop it; Giving lectures to persuade students to teach with God, so the Six Classics is chaotic, a hundred schools of thought contend, and it is a grand view, drawing glory and benefit, so it rushes unconsciously. His words really worked. Zhong Hui, Si Mazhao's favorite, went in and said, Ji Kang and Wolong can't get up. The public has no worries about the world and cares about health! A dissolute speech is not suitable for emperors unless it breaks the canon, so it is advisable to purify the customs because of the disaster. So Lu Xun said Ji Kang hindered Sima's work, so he had to die. It can be seen that Ji Kang's humble opinion of Tang Wu and Kong Zhou is only used to resist Sima's so-called Confucianism, not the thoughts and theories of Kong Zhou and others. Tang said: Ji Kang did not oppose the ethical order stipulated by Confucianism in principle, but only opposed the hypocritical famous religion. Their true and natural ideal personality is still inseparable from feudal morality. In other words, the rulers advocate benevolence and righteousness in order to bind people's thoughts; The establishment of birthright is to restrain people's behavior; Running a school and giving lectures is to deify one's own rule. All these have only one result in the end, which is to lead people to compete for fame and fortune. People are naturally greedy for food, and when their desires are satisfied, they will enjoy them to the fullest. Human nature is unwilling to accept ethical constraints. It is precisely because studying Confucian classics today can make people prosperous that people regard the Six Classics as the sun. In this way, Ji Kang completely opposed the natural desire of natural people and Ming Jiao. So, like Zhuangzi, he praised the natural state of human beings and longed for primitive people to sleep when they were full, eat when they were hungry, and feel comfortable when they were full. He didn't know that he was the most moral person in the world. If this is the case, then know the end of righteousness, the text of etiquette? Furthermore, the world is vast, simple and not lacking, and it is regarded as the most ideal social form. Ji Kang once called Lao Zi and Zhuang Zhou my teachers, and his thoughts really have a continuous relationship with Taoism. However, Ji Kang and Zhuangzi have very different attitudes towards life: Zhuangzi is casual, but Ji Kang is persistent. His personality image is that he is sick and prone to problems; Zhuangzi opposed the idea of opposing one's will, advocated harmony without difference, and Ji Kang opposed one's will with one's will. He declared in "Family Instructions": If you are determined to win, you will die. If you are ashamed, you will be able to help. This kind of personality with firm will, corresponding heart, consistent words and deeds, and untiring death is not the ideal of Taoism. In the middle of the Song Dynasty, he was sentenced to death in Dongshi, and his attitude remained unchanged. He played the piano and scattered widely, and was punished at the end of the song, which made the heroes of the ages bow to their knees. This is the principle spirit of Mencius' sacrifice for righteousness and martyrdom. Therefore, Mr. Lu Xun pointed out long ago that Ji Kang opposed ethics because the rulers at that time usurped plunder under the guise of filial piety and punished dissidents in the name of ethics. It can be seen that Ji Kang is the ideal and concept of Confucianism in his bones. In the cruel and sinister environment at that time, this ideal and belief was strongly suppressed, but it was pathologically combined with the negative side of Taoist natural inaction, which constituted his complex and contradictory thought. The general source and essence of this contradiction is the opposition between sincere nature and hypocrisy and cunning.
Secondly, Wei and Jin Dynasties were the era of the collapse of rites and music. Ji Kang not only watched him return to Hong, but also played the piano and recited poems to forget his worries. It is hard to see how expensive it is, and how persistent it is to have no regrets! It can be said that Ji Kang's opposition to rites and music is out of anger at the hypocritical famous religion, but it is consistent with the realm of life pursued by Confucius. This is an extension of Confucius' musical spirit. Ji Kang, like Confucius, does not deny that music has the function of satisfying people's normal desires, and natural desires are sincere. The way of educating people with music should also be subtle and natural. They have been persistently pursuing sincerity and nature all their lives, and strongly opposed to cunning. It is precisely because of this pursuit that Ji Kang's thought has become extremely contradictory and complicated in that cunning and hypocritical society, leading to different ambiguities.
Thirdly, combined with Ji Kang's life, we can see that this does not mean that he completely got rid of Confucianism and completely denied it.
First, from the perspective of birth and upbringing, he has a natural connection with Confucianism. In Kang Zhuan, Ji said: Confucianism comes from a noble family, with few talents, broad-minded, broad-minded and knowledgeable. Ji Kang's word is Uncle Night, which reminds people of Zhou Youba praised in The Analects of Confucius. One of these eight educated people, Uncle Ye, is it accidental coincidence or intentional? Ji Kang said that he didn't participate in the study of Confucian classics, but The Book of Jin Ji Kang Biography said that he couldn't learn a teacher and read a lot of books. From the book "Learning from Nature is Difficult", we can also see how thorough Ji Kang's research on the Six Classics is. Otherwise, why would he expose the hypocritical faces of gentlemen who take the Six Classics as their grandchildren? Not to mention the humble Tang Wu and Kong Zhou. The family instructions written by Ji Kang are all about educating his son with Confucian etiquette and morality. Ji Kang taught his son some principles and methods of dealing with people: it is best to stay away from officers, not to be too close, and not to frequent contacts. If you have to go, you must go with everyone, leave together, don't go last, and don't stay overnight, because officials will inevitably ask some outside things. If things are exposed, the parties will think that you said it, which makes you have a hard time arguing. If someone is arguing with each other and you don't know what is right and wrong, you must avoid participating, sit tight and see what is right and wrong at last. As for some small things, simply ignore them. Even if someone asks you, you should answer them all with incomprehension, which is in line with Confucian see no evil. Don't listen, don't say, and don't move.
Second, Ji Kang's continuation of Confucianism is seen from the way of making friends. In Dear John, he said: Your wife's mutual understanding is valuable to her nature, so help her. This is similar to what Confucius said: the beauty of a gentleman as an adult is not the evil of an adult, but the beauty of a villain. At the beginning, the seven sages of bamboo forest were arrogant and addicted to alcohol, and they took an uncooperative attitude towards Sima Shi. They were like-minded, but Dan Tao later changed his mind and took refuge in Sima Shi. Ji Kang certainly wants to break up with him. Because Tao is different, there is no common goal. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, his behavior objectively conforms to Confucianism. However, Ji Kang stepped forward and defended Lu An, and finally gave his life. This is precisely the Confucian spirit of harming benevolence and killing oneself to become a benevolent person. At the time of life and death, he did not forget that he fled the society by Zhuangzi. He has a strong heart of right and wrong, and he must show whether he is guilty or not. So he just said it lightly because his intestines were sick. As for what he said about being a person without fragrance and smell, it can only be a spiritual comfort and an open mind. It can be seen that what he did in making friends, as Mencius said: benevolence, not benevolence. And this is the real Confucian benevolence and righteousness. In this case, we can't regard the thin Kong Zhou instead of Tang Wu as a sign that Ji Kang got rid of Confucianism. So, although Si Mazhao was indignant that Ji Kang was not Tang Wu but thin, nominally, he could not convict Ji Kang with this sentence, but only through Lv Anzhi to get rid of his heart disease.
Third, in terms of life interest, Ji Kang believes that poverty leads to life and nothing. This is almost where will you go, rich in the sky. Therefore, Ji Kang is willing to be poor. He believes that those who are rare in the world are not rich or glorious, and they are not enough. Although a contented man plows an acre of land, he is complacent when he is sipped by brown; Although the underachievers have propped up the world and entrusted everything, they are still not satisfied. "Dear John" also said: Today, I hope to keep that humble alley and educate my children and grandchildren. When I am with my relatives, I will make many friends. Chen said, in this life, I will have a glass of turbid wine and play a piano, and I will volunteer to finish it. Didn't Confucius appreciate this life, too? He said in "Forever Night": Xian Ya, Hui Ye! A spoonful of food, a spoonful of drink, in the mean lane, people can't bear their worries, and they won't change their fun when they go back. Hyun-jae, come back! How similar are these two lives? They are all poor and immune to poverty, but they don't change their good moral character. Is this a pity?
Fourthly, Ji Kang admitted that Tang Wu and Kong Zhou were saints. In Guan Zi Cai Lun, he called Wang Wen, Wu Wang and Duke Zhou three saints. Although he reversed his conviction with Cai Shu and defended his participation in Wu rebellion, he did not blame it, but appreciated the rewards and punishments for not avoiding relatives. The honor is obvious, and poking and poking is guilty. Division is the body of teaching, and it is also clear in ancient and modern times. In "Dear John", he called Confucius a gentleman and regarded Liu Xiahui as a master. Confucius also thought that although Liu Xiahui was discredited, he could still remember his words and act cautiously. Can stick to the straight road. This is exactly the same as Ji Kang's opinion. Ji Kang despises Tang Wu and Kong Zhou because of his anger at the hypocritical famous religion, but this is consistent with the realm of life pursued by Confucius. From this point of view, the humble Tang Wu Kong Zhou in Ji Kang's works is a so-called saint promoted by Sima, and is by no means an agent of traditional Confucianism in Ji Kang's mind.