The phrase "the oldest history begins with local records" comes from Han Yu's The Original Road. Han Yu (768-824,65438+February 25th), a native of Heyang, Henan Province, was called "Han Changli" and "Mr. Changli". Officials, writers, thinkers, philosophers, politicians and educators in the middle Tang Dynasty. ?

In this article, Han Yu put forward his own historical viewpoint and theory, arguing that the earliest history books should appear in the form of local chronicles and local chronicles, and reflect the historical changes of an era through the description of regions, customs, people and events. Therefore, Han Yu put forward the view that "the oldest history begins with local records". This view has been widely recognized and passed down by later historians.

In The Original Road, Han Yu clearly put forward his understanding of Confucianism and Taoism from the beginning: "To love all is benevolence, to do the right thing is righteousness, to do the right thing is Tao, and to be sufficient for oneself is not equal to being human is virtue. In the name of benevolence and righteousness, morality is empty. "

Based on this, he criticized the Taoist view of "morality" that talks about morality instead of benevolence and righteousness. He reviewed the history that Yang Mo, Buddha Lao and other heretical thoughts invaded Confucianism and Taoism since the pre-Qin period, which made the theory of benevolence, righteousness and morality tend to be chaotic, and expressed deep concern about the reality that Confucianism and Taoism declined and Buddhism and Taoism ran rampant.

Based on the development of social history since ancient times, this paper praises the great achievements of saints and their Confucianism and Taoism in historical development and demonstrates the historical rationality of Confucian social ethics.