Abstract: The thought of "harmony" in Laozi's Tao Te Ching is extremely rich and brilliant. This paper mainly carries forward Laozi's thought of "harmony" from three aspects: the harmony between man and nature, the harmony between man and society and the philosophy of "harmony", which is a valuable cultural resource for us to build a harmonious socialist society.
Building a harmonious society is the great goal put forward by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee. Building a harmonious world is the great goal put forward by President Hu Jintao at the 60th anniversary summit of the United Nations in 2005. The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China also regards building a harmonious society and a harmonious world as the basic "national policy" of China's strategic development.
At present, there are different degrees of imbalance and disharmony between man and nature, man and society (that is, others) and man's body and mind at home and abroad. We urgently need efforts from all sides to make ecology, the world and psychology develop healthily and normally, so as to build a harmonious society and a harmonious world.
To achieve the great goal of building a harmonious society internally and a harmonious world externally requires a lot of resources. We should try our best to tap and carry forward the excellent cultural resources in China's cultural traditions, and make them the soft power for us to build a harmonious society and a harmonious world.
The Chinese nation is a nation that loves peace and pursues harmony. In the traditional culture of China, there are very rich harmonious ideological resources. Not only Confucianism initiated by Confucius has harmonious thoughts, but Taoism initiated by Laozi also has valuable harmonious thoughts and wisdom.
1. Harmony between man and nature: harmony between man, earth, heaven and Tao.
The most profound theory of Laozi's wisdom and thought about "harmony" is his "four big" theory. Laozi said: "The old road is big, the road is big, and the people's congress is big. There are four in the domain, and one of them is inhabited. In the famous thesis "Man governs the earth, the earth governs the sky, the sky is the pipeline, and the Tao governs the nature" (Chapter 25 of Tao Te Ching), the question of harmony between man and nature, man and society, man and man, and man's body and mind is comprehensively and accurately answered. Among them, people represent people, including people and people, and people's body and mind; "Heaven" and "Earth" stand for "nature". People's "person", "earth", "sky" and "person to person", people's "body" and "heart", plus Tao, which is the origin and origin of them and everything else, are originally different things. However, there are differences, opposites and even contradictions between independent things. However, the survival and development of all things are inseparable from their proper "harmonious" state. So, how does this "harmonious" state appear and maintain? As the two earliest ideological systems in China, Confucianism and Taoism both gave their own answers to this important question.
The Confucian answer is embodied in the sentence "Harmony is the most important thing to use with courtesy" put forward in The Analects of Confucius. One day, I said, "For the purpose of ceremony, harmony is the most important. Wang Zhidao comes first, Sri Lanka is the most beautiful, and small things are reasonable. If you can't do it, then knowing and combining is not feasible. Don't mention it. " It means "harmony" is one of the most important functions of "Li". This is because the ancient kings succeeded in governing the country because they achieved "harmony" no matter what they met. However, it's no good just knowing "harmony" for the sake of "harmony" and not knowing how to control it with "ceremony". It can be seen that some children think that the relationship between "ceremony" and "harmony" should be like this: "ceremony" is "body" and "harmony" is "use"; It is "ceremony" that determines "harmony", not "harmony" that restricts "ceremony"; "Harmony" must be subordinate to "ceremony". It is not difficult to find that a son regards his teacher, Confucius, as a more basic truth: "see no evil, don't listen to evil, don't say evil, don't move until evil".
The history of China for thousands of years proves that, on the one hand, under the guidance and restriction of "courtesy", the monarch and his subjects, father and son, husband and wife and friends presented and maintained a "harmonious" state, thus fully developing the feudal society in China; On the other hand, under the guidance and restriction of etiquette, the harmonious relationship between people has been destroyed, and "ethics" and "justice", as revealed by Dai Zhen, have become cruel tools for killing people. He righteously pointed out: "The venerable person is humble by reason, the elder is humble by reason, and the noble person is humble by reason. Although lost, it is said to be smooth; Inferior, young and reasonable. Although they won, they were called opposites ... the last one was responsible for reason and the next one was invincible. " Finally, he complained indignantly: "people die in law, but there are still people who pity;" : You died of reason, who will pity you? " From the above, we can see that the Confucian thought of "harmony is precious" is only based on the hierarchical system of slave society and feudal society in China and the "courtesy" and "reason" of social norms and moral norms of patriarchal clan system, and its function is only or mainly related to the level of people. Taoist Laozi's "Big Four" theory of "harmony" is completely different. It is deeply rooted in "nature" and acts on all levels of "harmony" in all directions.
So, what exactly do I mean by "nature"? This is undoubtedly the crux of the problem. Tao Te Ching used the word "nature" five times. For example, "When I succeed, people call me natural" (Chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching), "I hope to speak naturally" (Chapter 23 of the Tao Te Ching), "Man's law and the earth, the earth and the sky, heaven is natural", "Tao is born, morality and animals are born, and the shape of things is also. It is based on the respect and virtue of all things. The respect of husband's Tao, the preciousness of virtue, and the longevity of husband's life are often natural (Chapter 51 of Tao Te Ching). "It is a rare commodity that saints want and don't want, and it is not expensive; Learning or not is to repeat what everyone has done. To help the nature of all things and dare not do it "(Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching). Obviously, these five "natures" do not refer to "nature", but all refer to "nature" exclusively. This is the knowledge of most journalists. One of the earliest annotators, Heganggong of the Western Han Dynasty, pointed out in his book Lao Zi Zhang Ju: "Tao is natural and there is nothing to do." It means that the essence of Tao is natural, and Tao is based on its natural essence or existence, so there is no other way. Another example is Wang Bi, one of the most famous annotators, the founder of metaphysics in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, who noted in the book Notes on the True Classics of Morality: "Those who learn from nature, those who learn from others, those who learn from others, those who learn from others, do not go against nature." What Wang Bi learned here is the essence of "nature", or the existence of nature itself through "square" and "circle". Of course, it is more specific and easier to understand. These explanations are completely in line with Lao Zi's original intention. It can be seen that "Tao" and "sex" are actually one and two, and two and one. As a principle, "nature" is the most basic and highest principle of "Tao". Since "man", "earth" and "heaven" all want to imitate and follow Tao, they also want to imitate and follow nature. This is so indispensable that there are no exceptions. Man, earth, heaven, Tao and nature have five names, but actually there are only four units, so I don't say "there are five in the domain" but "there are four in the domain".
It is through this "Tao", this "nature" and this "nature" that Laozi inspires and requires people to consciously proceed from reality, seek truth from facts, follow the true colors of things and follow the objective laws of things in all activities, whether in thought, language or action. We resolutely oppose the dominant power of anything that is beyond objective, and we also oppose the subjective assumptions and blind actions of all people. Only in this way can people make fewer or no mistakes in practice and move towards success. Therefore, this "sex" is the "avenue" to gain wisdom and success in life.
Take "environmental protection" for example. The natural environment has been and continues to be seriously damaged by human beings, and the ecological balance is deteriorating, which has seriously threatened the survival and development of human beings. Therefore, we must firmly establish environmental awareness and take effective measures to restore the ecological balance of the natural environment. However, no matter how we mobilize the masses to do a good job in environmental protection, no matter how we use financial resources, invest huge sums of money and adopt high technology to do a good job in environmental protection, in the final analysis, the most effective principle and method to restore, protect and develop the ecological balance of the natural environment is to earnestly follow the laws of the ecological balance of the natural environment. And this is the meaning and wonderful use of "law and nature" that Laozi said.
In order to create and maintain the "harmonious" relationship between people, Lao Tzu emphasized that strict requirements should be put forward for the "monarch" and "saint" of governance and education. They are required to consciously abide by the most basic principle of "law and nature". If they violate the most basic spirit of "law and nature" and do whatever they want, it will certainly destroy the "harmonious" situation that the country and the people should have, making the country fatuous (Chapter 57 of Tao Te Ching) and the people scarce (Chapter 58 of Tao Te Ching). On the contrary, if "Hou Wang" and "saints" can abide by "law and nature". "Take the world by doing nothing" (Chapter 57 of the Tao Te Ching) and "Doing nothing without doing it" (Chapter 48 of the Tao Te Ching), the people will be "albino", "self-righteous", "self-rich" and "self-simple" (Chapter 57 of the Tao Te Ching).
It can be seen that when Lao Zi solved the problem of "harmony" between people, he pointed all the responsibilities, at least the main responsibilities, to "Hou Wang" and "sage", which is just the opposite of the responsibility of Confucianism. Therefore, we say that in Laozi's classic Tao Te Ching, there are not only many techniques of learning from the South, but also heavy people-oriented thoughts, or people-oriented thoughts. If we can sum up the essence of Laozi's five thousand words in one sentence, it is what he himself called "loving the people and governing the country." In a word, Laozi's "Four Great" theory of "Harmony" and his proposition of "Legalizing Nature" are concise, full of wisdom, with great value and infinite power, which is undoubtedly very helpful for us to completely solve the harmony problems of nature, man and nature, man and society, and man's body and mind.
Second, the harmony between people and society: a small country with a large population and a small number of people protects, benefits and enjoys the social harmony of the people.
Laozi's wisdom of "harmony" is also reflected in his carefully designed theory of "small country and few people". The full text of the statement is: "The country is small and there are few people, so it is unnecessary to use anything; Let people die again, and don't migrate far. Although there is a boat, nothing is taken; Although there is a soldier, there is no array; Let people use it again. Be willing to eat, wear, live and enjoy. Neighboring countries look at each other, the voices of chickens and dogs are endless, and the people are old and dead. " (Chapter 80 of the Tao Te Ching) What Lao Tzu said by "a small country with few people" was clear, though not much. In a word, it includes two levels: "want" and "don't want": what is important is five points; What you don't want is also five o'clock.
Compared with Laozi's "small country with few people" society, the real society is often a "big country with many people" society. This "big country with many people" society is exactly what the rulers dream of "the world is big, is it the land of kings?" In order to realize the ambition of "a vast country with many people", the powerful imperial rulers with a vast territory and a large population have tried their best to make all kinds of "invincible weapons" and even made amazing moves. Under the blackmail of the rulers, it is difficult for people to settle down. In order to avoid exorbitant taxes and heavy labor, they have to leave their homes and flee everywhere. The reason why rulers are keen on developing "boats" to facilitate transportation is basically to facilitate and strengthen their oppression and exploitation of the people. What's more, the rulers used the most advanced and lethal "armour soldiers" by hook or by crook, and frequently launched wars of aggression against cities, lands and people.
Lao Tzu was very angry and hated this "big country with many people" society that put people in dire straits, so he gave a ruthless exposure and thorough criticism and put forward an ideal society that he thought could protect and benefit the people. In his social ideal, he resolutely denied five phenomena that caused social unrest and crisis, such as "hundred weapons", "distant migration", "boating", "armored soldiers" and "communication".
It is no accident that Laozi put forward the "five noes" in a "small country with few people" society, but the continuation and development of his consistent thought. He once asserted: "the avenue is abandoned and righteous; Wisdom comes out with great fallacies; Six parents are unfilial; The country is in chaos and there are loyal ministers. " (Chapter 18 of Tao Te Ching) also asserts: "Abandoning wisdom will benefit the people a hundred times; Desperate, the people are filial; Never give up profits, thieves have nothing. " Moreover, Lao Tzu also stressed: "These three people think that literature is not enough, so they have their own differences: simplicity, selfishness, no desire, no learning and no skills." (Chapter 19 of Tao Te Ching) It means that these three principles are not enough as the laws to control social pathological conditions, but also make their thoughts in a subordinate position, that is, they must maintain their simple nature, reduce selfish distractions and abandon cultural knowledge in order to avoid pain. Therefore, in a "small country with few people" society, Lao Tzu also put forward the idea of "using it again ... neighboring countries confront each other, the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other, and the people die of old age."
Facts have repeatedly confirmed that the development of civilization has not only positive effects, but also negative effects; Social progress is not only reasonable, but also unreasonable. Laozi has a unique vision. He can clearly see the negative impact in the development of civilization and the irrationality in social progress, and he is extremely angry about it and gives him fierce criticism. But on the whole, Laozi's criticism is "even worse", which is obviously too much. Even "give up eating because of choking." We believe that the great contribution of civilization and cultural progress to promoting social development can never be denied or underestimated. Laozi's so-called "desire to eat, dress beautifully, live in peace and enjoy customs" is the core and essence of his ideal society of "small country and few people". Its greatest value lies in that if the people have the custom of sweet food, beautiful clothes, comfortable housing and happiness, then his "small country and few people" society will not only be well-fed but also surpass the well-off society! There is no doubt that a "small country with few people" like him must be a harmonious society, and the people living in it must also be harmonious.
However, as we all know, such a highly harmonious society must be based on scientific and technological progress, production development, economic prosperity, political civilization, spiritual civilization, cultural prosperity and noble morality. Therefore, we must not take a simple and rude negative attitude towards these material, spiritual and political civilizations, but must pay enough attention to them. Otherwise, Lao Tzu's "small country and few people" society can only be a utopian utopian society, or a backward and conservative society.
In a word, the "Five Don 'ts" in Lao Tzu's ideal society of "small country and few people" can inspire us to keep a clear head on the problems in the development of civilization and social progress, overcome one-sidedness and treat the two places comprehensively. Among them, "Five Essentials" can be vigorously promoted as valuable ideological resources for building a harmonious society.
Third, the philosophy of "harmony": everything is born in harmony.
As mentioned earlier, in the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu explained the harmony and unity of man, earth, heaven and Tao in an all-round way with the original concept of "nature". Its essence and focus is to explain the harmony between man and nature (that is, heaven and earth). At the same time, Lao Tzu explained the harmony between man and society by designing an ideal country with a small country and few people in Tao Te Ching.
From a philosophical point of view, "nature" is a thing; "Society" is also a thing; The rest of the phenomena are also things. And all things are undoubtedly contradictory and need to be solved in harmony. Is it possible? Lao Tzu, as a great philosopher, and Tao Te Ching, as a philosophical classic, clearly tell people that this is totally acceptable. Because, in Tao Te Ching, Laozi profoundly revealed the mystery of all things and its root lies in "harmony". He said: "The Tao gives birth to one, two, three and everything. Everything is negative and holds yang, thinking that it is harmonious. " (Chapter 42 of Tao Te Ching) This famous saying of Laozi consists of two clauses. The first clause shows that "everything" is born of "Tao". This fully embodies the characteristics of Taoism. Because both Laozi and Taoism regard the original concept of "Tao" as the highest and most basic category in their philosophical system.
The word "ten thousand" here is not a definite reference, but a general reference, representing "infinite" number and "infinite". As we all know, "ten thousand" digits consist of "thousand" digits, "thousand" digits consist of "hundred" digits, and "hundred" digits consist of "one" digits. Therefore, Lao Tzu borrows common sense here to explain the truth that "Tao" gives birth to "everything". This fully shows the great wisdom of Laozi. Unfortunately, ordinary people often stop here when they talk about the first clause and ignore the second clause. Because Laozi's second article is deeper and wiser, it profoundly reveals the truth that "everything is born of harmony" or "everything is born of harmony". Laozi thinks that everything in "Everything" is composed of "Yin Qi" and "Yang Qi". So he said, "Everything is negative and holds Yang." Then, how do "Yin" and "Yang" constitute "everything"? Laozi further believes that only when Yin and Yang collide with each other and reach a harmonious state (that is, balance and harmony) can everything be created. So Lao Tzu said, "Rushing into the air is peace." In this way, it can be explained that "one" born of "Tao" refers to undifferentiated unitary qi, that is, "vitality"; The "two" born of "one" refers to "yin and yang"; The "three" born of "two" means "harmony"; "Three" gives birth to "everything", that is, "everything" comes from "harmony". In short, Tao gives birth to vitality, vitality gives birth to yin and yang, and yin and yang give birth to harmony, and harmony gives birth to everything. It can be seen that the first sentence is the premise and foundation of the second sentence, and the second sentence is the supplement and deepening of the first sentence. There is an internal organic connection between the two sentences, and * * * shows that "Tao" gives birth to "everything" through "harmony". Therefore, we can also say that Laozi's philosophy is a philosophy of "harmony", or a philosophy of "harmony".
Laozi's theory that "harmony" and "the spirit of harmony" give birth to "everything" is the inheritance and development of Shi Bo's theory that "the husband and the real thing are the same, but not continuous" (official language) in 78 BC/Kloc-0 BC. Development mainly lies in upgrading Shi Bo's "harmony" to "harmony" and making it subordinate to "Tao".
Zhuangzi inherited and developed Laozi's theory that "harmony" and "harmony gas" gave birth to everything. He said, "Right to Sue, right to Yang Hehe. Su Su is out of the sky, gorgeous out of the ground, and the two blend together, but things are born. " (Tian Zifang, Zhuangzi) This passage by Zhuangzi explains the state and characteristics of Yin and Yang, where they come from, and the key is to explain the harmony of Yin and Yang, which is what Laozi said, that is, the harmony of "traffic harmony" can generate everything.
Huainanzi inherits and develops Laozi's harmony and harmony qi, and gives birth to "everything", mainly because it emphasizes that harmony and harmony qi are the biggest qi in the world. He clearly pointed out: "The spirit of heaven and earth is greater than harmony. Harmony is yin and yang, and life is divided day and night. Born in the vernal equinox, born in the autumnal equinox, born with it, it must be the essence of harmony. " ("Huai Nan Zi Xun") Our ancestors realized the truth that Shi Bo, Lao Zi, Zhuangzi and Huai Nan Zi said that "harmony (qi) gives birth to everything" in their daily lives. Therefore, they have long acknowledged that "peace of mind" is the way to live a long life; "Home harmony" is the way to "all things prosper".
To sum up, it can be seen that the wisdom of harmony in Laozi's Tao Te Ching is both great and lofty. Carrying forward the harmonious thought in Tao Te Ching can provide valuable ideological and cultural resources for us to build a harmonious society internally and a harmonious world externally.
References:
[1] On Mencius' Interpretation of Word Meaning [M]// Complete Works of Dai Zhen. Beijing: Tsinghua University Publishing House,1991:161.