The Analects of Confucius was compiled by Confucius' disciples and those who remembered Confucius' words and deeds. It has 20 chapters and 498 chapters, which is the most important classic of Confucianism and China culture.
Confucius' thought is centered on the principle of being a man. He put forward the idea of "ruling the country by virtue" and thought that governing the country should be based on moral education; In order to change the situation of "there is no way in the world" at that time and restore social stability, he put forward a moral ideology with "benevolence" as the core and devoted himself to moral education.
Put forward a series of moral norms such as filial piety, ladder, loyalty, faithfulness, courtesy, tolerance, sensitivity, courage and straightforwardness;
"Benevolence" is the core of Confucius' thought and theory. Confucius clearly pointed out that "benevolence" means "love" (Yan Yuan), and further clarified that "a benevolent person wants to stand and be a man, and he wants to succeed" (Yong Ye). "Benevolent", don't do to others what you don't want (Yan Yuan). This is a profound humanistic philosophy, which runs through all aspects of Confucius' thought and theory.
Confucius particularly emphasized the value and function of "benevolence". He believes that "benevolence" is not only a quality that everyone must have, but also a principle that must be followed in governing the country and leveling the world. For personal cultivation, he advocates that "a gentleman who has no food will violate benevolence, and he will do it when he has a period." ("Li Ren"). "People with lofty ideals are benevolent, and there is no harm to benevolence, but killing benevolence" (Wei Linggong). Teach students to work hard for "benevolence" with perseverance.
On the basis of advocating "benevolence" and "virtue", he further put forward the social ideal of "great harmony", that is, "the trip to the avenue is also for the public, while ... seeking closure without being rich, thieves without doing it, so leaving home without closing, which is called great harmony." (The Book of Rites? "Datong" society is actually a society in which the spirit of "benevolence" is fully and comprehensively reflected. The ideal of "great harmony" is difficult to realize, and Confucius retired to put forward the ideal of "well-off", which is very helpful for building a harmonious socialist society at present.
The issue of justice and benefit is an important issue in China's ancient moral theory. How to deal with the relationship between them has a very important influence on the country, politics, economy, ethics and social fashion. Confucius put forward that "righteousness is more important than benefit". Confucius put forward that "the righteousness of a gentleman is supreme" ("The Analects of Confucius? Yang Huo) As far as society is concerned, Confucius does not deny that utilitarianism is an important foundation for its development. The Analects of Confucius? Now, when Confucius entered the state of Wei, he talked with him about "teaching" (education) for a period, after "ping" (rich population) and "rich life". Therefore, Confucius affirmed that practicality is indispensable for social development.
On the other hand, in the relationship between justice and benefit, Confucius clearly showed the idea of controlling benefit with justice and paying equal attention to both. Confucius said, "See Si Qi" ("The Analects of Confucius? Xianwen "). Morally, it doesn't hurt to take it. This is called "righteousness before taking" ("The Analects of Confucius? Xianwen. " When Confucius talked with Zigong about food, soldiers, faith and other things which are more important, Confucius put faith first and thought that "people can't stand without faith" (The Analects of Confucius? Yan Yuan "). Adequate food and soldiers reflect the pursuit of utility, while people's trust belongs to the category of moral pursuit. This passage is an extreme form of zi gong, which requires Confucius to choose between righteousness and benefit. Under this kind of opposition, Confucius put moral pursuit in the position of priority over interests.
In a word, it is not difficult to find that "valuing righteousness over profit" is a concept of justice and benefit suitable for our present society.
With the development of market economy, the relationship between morality and money is becoming increasingly obvious. Correctly treating and handling the relationship between righteousness and benefit is a major social issue, which is related to being a man and making a career. We should attach great importance to it. Confucius said that "distinguishing right from wrong" is helpful to inspire members of society to make a correct moral orientation in this regard.
As we all know, "money worship" has become a common practice in today's society, and "materialistic cross-flow" is unstoppable. So what we need to do now is to standardize, that is, how to make it' rational'. And we can learn from Confucius' "emphasizing righteousness over profit" to closely adjust it. My basic view of justice is:
1. Righteousness is a measure of a gentleman's behavior towards everything in the world. This standard is not static but will change.
2. Meaning must be obtained from knowledge, and meaning will change with the increase and change of knowledge.
The interests of justice must be taken, and the interests of injustice are the poor.
4. Between righteousness and benefit, it is not a question of who is light and who is heavy. Righteousness is a measure of a gentleman's behavior towards everything in the world. Righteousness is the standard to measure whether this benefit should be taken at this point in time. There is no comparability between the two.
Confucius spoke highly of Zhou's manners. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucius was interested in etiquette since he was a child in Lu. Rites were originally the rules and procedures of sacrifice, but after being reinterpreted by Confucius, their ideological value is prominent and their guiding significance is very extensive. Confucius directly led the guidance from the external ceremony to the inner heart category-benevolence, which is to connect the ceremony with the human heart. Rites should start from human nature, not pay tribute to ghosts and gods, and Confucian ethics should be based on external appearances and internal hearts. This change is of great significance. Confucianism believes that the universal ethical standard in society is etiquette, and people must learn etiquette all their lives in order to get rid of their instinctive sensory desires. Confucius said, "If you don't learn manners, you can't stand."
People who don't learn etiquette and musical civilization are just instinctive beings, just like animals, so learning etiquette is the foundation of the world. In order to have its due position in social relations, observing etiquette is benevolence, which is a harmonious rule embodied in social relations. Benevolence is a harmonious state in one's heart in this social relationship, and it is a noble quality for one to abide by etiquette. Benevolence is the foundation of human beings and human nature, and human cultivation is to cultivate and express benevolence. The so-called benevolent person is a lover, and Confucius expressed it through the categories of loyalty, forgiveness, filial piety and faith. It is precisely because Confucius put forward that human nature is love that Mencius later put forward the theory of good nature from this angle. Mencius said: "Everyone has a heart that can't bear others. Since human nature is good, so is the method of practice. Confucius said, "The world belongs to benevolence. "
It is the "ceremony" advocated by Confucius that makes China known as a country of etiquette.
The Analects of Confucius said: "He is also filial to his younger brother, but few people are good at making mistakes;" It's not easy to make mistakes, but it's not easy to make mistakes. A gentleman's business is based on Tao. Filial piety is also the foundation of benevolence! "This shows the order of Confucius' thought: filial piety is the foundation of all benevolence, and filial piety will love others. The Confucian Tao is to seek the essence, and the essence lies in the Tao. Confucianism has no apriori, and Confucius does not talk about ghosts and gods. The essence of Confucianism lies in the rationality of nature in heaven and earth. Confucianism pays attention to human sociality and plans to standardize social order; Laozi and Zhuangzi pay attention to the natural harmony between life and mind. In fact, the theoretical basis of sociality pursued by Confucianism is still naturalness. For thousands of years, Confucianism can't beat it because the foundation it seeks is also natural and simple. Confucius said in the Analects that we should honor our elders, show love to people in society and learn. The Analects of Confucius mentioned: "Disciples are filial; Go out and be embarrassed; Believe it; Pan-love, be kind to others; Learn literature if you have spare time. He also said: "People with virtue can change color. Parents can do their best, gentlemen can take it, hand it over, and keep their word; Although I haven't studied, I will call it learning. They all say that they should be filial to their parents, respect their elders, forgive others, and at the same time make extra efforts to study. If this can be done, even if he didn't go to school, Confucius will regard him as a knowledgeable person. Filial piety played a very important role in ancient China. Both civilians, princes and grandchildren have been observing filial piety for thousands of years. This has formed China's family culture, which is different from other countries, and has a great positive role in promoting social prosperity and stability.