Chinese civilization has been passed down for thousands of years, and China's long history and culture, if it is a treasure to be proud of, is also a burden that is easily confused. Obviously, the long and splendid history, if we don't clarify his ideological connotation and get a clear understanding, will make people fall into an embarrassing and different degree of confusion, which is also the reality and social situation in the current historical and realistic period.
It seems that everyone will have the understanding that history is human history, tradition is human tradition, and thought is human thought; The so-called glory of history, tradition and thought is, in the final analysis, the glory of mankind; The so-called inheritance of history, tradition and thought is, in the final analysis, the inheritance of people, that is, the inheritance of ancestors or sages by future generations.
The sages of the Chinese nation have the historical glory of their time and the brilliant achievements of their personal lives. As far as social history is concerned, history is a group activity, which gives birth to the historical facts of national civilization, but at the same time it is a brilliant collection of individuals. Laozi and his Tao Te Ching are the first individuals to form metaphysical philosophical thoughts and brilliant thoughts in these collections.
Mr. Hu Shizhi once said: "There is another sentence in Laozi's book called' I don't know the name, but the name of Tao is big', which is a powerful proof in his book. Obviously, he got this great idea first, but there is no equivalent name, so he has to call it "Tao" or "greatness" reluctantly. This concept is not easy for most people to understand, so it did not become the central opinion of some people in the ideological circle until the late Warring States period. " Later, in "Zhuangzi", there was no assumption that "fame is strong" and it became a principle. Studying Taoism carefully, we can find that Laozi's respect for softness, vanity and Zhu for me is the development of inaction philosophy, Zhuangzi's broadmindedness or elimination is the development of Laozi's natural law, and Confucian benevolence is the extension of Laozi's morality in the social field. Hundred schools of thought said, "It's because of what I said." (Biography of Historical Records and Zhuangzi), and Tao Te Ching is the cradle of hundred schools of thought's theory.
Laozi inherited the idea that the ancients observed nature and understood everything in the universe, which is the origin of the so-called "Tao". Connecting the preceding with the following, it has far-reaching influence. Of course, philosophers in the pre-Qin period were the first to be influenced by it, then metaphysics in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Buddhism gradually infiltrated and introduced, Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, and then allusions, idioms and pet phrases often used by ordinary people all reflected their deep-rooted infiltration or influence on people's daily life. Because of the nothingness of Tao, every period, every class and every word can benefit from it, and their thoughts are quoted by various schools. It is really "there is no end to bridging, and there is no shortage of daily use." Laozi's metaphysical philosophy is so profound and mysterious that it can naturally spread to the world and be immortal.
First of all, for the pre-Qin philosophers, I'm afraid Zhuangzi was the most influenced, followed by Shen Buhai and Han Feizi, especially Han Feizi, who always quoted Laozi's thoughts in criticizing Confucianism, solving the old and comparing the old.
The wind of metaphysics resurfaced in Wei and Jin Dynasties, and the wind of discussing philosophy prevailed. The subject of discussion is only San Xuan. At that time, most of the scholars' writings focused on Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, especially the notes of Wang Bi's weak years, which have become classics, and no one can surpass them for thousands of years and become the greatest contributor to Lao Zi's theory in this period.
Taoism is still nothing, and Buddhism is still empty. After Buddhism was introduced into China, because they were quite close, people who talked about metaphysics at that time didn't realize that there was much difference between Laozi and Zhuangzi and Buddhism. People at that time (such as Hui Yuan and Daoan) used San Xuan to explain Buddhist scriptures. It can be seen that it has a great influence on Buddhism. Explaining Buddhist scriptures outside the canon was called "Geyi" at that time. Later, Buddhism was used to explain Taoist words (Kumarajiva, Seng Zhao, Guan Hui and others all paid attention to Laozi), which showed the integration of China culture at that time.
Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty was greatly influenced by Laozi in metaphysical philosophy. According to the legend in the history of the Song Dynasty, "the principle of tomorrow is rooted in the study of the whole thing." Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties is based on the Taiji diagram made by Zhou Dunyi (it is said that Chen Tuan sowed and released with the congenital diagram, and then spread it-Muxiu spread it to Zhou with the Taiji diagram), and their Taiji diagram was derived from the Taoist Taiji congenital diagram. The origin of Taoism and Laozi is self-evident (according to the textual research of Taiji Diagram, Taiji Diagram was originally called Wuji Diagram, and Juhua Mountain in Chen Tuan was published in the stone wall with Taiji Diagram, and its bottom circle was called Xuanzang's Gate, and its top circle was refined spirit and returned to infinity. ) At this time, Neo-Confucianism made Confucianism more developed.
The philosophy, style, art and life of China culture are basically cultivated in the charm of Taoism. In addition, Buddhism gradually became Confucian. The emergence of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty is due to the philosophical thoughts of Taoism and Buddhism, which is inevitable in the cultural history of China. It is also the result of the integration of Buddhist culture and China culture. Before that, Buddhism had become the Buddhism of China, but the competition among Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in academic status never stopped. At this time, the Buddhist (Zen) teachers talked about their Confucianism, and it was very obvious that Buddhism used to be Confucianism and Buddhism. The idea that the three schools come down in one continuous line has been formed, that is, directly inheriting Confucius and Mencius, deeply influenced by Buddhism (Zen) and infiltrating into the leading components of Laozi and Zhuangzi's thought. The confluence of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism has formed the main body of China culture.
Laozi's thought has a great influence on politics, religion, literature, art, customs, technology and people's daily life besides the main culture. I won't say much about the influence of the previous items because of the limited space or level. Although there have been, and there are still people who want to make the obvious truth of Laozi mysterious and make people afraid to get close to him, thousands of years of edification and influence have made Laozi's thoughts have a far-reaching impact on ordinary people. The use of those old allusions, idioms and buzzwords is the best example of Laozi's penetration into the homes of ordinary people. For example: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", "Skynet is long, sparse but not leaking", ingenious and clumsy, inaction, self-knowledge, eternity and so on. Almost every word or vocabulary of Laozi can be found in every aspect of people's daily life, and it can be used as a philosopher for me. ("Poetry. Xiaoya. The shadow of red rock), Wu Hu! Laozi was born in charge, holding the key to a new era of Chinese civilization, but doing nothing; He also benefited future generations after his death. Not a generation of saints, he was praised for practicing "teaching without words" It is really the ideological origin of the eternal world and the former philosopher's "avoiding before philosophers". The ordinary people in China don't know much about themselves, which is really a response to his sentence "I don't do anything for the people". He doesn't have the Confucian way to join the WTO, but he has a well-known effect.
How can we not be moved by Lao Zi's profound philosophical thoughts, lofty realm, refined words, contradictory words, metaphysical coexistence and other superb artistic conception or profound thoughts when he penetrates into China's cultural civilization and is recognized by the world? Her profundity also lies in the light radiated by this philosophical system of ideological spirit and value and its far-reaching influence on China culture, and China culture is so inseparable from the lives of ordinary people.
In today's era, all this has not been erased, but has an unusual place to use. Laozi hated ingenuity all his life, but he was a great wise man in ancient and modern times; I have hated conspiracy all my life, but some people want to find traces of conspiracy in his theory; I have hated politics all my life, but people who specialize in politics learn from him; The ruler who has been cursed by him all his life wants to ask him how to govern the country; This wisdom, whether clever or not, makes old A Zi a model of China's great wisdom. Laozi is a pioneer in advocating natural curses and ingenuity, but his thoughts are a treasure house full of wisdom and wit. It can be said that it is inexhaustible for future generations to explore. No matter how much China people despise their own things today, this treasure of Laozi will be expanded and studied by all ethnic groups in the world, and jointly open a new era of world civilization once again.