In the Meng Temple in Zoucheng City, Shandong Province, an adult coronation ceremony will be held in accordance with ancient laws. After the collective kowtow, the elders will preside over the coronation ceremony, and the teenager will become an adult after coronation. For thousands of years, Mencius, the Asian sage in the temple, has paid attention to countless adult young people. Mencius is a disciple of Confucius' grandson Zisi, and he worships Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. Mencius regretted that he could not listen to Confucius' teachings in person and could only become a private disciple, but Mencius firmly believed that he was the direct heir of Confucius. Mencius developed Confucius' theory of benevolence. At the beginning of life, human nature is good. This sentence at the beginning of China's ancient enlightenment textbook San Zi Jing is the basis of Mencius' thought.
Youliang Temple, located in Kaifeng, Henan Province, held a small-scale sacrificial ceremony here in the summer of 20 14. One of the contents was to tell the ancestors that the descendants of Meng would rebuild Youliang Temple. Mencius, like Confucius, traveled around the world with his disciples and publicized his benevolent policies. However, unlike Confucius, Cai Chen was as distressed and worried as a lost dog, and Mencius was generously treated by the rulers of various countries. The first thing Mencius did in his life was to travel around the world, saying that he would benefit the king. In Daliang, the capital of Wei, a dialogue between Mencius and Liang has been passed down to this day. The monarch said, sir, what good will you bring to our country from afar? Mencius replied rudely, why does the king have to talk about profit? As long as there is righteousness, it is enough. Mencius, second only to Confucius in the history of Confucianism, was called a saint by later generations. He explained his benevolent government to the king of a country for the first time, and later built the Youliang Hall in memory of Mencius. Although Liang asked Mencius for advice many times, he only wanted to make Wei famous in the world through war, which was incompatible with Mencius' thought of benevolent government, loving the people and not killing them, saving punishment and reducing taxes. Therefore, Mencius' thought of benevolent governance is difficult to be truly accepted by the rulers. Mencius finally despaired of Liang. He said angrily that Liang looked like a gentleman and left Wei. After the memorial service of the Mon clan, Youliang Temple was calm, and the Mon descendants who guarded it for generations carefully cleaned the courtyard. In fact, most of the Liang temples in the upper reaches have been destroyed, and the remaining temples have also been transformed into factories. There are only two stone tablets left in the temple, one is the one that Yan Xingbang rebuilt Youliang Temple Academy in the 28th year of Kangxi, and the other is the one that was built in Jiaqing. The handwriting on the monument is peeling off and blurred. The dilapidated situation of Youliang Temple seems to be what happened to Mencius when he preached the theory of benevolence and righteousness.
After leaving Wei, Mencius moved to Qi. He has high hopes for Qi, and especially wants to arrive at Jixia Xuegong as soon as possible. In the East of the Axis Age, there is an academic center that brings together talented minds. It is not only the earliest government-run university in China, but also the center of political consultation and academic and cultural exchanges during the Warring States Period. At that time, the most famous scholars gathered here. They gave lectures and debated, and various ideas collided, which became the most important place for a hundred schools of thought to contend. Guo Moruo once spoke highly of Xia Ji Gong Xue, saying, "The establishment of Xia Ji Gong Xue is of epoch-making significance in the cultural history of China, which is the progress of society. Needless to say, it also promotes the progress of academic thought. The grand occasion of Zhou and Qin philosophers formed a peak here. "Scholars gathered in Jixia Xuegong were collectively referred to as Xia Ji School by later generations. In fact, there is no single school in Jixia Xuegong, but it includes Confucianism, Taoism, law, fame, soldiers, agriculture and Yin and Yang scholars. Xia Ji's bachelors gave lectures in Gong Xue, wrote books, argued with each other and learned from each other, which became the symbol of a hundred schools of thought contending during the Warring States Period. When Mencius arrived in the State of Qi, he was treated with high courtesy. He continued to publicize his theory of benevolent government and put forward a famous proposition: the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light. In Gong Xue, Xia Ji, Mencius had a heated debate with scholars of different schools, and he criticized the most powerful school which was widely circulated at that time-Jimo family. Mencius is from Zoucheng and Mozi is from Tengzhou. Their hometown is very close, and they all study Confucianism, but their academic ideas are essentially different, even completely opposite.
In the Mozi Memorial Hall in Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, unlike the statues of hundreds of philosophers, the statues of Mozi are very maverick, completely subverting the scholars' consistent neatness and gentleness. On the contrary, wearing a cloth and carrying a tree stick, he strode forward like a travel-stained walker. Like statues, Mozi Memorial Hall is different from other memorial halls. It is almost a science and technology museum that displays ancient inventions and fantastic ideas. Mozi was regarded as a sage, and Song Jian regarded Mozi as Mo Zhai, the originator of materialism. The trebuchet is a large-scale human long-range weapon invented by Mohist school based on the principle of lever balance. It was originally used to defend the city. It puts a stone or fireball into one end, pulls it down with a scroll, and then throws the stone out of the city by the elasticity of the fulcrum, hurting the enemy outside the city. Mozi said that the circle is equal in length, that is, the center of the circle is equal in length, that is, the radius is equal, and a circle becomes a circle after one turn. This is the earliest concept of circle in ancient times, which is equivalent to compass now. In the early years of the Warring States, Chu wanted to attack the Song State, and Mozi went to Chu alone for ten days to persuade the king of Chu to give up his plan to attack the Song State. While lobbying the king of Chu, Mozi and the skilled bus class invited by the king of Chu conducted a simulated offensive and defensive war. The bus class organized nine attacks and was defeated by Mozi nine times. The methods of bus class are exhausted, and Mozi's coping methods are left. Mozi also relied on his superb defense skills to successfully resolve a war between the two countries. Mozi's trip to Chu was to carry out his thought of universal love and non-aggression as always.
Legend has it that Mozi once made a wooden bird that could fly in the sky for three days and nights. The legendary wooden bird flying in the air makes people yearn for it. Mozi's universal love and non-aggression, and the idea of being a wise man and a monk are also the main ideas of Mohism. Mozi practiced his own theory. His life is extremely simple. He eats soup with his disciples and wears coarse clothes. In order to prevent the merger war, they ran from country to country. Compared with other schools, Mozi and his disciples may be more like an ascetic group, and those who believe in Mozi's theory are called Mohists. Mohism was an organized group from the beginning. Their supreme leader was called a tycoon, and his position was passed from his predecessor to his recognized saint. Mozi is the first tycoon of Mohism. There are strict laws and regulations in Mohist school, and all Mohists must obey the orders of big money. They have the strongest will. In order to oppose the war and make the whole world love each other, they can disregard their own interests and even their lives. They strictly abide by discipline and endure pain. However, in the view of Confucianism, it is undoubtedly extreme for Mohism to completely reject rites and music.
Mencius was born later than Mozi, never met Mozi, but he knew Mozi and Mohism very well. He criticized Mohism's thought of universal love, thinking that it is foolish not to pay attention to universal love of courtesy and righteousness, no matter whether it is personal or humble. In the contention of a hundred schools of thought, Confucianism, represented by Confucius and Mencius, is undoubtedly the most particular about the golden mean. They don't go to extremes, pay attention to benevolence, righteousness, etiquette and music, pursue a harmonious order in the world, and have great ideals to help the people. However, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, rituals collapsed and wars were frequent. Mencius, like Confucius, traveled around the world and did not hesitate to promote Confucianism, but it could not be used after all. In his later years, he also chose to teach writing.
In the picture of Lao Zi riding an ox painted by Zhang Lu in the Ming Dynasty, Lao Zi sat on a green ox, holding the scroll of Tao Te Ching and looking up at a flying bat. Laozi is the founder of Taoism. The book Zhuangzi records the story of Confucius asking Laozi for knowledge. Confucius said that Laozi was as unfathomable as a dragon. Legend has it that Lao Tzu saw the decline of Zhou Dao and rode a green ox west to Hangu Pass. Liu Xiang, a native of the Han Dynasty, wrote in The Legend of Immortals: "I went west to Yin and saw Zifuguan, and I rode a green cow." Laozi rode an ox, and the purple gas came from the east. He was generally described by later generations as a fairy attached to Laozi. Moreover, because the mount of Laozi in the painting is not a horse but an ox, it is said that it also has a special meaning. The spirit of self-improvement of a gentleman in heaven conforms to the characteristics of Confucianism's tireless accession to the WTO, while the spirit of Kun Gua, represented by cattle, and the spirit of carrying things by virtue conform to the ideological proposition of Laozi, the founder of Taoism. Lao Tzu wanted to go to Hanguguan in the west, but was stopped by Guanyin Xi, who insisted that he write something to let him go. Therefore, Lao Tzu left an article of five thousand words, Lao Tzu, also known as Tao Te Ching. Sima Qian recorded three Laozi in Historical Records. They live in different times and have different nationalities. It can be seen that Sima Qian has forgotten that Laozi is the founder of Taoism. In 1930s, the academic trend of suspecting ancient times prevailed, and the existence of Laozi was doubted by many people. The book Laozi was also marked as a late issue, which aroused the doubts of scholars. Whether Laozi, the founder of Taoism, really exists, the answer to the question needs a strong evidence. 1993, a number of bamboo slips in the middle of the Warring States Period were unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Guodian Village, Jingmen City, Hubei Province, including fragments of Laozi. Laozi has always been regarded as a difficult book to read, largely because it puts forward a very abstract concept, Tao. This is a Tao that generates everything, but it is just unclear. The so-called' Tao can be Tao, extraordinary Tao, famous name, extraordinary name'. Tao gives birth to one, two, three and everything. Everything in heaven and earth is born, and everything is born without it. "The essence of Tao is inaction, so Lao Tzu advocates conforming to the trend of nature, giving up fighting and returning to nature. Taoism and nature are the common theoretical basis of Taoist scholars, and Zhuangzi developed this idea even better. Zhuangzi is as famous as Lao Zi and is called Zhuangzi in the world. Zhuangzi was a contemporary of Mencius, but compared with Mencius' active entry into WTO, Zhuangzi's thought was completely born, and he was the representative of Taoist thought. On a hot summer day, the boy sleeps on a tree root, and Tan Xiong of Zhuang Zhou lies on his back on a stone couch, snoring intoxicating, and a pair of butterflies are carefree on it. This is the famous "Dream Butterfly of Zhuang Zhou" written by Liu Guandao in Yuan Dynasty. The picture depicts a short story recorded in Zhuangzi's The Theory of Everything. In the dream, Zhuangzi became a free-flying butterfly. I woke up and found myself still Zhuangzi, so I was lost. Did Zhuang Zhou dream of becoming a butterfly or did the butterfly dream of becoming Zhuang Zhou? This is the well-known story of Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly. Zhuangzi, who lived at the end of the Warring States Period, deeply realized the social turmoil and personal powerlessness in the face of reality, so he advocated the pursuit of spiritual freedom, but in real life, he should pay attention to useless use and go with the flow to save himself, which reflected the helplessness of a troubled scholar. Zhuangzi believes that Tao is the source of the world, and where we all come from, that source is called Tao; Tao has another meaning, that is, everything and everything in our world, and what determines what it is behind it is Tao. Just like now, when we say that we are tall, we say it from one angle. When we say that we are humble, we also say it from another angle. If we change the angle and position, will we still be tall?
Mengcheng is the hometown of Zhuangzi. Up to now, there are still many very interesting stories circulating. One day, Zhuangzi and his friend Hui Shi went to Haoshui to play. Zhuangzi watched the fish swimming freely in the water and sighed,' These fish must be very happy to swim leisurely'. Hui Shi said,' If you are not a fish, how do you know that fish is happy? Zhuangzi said,' You are not me, how do you know that I don't know the happiness of fish', and Hui Shi said,' I am not you, so I don't know how you feel. You are not a fish, so you naturally don't know the happiness of fish,' Zhuangzi said.' Now let's go back to the original statement. You ask me, where do you know the happiness of fish? You know I didn't ask me until I knew the happiness of fish. I learned about the happiness of fish in Good Water God. Zhuangzi was trapped in reality and admired the freedom of fish. Zhuangzi was obviously detached in perception, but he lost in the debate because his opponent was the famous debater Hui Shi. Hui Shi was a famous politician, thinker and representative of famous artists during the Warring States Period. Hui Shi, as the prime minister of Wei, was also pursuing the strategy of uniting the two armies against Qin when the military strategist Zhang Yi launched Lian Heng. However, Hui Shi was at a disadvantage in the confrontation, and was forced to refit by Zhang Yi, who fled Wei in a hurry. But in terms of knowledge, he is far superior to Zhang Yi, leaving his own reputation. Hui Shi is well-read, and Zhuangzi said that his books are as many as five cars. There was a man named Huang Chong. He asked why he didn't fall down, why he didn't sink in, and why there was a thunderstorm. Hui Shi wants to blurt it out. But Hui Shi's answer is not recorded in the history books, and most of Hui Shi's works have been lost, so Hui Shi's answer is naturally unknown.
During the Warring States Period, there were such a group of scholars, including Hui Shi, whose discussion on the issue of name and substance was more active than the debate. They put forward some strange propositions, such as eggs are hairy, dogs can be sheep, and fire is not hot. However, these seemingly absurd statements contain simple logic and dialectical thoughts. This is unprecedented in the history of China's ancient thoughts. These debaters are called masters by later generations, and the representative figures are not only Hui Shi of Song Dynasty, but also Mohist School in the later period and Gongsun Long of Zhao State. More than 2,300 years ago, when people had regarded Lao Zi's cow crossing Hangu Pass as a legend that purple gas came from the east, another man rode a white horse to Hangu Pass, but the man riding a white horse did not get the same treatment as Lao Zi. Instead, he was stopped outside the gate by the Qin guards guarding the gate. This man's name is GongSunLong. Gong Sunlong is as argumentative as Hui Shi. Horses were an epidemic at that time. In order to prevent this plague from being introduced into Qin, Qin posted a notice in Hangu Pass, saying that Zhao's horses were not allowed to enter the Pass. On this day, Gong Sunlong of Zhao rode a white horse to Hangu Pass to prepare for entry. The customs official said that you can enter the customs, but your horse can't. Gong Sunlong said, the white horse I am riding is not a horse. Why can't I pass the customs? Customs officials say a white horse is a horse. Gong Sunlong asked, am I a dragon? Customs officials were shocked. Gong Sunlong said, white refers to color, and the horse names it. Name and color are not the same thing, so a white horse is not a horse. Guan Li was puzzled by what Gong Sunlong said and let his horse go. The truth of this story remains to be seen, but the white horse is not a horse, which really makes GongSunLong famous. Gong Sunlong's theory tries to distinguish the concept of an object from the object itself, which includes the exploration of logic, but he overemphasizes the existence of the concept and makes himself fall into sophistry. In our history, the contributions of famous artists have been greatly belittled, and finally no one understands that no one uses them. How can we make it clear when we are considering the problem? What matters is whether we understand conceptual thinking and whether we can understand things conceptually. If we have this ability, we can express things more clearly. Politics and governing the country should also be made clear, so in this sense, celebrities will play a considerable role in politics, but people at that time did not realize this.
Miyun is an ancient Yuyang county in Yan State, and there is an artifact legend about scholar Zou Yan. According to legend, when Zou Yan assisted Yan Zhaowang, he came to Miyun in a spring. When he saw it, it was still winter, the cold was too strong, the vegetation was not long, and the people's lives were very bitter. So he played the violin on a hill in Miyun for three days and nights. Zou Yan finished playing the violin, and the warm wind came immediately. The sun was shining and the snow melted. The farmers soon reclaimed the land and planted seeds. This year, the crops are growing well. Zou Yan also found many excellent varieties from all over the country to teach farmers to identify and teach them different farming methods. Since then, people's life here has gradually improved. In memory of Zou Yan, the local people once built the Zouzi Temple. Thousands of years have passed, and the Zouzi Temple, once full of incense, has long been hard to find. However, it seems that Zou Yan, the omnipotent representative of Yin and Yang in the Warring States Period, can still be seen in the changing light and shadow of Jixia Valley. Behind Zou Yan's preaching, he actually took advantage of the influence of climate on agricultural production, while Zou Yan was a scholar who thought that Yin-Yang, Five Elements and Five Virtues would be the first to open the atmosphere. Zou Yan likes to talk about things, and founded the theory that Jin Mu's Five Virtues of Fire, Water and Soil influenced China for more than 2,000 years, which was later used as the theoretical basis for regime change. What is particularly surprising is that Zou Yan put forward a shocking hypothesis through reasoning and imagination on the basis of summarizing the previous geographical knowledge, Okushu said. He thinks that China is called Chixian Shenzhou, and there are nine states as big as Chixian Shenzhou outside China to form a big state. There are nine such big states, surrounded by the sea. This is octupole, and there are eight ultimate points here. China is only one eighty-first of the whole Kyushu. Zou Yan's Kyushu theory reflects the scholars' thinking about the world during the Warring States Period.
Every year on July 27th of the lunar calendar, a grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the Confucius Temple in Qufu is held in places where there are Chinese people all over the world. Since the Han Dynasty, when offering sacrifices to Confucius, other Confucian tasks began to accompany him. These Confucian admirers are all recognized representatives of Confucianism in later generations. Among them are 72 disciples of Confucius, Mencius in the Warring States Period, Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty, Zhu in the Southern Song Dynasty and so on. At most, there are 150 people accompanying them. They are either in Dacheng Hall with Confucius or listed in the east and west rooms of Dacheng Hall to enjoy the pilgrimage of future generations. However, when people dedicated the most prosperous incense to Confucius and many Confucian sages, more people didn't notice it. Xunzi was the director of Jixia Academy for three times. He was the most famous scholar at that time and also a master of Confucianism. However, Xunzi did not appear on the statue shared by Confucius and Temples, which was not negligence, but his thoughts were very different among Confucianism, which emphasized benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom, and were not recognized for a long time. Xunzi was born in Xun Kuang and Zhao. He was born in Sanjin, where legalists came forth in large numbers. But Xunzi's heart turned to Confucianism, because the Confucianism born by Xunzi in Sanjin had an unusual color of rule of law, and he also saw the evil in people's hearts. Different from Mencius' theory of emphasizing benevolence, Xunzi put forward the theory of evil nature. He believes that it is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. People can only get better through hard work the day after tomorrow. It is precisely because of this that etiquette is needed to teach people and law is needed to restrain people, so etiquette is the essence of rule, and rulers should respect etiquette and external laws and regulations should regulate people. Xunzi changed the Confucian way of remembering the past, opposed the saying that law precedes the king, and put forward that law follows the king, making his thoughts keep pace with the times. Although Xunzi and his theory have not been recognized by Confucius, or even included in the Confucius Temple, Xunzi's thought has never left the birthplace of Confucianism. The tree of thoughts growing in the depths of his soul is like the vibrant ginkgo in the Confucius Temple, and the two are equally flourishing and interlinked. In fact, Xunzi's theory of evil nature is just one of the reasons why he can't enjoy Confucius Temple. Another reason is that the students taught by Xunzi have been criticized by Confucianism for thousands of years. Xunzi had two very famous disciples. They were very famous and changed the face of China history. They provided a set of ruling skills for later dynasties. Their names are Li Si and Han Fei. Han Fei was born in a noble family in Korea. Like Xunzi, Han Feizi's theory also integrates the strengths of various schools. However, in the orientation, Han Feizi abandoned the etiquette advocated by his teacher and turned to publicize the rule of law, becoming a master of pre-Qin legalists. Han Feizi believes that even a saint like Yao Shun can't govern the country without laws, and even a tyrant like Jie won't use laws to make the country out of control. Moreover, a saint like Yao Shun is hard to meet in a hundred years, and a tyrant like Jie is rare in the world. Most monarchs are neutral, and a gentle monarch abides by the law to govern the country, just like a clumsy craftsman working with rules and sizes, which is not bad at all. Han Fei advocated extreme autocratic monarchy, cut off non-governmental forces to select magicians, take the law as a teacher, prohibit private learning, strictly reward and punish farmers, and seek national prosperity. Legalists in the Warring States period opposed freedom of thought, but legalists themselves were the product of a hundred schools of thought contending. They thought deeply about nature, humanity, politics and society, and put forward valuable theoretical viewpoints. More importantly, at that particular historical stage, the political practice of Legalists gradually made their academic thoughts an effective technique of governing the country at that time. Of course, it also provides a mirror for later rulers to reflect on what theoretical basis they have adopted in governing the country for long-term stability.
China in the Axial Age is not only an era in which a hundred schools of thought contend, but also an era in which different opinions converge. The so-called contention of a hundred schools of thought is just an exaggeration, but during the Warring States period, scholars held their own opinions, criticized each other and blended with each other. It is not an exaggeration to use the word "a hundred schools of thought contend".
More than 2,000 years later, Gong Xue, Xia Ji, which once built an auditorium and a mansion, has already turned into a sloping field of loess, but this loess has nurtured and witnessed such a beautiful era. Even after Qin Shihuang was forbidden to burn books in private schools to bury Confucianism, and even after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty expelled a hundred schools of thought from Confucianism, the grand occasion of a hundred schools of thought contended in the Warring States period became a masterpiece throughout the ages. However, the rich and colorful ideological and cultural heritage of a hundred schools of thought contend is not only preserved in rich classics handed down from generation to generation, but also has a lasting influence on literary scholars in past dynasties. Together, they have shaped the unique features of China's traditional culture with a long history, profoundness and richness, and shaped the history and future of this nation.