Everything has roots and branches, and everything has a beginning and an end. Knowing this truth from beginning to end is close to the law of development of things.
In ancient times, if you want to carry forward the aboveboard character in the world, you must first manage your own country; To govern the country well, we must first govern the family and clan; If you want to manage your family and family well, you must first cultivate your character.
If you want to cultivate your character, you must first correct your mentality; If you want to correct your heart, you must first make your heart sincere; If you want to make your thoughts sincere, you must first explore the principle of things.
Wisdom can only be obtained by exploring the principles of things. Be sincere in acquiring wisdom and ideas; Sincere heart, square heart; With a correct mind, we can cultivate our own character; Only through the cultivation of character can we manage the family and family well; Only when the family and clan are well managed can the country be well managed; Only when the country is well governed can the world be peaceful. From the head of state to the common people, everyone should be self-cultivation-oriented.
If this is fundamentally disturbed, it is impossible for families, families, countries and the world to be well governed. You can't put the cart before the horse, and you want to do a good job regardless of priorities.
source
Pursuing the Three Cardinal Principles and Eight Purposes, the Way of University, selected from Book of Rites University.
University was originally Article 42 of the Book of Rites. In the Song Dynasty, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi brothers took them out of the Book of Rites and compiled chapters and sentences. Zhu called Daxue, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius as four books, and Daxue became a Confucian classic. As for the author of Da Xue, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi thought it was "Kong's last words".
Zhu rearranged The University, which was divided into one chapter of Jing and ten chapters of Biography. That "the words of Confucius, cover a chapter, Ceng Zi said; The tenth chapter is the meaning of Ceng Zi, and the master remembers it. " In other words, "Jing" is the words of Confucius and recorded by Ceng Zi; "Biography" is the interpretation of "Jing", which is recorded by students.
Zhu is a master of science and one of the main representatives of feudal Confucianism in China. His academic thought, in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, has always been the official philosophy of the feudal ruling class, marking a more complete ideology of feudal society. In the second year of Yuan and Qing Dynasties (13 13), the imperial examination was resumed, and Zhu's Notes on Four Books was ordered as the textual research.
In the second year of Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu reign (1369), Zhu et al. took "Chuan as the Sect" in the imperial examination. Zhu Xue became a powerful spiritual pillar to consolidate the ruling order of feudal society. It strengthened the "three cardinal guides and five permanents" and hindered the later changes in feudal society.