Chapter 134 New Confucianism

In the early years of the Republic of China, Liang Shuming worked as an editor and a field reporter for the "Republic of China News" founded by his colleagues in the Tongmenghui. He often used pen names such as Shoumin and Shoumin.Once, Sun Junming, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, wrote a fan for Liang with the title "Shu Ming".From then on, Liang took the name of "Shu Ming". Liang Shuming devoted himself to the study of Buddhism from the age of twenty, and failed to commit suicide several times. After several years of deep reflection, he revived his enthusiasm for pursuing social ideals, and gradually turned to Confucianism.

After his father Liang Ji Shentan committed suicide in 1918, Liang Shuming began to turn to Confucianism, and he was also very happy.He once said to his son Liang Peishu: "Buddhism can only benefit a few people, but Confucius' theory is for the majority of people. He affirms that people have to work hard and work hard to live well." In Liang Shuming's mind, his father "is a man of solid nature, not a man of great talent. The most unattainable thing about him is that he has a super-conventional interest, and he refuses to follow the customs, but has a warm heart and a chivalrous character."Liang Shuming felt deeply: "My initial thinking and life were influenced by my father, and I followed this path (championous, serious, not detached)."

Liang Shuming once expressed himself in this way, "There is only aspirations, but no career."That is to say, only what you want to do, rather than choosing your own career.In Liang Shuming's view, everything from Western utilitarianism to Buddhism to Confucianism is just to solve his own ideological problems and China's problems. Liang Shuming's principles of life: Do not be too suspicious of others in terms of personality, and do not trust yourself too much in terms of knowledge. Liang Shuming once said: "It is a great pity that friends do not end." Liang Shuming claimed to be "a person who has thoughts and acts according to his thoughts".

Liang Shuming's family motto: Don't look for food and clothing, don't care about the family, and don't be dragged down by family affairs. Liang Shuming wanted to be a monk when he was young.When the Young China Society invited him to give a speech on religious issues, he was not satisfied with the speech he was preparing, so he had to put down his pen and flip through "Ming Confucianism Cases".In Dongya's Quotations, I suddenly saw the eight words "Hundred worries are locked up, blood is at peace", and I felt cold, my scalp was sweating, and I was silent, so I decided to give up the idea of ​​becoming a monk.

Liang Shuming didn't read much when he was young, but he was energetic. His famous work "Chinese and Western Cultures and Their Philosophy" divides human culture into three types: Chinese, Western, and Indian for discussion, which is absolutely original.Jiang Baili called it "a work that shakes the past and shines today", while Hu Qiuyuan believed that the work "has original significance and astonishingly profound thinking power". Liang Shuming's academic thoughts are as follows: "Chinese Confucianism, Western philosophy and medicine are the roots of my thinking and painting."

Liang Shuming summed up the three attitudes towards life: pursuit, dislike, and solemnity. Liang Shuming was invited to give lectures at Tsinghua University for a short period of time. He Lin seized this opportunity and visited Liang Shuming several times.Liang Shuming admired Wang Yangming, and he said to He Lin: "Only Wang Yangming's and Wang Xinzhai's books can be read, and nothing else can be read." Liang Shuming was thinking about life and philosophical issues all the time, so that he neglected his wife.Liang Shuming's original wife, Huang Jingxian, was a housewife. The two married in 1921 through a friend's introduction and had two sons—Liang Peikuan and Liang Peishu.Liang Shuming named his son, which shows the spiritual atmosphere of "the last Confucianism", and the way of forgiveness belongs to the spiritual core of Confucianism.

After a million-strong army crossed the river, Liang Shuming read Mao Zedong's new work "The People's Liberation Army Occupies Nanjing", and he was very disapproving of "It is better to chase the poor and the poor, not to be famous and learn from the overlord".Lian said: "Wrong! Wrong! The fundamental spirit of Chinese culture is the desire for self-reliance, harmony and moderation, extremes and laziness are not acceptable. Only Chinese culture that is harmonious and moderate will surely rule the world, and the one that truly unifies China The method can only be a neutralization that adapts to the fundamental spirit of Chinese culture." He also quoted the argument of "the poor should not be forced" in "The Art of War" to explain the mistake of "pursuing the poor".

Liang Shuming believes that "village governance" is "the last new direction of the Chinese national self-help movement".Therefore, he resigned from his teaching position at Peking University and went to Shandong, Guangdong, Henan and other places to conduct experiments, which were not forced to stop until the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. In 1966, the Red Guards raided Liang Shuming's home and confiscated the unfinished manuscript of "Human Heart and Life". Liang wrote to Mao Zedong and said: "If this manuscript is destroyed, what good will it be for me to be born in this world." He also said: "If After fighting or criticizing, if the manuscript is not returned, it will be impossible to describe it, which is tantamount to pronouncing my death sentence." Under Mao Zedong's arrangement, the manuscript was returned. In 1975, Liang Shuming finally completed the book "Human Heart and Life", which said: "The only true religion exists in the precocious Buddhism of ancient India, and it will prevail in the end of communism."

In 1966, Liang Shuming was ransacked, punished to kneel, and paraded through the streets. Three generations of ancestral calligraphy, paintings, and cultural relics were burned, and manuscripts, money, and other things were also confiscated.Finally, the rebels locked him in a hut.Liang Shuming neither screamed for heaven and earth, nor sighed, but wrote books leisurely and contentedly.Later, he stayed at home and went to the park to practice boxing and take a walk every day. He had no books to read, so he read newspapers and materials carefully, paying attention to the development and evolution of the current situation.He successively completed the writing of "On the Similarities and Differences of Confucianism and Buddhism" and "Overview of Oriental Academics".

Liang Peikuan said: "When he (Liang Shuming) was 92 years old, overseas newspapers called him a representative of New Confucianism. I read the newspaper to him. He shook his head after listening, probably because he didn't like this title. I agree." Liang Shuming didn't quite agree with the titles of scholar, philosopher, and social activist that others gave him. Liang Seming once said to his students: "I have nothing to do with philosophy. I don't know what philosophy is. That's how I got into philosophy by mistake." Life in China, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Western theories are all aimed at solving his problems.So when people from the Confucius Institute in Shandong sent him a registration form to hire him as an expert in the institute, he refused, saying: "I'm not an expert, and whoever thinks I am can fill it out."

Liang Shuming recalled in his later years: "I cried twice, one time in Caozhou, which was caused by the disobedient students; Cry a lot." In his later years, Liang Shuming once wrote a motto: "Emotion is precious and light, and spirit is precious and harmonious. Only lightness and harmony is the only way to get it. If you get it, everything will grow." He often advises his family and friends around him: "When a person is angry at every turn, it will hurt the liver and attack the heart. If the anger is not peaceful or exposed, it will be stagnant in the internal organs. Both of them will hurt the liver and mind, and will be detrimental to health. Therefore, it is said to calm the emotions. It can be regarded as a real hard work of physical and mental exercise." Liang Shuming said: "Live to be old, learn to be old, and you should also add thinking to be old." In July 1955, Liang Shuming began to write the preface of "Human Heart and Life".In the early summer of this year, Liang Shuming and his son Liang Peishu visited Beihai Park. Speaking of "The Heart and Life" that he was about to write, he said in a calm and deep voice, "If this book is not written, my heart will not die!" The book was completed. Later, he said in a letter to his friends: "You can die and leave easily today." Liang Shuming always thought of himself as a thinker, not a scholar. He was interviewed by American scholar Ai Kai in his later years, and he specifically mentioned this point: "I am not a scholar. Why? I started with Chinese philology, but I didn't study Chinese philology at all, so I was very poor and lacked in Chinese knowledge. Another aspect is modern science. I am not good at foreign languages, so I am not good at foreign knowledge. From these two aspects, I am I am not a scholar at all. What I am good at is that I can use my thoughts well. If you call me a thinker, I will not refuse or be modest. A thinker is different from a scholar. A scholar knows a lot and absorbs Many, of course there is creation in it. Without creation, one cannot absorb. But a thinker is different from a scholar. Even though he knows a lot of things, he can’t become a thinker if he doesn’t know some knowledge from ancient and modern China and foreign countries. But he creates more than he absorbs. So I admit that I am a thinker, not a scholar."