Chapter 26 third chapter

Confucianism, originally the opinion of a family of philosophers, why has it been favored by the rulers in the long history of more than two thousand years of Chinese feudal society and has been prosperous for so long?There must be internal factors for its success. Confucianism originated from "shaman", and the two words "shaman" and "ru" are homonyms, that is to say, the predecessor of Confucianism is shamanism.In the Western Zhou Dynasty, witches were senior intellectuals engaged in divination and other religious activities.In the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu became Confucianism, referring to experts who taught classics, rites and music, and guided noble weddings, funerals, sacrifices, and other ceremonies.It can be seen from this that Confucianism has a long history, and it has always been the mainstream and center of Chinese culture in ancient times.In terms of "age", I am afraid that other schools cannot compare with it. This point is very important in China where seniority is considered. Confucianism has an incomparable natural advantage among other schools of thought.

From the perspective of the development and evolution of early Chinese culture, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties transitioned from primitive religion to natural religion and developed into ethical religion. They experienced witchcraft culture, sacrificial culture, and ritual and music culture. Although the cultural models are different , but there has always been a continuous inner temperament: emphasizing filial piety, relatives, noble people, and respect for virtue.This kind of temperament is based on the culture of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It was gradually formed during the long process of conquest and integration of the surrounding areas by successive dynasties.It can also be said that the natural conditions, geographical environment and farming methods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River have determined the consistent Chinese national temperament for thousands of years.This temperament began to take shape in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and gradually condensed and formed the basic personality of Chinese culture.The source and matrix of Confucianism are the inherent spiritual qualities of Chinese culture, such as emphasizing filial piety, relatives, noble people, and respect for morality.Long before Confucius, there was Confucianism in China, and many of its contents were directly derived from "Book of Changes".The ritual and music culture of the Western Zhou Dynasty was the fertile soil for Confucianism, providing Confucius and early Confucianism with an important foundation for world outlook, political philosophy, and ethical virtue.Confucianism is a "tree of wisdom" that grows on the soil of China, and it is also a study that suits China's "national conditions".This point is the inner root of Confucianism's ability to dominate and surpass other schools of thought. As long as the Chinese nation's farming methods and feudal system remain unchanged, this "tree of wisdom" may last forever.

Strictly speaking, the first great Confucianist in Chinese history was not Confucius, but Zhou Gongdan in the early Western Zhou Dynasty.The Duke of Zhou is the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, who once helped King Wu destroy Shang.After the death of King Wu, his successor son, King Cheng, was young, so he was regented by Duke Zhou.He quelled the rebellion of Guan Shu, Cai Shu, Wu Geng and the Yi people in the east, enfeoffed princes on a large scale, made rituals and music, and established rules and regulations.If we expand our field of vision a little, we will find that Zhou Gongdan's set is not his original creation, but originated from Zhou Wenwang, the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, and his "Book of Changes".However, after all, it was the Duke of Zhou who pioneered the secularization of Confucianism and applied it to social and political systems, forming the foundation of later generations of Confucianism.Yang Xiangkui pointed out in the book "Zong Zhou Society and Ritual and Music Civilization": "Without Zhou Gong, there would be no ritual and music civilization handed down from generation to generation. Without Zhou Gong, there would be no historical origin of Confucianism. Without Confucianism, Chinese traditional civilization may be another spirit. State." He also said: "The way of Duke Zhou, which is based on virtue and propriety, has been passed down from generation to generation. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius' Confucianism with benevolence and propriety as the content." Xunzi also regarded Duke Zhou as the first generation of great Confucianism. The society of the Western Zhou Dynasty admired it even more, once admiring from the heart: "You are so literary, I follow Zhou."

Later generations regard Confucius as the founder of Confucianism, which is actually a bit of a misnomer.His main contribution to Confucianism is "explaining but not writing". He did not make any creative contribution, but selected six cultural classics that have been handed down for a long time, and added, deleted, revised, edited, and organized according to his own intentions: preface, deletion "Poetry", "Biography of Changes", "Ritual" and "Yue", and "Spring and Autumn", which are regarded as Confucian classics, as students must learn textbooks.There is only one book that was truly created by him, and it was compiled by his disciples based on his remarks during his lifetime.Therefore, many scholars in later generations regard Zhou Gong as the maker of Confucianism, and Confucius as the preacher of Confucianism.Zhang Xuecheng wrote in "Wen Shi Tong Yi Yuan Dao Shang": "Before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the school worshiped Zhou and Confucius, Zhou Gong was the first sage, Confucius was the first teacher, the making of the words was the sage, and the teacher was the teacher."

As a statesman, Confucius was a failure. He traveled around the world and bumped into walls and was not reused by the kings of various countries; as the founder of Confucianism, Confucius had a name for nothing, and his creative things were very few; as an educator, Confucius was extremely successful.This, I am afraid, is also the pride and comfort of his life.He has cultivated many famous talents in all aspects, and the respect of his students has reached the level of loyalty and supremacy.Perhaps it is precisely because of this great educational power that Confucius was promoted by his disciples as the founder of the Confucian school, which has been passed down from generation to generation to this day.

Although Confucianism was not created by Confucius, it has undergone a careful and deliberate transformation in his hands.Early Confucianism was born out of activities such as divination, sacrifice, and prayer, and it was naturally imprinted with religion.But what Confucius cared about was the physical things. He seldom talked about the mandate of heaven, but always paid attention to the real society. What he thought about was how to behave, how to serve the king, how to govern the people and so on. "Respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance", "Zizi does not talk about monsters, power, chaos, and gods" are his theoretical principles.Therefore, Confucius, like an intermediary of Confucianism, introduced the religious primitive Confucianism into the secular category, and transformed it into secular Confucianism, becoming a cultural school among the philosophers.In this way, Confucianism took a big turn under the "fiddling" of Confucius and completely embarked on a new development track.

In addition to Confucius, the representative figures of Pre-Qin Confucianism also include Mencius.Including some of the great Confucianists and their successors, although their thoughts have developed, their consistent thread is quite clear. Basically, they are advancing along the secularization track of Confucianism after Confucius’ transformation, slowly and profoundly. Changed Chinese society and history. The main characteristics of Confucius's secular Confucianism are: focusing on the reality at your feet, not thinking about speculative philosophy, and treating social life with a pragmatic attitude; paying attention to the doctrine of the mean, and regarding it as the highest code of conduct for people; advocating benevolence, righteousness and propriety Virtue, inner sage and outer king, emphasizing that individuals obey the country, individuality blends into the group, and measure the success or failure of individuals with the standards of self-cultivation, family alignment, country governance, and peace of the world; advocating the Three Emperors and Five Emperors and the Western Zhou Dynasty, respecting ancient sages, and looking forward to the ideal world of Datong ...

Confucius "sold" his set of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and morality and the doctrine of the mean, but in the late Spring and Autumn Period, when feudal states and countries "speaked" by force, there was no "market" at all, so he could only run around Hit the wall everywhere. In the Warring States Period, the State of Qin emphasized legalism and became a powerful country in the world. Qin Shihuang ruled the world and burned books on a large scale, and Confucianism was the first to suffer a heavy blow. The Qin Dynasty died short-lived. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the rulers advocated governance by doing nothing, and Huang Lao's theory was always used.

On the surface, since the wars at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucianism has retreated from the original Confucianism that occupied the central position of Chinese culture to the fringe of history, and has become a foil for Jurisprudence and Huang-Laoism.However, as long as we analyze a little deeper, we will find that this is not the case. In the pre-Qin period, although Confucianism failed to become the center of ideology and culture, it was ranked side by side with Law, Mohism, Taoism and other schools, and it has always occupied a prominent position.As the most successful educator in pre-Qin history, Confucius cultivated Confucian "apprentices" like seeds sown on the land of China, continuing to grow on this suitable soil that nurtured Confucianism.His disciples quickly spread Confucianism among ordinary people through the establishment of "private schools", occupying a vast folk "market".Therefore, Confucius' success is largely due to his educational activities that he degraded after he was out of politics.

It is only a matter of time before Confucius Confucianism is recognized by the people, grows up among the people day by day, forms a spectacular "climate" among the people, and is then valued and reused by the government. In addition to educational activities, another factor of Confucius' success lies in his extraordinary wisdom.He integrated Confucianism into "Yi", "Spring and Autumn", "Poetry", "Li", "Yue" and other books by compiling cultural classics.As long as future generations read these scriptures that have been handed down for a long time, they will naturally be influenced by Confucianism in a subtle way.Even when Qin Shihuang carried out the most tragic cultural catastrophe - the book, the "Book of Changes", which is at the top of the Six Classics, can be preserved as a book of divination.Confucius once carried out a careful transformation of the "Book of Changes", according to Sima Qian: "Confucius liked the "Book of Changes" lately, prefaces "Yi", "Xi", "Xiang", "Shuo Gua", and "Classical Chinese". "That is to say, when other schools of thought suffered devastating blows, although Confucianism was also at a low ebb, it continued to be passed on by relying on the book "Book of Changes" that condensed the essence of Confucianism, and the academic source has never stopped. with interrupts.

Although the rulers of the early Han Dynasty emphasized the new Taoism of Huang Lao, they did not reject Confucianism.Confucianism, which had a broad folk market, soon recovered in the loose and free environment at that time, and developed to the point where it could rival Huang Lao's theory.According to Zhang Jinwu of the Qing Dynasty's "The Five Classics of the Han Dynasty Doctoral Examination", the vast majority of the 15 doctoral candidates who could be admitted in the early Han Dynasty were Confucian scholars. Although Confucianism does not have the spirit of pioneering and entrepreneurial exploration, its active use of the world is very suitable for the rulers of the feudal dynasty to consolidate the regime. Even Chen Sheng, the leader of the peasant uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty, also saw this and believed that "Confucians can be conservative."Confucianism can make the people at the bottom confused and ignorant. Its hierarchical order divides the people into strict barriers, and each of them lives in peace. It is a principle of being impartial and avoiding contradictions. Its nostalgia for ancient times and longing for an ideal world of great harmony gives people an illusory comfort. Its remaining religious traces make people regard it as a quasi-religious belief in social life. Unswerving... Therefore, when social production developed to a relatively prosperous level in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism that "could be preserved" and could maintain feudal rule was naturally favored by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Confucianism, after withdrawing from the former mainstream status and having been silent for quite a long time, has reappeared and entered the noisy historical center.Since then, the feudal emperors of all dynasties have inherited it in one continuous line, believed in it unswervingly, and praised it to the supreme status of "state religion". The seemingly accidental choice of Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, actually contained an inherent necessity of history, culture and politics.