Chapter 28 chapter Five

The reason why I skip Confucius, the sage revered by the feudal rulers of all dynasties, and describe Confucianism through Dong Zhongshu is because in my opinion, Dong Zhongshu played a far greater role in the historical development of Confucianism than Confucius. As we have discussed before, Confucius was not the founder of primitive Confucianism. He merely transformed the original Confucianism of a religious nature into a secular Confucianism that is active in the world by means of adding, deleting, compiling, and sorting out scriptures.He laid the foundation of Confucianism as we know it today, but it is just one of the schools of thought.Even if we recognize Confucius as the founder of Confucianism, it is nothing more than what Mo Di is to Mohism, Laozi is to Taoism, Han Fei is to Legalism, Hui Shi and Gongsun Long are to famous scholars, and Zou Yan is to Yinyang school.As a representative figure among the hundred schools of thought, although he occupies the supreme position in the theory of his family, there is nothing outstanding and ostentatious among the hundreds of schools contending with each other.If Confucianism is not defined as one, although Confucianism is a prominent school, it is not much superior to Fa, Mohism, Taoism and other schools.Sima Tan once made a quite objective and insightful analysis and comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the important theories in "On the Essentials of the Six Schools":

It can be seen from the above that what Sima Tan admires most is the Taoism that adapts to the times.However, in the end, it was the Confucianism, which "has a lot of knowledge but few important things, and works with little merit", occupied the "nest" of ancient Chinese culture, surpassing all other schools, and Dong Zhongshu's contribution should be counted among them.If it weren't for his clear suggestion, even if Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty admired Confucianism, he would not kill his opponents at once like the people in the game-everyone who disagreed with Confucianism would be dismissed by administrative means, and they would be "killed and killed" one by one. ".Such an idea can only be conceived by opponents who attack and tear down each other.Dong Zhongshu said what the feudal monarch wanted to say but couldn't put it into words. In the blink of an eye, the fate of traditional Chinese culture for more than two thousand years was decided by a pair of invisible "hands of God".As for the meritorious ministers of Confucianism, apart from Dong Zhongshu who "consummated his meritorious service in one battle", can he find a second one who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him?Therefore, Wang Chong said, "King Wen's writings are in Confucius, and Confucius' writings are in Zhongshu."

Of course, the reason why feudal emperors valued and chose Confucianism among all the schools of thought was also because Confucianism was beneficial to their rule.In this regard, Liang Qichao wrote in "The Evolution of Ancient Chinese Academic Thought Trends": "Everyone on the weekend, who merged with Confucius, was no better than Lao Mo. However, the Mo family advocates equality, which is not conducive to autocracy; It is beneficial to interfere, and it is different from the technique held by the tyrant; but Confucianism is strict and inferior, and the order is most suitable for the emperor to control the people, so the tyrant steals and uses it to rule the world. "

Before Dong Zhongshu, Confucianism can only be regarded as a kind of learning, but once it is established in one respect, it becomes a kind of "teaching".Religionists only have a set of solid models, but little development and innovation, such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Their teachings have been clear since the day they were born, and all future generations can do is to believe in them with sincerity.Of course, in order to adapt to the times, a small amount of transformation is also possible, but all changes remain true, and the framework and norms of the doctrine cannot be broken.The reason why people refer to Confucianism and Confucianism as Confucianism is also because it has this "function" of "everything is inseparable from its origin".

Dong Zhongshu seems to have made two contributions to Confucianism. One is to give advice to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the other is to spend his whole life on the study of Spring and Autumn Gongyangology and use it to reform Confucianism.Confucius’ first transformation turned primitive Confucianism into secular Confucianism, while Dong Zhongshu’s second major transformation made it “degenerate” from the early metaphysics into an out-and-out “controlling people” tool for rulers— —Political Confucianism. The political Confucianism reformed by Dong Zhongshu influenced the content of politics, ethics, culture, economy, etc. in the Han Dynasty and beyond, and changed the soil on which we live. I have to elaborate here:

1. Induction between heaven and man.This is a set of cosmological model theory constructed by Dong Zhongshu based on the principles of yin and yang and five elements. He believes that the space between heaven and earth is full of yin and yang and the qi of the five elements. People live on the ground, separated from the sky by a layer of qi. As an intermediary, man and heaven communicate at the spiritual level through yin and yang and the qi of the five elements, and they interact with each other.The sky has changed and people have feelings. As long as you experience it carefully, it is not difficult to find the corresponding relationship between the two.From this point of view, if Dong Zhongshu’s reformed Confucianism has no metaphysical speculative color, it seems to be somewhat unfair to him.It’s just that his cosmological model is completely in the service of politics. For example, he uses the interaction between heaven and man and the restraint of yin and yang to pray for rain and stop rain, and uses "Spring and Autumn" to deduce catastrophic changes.Later on, the combination of theological factors in Confucian classics and the superstition of prophecy and taboo became a turbid stream of thought between the Han and Han Dynasties.The essence of this distorted thought, which is similar to religious witchcraft, is a clumsy deception, which has caused great confusion in the history of Chinese culture.The instigator is Dong Zhongshu, and the result of this development is probably something he himself did not expect.

Second, egalitarianism.This is closely related to Dong Zhongshu's theory of neutralization and the balance of yin and yang. He believes that the source of social turmoil is the inequality and polarization of the rich and the poor.However, his average is only an economic average, and has nothing to do with social culture. He has repeatedly emphasized that people's status should be different. There should be an order of seniority and juniority.If regulations are formed, there will be rules to follow, everyone will be in place, there will be no competition, and there will be no troubles.Confucius once said, "Don't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality." For the first time, Dong Zhongshu dedicated this idea to the emperor and made it a system for implementation.Therefore, the thoughts and behaviors of robbing the poor and helping the rich, and egalitarianism have been affecting to this day.

Third, the theory of the three characteristics of sex.Dong Zhongshu divided human nature into three grades, namely, the nature of the so-called sage, the nature of the common people, and the nature of fighting.His theory of the three natures had a wide-ranging influence on later generations, and gradually evolved into "the nature of heaven and earth" and "the nature of temperament", and in the hands of Zhu Xi in the Southern Song Dynasty, it became the relationship between "natural principles" and "human desires".The Song and Ming Neo Confucianists' "preserve the principles of nature and eliminate human desires" can find a clear development thread in Dong Zhongshu.

Fourth, righteousness is more important than profit.Dong Zhongshu put forward a principle that he believed to be of universal significance, that is, "to be right is not to seek one's own gain, but to be clear about one's way is not to be counted on one's merit."This idea has been highly praised by Confucians of all ages, and Zhu Xi once wrote these two sentences into the "Bailudong Academy Academic Regulations".Emphasizing justice over profit has always been dominant in ancient China. Five, the three cardinal principles and five constant principles.Dong Zhongshu believes: "Heaven is for the king to expose it, and the earth is for the minister to hold it; Yang is born for the husband, and Yin is for the wife to help; Spring is born for the father, and Xia is raised for the son... Wang Dao The three guides can be found in the sky." Confucianism of later generations summed it up as follows: the ruler is the guide for the ministers, the husband is the guide for the wife, and the father is the guide for the son.In addition to benevolence and righteousness, Dong Zhongshu also emphasized the importance of wisdom. Adding propriety and trustworthiness is the so-called "five constant principles" of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust.The Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Principles were the main line of thought of the subsequent feudal patriarchal rule, and the general public, especially women, were deeply harmed by its "cannibalism".

Sixth, take "Spring and Autumn" as the criterion.Confucianism is based on the all-encompassing "Book of Changes". Once in the hands of Confucius, the metaphysical connotation was removed, and then in the hands of Dong Zhongshu, only the "Spring and Autumn" was used as a standard to measure everything in the world: he used the "love" in "Spring and Autumn" Oppose all wars, use the praise and criticism of "Spring and Autumn" to understand the distinction between Hua and Barbarians, understand the law of benevolence and righteousness from "Spring and Autumn", use "Spring and Autumn" as an example to adjudicate lawsuits and judge cases, and use "Spring and Autumn" to express the concept of right and wrong carefully And likes and dislikes... In a word, "Spring and Autumn" is the foundation of Confucianism, and what he has spent his whole life studying is Spring and Autumn Gongyangology.Dong Zhongshu focused on Confucianism, and the figures of other schools of thought blurred and disappeared, and the world became cramped; he only emphasized one of the six classics of Confucianism, "Spring and Autumn", which narrowed the space for exploration; And narrowed down to only choose and study one of the Gongyang studies in the three biographies of "Spring and Autumn", the hole for entry and the scope of discussion are really narrow and narrow.The research model and development track framed by Dong Zhongshu virtually limit and bind the eyes and hands of generations of future generations.

From the primitive religious Confucianism to the secular Confucianism of Confucius, and then to the political Confucianism established by Dong Zhongshu, the vision of Confucianism has gradually narrowed, and the road has become narrower and narrower.When it became Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties, it was completely reduced to the ruler's "killing" tool.I don't know how many people with lofty ideals died under the shackles of it with a passion for serving the country. Enslaved into a soulless walking corpse... No one expected that Confucianism, which was once healthy and vigorous, was born in China, and had a reasonable core, has gone to its opposite: 1. Confucianism has become a symbol of hypocrisy.Its one-sided concept of tabooing the respected, the relatives, and the sages is actually telling people how to fake.In a Twenty-Five History, it is confusing to know what is true and what is false.Confucianism's set of inhumane ethics and morality is difficult even for them themselves.For example, the great Confucian Zhu Xi once wrote in black and white the words "remove human desires and restore heaven's principles". According to his colleague Ye Shaoweng, Zhu Xi not only lured two nuns into concubines, but also made a widow pregnant.Zhu Xi couldn't deny it, so he had to apologize to the emperor and said: "I am a lowly scholar, and my sentences are rotten Confucianism. I only know the transmission of false learning, but I don't know how to use it in the future." Confucianism can only be empty words, but cannot be practiced; ; There are only junior morality, family morality and national morality, no elder morality, social morality and government morality. Two, superficially civilized, but actually barbaric.Confucianism's "men and women are not close to each other", developed to the point that even husband and wife are not allowed to get close casually, especially treat women as human beings, require women to bind their feet, and think that "starving to death is a small thing, but injustice is a big thing". murdered under the guise ofWorld history shows that the more civilized a nation is, the more open it is; Confucianism pays special attention to etiquette and separates men and women, which is actually a remnant of a barbaric habit. 3. Anti-democracy, anti-freedom, and anti-science.Confucianism advocates a hierarchical system of high and low, requiring subjects to recognize the king as their father, and does not allow any freedom of thought and behavior: "The way of father and son is the nature of nature, and the righteousness of monarchs and ministers." , can live and kill, but not cause chaos." "The people can be made to follow, but not to be made to know." Confucianism only emphasizes human relations and despises science. Such things are not what the sages want to say."Confucius also only knew "what is of course" but not "why" and opposed the scientific attitude of seeking the bottom line and being serious and rigorous. Four, sectarian views are serious.Confucianism seems to be moderate and moderate, but in fact it is the most extreme, and does not allow the slightest controversy and criticism from others, "Dao is different, do not conspire."Han Yu said: "Once upon a sage, how dare you talk about it?" 5. Conservative and solidified thinking.What Confucianism believes in is to speak without making, to believe in the ancients, not to think about pioneering and enterprising, to be intoxicated in the "glory" of the past, to become increasingly dogmatic, and to tolerate no innovation and change.Xu Tong once said: "It is better to subjugate the country than to change the law." ... We can list many more about the extreme flaws of Confucianism and the persecution it has caused to the people.Dong Zhongshu dismissed hundreds of schools and established Confucianism as one, which influenced and determined the development of politics, history, culture, education and many other aspects of China for more than two thousand years.The weakness of the nation, the prevalence of hypocrisy, the backwardness of science and technology, the corruption of officials, the enslavement of education... everything, we seem to be able to find the origin and crux of this turning point that determines the destiny of the nation's history. What kind of time there is what kind of thought, the original Confucianism was born in the slave society, and it is also suitable for the feudal society to a certain extent, because they are both hierarchical societies, and their foundations and systems are privileges, rituals, patriarchal law, hereditary, enfeoffment, etc. etc. are roughly the same, there is no fundamental difference and change.However, times are developing and society is progressing. If future generations are still stuck in the Confucian creed, as Dong Zhongshu said, "the sky does not change, so does the Tao", that would be the tragedy of our nation.American contemporary philosopher David Howard and Sinologist An Lezhe wrote in "Confucian Philosophy Thoughts" that they jointly completed: "The failure of Confucius' philosophy is largely a creative failure...the reflected Confucius' philosophy is not cultural at all. But when people comprehend it passively, do not give it its own meaning and value, and do not personalize it, it becomes a cultural dogma. The failure of Confucius is also the result of those responsible for cultural traditions. The failure of human beings. They failed to freely control their own creative spirit, and failed to maintain these norms well against the absolutism imposed by the rulers.” In terms of responsibility, the greatest responsibility for the failure of Confucianism should be attributed to Dong Zhongshu, which is really a success Xiao He, Xiao He is also defeated. Cai Shangsi also expressed a similar point of view in the book "General Criticism of Traditional Chinese Thought": "I don't blame Confucianism for being out of line with the new era, but I only blame people in the new era for respecting Confucianism; Respect Confucianism, but only blame the anti-feudal school of respecting Confucianism." However, a large number of people still cling to Confucianism today, thinking that it is a panacea for saving the world and that it deserves to be vigorously promoted.Some time ago, many Confucian believers cheered for the rise of the "Four Little Dragons" in Asia, regarded the economic success of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan as a symbol of the revival of Confucianism, and believed that Confucianism is the contribution of Chinese culture to world culture. The greatest contribution is the eternity that lasts through the ages, and the universal truth of "one size fits all".As a result, Confucianism has not yet swept the world, but a financial storm has swept Southeast Asia, so the ear-piercing noise and clamor disappeared.Even if the "Four Little Dragons" are still flourishing, it is not the credit of modern Neo-Confucianism. Confucianism, as an important historical and cultural phenomenon, has undeniably played a certain positive role, and there are some aspects of value and essence, but in terms of its essence, Confucianism not only restrains people's thinking, but also restricts people's thinking. With the development of social productive forces. "Customs are formed by politics and religion, and psychology is formed by customs." Under the advocacy and promotion of successive rulers, Confucianism has become the dominant ideology of the Chinese nation for more than two thousand years. The elements of the tradition have been passed down from generation to generation, and they are concentrated in the words, deeds and actions of the general public.As long as you don't pay attention, it may revive in an inadvertent moment.How to completely eliminate the 2,000-year-old Confucian legacy, keep pace with the new era, and integrate with universal civilization is really a long way to go, and it will take a long and arduous effort.