Chapter 15 Chapter 15

The core thought of Confucius is benevolence.But there is no clue what the ideological system of benevolence is. It can be said that there are as many interpretations of "benevolence" as there are researchers of Confucianism.In fact, there are far more explanations for "benevolence" than there are researchers of Confucianism, because some researchers can put forward several explanations by themselves. Almost all the explanations about benevolence sound logical, but there are too many types of explanations, which makes people feel like they are in a fog, and they can no longer tell the difference between east, west, and north.

So, what did Confucius himself say about this "benevolence"? The Master said: "Is benevolence so far away? I want benevolence, and benevolence is the best." This sentence comes from "The Analects of Confucius?"Shu Er" article, it means that benevolence is something, don't think too complicated, it is useless to think too complicated, benevolence is in your heart, as long as you want benevolence, then you can immediately reach the realm of benevolence . Listening to Confucius' explanation, we are even more confused.Ren, what exactly is it?As soon as Confucius thought of benevolence, he immediately became benevolent. If we think of benevolence, can we also be benevolent?If only Confucius wanted to have benevolence, but others did not, then what is the meaning of benevolence?In this way, benevolence does not only exist in Confucius' heart, it should also exist in our hearts.That being the case, why did Confucius become benevolent when he wanted to be benevolent, and why are there so many people in this world who have worked so hard all their lives, but no matter how much they think about benevolence, they cannot be benevolent?

There are various ways of saying what benevolence is, but everyone knows what "benevolence" is.To be inhumane is to be cruel and cruel, and to be cruel to the people.For example, Sun Hao, the last emperor of the Eastern Wu Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms period, was cruel and bloodthirsty. Every time he had a big banquet, he forced his officials to drink and must be drunk. Peel off the skin, or goug out the eyes.A cruel and bloodthirsty person like Sun Hao is a typical inhumane person. So, don't be like Sun Hao's bloodthirsty, is it close to benevolence? No, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Su Shichang, who was the governor of Bazhou. The local people fought with each other and it was difficult to stop it. So Su Shichang said: "As a parent, I can't stop the people fighting. This is my incompetence, please let God punish me..." So Su Shichang knelt in the street and asked his subordinates to whip him five hundred lashes, hoping to influence the local people to stop fighting.But it never occurred to him that the guy with the whip made a fool of himself and whipped Su Shichang's back with all his might, causing blood to fly.At the beginning, Su Shichang still gritted his teeth and held on, but finally he came to his senses. If he didn't get up quickly and run, the guy behind would really dare to beat him to death.In desperation, Su Shichang let out a miserable howl, jumped up and stumbled away.

Looking at this Su Shichang, he has clearly found the right way, but his skin is not thick enough, and his heart is not dark enough.In this way, isn't the essence of "benevolence" that Confucius resolutely never uttered close to the thick black?This guess is too appalling, let's first take a look at the stories of those kings who successfully obtained "benevolence" in history. Emperor Wenwen of Han was a well-known benevolent monarch in history. When he was in power, General Bo Zhao killed the imperial envoy.But Emperor Wen's heart was very soft, and he couldn't bear to kill Bo Zhao with the law of the country, so he sent ministers to see Bo Zhao, and persuaded Bo Zhao to commit suicide, so as to save everyone trouble.I don't want Bo Zhao to have a great temper. Hearing that he was asked to commit suicide, he immediately shook his head and refused to say anything. Emperor Han Wen had no choice but to let all the ministers in the court wear mourning clothes to Bo Zhao's house, surrounded Bo Zhao, He kept crying at Bo Zhao, crying until Bo Zhao couldn't bear it any longer, so he had to commit suicide.

This is probably the most troublesome record in Chinese history that an emperor ordered a minister to commit suicide. No wonder Emperor Wen was hailed as a benevolent king, and he was indeed a bit moral. However, the main historical achievement of Emperor Wen's reputation as a benevolent king is that he abolished corporal punishment.Before Emperor Wen, the routine punishments for criminals were extremely inhumane, including chopping off hands and feet. Once many people committed crimes, they would be permanently disabled.Emperor Wen took pity on these ignorant sinners, and changed the punishment of chopping hands, feet, and noses to whipping.

Starting from Emperor Wen, the corporal punishment system in Chinese history was abolished, and historians of later generations praised Emperor Wen one after another, so Emperor Wen of Han finally won the reputation of a benevolent king.However, although Emperor Hanwen gained a good reputation, his reputation was based on the corpses of countless criminals.It turns out that since the abolition of corporal punishment, the punishment for criminals, the original sentence of beheading the right foot, was changed to direct killing, the sentence of beheading the left foot was changed to five hundred strokes of the cane, and the original sentence of cutting the nose was changed to three hundred strokes of the cane. Thinking about how thick and heavy the punishment stick is, many prisoners were beaten to death before they hit three hundred blows.It can be seen that Emperor Hanwen's act of "benevolence and virtue" was nothing more than a talisman to remind those criminals who had committed crimes not to die, that they would never have the possibility of surviving.

Whether the "benevolence" mentioned by Confucius is thick black or not, we will not draw a conclusion for the time being, but the benevolence of Emperor Wenwen of Han Dynasty must be the expression of thick black to the extreme. This emperor exchanged the lives of countless prisoners for his benevolence What is this kind of benevolence in the name of thick and black? Even more "benevolent" than Emperor Wen of Han was Cheng Tang, the founding monarch of the Shang Dynasty.At that time, there was a severe drought and the common people were struggling to survive. Cheng Tang thought it was all his fault, so he stripped himself naked and lay down on the big sacrificial plate, expressing that he would dedicate himself to the heavens.The so-called all parties are guilty, I am guilty, and I am guilty, there is no way to influence the heavens and rain down on them.

However, Chengtang's move is no different from that of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty. They are all thick and black.Thinking that since God does not rain, as the person in power, he should immediately dig ditches to divert water to benefit the people, but he put on the most trouble-free sacrificial show, knowing that it will not have any effect but wants to To do it, Cheng Tang's face is extremely thick, knowing that if the timing of digging the canal is delayed, the people will die of thirst and starvation, but he is indifferent. This black heart has reached an extreme level. At least for Cheng Tang and Emperor Hanwen, the pursuit of benevolence is really not difficult. They "desire benevolence", and they are so benevolent. They have gained the reputation of benevolence so easily, but what makes them successful is still nothing but The word "thick black".