Chapter 8 Section 8: Preventing the Destruction of Civilization

As some of you may know, Confucius lived during the so-called period of expansion in Chinese history - when the feudal era had come to an end; a time when the feudal, semi-familial social order and polity needed to be expanded and restructured.This major change must have brought not only confusion in the world, but also confusion in people's hearts.I have said that for the last 2500 years Chinese civilization has had no conflict of hearts and minds.But I must tell you that during the expansive period of Confucius' life, China, as in Europe today, had a terrible conflict between heart and head.The Chinese in Confucius' time found themselves in a vast system of institutions, rules, dogmas, customs, and laws—indeed, a vast system of society and civilization inherited from their revered ancestors.Their lives go on in this system; but they begin to feel that this system, which they did not create, will never meet the needs of their actual life; that is to say, it is custom to them, not reason.The rational awakening of the Chinese two thousand years ago is the awakening of the so-called modern spirit in Europe today—the spirit of liberalism, the spirit of exploration, and the spirit of seeking reasons and reasons for things.This modern spirit in China sees the consistency between the needs of the old order of society and civilization and the needs of their actual life, and not only rebuilds a new order of society and civilization, but also seeks the basis for the new order of society and civilization.However, in China at that time, all attempts to find a new basis for society and civilization failed.Some, though they satisfy the head—the Chinese reason, do not satisfy their heart; others, though they satisfy their heart, do not satisfy their head.As I said, this created a conflict of heads and hearts in China 2,500 years ago, as you see in Europe today.The conflict of hearts and minds in the new order of society and civilization that people are trying to rebuild has made the Chinese disappointed in all civilizations, and in this disappointment has arisen distress and despair, so that the Chinese want to destroy and destroy all civilizations.Some, like Lao Tzu, a Chinese like Tolstoy in Europe today, think that they see something in the true nature and structure of society and civilization in the misery and unfortunate results of the conflict of heart and mind. Fundamentally wrong.Lao Tzu and his most brilliant disciple Chuang Tzu, they advised the Chinese to abandon all civilization.Lao Tzu said to the Chinese: "Leave everything and follow me; follow me to the mountains, to the hermit's hut in the mountains, and live a real life—a spiritual life, an immortal life." (s-3) (s-10)

Confucius, although he also saw the misfortune and suffering caused by the state of society and civilization at that time, he believed that the evil he recognized did not lie in the nature and structure of society and civilization, but in the wrong paths adopted by society and civilization, in the way people The false foundation upon which society and civilization are built.Confucius said to the Chinese people not to abandon civilization - in a real society and a real civilization, in a society and a civilization with a real foundation, people can also live a real life, a spiritual life.In fact, Confucius tried all his life to put society and civilization on the right track, to give it a real foundation, and thus prevent the destruction of civilization.In the last years of his life, when Confucius saw that he could not prevent the destruction of Chinese civilization - what did he do?You see, it's like an architect who sees his house on fire, flaming and falling over his head, and is convinced that he can't save it, knowing that all he can do is save the blueprints and designs of the building so that he can have a chance later Reconstruction; and Confucius, seeing the inevitable destruction of the buildings of Chinese civilization and being unable to prevent it himself, thought he should save the drawings and designs, whereby he saved the drawings and designs of Chinese civilization, preserved in the Old Testament of the Chinese Bible --The five Bibles are the Pentateuch, the five canons.That's what I'm talking about Confucius' great deeds for the Chinese nation - he saved drawings and designs of civilization for them. (z-15)

I would say, Confucius, did a great job for the Chinese nation when he saved the blueprints and designs for Chinese civilization.But this is not the main and greatest work of Confucius for the Chinese nation.The greatest work he did was, by saving the drawings and designs of their civilization, he made a new synthesis, a new interpretation of the design of civilization, and in this new synthesis he gave the Chinese the real The idea of ​​the state--a true, rational, eternal, and absolute foundation of the state. However, Plato and Aristotle in ancient times, Rousseau and Herbert Spencer in modern times also give a synthesis of civilization and try to put forward the real idea of ​​state.So what is the difference between the synthesis of philosophy, the civilization of the great Europeans I mentioned, and the synthesis of philosophy and moral system of Confucianism?In my opinion, there are following differences.The philosophies of Plato and Aristotle and Herbert Spencer have not become a religion or the equivalent of a religion, and have not become an acceptable belief in a nation or country, while Confucianism has become a religion for so many people in China Or the religious equivalent.The religion I refer to here, what I call religion, is not used in the narrow European sense of the word, but in a wider general sense.Goethe said: "Only the people know what a real life is; only the people live a real human life." (Nursaemtliche MenschenerkennendieNatur; nursaemtliche Menschenlebendas Menschliche) Now, when we use the word religion in its broad and general sense, we mean a system of instruction with rules of conduct which, as Goethe said, is adopted by the mass of mankind or at least by one What the people of a nation or state accept as truth and as a constraint.In the broad and general sense of the word, both Christianity and Buddhism are religions.In this broad and general sense, Confucianism, as you know, became a religion because its teachings were held to be true, and its code of conduct had been taken as a constraint by the entire Chinese race and nation, while Plato, Asia The philosophy of Aristotle and Herbert Spencer did not become a religion even in this broad and general sense.I said, this is the difference between Confucianism and the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Herbert Spencer—one is still a philosophy of scholars, and the other has become the masses of the entire Chinese nation, including China. Scholar's religion or religious equivalent.