Chapter 11 Chapter 11: Fear of rebellious officials and thieves

In fact, if a society has no sense of honor among its people, and no morals in politics, I say it cannot hold together, or at least cannot last.Because the police in such a society, relying on their lawyers, politicians, magistrates, and the President of the Republic to achieve deception, will fall into a dilemma.He was told that he had to do his duty for the good of society.But he, the poor policeman, is also a part of society—for him, himself and his family are at least the most important part of society.If there are other means of earning a living than being a policeman, such as being an anti-police activist, he can get paid more to improve the conditions of himself and his family, which also means social benefits.Then sooner or later the policeman will come to the conclusion that since there's no such thing as honor in politics, and if he gets paid better, that means social good too, there's no reason why he shouldn't be a revolutionary or an anarchist- - So society will come to an end.Mencius said: "Confucius finished the Spring and Autumn Annals" in which he described his country's beliefs and revealed the society of his time, just like the world today, civil servants had no sense of honor and no morals in politics Feelings, it is doomed to the end; when Confucius wrote this book, "rebellious officials and thieves are afraid".

Without further ado, let me say that a society without a sense of honor is unsustainable and unsustainable.Because, we have seen that even in the interpersonal relationships involved in such trivial or insignificant things as gambling and trading in human society, the recognition of honor is so important and necessary, so the most essential elements in establishing the family and the country How crucial it will be in the human relations of the system of human society.As you know, the rise of civil society in all countries throughout history usually begins with the institution of marriage.The ecclesiastical religion of Europe made marriage a sacrament, that is, something sacred and inviolable.The binding force of the European marriage sacrament comes from the church, and its prestige comes from God.But this is only a superficial, formal, or legally binding force.The real, immanent, real binding force of the sanctity of marriage--as we see it in countries where there is no church religion--is the sense of honor, the law of the gentleman in man and woman.Confucius said: "The way of a gentleman is to create a husband and wife." In other words, the sense of honor recognized in all civil society countries - the law of gentlemen, is the basis of the marriage system.This institution of marriage established the family. (z-31)

As I said, the national belief taught by Confucius is a code of honor, and I told you that Confucius derived this code from the law of the gentleman.But now, I must tell you that long before the time of Confucius, there existed in China an unclear and unwritten code of the law of the gentleman.This vague and unwritten code of the law of the gentleman in China before the time of Confucius was the so-called li-the law of etiquette, taste, etiquette.Shortly before the time of Confucius, there was a great statesman in China—the famous Chinese law-maker, generally known as the Duke of Zhou (1135 BC)—who was the first to determine, organize, and formulate the Law of the Gentleman. The written code is the Chinese etiquette—the law of etiquette, taste, and politeness.The earliest written code of gentlemen in China created by the Duke of Zhou is the Rites of Zhou—the code of etiquette of the Duke of Zhou.Zhou Gong's Code of Rites and Laws can be seen as the religion of pre-Confucius China, or just like the Jewish nation's Mosaic Law before Christianity (27), it can also be called the Old Testament belief of the Chinese people.It was this belief in the Old Testament—the so-called first written code of the law of the gentleman, also known as the Law of Zhou Gong—that first gave the sacrament and sanctity of Chinese marriage a binding force.Therefore, until today the Chinese still refer to the sacrament of marriage as the Ritual of the Duke of Zhou—the etiquette of the Duke of Zhou.Through the institution of the sacrament of marriage, the pre-Confucius era or the age of the Old Testament faith in China established the family.It once guaranteed the stability and permanence of all Chinese families. , in China, Zhou Gong's etiquette, as pre-Confucian or Old Testament beliefs, can be called a family belief, in order to distinguish the national beliefs taught by Confucius later. (s-4) (s-5)

Now Confucius, in the national beliefs he taught, may be said to have given a new covenant in relation to the family beliefs of his previous age.In other words, Confucius gave the Law of the Gentleman a new, broader, and more inclusive application in the national beliefs he taught; Rites, then Confucius, instituted a new sacrament by giving a new, wider, and more inclusive application of the law of the gentleman in the national beliefs he taught.The new sacrament instituted by Confucius is no longer called Li-Li Law, he called it Ming Fen Da Yi, which I have translated into Great Principles of Honor and Responsibility or Code of Honor.Confucius gave the Chinese a national belief by formulating a code of honor and righteousness to replace the previous family belief.

Confucius, now teaches in his national faith that, just as the family faith of his time before, the Old Testament, wives and husbands in the family are bound by the sacrament of marriage, the so-called Rites of the Duke of Zhou, or the Law of the Duke of Zhou—to maintain Their marriage contract is not violated and it is absolutely obeyed, therefore, under the new covenant of national beliefs he taught, the people and monarchs of each country, the Chinese people and their emperors, are to abide by the righteousness of the name - the national belief established The Great Principles of Honor and Responsibility or the Code of Honor--this new sacrament pledged allegiance to this covenant between them as something sacrosanct and absolutely obedient.In short, this new sacrament, the Code of Fame or Honor formulated by Confucius, is the sacrament of the contract of loyalty, just as the Rites of the Duke of Zhou in the Old Testament, the Law of the Duke of Zhou enacted before the time of Confucius, is the sacrament of marriage.In this way, as I have said, Confucius gave the law of the gentleman a new, wider, and more inclusive application, giving a new covenant of faith to the so-called Belief. (z-37)