Chapter 65 On integrity

On integrity Integrity is the inherent moral standard of our country, and this standard is still used to measure people's behavior in modern times. The main thing is the way of the so-called scholars or scholars.But this seems to be the case only for the middle-aged generation, and the younger generation seems to ignore this traditional standard. They are using the new standard that is being established, which can also be called a new standard.The middle age generally accepts this tradition, but the young generation ignores it. This kind of disconnected phenomenon is often seen in this era of change or turmoil.Therefore, there is no discussion.It was not until recent years that Mr. Feng Xuefeng raised this standard and tradition as a problem, analyzed and criticized it: this is in his collection of essays "Country Style and City Style".

Mr. Feng pointed out two typical types of "Scholar's Festival": one is a loyal minister, and the other is a noble man.He said that the latter often become nihilists who "follow the festival" because they are divorced from reality, and the result often changes.But he also said that "Scholar's Day" is a firm attitude towards life and a manifestation of personal independence.It is thus also possible to achieve a rebel or a revolutionist who is close to the people, but only in a later age, such as ours, is such a character made or completed.The author generally agrees with Mr. Feng's analysis; I have often thought about this issue recently, and now I am writing some of my own opinions, which may be able to supplement what Mr. Feng did not say.

Qi and Jie seem to be two separate ideas. "Zuo Zhuan" has the words "go all out", which refers to fighting.Later, the so-called "morale" is this Qi, which is "fighting spirit"; this "shi" refers to warriors.The "magnificent qi" advocated by Mencius seems to be the transformation and expansion of this qi.He said "to be as strong as possible" and "to cultivate courage", both of which are combative. "Awe-inspiring spirit" is "generated by gathering righteousness", and "righteousness" means "reasonable" or "justice".Later, the so-called "righteousness" has a narrower meaning, but it can also be regarded as a branch of "awe-inspiring spirit".The "sense of justice" we often talk about now, although it particularly emphasizes reality, seems to be related to "awe-inspiring spirit".As for the "righteousness" sung by Wen Tianxiang, it is obviously in the same strain as the "awe-inspiring spirit".However, in the author's opinion, the two are not exactly the same, and Wen seems to be emphasizing the negative section.

The idea of ​​the festival also existed in the pre-Qin period. In "Zuo Zhuan", there is a saying "Shengda Festival, the first time to observe the festival, and the next to lose it".In ancient times, ritual and music were emphasized, the spirit of music is "harmony", and the spirit of ritual is "section".Ritual and music are the means of noble life, and it can also be said to be the purpose. They want to establish a hierarchy, have a clear division, and have a stable social order, so they need to be "festival", but they want to rule and control, so they also need to be "harmonious".Ritual is mainly based on "festival", but it must also be coordinated with "harmony"; music is mainly based on "harmony", but it must also be coordinated with "festival".Festival and harmony are opposite and complementary.After understanding this truth, we can say that the so-called "Shengda Festival" and other "festivals" are derived from rites and music to become the standard of behavior or the standard of being a person; and this festival is actually the traditional "middle way". .Ordinarily, "harmony" is also the middle way. The difference is that "harmony" focuses on unity, and "section" focuses on separation; the emphasis is on separation, so the emphasis is on not committing chaos, which brings negativity.

When discussing integrity, it probably always starts with the party disaster at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.That was the era of the so-called rampant discussions among scholars.Scholars in the field criticized and attacked the corrupt politics of the eunuchs one after another, and the center seemed to be Taixue.Although these opposition scholars do not have a strict organization, they are already uniting and have won the sympathy of the people.The eunuchs were frightened, so they arrested and detained the leaders.This is the so-called "danggu" or "hook party", and "hook" means "hook connection".From these two names, it can be seen that this is a kind of mass power.At that time, the fleeing party members were willing to be taken in by every family. The so-called "Wangmen shelter" can also show the attitude of the people. This kind of party members are respected by everyone as people of integrity.Qi means daring to do something, integrity means not doing something—not doing something means not cooperating.This daring to act is based on the strength of the collective, which is different from Mencius' "awe-inspiring spirit" and the so-called "loyalty" in the world, which only focuses on the leader's individual.Later, thousands of students in the Song Dynasty petitioned for the dismissal of treacherous officials, and the Donglin Party attacked eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, all of which were collective movements and a manifestation of integrity.

But in this expression, it seems that the positive "qi" is more important than the negative "jie". Under the various social conditions of the autocratic era, it is not easy to express collective action, so the conduct of scholars is biased towards the standard of "festival".Those in court should be loyal ministers.This kind of loyalty is either manifested in direct remonstrance that offends the dignity of the monarch, and sometimes sacrifices his life because of it; or it is manifested in not being an official of the new dynasty or even dying for the country.To be loyal to the point of death is to be loyal yet fierce.Those who are in the opposition should be lofty people. This kind of people express their unwillingness to cooperate with the people in power, so they drift away from reality; or even escape to the mountains and forests, that is a hermit.These two kinds of integrity, loyalty and high integrity, are both negative expressions of the individual.Loyalty can at most make some failed heroes, and high integrity can only make some self-sufficient self-sufficiency and even some nihilists.It turns out that qi is dynamic and can change.We often say ambition, ambition is the direction of the heart, it can be in all directions, it can be thousands of miles away, ambition and energy are coordinated.Festivals are static and unchanging; therefore, we must "observe festivals" or "lose festivals".Sometimes the festival is even dead, and the dead festival is out of touch with the living reality, so people who pretend to be noble end up changing their festival. Mr. Feng Xuefeng's discussion of Zhou Zuoren is an example before him.From the standpoint of the ruling class, "loyalty speaks against the ear and is good for deeds." After all, loyal ministers protect this class, and it is also beneficial to this class that noble people absorb rebels.Therefore, people in the Song Dynasty said, "Starvation to death is a small matter, but injustice is a major issue." They originally referred to women, but later they also used it to refer to scholars. This is the tone of the spokesperson of the ruling class, but it also expresses the personal status of scholars at that time increased height and responsibility.

"Scholar" or "scholar" is the lowest unit of the ruling class, not a "helper".Their interests are the same as those of the emperor and prime minister. This is true in the court, but it is also the case in the opposition.It is true that scholars in the field can not be bound by the status of monarchs and ministers, and can "not be princes, but noble things", but they have to eat, and this food may have to be fed to them by farmers, and these farmers probably belong to them as officials. ancestral inheritance. "Gonggeng" is often a phrase in front of the face, that is, occasionally there is a real man like Tao Yuanming who is still responsible for the rise and fall of the world spiritually or ideologically. Tao's "Shujiu" and other poems are evidence .It can be seen that although scholars sometimes argue violently, it is just quarreling among their own family members. The basis of their life is generally the labor of farmers, which is no different from that of monarchs and officials in court. Also consistent.

However, the quality of scholars finally changed, which can be said to be obvious only in the period of the Republic of China.From the opening of the school in the late Qing Dynasty, the number of teachers and students gradually increased, and they gradually formed a group; many of them participated in the reform movement or the revolutionary movement, and most of them also tended to these two movements.This is already more important than festival.When the Republic of China was established, in theory the people were the masters, but in fact it was warlords fighting for power.Teachers and students in this era are conscious of their master status, free from the ruling warlords; they are in opposition, but due to the corruption of warlord politics, they have gradually acquired a leadership position.Although they can't get along with the people yet, they are getting closer to the people.The May Fourth Movement ushered in a new era.Liberalism is built on the basis of free professions and social division of labor.Faculty are freelancers, not officers, nor alternate officers.Students can also choose a variety of careers, not just being an official.They became independent from the ruling class, no longer "scholars" or so-called "scholars", but became "intellectuals", and the collective is the "intellectual class".Of course there are still some remaining "scholars" or "scholars", but they are just remnants.This metamorphosis is a part of the process of China's modernization, and the Chinese intellectuals have fulfilled and are still trying to fulfill their tasks in this process. Like the intellectuals elsewhere in the world at this time, they also share their general fate.If judged by the standard of integrity, these intellectuals or this intellectual class were more important than integrity at the beginning, but now they seem to be more important than integrity.

At the beginning, the intellectual class relied on the power of the group to advance bravely and overthrow all kinds of traditions. At that time, it was a daring act.But this group is not big, especially in China. Its strength is limited, and it is not easy to integrate with the people. Therefore, it cannot resist concentrated force or even external pressure.On the one hand, the vast number of people raised their heads to beg for food, and they couldn't satisfy these hungry people.They lost their position as leaders, stayed in the middle of the gap, gradually felt that they were not free, and made a fuss about the "four kings hanging in the air with eight legs".So they can only keep to themselves, which can be regarded as a festival; they also want to slowly fall to the ground, but they are short of breath, so they have to wait and see.But here is biased toward the middle-aged generation.This is not the case for the intellectuals of the younger generation. They ignore the traditional "integrity", especially the negative "integrity", and replace it with a "sense of justice", which is followed by "action". " is a combination of "qi" and "section", "action" or "qi".This is their new standard of being a human being.When this standard becomes the standard, the intellectual class will probably change in quality, right?

Made on April 13 and 14, 1947. (Originally published in the second issue of "Knowledge and Life" on May 1, 1947)