Chapter 18 Taber Eighth-2

What is the purpose of studying The following is the echo of the second chapter, that is, the development of the way of government, and the cultivation of knowledge to achieve a key point for external use. The Master said: Three years of study will not lead to valleys, and it is not easy to obtain. This is the sigh of Confucius at that time.The purpose of most people studying with him is not for their own knowledge, but for their careers.I studied with him for three years, and all I did was "valley", that is, "salary".Salary and salary are two different things. As mentioned earlier in "Zi Zhang Xue Qian Lu", "Salary is a salary, which is the current salary. It is paid at a considerable price according to the level of the official position. "Lu" is equal to the current ration in kind. , but the system is different. For example, in the former Qing Dynasty, a student "no one asked for ten years", why should he be so eager to get fame? Zhongxiu is the first step and the minimum fame. , can maintain life. This is the aspect of fame, regardless of official position. If you have fame and then become an official, the sum of "salary" and "lu" will be quite impressive. The word "valley" in Confucius at that time represented fame. He Lilu. He said that the purpose of the students who come to me to study is to find a job. If they study for three years without the purpose of finding a job, it is really rare to find people who study for the sake of learning. Confucius is more than two thousand years ago. It can be seen that In ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, the purpose of studying is for salary, to put it nicely, for future.

When it comes to the issue of education, I feel a lot of emotion. Many people say that education has become a problem now.I said that China's education has been a problem for three thousand years, and it can also be said that the education problems of human beings in the world have always existed.why?The concept for three thousand years is patriarchal, why patriarchal?When the boy grows up in the future, he will be able to honor the lintel of the family and honor his ancestors, so he hopes that his son will become a dragon.In ancient times, the best way to hope for a child to become a dragon is to read books. The ancients said: "Everything is inferior, only reading is high." This is our tradition for thousands of years.Of course, it is different now, and this couplet should be changed to: "Everything is top-grade, only reading is low." This is my personal feeling when observing a modern society.In the past, "everything is inferior, only reading is high." Because of all occupations, the occupation of being an official is the best. "No one asks under the ten-year window, once you become famous, the world will know." Reading can be an official, and being an official can make a fortune. A series of ideas have been around for thousands of years.Including all of us, when we started to study at home, was there such a concept at work?In my personal reflection, I can't say no.If you strictly talk about the principles of learning, if you have this kind of concept, it will be very impure.Up to now, because of the advent of Western culture, the education system has changed, and the spirit and methods of education have also changed. What will happen after the change?After looking at the situation for decades, as far as I know, it is the same as before, but with a different name.

"Life is education", education is for life, this is no different from the concept we talked about in the past. Therefore, if you choose a department in the college entrance examination, it is best to be admitted to the medical department, and you will become a doctor in the future without asking for help.Therefore, the purpose of education has always been to make a living, and the concept of life has changed to make money.In addition, there are very few people who say that they really study for the sake of learning and for the truth.It is not that there are absolutely no such people in every era, but there are too few of them. Such people can often affect the entire era, both in the East and the West.Just look at the turmoil of each era, its real driving force is thought.The person who changed the thinking of the times was often unknown at the time, and even died of poverty and starvation, but his thoughts later influenced the entire era.For example, the national concept aroused by the entry of the Qing Dynasty was influenced by the thoughts of Gu Tinglin, Huang Lizhou, Wang Chuanshan, and Li Erqu.It has been developed, and the modern national thought has been formed.In Western culture, Marx, who had the greatest influence in this century, did not die of poverty or starvation.At that time, he did not expect that his thoughts would affect the whole world.We can now see the seriousness of the ideological problem.Confucius is also an example. He was so pitiful in life, but after his death, he would affect thousands of generations. There is no scope of space and no limit of time. This is true learning.However, when a scholar begins his studies, it is too rare to say that he is determined to learn for this kind of knowledge.Confucius already had this exclamation back then, let alone now?If we want to understand the truth of thinking, we must experience and study it from this perspective.

The hermit who enters the mountain for fear of not going deep In the next section, Confucius went on to talk about the principles of learning and personal cultivation. Confucius said: Believe in learning, keep death and good way.Don't enter a dangerous state, and don't live in a chaotic state.If there is a Tao in the world, you can see it, and if there is no Tao, you will hide.The state has the right way, but it is poor and cheap, shameful!The state has no way, rich and noble, shameful. This concept should be studied in conjunction with the two books of "Book of Rites", "Xue Ji" and "Confucianism". "Xue Ji" is about what the purpose of learning is, which is the traditional spirit of Chinese culture. "Confucianism" is about how an intellectual should train himself to become his own personality.There are many types of people, forming various "personality", and there is no requirement that all be the same.But which kind of personality, which kind of knowledge is suitable, and how to cultivate yourself, there is a standard.

The section that Confucius is talking about now is equivalent to the personal issues mentioned in the two chapters of "Xue Ji" and "Confucianism" in "Book of Rites". "Believe in studying hard, stick to the good way." It is a matter of thought and belief.Obedience to the truth requires absolute conviction and eagerness to learn.Truth is unchanging, unaffected by the environment of the times, by the environment of the region, and by the environment of the material.The so-called "keeping the good way to death" is to stick to this belief and this doctrine, and the "good way" is the best way and the best thought principle.Next, it is said that if an individual has the ambition to guard the death and good ways, "the country will not enter the dangerous country, and the country will not live in chaos." This is not a trick, but to maintain the spirit of culture.In times of crisis, one must have the self-cultivation of other worlds, and don’t go to dangerous places, because there must be problems with the thinking in this place, so it’s best not to go.A society in turmoil cannot stay. "If there is Tao in the world, you can see it, and if there is no Tao, you will hide." These two sentences are the Chinese hermit's thinking.Having said that, there is a big issue worth discussing.

Chinese history and culture have always believed that Confucianism and Taoism are separate paths and must never merge.Most Taoists tend to be hermits.When it comes to hermits, the problem is much bigger.If you study Chinese history and culture, you will feel a strange thing: the more knowledgeable and moral people, most of them have retired, do not want to be famous, and even in the end hide their names, not even their real names.We all know that Zhang Liang's teacher is Huang Shigong, and Huang Shigong is just a code name, who is it?Nobody knows.Because he didn't even want his name, and his view of fame and fortune was even more unreasonable.But this kind of hermit thinking has existed in ancient China since ancient times.This is the path taken by Taoism.Confucianism after Confucius and Mencius absolutely opposed hermitism, and paid attention to the way of using the world, so-called learning for application.If you are so good at learning, you must contribute to society and the country. It is wrong to think that it is wrong to retire and become a hermit. This is the Confucian thought of later generations.The basis for this kind of thought of Confucianism in later generations is mostly to put forward the thought of Confucius and Mencius to oppose the hermit.In fact, it is the hermit's thought that has most influenced the politics of the past dynasties.If we take the political thought of Western culture as an example, Chinese hermit thinking is a bit like the so-called "disagreement" idea, but it is not "non-cooperation", which is another concept.Western culture still retains this ideological form. For example, voting in a democratic society does not vote for approval or against, but it means disagreement. First, keep your own position. This is just a reluctant metaphor. Politics is greatly influenced by hermitism.

There are famous stories in history, such as Shangshan Sihao in the era of Han Gaozu.The so-called Hao is an old man with white hair.The four old men who have been hermits since the time of Qin Shihuang are very knowledgeable, famous, and moral, but they can't come out.By the time of Han Gaozu, he was very old, his beard and hair were all white, and he was honored as the four elders.When Han Gaozu became the emperor, he asked them to come out. They thought that Han Gaozu would not be respectful to corporals.Because Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was so abusive and liked to speak foul language, before he won the world, he hated the intellectuals who followed him when he saw them, and used their doctor's hats as toilets.Lu Jia advised him to respect scholars, and he said, "Young man, the world will get it immediately.

According to the modern vernacular: "Lao Tzu's world is called, what are you talking about?" Later, when the world was peaceful, intellectuals came out to manipulate him, and he respected scholars.This is also the result of Lu Jia's good intentions when he told him: "The world will get it immediately, and it cannot be ruled immediately".Han Gaozu was extremely clever, he asked what should we do?Tell him to establish a system and so on.After the establishment of the system, he went to court for the first time, and he sat on it and became the emperor. This taste was very good, and only then did he think that the scholar was right.So Li asked Shangshan Sihao to come out of the mountain, but they refused.Later, when he wanted to establish a prince to pass on the throne, a big problem occurred in the court. Han Gaozu almost wanted to abolish Emperor Xiaohui, the prince at that time, who was born to Empress Lu, and replaced him with a son born to Qi Ji, whom he liked. ——Ruyi is the prince.

Empress Lu asked Zhang Liang for advice.Zhang Liang told Empress Lu that as long as Emperor Xiaohui, the prince at that time, invited Shangshan Sihao, Han Gaozu would not dare to abolish the prince.Empress Lu really taught Emperor Xiaohui to invite Shangshan Sihao as a guest of honor with a humble speech and a generous gift.When Han Gaozu saw this situation, he told Qi Ji that the prince's party members had already been formed, and even Shangshan Sihao, who he couldn't invite, had been invited, so the matter of changing Ruyi as prince was out of the question.This shows the problem of the political system, the ideological problem of the society, why the theory and thought have such an impact on politics, and it also shows the importance of the hermit.

The hermits later came to the Wei and Jin Dynasties and were called Gaoshi.There is a book titled "Biography of Gao Shi".Gaoshi is a noble person with good knowledge and high ability. He may become a great talent in governing the country, but he will never come out to do anything in his life.Of course, there are advantages to not coming out, otherwise if you come out and do a bad job, you will lose your fame in this lifetime.The more you don't come out, the higher you will be. Some people will be "Gaoshi" all their lives.In the Song Dynasty, they were called "clerks".Of course, some clerics are afraid of failing to pass the exam, so they deliberately become clerks instead of being officials, and don't want to be famous and rich, so their reputation is getting bigger and bigger.Sometimes the emperor uses it specially, and he can be an official without taking an exam.Of course, there are still real scholars. In the Song Dynasty, there was such a scholar named Yang Pu.

Zong invited him, but he refused to come out. Later, he insisted on ordering the magistrate to use various methods, both hard and soft, to force him to come out.When he arrived in the capital, Zhenzong was very polite to him.Asked him, Mr. must have been seen off by many people along the way, and there must be some good poems among them!He said that only my wife gave me a poem.Zhenzong said that his wife's poems must be very good.So he asked him to read the poem: "Don't be down and down and drink wine, don't be crazy and love poetry. Today, I will arrest the generals, and this time I will ruin the old man." Zhenzong laughed when he heard this, and left him to play in Beijing. After a few days, send him back.He is the same as Zhongfang at the same time, he is a real virgin, he just doesn't want to come out. In addition, like Lu Zangyong during Wu Zetian's time in the Tang Dynasty, because Zhongnan Mountain was close to the capital, he advocated living in seclusion, and was conscripted into the court as an official. This is another way to be a scholar.So the "shortcut to the south" in the later idiom refers to such a thing.Lu Fangweng once wrote a poem that criticized and praised hermits: "The people with lofty ideals do not hate Qishan deeply, but people know that they have lost their original intentions. Needless to say, Yan Guang, has been from Chaoyoucuo to the present." Later generations of Confucianism believed that these hermits, high scholars, and scholars who "disagreed with" doctrine were abhorrent and should not be.And think that learned people should contribute to society and the country, why do they refuse to come out after a lifetime of learning?They said that Confucius was a hermit.In the following chapters, we can see that Confucius met several hermits at that time and was scolded.So what did Confucius say after being scolded?A lot is said in the following discussion.Confucius said, "Birds and beasts should not be in the same group." Later Confucianists quoted this sentence, explaining that Confucius disagreed with these people and called them birds and beasts.This statement is misinterpreted.In fact, the thought of Confucius is very respectful to hermits.The difference is that Confucius The mind of a sage, for the society and the country, is "knowing that it can't be done", although he knows that it can't be saved, but he insists on saving it, and it counts as much as he does.The reason why Confucius is holy is here.Knowing that this person cannot be saved, I tried my best to save him, and counted as much as I could save. This is the sage of Confucius.The Taoist thought of the hermits can't be saved if they can't be saved.At this time, there were two main streams of Chinese thought.Taoism regards the ideological trend of the times as an eruption of a mountain torrent, which cannot be stopped, and if one must stop it, one is a fool and will be washed away.If you want to save it, estimate when and where the power of the mountain torrent will decline, first go to the downstream of the weakened place, and guide it a little, then introduce rivers and canals.Confucianism is not the case. For the trend of the times, it is also regarded as a mountain torrent. It cannot be stopped, but you have to run alongside this mountain torrent. Favorable situation will lead the flood into rivers and canals.Both ideas are correct.Confucius thought it was right for Taoism to take the hermit route and stand downstream to wait.That's why he said, "Birds and beasts should not be in the same flock." After careful study of this sentence, Confucius is in favor of it, not against it.Birds fly high, if you want to fly high, fly high!Wild animals live in the mountains and forests, so naturally they live their lives in the mountains and forests.And I'm human, neither can fly high nor want to go into the mountains Lin, let me do something in this world! A scholar may not know the world After talking for a long time, it is to explain that "you can't enter a dangerous country, and you can't live in a chaotic country. If there is a way in the world, you will see it, and if there is no way, you will hide." It can be seen that Confucius still agrees with the hermit thinking.He said that if you really have the ability to save people and save the world, and the current opportunity does not belong to me, and you have no way to save it, then you must first protect yourself and enrich yourself.Therefore, "Don't enter a dangerous state, don't live in a chaotic state, if the world has the way, you can see it, and if there is no way, you can hide." Also." It further tells us that if the society is gradually on the track, talented people should contribute to the country and society, if they still cannot contribute, and they are still living in poverty, then it is a shame to be an intellectual and scholar.It is also wrong and shameful to enjoy wealth in a turbulent and out-of-track society, or to use various means, various methods, or improper means to obtain it. Following these few sentences, he expressed the objective attitude of being a "hermit". Confucius said: If you are not in your position, you will not seek your own government. Here comes the problem again. An intellectual, if he is not in an official position, it is best not to talk about and criticize political affairs casually.Those who are really hermits need to have such a mind.We must always pay attention to these few words.Now let me tell you some interesting experiences by the way.I am not a scholar and literati, but I often come into contact with scholars and literati.Scholars and literati like to talk about politics most, and they are almost never satisfied with real politics, especially scholars who study natural science, they prefer to talk about politics.My conclusion is that the more laymen, the more they like to talk about insider jargon.I don't know how your experience is? As far as I know, literati prefer to talk about war, saying that it should be fought.They don't know the difficulties of fighting, and they have never fought a war themselves, and they don't know how to fight.It's like someone seeing others fighting on the street and yelling and yelling to fight, but if you tell him to come by himself, as long as he raises his fist, he will run away first.This is what the literati of the past dynasties talked about war.Intellectuals like to talk about military affairs and politics, and most of them are absolutely laymen.So I often quote the words of Confucius and say to them: "If you are not in the position, you will not seek the government." They replied: "What is so difficult?" I said: "Do you know that Kissinger is looking What kind of official document? What did you say? The information and information you and I know are all from newspapers, not first-hand information, and there is a big problem with reliability. Even if it is reliable, it will be published in newspapers It’s still limited, and I don’t know how much more can’t be published, and it’s far away from the current situation. How can we talk about politics like this? And politics must rely on experience, not just theory. You say So-and-so can’t do it, try it yourself, if you have no experience, it will be over in less than three months. So this sentence of Confucius is very reasonable-‘If you are not in the position, you will not seek the government.’ Not in that position , we can’t really know its content. In terms of very specific facts, a certain operating room of the Veterans General Hospital is operating on a certain disease of a certain patient at this time, can you and I know? Even if a relative enters the operating room to accept We are locked out of the door, we don’t know how dangerous he is inside, we don’t know only a thin door. Therefore, "seeking his own affairs" is not as simple as imagined, and it needs to be in that position Only when you are above can you govern and pursue your own governance.” Unfortunately, these words of Confucius are often used as slippery words and excuses.Even when some people saw other people using this sentence as a shield, they mistakenly thought that they were learning tricks from Confucius.Therefore, those who knocked down the Confucius shop also listed this sentence as one of the "crimes", and blamed Confucius.In fact, this sentence tells us that we should apply what we have learned, and that true knowledge should be coordinated with being a person and doing things.He also warned the students not to make judgments or criticize casually when they don’t understand a little bit about a matter and cannot judge it, because it is too difficult to truly understand the inside story. Cultural Renaissance The Master said: The beginning of Shi Zhi, Guan Xiong's chaos, so eloquent, so full of ears! The reorganization of culture mentioned here is equivalent to the revival of culture we are talking about now.After Confucius traveled around the world, he returned to the state of Lu and began to sort out the culture.Because in the ups and downs of the times, culture is always at the forefront, and the decline of the Zhou dynasty was already very serious, so Confucius was eager to engage in the revival of culture to turn the tide.He started with rites and music, which can also be said to be a kind of music. "Guanju" is the first chapter of the Book of Songs. The word "chaos" in "Guanju Rebellion" has different meanings in ancient and modern times, so please pay attention.In ancient times, the word "chaos" contained the negative meaning of "chaos", which means "governance"-books above the Qin and Han Dynasties would use it in this way, but most of them would not do it after the Tang Dynasty Sample use.For example, the word "poison" before the Qin and Han Dynasties had the meaning of treatment and recovery. For example, if someone cut us with a knife, it was injury; if we had sores on our hands or feet, the doctor sawed off one of our arms or legs, and it would not hurt us. It counts as harm, but I should thank him for his treatment, that's the reason.Because when there were few ancient characters, many meanings of words were borrowed. "The beginning of Shi Zhi", Shi Zhi was the great musician who managed the culture of Lu State at that time—not the great musician of the band, barely said, he was equivalent to the head of the cultural bureau, but he was not just an official, he was a professional.Confucius said here that the culture of the State of Lu has been sorted out, and after the exchange of old and new cultures, it is very beautiful.But what followed, Confucius talked about cultural thought again, and raised his exclamation again. The Master said: If you are crazy but not straightforward, if you are Dong but don't want to be, if you are not trustworthy, I don't know! Confucius lamented that in the society at that time, the thinking and personal cultivation of ordinary people made three major mistakes.These three major problems are not limited to the society of Confucius at that time. From our point of view, every era and every society has them. Especially now, I agree with these three sentences of Confucius.Many people are "crazy but not straight". "Crazy" is not a bad thing. Confucius also admired crazy people. Although it is not up to standard, it is impossible to ask everyone to become a gentleman and a saint.Therefore, the best thing to do is the next best thing, at least madness and profanity, and there are merits. "Crazy" means heroic and generous, with a calm heart, making friends, if you are wrong, you are wrong, if you tell him, he doesn't hate you, this kind of typical is crazy. "Xuan" means taking nothing for nothing, never taking ill-gotten gains, never doing unreasonable things, very conservative, independent personality and very moral.Confucius believed that if there is no gentleman, then the two kinds of madness and evil are also good. There is a friend who used to be a provincial government committee member or director of a department in mainland China. He is so familiar that people are a little afraid of him.Just like I took the bus with him, and I paid for a bus ticket for him, he must find a way to pay back for me next time.This kind of person is very cute, taking nothing and giving nothing.There is also a friend, Mr. Liao who worked in a certain unit during the Anti-Japanese War. He is knowledgeable and moral. I respect him very much.In 1949 and 1950, when I went to Taipei, I had a date with him. After he met me on Hengyang Street by car, he got off and took a tricycle with me.It is his habit to walk, and it is my habit to ride a tricycle.So I changed the car because he went to Hengyang Street for business, and the activities after meeting me were private, so he put the official car back.I admire his spirit of being unyielding and unyielding.After the victory, he was ordered to go to Shanghai to get in touch with the financial world. Many giants in the financial world were present, but he wore an old Chinese tunic suit and appeared like a country bumpkin. No one knew him.He believed in Buddhism in his later years and lived in Daigong Temple in Guanyin Mountain.When Mr. Liao was dying, he seemed to know in advance that he invited some good friends to have dinner that day.After dinner, take a bath, get dressed, and invite friends to chant Buddha with him.After thinking about it, he stopped reading, stopped moving, and just went like this.This is wonderful.This friend, indeed, has been an intermediary, and has been an official for decades, so he is so innocent.Like Mr. Liao's calmness when he was dying, it can be regarded as "looking up to the sky, bowing down to others." There is no concern at all, very calm, and he knew it a week earlier.Therefore, moral cultivation is related to life and death. "Crazy but not straight", there are many people who are crazy and heroic.But there are many fake crazy people, with dishonest hearts and distorted hearts. This is a big problem. "Dong but unwilling" looks stupid, and seems to be very kind, but a person who looks loyal but has a lot of ghosts in his heart is not really kind. "Being ignorant but not believing." There are many people who are vain themselves, but they don't believe in others, nor in themselves. "I don't know it," Confucius said. There are three kinds of people. I don't know what this society will become.These three sentences, Confucius saw that the times were in turmoil at that time, most of them belonged to this type of people: crazy but not straight, honest but not kind in heart; plus very superficial, so superficial that there is no content, and they still don’t believe it. Others don't believe in themselves, and they don't study hard.So Confucius sighed.In fact, in a chaotic society, this is an inevitable phenomenon.We are in this era today, and when we see some characters, Confucius sighs like this: "I don't know!" This sentence is very humorous, which means that we really don't know what this history will become. Confucius said: If you are too late to learn, you are still afraid of losing it. This concludes the above on a positive note.Confucius said that if you really study for the sake of learning, you will always feel that you are not fulfilled and need to improve.This sentence later evolved into what Zeng Guofan and others often quoted: "Learning is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat." There is a very simple principle in learning. If you stay, you are retreating in the trend of the times.So it is either progress or regress, and there is no one who stays in the middle.This concept comes from the words of Confucius. "Learning is not as good as it is", and learning should always feel unfulfilled.With such a spirit of hard work, I am afraid that the original cultural accomplishment will be lost.If you don't have this kind of mood, you will be satisfied if you understand a little bit, and the result will be a setback.Everyone should pay special attention.Especially friends over middle age need to reflect on this sentence.Sometimes we see many middle-aged and above friends who have achieved success in their academic careers and often think that everything is right.In fact, if you don't work harder, you will fall behind and be eliminated.Whether it is thought or knowledge, everything will be eliminated by the times.If you have achieved something and are always eager to learn and tireless, this is called learning and you will not be eliminated.I saw a few middle-aged friends who were indeed worthy of admiration.There are a lot of books at home.They are almost sixty years old, and they are very busy with business every day. They often don't go to bed until two or three o'clock when they study at night.Therefore, their knowledge and abilities are constantly improving.So this habit must be developed.According to my personal experience, once the habit of reading has been formed, one must read everything, even understand the bad side. rule of three generations After Confucius talked about the cultivation of individuals in Confucian culture and the major principles of being a person and doing things, he went on to comment on a standard of Chinese philosophy of history.Confucianism particularly respects the three dynasties of Yao, Shun and Yu in history. The Master said: How majestic!Shun and Yu belonged to the world, but they did not share with each other. Everyone knows that the word "weiweihu" means sublime and great. In the vernacular, a sentence of dozens of words can be written, and the ancients can describe it with just three words. expressed.Never mind him.Confucius said that Yao passed the throne to Shun, and Shun passed the throne to Yu. These three generations are the famous "common world".This kind of succession of the emperor's position is called "resignation". Yu later became "the family of the world", but it was not Yu's original intention, because the person Yu passed on was not found in the right person, and it was later found that Yu's son inherited it. Only then became the family world.If you want to study the principles of "public world", you must pay attention to the "Biography of Boyi" mentioned above.This book is difficult to read. If you understand this book, you will probably understand Chinese philosophy of history.Only in this way can we understand Sima Qian's views on the philosophy of history and philosophy of life. Speaking of Sima Qian's article, it can also be said to be a little bit bad.What is "bad sectors"?The best swearing article in the world is Sima Qian; the best critical article is also Sima Qian.Fortunately, I can't tell that I'm swearing or criticizing people.After he wrote "Historical Records", in a reply letter to his friend "Report to Ren Shaoqing", he said that he wrote this "Historical Records" "The famous mountain in Tibet is passed on to its people." When we were young, we only knew Sima Qian's The article is beautifully written.After reading the whole article, I felt that Sima Qian was full of complaints, swearing at people, and boasting too much.He said that Zhou Gong gathered Chinese culture, and it took five hundred years to Confucius.After Confucius sorted out and developed Chinese culture, there was another 500 years in between when he was Sima Qian.So he wrote "Historical Records".What he meant was that for more than a thousand years, except for Duke Zhou, Confucius, and Sima Qian, no one else had thought.He thought he wrote "Historical Records", but no one could understand it, so he had to "hide it as a famous mountain", and "pass it on to others" when someone could understand it in the future. In the "Biography of Boyi", he explained the historical and philosophical principles of "the public world" in a very orderly manner in the first section.What he means is that don't think that the "abdication" of the ancient "common world" is that simple.He said that Yao was getting old and wanted to find an heir, and he found Shun.Shun was a filial son, and Yao recruited him. He did not immediately make Shun the emperor. He was asked to start from the grassroots and do all kinds of things. He was given experience and trained him. He has been going through decades. Then the state power was handed over to him.So Sima Qian said in the "Biography of Boyi" that "it is difficult to pass on the world!" On the surface, this sentence is just an ordinary emotion, an irrelevant word.But it is through these words that the background of thought is known.He just told us that a person who works for the country must have rich administrative experience and moral ability. After investigation and inspection, he believes that the throne can be passed on to him.This shows that spreading the world is not easy, but very difficult.Shun approached Yu more cautiously. At that time, Yu's father, Gun, was in charge of water control, but he failed, and the criminal was killed.Shun then used his son Yu to control the water. Yu’s water control is a famous story in history. He was so tired that he went down to work by himself. After passing by my own door, I didn’t have time to go back. (There are also people who sing the opposite tune and write negative articles, saying that this is deliberately pretending to be seen by others, and the purpose is to become the emperor. In fact, it can also be said that the person who made this criticism has no administrative experience. One is really responsible People with a heart will be too busy to go home.) Then after several decades of work, Shun handed over the throne to Yu.This is the "Biographies of Boyi" talking about history and philosophy, and then talking about life. It narrates that Boyi and Shuqi left the country unsuitable and became hermits, and the two escaped.Why from the abdication of the three generations of Yao, Shun and Yu, to Boyi Shuqi's improper emperor?Why is it that some people can't be emperors, and some people can't be emperors if they want to be emperors?He didn't point it out, this article is hard to understand!This is the point of view of life, which is equivalent to the so-called "Some people resign from office and return to their hometowns, and some people miss the night to go to the examination room." Therefore, in this "Biography of Boyi", the first part talks about the difficulty of passing on the throne, and the second part says that some people can be emperors but refuse to be emperors. But he didn't explain it, and asked the readers to experience it for themselves.Let's not talk about this article now, stop here. Sima Qian admired Confucius very much.In Confucius' conception, the three generations of Yao, Shun and Yu ruled the world, and they were the emperors of the whole country, "not with each other."In my heart, I didn't feel that being an emperor was valuable, but I saw it very plainly. What I really did was just serve, and I didn't think that power was valuable, so this is truly great, truly noble. He then talked about Emperor Yao. The Master said: Great!Yao is the king, so majestic!Only heaven is great, and only Yao is the greatest.Swing!The people are incompetent.Towering!It's had success too.Huanhu!It has articles. The history before Yao, because there are no documents, there are no records of materials.So when Confucius talked about history, let’s cut him off and start with Yao.When we study history now, Yao used to be ancient history, so we have to study it from the excavation of oracle bone inscriptions and ancient relics.Confucius narrated history, starting from Yao.He said that the great Yao, his moral achievement is as lofty and great as the sky. The greatness of the sky does not mean that the sky is big. This sky is not the sky of the physical world. The ancient word "sky" is an abstract synonym.The greatness of heaven lies in the fact that all things are born to people, and he neither expresses merit, nor asks for rewards, nor asks everyone to thank him. Naturally, he was born.The thought of Taoism teaches us that the mind of human beings should be imitated In the law of heaven and earth, there is only giving, not taking back.Confucianism also has this kind of thinking, so it is said that Yao is as great as the sky. Speaking of this, it involves the issues of philosophy of life and ideological background.Both Confucianism and Taoism in China know the greatness of heaven and teach us to imitate heaven and earth. This is a positive view.But some people look at it from the negative side. The most famous one is Zhang Xianzhong's Seven Killing Monument: "All things are born to support people, and people have no virtue to repay the sky. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!" There are seven characters in a row.This is also his philosophy of life, we can call it Zhang Xianzhong's philosophy.Some people's philosophical thoughts are difficult to explain. Zhang Xianzhong's philosophy also has its truth from a negative point of view, but after research, the positive truth will still be revealed in the end. This is an extension of the word "heaven". Confucius said that the greatness of heaven can only be followed by Yao.The word "ze" in the ancient Chinese is conceptually the law, and when this word is used as a verb, it means to imitate.Confucius said that Yao's political mind and tolerance were as great as the heavens. He only gave and gave to the public, and he did not expect to take anything back. "Dangdang! The people can't name it." It is as magnificent and boundless as the sea.His greatness cannot be described in words. "So tall! It has success. It is brilliant! It has articles." Confucius said that Yao's greatest achievement, the greatest glory, was to open up the cultural tradition for the Chinese nation.In this section, Confucius commented on the concepts of ancient history and philosophy, and highly praised these three generations. Democracy?Autocratic? Studying Confucian thought from this point, in terms of modern concepts, Confucius advocated democracy very much.why?We know that "The Doctrine of the Mean" was written by his grandson, and "The Great Learning" was written by Zeng Zi.The knowledge of Confucius was passed on to Zeng Zi, and Zeng Zi wrote "The Great Learning", as I have already said.Now I would like to remind everyone again that many people think that "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" are Confucian thought.From an academic standpoint, strictly speaking, this notion is wrong.It can only be said that "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" inherited the traditional thought of Confucius. Zisi's "The Doctrine of the Mean" is different from the "Great Learning", and there is a difference between the "Great Learning" and the Confucian thought in the "Great Learning", which should be noted. Why talk about "The Doctrine of the Mean"? The Doctrine of the Mean was written by Zisi, the grandson of Confucius.Zisi learned from Zeng Zi, and Zeng Zi learned from Confucius for three generations.In "The Doctrine of the Mean", Zisi mentioned the root of Confucian culture and thought, "The ancestors described Yao and Shun, and the charter was civil and military." Yao and Shun are admired, so we can study Confucius now, and we can get side signs from his grandson Zisi.Some people in modern times criticized Confucius as supporting the emperors of later generations. This is wrong. In fact, Confucius always respected Yao and Shun's "common world".The "public world" is definitely democratic in terms of the current concept, but there are problems with this statement.When some American scholars come to discuss Chinese culture, I often tell them to pay attention. Neither political science nor military science can draw conclusions.Politics in ancient and modern China and abroad, whether imperial politics, democratic politics, autocratic politics, or various kinds of politics, have all been played by human beings in this world.究竟是哪一个政治体制好？哪一个政治体制绝对的对？谁敢下这个结论？当然有人下，那就是书生——书呆子。在理论上乱下结论可以，在事实上无法下结论。我说，你们现代西方文化的民主，都以美国式民主作代表，与法国式、德国式的又不同。依我的看法，你们现在美国式的民主，是真正的专制，是资本家在专制，是假民主，真专制。但如果真懂了中国过去的帝王制度——先不必谈秦汉以前，就说秦汉以后的帝王，真正好的皇帝是很难当的，如唐太宗、宋太祖这些好的皇帝真难当，常常在御前开会时，遇到一些公正的宰相，把皇帝的命令挡回去，或是“留中不发”，还有些大臣“面折廷诤”，当面跟皇帝顶起来，因为他希望自己对历史有交代。我们在历史记载上常常看到这样的大臣或御史，明日准备上朝廷诤，先一夜在家思安排好后事，棺材都买好，告诉家人届时如不回来，就去收尸，宁可牺牲生命，也要对历史负责。皇帝碰到这样的大臣，也只好依他们的意见。所以我说真正研究中国过去的专制政治，是假专制，真民主。 这里孔子更表达出这个道理来了。 舜有臣五人，而天下治。武王曰：予有乱臣十人。孔子曰：才难， 不其然乎？唐虞之际，于斯为盛，有妇人焉，九人而已。三分天下有其 二，以服事殷。周之德，其可谓至德也已矣！ 这是孔子就历史哲学，对人事的评论，这中间我们要特别注意。 前几段提到孔子对于三代的推崇、赞叹。这里提出来，舜为什么为中国文化奠定了良好的基础？因为他有优秀的干部。领袖固然重要，干部更重要。换言之，干部难得，领袖也难当。舜当时期定天下，留万古美名，靠他有禹、稷、契、皋陶、伯益五个好干部，天下就大治了。我们要特别注意，仅仅五个人就可以把天下治好。我们研究历史，可以发现无论古今中外，任何一代，真正平定天下的，不过是几个人而已。汉高祖靠手里的三杰，张良、萧何、陈平而已。韩信还只是战将，不算在 Inside.当然汉高祖也能干，很懂得采纳意见。汉光武中兴所谓云台二十八将，还不是中心人物，真正中心人物也不过几个人。外国历史，意大利复兴三杰，也只三个人。每一个时代的治乱，最高思想的决策，几个人而已。启止是国家大事，据我个人的经验所见，所体会的，不说大的，说小的，大公司的老板，我认识的也蛮多，曾看到他穷的时候，也看到他现在的发达，如旧小说上所说的“眼看他起高楼”的，也不过两三个人替他动脑筋，鬼搞鬼搞就搞起来了，不到十几年，拥有千万财产的都 有；个人事业也是如此。所以人生难得是知己。个人事业也好，国家大事也好，连一两个知己好友都没有，就免谈了。如果两夫妇意见还不和的更困难了。所以孔子这个话是有深意的。上说：“二人同心，其利断金。”两个人志同道合，心性完全一致，真正的同志，这股精神力量可以无坚不摧。周武王也说，他起来革命，打垮了纣王，平定天下，当时真正的好干部只有十个人，而这十个人当中，一个是好太太，男的只有九个。孔子说“才难”，真是人才难得。这里孔子对学生说， 你们注意啊！人才是这样难得，从历史上舜与武王的事例看，可不就是吗？“唐虞之际”，尧舜禹三代以下一直到周朝，这千把年的历史，“于斯为盛”，到周朝开国的时候，是人才鼎盛的时期，也只有八九个人而已。周朝连续八百年的治权，文化优秀，一切文化建设鼎盛。但是也只有十个人把这个文化的根基打下来，而这十个人当中，还有一个女人，男人只有九人。但在周武王的前期，整个的天下，三分有其二，占了一半以上，还不轻易谈革命，仍然执诸侯之礼，这是真正的政治道德。 这个历史哲学，孔子讲的是“才难”。我们知道清代乾隆以后，嘉庆年间有个怪人龚定庵。今天我们讲中国思想，近一百多年来，受他的影响很大，康有为、梁启超等等，都受了他的影响。他才气非常高，文章也非常好，而且那个时候他留意了国防。外蒙古、满洲边疆，他都去了，而且他认为中国问题的发生，都是边疆问题。事实上边疆有漏洞，西北陆上有俄国，东面隔海有日本，将来一定出大问题，他也狂得很，作了一篇文章，也讲“才难”。当时他说天下将要大乱，因为没有人才，他在文章中骂得很厉害，他说“朝无才相、巷无才偷、泽无才盗。”连有才的小人都没有了，所以他感叹这个时代人才完了，过不了多少年，天下要大乱了，果然不出半个世纪，洪秀全出来造反，紧接着，内忧外患接连而来，被他说中了。这就是说兴衰治乱之机，社会安宁的重心在人才。 不过龚定庵是怪人，不足以提倡。他怪，出个儿子更怪，他儿子后来别号叫龚半伦，在五伦里不认父亲。他更狂，读父亲的文章时，把他父亲龚定庵的神主牌放在一边，手里拿一支棒子，读到他认为不对的地方，就敲打一下神主牌，斥道：“你又错了！”这就是龚半伦，人伦逆子中的怪物。 前面一节我们提过，孔子的文化思想是“祖述尧舜，宪章文武。”所谓祖述的祖，就是自古相承的一惯传统，孔子是承继尧、舜、禹这个一贯的思想。宪章的内涵包括礼法、政治制度、社会礼仪、文化精神等等。中国文化中的这些宪章精神都由文王、武王时代确立了牢固的基础。老实说，我们现在留下来的中国文化的真精神，都是周代文化的精神，也就是孔子所弘扬的儒家思想。前面从尧、舜而讲到周代，现在最后的结论讲到禹。 大禹和墨子 子曰：禹，吾无闲然矣！菲饮食，而致孝乎鬼神；恶衣服，而致美乎黻冕；卑宫室，而尽力乎沟洫。禹，吾无闲然矣！ 我们研究孔子全部思想，他一直是推崇大禹的。这里“无闲”的“闲”，就是现代文字的“间”字。“无闲”就是没有办法可以挑剔，挑不出禹的缺点，“菲”是薄的意思，就是说禹自己的生活，非常清苦，自奉甚俭。关于“致孝乎鬼神”这一点，牵涉到中国文化里的一个大问题。这里的鬼神不是我们后世所讲的鬼神。夏禹以后，中国文化里的宗教气氛非常浓厚，孔子、孟子也不例外。春秋战国时候， 诸子百家中，墨子对文化思想影响很大。他不但“尚贤”、“尚同”且“尚鬼”、“尚天”。 说到这里，必须引伸说明一下墨子的思想，因为他和这一节大禹的文化有连带关系。墨子在孔子之后，他的思想对当时的影响非常大。中华民族几千年来，固然受了孔、孟思想很大的薰陶，但在无形中影响最大的，还有墨子的思想。因为墨子的思想，经过演变，后来和中国的侠义精神合流，又另开一个局面。就以我们中国文字中的仁义两字来说，仁字在外文中有同义字。而侠义的义字，从墨子开始，特别强调，所谓路见不平，拔刀相助的精神，在外文中，还没有同义的字。为了朋友， 守信重诺，可以把自己的生命付出。曾子所谓的“可以托六尺之孤，可以寄百里之命”的思想，就与墨子思想相同。我们中国文化精神，受墨子这种思想的影响很大，普及于社会各阶层。这是一个专题，在此只是提起大家注意而已。想研究中国思想史，更要特别注意墨子的思想。他思想中的“尚贤”，就是讲贤人政治。“尚同”与“兼爱”，就是提倡和平、博爱的精神。墨子一生就这样实行他的主义，“摩顶放踵以利天下”地专门为别人效劳，乃至国际间的纷争，由他出来，也就可以调停 up.说句笑话，现代的基辛格还没有资格跟他提皮包呢！历史上记载，宋楚相争，他一个人去调解，劝两个国家不要打杖。楚国见他来了，知道辩不过他，于是请第一流的工程师，好比现在的原子专家——公输班和他谈判。墨子问他，你认为可以征服宋国，有什么凭恃呢？公输班搬出最新式的武器，墨子一一封死他，告诉公输班，你所有的武器，我都有制服的方法，你如打别人，我就攻击你。最后公输班说，武器上我都不及你，但我最后一样武器，你就没有办法。墨子说，我知道你现在想 把我杀死，但是我告诉你，这没有用。因为我的全部学问，在我的弟子中，已有很多人都会了，你杀了我一个墨子，还有千千万万墨子出来，最后你还是要失败的。因此这场国际战争没有打起来。墨子是不是这样做呢？是这样做的。他的弟子门人，在战国时代，无形中形成一股力量，在很多国家里，都有墨子的学生，他们的中坚领导分子称为“钜子”。所以中国特殊社会的组织，在那个时代就已经有了。有一个当时在秦国的“钜子”，也就是墨家这个组织在秦国分支机构的负责人，在社会上很有声望和地位，他只有一个独子，犯了罪，依法一定要判死。但秦王一问，知道是位闻人的独生子，所以下令特赦。这位钜子就去看秦王，他除了致谢以外，表示国法可以特赦，但是“墨家”的家法不能容。后来这“钜子”还是把自己的独子处死，对秦王作国法的交代。可见墨子当时组织自己的学生是如此严密，而且为了社会上的公正，国法能赦，而墨家的家法却不能容，真正做到了法律之前，人人平等。由这段历史，就可见墨子的思想、组织、作法对后世影响的巨大。 《墨子》这本书是比较难读的，他的理论，非但“尚天”，崇拜天，而且也尚鬼。这个“鬼”字，我们也曾就文字的构造上解说过，中国人所说的鬼，究竟是什么东西，很难界说。所以画家最好画的对象是鬼，谁也没有见过。所以怎么画都对，越难看就越对。殷商时尚鬼，宗教气氛最浓厚。如研究中国信奉什么宗教，没有一定，样样都信。尤其现在还新兴了“五教同源”，如红卐字会等类团体，把孔子、老子、释迦牟尼、耶稣、穆罕默德五位教主，都请在上面排排坐。中华民族是喜欢 平等的，认为每个教主都好，所以五位一起供奉。殷商的时候就“尚鬼”——重视鬼神。墨子是宋人的后裔，宋就是殷商的后裔，所以墨子的思想，继承了宋国的传统。孔子本来也是宋的后代，但孔子的祖先一直住在鲁国，而鲁是周人文化的后裔。我们要注意，春秋战国时代，各国的文字没有统一，交通没有统一，各地方的思想不同，有如现在的世界形态，美国与法国，各有不同的文化。墨子的思想又尚天、又尚鬼。前些时，一位学生要以墨子思想作论文，他说墨子思想非常崇敬天，与天 主教的教义有相同地方，但是我告诉他要注意，墨子思想也尚鬼，而天主教、基督教就不同了。翻开《墨子》来看，他把鬼的权力说得很大，也就是过去中国民族思想的共同信仰。人如做了坏事，鬼都来找的。好的鬼则可以保护人。所以我们讲了几千年中国文化，民间所流传鬼会找坏人的观念，并非孔子思想，乃是墨子思想的传承。墨子这套思想的源流，是远溯自夏禹的文化，我们真正研究起上古史的中国文化来，便很费事了。 中国近代六七十年文化思想是最乱的时代。民国初年到五四运动期间，用西方人的方法来研究中国文化，再加上日本人的观念，把我们老祖宗的文化，贬得一塌糊涂，说什么尧是香炉、舜是烛台、禹是大爬虫，这是日本人诬蔑我们文化的鬼话。但过去我们有许多学者，居然相信这套鬼话，搬回来骂自己的文化，直到现在还在流传，我们现代的学术界就这样可怜！所以严格研究起来，中国历史还有许多资料，为外国人所不承认。外国人不承认有他的道理，如果他把中国文化推崇得太高了，又把他自己的民族文化摆到什么地方呢？可是我们中国的学者和留学生，跟着外国人抛弃自己的民族文化，乃至接受西方的观念，这是非常令人悲痛的事情。也就是先把自己的文化思想破坏了，才会走上这条路。仔细研究起来，这种现代文化的演变，是构成一个专论的重要课题，可以写成一本大书。 我们现在说到禹，以我们中国文化自己的讲法，在道家的观念里就多了。道家说禹的本事大得很，当时他画符念咒，役使鬼神，把黄河长江水利治好，把土地开发出来。究竟事实如何，便不得而知。这方面的传说太过虚玄，太过神话了，所以一般人难以相信。不过我们现在不管这两方面——禹是爬虫或是能役使鬼神的神人，有一点要认识：中华民族奠定了农业社会的基础，发展成就了后来几千年以农立国的民族精神，是禹开始的。所以尽管是推崇尧舜，在尧舜时代，政治好到什么样子，我们暂不去管他。但那时的地理环境，还在洪水时代，没有多少人口，这么大的国家泛滥了洪水，只是一些高山露出了山峰。到了禹治水以后，农业基础奠定了，文化才开始成长。所以孔子对禹是“吾无闲然矣”，没有一点办法可以挑他的毛病。可见孔子对他的推崇是多么的伟大。他说禹自奉这样节俭，又非常崇敬鬼神。当然由孔子这句话，可知禹王当时对于神秘的学问是如何的重视。“恶衣服，而致美乎黻冕。”我们知道大禹治水时候，没有穿上礼服，完全和普通人一样，穿得破破烂烂，一年到头都在外面跑。但是他对政治的制度，国家的礼服，制定得美仑美奂。换句话说，我们的祖先，由穴居巢处，发明了衣服以后，还没有规定什么格式，到了禹王才制定格式。“卑宫室，而尽力乎沟洫。”历史上记载，禹虽为皇帝，他住的宫殿，还只是一个茅草棚，所谓“茅次土阶”，上面盖的没有瓦，只是一些草；前面的台阶，当然没有水泥，连石块也没有，只是用泥巴堆起来，“而尽力乎沟洫”，尽心尽力办好水利。孔子对禹有这三个观点，所以他说禹对于中国文化有这样大的贡献，实在无话可讲，没有一点可以批评的。