Chapter 2 Chapter two

In the previous chapter, I said that philosophy is a systematic reflection on life.When thinking, people are often limited by their living environment.In a specific environment, he feels life in a specific way, so his philosophy also has specific emphasis and omissions, which constitute the characteristics of this philosophy. This is true for individuals, and it is also true for nations.This chapter will talk about the geographical and economic background of the Chinese nation in order to explain how and why Chinese culture in general and Chinese philosophy in particular became what they are today.

Said: "The Master said: Those who know enjoy water, those who are benevolent enjoy mountains; those who know move, those who are benevolent are still; those who know are happy, and those who are benevolent live long." The difference between the Chinese and the ancient Greeks. China is a mainland country.The ancient Chinese believed that their country was the world.There are two words in Chinese that can be translated as "world".One is "under heaven" and the other is "within the four seas".People in maritime countries, such as the Greeks, may not understand that these words should be synonymous.But this kind of thing happens in Chinese, and it is not unreasonable.

From the time of Confucius to the end of the last century, none of the Chinese thinkers had the experience of venturing on the high seas.If we look at the distance by modern standards, Confucius and Mencius lived not far from the sea, but Confucius only mentioned the sea once.His words are: "The way can't be done, take the boat and float in the sea. Those who follow me will have their own reasons." ("The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang") Zhong You is a disciple of Confucius and is famous for his courage.It is said that Zhong You was very happy when he heard this sentence.It's just that his overzealousness didn't win Confucius' liking, but Confucius said: "You can be braver than me, and you have nothing to draw." (Ibid.)

Mencius' words about the sea are also brief.He said: "Those who look at the sea can hardly be regarded as water, and those who swim in the gate of a sage can hardly be regarded as words." ("Mencius·Jinxinshang") Mencius is no better than Confucius, and Confucius only thought of "floating in the sea".How different it must have been for Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle who lived in a maritime country and traveled from island to island! The philosophers of ancient China and Greece lived not only in different geographical conditions, but also in different economic conditions.Since China is a continental country, the Chinese nation can only live on agriculture.Even today an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the Chinese population is engaged in agriculture.In agricultural countries, land is the fundamental basis of wealth.Therefore, throughout Chinese history, the center of social and economic thought and policy always revolves around the use and distribution of land.

In such an economy, agriculture is important not only in time of peace, but also in time of war.The Warring States period (480 BC-222 BC) was in many ways similar to our own time, when China was divided into feudal kingdoms, each of which placed a high value on what was then called "farming and warfare."In the end, Qin, one of the Seven Heroes, gained an advantage in both farming and war.As a result, other countries were successfully conquered, thus achieving unification for the first time in Chinese history. In the social and economic thoughts of Chinese philosophers, there are what they call the "base" and "end". "Ben" refers to agriculture, and "last" refers to commerce.The reason for the distinction is that agriculture is concerned with production, while commerce is concerned only with exchange.Before there can be exchange, there must be production.In agricultural countries, agriculture is the main form of production, so throughout Chinese history, social and economic theories and policies have tried to "emphasize the basics rather than the end".

Those who do the last work, that is, the merchant, are therefore despised.There are four traditional classes in society, namely scholars, peasants, workers, and merchants, with merchants being the last and lowest of them.A scholar is usually a landlord, and a peasant is a farmer who actually works the land.In China, these are two honorable professions.It is something to be proud of if a family can "plow, study and inherit the family". Although "shi" themselves did not actually cultivate the land, since they were usually landlords, their destiny was also tied to agriculture.Whether the harvest is good or bad does not affect their fate, so their reaction to the universe and their views on life are essentially the reactions and views of "farmers".Coupled with the education they received, they have the ability to express what the actual farming "farmers" feel but cannot express themselves.This expression took the form of Chinese philosophy, literature, and art.

In the third century BC, there was a collection of summaries of various philosophies, "Lu Shi Chun Qiu", one of which was entitled "Shang Nong".In this article, two kinds of people's lifestyles are compared: the lifestyle of those engaged in "primary" work, namely "agriculture", and the lifestyle of those engaged in "end" work, namely "business".Nong is very simple, so easy to handle.They are childlike and innocent, so they are not selfish.Their belongings are complicated and difficult to move, so if the country is in trouble, they will not abandon their homes and flee.On the other hand, Shang has a bad heart, so he is not obedient.They are cunning, so they are very selfish.Their property is very simple and easy to transfer, so once the country is in trouble, they always flee abroad.This article therefore asserts that not only is agriculture more important than commerce economically, but it is also more noble than commerce in terms of lifestyle. This is the reason for "shangnong".The author of this article sees that people's way of life is limited by their economic background; his evaluation of agriculture shows that he himself is limited by the economic background of his own time.

From this observation in the Lushi Chunqiu, we see the roots of two major trends in Chinese thought, Taoism and Confucianism.They are poles different from each other, but poles of the same shaft.Both express Nong's longing and inspiration, but in different ways. Before considering the differences between the two, let us first cite a theory supported by both.This theory says that when anything in nature and human society is developed to one extreme, it will reverse to the other extreme; that is to say, to borrow Hegel's statement.Everything contains its own negation.This is one of the main themes of Laozi's philosophy, and one of the main themes as interpreted by Confucianism.This was undoubtedly inspired by the movement of the sun and the moon, and the succession of the seasons, changes which the peasants had to pay special attention to in order to carry out their own work. "Yi Zhuan" said: "When the cold goes, the heat will come, and when the summer goes, the cold will come." ) Such a movement is called "refolding". "Fu Gua Ci" said: "Fu, it can see the heart of heaven and earth!" There are similar words in "Lao Tzu": "The opposite is the movement of the Tao." (Chapter 40 of "Lao Tzu")

This theory has had a great influence on the Chinese nation, and has made great contributions to the successful overcoming of many difficulties encountered by the Chinese nation in its long history.Because of the belief in this theory.They are cautious even in times of prosperity and hopeful even in times of great danger.In the recent war, this idea provided the Chinese nation with a psychological weapon, so even in the darkest days, the vast majority of people survived with hope. This hope is expressed in this sentence: " Dawn is coming."It was this "will to believe" that helped the Chinese people survive the war.

This theory also provides the main argument for the doctrine of the mean, which Confucians agree with, as do Taoists. "Not too much" has always been the motto of the two companies.Because according to the two, it is better not to do too much than to do too much, and it is better not to do too much than to do too much.Because too much and doing too much, there is a danger of backfire. Taoism differs from Confucianism because they rationalize, or theoretically represent, different aspects of the life of small farmers.The life of a small farmer is simple and his thinking is innocent.Looking at the problem from this perspective, Taoists idealized the simplicity of primitive society and condemned culture.They also idealize the innocence of children and despise knowledge. "Lao Tzu" said: "Small country with few people... Let people tie ropes and use them again, enjoy their food, enjoy their clothes, and live in peace. Enjoy their customs. Neighboring countries look at each other, chickens and dogs hear each other, and the people Until old age and death, we will not communicate with each other." (Chapter 80) Isn't this just a pastoral painting of a small peasant country?

They deal with nature all the time, so they praise and love nature.This kind of praise and love are brought to the extreme by Taoists.What belongs to God, what belongs to man.Between the two, between the natural and the man-made.They make a sharp distinction.According to them, what belongs to heaven is the source of human happiness, and what belongs to man is the source of human suffering.They are just like the Confucian Taozi said, "covered by the sky but don't know people" ("Xunzi · Uncovered").The Taoists maintain that the highest achievement of the spiritual cultivation of the sage is to identify himself with the whole of nature, that is, the universe. This proposition is the final development of this trend of thought. Farmers can only live on the land of scholars, and the land cannot be moved, and the same is true for landlords who are scholars.Unless he has special talents.Or by special luck, he only lives where his grandparents lived for generations, and that is where his children and grandchildren continue to live.This means that several generations of a family have to live together for economic reasons.Thus developed the Chinese family system, undoubtedly one of the most complex and well organized in the world.Most of Confucianism justifies the rationality of this system, or is a theoretical explanation of this social system. The family system used to be a social system in China.There are five traditional social relationships: monarch and subject, father and son, brothers, husband and wife, and friends, three of which are family relationships.The other two, although not family relations, can also be understood in terms of families.The relationship between monarchs and ministers can be understood as the relationship between father and son, and the relationship between friends can be understood as the relationship between brothers.This is how people usually understand it.But these are only the main family ties, and there are many others.There is an earliest Chinese dictionary "Erya" in BC, in which there are more than one hundred nouns indicating various family relationships, most of which have no equivalent words in English. Ancestor worship also developed for the same reason.A family living in a certain place, the ancestor worshiped is usually the first person in the family to settle the whole family here.In this way he became the symbol of family unity, such a symbol is essential in a large and complex organization. Confucianism mostly justifies the rationality of this social system, or is a theoretical explanation of this system.Economic conditions laid its foundation, and Confucianism explained its ethical significance.Since this social system is the product of certain economic conditions, and these conditions are the product of its geographical environment, for the Chinese nation, this system and its theoretical explanation are very natural.Therefore, Confucianism naturally became the orthodox philosophy, and this situation has been maintained until the industrialization of modern Europe and the United States invaded.Changed the economic basis of Chinese life. Confucianism is a philosophy of social organization, so it is also a philosophy of everyday life.Confucianism emphasizes people's social responsibility, but Taoism emphasizes the natural and spontaneous things inside people.It is said in the book that Confucianism travels within and Taoism travels outside.Fang refers to society.In the third and fourth centuries AD, Taoism became popular again, and people often said that Confucius emphasized "famous teaching" and was old and dignified "nature".These two trends in Chinese philosophy roughly correspond to the two traditions of classicism and romanticism in Western thought.Reading the poems of Du Fu and Li Bai, we can see the difference between Confucianism and Taoism.These two great poets, who lived at the same time (eighth century AD), express in their poems these two main traditions of Chinese thought simultaneously. Because Confucianism "travels within the locale", it appears to be more involved in the world than Taoism; because Taoism "travels outside the locale", it appears to be more out of the world than Confucianism.These two trends oppose each other, but also complement each other.The two are exercising a balance of forces.This makes the Chinese have a good sense of balance between joining the WTO and leaving the WTO. In the third and fourth centuries some Taoists tried to bring Taoism closer to Confucianism; in the eleventh and second centuries some Confucianists tried to make Confucianism closer to Taoism.We call these Taoists New Taoists, and these Confucianists New Confucianism.It is these movements that make Chinese philosophy both worldly and worldly, as I pointed out in the first chapter. Confucianism uses art as a tool for moral education.Although Taoism did not have monographs on art, their admiration for spiritual freedom and idealization of nature inspired Chinese art masters deeply.Because of this, it is no wonder that most of the Chinese art masters take nature as the theme.Most of the masterpieces of Chinese painting are landscapes, feathers, flowers, trees, and bamboo.In a landscape painting, at the foot of a mountain or on the bank of a river, one can always see a person sitting there admiring the beauty of nature and comprehending the wonderful way beyond heaven and man. Also in Chinese poetry we can read poems like those written by Tao Qian (372-427): Jielu is in a human environment, without the noise of cars and horses. Ask the king how can you, the heart is far away from the side. Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan. The weather in the mountains is beautiful at day and night, and the birds return each other. There is true meaning in this, and I have forgotten the words if I want to distinguish it.The essence of Taoism is here. Nong's vision not only limits the content of Chinese philosophy, such as "the movement against the Tao", but more importantly, it also limits the methodology of Chinese philosophy.Professor Northrop (Northrop) said that there are two main types of concepts, one is obtained by intuition, and the other is obtained by assumption.He said, "A concept perceived by intuition is a concept that expresses something directly perceived, and whose full meaning is given by something directly perceived. 'Blue', as a color of perception, is An intuitive concept. . . . a hypothetical concept is one that occurs in a deductive theory, the full meaning of which is assigned by the assumptions of that deductive theory.  …'Blue ', in the sense of the number of wavelengths in the electromagnetic theory, is a concept derived from assumptions." ① ①Filmer S.C. Northrop, "The Complementary Emphases of Eastern Intuition Philosophy and Western Scientific Philosophy" (The Complementary Emphases of Eastern Intuition Philosophy and Western Scientific Philosophy), in "Eastern and Western Philosophy" (Philosophy, East and West), ed. CA Moore, 187 pages, Princeton University Press, 1946 edition . Northrop also says that there are three possible types of intuitive concepts: "Concepts of a differentiated aesthetic continuum. Concepts of an indeterminate or undifferentiated aesthetic continuum. Differentiated concepts" (ibid., p. 187 ).According to him, "Confucianism can be defined as a state of mind in which indeterminate intuitive multifaceted concepts are moved into the background of thought. While concretely distinguishing its relative, humane, ephemeral 'coming and going' constitutes (ibid., p. 205). But in Taoism: "It is the concept of indefinite or undifferentiated aesthetic continuum that constitutes the philosophical content" (ibid.). I don't quite agree with all that Northrop says in his essay, but I think he has captured here the fundamental difference between Chinese and Western philosophy.When a student of Chinese philosophy started to study Western philosophy, he was very happy to see that Greek philosophers also distinguished between being and nothing, finite and infinite.But he was surprised that the Greek philosophers considered nothing and the infinite to be inferior to being and the finite.In Chinese philosophy, the situation is just the opposite.The reason for this difference is that there is a difference between existence and limitation, and there is no difference between nothing and infinity.A philosopher who starts from hypothetical concepts prefers the differentiated, a philosopher who starts from intuitive values ​​prefers the indifferent. If we connect what Northrop points out here with what I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, we can see that the notion of a differentiated aesthetic continuum, the resulting concept of an undifferentiated aesthetic continuum, and The concept of distinction (ibid., p. 187) is basically the concept of agriculture.What farmers have to deal with, such as fields and crops, are all directly understood by them.Simple and innocent, they value what they grasp so directly.It is no wonder that their philosophers, too, take the immediate perception of things as the starting point of their philosophy. This can also explain why the theory of knowledge has never been developed in Chinese philosophy.I see the table in front of me, whether it is real or illusory, whether it is just an idea in my mind or occupies an objective space, Chinese philosophers have never seriously considered.Such epistemological issues cannot be found in Chinese philosophy (except Buddhism, which comes from India), because epistemological issues are raised only when the distinction between subjective and objective is emphasized.There is no such distinction in the aesthetic continuum.The knower and the known are a whole in the aesthetic continuum. This can also explain why the language used in Chinese philosophy is full of hints but not very clear.It's not very clear.Because it does not denote any concept in deductive reasoning.A philosopher simply tells us what he sees.Because of this, what he said was also very eloquent.That is why his words are suggestive rather than explicit. The Greeks live in a maritime country.Its prosperity is sustained by commerce.They are basically businessmen.Businessmen deal first with abstract figures for commercial accounts.Then there are specific things, and only through these numbers can we directly grasp these specific things.Such numbers are what Northrop calls a concept derived from assumptions.The Greek philosophers also took this hypothetical concept as their point of departure.They develop mathematics and mathematical reasoning.Why do they have epistemological problems, why their language is so clear.That's why. But merchants are also city dwellers.Their activities require them to live together in the city.Therefore, the form of their social organization is not based on the common interests of the family, but on the common interests of the city.For this reason, the Greeks organized their society around the city-state, in contrast to the Chinese social system, which can be called the family state, because under this system, the state is understood in terms of the family.In a city-state, social organization is not dictatorial, because within the same class of citizens there is no moral reason why any one should be more important than, or superior to, another.But in a family state, the social organization is authoritarian and hierarchical, because within a family, the authority of the father is naturally higher than that of the son. The fact that the Chinese used to be farmers can also explain why China did not have an industrial revolution.Only by taking the industrial revolution as a means can we enter the modern world. There is a story in "Liezi", which says that the king of the Song Dynasty once asked a skilled craftsman to carve a piece of jade into a leaf.Two years later the carving was completed, and when the carved leaf was placed on the tree, no one could tell which was the real leaf and which was the carved leaf.So the king was very happy.But when Liezi heard about this, he said: "If the creatures of heaven and earth grow into one leaf in three years, there will be few leaves!" ("Liezi·Shuofu"). the opinion of.The peasant's way of life is in line with nature.They praise nature and condemn man-made. In their simplicity and innocence, they are easily satisfied.They don't want to change, and they can't imagine change.There used to be many famous inventions in China, but we often see that they are not encouraged but hindered. For merchants in maritime countries, the situation is different.They have more opportunities to meet people of different nationalities, customs and languages; they are accustomed to change and are not afraid of novelty.Instead, in order to sell their goods well, they must encourage innovations in the craft of making them.In the West, it is no accident that the Industrial Revolution was first launched in Britain, a maritime country that relied on commerce to maintain its prosperity. In this chapter, what was said about merchants in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" can be said about the people of the oceanic countries, but the saying that they are evil-hearted and cunning should be replaced by saying that they are very sophisticated and smart.We can also apply the words of Confucius, saying that people in maritime countries are wise.People in mainland countries are benevolent, and according to Confucius' words: "Those who know enjoy water, those who are benevolent enjoy mountains; those who know move, those who are benevolent are still; The geographical and economic conditions of Greece and Britain on the one hand, and the development of Western scientific thought and democratic system on the other, are beyond the scope of this chapter if we want to give evidence and prove the relationship between these two aspects. outside.However, the geographical and economic conditions of Greece and Britain are completely different from those of China. This fact is enough to constitute a counter-evidence, which proves my argument about Chinese history in this chapter from the opposite side. Unchanging and Mutable Components in Chinese Philosophy The progress of science has broken through the region, and China is no longer isolated in the "four seas".She is also industrializing. Although it is much later than the Western world, it is better to be late than not.It is not accurate to say that the West is invading the East.In fact, it was the modern era that invaded the middle ages.To survive in the modern world, China must modernize. One question remains to be asked: Since Chinese philosophy is so closely related to the economic conditions of the Chinese people, is what Chinese philosophy says only applicable to people living under such conditions? The answer is yes and no.There is always a part of the philosophy of any nation or of any age which is of value only in relation to the economic conditions of that nation or of that age.But there is always another part which is greater than this value.The part that is not relative has long-term value.I hesitate to say that it is the absolute truth, because the task of determining what is the absolute truth is too big for any human being, and it is left to God alone, if there is a God. Let us take an example from Greek philosophy.Aristotle's justification for slavery can only be seen as a theory relative to the economic conditions of Greek life.But this is not to say that there are no non-relative things in Aristotle's social philosophy.The same is true of Chinese thought.Once China industrializes, the old family system will inevitably be abolished, and the Confucian theories that justify it will also be abolished along with it.But this does not mean that there are no non-relative things in Confucian social philosophy. The reason is that although the societies of ancient Greece and ancient China were different, both belonged to the general category we call "society".Any theoretical explanation of Greek society or Chinese society, therefore, also has a part of the explanation of "society in general".Although some of them belonged specifically to Greek or Chinese society itself, there must also be something more general which belonged to "society in general."It is these latter things.It is not relative and has long-term value. The same is true of Taoism.The Taoist theory says that the utopia of human beings is the ancient primitive society. This theory is definitely wrong.We modern people have the concept of progress, and believe that the ideal state of human existence can only be created in the future, and will not be lost in the past.But the ideal state of human existence that some modern people think of, such as anarchism, is not at all dissimilar to what Taoism thinks. Philosophy also gives us ideals in life.Part of the ideal given by the philosophy of a certain nation or era must belong only to this kind of life formed by the social conditions of that nation or era.But there must also be a part of "life in general", so it is not relative but has long-term value.This point seems to be illustrated by the Confucian ideal life theory.According to this theory, the ideal life is one that, while possessing a heightened awareness of the universe, remains within the boundaries of the five basic human relationships.The nature of these relationships can vary according to circumstances.But the ideal itself does not change.Therefore, if someone says that because some of the five ethics must be abolished, the Confucian ideal of life must also be abolished together, this is wrong.And if someone says that since this ideal of life is desirable, all the five ethics must be preserved as such.That's not right either.A logical analysis must be done in order to distinguish in the history of philosophy what is constant and what is variable, each philosophy has something constant, and all philosophies have something in common.Why can various philosophies be compared and translated with each other even though they are different?That's why. Will the methodology of Chinese philosophy change in the future?That is to say, will the new Chinese philosophy no longer limit itself to "intuitive concepts"?Surely it will change, and there is no reason why it shouldn't.In fact, it is already changing.I will say more about this change in the last chapter of this book.