Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Four

It is a happy coincidence that New Confucianism then split into two main schools, which were founded by two brothers.They are called "Second Cheng".The school started by his younger brother Cheng Yi (1033-1108), completed by Zhu Xi (1130-1200), is called Cheng-Zhu School, or "Confucianism".Another school founded by the older brother Cheng Ying (1032-1085) was continued by Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193) and completed by Wang Shouren (1473-1529), known as Lu Wang School, or "Xin Xue".In the era of Er Cheng, the different meanings of these two schools had not been fully understood, but when it came to Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, a big debate began.It continues to this day.

As we shall see in the following chapters, the subject of debate between the two schools is indeed a philosophical question of fundamental importance.In Western philosophical terms, the question is whether the laws of nature are created by the mind (or the mind of the universe).This has always been the subject of debate between Platonic realism and Kantian idealism. It can be said that this is the subject of debate in metaphysics.If this problem is solved, all other problems will be solved easily.In this chapter I do not intend to discuss the subject of this debate in detail, but only to hint at its beginnings in the history of Chinese philosophy.

The Cheng brothers are from Henan Province.Cheng Hao is named Mr. Ming Dao, and Cheng Yi is named Mr. Yichuan.Their father was Zhou Dunyi's friend and Zhang Zai's cousin.So they were taught by Zhou Dunyi when they were young, and later they often discussed with Zhang Zai.Also, they lived not far from Shao Yong and saw him often.The close contact of these five philosophers is indeed a good story in the history of Chinese philosophy. Cheng Hao highly praised Zhang Zai's "Xi Ming", because the central idea of ​​"Xi Ming" is the unity of all things, which is also the main concept of Cheng Hao's philosophy.In his view, unity with all things is the main characteristic of ren.He said: "Scholars must first understand benevolence. A benevolent person is one with things, and righteousness, propriety, knowledge and trust are all benevolent. Knowing this principle, keep it with sincerity and respect, and don't need to guard against it, and don't need to search for it. ... This way is the same as There is no right thing, it is too big to be named, and the use of heaven and earth is for my use. Mencius said that all things are prepared for me, and it is a great joy to turn back and be honest. If you turn back and not be sincere, it is still two things. There is a right , to combine oneself with the other, never have it, and enjoy it? The meaning of "Dingyi" (that is, "Xi Ming".——The quoter's note) is to prepare this body, and to preserve it with this meaning, what's more. "If something happens, don't correct it, forget it in a hurry, and encourage it in a hurry." This is the way to survive." ("Henan Cheng's Posthumous Letters" Volume 2)

In the seventh chapter, the statement of Mencius mentioned in the above quotation is fully discussed. "There must be something to happen", "Don't encourage it", this is Mencius' method of cultivating awe-inspiring spirit, and it is also a method highly appreciated by New Confucianism.In Cheng Hao's view, a person must first understand the truth that he and all things are originally one.Then, all he needs to do is to keep this truth in his heart, and to do things honestly and attentively follow this truth.After a lot of time like this, he will truly feel that he is one with everything.The so-called "keep it with sincerity and respect" means "something must happen".But to achieve this unity, there must be no human effort.In this sense, he must have "made no effort."

Cheng Hao is different from Mencius.Because Cheng Hao gives more metaphysical explanations to benevolence than Mencius. There is a saying in "Yi Zhuan"; "The great virtue of heaven and earth is life." ("Xi Ci Zhuan Xia") The word "sheng" here can be used as "generation" or "life".In Chapter 15, the word "sheng" is translated as "produced" because this meaning is most in line with the original meaning of "Yi Chuan".But in the view of Cheng Hao and other Neo-Confucians, the real meaning of "sheng" is "life".They believe that all things have a tendency towards "life", and it is this tendency that constitutes the "benevolence" of heaven and earth.

In traditional Chinese medicine, paralysis is called "inhumanity".Cheng Hao said: "Medical books say flaccidity of hands and feet is 'inhumanity'. This statement is the best name. A benevolent person regards the world as one, and he is himself. If he recognizes himself as himself, why not? If there is no self, he will not be with himself. Interrelated, such as brotherhood, qi is no longer connected, and none of them belong to oneself." (Volume 2, Part 1) So in Cheng Hao's view, metaphysically speaking, there is an inner connection between all things.The "compassion" and "unbearable heart" mentioned by Mencius are nothing but the expression of this connection between us and other things.However, it often happens that our "unbearable heart" is blinded by selfishness, or in the words of Neo-Confucianism, by "selfish desires," or in short, "desires."So the original unity is lost.What must be done at this time is to remember that oneself and all things are originally one, and act "with sincerity and respect".In this way, the original oneness is restored in due course.This is the general concept of Cheng Hao's philosophy, which was later developed in detail by Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Shouren.

As mentioned in Chapter 8, in the pre-Qin period, Gongsun Long had already clearly distinguished universals and things.He insisted that even if there is nothing in the world that is itself white, white (universal) is white (universal).It seems that Gongsun Long already has some Platonic concepts, that is, he distinguishes two worlds: the eternal and the temporal; the thinkable and the sensible.However, later philosophers did not develop this concept, and the philosophy of famous scholars did not become the mainstream of Chinese thought.On the contrary, the idea developed in another direction, and it took more than a thousand years before the attention of Chinese philosophers turned again to the problem of the idea of ​​eternity.There are two main thinkers who did this, Cheng Hao and Zhu Xi.

However, Zhu's philosophy is not the continuation of famous scholars.They did not pay attention to Gongsun Long, nor did they pay attention to the names and principles discussed by the New Taoists in Chapter 19.They developed their concept of "Li" directly from "Yizhuan".As I pointed out in Chapter 15, there is a difference between the "Tao" of Taoism and the "Tao" of "Yizhuan".The "Tao" of Taoism is the unified original "one", from which all things in the universe are born.On the contrary, the Tao of "Yi Zhuan" is many, and they are the principles governing each individual category of the universe.It is from this concept that Cheng Zhu derived the concept of "reason".

Of course, it was Zhang Zai and Shao Yong who stabbed Cheng Zhu directly.In the previous chapter, we saw that Zhang Zai used the gathering and dissipating of qi to explain the birth and death of specific and special things.When Qi gathers, all things form and appear.But this theory cannot explain why there are different kinds of things.Assuming that a flower and a leaf are both gatherings of Qi, then why is a flower a flower and a leaf a leaf?We are still at a loss.It is here that Cheng Zhu's concept of "li" arose.Cheng Zhu believes that the universe we see is not only a product of Qi, but also a product of Li.There are different types of things because the accumulation of qi follows different principles.Flowers are flowers, because when Qi gathers, they follow the principles of flowers; leaves are leaves, because when Qi gathers, they follow the principles of leaves.

Shao Yong's diagram also helps to put forward the concept of reason.Shao Yong believed that what his diagrams represented was the law of generation and change of individual things.This law not only precedes the drawing of pictures, but precedes the existence of individual things.Shao Yong believed that "Yi" existed long before Fuxi drew the hexagrams.One of the second Cheng said: "Yao Fu (Shao Yong's name.——The quoter's note) poem:...'Xu Xin's painting was originally changed, and since it was deleted, there has been no poem.' This meaning was not humane in ancient times. "(Volume 2, Part 1) This theory is the same as that of the new realists, who believe that there was a "mathematics" before there was mathematics.

The combination of Zhang Zai's and Shao Yong's philosophies shows the difference between the "form" and "matter" of things as the Greek philosophers said.Cheng Wei did not make this distinction very clearly.Cheng Zhu, just like Plato and Aristotle, believed that if everything in the world wants to exist, it must embody a certain principle in a certain material.If there is something, there must be a reason for it.But if there is a principle, there may or may not be a corresponding thing.The principle is what they call "Li"; the material is what they call "Qi".The qi talked about by Zhu Xi is much more abstract than that talked about by Zhang Zai. Cheng Yi also distinguishes between "metaphysics" and "metaphysics".These two nouns originate from "Yi Chuan": "The metaphysical is called Tao, and the metaphysical is called utensils." ("Xi Ci Zhuan Part 1") In Cheng Zhu's system, this distinction is equivalent to " The difference between "abstract" and "concrete". "Li" is the "metaphysical" "Tao", which can also be said to be "abstract"; "Qi", which Cheng Zhu refers to individual things, is "physical" and can also be said to be "concrete". According to Cheng Yi, Li is eternal and cannot be added or subtracted.He said: "How can it be said that life and death can be added or subtracted. It is that there is nothing missing in it, and it has all the principles." (Volume 2) and said: "All the principles are laid flat. When will the Taoist Yao be exhausted? Dao, add some monarchs and more ways; Shun has done his best, and added some sons and ways. Yuan Lai remains the same." (Ibid.) Cheng Yi also described the "metaphysical" world as "there is nothing in the desert, and everything is dense" ( ibid).It is "in the desert without me", because there is no specific thing in it; it is "everything is dense", because it is full of all principles.All principles are eternally there, whether there are instances of them in the real world or not, and whether man knows them or not, they are still there. Cheng Yi’s method of spiritual cultivation can be seen in his famous saying: “Cultivation requires respect, and learning is about gaining knowledge.” (Volume 18) We already know that Cheng Hao also said that scholars must first understand that all things are one, “knowledge Get this principle and keep it with sincerity and respect.”Since then, New Confucianism has used the word "respect" as the key to talk about their methods of spiritual cultivation.So the word "Jing" replaced the word "Jing" spoken by Zhou Dunyi.In the methodology of self-cultivation, substituting "respect" for "quietness" marks that New Confucianism has further departed from Zen. Chapter 22 pointed out that the process of self-cultivation requires effort.Even if the ultimate goal is no effort, an initial effort is required to achieve the state of no effort.Zen Buddhism does not say this, and Zhou Dunyi's Jing character does not have this meaning either.However, the use of the word respect puts the concept of hard work in a prominent position. Cultivation requires respect, but what is respect?This is an issue that the two factions of New Confucianism debate, and we will return to this issue in the next two chapters. As I said in Chapter 20, Wang Bi's theory is that the sage "has feelings but is not tired."It is also said in the book: "A perfect person's heart is like a mirror. He does not greet or welcome, and does not hide when he responds, so he can win things without hurting." ("Ying Di Wang") Wang Bi's theory seems to be the development of Zhuangzi's words. The Neo-Confucian approach to emotion follows the same lines as Wang Bi's.The most important point is not to associate emotions with ego.Cheng Hao said: "The permanence of the heaven and the earth, with its heart pervading all things, has no heart; the permanence of the sage, with its affection conforming to all things, is ruthless. Therefore, the study of a gentleman should be as simple as the grand, and things come and go.  … Everyone is deceived, so they can't be right. The most common problem lies in selfishness and the use of wisdom. Selfishness can't take action as a response; use wisdom can't take awareness as natural.... The joy of a sage is the joy of things. "The anger of a sage should be angered by things. The joy and anger of a sage are not tied to the heart, but to things." ("Ming Dao Anthology" Volume 3) This is Cheng Hao's qualitative reply to Zhang Zai's question, which is titled "Qualitative Book" by later generations.What Cheng Hao said, "Being broad-minded, but conforming to things as they come", don't be "selfish", and don't "use wisdom", is the same thing as Zhou Dunyi said, "Static and imaginary, move straight".The examples in "Mencius" cited by Zhou Dunyi are also applicable here. From Cheng Ying's point of view, even sages are happy and angry, and this is only natural.But because his heart is "outrageous", once these emotions happen, they are just objective phenomena in the universe.No particular connection to his ego.When he is happy or angry, it is nothing more than the corresponding emotions in his heart caused by things that are deemed to be happy or angry in the outside world.His mind is like a mirror.Anything can be photographed.The result of this attitude is that as soon as the object disappears, the emotion it arouses disappears with it.In this way, although the sage has feelings, he is not tired.Let's go back to the example we gave earlier.Suppose someone sees a child about to fall into a well.If he had followed his natural impulse, he would have rushed to save the child immediately.His successes must have made him happy, and his failures must have made him sad.But because he behaved so impartially, once the job was done, his emotion faded away.Therefore, he is affectionate but not tired. Another example often used by Neo-Confucianism is that of Confucius' favorite disciple Yan Hui, who Confucius once said "does not vent his anger" ("The Analects of Confucius·Yong Ye").When a person is angry, he often curses people and throws things, and these people and things are obviously completely irrelevant to the matter that makes him angry.This is called "excuse your anger".He transfers his anger from the object of his anger to the object of his anger.New Confucianism attaches great importance to this sentence of Confucius, and believes that this quality of Yan Hui is the most meaningful quality as a disciple of Confucianism, and believes that Yan Hui is a perfect man second only to Confucius.Therefore, Cheng Yi explained: "You have to understand why you don't get angry....For example, when a good thing comes in a mirror, you will see it as good; In the house, he is beautiful in the city... If a saint is angry because of things.... A gentleman serves things, and a villain serves things." (Volume 18) It can be seen that from the perspective of New Confucianism, Yan Hui did not vent his anger because he did not connect his emotions with himself.The action of a thing may arouse a certain emotion in him.Just as a thing may be reflected in a mirror, but his ego is not connected with emotion.Therefore, there is no anger to move.He responds only to what arouses emotion in him, but his ego is not burdened by it.Yan Hui was considered a happy man, and New Confucianism holds this in high esteem. As I said in Chapter 20, New Confucianism tried to find a happy place in famous religion.The pursuit of happiness is indeed one of the stated goals of Neo-Confucianism.For example, Cheng Hao said: "I used to learn from Zhou Maoshu (that is, Zhou Dunyi.——The quoter's note), and every time I asked you to find Zhongni and Yan Zile, what did you enjoy." (Volume 2) In fact, there are many chapters that record The pleasures of Confucius and his disciples, which New Confucians often cite include the following chapters: "The Master said: Meal and water are sparse, and the arms are bent and pillowed, and the joy is also in it. Unrighteousness and wealth and honor are like floating clouds to me!" ("The Analects of Confucius") "The Master said: Xianzai! Huiye. One sack of food, one scoop of drink. In the alley, people are overwhelmed with worries, and they will not change their joy in returning: Xianzai! Huiye." ("The Analects of Confucius·Yong Ye") Another chapter says that once Confucius was sitting with four disciples, and he asked each of them to talk about their aspirations.One said he wanted to be the "Minister of Military and Political Affairs" of a country, one wanted to be the "Minister of Finance", and the other wanted to be Mr. Zhai.The fourth one was named Zeng Dian, but he didn't pay attention to what others were saying, just continued playing the zither.When others have finished speaking, Confucius asked him to speak.His answer was: "Those in late spring, the spring clothes are ready, five or six crowned, six or seven boys, bathing in Yi, dancing in the wind, singing and returning." The master sighed and said: "I and Dian also." (Chapter "Zi Lu, Zeng Xi, Ran You, Gongxi Hua Shi Zuo" in "The Analects of Confucius Advanced") In the first chapter quoted above, Cheng Yi explained that "meal, sparse food and drinking water" itself is not enjoyable.This chapter means that despite being so poor, Confucius still did not change his enjoyment (see "Cheng Shi Jing Shuo" Volume 6).In the second chapter quoted above, Cheng Hao explained: "Tan, ladle, and back alleys are not cola, and Gai has its own ears. 'Qi'yu should be played with ignorance, and has its own deep meaning." (Volume 12) These explanations They are all right, but they did not answer what Qile is. Let’s look at another quotation from Cheng Yi: “Xianyu Shen asked Yi Chuan: ‘Why can Yan Zi not change his joy?’ Uncle Zheng said: ‘What is Yan Zi’s joy?’ Shen replied: ‘It’s just the way of music.’ Yi Chuan said: 'To make Yan Zi happy, not for Yan Zi!'" Cheng Yi's statement is very similar to that of a Zen master, so when Zhu Xi compiled "Er Cheng's Suicide Note", he did not include this quotation in the text of the posthumous note. In the "Foreign Book", it seems to be compiled into "another volume".In fact, Cheng Yi's statement.It's quite truthful.The joy of a sage is the natural expression of his state of mind, which can be described by Zhou Dunyi's "quietness, dynamics and straightness", or Cheng Hao's saying "the outline is grand, and things come and go."He is not happy, but just happy. The New Confucian understanding of the joy of the sage can be seen from their explanation of the third chapter quoted above.Zhu Xi's explanation is: "Zeng's learning is based on the fact that my wife's desire is exhausted. The law of heaven prevails and fills up everywhere, and there is nothing missing. Therefore, when it is moving or still, it is so calm. And its words and ambitions are nothing more than its own. The position where he lives, enjoys his daily use, and has no intention of denying himself to be a human being at first. But his chest is leisurely, and he flows directly with the world and all things, and each finds the beauty of his place, which is hidden and self-evident. The rules of the three sons are in everything. For those who are at the end, their weather is not good. Therefore, the master sighed and deeply agreed." ("The Analects of Confucius" Volume 6) As I said in Chapter 20, the basic quality of being romantic is to have a heart that transcends all distinctions, and to obey only this heart in life and nothing else.According to Zhu Xi's explanation, Zeng Dian was precisely this kind of person.He is happy because he is romantic.In Zhu Xi's explanation, we can also see the romantic elements of Neo-Confucianism.As I said, New Confucianism seeks to find happiness in famous teachings.But it must be pointed out at the same time that according to Neo-Confucianism, "Mingjiao" is not the opposite of "nature", but rather the development of "nature".According to New Confucianism, this is the main argument of Confucius and Mencius. Have the New Confucianists succeeded in realizing this idea?It worked.Their success can be seen from the following two poems, one by Shao Yong and the other by Cheng Hao.Shao Yong is a very happy person, and Cheng Hao called him "a romantic man".He named his residence "An Le Nest" and called himself "Mr. An Le".His poem, titled "An Le Yin", goes as follows: Mr. An Le, no surname. Thirty years later, Juluo's arrival. Romantic feelings, Jianghu temperament. Sesi moved, flew and then arrived. No cheap no poor, no rich no nobility. No will, no welcome, no restraint. Embarrassment is not worry, drink is not drunk. Harvest the spring of the world and return it to the liver and lungs. Basins and pools are used to sing, and urns are recommended to sleep. The small car is pleasing to the eye, and the big pen is fast. Either wear a fence, or wear half an arm. Either sit in the forest, or walk by the water. Happy to see good people, happy to hear good deeds. Be happy to speak well and do good deeds. Hearing people's evil is like bearing a thorn. Hearing people's kindness is like Pei Lanhui. Don't invade Zen Bo, don't talk about alchemists. Without going out of the house, directly into the world. Three armies Mo Ling, ten thousand bells Mo Zhi. For the happy man, sixty-five years old. (Volume 14 of "Yichuan Jiyang Collection") The title of Cheng Hao's poem is "Once Upon a Time in Autumn", and the poem says: I have nothing to worry about when I am free, and the sun is already red in the east window when I sleep. All things are self-satisfied, and the four seasons are the same as others. Dao connects the heavens and the earth with the invisible, thinking into the metamorphosis of the situation. The rich and the noble are not promiscuous, the poor and the humble are happy, and men are heroes here. ("Ming Dao Anthology" Volume 1) Such people are unconquerable, in this sense, they are really "heroes".But they are not "heroes" in the ordinary sense, they are "heroes". Among the New Confucianists, some criticize Shao Yong, to the effect that he shows off too much.But there has never been such criticism of Cheng Hao.In any case, here we find the best combination of Chinese Romanticism (Fengliu) and Chinese Classicism (Mingjiao).