Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

Only twenty-two years after Cheng Yi's death, Zhu Xi (1130-1200) was born in what is now Fujian Province.In the past two decades, the political situation has undergone serious changes.The Song Dynasty had outstanding achievements in culture, but it was not as powerful as the Han and Tang in military affairs, and was often threatened by external tribes in the north and northwest.The greatest disaster of the Song Dynasty finally came. The capital (now Kaifeng) fell into the hands of Jurchen from the Tungus tribe in the northeast, and was forced to cross south. In 1127, the imperial court was rebuilt in the south of the Yangtze River.Before this was the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126), and after that it was the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

Zhu Xi, or Zhu Zi, was a thoughtful, eloquent, erudite and prolific philosopher.There are one hundred and forty volumes of his quotations alone.It was not until Zhu Xi that the philosophical system of Cheng-Zhu School or Neo-Confucianism reached its peak.Although the rule of this school was criticized for several periods, especially by the Lu Wang School and some scholars in the Qing Dynasty, it was still the most influential and unique philosophical system until the last few decades in the West. This is still the case before the descendants of philosophy. As I said in Chapter 17, the government of the Chinese dynasty guaranteed the rule of official ideology through the examination system.Those who take the national examination must write articles according to the official chapters and annotations of Confucian classics.I also said in Chapter 23 that Tang Taizong made a major move, which was the official version of the imperial scriptures and "justice".In the Song Dynasty, the great statesman and reformer Wang Anshi (1021-1086) wrote several classic "Xin Yi", which were promulgated by Song Shenzong in 1075 as official interpretations.Soon, Wang Anshi's political enemies took control of the government, and the order was revoked.

Let me mention here again that New Confucianism believes that "Mencius", "University", and "Doctrine of the Mean" are the most important textbooks, and they are compiled together and collectively called "Four Books".Zhu Xi annotated the Four Books, which he considered his most important work.Reportedly, even the day before his death.He's still revising his notes.He also wrote "The Original Meaning of the Book of Changes" and "Biography of Poems".Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty issued an order in 1313 to take the "Four Books" as the main subject of the national examination and use Zhu Zhu as the official interpretation.Zhu Xi's interpretations of other classics were also approved by the government, and anyone who wished to win the first place must interpret these classics according to Zhu's annotations.The Ming and Qing dynasties continued to adopt this practice until 1905, when the imperial examination was abolished and schools were established.

As noted in Chapter 18, one of the main reasons for the dominance of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty was the success of Confucianism in combining profound thought with profound learning.Zhu Xi is an outstanding representative of these two aspects of Confucianism.His profound knowledge made him a famous scholar; his profound thinking made him a first-rate philosopher.It is by no means accidental that he dominated the Chinese intellectual circles in the following hundreds of years. The previous chapter has examined Cheng Yi's theory of "Li".Zhu Xi explained this theory more clearly.He said: "What is above the metaphysics is the principle of being invisible and shadowless. What is below the metaphysics is the object of being sentient and having form." ("Zhu Zi Yu Lei" Volume 95) Something is a concrete example of its principle.If there is no such-and-such principle, there can be no such-and-such.Zhu Xi said: "If you do something, it means that there is a reason here." ("Yu Lei" Volume 11)

Everything, whether natural or man-made, is its principle.There is a quotation from Zhu Zi, which said: "Question: What is it about withered things? It is said that there is a reason for this. Therefore, it is said: There is no thing other than nature in the world. Because of the steps of the cloud, the steps of the bricks will have the bricks." Because of sitting on the cloud, the bamboo chair has the principle of the bamboo chair." ("Yu Lei" Volume 4) There is another passage that says: "Question: Reason is that people and things are derived from heaven. If things are ruthless, is there reason? Said: It is certainly reasonable. Like a boat, it can only travel on water, and a car can only travel on land." (Ibid.) There is another paragraph that says: "Question: Is the dry manuscript justified? Said: If there is something, it will be justified. Heaven has never made a pen. People use rabbit hair to make a pen, and if there is a pen, it will be justified." (Ibid.) The reason is the nature of this pen.The same is true of other types of things in the universe: each type of thing has its own principles, as long as there are members of such things, such principles will be among such members, which is the nature of such members.This is what makes such things such things.Therefore, according to the Cheng-Zhu school of thought, not all kinds of things have a heart, that is, sentient beings; but all things have their own special nature, that is, rationality.

For this reason, rationality is already present before concrete things exist.Zhu Xi wrote in the letter "Answer to Liu Shuwen": "If you look at it in terms of principles, there are principles of things even though there are no things. However, there are only reasons for them, and there are no real things." ("Zhu Wengong" Anthology "Volume 46) For example, before people invented boats and carts.There are boats and cars.Therefore, the so-called invention of boats and carts is nothing more than human beings discovering the principles of boats and carts and making boats and carts according to this principle.Even before the material universe was formed, all principles existed.There is a passage in Zhu Zi’s Quotations: "Xu asked: Before the world was judged, did many of the following already exist? He said: It’s just that they all have this reason." It’s just reason.” (Ibid.) Li is always there, that is to say, reason is eternal.

There is a reason for every kind of thing, which makes it what it ought to be.Li is the extreme of things, that is to say, Li is its ultimate standard. (The original meaning of the word "ji" is the roof beam, which is the highest point in the middle of the house. New Confucianism uses the word "ji" to represent the highest ideal prototype of things.) As for the whole universe, there must be an ultimate standard.It is the highest and includes everything.It includes the sum of the principles of all things, and is the highest generalization of the principles of all things.Therefore it is called "Tai Chi".As Zhu Xi said: "Everything has an extreme, which is the ultimate truth.... The general principle of the world and all things is Tai Chi." ("Yu Lei" Volume 94)

He also said: "Wuji is just the extreme, and there is nowhere to go. The highest and the most wonderful, the most refined and the most spiritual, has nowhere to go. Lianxi (Zhou Dunyi——quote's note) fears that the human way of Taiji has form, so it is called Wuji and Taiji. There is an ultimate principle in nothingness." ("Yu Lei" Volume 94) It can be seen that the status of Tai Chi in Zhu Xi's system is equivalent to the concept of "goodness" in Plato's system, and the concept of "goodness" in Aristotle's system. The "God". But.There is another point in Zhu Xi's system that makes his Tai Chi more mysterious than Xianglatu's concept of "goodness" and Li Shidod's "God".This point is that, according to Zhu Xi, Tai Chi is not only a generalization of the principles of the universe as a whole, but also inherent in each individual of each type of myriad things.In every particular thing, there is the principle of the particular kind of thing; but at the same time the whole Tai Chi is also in every particular thing.Zhu Xi said: "In terms of heaven and earth, there is Taiji in heaven and earth; in terms of myriad things, there is Taiji in each of them." ("Yu Lei" Volume 1)

However, if all things have a Taiji; isn't Taiji split?Zhu Xi said: "Originally there is only one Tai Chi, but all things have their own endowments and experiences, and each has a Tai Chi. Like the moon in the sky, there is only one. If it is scattered in the rivers and lakes, it can be seen everywhere. It cannot be said that the moon has been divided." ( "Genology" Volume 94) We know that, in Plato's philosophy, it is difficult to explain the relationship between the thinkable world and the sensible world, and the relationship between the one and the many.Zhu Xi also had this difficulty, and he solved it with the metaphor of "the moon imprints on ten thousand rivers", which is commonly used by Buddhists.As for the relationship between the principle of a certain category of things and the various things in this category; whether this relationship may also involve the division of the principle; this question was not raised at that time.If it is brought up, I think Zhu Xi will still use the metaphor of "the moon seals ten thousand rivers" to solve it.

If there is only "reason", then there can only be a "metaphysical" world.In order to create our concrete material world, there must be "Qi" and the model of "Li" added to the Qi is possible.Zhu Xi said: "Between heaven and earth, there is reason and qi. Reason is the metaphysical way, and the foundation of living things; qi is the physical tool, and living things are also. Therefore, people and things must be born. This principle, then has nature; it must be endowed with this energy, and then it has form." ("Answer to the Book of Huang Daofu", "Collected Works" Volume 58)

He also said: "Doubting this energy is dependent on this principle. When this energy gathers, then the principle is also there. Covering the energy can condense artificiality; but principle has no emotion, no calculation, no artificiality.... If the principle, then there is no artificiality. It's just a clean and spacious world, invisible, but he doesn't make it. Qi can brew and condense living things. But with this Qi, reason is in it." ("Language" Volume 1) We look at it here Zhu Xi said what Zhang Zai might have said but did not say.Any individual thing is the condensation of qi, but it is not only an individual thing, it is also an individual thing of a certain kind of thing.That being the case, it is not just a condensation of qi, but a condensation in accordance with the principles of the whole of such things.This is the reason why as long as there is condensed energy, reason must also be in it. The issue of the relative precedence of Li to Qi was a subject that Zhu Xi and his disciples discussed a lot.Once he said: "Before there is such a thing, there is this principle first. If there is no monarch and minister, there is the principle of monarch and minister; before there is father and son, there is the principle of father and son." ("Yu Lei" Volume 95) A principle precedes its examples, as Zhu Xi has already made very clear in this passage.But is the general principle also prior to the general qi?Zhu Xi said: "Li is never separated from qi. However, what is above the metaphysical is what is above the qi, and what is below the qi. From the form to the top, is there no sequence?" ("Yu Lei" Volume 1) In another place, there is a paragraph like this: "Question: If there is reason, there will be energy. It seems that there is no precedence. Said: If you want it, you must have reason first. You can't just say that you have reason today, but you will have energy tomorrow. There must also be a sequence." (Ibid.) From these passages, it can be seen that what Zhu Xi wanted to say in his heart was, "There is no spirit of irrationality in the world, nor is there a principle of irrationality." (Ibid.) When there is no vitality.Since Li is eternal, it is fallacious to say that Li has a beginning.Therefore, it is actually meaningless to ask whether reason comes first or qi comes first.However, it is a fallacy of fact to say that Qi has a beginning; it is a fallacy of logic to say that reasoning has a beginning.In this sense, it is not incorrect to say that there is a relationship between reason and qi. Another question is: which of Li and Qi is the "first mover" mentioned by Plato and Aristotle?Reason cannot be the first mover, because "reason has no emotion, no calculation, no artificiality".But although the principle does not move, in its "clean and spacious world", there is a principle of movement and a principle of stillness.The principle of movement does not move, and the principle of stillness does not remain static, but as soon as the qi "accepts" the principle of movement, it moves; as soon as the qi "accepts" the principle of stillness, it becomes static.The movement of Qi is called Yang, and the static of Qi is called Yin.In this way, according to Zhu Xi, the two fundamental components of the universe mentioned in the Chinese theory of cosmogenesis came into being.He said: "Yang moves and Yin is quiet. It's not Tai Chi. It's just that there is movement and movement. The reason is invisible, and you can know it because of the yin and yang. The reason is based on the yin and yang, like a person straddling a horse." ("Yu Lei" Volume 94) In this way, Tai Chi is like the God in Aristotle's philosophy, who is immobile but at the same time the promoter of everything. Yin and Yang intersect to produce the five elements, and the five elements produce the material universe as we know it.In his theory of cosmogenesis, Zhu Xi strongly agreed with the theories of Zhou Dunyi and Shao Yong. It can be seen from the above that, according to Zhu Xi, if there is an individual thing, there is a certain principle in it, which makes this thing this thing and constitutes the nature of this thing.A person, like everything else, is a concrete, particular product of a concrete world.Therefore, what we call human nature is nothing more than the human reason that each person is endowed with.Zhu Xi agreed with Cheng Yi's statement that "nature is reason" and explained it repeatedly.The principles mentioned here are not the universal principles, but the principles endowed by individuals.In this way, it can explain Cheng Ying’s somewhat contradictory statement: “Only talking about sex is not sex.” What Cheng Ying meant was that only talking about reasoning is already an individualized reasoning, not a universal form of reasoning. . One, in order to attain concrete existence, must embody chi.Principle is the same for all people; Qi makes people different.Zhu Xi said: "If there is reason, then there will be qi. If there is qi, there must be reason. But those with pure qi are sages and sages, like jewels in cold water. Those with turbid qi are foolish and unworthy. It is like pearls in muddy water.” (Volume 4 of "Yu Lei") Therefore, any individual, in addition to those endowed with principles, also has those endowed with qi, which is what Zhu Xi called "qi endowment". This is Zhu Xi's theory about the origin of evil.Plato pointed out a long time ago that each individual, in order to be concrete, must be the embodiment of matter, and he is therefore implicated and must not meet the ideal.For example, a specific circle can only be relatively round rather than absolutely round.This is a trick of the concrete world, and humans are no exception.Zhu Xi said: "It depends on how you are endowed with qi. However, this principle is only good. Since this is the principle, how can you get evil? The so-called evil is qi. The theory of Mencius is all about good nature; It is addiction. It means that there is nothing wrong with it, and it is not good for the ears. If so, it seems that the theory does not care about the temperament, and it is a little unprepared. But Cheng Shi said the temperament and picked it up, and then he picked up the beginning and the end, all together It's ready." (Volume 43 of "Zhu Zi Quan Shu") The so-called "nature of temperament" refers to the nature of actual endowment found in one's temperament.Once discovered, as Plato said, it strives to conform to the ideal, but it is always inconsistent and cannot achieve the ideal.However, Zhu Xi called the inherent universal form of principle "the nature of heaven and earth" to distinguish it.Zhang Zai had already made this distinction, and Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi continued to insist on it.In their view, using this distinction completely solves the old problem of the dispute between good and evil. In Zhu Xi's system, sex is not the same as heart.There is a saying in Zhu Zi's quotations: "Question: Is the spiritual place the heart or is it the nature? Said: The spiritual place is only the heart, not the nature. The nature is only the principle." ("Yu Lei") Volume 5) It also said: "Question: Perception is the heart's The spirit is like this, so what is it to suppress the qi? Said: It is not only the qi, but the principle of perception. The principle is unknown, the qi gathers and forms, and the principle and qi combine to form perception. For example, the candlelight is due to this. grease, and there are many flames." (ibid.) Therefore, the heart, like other individual things, is the embodiment of the combination of principle and qi.The difference between mind and nature is: mind is concrete, while sex is abstract.The mind can have activities such as thoughts and feelings, but sex cannot.But as long as such activities occur in our minds, we can deduce that there is a corresponding principle in our nature.Zhu Xi said: "To talk about nature, one must first understand what kind of thing nature is. Cheng Zi's "sex is reason" is the best way to say it. Now let's talk about it in terms of reason, after all, it has no form and shadow. It's just this truth. , benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and nature. However, what shape the four have, there is only such a reason. With such a reason, many things can be done, so they can be sympathetic, ashamed, polite, right and wrong. For example, discussing the nature of medicine , cold in nature, hot in nature, etc., there is no such thing in the medicine, but after taking it, it is cold or hot, which is sex." ("Yu Lei" Volume 4) In Chapter 7, we saw that Mencius held that there are four invariable virtues in human nature, which are manifested as "four ends".The passage of Zhu Xi quoted above gives a metaphysical basis to Mencius's theory, which itself is basically psychological.According to Zhu Xi, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are all principles and belong to nature, while the "four ends" are the activities of the heart.We can know the abstract only through the concrete.Only through the heart can we know sex.As we will see in the next chapter, the Lu Wang School maintains that mind is nature.This is one of the main issues in the debate between Cheng Zhu and Lu Wang. If we say that every thing in the world has its own rationale, then, as an organization with concrete existence, a country must also have its own rationale.If a country is governed according to the principles of the state, it will be stable and prosperous; if it is not governed according to the principles of the state, it will inevitably collapse and fall into chaos.In Zhu Xi's view, the principles of the country are the way of governance taught and practiced by the previous kings.It's not something subjective, it's there forever, whether someone talks about it, does it or not.On this point, Zhu Xi had a heated debate with his friend Chen Liang (1143-1194).Chen Liang took a different view.When Zhu Xi debated with him, he wrote: "In the thousand and five hundred years...the Tao taught by Yao, Shun, the Three Kings, Zhou Gong, and Confucius has not been practiced between heaven and earth in one day. If you talk about the eternal existence of Tao , but at the beginning it was beyond the reach of human beings. It’s just that this one is something that is eternal and indestructible. Although it has been corrupted by people for thousands of years, it will not be heard if it is destroyed in the end.” ("Reply to Chen Tongfu Book" , "Collected Works" Volume 36) also wrote: "Gai Dao has not stopped, but people breathe it themselves." (Ibid.) In fact, not only sage kings follow this way to govern the country, but all those who have made achievements in politics follow this way to a certain extent, but sometimes unconsciously and incompletely.Zhu Xi wrote: "I often think that there is only one principle from ancient times to present. Those who follow it will succeed, and those who go against it will lose. It is not unique to the ancient sages, and the so-called heroes of later generations have not been able to give up this. They are also those who have established and achieved something based on reason. But the ancient sages had the unique kung fu from the root, so they were able to stick to it, from the beginning to the end, and everything was perfect. The so-called heroes later did not have this kung fu, but in the desire for profit In the field, the head stands out. Those who have the best capital can have some coincidences, and they can be established according to the number of their points; however, they can't be perfect, they can't be perfect, and they are just one." (Ibid.) To illustrate Zhu Xi's teaching, let us take building a house as an example.Building a house must be based on architectural principles.These principles exist eternally, even if not a single house has actually been built in the physical world.A great architect is one who has mastered these principles and made his designs conform to them.For example, the house he built had to be strong and durable.But not only great architects, but everyone who wants to build a house must do so on the same principle, if their house is ever built.Of course, when these non-professional architects follow these principles, they may only be based on intuition or practical experience, without understanding them, or even knowing them at all.As a result, the house they built was not entirely in accordance with the architectural principles, so it could not be the best house.There is also this difference between the governance of a sage-king and the governance of a so-called hero. We have already mentioned in Chapter 7 that Mencius believed that there are two ways of governing; Wang and Ba.The debate between Zhu Xi and Chen Liang was a continuation of the debate between Wang and Ba.Zhu Xi and other Neo-Confucianists believed that governance since the Han and Tang dynasties were all overbearing, because their rulers ruled for their own interests, not the interests of the people.So here again Zhu Xi succeeded Mencius, but as before, Zhu Xi gave a metaphysical basis to Mencius's teachings, which themselves were essentially political. The vast majority of Chinese thinkers have this Platonic thought, that is, "unless philosophers become kings, or kings become philosophers", we cannot have an ideal country.In it, Phratus discusses at length the education that a philosopher who is to be a king should receive.In the "Reply to Chen Tongfu Book" quoted above, Zhu Xi also said that "the ancient sages fundamentally had the only skill".But what is the way to do this kind of kung fu?Zhu Xi has already told us that everyone, actually things, has a complete Tai Chi.Taiji is the whole of the principles of all things, so these principles are also within us, but because of our exhaustion, these principles cannot be clearly displayed.Tai Chi is within us like a pearl in muddy water.What we must do is to restore the pearl to its luster.The method of doing it, Zhu Xi's and Cheng Yi's, is divided into two aspects: one is "extending knowledge", and the other is "using respect". The basis of this method is in the book "Great Learning", which Neo-Confucians believe that "Great Learning" is "the door for beginners to learn human virtue."As mentioned in Chapter 16, the self-cultivation method mentioned in "University" begins with "extending knowledge" and "investigating things".According to Cheng Zhu's view, the purpose of "getting things".It is "to" our "knowledge" of the eternal truth. Why does this method not start from "poor theory" but from "gewu"?Zhu Xi said: ""University" talks about investigating things, but not about poor principles. If it talks about poor principles, it seems to be elusive. It only talks about investigating things, and it only looks at the metaphysical way." ( "Zhu Zi Quan Shu" Volume 46) In other words, reason is abstract, while things are concrete.To know abstract principles, one must go through concrete objects.Our purpose is to know the truth existing in the external world and in our own nature.Reason, the more we know, the more clearly we can see the nature that is obscured by the temperament. Zhu Xi also said: "The spirit of the human heart is full of knowledge; and there is no reason in the world. But the reason is not exhausted, so its knowledge is inexhaustible. It is the beginning of teaching in the university, which will make scholars the best in the world. All things, because of their known principles, are exhausted and exhausted to the extreme. As for the long-term use of force, once they are suddenly penetrated, the surface and interior of all things are inexhaustible, and the whole of my heart is useless. I don’t understand.” ("University Zhangju Bugewu Zhuan") Here we see the theory of epiphany again. This seems to be enough in itself, why should it be supplemented with "Yong Jing"?The answer is: If there is no respect, Gewu is probably just an intellectual exercise, and cannot achieve the expected purpose of epiphany.When investigating things, we must keep in mind that what we are doing is to see the nature, to clean the pearls and restore their brilliance.Only when you often think about enlightenment, can you become enlightened all at once.This is the function of respect. Zhu Xi's self-cultivation method is very similar to Plato's self-cultivation method.His theory that there is a principle of all things in human nature is very similar to Plato's Suhui theory, which is similar to what Plato said, "We have knowledge about all essences before we are born" ("Pedro").Because of this Suhui, people who "contemplate beautiful things one by one in the correct order" can "suddenly see a wonderful essence of beauty" ("Symposium"), which is also a form of epiphany. Note: * The English version is The school of Platonic ideas ("Platonic ideas" school). —Translator's Note