Chapter 9 2. Hermitism and Taoism

The idea of ​​a hermit has always occupied the most noble and important position in the spirit of traditional culture, but it is just like the form of a hermit, which has always adopted the hermit way of "retiring from the world without knowing and not being bored", so it is easily ignored and easily forgotten by everyone.If we emphasize one point, the hermit thought, and the hermits in history, are actually the main characters behind the scenes of manipulating Chinese culture.As for the academic thinking of Taoism, it is inseparable from hermit thinking.Rather than saying that Jia originated from Huang and Lao, or Lao and Zhuang, it is more appropriate to say that Jia originated from hermit thinking and evolved into Lao and Zhuang, or Huang and Lao.Why is it so important for us to propose the idea of ​​a hermit?It is easy to understand the reason by simply citing three reasons and explaining them.

(1) Proof against ancient historical legends Our history, from ancient times to Qin and Han.What can be called official history, except for the "Spring and Autumn" written by Confucius, and the three biographies of the Spring and Autumn Period ("Zuo Zhuan", "Gongyang", "Guliang") and "Guoyu", were edited by Confucius and his disciples The Five Classics ("Yi", "Li", "Poetry", "Spring and Autumn").Later generations have the so-called "Six Classics are all history", that is to say, the materials of the Five Classics we keep are all historical materials with sufficient value, but these are all themes of official history; Seen among the folk and the legends of various schools of thought, the relevant historical materials described belong to the part of the counter-evidence in the historical background, and it cannot be said that they have no credible value.According to legend, among the three generations of hermits in history, there were Xu You, Chao Fu, Bian Sui, Wu Guang, etc. Most of these people "regard wealth and honor like floating clouds". At the same time, it is also said that their knowledge, morality, and character are all superhuman achievements.It is precisely because of their wealth and fame, the so-called "the emperor cannot be a minister, and the princes cannot be friends", so the holy emperors and kings respected in our history, such as Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, etc., all respect and admire them. Plus; in other words, all the ancient sages and kings, whether they were in politics or people, were most scruples about the clear discussion and contempt of the hermits.Especially the intellectuals in the field, and the psychology of the people, attached great importance to the attitude of the hermits. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records", especially pointing out the importance of the hermit, and combined him with the humble Gao Feng. Together, point out the Chinese culture, and the other side of the noble ambitions of Chinese cultural people.Therefore, when he wrote about his family, he used "The Family of Wu Taibo" as a topic; when he wrote his biographies, he used "Bo Yi Biography" as a topic. , which is a step further than his preface, deeply revealing the views of cultural philosophy, emphasizing the background of hermit thinking and its lofty value.

(2) Thoughts of Confucius and Hermits Secondly, like Confucius, who is widely recognized as our most sage teacher, everyone knows that he is a savior with a kingdom in mind. He has to face the reality and oppose evading responsibility, but in his life, he admired Boyi, Shuqi, Wu Taibo and others gave way to escape and hide, and their personalities were admired.He also talked about the way of life that "the state has the way, dangerous words and deeds, the state has no way, and the dangerous deeds are inferior". , It's too stupid" perception and so on.This shows that although Confucius himself had the desire to save the world, he still very much agreed with the hermit's practice of "sages avoiding the world, and then avoiding the land".Therefore, when he was traveling around the world, he was ridiculed by those who were in the early days and those who were in charge of the lotus; he was criticized by Chang Yu and Jie Ni; And for it.Only Zai Jieniu criticized him and said: "The eloquent ones are everywhere in the world, and whoever changes them, and instead of following the scholars who pioneered others, would it be better to follow the scholars who pioneered the world!" According to the proverb, there is the exclamation that "birds and beasts should not be in the same group, there is a way in the world, and Qiu can't be with Yi".Later, people quoted him saying "Birds and beasts should not be in the same group", thinking that it was Confucius' ugly judgment against the hermits who escaped from the world. In fact, what he said was not as ugly and ugly as people imagined later Vicious, he just said that each has its own ambitions, and each other does what they want.Because birds fly and beasts walk, the so-called negative people who fly away and the positive people in the world can go their own way; he shows himself that he is determined to take the route of saving the world.We only need to read Sima Qian's "Biography of Lao Zhuang Shen Han", Confucius' comment to Lao Tzu: "I know birds can fly, fish I know they can swim, and beasts I know they can walk. Those who walk can be blind, swim Those who fly can be used for giving. As for the dragon, I know that it rides the wind and clouds to the sky. I saw Lao Tzu today, is it like a dragon?" One passage can understand what Confucius said, "Birds and beasts should not be in the same group." What is the semantics of .And from this, we can also understand his evaluation of the hermit's thought, and his expression of admiring Lao Tzu as a representative of Gao Yin.Therefore, Sima Qian wrote in the unpredictable biography of Laozi, and he came to the conclusion that "Laozi is also a hidden gentleman".In short, the thought of Confucius, and the so-called Confucianism and Taoism thought before and after the Qin and Han Dynasties, in their original essence, they have the attitude of "a gentleman rides when the time is right, and if the time is not right, he will act with his mouth" , is exactly the same, especially for the hermits who "walk through the mouth", and the hermit's thinking, there is a potential emotion of "heart longing for it".

(3) The relationship between hidden soil and historical politics When it comes to the relationship between historical politics and hermits, this is a very interesting issue in our entire historical system, but everyone is used to it. When it comes to history, you don’t read it with a serious face, but with a serious face. However, no matter which way it belongs to, its value to the hermits behind the scenes in history and politics has been ignored.I have emphasized before that hermit thoughts and hermits are the protagonists behind the manipulation of Chinese culture, but since ancient times, the true and thorough hermits have been unable to know their deeds. They can only be collected by Taoists and pretend to be part , into the looming biographies of immortals.The figures we propose to be related to history and politics can only be regarded as "semi-hermits".The so-called "half hermit" means that their life, either before or after, lived the life of a hermit, and the other half of their life was born out of the mountains, participated in the real society, and was implicated in actual politics.Regarding "half hermit" and "hermit", we quote a poem by Lu Fangweng, a poet of the Song Dynasty; Gentleman, from the nest to the present." He thinks that a real hermit is afraid not to go deep into the mountains, but not far away from the world; but a hermit who is known to be famous has already failed his original motive of escaping. Not to mention the Yan Zilings who have ulterior motives, even Xu You and Chaofu, who were discovered and gained the reputation of "hermits" with "noble ambitions", have long been wrong to the end.Although these words were expressed by Lu Fangweng, they are also enough to represent the general sighs of "half hermits"!As for the "semi-hermits" related to history and politics, such as Yi Yin, Fu Shuo, Jiang Shang, and indirectly related ones, Guiguzi, Huang Shigong, and "semi-hermits" after Qin and Han, such as Zhang Liang, Sima Decao and Zhuge Liang .After the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Taoist figures were included, such as Wang Meng, Tao Hongjing, Wei Zheng in the Tang Dynasty, Chen Tuan in the Song Dynasty, Liu Bingzhong in the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Ji and Zhou Dian in the Ming Dynasty, Fan Wencheng in the Qing Dynasty, etc., are among them. The big ones are people who are generally easier to be familiar with.This has formed a unique situation in Chinese history and politics: all Taoist figures who are "hermits" behind the scenes of Chinese culture in the period of rectifying chaos, or the period of founding a country and starting a business, are ordered to stand up and represent ordinary mountains and forests in the field. The spirit of those with lofty ideals will create a new era and history by assisting the Lord of Life.In the era of Zhiping, he became unknown again, and put the achievements and responsibilities in the hands of Confucian scholars who pretended to be.Therefore, we must understand that the evolution of Chinese history, its rise and fall, and the key to academic thinking have almost a common and difficult rule: that is, the period when everything should be rectified, most of which are the credit of Taoist figures and Taoist academic thought; The world is peaceful, and the period when one sits and talks about Taoism and pays attention to the study of Qi Zhiping has become the world of Confucianism. The "hermit" Taoist figures played such an important role in the history and politics of China in the past. Except for a few people such as Sima Qian who "understand the changes of the past and the present", ordinary people hardly know the real situation. Academic thinking has always been covered in wronged files.Let's just cite one or two historical materials, both positive and negative, in order to have a new understanding, but due to time and space limitations, we cannot explain them in detail.

1.The Opposite Side of Fearing the "Hermit" Thought in History Zhou Dynasty: "Taigong Wang (Jiang Shang, courtesy name Ziya, honored as Taigong by the Zhou family because of his meritorious service), was entrusted to Qi. Those who have Huashi in Qi, who are righteous but not ministers to the emperor, and who are not friends with princes, are called sages. The Taigong envoy called the third , No. Order to punish him. The Duke of Zhou said: This man is a high-ranking scholar, how can he be punished? Taigong said: If a husband does not serve the Son of Heaven, he does not make friends with the princes. Do you hope that you will be friends with ministers? If you want to be friends with ministers, you are abandoning the people. Also. The third call, not coming, is rebelling against the people. And the clan thinks it is the leader, and makes a country follow it, who do you expect to be the king?"

This historical story shows that Jiang Taigong wanted to kill the "half-hermit" Huashi of Qi after he was named Qijun.He didn't serve the emperor, didn't make friends with the princes, and asked him to go out of the mountain three times, which made Jiang Taigong, who was born as a "half hermit", move to kill.Because Jiang Taigong is an expert, he understands the pros and cons of a "half hermit", and he has just arrived in Qi State, and the old local forces have not yet surrendered, so he will never allow this kind of non-cooperative style to develop.So Zhou Gong asked him in surprise, why did you execute a "Gao Shi" casually?He expressed his opinion, thinking that if a person like Hua Tu is still praised, then who should I be the king of Qi?This is really a joyful explanation of the sufferings of the rulers, and at the same time, it can also help us understand the importance of the "hermit" thought in ancient times.

Secondly: At the end of the Warring States Period, the State of Qi sent envoys to the State of Zhao. Zhao Weihou, the heroine of the State of Zhao, did not get to the point when she met with the ambassador of the State of Qi. The question of politics, at the end, said: "Does Yu Lingzi Zhong still exist? It is a man who does not submit to the king, does not govern his family at the bottom, and does not ask the princes to be handed over to the princes. What is it that leads the people out of uselessness? Haven't killed so far"?This story in the history of diplomacy is exactly the same concept as Jiang Taigong's saying that he wanted to kill Hua Shi. It can be seen that in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, the fear of "half hermits" and the fear of chivalry by those in power were the same psychology.In fact, Yu Lingzizhong, a "half hermit" in Qi State, is no longer comparable to Hua Shizhong in Jiang Taigong's era. After Zhao Wei provoked the ambassador of Qi State, it may be because he was afraid of the talent of this "half hermit" Yu Ling Zizhong. In terms of diplomacy and politics with Zhao Guo, he is a terrifying figure with secret forces, so he was eager to get rid of the psychological consciousness of the sages in the old country, so he blurted out this kind of political and psychological warfare.

2.Respecting the Positive Side of the "Hermit" Thought in History Emperor Yao wanted to give way to Xu You, and Zhou Chu used Jiang Taigong's suggestion to respect Boyi and Shuqi's aspirations. These are all familiar events.Qin Shihuang was so angry that he pitted the disobedient and uncooperative Confucian scholars, so he lost the hearts of the people. Han Gaozu wanted to replace the prince, but he used Zhang Liang's suggestion in the future to make Sihao, who was hidden in Shangshan, never pay attention to the Han Dynasty. Gaozu's four "half-hermits" dragged down the mountain desperately and became the prince's teachers.In this way, Han Gaozu had to give in and had to change his plan, so he dared not talk about changing the prince.In addition, there are countless examples of the emperors of the past dynasties asking the "hermit" in the mountain to ask about the country's plans. The famous one is Tao Hongjing, who is called the prime minister in the mountain.Therefore, in historical and cultural works, there are titles such as "hermit" in ancient times, "immortals" after Qin and Han, and "high scholars" and "scholars" in Tang and Song dynasties.Especially in the Song Dynasty, there was a class of "scholars" who gained fame in one fell swoop with the attitude of "semi-hermits", which caused later generations to laugh at them for having the sarcasm of "the shortcut to fame lies in the haze".As well as the later Neo-Confucianists in the Song Dynasty, the style of giving lectures and not being an official was all caused by the "hermit" style of the protagonist behind the scenes of this traditional culture.After the Qing soldiers entered the customs, the wise Kangxi repeatedly set up erudite lectures to recruit Han intellectuals who did not profess to be ministers or surrender, which was a policy to deal with "hermits".

In order to explain the origin of Taoist academic thought, we have involved a little bit more about the hermit, so we will stop here for the time being.As for the value, advantages and disadvantages of the "hermit" thought in the history of Chinese culture, it is difficult to explain in detail at the moment. Their highest purpose is actually the same as their most basic motivation, the so-called purpose of saving the world and ordering peace.The difference lies in the methods and attitudes adopted, each with its own ideas.Confucius and Mencius of Confucianism, their approach is to actively force their way into the world, hoping to save the morals of the world; the Taoist "hermits" advocate that they make the best use of the situation and are invisible.Therefore, the Taoist method is to use "weakness" and "softness", but the result is often used wrongly, resulting in weakness. This is its harmful side.But on the good side, on the plus side, it is exactly on the Qian Gua.With the spirit of "Nine", the so-called "seeing a group of dragons without a leader is auspicious". "Long De is a hermit". Because it is not in any of those positions, it can be absolutely calm, absolutely objective, and lead the Ninth Five-Year behind the scenes If it is also in place, it will of course be formed by the change of Taoism, and it will inevitably not be affected by the change itself, and will not help in times of difficulty. We must first understand this spirit before we can talk about Taoism’s application of Taoism. The pros and cons and values ​​of Chinese culture.