Chapter 8 Chinese Intellectuals-1

one I mentioned Chinese intellectuals earlier. This is a powerful artery in Chinese history and deserves special mention. Chinese intellectuals have not remained unchanged since ancient times.But there is one common feature, Jue Qi always takes the humanistic spirit as the core of guidance.Therefore, on the one hand, one does not fall into religion, and on the other hand, one does not go deep into natural science.Its knowledge objects focus on real life politics, society, education, literature and art.Its strengths lie in the condensed light, but its weakness is that there is no overflowing interest.

Since ancient times, Guzhi started from the Spring and Autumn Period.At that time, the culture had been developed, and the officials of various states, such as Liu Xiahui, Zang Wenzhong, Ji Wenzi, Shusun Muzi from Lu, Guan Zhong and Yan Ying from Qi, Yun Boyu and Shi Qian from Wei, sons Yu, Zihan, and Xiang Shu from Song Dynasty, Zhao Shuai, Shu Xiang, Han Xuanzi from Jin, Sun Shuao, Ling Yin Ziwen, Zheng Zichan, Wu Jizha from Chu, Bailixi and Youyu from Qin, although they were all nobles at that time, they have become typical Chinese scholars in the future the original appearance.The objects of their knowledge have been able to go beyond the superstition of ghosts and gods, get rid of the traditional religious spirit, and turn to the humanistic spirit, taking the historical world and the international society at that time as the starting point.Focusing on the universal moral and ethical norms in the life standard, and deducing it to political facilities, it is by no means purely limited by the narrow concepts of the aristocratic class at that time.But they will never put aside human affairs, and go all the way to the vast universe to explore natural physics.Therefore, they have neither Western religious character nor Western scientific spirit, but in terms of humanism, they have gradually reached a state of integration and enlightenment.After that, commoner scholars rose up in the Warring States period, and the aristocratic class was suddenly replaced. During this period, there was no fierce struggle between the nobles and the common people. After two or three hundred years of feudal transition, the Qin and Han Dynasties were unified.These historical achievements can be traced back to the source. The aristocratic scholars of the Spring and Autumn Period have great generosity and broad-mindedness, as well as their knowledge and accomplishments.It was not that the Warring States overthrew the Spring and Autumn Period, but the Spring and Autumn Period gave birth to the Warring States Period.

Scholars in the Warring States Period mostly rose from the common class, but they were not far from the Spring and Autumn Period at that time, and almost all of them were tainted with a strong sense of nobility in their lives and consciousness.Their academic direction still follows the Spring and Autumn Period, starting from the historical, global, and social humanistic spirit, and at the same time, they all have a great interest in political activities.The aristocratic class above also paves the way for them, and is willing to try their best to attract them to make progress.Most of them also take participation in the political circle as a natural way to develop their ideals and aspirations for life and society.Lectures and writing books have become his next job after he was not able to display politically.It was in his later years that Confucius devoted himself to lecturing and writing books.Mozi also ran among the countries all his life. The so-called "Confucius has no time to stay warm, and Mo Tu has no time to go to Guizhou" is because he is busy hoping to participate in political activities.Below Kong and Mo, this wind is very beneficial.In short, their spiritual interests cannot be separated from politics.

For example, Zhuang Zhou and Lao Dan are the most reclusive figures, but they write books and give lectures, and they also pay great attention to politics.Even if they are negatively criticizing politics, it proves that they cannot abandon their political ideas.This is also what it should have under the edification of the traditional humanistic spirit of Chinese history.Let's call this kind of attitude upward, because it is politically inclined, rather than downward, because it does not deliberately work hard from the bottom of society.At that time, the communication between various countries has formed a world-type cultural atmosphere.For example, Chen Zhongzi, even if he is buried in a small area and does not consult political affairs all his life, but the trend of the trend, everyone pays attention to him, still makes him unable to get rid of his political nature.The door of politics has been opened, and by jumping onto the political stage, one can make a great cultural contribution to the whole world, that is, the whole of China and all mankind. How can this group of intellectuals who focus on humanistic spirit not be eager to try?

Their lives and spirits are also very bold and unrestrained.At that time, Mencius was the most dissatisfied, but he had dozens of cars behind him, hundreds of followers, and passed on food to the princes.As you can see, King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi were the biggest and most powerful kings at that time.If you are willing to accommodate a little bit, and don't hang up the standard in theory, why not just talk to you and get to the prime minister.In the great battle of millions of troops and the fate of the country, a commoner scholar can express an opinion that can affect the whole world, such as Lu Zhonglian's righteousness but not emperor Qin.This kind of character and spirit makes future generations feel hopeful but unreachable.No wonder the Warring States generation, in the history of China, is the most admired and admired by later generations of scholars.

Once we understand this, we can see why Chinese scholars have never followed the path of Western natural science, why they have underestimated knowledge such as astronomy, arithmetic, medicine, and music, and regarded it as a skill rather than a deep study.These, among Chinese scholars, are only regarded as a kind of knowledgeable learning, only when they engage in larger activities and are expected to make more extensive contributions to society and life, there is occasional leeway for cleverness and strength, and they are flooded.In the whole life, it should only be a corner, a branch.If you specialize in this, it is like digging into a dead end, and the crowd thinks it is not urgent.The country is peaceful, the economy is prosperous, and the education is prosperous. In the view of Chinese scholars, all the internal affairs of the humanities circle have a higher priority than astronomy, arithmetic, medicine, music, and the like.Therefore, the management of astronomy and arithmetic is only transferred to the calendar, so that it can be beneficial to farming.For example, Zou Yan's generation, the Yin-Yang family, forcibly applied the only astronomical knowledge at that time to practical political applications. When talking about astronomy, they still talked about political principles, benevolence, justice, morality, and humanistic spirit.As for music, Chinese scholars only regard it as a kind of humanistic cultivation, a tool to achieve an ideal state of heart and personality.Confucius valued music most, and that was his view on music.Letting go one step further, it is used in interpersonal communication and social customs, and it is also a tool, a tool centered on the humanistic spirit.Therefore, in the Chinese intellectual circles, natural science cannot become an independent study.If one becomes independent from the center of humanities, and only treats one skill as another, and is underestimated by others, one cannot have the hope of further study.

This is not only true of natural sciences, but even politics, in the ideals of Chinese intellectuals, should never be political for the sake of politics.If politics is separated from the center of humanities, it is not even as good as a skill.The disciples of Zhang Yi and Gongsun Yan are so despised by Mencius, and this is the meaning.And Confucius, Mo, Mencius, and Xun will be ridiculed and ridiculed by He? Zhangren and Zhuang Zhou's disciples.You should know that Zhuang Zhou and others looked down on the political activities of Confucianism and Mohism, and they also focused on the humanities.The only difference is that his overall view of humanism is different from that of Confucianism and Mohism. In fact, he is still standing in the circle of humanities, not standing outside the circle of humanities, and criticizing from a super-humanistic perspective.If so, the level will be raised, and all knowledge and activities will be measured in terms of their significance and value based on their views on the humanities as a whole.Therefore, in the Chinese traditional intellectual circles, not only does it not have the ideal of specializing in one thing in the natural sciences, but also there is no ideal in the humanities circles to specifically explore a certain kind of knowledge and specialize in a certain kind of career.Because any knowledge and career are still just a tool and a way to achieve the entire humanistic ideal.If you focus on a particular part, you will be too paranoid to generalize. If you take one corner and don't know the three corners, you will still fall into one skill and one skill.Moreover, it belongs to one of the natural sciences, and it is still effective for the humanities as a whole.If in the humanities career, one part is separated to specialize in research, and one-sided views are used to move forward alone, sometimes it will be more harmful than beneficial to the overall humanities.

Disciples of Confucianism, such as Zilu's military management, Ran Qiu's financial management, and Gongxi Huaban's diplomacy, all have specialties, but Confucius especially admires Yan Yuan, who does not seem to be a professional talent.The Mohists have made considerable achievements in mechanical manufacturing, sound and light mechanics, but Mozi and the later leaders of the Mohism still do not focus on these.In the Warring States period, there were quite a few talents with expertise, such as Bai Gui's water management, Sun Wu's military management, and Li Kui's best efforts, but they were not the ones who were respected by the intellectuals.At that time, the pursuit of intellectual circles was still concerned with the integrity of the entire humanistic society.If we look at this point clearly, then although the intellectual circles of the Warring States Period were aimed upwards and pointed to politics, their fundamental motivation was still social, focusing on all the people at the bottom.They have this attitude, which makes them not only politics for politics, but politics for society, and politics for the ideal of the integrity of the whole humanities.Therefore, they all have a standpoint that transcends politics, which makes them sometimes at odds with real politics.Even though "Confucius has no time to warm up, and Mo Tu has no time to go to Guizhou", Confucius and Mozi have never been involved in the political circle. They often withdraw from actual politics because they do not meet their ideal conditions, and then engage in lecturing and writing books.But in their hearts, they still do not give up politics, and they still hope that one day their ideals will be realized politically.This kind of attitude is unavoidable even for Zhuang Zhou and Lao Dan.They also yearn for an ideal government and an ideal political leader.Therefore, Scholars of the Warring States Period are always positive about political ideals, but they are often passive and uncompromising about real politics, with a kind of regressiveness.This ideology has been passed on to future generations and has become a characteristic of Chinese standard intellectuals.

Politics is not accommodating and coping with reality, but a means and tool for a positive ideal of the entire humanistic system.This humanistic ideal can be deduced and sought from the cosmopolitan, social, and historical aspects of life.This spirit was still hazy and unconscious in the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was not until the Warring States Period that a conscious state was achieved.Their political ideals are performed from cultural ideals and life ideals, and politics has only become a branch of cultural life.Even if this ideal cannot be deployed in actual politics, it can still be expressed in other fields of life and culture.Mainly due to their personal life, and family life.Confucius once said: "Filial piety is the only thing to be filial. Friends are friends with brothers, and they are in government. They are also in government, and they are in government." This means that family life is also political life, and family ideals are also political ideals. Because it belongs to a branch of cultural life.Therefore, seeking to complete an ideal person can also be equivalent to completing an ideal politician, which is to integrate political career into the whole life.If politics is isolated from the whole life and becomes independent, then the original meaning of politics will be lost.To concentrate on being a politician does not necessarily mean becoming an ideal person. "University" has been consistent from sincerity, righteousness, self-cultivation, family harmony, country governance, and world peace, and its destination is "the first is all based on self-cultivation".Zhuang Zhou also said "the way of inner sage and outer king".The inner sage means sincerity, righteousness, self-cultivation, and family harmony, while the outer king means governing the country and bringing peace to the world.Governing the country and pacifying the world are only about realizing the ideals of life and culture.This ideal can only be realized in a large group of people before it can be realized in individuals.If this set of cultural ideals cannot be realized by everyone, how can it be realized by a large group of people?Because a great crowd is just a collection of individuals, without individuals, there would be no great crowd.

Human beings are originally equal, and everyone is a saint. The highest ideal of governing the country and the world is to make everyone a saint.In other words, it is to enable everyone to reach the highest state of an ideal cultural life.This work starts with each person himself, this is the so-called self-cultivation, the so-called way of setting the rules.Big and small, all sides are always one side, and everyone is always one person.If you know one square, you can know all squares.A person's ideal state can be everyone's ideal state.Political career is nothing more than helping others to facilitate this matter, while self-cultivation is to complete this matter first.This theory was specially proposed by Confucianism, but Mohism and Taoism actually do not contradict Confucianism on this point.This is a general norm of traditional Chinese thought, and individual personality must first define its category in the general personality.The sage is only a common category, a common model, the practice and expression of the ideal ordinary personality in the special personality.The sage personality is the most common personality.

According to this concept, any personality that is a special personality, or a personality that is a self-contained category and a typical personality, the less general it contains, the lower the ideal value of its personality.Confucius, Mozi, and Zhuangzi differ in the actual content of their ideal ordinary personality, but they all advocate seeking an ideal ordinary personality to practice and express the fundamental concept of special personality, and there is no difference.However, this ideal ordinary personality is still derived from the world, society, and history, that is, the humanistic spirit.This level is the same among Confucianism, Mohism, and Taoism.If so, then we should be an ideal person, not an ideal special person, but an ideal ordinary person.Ideally, the most common personality is a supreme personality.A saint is just the most ordinary person that everyone can reach.Therefore, they have turned from political interests to life interests, and this kind of life interest has a very strong religious nature.The so-called religious ones refer to those who recognize the value of life, which does not belong to individuals, but belongs to the whole group.After this identification, he is willing to submerge himself in the group and fulfill his individuality for the group. As for the particular personality, the individualism of transcending the crowd to achieve his particularity has never been valued by Chinese scholars, and this has become a characteristic of the standard intellectuals in China.Theoretically, scholars of the Warring States period consciously described these two characteristics for Chinese intellectuals, and then guided Chinese history and culture to a special path. two Scholars in the Western Han Dynasty, in terms of their traditional spirit, could not deviate from the Warring States period, but they were obviously different from the Warring States period in terms of the influence of the social situation at that time on the interest and character of intellectuals.The Warring States Period was a time when intellectuals participated in politics during the strife among nations, without the shackles of a certain legal system and a certain track.Wearing straw sandals and straw hats, you have to face the thirsty king.In the midst of a conversation, grabbing the seal is like Yu Qing.At that time, not only the king was courteous, but the nobles of a generation also admired the wind and deliberately became a corporal.At that time, there were tens of thousands of intellectuals who dared to visit the princes and lords as guests, and they could ask Yisi to travel in a car with a sword.Warring States scholars are serious in theory, and they have consciously surpassed the generation of nobles in the Spring and Autumn Period.But in life, he is indulgent, romantic, open-minded and unrestrained, unlike the nobles in the Spring and Autumn Period who have a traditional model.But although they are high-spirited, their actual life depends on the upper nobles and exists in a parasitic form.They can't get rid of the habits and styles of the times of traveling around the world, facing Qin and Mu Chu, one vertical and one horizontal. The unified government of the Qin and Han Dynasties was established, and the feudal aristocracy was gradually eliminated. There was only one way to become an official, and there was a legal order, and no one could exceed it.As a result, the scholar's arrogance was virtually suppressed.This situation was settled in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Dongfang Shuo was the first to lament about this.His "Answer to the Guest" said: "One moment, one moment." The times have changed, how can our identity and opportunities be compared with those of the Warring States period?Then there is Yang Xiong. His "Jie Miao" said: "Today's county magistrates do not invite scholars, county guards do not welcome teachers, group ministers do not bow to guests, and generals do not raise eyebrows." Feeling that there is no room for action.It is Ban Gu again. His "Dabin Xi" said: "Let us learn from Yan Yuan's food ladle and drink, and Confucius' Huolin masterpiece! As for Lu Zhonglian and Yu Qing's disciples, it happened by accident, how can we imitate it? What about it?" In their minds, they still remembered the old ways of the Warring States Period, but they knew that they couldn't learn from the current situation.Most of their lives are returned to the countryside, half farming and half studying.Gongsun Hongmu pig, Zhu Maichen and woodcutter, most of the scholars in the Western Han Dynasty spent three months of winter a year in their spare time, and they were very intelligent. They said that three winters and nine months were enough.Generally speaking, from being able to read and write at the age of fifteen to the age of thirty, after a long-term accumulation of fifteen winters and forty-five months, one must wait until the age of thirty to become a generalist.They no longer want to pack food and carry luggage on their shoulders, wandering around like warriors in the Warring States Period.Times have changed, they are promoted from county school to national university.After graduation, he returned to his hometown and worked as a small job in the local administrative office.Those with achievements will be selected and sent to the central government to serve as a guard in the palace. They usually stand in the palace holding a halberd.Therefore, scholars in the Western Han Dynasty were born as simple farmers in the countryside, conscientious college students, law-abiding civil servants, and guards who observed words and deeds.It is impossible to say that Qiwei's extraordinary encounter is so follow-through.As a result, the Western Han Dynasty had an atmosphere of honesty, prudence, modesty, and plainness. But the legacy of the Warring States Period in history can't be forgotten in their minds.Scholars in the Warring States Period often regarded themselves as saints, and if they were saints, they should be kings of Ming Dynasty.The king at that time really knew how to push back and give up the throne to him, and he dared to sit down honestly and be polite.As for being a teacher of the king and being a chancellor of a great country, that's a matter of waiting.Scholars in the Western Han Dynasty were otherwise, because their status was low, and they only praised Confucius as high as the sky, and sanctified Confucius.Confucius was their leader, and they therefore demanded that the king also honor their leader.In this way, the king's status can be leveled with them.It is also the requirement of the academic circle itself that academics should be determined by one statue, and it cannot be stronger than the emperor's power.As soon as the Han industry declined and the royal family's prestige fell, they finally supported an aristocrat who was a scholar and forced the Han Dynasty to abdicate the throne to Wang Mang.It was an opportunity for scholars to gain momentum. Unfortunately, he was defeated and the Han royal family was revived. Western Han scholars finally had a vision for the warriors of the Warring States Period. The style of scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty was different from that in the Western Han Dynasty.Wang Mang was a student of the imperial court, and Han Guangwu was also a student of the imperial court, which has caused abnormal images in the hearts of scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty.Moreover, since the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, the style of sociology has developed rapidly, and it is very common for dozens or even hundreds of scholars to gather together to study under a master.It is not uncommon for a master to have thousands of disciples in his lifetime.Scholars gradually occupied positions in the lower classes.Some people don't want to be official, and they don't want to enter official career.Gong Sheng in the last years of Wang Mang and Yan Guang in the early years of Guangwu are two typical figures of Chinese intellectuals in later generations.Being noble and not being an official is a characteristic of the Eastern Han Dynasty. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first launched Taixue, the number of Taixue students was only set at 50, and then gradually increased, from 1200 to 3,000, to 30,000 at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Taixue itself has become a big society, close to the central government's armpit, forming a group of its own, with its own power.Most of the students who come to study are middle-aged people. They are not eager to graduate and find a way out. They just use the school as a place to wander, and they will not leave for ten or eight years.The speech in Taixue gradually became the guide of public opinion in the whole country, influencing politics from left to right.There are too many people, and every word and action attracts attention and is romantic and beautiful. In the daily style of private life, it has also become a focus point for observation and appreciation. The style of study in the Eastern Han Dynasty gradually changed from religious awareness to artistic interest.Every private life is viewed and appreciated as a work of art.Guo Tai, Xu Zhi, and Huang Xian are all popular and overwhelmed by the whole world.The basic mood of Eastern Han scholars was still rural, but it was colored with the social color of metropolitan groups.They are not as simple and solid as the people of the Western Han Dynasty, nor are they as active as the people of the Warring States Period, but they have the grace and elegance of the people of the Spring and Autumn Period.Only the Spring and Autumn Period was aristocratic or bureaucratic, while the Eastern Han Dynasty became a commoner and scholarly style.The latent power of scholars has been deeply rooted in society. They have a high self-esteem and an intuition that is out of the ordinary.They became scholarly aristocrats, unlike the commoner scholars in the Warring States Period, and they were not as humble as the rural scholars in the Western Han Dynasty. Their social status made them despise political power and put it aside.At that time, fame was better than honor, and the honor of the government was no match for the reputation of society.The relationship between monarch and minister is far worse than that of friends.Their life has become a work of art, but it cannot withstand storms and battles.Politics is rapidly corrupted and dark, and the society is still clean and upright. In contrast, it has become a big conflict.In the prison of the party, the celebrities were exhausted, and the Eastern Han Dynasty also perished. In fact, that kind of scholarly aristocracy is not only cultivated under the ideology of scholars, but also advances in parallel in terms of socioeconomic status.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, aristocratic families had emerged.Generations of scholars have become generations of officials, and after the test of the Great Disturbance, the scholars have turned into heroes.So the Three Kingdoms era has become a special style.The Three Kingdoms seemed to be a short spring and autumn period. Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang, Lu Su, and Zhou Yu all jumped from the scholar to the political stage amidst the chaos. Scholar face.The confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi in Wuzhangyuan and Jing and Xiang of Lu Xun and Yanghu has become a good story in history.In the past, only the Spring and Autumn Period had such high elegance.The characters in the entire Three Kingdoms are neither bookish nor heroic.The traditional morale of celebrities in the Eastern Han Dynasty, such as Kong Rong and Guan Ning, are two types of celebrities, oppressed by the current situation, and concealed.The situation in the Western Jin Dynasty gradually stabilized, and the tradition of celebrities revived.Now the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, partial to Jiangdong, followed the famous scholars of the Eastern Han Dynasty.In the Five Hu and Northern Dynasties, the intellectuals who fell under the rule of foreign races went to the Three Kingdoms and went as far as the Western Han Dynasty.There is a heroic spirit in the simplicity, but the two sides are in the same background, but different from the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms. three Family status narrows a person's mind.On the one hand, it separates it from society and feels that it occupies a special position in society.On the one hand, it makes them look down on the government and feel that the country is not as important as the family.This kind of ethos was particularly prominent in the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties.The Northern Dynasties were in a difficult situation. In order to preserve their family status, they had to approach the lower class people to expand their power, and at the same time had to work hard politically to strive for security.The family background in the south is conservatism in the sense of superiority, and the family background in the north is aggressive in the sense of adversity.However, the two sides are both relying on the power of family status, and in the midst of the great turmoil, they were able to maintain the historical, traditional and cultural heritage, forming a strong barrier that guards first and waits later.Chinese culture has opened up a new field south of the Yangtze River due to the transfer of the southern family.And because of the siege of the northern gates, the old life of the Dahe River Basin was preserved.This is the indelible achievement of the family power as a low-level pillar in the great turmoil of history. As far back as the Warring States period, Chinese scholars had clearly drawn two major divisions in their humanistic ideals.Confucianism and Mohism are more upwardly inclined, while the lines of Taoism, Zhuang Zhou and Lao Dan are more downward-inclining.In their imagination, the return to simplicity is to restore the intellectuals gathered in the city to return to the countryside, and to restore the historical trend and return to the ancient times.This intention has long been deeply rooted in the latent consciousness of rural scholars in the Western Han Dynasty.Scholars in the Western Han Dynasty are Confucian on the surface, but they have a Taoist flavor on the bottom of their hearts.This kind of conversion became more and more obvious as it went on, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was a turning point.The integrity of the scholar-bureaucrats in the Eastern Han Dynasty was rather individualistic than social groups. The scholar-bureaucrats of the Three Kingdoms valued friends more than monarchs and ministers.Following Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, it is not the status of the monarch and his ministers, but the friendship and personal relationship between friends that make the three of them stand together.Zhuge Liang was willing to do his best for Liu Xianzhu. It can be said that he has a political view that Han and traitors are not equal, but more importantly, he was moved by the sincerity and sincerity of a friend who visited the thatched cottage.Otherwise, Gou Quan lives in troubled times and does not seek to be known to the princes. This is the attitude of Taoism, not the spirit of Confucianism.It can be seen that the Three Kingdoms era was still based on Taoism and Confucianism on the front, still advancing along the old track of the Han Dynasty. In the two Jin Dynasties, this unbridled attitude became even more apparent.From individualism, open the door is a friend, close the door is a family.Taoist thought, in the Western Han Dynasty, was to expose Huang Lao, and in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was to expose Zhuang Lao.Huang Lao is still political, but Zhuang Lao is individualistic.With the inner spirit of individualism, exaggerating the large-scale urban social activities of Shangtai Academy, it became the Eastern Han Dynasty type.Exaggerate the great turmoil of the Yellow Turban and Dong Zhuo, and it will become a Three Kingdoms type.It is exaggerated that under the temporary security of the small imperial court and the prosperous family environment, it becomes the type of Wei, Jin Qingtan and Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties.The friends at that time were actually individualistic in their hearts, and the families were still individualistic.After a long period of baptism in history and culture, individualism has never returned to the simplicity of the ancient times, but it has become a personal retreat, a deliberate pursuit of a complete and artistic life that does not wait for anything outside. Confucianism and Mohism set up ideals for the large group of people, hang them as goals, and know that they are impossible to achieve, but still pursue them with religious enthusiasm. This is the spirit of the Warring States Period.Now it is like a lonely bright moon hanging on the rough sea.In the bushes of thorns and vines, a branch of fresh, tender and beautiful flowers is cultivated.Bring the rural flavor into the bustling city.The difficult and dangerous government that endured the humiliation of the military and the country has degenerated in the mountains and forests.Naturally simplify the luxurious and pampered Anle family.It was a great comedy at the time, and it could also be said to be a great tragedy. There is absolutely no such mood in the northern family, and there is no such possible environment.Artistic life is impossible, forcing them to turn back to religious life.The impossibility of pastoral life forced them to turn back to political life.Zhuang Lao avoided to the south, while the north still returned to Confucius.They absorb social power to fight for politics, and then rely on political power to fight for society.In their imagination, it is impossible to have a person, and it is impossible to have a family.Their personal and family stability cannot be settled unless a rational government is established in the great society.The northern family background formed another kind of simplicity, another kind of innocence.The southern society turned gardens in the countryside, while the northern society plowed and sowed on the barren ground, and turned it into a field in the wild.The foreign rule was finally overthrown, and the prosperity of the Sui and Tang Dynasties finally came again. It was the achievements of the northern gentry to bring order out of chaos and reverse the rule of law. There is the same opportunity here, but the intellectuals from both the North and the South have invariably moved towards a new religion, that is, converting to Indian Buddhism.Individualists, on the other hand, hope for a transcendental religion to escape reality and place their minds on.Collectivists, on the other hand, hope for a supernatural religion to stimulate new life and restore strength.The south approaches Buddhism with the spirit of emptiness, while the north approaches Buddhism with the spirit of sorrow.However, there is still a common trend.When Buddhism entered China, it was still an upward trend rather than a downward trend.The most important thing is the development of Buddhism, the rapid intellectualization and theoreticalization.In other words, it is religious and philosophical.Theravada Buddhism is not popular in China, while the Mahayana sect is flourishing and flourishing.When Buddhism came to China, it did not spread directly to the lower classes of the Chinese people, but it was passed through the sand filter of Chinese intellectuals first.If this is the case, Buddhism came from the east, and it has been transformed step by step in the rational refinement of traditional Chinese culture from the beginning, so as to make it Sinicized.This point is the greatest contribution to Chinese history and culture made by the intellectuals from the north and the south at that time.This point is worthy of our special mention, and it should be further explained in a deeper level. As mentioned above, since the Spring and Autumn Period, Chinese intellectuals have been searching for a humanistic spirit in the world, society and history, as the center of their longing goals.This tendency reached rational self-awareness in the Warring States period.The most characteristic feature of this spirit is that it is universalized by submerging the individual into a large group.Although the function of knowledge is manifested in intellectuals, the object of knowledge and its ultimate goal have long been popularized.Although the intellectuals in the Spring and Autumn Period belonged to the aristocratic class, the objects of their knowledge were the general public, and there was no special class barrier among the whole population. This is not the case in the West. Westerners seem to have no interest in seeking knowledge for the general population from the beginning.Therefore, Western society originally developed from a fragmented and separate small situation.Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, India, Rome, Judea, and Arabia all have different worlds, different societies, and different histories, and the objects of knowledge tend to be individualized.In other words, it is a stretch of personality, not a cohesion of the group.Their philosophies of life are also moving towards their own paths.Wandering poets, sportsmen, musicians, political orators, sculptors, and geometers, each has his own personality, each has his own hobbies, and each has fully developed his talents and specialties.It is colorful and scattered in all directions. It stands to reason that society is a collection of individuals, and each individual advances separately, which is tantamount to a social group moving forward.However, there are differences.Those who lead the way on each line are always a small number of special elements, and those who are left behind and cannot follow are still mixed with the same color, and that is the true backbone of the social group.As a result, poets, athletes, musicians, orators, sculptors, and geometers have only become the objects of appreciation beyond the outside of the social masses. The objects of worship are not the masses themselves, and they are not shared by the masses themselves. All in common.Knowledge and ideal life become supergroup and external, and they are polygonal sharp radiations.In such a society, a common body of knowledge and ideals of life that are internally owned and shared by the masses must be required.And this body of knowledge and life ideals also appear in a form that transcends the outside, that is, religion, that is, God and God.The common humanity of the masses can only be reflected in God and God.The common demands of the masses can only be obtained by the side of God and God.The possibility of the highest development of an ideal life in life is not poets, musicians, sculptors, etc., but becoming a son of God and a religious believer.There must be such an object, and the masses will be satisfied with it.The masses are satisfied in this, but the common requirements for political society are diluted.As a result, unique talents continue to expand their special personality expertise. Poetry, music, sculpture, geometry, etc., can still move forward infinitely in the sharp radiation of polygons. Western culture follows this path, and politics is forever divided.Until recently, there were dozens of countries in Europe, and the society was always fighting for war, feudalism, capitalism, communism, and the waves followed one after another.Literature, art, science, and philosophy have become a single garment, to be sewn with the needle and thread of religion. The objects of knowledge and ideal life in China have long been concentrated on the common goal of the humanities as a whole.All knowledge becomes a branch of this knowledge.All development becomes the ladder of this development.All pursuits become instruments of this pursuit.Becoming a poet or a musician is just an extension of one's own personality, which is just a corner of the whole.Only serving the society as a whole is the highest vocation in life, which is why Chinese intellectuals are inclined and enthusiastic about politics.Enthusiasm for politics is not necessarily the depravity and shame of Chinese intellectuals.One must first understand a kind of enthusiasm for caring for large groups with religious connotations, and then one can understand the inner trends of Chinese pre-Qin scholars.From this comes a 180-degree turn, from governing the country and peace to the world to righteousness, sincerity, and self-cultivation, which is still not individualism.Everyone can be Yao and Shun, and the streets are full of saints, reflecting the general personality from private life, and the life of a large group.With the saint, there is no need for God.In the West, everyone can be a believer in God, but in China, everyone can be a saint.God transcends the outside and stands tall outside the human circle.The sage is reflexive and introverted, and is still an ordinary person in the humanistic circle. The yearning and worship of saints can be said to be the spirit of Confucianism.However, Taoists such as Zhuang Zhou believe that the word "sage" is already easy to attract people.It is easy to make people mistakenly think that being a saint is a kind of transcendence that is higher than everyone.So he sang "Return to Truth and Anti-Principle" and return to nature.Therefore, the individualism of Chinese Taoism is to enable people to be in harmony with the light, to dampen the brilliance of individuality, and to make the individual silent in the abyss of the masses, and to be confused as one, rather than requiring individuality to show itself in the group.Therefore, Taoists do not call their ideal man a sage, but a true man.A Confucian sage, everyone can do it.But the Daoist real person is naturally what he is, and what he does is what he loses.Taoism not only believes that ideal politics should be inaction, that is, the entire ideal life should still be inaction.The so-called "inner sage and outer king" in Taoism refers to an ideal inaction personality to lead the ideal inaction politics.All actions come from inaction, and must be built on inaction.With the body of inaction, the use of action occurs.In the Taoist ideal, the sharp radiation of the polygon should not break out of the great circle, and should not destroy the great circle.The polygonal radiation should return to the center of this circle and should be included within this large circle. If we look at Taoism with the traditional Chinese humanistic spirit in mind, we still can’t go beyond Confucian norms, and we are still making up for shortcomings from the Confucian standpoint, or we can say that it is deduction and extension.Therefore, the ideal person and ideal life in Zhuangzi's heart still often refer to Confucius and Yan Yuan. We must grasp the highest point of the inner spirit of Chinese intellectuals, so that we can look at the various disguises of Chinese intellectuals in the past dynasties without departing from the original place.In the multi-corner developed society in the West, no one can deny or reject a religious spirit that cares about the community of people.In China, the object of knowledge is originally based on the community of people, which has gradually become clear in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.Rural scholars in the Western Han Dynasty could not help feeling their own weakness due to the sudden establishment of a unified government, which made the spirit of the Warring States lose its vitality, and Han Confucians could only follow the rules in their respective divisions.After the failure of Wang Mang's new regime, the intellectuals of the Eastern Han Dynasty shrank their courage and enthusiasm for using politics to create an ideal society and realize their ideal life, and turned back to their private lives.This is the transition from Confucianism to Taoism, from Confucius and Mohism to Zhuang and Lao, falling into individualism, and being closed by family status and scholarly society, gradually losing concern for large groups under individualism. The coming of Buddhism from the east is another new stimulus. The old tradition of universality for large groups is revived by the invasion of new religions.First use Zhuang and Laohui to understand Buddhism, and then use Confucius and Meng to understand Buddhism. The weakened heart is injected with new serum and regains vitality.They were Zhi Daolin and Seng Zhao first, followed by Hui Yuan and Zhu Daosheng.尤其是后两人指出了人人皆具佛性，人人皆可成佛之根本义。在慧远时，中国所译佛经，根本尚无此义。在生公时，先出六卷《泥洹经》，所论与此义根本相反。生公因坚持此义，致为僧界守文同人所驱斥。其后《大涅槃经》全部译出，始证生公主张之是。可见慧远、竺道生两人，根本在他们能就中国传统文化精神来读佛经，故能从佛经中籀出中国传统精神之最要义。 魏、晋、南北朝佛学上之大贡献，不仅在能把印度佛教尽量吸收。更重要的，在能加以彻底消化，接上中国传统文化，使逐渐转为我有，使在老根上发新葩。这是此一时代知识分子之绝大贡献。他们具有一番坚贞卓绝，勇猛精进，悲天悯人的绝大宗教精神。而又兼之以中国传统人文中心理智的清明性，遂造成了中国知识界前古未有之另一新典型。我们要穷究上下四千年中国知识分子之诸变态，干万不该不注意到那时几部高僧传中所搜罗的人物。