Book Exploration :
Guan Zi was written in the middle and late Warring States period, and most of the chapters were not written by Guan Zhong, but were collectively edited by later generations. Some of the contents are written in the name of the later trustees, and there are also some chapters that are not directly related to Guan Zhong. According to Chen Guying's research, some of the chapters of the book "Guan Zi" are the works of scholars under the Qi state in the late Warring States period, which is not completely consistent with the ideas of Guan Zhongqi, and the content of the book is largely Taoist-oriented, and advocates the combination of Taoism and law, from Lao Zhuang's idealism to the real society, which has a profound impact on the later Huang Lao thought.
It can be seen from this that "Guan Zi" is a collection of ideas of the pre-Qin Zhuzi, an encyclopedia jointly written by many scholars, involving the fields of governance, economy, military, society, philosophy, population, agriculture, etc., touching on the theories of law, Confucianism, Taoism, agriculture, bing, and yin and yang. According to the available materials, the book "Guanzi" was first mentioned in the "Han Feizi Wuyin" as follows: "The people in the territory of today are all spoken and governed, and the Tibetan merchants and the people who manage the law have it." There is also a detailed record in the "Records of History", which may have been Sima Qian's hand-read. In the Jin Dynasty, the scholar Fu Xuan objected to the author of the Guan Zi, saying: "More than half of the books of Guan Zhong were the work of the good deeds of the later generations, and the important articles were particularly despicable. Fu Xuan's evaluation of the famous chapter was not high, and he thought it was a vulgar work. Kong Yingda of the Tang Dynasty wrote in the "Zuo Chuan Zhengyi Yue: A Brief Outline of this Biography": "Those who have pipe books in the world, or who have been recorded by later generations, have very detailed words... It's just a matter of being in charge. The subject is not as good as yiwu five..." It can be seen that the author is not Guan Zhong. The Song Dynasty's Ye Shi's "Collection of Water Hearts" said: "The Pipe is not a one-man pen, nor is it a book of the moment, but was pushed by mao yan, Xi Shi, and Wu Wang's good sword, when it was the end of the Spring and Autumn Period." The "General Catalogue of the Four Libraries" said: "Today's examination of its text, more posterity will attach more books than Zhongzhi. Contemporary scholars generally believe that most of the popular texts of the Warring States or descendants in the book are not works of the Spring and Autumn Period, which has become the consensus of the academic circles. In fact, not only this book, in recent years unearthed a large number of Warring States to Han Dynasty bamboo books, books, the content of the text and popular is very different, because the version we read, mostly for the Han Dynasty revision, mostly not the spring and autumn Warring States original works, so some scholars believe that the unearthed documents make the history of Chinese philosophy, the history of Chinese philosophy, the history of thought has the need to rewrite.
Like most of the pre-Qin zhuzi, this edition of the Guan Zi was edited by the Han Dynasty scholar Liu Xiang. There are eighty-six articles in the Pipe, and the current ten articles have been completed. The whole book is more than 160,000 words: nine jingyan, eight foreign words, seven inner words, seventeen phrases, five district dialects, ten miscellaneous articles, four pipe solutions, and sixteen pipe weights. The Hanshu Yiwenzhi lists it as a Taoist, while the Sui Shu Jingshu records it as a Category of Dharma scholars. In fact, this book is all-encompassing, from different angles, there are different views, so the benevolent see the benevolent, the wise see the wise. Here we cannot help but ask, why should future scholars write books in the name of Guan Zhong? Mainly because Guan Zhongping was a representative figure of pragmatism, and his deeds played a decisive role in the Spring and Autumn Period, the world admired him, so many scholars used the name of Guan Zhong to play, hoping to establish a set of doctrines that are both pragmatic and moral values. Confucius once said: "Microtubule Zhong, I was sent to the left." It can be seen that even Confucius affirmed Guan Zhong's great deeds in fighting against YiDi and protecting Huaxia from Yidi. The Analects record Confucius's criticism of Guan Zhong's personality, but Confucius also objectively pointed out: "The princes of Huan Gong and Jiuhe do not use military vehicles, but also the power of Guan Zhong." As its benevolence, as its benevolence. Confucius recognized that Guan Zhongzun had meritorious service and played an indelible role in maintaining the authority of the Zhou Dynasty. Sima Qian said in the "History of Guan Yan Lie": "There are not many people in the world who do not care about Zhongzhixian, but Uncle Bao can know people." "It is believed that the world only praises Uncle Bao for being able to identify talents, but few people recognize Guan Zhong's talents." He also said: "Guan Zhongshi's so-called sages, but Confucius is small. Do you think that the Zhou Dao is weak, and the Duke of Huan is both virtuous and not reluctant to the king, but hegemonic? Words: Will go along with its beauty, save its evil, so that the upper and lower levels can be close to each other. What does it mean? Sima Qian refuted Confucius's criticism of Guan Zhong, arguing that even if he had, he would have done more than he had done. It can be seen from this that those who hold an affirmative attitude toward Guan Zhong are based on their meritorious achievements and want to cover up their motives with practical effects, which is very different from the "theory of deontology" in Western philosophy, which is judged by motives in everything, and Confucianism often judges by motives, so it is close to the "theory of obligation".
In the past hundred years, the "theory of obligation" has been regarded as a set of difficult to implement, on the contrary, "utilitarianism" is popular, everyone calculates how to maximize benefits, when discussing social policies, the justice of purpose is no longer the primary consideration of the argument, and the effectiveness is a necessary condition, this kind of thinking exists in the book "Pipe". However, this book is not close to individual utilitarianism, but takes social interests as the ultimate pursuit, which is a higher level than the situation in which modern people talk about the maximization of personal interests.
Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms era also often compared himself to Guan Zhong, zhuge liang is also another representative of realism, and historians often place it among the figures of the legal family. In order to achieve his goals, he did not care about means, and did not show any leniency in dealing with Li Yan and other native factions of the Shu state, and Zhuge Liang's admiration for Guan Zhong showed his historical influence. Guan Zhong was not a weak scholar like most of the sons, but a state of Qi with outstanding military achievements, Huan Gong honored him as Zhong's father, and he was also a model of rule through the ages, so later scholars used his name to write books and lectures, which could greatly enhance the persuasiveness of the work. This is the difference between the ancients and the present, the ancients liked to trust the famous books of others, but some people today have forced other people's works to name their own names, which shows that the ancient authors were determined to expound their own views, not to sell their reputation and write.
In terms of the study of "Pipe", since the Tang Dynasty Yin Zhizhang's annotation "Pipe", there have been at least more than forty kinds of annotations, of which Shi Yishan's "Pipe Interpretation" (part 1 and part 2), Xu Weisheng, Wen Yiduo, Guo Moruo's "Pipe Collection School", and Ma Feibai's "New Interpretation of Pipe Light and Heavy Articles" have the most profound influence. The "Anhui Pipe Research Association" has gathered dozens of experts and published hundreds of papers over the years. The philosophical study of "Guan Zi" was discussed by Taiwanese scholar Chen Guying and his students in a monograph and doctoral dissertation. As for the study of economic thought, Hong Kong scholar Song Xuwu has made pioneering contributions, and the research results of mainland scholars Zhao Jing, Shi Shiqi and others have been affirmed by the academic community.
Guan Zhongqiren:
Guan Zhong (725 BC – 645 BC), courtesy name Yiwu (夷吾), courtesy name "Jing", historically known as Guan Zi (管子), was a native of Yingshang (present-day Yingshang County, Anhui Province). His ancestors were descendants of the Surname Ji, the same lineage as the Zhou royal family, and his father was the doctor of the State of Qi, who later declined in the family and was very poor by the time of Guan Zhong. Guan Zhong, when he was young, used to be a businessman, and he also assisted the Duke of Qi (the brother of the Duke of Qi Huan), and after several twists and turns, he was recommended by Bao Shuya to assist the Duke of Qi Huan, was given the title of Shangqing, and finally helped the Duke of Qi Huan to establish a hegemony, and was respected as "Father Zhong", with the reputation of "the first phase of Spring and Autumn". Guan Zhong was in the Spring and Autumn Period when all countries were fighting side by side and fighting endlessly, and with the ideals of Ji Shikuang and the talents of the heavens and the earth, he proceeded from reality, attached importance to economic development, opposed empty talk, advocated reform to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and made the Country of Qi slowly stronger.
For Guan Zhong's exploits, the "Chronicle of the Chronicle of Cargo Breeding" has a detailed account: After the decline of Qi Zhong, Guan Zi Xiuzhi, set up the light and heavy Nine Provinces, then Huan Gong to dominate, the Nine Princes, one Kuang Tianxia, and the Guan clan also had three returns, in the vassals, rich in the kings of the nations. It is Qi Fuqiang as for Wei and Xuanye. The State of Qi has been prosperous since the founding of taigongwang (Jiang Ziya) until the middle decline after the King of Ping moved east, and the person who revived the qi state was not a scholar with family roots and successive secretaries of state, but Guan Zhong. The "History of Guan Yan Lie" also gives a detailed explanation of Guan Zhong's achievements: Guan Zhong used both, Ren Zheng yu Qi, Qi Huan Gong to dominate, Jiuhe princes, Yi Kuang Tianxia, Guan Zhong's plot also. ...... Guan Zhong has served as a political minister, and he is on the seashore with the unity of every district, accumulating wealth through currency, enriching the country and strengthening the army, and sharing the likes and dislikes of the common people. ...... It is also a government, good is a blessing because of misfortune, and failure is a merit. Weigh the weight carefully. ...... Guan Zhongfu is planned to be in the office, there are three returns, anti-collapse, Qi people do not think that luxury. Guan Zhong, the State of Qi obeyed its government, and was often stronger than the princes.
Because of this, Guan Zhong was committed to revitalizing the economy of the State of Qi during his period, using the path of commerce to make the circulation of commercial goods endless. He also reformed the financial system of the State of Qi, set up regulatory agencies, vigorously promoted economic development, and exercised close supervision over society. In this way, under the rule of vigorous efforts, the country prospered and laid the position of the Spring and Autumn Hegemony for the Duke of Qi Huan.
Sima Qian, in the "History of Guan Yan Lie", quoted Guan Zhong's confession: Guan Zhong: "When I was in trouble, I tasted with Uncle Bao Jia, and shared the wealth and profits with myself, and Uncle Bao did not think that I was greedy, and knew that I was poor. I have tried to be poorer for Uncle Bao, and Uncle Bao does not think that I am stupid, and I know that the time is good and unfavorable. I tasted the three shi three see the jun, Uncle Bao does not think of me as unworthy, know that I am not affected by the time also. I tasted three battles and three walks, Uncle Bao did not think I was timid, and knew that I had an old mother. Gongzi was defeated, summoned to death, my prisoner was humiliated, Uncle Bao did not think of me as shameless, knew that I was not ashamed of small sections and shame was not revealed to the world. The parents of those who gave birth to me, and the one who knows me, Bao Ziya. This passage reflects three points: First, Guan Zhong does not belong to the category of "knowing that he cannot do anything", but a realist, who retreated on the battlefield because of the care of his old mother in his family, and he is obviously not a typical figure with noble sentiments. Secondly, Guan Zhong is not a loyal vassal of the two lords, he does not care about personal reputation, only cares about whether he can realize his grand plan of governing the country, and only has the world in his heart, and the country is secondary. Third, Guan Zhong used to do business with his friend Bao Shuya when he was young, which shows that like Taigongwang, he was also a politician from a merchant background, and during his tenure, he devoted himself to developing the economy of the State of Qi, and eventually made the State of Qi dominate in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is worth noting that the models of traditional Chinese intellectuals, most of whom come from a family of scholars, or are innocent scholars, rarely have a background like Guan Zhong, who has a business background, and then reaches the upper class by his own efforts, and his background is similar to that of Lü Buwei (about 290 BC to 235 BC). From this point of view, Guan Zhong's listing as a figure of the Fa is really based on his substantive merits, because of his great reputation and great influence, which has laid the academic status of the book "Guan Zi". However, Lü Buwei, who had a similar background, similar status, and considerable influence to Guan Zhong, was not included in Sima Qian's "Chronicle of Cargo Colonization", but Guan Zhong, Taigong Wang, and others were selected together, because their merits were remarkable and still beneficial to the people, and they did not govern the country only for personal self-interest. Sima Qiannai inherited the tradition of "Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Period, and the chaotic courtiers and thieves were afraid", borrowed the history books to evaluate the characters, and made a lofty tribute to Guan Zhongqi, and other figures in the same biography also had multiple talents and moral qualities, and made great contributions to society, so in ancient times, wealth and nobility were two different things, the rich were not necessarily expensive, and the nobles had to be affirmed by all sectors of society. Today, some upstarts, the second generation of officials, and the second generation of the rich run amok, have no one in sight, and are rich but not expensive, and the reason is that they do not understand the principle of the importance of righteousness and profit, which is probably due to the fact that they have not been baptized by traditional Chinese culture. In guan Zhong's experience of ruling the State of Qi, Sima Qian also said in the "History of the Family of Taigong qi": "Duke Huan had guan Zhong, and together with Uncle Bao, Kui Peng, and Gao Dai to repair the state of Qi, even the soldiers of the five families set up light and heavy fish and salt to benefit the poor, Lu Xianneng, and qi people said." The "Chronicle of History" repeatedly quotes the phrase "cangxiao is realistic and knows etiquette, and has enough food and clothing to know honor and disgrace", reflecting that the historian Sima Qian, like the author of "Guanzi", believes that the government should first let the people enjoy the fruits of material civilization, and then pursue the development of spiritual civilization, and finally "benefit the people". This can be said to be a major attempt to combine realism with moral values, which should be paid attention to by today's people who ignore morality for the sake of excessive pursuit of profit.
There are still many praises for Guan Zhong in the "Records of History", and the "History of Guan YanLie" says: Taishi Gongyue: I read Guan Shi's "Herdsmen", "Mountain Heights", "Riding Horses", "Light and Heavy", "Nine Houses", and "Yanzi Spring and Autumn". Seeing his writings, and wanting to see his deeds, he passed them on. As for his books, there are many in the world, and they are regardless of their anecdotes. Guan Zhongshi is called a sage, but Confucius is small. Do you think that the Zhou Dao is weak, and the Duke of Huan is both virtuous and not reluctant to the king, but hegemonic? The saying goes: "I will go along with its beauty and save its evil, so that the upper and lower levels can be close to each other." "What does it mean?" Sima Qian's belief that Guan Zhong was "the so-called virtuous minister of the world" was an affirmation of his exploits, especially Guan Zhong's contribution to the economic development of the State of Qi. He also said in the "Book of History and Ping zhuan": "Qi Huan used the conspiracy of the public to manage the zhong, pass through the power of the light and the heavy, and the inheritance of the mountains and the sea, and use the princes of the dynasty to show the hegemony of the qi of the region." Wei used Li Ke, did his best, and was a strong jun. "In fact, in the real prosperous world in history, economic development and prosperity are necessary conditions. However, the State of Qi under Guan Zhong's rule is not only powerful in national strength, but more importantly, it is necessary to maintain international order and social justice with the advantage of national strength, to lead the allies to maintain the dominance of the Zhou Dynasty, and not to be associated with the country that has lost its morality and defeat, nor to bully the innocent in exchange for national stability. On the contrary, monarchs who blindly pride themselves on military and economic strength, such as Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, will inevitably be criticized by historians. Borrowing from the past to the present, the wise should follow suit. On the contrary, if we repeat the lessons of history again and again, it will always be the common people who will suffer.
Main ideas:
The idea of governing the country in the discernment of righteousness and profit
Historian Zhao Jing pointed out that the pre-Qin sons such as Guan Zi, Confucius, Mencius, Xun Zi and others also recognized that seeking profit was the nature of human beings. The "Pipe and Extravagance" more clearly put forward the proposition of "luxury and luxury", that is, the rich consume a lot to create employment opportunities for the poor, craftsmen, and women workers, and have food and clothing. Confucius said: "Wealth and nobility are what people want; they do not receive it by their way, nor do they do it." The focus of Confucius's discussion is to discuss the relationship between "righteousness and profit", which belongs to the elaboration of the ethical level. There is also a similar account in the "History of Guan Yan Lie": "Guan Zhong, who is in charge of the government, is on the seashore with the unity of the districts, accumulates wealth through currency, enriches the country and strengthens the army, and shares the same likes and dislikes as the common people." Hence its name: '... The degree of service is six pro-solid. If the four dimensions are not open, the kingdom is destroyed. The order is like the original flowing water, so that the people's hearts will be followed. In fact, "Guan Zi" is not only a collection of various schools, but also more flexible than Confucianism in terms of the concept of righteousness and profit, it is not like Confucianism, which regards moral values above life, and often talks about "starvation is small, loss of control is big" or "starvation to death in Shouyang Mountain", but tries to combine Confucian thought that tends to value rationality and Legalist thought that is close to instrumental rationality into one, breaking the logical fallacy of black and white and duality, and deliberately building a thinking system that attaches equal importance to both. Many people think that Guan Zhong is a realist, so most of the books promote the idea of mercenary interests. In fact, "The Pipe" is not just about profit, but about morality to be further realized after basic needs are met. Contemporary philosopher Yin Haiguang proposed that the meaning of life can be divided into four stages, namely the physical layer, the biological logic layer, the life culture layer and the value layer. Human beings need to climb up the ladder, enrich the basic needs and then sublimate to the level of moral ideals, so that life can be meaningful. The Guan Zi Herdsman Chapter also says: "The barn knows etiquette, and the clothing and food are enough to know honor and disgrace." It is to establish a sequence for the "concept of righteousness and profit", which pays attention to both substantive interests and abstract concepts, and advocates that reality is first and ideals later. This is not only more in line with human nature, but also easy to know and easy to do, and it is precisely to advocate that after satisfying the cultural layer of life, it is necessary to develop a moral and ethical layer, which is a bottom-up moral concept, which is different from the Confucian emphasis on sacrificing the small self and completing the set of the big self. In fact, this kind of thinking is the bright light of modern people, people both desire a stable life, but also want to contribute to society, they do not like to talk about ideals, think that the excessive goal is like a castle in the air, but also hope to have a role in moral practice, food and clothing and know honor and disgrace seems to be a reasonable goal in life. Incidentally, the Western philosopher Montesquieu during the French Revolution also put forward a similar statement, known as the "Montesquieu Proposition", believing that when the economy developed and got rid of the barbaric stage, people had the ability to pursue spiritual satisfaction. In a word, the statement presented in The Pipe is a profound insight into human nature. In a society where morality is degraded and almost omniscient, in the contemporary society where the road is uneven and walking, it is easier to cause people who have never paid attention to morality to reflect and enhance the morality of modern people.
Economic Thought The idea of governing the country put forward in the book "Guan Zi" is the most impressive, and has been quoted by scholars throughout the ages, especially in the economic aspect. There are two major paths of traditional Chinese economic thought, one is laissez-faire, represented by Huang Lao Thought, and Sima Qian's "good people are therefore the best"; the other is interventionism, and the "Pipe" with the color of the lawyer is a major abuse. Zhao Jing pointed out that the "Pipe" advocates state interference in economic behavior, which can be seen in the "Pipe" four people must not be miscellaneous. The class of scholars, farmers, industrialists, and merchants had a great influence on Chinese history, and the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate also thought that it was a national policy, but in fact, the "Pipe" was the initiator of this aspect. In this regard, Gu Yanwu, a beginner in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, also analyzed this in the "Records of Rizhi", which is said to be: Soldiers, farmers, workers, and merchants are called the four people, and their sayings begin with "Pipes". In the three generations, the show of the people was the order of the harvest, and the situ of the ascension was called the man. ...... It is said that most of the people are people with office, and evil has a place where the so-called masses gather and state, and the four peoples are each a village. After the spring and autumn, there are more and more tourists. The "Qi Yu" yan huan gong is eighty people, with chariots and horses, and more money, so that he travels around in all directions to call on the sages of the world, and the king of the Warring States takes the soldier as the weight, the writer as the Confucian, and the warrior as the hero. alack! The law of the first king is broken. The Chinese Qi Yu also records the dialogue between Guan Zhong and Huan Gong: "The four people should not make miscellaneous places, but the miscellaneous places should be confused, and the matter is easy." The book "Pipe" is more or less consistent with this historical material.
Both Guan Zhong himself and Guan Zi oppose the four people's miscellaneous places, which is due to the consideration of government governance, which believes that the easy control of various classes and the blocking of social mobility are actually greatly conducive to the "super-stable structure" of society, and national stability is the top priority of his doctrine. On the contrary, the other path is the liberalism led by Sima Qian, which advocates "the good because of it", believes that the market is the best way to let go, and opposes direct government intervention, which is very different from the theory of weight and weight put forward in the "Pipe", which advocates that the government set up institutions and supervise the market economy. For decades, China's practice of interventionism has caused extremely serious social problems; Western countries have talked about "neoliberalism", which has finally caused high debts in various countries and triggered an economic crisis. It can be seen that things must be reversed, and it is not easy to pass through the ages. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the art of huang lao was practiced, but after more than seventy years of Han Xing, because of its laissez-faire, the rich and the rich were even strangers, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the people's livelihood. When Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty actively reformed, he made the people's lives helpless because they competed with the people for profits, which is the law of historical development. Looking at history, when people's minds change, they will be at ease, living under liberalism for too long, and the people are eager to turn to socialism; on the contrary, the people under socialism want to live under liberalism. In the past three decades in South America, it has been constantly moving between the left and the right, the regime has been constantly changing, and the political situation has been unstable for a long time, that is, it does not understand the principle of impartiality in Chinese philosophy.