The term "Spring and Autumn Without Righteous War" comes from "Mencius, Under the Heart", in the eyes of Mencius and even the whole Confucianism, there was no just war in the Spring and Autumn Period, why? During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Li Le collapsed, Zhou Tianzi could no longer bind the princes, and the countries committed many acts of trespassing, and it was enough to claim that the king was hegemonic.
"Li le conquest from the doctor"
, is also commonplace. Mencius, who inherited the mantle of Confucius and preached "benevolent government", was dissatisfied with this and denounced such behavior, thinking
"Li le conquest from the Son of Heaven"
This is in line with "righteousness", so the attacks and annexations between the princes are "unrighteous", which is why this sentence is born.
One
The liturgy collapsed, and the princes were unrighteous
During the Zhou Dynasty, lile, which represented the registration system, was originally used to regulate the status of the nobility and to bind the princes. In the past, Zhou Gongdan's two crusades deeply felt the breadth of Zhou Tianzi's rule, so he consolidated class differentiation from "rites", controlled people's thoughts and public opinion by formulating various canonical systems, made them applicable to the patriarchal system, and sublimated "music" to make it a treatment, and at the same time for better propaganda and consolidation of class rule.
However, King You of Zhou fainted, deposed Chang Liyou because of his favor for Her majesty, deposed Empress Shen and his eldest son Ji Yiusu (姬宜臼), and made Him the crown prince, and ji Bofu, the son born to Him, was made crown prince and harmed crown prince Ji Yiusu. Shen Hou's father, Shen Hou of the State of Shen, was furious and attacked King You of Zhou with Inuyasha, killed King You of Zhou at the foot of Mount Li, and western Zhou perished, and then together with the princes, he supported the succession of his former crown prince Ji Yiusu as King ping of Zhou. The people of Zhou and the princes and nobles set up Yu Chen, the brother of King You of Zhou, as the king of The Belt, because the King of Carry was established by the Zhou Chamber, and the King of Ping was established by the Shen State who was the enemy of the Zhou Room, so it was said that the King of Zhou was the orthodox, and for a time there was a situation of "two kings standing side by side". In order to make himself "righteous", King Ping of Zhou not only relied on Qin Xianggong to send troops to escort him to the capital Luoyi, which was intended to avoid the harassment of Xi Rong, but also to get close to the princely states such as the State of Lu and the State of Jin, hoping to continue to gain their support, and also made Marquis Wen of Jin attack and kill the King of Zhou, so that the Zhou Dynasty was reunited again. The reputation of this "father-killer" Zhou Tianzi was lost, and because the Eastern Zhou moved the capital, the land was narrow and widowed, and it was no longer able to control the princes, so in the Spring and Autumn Period, Li Le collapsed.
"The princes are strong and weak, Qi, Chu, Qin, and Jin are great, and the government is governed by Fang Bo"
Thus began the war without "righteousness".
Second, benevolence and righteousness are not done, and there is no morality in war
Mencius:
"There is no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn. If he is good at this, he has it. Those who march, up and down, the enemy countries do not march also. ”
This means that there was no "righteous" war during the Spring and Autumn Period. Which country may be a little better than this one, such a situation is true. The so-called "conquest" refers to the fact that countries of the same rank cannot crusade against each other. In Mencius's view, only the Son of Heaven can start a war in this world, and there is no morality in the conquest between the princes.
"If there is a way under the heavens, then the lile conquest comes from the son of heaven; if there is no way under the world, the lile conquest comes from the princes."
Therefore, the Confucian school headed by Mencius has a lot of denigration about war, and believes that the so-called righteous war must use the order of the Son of Heaven, so it is said that "conquest" is "up and down". Princely states of the same status are fighting each other, that is, contempt for the Son of Heaven and lack of kingly law, which is "the crime of trespassing."
But it does not mean that all wars were despised by Confucianism, Qi Huan Duke "Honoring the King", the Son of Heaven did not dare to offend, treated with courtesy, later generations seem to think that Zhou Tianzi is too "useless", can only be a puppet king, and the Confucians believe that Qi Huan Gong led the princes to pay tribute, this is a benevolent act, the Qi State "Summoning the Master of the Tomb" is Qi Huan Gong under the banner of "Honoring the King", successfully curbed the expansion of the Jing barbarian Chu State, and safeguarded the interests of the Central Plains countries, so it is also in line with morality. But this does not change the chaotic situation of "liturgy collapses, and people's hearts are not ancient", so Mencius said although
"If he is good at this, he will have it"
However, in the end, it was still "Spring and Autumn Without Righteous War".
Third, war cannot be avoided, and only self-improvement can be achieved
"Soldiers, the great affairs of the country, the place of death and life, the way of survival, must not be unaware"
In Sun Wu's view, war needs "benevolence and righteousness," but it does not put "benevolence" in the first place, so on the one hand, "Sun Tzu's Art of War" talks about "benevolence" and "courtesy," but does not put it in the first place; on the other hand, it is a heavy utilitarianism, and in the war of annexation, big countries compete for hegemony and small countries seek survival, which are all manifestations of "heavy utilitarianism", so war is inevitable.
Sun Wu believes that:
"Generals, wisdom, faith, benevolence, courage, and strictness."
It can be seen that "wisdom" and "faith" are all in front of "benevolence", why? Because the war is for the nobility, but the main body participating in the war is the head of the qian, and the common people do not understand culture, how can we talk about "benevolence and righteousness"? Therefore, when Sun Wu talked about the five virtues of the generals, it was very natural to put "wisdom" in the primary position and the demand for "benevolence" in the secondary position. Moreover, this "benevolence" is not the "benevolent government" advocated by Mencius, but the "benevolence" is used for the management and education of soldiers, that is, "treating the pawn as a beloved son" and so on. In Sun Wu's view, fighting for the country and treating the people as sons is "benevolence". The wars in the Spring and Autumn Period were all due to the decline of the Zhou royal family, the world needed a new "common lord", countries attacked each other, small countries were annexed by big countries, all of them worked for "peace", so the wars in the Spring and Autumn Period also had "wars of benevolence and righteousness".
Some people think that this is the Zhou royal family's self-inflicted suffering, when it declines, it is naturally necessary to determine the new "Son of Heaven" through war, and the war in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period is also conducive to national migration, cultural integration, economic and political development, which are all "benevolent" moves. And some people think that it is precisely because of the long-term struggle for hegemony that The lile collapses, the princes are unjust, the people are not happy, and the princes are vying for hegemony, the purpose of which is to plunder land, population and compete for control of other countries, even the Duke of Qi Huan, who "honors the king and yi", is not unable to do it because he cannot annex the world? So the wars they fight are all unjust wars. Both sides have their own opinions, but whether this sentence is correct or not is up to the readers to decide for themselves.