Wen | Yan Xiao'er to write a philosophical text
Since ancient times, China has been known as the "state of etiquette", and it is not Confucianism that is the first contributor to the "zhili" and "shouli" boom that has lasted for thousands of years in the Central Plains. The spiritual core of the Confucian "ritual", in Yan Xiao'er's view, is actually one of the important humanistic spirits representing the high development of Chinese civilization, that is, "benevolence".
"Benevolent people love others", in this regard, "benevolent people know etiquette and keep etiquette", "hundred good filial piety first" is a "phenomenon" in society, not a "slogan". Confucian Mencius once implied "the place where the holy king is" with "good old man", and in this regard, Mencius's move is actually a side recognition, the more civilized and harmonious the place, the more respectful and decent the attitude towards the elderly. If you want to talk about the reason, it is probably the infiltration of the noble sentiment of "benevolence" into people's lives under civilized society.
In other words, the attitude towards the elders and the elderly, under the civilized society, people who maintain themselves with "benevolence" will show a higher quality side, that is, they will take "filial piety" and "respect" as the first.
1. The wisdom and civilization in Mencius's eyes: "I have heard of the Elderly of Xi Boshan"
In Mencius's time, when the princes were vying for supremacy and the people wanted to live a better life, it was important to follow the wise monarch. How do you tell which monarchs are wise and unwise? At this time, Mencius took King Wen of Zhou as an example and introduced the phrase "I heard of the elderly of Xi Boshan".
Regarding the "I heard of the Siberian Elderly", the context is this:
Mencius said: "Boyi Peiyun, living on the shores of the North Sea, Wenwen Wangzuo, Xingyue: 'Return to the earth!' I have heard of the Elderly of Sibershan. 'Tai Gong Pu Yi, living on the coast of the East Sea, Wen Wen Wang Zuo, Xing Yue: 'Return to the Dragon! I have heard of the Elderly of Sibershan. ’
This sentence is Mencius guiding people to think about what characteristics the sage will bring. At that time, in order to escape the tyrannical rule of king Shang, Boyi heard that King Wen of Zhou had done something, so he said that he should defect to Xibo because he was willing to serve the elderly; coincidentally, Taigong Jiang on the coast of the East China Sea also went to defect because "King Wen of Zhou was good to the elderly".
Bo Yi or Jiang Taigong were all impossible wise elders, and they were all attracted by the sages of King Wen of Zhou, and then made a choice. This shows that a virtuous king will attract wise elders, and by extension, civilized countries under the leadership of wise lords are often "good at serving the elderly".
2. Why can "feng pensioners" judge the degree of civilization to a certain extent?
After understanding Mencius's view of the "wise king" in the above philosophy, let's talk about the relationship between "serving the elderly" and "civilized level".
We know that one of the theories of Confucian Mencius, which is quite famous, is the "theory of sexual goodness". In the theory of sexual goodness, Mencius believed that man is born good, and although goodness is innate, there are also times when he is deceived, so that he needs to continue to learn, accept indoctrination, and in reflection, let himself always ensure that people are different from the good deeds of animals.
From this, carefully pondering Mencius's theory of sexual goodness, Yan Xiao'er believed that some friends could appreciate Mencius's harshness in "self-cultivation". In his view, the difference between man and animal is that "benevolence and righteousness and wisdom are not self-reliant, I am inherent", and "benevolence and wisdom" corresponds to animal "desire", which is colloquially "pure self-interest" and "pure pursuit of profit and avoidance of harm".
From the perspective of "pure self-interest" and "seeking benefits and avoiding harm", aging is a kind of "downhill stage" for life. The emergence of "aging" individuals in the group, from the perspective of the jungle law of "survival of the fittest", "aging individuals" will undoubtedly reduce the possibility of this group winning the "survival competition" in the jungle wilderness.
Or to put it this way, in a world of pure self-interest, there is only "competition for strength", and the rules are such a simple but cruel logic as almost "eating" and "being eaten", which is a relatively simple but difficult to find the state of human civilization.
That is to say, "serving the elderly" is actually a manifestation of the development of human civilization, showing that people have broken away from the relatively barbaric and inherently barren era of the jungle of simply "competing for strength".
3. About the Elderly and Civilization and "Devotion"
Written in the end, Yan Xiao'er here to say more about the two keywords of "civilization" and "serving the elderly".
First of all, civilization is not an external slogan, but an embodiment of inner cognition from the inside out. Some people are civilized and courteous, and some people turn civilization into "masks", and we must look at this phenomenon objectively. The difference between "advanced" and "backward" is sometimes here.
Secondly, for "serving the elderly", Yan Xiao'er feels the need to say that since ancient times, China has never advocated "foolish loyalty", and even more opposed to "foolish filial piety", regardless of whether it is black or white, and the requirements of parents and elders are obedient, this kind of behavior is by no means "filial piety", but almost "killing". The "foolish filial piety" of "obedience" is not much smarter than the behavior of "abandoning the old and the weak under the law of the jungle", and can even be called a "sad phenomenon" in the era of civilization.
Our ancestors once pointed out that we should "adopt the aspirations of our parents", which mainly means that the real support for the elderly is the interest of the elderly, and it is necessary to help the elderly cultivate good interests and hobbies, maintain an optimistic attitude, cultivate themselves, and raise their lives in a guided way. In this regard, in the face of the old man's wayward and even wrong words and deeds, the "filial piety" of the true civilization era will not obey, but skillfully guide and correct. You can take a look.
[This article is Yan Xiao'er's original and exclusive release of zhewen, any infringement such as porting, plagiarism, etc., which must be investigated if found]