The article is excerpted from "The Tree of Guoxue" by Xu Wensheng
The relationship between the I Ching and the founders of Confucianism
Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, was deeply influenced by the Zhou Li and praised King Wen of Zhou and the Duke of Zhou many times in his Analects.
It is recorded in the Analects: "If you add me for a few years and learn Yi for fifty years, you can be no greater than that." "Confucius said: I only started to study the I Ching after I was in my fifties, and if I could live for a few more years, there would not be too many ups and downs. There is a "big fault" in this sentence, which is usually understood as a big fault. In fact, the zefeng from the "I Ching" is greater than the gua, which originally means that the development process of a thing has great ups and downs and many tosses. This shows the degree of Confucius's admiration for the I Ching.
The "History of Confucius's Family" records: "Confucius was late and liked "Yi", the preface "Elephant", "System", "Saying Gua", "Wen Yan", reading "Yi", Wei compiled the three absolutes. This is to say: Confucius was very fond of studying the I Ching in his later years, because he read it frequently and worn out the cowhide tendons used to tie bamboo jian many times. The cowhide band is very tough and can be worn, which shows the seriousness of Confucius's reading of "Yi". It is precisely because of this that Confucius sublimated the I Ching to a philosophical level, which played a guiding role in the development of Confucian thought.
Confucian Tai Chi
The core of Confucianism is Tai Chi as "filial piety".
"Filial piety" is derived from 爻從子,子承爻, and this character originated in the I Ching. Deconstructed into the word "earth" and the word "son" plus a "丿".
The character in the I Ching is Kun Gua, which represents the Mother Earth that gives birth to all things.
Words represent the growth of hair, the initial state of all things.
In the creation of characters, it represents a process from ancient times to the present.
"Filial piety" embodies the idea of having the origin of the earth and is a gratitude for the origin of all things in nature. Filial piety makes people understand that new things come from the earth and will return to the earth. You are a product of the earth and cannot forget your roots. Filial piety embodies the core values of inheritance and gratitude, and only in this way can society be beautiful.
Confucius in the "Zengzi Zhongni Idle Residence" said: "Filial piety, the scripture of heaven, the righteousness of the earth, and the people's practice of heaven and earth, and the people are the rule." "Confucius said that filial piety is a Confucian virtue that everyone should have.
The Yin and Yang of Confucianism
The concept of yin and yang is ubiquitous in Confucian classics. Confucius subdivided yin and yang from the level of heaven, man and earth, specifically to the social level, yin and yang are benevolence and righteousness. Benevolence is altruism and is yin, while righteousness is appropriate and yang.
"Yi Chuan Say Gua Gua": "It is the way of establishing heaven, known as yin and yang; the way of standing on the earth, known as soft and rigid; the way of establishing people, known as benevolence and righteousness." "Benevolence, as the two characteristics of Confucianism, is the essence of Confucianism.
The three talents of Confucianism
Combining the I Ching's model of heaven, man, and earth, Confucianism established a unique Confucian model of the three principles: "junchen", "husband and wife", "father and son", junchen is heaven, husband and wife are human, and father and son are earth. As it is said in the "Liwei Han Wenjia", "the king is the subject", "the father is the son", and "the husband is the wife".
Junwei Is to let the leader set an example, fulfill the obligation of leadership, and drive the progress of employees; the father for the son is to let the father set an example for the child and educate the children; the husband is the wife program is to let the husband assume the responsibility of the family and take good care of the family.
The Four Elephants of Confucianism
Confucianism combined the four elephants of the I Ching to derive the four religions. The four disciplines of Confucian education for students are an important way to spread Confucianism from top to bottom, and have a far-reaching impact on the development of Confucianism, and the four teachings are "wen", "xing", "loyalty" and "faith".
Wen should be sensitive and studious, and possess the nature of a little yin that is constantly absorbed; the deeds must be respectful and have the nature of a little yang that is continuously implemented; loyalty must be joyless and unashamed, and has a firm and calm old yang nature; faith must be irreproachable, and it has the old yin nature of doing what is said. This is what the Analects expound on: "The Son teaches in four ways: writing, deeds, faithfulness, and faith."
The Five Elements of Confucianism
Dong Zhongshu, the great Confucian of the Han Dynasty, integrated yin and yang and the five elements into Confucian thought, and put forward the idea of heaven and man induction and the unity of heaven and man. The core values of Confucianism, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith, are summarized as the "five constants", and behind each word in the "five constants" there are corresponding attributes and characteristics of the five elements of nature, that is, compared with the five constants of man, there is benevolence with wood, righteousness with gold, etiquette with fire, wisdom with water, and faith with earth.
"White Tiger Tongyi Temperament" says: "What are the five sexes? It is said that ren yi li zhi xin also. The wise man, who knows also, sees and hears only, does not confuse things, and sees the micro and knows also. Believers, sincerity, single-mindedness also. Therefore, people should be born with the body of gossip, and they should have the five qi as normal, and the benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and faith are also true. ”
The benevolence of the five permanents is the altruism of taking the benevolence, and these are the characteristics that conform to the growth of the wood and the state of benevolence; the righteousness of the gold, which is in line with the righteousness of the righteousness, is in line with the solemn and authoritative characteristics of the gold; the gift is matched with the fire, the ritual is the norm, it needs to be manifested and expressed, and it is accompanied by the manifestation and lighting attributes of the fire; wisdom is the hidden wisdom, the water master's intelligence, the energy hidden inside and not outward, so the wisdom is distributed; the faith is the fulfillment of the promise, it is loyal and honest, and it is equipped with the generosity and bearing of the earth.
Everyone tastes this "benevolence" word.
The word "ren" deconstructs it as one and one, which is what it means to go together. In social relations, any two people who get along for a long time are prone to contradictions, and even couples who love each other will quarrel, so "benevolence" is to solve the disharmony between people and people. If you understand the word "benevolence", the contradictions between people and people will be easily resolved.
For example, if you and a friend agree to travel, you come to a strange place and get lost. At this time, it was also dark, and you were cold and hungry, so you tossed and turned for two or three days, and finally the hungry stomach still did not find a way out. Suddenly you find an apple on the tree and divide the apple in two, but half the big and half the small one, and at this time you take the big one away. What is this, called self-interest, to say that the vulgar point is selfishness; if the apple is equally large, you are half and I are half, it is the right balance, this is called harmony; if you take the small one away and give the big one to a friend, this becomes "benevolence", and "benevolence" is altruism. Therefore, the "benevolence" advocated by Confucius since the birth of Confucianism is the meaning of altruism.
The Confucian "benevolence" is determined as a moral code and code of conduct that people must abide by, and the value concept of benevolence is internalized into people's sense of behavior through education. Confucianism speaks of "benevolent people love others", but it is not limited to "love", but goes beyond "love". Usually love is two-way and requires feedback, while benevolence is one-way, forming a habitual altruism. Confucius said that "one wants to stand up for oneself, one wants to reach one's own", which means that if he wants to do something, he should know how to help others make a difference, and what he wants to achieve, he should help others to achieve it, which is the embodiment of pushing oneself and others, the root is the extension of "benevolence", pushing oneself and others is the transformation process of yin and yang, self-yin, others as yang. And altruism is also self-interest, which reflects the unity of yin and yang.
Confucius never ignored the selfishness of people, but fully understood and affirmed the pursuit of personal interests, and took it as the starting point and destination of his theory, which made Confucius's theory stand on the basis of actual human nature. The purpose of the "benevolence" that Confucius wanted to achieve was to transcend personal self-interest and achieve the realm of serving the common good and others, so Confucius pursued comprehensive altruism, and he spoke of "self-denial" and "self-denial and others".
When people do things from the perspective of thinking about others, then others will also think of you from your point of view, which is a virtuous circle, and altruism will eventually circulate to self-interest, so that cause and effect will produce positive feedback.