On April 23, Zhang Rulun sat in the 87th session of the Xinhua Zhiben Reading Club and taught the Analects, which is a screenshot
If the book fair is the carnival of the publishing industry, then World Book Day on 4.23 is the Easter of the publishing industry. On this day, large and small publishing houses shouted: Read more! On the day of the World Reading Day, the Xinhua Zhiben Reading Club invited Zhang Rulun, an old friend of Wenhui Lecture Hall, professor of the School of Philosophy of Fudan University and dean of the School of Humanities of ShanghaiTech University, to give an online lecture on "Confucius and the Analects".
Zhang Rulun opened an Analects course in Fudan, and in an interview many years ago, he also said that among the ten favorite books, the Analects were the first. It seems that the spokesperson of the Analects is the second time he sat in the Xinhua Zhiben Reading Club on the day of the living reading day. Regarding reading, he shouted: "To know what China is, you must read the Analects." ”
Words are not classics, but the Analects are exemplary
Calling on readers to read the classics is Zhang Rulun's unchanging original intention. He believes that in today's era of fast consumption and fragmentation, reading time is squeezed. In the face of such a status quo, we should read the classics.
As for the question of "what is a classic", Zhang Rulun, a regular visitor to World Book Day, summed up and summarized it, and many years ago he criticized some views that "only the vision is limited to the duration of the classics" are too superficial. And has proposed that the classic is both a mature concept. At the Xinhua Zhiben Reading Conference, Zhang Rulun summarized the five characteristics that the classics should have:
Classics should have permanent value and significance, and they should also withstand the test of history, and classics must never be outdated; at the same time, classic works must have a broad and far-reaching impact, just as the Analects have a strong influence and profound influence in East Asia. Today, the whole world is reading the Analects, and the whole world draws nourishment from the Analects; in terms of content and form, the classic works should also be outstanding; and more importantly, Zhang Rulun believes that the core of the classics should be related to the general meaning of the basic problems of mankind. In Confucian language, it means that works that are "not as righteous as words" cannot be passed on for a long time.
Scholars of the Edo Period: The Analects were the first book on the supremacy of the universe
Obviously, Zhang Rulun believes that the Analects conform to the characteristics of the classics, and not only that, but the characteristics of the classics can be deduced from the Analects. The Analects are classics within classics. In his lecture, Zhang Rulun quoted a scholar from the Edo period in Japan who commented that "the Analects are the first book of cosmic supremacy."
For the Analects, Zhang Rulun believes that this book is not what ordinary people interpret, only focusing on the issue of personal cultivation, on the contrary, the book "Analects" is not only related to the perfection of the individual, but also related to the perfection of civilization. As Zhuangzi put it, Confucianism is concerned with the way of the inner saint and the outer king. The Inner Saint and the Outer King must be unified with each other. The Inner Saint is the preparation of the Outer King, and the Outer King is the target of the Inner Saint.
As a classic, the Analects is not only an ancient classic, but also carries the wisdom of ancient people, and Zhang Rulun believes that it can solve contemporary problems. It is precisely because the Analects establish a direction of uprightness and doing things that we can prevent us from falling into the logic of modernity and unable to extricate ourselves. At the same time, as a must-read book for ancient Chinese readers, the concept and ideas of the Analects have been deeply rooted in the genes of Chinese. Although many contemporary people have not read the original Analects, the language of the Analects has long been incorporated into the daily life, social culture of the Chinese. Therefore, Zhang Rulun believes that "today, to know what Is China and what is Chinese, we must read the Analects: to be an upright Chinese, we must read the Analects." ”
Confucius Thought: The Idealist of the Unity of Knowledge and Action
In recommending the interpretation of the Analects, Zhang Rulun recommended the New Interpretation of the Analects by Mr. Qian Mu. This is because Qian Mu once said, "The difficulty of interpreting analects is not in words but in meaning." The book "Analects" records Confucius's words and deeds through the brushstrokes of Confucius' disciples, and restores Confucius who combines knowledge and action, thus showing Confucius thought.
Zhang Rulun pushes Mr. Qian Mu's "New Solution to the Analects"
The content of the analects can be divided into three aspects, Zhang Rulun introduced. It contains what Confucius said and did, and what some of Confucius's disciples said. These are all documented.
In an exclusive interview with Wenhui Lecture Hall in 2014, Zhang Rulun said that he was an idealist. He also commented on Confucius in this way, and from the book "Analects", we can glimpse Confucius as a person. Zhang Rulun said that at present, many people criticize Confucius and believe that he is focusing on being an official. Indeed, at that time, only officials could realize Confucius's ideal ambitions. But Confucius did not become an official. Zhang Rulun explained that this is because Confucius never gave up his ideals, and Confucius knew that his ideals and ambitions were incompatible with the times at that time, and such a sober understanding and the faint sadness behind the understanding could be felt in the book "Analects". "Knowing that you cannot do it" is Confucius's insistence on truth and principle.
Trapped in Chen Cai: Confucius submitted the perfect answer sheet for the eldest husband
At the lecture site, Zhang Rulun gave an example of a story in the Analects. Confucius was trapped in Chen Cai, and his student Zigong believed that "the way of the master is the greatest, so the world cannot tolerate the master." Master Gai less degraded? That is, he asked Confucius to lower his stature, which made Confucius very angry, and replied: "A good farmer can harvest crops but cannot be a good worker, and a good worker can be skillful but not smooth." A gentleman can cultivate his way, discipline it, unify it, but cannot tolerate it. Jin'er does not cultivate the Tao but asks for tolerance. Give, and the ambition is not far away! Confucius made it clear that he had the ambition to adhere to the path of cultivation and regulate himself.
Confucius's trapping in Chen Cai triggered Confucius and Yan Hui's view of current politics
And Confucius's favorite student, Yan Hui, believes that Yan Hui said: "The way of the master is great, so the world cannot tolerate it." If you don't cultivate it, you are ugly. Since the Fu Dao has been greatly repaired and not used, it is also the ugliness of a countryman. It expresses that the reason why a person with great virtue such as Confucius cannot become a man is that the monarch of the country does not cultivate morality.
Zhang Rulun said that Mencius believed that the eldest husband had to experience three major difficulties, that is, the rich and noble could not be adulterous, the poor could not be moved, and the mighty could not be bent. Confucius experienced all of the above and submitted the perfect answer sheet at the same time.
Rebuilding value: Focus on the human world, the problem of the times is a human problem
As for the core of the Analects, Zhang Rulun believes that its greatness lies in the fact that Confucius rebuilt the value at the time of the collapse of the liturgy.
During the Spring and Autumn Period in which Confucius lived, the economy was further developed. A look at the bronzes of the time reveals that they are far more elaborate than in the previous era. This leads to the development of social productive capacity. But it was an era of "eating people with beasts". This is mostly recorded in the Zuo Zhuan and the Chronicle of the States of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Father-killing, king-killing, incest, and so on. War prevented the people from living and working in peace. At that time, ordinary people used the technical thinking of headaches to cure headaches and feet to treat feet to support those who held power. "These people can't talk about answering the questions of the times." Mencius praised Confucius as the "Holy One of the Time," meaning that he was a man who could truly answer the questions of the times.
Bronzes in the Spring and Autumn Period were better than those of the Zhou Dynasty
Confucius believed that the problems of the times boiled down to the problems of man. Man is a social life, and must live in social relations. But people still have a strong animal nature, like to do as they please, in the words of Mencius, "man is different from the beast of the few Xi", in the words of Confucius "I have not seen the virtuous as lustful". In the Confucian view, people are acquired learning, and only in acquired learning can they cultivate "second nature".
The importance of humanity: Gentlemen should not only pursue small knowledge
Zhang Rulun, who is currently the dean of the Humanities Research Institute of ShanghaiTech University, emphasized "why the humanities are important" at the first humanities festival of the science and engineering colleges and universities, believing that "in the data age, re-examining the relationship between the evolution of human knowledge and the development of civilization, and facing the more complex correlation between science and humanities, is not only the theme of the humanities itself, but also the topic that cannot be bypassed by the development of science and technology, and it is also a necessary content for "human" education."
In 2018, the World Congress of Philosophy was held in Beijing, and the theme at that time was "Learning as An Adult". More than eight thousand philosophers around the world have no doubt about the truth of this subject.
At the inaugural Humanities Festival of the Institute of Humanities and Sciences of ShanghaiTech University last year, Zhang Rulun explained the importance of the humanities
How to define science, Zhang Rulun believes that the so-called learning of the ancients is different from the so-called learning of the present. The learning of the ancients was not just about learning knowledge and learning skills. It's more about learning to be human. Confucius's learning is a life process that he himself calls "the study of oneself." But the purpose is ultimately for the meaning and integrity of one's own life. As Bangu puts it, learning is "enlightenment of what is unknown." Learning is the process of inner soul development. Learning is about perfecting one's own life, not for fame and fortune. Learning is about making your life meaningful.
At the same time, the ancients defined the science of being a well-rounded person, that is, a gentleman is not a tool. "The apparatus is suitable for its own use and cannot be figured out. The body of a virtuous person is all possessed, so it is used all through, not a special material and an art. In modern parlance, a gentleman cannot only pursue so-called professional knowledge, but also grasp the great wisdom of cosmic life.
As Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, he emphasized teaching according to his aptitude and encouraged him to become a generalist. Confucius was such a generalist figure. Zhang Rulun joked that if Confucius had lived to this day, he might have despised today's specialized education. Therefore, Zhang Rulun stressed that the so-called study must have a general understanding. Gentlemen should not only pursue small knowledge.
"Learning adults" is the first lesson that every successful person must learn
When he settled in Anhui, Zhang Rulun read Hegel's "Little Logic" in the cowshed selflessly, and afterwards, he communicated with his son who studied science: How can such a good book not be read. In many lectures ten years ago, Zhang Rulun always had a lot of anger at the fact that Chinese people did not like to read in addition to philosophy, compared with the past few years, his tone has gradually become calmer, but the power of promotion has not diminished. And the designer who was hired as the dean of the School of Humanities of ShanghaiTech University and boosted the future of the national heavy weapon, I am afraid that he is also paying tribute to the sage Confucius.
Author: Tong Yiying
Editor: Li Nian
Editor-in-Charge: Li Nian
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.