What kind of influence Confucian culture has had on ancient Chinese science and technology has been a common but inconclusive question in China's intellectual history, scientific and technological history, and social history since May Fourth. This paper attempts to examine the influence of Confucian culture on science and technology with the Northern Song Dynasty as the center.
The reasons for the prosperity of Confucianism and its impact on science and technology
I. Confucianism and Confucian Scientific Thought in the Northern Song Dynasty
(1) The characteristics of Confucianism itself
Confucius in the Spring and Autumn period first proposed Confucianism, but at this time it only referred to the emcee, and it was not until later developed that it changed into a system of thought of a respectful and inferior nature, and Confucianism, which is the abbreviation of Confucianism, is the mainstream school in ancient times on the mainland.
It has a strong influence on the continent, Southeast Asia, and even the world. Respect and affinity are the most basic laws of Confucianism, which emphasizes morality, propriety, and people governing the world. It has long been embraced by the rulers as the core ruling ideology based on Confucianism.
1. The nature of Confucianism
There are many opinions about the nature of Confucianism. Or it belongs to political philosophy, or it belongs to management philosophy, or it belongs to life philosophy, and so on. Scholar Deng Xinwen felt that Confucianism for Confucius referred to simple concepts of life, such as learning first, such as learning first. What we call learning today is not the same as what Confucius called learning. Confucius's knowledge cannot be completely equated with modern technology, art, philosophy, knowledge, etc., but his knowledge covers these things.
For example, Mencius Teng Wengong says, "Man has a way; Comfortable, warm, full but uneducated, there is no difference between sending and beasts. The saints have a worried heart, and use Situ as a teacher to teach people, teaching people ethics and morality, there should be family affection between father and son, righteousness between kings and courtiers, courtesy between husband and wife, affection between elders and children, and credibility among friends. ”
2. The social edification function of Confucianism
The role of edification is one of the most basic functions of Confucianism, and Confucianism was originally taught chemistry. The demand for Confucianism in different social contexts is also different, and for this reason, the edifying role played by Confucianism in different periods of development is also different.
- The representatives of pre-Qin Confucianism were Confucius and Mencius, the idea of indoctrination was social harmony, and the content of indoctrination was the cultivation of character.
- The typical representatives of Confucianism in the Han and Song dynasties are Zhu Widow and Dong Zhongshu, whose indoctrination concept is the unity of heaven and man, and the content of indoctrination is the doctrine of ritual numbers.
- The representatives of modern enlightenment Confucianism are Tan Yantong and Huang Zongyi, whose indoctrination ideals are fair and people-oriented, and the content of indoctrination focuses on people's wisdom.
3. The scientific connotation of Confucianism and its impact on people
It can be said that in the influence of science on people in today's era, the reconstruction of "rites" is very important. However, many of the "rite" teachings in traditional Confucianism are not in line with the scientific spirit, and some need to be eliminated; There are also some that you can add to the connotation of science to enrich yourself.
Confucius said that "covenant etiquette", this ritual must respect science, in ancient rites and religions there are many parts that overly suppress or destroy human nature, which is not in line with the spirit of science. This does not affect the binding effect of "etiquette". "Sincerity" is the core concept of Confucianism, and honesty must be used as the principle in everything we do for others. It is also an important part of the "rite".
(2) The reason why Confucianism flourished in the Northern Song Dynasty
1. The policy of suppressing martial arts and rewriting by the rulers of the early Northern Song Dynasty
In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the idea of respecting the text and degrading martial arts was officially born. Most historians have lowered or even denied the formation of a culture of emphasizing culture over martial arts in the Song Dynasty, believing that this is the root cause of the "weak Song". The so-called emphasis on civilization and light on military force in the Northern Song Dynasty was not actually manifested as contempt for the army. The importance of the armed forces, their status and role, are all perceived by the monarchs.
Therefore, Taizu and Taizong not only did not despise armament, but also attached great importance to the army. First, the early Song Dynasty transferred military power to the central government, but it was too concentrated in the hands of the emperor. Second, in the early Song Dynasty, it was right to separate the military from the government, and it was right for the military not to represent the government, but it developed into a civilian-administered army.
2. The transformation of the style of the Northern Song Dynasty
The Northern Song Dynasty was at a very special time in history, and it provided an excellent opportunity for literati to realize their political ambitions. The reason why the Northern Song style will gradually change and present a different appearance from the High Tang Dynasty is because the economic transformation and urban development constitute the change of Shilin customs and social trends in the Song Dynasty.
To sum up, compared with the previous dynasty, the morale of the Northern Song Dynasty has undergone great changes, whether it is behavior, speech, thoughts, concepts, etc. This is inseparable from social reality. In addition, the scholars after the Northern Song Dynasty recognized the contribution of industry and commerce to society, which was also a significant sign of the change of the style of the Northern Song Dynasty.
3. The reform of the imperial examination system and the promotion of the Xingxue movement
The reason for the improvement of the imperial examination system was that there were many changes in the economy, society, politics and so on at that time, so the Song Dynasty selected talents according to personal talent and ability as the criteria, rather than following the system of promoting talents from the mouth.
In addition, the rules of the imperial examination have also changed, and the content of the examination focuses on governing the country, so that pragmatic talents who are conducive to the development of the country can be selected. For this reason, the reform of the imperial examination system implemented in the Song Dynasty increased the productivity of the society at that time, and also made the values develop in a more practical direction.
As a profound imperial examination reform and large-scale attempt to promote education in the Song Dynasty, it at least created a culture of attaching importance to school education in society and promoted the development of ancient education in the mainland.
(3) The influence of Confucianism on science and technology
1. Confucianism and the development of science and technology
In the pre-Qin era, the concept of Confucianism began to take shape, especially in the Song Dynasty. However, this concept of knowledge is contemptuous of knowledge and attaches importance to morality, contempt for nature and attaches importance to humanities, so scholars generally hold a slamming attitude towards the concept of knowledge, while modern scholars believe that the concept of knowledge seriously hinders the development of science and technology.
The typical representatives of the concept of zhizhi are Lu Wang Yexue and Cheng Zhu Lixue, which have played a good role in promoting the atmosphere that is divorced from reality, and have received a lot of criticism.
However, in the Song Dynasty, there were also many physicists who explored nature and science with rational concepts, such as Zhu Widow and others, who studied medicine, geography, biology, etc. In the end, this concept became more and more problematic over time, which is why China's ancient scientific and technological productivity was later distanced by Western society.
2. Scripture and Skepticism and Criticism
When it comes to the rule of scripture and righteousness, we have to mention the trend of "practical learning" that began with the Song Dynasty, and the Northern Song scholars introduced it from the study of scripture and clearly put forward the proposition of "governing the scriptures and learning practically".
He criticized the Confucian Shijie of the past dynasties, and he adhered to the concept of doubting his predecessors to study Confucianism, which was also very high and surpassed his contemporaries. His contribution to ideology was not only to build a perfect theoretical system, but also to give a strong criticism of the early Northern Song Dynasty's emphasis on flowery rhetoric, which pointed out the right direction for later Confucianists.
3. The utilitarian benefits of Confucianism and the application of the world
Throughout history, ancient science and technology on the mainland has gradually formed a unique and practical framework since the Qin and Han Dynasties, and under the influence of Confucian utilitarian thought, knowledge also has a strong pragmatic color, which is also one of the typical characteristics of ancient science and technology in the mainland.
It is undeniable that some of the drawbacks leaked by Confucianism in the long river of historical development have hindered the development of Chinese science and technology to a certain extent, but exploring the relationship between man and nature is the most basic content of Confucianism, trying to achieve the realm of the unity of heaven and man is actually to serve people, so the development of science and technology under Confucianism can also be understood as the science and technology of people-based thinking under the utilitarian color.
4. New use of scientific results
The most brilliant era of ancient science and technology on the mainland is the Song Dynasty, which has a large number of talents and rich results, with the most shining and most achievements in the mainland, and many inventions have been crowned with epoch-making achievements, which have also been fully utilized in practice, and the Song Dynasty also occupies a very important position in the history of world science.
Although the Northern Song Dynasty did not include the four great inventions of ancient China, the Northern Song Dynasty successfully applied these inventions to the military, such as the use of gunpowder in war, the use of the compass during navigation, and the invention of movable type printing greatly promoted the spread of scientific and technological achievements.
"Building French Style" is written by Li Yi, which is a book on the specifications and techniques of Shimu construction engineering, and "General Outline of the Martial Classic" is written by Zeng Gongliang, introducing firearms and weapons production specifications and applications.
(4) The scientific thought of Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty
1. The scientific ideology and value of the Stability School, the Book School, and the Mountain School
During the Qing Dynasty of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Anding School was officially born, and it was also a typical representative school with the rise of science, which greatly promoted the development of science. The founder of the Anding School was Hu Huan. He is also known as Mr. Anding, and also known as Suhuxue, because he mainly founded schools in Huzhou and Suzhou.
His emergence is directly related to Fan Zhongyan's active promotion. Although bibliography was very intuitive and easy to understand, it was regarded as a prominent study in the early Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. In addition, the doctrine created by Liu Mu was not only circulated among the people of the same way, but also exerted great influence among the people, for which the "Siku Quanshu General Catalogue Tiju" said: "To the Song Dynasty, the number of elephants reproduced the book faction, and Mu was before Shaozi, and its initiator was also." This is no lie.
The Shanwai sect is the Tiantai sect of the mountain family, one of the Chinese Buddhist sects, Shi Zhi Yuanzi Wuwai, the common family name is Xu, a native of Qiantang, Zhejiang. He completed at least 26 Buddhist works in just 23 academic lifetimes, becoming one of the most prolific Buddhist scholars in the history of the Tendai sect. In the process of scientific and technological development in the Song Dynasty, Shi Zhiyuan's concept had a unique influence.
Combining the situation of ancient China in the eleventh century with the ideas put forward by Shi Zhiyuan, we will definitely find that the ideas put forward by Shi Zhiyuan are indeed unique, which we should be proud of.
Second, the positive influence of Confucianism on the development of science and technology in the Northern Song Dynasty
1. The combination of scientific and technological spirit and innovative spirit
Compared with the world science and technology level at that time, the scientific and technological achievements of the Northern Song Dynasty were in a leading position of at least hundreds, and the fields involved were also very extensive. For example, weapons, explosives, construction engineering, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, printing, geography, geology, biology, etc., these scientific and technological achievements are widely used in agriculture, handicrafts, cultural dissemination and military warfare and other fields of production and life, providing a reliable guarantee for the economic prosperity and social progress of the Northern Song Dynasty and even the entire Song Dynasty, and science and technology and innovation reached a perfect fit at that time.
As a result, science and technology had a good development environment in the Song Dynasty: the government encouraged scientific and technological invention and creation, actively established junior colleges, promoted scientific and technological talents, and attached importance to sorting out scientific and technological books.
2. The combination of scientific and technological development and school education
Education is an indispensable part of the development of science and technology, the Northern Song Dynasty court also introduced relevant systems, paid full attention to and supported the school education model, advocated the concept of respecting teachers and valuing education, hired famous teachers to teach students knowledge, actively took effective measures in the establishment of schools, encouraged the establishment and development of private schools, and also advocated novel teaching methods such as family academic models, which made the teaching system more and more perfect, and brought a huge impetus to the development of science and technology in the Northern Song Dynasty.
During the Song Dynasty, there was no foreign dictatorship or eunuchs controlling the imperial government, and a high degree of political stability was achieved, not only because the Northern Song Dynasty implemented a centralized management system, but also had an important relationship with the Northern Song Dynasty's vigorous advocacy of education and teaching and scientific and technological innovation.
3. The combination of scientific and technological achievements and real life
Shen Kuo attaches great importance to the dialectical relationship between practice and understanding, and if you read through the Mengxi Pen Talks about Shen Kuo's actions in Xining's transformation method, you will find that most of the problems he studies are aimed at practical life application and have a strong pertinence to life.
"The Cure for the Nasal Addict" recorded: "In the corridor, a general was sick with the brain and very sleepy, so that he was cured. "Shen Kuo has very rich experience in clinical diagnosis, and in his life, he can not only diagnose himself, but also often diagnose and treat nearby patients.
III. Conclusion
I have summarized the full text as follows:
1. The Confucian culture of the Northern Song Dynasty did play a positive role in promoting the development of contemporary science and technology, which is the "quality" of the influence of the Confucian culture of the Northern Song Dynasty on the development of science and technology.
2. The influence of Confucianism on science and technology is positive, injecting social and spiritual power into science and technology. The typical manifestation of the former is that Confucianism actively participates in politics and injects Confucianism into politics, economics, education, etc.; The latter is typically manifested in the innovative and critical thinking of Confucianism.
3. The driving force brought by Confucianism to science and technology is to rely on the Confucian ideology and political activities of officials, most of them come from the middle class, uphold the concept of pragmatism, start from the grassroots level, so they have a strong practical work, and are the biggest driving force and leading force for the development of science and technology.
These views coincide with the Northern Song Dynasty, so they are very pertinent, but due to the limited knowledge and ability of the writer, there is indeed a lack of spare power in obtaining materials, and the problem itself involves a wide range of reasons, for this reason, it is only a general study of the relationship between Northern Song Confucianism and the development of science and technology, there are such and such deficiencies and weaknesses, which need to be refined in the future in order to improve.