What is history, and how does it influence and drive us?
In the face of the vastness of history, I often feel that my head is as vague, or even confused—this confusion, first of all, comes from the division of the historical process that Marx taught us in traditional textbooks. Secondly, is the history of our China really divided according to Marx, from primitive society - slave society - feudal society - capitalist society - socialist society - communist society, all the way?!
There is basically no doubt about the primitive society. But did the next slave society really exist in the course of our history? I noticed that as early as the 30s of the 20th century, many historians questioned the nature of the slave society of the Zhou Dynasty, and even the nature of the slave society of the Xia Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty.
Think of the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC – 221 BC), both early and late; The so-called "slaves" are just yeomanry peasants who work in the well fields, and they are not completely subordinate to the ruling class, that is, the so-called "slave owners": after they have cultivated the public land for the "slave owners", they can also cultivate their own private land and enjoy a certain degree of personal freedom.
There are also big problems in our definition of feudal society, why do we attribute the history of the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty as a feudal society? From the main point of view, this paragraph is a veritable county system or patriarchal hereditary monarchy centralized system, and the officials of the county and below are basically appointed by the higher-ups, what does it have to do with feudalism like the West?
Moreover, it is clear that in China's long history, there has never been a capitalist society. Whether it is because of this and now to make it up is another question. In any case, an obvious problem is that Marx's theory of the phases of the process of human history is based on the social and historical changes of the West and Europe, and is not suitable for applying to the process of social and historical development in the East, especially to China.
Such questions prompted me to look elsewhere for alternative ways to divide history.
I note the statement of the German philosopher Jaspers, who divides history into four parts roughly as follows:
The first part is the mythical and legendary era of "Prometheus". In this era, humans learned the application of language, the making and use of tools, the discovery and application of fire. The second part is between 5000 and 3000 BC, when ancient civilizations emerged in Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus and Yellow River basins. The third part, the Axis Age (8th-2nd century BC), marks the true emergence of human beings as thinkers and rational consciousness—beginning to distance themselves from the divine realm, rather than being completely dominated by the divine realm. The fourth part is the era of science and technology, that is, European civilization that emerged at the end of the Middle Ages and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Jaspers' quartering seems to me too general; The boundary between the first two eras is also not clear, and there is even a large span of crossing. Also, what about the era of science and technology - that is, after the fourth stage? With a click, it suddenly interrupted - with such different standards, and the division of tigers and tails, it is very imprecise and unjustifiable.
I wanted to find a division that seemed to me to be better – a division that would apply not only to China, but also to the West; And there is a hint or point to the future. Unfortunately, however, I have searched almost all the methods of dividing the process of historical development by modern and contemporary experts and scholars, and there is no satisfactory statement.
So I had to go back to ancient times and turn to our Chinese ancestors. It turned out that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was the "Book of Yue Jue" written by Yuan Kang, quoting the words of the Chu people during the Warring States period, and made this summary of past history:
The legendary era of the Three Emperors is the Stone Age, the era of the Five Emperors starting from the Yellow Emperor is the Jade Age, the Three Dynasties of Xia Shang after Yu is the Bronze Age, and the Spring and Autumn Warring States enter the Iron Age.
This kind of phased division of the historical process, in my opinion, although it also stops at the era of the divider, but it is much more clever than the division method of Marx, Jaspers, and many experts and scholars in modern and contemporary China. The reasons are as follows:
First, compared with human history, it can be called a common division standard between the East and the West - this is something that Marx could not do, and his division method is analyzed as above, which is only suitable for the West and not for the East. Similarly, the division of Jaspers, the four stages are not a unified standard, how can it work?
Second, the division method of the wind beard, on the surface, seems to be from the perspective of the tools used by human beings, but in fact, I think it embodies profound humanistic care: it simply from the perspective of the unity of things and self, corresponding to nature (heaven), it has determined an epoch-making and universal ruler - how people have intimate relationships with concrete and related objects step by step in the infinite and vast universe of time and space.
Third, the windbeard's method of division is based on a symbol, a suggestion, and even a proverb, full of deep concern for the fate of human history (while supporting the second point above) and deep consideration: Where will humanity go?
Let's think about it: the first human beings were almost integrated with nature - stone tools, which means that the world in which people lived, although the conditions were difficult; But like the stone of nature, naïve, simple and hard (strong)! Next, due to artificial action, human beings are getting further and further away from their primitive nature, from jade, bronze to black iron, and the texture is degraded step by step, does this indicate that human beings have been walking a road of no return from the beginning - seemingly up, but in fact down? Are you constantly digging your own grave?
Although the vast and turbid history does not give us a direct answer, it is not difficult to imagine the course of human history here and thereafter from the great and miraculous I Ching of the Chinese nation in ancient times. The "Preface to the I Ching" reads:
"There is heaven and earth and then all things are born, and there are only all things between heaven and earth, so they are subject to it." Tun people, Ying Ye; The Settler, the Birth of Things; Creatures will be blessed, so they will be blessed. Meng, Mengye, Thing's Childishness; Childishness must not be nurtured, so it is needed. Those who need it, the way of eating also; Food and drink will be sued, so it will be sued. Litigation will rise up in many, so it will be a teacher. Teachers, congregations; All will be compared, so they will be compared. Than also, than also; Than there will be animals, so it will be small animals. The animal is then courteous, so it is honored. Performing Tai and then being safe, so receiving Tai..."
What does this passage mean?
To explain it in the vernacular: "Qian is heaven, kun is earth, there is heaven and earth, and then all things come into being, and between heaven and earth, there is only all things, so after qiankun, then it is tungua." Tun means full meaning, it is the meaning of the birth of all things, all things have just been born, they must be obscurantic, so after tun trigram, followed by trigram. The meaning of Meng is obscurantism, that is, all things cannot be unnurtured when they are young, so then there is the need for tribulation. The meaning of need is that the truth of eating and drinking, to solve the problem of diet, there must be a lawsuit, so followed by litigation. Controversy must gather the forces of the crowd and lead to the rise of the force, so then comes the master. Shi means many, and many must be compared, so followed by bigua. Bigua means comparison, and after comparison, people must have animals, so followed by small animal trigrams. After the accumulation of material animals, it is necessary to be organized and reserved, so it is necessary to regulate it with courtesy, so it is followed by fulfillment. The meaning of performing is to salute, and the salute is Antai, so followed by Taigua..."
It is not necessary to quote them all, it is not difficult to understand that this is the process of nature, that is, the symbolic description of the course of human history - but this description is not to foresee every major or small event in the future of mankind, but a regular revelation. Didn't Marx say: "History often has striking similarities". Following the logic of the I Ching, we can conclude with more confidence: "There must be striking similarities in history!" "Doesn't the regular cycle mean that there are continuous, similar events?
Well, let's return to the true intention of the windbeard for the phased division of the historical process: what kind of message does he transmit, or foreshadow, to his descendants, the human world? Pessimistic, optimistic or natural? I think his actual intention is to provide a profound warning to our descendants and even the human world: the previous historical process is already like this, and the later ones must cheer up, and they cannot dig their own graves and go downhill!
This is the wisdom and wisdom of our ancestors who transcended historical time and space, and it is worth our careful consideration. Since the Black Iron Age of the Warring States, it has been to this day; What era have we, and indeed all mankind, gone through in a historical process that is more decaying and lower than black iron, or is it more perfect and advanced than black iron?
Looking back at this long period of history, I want to continue the division of the wind beard: that is, after the black iron age, the cloth (silk) era, the straw paper era, the Internet era...
Obviously, from the above standards and processes common to the East and the West, the things to which human beings are attached are becoming more and more fragile and vain - while the so-called progress of human beings is increasingly deviating from the origin and road of the world, and getting closer and closer to their own grave. Is there any way to do it? Human beings are such short-sighted, materialistic rather than spiritual. Today, perhaps, human beings seem to be scientifically developed and abundant in materials; In fact, in many ways, it is not as good as the Black Iron Age!
What kind of fate will mankind face? Leave it to contemporary philosophers to think! In the process of human history like a river, each of us is making history every day, hoping that the proverbs or revelations of our ancestors can be remembered by us; And, maintain your reverence for the natural heavenly path and move forward carefully!