Back to Chinese civilization, back to man himself
Author | Li Chunfeng
In the tenth decade of the Republic of China, Mr. Liang Shuming published the book "Eastern and Western Culture and Its Philosophy", which predicted: "The world culture in the near future will be the revival of Chinese culture." ”
The revival of Chinese culture seems undoubtedly confusing today, and whether it can inspire the world depends on the degree of effort today. The Global Civilization Initiative is to Chinese a conscious civilization responsibility in the context of the revival of civilization.
The core of Chinese civilization is benevolence. What is Jen? It is what makes people human, that is, the goodness of human nature. Chinese civilization represented by Confucianism is based on human nature, a series of profound ethical discussions on how people should live in harmony and beauty and coexistence, and on the basis of conclusions, it is regarded as a social norm.
Such an inside-out path, a fundamental attitude of reflexive thinking, pushing oneself and others, is the spirit of Chinese civilization. And this spirit, because it comes from trust in human beings, affirmation of the brilliance of human nature, is universal for all people.
01
The common desire of people
Since Confucian civilization is based on human nature, the first step is to understand what human nature is. This starts with Mencius.
Mencius was the first Confucian master to speak directly about human nature and to advocate the goodness of human nature in a clear-cut manner.
A still from the documentary "China"
Moral philosophy is rational, and advocating sexual good, sexual evil, or no good and no evil requires logical and rigorous argumentation. In other words, Mencius advocated the goodness of human nature because he proved that human nature is intrinsically good, not because he suppressed others in his ability to speak and eloquent.
The so-called human nature is relative to animal nature. The world of animals can only survive and reproduce, and their behavior depends on the setting of natural mechanisms, so there is no right or wrong, good or evil. "Right and wrong" and "good and evil" belong exclusively to human society, and are only valuable to people, but have no meaning for animals and the natural world.
Wolves eating sheep, tigers eating pigs, in the eyes of people, both the process and the result are very cruel, but this is only a food chain setting, there is no moral significance.
Humans are also animals, and in the sense of the food chain, there is no moral sense in obtaining food from nature and hunting birds and beasts in the early days. However, when human society evolves, the division of labor is refined, classes and classes are formed, and ethnic and national boundaries are established, the meaning of this food chain extends to human beings. The relationship between the strong, the strong, the strong, the strong group and the weak, the weak, and the weak country will in fact constitute a relationship similar to the natural food chain, and the food chain between species will be transformed into a conflict of interests between people. At this time, if it still operates according to the rules of the natural food chain and has no moral constraints, then human beings cannot coexist in the world.
Humans and animals are the same in basic desires, but there are still differences in people. This is different, that is, the human nature that remains after the animal nature is removed. There is only a slight difference, so Mencius said, "Man is different from animals and animals." This little difference is goodness, that is, that people have universal morality for their own kind.
Animal dolls may also show feelings, such as licking deep feelings, such as one wild goose described in Yuan Haowen's "Yanqiu Word" was shot down by a hunter, and the other was sad and touched the ground and died. But these are individual cases, and the general situation is that the strong of the animals will monopolize the resources, only the remaining part will be consumed according to rank, and the animals will leave the weak in the group and let them sacrifice.
How did Mencius argue for this universal and little difference from animal humanity? This is the setting of the scene that we are very familiar with: "When people see their children entering the well, they all have compassion." It is not for the parents of the children to be handed over internally, and it is not for the friends of the township party to be honored, and it is not for him to be evil. ”
Seeing a child is about to fall into a well, and between the electric stone fire, anyone will be tense and shocked. If he was around, he would reach out and grab the child without thinking. The reason for this reaction is out of human nature, not because they want to make friends with their children's parents, want to establish a good reputation among their township friends, and do not want to hear their children's cries.
It was this moment of electric fire that flashed that extremely rare humanity. Everyone reacts like this, but animals don't.
Mencius went on to say: "From what is to see, there is no compassion, and there is no human being; There is no shame, and it is not human; The heart of no concession is also inhuman; The heart of right and wrong, the non-human also. ”
He said that if there is no compassion, shame, concession, right and wrong, then it is not human. This is not to swear people, but to calmly tell everyone that these are unique to human beings and are also natural emotions that distinguish people from animals.
Therefore, when we establish the rules of coexistence in human society, we should start from human nature, not from animal nature, otherwise it does not matter "establishing". Compassion is the beginning of benevolence. In the same way, shame is righteous; The heart of resignation, the end of etiquette; The mind of right and wrong, the end of wisdom. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and Confucian human ethics are deduced from it. These concepts were already elaborated by Confucius, and Mencius proved in an empirical way that Confucian moral philosophy is not a mandatory rule, but a requirement of human nature born of man himself.
But in reality, many people are not benevolent and benevolent, because they are self-dehumanizing. "Man has four ends, and there are four bodies. There are those who are four ends and claim that they cannot, and those who are self-thieves; He who cannot say that he cannot be a thief is also a thief. ”
"Confucius" stills
The most important point of this empirical scenario cited by Mencius is that it is universal and reflexive. I will do this, others will do it, I believe that when I am in danger, others will subconsciously reach out, others are in danger, I will also not hesitate to strike. From this, we confirm that we are human. Being in the community of society, which we all want to see, is the common desire of human beings.
Therefore, the Confucian ethic is fundamentally formed: "If you want to establish yourself, you will establish others, if you want to achieve it, you will reach others, and do not do unto others what you do not want." ”
The purpose of political governance is to achieve a kind of moral justice. Starting from the Confucian discovery of morality, governance is such a logic: "The first king has the heart of intolerability, and the government of intolerant people; With the heart of the intolerant, practice the government of the intolerant, rule the world in the palm of luck. ”
02
Non-religious
In the early stage of the development of human civilization, the understanding of nature and society was extremely limited, so the origin of the original spirit of each civilization would be subject to the cognitive ability of the early people era and the stress response at that time.
The universal stress response is religion.
Because of the incomprehensibility and the incomparable fear, in order to explain those doubts and calm daily fears, people imagine, according to the image of man, an entity that expresses its will omnipotently, and also imagines its will, seeking solace and peace of mind by thinking that it obeys its will and satisfies its desires. Most of the influential civilizations that have emerged in the world, both lost and existing, have a religious core.
A still from the documentary "China"
The early period of Chinese civilization also had religious characteristics. For example, in the Shang Dynasty, there was a long process of trading between man and God, using people as sacrifices to satisfy the desire of God's supreme will, in exchange for the "Mandate of Heaven" for the development of ethnic groups and the consolidation of power. And in order to maintain the spiritual form of religion, it is necessary to divide people, that is, the same kind, into three, six and nine, and there are always some people who are relatively light in value, even equivalent to animals, such as slaves. And slaves are mainly obtained from war, so the external race is the reserve army of slaves, and they are also of little value as human beings, and there is no moral burden when they are killed. "If it is not our race, its heart will be different" was a prominent value of the civilization of the Shang Dynasty.
The same is true of the religions of other civilizations. For example, medieval Christianity controlled people through the theory of original sin and the theory of blessings and misfortunes, and thus devalued human values. Derogation is a necessary step in doing immoral things without getting rid of moral condemnation, and derogation provides legitimacy to all actions and laws that are inhumane.
But China soon abandoned religion and the systematic devaluing of human values from an ideological perspective, as Confucianism rose during the Zhou Dynasty. People, and they rise.
The Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty, and the Duke of Zhou created it. The system of the Zhou Dynasty established the political and ethical basis of "the emperor has no relatives, only virtue is auxiliary" and "although there are Zhou relatives, it is not as good as benevolent people", opposed the religious trade between heaven and man, and believed that morality is where the legitimacy of politics lies, and people's hearts are the embodiment of the mandate of heaven, "heaven sees itself and the people see it, and heaven listens to its own people." Therefore, politics is no longer at the mercy of religion, and the root of governance is not whether God likes it or not, but whether it is in accordance with human nature and whether it is affirmed by the people. The regime does not have to be confused in the process of speculating about Providence, but focuses on the reality of life in the present and finding security from reality.
This is the role of etiquette, etiquette is from the needs of the heart, in line with human nature of the way of behavior, obeying etiquette, is to follow the heart, follow the common desires of human beings. We only need to be ashamed of not being polite, and if we are in line with etiquette, then we will not be ashamed of heaven and not stoop to others. Rites embody ethics in line with human nature, and ethics replaces religion to maintain balance and order in the Chinese heart. As for the later mechanization into a "cannibalistic ritual religion", which caused the May Fourth sages to rise up and attack, that is an afterword, the result of the spirit being distorted or even going to the opposite side, not the responsibility at the source.
Strictly speaking, Confucian civilization actually arose from the beginning of the Duke of Zhou. It's just that under the conditions of the level of understanding at that time, it has not been philosophized and ideologized, but has embodied Confucian concepts from the direction of institutional practice. The one who undertook the mission of philosophizing and ideologizing it was Confucius.
Etiquette is a way of acting in line with human nature that comes from the needs of the heart / stills from the documentary "China"
Through the study of the canon system and etiquette norms of the Zhou Dynasty, Confucius abstracted the spiritual clues in it, summarized the governance ideas of starting from the heart and caring for each other's common desires, and through the promotion of love (benevolence) unique in human nature, he advocated that whether all political and social norms are appropriate depends on whether they meet the requirements of human nature. Through unremitting search throughout his life, through the self-proclaimed "telling but not doing" preaching and teaching, he completely secularized politics, and took politics, a heavy instrument related to the common destiny of mankind, from God's hands and handed over to man.
Confucius not only took a clear stand against the habits of human sacrifice and human martyrdom that were born and extended by religion dominating politics, but he was even very disgusted by the abandonment of human martyrdom and the use of humanoid terracotta figurines as funeral objects: "The initiator has no successor." "The reason is that the reason why people use humanoid terracotta figurines to be buried is because there is still a trace of affirmation in their hearts about human martyrdom, and Confucius naturally cannot agree.
Confucianism uses ethics to replace religion and bring culture and politics back to the track of human nature, but the supernatural problem, the cause of the rise of religion, is difficult to eradicate from human society. For example, are there any ghosts and gods in the world? Is there another world after death? What should we do with the ghost world?
Confucius's strategy was to neither deny nor affirm, to ignore him. "I don't know life, do you know death?" "If you can't do anything, can you do something to a ghost?" The Son does not speak of strangeness, force, chaos, God, and does not involve it. When he couldn't avoid it, he used the laws of human nature to answer specific questions. For example, people ask whether to please the stove or to woo O—which god is better to turn to? Confucius said, "Otherwise, you will be sinned against heaven and have nothing to pray for," and if it violates the natural laws of human nature, it is useless to turn to anyone for help.
As a descendant of merchants, Confucius was naturally very aware of the consequences of combining religious behavior and political ethics in the Shang Dynasty. Subsequent human history has repeatedly demonstrated the cruel consequences of religious control over power.
First, the sanctity of God, which is enshrined in religion, makes people blame at every turn. If people raise the slightest doubt about doctrine, they may be in danger of their lives. In England, for example, Henry VIII cited the Bible to prove that the flesh and blood of Christ existed in rituals, and doubters burned to death. During the Renaissance, the Italian scientist Bruno advocated heliocentrism, which was contrary to Christian doctrine in inference, and was also burned at the stake.
Second, religion gives careerists too much power, thereby interfering with the realization of human nature, and is enough to bring great calamity to the world. For example, the church in medieval Europe actually acquired the status of God's agent, and with the blessing of the divine aura, it could do whatever it wanted.
Third, the sanctity of religious gods can also make believers become exclusive groups, attacking each other, treating others as heretics, and will quickly eliminate them, so that power will be converted into bloody force, and it is difficult to harmonize with each other. The frequent religious wars in medieval Europe, as well as religious conquests across civilizations, such as the Crusades, are examples.
The result of civilization's departure from ghosts and gods and religions is to dissolve boundaries, reduce taboos, and facilitate friendly exchanges between people in different regions. It is precisely thanks to the simple materialist epistemology established by Confucianism that Chinese civilization has undergone a qualitative change from Shang to Zhou, pulled itself out of the ghost, god and religious world that is homogeneous with other civilizations in the Shang Dynasty, abandoned the concept of "non-our race, its heart must be different", and looked at and understood the same kind with the same and good human nature, so that there is the ancient Chinese concept of tianxia and the formation of the tianxia system.
A still from the documentary "China"
There are no advantages or disadvantages in civilization, and "there is a sequence of hearsay". Therefore, other ethnic groups other than Chinese civilization are not intellectually and morally inferior, as long as they identify with civilization, they are a family. Civilization has no boundary restrictions, "there is no outside the world", and even "one family under the world, one person in China". Such an expansion of civilization is based on the true voice of the heart, sincere recognition, rather than a strong output, because this is the common desire of people. Chinese civilization is also open to the entry of other civilizations, and after external civilizations come in, they not only reform and enrich Chinese civilization, but are eventually absorbed and assimilated into it. Typical examples such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam have all undergone ideological mixing and transformation with Chinese Confucian civilization, and the most surprising thing is that the three religions of Confucianism and Taoism are one. Another example is the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, under the oppression of such a strong foreign regime, Chinese civilization is still strong and survives, and finally these foreign races at that time are also included in the civilization system.
The birth of the Datong ideal is based on this epistemology.
03
People are value
The so-called Datong ideal is the expression of the ideal of Confucian society in "Liji Liyun": "The journey of the road is also the world's justice." Choose the virtuous and the capable, and preach faith and cultivate harmony. Therefore, people do not have only their relatives, nor their sons. Let the old have some end, the strong have some use, the young have some growth, the old, the widow, the lonely, the lonely, and the sick have something to support, and the male has a share, and the female has a return. Goods are abandoned to the ground, and do not have to be hidden from themselves; Power does not come from the body, it does not have to be for itself. It is a common idea to plan and not be happy, to steal and not do it, and to prevent outsiders not to close. ”
This is the ideal shared by all dynasties Chinese dynasties. If we only look at this beautiful and exquisite description, we can see how selfless and good people are in such an ideal world.
The Datong ideal is the yearning of the Chinese of successive dynasties / stills of the documentary "China"
And this selfless and perfect world must depend on the realization of humanity as a whole. Human nature is free, and through stimulation, learning, and practice, it becomes a state of consciousness.
Without God's intervention and help, can humans really get along like this? Will the world move in this direction?
Confucius was confident in himself, so he believed that he was burdened with a civilized mission given by God, discerning and dedicating, and did not need to rely on external forces such as religion. Ignoring it is the greatest contempt, and it is also the best way to attack the misconception that cannot be eradicated.
More importantly, Confucius trusted people. This trust is a trust in human nature for good, civilization and upward. In his division of people, there are mediocrities, scholars, gentlemen, sages, saints, but no bad people, which is a ladder structure of good people, and people can climb to a higher state through knowledge and action, driven by the instinct of goodness.
Therefore, the governance of society is first of all to let people go to good and upward according to their inner guidance, and the most fundamental way to achieve common well-being is for everyone to carry forward the benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom inherent in the person himself. So we can see that Confucian moral philosophy and political philosophy talk about people and how to learn, without talking about power struggles and political concepts. By making yourself better from an introspective perspective, and everyone promotes this common desire, then good governance will come naturally. "Self-cultivation, unity of family, governance of the country, and peace in the world" is how to achieve a kind of logical penetration. Under this logic, there is no doubt that politics should aim at man himself.
"Self-cultivation, Qi family, governing the country, and leveling the world" / stills from the documentary "China"
Mr. Liang Shuming sighed: "What a spirit! "Yes, but we also know that this is idealism that is extremely difficult to achieve in real governance. However, Confucianism also says that the mountains are on their backs, and the scenery is endless, although they cannot reach them, their hearts yearn for them.
As a human being, no matter how difficult it is to carry forward the goodness in nature, this is the spirit of generations of Chinese Confucianists. At the lowest level of Chinese society, the pursuit of a kind of human autonomy based on humane ethics has never been severed, although its effect may not have been ideal. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom should be "known by saints, safe by gentlemen, guarded by officials, and behaved by the people."
The reality of human history is often the opposite, as Lao Tzu said, "The way of heaven is more than enough to make up for the inadequacy, but the way of man is not, the damage is not enough to serve the surplus." As the world enters the modern era, after the beginning of capitalism, it intensifies, everything is capitalized, and people are instrumentalized by capital.
As a result, the goodness in human nature is overshadowed by desire, animality floods human society, and people rationalize animal desire, treat it as human nature, and then glorify it. As a result, conflicts flood society, and then spill over national borders, colonization, aggression and deprivation are rampant, whether within society or internationally, and devaluing human values for selfish purposes has long become a common and "reasonable" phenomenon. The international community is a jungle society, and the strong often take the difficulties or even desperate situations of others as the premise of their own security and interests.
In the words of Mr. Lu Xun, "This is not a society where one person lives." The world dominated by such a strong man, in a word, "no one in sight".
The rise of Marxism is to emphasize the essential difference between humans and animals, promote human values, and seek the realization of maximum justice in the bad reality of animal dominance and food chain relations. Marx's statement that "production will aim at the prosperity of all" and that "the free development of everyone is the condition for the free development of all people" is precisely to make society yearn for beauty based on human nature.
A still from the documentary "China"
In fact, what Marxism emphasizes is precisely the common desire of people, and its ideal communist society and the Confucian ideal of Datong society are essentially the same except for the difference in the conditions of productive forces, and the two resonate at the same frequency. This is the civilizational logic that Marxism entered China and could be quickly yearned for by the Chinese intellectual elite, and quickly recognized and accepted by ordinary Chinese.
Today, we call for "civilizational exchanges to transcend civilizational barriers, mutual learning among civilizations to transcend civilizational conflicts, and civilizational coexistence to transcend civilizational superiority", and launch a global civilization initiative, which stands on the basis of Marxism and Chinese civilization. Estrangement, conflict, and the situation in which the strong belittle the weak will not improve in the short term, but ideals are used to be near, although they cannot be reached, and the heart yearns for them.
On the basis of human nature, mutual understanding and fulfillment, and long-term achievement, the world will be better.
The pictures in the article are partly from Visual China and partly from the Internet
Edit | Raymo
Typesetting | Kazama Clear
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