introduction
Wang Du, the author of "Ancient Mirrors", whose life deeds are not recorded in historical records. Mr. Lu Xun said in "A History of Chinese Novels": "Wang Du, Taiyuan Qi people, brother of Wenzhong Zitong, brother of Donggao Ziji. ”
Although Wang Tong's life deeds are not found in the history books, it is known that after his death, the protégé was privately called "Wen Zhongzi". The late Tang Dynasty writer Pi Rixiu once wrote "Wenzhong Zi Stele", which compared Wang Tong with Mencius, Xun Qing, and Han Yue, and was highly respected.
Zhongshuo is a compilation of his ideas and theories by Wang Tongmen and his re-disciples, and belongs to Confucian works. Whether Wang Du is really Wang Tong's younger brother is unknown, but in the novel "Ancient Mirror" written by him, a lot of Confucian thought is embodied, and there may be similarities with Wang Tong's thoughts.
1. The idea of benevolent government
As a strange novel that does not escape the legacy of the Six Dynasties, "Ancient Mirror" narrates more than a dozen strange stories based on what Wang Du himself has seen and heard. These stories use ancient mirrors as clues and are connected into lines, giving ancient mirrors rich symbolic meaning.
Xu Shen's "Say Wen Jie Zi" explains the mirror: "Mirror, Jing Ye", Duan Yu cut for it: "Jing person, light also, gold has light to illuminate things, it is called a mirror." This is based on overlapping rhyme. The mirror is also known, and the two-voice word is also. ”
It can be seen that the mirror has been given a layer of inspection in classical culture, which can not only identify oneself and reflect on one's own intentions, but also examine the country and reflect on chaos.
Wang Du's "Ancient Mirror" combines the two meanings of the mirror that was first given to the mirror to avoid evil and self-examination of Qingming, and deeply conveys the author's ideal of benevolence and government, expressing his search and desire to rule the world in Qingping.
At the beginning of the article, there is a saying: "Sui Fenyin Housheng, the world's Qishiye." Wang Du often served as a teacher. On his deathbed, he gave an ancient mirror, saying: 'Hold this and a hundred evil people are far away.' 'Suffer and treasure. "Fenyin Housheng, not only appears in this novel, but also appears in the text Zi Wang Tong's "Zhongshuo".
"Zhongshuo Wei Xiang" says: "Fenyin Housheng is good at zheng, first personnel and then trigrams", this sentence at first glance for the definition of Hou Sheng is good at Bu Xiao Mr. Yin and Yang, it cannot be ignored that in the "Ancient Mirror" Hou Sheng did have obvious gossip yin and yang thoughts when describing the structure of ancient mirrors to Wang Du.
But Wen Zhongzi said that he was first personnel and then trigrams, and personnel was obviously one step higher than trigrams. The chapter "Zhongshu Qi Yi" also records Yu Culture and asks "How are the personnel of Heavenly Dao." Wen Zhongzi replied, "Shun Yin Yang is just righteousness."
Obviously, in Wang Tong's view, personnel should refer to the way of benevolence and righteousness in human society, which is closely related to the benevolent government thought advocated by Confucianism. It can be seen that Hou Sheng is not only good at divination, but also has a deeper understanding of the way of benevolence and righteousness.
Yin and Yang trigrams are inevitably not influenced by the Confucian classic "Zhou Yi". On the whole, Hou Sheng should be a person who deeply analyzes Confucian thought. Wang Du inherited Hou Sheng, and the influence of Confucianism on him cannot be ignored.
The "Analects of Politics" says: "For the sake of government with virtue, such as the North Chen, dwelling where the stars are together", Wang Du holds this ancient mirror and is far away, which is a certain degree of implicit agreement with the Confucian view that benevolent government will rule the world.
In the novel, the submission of the ancient mirror to the demons and monsters that are harmful to people and confuse people is actually a process of benevolence from the ancient mirror. Wang Ji went out on patrol with the mirror, helped subdue the fish essence in the jade well, helped Song Bian's master Zhang Qi submit the chicken demon, and even helped Li Jingshen of Fengcheng County submit to the three demons, which are all things that benefit the people, and are a kind of gospel for the people or the parties.
This is the same as the ancient mirror descending demons and eliminating demons, which is an implementation of the author's ideal of benevolence and government, expressing the author's desire to put an end to chaos and rule and his care for the people.
2. The idea of etiquette
Confucianism is based on benevolence and righteousness, and ritual religion is an important component. There is a saying in the Analects of Language: "If you don't know etiquette, you can't stand up", which shows the importance attached to etiquette and religion.
In the view of Confucianism, liturgical religion has roughly three main connotations: one is the correct name, and the Analects of the Zilu says: "If the name is not right, the speech is not smooth; If the words are not smooth, the matter will not be done; If things are not done, the etiquette will not be happy";
The second is the right sacrifice, the Analects of Confucius: "Sacrifice is as it is, sacrifice to the god is like the god is there", Confucianism attaches great importance to sacrifice, especially to the ritual of sacrifice;
Confucianism attaches great importance to the etiquette between people in human society, and in marriage, it especially emphasizes the order of parents and the words of matchmakers. Wang Du's Ancient Mirrors show these three aspects of Confucian ritual teaching.
First, the right name
Parrot is the first youkai that Gujing submits in the novel, she is the former head of the Junmiao Temple of Huashan Mansion, Matsushita Chitose old fox, "Great deeds change confusion, sin to death." So he was chased for the prince of Fu and fled between the river and Wei", and the change of confusion was her crime, and it was also the direct reason why Gu Jing finally surrendered her.
But she is different from the demons and monsters that appear in the novel that are harmful to people and confuse people, "deforming people, not harmful". After listening to the parrot's self-narration, the author also had sympathy for a while, wanting to let her live, but in the end she still inevitably died, which showed the author's tangled emotions.
The parrot transforms into a person and does not pose a danger to humans, but she transforms into a person, which is not in line with etiquette.
Confucianism attaches great importance to fame and believes that improper names will eventually disturb the order of the entire human society, so Wang Du has a saying: "Ruben old fox, deformed into a human, will not harm people", in his first consciousness this is harmful.
The fox is a fox, there is the nature of the fox itself, although the appearance is a human for a while, but the heart is eventually an animal, but temporarily covered with the human shell, which in Confucianism seems to be naturally not worthy of the name, over time will have more serious consequences for human society.
Therefore, although the parrot is harmless to people, in the end, the ancient mirror still submits to her, and there is a Confucian name behind it, which requires a veritable idea, which is the fundamental reason why the parrot must die.
2. Regular Festivals
There is a story in the novel about the submission of the snake demon related to the right sacrifice. Confucius once said in the Analects of Wei Linggong that "Zheng Sheng is adulterous", Zheng Sheng is a kind of love song produced in Zheng Di, which is inconsistent with the so-called Yale at that time, so Confucius believes that it is not in line with Zhou etiquette and should be rebuked, and "adultery" is given a layer of meaning that does not conform to etiquette here.
"Li Ji Qu Li" Yun: "Sacrifice is not sacrificed, the name is obscenity." Wang Du's attitude towards sacrifice was "obscene and desperate", and what he wanted to abolish was not all sacrifices, but only obscenity, and the obscenity in his mouth was the same as the Zheng Sheng that Confucius rebuked, which was not in line with etiquette, so he firmly opposed it.
Even if he was forced by the pressure of everyone and temporarily performed the sacrifice, he still "thought that this tree should be entrusted with spirits, and people could not get rid of it, and cultivate its potential", so that he secretly hung the ancient mirror and subdued the snake demon. As the serpent is subdued, we see Wang Du's attitude towards sacrifice, and in the process of descending, he corrects the consistent and unceremonial sacrifice.
Third, righteousness
The story of Wang Ji helping Li Jingshen, the governor of Fengcheng County, submit to three goblins who bewitched his daughter, has the color of correcting human relations.
Li Jingshen's three daughters wear beautiful indoor makeup and laughter, which is not without suspicion. The ancients were self-pleasing people, and his three daughters dressed themselves up so delicately indoors, and those who laughed with her would definitely not be ordinary people.
Wang Ji took the ancient mirror into the pavilion to hang the demon, the three women shouted: "Kill me Diye", all doubts were solved, it turned out that the person who laughed with the three women in the room was their lover who had already secretly agreed, and the three daughters who were addicted to love were enjoying themselves all day long and getting thinner day by day, and others wanted to stop them and threatened suicide.
Under the influence of traditional Confucianism, marriage in ancient China has always been the order of parents, and all acts that violate this law belong to Yue Li, and Li Jingshen's three daughters have privately taken the three demons and monsters in human form as husbands without the order of their parents, and play indoors all day and night, which has long been a great disrespect against etiquette.
The three demons and demons turned into human forms and were guilty of confusing people, but the three daughters fell in love easily without distinction, which is an incomprehensible "charm" in the eyes of others, but it is actually a violation of the indulgence of decency.
Wang Ji submits three monsters with an ancient mirror, which has the deep meaning of the marriage law of correcting human relations, correcting marriage order, restoring the life of Confucian parents, and the words of matchmakers.
3. The idea of the Mandate of Heaven
Confucius in the Analects of Confucius said: "The Tao will do it, and the fate will also be; The Tao will be abolished, and the fate will also be. In Confucius's view, the misfortunes and fortunes of human beings, and the death and poverty are all determined by heaven, and he attributed the success or failure of human society to fate, just as Zi Xia said, "death and life are fate, wealth is in heaven" (Analects of Yan Yuan).
Under the influence of this ideological proposition of Confucianism, the "Mandate of Heaven" theory gradually became a major component of Confucian thought. Confucianism recognizes "heaven" as the greatest existence in the universe and believes that it has the right to dominate everything in the world, and that if it violates the mandate of heaven, it will endanger itself and suffer its own bitter consequences.
In this case, what human beings can do is to give full play to their subjective initiative to act according to the destiny of heaven, do not force, do not rebel, do what they can and hand over the result to heaven's arrangement, which is the so-called "knowing the destiny of heaven".
Wang Du's Ancient Mirror also embodies the Confucian idea of the Mandate of Heaven. As the first youkai to be surrendered by the ancient mirror in the novel, Parrot knows that "escaping illusion, the evil of Shinto, deserving to death", in her opinion, her escape from illusion has violated the will of heaven, and she has long been inevitable to die.
When the ancient mirror appeared, she could have escaped again when Wang Du did not find out that she was a fox monster, but she did not, she knew that all this was providence, and she should have taken responsibility for the crime she committed a long time ago, so she "kowtowed and bleed" in front of the ancient mirror, told Wang Du her life history, and then tied her hands and voluntarily drove her death.
Parrot's statement before dying repeatedly referred to the ancient mirror as the "mirror of heaven", which is the best evidence that she believes that all this is arranged by Providence, and her willingness to die is obedience to Providence.
Wang Du met the parrot in the first month after getting the ancient mirror, and the parrot met Wang Du after running away for a long time, and there seemed to be a proper destiny between the two, and all this was not a divine arrangement.
epilogue
Relying on the symbol of the ancient mirror, "Ancient Mirror" shows the Confucian ideas of benevolence, etiquette, and the mandate of heaven. The main symbolic meaning of benevolence as an ancient mirror runs through the text, and in the process of the author's series of continuous benevolence in the use of ancient mirrors to subdue monsters, it is specifically permeated with Confucian etiquette and the idea of the Mandate of Heaven.
Ritual religion and benevolence are inseparable and are the basis for the implementation of benevolence, and the idea of Mandate of Heaven is closely related to benevolence and government, constituting each other, expressing the entangled emotions in the author's heart.
bibliography
"Ancient Mirror"
A History of Chinese Fiction
"Tang Novel"
"Zhong Shuo"