<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > introduction</h1>
Gongsun Long (c. 320 BC – c. 250 BC), courtesy name Zibing, was a native of Handan, Zhao during the Warring States period. The "famous master" is a representative of the Jianbai school.
All the sons and hundreds of families,...... Bees come out and do together, each leading one end, admiring its goodness, and thus chi chi, uniting the princes. —— Hanshu Yiwenzhi
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the royal power of the Zhou royal family declined, and the world entered a situation of hegemony among the princes. In order to strengthen their own strength and stand out in the fierce competition, various countries have recruited talents in an eclectic manner, thus breaking the concept of "not discussing with ordinary people", so that the common people who were not qualified to participate in politics have the opportunity to participate in the administration and discussion of state affairs, so that a new atmosphere of "arbitrary discussion among virgins" has emerged in the world.
In order to make up for the cultural and ideological vacuum left behind after the "collapse of ceremonies and the collapse of happiness", intellectuals have put forward their own solutions and ideas on how to unify the world, govern the country, and educate the people, thus becoming various schools of thought. The world has entered a situation of academic prosperity in which a hundred schools of thought contend.
Famous people make people thrifty and good at distorting, but their true name must not be ignored. —— "On the Essentials of the Six Schools"
Among them, the famous masters are a school of academic activities that discuss the relationship between names (concepts) and reality (facts), and are one of the hundred schools and ten schools of the Zhuzi.
Gongsun Long was one of the representative figures of the famous masters, the only one among the sons of the famous masters who left academic works, and was famous for putting forward such shocking views as "white horse not horse" and "jianbai stone", but had no practical significance at that time, and was also crowned with the notoriety of "sophistry" by the sons. In fact, all the sons and families believe that Gongsun Long is a sophistry, and Zhuangzi even calls Gongsun Long "the heart of the adorned person, the meaning of changing people, the mouth that can overcome people, and the heart that cannot obey people."
But more than 2,000 years later, people were surprised to find that Gongsun Long's logical theory was strikingly similar to the ontological theory of the great greek thinker Aristotle, and also coincided with Plato's theory of universality. At this time, people discovered that Gongsun Long was actually a lurking king, not the one who "messed up in name" as the sons thought. Modern scholars believe that he is the true founder of the theoretical edifice of Chinese logic.
Today, we will break through the fog and restore the real Gongsun Long in history, as well as his logic theory.
Statue of Gongsun Dragon
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > "solid white stone" theory: others see it as a stone, and Gongsun Long sees it as white (sense) + hard (tactile) two independent attributes. </h1>
"Firm with the hand, and the hand with the pound, is the pounding and the hand know without knowing." And God and the unknown. God, yes, is the word of detachment. "He who is separated from the world is therefore alone and righteous." - "Gongsun Longzi Jianbai"
Gongsun Long, in his book "Gongsun Longzi Jianbai", gave an example of a hard white stone. He believed that the two properties of white and hard could not exist in stone at the same time, and there was no necessary connection between the two.
1, white: visible, but not touchable
He who does not see what he is strong, but who has what he knows, has no strength. - "Gongsun Longzi Jianbai"
The eye can only see the white of the stone, but cannot see the hardness of the stone. At this time, it is equivalent to the hard attribute of the stone hidden, that is, at this time, only the white stone is not the white + hard stone.
Let's take an easy-to-understand example. There is a person who is short in stature, but very talented (the same below). But in fact, we can only see from the appearance that this person is short, but we cannot infer that this person must be eight buckets tall because this person is short.
2, hard: can be touched but can not see
You can't get what you are white, but you can get what you are strong, and you can get what you are strong, and there is no whiteness. - "Gongsun Longzi Jianbai"
You can feel the hardness of the stone by touching it, but you can't feel the white (color) of the stone. At this time, it is equivalent to the color attribute of the stone hidden, that is, at this time, only the hard stone is not white + hard stone.
In the same way, if we don't look at appearances, we can only test. Then we can only know that this person is eight buckets tall, and we cannot infer whether this person is short or tall.
3, strong and white: one side appears on the other side will hide
To be white, to be firm, to see and not to see is to be separated; not to see, one or two are not compatible, so they are separated. Those who leave the house, hide it. - "Gongsun Longzi Jianbai"
The two properties of white and hardness are incompatible. One side appears and the other leaves (automatically hides). That is, the stone is not hard because it is white, and vice versa. In the same way, the height of man is not necessarily related to talent.
God! Yes, it is dissociation. Those who are separated from the world are therefore alone and righteous. - "Gongsun Longzi Jianbai"
In the end, Gongsun Long concluded that "Jian" and "Bai" existed independently (away) from the stone. In other words, the properties of things exist independently of the matrix and are not necessarily related to each other. This is the doctrine of "leaving the white".
This doctrine not only separates the properties of things from the material entity (the matrix), but also isolates the different properties of things and denies their unity. This philosophically means that the general (commonality) does not exist in the individual (entity), but can exist separately from the individual.
That is to say, Gongsun Long believes that even if there is no solid white stone in the world, the two attributes of jian and white still exist; these two attributes can also form solid white iron or solid white wood. In fact, this is the philosophical metaphysical universalism, which was also the theory of Plato, one of the three sages of ancient Greece.
When Plato is mentioned, we will have a platonic love of "spiritual love" in our minds. But in fact, the spiritual love advocated by Plato refers to a kind of love between the same sex. However, this is not our topic today, we are discussing Plato's theory of universals today.
Plato is the originator of the "theory of ideas", that is, the theory of phases. He believed that the world was composed of the "world of ideas" and the "world of phenomena", and that what the human senses could touch was the "world of phenomenalities", and vice versa, the "world of ideas". The world of ideas is real and eternal, while the matter in the real world is tangible and changing. In other words, the "world of ideas" is universal.
In Plato's universal (idea), "man", "horse", and "love" are all separated from the existence of the individual. In reality, the horse will die, but in the "world of ideas" the horse is eternal; similarly, his "spiritual love" advocates divine intercourse, rather than physical intercourse, which is also based on this idea. For only love (universality) is eternal.
If it is said that the theory of "Jianbaishi" has laid the foundation for Gongsun Long's status in the jianghu of the famous "away from Jianbai" faction, then the proposition of "white horse not horse" is the peak of Gongsun Long.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > famous proposition in the history of ancient thought: "white horse is not horse"</h1>
During the Warring States period, there was a horse plague in the Zhao Kingdom, which led to the death of a large number of warhorses. In order to prevent the spread of plague, the State of Qin strictly forbade the horses of the State of Zhao to enter Hangu Pass.
One day, Gongsun Long rode a white horse to enter the Qin state, but was stopped by guan officials. Gongsun Long defended: "The white horse is not a horse", and the Guan official said: "The white horse is a horse". Subsequently, Gongsun Long displayed his eloquent talents, so that Guan Guan, as if drinking ecstasy soup, believed the conclusion that "the white horse is not a horse" in a trance, so he released Gongsun Long.
So, did Gongsun Long put forward the proposition that "white horses are not horses" only to persuade Guan Guan?
1. Why did Gongsun Long put forward the proposition of "white horse not horse"?
The scattering of the name of the disease is due to the strength of the material, which is the theory of "keeping white". The fake is taken as an example, and the defense is "keeping white", saying that the white horse is not a horse. - "Gongsun Longzi Jifu"
Why did Gongsun Long put forward the proposition of "white horse not horse", rather than the proposition of "black horse not horse" or "yellow horse not horse"? In fact, there is quite a deep meaning behind it.
During the Warring States period, because the monarchs of various countries were able to demote talents in an eclectic manner, talented people had a place to play. However, it has also led to the reuse of some lobbyists who have no ink in their chests, but who are not rotten by three inches of tongue. On the other hand, monarchs generally have a "white-keeping" prejudice when selecting talents, which means "keeping an empty state of mind, which refers to being limited to fixed views) so that truly talented people are not reused. Therefore, Gongsun Long, who has always advocated "hiring by the ability to do so", put forward the proposition of "white horse not horse" to satirize the improper use of soldiers by the monarch.
2. Why can't others refute the "white horse is not a horse" proposition?
The white one is uncertain, and he can forget it. The white horse, the words are white. He who is white is not white. The horse does not take the color, so the yellow and black should be so. The white horse has to take the color, and the yellow and black horses all go to the color, so only the white horse can only respond to the ear. Those who have not gone must have gone. Therefore, the white horse is not a horse. - "Gongsun Longzi Jifu"
In the proposition of "white horse not horse", Gongsun Long actually puts forward the interrelationship between "individual (white horse)" and "general (horse)" in logic, and exaggerates the difference between them and severs the connection between the two, which is a metaphysical system of thought.
In the actual debate, Gongsun Long used the skill of stealing concepts. We all know that the general contains the individual, and the individual belongs to the general. Therefore, "white horse is not a horse" should be understood as "white horse is not (belonging to) a horse", which is also the logical thinking habit of ordinary people. However, Gongsun Long interpreted "white horse" as "white", that is, "white is not a horse", which is correct.
Thus, in the actual debate, there is the spectacle of chicken and duck talk. Both the positive and negative sides debated the same proposition, but the square side wanted to prove that "the white horse is a horse", while the other side said "white is not a horse". Under such circumstances, it is impossible for anyone to refute Gongsun Long.
Gongsun Long adhered to the materialist position of materialism first. His proposition of "white horse not horse" is similar to the ontological theory of the great greek thinker Aristotle (Plato's apprentice). This is a unique contribution to the ontology of ancient Chinese philosophy.
For the proposition that the white horse is not a horse, the Hundred Sons and Hundreds of Families generally believe that Gongsun Long is a sophistry, such as Zhuangzi criticized Gongsun Long as "the heart of the ornament, the meaning of changing people, the mouth that can overcome people, and the heart that cannot convince people". However, none of the sons seemed to be able to refute Gongsun Long in a positive debate.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the "white horse is not a horse" argument</h1>
After Gongsun Long put forward the proposition of "white horse not horse" (not his first initiative), it caused a sensation in the hundreds of sons. And the big guys at the level of big coffee have also come out to comment. With the blessing of the celebrity effect, this topic quickly rushed to the hot search, and also attracted countless challengers. Among the many challengers, Confucius's sixth grandson Kong Pu is particularly eye-catching.
1, first teach and then learn the argument: hole piercing fiasco
The gentleman practiced Confucianism instead of what Zhongni had taken, and wanted to learn it so that the dragon would teach it. Although it is a hundred dragons, it cannot be present. - "Gongsun Longzi Jifu"
For Gongsun Long, convincing Guan Guan to believe that "the white horse is not a horse" can only be regarded as a small test of the ox knife. And beating the hole piercing really made him step into the ranks of the big coffee.
Once, Confucius's sixth grandson, the Confucian Kong, passed through the Zhao Kingdom and made a special trip to the Pingyuan Jun to find Gongsun Long to debate.
Hole piercing is the first to grab people, the first to attack. He suggested that Gongsun Long abandon the proposition that "white horses are not horses", and said that he would be willing to learn art from Gongsun Long as a teacher. However, the hole piercing was so busy that it was too busy to make a mistake, and it did not realize that as soon as it opened its mouth, it was already in the ascendant.
The master moves, one wrong step at a time. The experienced Gongsun Long immediately grasped the flaw in the hole and began to refute it. He said, "You asked me to abandon my doctrine first, which was to teach me first, and then to worship me as a teacher." You came first to teach me, and then you worshiped me as a teacher, which is wrong. ”
When The hole was speechless, Gongsun Long hit the iron while it was hot and publicized his theory. He gave concrete examples to prove that Confucius, the ancestor (teacher) of Kong Pu, agreed with the saying that "white horses are not horses".
In the end, Gongsun Long mercilessly humiliated Kong Pu. He said, "You are studying Confucianism, but you slander Jonny's views. Now I am telling me to give up what I have taught and learn from me again, even if there are a hundred of me, I will not be able to teach you! ”
In the face of gongkong dragon's ruthless humiliation, the honest man was speechless and had to lose. However, Gongsun Long's arrogant performance made Zhao Sheng, the Prince of Pingyuan, unable to look down (Gongsun Long was Zhao Sheng's protégé), and he said to Gongsun Long: "His people are better than words, and public words are better than reason." Words speak louder than reason, and they will be punished in the end. ”
Plain Jun's unfortunate words became a slur.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Zou Yan took a different path: Gongsun Long encountered Waterloo</h1>
Zou Yan: "No." Apologists, other special categories make it not harmful, and order heresy makes it not chaotic. Lyrical general refers to it, makes it clear what it is called, makes people and knows, and does not confuse each other. Therefore the winner does not lose what he keeps, and the winner gets what he wants. If so, so argue for it. And to the annoyance of the text to false, ornamented with xiang Dun, clever to the example of phase shift, attracting people not to be able to understand, so harmful to the road. Husbands who pay quarrels and argue and compete for interest cannot be harmless to gentlemen, and they cannot be harmed." —— "Zizhi Tongjian"
Zou Yan was a great master in the Warring States period, a representative figure of Taoism, and the founder of the Yin and Yang family. At the same time, he was also an eloquent person, and Sima Qian called him "talking about heaven and earth, carving dragons, and burning his hair", comparing him to Chun Yujie.
Once, Zou Yan, as an emissary of the State of Qi, came to the State of Zhao and visited Zhao Sheng, the Prince of Pingyuan. Zhao Sheng knew that Zou Yan was knowledgeable and an eloquent person, so he asked him to debate with Gongsun Long at the banquet on the theory of "white horse not horse".
Zou Yan
What a clever man Zou Yan was, he knew that the "white horse is not a horse" theory was a bureau set up by Gongsun Long, and others only had to open their mouths and kneel, and it was impossible to refute Gongsun Long. So he took a different approach and adopted a roundabout tactic.
Zou Yan was reluctant to argue with Gongsun Long on the grounds that "he was annoyed with the text to be false, the words were disguised as Xiang Dun, and the clever words were used to move around, which attracted people to their intentions, so harmful to the road". However, his remarks conquered the melon-eating audience led by Zhao Sheng, and the excited Zhao Sheng took the lead in applauding.
Gongsun Long was dumbfounded, and the situation was completely beyond his control. Because the irony of the "white horse is not a horse" theory cannot be said openly, it will embarrass Pingyuanjun. In addition, what Zou Yan said was not only watertight, but also had already been approved by Pingyuan Jun, in this case, no matter how strongly he argued, he was against PingYuan Jun. After weighing it up, Gongsun Long had to concede defeat.
Since then, Pingyuan Jun has gradually alienated Gongsun Long. And Gongsun Long also collapsed and lost his influence. It can be said that it is also "white horse not horse", and defeat is also "white horse not horse"!
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
The philosophical views put forward by Gongsun Long far exceeded the level of people's cognition in his time, which was the main reason why his views were not understood by the hundreds of sons and hundreds of families, and he himself was depressed in the end.
But more than 2,000 years later, people found that Sun Long insisted on the materialist position of materialism first. And the "white horse not the horse" proposition he proposed is similar to the ontological theory of the great ancient Greek thinker Aristotle (Plato's apprentice). This is a unique contribution to the ontology of ancient Chinese philosophy.
In addition, Gongsun Long's theory of "solid white stone" is also strikingly similar to plato's theory of universality, one of the three Greek sages of the same era. In fact, Zhou Zongchang believes that Gongsun Long "constructed a fairly rich philosophical theory of language itself", and his achievements were not inferior to those of Aristotle. He is the true founder of the edifice of Chinese logic theory.
But unfortunately, because Gongsun Long's doctrine was not "the art of emperors", it did not contribute to the rule of the feudal dynasty. In addition, the philosophical theory was too profound, and it was considered by the academic masters of the time to be a sophistry that "messed up the truth in name" and attacked it. Therefore, after Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, the doctrine of the famous masters began to be marginalized. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty exalted Confucianism, the doctrine of the masters disappeared even more.