◆ Jiang Feng, chief writer of "Japanese Overseas Chinese Daily".
I often go to used bookstores in Jimbocho to "Taobao" and "Gold Rush", and I also frequent bookstores all over Japan. What makes people feel "strange" but "can't let go" is the "Analects" that are all over it.
Not to mention foreigners, I dare to say that in today's highly developed electronic and informationized world, for quite a few Chinese, Confucius, as the "ancestor", and the "Analects", which shines with the light of thought, may also be permeated with a "familiar strangeness", facing the big problem of traditional cultural inheritance and ideological relay.
The topic returns to the Japanese and the Analects. Japan's admiration for this book is beyond imagination. The Analects of the Analects, which is now flowing in the Japanese book market, has gone from the anime version of Doraemon, to the illustrated version for elementary school students, to the introductory version of the upbringing for business personnel. It is no wonder that the influence of the Analects on the history of Japanese thought is almost throughout. Retrospectively, as the earliest history book in Japan, the Kojiki of the Nara period records the introduction of the Analects to Japan. It is believed that the Korean Baekje scholar "Waerjishi", or "Wang Ren" as he is known in China, dedicated the Analects to Emperor Ojin for the first time. However, there are also domestic scholars who combine the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" with the fact that "the founding of Baekje has come, and there is no written record." As a result, Dr. De was pleased, and the first secretary began to write about the time when Baekje was written and the date of the completion of the Thousand Character Bun, which is considered to have been brought to Japan along with the Analects, it is debatable whether the Analects were introduced to Japan through Baekje.
However, on the other hand, doesn't the fact that ancient Japanese books have left enough space for the Analects proves everything in itself? At this point alone, it seems that time research is not so important! In any case, it is a conclusive historical fact that the Japanese imperial family used the Analects as a textbook in the palace from the very beginning, and this influence lasted for thousands of years. If you make up for the scene of the Japanese princes "studying the classics" in the palace, it may be similar to the one presented in Chinese historical dramas.
When it comes to the application of the spirit of the Analects in ancient Japan in the field of political and social construction, Prince Shotoku cannot but be mentioned. This politician, who is famous for his "17-Article Constitution", quoted the "harmony is precious" in the Analects as an important part of Article 1. The "17-Article Constitution" is a milestone for Japan's legal history, as the first codified code in Japan's legal history. The quotation from the Analects at the beginning shows the central influence of Chinese Confucianism on the formation of Japanese society and the state system. Prince Shotoku sent a large number of envoys to the Sui Dynasty and attached great importance to "studying" from China, which was undoubtedly the accumulation of the achievements of the Japanese imperial family and society in studying the Analects, which was a kind of "logical" after cultural absorption, and the Analects also achieved high-end interaction between Chinese and Japanese ideology and culture. What is even more intriguing is that the 10,000 yen banknote before the 1984 "Fukuzawa Yukichi Edition" was printed on the same Prince Shotoku. Here, there is also the "spiritual core" behind the "forward (money) look" of Japanese society.
Japanese historians are aware that the Analects are broad and profound, and that the spirit of "harmony" does not occupy a central position. In my opinion, the "17-Article Constitution" has formed its own "values" by simply adopting the principle of "valuing peace", which shows that Japan has a strong subjective initiative and is good at reforming. Japan's way of learning the Analects is a good reference and inspiration for observing and understanding Japan's "transformative power".
This is also reflected in other influential historical figures. The more prominent one is Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the "Three Heroes of the Warring States". This heroic figure, who has been in power for 14 generations and lasted for more than 200 years, not only fought well, but also read deeply. What to read? In my opinion, Tokugawa Ieyasu is a proper fan of the Analects. Tokugawa Ieyasu's words and deeds, "Picking Gold from the Sand", records that the Analects ranks first among the Chinese books he admired. This also determines that the study of Chinese Confucianism will run through his life.
Tokugawa Ieyasu's "Precepts" can be seen everywhere in the "Tosho Jingu" in Nikko, Ueno, and other places in Japan, and his "Teachings of the Divine Emperor" is a masterpiece of his way of life, and the essence of the "Analects" is permeated between the lines. For example, "a person's life is like carrying a heavy burden and traveling a long way" comes from the phrase "a soldier cannot fail to carry a heavy responsibility, and he has a long way to go." Benevolence is its own responsibility, isn't it also important? Death is gone, isn't it far away? "Blame yourself and don't blame others" is taken from the content of "you want to establish people, and you want to reach people", "patience is the foundation of security and longevity; "Anger is the great enemy" also has a very distinct connotation projection of "self-denial and revenge". And all that.
Looking back on the trajectory of Tokugawa Ieyasu's life, the beginning of his ideas on governing the world and governing is inseparable from the historical "encounter" with the Japanese Confucian master Lin Luoshan. Under the recommendation of his master, Lin Luoshan, who later became a "royal scholar", met Tokugawa Ieyasu at Nijo Castle in Kyoto at the age of 23. Judging from the fact that the life of "Tokugawa Gong" was revered by later generations in Japanese society, it is not an exaggeration to say that this "view of the monarch and minister" was of decisive significance. Today, when you go to Gero Onsen in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, you will see the statue of Mt. Hayashi in the local area, which will make people reminisce that the Analects in a large sense made Tokugawa Ieyasu not confined to a "poor soldier and martial man". It will make people sigh even more, and in the study of the history of Sino-Japanese ideological and cultural exchanges, these details must not be missed.
The influence of the Analects on Japanese society is both traditional and developmental. Japan is a society that respects inheritance. During the Edo period, there were more than 100 kinds of books related to the Analects, and "academic centers" were established in various places, and it became popular for feudal lords and their disciples to study the "Four Books and Five Classics". What is even more surprising is that in some cities in Japan today, there is still a love and respect for the Analects. The most famous is the city of Toto, Saga Prefecture. With a population of only 20,000, this small city is famous in Japan for hosting the Analects contest and teaching the Analects in schools. The local government has also set up special organizations to hold cultural commemorative activities with the theme of "The Analects" every year to promote cultural brands, which are both fun and profound. The phrase that circulated in the Edo period, "How long is the little sparrow singing the Analects" is a vivid portrayal of history and reality. In such an atmosphere, if you go to the local "Confucian Temple" and take a look at the temple, you will find that the cultural mutual learning that has been "ascending to the elegant hall" has been connected to the local atmosphere of Japan in such an unknown way.
The Analects is an intriguing "place" in Japanese society. When I put down my pen, the first thing that came to my mind was the phrase "virtue is not lonely, there must be neighbors". Times change, but it still deserves to be better shared by the two countries. (Written on May 11, 2024 in Room 6481, Bozhou Hotel, Anhui, China)