Yuelu Academy Pulpit: Rethinking the Confucian relationship between benevolence and etiquette from the controversy between He Bingdi and Tu Weiming

RedNet Moment, October 13 (Correspondent Chen Yonghao) In order to continue Zhu Zhang's academic tradition, build the contemporary Yuelu Academy into a traditional Chinese culture research and talent training base with important international influence, promote the comprehensive modern rejuvenation of Yuelu Academy, enhance the international and domestic academic influence of hunan university's humanities, and respond to the major cultural needs of the country, Hunan University relies on Yuelu Academy's profound humanistic academic tradition and unique advantage resources. On September 12, 2021, the inauguration ceremony of the Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities of Hunan University (Yuelu Academy) was held. As one of the series of activities established by the Institute of Advanced Studies, Yuelu Academy of Hunan University, the Social Sciences Department of Hunan University, and the Institute for Advanced Studies in humanities of Hunan University jointly sponsored the series of lectures on "Humanities On Traditional Culture" at the forum of Yuelu College.

On the evening of October 14 (Thursday), Yuelu College of Hunan University invited Mr. Liang Tao, Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education "Yangtze River Scholar" and Deputy Dean of the National College of Chinese Min University, to give a series of lectures on the theme of "Rethinking the Confucian Ren and Etiquette Relationship from the Controversy between He Bingdi and Tu Weiming", and to discuss the understanding of the confucian benevolence and etiquette relationship from the controversy between He Bingdi and Tu Weiming on "self-denial and re-etiquette for benevolence", and to re-understand the relationship between benevolence and etiquette through the reinterpretation of the chapter "Self-denial and Reciprocation of Etiquette for Benevolence", so as to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Confucianism. Stay tuned, publicized, and engaged.

Institute for Advanced Study of Humanities, Hunan University (Yuelu Academy).

"Humanities everyone talks about traditional culture" special lecture series

【Lecture Information】

Theme: Rethinking the Confucian relationship between benevolence and etiquette from the controversy between He Bingdi and Tu Weiming

Speaker: Liang Tao (Outstanding Scholar of Chinese Min University, Vice Dean of Guoxue College, Distinguished Professor of "Yangtze River Scholars" of the Ministry of Education)

Organizers: Yuelu College, Hunan University, Social Sciences Office, Hunan University, Hunan University Advanced Research Institute of Humanities

Organizer: Department of History and Department of Philosophy, Yuelu Academy, Research and Dissemination Center of Chinese Studies, Yuelu Academy

Co-organizer: Development Fund of Yuelu College, Hunan University, Dacheng Chinese Studies Fund

【Speaker Profile】

Professor Liang Tao is an outstanding scholar of Chinese University, vice dean, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Chinese College, distinguished professor of "Yangtze River Scholar" of the Ministry of Education, distinguished professor of "Taishan Scholar" of Shandong Province, and member of the Steering Committee of Cultural Quality Education of the Ministry of Education. He is the Secretary-General of the Mencius Research Institute, the Director of the "Xunzi and Zhao Cultural Research Center", the Vice President and Secretary General of the Mencius Research Society, and the Vice President and Secretary General of the Xunzi Research Society. He is mainly engaged in the history of Chinese philosophy, the history of Confucian thought, the history of classical thought, and the research of unearthed Jian Shu, and has published "Guodian Zhujian and The Simeng School", "New Exploration of Confucian Taoism", "Kinship and Concealment" and "Double Evidence Method", "New Four Books and Neo-Confucianism", etc., and published more than 80 academic papers in journals such as "Chinese Social Science", "Philosophical Research", "History of Chinese Philosophy", etc., of which "Guodian Zhujian and Simeng School" won a number of humanities and social science awards.

【Introduction】

The controversy between He Bingdi and Tu Weiming on "self-denial and retribution for benevolence" actually reflects different understandings of the basic Confucian issue of the relationship between benevolence and etiquette. Confucius said that the existence of benevolence is based on the three different dimensions of benevolence, loyalty and forgiveness, and self-denial and self-denial, and Confucius's ritual contains different meanings such as hierarchical name, ethical norms, and etiquette. In terms of the relationship between benevolence and etiquette, Confucius both "interprets the rites with benevolence" and "becomes benevolent with rites", presenting a complex aspect, and the current academic community uses "benevolent interpretation of rites" or "benevolence to use" to understand Confucius's benevolence and etiquette relationship is incomplete. In the Analects, "Self-denial and Retribution for Benevolence" chapter, in which "self-denial" refers to restraining excessive desires, and "retribution" refers to the revival of the order of liturgy, because the order of reeds eliminates competition and chaos, and maintains people's life safety and material property, it can be called benevolence. And once the order of liturgy is established, people will return to it, to tend to it, that is, to benevolence. What this chapter discusses is actually "benevolence by courtesy", and it is believed that a good system is benevolence. It is an important aspect of the relationship between Confucius and Li, and it was Xunzi who inherited this idea, not Mencius. In the past, scholars understood "self-denial and retribution as benevolence" as self-cultivation, or thought that the restoration of zhou liturgy was one-sided. Only from the path of Xun Xue can it be possible to make a correct interpretation of this chapter. A new understanding of the relationship between benevolence and courtesy is the key to the creative transformation and innovative development of Confucianism.