The joy of life is like adapting to it

The joy of life is like adapting to it

——From Zhang Tingyu's view of the traditional Confucian view of happiness

Author: Xie Qingsong (Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Yunnan University)

Zhang Tingyu (1672-1755), also known as Hengchen (衡臣), was a native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province, the second son of Zhang Ying, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, and a famous historian of the Qing Dynasty. In the thirty-ninth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1700), he entered the priesthood and was elected as a Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy. During the reign of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty, he served as the Left Attendant of the Punishment Department, and during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, he served as the Rebbe Shangshu, the Hubu Shangshu, the Official's Shangshu, the Bohol Temple Scholar (the first assistant of the cabinet), and the chief military aircraft minister. After his death, he was given the title of "Wenhe" and deserved to enjoy the Taimiao Temple. The "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" said: "In the final Qing Dynasty, the Han ministers were entitled to the Taimiao Temple, but Tingyu was alone." In his lifetime, Zhang Tingyu "went through three dynasties and suffered great prosperity", held important positions, was humble, and was a clean and honest official. He compiled his decades of life experience into the "Cheng Huai Yuan Language", which aims to "read it from generation to generation, and know the great end of my own actions and deliberations." In the form of essay notes, the Chenghuaiyuan Dialect records Zhang Tingyu's views as a Confucian on issues such as self-cultivation, reading, dealing with the world, and becoming an official, so as to admonish future generations.

In the Chenghuai Garden Language, Zhang Tingyu describes his concept of happiness like this:

The joys of life, such as the beauty of the palace, the service of wives and concubines, the freshness of clothing, the purity of drinking, the beauty of vocal skills, are suitable for those who are outside, and the happiness of the heart is not happy. Only peace and reason, undeserved, dreaming and being comfortable, calm and relaxed, is the true happiness of my heart. He who is rich and noble, who is poor and extravagant, but whose hearts are always related, who are worried day and night, I do not know where the happy fruit is?

In Zhang Tingyu's view, "Mortals have a love of something heavy, and they must think of it and protect it." As for the heart, it is the most precious treasure of my body. To think of good is to put it at peace; to think of evil is to put it at risk. Why should I be in danger of giving up my precious treasure? It's also very much for ferns. The mind is the "supreme treasure of my body," and the nature of the mind is not affected by external matter and is not swayed by the surrounding environment, so true happiness does not come from the outside, but from within. Mencius: "Look up to the heavens, and do not bow down to people." The Confucian tradition of reflexive sincerity and unworthiness is Zhang Tingyu's supreme pursuit.

Zhang Tingyu pursued a frugal and idyllic lifestyle all his life. "Life is silent and has a good hobby, and there is no camp for retreating." Zhang Tingyu served the emperor at the palace in the western suburbs of Beijing, and the Yongzheng Emperor gave him the old garden of the emperor's relatives to live in. The courtyard houses are gorgeous and bright, and the scenery is beautiful and magnificent, and it is named "Chenghuai Garden". Zhang Tingyu lived in this garden for more than ten years, but the utensils and utensils in the home were not very complete, and all the daily necessities were "rough and simple, and the chat was just a full count", so some princes and ministers ridiculed him for being frugal. To this end, he explains:

Non-frugality also, the Former Emperor of Meng repeatedly gave the internal money and more gold, and it was quite surplus to do this. But I thought that the joy of life is like adapting to itself. I use all the things in my room, and I use them, and if I must buy them and choose them and then use them, I use them for things. How bitter am I for things? Tao Yuanmingzhi's refusal to "serve in the form of the heart" is this righteousness. In the case of studying all his life, he has a heavy responsibility, he is studying and political affairs, he should pay attention to those who pay attention to it, and he is always sloppy and sloppy, and he is afraid of many losses, so why bother with the use of clothing and utensils, and think that he is beautiful?

In Zhang Tingyu's view, the real happiness of life does not depend on the number and coarseness of external objects, but on the self-adaptation and self-sufficiency of the spiritual world. Therefore, "serving with the heart as the form" is not as good as "serving the form as the heart", and the material can be used by me, "do not have a luxurious heart". As a heavy courtier, you should pay more attention to learning and political affairs, and do not have to worry about clothing and utensils.

Zhang Tingyu also proposed, "The joy of covering the world, Mo is happy to be idle and quiet." If you can understand these two words, not only will you have the interest of self-adaptation, that is, to govern and read, you will be clear-minded, mentally complete, and there will be no obstacles. On the contrary, "if the daily affairs are sung and noisy, and the mind gradually becomes sluggish, the affairs will be ruined, and the rest will be spent." Zhang Tingyu also said: "Yu lived in Beijing for a long time, and those who saw the animals and superior people of rich and noble families, or for several years, or decades, or repeatedly passed on, and then they will be abandoned until the family rules are abandoned, their livelihood is weak, and they are not happy." He sighed, "Woohoo! Human feelings are not for the sake of future generations, but for the entertainment of the moment, and the endless troubles of future generations can be lamented! From this, it can be seen that the reason why Zhang Tingyu believes that being idle and quiet and having no worries is the true happiness of life, which is not only the result of his own life realization, but also the result of insight into world affairs.

What is particularly valuable is that Zhang Tingyu did not approve of the popular argument of virtue and blessing at that time. In the Chenghuai garden language, Zhang Tingyu pointed out:

For good, so end of character also. If it is said that goodness will be blessed, there will be those who are not blessed. For example, if the text is good, then the Chinese style, is there no good text in the world and not in the middle? But don't because a good article is not in the middle, so you don't do a good job!

In Zhang Tingyu's view, there is no necessary connection between doing good and being blessed, and doing good is both the highest purpose and the greatest well-being.

Zhang Tingyu has been an official for half a century, and it can be said that he is respected and powerful, and his reputation is prominent, but he does not have a good habit of playing silently, but advocates a frugal and idyllic, "idle and quiet" lifestyle, and his daily objects are "coarse and simple, and talk is just a full number". What he believes is not the material enjoyment of "the beauty of the palace, the service of his wives and concubines, the freshness of the costumes, the cleanliness of the drinking, and the beauty of the sound", but the "happiness of the heart" as the "most precious treasure of my body", that is, the true happiness comes from the peace and happiness of the heart. It can be said that on the issues of how to rationally face material life, how to restrain inner greed, and achieve spiritual freedom and transcendence, Zhang Tingyu gave his own answer on the basis of inheriting the traditional Confucian concept of happiness, which still has certain enlightenment significance.

Guangming Daily (2021-04-02 15 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily