Since the seventeenth century, There have been two major trends in China's social, cultural and ideological circles: one is the awakening of lust, and the other is the revival of etiquette. These two historical facts, which seem to be opposed but exist at the same time, and seem to be contrary to each other but constantly dialogue, have formed a very interesting but extremely heavy cultural phenomenon in modern China. Through this two-sided study, we can hook up the historical and ideological dilemmas that the intellectual circles were imperceptibly pregnant in the blood and life memory during the new cultural movement in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty.
"Lust Awakening" scores two levels of discussion: one is mass culture, and the other is the ideological world. The poems, texts, novels, operas, and folk songs of the late Ming Dynasty all reveal everywhere the cry of human nature for a long time to break away from etiquette and religion and to break free. Erotic novels such as "Jin Ping Mei" are left aside; I will only discuss Feng Menglong's "sentimental view" a little.
Feng Menglong preached his "concept of love and religion" through poetry, opera, novels and other forms, the so-called "borrowing the true feelings of men and women, and making a false medicine known as teaching". Feng Menglong praised Zhang Sheng in the night of the warbler in "The Tale of the West Chamber", and also sang the praises of Zhuo Wenjun for running at night, and he even called on women in the world to "endure small shame, make a big plan, and make their own choices early" once they recognize their true feelings. It is obviously advocated that women bravely face the truth and pursue their own happiness. Feng Menglong even likened his love teaching to a theologian's lecture, but the two were completely different. Feng Menglong said that the theorist's lectures were "preaching", and his lectures were "preaching feelings". Feng Menglong pointed out more profoundly that the theorist said that sex is mysterious and mysterious; as for his own understanding of human nature, it is "up and down through the ages, and he insists on love words." Feng Menglong's firmness in the word "love" truly reflects the rupture between Song Yuanming's "ritual theorization" and real life, and the famous religion distorts human nature and distorts true feelings. Anti-theory and satire in popular culture from the seventeenth century onwards can be seen everywhere. It is worth noting that these folk literatures refer to Kong Meng against Cheng Zhu to illustrate that the theoretician's concept of etiquette and the original meaning of Kong Meng are not only not the heart transmission of the Tao unification vein, but are fundamentally contrary. As Feng Menglong said: "When you meet MengFuzi, you can do it yourself." When he met Master Cheng, The wicker could not move a bit. ”
The reflection of lust in the ideological circles is much more profound, involving not only the introspection of sexuality, but also the re-dialectic of the Confucian rational structure. In fact, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Longxi and Li Zhen, the leftists of Wang Xue, both advocated lust. The words of Wang Qi (1498-1583) are often quoted in literary works. The most noteworthy thing is that Liu Zongzhou, a late Ming master of science who was on the same footing with Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming in science, clearly expressed dissatisfaction with Zhu Zi's "heart-based disposition" and "seeing sex according to emotion" in his "Liu Zi Quanshu". Zong Zhou believed that Zhu Zi's remarks were two-fold, so he put forward a set of statements on the temperament of qi and "refers to the nature of love", and discussed the "four ends" and "seven emotions". The Four Ends and the Seven Emotions have always been an important debate in the history of Korean science, but in China, it is probably only in the late Ming Dynasty.
At present, the most well-known scholarly advocate of "reaching the desire of the heart" is the Qing Dynasty thinker Dai Zhen. Dai Zhen put forward his own observations on human nature, believing that sex has blood, qi, heart, and knowledge. He opposed Song Mingru's concept of heavenly reason, advocating that is, seeking things and their order, reason is objectively present in external things, rather than what is innate in the heavens and in the heart.
What is little known to the academic community is that Dai Zhen's idea of reaching out to lust has been passed down. Qianjia scholars, who are generally considered by the academic circles to only know how to examine, are in fact almost all expounding this new theory of human nature and the new concept of attaining lust. To illustrate: Cheng Yaotian and Dai Zhen were the first to criticize Dai Zhen's righteousness at that time, saying that Dai Zhen's theory of sex was "the essence of unknowing sexual goodness", criticizing Dai Zhen for treating all the knowledge of the mind and flesh as sex, so that the goodness of the nature of sex could not be completely self-existent. However, even so, Cheng Yaotian still wrote three first "Narratives" in his "Notes on Learning", repeatedly stating that love is good and not evil. Jun Tingkan was Dai Zhen's private lady, Cheng Yaotian's scholar, and also the advocate of the Qing Dynasty's ceremonial agent, and his way of discussing human nature completely ignored good and evil, that is, he did not judge human nature from the perspective of good and evil. He simply said that there are two qualities of human nature: good and evil, and that all the establishment of morality and the customization of etiquette must be based on personal likes and dislikes, and through this same likes and dislikes, the rules of etiquette that man and I follow together are established. In fact, observing people from the perspective of likes and dislikes, and then defining human nature, has completely fallen into the phenomenal world of man, belonging to the level of experience, or the level of speech; and the transcendent significance of Song Ming's theory directly from the ontological and mastery is very different. Later, Jun Tingkan said even more: Sexual good is a person of superior wisdom, and sexual evil is a person of inferior stupidity, which completely deviates from the basic spectral order of the theory of sex. In fact, what Junshi wants to emphasize is only that human nature has feelings, good, and evil, rather than a hard word.
Qian Jiajian and Jun Tingkan echoed academic ideas, including Ruan Yuan, Wang Zhong, Jiao Xun, Xu Zongyan, Sun Xingyan, Huang Shisan, and the Sons of the Jingshe Jingshe. Both Nguyen Yuan and Jun Dinh Kham were firmly opposed to the diametrically opposed proposition of "Heavenly Reason and Human Desire" in Rigaku. They summarized the original meaning of the word "己" in the ancient books and reinterpreted the word "self-denial and retribution" in the Analects. It is pointed out that the "self" of self-denial is the symmetry of "man and me", so "self" refers to oneself, self-denial means "self-cultivation", and "self-denial and retribution" is based on ritual self-cultivation; it is definitely not song Ru's "self" as "selfish" solution, self-denial is "restraining selfish desires", and "self-denial and self-denial" is to restrain selfish desires to make it reasonable. Ruan and Ling's admonitions broke the concept of "heaven and reason and human desire are diametrically opposed" in science, and also made the ideological circles rethink the relationship between sex and reason. In fact, the re-diagnosis and interpretation of "self-denial" by Qing Confucianism has become an important guideline for observing the turn of academic thought in the Qing Dynasty, and has gradually been valued by the academic circles. Since Dai Zhen, Qing Confucianism has been trying to break the diametrically opposed concept of heavenly reason and human desire in the science of science, and has been committed to re-highlighting the true emotions of human survival and human-self interaction. When Ruan Yuan wrote the preface to Sun Xingyan's "Collection of Questioning Characters", he said fiercely: "The most contemptible temperament of the Song people, Gai has no temperament and flesh, is a ghost and not a person, what is attached to this sex?" Sun Xingyan, on the other hand, wrote a "Primordial Nature" using the method of examination, defining human nature from the popularity of the Five Elements of Yin and Yang in the Heavenly Dao. He said that human nature, moving is born of emotion, emotion is born of desire, sex has the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and faith, and there are also seven emotions of joy, sorrow, joy, love and fear. Among them, the most noteworthy thing is that Sun Xingyan said that sexual emotions and emotions change into desires, and desires are naturally and inevitably derived from human nature. At the same time, Sun Xingyan said more clearly: This "desire" may be the desire of "establishing oneself and establishing oneself", or it may be the desire of "greed for profit". Directly linking the "lust for profit" with human nature is more like and disliked than the human nature of Zhu Juntingkan. As for the possibility of goodness in behavior, his theory is that because sex has a yin and yang flow of variation, sex can also be "restored to goodness" because of "transformation"; "enlightenment" is regarded as the primary kung fu. In fact, Sun Xingyan's purpose is obviously to point out that virtue, lust and greed are all inherent in human nature, and they are indispensable for human survival; as long as they can "develop in the middle", they are "not bad". Therefore, he vigorously attacked Rigaku's proposition of "cutting off love and removing desire". In fact, these Qing Confucians do not recognize human nature from the supperceptual realm at all, nor do they think that human nature, which is known in a priori abstract way, may solve the problems of the human phenomenal world. In other words, these scholars do not believe that judging human performance from the perspective of good and evil is effective in solving practical problems. Therefore, they are more concerned about how to balance the various emotional desires of people and me, while establishing a rational principle, and reorganizing the social order according to this principle.
From Dai Zhen's criticism of Song Ru for "killing people with reason", subsequent Qing dynasty scholars have been seeking how to establish a set of objective principles for the empirical world. Jun Tingkan, who advocated the act of etiquette, repeatedly emphasized the "etiquette of fate". Jiao Xungao's unveiling of "loyalty and forgiveness" and "restraint" is to advocate that people and themselves have the same heart, push themselves and others. As for Sun Xingyan's new solution of "Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi
In the five years from the fifty-fifth to the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong (1790-1794), Sun Xingyan conducted the autumn trial in the Beijing Normal Division, and even more he examined all the twists and turns of the case in detail, used the law flexibly, did not stick to the old etiquette system, and ensured that it was reasonable. For example, in the trial of the case of "protecting the mother and injuring others", it was held that "the mother who protected the mother" was the same as the "mother", that the son protected his mother, that the affection was natural, and that the marital relationship between the mother and the father could not be changed; the old saying that the status of the mother and the mother in the ancient ceremony was not equal; the old saying that the status of the mother and the mother were not equal in the ancient ceremony was completely shaken off.
In fact, apart from the controversy between King Cheng Zhu and Lu in the early Qing Dynasty or the Dispute between the Han and Song Dynasties in Qianjia, or even the banners and slogans of anti-theory at all, and simply from the new points of discussion and the direction of efforts in the ideological circles, it is not difficult for us to find that the most urgent social problem faced by Qing Confucianism is social disorder. In order to reorganize the social order, Qing Confucianism and Confucianism adjusted the yilun and straightened out etiquette. However, before the implementation of the implementation has been launched, the ideological circles are facing the most acute challenge, that is, the rupture between "rational rules" and "human nature". Basically, Qing Confucians from Dai Zhen, Cheng Yaotian, Jun Tingkan, Ruan Yuan, Jiao Xun, Sun Xingyan, and even Gong Zizhen in the middle and late period were all seeking a "rational rule" that was consistent. I call this transformation from "heavenly reason" to "reasonableness." Among them, the efforts of Qing Confucianism include not only the reinterpretation of classics directly engaged in the nature of righteousness, such as Dai Zhen and Jiao Xun's annotations on Mencius, Huang Shisan and Liu Baonan's annotations on the Analects; they also include scholars who are engaged in the annotation of the Five Classics, such as Jun Tingkan's "Interpretation of Ritual Rites", Cheng Yaotian's "Little Notes on Patriarchal Law", Ling Shu's "Spring and Autumn Ram Rituals", Gong Zizhen's "Spring and Autumn Decisive Events", and so on. Of course, this path is quite tortuous and conflicting. The most obvious issue should be the how to break between etiquette, etiquette and human feelings. In other words, the rationale derived by Qing Confucianism in the examination of the prototype of the ritual system is difficult to match with the human reality after the transformation of the facts of life with the passage of time. Although, there are also places where the etiquette of later generations is harsh and harsh, deviating from the prototype of etiquette. Obviously, under the changes in the natural environment, socio-economy, political culture and other changes in the natural environment, socio-economic, political culture and other changes in the past two thousand years, the humanistic relationship has long been complex and diverse to the point of deviating from the etiquette of the past, or the royal system of the past, or even the care of the etiquette of the past. Therefore, Qing Dynasty scholars conducted arduous examinations and fierce debates on these issues. Of course, meticulous examination is the primary basis of all controversy. But in any case, new justifications are so urgently called for.
According to my own research, it can be seen that the most diligent qing Confucian efforts are the etiquette system and prison breaks, and the ritual system is based on "funeral clothes" as the main thing. Try to take the "sister-in-law uniform system" as an example. According to the "Ritual", "the sister-in-law has no clothes", which means that the sister-in-law does not need to serve the funeral clothes for the other party, and its purpose is to "do not suspect". The reason why the ceremonial system is so stipulated is that in addition to the husband, Weng and uncle, the most sensitive relationship between men and women is that of uncle and uncle when a woman with a different surname marries, so the "great defense of men and women" of etiquette is implemented in the boundaries of sister-in-law. However, in actual life, the sister-in-law and uncle are in the same family to worship the same ancestor, cook together, and share worries and concerns; even the uncle is disabled early, and the younger uncle is all raised by the elder sister-in-law, and the feelings are deep and righteous, and can he abandon his deep affection and righteousness because of his words. The Tang Dynasty Han Yu once criticized Gu Li for being unsympathetic and mourned his sister-in-law for a year in order to repay the favor of nurturing. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially the Qianjia scholars, various controversies about the lack of service for sisters-in-law, the service for sister-in-law, the dislike of sister-in-law, and the love of sister-in-law have become more and more intense, and it has become a major debate in the patriarchal ethical system. Others such as concubines for the birth mother should serve? What should a stepchild do for his biological parents? It's all about the entanglement of etiquette and human morality. Of course, there are also some groundbreaking reforms. Such as the clarification of the concept of "virginity". Qing Confucian's examination pointed out that according to the "Ritual", "kissing and greeting" is the determination of the identity of the husband and wife, "integration" is the establishment of the relationship between husband and wife, unorganized is unmarried, and it is absurd and rude to observe the festival as a strange man who is unmarried. These, the "principles" revealed by Qing Confucianism after examining the ancient rites, did correct the popular concept of etiquette at that time, and had a clearing effect on thinking. In short, Qing Confucianism's analysis, reflection, and debate on such issues show that the intellectual circles are facing the reorganization of human order after the awakening of lust.
The erotic awakening presented in mass culture has a wide range of levels, not only the love of men and women, parent-child feelings, but also women's desire to create and achieve. However, the implementation of the "desire to reach the heart" that the ideological circles are thinking about is more serious, and mostly refers to the ultimate non-adjudication of life, such as system revision, analysis and judgment of prison. The most direct contribution of the awakening of the seventeenth century to the descent of lust was the emergence of a new concept of reason, which was characterized by the reasoning of things, that is, the reasoning of people and my feelings. The reason why "reason" can play the role of "rules" and "norms" is not because of "rational nature and heavens", but because of "rational and original feelings". This shift from "heavenly reason" to "reasonable" should be regarded as one of the major trends in early Modern Chinese cultural thought. Of course, there are still many historical phenomena that need to be clarified in more detail. As for the dilemma faced by this intellectual circle, or its reflection, whether it has reached the individualism pursued by the New Culture Movement, that is, the existence of the so-called human rights of natural persons or individuals, it is too early to say in the current research. However, we can be sure that at that time, the intellectual circles did indeed recognize the suspense and estrangement between lust and etiquette (etiquette), and also realized the distortion of human nature, and at the same time devoted themselves to the reflection of ethical relations and legal systems, and tried to reconstruct the rules of reason on the basis of human lust.
(Long press the QR code to pay attention to and view the real-time ancient book quotes)