Not long ago, I met a Daoist friend who liked traditional culture and was very dissatisfied with Mencius's "criticism of Buddhism". Ru Yijun was a little frightened for a moment, was it because he was lonely and ignorant and did not understand the history of "Mencius's removal of Buddhas"? If you think about it carefully, Buddhism has not yet been introduced to China during the Warring States period, and Mencius will not cross from the Warring States to the Han Dynasty.
This Daoist friend probably mistakenly installed the "Cheng Zi Buddha" that occurred in the Song Dynasty on mencius' head. Moreover, in the "Mencius Tengwen Gongzhang Sentence" chapter of the "Four Books and Chapters and Sentences" "Outsiders are called masters and good debaters", Zhu Zi did use some Song Ru's views on "Shijia" in his commentaries.
Mencius criticized mainly the theories of Yang Zhu and the Mojia school. Song Ru believed that the "Shijia" theory that was later introduced to China was a PLUS version of the "Yang Mo" theory, which was far more harmful to Chinese culture than "Yang Mo".
This inference could not help but make Confucian Yijun think: If the time of the introduction of Buddhism to China was advanced to the Warring States, or Mencius crossed over to the Han Dynasty, would he really "expel Buddhism"? With Mencius's "eloquent" personality, this is a very likely thing.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > the reign of the sages of the Flood Age</h1>
Mencius did not admit that he was "eloquent." His disciple Gongduzi once asked him: "Outsiders call the Master a good argument, dare to ask why?" "People outside think you like to debate, teacher, why is that?"
What does Gongduzi mean? First, ask the teacher why are you so argumentative? The second is to ask the teacher if you are not good at arguing, why do you give people the impression of being a good argument?
Mencius replied, "Isn't it good to argue?" As a last resort, too. "Where the teacher likes to debate, it is really a last resort." First, admit that you do debate a lot. Second, it's not that I like to argue, but I can't do it, I have to argue.
Why do we have to argue? For this is the responsibility of the sages of the ages. Mencius told Gongduzi a profound truth, which gave Confucian Yijun a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural responsibilities of Confucian sages.
"The birth of the world is long, and one rule is chaotic."
Mencius first pointed out that the general trend of the operation of the human world is a wave movement to control chaos. Governance is stability, and chaos is turmoil. The duty of the saints is to take on the responsibility of rectifying chaos and ruling in a chaotic world, so that the world can move from turmoil to stability.
The first generation of chinese saints recorded in history were Yao, Shun, and Yu. The social problems of the human world they face are not so complex, mainly in the harsh conditions of natural existence.
Humans have been on Earth for a long time. In the beginning, humans were a very small group. In all animal populations, the presence of humans is almost negligible. At that time, humans only needed to gather and hunt for production to survive.
With the improvement of production tools, in the Stone Age and pottery age, the productivity of human beings was greatly improved, and the population began to grow rapidly. The food harvested by the primitive method of gathering and hunting can no longer meet the needs of survival and reproduction, and human beings urgently need to develop agricultural civilization.
"When Yao was in power, the water was retrograde and flooded China. The snake and the dragon dwell, and the people are uncertain. The lower one is the nest, and the upper one is the camp. Book: "Shui Shui Police Yu." Flooders, floods also. ”
Under primitive natural conditions, the scale of farming is extremely small. At that time, the Chinese region was still a zealous country. Due to the blockage of the ancient river channel, it floods all year round. There is more water and less soil, and insects, snakes and beasts are infested. Humans have no place to live, some nest, some live in caves on the mountain. The Shangshu Yushu Da Yu Mo says that the flood is a warning to us.
The great Yao used carp to control the water and began to declare war on nature, but it did not succeed for nine years. After the great Shun inherited the throne as leader, he used the great Yu to rule the waters.
"Let Yu rule, Yu dig the earth and pour into the sea, and drive away the snakes and dragons and let them go." The water flows from the middle of the earth, and the rivers, Huai, rivers, and Han are also. Dangers and obstacles are far away, and the harm of birds and beasts disappears, and then people have to live in the flat land. ”
Yu Zhishui took thirteen years, and he did not enter the house three times. He was probably the first geographer in Chinese history, and after years of investigation, he understood the terrain, hydrology, soil and vegetation conditions of the Central Plains and surrounding areas, and then made a master plan. He divided China into nine states, treated floods according to local conditions, developed agriculture, animal husbandry or utilized natural resources, and laid the foundation for the leapfrog development of the Chinese nation in the Xia and Shang dynasties.
Is it conceivable? In that flood era, people's lives were too busy to take care of themselves, and some people actually took on the heavy responsibility of controlling water for the survival of mankind. This is the great brilliance of the Chinese humanistic spirit. If you look to the organized and planned water control movement 4500 years ago, you have to admire the wisdom, ability and courage of the ancestral sages.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > the reign of the bronze age saints</h1>
If the flood is "a chaos", Dayu treats the flood, increases the area of cultivated land, and improves living conditions, which is "one rule". Zhu Zi said, "One cures one chaos, gasification rises and falls, personnel gains and losses, repeatedly seek each other, and it is reasonable." ”
Human beings always solve one problem and a new one. After the harsh natural conditions were transformed, the population grew rapidly, and people's greed also increased, so social problems arose.
"Yao Shun is neither, nor is the way of the saints. The tyrant took the place, and the bad palace thought that the pond was dirty, and the people had no rest; the fields were abandoned as a garden, so that the people could not eat or clothe. Heresies and atrocities are committed again, and there are many gardens, dirty ponds, and many animals and beasts. And the body of the silk, the world is in chaos. ”
During the Yao Shunyu period, the idea of ethnic leaders was people-oriented, and the tribes and surrounding areas where the people lived were concentrated were built into livable and cultivatable homes. However, after the death of the saint, the successors began to degenerate, using the fruits of the ancestors' treatment of water as a breeding ground for personal pleasure. Some tyrants, such as Taikang of the Xia Dynasty and Wu Yi of the Shang Dynasty, went so far as to destroy farmland and houses and convert them into royal gardens and hunting grounds.
Unexpectedly, in ancient times, there was also a "return of farmland to forest", but at that time it was not for ecological environmental protection. The monarch coveted pleasure, but deprived the people of their living conditions and caused food and clothing.
In line with the greed of the monarch, some ideas have emerged in the world to safeguard his interests, which is the so-called "heresy". For example, "the king's right is granted", "hereditary resignation" and so on. These "heresies" also fueled the monarch's atrocities, and eventually developed two periods of extreme darkness and chaos, Xia Jie and Shang Yi.
The chaos of the Xia Dynasty was rectified by the Shang Tang and the Establishment of the Shang Dynasty. The chaos of the Shang Dynasty was corrected by King Wu and the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty. Both of these disturbances were carried out in the form of violent revolutions, which were mankind's declaration of war on itself.
"The Duke of Zhou, the King of Wu, cursed him, begged for three years, and drove Fei Lian to the corner of the sea and killed him." Fifty destroyers, driving away tigers, leopards, rhinos, and elephants. The world is happy. ”
The Duke of Zhou assisted King Wu of Zhou in eradicating the King of Shang and rebelling against the abusive State of Xiang. Drove the remnants of the Shang Dynasty all the way to the seashore and killed its leader Fei Lian. The brutal regime of fifty tribes was overthrown, and land suitable for human habitation and agricultural production was reopened, and houses and palaces were built. As a result, the people of all ethnic groups in the world were very happy and supported the leadership of the Zhou Kingdom.
The book says: "Pi Xianya, Wen Wang Mo!" Pi Chengzai, Wu Wang Lie! Bless my descendants, salty and flawless. ”
The Shangshu Zhoushu Junya says: "King Wen's bosom shines with a thousand rays of light! The feats of the King of Wu play the music of the past and the future! Help enlighten our descendants to be able to walk on the right path without regret. ”
Although both Shang Tang and King Wu had fulfilled the historical responsibility of rectifying the chaos, after all, they were in the form of violence, at the cost of harming countless human lives. In particular, the emergence of bronze weapons has led to a significant increase in the number of human war casualties.
In order to allow the world to respect life, the Duke of Zhou created the Lile civilization of the Zhou Dynasty, integrating the ideas of the ancient saints and kings who loved things and took advantage of their livelihood into the country's political system and the people's way of life. "The Tao is virtuous, and the Qi is polite", so that the Chinese nation ushered in nearly 200 years of Taiping and prosperity, known as the Western Zhou Dynasty.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > the rule of the saints of the age of the Sons</h1>
The so-called Zhuzi era is the Spring and Autumn Warring States, and China has once again entered a period of turmoil. The problems faced by this era are completely different from those of the previous two eras.
"The world is in decline and decay, and there are heresies and atrocities, and there are those who are subject to their kings, and there are those who are sons and fathers. Confucius was afraid, and made spring and autumn. Spring and autumn, the matter of the Son of Heaven also. That's why Confucius said, 'He who knows me is only in the Spring and Autumn!' He who sins against me is the only one who has a spring and a half! ’”
The turmoil of the Spring and Autumn Period was mainly reflected in the gradual collapse of the political and social order. From a political point of view, the earliest began with the abolition of The Zhou Youwang. Such as the collapse of the ant nest, the stable political structure of the Zhou Dynasty was rapidly shaken, and then the chain reaction was that the doctor transgressed the monarch and the family subjects transgressed the doctor. Eventually, the edifice of the world will fall, and the people will be in danger.
Confucius was very worried, so he created "Spring and Autumn", which praised and deprecated the kings and courtiers for more than 240 years, and clarified the order of the royal way in a small and righteous way. It is equivalent to Confucius appointing himself as the supreme authority, standing on the moral high ground to "degrade the Son of Heaven, retire the princes, and please the doctors", and "lash out" those who are chaotic and thieves who harm the world.
At first, Confucius also wanted to reverse the chaos of the world by engaging in politics. But after fourteen years of traveling around the world, he found that order was chaotic to the bone marrow, and civilization was almost destroyed. The most important thing is not to govern which country, not to restore temporary clarity, but to save the dying culture and pass on the seeds of royal justice.
Therefore, Confucius had no choice but to become the "King of Su", writing straight and speaking in small words, "curbing people's desires in the cross-current, and preserving heaven and reason in the destruction", which made the chaotic courtiers and thieves afraid of it. Zhu Zi said, "Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn To beg for chaos and thieves, then the law of governance hangs in the world, and it is also a rule. ”
Confucius's rectification of chaos is not at the actual political level, but at the historical and cultural level. "Just save a cure, make the truth bright and brilliant, and be able to do it." Although he did not have the position of the Son of Heaven, he "sought out the thief and ruled the law, and his merit was greater than that of ShunYu." "For this is not the rule of one lifetime, but the rule of all ages."
To this day, when Western philosophers discover that Western civilization is gradually declining, and even about to enter a dead knot, the world has to re-examine the East and draw wisdom from Confucius's thought. This is a postscript, not a table for the time being. Chinese history entered the Warring States era, and new problems arose in the human world.
Confucius faced the chaos of the collapse of the liturgy and the chaos of order, while Mencius faced the confusion of thought.
"The Holy King does not do it, the princes are unrestrained, the virgins are arbitrarily discussed, and the words of Yang Zhu and Mo Zhai are all over the world." The words of the world, if they do not return to Yang, they return to Ink. The Yang clan is for me, it is no junye; the Mo clan and love, is the fatherless also. Fatherless and unduly, it is also a beast. ”
During the Warring States period, although a hundred schools of thought competed, there were two main ones that really brought people ideological confusion, one was Yang Zhu and the other was Mozi.
Yang Zhu and Mozi's original intention was also to save the world, but because their thinking was not correct enough, their last stream was "fatherless and kingless".
"The Yang clan saw that the people of the world camped in fame and fortune, and buried their bodies without knowing it, so they cleaned their bodies alone to exalt themselves, just like the disciples who received public opinion. However, if everyone is so pure and self-exalted, then who is taught by the world to pay attention to it, this is no king. ”
"Mo Seeing that the people of the world are selfish and selfish, and cannot reach others, they want to love the people of the world, but they do not know that there is a tribulation, and when they are in the king's relatives, they should be saved first, and they should be saved later, and if they are in no order, they are treated as kings and relatives, and this is fatherless."
To be a monarch means to disregard the national collective. Without a father, there is no family affection. What's the difference between this and the beast?
"Gongming Yi said: 'There is fat meat in the stable, fat horses in the stable, and the color of the people, and hunger in the wild, and this rate of the beast and the cannibalism of man."' The way of Yang Mo is unceasing, the way of Confucius is not endless, it is a heresy that slanders the people, and it is full of benevolence and righteousness. When benevolence and righteousness are filled, the beasts will eat people, and people will eat each other. ”
What kind of thinking there is what kind of politics. If Yang Mo's thought becomes the mainstream, it will inevitably lead to human society approaching animals and beasts, and the benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom of human nature will be destroyed. Politicians lose their humanity, and as a result, they lead the people to become beasts, and the struggle between people is often bloody and the people are not happy.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="53" > written at the end</h1>
The reason for Mencius's "argumentative" is now clear.
"I am afraid of this, idle in the way of the holy, away from Yang Mo, let loose obscene words, heretics are not allowed to do." Do it in his heart, do it in his heart, do it in his heart, do it in his heart, do it in his The resurrection of the saints is not easy for me to say. ”
The Holy Heart of Ya is worried about the world and the hereafter, and defends the righteous thoughts of the saints of all generations, so as not to endanger the world by heresies and heresies. Although he did not get the opportunity to govern, he carried out a necessary rectification at the academic level, "yes and one rule".
Mencius's words reminded Song Ru of the Buddhist family that later became popular in Middle-earth. Cheng Zi said, "The harm of Yang Mo is worse than that of Shen Han: the harm of the Buddha's clan is worse than that of Yang Mo." The Gai Yang clan doubted righteousness for me, the Mo clan also doubted Ren, and Shen Han was shallow and easy to see. Therefore, Mencius stopped Yang Mo and confused the world. Fo's words are close to reason, and they are not Yang Mo's ratio, so they are particularly harmful. ”
This is probably the misunderstanding of the Daoist friend mentioned at the beginning of this article. If Buddhism had been introduced to China earlier, I believe Mencius would have criticized it. However, Mencius and Song Confucianism maintained the Confucian Taoism as political thought, not the struggle for status as a folk belief.
Yu ruled the flood and the world was peaceful, the Zhou metric system was happy and the people were peaceful, Confucius was in the Spring and Autumn and the thieves were afraid. Mencius, on the other hand, followed the path of the Three Saints, continued to defend the Chinese civilization and corrected the direction of history.
"I also want to straighten out the hearts of the people, to put an end to heresy, to distance myself from the recitation, and to make adulterous remarks, so as to inherit the Three Holy Ones; As a last resort, too. Those who can speak away from Yang Mo, the disciples of the saints also. ”
Heresy harms the human world, and everyone can attack it, so why wait for the sages to debate it? Historically, many Chinese scholars have been very resistant to Buddhism.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the Jin clan of Renshan (金履祥, Zi Ji Father) said, "The Buddha's clan extinguished the yang, and the zen ding lizhi said it." Compassion is like ink, and equality has no life. Gai is also a filial piety without a father and a king, and the beast cannibalizes the scourge, so the harm is particularly severe. ”
Although Ru Yijun was not a Buddhist, he still found the scholar's words very harsh. What he meant was that Buddhism was characterized by both Yang Zhu and Mozi thought, and that it was more harmful to politics and society.
The Xin'an Chen clan (陈栎, zi Shou Weng) said, "The beasts of the flood, the usurpation of Yidi, are all the victims of calamities, but only for a moment." If heresy is the bad man of the calamity, and it flows infinitely, the harm is particularly terrible. This Mencius had no choice but to exert deep exhaustion to save him. ”
I don't know what kind of face the Buddhist family looks like in the eyes of ancient scholars after nearly a thousand years of evolution. Readers are welcome to discuss.