Li Xiang Notes | Gao Haibo: On the Practical Characteristics of Confucius Renxue

The 2021 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the 7th Nishan World Civilization Forum were held in Qufu, Shandong. With the theme of "Dialogue among Civilizations and Global Cooperation", this year's Nishan World Civilization Forum invited experts and scholars from all over the world to jointly excavate the profound wisdom of ancient civilizations and jointly explore the ways of integration of diverse civilizations, presenting a grand scene of civilization where humanities gather and a feast of ideas in which a hundred schools of thought contend. In order to better display the innovative theoretical achievements of this year's Nishan World Civilization Forum, Lixiang China specially launched the column "Notes on Lixiang - The Seventh Nishan World Civilization Forum". Today, The Notes on Li Xiang invited Gao Haibo, a professor in the Department of Philosophy of Tsinghua University, who shared the title of "On the Practical Characteristics of Confucius Renxue".

Gao Haibo

Department of Philosophy, Tsinghua University

Although there is some debate in the academic community as to whether benevolence is the core idea of Confucius, it is certain that in Confucius, benevolence is a very important concept. The Lü Shi Chunqiu Buji says "Confucius Guiren", and Chen Hao of the Qing Dynasty also says "The Analects of the Most Important Ren Character".

However, it is difficult for successive interpreters to reach a consensus on such a "ren" in the Analects, and the late Mr. Chen Rongjie, a well-known scholar in the United States, once wrote an article entitled "The Evolution of confucian "Benevolence" Thought" to discuss the unfolding of "Ren" in the history of Chinese philosophy, in which he pointed out: "For more than two thousand years, various theories of 'benevolence' have emerged, interpreting 'benevolence' as 'love', 'love', 'jue', 'gong', and 'oneness with all things in heaven and earth'. The connotation of renzi is so complex that the Song dynasty scholar Cheng Hao said that "benevolence is difficult to speak." The purpose of this article is not to re-examine whether successive scholars have properly understood the connotation of Confucius's "ren" character, but to reveal the practical aspects of Confucius's "ren" thought from another different perspective.

One

In the face of the many disciples in the Analects who "ask for ren," we can't help but wonder the same thing: What does Confucius mean by the word ren? The usual practice is that we always want to gather all the words of Confucius on ren in the Analects, so as to summarize the most inclusive and precise definition of the word "ren" from it. We imagine that the disciples of Confucius asked Ren with the same confusion, that is, what is the definition of Ren? Disappointingly, however, Confucius never gave his disciples a clear answer with a similar definition. Whether it is "benevolent people love others", "self-denial is benevolence", or "do not do to others what you do not want", etc., it does not seem to be a defining answer. On this point, Zhang Dongsun, a famous scholar of the Republic of China period, said: "Therefore, we can say that although Confucius said a lot of benevolence, he did not see a single word that really spoke of the content or essence of benevolence." Liang Shuming also said: "Although the Analects talk about benevolence a lot, he is not reasonable, but only points out everything in life. And what is strange is that in the face of Confucius's answer, except for Yan Yuan and Sima Niu, the disciples of Confucius seem to understand it, and almost no disciples have the impulse to ask further questions. Compared with Plato's "Republic", the commentators' questioning of virtues such as goodness, justice, bravery, and temperance "breaking the sand pot and asking the end", confucius's questions and answers about "benevolence" in the Analects are slightly thin.

When we ask the connotation of the word "ren" in the Analects from the perspective of philosophical research, we are actually asking the following question: "What is the benevolence in the Analects?" We hope to draw a definition from it, such as "Benevolence is a kind of ... virtue or conduct". However, is this really the case? Is there another way to ask questions? For example, "What is benevolence." The two may seem to be the same question, but for the author, there may be subtle differences: "what is ren" is to ask the definition of "ren", while "what is ren" may be asking what kind of character or behavior conforms to "ren", or how to achieve (practice) "ren", which itself already contains an understanding of the word "ren". In other words, the former question is asked "what is humanity" and the latter question is asked "how is humanity." That is, the former question is to ask the general definition of "ren", and the second question is to ask about the performance of ren and the way to achieve it. In order to test this idea, we may wish to list the passages of the Analects of "Asking Ren" as follows:

1, Fan Chi... Ask Jen. Zi Yue: "The benevolent one is difficult first and then obtained, which can be described as benevolent." (Yongye)

2. Yan Yuan asked Ren. Zi Yue: "Self-denial is benevolence." One day of self-denial, the world returns to benevolence. For the sake of benevolence, but by others? Yan Yuanyue: "Please ask his purpose." Zi Yue: "Do not look at incivility, do not listen to incivility, do not speak of incivility, do not move." Yan Yuanyue: "Although hui is not sensitive, please do something." (Yan Yuan)

3. Zhonggong asks Ren. Zi Yue: "When you go out, you will see the guests, so that the people will be like a great sacrifice, and they will not do to others what they do not want, and there will be no complaints in the state, and no complaints at home." Zhonggong said, "Although Yong is not sensitive, please do something." (ibid.)

4. Sima Niu asked Ren. Zi Yue: "The benevolent one also praises his words." "His words are also true, si said to be benevolent?" Zi Yue: "It is difficult for it, and it is not surprising to say it?" (Ibid.)

5. Fan Chi asked Ren. Zi Yue: "Lover." "Ask. Zi Yue: "Know people." Fan Chi did not reach, the son said: "Straightening out the wrongdoers can make the wrongdoers straight." (ibid.)

6. Fan Chi asked Ren. Zi Yue: "Respect for the dwelling place, respect for the deacons, and be loyal to others, although they are yidi, they must not be abandoned." ("Zi Lu")

7, Zi Zhang asked Ren to Confucius, Confucius said: "Those who can do five things in the world can be benevolent." "Please ask. Yue: "Congratulations to Minhui. Gong is not insulting, leniency is won by the multitude, faith is at the mercy of the people, min is meritorious, and hui is enough to make people. ("Yang Goods")

In Article 1, Fan Chi asks Ren, and Confucius replies that the benevolent person should "work first and then talk about the harvest, so this is benevolence." Judging from Confucius's answer, Confucius used the performance of a benevolent person to suggest what is the expression of benevolence. This is similar to Confucius's answer in Article 4 that "the benevolent person also understands his words." Although Article 6 does not say how "benevolent" is, if you add the word "benevolent" in front of Confucius's answer, it will not affect the meaning of the original sentence in the slightest. From the content point of view, it is also talking about the performance of benevolent people, and at the same time instructing Fan Chi how to practice benevolence. Article 2, Yan Yuan asked Ren, confucius replied that "self-denial and retribution is benevolence", which seems to be close to definition, but judging from the later statement of "benevolence by oneself", Confucius focused on telling Yan Yuan the method of doing ren, so Yan Yuan further "asked his purpose". Similarly, in Articles 3 and 7, Confucius answered Zhonggong and Zi Zhang Xingren. As for Article 5, Confucius's answer to "love others" seems to be very similar to a definition, but according to the Sayings of the King of the Great Dai Li ▪, "Confucius said: 'The benevolent is greater than the lover, and the knower is greater than the wise.'" "Zigong ▪ asked his master: 'He who knows knows people, and those who are benevolent love people'. This shows that "loving others" is also a manifestation of "benevolence", rather than specifically explaining what benevolence is.

Judging from Confucius's answer above, the disciple "asking ren" cannot be simply regarded as the universal definition of asking for ren. Therefore, Liu Zongzhou, a famous theologian of the Ming Dynasty, said in "Confucius and Mengbi": "Whoever asks Ren is a person who asks Ren, and does not ask Ren's reason." If you ask the truth of benevolence, you can only tell people the truth of love with the virtue of the heart. Liu Zongzhou's so-called "principle of benevolence" is, in our words today, equivalent to the definition of benevolence. Zhu Zi's definition of "benevolence, virtue of the heart, and principle of love" is a very good definition of benevolence in history, which is of great enlightenment for us to grasp the connotation of Confucius's ren character in general, but this does not mean that this definition is the problem consciousness of Confucius disciples when they "ask ren". Liu Zongzhou's so-called "benevolent person" is what we call "benevolent person", according to his understanding, Kong Men's "asking ren" is asking how the "benevolent person" behaves. This view of his coincides with ours. If we say more comprehensively, we believe that the "question of benevolence" in the Analects, in addition to asking how the "benevolent person" (manifests), also partly asks "how to be benevolent", that is, the method of practicing benevolence. On this point, Zhu Zi said it more clearly:

The disciples of Confucius, such as the words of benevolence and righteousness, have each known the meaning of the text. But in the answer, he did not ask how to be benevolent, but only how to practice benevolence; the master did not say how to be benevolent, but only said how to be benevolent. For example, when Yan Zi asked, Confucius replied with "self-denial and retribution"; When Asked by Zhonggong, Confucius replied, "If you go out to see a great guest, make the people like a great sacrifice, and do not do to others what you do not want"; Sima Niu's question, Confucius replied with "The benevolent person also praises his words"; Fan Chi's question, Confucius replied with "Live in a respectful place, respect the deacons, and be loyal to others." I think I can take care of myself, but how to do it.

A similar situation is also manifested in the "Analects" in the "Asking Politics", "Asking Filial Piety" and other questions and answers, such as "Asking Politics": Zilu Asking Politics. Zi Yue: "First, labor." "Please benefit. Zi Yue: "No tiredness." ("Zi Lu")

Zi Gong asked the government, and Zi Yue said: "Enough food, enough soldiers, and the people's trust." ("Yan Yuan")

Zhonggong is Ji Shizai, asking the government. Zi Yue: "First there is a division, forgiveness; small transgressions, and meritocracy." ("Zi Lu")

Qi Jinggong asked Confucius about the government. Confucius said, "A king, a subject, a father, a son." ("Yan Yuan")

Zi Zhang asked the government. Zi Yue: "Live tirelessly, and be faithful to your deeds." (ibid.)

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about the government. Confucius said to him: "The politician is righteous, the son is righteous, and the dare is not right." (ibid.)

Ji Kangzi asked Confucius: "If there is no way to kill, then there is a way, how can it be?" Confucius said to him, "The son is the government, and the son is killed." The Son desires goodness, and the people are good. The virtuous wind of a gentleman, the virtuous grass of a villain, the wind on the grass, will be yan. (ibid.)

Ye Gong asked about politics. Zi Yue: "The near one says, and the far one comes." ("Zi Lu")

Zi Xia is the father of Ju and asks for politics. Zi Yue: "There is no desire for speed, no small profit, no desire for speed, and no big thing if you want small profit." (Ibid.)

Judging from Confucius's answers, they are telling the questioner the specific principles and methods of governance, rather than expounding the fundamental principles and universal definitions of politics. This shows that the questioner's "asking about politics" is also mainly concerned with how to engage in political or administrative practice, that is, the problem of governance methods, rather than the exploration of political abstract principles.

Look again at the example of "asking filial piety" in the Analects:

Meng Yizi asked filial piety. Zi Yue: "No violation." Fan Chiyu told the son: "Meng Sun asked filial piety to me, and I have no violation of the know." Fan Chi yue: "What is also?" The Son said: "Birth, deeds, death, burial, sacrifice." (For The Government)

Meng Wubo asked filial piety. Zi Yue: "Parents, only their diseases are worried." (ibid.)

Ziyou asked filial piety. Zi Yue: "The filial piety of the present is said to be able to be raised, and as for dogs and horses, they can all be raised, and they are disrespectful, so why should they be different?" (ibid.)

ZiXia asked filial piety. Zi Yue: "Color is difficult." Something happened, the disciple obeyed his labor, there was wine and food, Mr. Food, did he think that filial piety? (Ibid.) It can be seen that Confucius answered the questioner on how to perform filial piety and how filial piety manifested, and the questioner seemed to understand Confucius's answer in most cases. The only exception was that Meng Yizi asked filial piety, and Confucius replied that "there is no violation," probably because the words were too brief, which caused further questioning from Fan Chi, who was present, and Confucius then further answered him from how to follow the requirements of etiquette to treat the life and death of his parents.

That is to say, although the questions in the Analects such as "ask benevolence," "ask the government," and "ask filial piety" tend to give us the illusion that the questioner is pursuing definitions of "benevolence," "government," and "filial piety," it is actually difficult to conclude so according to Confucius's answers, and it is rather that it can be said that what the questioner is concerned about is the specific expression and practice method of these concepts. Regarding the style of questions and answers in the Analects, the Qing Dynasty scholar Chen Hao has a good summary:

The Analects of the Analects asked in two bodies, such as Zigong asking, "How can He Rusi be described as a soldier?" Zi Zhang asked, "How can Rusi be able to do anything from the government?" Whoever asks, Gai is like this, and he will ask what he wants, and if he simply remembers it, he will ask the government, ask the benevolence, and ask the filial piety. And the questions of the sages, the words inherently asked, are especially meaningful. Ru Zigong asked, "How can He Rusi be a soldier", is it not true that Zigong is a soldier and does not know what a soldier is? This is to ask the Master to discuss the superiority of the ancient and modern scholars, so I ask the current politicians. Whoever reads the Analects should know this meaning.

If the recorders record the problems as completely as they record "He Rusi can be described as a man" and "He Rusi can be from politics", then, according to Confucius's answers, the complete expression should be "He Rusi can be described as a benevolent person", "He Rusi can be a benevolent person", "He Rusi can be described as a benevolent person", "He Rusi can be described as a good government", "He Rusi can be engaged in politics", "He Rusi can be described as filial piety (son)", "He Rusi can be filial piety", not what benevolence is, what is government, and what filial piety is. This does not involve questioning the general definition of things.

From this, the above analysis also leads us to further ponder such phenomena: Why do the questions and answers in the Analects lack the strong interest in the fundamental principles and universal definitions of ethics and morality and political activity in ancient Greece? Is it true that, as Hegel said, "Confucius was only an actual worldly wise man, and there was nothing in his philosophy of speculation—only some good, sophisticated, moral lessons, from which we could not derive anything special."

Two

We know that the mainstream of Western philosophy is a rationalist philosophy. Beginning in ancient Greece, the focus of early naturalist philosophers was to explore the origin of the world. Philosophers often adopted a "reductionist" approach, trying to find the origin or primordial matter for the world, "the central theme of early Greek philosophy was the 'primordial', that is, the origin, root, or nature of the world and the universe. ...... Unfolding manifests itself as the theory of the generation of different elements or as the theory of the nature of the world in terms of numbers and existence. "For example, Thales believes that the origin of the world is water, And Anaximander believes that the origin of the world is "apeiron" (meaning "unrestricted, boundless, unbounded, amorphous"), Anaximenes believes that the origin of the world is "qi", and Heraclitos believes that the origin of the world is fire. Pythagoras believed that the origin of the world was number, Anaxagoras thought that the origin of the world was "seed", Democritus believed that the origin of the world was "atomos" (atom), and so on. These early natural philosophers, either through empirical observation or theoretical speculation, argued the origin, composition, and development of the universe. Although conscious logic thought had not yet been formed at this time, it showed an empirical or speculative theoretical orientation, laying a philosophical foundation for the development of Western scientific thought.

By the time of Socrates and Plato, there was a "humanist" turn in ancient Greek philosophy, and Socrates was the first to summon philosophy from heaven to earth and begin to explore the general principles of ethics and politics. Socrates invented a dialectic of dialogue based on inductive arguments and universal definitions. This approach is the basis of Western rationalist philosophy and the starting point of Western science: "There are two things that can be attributed to Socrates, and that is induction and general definition. Both of these things are scientific starting points. In the dialogue between Socrates and Plato, the two questions and answers seek to find the most universal definitions of some moral, ethical, and political principles. For example, "Socrates' dialogues often justify concepts such as what is bravery, fraternity, self-control, justice, virtue, beauty, etc., which can be summarized as a formula: 'What is X?' That's the definition of the concept. This line of thinking is similar to the reductionist approach of early natural philosophers in exploring the origin and ontology of the universe in terms of philosophical methods and spiritual orientation.

Influenced by Western thought, when we face the "question of benevolence" in the Analects today, the first thing that comes to mind is that the questioner is asking "what is benevolence", that is, a kind of "Socratic" questioning. In Socrates' dialogue with the debater, he always asks the other party to provide a definition of a virtue or principle, and then, through comparative analysis, points out the contradictions in the other's definition, thus asking the other party to abandon that erroneous definition, leading him gradually from part to whole, special to universal, and finally approaching the general definition of that virtue or principle. This process often involves a series of questions and corrections, thus forming a long chain of questions, and does not usually end with Confucius's unquestioned "moral preaching" like the questions and answers in the Analects. Therefore, if the Greek philosopher "asked for benevolence", it would definitely not end quickly in a question and answer, there would be more wonderful confrontations, and finally a universal definition similar to Zhu Zi's "virtue of the heart, the principle of love" would be satisfactory. The difference in interest between the two sides is indeed of interest. We cannot help but ask, what problem led to the difference in philosophical interests and the way in which eastern and western philosophers in the Axial period differed. Why, with the same concern for ethical, moral, and political issues, Socrates and Plato adopted a rational way of thinking that sought a universal definition, while Confucius did not think that the immediate priority was not to explore the general definition of what is "benevolence"? Why did Confucius's way of speaking in the Analects adopt a "moral preaching" approach, but Confucius's disciples did not think it was insufficient? This cannot but provoke our thinking.

Three

As we all know, the German philosopher Karl Jaspers 1883-1969 proposed the famous Axial Period theory in his book The Origin and Purpose of History: he pointed out that after the era of prehistoric and ancient civilizations, in the spiritual process around 500 BC and 800 BC to 200 BC, in the course of world history, "the most unusual events concentrated in this period." In China, Confucius and Lao Tzu were very active, and all the philosophical schools in China, including Mozi, Zhuangzi, Liezi, and Zhuzi Hundred Schools, appeared. Like China, India has seen the Upanishads and the Buddha... Iran's Zoroastrian taught a challenging view that human life is a struggle between good and evil. In Palestine, prophets emerged from Elijah through Isaiah and Jeremiah to Deutero-Isaiah II. Greek sages such as clouds, among Them Homer, the philosophers Parmenides, Heraclitus and Plato, many tragic authors, as well as Thucydides and Archimedes. Over the centuries, everything these names encompassed developed almost simultaneously in three unknown regions of China, India, and the West." During the Axial Period, the saints and prophets of the three regions mentioned above laid the basic direction and main categories for the development of the major civilizations in the future, and provided them with spiritual motivation and a source of value. The salient feature of this period is the awakening of the self-consciousness of human beings as individuals and collectives, and the beginning of reflection on the unconscious religious thoughts, social systems, and moral practices in which they were previously involved, which led to a general reflection on the existence of the universe and human nature. "As a result of this process, previously unconsciously accepted thoughts, habits, and environments are censored, explored, and cleaned up. Everything is swept up in a whirlpool. As for the traditional entity, which still has vitality and reality, its manifestations have been clarified and thus qualitatively changed. ”

In ancient Greece, the philosophical breakthrough of this axial period was first manifested as a philosopher's critical critique of traditional "mythological theology." Before Socrates and Plato, the myths conveyed by the ancient Greek poets had an important influence on the Greeks. In these myths, fate is an important concept. "Homer's epic poems express the devotion to God and the concept of 'destiny' that god and man cannot violate, and the domination of 'fate' was the central theme of his tragedy until Aeschylus." The theme of the ancient Greek tragic poet Sophocles's famous tragedy King Oedipus is "destiny". In the play, although the protagonist Oedipus tries his best to avoid the fate arranged for him by Zeus, he is still unable to get rid of the control of fate in the end, so he kills his father and marries his mother, becoming a tool for fate to realize himself. There is, then, the problem that since man has no freedom of choice, he is not morally responsible for good and evil. Secondly, the gods in Homer's epic "have the same qualities as mortals in wisdom, love, justice, and even fraud, cruelty, greed, jealousy, fornication, etc., and can produce half-human, half-god heroes with mortals, who are actually the sublimation and deification of man himself." This mixture of gods and men was actually detrimental to the establishment of an ethical and political order in the Greek city-states. This provoked criticism from Socrates and Plato: they believed that people should not imagine God in their own image, but should describe God as God, who is always good and can never be evil. "There is nothing more absurd than the ugliness of describing the greatest God." God and all things that are God are at their best in any case. ...... Therefore God does not change His image. Socrates and Plato sought to establish a "rational theology" to replace the traditional "mythological theology." Socrates believed that God was universal omnipresent reason, that it maintained the order of the universe and that it had no image to see. "He (Citation: Socrates) replaced the oracle with the principle of 'know yourself', highlighting man's autonomy in life and greatly reducing the territory and role of the gods in traditional religions in supporting and interfering in man's life." One of the charges Socrates was accused of "bringing in new gods" and disrespecting the original gods of the city-state.

Moreover, before Socrates, a large number of wise men appeared, who epistemologically adopted a relativist epistemology based on sensibility, promoted an extremely emotional view of happiness in social ethics, and advocated a powerism and the law of the weak on the basis of natural laws in political choices. These views greatly corrupted the social atmosphere and even became the theoretical basis for supporting the invasion of the weak by certain city-state rulers.

In this case, Socrates consciously undertook the mission of saving the city-state from moral corruption and political degeneration, and like a cattle fly, he went around debating people, using his "dialectics" to debunk the various well-circulated theories and beliefs of the time, and to explore what was truly good. "If Socrates somehow tried to establish what is good through dialectic inquiry, he placed this debating rationality above all traditions and customs." In Socrates' view, there have been many different forms of customs and practices in Greek history, and their history is chaotic and does not provide any real guidance for people. No established belief or habit can be regarded as right or wrong until it is tested by his dialectics( the purpose of which is to make it clear) and until he has sought a true definition. "Plato inherited this tradition and led it further." Plato, like Socrates, was subjectively motivated by the conviction that traditional virtues were powerless. The traditional virtue, which rests in terms of observance of customs and prudence, does not reflect on its basic principles and does not withstand the test of various changes in opinion. ”

It can be seen that during the Axial period, Socrates and Plato pursued a rationalist philosophy. In this philosophy, reason is the supreme principle, and all traditional beliefs and theories, customs, and institutions must prove their legitimacy in the face of reason. In contrast, this philosophical breakthrough has relatively little continuity with traditional thought, but has the characteristics of revolution. In their view, the restoration of solid ethical and political principles for the Greek city-states was not to resort to the power of tradition, but to seek new objective and universal standards (principles) with reason. Therefore, they are particularly fond of pursuing the universal definition of things, such as "what is good", "what is justice", etc., which boil down to "what X is".

Four

Compared with ancient Greece, the transformation of Chinese philosophical thought during the Axial Period took a more moderate and gradual approach. In the pre-Axis era, politicians headed by Zhou Gong, faced with the tremendous historical changes of the Yin Zhou Dynasty, realized the important role of the ruler's virtue and public opinion in determining the transfer of the Mandate of Heaven, thus developing the idea of respecting virtue and protecting the people with the unity of heaven and virtue and the unity of heaven and the people, and opening up the rationalization process of the transformation of Chinese thought from religious theology to humanism. During the Spring and Autumn Period, this trend of thought was continued and developed. Many enlightened aristocrats and scholars also believed that divine will depended on the virtue (sex) and will of the ruler, and then affirmed that the will of the people and virtue (sex) were the key to political governance and the rise and fall of the country. In the "Left Biography", in the fifth year of the reign of the Emperor, Gong Zhi Qiyun said: "Ghosts and gods are not real relatives of people, but virtue is dependent." ...... If so, it is not virtuous, the people are not harmonious, and God is not enjoying it. That is to say, whether the ghosts and gods care for people ultimately depends on whether the ruler is virtuous and whether the people are friendly. Even some aristocrats and intellectuals began to give naturalistic explanations to strange phenomena full of mysteries: "Zuo Zhuan" was sixteen years old, "The six cranes flew back and flew over the Song capital, and the wind also flew." Zhou Nei Shi Shu Xing said: "It is a matter of yin and yang, not a matter of auspiciousness." Ji Ji by people. That is to say, these abnormal natural phenomena, which in the past were usually regarded by Wu Zhu Shibu and others as closely related to the evils of the human world, are now caused by the natural changes of yin and yang qi in Shu Xing's view, so they are not mysterious, so there is no need to be afraid of them.

Second, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, liturgical music was the core of all areas of social and political life. The Book of Rites and Tables says: "Yin people respect Gods, lead the people to serve Gods, first ghosts and then salutes", "Zhou people respect and give alms, things ghosts and gods are far away, and people are close to people and loyal.". It shows that the Zhou people have got rid of the mysterious color of the Yin shang sacrifice culture and paid more attention to the humanistic value of liturgical music.

Confucius inherited the tradition of attaching importance to virtue and liturgy since the Western Zhou Dynasty, and consciously reflected on it, establishing the idea of the unity of benevolence and etiquette. Confucius said to himself, "Believe in the ancient, but do not write", and devoted great enthusiasm to the "poems" and "books" that have been passed down for three generations. Not only that, in the Analects, Confucius also recorded the words and deeds of many wise men and gentlemen over the past three generations, fully demonstrating his spirit of "believing in good antiquity". Therefore, when we understand Confucius's thought, we cannot ignore its inheritance and exposition of traditional ideological resources and moral examples.

In the Analects, Yan Yuan asks Ren, and Confucius replies that "self-denial and retribution are benevolent", which is also found in the 12th year of the Zuo Zhuan: "Zhongni Yue: Gu Youzhi: Self-denial and Retribution, Renye, Xinshanzai!" Explaining that "self-denial and retribution" is Confucius's quotation from ancient books, not his own words, and at the end of this question and answer, Yan Yuan said "please do things", which also implies that this sentence may not have come from Confucius himself at the earliest.

Zhonggong asked Ren, and Confucius replied, "When you go out, you will see the guests, and the people will be like a great sacrifice." Do not do to others what you do not want. No complaints in the state, no complaints at home. "If you go out to see the great guest, make the people like a great sacrifice", similar words also see the "Zuo Zhuan" 僖公 thirty-three years: "The subject (citation: referring to the Usuji of the Jin State) heard it: going out as a guest, undertaking things as a sacrifice, and benevolence as well." It is regarded as Confucius's "golden law" of "do not do to others what you do not want", according to scholars, it is also an ancient saying, "Guan Zi Xiao Qing": "Do not do to others if you do not want, benevolence." It can be seen that here Confucius is simply connecting two ancient sayings together and adding a little shen to answer Zhonggong's question. On the one hand, this shows that Confucius is very familiar with traditional resources, and on the other hand, it also shows that Confucius attaches great importance to using traditional resources to guide students.

For example, Fan Chi asked Ren, Confucius replied with "love people", love is also a meaning that has been circulated for a long time, such as the "Chinese" volume 7 records that Li Ji said to Jin Xianggong "love relatives is benevolent", "Chinese" volume 3 Single Xianggong also said "benevolent, Wen Zhi love also", volume 18 Gao Yue "love without seeking strength, not benevolent also", volume 17 Shen Shu shi language "Ming mercy to guide benevolence". This shows that in the Spring and Autumn Period before Confucius, the word ren already had an important connotation of love. Mr. Chen Lai pointed out: "'Love', as a major connotation of 'benevolence', has gradually taken shape in the Spring and Autumn Period. ”

In another place, the same Fan Chi asked Ren, Confucius replied with the words" "Respect for the place, respect for the deacons, and be loyal to others, although they must not be abandoned." "Juju Gong" also see "Chinese" Volume XIV, Fan Martin said to Yue: "Martingale, Juju Gong, do not dare to be easy." Although it is not certain whether to quote traditional resources or not, the "deacons are respectful and loyal to people" in the back is still very likely, judging from the neat sentence pattern.

In addition, there is a similar situation in Confucius's answer to how the disciple "is benevolent". For example, in the chapter on filial piety as benevolence, there is a phrase "Gentleman's Affairs, Ben Li and Dao Sheng", and Ruan Yuan of the Qing Dynasty said in the "Collection of The Scripture Room and on Ren": These four sentences are Confucius language. And Ben Li and Dao sheng a sentence, and ancient poetry also. Liu Baonan also said in the "Analects of Justice": "The two sentences of 'Wu Ben' are ancient idioms, and there are sons who quote them."

In addition, Confucius often used similar methods when answering "asking filial piety" and "asking politics". For example, when Meng Yizi asked for filial piety, Confucius replied that "there is no violation", Fan Chi did not understand, and Confucius Shenzhi said that "the life is a courtesy, the death and burial are a ceremony, and the sacrifice is a ceremony." "Zuo Chuan" In the fifteenth year of the Duke of Ai, chen guo's emissary Taro Yingai also quoted a text similar to Confucius's reply: "The subject hears that 'things die as things are born, and etiquette is also'. When Qi Jinggong asked about the government, Confucius replied that "the father and son of the emperor and the subject of the emperor and the subject", and the "Chinese" Jin Boyun also said that "the king and the subject are the Mingxun", which shows that Confucius's answer also has a source. Ji Kangzi asked about the government, and Confucius replied: "Politician, Zhengye." Zi Shuai is righteous, who dares to be right? According to Cheng Shude's Analects of the Analects, "Zhai Shi's "Examination of Differences": "Shu Junya Chapter": 'Ershen Kezheng, Yifu Darezheng. Confucius wrote the Book to inform Kang Ziye. Above' 'politician, Zhengye', see also "Filial Piety" and "Guan Zi Fa Fa Chapter", Gai Yigu's idiom. There are many idioms in this article, and if you look at the "Book of Zhou" and the "Saying Garden" to mourn the public, you know that the proverbs are not good, and the beauty of adults is not imitated from Confucius. It can be seen that Confucius's answer to Ji Kangzi's question of government is also purely a quotation from the ancient idiom. In addition, Cheng Shude also pointed out that confucius in the Analects of Yan Yuan also quoted the ancient saying when answering Zi Zhang Qingming: "Zi Zhang QingMing." Zi Yue: 'The saying of infiltration, the complaint of the skin, the failure to do it, can be said to be clear.' The infiltration of the proverb, the complaint of the skin, and the inability to do it can be said to be far away. The phrase "The beauty of a gentleman's adulthood, the evil of an adult" also contained in this chapter is also an ancient idiom of Confucius.

There are also many examples of citations and discussions in the Analects of the Poems, Books, and other documents, which will not be repeated here. What I just want to point out here is that Confucius often quoted traditional resources as a basis when answering the questions of his disciples and princes, but because the "Analects" record is brief and does not clearly point it out, it often misleads readers for Confucius's words, so that Confucius's self-proclaimed "faith is good and ancient" and "description without doing" are often not confirmed more specifically. As a result, when we discuss Confucius's thought, we often overlook its intrinsic connection with traditional resources. In fact, Confucius was "erudite in literature" and inherited a wide range of cultural resources since the Western Zhou Dynasty, including both ancient texts and the moral examples of some wise men and gentlemen. Confucius very consciously passed them on, deriving from them the wisdom of self-cultivation, handling affairs, and governing the country, and using it as a cultural resource for educating his children and persuading the princes and princes. Therefore, Mr. Chen Lai said: "The emergence of Confucius and Confucianism is not an isolated cultural phenomenon, but a number of ideas and personalities are prepared for it. ”

By examining it in this context, we can understand Confucius's meaning of "assembling the greatest works" of his previous cultural traditions. Confucius's summary of Renxue thought also expounded similar characteristics. In the Spring and Autumn Period, benevolence was already a very important virtue. In this regard, the wise men and minds of the time already had a variety of sayings, and Confucius consciously inherited these statements and integrated them into his own theoretical system and educational practice. Although, before him, etiquette was a core value, and "benevolence" was still on a par with other virtues, and did not rise to the primary virtue that represented the whole personality, but had become a very important virtue that was highly valued along with righteousness, wisdom, courage, loyalty, and faith. What is more prominent is that in some examples, "benevolence" has become an important concept for evaluating individual personality, such as the eighteenth volume of the Chinese, Zhang Lao said that "the axe, the benevolent one is also; the person who is the axe, the unkind is also", Zhao Wenzi commented on the offender "his benevolence is not enough", and the king of Chu Hui commented on Yang Wenzi's "benevolence of the son, not forgetting the descendants, giving to the Chu state". In the twenty-second year of the "Zuo Chuan" Zhuang Gong," he said that "with the king as a courtesy, Forner in adultery, and with benevolence", in the eighth year of the reign of the Duke of Song, the Prince of Song Commented that The Father of the Prince Zi "can make way to the country and be benevolent to the great", and in the twenty-fifth year of the Xiang Gong, Ran Ming regarded the children as a government and "regarded the people as sons, and saw those who were not benevolent." In these places, benevolence is no longer a concept juxtaposed with other virtues, but has risen to the standard of personality evaluation, which shows that the importance of the word benevolence is becoming increasingly prominent.

Five

Confucius inherited this trend of thought and eventually developed ren into a perfect virtue concept that encompassed all virtues. It is precisely because Confucius Renxue thought has such an inheritance relationship with traditional resources, so "benevolence" should be a concept with a relatively clear connotation for people at that time, or at least not difficult to understand. On this point, we can see from the above quotations that others are "benevolent", "unkind", and "unkind". In the Analects, there are also some examples of asking and evaluating someone's benevolence, such as "or: Yong is also benevolent but not benevolent", Meng Wubo asked Confucius whether Zilu, Ran Qiu, and Gongxi Chi were benevolent, and Yang Zheng asked Confucius "Carrying his treasure and losing his state can be described as benevolent". These questions and comments are not all from The mouth of Confucius and his disciples, and it also shows that benevolence as a moral concept was not created by Confucius.

It is precisely because of this historical continuity of the concept of benevolence that the disciples of Confucius and the people of the time were not particularly confused about the connotation of benevolence, so that what they cared about was not the universal definition of ren, but the question of what methods it took to become a benevolent person, what kind of talent was considered benevolent, and what kind of performance was considered benevolent behavior. This is basically the reason why confucius did not give a clear definition although the disciples "asked for benevolence."

And this is also understandable why many Chinese thinkers during the Axial period preferred to resort to the traditions of the past rather than create a completely new theoretical system themselves. This is partly because the transformation of Chinese thought during the Axial Period took a gradual, moderate process, which began during the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty inherited and summarized the culture of the xia and yin generations, and rationalized its development, thus creating a splendid culture of liturgy. This left a deep impression on Confucius. Confucius realized that his mission was to inherit the "Sven" of the Zhou Dynasty, not to recreate a new set of civilizations. From this point of view, Schwartz's view is justified: "For Confucius, there have been universal and tested systems in the history of the civilized world, perhaps in Hegel's terminology called 'Objective ethical order', embodied in the etiquette, customs, and basic systems of the 'Tao' of the three generations." ...... Confucius did not believe that he was creating a new way. ”

That is to say, since the Western Zhou Dynasty, although the system and connotation of some values in Chinese culture have also changed, their continuity is the main one. For Confucius and other sages and gentlemen of the time, the traditional moral norms and value systems have not completely disintegrated, but still have relatively clear validity and comprehensibility for them, so they do not need to work hard to re-examine these normative systems and value principles with reason in order to re-build a new foundation for the development of civilization.

In connection with the emphasis on practice, the Analects have a relatively contemptuous role of language in moral practice, and have reservations about whether truth can be revealed through the dialectical development of language. In the Analects, Confucius argues that a true benevolent person does not easily express his opinions casually ("The benevolent one also speaks his words" (Yan Yuan); those who can speak the Tao often lack sincere emotions and thus rarely conform to benevolence ("Clever Words Make The Color Bright And Ren" ("Yang Goods"),; between words and deeds, the gentleman prefers to act positively rather than to exaggerate ("The gentleman wants to be sensitive to words and sensitive to deeds" (Li Ren)).

Confucius's emphasis on practice and the relative contempt for the role of language constitute a basic feature of Chinese philosophy, in sharp contrast to ancient Greek philosophy. In ancient Greece, language was a tool for revealing truth, and logos had the meaning of words. "Logos speaks the truth, so it often exists only in the form of a 'book'. ...... The Greek logos are derived from the verb lego, which originally meant 'to collect' and later evolved into 'to say'. "And logos 'speak' is a 'conceptual' system, a 'symbol' 'system'. ...... Logos - thought, can not be separated from the 'concept', 'concept' is a symbol, it has 'universality'. Therefore, since ancient Greece, Western philosophers have paid great attention to the problem of language, and Heidegger even said that "language is the home of existence." In China, the Tao (equivalent to logos) represents truth, but its original meaning is the path, which is extended to the rules and methods of practice. Therefore, the "Tao" has more to do with practice than with words. This stark contrast between Chinese and Western philosophies can be summed up in one sentence: the West emphasizes "there is a word in the beginning", while China emphasizes "there is a way in the beginning". Western thinkers must ask what the essence of things is through speech, while Chinese thought emphasizes how to do it. On this point, Li Zehou said: "China rarely has the 'what is', that is, there are few Being and Idea problems and always 'how' questions, which is a major feature of China's practical rationality, and his perspective, approach, problem, language, and way of thinking are quite different from those of Greece. ”

Lightning News reporter Wang Qingyu reported