"Sheng" has extraordinary significance in traditional Chinese culture.
Taking Sun Wukong's self-proclaimed "Monkey King" as an example, rather than other titles, is because in "Xunzi", "sage" refers to a person who has the most perfect moral wisdom and ability throughout the ages and knows the way of all things.
This title is aptly in line with the setting of Sun Wukong's omnipotence and vast supernatural powers.
Similarly, the term "sage" is not something that can be obtained casually, it is usually used for people who have learned knowledge and outstanding skills in a specific field, such as the wine saint Du Kang, the law saint Shang Ying, the poetry saint Du Fu, etc.
However, these titles are often confined to a single field, and cross-border is inappropriate, for example, it is unthinkable to ask Du Fu to brew wine or Shang Yang to make tea.
Therefore, in traditional culture, "so-and-so saint" and "saint" belong to two different concepts.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, various schools of thought emerged, and Dayu was recorded in various classics, but the Mohists who admired him the most.
In the eyes of the Mo family, Dayu is like a saint, because many of his deeds are in line with the ideas of the Mo family, such as his conquest of Sanmiao, which is in line with the Mo family's advocacy of "stopping the war with war", as well as hard work to control the water, in line with the simple labor advocated by the Mo family.
Dayu is the great-great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor, the descendant of Zhuan, the "Historical Records" recorded that he once "injured the ancestors of the father of the Gong Gong was punished, but the body was anxious, living outside for 13 years, and did not dare to enter the house", and finally got the throne of Emperor Shun by virtue of the great achievements of water control.
Later generations commented that he was listed as a holy king with Yao Shun, and Dayu lived a frugal life during his reign, which coincided with the Mo family's advocating of frugality.
Therefore, it is a matter of course that Dayu has become a saint in the eyes of the Mo family.
In addition, there is also a Confucian sage, that is, the Duke of Zhou.
Cao Cao once compared himself to the Duke of Zhou, but such a comparison can only make people laugh.
There are very few people who have been recognized as saints throughout the ages, and it can be said that there are only five and a half of them.
Do you know who this half of a saint is?He is the Mo family sage Dayu.
The Duke of Zhou played an extremely important role in history.
As the son of Ji Chang, King Wen of Zhou, and the younger brother of Ji Fa, King Wu of Zhou, he played a key role in stabilizing the political situation of the founding of the Zhou Dynasty.
After the death of King Wu of Zhou, the young King Ji Yu of Zhou Cheng ascended the throne, and the Duke of Zhou assumed the responsibility of regent.
Militarily, the Duke of Zhou not only struck at the peripheral forces of the Shang Dynasty on the basis of King Wu's overcoming of the core forces of the Shang Dynasty, but also laid the foundation for the expansion of the territory of the Zhou Dynasty by quelling the rebellion and the Eastern Crusade, making the Zhou Dynasty develop from a small state to a large country.
On the political front, the Duke of Zhou established the system of primogeniture and the system of sub-feudalism, both of which had the patriarchal system at its core, establishing a clear hierarchy and inheritance system for the Son of Heaven and the princes, thus contributing to the stability of the world.
In addition, the Duke of Zhou also developed a system of ritual music, which was highly respected by Confucius, who can be said to be a loyal follower of the Duke of Zhou, who regarded him as an "ancient sage".
Its influence is huge, and even continued to later generations of Confucianism, Jia Yi once praised Zhou Gong as "a collection of great virtues, great achievements and great governance".
The Taoist sage Lao Tzu is also an extraordinary figure who has been highly acclaimed.
Confucius once praised Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, as "his dragon is evil!".He believes that the most powerful thing about Lao Tzu is that he transcended the limitations of heaven and earth and created the word "Tao".
As the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu is very knowledgeable.
Unlike Confucianism, Taoism tends to be detached from the world.
Both ideas are highly sought after in ancient and modern times, as human nature is complex, with both a desire to achieve something in the world and a cynical side that wants to fade out of reality.
Regardless of the choice of thought, the teachings of Confucianism and Taoism can give spiritual nourishment.
Confucius is revered as the "Most Holy Teacher", a title that belongs exclusively to him and cannot be compared to others.
For thousands of years, Confucianism has existed as the mainstream cultural ideology, and the degree of respect for Confucius can be seen in the emperors of successive dynasties.
During the period of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the title of "first saint" of Zhou Gong was replaced by Confucius, and in the period of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, in order to avoid secrecy, this title became "the most holy", as the Confucian classic "The Mean" said: "Only the world is holy, for the ability to be intelligent, clear, wise, and enough to have a presence."
Although the role of Confucianism in the late feudal period was regarded as a tool used by rulers to paralyze people's minds, the contribution of Confucius in the field of education cannot be ignored.
There are different opinions on whether Confucius is holy or not.
Confucianist Wang Yangming believes that Confucianism is not a force, and there are internal divisions, some people respect Zhou Gong, some people respect Confucius, some people devote themselves to archaeological texts, and some people focus on modern texts.
At first, Wang Yangming also believed in Zhu Xi's doctrine for a long time, but later thought it was impractical and began to despise Zhu Xi.
Wang Yangming emerged in the Song Dynasty, when Cheng Zhu Lixue gradually rose to prominence and monopolized traditional Confucianism.
As a civil and military Ming Dynasty **, Wang Yangming performed outstanding in military exploits, and was one of the few civil servants who was knighted by virtue of military merits, and pacified the rebellion of Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning.
In his career, he has achieved quite a lot, but at the same time, he has not forgotten to explore his own path.
At the age of 37, he realized that "the way of a sage, self-sufficiency, and those who seek reason from it", a view of Zen Buddhism combined with Confucianism, made him regarded as a perfect man and a sage, and his mind even had a profound impact on the cultural circle of East Asia.
Zeng Guofan is known as "half a saint".
Although he was considered a model of the Confucian idea of "self-cultivation and unity to rule the country and level the world", his name as a "sage" was controversial because of his brutal suppression of peasant uprisings, which caused the Hunan army to mourn everywhere they went, and was even nicknamed "Zeng Shaved Head".
Zeng Guofan was strict with himself and took Confucianism as his guiding ideology, which is rare in any class.
This is also a big reason why people think that he is a saint.
In addition, some people often refer to Zeng Guofan and Wang Yangming together.
Hu Zhefu once said that in the past 500 years, there are two people who can perfectly combine learning and career, Wang Yangming and Zeng Guofan, but in comparison, Wang Yangming did not create a disaster like Zeng Guofan, so Zeng Guofan is considered more controversial, at most he can be regarded as half a saint, "praise him to become a sage, criticize him to become a **".