Confucius said: "Three years of mourning is a long time. If a gentleman does not give a courtesy for three years, the courtesy will be bad;If you don't have fun for three years, the music will collapse. ”
This is the so-called "etiquette collapse".
In the middle and late Spring and Autumn period, with the application and popularization of ironware, ox farming, bamboo slips and other technologies, productivity has been greatly improved. The feudal system gradually declined, and the princes and kings had more and more resources at their disposal, and the scale of the war became larger and more brutal.
Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, a set of traditions that have been formed for thousands of years and are not known for daily use have gradually declined. In the eyes of many scholars who value tradition, the world is undoubtedly on the verge of "etiquette collapse".
Most of the people follow tradition and follow the trend. At this time, they suddenly found that more and more people did not abide by the traditions that had always been regarded as a code of conduct.
And those who break with tradition are also looking for the right reasons for their actions. There has been a period of confusion in the thinking of the whole society, and various trends of thought have been emerging.
Chinese history ushered in a period of transition in which ideas exploded. All kinds of ideas are blooming, and all kinds of schools of thought are contending.
According to the records of Hanshu Yiwenzhi, there were 189 schools of thought in this period, and 4,324 ideological works were formed. Later, ancient books such as "Sui Shu and Jingzhi Zhi" and "Siku Quanshu General Catalogue" recorded that there were thousands of "hundreds of schools of thought".
Among them, there are only a few dozen that are widely circulated, have a great influence, and are famous. In general, only 12 schools have been developed into schools. They are Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, Moism, Yin and Yang, Famous Family, Miscellaneous Family, Farmer Family, ** Family, Vertical and Horizontal Family, Military Family, and Medical Family.
So many genres can actually be grouped into three major factions. That is, the retro school represented by Confucianism, the law-changing school represented by Legalism, and the natural Wuwei school represented by Taoism.
Confucianism has its roots in ancient priestly groups who held the power of tradition in their hands. Denounce not following tradition as "etiquette collapse". It is believed that the root of the solution to all problems lies in the return to tradition.
Although the Confucian retro was embraced by the middle and lower nobility, it was not recognized by the princes and monarchs. The princes and kings finally won more power because of the decline of feudal traditions, and they would not let go no matter what. If they want to fight against the traditional forces, they need another ideological system, which is Legalism.
Legalists believe that the reason why "etiquette has collapsed and happiness is bad" is precisely because the original old-fashioned altars and jars have not been completely broken. Only bold change can conform to the situation and trend and correct the drawbacks brought about by outdated traditions.
In fact, both Confucianism and Legalism have an attitude of intervening in world affairs. These two schools of thought have a positive effect on dealing with complex situations.
Taoism, on the other hand, advocates the rule of inaction. It doesn't have to be retro, and there is no need to deliberately change and innovate. Responding to change with the same is the way to live in the world. The heart is selfless, the world is wide.
The ideas of the three schools of Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism have a long history, and they are still influencing more than one billion descendants of the Yan Emperor to this day. Confucianism, represented by Confucius, even developed into a religion - Confucianism. The scope of influence has even expanded to the entire Han culture circle in East Asia.
The Legalist ideas on reform have also been concretely confirmed in the 40 years since reform and opening up.
Its knowledge is within reach, but its stupidity is unreachable. ”
Where the road is, although tens of millions of people go to me!”
References: "The Book of Rites", "Poems", "Zuo Chuan: The Twelfth Year of Lu Xuangong".