There is real kung fu and great wisdom in the 'Four Books', and daily cultivation does not rely on words, but on doing. ”
The Confucian culture they represent is the spiritual background of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, which dominates the construction of the unique civilization system of the Chinese nation, reflects a strong practical rationality and the purpose of joining the WTO, and is also an extremely warm and amiable part of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.
The book "True Kung Fu, Great Wisdom: The Essence of the Four Books" published by Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House tells the true kung fu and great wisdom of the "Four Books" in plain and vivid language, enlightening the mind and integrating it into daily life. Recently, the author of the book, Professor Zhou Yue, Dean of Yangming College of Communication University of China, was interviewed by the Youth Reading Program, talking about the creation of the book and his understanding of Confucianism and the "Four Books".
The idealistic spirit of nine deaths.
Zhou Yue sorted out the internal logic of the "Four Books" in the book. He said that before Confucius, "benevolence" was very commonplace, and there was no position to dominate scholarship or dominate life cultivation. But since Confucius, "benevolence" has been mentioned to the fundamentals of the universe, life and other things, which means that "ideal" is an innate attribute brought by Confucianism from the womb.
As early as the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the ancient sages formed a fairly complete system of ritual and music civilization through the production of rituals and music, and promoted it as a moral and ethical ritual and music education to maintain social order and human harmony. However, in the late Spring and Autumn period of Confucius's life, "the collapse of etiquette and happiness" became an important feature of the society at that time, and it became more and more prominent in the Warring States period, when annexation wars were frequent.
In the face of the huge proposition thrown out by the times, do you choose to become the leader of war, or take a neutral attitude, or call for the return of humanity and order? Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, Mohistism, ......Different groups of people formed different schools of thought and responded with different attitudes, and only then were the hundred schools of thought born.
In this context, the "ideal" attribute of Confucianism is manifested. Perhaps the more unkind the society, the more it needs "benevolence" and "ideals". Confucius said "benevolence" precisely because there was a general "unkindness" in that society, and "benevolence" was inspired by Confucius to save the hearts of the people in the world and make up for the gaps in society.
In Zhou Yue's eyes, the charm of Confucianism lies in this idealistic spirit of unrepentance. This kind of idealism has given Chinese culture enough to support its signboard and earn enough face. It's good, it's good-looking, it's not pleasant, it's not pleasant but it's noble. ”
Confucian idealism is realized through morality, so Confucianism is also called "moral idealism". What should people be, what should the relationship between people be, what kind of ...... should human society becomeAll the visions of society are all about the deduction of moral ideals.
In Zhou Yue's view, to this day, Confucianism still has its "market". "The process of learning Confucianism is a process of building a strong mind, which is very helpful in making decisions. For example, whether to press the atomic bomb button or not is controlled by a person's mind. When people are in an environment where they have no conscience and are doubting the role of conscience, we need Confucianism to awaken their conscience and bring conscience to them. ”
Confucianism is a kind of learning about life.
For thousands of years, there has been no more clear and exhaustive way of being a person, behaving in the world, and achieving success than the 'Four Books'. In an interview, Zhou Yue commented on the "Four Books".
But in real life, ordinary people don't seem to have a very high level of understanding of traditional Chinese culture such as the "Four Books". There are historical reasons behind this, as well as practical dilemmas. "The 'Four Books' may be far away from people's lives, but they are very close to life. Zhou Yue said that this involves a fundamental problem of Confucianism, Confucianism is not knowledge, but a kind of moral learning, a kind of life learning, is the study of making people generous, "The easiest way to learn to understand Confucian moral idealism is to grasp the four classic theses." ”
Take "University" as an example, "The way of the university is in Mingmingde, in being close to the people, and in stopping at perfection." The educational goal and strategic positioning of the University is to teach people how to become a "capital person", which coincides with the purpose of modern people's education. The so-called "person with a capital letter" means that this person must have the righteousness of heaven and earth. Zhou Yue said: "Righteousness is in the heart, follow the heart, and cultivate Haoran righteousness." Follow the mouth, ears, eyes and nose, then it is not a person with a capital letter. It is necessary to abandon the sensual dogs and horses in life, strengthen the heart, and open the life. In the interview, Zhou Yue also quoted Lu Jiuyuan's theory on how to open life. "Human life is a horizontal axis that has been laid out, and what we need to do is open the vertical axis," he said. This is called aspiration in Confucianism, and in layman's terms, it is called pursuit, and after aspiring, you can be your own master. ”
In addition, "breaking the small self into the big me", "learning to become benevolent", "sincere oneself" ......Focusing on the core essence of the "Four Books", Zhou Yue excavated the essence of thought in the classics, combined the wisdom with real life, closely followed people's life experience and common sense, and helped readers understand how the wisdom of the ancients played a role in modern society. "There are not many thresholds for talking about the 'Four Books' and reading the 'Four Books', and speaking about them in life allows the listeners to have some understanding, even if they are not in vain. ”
How to understand the "Four Books".
The road is not far from people, and people are from afar. The creation of this book began with a series of humanities general education courses in the teaching process, and Zhou Yue believes that the revival and inheritance of excellent traditional culture are indispensable, and Confucianism is undoubtedly an extremely important part of it.
The book is explained in the order of "University", "The Mean", "Analects" and "Mencius", which is also the reading order recommended by the Southern Song Dynasty physicist Zhu Xi. Zhou Yue said in the book: "The beginning and end of the "University" should be prepared and the program can be found, which is the scale and program of learning, which is suitable for beginners to read; "The Mean" talks about 'sincerity', short and concise, but the most mysterious and difficult to say, and the role is to mark a high;The Analects is the source, the root, and the soul of the Four Books"Mencius" is majestic and agitatory, and plays a direct guiding role in the application of the world. ”
How can we truly understand the "Four Books"? Zhou Yue said that the standard depends on the heart of the person, when your heart feels that this thing tastes, that is to read it. If it's a simple recitation, and you don't know what's good about it, then it's not an understanding. "The so-called taste refers to the integration with human life, when a person makes a choice, the content of the 'Four Books' plays a helpful role, it becomes an invisible support in your life, and then you can be regarded as understanding. ”
This also reflects a characteristic of Confucian culture, that is, the integration of kung fu and ontology. In the book, it is not difficult to find that Zhou Yue also tried to combine the relevant research of Wang Yangming's psychology to give a more modern and practical interpretation of the traditional Confucian classics. He believes that the "unity of knowledge and action" proposed by Wang Yangming is a manifestation of the integration of kung fu and ontology. "Why do psychologists have two hits? It's because he has kung fu upper body. Psychology is a practical type, empty talk is misleading the country, and hard work is prosperous, in fact, real psychologists never talk about it. ”
From the heart to the "four books", in Zhou Yue's view, what she did was not a crossover, but a ** for the source. The theory of mind is inseparable from the "Four Books", and the study of the "Four Books" must study the relevant content of the "Four Books", and the study of the "Four Books" can better return to the study of the mind.
Light a lamp of Yangming's mind and find the realm of life. Zhou Yue said, "I am willing to do my best to send a light and heat to the popularization of China's excellent traditional culture." ”
Xinhua Intersection reporter Zhang Jieru.
Shi Zhiwei, Nanjing University of Media and Communication.