Today, many people's view of Confucianism is to take its essence and remove its dross, but there are also many people who grit their teeth when they mention Confucianism, such as mourning. What these people hated was not Confucianism itself, but the enslavement and oppression of the common people by the feudal rulers. Due to the impact of foreign culture on Confucian culture in modern times, the status of Confucianism in China has almost fallen from the altar to the dust, and there is even a period of time when talking about Confucianism has become a forbidden area. People were only allowed to read one kind of book and were only allowed to memorize one person's quotes. Confucianism says, "The Tao is not the same." But he never oppressed people with power, and he could only believe in Confucianism. It is a matter of who is imprisoning the mind at a glance, but there are too many ignorant people, so it is impossible to talk to them.
In fact, Song's choice of Confucianism was a historical choice, and it was a Chinese society that had fallen into the loneliness of pre-Qin Confucianism since Mencius. At the time of Mencius, Yang Mo was the first scholar, and the so-called world did not return to Yang Mo. Although Mencius scolded Yang Mo for being a beast without a king and a father, his purpose was to make Yang Mo's theory appear in its original form through debate, so that the people of these two families could realize the inadequacy of their theories and automatically return to Confucianism. Mencius said: "Escaping ink must return to Yang, and escaping Yang must return to Confucianism." Return, just accept it. Today's debater with Yang Mo is like chasing and releasing a dolphin, not only entering its roots, but also recruiting it.
Qin took the world with the Legalists, and also lost the world because of the Legalists. Shang Yang Han is not a disciple of Li Si, and he has no morality in his heart, and only seeks to strengthen the country and control the people. Turn the country into a war machine, and everyone is a small part of the machine. People are instrumentalized, and the Qin State is a tool from the monarch to the common people. This tool is immaculately crafted, a complete war machine, invincible. It's a pity that the Qin State, which was founded more than 600 years ago, ceased to exist after only 15 years of gaining the world, and Jia Yi said that the reason was because it did not practice benevolence and righteousness. Both Qin and Legalism have forgotten the fundamentals, it is not that the country is strong and the territory is vast, but that the country is strong for the people. It is fundamentally in the people but not in the country, winning the hearts of the people and winning the world, and losing the hearts of the people and losing the world. This is the unchanging truth of eternity. Qin lost the hearts of the people, so he soon lost the world.
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Huang Laozhi learned, and Liu Che later learned Confucianism through scriptures, which was not Confucianism, and the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were metaphysics, and the Sui and Tang dynasties were Buddhism. The reason why Song has Confucian Zhongxing is because other families have tried, not only is it not good, but it is getting worse and worse. After the end of the Tang Dynasty, the situation during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period can be glimpsed. The monarchs of the pre-Qin period still attached great importance to whether what they did before their death was in line with etiquette, and their reputation after death. Although there are many cases of killing kings and fathers, there are not many. But during the period of five dynasties and ten kingdoms, killing kings and fathers is not a new thing, people are not like people, and the world is like purgatory.
The revival of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty was a re-selection of Confucianism by history. Confucianism was abandoned for more than 1,500 years, after Zhou Dunyi, Ercheng, Zhang Zai traced the Holy Gate Taoism, traced back to Confucius, Zengzi, Zisi, Mencius. Although the book of the saints exists, the way of the saints is dead, so the truth of the saints is traced back to the truth of the saints, and the reason is discerned to counter the two Buddhas. This historical task became the fundamental task of the scholars of the time. Confucianism has not always been prominent in China, but has always been suppressed. It wasn't until people found out that Yang Mo, Legalism, Zonghengjia, Yinyang, Taoism, metaphysics, Buddhism, etc. all worked, and they went back to Confucianism.
It's not that Confucianism needs humans, it's that humans need Confucianism. Isn't today's situation also a cycle of history? Going around and around with other doctrines is no longer working, and turning back to Confucianism again, it seems that people today do not dare to speak directly about Confucianism. And when it comes to excellent traditional culture, what is traditional culture, so many traditions, there is more garbage than truth, and there are more heresies. Isn't it meaningful for history to use the lives of innocent people to discern who is feasible and who is not at all?
Although the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties relied on Confucianism, they took Confucianism as the surface and law as the inside. Therefore, wearing Confucian clothes and practicing the principles of Legalism, the country's governance is a mess, but the dirty water is all for Confucianism. If you act in the same way as a Legalist, don't say that you advocate Confucianism, which is very shameless. Confucianism should not carry this cauldron, but Confucianism doesn't care, after all, no matter how you scold, you have to come to Confucianism when you can't play.
Waste is waste after all, and truth is still truth after all.
The only pitiful thing is that many people could have accepted good cultural edification and grown up to be their true selves. However, the accepted knowledge has eliminated the way to seek the true scriptures of life from Confucianism, and it is also sad!
What Confucianism and Mencius understood is the right path of mankind, and what they guard is also the right path of mankind. Mencius said: "There is a way in the world, and you will die with the way; There is no way in the world, and he is martyred. "A saint will only die for the Tao, not for any other ruler, for any other mess. Although the saint loves the body, he can die for the Tao.
Zeng Zi was sick, and he called the door ** and said: "Qi Yu is enough!" Hands! Poetry and clouds' tremble, like facing the abyss, like walking on thin ice. 'Now and then, I know that I will be spared! Brat! ”So I figured it out, it's not that the Tao needs human beings, it's that human beings need the Tao. There is a person in the world who believes in the way of Confucianism, and even no one believes in it, the Tao is still that way, the universe is not immortal, and the Tao is not changed.
Therefore, the son said: "People can promote the Tao, but not the Tao." ”Those who say that Confucius and Mencius are the guardians of the rulers do not know Confucius and Mencius, and they do not understand Confucianism. A ruler deserves respect if he protects the people well in the hearts of the saints. If you can't protect the people, it's **. The saint has the world in his heart, a human being, not a ruler.
Mencius told King Qi Xuan: "The king regards his ministers as his siblings; then the minister regards the king as his heart; The monarch regards the minister as a dog and a horse, and the minister regards the monarch as a countryman; The king regards the minister as a mustard, and the minister regards the king as a coward. ”
King Qi Xuan asked: "Tang Fangji, King Wu is cutting down, are there you?" Mencius said, "There is it in the legend." He said: "Is it okay for the minister to kill his king?" He said: "The thief is called a thief, the thief is a thief, the thief is a cripple, and the thief is a husband." I heard that I was a husband, but I didn't hear about the king. ”If the monarch harms benevolence and righteousness and harms the people, it is not a monarch, but a person who can be punished by everyone.
Mencius said: "The people are precious, the community is secondary, and the monarch is light." ”The first attitude of Confucianism towards the monarch depends on what you do to me. The monarch envoys are courteous, and the ministers are loyal. The monarch is courteous to me, and I am loyal to the king. The monarch regards me as a mustard, and I regard the monarch as an enemy, and it has nothing to do with Confucianism.
The second is to see how the monarch treats the people, if he cruelly harms benevolence and righteousness, and tyrannizes the people. Confucianism believes that such a person is not a monarch, but a person who can be killed by everyone. What is obedient has nothing to do with Confucianism, and complaining directly is the real Confucian.
True Confucianism acts only in accordance with benevolence, conscience, and people's hearts.
Mencius said: "Acting by benevolence and righteousness is not practicing benevolence and righteousness." Yang Ming said: "To conscience." ”
Confucius and Mencius are both defenders, guarding the righteous path of mankind, not guarding the rulers! The Tao guarded by Confucius and Mencius is the right path of mankind and the human heart. The human heart is the principle of all things in the universe. If you don't know the original intention of seeking knowledge in life, you don't know yourself, and you can't understand Confucius and Mencius. The only way to seek knowledge is the way of the sage, so I need to read the book of the sage to cultivate my mind, and I recommend a book of Confucianism to everyone.
Those who are interested in learning Confucianism should not miss this book. You can watch it yourself or leave it to your child. Foreign families have Bibles, and this book is the Bible of Chinese families. If you keep a copy at home, who would dare to say that the next saint will not come from your house? After all, the sages said that everyone can be holy.
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