Language is a tool for people to communicate, and its emergence and development are all condensed with people's thoughts. For early Chinese, the shape change of a single word may contain rich ideological significance, that is, the shape change can reflect the change of related thoughts, even the change of thinking mode. ?
Therefore, it is particularly important to clarify the origin and development of the word "benevolence" for accurately grasping the meaning of "benevolence". At present, it is generally believed that there are four ways to write the word "benevolence". There are three kinds of "people" in Shuowen Jiezi: "from people to two", that is, the word "benevolence" we use now; "Ren, from a thousand hearts" (Huan; Gu Wenren, or from the corpse.
In addition, there are nearly 70 "benevolence" characters in Guodian bamboo slips (see Pang Pu's "Benevolence Hypothesis and Rooting"No. 1, 2001; Wang Zhongjiang's "Benevolence" of "Unity of Body and Mind" and Confucian Virtue Ethics ―― Constitution of Leisure Diseases in Guodian Bamboo Slips, History of China Philosophy,No. 1 2006, etc. In Selected Works of Ancient Seals, I once put "idle pen" in Liao's "letter".
Oracle Bone Inscriptions has the writing of "benevolence" and "following the corpse" (preface to Yin Ruins 2-19-1,Luo Zhenyu, Kolo version,1913; Collection of Oracle Bone Inscriptions 1098, edited by Guo Moruo and Hu Houxuan, edited by Zhonghua Book Company, 1978+00).
The two kinds of "benevolence", "from man to man" and "from corpse", are similar and may have some connection. "Their fonts all refer to people or things related to people" (Li Youguang's Evolution of Confucian Theory of Human Nature in Pre-Qin Dynasty ―― Centered on Guodian Confucian Bamboo Slips, Ph.D. Thesis of China Renmin University, 20 10).
"The thin and lazy street frame shows that it is related to people's psychology and emphasizes the heart. The meaning of the two should be similar. The difference is "cautious" and "cautious", but the word "thousand" in ancient Chinese is similar to "Shen", both of which are related to "people" and belong to "human family".
Some people think that the word "thin and lazy" is a mistake of the latter. The "lazy generation" in Guodian bamboo slips suffers from "explaining words", which may be a transitional glyph of "eliminating disadvantages" Combining the benevolence of "from person to person", there is a tendency that "benevolence" transits from internal nature to horizontal interpersonal relationship.
"Benevolence" originated from the ancient ritual system, and the earliest "benevolence" should be "or following the corpse", that is, the third kind of Shuo Wen Jie Zi. "Benevolence was originally a natural nature of extreme piety and worship for ancestors ... Its origin lies in spontaneous, profound and internal transcendence."
That is to say, "benevolence" comes from an ancient ceremony-corpse ceremony (a way of offering sacrifices to the deceased, that is, the descendants of the deceased, such as the eldest grandson or the younger generation with the same surname, dress up ghosts and gods as the possession of the ancestors' souls, and the corpse symbolically represents the ancestors and enjoys the sacrifice).
From this perspective, it may also explain why Lu Zi said, "What is the initiator?" ("Mencius? Hui Liang Wang Shang) Confucius mainly aimed at destroying the "corpse ceremony" and opposed the destruction of traditional customs and habits.
"Benevolence" originated from the ritual of offering sacrifices to corpses, so it contains grief, respect and love for the deceased ancestors, and involves the behavior and psychology of sacrifice, such as courtesy, courtesy, filial piety and forbearance.
"Things die like things happen" ("The Book of Rites? Sacrificial righteousness, which describes Wang Wen's love when he worships his ancestors, may be the origin of "benevolence" escaping from the sacrificial ceremony to the real "kiss", that is, transferring the feelings of the deceased ancestors to the living relatives, and then one of the most basic meanings of "benevolence" is "filial piety".