The integration of Confucianism and Taoism: the contemporary positioning of Chinese traditional culture
Author of the article: Zhou Shan
The integration of Confucianism and Taoism: the contemporary positioning of Chinese traditional culture
< p>Zhou Shan, Shanghai Academy of Social SciencesLaozi and Confucius are the two thinkers who have the greatest influence on Chinese traditional culture. Confucius asked questions about etiquette and asked questions about Laozi, which can be proved by ancient books and materials. However, in the era when Confucianism was respected and Taoism was suppressed, most of these materials were considered to be forgeries by later generations. The book "Laozi" and even Laozi himself were excluded until the middle and late Warring States Period on the grounds of doubt. Even the existence of Laozi was also under suspicion. This Confucian approach has a long history. Taking the Analects of Confucius as an example, several later disciples of Confucius such as Zi Zhang and Zi Xia once controlled the right to speak after Confucius's death, so that later descendants of other sects such as Meng Ke and Xun Kuang never spoke about the Analects of Confucius. ", and even called Zizhang, Zixia and others "mean Confucians". Since the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, "The Analects" has become the "Bible" of the Chinese nation. It was not until the May Fourth Movement at the beginning of the 20th century that Confucianism was overthrown and the "Confucian shop" was destroyed, that the Chinese nation was able to get rid of the shackles of Confucianism.
Facing the trend of economic globalization, the contemporary positioning of traditional culture has become an important issue in my country's social and cultural life. The contemporary positioning of traditional culture first involves Confucianism and Taoism. The possibility of integrating Confucianism and Taoism mainly involves the following three aspects:
First, accurately understand the consistency between Laozi's "ritual is the beginning of chaos" and Confucius' "self-denial and restoration of etiquette". Confucius was concerned about the world and took "restraining oneself and restoring propriety" as the action program of Confucianism. The "rituals" he wanted to restore were not only Zhou rites based on profit and loss Xia rites and business rites, but also added a new content "for benevolence"; the ideal goal of self-denial and restoration of etiquette is "the world returns to benevolence". Lao Tzu believes that "propriety is the root of chaos because of weak loyalty." On the surface, it seems that chaos arises from propriety, and propriety becomes the culprit of social unrest. Not really. Extending from his line of "Virtue comes after losing virtue, benevolence comes after losing virtue, righteousness comes after losing benevolence, etiquette comes after losing righteousness", "the propriety person, the loyalty is thin and the leader of chaos" talks about "the loss of etiquette leads to chaos" , that is, the cause of the chaos is disrespect. Etiquette is the last line of defense for social stability. Failure to do so will lead to social turmoil. In Lao Tzu's view, it is not enough to use rituals to prevent unrest. He expressed doubts about Confucianism's attempts to restrain people's hearts and standardize order through self-denial and restoration of propriety. The foundation of social stability lies in "Tao" rather than "rituals"; only by governing society in accordance with the basic laws of human society can there be true peace; and furthermore, only by governing society with "superior virtue" can there be true peace. In his opinion, the harmfulness of Confucius's advocacy of "restraining oneself and restoring propriety" lies in over-exaggerating the role of benevolence, righteousness and propriety in stopping chaos, and ignoring the fundamental role of Tao and virtue in stopping chaos. We found that although Laozi and Confucius had different starting points, they had the same goal: to stop chaos. This is the difference between Laozi and Confucius, whether to stop chaos fundamentally through Tao and virtue, or to stop chaos by "restoring propriety" through benevolence and righteousness. To be honest, Laozi wants to rule the world from the foundation of "Tao", and Confucius wants to rule the world from the personal behavior of "denying oneself and restoring propriety". Both of them have certain truths, but they are also one-sided. Ignoring the reality of war and turmoil and talking about morality and morality has the disadvantage of being bland; trying to regulate violence with etiquette that has been "the traces of our ancestors" is indeed an extravagant hope of seeking skin from a tiger. Mencius once told King Qi that the one who would unify the world in the future would be a man who would not kill people. However, it turned out that Qin Shihuang unified the world with his military strength. Only when Confucianism and Taoism are integrated can Taoism become the pulsating blood and etiquette have a solid support.
Second, from Confucius’ “hearing the Tao” to Lao Tzu’s “doing the Tao”, it shows that our ancestors’ pursuit of the Tao was not only understanding, but also practicing. Both Confucius and Laozi attach great importance to "Tao". The difference is that Confucius was satisfied with hearing the Tao, "If you hear the Tao in the morning, you can die in the evening." He wanted to live clearly, and even if he died, he had to be a clear ghost, which expressed his pursuit and awe of the truth. "Hearing the Tao" is also called "obtaining the Tao"; Confucius once "acquired the Tao" through Laozi's guidance, and he was extremely happy. Lao Tzu pays more attention to "doing the Tao" after "obtaining the Tao". "Being Dao" also means "walking on the Dao". The book "Laozi" is the comprehensive development of Laozi's thought of "for the Tao". As big as "ruling a big country is like cooking small delicacies", as small as "looking at the pot as a utensil", as general as "doing nothing but doing everything", as fine as "everything is full when there is a depression", all embody Laozi's Taoism. Analyze all things and implement the principles of Tao into life and social practice. He did not agree with Confucianism's promotion of "benevolence and righteousness" and "restoration of etiquette" because he believed that only "doing justice" could fundamentally solve the problem of social unrest. His blueprint of "a small country with few people" in which the country should be small and the people should be small, is also a demonstration of "being for the Tao". Today's criticism of "small countries with few people" as retrogressive and restoration is actually a misunderstanding. Confucianism advocates the ideal of kingly unification and "great harmony" society, hoping for social stability; Laozi advocates "a small country with few people" to make the people less constrained, and also expresses his thinking on social stability. The development history of human society, especially the rampant hegemonism in today's era, seems to prove that Laozi's blueprint of "a small country and few people" presented from the perspective of "doing the Tao" is not necessarily behind the Confucian blueprint of a unified kingship. Confucius was satisfied with the pursuit of "hearing the Tao" in his study. If it is not integrated with Lao Tzu's "doing the Tao" based on social practice, it will inevitably be divorced from the progress of the times. may become a reality.
Third, the transcendence from Confucius’ “benevolence and righteousness” of “mutually supporting each other” to Laozi’s “forgetting each other in the world” is a historical necessity from maintaining social stability to promoting social development. Confucius talked about benevolence and righteousness when he met Laozi. Laozi told Confucius a story: "The spring dries up, and the fish are together on the land. They are wet with each other, and they are wet with foam. It is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes." This story only has 23 words, but it is full of meaning. The differences between Kong and Lao.
“When we kiss each other, we get wet, and when we moisturize each other, we get foam.” This is Confucius’s idea. A group of fish in a pond with dried spring water moisten each other with their breath, and use the little saliva in their mouths to smear each other's body surface, so that each other can survive and prolong life as much as possible. When a survival crisis strikes, leaving the hope of life to others is such a noble moral character. "We are wet when we are together, and we are wet when we are together", which very vividly pushes the feelings of "benevolence and righteousness" to the extreme. Confucius's theory of "restraining oneself and restoring rituals, and the world will return to benevolence" started from here. At that time, the princes who were bent on hegemony could not use him, and this was the reason. "Tuba" means the weak and the strong, and wants to squeeze the living space of others, while "benevolence and righteousness" requires people to "restrain themselves and return to propriety." However, the feudal rulers of all dynasties after the Han Dynasty saw the value of Confucius' "benevolence and righteousness". After seizing power by any means necessary, they without exception preached "benevolence and righteousness" to the people, asking people to "wet each other with humiliation and help each other with foam." The best intellectuals in China's past dynasties have also been writing articles on this topic, seeking fame and fame, and they have never tired of it; the Chinese people have also lived in a closed atmosphere of "benevolence and righteousness" advocated by the rulers and created by intellectuals. The ancient Chinese created a unique and long world record of feudal society, and "benevolence and righteousness" helped the feudal rulers a lot.
In Lao Tzu's view, such "benevolent and righteous" actions as "wetting each other, moistening each other with foam" cannot solve the existential crisis of "drying up of springs" at all. In an environment where "the spring dries up", the result of "benevolence and righteousness" must be death. Returning to the rivers and lakes is the only way for fish to survive. In the rivers and lakes, fish have forgotten "benevolence and righteousness" because they don't need to "wet each other and wet each other". Therefore, Laozi put forward the idea of ??"forgetting each other in the world". Lao Tzu's proposition contains two meanings:
The first is to prevent the existential crisis of "the spring from drying up" from appearing. The method is to govern the country according to "Tao", that is, objective laws, so that the people can live in an environment suitable for their survival, just like fish living in rivers and lakes. In this kind of society, because there is no serious survival crisis, people do not need to "wet each other with wetness, or protect each other with foam".
Second, when an existential crisis such as "the spring dries up" unfortunately comes, people should actively respond to it, create conditions, and change the status quo of "the spring dries up"; or gather strength and rush into the world, there may be a glimmer of hope. . "We are wet when we are together, and we are wet when we are together" is a passive behavior and not worth promoting. In fact, it is of no help and has no chance of survival. Lao Tzu used the word "not like" to express his basic views on these two attitudes towards the world.
Chinese traditional culture is a diverse culture. Which philosophy is chosen as the mainstream philosophy and official culture has its own contingency. Once selected, it determines the inevitability of future social development. China's feudal society lasted for thousands of years and was determined by the cultural choice dominated by "benevolence and righteousness". "Benevolence and righteousness" play an important role in social stability, but it has also become a hindrance to the development of Chinese society. Therefore, how to position and reselect diverse traditional cultures in the contemporary era is an urgent task for modern China.
Two thousand years of history tells us that "benevolence and righteousness" should take a back seat; and the Lao-Zhuang philosophy that has been belittled, marginalized, and distorted by Confucianism, New Confucianism, and contemporary New Confucianism should return to our Come into view. Lao Tzu's "Tao" that was born before heaven and earth, his dialectical thought that "fate is immutable and time cannot be stopped", and his enterprising spirit of forgetting each other in the world, can all be integrated into social and cultural life.