A preliminary exploration of the philosophical implications of "Xing Zi Ming Chu"
Li Weiwu
In the Guodian Chu bamboo slips, "Xing Zi Ming Chu" is an important Confucian article Philosophical literature. Although some of the text has yet to be deciphered, its philosophical implications are evident from the existing interpretations. If the discovery of the Guodian Chu Slips "completed the missing theoretical link between Confucius and Mencius"①; then "Xing Zi Ming Chu" demonstrates the importance of the development of the pre-Qin Confucian theory of human nature after Confucius and before Simi Mencius. One ring. After completing this link, we can look at the development of the pre-Qin Confucian theory of human nature and gain a new understanding.
1
In "Xing Zi Ming Chu", "Xing Zi Ming Chu" is undoubtedly a central proposition. From the perspective of the development of Confucian philosophy, the proposition of this proposition reflects the deepening of Confucian understanding of human nature and the improvement of reflection on the existence of human life. Confucius first began to discuss "nature" and put forward the proposition that "nature is similar and habits are far apart"②. However, judging from the existing literature, he only mentioned the metaphysical issue of "nature and the way of heaven" and did not Make an expanded discussion. Confucius also talked about "fate" and "heaven". The "fate" and "heaven" he mentioned also have an impact on "nature", but this kind of "fate" and "heaven" exist externally to human life. , "Xing" does not take "Mate" and "Heaven" as the origin and basis of its existence.
In Confucius, human life exists in the living world, and there is no upward pursuit of the origin and basis of its existence. Therefore, the "nature" that Confucius talked about had no metaphysical meaning, so Zigong felt that "the Master's words about nature and the way of heaven cannot be heard or heard"③. For a long time, due to the limitation of literature, people always believed that only Zisi and Mencius established the connection between "nature" and "the way of heaven", thus launching a discussion on the metaphysical issues of "nature and the way of heaven". Therefore, there are sayings that "the destiny of heaven is called nature" ④ and "whoever knows his nature knows his nature; if he knows his nature, he knows the nature" ⑤. However, from Confucius's "nature is similar, habits are far apart" to the emergence of these statements, after all, there is an excessive jump and a lack of necessary transitional thinking links. How did the pre-Qin Confucians establish the connection between "nature" and "the way of heaven" and thus began to construct the metaphysical theory of "nature and the way of heaven"? This "missing link" was not made up to a certain extent until the discovery of the Guodian Chu Slips.
"Xing Zi Ming Chu" puts forward that "Xing Zi Ming Chu, Ming comes from heaven" establishes a genetic meaning and relationship between "Xing", "Ming" and "Heaven". Metaphysical connections. What is "Heaven"? "Xing Zi Ming Chu" does not make a clear explanation. But one thing is clear, that is, "Heaven" has become the origin and basis of human life. Here, "Xing" is no longer the "Xing" with no metaphysical meaning as in "Xing is similar, habits are far apart", but has established a preliminary connection with "The Way of Heaven", thus being given a metaphysical meaning. meaning. As Mr. Du Weiming said: "The values ????in it cannot be said to come from the roots of the mortal world, and it cannot be completely said to come from historical roots. There is the issue of the way of heaven, that is, 'the destiny of nature'."⑥ However, compared with the statement that "nature is called destiny", the proposition that "nature comes from itself and destiny comes from heaven" has a stronger genetic meaning. If we compare the proposition of "Xing Zi Ming Chu" ("Xing Zi Ming Chu", "Destiny comes from heaven") with the proposition of "Laozi" ("All things in the world are born from existence, and existence is born from nothing"), we will find that these two There are great similarities in the speculative structure of the propositions, that is, they all advocate "... comes from..." or "... is born from...". The speculative structure of "all things in the world are born from existence, and existence is from nothingness" is "all things"? "existence"? "nothing" ("... is born from..."). The structure is "Xing"? "Ming"? "Tian" ("...from...out"). In these two propositions, although "nature" and "all things" are not the same, they both pursue it and finally find the origin and basis of their own existence. However, "Laozi" pursues the root of "all things". It is believed that this root is "Tao"; "Xing Zi Ming Chu" pursues the root of "nature" and believes that this root is "Heaven". It is difficult to use famous sayings to explain the metaphysical roots. "Laozi" believes that it is difficult to explain "Tao", and "Xing Zi Ming Chu" does not provide a clear explanation of "Heaven". From this point of view, "Xing Zi Ming Chu" was deeply influenced by "Laozi". It was under this influence that "Xing Zi Ming Chu" began to clearly connect "Xing" with "The Way of Heaven", so that "Xing" that had no metaphysical meaning in Confucius was promoted to "Xing" with metaphysical meaning. ”, which makes the Confucian theory of human nature have a broader thinking space and richer theoretical connotation.
It can be seen from this that the Confucian connection of "nature" and "the way of heaven" and the construction of the metaphysical theory of "nature and the way of heaven" are inseparable from the influence of Taoism. It is Taoism's opening up of the metaphysical realm and the pursuit of the root that influenced the changes in Confucian thinking trends and provided a speculative structure for Confucianism to change its original thinking trends, thereby changing the Confucian understanding of "nature". From not having any metaphysical meaning to having metaphysical meaning. Group A of "Laozi" in the Guodian Chu Slips contains the saying that "all things in the world are born from existence, and [being] is born from nothingness." This also shows that the speculative structure of "Laozi" was very influential at that time. Many researchers pointed out based on the Guodian Chu Slips that the relationship between Confucianism and Taoism at that time was not as tense as later generations saw, but showed a kind of mutual accommodation.
From the proposition that "nature comes from its own destiny, destiny comes from heaven", we can also see the traces of the mutual influence of Confucian and Taoist philosophical thinking.
II
Although "Xing Zi Ming Chu" was greatly influenced by Taoism, it established the metaphysical theory of "Xing and the Way of Heaven" and began to improve Confucian understanding of human life. No longer stick to the real world of life, but on the other hand, it does not dilute or weaken the realistic character and practical spirit of Confucianism. Although "nature" comes from the natural world of "heaven", it must ultimately belong to the cultural world of "man" . This is the explanation of "Tao" in "Xing Zi Ming Chu".
In Confucius, "Tao" still retains its original meaning as "road", which is a basic principle of life practice, such as "A gentleman sticks to his roots, and the roots are established and the Tao is born. A filial brother is also a filial piety." "The foundation of benevolence is"⑧, "The way of the Master is only loyalty and forgiveness"⑨, "People can promote the Tao, but it is not the Tao that promotes people"?B10?etc. In Laozi, "Tao" was promoted to the root above the phenomenal world, with the function of deriving all things, and became a metaphysical world. Therefore, "all things in the world are born from being, and being is born from nothing", and "Tao gives birth to everything." , One life is two, two is life
Three, three is life, all things are born”?B11? Confucius’ “Tao” is also the “Tao of humanity”. Laozi's "Tao" is characterized by "following nature" and is the "simplicity" of the cultural world that precedes humans. Only after "Pu San" did the human cultural world emerge and the morality of benevolence and righteousness advocated by Confucius emerge. Therefore, Laozi always held a sharply critical attitude towards the cultural world. In the popular version of "Laozi" and the silk version of "Laozi", this kind of criticism is quite fierce, such as "The great principles are ruined, but there is benevolence and righteousness. When wisdom and wisdom are born, there is great hypocrisy. The six relatives are in discord, but there is filial piety and kindness. The country is in chaos, but there are loyal ministers"? B12?. "If you abandon the sage and wisdom, the people will benefit a hundredfold. If you abandon the benevolent and righteous, the people will return to filial piety and kindness. If you abandon the skillful and profitable, there will be no thieves."?B13? "Laozi" in the Guodian Chu Slips is generally considered to have a moderate attitude towards the relationship between Confucianism and Taoism, and did not fall into sharp opposition like the later Confucianism and Taoism. However, even so, it still takes a positive attitude towards the cultural world. Rejecting attitude. The opening chapter of Chapter A of "Laozi" states: "If you abandon arrogance with absolute knowledge, the people's benefits will be doubled; if you discard the benefits of perfect skill, thieves will perish; if you abandon hypocrisy, the people will return to filial piety and kindness. . . . Maintain simplicity and be less selfish." The word "?" here, Mr. Pang Pu thinks, should be interpreted as the word "zuo". "Fake" refers to what Xunzi later called "prosperity of literature and science", that is, artificial; "zuo" means intentional fabrication, which has a similar meaning to the word "pseudo". What "pseudo" and "work" create is the cultural world of human beings, which is a world opposite to "simplicity". Therefore, the Guodian Chu Bamboo Slips version of "Laozi" advocates "absolute forgery and abandoning writing" and "maintaining simplicity". Here, Laozi's critical attitude is still clearly visible.
Although "Xing Zi Ming Chu" shows that "Xing Zi Ming Chu" is deeply influenced by Laozi's speculative structure in terms of the proposition "Xing Zi Ming Chu", and even "Tao" is included in "Heaven" as the concept. It is a unified series of origins and basis, but then it inherits Confucius' ideas and gives a more humanistic explanation of "Tao". "Xing Zi Ming Chu" states that "Xing Zi Ming Chu" points out that "Xing Zi Ming Chu comes from heaven, and destiny comes from heaven": "The Tao begins with emotion, and emotion arises from nature. The beginning is close to emotion, and the end is close to meaning. Those who know [emotion] can come out "Those who know the meaning can accept it." This means that although "Tao" "begins with close feelings" and does not have a humanistic consciousness at the beginning, it "ends with close meaning" and finally manifests itself as humanistic consciousness. . Therefore, "In ordinary Tao, mental skills are the main ones. Of the four skills of Tao, only the human way can be Taoized." In addition to "mind skills", "Tao" also includes "poetry", "calligraphy", "rituals", "music" and other contents. "Poetry is about doing things. Books are about doing things and speaking. Rites and music are about doing things." These contents are all manifestations of "humanity". “Poems, books, rituals, and music all originated from people.” According to "Xing Zi Ming Chu", "Tao" is of great significance. This actually highlights the significance of the humanistic world. This is in sharp contrast to Laozi's understanding of "Tao" as "natural" and "simplicity".
"Xing Zi Ming Chu" clearly sees that the role of "heart" is not unlimited: "Although mortals have nature, when the heart is gone, they set their aspirations, wait for things and then act, wait for pleasure before acting, wait for habits Then lay it down." To truly make "heart" play its role and to regulate "nature", it still needs to be "accustomed". This "custom" does not come from the natural world of "Heaven", but from the cultural world of "people". "Poems, books, rituals, and music" are all the content of this humanistic world. For people, these contents are not innate from "Heaven" or "Destiny", but acquired through "teaching" and "learning". Therefore, "the nature of the four seas is the same. Their intentions are different, and the teachings are responsible for it." "The sage compares them with each other and understands them, observes their succession and then teaches them, embodies their meanings and regulates them, and understands their emotions. But go in and out, and then teach again, so you are the one who is born with virtue." Here, "Xing Zi Ming Chu" sees that human life exists from the natural world to the humanistic world. This is why the "Tao" mentioned earlier begins with "emotion", but "the beginning is close to love, and the end is close to meaning."
These explanations of "Tao" in "Xing Zi Ming Chu" are the forerunners of "The Way" in "The Doctrine of the Mean", which says, "Spiritual nature is called Tao, and cultivating Tao is called teaching." This explanation typically shows the characteristics and tendencies of Confucian metaphysics.
Three
In the past, due to limitations of literature, people believed that the development of Confucian human nature theory after Confucius was centered on the opposition and controversy between the theory of good nature and the theory of evil nature. .
The provisions on "nature" in "Xing Zi Mingchu" reveal that before the opposition and debate between the theory of good nature and the theory of evil, Confucian understanding of "nature" was much more plain, and it was not in an either/or situation. In a state of tension. "Xing Zi Ming Chu" says: "The qi of joy, anger, sadness, and sadness are also called Xing." This is "Xing" in the original sense. In this sense, "nature" is indeed "similar", and it can even be said that "the nature is the same throughout the world." However, "nature" must be exposed to the outside and become "emotion", which is expressed as people's likes and dislikes. Therefore, "Xing Zi Ming Chu" also says: "Likes and dislikes are nature. What you like and dislike are things." And externally The complexity of life has caused human life to experience complex environments and changes, "some are moving, some are meeting, some are friends, some are harsh, some are coming out, some are nourishing, some are growing." These factors that affect "sex" include natural things and more humanistic contents. "Everything that moves nature is a thing; meeting nature is a pleasure; intercourse with a nature is a reason; a harsh nature is a righteousness; a nature that emerges is a force; a cultivation of one's nature is a habit; a longing of one's nature is a Tao." It is this complex experience that makes "sex" enter the cultural world from the natural world. Therefore, although "Xing" mentioned in "Xing Zi Ming Chu" comes from the natural world of "Heaven", it mainly exists in the cultural world of "Human". The good and evil of "nature" are all formed in the complex external life experienced by human beings.
On this point, Mencius said "nature is good" and Xunzi said "nature is evil", which is indeed different from the understanding of "nature" in "Xing Zi Ming Chu". Mencius's theory of the goodness of nature and Xunzi's theory of nature's evil are both the result of pushing the original sense of "nature" to the extreme and making it transcendental about good and evil. In other words, both the theory of good nature and the theory of evil nature endow the moral ethics of the cultural world onto the "nature" that is still in the natural world. But on the other hand, the formulation of the theory of good nature and the theory of evil nature, as well as the tension between the two, are also related to "Xing Zi Mingchu". Pre-Qin Confucianism's discussion of the existence of human life, through "Xing Zi Ming Chu", made "Heaven" the origin and basis of the existence of "Xing", so that "Xing", which originally had no metaphysical meaning, was given metaphysical meaning. , making the originally inaccessible theory of "Xing and the Way of Heaven" accessible and audible, which inevitably makes "Xing" transcend the real world of life and be endowed with some transcendental content. This makes it possible for Mencius to attribute "goodness" to "Heaven", and Xunzi to attribute "evil" to "Heaven", thus making the "nature" originally derived from "Heaven" have the nature of good or evil. Therefore, Mencius and Xun's theories of human nature can also find a speculative structural basis in "Xing Zi Ming Chu". In this sense, it can also be said that "Xing Zi Ming Chu" is an intermediate link in the transition from Confucius's theory of human nature to Mencius's theory of good nature and Xunzi's theory of evil nature.
Mr. Li Zehou believes based on the Guodian Chu Slips: "The interpretation of the moral metaphysics of 'human nature' and 'destiny' by post-Confucianism up to today's modern Neo-Confucianism seems worthy of reconsideration."?B15?This conclusion It seems that they only noticed that "Xing" in "Xing Zi Ming Chu" does not have a priori nature of good and evil, but ignored that "Xing Zi Ming Chu" provided a speculative structure for establishing Confucian views on "human nature" and "destiny". Passage to the Metaphysics of Morals. It is through this passage that the post-Confucian moral metaphysics of "human nature" and "destiny" can be interpreted.
At Wuhan University on September 21, 1999
(The author is a professor of the Department of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Wuhan University)
Notes:
①Pang Pu: "New Knowledge on Ancient Tombs", "Chinese Philosophy", Volume 20, page 9, Liaoning Education Press, 1999.
② "The Analects of Confucius·Yang Huo".
③"The Analects of Confucius·Gongye Chang".
④ "Golden Mean".
⑤ "Mencius·Do your best".
⑥Du Weiming: "Guodian Chu Slips and the Repositioning of Pre-Qin Confucianism and Taoism", "Chinese Philosophy", Volume 20, page 5, Liaoning Education Press, 1999.
⑦ Chapter 40 of "Laozi".
⑧"The Analects·Xueer".
⑨ "The Analects of Confucius·Liren".
?B10? "The Analects of Confucius·Wei Linggong".
?B11? Chapter 42 of "Laozi".
?B12? Chapter 18 of "Laozi".
?B13? Chapter 19 of "Laozi".
?B14? See Pang Pu: "First Reading of Guodian Chu Slips", "Historical Research" Issue 4, 1998.
?B15?Li Zehou: "New Dreams of the Century", 203 pages, Anhui Literature and Art Publishing House, 1998.