( 1)? The Ritual Order in Ancient China
As we all know, the political system in ancient China was based on the rule of propriety. Needless to say, "Li" had a complicated meaning in ancient China, just as Xiao Gong Zhuan pointed out: "Looking up ancient books, people's evaluation of" Li "in the Spring and Autumn Period was divided into broad sense and narrow sense. Narrow sense refers to the form of etiquette, and broad sense refers to all laws and regulations. " "Zuo Zhuan" and "Five Years (the first 536 years)" contain that "it is not rude to give bribes in the suburbs. The marquis of Jin said uncle Nuwa said: The marquis of Lu is also a gift! Right: It's a ceremony, not a ceremony. Li therefore defended his country and carried out his decrees, and no one lost his people. "This is the difference between the two meanings, which is the most concise. What Confucianism values and clarifies is the ceremony in a broad sense, not limited to the crown of weddings and funerals. " [ 1] ? Mr. Xiao's analysis is helpful to clarify many ideological puzzles surrounding the rule of etiquette. Zhang Hao also expressed a similar view. He wrote: "The meaning of' ceremony' in the Confucian tradition is very broad, ranging from the ethics of interpersonal relationships to various rituals and even national systems and regulations. However, the so-called ceremony in the Imperial Classics is a kind of ceremony in a narrow sense. It mainly refers to various national festivals, personal weddings and funerals, and institutional regulations related to families and schools. " [2] ? Here, the basic phenomenon described by Mr. Zhang is quite consistent with that described by Mr. Xiao.
Considering the high complexity of Li, we need to look at it from other angles. First of all, regarding the importance of "courtesy", Xunzi said: "So, the rope is straight; Balance, level; Provisions, Fiona Fang to; Politeness is extremely humane. However, illegal rituals and lack of rituals are called unscrupulous people; The law is full of rituals, which is called courtesy. " Xunzi further elaborated the specific connotation of the rule of etiquette: "There are three kinds of etiquette: heaven and earth are the foundation of life; Ancestors are the foundation of class; Jun and Shi are the foundation of governing the country. There is no evil life in the world? No ancestors are evil? Without the bad governance of the monarch? The three are partial to death, and there is no peace. Therefore, the ceremony, going to heaven, going to heaven, respecting the ancestors, and promoting the monarch are three gifts. " "Li, with property as the purpose, with high and low as the text, with how much as different, with killing dragons as the key link. The arts and sciences are complicated, and it is emotional and economical. It is also a long ceremony. The province of arts and sciences, the use of complex emotions, is also a ritual killing. The use of arts and sciences, both internal and external cultivation, and parallel miscellaneous use are also the flow of rituals. " [3] ? China people are naturally familiar with these specific ingredients. In a word, "Li", as the central phenomenon in ancient China society, has exerted a wide and profound influence in both theoretical and practical fields.
Now we take the etiquette system of Ming Dynasty as an example, and make an overall analysis of the specific composition of the rule of etiquette in ancient China. Historian Huang Renyu vividly described many ceremonial occasions experienced by Emperor Wanli in his life. Among them, regarding his adult ceremony when he was eight years old, Huang vividly wrote: "Emperor Wanli was a monarch who knew all kinds of etiquette. 1587 In March, he turned 23 and entered the age of 24. It was almost fifteen years since he ascended the throne of the emperor. He will naturally remember clearly that in the winter when he was eight years old, his father, Emperor Qin Long, held a coronation ceremony for him as a symbol of his adulthood. He was led into a special tent in front of the temple and changed his clothes and costumes according to etiquette. He appeared in public three times in different clothes. As soon as he came out of the curtain, he held Yugui in his hand, was guided to salute and drank with a special glass. All the programs were directed by officials of the Ministry of Rites and accompanied by music, which took nearly half a day. The next day, he was led out to sit in front of the temple and accepted the congratulations of the officials in the most solemn manner. "
Shortly thereafter, Emperor Wanli experienced an extremely grand ceremony: "A few months later, Emperor Qin Long was canonized by Yulong. The crown prince, who was only nine years old, met his courtiers in mourning. According to the traditional "surrender" procedure, all officials asked the crown prince, the emperor, to use the most sincere words. The first two requests were rejected by the Crown Prince, because his father had just died and his mourning could not be controlled. Where is he in the mood to think about personal fame? This is the third time he accepted the request, on the grounds that ministers said that the country should be the most important. This process of rejection and acceptance is orderly, as if it had been rehearsed. " For modern China people who have watched many TV dramas depicting ancient court life, this solemn scene is no stranger.
It is easy to understand that the etiquette system in ancient China is extremely rich. Taking the ceremony of offering prisoners as an example, Huang elaborated beautifully with literary meticulous brushwork: "Since he ascended the throne of the emperor, he must handle all kinds of etiquette according to the rules. In the past fifteen years, I have worshipped heaven and earth, worshipped ancestral temples, celebrated New Year's Day and enjoyed Duanyang. He received an old man, a foreign envoy and a retired meritorious official. He also reviewed the army, issued battle flags, and accepted "offering prisoners" after a battle victory. This ceremony of offering prisoners is extremely serious and frightening. The emperor's throne is located on the Wumen Gate Tower. He sits there and overlooks everything that happens in the granite square below. On both sides of him stood senior officers with titles, and there were many tall imperial soldiers called' big generals'. Under the watchful eyes of a large number of officials in the square, the prisoners were brought in, their hands and feet were shackled, a red cloth with a round hole passed through their heads and covered their chests and backs, and they were called to kneel opposite the meridian gate. At this time, the minister of punishments came forward, stood still, and then read aloud the crimes of the prisoner blaspheming heaven and earth and endangering mankind. After reading it, he declared that there was no problem with the laws of these sinners and asked the emperor to approve him to go to the city and behead him according to law. The emperor replied,' Take it! His voice of nature was conveyed by two senior military attaché s nearby, two of whom reached four people, and then eight people, sixteen people and thirty-two people passed it on in unison. Finally, 320 General Dahan drank' take it' in unison at the maximum vital capacity, and the sound made the roof tiles ring, and the onlookers were moved. Obviously, the main purpose of these ceremonial occasions is to show the authority of the emperor in human society.
At the same time, etiquette system is closely related to clothing; The ancient costumes in China are rich and varied, and one of the deep-seated reasons is the diversity of etiquette system. Take the emperor's clothes as an example: "To participate in various ceremonies, the emperor needs to change his crown and clothes frequently, sometimes several times a day. There is a kind of crown made of gold thread in the clothing, which is exquisite and different from the European all-metal crown. The crown used by the emperor in the most grand ceremony is a kind of "crown", which is shaped like a "tile" worn by European scholars, but the cloth on the crown is rectangular rather than square, and there are twelve strings of pearls at the front and back ends. This kind of bead curtain is an interesting prop, which shakes back and forth in front of the emperor and makes him extremely uncomfortable. Its purpose is to remind him that he must be dignified and not frivolous. The clothes that match the crown are a black coat and a yellow skirt decorated with luxurious embroidery. There is brocade in front of the skirt, hanging over the belt and between the legs, and the boots and socks are red. " "At the next ceremony, the emperor put all the red leather clothes, which is actually his military uniform. Among them, the hat is very similar to the melon-shaped round helmet used by athletes today, with a belt tied around the neck. This kind of hat is not much different from the helmet used by the sergeant of the military commander at that time, but the helmet of the soldier is made of cloth, with iron inside and nails outside; The emperor's skin was made by a pimp, and the nails were replaced by gems outside. " These clothes of Wanli Emperor vividly reflect the subtle wisdom of ancient Chinese clothing practitioners. For the older generation of China people, this detailed description of Emperor Wanli's costumes is particularly cordial.
Emperor Wanli not only attended the early dynasty, but also presented prisoners, ascended the throne and hosted banquets for officials, and also attended many occasions for ordinary people. For example, regarding the etiquette system of attaching importance to agriculture, Huang once described in detail: "The emperor is the symbol of the supreme power of the people of the country, and many of his actions are symbolic. It is a representative example to hold' pro-agriculture' near Xiannongtan every year. This case is like acting. Before "pro-agriculture", the government selected actors to play the role of storm gods in the workshop department, and called about 200 farmers in Daxing and Wanping counties as extras. At the beginning of this scene, two officials lead the cow and an old man helps Li. Other designated farmers carry all kinds of farm tools, including dustpans and buckets, to make them look like farmers. Some actresses dress up as village men and women and sing Taiping songs. As for the emperor himself, of course, ordinary farm tools cannot be used. The plows he used were carved with dragons and painted with gold. With a whip in his left hand and a plow in his right hand, he walked three times in the field with the help of two old people, thus completing the task of pro-farming. After ploughing, he sat under the tent and watched the ministers of the Ministry of Finance lead the officials to do the same thing. Magistrate Shuntian is the highest local governor in Beijing, and his task is to sow seeds. After sowing and covering the soil, the actors of the Ministry of Industry immediately presented the grain to the emperor, indicating that your majesty's hard work had achieved excellent results and made the grain abundant. At this time, Guan Bai greeted him and extended warm congratulations. " [4] ? The political connotation of this etiquette is not difficult to understand: in China's ancient political philosophy system, the emperor was the central bridge between human order and the authority of heaven, so what he did had a direct impact on the peace and prosperity within a country; Based on this, the emperors in ancient China needed to attend many symbolic ceremonies to be responsible for praying for their subjects.
First of all, Dickens clearly pointed out that the emperor was the hub of China's ancient ritual order, which was essentially different from the modern democratic system.
De further analyzed the role of bureaucrats in the order of rule by courtesy. He accurately pointed out that bureaucrats are only tools to assist the emperor's rule, and the political authority of the emperor is higher than that of bureaucrats. In this regard, he explained: "Huang Zongxi can't find this way either. His restriction on the authority of the son of heaven really belongs to the constraint of moral nature. These constraints are not to make him king, but to help him become king. This is why ministers and officials are so important. They are not only the managers of the kingdom, but also the colleagues and moral mentors of the son of heaven, helping him become a real king. Yes, Huang Zongxi learned a lesson from the history of China: he knew that few people succeeded to the throne. However, he did not propose to limit the power of the son of heaven, nor did he propose to leave these powers to the people and their representatives. Instead, he proposed a typical Confucian solution. Put talented people who can make up for the defects of the son of heaven near the kingship, so that, unlike a tyrant with absolute power, all people, even the prime minister, are just his slaves before the tyrant; In Ren Jun, it is a talented and virtuous ruling group that helps Ren Jun.. It is for this reason that Huang Zongxi asked the emperor and ministers to sit down and listen to imperial academy's lecture on wine supply as students, which is equivalent to acknowledging imperial academy's moral and academic authority in wine supply. The same is true below. County officials should also show the same respect for the virtue and knowledge of local scholars, and at the same time, they should also show respect for the elderly and listen to their opinions at the local drinking parties held every year. There are no mass gatherings, no large gatherings, and no bustling social gatherings. Rulers do not gain their support by talking to the people, but by teaching wise men or sages to achieve their goal of serving the world. " It is worth noting that the confrontation between the official class and the imperial power has always been an important theme in the ancient history of China; Therefore, perhaps the political authority of the emperor is not absolute, and the bureaucratic class can also play a certain role in balancing the imperial power, which is worth further discussion; But in most cases, we will encounter more embarrassing situations, that is, not only the emperor lacks a high degree of moral cultivation, but also the bureaucratic class mainly appears as corrupt and incompetent. For ordinary China people, this political ecology is probably the familiar normal life.
Di has a clear understanding of this fundamental political concept: "Therefore, in politics and rule, Huang Zongxi does not yearn for the healthy rotation of power. His ideal belongs to the traditional Confucian ideal: harmony is precious. Good governance is the result of Qi Xin's concerted efforts. Because this is the only goal that officials should have, Huang Zongxi does not pursue the balance between competing interest groups, nor does he pursue the reconciliation between opposing political forces. He defends the freedom of speech in schools, but obviously doesn't think dissent is a good thing in itself. There can be different opinions on major issues, but obviously they don't think dissent itself is a good thing. There can be different opinions on major issues, but the differences themselves will not produce results. When a dispute arises, what needs to be resolved is not by voting or through the court (this is probably the reason why there is no high court in the system he designed, such as the status of the legislature), but whether it is correct or not is ultimately decided by intellectuals and philosophers in the school, because they are the guardians of truth, and truth is unique and inseparable, which is passed down from generation to generation by those wise men from those sages and Confucius. " That is, in the Confucian scholar's ideological system like Huang Zongxi, the virtues of officials, emperors and ordinary people can be carefully cultivated through education, and there is no need to coordinate their conflicts of interest.
From a broader perspective, the reasons for the failure of Confucian political design mainly include four basic aspects:
(B) Modern China's theory of ritual contract.
In view of the local irrationality of China's ancient political philosophy of rule by courtesy, it is necessary for us to establish a brand-new political philosophy system suitable for modern China. By examining the composition of Confucian culture and the core elements of modern universal culture, we believe that this modern contract theory of courtesy should mainly have the following connotations:
1 The rule of law is the core of the theory of the rule of law contract. In East Asia, the ultimate source of social order is "Tao", as Han Yu said: "What is the husband's so-called teacher of the former king? Love is benevolence, and doing the right thing is righteousness. If it's right, call it. " [9] Dai Zhen also wrote: "In heaven and earth, gasification is popular and endless, which is the Tao; In the characters, everything produced by gasification is called Tao [10]; As the source of rationality and emotion of the universe, society and individuals, Tao was realized in the form of "ceremony" in ancient China, and the core feature of ceremony was to realize the reasonable order of human beings through rational means. However, in modern society, with the rapid expansion of social capacity and the great breakthrough of science and technology, ceremony has been unable to effectively support a reasonable political order, that is, the concept of ceremony has become outdated in modern society; Therefore, "Tao" needs a new form of realization in the world, that is, law. One of the core features of law is rationality, which is naturally the fundamental feature of Tao, so the authority of law comes from Tao, and because of the existence of Tao, law should become the core foundation of modern East Asian society. As the fundamental law of all things in the universe, one of the basic characteristics of Tao is rationality and harmony, which not only dominates the physical law of all things in the universe, but also is the fundamental regulation of human society. As the concrete realization of Tao in human society, law has the most fundamental authority in various political systems.
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2. Science and technology are the fundamental guarantee of the contract theory of rule by virtue.
Science and technology are the foundation of modern society and the main driving force to promote the rapid progress of modern society; Therefore, we need to bring science and technology into the overall vision of China culture and make it the fundamental cornerstone of modern China culture. From the perspective of human society, the fundamental significance of science and technology is that it can continuously expand the overall capacity of life and society, make our life more colorful and far-reaching, and make our social composition more extensive, rich and full of vitality. At the same time, it can continuously improve people's thinking ability, feeling ability and creativity. As a rational life, human beings should think about diverse knowledge, go beyond the narrow field of real life and enter a broader and deeper knowledge world. In this process, creative self-growth is realized, and science and technology are the main guarantee for individuals to grow up and make progress in modern society.
Morality is the basic component of the contract theory of propriety. In ancient China, the intense pursuit of morality was the main final destination of life. For example, The Analects of Confucius wrote: "The ambition is in the Tao, the virtue is in the virtue, the benevolence is in the benevolence, and you are wandering in the art"? [33]? This statement is a basic part of the ideal life in the Confucian viewpoint, and it has also had a profound impact on China society for more than two thousand years. As we all know, Confucius maintained a high degree of enthusiasm for morality all his life. For example, The Analects of Confucius records: "Confucius said,' Enough! I haven't met anyone who can tell from the inside. " ? [34]? In modern society, with the rapid expansion of social capacity and the complexity of social elements, moral problems are also facing a brand-new external environment. However, despite the internal changes in social structure, it is easy to find that morality is still the central component of human society; Because for the whole society, morality is a part of a country's comprehensive strength, it is naturally difficult for a society with moral collapse to develop healthily, as Amartya Sen pointed out: "The successful operation of an exchange economy depends on mutual trust and the use of norms-openly or implicitly"? [35]? ; For individuals, morality also occupies an important position in the vast life, because morality is always one of the highest pursuits of life. When we look back on the past, some scenes that moved us most and were hidden deep in our hearts were some touching moments that shone with moral light. In a word, morality is one of the central things in the vast and complex human world due to the basic reasons of individuals and society.
At the same time, in modern society, we don't need to regard morality as the only value of life like ancient China; Therefore, we need to popularize China's ancient moral concepts, add more basic concepts, and make life broader and deeper; These basic concepts include freedom, science, art, business and so on. With the addition of these brand-new concepts, the strong moral pursuit can continue to have a positive and fundamental impact on modern China people with a brand-new look.
Harmony is the ultimate orientation of the contract theory of propriety. In ancient China society, the yearning for harmony was naturally the highest pursuit of Confucianism in the whole society. Since Confucius, the pursuit of harmony has become the main theme of China culture. For example, in the Analects of Confucius, he once described his social ideal like this: "People are in the late spring, spring clothes have been finished, five or six people are crowned, and six or seven boys are bathed in interpretation and dancing in the wind." ? [36]? This famous work, which has been told through the ages, naturally shows Confucius' social ideal, that is, an orderly society in which rites and music are combined. Through this elegant, quiet, harmonious and warm scene, we can better understand the social view held by Confucius.
In short, in modern Confucian culture, individual freedom and group harmony both restrict and promote each other; The social vitality inspired by individual freedom can promote group harmony, which is conducive to the full play of individual freedom; Finally, a kind of harmony with freedom and harmonious freedom are formed, and individual freedom and social harmony fully realize themselves in this process of unity of opposites; It should be pointed out that in this contradiction, individual freedom is the main factor, because the all-round development of individuals is more critical than the order and harmony of groups, which is a basic fact that modern Confucian culture needs to be clear. Of course, modern Confucian culture advocates harmony not only at the social level, but also at the cosmic level. Everything in the universe follows some elegant and profound internal laws, which is the basic representation of the harmonious state of the universe. In short, in modern Confucian culture, harmony has a wide range of connotations; At the same time, with freedom as the main body, harmony and freedom maintain the internal relationship of mutual promotion, and they are intertwined as a basic aspect of human life.
[ 1]
[2]
[3] ? Xun Gigi Lai's Theory
[4] ? Fifteen Years of Wanli, Chapter 1, 2-6 pages, Zhonghua Book Company, 2006.
[5]
[6] ? Ming Yi waiting for an interview: Yuan Jun
[7] ? Ming Yi Records Waiting to Visit: Original Law
[8]
[9] ? same way one goes
[ 10] ? Mencius' Interpretation of Word Meaning, Syndrome and Tao
[ 1 1] ? The second chapter of the Theory of Government, page 5, Commercial Press, 1996.
[ 12] ? Same book, page 6.
[ 13] ? On The Analects of Confucius
[ 14] ? The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang
[ 15] ? Mencius' Word Meaning, Shuzheng Caicai
[ 16] ? On The Analects of Confucius
[ 17] ? On government, chapter 5, page 19, Commercial Press, 1996.
[ 18] ? On government, p. 19.
[ 19] ? Same book, page 20.
[20] ? Same book, page 27.
[2 1] ? Same book, page 22.
[22] ? Fatal conceit, chapter 2, page 34, China Social Sciences Press, 2000.
[23] ? See Volume 8 of the Complete Works of Kant? Papers after 178 1 year, Universal History of World Citizenship, pp. 27 and 28, Renmin University of China Press, 20 10/year.
[24] ? Song of the Five Sons in Shangshu
[25] ? A new book on politics
[26] ? On Social Contract, Volume I, Chapter VI.
[27] ? Same book, same chapter
[28] ? It has been six years since Zuozhuan.
[29] ? Mandarin Zheng Yu
[30] ? See the article Modern Significance of Value System to China Culture in Modern Interpretation of China Thought Tradition, p. 17.
[3 1] ? See the paper Equality, Value and Merit in the Charter of Freedom, page 126, China Social Sciences Press, 2007.
[32] ? See Conversation in Interview with Zhang Dianzhou, compiled into Complete Works of Chen Shengshen, page 6 1, East China Normal University Press, 2002.
[33] ? On The Analects of Confucius
[34] ? The Analects of Confucius Gongye Chang
[35]
[36] The Analects of Confucius Advanced
[37]