On Confucius' Theory

Confucius theory is the pioneering theory of Confucianism. When I say "pioneering theory", I mean Confucius' own theory, which does not include all Confucianism we are talking about today, or even all Confucianism in the Warring States period. Han Fei said more than two thousand years ago: "Therefore, after Confucius and Mohism, Confucianism was divided into eight and Mohism was divided into three. On the contrary, they choose different ways, and they all call themselves true Confucius and Mohists. Kong Mo cannot be resurrected. Who will let future generations learn? " Han Fei has studied Confucius and Confucius' theory, and his question is reasonable. During the Warring States period, several scholars made completely different choices, such as Mencius taking "benevolence"; Xunzi takes "ceremony"; Living in Wei, studying under. He is a master of Confucian classics and has close ties with Legalists. It seems that they are all Confucian. Inheriting Confucius' knowledge, but each has its own emphasis or innovation. This is especially true after the Warring States Period. For example, Dong Zhongshu and Cheng Zhulu Wang, their theories are far from the original Confucianism of Confucius. Although they all claimed to be direct biographies of Confucius, they all showed their devotion to Confucius. Modern people have different understandings of primitive Confucianism, that is, Confucius' own theory. Some people think that Confucius speaks for slaves, while others think that Confucius speaks for feudalism. Some people say that Confucius values "benevolence", while others say that Confucius values "courtesy". Some people regard the Six Classics as Confucius' doctrine, while others don't, thinking it's just Zhou's old books, and so on. What happened more than 2000 years ago, either died without warning, or its symptoms were insufficient, or there were symptoms but different explanations. It seems that not only the post-Confucianism is difficult to test, but also some contents of Confucius' theory are difficult to test. Some problems have been litigated 12000, and I'm afraid they will continue to fight. However, despite the difficulties, we still have to strive to become a party to this lawsuit. Because Confucius' theory, after all, has clues to be found. What is the basis for studying Confucius? It is nothing more than based on the records of relevant books and the times they live in. Confucius was determined to study at the age of fifteen, and his master helped him when he buried his mother at the age of twenty-four, but his writing career started late. According to the materials accumulated by Zhou Buguan and historians, the Six Classics was nearly seventy years old, and the Spring and Autumn Period was revised two years before his death. Some people say that the Six Classics is Confucianism. The Six Classics is an ancient book, which was deleted by Confucius. Of course, Confucius advocated it and put something on it. Some may be saved as precious anecdotes. Liezi recorded Yang Zhu's words:' The past is gone, what is ambition? If the matter of Huang San is life or death, then the matter of the five emperors is a dream. "Before the Six Classics, the minister did not reply, and Yan Xia did not sign. Zhou Ji moved from Pingtung to Wangdong, and lost a large part, leaving little in the Spring and Autumn Period. In addition, the gentry gentlemen who used to be in charge of books in the royal family are now scattered and go to find food. In this case, Confucius deleted the Six Classics and saved a lot of valuable ancient books for our nation, which is really commendable. Now we study Confucius, mainly focusing on four books. The first is Spring and Autumn Annals. Confucius used the Spring and Autumn Annals recorded by Lu historians, from Lu Yinnian (722 BC) to fourteen years (48 BC1year), with a period of 242 years. The book Spring and Autumn Annals is very different from other classics for Confucius. Confucius claimed to be the "successor of the Zhou Dynasty" and the next generation claimed to be the "new king". The gift of "new king" is pinned on Spring and Autumn Annals. Confucius said, "My ambition is in the Spring and Autumn Period. "Mencius also relayed Confucius' words:" Who knows that I only have the Spring and Autumn Period? "People who offend me are only in the Spring and Autumn Period? "("Mencius Teng Wengong "). When Zhou Dao declined, Confucius tried to set things right by compiling Spring and Autumn Annals, which was not a work, but also a work. It has always been recognized that the purpose of Confucius' revision of Chunqiu is to rectify the name and establish a Sect, with both praise and criticism, which makes the rebels feel frightened. The so-called "dividing names" means that the monarch, father and son, husband and wife, high and low, etc. are worthy of the name, and each keeps its own points. The highest standard of Confucian political ethics is Spring and Autumn Annals. China's consistent patriarchal hierarchy thought in ancient times, as well as the consistency between the patriarchal hierarchy thought of slavery and the patriarchal hierarchy thought of feudalism, are fully reflected in the book Spring and Autumn Annals. The second is The Analects of Confucius. The genre of The Analects is still controversial, but it is generally believed that The Analects was compiled by Confucius' second disciple (it is said that he had a son disciple Ceng Zi) in the Warring States period, not by Confucius. Kang Youwei believes that although The Analects of Confucius was written by Confucius' disciples and there were eight Confucianists in the Warring States period, it is inevitable that "everyone listens to each other and has his own meaning", and there will inevitably be some Confucian viewpoints in the Warring States period. Therefore, The Analects of Confucius is not enough to give a complete picture of Confucianism. Thirdly, according to Records of the Historian, some divination and divination words in the Book of Changes were written by Confucius. Confucius' important philosophical thoughts are reflected in the Book of Changes. Incidentally, The Book of Changes is generally regarded as a work in the late Yin Dynasty and early Zhou Dynasty, but later Guo Moruo put forward a new view that the Book of Changes is a work in the early Warring States Period. Fourthly, Seventeen Books of Rites edited by Confucius and other works on Rites. Confucius shouted loudly before his death and took "restoring ceremony" as his own responsibility. Confucius' thought of "propriety" and the thought of correcting names have been fully expressed in Spring and Autumn Annals, which can be said to be a book on propriety. There are 17 gifts, the most important of which is the funeral, which was handed down by Puckilo Xia Te, a disciple of Confucius. Among them, the set of rules about the difference between kissing and respecting the elderly is the most specific and clear. In addition, there is the Book of Rites compiled by Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty. Some titles of this book, such as The Doctrine of the Mean and Liu Yun, record some of Confucius' remarks, which are as valuable as The Analects, and can make up for the shortcomings of The Analects and reveal the unfinished works of The Spring and Autumn Annals. From the above introduction, we can know that Confucius did not have a monograph, and Confucius relied on sorting out ancient books or historical materials to pin his thoughts; Then Confucius learned to recite some Confucius quotations, and it was inevitable to say a few words. Studying Confucius with books is normal because of different foundations, different understandings and different viewpoints. Therefore, it is very important to study Confucius and find out his time.