Is it a hundred schools of thought contending in ancient China?
The contention of a hundred schools of thought in ancient China is a very important event in the ancient academic history of China. It inherited the learning of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and opened the thought of Qin, Han, Six Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties for more than two thousand years. Scientific understanding of the contention of a hundred schools of thought is not only of great significance to the in-depth study of the contention of a hundred schools of thought itself, but also of great significance to the reflection of the whole traditional culture. However, there are serious problems in the traditional theoretical point of view on the contention of a hundred schools of thought, whether in the division of contention of a hundred schools of thought or in the nature, origin and destination of contention of a hundred schools of thought. This paper wants to talk about some new views on this, and please criticize and correct the inappropriate points.
First of all, the traditional schools of thought contend.
Traditionally, a hundred schools of thought originated from Sima Qian's father Sima Tan. In the Essentials of Six Classics, he first divided the hundred schools into six schools: Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, Fame, Legalism and Morality. Later, on the basis of the division of Sima Tan, Liu Xin added ten schools of "vertical and horizontal, miscellaneous, agricultural and novel". Ban Gu criticized Liu Xin in Han Shu Literature and Art Annals, saying: "There are ten philosophers, but only nine are impressed." Later, people went to the novel house and called the remaining nine "nine streams". Since then, all the ancient academic circles in China have been established, and a hundred schools have become "nine streams". Lv Simian, a modern man, added the word "soldier" to his Introduction to Pre-Qin Learning: "Therefore, pre-Qin learning can be divided into twelve schools: Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, fame, virtue, vertical and horizontal, miscellaneous, agriculture, novels, soldiers and doctors." ( 1)
It should be pointed out that this division is very inappropriate. First of all, the standards are not uniform. Some of the hundred schools here are divided according to political thoughts, such as Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism. Some are divided according to philosophical thoughts, such as Yin and Yang, Taoists and so on. Others are divided according to the nature of disciplines, such as name, vertical and horizontal, agriculture, novels, soldiers, doctors and so on. You can't say for sure about others, such as sages. Without a unified standard, it is difficult to scientifically divide a hundred schools.
Secondly, the tendency of discipline is obvious. According to the traditional hundred schools, twelve schools include nine disciplines: for example, Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism are political science; Yin and Yang, Taoism and so on are philosophy; Celebrity is logic; A strategist is diplomacy; Farmhouse is agriculture; Novelists are literature; A strategist is a soldier; Doctors are medicine and divination. If the division of a hundred schools of thought contend mainly focuses on disciplines, won't a hundred schools of thought contend become an encyclopedia?
Thirdly, some scholars define the academic connotation inaccurately. For example, Confucianism, we all know that the core of Confucianism is "benevolence". However, Sima Tan thought at that time: "Confucians are rich and want less, and they are diligent and do less, so it is difficult to do their best; However, the order of father-son ceremonies and the difference between husband and wife are not easy. " "Confucian scholars take the' six arts' as the law. "Six Arts" has been passed down for tens of millions, so it is impossible to keep learning. At that time, it was impossible to inspect its etiquette system, so there was "less learning and less work." If the husband lists the gifts of the monarch, the minister and the son, the separation between husband and wife will be easy for a hundred years. (2) that is, "ceremony" is regarded as the core of Confucianism.
Similarly, there is no detailed division of each standard. For example, regarding the political and ideological standards, only Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism are listed, while others such as morality, propriety, filial piety, skill, righteousness, absolute equality and the theory of no monarch are not listed; The standard of philosophical thought only lists the philosophy of "Yin and Yang Dao", but not the philosophy of "Five Elements" and "Reason". The standard of subject nature only lists "name, vertical and horizontal, agriculture, novels, soldiers and medicine", but not "history, geography, astronomy, art, books, morality, poetry and prose" In this way, the division of a hundred schools of thought is more complicated and chaotic, and the significance of the division of a hundred schools of thought is completely lost. But there is nothing wrong with doing so, and there is no mistake in theory and practice.
Second, what should be the standard for the division of 100 schools?
How should 100 schools be divided? The author believes that the key is to divide the standard, and only when the standard is selected correctly can the division be scientific. It should be said that there are four traditional dividing standards, namely "political thought", "philosophical thought", "disciplinary nature" and "miscellaneous", which are nowhere to be found. Here "miscellaneous" can't be used as a standard at all; The other three standards cannot coexist at the same time, because they are mutually inclusive. For example, "political thought" neither excludes philosophical thought nor "disciplinary nature", and vice versa. There should be only one criterion for dividing a hundred schools of thought, but this criterion cannot be "disciplinary nature": a hundred schools of thought have indeed triggered academic prosperity in various disciplines, but academic prosperity in various disciplines cannot explain the core and nature of a hundred schools of thought. A hundred schools of thought contend, as the name implies, should refer to different schools of the same subject. Only the factional struggle in the same discipline is the most meaningful academic debate. At the same time, this subject is the most representative academic field, the core and the essence of a hundred schools of thought. What subject is this? It should be the field of "political thought", not the field of philosophy.
First of all, political issues are the core issues for a hundred schools of thought to contend. The background of a hundred schools of thought contended was the period of great social change in ancient China, that is, the rule of the Western Zhou Dynasty had collapsed, and the five tyrants that flourished after the Eastern Zhou Dynasty failed to achieve the great rule of the world. Where and how China society develops has become the focus of a hundred schools of thought. A hundred schools of thought contend, in fact, is the argument that all factions express their opinions, put forward their own views, reject others' views, and try to transform the world with their own ideas. Therefore, among a hundred schools of thought contend, the struggle in the political field is the fiercest, which is reflected in the thoughts of Confucianism, Mohism, France, morality, courtesy, filial piety, art, righteousness, absolute equality and the theory of no monarch, which is incomparable in any other academic field.
Secondly, only from the perspective of political thought can we really distinguish the factions. Hundred schools of thought contended, in addition to the fundamental differences in political thought, there were almost * * * views on other issues. For example, the division of philosophical "Tao" and traditional schools of thought contend, starting from the philosophy of Tao, only classifies Laozi as Tao, but does not know that the philosophical thoughts of Confucius and Shen Dao are also "Tao", but are classified as Confucianism and Legalism respectively. Therefore, it is not accurate to divide a hundred schools mainly from philosophy. Only by looking at the problem politically can we divide it into moralists, Confucianists and Legalists, and understand the relationship between them.
Third, struggles in many other fields revolve around political struggles and ideological struggles. Take the field of ethics as an example. For example, Mencius advocated "good nature" and Xunzi advocated "evil nature". Mencius used "good nature" to explain "benevolent politics" and Xunzi used "evil nature" to explain "rule by courtesy is the main thing, supplemented by law"; Another example is that Mozi advocated "universal love", but Mencius resolutely opposed it, saying: "Yang is for me, and there is no gentleman; Mohist universal love is fatherless. Without a father and a gentleman, it is an animal. " (3) Why did Mozi advocate "universal love"? Is to explain his "righteous politics" including interests, because "both love and benefit" (4); Mencius criticized Mozi, apparently to show that his "benevolent government" is equal love.
Third, my opinion on the scientific division of a hundred schools of thought
That is to say, the division of a hundred schools of thought should be based on political thought. From the perspective of political thought, the author thinks that a hundred schools of thought can be roughly divided into ten schools, such as Confucianism, filial piety, morality, courtesy, law, ink, technology, righteousness, absolute equality and the theory of no monarch.
Confucianism: The founder is Confucius, and the core of his thought is "benevolence". The second representative is Mencius, who formally perfected Confucius' benevolence as "benevolent government", which is the core of Mencius' thought. The representative documents of the two are The Analects of Confucius and Mencius.
Filial Piety: Its representative document is the Filial Piety written by Anonymous. The central idea of the Book of Filial Piety is "filial piety", that is, "ruling the world with filial piety". In the past, some people in the theoretical circle thought that the Book of Filial Piety was a work that generally paid attention to ethical filial piety, which was inaccurate.
Bundesliga: It was originally a political thought in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, but from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, its connotation changed fundamentally. As early as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Zang Aibo had a famous theory of virtue (5) as evidence; Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi published during the Warring States Period are its representative documents.
Li Jia: It was a political thought that sprouted in the late Western Zhou Dynasty and was widely popular in the middle and early Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Some famous politicians in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, such as Guan Zhong, Zi Gong, Cao Gui, Zi Chan and Yan Zi, all advocated the rule of propriety, especially Zi Chan and Yan Zi, and also had a famous theory of propriety (6). In the late Warring States period, Xunzi was an important representative with ceremony as the core.
Legalist school: it is a kind of political thought that appeared in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period. It first sprouted in Zheng and was founded by Deng. First, Zi chan (a family of rites and music in the early stage, and a family of legalists in the later stage), followed by Jin Fan, Zhao Yang and others. Shen Dao was an important representative of legalists in the Warring States Period, and his masterpiece was Shen Zi. Classic Law after anonymity is also a legalist literature. In the past, the theoretical circle thought that Law was a Taoist work, which was not accurate from the philosophical point of view.
Mohism: The founder is Mo Zhai in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and the core of his thought is "righteousness". In the past, some people thought that the core of Mozi's thought was "universal love", and the basis was not sufficient.
Artist: The founder is Shen Buhai, the core of his thoughts is art, and his masterpiece is Shen Zi. In the past, the theoretical circle thought that Shen Zi was a legalist, which was incorrect. Shen Zi himself declared that his academic thought was "Shu", and Qin and Han people always said "Shen Zi's Shu".
One plus: the founder is Han Fei. What is the difference between Han Fei's righteousness and Mozi's? The most obvious point is that Mozi's "righteousness" contains economic interests. For example, the Mozi Classic says, "Righteousness is beneficial." Han Fei's "righteousness" completely excludes interests. Yi Jia's representative works include Han Feizi, Ram Chunqiu and so on. (7)
Absolute equality: the founder is Xu Xing. "On Mencius and Teng Wengong" contains: Xu Xing believes that the monarch should be absolutely equal to the people, "the tiller eats first, the weaver dresses first", and the commodity economy is abolished. This is the earliest concept of absolute equality in ancient China.
No King Theory: The founder is Wu Si. "Mozi Luwen" contains: "I have a Wu worry in southern Shandong, and I am a winter, so I compare myself with Shun." "Treat others according to their own needs" means "I am the king", which is the earliest anarchism in ancient China. But in the old saying of China, it should be "the theory of no monarch".
Strictly speaking, the above ten articles can be classified into eight. Because filial piety can be integrated into Confucianism and righteousness can be integrated into artists. The idea of "ruling the world by filial piety" originated from Confucius, perfected in the Book of Filial Piety, and took Confucius as the teacher. Its basic ideological system is very close to "benevolence", so it can be considered that "filial piety" is a branch of Confucianism. The founder of Yi is Han Fei. In the past, theorists thought that he was a legalist or a master of law, art and potential. In fact, although Han Fei has legalist thoughts, he also has artist thoughts. He himself thinks that art is greater than law, so the basic tendency of Han Fei's thought should be "art", that is, the artist belonging to Shen Zi. Moreover, Han Fei's "righteousness" is, in principle, a radical transformation of "technique", so it can be considered that "righteousness" is a branch of the artist's thought.
Fourth, from the scientific division of a hundred schools to see the disadvantages of the traditional division of a hundred schools.
The traditional division of a hundred schools of thought has many disadvantages. First, all the schools of "name, yin and yang, vertical and horizontal, agriculture, novels and miscellaneous" were included in the hundred schools, making the hundred schools a hodgepodge of pre-Qin academics.
Second, as a theory, "morality, courtesy, filial piety, righteousness and skill" is not independent. Although there are reasonable factors for the classification of "virtue" into Taoism, it is traditionally praised as a "virtue" family, not a "virtue" family; At the same time, it is believed that "virtue" belongs to Confucianism. "Li" is classified as Confucianism. Although it is reasonable to classify "filial piety" as Confucianism, it is not explained. "Yi" and "Shu" were not separated from Han Fei's thought, but regarded "Shu" as a branch of Legalism, and "Yi" was incorporated into Confucianism.
Third, "absolute equality" and "no monarch" are completely ignored.
Fourthly, the definition of the academic connotation of "Confucianism, Morality and Taoism" is inaccurate. For example, the core of Confucianism is not "courtesy" but "benevolence"; The core of Mohism is not "universal love", but "noble righteousness"; The core of moral Taoism is not Tao, but "virtue".
Fifth, it is not appropriate to identify the academic nature of some ancient documents. For example, Han Feizi is traditionally regarded as a legalist work, but in fact it is a masterpiece of the theory of "technical governance" and "righteous politics"; Shang Jun, traditionally regarded as a legalist work, actually belongs to the category of "technique"; Xunzi, traditionally regarded as a Confucian work, is actually a masterpiece of the Li family; Classics, traditionally regarded as Taoist works, are actually masterpieces of legalists; The Five Classics, in particular, are traditionally regarded as Confucian documents, but in fact they are a hodgepodge of morality, propriety and righteousness. 1, at least half of the five classics, such as Poetry, Book (the present text) and Book of Changes (the Book of Changes), are documents before Confucius. As we know, Confucianism began with Confucius' foundation of benevolence, and poetry, books (modern texts) and the Book of Changes (classics) all preceded Confucius. The ideological cores of the three are "virtue" and "courtesy", but they are not "benevolence". How can it be said that they are all Confucian documents? It can only be said that Confucius critically inherited Confucianism when he founded it. They are only a theoretical premise for the emergence of Confucianism, but they are not Confucianism themselves. 2. The literature produced after Confucius has different political thoughts from Confucianism. For example, although Yi Zhuan, Shu, Book of Rites (most of them), Spring and Autumn Annals and Three Biographies of the Five Classics were produced after Confucius, their political thoughts are also complicated. For example, the Book of Changes contains both the idea of "ruling the country by courtesy" (Preface to Divination) and. The same is true of Shu (ancient prose) and Li Ji. In particular, the idea of "righteous politics" in The Doctrine of the Mean and The University is particularly prominent. Spring and Autumn Annals was originally a historical document such as bamboo memorabilia and chronicle, but it was classified into political category in three biographies: Zuo Zhuan, Ram and Gu Liang. For example, Zuo Zhuan preached two theories of "virtue" and "courtesy" according to the historical characteristics of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, of which "courtesy" was the main one; Ram, on the other hand, thinks that the Spring and Autumn Annals has "great righteousness" based on his own needs, and it is difficult to find out the artist's "righteous politics" thought from it. Later, Dong Zhongshu's Spring and Autumn Stories also thought that "Ram" had a "subtle sense of justice" and continued to explore the artist's theory of "righteous politics". Therefore, on the whole, the political thought in the Five Classics is not "benevolent government" and its academic nature is not Confucianism. Except the thought of "righteous politics", most political thoughts belong to the theoretical basis of Confucianism.
Sixth, the appraisal methods of some documents are not perfect. For example, the identification of traditional Confucian documents mainly focuses on the following two points: First, whether it has been edited by Confucius, such as poems, books, Yijing, Chunqiu Jing and so on. Second, see if it is under the banner of explaining or expounding Confucianism, such as Zuo Zhuan, Ram, Yi Zhuan and Book of Rites. It should be said that judging from the core of thought is wrong.
Five, the essence of a hundred schools of thought contend is the transition from feudal lords system to county system.
Regarding the nature of a hundred schools of thought contending, the mainstream view in the theoretical circle in the past was the transition from slavery to feudalism. The basis is that Confucianism, with a hundred schools of thought contending, is the representative of the declining slave-owning class, because the ideological core of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, is ceremony, which is the ideological superstructure of slavery in the Western Zhou Dynasty. This view is debatable.
First, although Confucius said "courtesy serves the country", it is not the core of Confucius' thought. As we all know, the invention right of the ceremony does not lie with Confucius. Long before Confucius, famous politicians in the Spring and Autumn Period, such as Guan Zhong, Zi Chan and Yan Zi, all advocated "courtesy serves the country". As mentioned above, Zi Chan and Yan Zi also have their famous Book of Rites. Confucius's "courtesy for the country" is only an inheritance of the previous thought of "rule by courtesy". How can we say that propriety is the core of Confucius' thought?
Second, the political theories explored by Confucius are "benevolence" and "filial piety". "Filial piety", Confucius only has budding thoughts; "Benevolence" is a mature theory of Confucius. For example, the Analects of Confucius Lutz said, "If you have a monarch, you will die." In other words, if a new king rises, he will rule the country with benevolence (politics) within 30 years. (8) Mencius said: "Confucius said:' The second path is benevolence, not benevolence.' (9) Later, Mencius officially perfected Confucius' benevolence as "benevolent government". We can only judge a thinker's ideological core according to his newly founded theory, but not according to the ideas he accepted from his predecessors. So the core of Confucius' thought should be benevolence.
Third, courtesy is not the ideological superstructure of slavery in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. The literature that best illustrates slavery in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty is the Jinwen, in which there are few words of courtesy, even if they appear, they are only used as etiquette, etiquette and customs, not as political thoughts. However, in Jin Wen, "virtue" appears in large numbers, and it is regarded as a political thought rather than a universal ethical thought. It is believed that ceremony is a political thought in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, which originated from the memories of the people in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. This kind of memory is inconsistent with historical facts, but they are just looking for historical basis for their "rule by courtesy". In the ancient history stage, the author agrees with the feudal theory of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but thinks that China's feudal society began with "Shili gedian" in the late Western Zhou Dynasty (10). That is to say, from the late Western Zhou Dynasty's "Shi Li Ge Dian", China was a feudal lords' society in ancient times, and the popular "rule by courtesy" in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was essentially the feudal lords' thoughts of governing the country.
Fourthly, we can only evaluate the class nature of Confucius' thought on the basis of benevolence. Benevolence is the core of Confucius' thought and an important thought of governing the country in China's feudal society. For example, the "rule of Zhenguan" in the Tang Dynasty was the crystallization of "benevolent government". If we evaluate Confucius from the perspective of benevolence, as the author said in the past: As the last thinker of the feudal Lord system in ancient China, he once lamented that "the ceremony collapsed and the music was bad"; As the first unified and centralized thinker, he laid the ideological foundation for the new future society. (1 1) Therefore, it is meaningless to regard Confucius as the representative of the slave-owning class.
Since Confucius does not belong to the declining slave-owning class, it is unscientific to regard the nature of a hundred schools of thought as a transition from slavery to feudalism. Scientifically speaking, a hundred schools of thought contend is the transition from the feudal lords system in ancient China to the unified centralized system (county system).
Sixth, the starting point and end point of a hundred schools of thought contend.
In the past, there were different opinions about the origin and destination of a hundred schools of thought contending. Some people say that "a hundred schools of thought contend in the Warring States Period", some people say that "a hundred schools of thought contend in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period", and some people say that "a hundred schools of thought contend in the pre-Qin period". In other words, they have different views on the starting point and foothold of a hundred schools of thought contending, that is, they all agree with the unification of Qin State. In fact, these statements are also inappropriate.
The author believes that the starting point of a hundred schools of thought should be in the late Spring and Autumn Period, marked by Confucius' founding of Confucianism. First of all, Confucius was the founder of the first private school in ancient China. An important feature of the contention of a hundred schools of thought is the dispute between private school and official school, and the initiator of this contention is Confucius. Before Confucius, although there were thoughts of rule by virtue, rule by courtesy and rule by law in China society, they all belonged to official studies and were all theories of governing the country put forward by the rulers themselves. It's just that the Confucian "benevolence" was first put forward by folk scholars in their own names.
Secondly, Confucius founded Confucianism, which greatly promoted a hundred schools of thought to contend. From the late Spring and Autumn Period when Confucius founded Confucianism to the Warring States Period, private schools developed very rapidly: Mohism was founded after Confucius Mozi; Influenced by Confucius' thought of filial piety, Anonymous wrote the Book of Filial Piety, which formally established the theory of filial piety. Mencius perfected Confucius' benevolence as "benevolent government"; Xu Xing put forward the concept of absolute equality. Wu Si put forward the theory of "no monarch"; It is said that Laozi, who grew up in Confucius, wrote the Classic of Virtue and Taoism when he went abroad in his later years, trying to rebuild the theory of "rule by virtue"; Zhuang Zhou followed in the footsteps of Laozi and continued to develop "rule by virtue"; Shen Dao wrote Shenzi and developed the theory of "rule of law"; Anonymous further perfected the theory of "rule of law" with classical jurisprudence; Shen Buhai proposed "surgical treatment"; Shang Yang also moved from "rule by law" to "rule by technology"; Xunzi reformed "rule by courtesy"; On the basis of perfecting "technical governance", Han Fei founded the theory of "righteous politics". The official school did not show weakness: Xia Ji's official school appeared in Qi State, with Guan Zhong, Yan Ying and Huangdi as pioneers and launched a heated academic discussion; Lv Buwei of the State of Qin recruited 3,000 Romantics and wrote Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals. Other fields, such as philosophy, history, logic, ethics, diplomacy, military affairs, medicine, divination, geography, astronomy, literature, etc. Great progress has also been made, and there has been a situation of "a hundred schools of thought contend and encyclopedias flourish".
Thirdly, Confucius also laid the educational and cultural foundation for a hundred schools of thought to contend. Confucius is not only a great thinker, but also a great educator and ancient book collator. Confucius founded private schools, moved education down, gave the people the opportunity to learn, and trained a large number of talents for a hundred schools of thought to contend. Kong also excavated and sorted out many ancient cultural classics, such as Summer, which is said to have come from the people. In addition, it is said that he also edited the poems, books, rites, spring and autumn annals and other documents.
So Confucius should be regarded as the founder or founder of a hundred schools of thought contend.
In addition, the end point of a hundred schools of thought contention should be that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Zhu's "Tomb Digging Order". Because after Tian Fen's "restraining Huang Lao and worshiping Confucianism", Emperor Gaozu adopted Zhu's "favor" and successfully realized the transition from ancient feudal system in China to county system, which made the feudal centralized system in China enter a stable state and successfully solved the practical problems to be solved by a hundred schools of thought contending, thus drawing a satisfactory full stop for a hundred schools of thought contending. ( 12)
In the past, a hundred schools of thought contended until Qin was unified, which was debatable. Although the unification of the Qin Dynasty realized the transition from the feudal lords system in ancient China to the county system, this transition was a failure, which failed to bring the unified centralized system in ancient China into a stable state. After Qin's death, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang successively resumed the enfeoffment system. Moreover, Qin's "burning books to bury Confucianism" is not an effective way to solve ideological problems. In the early Han Dynasty, a hundred schools of thought contended again: for example, Lu Jia wrote a new book; Jia Yi, Wang Zang and Zhao Wan all tried to reform through "promoting rites and music". Chao Cuo cut Francisco with "art"; Yuan Gusheng opposed "Huang Lao" with Confucianism; Dong Zhongshu called for "great unification" with "the meaning of spring and autumn"; Emperor Wen "extensively recruited and learned" and placed doctors such as filial piety, Mencius and Er Ya. Once again, a hundred flowers blossom, although no new ideas have been put forward, but it is also a hundred schools of thought contend. The revival of a hundred schools of thought contended in the early Han Dynasty was a public opinion preparation for the transition from the feudal lords system in ancient China to the unified centralized system. Therefore, it is unreasonable to set the contention of a hundred schools of thought in the unification of Qin.
Seven, a hundred schools of thought contend in the process of confluence.
In the past, when discussing the contention of a hundred schools of thought, most theorists focused on the contention of a hundred schools of thought and rarely talked about the confluence of a hundred schools of thought. This research method is also inappropriate.
A hundred schools of thought contend is an integral part of a hundred schools of thought contend. A hundred schools of thought contend, although in principle each school expresses its own views and criticizes others' views, it also includes absorbing some ideas from other schools. Xunzi, for example, took propriety as his core, but he also attached importance to the law and respected Confucius, so that some people regarded him as a legalist and others regarded him as a Confucian. In other words, the contention of a hundred schools of thought is overcome with reservations, and there is absorption in the contention, and absorption is to better contend. The contention of a hundred schools of thought itself shows that the contention of a hundred schools of thought is one-sided academically. Only by absorbing each other can we learn from each other's strong points and make our theory more perfect. For example, Mozi answered Cheng Zi's question, "If you are not a Confucian, why are you called Confucius?" He said, "If you are, you should be, not easy. Today, birds worry about high temperature and drought, while fish worry about high temperature and drought. Although this is made by Yutang, it is not easy. Birds and fish are stupid, and Yutang is still a cloud. Did anyone call you Confucius today? " ( 13)
The confluence of a hundred schools of thought is an indispensable link for a hundred schools of thought to contend. A hundred schools of thought contend, mainly in the early and middle stages, and mainly in the later stages. For example, at the end of the Warring States Period, the two official academic centers, Xia Ji in Qi State and Lv Buwei Menke Group in Qin State, were basically contending. The representative work of Xia Ji School is Guanzi, which contains the thoughts of morality, courtesy and law, but it is mainly based on "rule by courtesy". The representative work of Menkoro School is Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, which contains many academic thoughts: morality, courtesy, law, art, filial piety and righteousness, so that some people mistake it for a saint. In fact, this is due to the lack of understanding of its leading ideology, and saints do not exist at all. The dominant thought in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals is "virtue", and the rest plays an auxiliary role.
The form of a hundred schools of thought contend, one is theoretical and the other is practical. Theoretically, the three schools of etiquette, morality and art do better. Rites, such as Xunzi and Guanzi; Virtue, such as Lu Chunqiu; Artists, such as the ram in Spring and Autumn Annals and countless dewdrops in Spring and Autumn Annals. Confucianism did a poor job, but Confucianism incorporated the Five Classics and Biography into its classics, and the content was also very rich, basically including the ideas of etiquette, morality, technique and righteousness. The confluence of practice mainly means that the rulers at that time made several works with different ideas as the leading and auxiliary of governing the country for their own needs. For example, The Rule of Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty, Confucian classics Ming, Daoyuan, Ten Classics and Laozi's Tao Te Ching are all classics. During the period of Liang Wudi, Dr. Jason Wu was appointed to combine The Analects of Confucius and The Book of Filial Piety into seven classics. All these are schools of thought contending in practice.
A hundred schools of thought contend in a very important position. Contention is just to discuss the problem, and confluence is the solution to the problem. Only the organic integration of a hundred schools of thought is the fundamental way to finally solve the problem. One of the important reasons why Qin failed to finally solve the main social problems at that time and put an end to the contention of a hundred schools of thought was that it rejected the contention of a hundred schools of thought by "burning books to bury Confucianism" and ruled the country with the ideas of artists from Shen, Shang and Han dynasties, which led to its demise. The key for Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty to solve this problem is to combine a hundred schools of thought with reality. For example, Emperor Wu: Although Confucian filial piety is prominent in political thought, the other six classics all play an auxiliary role; The dual-track system in the system not only absorbed the county system of artists, but also did not completely abandon the enfeoffment system of morality, Confucianism, etiquette, law and filial piety. Zhufuyan's "favor order" not only contains the Confucian thought of benevolence and filial piety, but also contains the artist's theory of "skill" and "righteousness" Attaching importance to agriculture and restraining commerce in economy is not only the emphasis of Confucianism, France, morality and propriety on agriculture and commerce, but also the artist's complete abandonment of "bullying agriculture and destroying commerce"; Ideologically, there are both the freedom of thought of Confucianism, law, morality and etiquette, and the ideological imprisonment of artists to some extent; In education, there are both Confucian schools and artists who "take officials as teachers", such as "promoting filial piety" and "choosing three elders" to set an example for the people. This is completely different from the Qin Dynasty, which only ruled the country with the thoughts of Shen, Shang and Han artists in politics, ruled the county absolutely in system, bullied agriculture and destroyed commerce in economy, engaged in autocracy in thought, and took officials as teachers in education. Thus, it is impossible to solve the main social problems in China at that time without the organic confluence of hundreds of schools. ( 14)