At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the feudal system began to collapse, and the ruling power of the nobles gradually could not be maintained. Classes in society have become chaotic. During the Warring States Period, we saw the liberation of serfs and the rise of merchants. At this time, all political, social, and economic systems underwent fundamental changes. Everyone is equal and free, forming an era of great liberation. In the midst of this great change, some intelligent people have various views and opinions on the current situation; they all want to clean up the turbulent situation and stabilize it. Some people who tended to be conservative stood up to support the old culture and the old system, explained the reasons for their support to the current monarchs and ordinary people, and found theoretical basis for the old culture and the old system. There are also people who rise up to criticize or oppose the old culture and the old system; there are also people who want to correct them. There are still people who want to build a new culture and new systems to replace the old ones; there are still people who are opposed to all cultures and systems at all. These people all said their own things based on their own opinions, and they all "have reasons for what they say and make sense." This is the study of the philosophers, and most of it can be called philosophy. This is an era of ideological liberation and an era of developed ideas, which is rare in Chinese academic history.
All scholars are "scholars" by profession. "Shi" was originally the last level of nobles in the feudal system; but during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, "Shi" became a general term for talented people. Before the aristocracy collapsed, all knowledge, etiquette, music, etc. were in the hands of the aristocracy, and the common people had no share. At that time, experts with knowledge and skills were exclusively trained by the nobles, and they were all officials. After the collapse of aristocratic politics, some nobles lost their power and became poor, unable to support their own experts. These experts lost their jobs and lived among the people, selling their knowledge and skills to make a living. Anyone with power and money can hire them on a temporary basis; at first they mostly served nobles, but they were not limited to one noble family. In this way, some free professions developed; those who relied on these free professions to make a living gradually formed a special class, namely the "scholars" of "scholars, farmers, industry and commerce". These "scholars", these experts, later opened their doors to teach students. The more disciples you have, the stronger your reputation will be and your status will be higher. In addition to performing their own professions, they could not help but study the culture and system of the time based on their specialized knowledge and skills. There are various opinions and opinions. "Think of changing the world with his own way" 1. This is how all the schools of thought arose.
The first person to teach disciples and promote the class of "scholars" who were neither farmers, workers, businessmen, nor officials was Confucius. Confucius was named Qiu. His family was originally a nobleman of the Song Dynasty. He was poor and lost power, so he lived in the Lu Kingdom. He himself became a Confucian scholar; a Confucian scholar's profession is teaching and conducting rituals, but he was just an "old teacher." There is a special feature of his teaching, that is, "teaching without distinction" 2. He recruited a large number of students, regardless of their wealth, as long as they paid a certain amount of tuition. All the students he accepted were taught to read precious ancient books such as "Poems" and "Books", as well as etiquette and music. In the past, only nobles could enjoy these. Confucius was the first person to popularize academic knowledge. He also took his students to travel around the country and talked about the kings of the world; this was something that had never happened before. He alone started the trend of lecturing and lobbying, and was the ancestor of the "scholar" class. He was the defender of the old culture and the old system, and in this manner founded the so-called Confucianism. The so-called old culture and old system mainly refer to the culture and system of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Confucius believed that it was created by King Wen and Duke Zhou. Continuing the career of King Wen and Duke Zhou was his own mission. He himself said, "Relate without writing, believe but love the past." 3. What he said, what he believed in and what he liked were all the culture and system of the Zhou Dynasty. "Poetry", "Book", "Ritual", "Music", etc. are representatives of Zhou culture, so he used them as compulsory subjects for students. These were originally the heritage of the Communist Party of China, but later each school began to talk about their own new doctrines and did not talk about these things; only Confucianism who talked about these things always "stated but did not write". Therefore, "Poems", "Books", "Li", "Music", etc. have become the exclusive products of Confucianism.
Confucius was a learned and versatile man, and his lectures were multi-faceted. The purpose of his lectures is to cultivate "people", to cultivate people who serve the country, not to cultivate scholars from a certain family. In addition to teaching students to read various books and learn various homework, he also paid more attention to the cultivation of personality. He said that a person must have a true temperament, be compassionate, and be able to treat oneself with respect to others. This is called "straightforwardness," "benevolence," "loyalty," and "forgiveness." In everything, you only need to ask whether you should do something or not, not whether it is useful or not; you only care about righteousness and do not care about profit. Such talents are qualified to engage in politics and serve the country.
Confucius' political theory is "nominalism". He thought that the collapse of the system and the chaos of classes at that time were all due to the unfair reputation. The king does not have the way of being a king, the ministers do not have the way of being a subject, the father does not have the way of a father, and the son does not have the way of a son. If the reality and the name cannot be consistent, the world will naturally be in chaos. The way to save the times is "lord, minister, father, son, son." 4. If the names are corrected and the social order is restored, the feudal class will be restored. He found a theoretical basis for the feudal system. This principle of correcting names is derived from the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and various calligraphy works of ancient historians. His so-called "statement without writing" actually means speaking as writing, which is to theorize the old culture and old system and maintain them. His contribution to Chinese culture lies here.
After Confucius, Confucianism also produced two great masters, Mencius and Xunzi. Mencius's name was Ke, and he was from Zou; Xunzi's name was Kuang, and he was from Zhao. These two masters represent the two schools of Confucianism. They also all supported the culture and institutions of the Zhou Dynasty, but further theorized and idealized them. Mencius said that human nature is good. Everyone has a heart of compassion, shame and disgust, a heart of resignation, and a heart of right and wrong; these are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and other good qualities. As long as they can be expanded, they will become good people. These good deeds are collectively called "intolerance." The Holy King was born out of his "intolerance" and developed "intolerance for government" 5. This is "benevolent government" and "kingly government". All political and economic systems are designed for the people, and the king is also designed for the people - but this is no longer the spirit of the feudal system. The opposite of Wangzheng is Hegemony. The overlord's various production facilities sometimes seem to be for the people, but in fact they are just a means to achieve good reputation, profit, and honor. Xunzi said that human nature is evil. Human nature is the nature of life, and not only does it not have any good elements, it also has evil elements such as competition and indulgence. But people with considerable intelligence and talent can gradually improve and learn well; over time, habits will become natural, and with dedicated work, they can reach the level of a saint. So goodness is man-made. Mencius opposed utilitarianism, but he paid attention to it. When he discussed the distinction between kings and hegemons, he also focused on utility. Mencius paid attention to the morality of the sage king, but he paid attention to the authority of the sage king. He said that in the early days of the people, they indulged in lustful fights and became a mess; the sage kings established a society and state in order to clarify divisions and reconcile disputes. Etiquette is the order and standard of society, and its function is to understand; music is to mediate emotions, and its function is to reconcile conflicts. Starting from utilitarianism, he found a theoretical basis for all cultures and systems.
Confucian scholars are mostly unemployed refugees from the upper class; the system supported by Confucianism and the morals spoken and practiced by Confucianism are also spoken and practiced by the upper class. There are also lower-class unemployed refugees who were originally farmers and workers, but most of them became samurai. Samurai are experts whose profession is to help others fight. Mo Zhai was born as a warrior. Mo Zhai, the founder of the Mohist family, was a native of Lu. He later became a doctor in the Song Dynasty, but his background was probably very humble. "Mo" originally meant a prisoner doing hard labor, probably a nickname; "Zhai" was his name. The Mohists were despicable people, so they did not hesitate to use that nickname to call themselves their school. The Mohists were organized into groups, and their leader was called "Big Master"; Mozi was probably the first "Big Master". They are not only experts in fighting wars, but also in making war equipment.
But the Mohists are different from other warriors in that they have doctrines. Although they make a living by helping people fight wars, they oppose wars of aggression; they only help the weak and small countries that are invaded with defense work. "Mozi" only talks about the tools and methods of defense, but not the offensive aspects. This is their "non-offensive" doctrine. They say that the greatest harm in the world lies in the mutual fighting between people; everyone in the world should treat others as themselves and help each other, not only to benefit others, but also to benefit themselves. This is the doctrine of "universal love". The Mohists pay attention to utilitarianism, and only consider valuable things that are beneficial to the country and the people. The benefit of the country and its people lies in their prosperity; anything that can make the people wealthy is useful, and anything else is useless or harmful. They were the spokespersons of the common people, so they opposed the aristocratic Zhou Dynasty culture and system. They advocate "frequent burial", "short mourning", "frugal use" and "non-pleasure", which are all contrary to Confucianism. They said that they followed the thrifty and diligent Xia Yu as their law. They also believe that there are gods and ghosts who can reward good and punish evil; this is also the old belief of the lower class. Confucianism and Mohism are actually both conservative; one just sticks to the old ways of the upper class, and the other sticks to the old ways of the lower society.
It is Taoism that is fundamentally opposed to all cultures and systems. Taoism comes from hermits. Confucius encountered many people who "shunned the world" in his life; they really ridiculed Confucius. These people are knowledgeable and learned. When they see that the world is too chaotic and difficult to save, they become passive and adopt an indifferent attitude towards worldly affairs.
They ridiculed Confucius for "knowing that something is impossible but doing it" 6. It is a thankless effort; they themselves are smart people who know that something is impossible but do it and take care of themselves. Later, there was Yang Zhu, who was also of this class, but he theorized this attitude and established the doctrine of "for me." He advocates "preserving the truth throughout life and not burdening the body with things" 7. If you give him the world in exchange for a hair on his calf, he will not do it. Although the world is big, it is an external object; although a hair is small, it is a part of oneself. The so-called "truth" is nature. What Yang Zhu said was just to teach people to do no harm to the nature of life; "escaping from the world" is the way to "preserve the truth throughout life". However, the world is constantly changing, and avoiding the world may not necessarily avoid harm. Yang Zhu's teachings are limited here. The theories of Laozi and Zhuangzi seem to be based on this and expanded upon. Yang Zhu is really a pioneer of Taoism.
It is said that my surname was Li Ming'er, a hermit from the state of Chu. The Chu people were a new ethnic group in the south and had little influence from Zhou culture. They often had radically new ideas. It seems that it is no accident that Confucius met those hermits in the state of Chu. Zhuangzi was named Zhou and was from the Song Dynasty, but his thoughts were close to those of the Chu people. Lao Xue believes that changes in things in the universe follow certain laws. This is true in the natural world and also in the human world. This is called "constancy". If you comply with these laws, you don't need to avoid harm, you can naturally avoid harm. Therefore, it is said that "Knowledge is always known as Ming" 8. The greatest law of change of things is that the opposite occurs when things go to extremes. When dealing with things in society, it is best to start from the negative side. "If you want to suppress it, you must strengthen it; if you want to weaken it, you must strengthen it; if you want to destroy it, you must strengthen it; if you want to seize it, you must strengthen it." 9. "If you want to be straight, you must bend it. Great skill is like clumsiness, great argument is like indifference.” 10. In this way, if you use retreat to advance, there will be no conflicts. Because the extremes of things are opposite, the implementation of various social and political systems often results in the opposite of the original purpose. "When laws and regulations flourish, thieves abound." 11. To govern the world, you need to do something, but this is thankless. It is better to eliminate all systems, follow nature, do nothing, and govern without doing anything. Then do everything and treat everything. Nature is "Tao", the general principle for the creation of everything in the world. Things are born from the Tao, which is a concrete manifestation of the Tao. The principle by which a thing arises is called "virtue", and "virtue" means "getting". Therefore, everything in the universe is natural. This is the fundamental thought of Lao Xue and also the fundamental thought of Zhuang Xue. But Zhuang Xue went further than Lao Xue. They advocate absolute freedom and absolute equality. All things in the world are changing all the time, and it is natural for them to be uneven. Everything must be allowed to take its course; all distinctions and standards are unnecessary. The social and political systems, which are rigid and inconsistent, only harm human nature in vain. Therefore, saints are unacceptable; Confucianism and Mohism are "shameless" 12. According to Zhuang theory, everything in the world is not bad, and all opinions in the world are wrong; it does not matter about things or me, nor does it matter about right and wrong. Even death and life are natural changes and both are welcome. If you understand these, you will be able to become one with nature and become a perfect person who "does not enter without being content." The two schools of Lao and Zhuang were collectively called Taoism in the Han Dynasty.
Zhuang Xue’s exclusion of right and wrong was due to the influence of the “debators” at that time. "Debators" were called famous scholars in the Han Dynasty and originated from litigants. One of the leaders of the debaters, Zheng Guodeng Xi, was a famous litigator in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Another leader, Liang Xianghuishi, was also an expert in law. Deng Xi's ability lies in his ability to use words to describe laws and regulations, "taking right as wrong and taking wrong as right." 13. Language is often ambiguous; he can analyze the meaning of language and use it to make various different or even opposite meanings. explain. In this way the doctrine of the debater was developed. The debaters at that time included Hui Shi and Gongsun Long. The Huishi School said that each individual object in the world has many properties; but these properties are all revealed through comparison, so they are not absolute. Everything has similarities and differences. From the same aspect, we can say that all things are the same; from the different aspect, we can say that all things are different. Similarity and difference are all relative, this is called "contractual difference" 14.
Gongsun Long was from Zhao. His school does not focus on individuals but on fundamentals. He says that concepts have independent and separate existence. For example, when you look at a hard and white stone, you can only see the whiteness but not the hardness; when you touch it, you can only see the hardness but not the whiteness. Therefore, the white nature and the solid nature are separate. Besides, there are many white things in the world, and there are also many hard things. Some are white but not hard, and some are hard but not white. It can also be seen that whiteness and hardness are separated. Whiteness makes things white, and hardness makes things hard. Although these must be seen due to specific objects, they actually have independent existence, but they are just latent. This is called "Li Jian Bai" 15.
This kind of discussion is contrary to ordinary people's feelings and common sense, so at that time, it was considered "weird theory", "Qi Ci" and "useless to argue" 16. But this purely theoretical interest has its value in philosophy. As for the debaters' views on social politics, they are close to Mohism.
Confucianism, Mohism, and Taoism all have a common attitude, which is to rely on the ancient sages to establish their own opinions; they all rely on the words of ancient sages to respect themselves. Confucius entrusted it to King Wen and Duke Zhou, Mozi entrusted it to Yu, Mencius entrusted it to Yao and Shun, Lao and Zhuang entrusted it to the legendary figures before Yao and Shun; each one is more ancient than the other, and each one is superior to the other. Legalists are the only ones who become ancient without relying on the past. Legalism comes from "magicians" 17. Magicians are experts whose profession is politics. The result of the collapse of aristocratic politics is, on the one hand, the liberation of the common people, and on the other hand, the centralization of power by the monarch. At this time, the scope of the country was expanding day by day, and the organization of society became more and more complex. Neither rule by man nor rule by ritual is applicable. The magicians created a new political method to help the monarchs at that time organize their national affairs and serve as their advisers. This is the rule of law. At that time, the trend in real politics and all aspects was to change from the past - respect for monarchy, prohibition of private education, and emphasis on the rich. Magicians embraced this trend and theorized about it.
There are three schools among them: emphasis on power, emphasis on technique, and emphasis on law, and Han Feizi is the master of them all. He was originally a Korean aristocrat and studied under Xunzi. He adopted the theories of Xunxue, Laoxue and Bianzhe to create his own style; he said that momentum, technique and law are all "the tools of the emperor"18. and each one is indispensable. The manifestation of power is rewards and punishments. Only when rewards and punishments are strict can laws and techniques be implemented. Because human nature is evil after all. Shu is the king's skill in controlling his subjects. Comprehensive verification of names and facts is an example. For example, if someone is taught to be a certain official, he should be able to achieve certain results according to the official's name and position. The monarch can then evaluate him accordingly to see if he can match his name and reality. Another example is when a minister has a suggestion, and the monarch asks him to do it to see if he can do what he said. Rewards that match the name and reality, otherwise punishment. The law is the standard of rules and regulations. If a wise master controls the law, then as long as the mediocre master abides by it, it can be cured. A monarch who can use Dharma, Technique, and Power at the same time can control ten thousand people at once, stop by stillness, and rule by inaction. All the scholars talked about politics, but they were all non-professional and mostly focused on ideals. Only the Legalist doctrine emerged from practical politics and was practical. Most of China's later politics were dominated by Legalist doctrine.
In ancient times, nobles had experts in etiquette and music, as well as experts in witchcraft and numerology. The original greatest use of etiquette and music was in funerals and sacrifices. Experts in rituals and music for funerals and sacrifices also use witchcraft and blessings; these two people are colleagues who often live together. Wu Zhu is certainly superstitious; rituals and music originally also had superstitious elements. Experts in etiquette and music later became Confucian scholars; experts in witchcraft and arithmetic became alchemists. They have a very close relationship and pay attention to some of the same things. The so-called Yin and Yang family in the Han Dynasty came from alchemists. Ancient magicians paid attention to the so-called "interaction between heaven and man", believing that heaven and man influence each other. At the end of the Warring States Period, some people even promoted and theorized this idea, making it a consistent doctrine. This is the Yin Yang family.
The leader of the Yin and Yang family at that time was Zuo Yan, a native of Qi. He studied "Yin and Yang News"19. and created the theory of "Five Virtues Beginning and Ending"20. "Five Virtues" refers to the virtues of the five elements. The Five Elements is an ancient belief. Zuo Yan believes that the five elements are five natural forces, the so-called "virtue". Every virtue has its own cycle of ups and downs. When it is in its prime, everything in heaven and earth is governed by it. When it has exhausted its fortune and declined, and has been overcome and overcome by another virtue, the other virtue will continue its destiny. Wood beats earth, metal beats wood, fire beats metal, water beats fire, earth beats water, and this goes from beginning to end. Events in history are manifestations of these natural forces. Each dynasty represents a virtue; dynasties are constantly changing, and one family name cannot be preserved forever. The Yin Yang School also talks about benevolence and righteousness, but it is influenced by Confucianism. At that time, Confucianism also began to be influenced by them, teaching "Book of Changes" and writing "Yi Zhuan". During the Qin and Han dynasties, Confucianism was almost mixed with them; most of the Confucian classics of modern writers in the Western Han Dynasty were based on the Yin and Yang schools. Later, although "Ancient Classics" swept away some "extraordinary" and "weird" theories 21., the ideas of the Yin and Yang School have been deeply rooted in people's hearts and are unbreakable.
At the end of the Warring States Period, ordinary people gradually felt the need to unify their thoughts. Qin Prime Minister Lu Buwei was the first person to make such an attempt. He taught many disciples to co-write a book called "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals". The books of various scholars that are handed down now were probably compiled and compiled by the Han people; they probably compiled various chapters from the same school and titled them a certain scholar. So they are not systematic works. This is not the case with "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals"; it is the first complete book. The reason why Lu Buwei compiled this book was to break it into a whole, gather everyone's strengths, and unify his thoughts. His tone is Taoist.
Qin Shihuang unified the world, with Li Si as prime minister, and implemented unified thinking. He burned books and prohibited the world from hiding "Poems, Books and Hundreds of Languages" 22. But the time was not yet ripe after all, and Qin soon died, and Li Si failed. Therefore, in the early Han Dynasty, various schools of thought were still very prosperous.
At the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Huainan King Liu An imitated Lu Buwei's old wisdom and taught his disciples to compile a "Huainanzi", which was also based on Taoism and wanted to unify his thoughts. But it was not him who succeeded, but Dong Zhongshu. Dong Zhongshu suggested to Emperor Wu: "Except the Six Classics and the teachings of Confucius, all schools are prohibited. Only when heresy ceases can order be unified, standards can be clear, and the people can know the path they should take." 23. Emperor Wu accepted his words. . From then on, the emperors used fame, wealth and wealth to promote their own Confucianism, and Confucianism was unified under one authority; the atmosphere of extreme freedom of speech and thought in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period disappeared. At this time, an unprecedented political situation opened up, social and economic changes gradually formed a new order, and ideas gradually unified, which was also a natural trend. In this new order, farmers still account for the majority, the patriarchal society still remains, and some of the old ethics and systems can still be applied, but they have been popularized. On the other hand, in order to create various new political and social systems, we must also refer to the old ones. Confucianism must be used here. Confucian scholars are familiar with previous classics and familiar systems, and can idealize and theorize them to make those things orderly and impressive. Although other schools also have political and social theories, they do not have specific methods. Even if they do, they are not complete and cannot catch up with Confucianism. In this era of construction, they naturally cannot compete with Confucianism. The supremacy of Confucianism is also natural.