Laozi-the founder of Taoist school
Lao Tzu, surnamed Li Minger, the word Bo Yang. I have two possible identities, one is Lao Dan and the other is Lao Laizi. China was a thinker in the Spring and Autumn Period. The exact place of birth is unknown, but historical records show that Laozi was Qu Renli in Li Xiang, an ancient county of Chu. Lao Dan used to be the custodian (librarian) of Tibetan history. He is the author of the Taoist classic Tao Te Ching, and his theory was later developed by Zhuang Zhou. Taoist descendants regard Laozi as a master. Compared with Confucian Confucius, Confucius once asked Laozi about etiquette in history. By the time of Wuzong in Tang Dynasty, Laozi was designated as the 18th incarnation of Taishang Laojun, one of the Sanqing gods. But the early Taoists thought that Laozi was a servant of Taiqing God.
Philosophical thinking
Laozi tried to establish a theory that included everything in the universe.
Lao Tzu believes that everything follows this law (Tao):
The interior of the thing itself is not single and static, but relatively complex and changeable. Things themselves are the unity of yin and yang.
Opposing things will transform into each other, that is, yin and yang transformation. Law (morality) comes from the law (Tao) of things.
Laozi's "inaction" is not aimed at "inaction", but at "doing something" Because according to the "Tao" mentioned above, "inaction" will be transformed into "promising".
The genius of this idea is that although it is not aimed at obtaining benefits subjectively, it can achieve benefits better objectively.
From "heaven and earth are not pushed, the sun and the moon are self-evident, the stars are self-ordered, and animals are born." This is natural, why bother? " (See the fourth paragraph of Confucius' question in Lao Zi's Story below):
Laozi's concept of "nature" is not similar to that of God. The law of all things (Tao) is stipulated by nature, that is, "Tao is natural." Some people misunderstand the meaning of nature here.
It should be pointed out that:
In fact, human life is like the existence of the universe, and no one can rationally point out its purpose.
Therefore, the irrational choice of a certain goal (s) becomes the only choice.
Laozi looked at the problem from the infinite standpoint of Tao.
So Lao Tzu only said "method" and didn't point out "purpose".
This gives us a revelation: why do people suffer because they deliberately achieve their goals? Being idle and carefree is also a way to treat people.
As for Laozi's world outlook, according to the previous Tao, "nothing" and "being" (the existence of everything is "being") will be transformed into each other. Therefore, Lao Tzu believes that everything in the universe comes from nothingness and moves towards nothingness. For example, the life and death of human beings (see the following story about the death of a saint told by Lao Zi: "Once upon a time, Lao Dan was born out of nothing" and "Today, Lao Dan died out of nothing").
Confucius and Confucianism
Confucius (September 28th, 55 BC1year, that is, from August 27th of the lunar calendar to April of1year, that is, February1/day of the lunar calendar) was named Zhong Ni. Confucius was a thinker, educator and politician in the late Spring and Autumn Period, the founder of Confucianism, and the master of China ancient culture. When he was alive, he was known as "the sage of heaven" and "the muduo of heaven". He was one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the society at that time, and was honored by later rulers as Confucius' sage, the most holy, the most holy teacher and the eternal teacher. He is the first of the "Top Ten Cultural Celebrities in the World". Confucius' Confucianism has a far-reaching influence on China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Vietnam.
Ideological system
political thought
Its core is "courtesy" and "benevolence". In the general plan of governing the country, he advocates "governing the country by virtue", which is the noblest way to govern the country. This strategy of governing the country is also called "rule by virtue" or "rule by courtesy". In fact, this strategy broke the traditional creed that courtesy is no less than Shu Ren's, and broke the original important boundary between nobles and civilians.
Confucius' theory of benevolence embodies the spirit of human nature, while Confucius' theory of propriety embodies the spirit of etiquette, that is, order and system in the modern sense. Humanism is the eternal theme of mankind, which is applicable to any society, any era and any government, and order and institutional society are the basic requirements for establishing a civilized human society. This humanitarianism and order spirit of Confucius is the essence of China's ancient social and political thought.
Economic thought
The most important economic thoughts of Confucius are "emphasizing righteousness over profit" and "enriching the people". This is also the main content of Confucian economic thought. Have a great influence on future generations. Confucius' so-called "righteousness" is a social moral standard, and "profit" refers to people's pursuit of material interests. In the relationship between "righteousness" and "benefit", Confucius put "righteousness" in the first place. He said, "see what you want". People are required to consider how to conform to "righteousness" in the face of material interests. He believes that "righteousness follows", that is, it can only be obtained if it conforms to "righteousness". Confucius even argued in The Analects of Confucius, Zi Han, that it is necessary to talk less about profits, but don't shy away from them. Zuo Zhuan's Two Years of Success records that doing immoral things to get rich is like floating clouds, disdaining ill-gotten gains. Confucius also believed that the attitude towards "righteousness" and "benefit" can distinguish "gentlemen" from "villains". A "gentleman" with morality is easy to understand the importance of righteousness, while a "villain" who lacks moral cultivation only knows "profit" but not "righteousness". This is what Confucius said in the Analects of Confucius, "A gentleman is righteous and a villain is beneficial." Some people think that since Confucius emphasized "righteousness", he must despise manual labor. This view is wrong. According to the Analects of Confucius, he was very dissatisfied with Fan Chi, a disciple who wanted to study agriculture, and called him a "villain" because Confucius believed that people should have greater ideals and pursuits and shoulder greater responsibilities. He wants his students to be value bearers, not farmers.
Because of Confucius' conservative political attitude, the reform of economic system also reflects conservative thoughts. For example, in the fifteenth year of Shandong (594 BC), the "initial tax mu" was implemented to legally recognize the legal status of private land, which was a major economic reform in the Spring and Autumn Period; However, according to Zuo Zhuan, Confucius recorded the "first tax mu" when compiling Spring and Autumn Annals, with the purpose of criticizing its "indecency". People are not rich, and you are not rich. It is also recorded in the Analects of Confucius that Confucius advocated "benefiting people", that is, doing things that are beneficial to the people. On the other hand, he advocated that taxes should be lighter, and the apportionment of corvees should not delay the farming season. According to the Analects of Confucius, Confucius also preached to politicians at that time, demanding that politicians should not be too extravagant and pay attention to thrift. He said: "If you can't afford luxury, you can be frugal." It is better to be practical than to feel inferior. At the same time, it also advocates "saving and loving others". This includes applying Confucius' thought of "benevolence" to the economic field.
Educational thought
Confucius put forward for the first time in the history of China that people's natural qualities are similar, and the differences in personality are mainly influenced by acquired education and social environment ("similar in sex, far from learning"). Therefore, everyone can be educated and everyone should be educated. He advocated "no education for all", founded private schools and enrolled more students, which broke the monopoly of slave owners and nobles on school education and expanded the scope of education to civilians, conforming to the trend of social development at that time. He advocated "learning officials" and became an official after his studies. The purpose of his education is to cultivate a political gentleman, who must have high moral quality. Therefore, Confucius emphasized that moral education must be placed in the first place in school education ("Disciples are filial when they enter, filial when they leave, sincere and trustworthy, loving the people and being kind. Learn to write if you have spare capacity "). The main contents of Confucius' moral education are "courtesy" and "benevolence". Among them, "courtesy" is the moral standard, and "benevolence" is the highest moral standard. "Rite" is the form of "benevolence" and "benevolence" is the content of "ceremony". With the spirit of "benevolence", "ceremony" can be truly enriched. In terms of moral cultivation, he put forward methods such as determination, self-denial, practice, introspection and courage to reform. "Learning and knowing" is the dominant idea of Confucius' teaching thought. While advocating being shameless and eager to learn, he emphasized the combination of learning and thinking ("learning without thinking is useless, thinking without learning is dangerous"), and at the same time, he should "apply what he has learned" and apply what he has learned to social practice. He first proposed heuristic teaching. He said, "No anger, no anger, no anger." This means that when students think seriously and reach a certain level, teachers should inspire and inspire students. He was also the earliest educator who adopted the method of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude in teaching practice. Through conversation and individual observation, he understands and is familiar with students' personality characteristics. On this basis, according to the specific situation of each student, different educational methods are adopted to cultivate talents in morality, language, politics and literature. Confucius loved education and engaged in educational activities all his life. He never tires of learning and teaching. We should not only set an example, but also teach by example and influence students with our own example behavior. He loves his students and they respect him very much. The relationship between teachers and students is very harmonious. He is a shining example of ancient teachers in China. Confucius' educational activities not only cultivated many students, but also put forward his educational theory on the basis of practice, which laid a theoretical foundation for China's ancient education.
Aesthetic ideology
The core of Confucius' aesthetic thought is the unity of "beauty" and "goodness", and the unity of form and content. Confucius advocated "poetry teaching", that is, combining literature and art with political morality, and taking literature and art as a means to change social politics and an important way to cultivate sentiment. Confucius believes that a perfect person should cultivate his self-cultivation in three aspects: poetry, ceremony and music. Confucius' aesthetic thought has a great influence on later literary theories.
Mencius-One of the Representatives of Confucianism
Mencius (372 BC-289 BC), whose name and font size were not recorded in the ancient books before the Han Dynasty, appeared three different font sizes after the Cao Wei Jin Dynasty, such as Ziche, Viscount and Yu Zi, which may be attached by later generations, but they are not necessarily credible. People from Zoucheng, Shandong. When I arrived in Shandong at the age of fifteen or sixteen, there was a saying that I worshipped Confucius' grandson Sisi. Mencius was a famous thinker in ancient China and a representative of Confucianism in the Warring States Period. He is the author of Mencius. Inherited and carried forward Confucius' thought, became a generation of Confucian masters second only to Confucius, and was known as "the sage of Asia", and was called "Confucius and Mencius" together with Confucius.
Main ideas: people-oriented thought, benevolent government theory, and teaching children by changing.
Mencius' educational thought is also the inheritance and development of Confucius' educational thought of "teaching without class" (The Analects of Wei Linggong). They all regard education for all as the means and purpose of benevolent governance.
Moral ethics
Mencius summarized moral norms into four categories, namely, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom. He believes that "benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom" is something that people are born with, and it is not obtained from the external world that exists objectively. At the same time, the human relations are summarized into five kinds, namely, "father and son are close, monarch and minister are righteous, husband and wife are different, old and young are orderly, and friends are trustworthy". Mencius believed that benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom were the most important. Benevolence is based on filial piety and filial piety, and it is the basic moral standard to deal with the blood relationship between father and son. He believes that if every member of society uses benevolence and righteousness to deal with all kinds of interpersonal relationships, the stability of feudal order and the unity of the world will be reliably guaranteed.
"Benevolence and righteousness" is the core idea of Mencius' moral theory. Mencius' "benevolence and righteousness" has a class nature and is based on the feudal hierarchical society. However, he opposed the exploitation of the people by the rulers and the war between the state and the family.
Theory of human nature being good
Taoism in Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi (about 369 BC-286 BC), a famous Zhou, failed the exam in the year of birth and death, about the same time as Mencius. During the Warring States Period, Mengyi (now a native of Mengcheng, Anhui Province and Dongming County, Shandong Province) was a lacquer garden official. Famous thinker, philosopher, writer, representative of Taoist school, successor and developer of Laozi's thought. Later generations called him and Lao Zi "Lao Zi". Also known as Mongolian official, Mongolian Zhuang and Mongolian old man. According to legend, he lived in seclusion behind the South China Mountain, so at the beginning of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty named Zhuang Zhou as a South China real person, and called his book Zhuangzi the South China Classic.