What are ancient metaphysics and geomantic omen in China?

The word "Metaphysics" was first found in some historical classics of the previous dynasty compiled in the early Tang Dynasty and some notes on Yang Xiong's Taixuan. At that time, "metaphysics" mainly refers to three aspects:

First of all, it is about learning and applying the knowledge of San Xuan. Since the Han Dynasty, there have been people who specialize in Zhuangzi, Lao Zi and Yi in China, and slowly, a kind of metaphysical knowledge has emerged around San Xuan.

What needs to be reminded here is that there have always been two Zhuangzi in the history of China. One is Zhuang Zhou, a Song countryman in the Warring States Period, who wrote the inner chapter of Zhuangzi that we are seeing now. Another Zhuangzi is Zhuang Zun, a Shu native in the late Western Han Dynasty, namely Yan Junping, who wrote The Tao Te Ching (also known as Lao Zi Gui Zhi). Moreover, according to Zhang Xingcheng's poem "Sir" in the Song Dynasty's "Huang Wu Wai Pian", there must be Zhuang Sheng's internal and external chapters in the Yangtze River. In this way, we know that foreign languages are also the collections of gentlemen and scholars. "We can know that the inside part of Zhuangzi we are seeing now was actually revised by Shao Yong according to Yang Xiong's theory, while the outside part of Zhuangzi was directly fabricated by Shao Yong according to Yang Xiong's theory.

Second, it refers to the mixed knowledge of Taoism, Confucianism and San Xuan. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, due to the development and changes of society, the national cultural system of Dong Zhongshu's "exclusive respect for Confucianism" adopted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was crumbling. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China, a large number of northern nationalities and Western Buddhism entered the Central Plains, which made China's self-contained "national studies" ("universities" headed by rites and music, archery and imperial examination education, and "primary schools" headed by books) also suffered great impacts. However, China's traditional culture has great vitality after all. Among the intellectual classes in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, some wise men mainly absorbed the knowledge of various schools with "San Xuan", thus forming a unique form of "metaphysics" knowledge and bringing it into the official educational knowledge system. For example, Shen Yue of the Liang Dynasty (441-513) recorded in Biography of River Merchants:13 years (AD 437) "Wang Yikang of Pengcheng wanted to take it, and Stuart left the long history as the yin of Danyang, but he was not allowed to go up, so he took Shang as the yin and settled in the south. It's called nanxue. " Xiao Zixian (489-537), a native of Liang Dynasty, wrote in "Shu Qi Guanbaizhi": "In the sixth year of Taishi (456-47 1), Chinese studies were abolished, and metaphysics, Confucianism, literature and history were initially established. Each department has ten bachelor's degrees. " This is the earliest record that "Metaphysics" was formally incorporated into the official school.

Third, it refers to the epistemology of Shu learning and harmony. In the Tang Dynasty, the rulers saw the growing popularity of Buddhism from abroad, and for the sake of cultural balance, they always advocated Taoism and Taoist culture in China. In the 21st year of Kaiyuan, Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, personally edited The Legend of Tao Te Ching to publicize Lao Zi and his family to the officials and people. "In the twenty-ninth year of Kaiyuan, it began with the worship of Xuange in the capital. It is said that students who set roads are poor. " The "Taoju" mentioned here is the same title as "Mingjing, Jinshi and Tongsheng" in the imperial examination at that time. "Tianbao 13, Emperor Xuanzong's Royal Government Building, trying to pass the tomb code, Dong Xiao Xuan Jing, gorgeous rhetoric, outstanding military planning and so on." (Biography of Old Tang Yang Wan) Xuan Jing here refers to the theories of Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, Yan Junping and Yang Xiong. It can be seen that, due to the official efforts of the Tang Dynasty, "Metaphysics" had a high status at that time, and such knowledge was formally included in the national imperial examination promotion procedure.

Feng Shui is represented by terms such as "dragon, cave, sand, water, direction and bureau".

"Dragon" refers to the direction of mountains;

"Cave" refers to a burial pit;

"Sand" refers to the mountains around Fenshan;

"Water" refers to the flowing potential of lowlands or water;

"Xiang" refers to the sitting direction of the mountain;

"Bureau" refers to the situation in front of the grave.

Ancient geomantic omen paid attention to the truth of dragons, the truth of caves, the ring of sand, the embrace of water, the right direction and the right position. Feng Shui believes that "Wang Sha prospers people and water prospers", that is, the surrounding mountains are good and future generations are prosperous; When the flow of water conforms to the pattern, wealth will flourish. As for fame, I will ask for it on the day of burial.