How did ancient scholars in China explain the word "harmony between man and nature"

Interpretation of harmony between man and nature

The most basic way of thinking of China people is reflected in the relationship between heaven and man. It holds that man and heaven are not a subject-object relationship, but a relationship between part and whole, distortion and original appearance, or a relationship between beginning learning and the highest realm. There are three main viewpoints: Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.

Confucianists

Confucianism believes that heaven is the source of moral concepts and principles, and people are endowed with moral principles, which is a natural but unconscious unity. However, because human beings are blinded by all kinds of fame and desire, they can't find their own moral standards. The purpose of human practice is to get rid of the blind of external desires, "seek their peace of mind" and achieve the state of consciously fulfilling moral principles, which is what Confucius said: "Seventy people do whatever they want without exceeding the rules."

Chan sect

In Zen Buddhism, human nature is originally Buddha nature, but it is obsessed with secular ideas and desires without realizing it. Once you realize that these thoughts and desires are not true, you will reach the ultimate state of becoming a Buddha. So they put forward that "worry is bodhi, and ordinary people are buddhas". What is the state after implementation? On a certain scale, it is still a bit like the original intention of Taoism to conform to nature. Therefore, there is such a saying in Zen quotations: "It is wonderful to get enlightenment and carry firewood and water." "Zen is like this old cow, thirsty to drink water and hungry to eat grass."

dao jia xue pai

Taoism believes that heaven is nature and man is a part of nature. Therefore, Confucius said: "People have it, and the sky is also there; One day is also one day. " Heaven and man are one. However, because people have formulated various laws, regulations and moral norms, people have lost their original natural nature and are not in harmony with nature. The purpose of human behavior is to "abandon wisdom", break down these barriers imposed on human body, liberate human nature, return to nature again, and reach a spiritual realm of "everything is one with me".

materialistic

Harmony between man and nature: the material world is absolutely moving, and thinking reflects existence, so thinking should also be constantly changing and advancing with the times.

Ji Xianlin's New Interpretation of "the Unity of Heaven and Man"

"The Unity of Heaven and Man" is a very important proposition in the history of China's philosophy. Chinese and foreign scholars who manage the history of China's philosophy cannot avoid it. However, the understanding, explanation and elaboration of this proposition are quite different. The depth, breadth and angle of understanding among scholars are also different. This is natural, and almost no proposition in the history of philosophy has the same explanation.

Let's briefly talk about the origin of this proposition, then introduce several influential scholars' explanations of this proposition, and finally put forward their own views, which can also be called "new solutions". As for philosophy, including China's, I can only say that I am a curious person who stands outside the philosophy door and looks inside, even though I am not a complete layman. However, things in the world are often strange. Real experts are "ignorant" and turn a blind eye to some of the most frequently discussed issues, while laymen are naive but simple when they see some doorways. This phenomenon is easy to explain in psychology and is not uncommon in human life and scientific research. I hope I am such a layman.

The view of harmony between man and nature in Huangdi Neijing

abstract

The medical classic Neijing, which marks the rise of China's medicine from empirical medicine to theoretical medicine, advocates "harmony between man and nature", which is embodied in the theory of "correspondence between man and nature". Neijing repeatedly emphasizes that man "corresponds to heaven and earth, is in harmony with the four seasons, and participates in heaven and earth" (spiritual pivot pricks the true and evil), "man is in harmony with heaven and earth" (spiritual pivot reading, spiritual pivot water mirror) and "is one with heaven and earth" (Su Wen, the pulse should be subtle). It is believed that "Heaven", as an objective existence independent of man's spiritual consciousness, and "Man", as a subject with spiritual consciousness, have a unified origin, attribute, structure and law. Therefore, the concept of harmony between man and nature in Neijing is the purpose of the concept of heaven in Huangdi Neijing.

The theory of "correspondence between man and nature" in Neijing can be discussed from two aspects: first, the connotation of "harmony between man and nature" is seen from the macro-ecological environment, that is, the essence and phenomenon of heaven and earth (universe); First, from the essence and phenomenon of life (small universe), we can see the connotation of "the unity of man and nature".

Correspondence between heaven and earth

China ancient astronomy refers to the celestial kinematics with the earth as the reference object, that is, the celestial body is the expansion of the earth, or the earth is the contraction of the celestial body. According to ancient astronomy, the celestial axis formed by the north and south poles of the celestial sphere is on the same straight line with the earth axis formed by the north and south poles of the earth, and the angle between its axis and the orbit of revolution is 66.5 degrees, that is, no matter where the earth moves to the orbit of revolution, the inclination direction of the earth axis and the ecliptic plane remains unchanged, and the north pole always points to the vicinity of Polaris. This is the most essential expression of heaven and earth induction.

Moreover, this theory is also supported by modern astronomical magnetism theory, which holds that the celestial body is a huge magnet, and the north and south poles of the celestial axis are the north and south poles; The earth is a small magnet between celestial bodies. The north and south poles of the earth are also the north and south poles, which are magnetically induced with the two poles of celestial bodies, so the axial inclination of heaven and earth is the same, and in a straight line, this is one of the most fundamental connotations of heaven and earth induction. [1] All kinds of induction of five movements and six qi described in Huangdi Neijing are based on this induction. This kind of induction or magnetism belongs to intangible energy, and the name of Chinese medicine is "Qi".

Heaven and man are identical. / Man is an integral part of nature.

The essence of qi communication is that heaven and earth are based on qi, and the most important embodiment of the unity of man and nature is also the harmony with qi. Su Wen and Liu Weizhi put forward the concept of "Qi Tong": "Those who talk about heaven seek foundation, those who talk about land seek position, and those who talk about people seek Qi Tong. Yue: What is Qi Tong? " As the saying goes, "harmony between people is more important." The basis of seeking, the position of seeking and the communication of seeking qi all refer to the basis of seeking qi. Heaven, earth and people are the results of their distribution in different fields, so they can be recognized and mastered. "Over Shu Tian, the weather is dominant; Under Shu Tian's rule, the earth was dominated by gas, and people communicated with each other, and popularity followed, so did everything. "(ditto) that is, people and everything are born at the turn of heaven and earth, and people are born strong and old, and everything is born. Although people have their own special ways of exercising, their basic forms-rising and falling, going in and out and closing the door-are the same and connected with everything in the world.

The generation of qi communication is due to the difference between the cold and heat of the earth and the solar terms of Yin and Yang in the sky. Arguably, winter is the cathode in a year, the climate should be the coldest, summer is the anode, and the climate should be the hottest, so the sun in the sky is in summer and lunar day is in winter. But in fact, the earth has a process of absorbing heat during the day and dissipating heat at night. Therefore, after the winter solstice, the peak of cold storage is reached through three solar terms: slight cold, severe cold and beginning of spring, that is, the coldest earth is the three solar terms after the winter solstice, and the climate begins to warm up as soon as beginning of spring arrives. Zhang Jiebin attaches great importance to the difference between these three sections. His Illustration of the Analects of Confucius says: "However, the qi of one year old begins with the child, and the spring of four seasons begins with it. Why? On the day when Jianzi was founded, although the yang spirit began in the yellow bell, it still lurked underground, and it had no biochemical function and its ugly transformation to yin. Sanyang began to be prepared, so the wind came and everything came ... So although Yang begins with Zi, spring must begin with Yin. " That is, the temperature of the sky begins with the child, the temperature of the earth begins with the yin, and the gas between heaven and earth differs by three sections. Due to the difference of three gas exchanges, the "ups and downs" and "gas trading positions" between heaven and earth have also changed. The so-called "gas exchange position" means that the position of gas exchange moves due to the upper and lower climate. Because the yin-yang qi differs from the cold-heat qi by three stages, "there is a certain orientation, but the qi may not arrive", that is, there is a certain order and time for the 24 solar terms in a year, and there is nothing wrong with the cold and warm order. However, the phenomenon that gas does not reach but does not reach often occurs.

Heaven and man are one, and heaven and earth are in the same law.

The law of heaven and earth is the unity of time and space. Law originally belonged to acoustics. Because ancient astronomy needed mathematical operations in the process of making calendars, it used law numbers to complete this process, thus resulting in the combination of law and calendar. The idea of "the unity of law and calendar" is closely related to the ancient theory of qi, which in turn promoted the study of the regularity of qi and the rhythm of human life in Huangdi Neijing. (1) Rhythm corresponds to the spirit of Heaven. "Historical Records and Laws" said: "Wang Li's laws and regulations are based on the six laws, which are the foundation of all things." In ancient times, according to the theory of "the same kind moves with each other", things that move with each other transmit their interaction through Qi, thus closely linking temperament with Qi. There was a "law of equality" in the Han Dynasty. According to the book law of the later Han Dynasty, in a closed room, it can be seen that the ash in the instrument tube with ash at the end will escape after a certain solar term [2]. This experiment, which links the length of musical instruments with the qi of heaven and earth, is very important for us to understand the five tones of the five internal organs. In this way, people associate different seasons of the same year with the climate and phenology of that season. The so-called twenty-four solar terms and seventy-two periods are nothing more than the "qi" in the sky, which has twenty-four or seventy-two manifestations in a tropical year, and at the same time causes different sounds and tastes in different seasons. Therefore, the five tones and twelve methods can be said to be another expression of the quantification of "Qi". The names of the twelve laws show the different manifestations and functions of "Qi" in different periods. Such as: Ling Huang: yellow, medium color, bell, plant also. ... yang plants in death, breeds everything, and is also the element of six qi. The traveler of Nanlu said that Yang's journey was also in Tibet. (Biography of Historical Records of Huo Zhi) If you are a guest, you will say that Yang will lead you, so that things will follow. ("Han Shu Li Zhi") Those who clip the bell say that the shade clips help the bush, and the spirit of all directions is propagated. (Hanshu Laws and Regulations) (2) The time period (calendar) corresponds to the movement of the qi of heaven and earth. The ancients discovered long ago that the unique time period of the earth is related to the specific position of the earth in the solar system, such as day and night, 24 solar terms, four seasons and years. Day and night are the cycles of the earth's rotation. 2008 is the period when the earth revolves around the sun. The change of solar terms and seasons is caused by the angle between the earth axis and the orbit of revolution. Behind these time rhythms is the periodic change of solar radiation on the earth, and the rhythm of human life is also caused by this characteristic of the earth. Therefore, the movement changes of the four seasons of heaven and earth are consistent with each other, and the rhythm of human physiological functions also changes with the movement changes of the four seasons of heaven and earth. Therefore, Huangdi Neijing, based on the principle of the same law between heaven and earth, created a unique "five movements and six qi" calendar. This calendar pays special attention to the relationship between climate change, human physiological phenomena and time period. It is a concentrated expression of the concept of integration of time and space in the academic field of Neijing, reflecting the integration of heaven and earth from a very broad perspective of time and space, and reflecting the existence of the integration of heaven and man to meet the needs and control heaven. As far as the four seasons are concerned, "spring, long summer, autumn harvest and winter storage are common." People should also respond. "(Ling Shu Shun Qi is divided into four hours a day) People's physiological functions and activities change with the changes of four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. As far as December is concerned, "in February of the first month, the weather began to speak, the atmosphere originated, and the popularity was in the liver." "March and April, sunny, atmospheric, popular in the spleen. May and June, the weather is strong, the atmosphere is high, and the popularity is in the first place. In July and August, Yin Qi began to kill people, which became popular in the lungs. 9. 10, Yin Qi began to freeze, and the earth began to close, which made people feel popular. In November and December, the ice is restored, the land is harmonious, and the popularity is in the kidney. " (The Final Theory of Su Wen Yao Zhen Jing) With the passage of several months, popularity plays a role in different parts. As far as a day is concerned, "the sun is dominant in one day, and the people of Pingdan are prosperous, while the sun is strong in the middle and weak in the west, and the valve is closed." (Su Wen Angry Days) With the rise and fall of the yang in nature, the yang in the human body also changes.

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Medical connotation of harmony between man and nature

The general principle of the relationship between man and heaven in the system of heaven, earth and man in Neijing is to seek common ground and correspond to the same kind. Shun is beneficial, and reverse is harmful. "Huainanzi Spiritual Practice" said: "Heaven and earth are interlinked, and everything is always the same". "Transportation and communication" refers to the communication in the process of movement, not the structural connection in the static space. "Overall unity" refers to the pursuit of the same spirit in sports mode, rather than the concept of equality in material structure.

That is, the medical connotation of the unity of man and nature mainly refers to how man, as a "small universe", corresponds to the universe of heaven and earth. Among them, the isomorphism between man and nature is the most superficial view of the unity of man and nature in Neijing, and the similarity between man and nature is the concrete embodiment of the analogy thought of traditional Chinese medicine, and the similarity between man and nature is the mathematical correspondence between man and weather. In a word, this is an analogy between life process and its movement mode and the laws of nature, and it is a systematic theory based on the laws of nature and the laws of personnel.

Homomorphism between man and nature

The isomorphism between man and nature is the surface of the concept of harmony between man and nature in Neijing. Neijing holds that the structure of human body reflects the structure of heaven and earth.

For example, "Spirit Pivot, Evil Guest" said: "Where the sky is round, the head is round enough to respond. The sky has the sun and the moon, and people have two eyes. There are Kyushu in the land, and people have nine tricks. There are storms, and people have joys and sorrows. There was thunder and lightning, and people were talking. There are four seasons in the sky and people have limbs. There are five tones in the sky and five hidden things in people. There are six laws in heaven and six hospitals in man. It's winter and summer, and people have cold and heat. There are ten days in the sky and ten fingers in people. Chen has twelve, and people have ten fingers, stems and pendants to respond; Women are less than two quarters, in order to pretend to be a human figure. There are yin and yang in the sky, and people have husband and wife. There are 365 days in a year and 360 days in a man. There are mountains on the ground, but people have shoulders and knees. There are deep valleys on the earth, and people have armpits. There are twelve waters in the earth and twelve meridians in man. The earth has springs and veins, and people have Stephy. There is grass on the ground, but there is hair on people. There are days and nights, and people lie on it. There are stars in the sky and people have teeth. There are mountains on the ground and people have sections. There are rocks on the ground, but people have high bones. There are trees on the ground, but people have tendons. The land has a gathering place, and people have meat. Years old have December, and people have twelve knots. There is no grass in the four seasons, and people have no children. " This man is also the counterpart of heaven and earth. "

Here, the morphological structure of the human body corresponds to everything in the world. The structure of the human body can find its counterpart in nature, and the human body seems to be the epitome of heaven and earth. Its purpose is to emphasize the unity of human existence and natural existence.

Man and nature are similar.

As we know, it is the spirit of the Han Dynasty to talk about the harmony between heaven and man, ancient and modern, and to seek mutual understanding. "Han Dong's Biography of the Book" said, "The sign of heaven and man is also the way of ancient and modern times. Confucius is like the Spring and Autumn Period, taking Heaven as the slap, taking human feelings as the humble, pointing to the ancient and testing the present. " Su Wen-qi alternation theory says: "People who say that the weather is good will respond to others. Those who speak well of the past will be tested today. Those who are good at words and kindness will show it in things. People who speak well are because heaven and earth have changed. Those who are fickle must understand the truth of the gods. "

In China's ancient philosophy, heaven and man are always connected with the past and the present. This phenomenon of the integration of natural philosophy and historical philosophy is an important feature of China's philosophy.

However, the similarity between man and nature emphasized in Neijing is different from Dong Zhongshu's mysterious induction of man and nature. The classification of the five elements in Su Wenjin Kui Yan Zhen and Su Wen Yin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun is based on the recognition of the internal movement mode, state or expression form of things. For example, "Su Wenjin Kui Yan Zhen" said: "The blue of the East, into the liver, opens its eyes ... it should be four o'clock, it should be an old star ... it stinks." It is to classify orientation, season, climate, stars, generations in the sky, underground categories, grains, five animals, five tones, five colors, five flavors and five flavors in human five zang-organs, five tones, five senses, pathological changes and five elements, and identify similar movement patterns through the universal relationship between categories. It is "seeking common ground", not the same view of material structure.

In addition, Lingshu Tian Tong also divides people into five categories according to the principle of Yin and Yang: Taiyin, Shaoyin, Sun, Shaoyang and the balance of Yin and Yang. It is believed that the people in the lunar calendar are full of yin but not yang, the people with less yin are full of yin and less yang, the people with less yang are full of yang and less yin, and the people with peace of yin and yang are harmonious. This innate Yin-Yang "Qi", as the basis of human nature, is not involved in the pre-Qin philosophers' theory of human nature. As a medical work, Neijing pays little attention to the sociality of human nature and whether human nature can be changed. Instead, it discusses human nature with qi, seeks the basis of human nature from congenital physiological factors, pays attention to the five-state disease and treatment of human beings, and provides theoretical guidance for health care and treatment.

Man and nature are the same.

Traditional culture and traditional Chinese medicine based on the concept of "harmony between man and nature" are characterized by emphasizing Taoism, spirit, nothingness, harmony and potential, and their core is "image" and "number" Ignorance of "image number" is ignorance of Chinese civilization, and it is even more impossible to fully understand and interpret Chinese medicine. [3]

The so-called "image" refers to the visualization and systematization of experience. The characteristics of "elephant" are dynamic, not simply imitating its shape, but imitating its changes. The image is still holographic and everything is closely related. As far as Neijing is concerned, the Tibetan image system is a theory to explain the relationship and interaction law between the five zang-organs and other life activities through the change and comparison of images in life activities.

Among them, "image" is divided into legal image, meteorology and image. For example, "The sun in the sun is connected with the summer air" (Su Wen's "Six Tibetan Elephants") is the image of the legal profession; At the four seasons of yin and yang, "its glory is in the face" (ibid.), which is the weather you see; "It is full of blood" (ditto) is the image you see. The theory of Tibetan images is one of the most important theoretical bases in Neijing. It is a system composed of five "images": five internal organs, five senses, five bodies, five aspirations, five sounds and five emotions. It is explained by the theory of five elements, which fully shows the comprehensive function of harmony between man and nature. "This is a conscious rather than spontaneous effort to point out that the inside and outside of the human body are unified according to the basic law of' Yin-Yang and Five Elements'." [4] It can be seen that Tibetan elephant is a concept with both philosophical and scientific meanings.

In a word, the description of the similarity between man and nature in Neijing aims at inferring the hidden function through known natural phenomena. For example, the stomach, large intestine, small intestine, triple energizer and bladder are regarded as viscera to control diarrhea without hiding; The heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney, which are as quiet as the earth, are hidden, and the main ones are hidden without diarrhea.

Man is like nature.

The relationship between image and number is just as Zuo Zhuan said: "Things are born with images, raised with images, and raised with numbers." Neijing holds that life movement, like nature, is rational, vivid and countable. By taking pictures and comparing classes, we can know the mathematics of gas transportation. Su Wen's Six Masters' Theory of Tibetan Elephants discusses mathematics first, and then discusses Tibetan elephants, which contains profound meaning.

"Number" is the relationship between image and symbol, and it is the arrangement, application and practicality in time and space. It is different from the western mathematical concept, which does not describe the relationship between spatial form and quantity, but describes the relationship between time mode and motion through analogy.

The theory of Tibetan image in Neijing is expressed by the sequence of five elements. Nature takes four seasons yin and yang as the core, and four seasons yin and yang include five natural factors, such as five prescriptions, five qi and five flavors, and their generic and regulatory relationships. The human body takes the five zang-organs yin and yang as the core, and the five zang-organs yin and yang include physical, physiological and pathological factors such as five bodies, five senses, five veins, five senses and five diseases, and their generic and regulatory relationships. The four seasons of Yin and Yang in nature and the five internal organs of the human body accept and communicate with each other, and * * * follows the law of coordination and restraint in dealing with Yin and Yang and the five elements.

Therefore, the same number between man and nature is the embodiment of the idea that the periodicity of time and the order of space are organically combined in Neijing. It is emphasized that the natural rhythm of human body is a physiological and pathological rhythm closely related to astronomy and meteorology, so there are transport rhythm, day and night rhythm, monthly rhythm and annual rhythm. Its basic inference is that the first anniversary (four seasons) is a complete cycle, and the four seasons have five elements. Therefore, there are four seasons in a year, the liver governs spring, the heart governs summer, the lung governs autumn and the kidney governs winter. The monthly rhythm is related to the phase of the moon and the corresponding "prosperous" season of the year. Its circadian rhythm also divides the day into four seasons, that is, the qi of the five internal organs of the human body shifts in turn with the circadian rhythm of the day, so that the liver dominates the morning, the heart dominates the afternoon, the lung dominates the sun, and the kidney dominates the midnight. (See Su Wenyi's Method of Storing Gas.)

In essence, the "small universe of human body" in Neijing is by no means a generalization, and it is believed that there is some mathematical consistency between human body and universe. For example, Neijing discusses that human breathing is completely related to the operation of the sun, and the law that breathing is connected with heaven and earth. The law that qi pulse rotates day and night with cold and heat is related to the Sunday operation law of the sun. For example, Lingshu No.50 Battalion directly links the qi and blood circulation of human body with 28 nights a day, and thinks that the sun circulates 28 nights a week and the qi and blood circulation of human body runs for 50 weeks (25 weeks in the day and 25 weeks in the night). In this way, every night when the sun walks, the qi and blood walk 1 for 8 weeks. One breath, six inches, 270 breaths, and one breath. Furthermore, the sun stays in each row for one night (which means that 28 nights are evenly distributed, but in fact, 28 nights are not equal in length), and people breathe 486 breaths, so it is estimated that people have 13500 breaths a day and night. "On Ren Ping Meteorology" said: "When a person breathes his pulse again, he breathes again. When he breathes his pulse at a fixed speed, he breathes five times, he jumps in one breath, and his life is called Ren Ping. The average person is not sick. " That is, the average person takes a breath, and the pulse is five times, the pulse is once, and the breath is 1 inch 2 points. In this way, the running length of the gas indicates the frequency of the pulse and thus the time period. This kind of mutual simulation between human body and universe based on the premise that the atmosphere runs through everything is everywhere in the theory of Neijing, which emphasizes the inherent essence of harmony between man and nature.

Generally speaking, the analogy between man and nature in Neijing is a super-logical and super-conceptual analogy. For example, as an elephant, the success of the five elements in Neijing is not the generalization of physicists, but the classification of philosophers' feelings about the world, the classification of philosophers' feelings about the world's material and its temperament, and the "spirit of seeking common ground", rather than the equality view of material structure. The similarity, similarity and communication of feelings are bound to have profound physiological, psychological and even physiological significance. This intuitive life experience of "harmony between man and nature" is the real starting point for us to understand the characters in Neijing. [5]

In fact, modern physics has fully realized the value of this way of thinking. As capra said in The Road to Physics, quantum theory and relativity are the two pillars of modern physics, which shows that the reality of atoms and subatomics is beyond classical logic, and we can't describe it in everyday language. Oriental mysticism doesn't care about the concept of transcending logic, which is why the model of reality in eastern philosophy is better than that in western philosophy.