The position of Confucian culture, the concept of Confucian cultural circle, the world and the East Asian world

The position of Confucian culture, the concept of Confucian cultural circle, the world and the East Asian world

The formation of Confucian cultural circle is the inevitable result of the historical evolution of China's traditional world outlook. China's traditional world outlook has experienced a long historical evolution. Although it has changed and expanded to varying degrees, its development is impressive. According to Sima Qian's Records of the Historian, the Five Emperors were once honored as the "sons of heaven" by the princes of the "world", and all "the sun and the moon shine and the wind and rain come" were under the jurisdiction of the "sons of heaven". The world can also be in the range of patrol hunting or good education. At that time, there was no clear geographical division in the world. The concept of the world is vividly expressed in the Book of Songs Beishan: "Under the world, is it the land of kings?" Is leading the land king? "Here, the concept of" the world "is not clear, but its general idea is clear, that is, a four-sided or four-sided world centered on the son of heaven.

World concept of cultural significance

By the Zhou Dynasty, the concept of the world was further clarified. Its world order is a layered defense system with the emperor as the center, the princes as the periphery, and the four barbarians as the periphery of the princes. This defense system essentially reflects Zhou people's political and ethical thoughts based on patriarchal clan system. People in the Zhou Dynasty valued "kissing" and "inside and outside". The meaning of kissing lies in the difference of love, the difference between inside and outside, from kissing to thinning, from inside to outside, from layer to layer. This is the so-called "internal vassal, external vassal, internal barbarian" (The Biography of the Spring and Autumn Ram was published for fifteen years). Summer is centered on the royal family, and it is the righteous emperor at home and the royal family abroad.

The above-mentioned world outlook of Zhou people reflects the world outlook centered on China. However, it is not only a simple geographical center worldview, but also a cultural worldview. This is what Confucianism later called the concept of "Yi Xia". Huaxia culture is superior to Siyi, so we should use Huaxia culture to transform Siyi culture and let Siyi infiltrate Deze. The world is made up of highly developed China countries and backward barbarians. This concept was further clarified and developed after the Spring and Autumn Period, and became a deep-rooted consciousness of China people.

China's traditional concept of "the world" was best implemented in the imperial edict given by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty to the Tang King of the Korean Plain. Xi Shu Yun said, "I am entrusted by destiny to cherish the land, and I entrusted Wang Haijiu to preach to the DPRK. ..... Since the king is a minister, he must be kind to me, and ... the bannermen are my concubines. ..... I have been like a child all my life, and the whole world is my minister. " ("Sui Shu" Volume Bayi Biography of Dongyi Korea) After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Goguryeo repeatedly violated Silla, Mohong and Qidan, and Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty moved a book to warn the King of Korea. Emperor Wendi claimed to be the son of heaven, regarded King Koryo as a vassal, and asked him to "observe the festival of princes and ministers, serve the righteous code of the DPRK, become a vassal himself, and leave other countries alone." At the same time, Deng Wendi also blamed herself: "It is up to me to discipline." It can be seen that the relationship between Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty and King Koryo is that of monarch and minister. Another example is Khan's daughter princess, the wife of Shabolo in Turkey, who was originally the wife of Yu in the later Zhou Dynasty. After the later Zhou Dynasty was replaced by the Sui Dynasty, Shapiro once said to Wendi: "The emperor is the father-in-law, that is, Weng, that is the husband, and that is the role model for his children." (Ibid., Biography of the Northern Emperor Turkic, Volume 84) The relationship between Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty and Shapiro Wengxu. This is the best example of the quasi-consanguinity system.

Confucianism, the key link in the East Asian world

The actual implementation of China's traditional world outlook is often bound by various historical conditions. For example, weak national strength and geographical barriers. Therefore, China's world outlook is most effectively implemented in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam in East Asia. In this way, this region has become a cultural world of its own, that is, the East Asian world.

Since the East Asian world has become a unique world, it inevitably has various characteristics different from other regions or the world, or the elements that make up the East Asian world are unique to this world. So, what are the cultural elements of the East Asian world? There is a lot of controversy about this issue. Some people say it is Confucianism, imperial examination, canon system, technology, religion and so on; Some people say that it is the relationship between political domination and obedience, and the relationship between military domination and subordination. According to the laws (i.e. laws and regulations) of the Tang Dynasty, the authority and order generated by the religion (Buddhism) of the Tang Dynasty dominated and depended on the economy; Some people say Chinese characters, Confucianism, laws and regulations, Buddhism and so on. It is generally believed that the five elements that make up the East Asian world are Chinese characters, Confucianism, law, China's science and technology and China-centered Buddhism. For example, Chinese characters were introduced to East Asia long before the founding of other countries, to Korea in the 4th and 3rd century BC at the latest, to South Korea in the 3rd century BC at the latest, to North Vietnam in the 3rd century BC at the latest, and to Japan after the latest. After the founding of East Asian countries, Chinese characters are the only public characters in East Asian countries. This situation has been maintained until modern times. The spread of Chinese characters in East Asian countries is bound to be accompanied by the widespread spread of China culture in East Asian countries. Since the five elements, such as Chinese characters and Confucianism, which are popular in the East Asian world originated in China, the formation of the East Asian world can be said to be the formation of the Chinese cultural circle.

The formation of China cultural circle has experienced a long historical development process. Only when the five elements that make up this cultural circle have appeared, can we say that the cultural circle in China has finally taken shape. After Emperor Xuandi conquered Xiongnu in the Western Han Dynasty, China's authority in East Asia was greatly improved. This historical situation fully implemented China's world outlook. At that time, Japan and North Korea had not yet completed their founding. At that time, although there were cultural exchanges in East Asia, China cultural circle could not be said to have been formed. The completion of cultural circle must wait for the completion of the construction of national form by all ethnic groups in East Asia. At that time, the Korean peninsula was divided into Koguryo, Baekje and Silla, and the Japanese state power and regime in Japan had just begun to unify small countries. After the founding of East Asian countries, China was divided into north and south. In the Five Elements, the legal system and China Buddhism were formed after the unification of Sui and Tang Dynasties. The unification of Sui and Tang Dynasties, that is, at the turn of the 18th century in July, can be said to be the formation period of China cultural circle. As for Vietnam, from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, it was always ruled by China, and the situation was somewhat special.

Among the five elements that make up China's cultural circle, Confucianism is the most crucial one, because Confucianism is the ideological basis of political rule in China and East Asian countries. From then on, we can call China cultural circle Confucian cultural circle. According to documents, Koguryo Beast King Lin established Imperial College in the second year (372), which was the beginning of the establishment of Chinese-style official school in North Korea. Confucian classics are its basic teaching materials. It can be seen that Confucianism has been strongly supported by Koguryo officials at the latest in the second half of the fourth century and has been established as an official school. In Japan, Dr. Wang Ren, a Baekje doctor, came to Japan at the beginning of the fifth century with The Analects of Confucius and thousands of words, which can be said to be the beginning of the introduction of Confucianism into Japan. Later, Confucian classics were introduced through the Korean peninsula through naturalized people (especially Baekje people). By the turn of the seventh and eighth centuries, Confucian classics had been widely circulated in Japanese society. In the second half of the seventh century, Japan began to establish Chinese-style public schools. It was completed in the early eighth century. Since the Han Dynasty, Viet Nam has been ruled by China, and at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries, it became a part of China. In the first half of the tenth century, Vietnam began to move towards independence. After independence, Vietnam absorbed China culture more actively than before. Although Confucianism was introduced to East Asian countries in different periods, it took root and blossomed in these countries and became the ruling ideology of East Asian countries.