Respecting and criticizing Confucius in traditional culture

Recently, I read the articles and works of several seniors about world culture and Chinese culture, and I thought about it myself. East-West Culture and its Philosophy", Mr. Liang Shuming said, "the world's culture in three phases of the reproduction", "from the quality of the world's future culture is the renaissance of Chinese culture, similar to the revival of modern Greek culture. This is a good prophecy and a good wish. Mr. Liang called it "the renaissance of Chinese culture", i.e., the renaissance of Confucius' rituals and music. These were his words in the early 1920s. In the 1980s, when he said, "How should we evaluate Confucius today?" The Oriental Scholarship Review quoted his predecessor, Xia Zengyou, from Ancient Chinese History: "Confucius is the source of Chinese politics and religion, and the history of China is nothing but the history of Confucius alone." Liu Yizheng, a senior student, quoted Yun, A History of Chinese Culture: "Confucius is the center of Chinese culture, and without Confucius there would be no Chinese culture. Confucius passed down thousands of years of culture, Confucius opened thousands of years of culture." Mr. Liang said, "The words of the two teachers are more or less the same, but Mr. Liu said it more clearly." The public's words were very thought-provoking, and made me think of China's "respect for Confucius" and "criticism of Confucius". I remember that ten years ago, Mr. Ji Xianlin, in his article "An Objective View of Chinese Culture," said of Western and Eastern cultures, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river." I think the world cannot help but follow this law when evaluating Confucius. Here, let's start with "honoring Confucius". When Confucius was alive, although he was "the gatherer and distributor of peach gardens at the time of the Holy Spirit", he did not seem to be very successful. Mr. Lu Xun once said that Confucius decided to become a "modern saint" after his death, but he suffered a lot while he was alive. Although you used to be a superintendent of police in Lu, you immediately stepped down and lost your job. And despised by powerful officials, ridiculed by savages, even surrounded by mobs and starved to death. Though the apprentice received 3,000 dollars, he only used 72. However, there was only one person who could really be trusted. One day, Confucius said indignantly, "If you can't do anything, you can float on the sea by the fork. If you follow me, what's the reason?" From this negative program, we can see the news. Why did Confucius "become a modern saint" only after his death? It starts with the modern "Dictatorship of Confucianism", thanks to Liu Bang and Emperor Wu. Originally, Liu Bang did not worship Confucianism, nor did he worship Confucius. According to "Han Book Li Eat biography", a knight said to Li Sheng: "Pei Gong do not like Confucianism, the guests to Confucian top, Pei Gong managed to solve its crown, drowning in it; and people talk, often cursing." It was said that Liu Bang "disliked Confucianism". This is a "good story". However, Liu Bang's thinking also changed, from "disliking Confucianism" to respecting Confucianism and Confucius. Uncle Sun Tong played a key role here. At the beginning of his career, when he was the emperor, he was having a banquet with his ministers. "The ministers were drinking, drunk, or shouting, and they were fighting for the victory, pulling out their swords and hitting the pillars." Liu Bang "suffered from it." Therefore, Uncle Sun Tong made his proposal, and he "joined in the ceremonies of the Confucian scholars." Afterwards, he saluted with this "courtly ritual". This initiative had an immediate effect. The history books say that "the lords from below had nothing to fear and nothing to honor," and "nothing dared to make trouble and nothing was not honored." So Liu Bang was very satisfied and said, "I am called emperor today." Taking this opportunity, Sun Tong immediately advised Liu Bang, "All the disciples of the Confucians have been with their ministers for a long time. I hope that Your Majesty will become an official." So all the Confucian students were given official titles, and each of them was rewarded with "five hundred pieces of gold". They said happily, "Uncle Sun is a sage who knows the current affairs of the world." In other words, Uncle Sun Tong was also a "sage". From Liu Bang's "dislike of Confucians" to the awarding of prizes to Confucian scholars, we can see the wonderful use of Confucian scholars. Let's talk about Emperor Wu. During Emperor Wu's reign, he abolished the Hundred Schools of Thought and dedicated the Six Classics, but Ji An said he "practiced benevolence and righteousness from the inside." What's going on here? This shows that Emperor Wu of Liang did not necessarily worship Confucianism wholeheartedly. From then on, this problem can also be seen in a conversation between Emperor Yuan and. Yun: At the age of eight, he was made crown prince.G

Seeing that Emperor Xuan Di had used a lot of clerical judges and was sentenced to punishment, Emperor Xuan Di made a big fuss, saying, "The Han family has its own system, which is supposed to be bullying others. How can it be pure moral education and Zhou politics? Moreover, the vulgar Confucianism is not fashionable, so it is ancient but not modern, so that people are dazzled, the name does not match the reality, and they do not know what to keep, so how can they be appointed!" Nai sighed, "If you mess with my family, you're a prince!" The saying, "The Han family is a self-contained system" is very meaningful. It's been a "hegemonic motley crew" since probably Liu Bang. That's the French style of the Han dynasty, but Emperor Yuan didn't know that, so Emperor Xuan was generous. I wrote an article 50 years ago, "The Chronicle of Emperor Yuan Di", which also talked about this issue. As for the respect for Confucianism and Confucius after the Han Dynasty, Liu Yizheng (柳诒徵), in his "Yishi Newspaper Humanities Weekly" (益世报人文周刊), gave a very detailed account. Confucius was gradually elevated from "the most holy" to "the most accomplished and sacred king of propaganda", and even Confucius' descendants were named "Dukes of Feast". Then, Mr. Liu said, "Without Confucius, there would be no Chinese culture", which can be said to be a letter and a signature. At the same time, Mr. Lu Xun's saying that "the existence of Confucius in China was raised by powerful people" is not without his faith. Confucius was not only praised by powerful people in ancient times, but also in modern times. This is what Lu Xun saw with his own eyes. He said, "The existence of Confucius in China is held up by the powerful, the saint of the powerful or those who want to be powerful, and has nothing to do with ordinary people. Thirty or forty years ago, anyone who wanted to be powerful, that is, who wanted to be an official, read the Four Books and the Five Classics and made eight-legged essays. There were people who called these books and essays "stepping stones". In other words, once the civil service examination is over, these things will be forgotten at the same time, just like the bricks used when knocking on the door. When the door opens, the brick is thrown away. This person, Confucius, has been a "stepping stone" after his death. This is even clearer when we look at the recent example of Confucius, who had bad luck at the beginning of the 20th century, but was remembered again in Yuan Shikai's time. Not only did he revive the sacrificial rituals, but he also created a new and quirky ceremonial dress for pilgrims to wear. And with it came the monarchy. But the door didn't knock in the end, and Yuan died outside. All that remained were Beiyang warlords, who used it to knock on another happy door when they thought they were doomed. General Sun, who occupied Jiangsu and Zhejiang, resurrected the pot-throwing ceremony by randomly chopping up the people on the road; General Zhang Zongchang, who entered Shandong and couldn't even count the number of money and the number of concubines by himself, and engraved the "History of Chinese Culture", treating the sacred words as something like venereal diseases that could be transmitted through physical relations, and accepted a descendant of Confucius as his son-in-law. However, the door to happiness remained open to no one." In Lu Xun's view, Yuan Shikai, Sun, and Zhang Zongchang, powerful people, like those in ancient times, honored Confucianism and Confucius for their own use. From Liu Bang to Yuan Shikai, the cultural tradition of changing dynasties and honoring Confucius lasted for a long time though. As for 3 criticizing Confucius, it can also be said from ancient times. Not to mention the mockery of Confucius by the hermits who lived with him, there were only Wang Chong in the Han Dynasty and Li Zhi in the Ming Dynasty. Wang Chong was famous for "criticizing Confucius" during the period of "criticizing the law and the Confucians". He wrote "And Jie Ting Miscellaneous Writings Two Collections of Confucius in Modern China" and "The Analects of Confucius". But "asking Confucius" is not the same as "criticizing Confucius". He only said that Confucius' words were not always right, and did not think that "the words of the sages are not trustworthy." There is nothing wrong with asking such a question. Wang Chong also wrote "Ask Confucius" to criticize the Confucianism of the Han Dynasty. However, his criticism of Han Confucianism was not the same as his criticism of Confucius. He said that Confucianism's teaching of the Five Classics had lost much of its rationale. The former Confucians could not see the end of the story, but it was empty. The latter Confucians believe in the words of their former teachers, and use the words of the old narratives of learning. If you are a teacher, you become a professor. In time, you become an official, work hard to get ahead, be careful, and take good exams. Therefore, the false words are constantly being said, but the true things are gone, and the Five Classics are gone. Besides, Wang Chong never criticized Confucius. Male

In the period of "criticizing the law and Confucianism", Li Zhi was also known as "criticizing Confucius". It seems that Li Zhi criticized Confucius more solidly than Wang Chong. When the Ministry of Rites called Zhang Wenda dismissed Li Zhi, said he "to Confucius right and wrong for the lack of evidence, fools have a birthday." Li Zhi's "The Right and Wrong of Confucius" did say something like, "I don't care about the first three generations," he said. He said, "I don't care about the first three generations; after the three generations, there are Han, Tang, and Song. In the intervening thousands of years, who was not right or wrong, really not right or wrong? The right and wrong of Confucius is the right and wrong, so there is no right and wrong, but those who give the right and wrong again, can they be safe? The right and wrong between husband and wife, such as age, day and night change, not the same. Yesterday is not today, nor is today the day after tomorrow. Though Confucius is resurrected today, I don't know how to do right or wrong, but I can punish his profession! At a time when the whole world is "taking Confucius' right and wrong as right and wrong", Li Zhi's remarks are indeed "crazy and vicious". It seems that the problem is not that he criticized Confucius, but that he went against the rule of official Confucianism. This was harmful to contemporary politics and religion, as well as to the people of the world. However, when the Dajinguo interrogated Li Zhi, Li Zhi said, "There are many books written by sinners that are beneficial to the holy religion." After Li Ji's death, Yuan Zhongdao wrote his "Self-record" and also said that his works "greatly replenished the world and the hearts of men." In this case, I don't know who to believe. From the above examples of respect for Confucius, we can see that the powerful and wealthy people of all times generally respected Confucius; all Confucian scholars who "knew the times", that is, those who knew the times, all respected Confucius. In the past two thousand years, only half of Wang Chong and one Li Zhi were ignorant. Li Zhi was suspected of criticizing Confucius, so he was not allowed to die. History shows this and makes one wonder. Of course, for those whose minds resist, there is something more modern. In the last hundred years, the world has changed as never before. Not only did China change its own dynasties, but there was also a massive influx of Western culture, and China's cultural doors had to be opened. In the face of the onslaught of Western culture, a new question arose about respecting and identifying with Confucius. The May Fourth Movement was not a movement to criticize Confucius, but to advocate a "new culture". After the downfall of the "Confucius store", there was no place for Confucius to escape from heaven and earth. Of course, in the past few decades, there were criticisms and respect, and opinions were not uniform. This seems to be related to political views. Kang Youwei advocated the reform and restoration of the law and wrote "The General Introduction to the Century of Tibetan Buddhism" to establish "Confucianism" and promote Confucianism. Zhang Taiyan advocated racial revolution, wrote "Biography of Li Wenling", said "Confucius' teaching is only to keep up with the times", "Confucianism tends to be profitable." This is a group of loopholes. "This is a batch of loopholes. However, Zhang's approval of this hole was halfway through. In the year of Confucius Reformulation Examination, he said that he was "excited and despised Confucius" because he "abhorred Confucianism". Zhang's change of heart, and his later "both since the people, gradually into the decadent Tang", may not be unrelated. In addition, Liu wrote a letter to advocate "respecting Confucius" and "reading the scriptures"; Lin Qinnan's "A Brief Commentary on the Study of the Sons" said, "Overcome Confucius and Mencius, and Shovel the Ethics", meaning that "The hearts and minds of the people will be lost, and all will be lost." All these respect Confucius. After May 4, Li Dazhao's "Letter to Liu Yimou" and Lu Xun's "Reply to Cai Heqing, Principal of the University Hall" were still influential. Li Dazhao said, "The workers' movement in China is also a movement to break with Confucius' classism. According to Confucius' theory, for the working class, they are always put in the position of being ruled and sacrificed by the ruling class." He added, "Confucius is not an eternal truth. Confucius, or any other ancient person, is only a philosopher for a generation, never a model for all time. His theories have been in China for more than 2,000 years, all because China's agrarian economy has not changed much, and his theories suited that economic situation. Now that the economy has changed, his theories have fundamentally faltered because they cannot be adapted to modern life and society in China. There are a few Confucius worshippers who visit Qufu every day, dressed in Xiahong

"To say that "the law has a name and a religion" and "is not a permanent truth" and to offer such an explanation from an economic point of view was novel at the time," he said. However, in Lin Qinnan's opinion, it is probably also a nonsense of "covering up Confucius and Mencius and eradicating ethics". I have already quoted Lu Xun's article, so I will not discuss it here. But there is one thing to be said: although Lu Xun's article can be said to be a critique of Confucius, his critique is mainly a critique of Confucius. Lu Xun's arguments are not based on "economy" but on facts. From Yuan Shikai to Zhang Zongchang, there are stories about honoring Confucius, which Lu Xun tells in an interesting way. These stories do not seem to be fabricated by Lu Xun, but they are thought-provoking. Having mentioned "respecting Confucius" and "criticizing Confucius" above, I would like to return to the "rejuvenation of Chinese culture". What is the "revival of Chinese culture"? To put it plainly, there are only two words: "respect Confucius". "Respecting Confucius is also a tradition of Chinese culture. When Mr. Liang Shuming talked about "the culture of the future world", he also said with great certainty: "The future world will be in line with Confucius' aim to change the law through rites and music." He also said, "Although we are not going to change the law through rites and music, we are going to change the law through rites and music. He also said, "Although I dare not say that we will use the whole set of Confucius' rites and music in the future, the main purpose of the rites is just like that, and you can't avoid it." This statement was so confident that it could not be questioned. However, I was puzzled and dared to ask: What is the pattern of "Confucius' rites and music"? Mr. Liang didn't say anything about it here. I don't know if it has been mentioned elsewhere. Only Lu Xun said that Yuan Shikai restored Confucius' "sacrifice" before he became emperor, and that this "sacrifice" had to be "in line with Confucius' purpose"; Sun also revived the "pot-wrestling rite" mentioned earlier. Sun also resurrected the "pot-wrestling ceremony" mentioned earlier. It is a pity that I was too late to see it. But can such rituals be called "Confucius' rites and music" and "in line with the purpose of Confucius"? I don't know yet. Note: "Explaining the Reasons for the Ideological Changes in Modern China from an Economic Perspective," p. 64, Beijing Normal University Press, June 1988, 1st edition. Confucius in Modern China, p. 3, China Bookstore, April 1992, 1st ed. See Chapter 25, 0755-79000, Encyclopedia of China Press, March 1988, 1st ed. See Liang Shuming's Essence of Scholarship. The Past, Present and Future of the Chinese Language, vol. 369, quoted in Chinese Cultural History, Literature, Education, Science and Technology, p. 13. Vol. 3, 0755-79000, reprinted in November 1982 by Shanghai Bookstore. See The Analects of Weizi. Liu 0755-79000, cited in 0755-79000, pp. 105-104. Sanlian Bookstore, Beijing, first edition, June 1998. See Shenzong shilu (The actual record of Emperor Shenzong), China Bookstore, Beijing, March 1985, 1st ed. See Li Shouchang, Appendix to Ming Shilu Class Compilation, p. 136, Hebei Education Publishing House, December 2000, 1st ed. Same as the commentary