Why is Confucianism the "root" culture of China?

Confucianism, also known as Confucianism or Confucianism, is a system of thought centered on the concepts of "benevolence as the core" and "the value of mankind," and Confucianism, abbreviated as Confucianism, is the most important traditional culture in China. The nine core ideas of Confucianism: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faith, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety and fraternity have had a profound influence on China.

Keywords:

Confucianism, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith

The Chinese nation originated in the Great River Basin, where the fertile land along the coast nourished the happy home of the ancestors. But frequent floods are a major worry that breaks the perfection. This necessitated the construction of large-scale water conservancy projects over a long period of time, so that the pioneers were accustomed to obeying the unified leadership and celebrating the brave and selfless heroes of water control. The process of combining the strength of the people to resist the force of nature and gradually winning is also a good opportunity for the ancestors to recognize themselves. Instead of God, the ancestors worshipped their ancestors who taught them the skills of survival and the heroes who led them to cure the water, and paid more attention to the hard-won peaceful life. This rational concern was reflected in the ideological realm, which led to the emergence of thoughts and speeches concerned with human beings and life itself. Pre-Qin Confucianism, which was formed on the basis of a wide range of ancient texts, is one of the masterpieces.

Confucianism is not only a feudal product, but as a spiritual thought, it has shown great vitality in the strain and development of different dynasties. His characteristic is that he is everywhere and at all times, in daily life and in small things. Confucian culture is a valuable heritage of the Chinese nation, and it is even more culturally superior. For China, the birthplace of Confucian culture, it should learn from the lessons of history, and it should neither be presumptuous enough to reject the teachings of Confucius and Mencius in their entirety, nor should it be intoxicated by history and be tied up in a pile of old papers. Crucially, China must maintain its cultural subjectivity and independence in the face of the proliferation and onslaught of various undesirable trends of thought. Briefly describe Confucianism, the core ideas of which have had a profound impact on China.

The nine core elements of Confucianism

The nine core elements of Confucianism are: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, faith, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and fraternity

Benevolence: loving people. The theoretical core of Confucius' thought system. It is the highest ideal and standard of Confucius' social politics, ethics and morality, and also reflects his philosophical viewpoints, and has a profound influence on later generations. Ren is embodied in the educational thought and practice of "teaching without discrimination". In the Spring and Autumn Period, the school was in the government, but Confucius opened the private school for the first time, and the disciples could come to be taught regardless of their births, nobility or sensitivity. Benevolence is embodied in politics by emphasizing "virtue", and the basic spirit of virtue is to love all people and give to all people. Confucius introduced benevolence into rituals and changed the traditional "rule of rites" into "rule of virtue", and he did not negate the "rule of rites", but his "rule of virtue" was undoubtedly the inheritance and transformation of the "rule of rites". Loving others is the essence and basic content of benevolence, and this kind of loving others is to extend oneself to others, from relatives to the general public. The idea of "benevolence" is to "love others as one who is benevolent", which requires the ruling class to be sensitive to the people's feelings and to oppose tyrannical government. According to Confucius, in order to realize "loving others", one must also follow the way of "loyalty and forgiveness", that is, the requirement of "do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you".

The Analects. Xue Er": "A son said: ... 'filial piety and brotherhood is the basis of benevolence! "Loving people" does not come out of thin air, it is from the love of one's own loved ones, is the basis of loving people, but "for benevolence" is not only on the "pro pro pro", but must be But "to be benevolent" does not stop at "kissing one's relatives", but must "extend oneself to others", to "take care of other people's elderly" and "take care of other people's young". And it is not easy to do this. We must take the "way of loyalty and forgiveness" of "do not do unto others what you do not want to do unto them" and "to stand up for others when you want to stand up for yourself, and to reach out to others when you want to reach out to them" as the guideline of "to be benevolent". The principle of "loyalty and forgiveness" is the criterion for "being benevolent". If we want to extend "benevolence" ("benevolent government") to the whole society, this is what Confucius said: "To return to the rites is to say benevolence; to return to the rites is to return to benevolence; to return to the rites is to return to benevolence; to be benevolent is by oneself, but by others. To be benevolent is to have been, but not to be!" In my opinion, the interpretation of the phrase "to restore one's self to the rites" is often wrong. (My own interpretation in the past was also incorrect.) In my opinion, the interpretation of the phrase "克己复礼", which means "to restrain oneself and to restore the rites", is not in line with Confucius's thinking, because it often interprets "克己" and "复礼" as two opposite sides of the same coin. The so-called "restoring propriety to oneself" means that "restoring propriety" on the basis of "restoring oneself" is called "benevolence". "Ren" is the inner quality of a person's character, and "self-restraint" depends on a person's self-awareness of his own inner qualities (i.e., the virtue of "loving others"): "Rites "is the external etiquette of human behavior, its role is to regulate the relationship between people," "the use of etiquette, and for the most valuable". It is only meaningful if people abide by the rules of etiquette consciously, which is in line with the requirements of "benevolence", so Confucius said: "To be benevolent is by oneself, but by others?" Confucius was very clear about the relationship between benevolence and etiquette: "If a man is not benevolent, how is he like etiquette? If a man is not benevolent, how is he like music?" "Rites and rituals are like jade and silk! Music clouds, music clouds, bells and drums huya!" Therefore, we can say that Confucius believed that "self-restraint" (seeking benevolence) is dependent on one's own inner self-consciousness. With the "seeking benevolence" inner self-awareness, "I want to be benevolent, the benevolence is enough", and practiced in daily life, which is "very bright and the road to mediocrity". This is "the highest and the middle of the road". "The highest and the middle" requires us to seek the ultimate concept in the ethical system, and "the middle of the road" requires us to put it into practice in our daily life. The "middle of the road" is inseparable from the "high and mighty". Even the search for the lowest ethical concept of "identity" is closely related to the ultimate concept of a certain ethical system. If we say that Confucius's "benevolence" fully discussed the relationship between "benevolence" and "man" (humanism), and had not yet had time to fully discuss the relationship between "benevolence" and "heaven", we would have to say that the "benevolence" and "heaven" were not yet fully discussed, and that the "benevolence" and "heaven" were not yet fully discussed. The relationship between "benevolence" and "man" (humanism) has not yet been fully discussed, and Mencius has not yet had time to fully discuss the relationship between "benevolence" and "heaven" (heavenly law), so Mencius has utilized the ideas of Confucius in the latter aspect, for example, he said, "When you have done your best, you will know your own nature, and when you know your own nature, you will know heaven." The human heart is benevolent, and the "heart of heaven" is originally connected. This Zhu cooking said more clearly, he said: "heaven and earth to living creatures for the heart of the person also, and the characters of the birth of the heart of heaven and earth and each get to the heart of the heart of the person also, so although the virtues of the heart of its generalization through everything, but in a nutshell, it is said to be benevolent and their own." This is from the "heart of heaven" this "benevolence", and said "the human heart" can not help but "benevolence", "the human heart" and "benevolence", "the human heart" and "benevolence". "The human heart" and "the heart of heaven" is actually connected, so Confucian ethics is actually based on a moral form of education, so the "Meanwhile" said: "Sincerity, the way of heaven; sincerity, the way of man. Therefore, the Zhongyong says, "Sincerity is the way of Heaven; sincerity is the way of man." This Confucian idea of "unity of heaven and man" undoubtedly has its own special ethical significance and has contributed to human society. For example, we are now advocating "respect for others", "five truths and four virtues", "spiritual civilization", etc. If we do not link it to the ethical thought system that has long influenced Chinese society, how can we give it a meaning? If we do not link it to the ethical thought system that has long influenced Chinese society, how can it have a foundation? The ethical concept of "respect for others" ("love for others") is precisely linked to the Confucian "benevolence". If we abandon Confucius' theory of "benevolence", criticize the "benevolent government" every day, advocate "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you", and advocate "the joy of struggling with others is boundless", we will not be able to achieve our goal of "respecting others" ("loving others"). Can you really "respect others"? Can you really love and care for others? So any specific requirements for people's social norms it must be supported by a set of ethical theories, and this set of ethical theories is the accumulation of internal traditions.

Yi: originally refers to "appropriate", i.e., behavior appropriate to the "rites". Confucius used "righteousness" as a moral principle for judging people's thoughts and behaviors.

Ritual: The political and ethical category of Confucius and Confucianism. In the long-term historical development, "ritual" as the moral norms and code of life of Chinese feudal society played an important role in the cultivation of the spiritual qualities of the Chinese nation, but with the changes and development of the society, especially in the late feudal society, it has become more and more a rope binding people's thoughts and behaviors, which affects the progress and development of the society. The idea of "propriety" is to "restrain oneself and return to propriety", that is to say, to restrain oneself and make oneself in line with the requirements of "propriety", and the "propriety" pursued by Confucius is a hierarchical system of the Western Zhou Dynasty. "Confucius pursued the hierarchical name system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and further put forward the idea of "correcting the name", that is, correcting the hierarchical order, so as to achieve the order of nobility and inferiority. This reflects the conservative side of his political thought

Wisdom: the same as "knowledge", the basic category of Confucius' epistemology and ethics. It refers to knowing, understanding, insight, knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, and so on. The connotation mainly involves the nature of knowing, the source of knowing, the content of knowing, and the effect of knowing. Regarding the nature of knowing, Confucius believes that knowing is a moral category, a kind of knowledge of human behavioral norms.

Trust: It refers to the honesty in dealing with others and the consistency between words and deeds. It is one of the "Five Constants" of Confucianism. Confucius puts "faith" as an important embodiment of "benevolence", which is a necessary virtue for the virtuous, wherever the words and behavior are true and without delusion, it will be able to gain the trust of others, and when the powers that be are trustworthy, the people will also treat each other with sincerity without deceiving their superiors.

Forgiveness: Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you; it includes the meaning of forgiveness and tolerance.

Faithfulness: To do what you want to do, do not do unto others; to do what you want to do, do not do unto others. According to Confucius, loyalty is expressed in faithfulness and honesty in dealing with others.

Filial piety: Confucius believed that filial piety and fraternal duty were the foundation of benevolence, and that filial piety was not limited to the support of parents, but should be emphasized on the respect for parents and elders, and believed that if one lacked filial piety and respect, the support of one's parents would be regarded as the same as keeping a dog, which was a great treason and unfiliality. Confucius also believes that parents may have faults, children should be polite advice, and strive to correct their parents, not absolute obedience to parents. These ideas are the very embodiment of ancient Chinese moral civilization. However, Confucius on filial piety, but also said "parents in, not far away", "three years without changing the father's way, can be called filial piety," showing the limitations of his time. Filial piety was defined by later Confucianism as a cumbersome ritual, and the Book of Rites stipulated that after the death of parents, "water and milk should not be imported, and fire should not be lifted for three days", and "countless weeping" and "physical illness" turned into mental and physical self-mutilation. In the Song and Ming dynasties, filial piety was regarded as one of the most important categories in moral theory, and the rationalist Zhu Xi advocated the absolutization of patriarchal authority. The concept of filial piety, in the evolution of different historical periods, excluding the dregs of feudalism, there are some reasonable factors, advocating the children of their parents, "respect", "respect", "old age", filial piety and loyalty to the national righteousness of the combination, advocating the death of the funeral of a thin, frugal, and so on.

Ti (悌): the feeling of respect and love for one's elder brother. Confucius attached great importance to the virtue of brotherly love, and his disciple, Yuruo, based on his ideas, put brotherly love on a par with filial piety and regarded it as "the foundation of benevolence

Confucius, as the spiritual leader and sage of ancient China for many years, founded Confucianism, which is regarded as a pillar and bloodline of China's traditional culture. Although in today's society, not many people are hanging on to the words of Confucius as a guideline for behavior and conduct, it has to be admitted that Confucius's thoughts have settled into a deep cultural psychology of the Chinese people and determined China's destiny towards an introverted way of development. However, many of the propositions and categories in Confucian culture as we now understand it are significantly different from Confucius' thinking, not only because Confucian culture has undergone changes from one generation to the next and has become very different from Confucius' original thinking, but also because we are constantly absorbing cultures from other fields, which has created an impact on our inherent thinking. In today's society, where there is a conflict of interests and a proliferation of material things, people's concepts of caring for themselves and loving others have become more and more diluted, and many of China's traditional ideological virtues have been reduced to a mere formality, or even gradually lost, which is something that makes people beat their chests and sigh in dismay. In our so-called "chopstick culture circle", where Confucianism has a strong influence, the idea of filial piety has always been regarded as the most basic principle and etiquette of being a human being. In the present era, when there are many claims about China's cultural disintegration and the lack of a spiritual pillar in China are becoming more and more widespread, what we need is to find a source of thought for the majority of the people of China to live in peace and security. I think the easiest thing to advocate and recognize at this point is the reference to filial piety in Confucius' thought. Because this is a point that everyone can personally experience, are within their reach, and this kind of thinking in our hearts also in the already rooted, acceptance is much easier. Like Confucius' thought, through educating people to be filial to their parents, and gradually extend this love to everyone in the society, so that people can learn to be "compassionate" and "intolerant", so that it can become a sincere love that harmonizes the whole world. Though love has affinity and distance, as long as the educated people have the concept of love in their hearts, it is easy to integrate all the people in the society, stimulate people's inner pride and sense of responsibility for their own nation, and make the whole nation have centripetal force, so as to maintain all the people in the society, and to keep the society smooth, stable and harmonious. Of course, in the filial piety advocated by Confucius, there are also places that stick to the superficial form, such as strictly requiring people to observe the mourning for three years, etc., and the lack of equality and democracy, such as obeying the parents. Although we can see from these places that Confucius treats filial piety with a serious and solemn attitude, in these aspects, we people today do not have to be pedantic and stick to the form, inherit the main part of Confucius' thought, accept the essence of his filial piety thought with an alternative point of view, and apply it to today's society, in order to seek for a faster development of the society. Confucius' thought is all-encompassing, as the core of his thought, the idea of "benevolence" is also the highest state of human cultivation, which is the highest criterion for guiding people's life actions and measuring people's life behaviors. For this standard, Confucius set it very high, thinking that Yao and Shun could hardly achieve it, and that he himself would not dare to do so, so most of the ideas of "benevolence" were only put forward as a kind of ideal goal, and asked people to work hard in this direction. The fact that filial piety is mentioned as a fundamental part of ren shows the importance Confucius attached to the idea of filial piety. Moreover, filial piety is a kind of behavior that can be realized and achieved in Confucius' thought, reflecting an unshirkable responsibility in human development. Therefore, even now filial piety is put forward to regulate people's speech and behavior, it also has its profound significance

Confucian culture is not like Greek philosophy to find the ultimate from the world. The world is our human world, consistent with our innate nature, and without our innate sensibility and rationality, the world is just "nothing". No matter whether it is the fundamental material form, the micro-atom or the macro-universe, they are only the appearance of our sensibility and rationality, and the ultimate existence can only be the "heart" as the source. Therefore, Confucian culture is also a metaphysical doctrine. It is not like religious doctrines that pray for gifts from God on the other side. All things have universality, and so does man. No matter how hard man tries, no matter how transcendent his will is, he can only operate within the limits of his nature, which innately defines his responsibility and mission. Some people succeed because they realize their own nature and realize their own potential; some people do nothing because they are separated from their own nature and become a floating dust in the natural system. Confucian culture focuses on the discovery of human nature and the cultivation of human nobility and greatness. Confucian culture is a philosophy of "mindfulness", which is the fundamental aspect of its spirituality. It is different from empirical knowledge, which comes from the summary of practice and rational reasoning, but from the realization of thought and intuition of the self.