The Performance of Harmony in Ancient China

The spirit of harmony in traditional Chinese culture is best reflected in the tradition of "unity of heaven and man". In the view of ancient Chinese thinkers, heaven and man, heavenly and human, nature and human nature are similar to each other, thus achieving harmony and unity. In the relationship between man and nature, Chinese culture attaches more importance to the harmony and unity of man and nature, while Western culture emphasizes that man should conquer nature and transform nature.

The Chinese culture emphasizes the harmony and unity of harmony, which is in strong contrast to the Western culture. This major difference between Chinese and Western cultures largely reflects the different characteristics of farming and commercial civilizations. Traditional Chinese culture is rooted in the agricultural civilization, showing a "static" character, attaching importance to the harmony of nature, man and nature, man and society, man and man, as well as their own physical and mental harmony.

This can be clearly evidenced from the so-called "the use of etiquette, and for the precious" by Confucius to the thought of "the timing of the day is not as good as the geographical location, the geographical location is not as good as the people and" by Mencius. In ancient China, the middle way can be said to be a way to regulate social conflicts.

Expanded information:

The idea of harmony as a value was put forward by You Ruo, an important disciple of the ancient Chinese thinker Confucius.

You Ruo, also known as You Zi, was an important disciple of the ancient Chinese thinker Confucius, according to the Historical Records of the Grand Historian (史记-仲尼弟子列传), and was presumed to have been born in 518 BC in the state of Lu because he was forty-three years younger than Confucius. According to Mencius and the Historical Records, after the death of Confucius, his disciples admired him, and because of his resemblance to Confucius, they elected him as their teacher, and treated him with the rites of a teacher.

You Ruo advocated the idea of harmony as the most precious thing, which was considered to be the general meaning of Confucianism. The phrase "peace is precious" comes from the Analects of Confucius. In the Analects of Confucius (论语-学而), it is recorded that Youzi said, "The use of rites, and harmony is precious". That is to say, the function of rites is to be able to harmonize. Its meaning is to require people to deal with all things in accordance with the rites, that is, to the various relationships between people can be just right, can be mediated appropriately, so that each other can be in harmony, to make harmony.