What philosophical truth does China's traditional philosophy of harmony explain and what is its enlightenment?

Harmonious thought is the soul of China's traditional philosophy. Whether it is Confucianism, Taoism or other thinkers, the philosophical goal is to pursue harmony.

The concept of harmony appeared in the category of "harmony" in China's ancient philosophy. Earlier records can be found in Guoyu Zhengzheng. When Shi Bo, an official of the Western Zhou Dynasty, analyzed the general trend of the world for Zheng Huangong, he pointed out that the Western Zhou Dynasty was going to perish because the king of Zhou was a villain and a distant minister, who ignored the wishes of the people and "lived in harmony". Shi Bo believes: "If you live in harmony with real creatures, the same situation will not last." This is the earliest harmonious thought or viewpoint. Here, Shi Bo listed "harmony" and "identity" as opposing categories. What are "harmony" and "sameness"? What is the essential difference between the two? Shi Bo's analysis is like this: "If he is equal to the sum of what he said, he can be rich and return to things;" If you use the same welfare, it will be abandoned. "."I heard nothing, wrote nothing, tasted nothing and said nothing. "In short, things are a collection of many factors, which cooperate with each other to form new things and achieve ideal results. Harmony includes diversity, difference, contradiction and even conflict, but things will eventually reach a higher level of unity and coordination, that is, harmony. So to sum up "harmony" in one sentence is to "put him on an equal footing with others", that is, different things form a whole and form a unity of diversity. At the same time, Shi Bo also demonstrated the role of harmony. In his view, harmony is the foundation of the existence and development of things. Only one sound is not beautiful music, only one color is not colorful, only one taste is not delicious, and only one thing can't be compared. The same thing cannot produce new things, that is, "the same thing will not continue." "

With the development of China culture, the concept of harmony has rich connotations. "Harmony" is closely related to all beautiful things, such as peace, harmony, kindness, beauty, harmony, harmony, softness, gentleness, affinity and so on. Therefore, "harmony" is regarded as the aesthetic ideal and the highest state of China culture. "The Doctrine of the Mean" said: "The joys and sorrows are in the middle; All the hair is in the middle section, called and. If you are in the middle, you are the biggest in the world; He who is harmonious achieves the way of the world. Neutral, the status of Heaven is awkward, and everything breeds. " Here, "Zhong" is a natural person's state, while "He" is an ideal state in which social people conform to etiquette and law, and a harmonious state that people pursue.

The concept of harmony requires people to adhere to the principle of harmony. In other words, we should acknowledge the diversity, differences and even contradictions of things. People can't look at things with unified and absolute thoughts. To correctly understand things, correctly analyze and solve problems, we must adhere to the principle of "harmony without difference". Fully respect the differences between things and be good at dealing with all kinds of complicated contradictions. Confucius believes that whether we can adhere to the principle of harmony is the standard to distinguish and measure gentlemen and villains: "Gentlemen are harmonious but different, villains are the same but not harmonious."

Confucius opposed the ideological style of following suit and following suit.

Zhouyi is China's earliest philosophical classic, which constructs a harmonious universe model that runs through the interaction of Yin and Yang. It tells people that the world is an endless harmonious whole. "Yi" means change and also contains the meaning of harmony. It believes that the way to establish heaven is yin and yang. In other words, natural phenomena such as the replacement of the sun and the moon and the alternation of hot and cold. They are all composed of yin and yang, and they must follow the laws of yin and yang. The duality of yin and yang is primitive and functional. Gankun (Yin and Yang) not only constitutes the origin ("Yuan") of all natural things, but also constitutes the cause ("Fate" and "Success") of all natural things. On the one hand, Yi Zhuan points out the original characteristics of everything in Gankun (Yin and Yang), on the other hand, it also points out the functional significance of everything in Gankun. Sixty-four hexagrams reveal the process of the operation of Yin and Yang, and reveal a secret of the operation of heaven and the transformation of everything, namely, "the combination of Yin and Yang" and "the combination of rigidity and softness". "Heaven and earth intersect and everything is connected"; "Heaven and earth don't meet, and everything is ineffective"; "Heaven and earth are in harmony, and things are salty." The role of yin-yang intercourse in the biochemical epidemic of everything in heaven and earth. Yin and Yang "combine virtue" (intercourse), and everything is popular. Cohesion is also called "heaven and earth, everything is mellow;" Both men and women are fine, and everything is transformed. " Its concrete manifestation is "the push and change of rigidity and flexibility". Cohesion Biography says: "Eight diagrams are in the column, as in it. Therefore, it is very important to be in it. Combining rigidity with softness, it is changed "; He also said, "The sage set up divination to observe the image, and said it was auspicious. Stiffness and flexibility push each other and change ... ". In other words, the change of things is the result of hard and soft promotion. Therefore, Cohesion Biography also said: "The sun is gone, the moon is coming, the moon is gone, and the sun and the moon push each other. Cold goes to summer, summer goes to cold, and cold and heat push each other. The past is also curved, and the newcomers also believe that they have a good impression on each other. " In a word, Zhouyi thinks that the harmonious function of combining rigidity and softness of yin and yang breeds endless cosmic life.

Heaven is unconscious, but it has rules. Nature runs in harmony according to the law. Xun Zhuan said, "The way of heaven and earth is endless." Eternity and constancy are laws, conventions and rules. Therefore, the divination of Xun Zhuan said: "Heaven and earth run smoothly, so the sun and the moon are just right, and the four seasons are not special." That is to say, heaven and earth move in accordance with the law, that is, harmonious movement. The turnover of the sun and the moon will not deviate from the track, and the change of seasons will not go wrong. Everything in the world, when full, loses, all in response to the flow of time, or decline, or live. The changes in nature are regular, orderly and without disorder. The Book of Changes often refers to this "disorderly" natural change as a "god" with unpredictable yin and yang. For example, Shuo Gua Zhuan said: "God is also a wonderful thing and a speaker." The "God" here is law and harmony.

After Shi Bo, the concept of harmony was used by politicians to deal with political relations. They believe that the establishment of harmonious political relations is essential for rulers to maintain their rule. Yan Zi, who was more than 200 years later than Shi Bo, inherited and developed Shi Bo's harmonious thought. According to Zuo Gong's Twenty Years, when answering Qi Hou's "Harmony and Harmony", the metaphor of making soup for fun reveals the difference between "Harmony" and "Harmony". Yan Zi believes that in order to get delicious food, chefs must use different flavors to make soup. Musicians must integrate different musical elements and coordinate different characteristic sounds in order to create wonderful music. He contacted the relationship between the monarch and the minister and said, "The same is true for the monarch and the minister. The so-called "is it possible", I provide it to make it possible; Your so-called "no" can be ignored, and I can provide it to you. It is based on political peace and inaction, and the people have no heart. ……"

It can be seen that Yan Zi's harmonious thought is more targeted, promoted to the practical level and becomes a political idea. He asked the monarch to govern the country more rationally and scientifically. The monarch should adhere to the principle of harmony in governing the country: making decisions and issuing orders, being good at listening to different opinions from many sides, listening to both positive and negative opinions, and being clear when listening. At a higher level, the harmony between monarch and minister can be achieved.

Laozi founded the theory of Tao, which he thought was "Tao can be Tao, extraordinary Tao", "Tao is nature" and Tao is inaction. He told people to "follow Tao", love Tao, follow Tao and do nothing. His political thought system of "Natural Harmony" is the embodiment of the above thought. According to this idea, it is natural that the ruler's behavior should conform to nature. Rulers should govern well and handle the relationship between good people and things. Maintain the "natural" state of everything and keep the natural order unchanged. In a word, we should follow the principle of "Taoism is natural", which is the fundamental principle and the highest principle put forward by Laozi. What Laozi said about nature is not the same thing as what we now call nature or nature, but a natural state. What I care about is not nature, but human beings and human society. It is a state related to the survival of human society and a state of natural harmony similar to natural inaction. The natural state contains the inherent development trend of things themselves and is the habit and trend of the continuation of the original spontaneous state. "Nature" in Laozi's eyes is a natural state, a habit and trend to maintain and continue the spontaneous state of things, or an inherent law of things. In the "natural" state of human society described by Laozi, rulers and ordinary people naturally do not interfere with each other, live in peace and enjoy each other, thus making the whole society present a natural and harmonious pastoral ideal state.

Starting from the "Tao" of the origin of all things, Laozi popularized his good prescription for managing the world, demanding in principle that "Tao should be natural", act according to the proper laws of things, and not interfere with the development of things artificially; On the practical level, it is to ask the rulers not to do whatever they want and use their privileges to interfere in the lives of ordinary people. Rulers should be "I do nothing for the people to make themselves, and I do nothing for the people to make themselves rich", so as to realize "governing by doing nothing" in the operation of political rule, thus realizing peace and harmony between the ruler and the ruled. Laozi opposed the ruler's intervention in people's lives, but advocated letting people live according to their own natural nature.

Laozi believes that as long as we conform to nature and adhere to the principle of inaction, we will certainly succeed. If the ruler can only follow the rules, then everything will naturally be channelized. We can't interfere with the lives of ordinary people and make them feel at a loss. In that case, you can only lose the world in the end. Therefore, a wise ruler should govern by doing nothing and teach by doing nothing. "Doing nothing, so there is no defeat; There is nothing to do, so there is nothing to lose. " That's the truth. Generally speaking, if a ruler wants to govern a country well, he must "govern a big country by cooking a little fresh food", taking quietness as the principle, putting stability first and not disturbing the people. Only in this way can we keep our peace and achieve the goal of governing the country and calming the world. This is Lao Tzu's "internal affairs" strategy.

In "Diplomacy", Lao Tzu can better show the foresight of a "politician". In view of the international situation of bullying the weak by the strong and bullying the small by the big, Laozi put forward the basic principle of "modesty" that should be followed in dealing with the country. Big countries are humble to small countries, and small countries, such as rivers and seas, can naturally gather among big countries; Small countries can be humbled by big countries. In this way, big countries and small countries can "get their places" and live in peace.

Confucius founded Confucianism, the core of which is the concept of "benevolence" It is the highest principle in dealing with interpersonal relationships, "benevolence and love". Harmony is the goal and realm pursued by benevolence, and harmonious thought is the essence of Confucianism. Confucius' courtesy, filial piety, forgiveness and sincerity are all tools of the way of harmony. Confucius' disciple Youzi put forward that "the purpose of ceremony is harmony." It can be seen that the relationship between "ceremony" and "harmony" is that ceremony is subordinate to harmony. Mencius put forward that "the weather is not as good as the geographical position, and the geographical position is not as good as human harmony."

The "harmony between people" here refers to the unity of the people, and the unity of the people of Qixin is the decisive condition for victory. Zhuangzi put forward: "Harmony without difference is happiness; He who is in harmony with heaven is called Tianle. " Regard "harmony" as the foundation of happiness. Happiness lies in harmony. If there is harmony between people and between people and nature, then there will be happiness and satisfaction. Xunzi believes that people are "the most expensive in the world" because people can "harmony", and "harmony is one, one is stronger, many are stronger, and the strong is better than things ..." Only when people are harmonious and coordinated can they be United and unified, and their strength will be strong. If they are strong, foreign things will be defeated.

Pre-Qin thinkers regarded "harmony" as the highest principle of political ethics and the highest realm of political ideas. "Shangshu" said: "Ke Ming Jun De, in order to pro-Jiuzu. Nine families live in peace, and the people live in peace. The people are clear, harmonious and all the people, and the people change at any time. " Emphasize that, first of all, manage your clan well, make it United and harmonious, and unite as one; Then govern their own vassal States, coordinate their relations, and make the vassal States in the world friendly as one. This is an ideal social form, with harmonious family and peaceful country. Everyone does his job, does his best, and does not conflict with each other. As described in the Book of Rites, Liu Yun said: "The four bodies are upright, the skin is full of leather, and people are fat. Father and son are loyal, brothers are harmonious, husband and wife are harmonious and rich. Minister law, small minister base, orderly official position, harmonious monarch and minister, and fat country. The emperor takes virtue as a car, music as a royal, princes treat each other with courtesy, doctors use laws, scholars use faith as a test, and the people keep peace, which is also fat in the world. " This is really a harmonious human society and a beautiful paradise on earth!

The harmony between man and nature means that man and nature are in a state of balance and coordination. Ancient thinkers in China regarded the universe as an organic whole, interdependent and supportive. Only in a harmonious relationship can they find their proper position, develop and live endlessly. As the Doctrine of the Mean says, "Everything is born without harming each other, and the Tao is parallel without contradicting each other ... This world is great."

Laozi believes that ecology is an important part of the whole world, that creatures come from nature and people come from nature. People and creatures must survive under the conditions given by nature. The ecosystem is the product of the circular movement of Tao, which is characterized by "Tao's birth, moral education, material form and potential formation". Tao creates everything, while virtue nurtures everything. The surrounding environment makes it have a certain shape, and various forces restrict its growth. Ecology follows the inherent law of Tao, which is endless. The motive force of ecological change comes from its interior. "All things are negative and embrace Yang, and they rush to think of peace." Yin-Yang interaction is the internal driving force of ecological change.

Tao makes the ecosystem naturally tend to balance. "Heaven, the upper person suppresses it, the lower person raises it, the surplus person loses it, and the deficiency person makes up for it", "Heaven, the loss of surplus makes up for the deficiency". This balance is the dynamic balance of nature itself, not caused by God or the power of God. Modern ecology shows that the geochemical cycle of various elements, the cycle of water and atmosphere, and the energy conversion of various food chains constitute the dynamic balance of the ecosystem. Modern system science reveals the internal mechanism of dissipative structure system cycle. Laozi pointed out that there are four universes, and man is one of them. Man and everything are created by Tao, and they all follow the laws of Tao. The enlightenment from the coordination, stability and harmony of nature is that man and nature should maintain harmony, while maintaining the stability and harmony of nature, especially the ecological balance. Capra, a famous American scholar, spoke highly of this idea of Taoism. He said: "Taoism provides the deepest and most perfect ecological wisdom, emphasizing all phenomena of individuals and society and their potential consistency in the natural cycle." Laozi emphasized that heaven is natural and inaction, and human beings should obey heaven, but Tao is obedient and consciously maintains ecological balance. Taoism opposes abstinence and indulgence. Greed not only harms health, but also corrupts social atmosphere. Laozi seriously pointed out that we should "go to extremes and be extravagant", and do not go to extremes, extravagance or excesses in everything to maintain the balance and harmony of nature. Laozi used some metaphors to illustrate his point of view. He said that everything in the world, some walk in front, some follow, some send warm air, some blow cold air, some are strong, some win, some lose. At that time, governors of all sizes were like this, fighting with each other. Laozi finally came to the conclusion that politicians should avoid going to extremes, extravagance and excesses. This is Laozi's "golden mean" thought and his harmonious thought. The core is not to go to extremes.

Yi Zhuan inherits and develops the naturalistic tradition of Taoism in the view of heaven, and forms a relatively systematic and perfect theoretical system about the relationship between heaven and man. The author of Yi Zhuan believes that heaven, earth and man are a unified whole. Nature and man, as independent forms, are different, but as a whole of cosmic life, they are homologous and follow the same variation law. They form a harmonious whole. "Heaven" and "man" have internal identity. Separately, there are differences between heaven and humanity, which are generally unified, and can also be called "the way of yin and yang", which is unified. The relationship between heaven and man is harmonious and unified. In other words, the harmony between man and nature is in harmony with regular movement. In this kind of "harmony", the unity of heaven and man and the unity of heaven and man can transcend differences and achieve unity, harmony and unity. For example, "Biography of Classical Chinese" said: "Husband is in harmony with heaven and earth, with the sun and the moon, with the four seasons, and with ghosts and gods." It can be seen that the relationship between man and nature is a harmonious and unified one.