Is there equality in China's traditional culture?

The concept of human rights originated from the western word "human rights" and was introduced to China in the early 20th century. It is an "imported product". It also appeared relatively late in the west, and it was the product of capitalism in the process of anti-feudalism, which did not exist in ancient western countries. Some people have come to the conclusion that there is no human rights thought in China's traditional culture. I don't think this conclusion accords with the reality of China's traditional culture. There is a problem of understanding the concept of "human rights".

What is human rights? I think human rights are the basic rights that everyone should have, first of all, the right to survival and development, followed by other rights, such as the right to education, the right to work and various political and social rights. The most important of these rights is the right to equality, that is, everyone is an independent individual and everyone is equal in personality.

The formation of human rights theory can be divided into five levels: the first is human rights consciousness, that is, to admit that a person is a person from the moment of birth, not an object, and cannot be hurt or destroyed at will, but this concept is only a consciousness in his mind and has not been shown. The second is human rights thought, which is more conscious than conscious, that is, it is clear that because he is a human being, we should enjoy him as a human being. The third is legal human rights, that is, the concept of human rights is expressed in the form of legal provisions. In the west, the earliest legal provisions are a set of rights approved by King Alfonso IX in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Leon on the Libyan Peninsula 1 188, including the defendant's right to a formal trial and the right to life, honor, family and property from being infringed. But at that time, there was no concept of human rights, only some provisions were made in law. The fourth is the concept of human rights. The most famous documents about the concept of human rights are 1776 American Declaration of Independence and 1789 French Declaration of Human Rights and Civil Rights. Fifth, the theory of human rights, a systematic human rights thought, was first put forward by western enlightenment thinkers Rousseau and Locke in the 17 and 18 centuries, and has been further developed in the future.

I'm not sure whether there was a human rights law in ancient China. This question should be answered by legal experts. However, there are not only human rights thoughts and awareness, but also very rich. So, what are the specific aspects of human rights thought?

Generally speaking, there are two main manifestations of human rights thought: first, human rights are relative to theocracy. Mao Zedong once said that in feudal society, there were four ropes that bound the people of China: political power, clan power, theocracy and husband power. Secondly, human rights are relative to political power. In feudal society, the regime was first and foremost a monarchy. In essence, it is the hierarchical system of the whole feudal society: the people are divided into the landlord class and the people, and the ruling class and the ruled class are divided into several levels, which is unequal. In capitalist society, people are equal on the surface, but in fact they are hierarchical.

However, in China's traditional culture, there are still human rights thoughts, which are reflected in two aspects.

First, as the antithesis of theocracy, human rights thought attaches importance to morality. There was a Middle Ages ruled by theocracy for a long time in western history, but no religion in China's feudal social history gained the status of long-term rule. Therefore, in today's China, the folk religious atmosphere is far less strong than other countries, and religious life is not universal. China people generally don't need to assume a god to give him ultimate care and spiritual sustenance. So, what does China's traditional society rely on to maintain social stability?

Many scholars engaged in historical research believe that in the traditional culture of China, moralism is very strong, and the traditional society of China mainly relies on morality to maintain social stability, not religion.

In the traditional culture of China, Confucianism is dominant, and it is a whole moral theory. Other schools have different views, but they all attach great importance to morality. In Confucius' view, the essence of social relations is human relations, that is, moral relations between people. The political phenomenon of human society is the expression of moral relations in the political field. Confucianism keeps a respectful distance from God. Confucius didn't deny God, but he didn't want to talk about God or worship him. Confucius also said: "Worship God as he exists", "Stay away from ghosts and gods" and "I don't know how to live and know how to die", all of which show that he has adopted an evasive and skeptical attitude towards spirits. Confucius certainly worships ancestors, but this is actually an extension of ethical principles to the dead. Confucius also said: "Be cautious in pursuing the future, and people will be virtuous." In later Confucianism, there were many thorough atheists, such as Fan Li in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty. Some people think that Confucianism is also a religion. In fact, there are essential differences between Confucianism and religion, which can only be said to be a belief at most. Of course, in ancient China, theocracy was also a means of ruling the people, but it was far less powerful than the West. Generally speaking, China's traditional culture attaches importance to people, real life, morality, and despises God and heaven. To some extent, this is a kind of human rights thought.

Second, the concept of human rights as opposed to hierarchy is the concept of equality. China's feudal system of more than 2,000 years was a hierarchical system, which admitted that people were born unequal, but this did not make the idea of equality completely extinct in this hierarchical society. There are many thinkers who think that people are equal, the most prominent one is Mohism. Mohism advocates universal love and opposes the difference between love and non-love. They even advocate becoming altruists and ascetics for universal love regardless of personal interests. Mozi believes that there is chaos in the world, and the country and the people are fighting with each other, hurting each other and even killing each other. The reason is that they do not love each other. Therefore, as long as everyone can treat the people's country as his own country, the people's family as his own home, and the people's body as his own body, the world can be ruled. This is his idea of "loving each other and bringing out the best in each other". He doesn't completely deny the hierarchy, but he thinks that different hierarchies can't be treated differently like Confucianism, and advocates "no party, no brothers, no favoritism." He does not deny personal interests, but believes that only fraternity can realize everyone's interests. He said: "if a husband loves others, others will love him;" Those who benefit others will benefit from it; Evil, people will be evil; Those who harm others will harm themselves. " Mozi not only sat and talked, but also walked and shouted, propagating his ideas everywhere, hoping that the rulers would implement his ideas. These remarks of Mohism show a distinct equality thought, that is, human rights thought.

Confucianism also has the idea of equality. In the west, Aristotle once said: "Slaves are talking tools", which is a very explicit hierarchical thought, and people are not treated as people. Many thinkers in ancient China advocated hierarchy, but they also advocated equal treatment. For example, Confucius said that "benevolence" is the core of Confucius' thought. He talked about benevolence in many places, with different views, but all of them contained the meaning of "love". It can be said that the core of benevolence is "love", and there are other sayings, such as: "You have to stand up and stand up, and you have to realize it." "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." All advocate equal treatment. Mencius also said, "The benevolent loves others". Confucianism advocates hierarchy, but it advocates "benevolent governance", that is, managing the country according to the principle of "benevolence" and does not advocate suppressing the people. Mencius emphasized the people-oriented thought and thought that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light". Song of the Five Sons in Shangshu also said: "The people are the foundation of the country, and the foundation is the foundation of the country", which is the consistent thought of the rulers of China. Wei Zhi in the Tang Dynasty also said, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it". The common people are water, and the monarch is a boat. "People-oriented" thought embodies human rights thought to some extent.

Some performances of Confucius' life also illustrate this point. The Analects of Confucius records that once Confucius' stable caught fire, and Confucius asked people instead of horses, "The stable burned down. The son retired from the DPRK, and the day: harming people? Mo Wen horse. " It embodies Confucius' humanitarian spirit of valuing people and loving others. For another example, Confucius once condemned the use of human objects for martyrdom. He said that "the initiator has no future", which also reflects a kind of human rights thought of Confucius.

Confucian classic The Book of Rites. When describing the ideal society, Li Yun shows a more obvious, more concentrated and stronger idea of equality: "The trip to the avenue is also for the public, and the world is for the public. Choose talents and abilities, and cultivate peace with sincerity. An old friend is not only a relative, but also an only son. Let the old age end, be strong, useful, strong, widowed, lonely and disabled. Men get points and women get rewards. If the goods are abandoned on the ground, there is no need to hide them on yourself; You don't have to do it for yourself. It is to seek harmony without prosperity, and thieves do not do it. So if you don't close the door, it's called Datong. " From the short words 107, we can see that this world of great harmony has the following characteristics: first, the means of production are publicly owned and the life is rich; Second, there is no hierarchy, and men and women are equal, but women's status is lower than that of men; Third, the people elect people with both ability and political integrity to manage public affairs; Fourth, everyone lives and works in peace and contentment, and those who have difficulties in life receive special care; Fifth, everyone loves each other, helps each other, is virtuous, and saves lives; Sixth, the social order is good, and there are few civil disputes and criminal activities. These words fully embody the idea of equality between people.

In later Confucianism, Zhang Zai, a Confucian in the Song Dynasty, said, "People and my compatriots are my own things.". For more than 2,000 years, the idea of great harmony has been respected by most thinkers, until modern political activists with bourgeois revolutionary ideas, such as Hong Xiuquan, Kang Youwei, Tan Sitong, Sun Yat-sen, etc.

Of course, it should be said that in the traditional society of China, there are many anti-human rights thoughts and behaviors. Its concrete manifestations are as follows: First, in actual actions, there are many anti-humanity acts, especially in previous wars, thousands of people were brutally killed. Second, there was an obvious hierarchy under feudal autocracy, and the status of monarch, minister and people was completely different. Third, there are domestic slaves, and it is legal to buy and sell maids in feudal society.

Generally speaking, China's traditional culture advocates hierarchy, but it is also rich in human rights thoughts and consciousness. It is an excellent part of China's traditional culture, which is worthy of our serious exploration. It is of practical significance to explore the human rights thought in traditional culture. Its significance is not to prove that foreign countries have it and China must have it, but to prove that human rights thought is rooted in human social practice and is the product of social practice, which is greatly conducive to social development and prosperity. Human social practice is universal, and so is human rights thought. Carrying forward the thought of human rights will greatly promote China's socialist modernization.