What is "orthodoxy"? What is the special meaning of "orthodoxy" that the ancients fought for in every dynasty and every generation?

Looking at the history of China's ancient dynasties, we find a very interesting phenomenon: almost all the emperors were very concerned about the "orthodoxy" of their throne.

Note: Stills from the Chu-Han struggle for supremacy

Liu Bang and Xiang Yu had to use the son of the Red Dragon to prove that they were orthodox when they fought for the throne; Wang Mang had to use the idea of the rule of the Duke of Zhou to maintain his orthodoxy when he usurped the throne; Cao Pi had to ask Emperor Xian of Han for his "ceded throne" when he usurped the throne to show that he was orthodox; and Zhao Kuangyi had to bring out the Golden Pavilion Alliance to prove his orthodoxy when he had his own brother killed. The first time I saw this was when I was in the middle of a fight with a man in the middle of the night.

Orthodox thinking has been around since ancient times, so what is orthodoxy? And how has orthodox thinking evolved in China?

The word "orthodoxy" has a special meaning in Chinese culture.

In modern parlance, "orthodoxy" is generally interpreted in political science as the people's acceptance of law or authority as a form of authority.

By the same token, in moral philosophy, "orthodoxy" is often interpreted as the power granted by the people to their rulers to maintain the basic functioning of society by exercising a degree of governance based on the legitimacy of the people's consent to the composition of the present government.

That is to say, "orthodoxy" means "legitimacy".

But in the Chinese understanding, orthodoxy is more than simply "legitimacy," and encompasses the classical philosophical discursive thinking that characterizes China.

Changes in "orthodox" thinking?

The term "orthodoxy" first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Annals, in which Confucius argued that a state could only be called orthodox if it had reached the levels of "residence in the right place" and "unity".

This was at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when the rites and music were in tatters. The Zhou Emperor*** was the master of the world***, but he could only "live in the right place" and could not "unify" the world, so he could not be called the orthodox. The five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the seven heroes of the Warring States Period, although they all reached a temporary peak, but they can not call themselves "orthodox", and King Wu of Zhou even said directly to himself: "I'm barbaric".

Note: A portrait of King Wu of Zhou

Until the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms, and Ying Zheng established the emperor system to justify his "orthodoxy". At this point, the term "orthodoxy" became bound up with "imperial power".

Dong Zhongshu developed the idea of "orthodoxy" even further during the Western Han Dynasty, proposing the doctrine of "three unities," which tied the idea of "orthodoxy" to theology. This deepened the idea of "imperial power" as "orthodoxy".

Scholars in the Song dynasty began to systematically elaborate on the idea of "orthodoxy", and Ouyang Xiu wrote his first book, "Theory of Orthodoxy", which criticized Dong Zhongshu and his successors for tying "orthodoxy" to theology.

Note: Portrait of Ouyang Xiu

Ouyang Xiu said, "The orthodoxy is to rectify the wrongs of the world, and the unity is to harmonize the inconsistencies of the world."

Su Shi, on this basis, harmonized "orthodoxy" with "name and reality", arguing that it is necessary to have the moral high ground in the name, but also to have the power to match in practice.

At the same time, the two also take merit and morality as the criterion for the criticism of the unification of the dynasty, that since before the Song Dynasty, can "live in the world's right, together with the world in one, the orthodoxy is carried forward" of the dynasty: Yao, Shun, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, Jin, Tang.

And the remaining "the world is not one, but live in the right" of the Eastern Zhou, Wei, the Five Dynasties; "although not in the right, but the world in one" of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sui, although they do not achieve "live in the right" and "one". Although all of them could not reach the level of "centrality" and "unity", they could be called "orthodox" in terms of their achievements and morality.

Note: Fang Xiaoru

In the Ming Dynasty, Fang Xiaoru (the only man in history to have been executed ten clans) extended the meaning of "orthodoxy" again on the basis of Europe and the Soviet Union. Since the Ming Dynasty was created by the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese culture suffered a serious injury, in order to clearly identify the meaning of orthodoxy, refute the Yuan Dynasty is not orthodox. Fang Xiaoru suggested that "orthodoxy" should not be determined by the principle of "unity of kings", but from the righteousness of kings and ministers and the distinction between Chinese and barbarians to identify.

In addition to the Three Dynasties, only Han, Tang, Song and Ming can be called orthodox in history, other than that, including the Qin, Wei and Jin, the Five Dynasties, Yuan and so on can not be given to the orthodox; he put forward: the reason why the Chinese is China, because the way of the late king not only contains the ethical order of the ruler and the ministers, father and son, the young and the old and the husband and wife, and it also contains the dress, the lucky and the lucky, the beauty of the rites of communication, as well as equalization of the field, the thin endowment of the method of raising the people. The law of the people's support.

So far, the meaning of "orthodoxy" is tied to "China", and only a unified dynasty that conforms to the values of the Chinese cultural heritage can be considered "orthodoxy" of China (Qin is a legalist). The new dynasty was not recognized by Fang Xiaoru because it was based on the idea of legalism.)

Orthodoxy in the new era

In the late Qing Dynasty, the imperial system was on the verge of collapse, and "orthodoxy" was under attack. Liang Qichao in the "new historiography" criticized the traditional Chinese historiography due to the "orthodox" ideological constraints, has been the exclusive possession of the imperial power, resulting in the objective history of the barrier; "orthodoxy" should be in history, not in the royal family, it should be in the race, in the country, in the people. This idea breaks the monopoly of imperial power over "orthodoxy".

Note: Stills from the Xinhai Revolution

With the overthrow of the imperial system by the Xinhai Revolution, the idea of "orthodoxy" in the Republic of China (R.O.C.) period was taken a step further, and the idea that sovereignty resides in the people was recognized by various schools of thought, with the general thinking that the "theory of orthodoxy" had come to an end with the imperial system, and that the "orthodoxy" theory had come to an end with the imperial system. The idea of "orthodoxy" as "legal orthodoxy" is gradually maturing.

Overall

The idea of "orthodoxy" is no longer limited to a certain leader or a certain party, but it is an idea that is shared by the whole Chinese nation; in this land, we share the same morality and obey the same laws, which is the "orthodoxy" of the "name" of "orthodoxy". "In the eyes of the people, a government that can serve the people, abide by the law, exercise the power given by the people prudently, and satisfy the material and spiritual life of the people is the "orthodoxy" of the "reality". "The truth".

References:

[1]Mao Qin. Su Shi orthodoxy and its ideological value[J]. The Original Way,2019(01):115-126.

[2]Yang Nianqun. Reassessment of "Orthodoxy" as a Starting Point for the Establishment of Chinese Historical Politics[J]. Chinese Political Science,2020(02):11-16.

[3]Lv Shiyao. On Fang Xiaoru's orthodox thought[J]. Original Way,2018(01):116-126.

[4]Wen Xuanxuan. The modern fate of "orthodoxy" and its end[J]. Journal of Zhengzhou Institute of Aviation Industry Management (Social Science Edition),2018,37(02):73-84.