Traditional philosophy of political philosophy

There is no mature form and obvious stage of political philosophy in China, which is related to China's two thousand years of feudal rule and thinking characteristics. Generally speaking, the main features of China's ancient political philosophy are:

(1) The ontology of the combination of propriety and righteousness. "Rite" is the basic category of China's political philosophy, and it is the generalization and abstraction of the norms, order and system of the country and society. "Benevolence" is the core concept of traditional philosophy, which means the ethical relationship between people in society and the highest social ideal. The combination of propriety and benevolence, and the mutual causality of ends and means constitute the framework of China's traditional political philosophy.

(2) The theocratic political view of the unity of man and nature. The philosophy of "harmony between man and nature" skillfully blends man, society and nature, and contains a spirit of natural law, which not only answers the question of the nature of power, but also provides a theoretical basis for the feudal hierarchy, and is also a way or foundation for governing the country. "Heaven" is nature, God and a mysterious force. It is a principle that the ruler abides by to serve the sky for people and to learn from the sky for people.

③ People-oriented thought of valuing the people over the monarch. China's traditional political philosophy developed from the hazy consciousness of "respecting morality and protecting the people" in the Western Zhou Dynasty to the mature people-oriented principle in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and understood the basic laws of political operation from the opposite side. The principles of "the people are more important than the country, and the monarch is less important than the people" and "the people are water, and they can also carry a boat or overturn it" have become the main basis for the rulers to adjust their political relations and change their ruling style, although this is fundamentally contradictory to the interests of the ruling class.

④ Ethical and political view of the unity of family and country. Explain "country" with "home" as a model and standardize "home" with "country" as a principle. Family and country are not divided, filial piety and loyalty are integrated, and the relationship between monarch, minister and father is unified in "ruling the country with the same family" It is the value evaluation and political ruling principle of China's traditional political philosophy to replace political standards with moral standards and political norms with ethical norms.