Does traditional morality have a unique function?

First of all, what is China's traditional morality and what is the content of China's traditional morality. Morality, kindness, honesty, righteousness, filial piety, benevolence, loyalty, etc. Are China's traditional morals all refined on the basis of Confucianism? Generally speaking, the fine moral tradition of the Chinese nation refers to the essence of traditional moral thoughts such as Mohism, Taoism and Legalism with ancient Confucian ethics as the main content. In the historical process of more than two thousand years, the ethical thoughts of Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism and Legalism and the theory of mind and nature in Buddhism have influenced and absorbed each other, forming a unique ethical tradition of the Chinese nation.

Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has a unique loyalty under the education of exchanging needed goods: loyalty to the nation, filial piety to parents and elders, affection to relatives and loyalty to friends. People are responsible, brave, righteous and moral, which leads to sacrificing their lives for justice. "Righteousness" has become an important creed of the whole social morality, and the lofty realm of "sacrificing one's life for righteousness" has inspired generations of China people to die for their country and people.

(A) the overall supremacy, "self-denial" sense of social responsibility and mission.

(2) The principle of interpersonal harmony of benevolence and righteousness.

(3) the vigorous spirit of "self-improvement" and the broad mind of "being virtuous and carrying things".

(4) cultivate self-discipline and practice the principle of moral cultivation.

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(A) the basic content of the excellent moral tradition of the Chinese nation

Generally speaking, the fine moral tradition of the Chinese nation refers to the essence of traditional ethical thoughts such as Mohism, Taoism and Legalism with Confucian ethics as the main content.

1. The holism thought of "every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world"

The core and consistent thought of the fine moral tradition of the Chinese nation is to emphasize the holistic thought of serving the society, the nation, the country and the people. "Staying up late" in The Book of Songs and Jia Yi's "National ears forget home, public ears forget private" constantly emphasize a spirit of dedication to the whole. It is under the influence of this spirit:

Fan Zhongyan, a famous singer in the Song Dynasty, put forward the idea of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later".

On the occasion of the country's life and death, Wen Tianxiang experienced a crisis and sang the eternal swan song "Who has never died since ancient times, keep the heart of a child and care for history";

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Gu Yanwu took the world as his own responsibility and shouted that "everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world";

In Qing dynasty, Lin Zexu advocated that "if a country is selfish, it will live, if it is selfish, it will die, and disasters will be avoided";

Liao and He Xiangning, pioneers of the democratic revolution, left a famous poem: "Don't regret your head, leave your name in the history of China" and so on.

These poems all show a strong spirit of dedication to the country, the nation and the whole. In the long history of thousands of years, relying on this spirit, the Chinese nation has overcome one difficulty after another fearlessly, and a number of national heroes who have won glory for the sun and the moon have emerged, and they have written one carol after another.

2. Advocate the principle of "benevolence" and emphasize interpersonal harmony.

Benevolence is the core of Confucian ethics. Confucius advocated "the benevolent loves others" and thought that "benevolence" was the criterion of the relationship between man and me. "Benevolence" is not only the criterion of interpersonal relationship, but also the universal method and principle of implementing this criterion. "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" and "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you". "Benevolence" is not only the highest moral principle, but also a lofty moral quality. In the relationship between people and me, only from the beginning of love can we achieve a harmonious relationship of mutual love.

"To be a man, you must be a man": to achieve the ideal goal based on society, we must also let the people concerned stand up and achieve the goal.

In Confucius' view, the relationship between people can be harmonious only with love as the bond between people; If the whole society is based on everyone's love, then the society will be peaceful. It advocates love between people, respects people's value, sympathizes with people and helps people, and embodies the ancient humanitarian spirit. In the long-term historical development, it has played an important role in coordinating interpersonal relationships and maintaining the stability of the social system.

3. Advocate respecting the old and loving the young, and emphasize the value of human relations.

From the five religions (namely, father's righteousness, mother's kindness, brother's friendship, brother's respect and son's filial piety) first put forward in Shangshu, to Mencius' five-relationship: "father and son are related, monarch and minister are righteous, husband and wife are different, parents are orderly, and friends are trustworthy", and then to the "ten meanings" emphasized by the Book of Rites and Liu Yun. Maintaining the feudal system is the dross of these relations and should be eliminated. But the emphasis on the relationship between father and son, the orderly growth of young and old, the trustworthiness of friends and so on. If given new meanings that meet the requirements of the times, it will still play an important role in maintaining social order and improving interpersonal relationships.

In interpersonal relationships, Confucianism pays special attention to the relationship between parents and children, that is, the so-called "father's kindness and filial piety." Raising children to guard against old age and filial piety to parents are the most important requirements in the traditional interpersonal relationship of the Chinese nation. Respecting the elderly is a simple and beautiful thought, emotion and traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. "Filial piety" is called the root of all morality and the starting point of all "education". There is "filial piety" in the Analects of Confucius, which is the foundation of benevolence. Rulers of all previous dynasties regarded advocating filial piety and filial piety as the foundation of educating people and building the country. Filial piety not only adapted to the needs of social, political, economic and cultural development at that time, but also had a deep social foundation among the broad masses of the people. The Book of Filial Piety also stipulates the family obligations of children:

First of all, in life, we should "use it carefully for adoptive parents"; Secondly, we should respect our attitude. "Today's filial piety, that can be raised. As for all dogs and horses, why not? " Support for parents, only from deep love, can have a happy and obedient heart. Parents should be advised, but pay attention to their attitude and don't go against their wishes. These moral concepts play an important role in regulating the relationship between family members, strengthening family harmony and maintaining social stability.

4. Pay attention to benevolence and dedication

Empathy and dedication are another important aspect of Chinese traditional virtues. Confucian traditional ethics holds that:

(1) When there is a contradiction between "righteousness" and "benefit", that is, moral principles and personal interests, we should take "righteousness first", "righteousness is quality" and "righteousness precedes benefit". This is the basic principle of Confucius in dealing with the relationship between righteousness and benefit.

(2) When encountering the available benefits, we should "take what is good" and "take what is good", advocate "righteousness before taking it", oppose the thought and behavior of "valuing profit over righteousness" and "forgetting righteousness at sight", and emphasize that "a gentleman loves money and takes it wisely".

(3) Taking the pursuit of virtue of benevolence and righteousness as a noble character of a gentleman requires that a gentleman be righteous everywhere and keep his word. When necessary, even at the expense of life. This is what Confucius said: "People with lofty ideals don't have to live to harm benevolence, but kill themselves with benevolence." The noble character of loyalty and dedication has greatly promoted the development and growth of the Chinese nation, created generations of national elites, and formed the backbone of the Chinese nation.

5. Pay attention to moral practice and self-cultivation.

Paying attention to moral practice means emphasizing the subjective initiative of moral subjects in self-improvement. In ancient times, the moral cultivation methods available for reference mainly include the following:

(1) Determined to be happy

Aspiring means that one should have firm aspirations and lofty ideals. Music means that one should have firm beliefs and lofty sentiments.

Confucius said, "The three armed forces can seize the commanding position, but not their ambitions." Illustrates the importance of determination.

(2) Self-denial and introspection

Self-denial means that a person should be rational, that is, rational cultivation, and can restrain himself under the guidance of rationality or rational cultivation, so that his thoughts, words and deeds meet moral requirements.

Introspection means that a person can often conduct self-reflection and inspection, and constantly discover his own shortcomings and deficiencies.

Confucius said, "Self-denial is benevolence", "see no evil, don't listen to evil, don't say evil, don't move if you are evil". Restrain yourself and make your vision, hearing, words and deeds consciously conform to the moral norms, which is the performance of benevolent cultivation. Confucius' students once said, "I save three times a day, and I am unfaithful to others." Do you believe in socializing with friends? Can't you learn? "Emphasize that you should reflect on your thoughts every day to make continuous progress in morality.

(3) change and move well.

Correction refers to how to treat your own shortcomings and mistakes correctly;

Being kind refers to how to look at the advantages of others.

Confucius said, "Pass without changing." "For Cheng Gui." He also said that "in a threesome, there must be a teacher, choose the good and follow it, and change the bad."

(4) Will is tempered.

Will tempering refers to the important role of acquired environment in promoting people's moral cultivation and intellectual formation.

Mencius said: "Therefore, heaven will come to Sri Lanka, so we must first suffer from its mind, strain its bones and muscles, starve its body and skin, and mess with its actions, so we can endure and get what it can't do."

(5) be practical and serious.

Faithful practice refers to having a loyal and honest attitude towards moral concepts and norms and practicing actions.

First of all, be careful what you say and do things quickly. Emphasize caution in words and deeds, say less and do more.

Second, words must be done, and actions must be fruitful. It is a higher level requirement, and it must be said and done.