What is "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and goodness!" What is "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and goodness!"?

The core idea of "benevolence" should be "love and charity",

The core idea of "righteousness" should be "justice",

The core idea of "propriety" should be "respect for the law",

The core idea of "propriety" should be "respect for propriety and law-abiding",

The core idea of "wisdom" should be The core idea of "wisdom" should be "respect for wisdom and truth",

The core idea of "faith" should be "honesty and trustworthiness".

"Benevolence" refers to the state of mind of sympathy, care and love, i.e., "the heart of benevolence". The earliest reference to "benevolence" is from the book of Shangshu (尚书). It is said in the Shangshu that "Ke Kuan Ke Ren (克宽克仁) and Zhang Xin Zhaomin (昭信兆民)", which means that Shang Tang used the virtue of forgiveness and benevolence to express his trust in the people of the world. The earliest meaning of "benevolence" is "kin", "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Kindness, benevolence", and also says: "benevolence, kinship ". Mainly refers to the family members, between the clan relatives to "dear", this "love" feelings, only limited to the family relatives. With the evolution of history, the meaning of "benevolence" has been further expanded, from "relatives" to "love people". Lao Zi said: "With, good benevolence". This means that interactions with others should be friendly, sincere and selfless. Confucius once said: "A man of honor has no desire to harm benevolence by seeking life, but kills his own body in order to fulfill benevolence". Here, "benevolence" has become the highest state of morality in life. In order to safeguard "benevolence", one can "kill one's own body", that is, one can sacrifice one's own life to safeguard this moral concept. From this we can see that while the emotional scope of "benevolence" has been extended from the family to the society, the moral connotation and moral status of "benevolence" have been further enriched and upgraded to become the first element of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.

"Righteousness" refers to the righteousness, integrity and morality, i.e., "righteousness". The original meaning of "righteousness" refers to a person's behavior, and it is the pursuit of close friendship and goodness in interpersonal interactions. The Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of Characters) explains it this way, "Yi (righteousness) is the dignity of one's self. From me from the sheep." It means that "righteousness" is a person's external image and internal culture, and we respect the image and culture of the sheep, and we should be as gentle, kind and good as the sheep. The word "righteousness" here mainly refers to a kind of good and kindly feelings and temperament. Sheep is the most beautiful food in our lives and has been the first of the six animals since ancient times. The Chinese people highly respect sheep, and when the ancients created their characters, they used the word "sheep" for the most beautiful things. For example, sheep and fish form the character for "fresh", and in the minds of the Chinese, sheep and fish are the most delicious foodstuffs, the most delicious foodstuffs. The most beautiful Chinese words "beauty" and "goodness" both have the character "羊" on them, and are constructed with the character "羊" as the main radical, which is the main component of the character "羊". This reflects people's pursuit of the beautiful realm possessed by the sheep, and makes this realm the character that should be pursued and the morality that should be advocated by the people of China. The Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of the Characters in Chinese) explains "righteousness" in relation to "beauty" and "goodness", which are the same as the words "beauty" and "goodness". "The traditional Chinese character for "righteousness", "yi", also has the character for "sheep". Therefore, righteousness, beauty and goodness are synonymous. The ancients emphasized "righteousness", which refers to such a beautiful and kind realm and righteousness. Confucius highly respected the virtue of "benevolence" and advocated "killing oneself to become benevolent". Mencius, on the other hand, highly esteemed the virtue of "righteousness" and said that one should "sacrifice one's life for righteousness". "Killing one's own body and sacrificing one's life have the same meaning and the same realm, which means that Mencius puts "righteousness" and "benevolence" on the same level of importance. This shows that Mencius recognized "righteousness" and "benevolence" as equally important. We say that traditional Chinese virtues are mainly "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust", usually simplified into "benevolence, righteousness and morality", it can be seen that the most important of these five elements is "benevolence" and "righteousness". It can be seen that the most important of these five elements are the two virtues of "benevolence" and "righteousness", which are the two most central and basic elements. Ancient saying: "Benevolence is honor, but not benevolence is disgrace", "By righteousness is honor, and backing righteousness is disgrace", shows that the traditional Chinese moral concept of honor and disgrace is also based on whether or not to achieve "benevolence" and "righteousness" as the "honor" and "disgrace" as the "honor" and "disgrace".

"Rites" refers to rules of etiquette, manners and etiquette, i.e. "rules of etiquette". "Li" was originally a custom and ritual of primitive society to offer sacrifices to gods and pray for blessings. In the Book of Rites, the Book of Tables, it is said that "the Yin people honored the gods and led the people to serve the gods, first the ghosts and then the rites", which refers to a kind of ceremony and custom, and at that time, the "rites" had not yet been clarified and advocated as a kind of ethical norms, moral guidelines and moral concepts. With the further development of the society, there were new changes in the knowledge and understanding of "rites". In the Book of Rites, the Record of Tables, it is said that "the Zhou people honored rituals and gave thanks for them; they respected the spirits and gods from a distance, and were loyal to the people." Said the Yin people respect the gods, and the Zhou people ghosts and respect the gods and far away, began to stay away from it, and "making rites and music", and gradually standardize these rituals, in which case the implementation of what kind of etiquette, what kind of ceremony, what kind of politeness specific norms, and advocate the "rites and music advocating the rule of the world by "rituals and music". During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, the content of "etiquette" changed creatively, and "etiquette" began to be promoted as a moral code. In the oldest collection of poems in China, the Book of Songs, there is a verse that reads, "The rat has a skin, but the man has no manners; if the man has no manners, what is the point of not dying", which means, "Look at the rat, it still has a skin, so how can a man have no manners; if a man has no manners, what is the point of not going to die? Confucius also has a famous line: "self-restraint for benevolence", meaning that everyone should restrain their own improper desires, impulsive emotions and incorrect speech and behavior, to do "not polite do not see, not polite do not listen, not polite do not say, not polite do not move", so that their own vision, Hear, speak, act, and every action conforms to the rules of "propriety". This shows that "etiquette" has been put in a very important position in the moral field to be respected, regulated and advocated. Guan Zhong, a famous ancient statesman and thinker, even put forward the concept of "etiquette, honesty and shame, the four dimensions of the state" to govern the country, putting "etiquette" at the top of the list of moral norms, indicating that "etiquette" has been gradually transformed from a custom and ritual to an ethical code of conduct. This shows that "etiquette" has been gradually standardized from a kind of custom and ceremony to a kind of moral education and moral concept, and sublimated into the first of the four elements of state governance. The Chinese have always put "etiquette" in an important position, using the State of Etiquette to show that we are civilized and that it is uncivilized not to speak of etiquette. From this we can see that "etiquette" also has an important place in the traditional Chinese virtues.

"Wisdom" refers to the ability to recognize right and wrong, to understand good and evil, and to know oneself and others, i.e., "the power of wisdom". As one of the basic elements of traditional Chinese virtues, "wisdom" appeared in the written records at a very early stage. Confucius used to say, "The way of a gentleman is threefold: the benevolent man does not worry, the wise man does not worry, and the courageous man does not fear." The "Meanings of the Middle Kingdom" says: "The three of wisdom, benevolence and courage are the great virtues of the world. We are all familiar with the words of the Analects of Confucius, "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, is also knowing", is to say that even if one's knowledge is rich, there is always the problem of not understanding, then there should be a pragmatic attitude, only in this way can we learn more knowledge, and it is the wisdom of the action. Here, "to know is to know" means "this is wisdom, this is intelligence, this is the wise man". On the basis of inheriting and developing the intelligent and wise thoughts of Tang Yao, Yu Shun, and Shang Tang on knowing oneself, society, right and wrong, good and evil, Confucius and Mencius enriched the specific contents of the thought of "wisdom" and elevated the status of "wisdom" as a moral requirement in the moral code. It has enriched the specific content of the idea of "wisdom" and elevated the status of "wisdom" as a moral requirement in the moral norms, making it a new moral concept and value orientation of universal significance, and one of the most basic requirements for people's ideological, moral and civilizational qualities.

"Faith" refers to honesty and trustworthiness, firmness and reliability, mutual trust and such conduct, that is, "the character of integrity". "Faith" is not simply honesty, credit is the most basic connotation of "faith". It not only requires people to be honest and trustworthy in their own behavior, but also reflects the firmness and reliability of people's understanding of a certain thing, a certain idea, and the relationship of mutual trust between people and between people and things. Without such a foundation of firmness, reliability and mutual trust, it is difficult for people to realize honesty and trustworthiness in their own behavior. As far back as ancient times, our ancestors recognized "trust" and actively promoted it. Sages and sages throughout the ages have emphasized "faith" in many books, and even in some classical literature such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, and so on, the moral concept of "faith" has been emphasized, and there are also references to "faith" in them. There are also interpretations of human nature and stories depicting "faith". Zuo Zhuan (左传)-Xi Gong 25 Years (僖公二十五年), which reads: "Faith is the treasure of the state, and the shelter of the people", meaning that a ruler's "faith" is the foundation of the state, and it is the basis of the people's survival. Laozi said: "Words, good faith". This means that one should keep one's word. Confucius also said, "people without loyalty and trust, can not stand in the world", and said "people do not have faith, do not know what can be". He also put "words must be faithful, actions must be fruitful", "respect and faith" as the basic requirements for disciples to regulate the words and deeds, the integrity of the world as the basis for human behavior. Mencius, on the other hand, regarded honesty as the cornerstone of the society and the criterion of being a human being, and he said, "Sincerity is the way of heaven. He said, "Sincerity is the way of heaven, and sincerity is the way of man. To the sincere and immovable, there is not; not sincere, there is no one who can move," that is, the exposition of its evidence. In the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng, the famous prime minister of the "Zhenguan Political Essentials", said: "Virtue and honesty, the country's outline", the "letter" as the outline of the country to be emphasized. In the Old Book of Tang, it is said that "the protection of the king lies in honesty and integrity". In the Book of Shangshu, it is written: "Credit is clear to the world". In the Book of Songs, there is a very famous idiom called "swearing by faith". Such an understanding of faith, the promotion of faith, and the worship of faith have survived like an evergreen tree in the fertile ground of the ideology and culture of the Chinese nation, which has flourished from generation to generation. The fact that the "letter" as an important part of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation has always been recognized and promoted by the people is a clear indication of the fact that the "letter" is the most important part of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.

So, how do we look at the five basic elements of the traditional Chinese virtues of "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust"? From the relationship of the five elements, they are interrelated, interdependent and mutually supportive, *** with the traditional moral building of the Chinese nation constitutes the foundation of the moral edifice, can also be said to be the pillars of the moral edifice. From the basic connotation, "benevolence" is mainly the emotion of mutual care, mutual respect and mutual love among people, and it is a kind of moral norm for all things in the world to ****sheng, live in harmony and develop in a coordinated way; "righteousness" is the attitude of being a human being that transcends oneself, faces reality squarely, and fights for justice; "righteousness" is the attitude of being a human being that transcends oneself, faces reality squarely, and fights for justice. Righteousness" is the attitude of transcending oneself, facing reality squarely, being righteous and fair; "propriety" is a standard and rule for establishing interpersonal relationship and social order; "wisdom" is the vision and ability of people to recognize themselves, understand the society, solve the conflicts and deal with the problems; "faith" is the ability of people to interact and deal with each other. "is a moral code for people's interaction and conduct of business. "Benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust" are the core values and basic requirements of traditional Chinese virtues, and are the five most important social moral norms that we should follow well. From the comparison of various combinations of traditional Chinese virtues, "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust" are the basic obligations and main behaviors that people should fulfill, and they have a fundamental position in the construction of morality. From the perspective of the history of the emergence and development of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust" have the status of origin in the long history of the moral construction of the Chinese nation. From the point of view of the huge and colorful system of traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust" has a dominant position. From the point of view of the extensive and far-reaching influence of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation on the progress of society, "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust" drives the development of the entire social moral system and the enhancement of the level of social morality, and it has an important position in the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation as a whole.