What is the spirit of Chinese culture and how should we promote it?

Harmony and the Middle Way, as the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture, have been around for a long time. According to the Book of Shun, Shun once asked his music officials to do the following: "Poetry speaks of the will, song of the eternal word, sound according to the eternal, the law and the sound, the eight tones of Keshi, no phase to take away from Lun, the gods and men to and." Harmony is not only the essence of music, but also the highest level of conscious pursuit. The State Language - Zheng Language recorded the words of Shi Bo at the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty: "Harmony is a living thing, and the same is not succeeded. With him to level him called and, so can be rich long and things return to it; if the same benefit with the same, the end is abandoned." Harmony produces all things, while similarity does not allow things to continue to develop; linking things with different characteristics together, i.e., "leveling others with others," is called "harmony," while only superimposing the same things together, new things can not be produced, and everything will be finished. Yan Ying, the prime minister of Qi, who was more than 200 years later than Shi Bo, inherited and developed the above ideas with the ideas of "mutual help" and "mutual fulfillment". In Zuo Zhuan - Zhaogong 20 years, it is recorded that Yan Ying said in reply to the question of Qi Marquis, "Is it different from the same?" He said, "It is like a soup, the water and fire acyl and minced meat and salt and plums are used to cook the fish and meat, and a fire is made to make a salary. Zai Fu and its, Qi with flavor, to help its less than, to drain its excesses. The gentleman eats it to calm his heart. The same is true for the ruler and his ministers, the ruler called can but there is no焉, the ministers dedicate their no to make it possible; the ruler called no but there can be焉, the ministers dedicate their can go to its no. This is the reason why the government is peaceful but not dry, and the people do not have the heart to fight. ...... The first king's five flavors and five voices were also used to calm his heart and make his government." The image of the chef to make soup to mix different flavors, musicians to play to harmonize the different voices to compare the monarch to govern the country, we must listen to different opinions, "Ji its less than, in order to vent its fault." Then the harmony of "peaceful government without any interference, and the people without any disputes" can be achieved. According to the heirloom version of Laozi, "All things are negative to the yin and embrace the yang, and the middle air is harmony." Confucius, on the other hand, proposed that "Harmony is precious" (Lun Yu - Xue Er), and that "Gentlemen are in harmony but not in agreement, while small people are in agreement but not in harmony." (Lun Yu - Zi Lu). The Book of Changes - Xiangyi Xia (易传-系辞下) also emphasizes the importance of harmony and the removal of sameness, and advocates unity in diversity: "The world is united by a hundred considerations, but it returns to the same place, but on different paths." Mencius emphasized that "Heavenly time is not as good as geographical advantage, and geographical advantage is not as good as human harmony." (Mengzi - Gongsun Chouxia) The Yi Chuan says, "The sage touches the hearts of men and the world is at peace." According to the Tuan of the Zhou Yi (周易-乾-彖), "Qian Dao changes, and each person's life is corrected, and it is beneficial to maintain harmony and taihe." "Taihe" is the highest state of harmony, so that the world is naturally auspicious. Noble harmony is inseparable from Shangzhong. Ancient military schools of thought on the harmony of the top and bottom is even richer. Sun Tzu's "Art of War" puts forward "the top and bottom of the same desire to win", "good use of the military, hand in hand if you make a person", "Wu Zi" said: "the former figure of the country, must first teach the people and pro ten thousand people." The Sima Law says: "In all battles, the three armies, one person, wins." Sanliu said, "The way to build a country is to rely on virtue and people. Believe in sage as the heart of the abdomen, make the people as limbs, then the strategy is not lost." The "Meanwhile" on the harmony of the more exquisite summary: "joy, anger, sadness and happiness is not hair is said to be the middle, hair and are all in the middle of the section is said to be and. The center is also the body of the world; the harmony is also the way of the world. To the neutralization of the world, heaven is in the right place, and all things are nurtured." When the state of "neutralization" is achieved, all things in the universe and human society will be in their proper place, and all will be in a state of prosperity. The Analects of Confucius - Xue Er (学而): "Zhongyong is a virtue, and it has been realized!" "Neutrality is the highest state of morality. In the past, it was a misunderstanding to attribute "mediocrity" to egalitarianism, ambiguity, or the reconciliation of "hitting each other 50 times"! The "mediocrity" emphasizes "neutralization", of course, including the necessary "compromise" and "reconciliation", but more importantly, it emphasizes the coordination and reconciliation in the But more importantly, it emphasizes the degree of coordination and reconciliation, that is, the proportion; emphasizes that in coordination and reconciliation of all aspects of the relationship between the various aspects of the interests of all parties to be taken into account as far as possible, characteristics, etc., to avoid "too much too late".

Harmony is for unity and progress, but also the premise of unity and progress. Such as "the state language - Zhou language" said: "all the will of the people, all the people." The Transmission of this Laozi says: "He who multiplies the wisdom of the multitude, i.e., there is nothing that cannot be done; he who uses the strength of the multitude, i.e., there is nothing that cannot be multiplied." And the Guanzi says, "He who starts something with the strength of the multitude does not fail to accomplish it." The Strategies of the Warring States - The Strategies of the Eastern Zhou also said, "The accumulation of feathers sinks the boat, the group is light and folds the axle, and the multitude is hearty." Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals - Bensheng" about "ten thousand people manipulate the bow, *** shoot its a move, move no hit" and other ideas, all emphasize the significance of unity and progress.

People are more important than gods, and the people are the center

In the ancient times when science had not yet emerged, the concept of "god" was a natural thing because of the ignorance of oneself and all things in the universe. People once generally believed in the "Mandate of Heaven", but along with the emergence of scientific thought, the concept of "Mandate of Heaven" gradually wavered, such as the "Shangshu - Jun Shi" said: "Heaven can not be trusted." Thus, the concept of "valuing people over gods" gradually appeared, and in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the superstitious "fate of heaven" turned into "respect for virtue and protection of the people". Although "ancestor worship" is also a kind of superstition, but from the worship of "fate" to the worship of "ancestors", after all, marking the human awareness of their own subject position in the world, the value of their own Affirmation. From the worship of dead ancestors to the respect of real living people marked a major breakthrough in Chinese humanistic thinking. During the Spring and Autumn Period, when the rites and music were in tatters, the idea of "emphasizing human beings over gods and putting the people first" was generally valued. Zuo Zhuan - Zhaogong eighteen years, said: "the way of heaven is far away, the way of man is far away," reflects such a change. According to "Zuo Zhuan - Huan Gong six years" and "Zuo Zhuan - Xi Gong nineteen years", Jiliang of Sui and Sima Ziyu of Song both said, "The people are also the Lord of God." This marked the establishment of the idea of "emphasizing people over gods". "The beginning of the hegemony is also based on people. If the principle is reasonable, the country will be solidified; if the principle is chaotic, the country will be jeopardized." ("Guanzi - hegemony"), which further recognizes that "the people are the foundation of the state, the foundation is solid and the state is peaceful." (Shangshu - Song of the Five Sons) "The people are the foundation of the country." (Yan Zi Chun Qiu - Song of the Five Sons) (Yanzi Chunqiu - The Inner Chapter) Confucius said, "Everything under the sun, but the people are precious." ("Confucius Family Words"), and thus "not to speak of chaos and strange gods" ("Analects - Shui而"), and emphasized that "the righteousness of the people, respect for ghosts and gods and far away, can be said to know (wisdom) carry on." (Analects - Yongya) "The way of the king is to love his people." (Yinquishan Han Tomb bamboo slips "Sun Tzu Art of War - Wu asked") all illustrate the popularization of people-oriented thinking. In the Book of Rites - The Velvet Clothes, it is written: "The ruler lives by the people, and he also dies by the people." The Lüshi Chunqiu (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu Shi) states, "The foundation of the temple lies in the people." The heirloom version of Laozi says, "The sage has no constant mind, but takes the mind of the people as his mind." Zhuangzi - Heavenly Fortune" also says: "Respond to the people and obey the heavenly principle." Mencius clearly stated, "The people are the most important thing, the gods of earth and grain are the second most important thing, and the ruler is the least important thing." (Mencius, "The Heart of the King") "If you can get the people, you can get the world." ("Mengzi - Li Lou on") rich comprehensive and innovative spirit of Xunzi also shouted: "the birth of the people of heaven, not for the king; heaven's establishment of the king, in order to people also." ("Xunzi - the great strategy"). ("Xunzi - Strategy") "Xunzi" - the Duke of Lamentations recorded: "Confucius said: Qiu heard: 'The ruler, the boat; the people, the water; the water is carrying the boat, the water is overthrowing the boat.' Jun thus think of danger, then the danger will be not to arrive?" The relationship between the ruler and the people is visualized as the relationship between the boat and the water, which is a precise illustration of the people-oriented thought. Later generations have mistaken this for the mouth of Emperor Tang Taizong, which is not only a big mistake, but also a delay of more than a thousand years.

Supplement: Chinese culture is much, much more, and we as the heirs of the dragon should hold on to it