Confucianism is a school that worships Confucius' theory. In ancient times, "Confucianism" refers to intellectuals who were separated from witches and devoted themselves to offering sacrifices to their ancestors and organizing funerals for aristocratic families. After Confucius, the meaning of Confucianism changed, referring to the Confucian school with Confucius as its master. The content of Confucianism is mainly "ancestors described Yao and Shun, chartered (imitated) civil and military", advocated "rites and music" and "benevolence and righteousness", and advocated "loyalty and forgiveness" and "moderation". Politically, it advocates "rule by virtue" (rule by courtesy) and "benevolent government" and attaches importance to moral and ethical education. During the Warring States period, "Confucianism was divided into eight schools", among which Mencius and Xunzi were important. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "ousted a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", Confucianism has become the orthodox thought of China feudal society. Confucianism in various periods always adapts to the needs of the feudal ruling class and deduces various timely Confucianism from Confucius' theory. For example, Confucian classics and divination represented by Dong Zhongshu and Liu Xin in the Han Dynasty; In Wei and Jin Dynasties, Wang Bi and Yan He explained the metaphysics of Confucian classics with Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi's thoughts. Han Yu was a Confucian orthodoxy that rejected Buddhism in Tang Dynasty. During the Song and Ming Dynasties, there was a dispute between Sinology and Song Studies. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, there was a dispute between China's modern classic research and China's ancient classic research. Before and after the May 4th Movement, Confucianism gradually lost its position as an orthodox thought with the decline of feudal society.

Confucius

Confucius (55 BC1-479), named Qiu, Lu (now southeast of Qufu, Shandong Province) was born. Ancestors are Chu nobles, who take refuge in Shandong. When he was born, his family background had declined. When I was young, I worked as a commissioner of the Ji Sun family (in charge of warehouses) and a farmer (in charge of raising animals). In his thirties, he went to Qi, but a few years later he didn't get the attention of Qi Jun, and then he returned to Lu to call his disciples to give lectures. When he was in his fifties, he was promoted from the commander-in-chief of the capital of Lu to the head of Sikou (prison and picket). Later, he traveled to Song, Wei, Cai, Qi and Chu. In his later years, he edited and arranged ancient cultural classics, such as Poetry, Shangshu and Chunqiu, to teach his disciples. Confucius' disciples compiled the dialogues and questions and answers between him and his disciples into The Analects. The Analects of Confucius is the main material for studying Confucius' thoughts.

Confucius put forward the theory of "benevolence"

The word "benevolence" was first seen in Shangshu Jinteng: "My talent and virtue are like my late father." This "benevolence" refers to talent and virtue. Later politicians talked about "benevolence", referring to interpersonal ethical relations. Confucius fully expounded benevolence and raised it to the highest point of ethical philosophy, forming a systematic Confucianism. The meaning of "benevolence" mentioned by Confucius is very extensive, and "the benevolent loves others" and "self-denial for benevolence" are its two main contents. Confucius emphasized that benevolence is not only a person's inner psychological feeling and conscious moral consciousness, but also the highest moral standard. Benevolent people should "love all", "kiss all" and "love all and be able to be wicked". Therefore, we should do "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", "stand up for yourself" (The Analects of Wei Linggong) and "do to the people and help them" (The Analects of Yongye). Confucius' talk about "benevolence" reflected the change of workers' status at that time to some extent, which was a leap in the history of ideological development. The "benevolence" mentioned by Confucius is also associated with "ceremony". He said, "Self-denial is benevolence." Only by restraining oneself, making his behavior conform to the norms of etiquette and law, and doing "see no evil, don't listen to evil, don't speak evil, don't move evil" (The Analects of Confucius, Yan Yuan), can he be considered a benevolent person, which reflects his dissatisfaction with the behavior of the emerging landlord class at that time. On the basis of the above ethical concepts, in view of the disadvantages in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius demanded to observe the people's feelings and reduce exploitation, and advocated "saving money and loving people to adapt the people to the times" (The Analects of Confucius, Learning), "choosing jobs" (The Analects of Confucius, Yao Yue) and "collecting thin taxes" (Shuoyuan,); Oppose tyranny and abuse of the people, reprimand "tyranny is fiercer than tiger" (Book of Rites Tan Gong), advocate virtuous politics and save punishment. Later, Mencius inherited and developed Confucius' theory of "benevolence" and formed the theory of "benevolent government" and the thought of valuing the people.

Confucius started a private school.

Before Confucius, "learning is an official", the school was designed for the children of slave owners and nobles, and civilians did not have the right to education. During the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the development of social productive forces and class differentiation, some retired officials with certain cultural accomplishments returned to their hometowns to collect apprentices and set up private schools, but the impact was not great. By the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, with the change from slavery to feudalism, the landlord regime needed a large number of intellectuals to serve it, and the atmosphere of gathering disciples to give lectures became increasingly prosperous. Confucius also began to set up private schools to recruit disciples. There are three main periods for Confucius to run a school. The first period is between 30 and 35, the second period is between 37 and 50, and the third period is his old age, that is, between 68 and 73. He advocated "educating the proletariat (class refers to the hierarchical difference between the rich and the poor)" (The Analects of Confucius, Wei Linggong). As long as "cultivation (ten pieces of dried meat) is above" (The Analects of Confucius, Shuer), he was accepted as a disciple. In this way, relatively poor civilians can receive education as long as they can afford it, thus breaking through the restriction of "learning in the official". Confucius taught as many as 3,000 disciples in his life, among them, "70 were proficient in the six arts (ritual-ritual, music-shooting-shooting, imperial-driving, calligraphy-literacy, number-calculation)" (historical records of Confucius' family). Most of these students are from poor families, but not many are from noble families.

teach students in accordance with their aptitude

Confucius was the first educator in China who advocated "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude". He acknowledged the differences of students' personalities and the level of their degrees, and advocated teaching students in accordance with their aptitude under the unified training goal. "People above the average level can also teach orally, but people below the average level can't teach orally (you can give him advanced knowledge for people above the average level, but you can't give advanced content for people below the average level)". Usually, Confucius pays great attention to observation, understands each student's hobbies, personality and degree, and knows them by heart. In teaching, on the one hand, he gives different guidance according to students' level and acceptance ability. For example, students always give different answers according to different situations. Zeng Shen's academic accomplishment is relatively high. Once he asked Confucius "Tao", but Confucius didn't reveal it directly, just said, "My Tao is consistent." Let him understand for himself. After Confucius left, other students asked Mr. Ceng Zi what he meant. He replied, "A teacher's way is loyalty and forgiveness." It shows that he has really understood the teachings of Confucius. On the other hand, Confucius often educates students according to their different shortcomings. For example, Ran Qiu and Zhong You asked Confucius, "Do you act when you hear it?" Confucius replied to Zhong You: "You have a father and a brother, how can you do it?" He also replied to Ran Qiu: "Sven will do it." Gong Xihua was puzzled to see that his answer was different. He asked Confucius what the reason was, and Confucius replied, "Quit after planning, so enter (Ran Qiu is timid when he is in trouble, so I want to encourage him to enter);" You are a human being, so you retreat (Zhong You is brave, so I want to restrain him) "(Advanced Analects).

Review the past and learn the new.

"Reviewing the past and learning the new" comes from The Analects of Confucius. The original text is: "Confucius said:' Reviewing the past and learning the new can be a teacher.' Confucius said: "Only by reviewing old knowledge (referring to what has been learned) and acquiring new knowledge (referring to what has not been learned) can people become teachers."

The Spring and Autumn Annals

Spring and Autumn Annals is a chronicle written by Confucius in his later years based on the historical materials of Lu. The Spring and Autumn Annals recorded the important historical events of various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, with Lu as the main body, starting in the year of Lu Yin (722 BC) and ending in the fourteenth year (4865438 BC+0 BC), with a calendar of 242 years. Confucius died shortly after the last stroke of the Spring and Autumn Annals (479 BC). The language of Chunqiu is simple. It is said that every word is carefully thought out by Confucius, which reflects his praise and criticism of historical events, so it is called "Chunqiu brushwork". For example, Confucius advocated respecting Zhou Shi. When he wrote Spring and Autumn Annals, he didn't call King Wu Yue the monarch, but called him Zi, who was originally knighted. Chunqiu is a Confucian classic.

Dao Xue Jia School

Taoism refers to an academic school with the theory of "Tao" of Laozi and Zhuangzi as its core in the pre-Qin period. But the word Taoism appeared relatively late. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were only the Laozi School and the Zhuangzi School, but no Taoist School. The name of Taoism was first put forward by Sima Tan in Han Dynasty, and it was called "Daoist". The book of the Han Dynasty was originally named Taoism and listed as one of the "Nine Streams" ("Nine Streams" refers to the nine academic schools in the pre-Qin period, namely Confucianism, Taoism, Yin and Yang, Fa, Ming, Mo, Zongheng, Za and Nong). The content of Taoism is mainly based on Laozi and Zhuangzi's view of natural heaven, which holds that everything in the world originates from Tao, and emphasizes that people should follow the Tao's principles of "living without relying, walking without relying, and long without killing" ("Tao" grows everything without possessing it, walking without relying, and long without intention). Politically, it advocates "ruling by doing nothing" and opposes "rule of law" and "Shang Xian", and thinks that "law will lead to more thieves" and "not Shang Xian" can "make people do not dispute". Ethically, it advocates "abandoning benevolence and refusing righteousness" and opposes "ruling the country by courtesy", and believes that "courtesy" is the chief culprit causing chaos (Tao Te Ching). These thoughts of Taoism are in sharp contrast with the theories of Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism.

Laozi

The record of Laozi in history books is not very clear. Sima Qian's Historical Records said that his surname was Li Minger, whose name was Bo Yang, and he was from Qurenli, Li Xiang, Guxian County, Chu State (now Lu Yidong, Henan Province). He is the "library keeper" of the Zhou Dynasty (the historian in charge of libraries), that is, Lao Dan whom Confucius once asked him. When he said that he might be King Lie of Zhou, he met Zhou Taishi of Qin Xiangong. He also said it might be Lao Laizi. Textbooks adopt the former statement. The core of Laozi's theory is "Tao". He believes that "Tao" means "nothing". This "Tao" is born, has no will, has no specific shape, is silent and odorless, and is everywhere. Tao is the origin of all things in the universe. Lao Tzu guessed that everything has advantages and disadvantages, and the two sides are interdependent, but on the contrary, they complement each other, such as "whether there is mutual existence, whether it is difficult to complement each other, whether it is long or short, whether it is high or low, whether it is sound or sound, whether it is before or after". Moreover, the opposite sides of things will transform into each other, "right is strange (abnormal), good is evil" and "what does good depend on"; Happiness lies in misfortune "(Tao Te Ching). However, this simple dialectical thought of Laozi has serious defects. He not only ignored the necessary conditions for the transformation of opposites, but also regarded the transformation of things into opposites as a cycle, not an upward development. Laozi's theory had a great influence on the later development of China's philosophy, and materialism and idealism absorbed his thoughts from different angles.

Laozi's thought has a negative side. Laozi lived in the Zhou Dynasty for many years. By the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the politics of the Zhou Dynasty was increasingly disordered and the society was facing great changes. In the face of all this, he was negative and pessimistic, and put forward the retro idea of "a small country with few people", so that people could live a life of "neighbors facing each other, chickens and dogs hearing each other, people being isolated from each other until death" (Tao Te Ching).

Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching is said to have been written by Laozi, also known as Laozi and Laozi's 5,000 Articles. However, judging from the ideological content and some problems involved in the book, it was compiled in the early Warring States period and basically retained the main ideas of Laozi. The book has more than 5,000 words, and it is a philosophical poem written in verse. It is divided into Tao Te Ching and Tao Te Ching, so it is called Tao Te Ching. 1973 Laozi, a silk book unearthed from Mawangdui No.3 Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, put the Classic of Virtue before the Classic of Taoism, so it was also called the Classic of Virtue. Taoism emphasizes philosophy and morality emphasizes politics and military affairs.

mohists

Mohism is an important school in the Warring States period, and its founder is Mozi. In the early days, Mohist school launched a political and academic ideological struggle with Confucianism around universal love, non-aggression, Shang Xian, Shang Tong, ambition, understanding ghosts, saving money, being unhappy and doomed by heaven. At the end of the Warring States period, Mozi's post-school overcame the religious superstition in Mozi's theory and made certain research and contributions to epistemology, logic, mechanics, optics and geometry in natural science. Mohism has formed a disciplined group, obeying the command of its leader "tycoon", living a frugal life, eating Chenopodium soup and wearing short brown clothes. It is said that they are very brave and can "go through fire and water and jump over the blade without danger" (Huai Nan Zi Tai Jia Pian). After Mozi's death, he was divided into three factions. After the Western Han Dynasty, Mohism gradually declined because the feudal rulers worshipped Confucianism and suppressed Mohism.

Mozi

Mozi's name is Zhai, and he was born in Lu (Song Dynasty). He was born in 468 BC and died in 376 BC. He came from a humble background, worked as a craftsman and called himself a "bitch". He once studied Confucianism, but later he was dissatisfied with its complicated "ceremony", set up a new school, called his disciples to give lectures and founded Mohism. Mozi deeply understands the miserable life of the working people, fiercely opposes "being rich and humiliating the poor, being arrogant and arrogant" and advocates "loving each other and bringing out the best in each other" (Mozi loves them all). He should use his strength to help others, distribute wealth to the rich, and use Taoist priests in proper ways, so that "the hungry get food, the cold get clothes, the laborers get rest, and the chaotic ones get treatment." However, this "all-love thought" ignores the fact of class opposition, which is impossible to realize in a class society where people exploit others and others oppress others. From the viewpoint of universal love, Mozi also put forward the ideas of "saving money", "saving burial", "being unhappy" and "not attacking", and opposed the extravagant life of rulers and the unjust war of bullying the small with the big and bullying the weak with the strong. Mozi's public loss records a story: the public transport class made a ladder for Chu to attack the Song Dynasty. Chu is a big country, while Song is a small country. Mozi rushed to Chu from Qi State to persuade the Gongyun class and the King of Chu not to bully small countries with big countries. At the same time, he sent people to Song State to help prepare for defense and stop Chu's war against Song. However, Mozi believes that heaven has a will, and ghosts and gods can reward the virtuous and punish the violent, which shows that he has not broken through the shackles of religious superstition and world outlook. The thoughts and behaviors of Mozi and his disciples are recorded in the book Mozi. This 53-volume Mozi 15 is an important material for studying Mozi and Mohist school.

Mencius

Mencius (372-289 BC) was born in Zou, a native of Shandong in the middle of the Warring States Period. Zisi (the grandson of Confucius, whose real name is Ji) was a disciple. He traveled to Song, Teng, Wei, Qi and other countries to explain his political views and worked in Qi. In his later years, he retired to write books. There are seven works handed down from ancient times in Mencius. He was a representative of Confucianism in the middle of the Warring States Period.

Mencius' thought originated from Confucius. Mencius developed Confucius' "benevolence" into the theory of "benevolent government". He believes that to implement "benevolent government", it is necessary to "control the people's permanent production" so that every farmer can have a hundred acres of land, five acres of houses and the minimum means of production; "Don't rob the farming season" to ensure that farmers have time to work; "save punishment and light taxes" to give people the lowest material living conditions; Strengthen moral education to make people understand the truth of "filial piety and faith". Mencius saw that the people were being exploited and oppressed by the feudal landlord class, and tried to take these measures to ease class contradictions and consolidate the rule of the landlord class, but it was still conducive to the development of production. In connection with the theory of "benevolent government", Mencius also put forward the view that "the people are more valuable than the monarch", saying: "the people are more valuable, the country is second, and the monarch is lighter" (Mencius). He believes that only with the support of the people can the monarch achieve and maintain his dominant position. Therefore, he advocated that the monarch should mainly implement "benevolent government" and "have fun with the people." China people can kill the monarch who destroys the people. Shang Zhouwang is a famous tyrant in history. The king of Wu attacked Zhou. He thought it was right to kill him. He said, "I have heard of killing husbands, but I have never heard of killing kings" (Mencius Hui Liang Wang Xia). Although Mencius sympathized with the people and condemned the tyrant, his political thought still maintained the feudal system, so he preached: "The industrious rule the people, and the industrious rule the people." Treat people eat people, treat people eat people, which makes sense in the world "("Mencius Teng Wengong "). This view has long been the theoretical basis for defending the exploitation system.

xunzi

Xunzi's real name, the word Qing, Zhao's native place, the year of birth and death is unknown, and his activity period is from about 286 BC to 238 BC. Xunzi has been to Chyi Chin, and later lived in Chu for a long time. During his years of travel, he contacted people of various schools and studied their theories and thoughts. Xunzi is a representative of Confucianism, but he summed up hundred schools of thought's achievements and absorbed positive factors to become an outstanding materialist thinker and master of Confucianism. In his later years, he wrote books in Lexus (now Yixian East, Shandong Province), and there are 32 existing books by Xunzi. Xunzi believes that natural phenomena such as falling stars, muffled voices, sun and moon losses, uneven wind and rain, the appearance of strange stars and the metabolism of the four seasons are independent of human will and have laws to follow. "Heaven always exists, not for the existence of Yao, not for the death of Jie" (Xunzi's theory of heaven). Xunzi also put forward the idea of "controlling the destiny and using it" (Xunzi's theory of heaven), that is, people can give full play to their subjective initiative on the premise of following the laws of nature. He believes that heaven has no ability to decide people's poverty, illness, disaster and fierceness, which is entirely decided by people themselves. He pointed out that if people master the laws of nature, they can achieve "heaven and earth officials (control) and everything serves", so that everything in heaven and earth can serve people. Xunzi's thought reflects the will and interests of the emerging landlord class.

Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi (about 369-286 BC) was born in Zhou and Song Dynasties (near Shangqiu, Henan). He worked as a painter in his hometown and soon retired. Author of Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi's article "Wang Yang is wanton", in the form of fable, is rich in imagination and has high philosophical and literary research value. He inherited and developed Laozi's view that everything in the world is relative. He believes that there is no absolute boundary between good and bad, right and wrong, big and small, high and low. Zhuangzi used this epistemological relativism to observe life and society, which led to skepticism and negative pessimism. He thinks that everything in reality is terrible and painful, and life is just a dream. Life is worse than death. Therefore, he opposes all progress and all civilizations. Zhuangzi's thoughts are more negative than Laozi's.

Legalist school

Legalism is an important school in the Warring States Period, which originated from Guanzhong and Zichan in the Spring and Autumn Period and developed in Li Kui, Wuqi, Shangyang and Shen Buhai in the Warring States Period. By the end of the Warring States period, Han Fei had made a comprehensive study of Legalists. Legalists demanded the consolidation of feudal private ownership of land and the establishment of a unified monarchy. Put forward the viewpoint of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining business, advocate the policy of agricultural war, get rich by agriculture and strengthen by war; Enforce severe penalties and laws, supervise the duties of officials and establish a bureaucratic system.

Han Fei

Han Fei (280 BC-233 BC) was a nobleman in South Korea, who was "fond of learning the name of criminal demons" and later called him Han Feizi. He and Reese are both disciples of Xunzi. At that time, South Korea was very weak and was often bullied by neighboring countries. He repeatedly put forward plans for prosperity to the king of South Korea, but they were not adopted by the king of South Korea. Han Fei wrote a series of articles, such as Lonely Anger and Five Cheats, and was later included in a book, Han Feizi. Ying Zheng, King of Qin, read Han Fei's article and praised it. In 234 BC, Han Fei came to Qin as a special envoy of South Korea and wrote to Qin Shihuang, urging him to behead Zhao first and postpone acting for South Korea. Reese was jealous of Han Fei's talent and tried to frame him with Yao Jia. Han Fei was forced to commit suicide by taking poison.

Han Fei pays attention to the study of history and thinks that history is constantly developing and progressing. He believes that if today's world is still praising "the way of Yao, Shun, Tang and Wu", "it will be a smile to the new saints". Therefore, he advocated that "we should not take the ancient times by surprise", "the world is different" and "things are different" (everything is wrong), and we should formulate policies according to today's reality. His view of history provided a theoretical basis for the reform of the landlord class at that time.

Han Fei inherited and summarized the thoughts and practices of legalists in the Warring States period, and put forward the theory of absolute monarchy and centralization. He advocated that "things are in the quartet and in the central government; Sages insist on everything, and all directions will work "(everything is wrong, property rights are right). The power of the country should be concentrated in the hands of the monarch ("saint"), and the monarch must have the power and influence to govern the world. "The master of thousands of riders is the king of thousands of riders, so those who control the world and levy princes will also use their power" (everything goes wrong, the master of people). To this end, you mainly use various means to eliminate hereditary slave owners and nobles, "disperse their party" and "seize their auxiliary" (everything goes wrong, the main road); At the same time, select a group of feudal officials who have been trained by practice to replace them. "The prime minister must start from the state department, and the valiant soldier must be sent away" ("Han Fei Zi Xian Xue"). Han Fei also advocated reform and the rule of law, demanding "abolishing the former king's teaching" (Han Feizi Tian Wen) and "teaching by law" (Han Feizi Wu Note). He emphasized that when a "law" is enacted, it must be strictly enforced, and no one can be an exception, so that "the law is not expensive" and "the punishment does not avoid the minister, and the good does not stay behind" (everything is enough). He also believes that only by imposing severe punishment can people obey, society be stable and feudal rule be consolidated. These propositions of Han Fei reflected the interests and demands of the emerging feudal landlord class, and provided a theoretical basis for ending the vassal regime and establishing a unified centralized feudal country. After Qin Shihuang unified China, many political measures were the application and development of Han Fei's theory.

Sun Wu and Sun Tzu's Art of War

Sun Wu, who was born in the late Spring and Autumn Period, is a descendant of Tian family in Qi State. Later, when he arrived in Wu, he was appointed as a general by He Lv, the king of Wu, and led an army to attack Chu. According to legend, The Art of War was written by Sun Tzu, 13.

According to the objective laws of war, Sun Tzu's Art of War formulated relatively systematic strategic and tactical principles. It believes that to win the war, there must be sufficient planning and preparation. It attaches importance to political struggle and thinks it is best to "defeat the enemy without fighting." It is believed that we should fully understand and master the enemy's situation during the war. As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know yourself, and you will win every battle." If you don't know yourself and yourself, you won't be defeated. It is pointed out that the most important thing in a battle is initiative. It requires the correct use of troops, emphasizes that "I specialize in dividing the enemy", tries to concentrate my own strength and force the enemy's strength to disperse, thus forming a favorable situation of "taking one as ten" and "attacking less with more" Tactics should be flexible, we should "take it by surprise", war command should "avoid reality and be empty", and we should be calm, decisive and brave. In addition, Sun Tzu's Art of War puts forward some important principles in topography, reconnaissance and military discipline education.

Sun Tzu's Art of War is an excellent military work with a simple dialectical view. It not only has an important position in China's military history, but also has a high reputation in the world's military history.

Sun Bin and Sun Bin's Art of War

Sun Bin, a strategist in the Warring States Period, was a descendant of Sun Wu, a man between Qi Guo 'a (now Yanggu East, Shandong Province) and Zhu (now Juancheng North, Shandong Province). He studied the art of war with Pang Juan, and later became a general of Wei. Because of his lack of talent, he was sent to Wei and sentenced to abdominal punishment (gouging out his kneecap), so he was called Sun Bin. After being carried back by the angel of Qi, he was appointed as a military adviser, and designed to defeat Wei Jun in Guiling and Wei Jun in Maling, forcing Pang Juan to commit suicide. He is the author of Sun Bin's Art of War, which has been lost to later generations. 1972, part of this book was preserved in the bamboo slips unearthed in Yinshan Mountain, Linyi, Shandong Province. Sun Tzu's Art of War at Sun Yat-sen's funeral advocates cautious war, emphasizing "prepare before you move", that is to say, you must make full preparations before the war, so that "you can make meritorious deeds when you go out, but you won't hurt when you enter". He also stressed that those who command wars must understand "Tao", that is, they must understand the laws of war; It also discusses how to attack the public with less, attack the strong with weakness, create a favorable combat situation and use tactics flexibly.

I hope I can help you. If it is not enough, just look through the works of pre-Qin philosophers in modern vernacular, and the words inside are the best examples of the debate. If you know the meaning of those words, you can use them freely. I wish you success!