In Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty, China's political culture had begun to take shape. During the attack, he said, "There is no morning, and I am only at home." The events of Boyi and Shu Qi were the embodiment of political culture at that time. However, the political and cultural development at that time was not yet mature, and various ideas collided fiercely. The widespread existence of tribes and the implementation of the enfeoffment system, coupled with the continuous occurrence of political and military mergers, made scholars in various countries hold different ideas in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. It is difficult to argue with each other, and a hundred schools of thought contend. This is an era in which China's political culture develops rapidly and matures. As far as the development of China's political culture is concerned, Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism are the three schools that have great influence on later generations.
1) Confucianism
Confucius is a representative figure of Confucianism. He advocates benevolence and filial piety. On the one hand, he said "Jun Jun, minister, father, son", which maintained the ritual system, thus maintaining the hierarchy and the status of the monarch; On the other hand, he said: "The monarch and his ministers are courteous and the ministers are loyal", and put forward the obligations and responsibilities of the monarch; He also said that "a dangerous country will not enter, and a chaotic country will not live", "the three armed forces can win the handsome, but ordinary people can't win the ambition", emphasizing the independent personality of the people.
Mencius, after Confucius, even raised the people to a higher position than the monarch and the country. Mencius once said: the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light. On the one hand, Confucianism maintains hierarchy and monarchical power; On the other hand, they advocate that the monarch and his subjects should fulfill their respective obligations and rights, and neither side should demand unconditional obedience and compromise from the other. Confucius advocated "benevolent government", opposed excessive exploitation and oppression, and put forward the idea of enriching the people and benefiting the people. Confucianism in pre-Qin dynasty did not advocate abstinence, but pushed others to others. "Rite" is a tool to implement Confucianism.
Confucianism emphasizes the maintenance of internal system and social stability, so it can't be special in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. However, people think that Confucianism is still at a low level from the pre-Qin to the Qin Dynasty, which is unfair. During the Warring States period, Confucianism had spread all over seven countries. In the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang wanted to entrap alchemists and magicians, and his son Fu Su defended them on the grounds that some of them were Confucian scholars after all. Confucian scholars also served as ministers above the imperial court in the Qin Dynasty. All these indicate that the Qin Dynasty did not particularly exclude Confucian scholars. The so-called "cheating Confucianism" is actually cheating alchemists and magicians, including some Confucian scholars. Once unified, maintaining the unity of political power becomes a top priority, and Confucianism naturally becomes one of the ideological pillars of the rulers. Historical experience shows that under the premise of stable external political environment, the stabilizing effect of Confucianism on the national system and society is remarkable and amazing.
2) Political culture of Taoism
Laozi is a representative figure of Taoism, and he doesn't run around among governors seeking appointment like other schools. Because their political thought itself advocates inaction. Laozi said: "Tao often does nothing and does everything." If Hou Wang can keep it, everything will be self-sufficient. "Taoism's natural philosophy is the theoretical basis of its way of governing the country." Tao ",that is," nature ",is everywhere and does nothing. Everything in the world is generated by Tao, so Tao is also inaction. As the ruler of a country, if we can keep the Tao without losing it, the people can live a quiet and simple life. Yang Zhu, who is a Taoist representative with Laozi, thinks that "it is impossible to lose a penny in the world, and it is known that everyone in the world does not take it; "Everyone doesn't lose a dime, everyone is not good for the world, and the world is ruled."
The political proposition of Taoism is "governing by doing nothing", but "governing by doing nothing" is not a negative neglect and inaction. Taoist thought has a great influence on some new dynasties to conform to the people's feelings and formulate rest and recuperation policies. "When a great army is under siege, there will be fierce years", and Taoism is very disgusted with fierce social unrest such as war. They further believe that a good government is a government where people live and work in peace and contentment, without knowing the management of managers. People can feel the traces of managers everywhere, and then think that high-quality life is thanks to managers. Taoism disagrees. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, most rulers took Taoism as their main management thought. We can see that Taoism can play a huge positive role in a war-torn country.
3) Legalist political and cultural theory
The representatives of Legalism include Li Kui, Wuqi, Shang Yang, Han Feizi and others. They advocate that the rule of law should be used instead of the rule of propriety, and the law should be unified, regardless of personal relations. But in fact, this "rule of law" of legalists is quite different from the current rule of law. Because in the Warring States period, because all countries were inherited by nobles, nobles had privileges and controlled national politics, which led to the decline of monarchy and political corruption. In this environment, legalists were rewarded by the monarch by improving the monarchical power and opposing aristocratic privileges. In legalist theory, the monarch has legislative power and judicial power. While the laws formulated by the monarch are observed by the people, the rulers also use some means to examine and test their subordinates, and even use some "skills" to make power seem unattainable and mysterious, which makes people fear the monarch and tremble. This is also one of the theoretical sources that monarchical power was repeatedly mentioned later. Moreover, although the ruler is a legislator, he is not bound by the law.
Legalists in the pre-Qin period were also influenced by Confucianism. For example, Wu Qi advocates that national security is "in Germany but not in danger". Legalists and Confucianists have far-reaching influence on later generations. Some people say that "Confucianism is a secret law" is not unreasonable. For example, although Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty admired Confucianism, he once sent his men to bribe officials with some items as bait, and then severely punished these bewildered officials. This is actually an application of "art". Confucianism maintains the old monarchical power and aristocratic system, while Legalists raise monarchical power and suppress aristocratic power.
4) Other schools of thought in the pre-Qin period.
In the pre-Qin period, besides Confucianism, Taoism and law, there were other schools of thought, such as Yin-Yang School and Famous School. For example, Zou Yan, a representative of Yin and Yang School, put forward the idea of five virtues, which is an important theoretical basis for later emperors to govern the country. In every dynasty, a kind of "virtue" was praised in the five elements, and the legitimacy of its rule was determined by the principle of coexistence of five virtues. Another example is that representatives of famous artists, such as Gong Sunlong and Hui Shi, studied the theory of name debate, which inspired various parties to debate and discuss the issues of "name" and "reality" repeatedly, and became one of the origins of China's political culture.
It should be said that although the pre-Qin philosophers' thoughts became the basis of the political and cultural development of later generations, later generations no longer competed to establish schools like the pre-Qin philosophers, but merged with other foreign thoughts on the basis of the pre-Qin philosophers, or merged with each other to further develop; Or use the names and theories of pre-Qin philosophers to explain their views.
2 Pre-Qin civilian politics and the formation of scholar-oriented politics
In the pre-Qin period, there were many examples in which nobles and civilians lobbied to publicize their political views and advocated this method to lose power and influence politics. The monarch can better control the country by adopting the opinions and political theories of these people, or improve the strength of the monarch or improve the ruling strength of the country. And some nobles also catered to this trend, adopting a large number of public guests to enhance their own strength, so as to manipulate the political situation more easily and safeguard their own interests.
This form of participation in politics can be called "guest politics". Ordinary people talk about politics and become bureaucrats or even nobles, which is unique in the political and cultural history of China. Declining nobles and ordinary people make appointments in this way. This ethos was most prevalent during the Warring States Period.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the hierarchy was not strict. Personal dignity and free personality were valued by people at that time, and "scholar style" prevailed in interpersonal communication and political activities. The style of scholarship is embodied in: first, attaching importance to personal dignity; Second, personal dignity is supported and maintained by personal morality; Third, personal morality depends on the approval of others.
Westerners generally believe that personal dignity is given by God, while China people's personal dignity is realized through the recognition of all people. Scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period can give up their lives and do mortal things for the sake of the spirit of being a scholar. "A scholar dies as a confidant" and "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated" have become the creed of a scholar, with "loyalty" and "faith" as personal standards. The influence of literati style on China has remained unchanged for thousands of years. People are more inclined to let others identify with themselves than with their own personality. In political culture, they tend to ignore the process and result of events, make concessions at the expense of interests, or take drastic measures to gain the respect of the other side. Academic heritage for thousands of years has become an extremely important part of China's political culture. Its connotation has also undergone great changes in various times, but it will never leave to strictly abide by personal morality and values to safeguard personal dignity and personal will.