Metaphysics is a philosophical trend of thought that rose in the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty and mainly integrated Taoism and Confucianism, so it is usually called "Metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties". Metaphysics was the mainstream thought that replaced Confucian classics in Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Metaphysics is a "profound knowledge" based on "the ancestors narrate Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi", integrating Confucianism and Taoism, and calling Zhouyi, Laozi and Zhuangzi "San Xuan". The "metaphysics" of metaphysics comes from Laozi's thought. In the first chapter of Laozi, I said, "The Xuan is also the Xuan, which is the gate of Wan Qi". Metaphysics is the universal law "Tao" of all things in the world, which embodies the infinity and mystery of all things' changes. Metaphysical scholars interpreted The Analects of Confucius and The Book of Changes with their reformed ideas of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, reformed the Confucian classics in Han Dynasty, and established the philosophical ontology of "governing by doing nothing". Confucian thoughts such as etiquette, religion, heaven and humanity are also discussed in metaphysics, but their main purpose is Taoism, that is, to emphasize sublimity is nothing, nature and inaction.
Although the central issue discussed by metaphysics can still be attributed to the relationship between man and nature, in form, it has got rid of the tedious and broken annotations of Confucian classics in Han Dynasty. In content, it abandons the vulgar teleological argument of the Confucian classic "the feeling between man and nature".
Metaphysical scholars have demonstrated from many aspects that the "nature" of Taoism is consistent with the "famous religion" of Confucianism. They changed the ideological pattern of "interaction between Confucianism and Taoism" in Han Dynasty, and advocated the unity of Confucianism and Taoism, and Confucius was still the highest "saint". Metaphysics puts forward or pays attention to a series of speculative concept categories, such as existence, origin and end, body use, meaning, pluralism, movement, nature and famous religion, which primitive Confucianism and Confucian classics in Han Dynasty do not have or pay attention to. The appearance of metaphysics greatly promoted the development of China's philosophy.
Metaphysics originated from the internal study of China's ancient classics. At first, Liu Biao and Zhong Song's "Learning of Jingzhou" appeared, which was more concise and focused on righteousness and reason. Later, Wang Su's "Wang Xue" emerged, which was different from "Zheng Xue" and then reached the metaphysics of Yanhe and Wang Bi. The development and evolution of metaphysics has gone through three main stages:
The first stage: Metaphysics officially entered the historical stage, which was during the Zhengshi period of Cao Wei (240~248), and was called "the voice of Zhengshi" in history. At this time, Yan He and Wang Bi's No matter who you are appeared. Yanhe wrote The Analects of Confucius and On Morality, and Wang Bi wrote Laozi and Zhouyi. They "think that everything in the world is based on inaction" ("Jin Shu Wang Yanchuan"); I think that "saints are nothing, nothing, and cannot be repaired, so they don't say anything." Laozi did something, so he insisted on his shortcomings. "(The Biography of the Three Kingdoms Zhong Hui) quoted He Wei's Biography of Wang Bi, which means that Confucius is superior to Laozi. Confucius said that "Mingjiao" is actually "no body", while Laozi was talking about "being" and "nothing".
The second stage: after the beginning, with the seizure of political power by Sima clan, the internal struggles among gentry groups intensified day by day, and various disputes such as "attaching importance to nothing", "worshiping existence", "letting nature take its course" and "emphasizing the same name" also appeared in the metaphysical trend of thought. The heretical tendency of "mingjiao is unnatural" represented by Ji Kang and Ruan Ji. They don't cooperate with Sima Group politically, emphasize the opposition between "famous religion" and "nature", advocate that "the more famous religions, the more nature" and ignore etiquette. On the basis of Le Guang and Pei Wei's theory of respecting existence, Guo Xun completed the unified task of respecting nothing, respecting existence, nature and teaching with Zhuangzi. Guo Xiang put forward the theoretical consistency between religion and nature in Ming Dynasty. Seeking common ground while reserving differences, he solved this contradiction with the theory of "individualization", holding that saints are "not above everything else and unhappy" (Happy Travel Notes); "Sages often travel in the dark, but have no intention of drifting with the tide, so they are indifferent and calm" (Notes of the Master). Eastern Jin Dynasty (3 17-420)
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Metaphysics is a philosophical trend of thought in Wei and Jin Dynasties. The word "Xuan" here comes from a sentence in Laozi, "Xuan, both mysterious and mysterious." Metaphysics refers to a philosophical trend of thought that appeared in Wei and Jin Dynasties. It is a study and explanation of Laozi, Zhuangzi and Zhouyi, which originated in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Metaphysics is the mainstream of thought that replaced Confucian classics in Wei and Jin Dynasties, that is, "Metaphysics". It is based on "ancestors narrate Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi" and calls Laozi, Zhuangzi and Zhouyi "San Xuan". In view of the fact that China's social structure, economic base, political system and social values have remained basically unchanged since the Han and Jin Dynasties, it is impossible for a metaphysics to appear out of thin air in the ideological field to oppose Confucianism and guide the ideology at that time. In fact, people who were regarded as "metaphysical scholars" by later generations thought that they devoted themselves to the study of Confucian classics at that time and made many achievements. The name "Metaphysics" appeared after Wei and Jin Dynasties. Confucianism has always had a tradition of metaphysics, taking ethics as the natural way. Later, Buddhism also belonged to the discussion of metaphysics in the Jin Dynasty, so it is a misunderstanding to simply call metaphysics "new Taoism". After [1], metaphysics began to merge with Prajna in Buddhism and gradually became a vassal of Buddhism.
Academic gist
In Wei and Jin Dynasties, the meaning of metaphysics refers to both words and deeds, and most of them are profound. "Xuanyuan" refers to the ontological problem of "transcending words and images" and staying away from concrete things. Therefore, emptiness, metaphysics and knowledge of metaphysics can be called metaphysics. Metaphysics scholars are mostly celebrities at that time. The main representatives are Xia Houxuan, Yan He, Wang Bi, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang. It is the product of the direct evolution of Wei Chu's Qing Tan at the end of Han Dynasty.
Metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties refers to a specific philosophical trend of thought based on San Xuan Thought, liberated from the complicated Confucian classics in Han Dynasty, and tried to reconcile "nature" and "Ming Jiao". The central issue it discusses is whether there is something at the end of the story, that is, it discusses the basis of the existence of all things in the world in a speculative way, that is, it discusses the ontological metaphysics of the basis of the existence of affairs in a form far away from "things" and "things". It is the first attempt in the history of China's philosophy to make China's philosophy construct a meaningful philosophical attempt to integrate Confucianism and Taoism. Philosophically speaking, there are two schools of metaphysics, one is not paying attention to what, the other is worshiping what, and the main concern is whether there are problems.
brief introduction
Metaphysics, a trend of thought advocating Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi that appeared in Wei and Jin Dynasties in China, generally refers to metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties. The concept of "Xuan" was first seen in Laozi: "Xuan is mysterious and the door to all miracles." Wang Bi's "A Brief Introduction to Laozi" said: "The deep one is also deep." Metaphysics is a theory to study profound problems. Metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties, Confucianism in Pre-Qin Dynasty, Buddhism in Sui and Tang Dynasties, Confucian Classics in Han Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties and Pu Xue in Qing Dynasty were also regarded as important academic thoughts in ancient China. The debate between Confucius and Laozi originated from the essays inside and outside Zhuangzi, which shows that Laozi was not as good as Confucius in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Wang Bi, a representative figure, took the Yi-ology as a sage view and unified the different sage views of Confucius, Laozi and Yi into metaphysics. Since then, the development trend of metaphysics has changed from being easy to enter Buddhism to a sage view characterized by the theory of "solitude" in Yi-ology, which has influenced Zhuangzi, Buddhism, Yi-ology and even Neo-Confucianism in the Six Dynasties.
Metaphysics is the study and explanation of Laozi, Zhuangzi and Zhouyi, which came into being in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Metaphysics is a trend of thought advocating Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi in China from Wei Jin to the middle of Song Dynasty. It can also be said that Confucianism is a new way of expression. Its ideological trend lasted from the end of Han Dynasty to the middle of Song Dynasty. It is different from the so-called metaphysics and metaphysics. The concept of "Xuan" first appeared in Laozi: "Xuan is mysterious and the door to all miracles." Yang Xiong also talked about Xuan. "Too xuan, is he there? Xu Anbi said, "Mysterious people are all kinds of secluded people." Wang Bi's "A Brief Introduction to Laozi" said: "The mysterious is deep. "Metaphysics is a theory to study profound problems. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, people paid attention to Laozi, Zhuangzi and Zhouyi and called them "San Xuan", while Laozi and Zhuangzi were regarded as "Xuanzong". The main representatives of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties are Yanhe, Wang Bi, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang.
The "Xuan" of metaphysics comes from the chapter of Laozi, which says: "Xuan is both mysterious and mysterious, and it is the gate of Wan Qi". Metaphysics is the universal law "Tao" of all things in the world, which embodies the infinity and mystery of all things' changes. Metaphysical scholars also interpret The Analects of Confucius and The Book of Changes with their thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and transform the Confucian classics that have lost the function of maintaining people's hearts, and establish a philosophical ontology of "governing by doing nothing" to maintain Confucian ethics, ethics and humanity.
Although the central issue discussed by metaphysics can still be attributed to the relationship between man and nature, in form, it has got rid of the tedious and broken annotations of Confucian classics in Han Dynasty. In content, it abandons the vulgar teleological argument of the Confucian classic "the feeling between man and nature". Metaphysical scholars have demonstrated from many aspects that the "nature" of Taoism is consistent with the "famous religion" of Confucianism. They changed the thinking mode of "Confucianism and Taoism are mutually integrated" in the Han Dynasty, and advocated "Zuxu Laozi and Zhuangzi" to reconcile Confucianism and Taoism. A series of speculative concepts such as existence, origin and end, body use, meaning, multi-purpose, movement, dream, original work, nature and famous religion put forward by metaphysics are all valued by Taoism, but not by primitive Confucianism and Confucian classics in Han Dynasty. The appearance of metaphysics greatly promoted the development of China's philosophy.
Lang's A Case of Zhuangzi concluded that there were many officials and celebrities at that time, such as Wang Bi, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Xiang Embroidery, Guo Xiang, Wang Ji, Wang Yan, Yu Liang, Huan Shi Xiu, Sima Biao, Cui Wei and Li Jue. This is not a small list, but it is not all. The wind of learning villages from all walks of life is spectacular. According to Mr Lv Simian, it didn't stop until the Sui Dynasty. "Emperors, nobles, ministers, Beowulf, Confucian scholars, literati, artists and women are omnipotent. The afterwind flows to the north again. Entering sui is a break. "
Metaphysics became more and more popular after the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wang Bi's Notes on Zhouyi was founded by scholars in the Southern Dynasties, and the four official books in the Southern Song Dynasty and the Qi Dynasty all included metaphysics. San Xuan was also popular in Liang and Chen Dynasties, so the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties should be the popular period of metaphysics. People used to say that the learning of the Tang Dynasty was the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Now it seems that the official learning in the Tang Dynasty should be different from the folk learning. Official learning includes the study of Confucian classics, that is, the study of the Five Classics, the Analects of Confucius and the Classic of Filial Piety. Among them, Wang Bi's annotation of Zhouyi and Yan He's annotation of The Analects of Confucius are a complete continuation of Metaphysics. Generally speaking, the ideological trend of an era will gradually decline after prosperity, even if some ideas are left behind, it will not be too weak. However, after hundreds of years of development, the trend of metaphysics has not declined since it entered the Tang Dynasty, but has achieved a new round of development.
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From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, it was more than 200 years of troubled times. With the disintegration of the unified dynasty in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Confucianism, which ruled the ideological circle for nearly 400 years, began to lose its charm. Scholars are generally tired of the tedious style of study of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty, the grotesque and shallow divination, and the platitudes of the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members, so they turn to find a new foothold and indulge in metaphysical philosophical debates. This argument is like the salon of later generations, where elegant celebrities (the famous "seven sages of bamboo forest" represented by Ji Kang and Ruan Ji are the embodiment of Wei and Jin Dynasties) get together to talk about metaphysics, which was called "talking clearly" or "talking about metaphysics" at that time.
According to the Twenty-two Histories written by Zhao Yi, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, this way of speaking began in the zhengshi period of Wang Cao Fang, and its founder was Wang Bi. They were all aristocrats and celebrities at that time, and under their influence, they became a generation of ethos. The so-called "beginning sound" in the Book of Jin also refers to the metaphysical atmosphere that runs through Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Yan He and Wang Bi advocated "attaching importance to whatever", saying that "everything in the world has no roots" (Biography of Wang Jinyan) and put forward the theory that "Ming Jiao" originated from "nature". Later, Ruan Ji and Ji Kang advocated that "the more famous, the more natural" ("Break up with Shan Juyuan"). Ji Kang combined "taking the Six Classics as filth and taking benevolence and righteousness as stink" (Difficult to Learn Nature) and "Not Tang Wu but Thin Kong Zhou" (this sentence is also from Breaking Up with Shan Juyuan), which can be generally regarded as Ji Kang's declaration, even the declaration of the second and third sons in Wei and Jin Dynasties at that time, but I think it is to let Sima Jia know his own ideas, but it is actually. Later, it was completed by Guo Xiang, who wrote the annotation of Zhuangzi. As soon as this book came out, metaphysics flourished. "The traces of Confucianism and Mohism are contemptible, and the words of Tao are prosperous" (The Book of Jin Guo Xiang Biography).
From the thoughts of metaphysics scholars such as Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Zhang Zhan, Han Bo, Tao Yuanming and Justin, it can be seen that if metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties was the philosophical metaphysics of exquisite metaphysics, then keeping in good health at that time was an operation in practice, and the two formed a mutual relationship. In this regard, Tang Yongtong has long pointed out: "China's alchemy and metaphysics are based on Taoist naturalism. On the occasion of the Han and Wei Dynasties, the wind of talking clearly prevailed. Mr. Mou Zongsan also said: "Taoism works hard from the heart and gains something from sex. Whether it is a person who can't live without sects, who can't live without essence and truth, or a man of god, keeping quiet is from the heart. From then on, the quiet Xuanming Kung Fu began to reach the realm of harmony between man and nature, and the meaning of health preservation was also taken from it. "This argument is very accurate. The substance and reality of Taoist ontology can be transformed into immortal art through the theory of health preservation and longevity. He also said: "Achieving immortality through cultivation is a Taoist school that comes by the way and has originated from the second meaning. Of course, the second meaning has to go through the first meaning. " He thinks: "Primitive Taoism never focuses on the second meaning, Ji Kangzhi's Theory of Health Preservation focuses on the second meaning, while Xiang and Guo Zhi's Zhuang Zhu focus on the first meaning. "During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Buddhism flourished, and metaphysics and Buddhism influenced each other. It has become a fashion for Buddhist scholars to talk about metaphysics and metaphysical scholars to talk about Buddhism. Talking about their confluence was the general trend of academic development at that time. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, metaphysics and Buddhism gradually merged and were replaced by Buddhism.
The metaphysics of Laozi and Zhuangzi was very prosperous in Wei and Jin Dynasties, because metaphysics was similar to Prajna, and the monks at that time also talked about metaphysics. Buddhism flourished in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, followed by masters from the Western Regions, and monks from China Temple gradually took shape. The study of Prajna is great, mysterious and wonderful. The most commendable thing is that Luo Shi came from the east, Fa Xian went west, Dao An was the founder, and Luo Shi opened the translation world. All the ten philosophers and four saints were first-class scholars who studied Laozi and Zhuangzi at that time. When the northern world was in turmoil, Hui Yuan lived in seclusion in Kuanglu, studied Prajna and Buddhism, advocated Tomi Pure Land and became an important Buddhist town in the south of the Yangtze River. After that, the translation of truth, only knowing the theory, Roche Faxian and others translated the law of ten thoughts, the law of five points and the law of four points. All the classics are well prepared. Seng Zhao was a famous Buddhist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. With his theoretical contribution of "ready-to-use", he occupies a very important position in the history of China's philosophy and Buddhism. Because of his ideological characteristics between Buddhism and metaphysics, there have been different opinions on Buddhism metaphysics in academic circles. Through the interpretation and analysis of his most important representative work "Nothing", we can see that Seng Zhao Buddhism and Wei-Jin metaphysics have different philosophical systems, different theoretical constructions and different realm pursuits, which makes them have substantial differences in content, and the "use" of the golden mean is the fundamental reason why Seng Zhao Buddhism uses metaphysics instead of metaphysics. [5] Generally speaking, metaphysics was a philosophical reflection on the universe, society and life by a group of intellectual elites who jumped out of the traditional way of thinking at that time, in order to find a spiritual home for literati after the serious crisis of orthodox Confucian beliefs. Buddhism gradually became independent in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and developed to a high degree in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, forming various sects. Buddhist Prajna thought was introduced into China in the Jin Dynasty. Buddhists use the concepts and propositions of metaphysics to explain their thoughts, so that this kind of thought can enter the upper ruling class and the scholar class more easily and quickly. There are many factions in metaphysics, such as those who don't value anything, those who worship something, those who are independent, and so on. The influence of these factions has split Buddhism. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, due to different understandings of Prajna, there was a so-called "six schools and seven schools" dispute in Buddhism. The 64 eminent monks in Biography of Eminent Monks, such as Zhidun, Daoan, Seng Zhao and Fotucheng, all have a very high level of metaphysics. It is not difficult to see the grand occasion of the confluence of metaphysics and Buddhism in the Eastern Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, although metaphysicists were proficient in Buddhism, they did not use Buddhist theory when interpreting Laozi and Zhuangzi. Taoism in the Southern and Northern Dynasties also began to absorb a large number of metaphysical theories of Laozi and Zhuangzi to construct theology. After the decline of metaphysics, it was inherited by Prajna, Neo-Confucianism and Zen respectively.