wang guoliang

(China Research Center for Philosophy and Anhui Thinkers, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230039)

The revival movement of Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty is a new Confucian trend of thought that emerged with the social reform movement in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. It is an ideological and cultural movement that provides a theoretical basis for promoting social change, while overcoming Buddhism and Taoism and realizing Confucian innovation. Ouyang Xiu, at the right time, played a role in creating a generation of ethos and guiding the revival direction of Confucianism. His contributions are mainly manifested in three aspects: first, holding high the banner of Han Yu and advocating the unity of literature and Taoism; Second, in the study of Confucian classics, he advocated breaking the exegesis and expounding the righteousness; Third, actively reject Buddhism and the old and promote the revival of Confucianism.

Keywords: revival of Confucianism; Ancient prose movement; The fusion of literature and Taoism; Extreme things are the opposite; Blame the Buddha.

Mr. Chen Yinque said in the preface to Jiang Bing Nan: "Ouyang Yongshu learned less from Han Changli, then wrote the history of the Five Dynasties, established his son Feng Daozhi's biography, despised snobbery, respected integrity, and then devoted his thoughts to the Five Dynasties, returning to purity." Therefore, Tianshui culture was once a fortune left by our nation. Who says empty writing is not conducive to academic research on governance? "[1] 162 Mr. Chen Yinque spoke highly of the cultural value of the Northern Song Dynasty and fully affirmed Ouyang Xiu's leading position in the cultural and academic development of the Northern Song Dynasty. As a famous writer, thinker and politician, Ouyang Xiu stepped forward in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, where the country was poor and weak, actively supported and participated in the reform movement of Qingli New Deal led by Fan Zhongyan, inherited the excellent tradition of Confucius and Mencius, held high the banner of Han Yu, continued to promote the ancient prose movement that had been interrupted for 200 years since Korea and Liu, personally promoted the revival of Confucianism, and finally became a famous figure, making important contributions to the development of ideological and cultural undertakings since the Northern Song Dynasty. This paper attempts to explore the position and role of Ouyang Xiu in the revival of Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to commemorate the1000th anniversary of Ouyang Xiu's birth.

one

Ouyang Xiu (1007- 1072), a native of Luling, Jizhou (now Ji 'an, Jiangxi), was young and withdrawn. His mother Zheng Shoujie taught herself and made great progress in her studies. When you grow up, you will be the first in the three exams, and the official pavilion will be arranged. Because people are honest and dare to speak out, they have been repeatedly framed and hit, and they were once famous in Chuzhou, Yangzhou and Yingzhou. Later, the official worshipped as a deputy envoy of the Council and participated in politics (quite a deputy prime minister). After retirement, he died in Yingzhou (now Fuyang, Anhui).

In Ouyang Xiu's youth, nearly a hundred years after Song Xinghe, the contradictory crisis accumulated by society gradually appeared. Generally, regardless of the financial difficulties within the country and the rampant barbarians outside, the literati went in and out of the Buddha and lingered in the flowers and flowers. Even more, Yang Yi, Qian Qian and other generations praised the "Kunxi Style" and wrote some works that are full of style, touching and mediocre, but popular all over the world. As Shi Jie, a comrade-in-arms of Ouyang Xiu, one of the Confucianists in the third day of Song Dynasty, said: "Today's writers take the wind and cloud as the body, flowers and trees as the image, Huawei as the quality, rhythm as the basis, sculpture as the decoration, embroidery as the beauty, glitz as the capacity, Hua Dan as the Ming Dynasty, duality as the key link, righteousness as the sound, extravagance as the fan and romantic style." [2] Volume XIII Many literati and intellectuals who are dissatisfied with the current situation of the literary world and eager to make a difference rise to attack and criticize, and consciously or unconsciously begin to admire Han Yu, taking it as their responsibility to inherit the ancient prose movement initiated by Han Yu. After the death of Han Yu, it has been more than 200 years since the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the late Tang Dynasty to the early Song Dynasty, and it has long been forgotten by literati who are addicted to extravagant writing style. This situation is vividly described by Ouyang Xiu in "Memorizing the Old Korean Version". Ouyang Xiu was born in a poor family and had no books. He occasionally visits his neighbor's surname Li. He saw a rotten basket of books in the wall. At first glance, there were six volumes of Mr. Tang Changli's anthology, which fell upside down and were in a mess, so he borrowed it from Li. Although I can't understand its meaning after reading it, I already like it deeply. "At that time, scholars all over the world, Liu Yangzhi's work, number is this article. Those who can take the title of Cody are good at names and boast that they are proud of the world. There is no such thing as a Korean writer. Give it to the cultivators on the other side, and take the poetry and fu of the Ministry of Rites as a matter. " [3] 536 It can be seen that Han Yu's moral articles are neglected and neglected. Although the "Lee's" family has Han Yu's collected works, they are also "falling off and at sixes and sevens" and are collected as garbage in the "disadvantages" in the wall. Ouyang Xiu likes reading Korean, but his main focus is on preparing for the imperial examination. Because Korean is of little help to the imperial examination, he has to shelve it. At that time, Yang Yi and Liu Yun's "Kunxi Style" swept the world, taking fashion as their name. Those who are proficient in learning can learn from their branches and become famous. Ouyang Xiu studied Korean hard after being admitted to Jinshi, supplemented and revised the old version, and published it in newspapers and periodicals, making Korean popular all over the world. Ouyang Xiu went on to say, "In the last seven years, all non-commissioned officers have been promoted to Luoyang, and Yin Shilu's followers are all there, so they have become ancient prose. Make up the school because of the collection of Changli Ji, and ask others for all the old books. Since then, scholars from all over the world have gradually become ancient, while South Korea has become popular all over the world. As for today, it has been built for more than 30 years. If you don't learn from Korean scholars, it can be described as a prosperous time. " [3]536

People of insight in the Song Dynasty have not respected Han Yu since Ouyang Xiu, but Liu Kai (formerly known as Shouyu) declared that he would inherit Han Yu's way: "My way is the way of Confucius and Mencius, and my writing is also the way of Confucius and Mencius." [4] 226 Wang Yucheng put forward that "the Six Classics are far away, and the official department is near", [4] 232 Shijie shouted "respecting Korea" and determined to "imitate the articles of the Tang Dynasty and show the ambition of the official department", [4] 25 1 but the impact was not great. It was not until Ouyang Xiu came out to climb the mountain to preach that Han Yu's spirit was really activated, and Korean began to spread all over the world, reaching the grand occasion that "all scholars in the world should learn from Korea". Liu Si and Quincy, who are good at carving, began to withdraw from the historical stage. Han Yu, a famous literary leader in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, launched the ancient prose movement and opposed Buddhism during the declining separatist forces in the Tang Dynasty, which led to the decline of eight generations of literature and drowned the Taoist discipline in the world. He actively advocated the revival of Confucianism and made great theoretical contributions to the reform of Confucianism. From Han Yu to Ouyang Xiu, the momentum of Confucian revival was interrupted for more than 200 years. People often wonder why Han Yu was regarded as the pioneer of the Confucian revival movement in the Northern Song Dynasty more than 200 years ago.

"Taking Tao as the text" is one of the core slogans of Han Yu's advocacy of the ancient prose movement. Ouyang Xiu inherited the tradition of Han Yu and put forward the idea of "the integration of literature and Taoism". He said, "the literature I am talking about must be consistent with Taoist thought." [5] 453 Ou Gong said in "Two Books with Zhang Xiucai": "The gentleman's learning is also the Tao, and he must learn for the Tao. Know ancient Ming Dow, and then follow suit, and use it, but see the article and send it, in order to believe in future generations. It is said that followers of Duke Zhou and Confucius and Mencius often follow suit. His article, contained in the Six Classics, wins people's trust. " [3] The "Tao" advocated by 481Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu is the Confucian way of etiquette, music, punishment, politics, benevolence and teaching. Since Confucianism is advocated, we should explore the connotation of Taoism and develop its resources, which will naturally promote the revival of Confucianism and the study of Confucian classics. In the second year of Jiayou (1057), Ouyang Xiu was appointed as the examiner of the imperial examination. At that time, scholars still wrote strange articles called "imperial academy Style". Ouyang Xiu hated this style of writing, and his pain was overwhelming. All dangerous and strange words have been abandoned, and the style of writing has changed greatly since then. In this imperial examination, Ouyang Xiu was brilliant and brilliant. Su Shi, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, a representative of Confucianism in Northern Song Dynasty, and a famous essayist all became scholars in this imperial examination. Wang Anshi was recommended by Ceng Gong and later became a proté gé of Ouyang Xiu. Ouyang Xiu deserves to be regarded as the leader who transferred a generation of writing style and led the poetry innovation movement.

The uniqueness of Ouyang Xiu's speech is that he opposes empty talk and "empty talk about useless things" and demands seeking truth from facts. He said: "After Confucius, only Monk knows best, but his words are nothing more than teaching Sang Ma, raising chickens and dolphins, and saying that keeping healthy and dying is the foundation of king. ..... This matter is easy to be known and close to the world. It is just a fact. " [3]48 1

Ouyang Xiu attached importance to Taoism, but not to literature, not to mention replacing literature with Taoism, but to both literature and Taoism, which had a healthy influence on the culture of the Song Dynasty. Su Shi spoke highly of Ouyang Xiu's achievements and compared him to Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty, which can be described as appropriate: "Ouyang Zi was born after more than 300 years of recovery. His learning is based on Han Yu and Mencius, with Da Kong's family, the reality of ceremony, music, benevolence and righteousness, and the integration of Taoism. His words are concise, the letter is connected, the introduction is connected, and the truth is converted to convince people, so the world respects him as a teacher. ..... The philosophers are neither virtuous nor corrupt, and they all said in unison: "Ouyang Zi is now a Han". For more than 70 years, the people did not know the soldiers, but they taught them when they were rich, which was extremely sacred and beautiful, but Sven was finally ashamed of the past. Scholars are also weak because of their ugliness and conservatism. Since Ouyang Zi came out, the world has been trying to hone itself. Learning from the classics is high, surviving with virtue and attacking with loyalty. Long education, until the end of Jiayou, called Tusi, Ouyang Zigong Deduo. " [6]3 15

two

An important manifestation of the innovation of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty is that Confucian scholars are unable to discuss Confucian classics, and they have got rid of the tradition of annotating Confucian classics and exegeting famous things since the Han and Tang Dynasties, boldly discussing Taoism, competing experiences, giving play to righteousness and reasoning, and questioning the reform of Confucian classics has become a common practice. Ouyang Xiu was also a pioneer of Confucian classics. He has studied Yi, Shi and Chunqiu many times. He studied Yi Tong Wen Zi, and dared to break the traditional view and find a new way. For the first time, he proposed that the copula was not written by a saint, that is, Confucius, and denied the book of Hutuluo. The interpretation of hexagrams focuses on giving full play to meaning and plays a leading role in emancipating the mind in Confucian classics.

When Ouyang Xiu talked about the author of Yi Zhuan in Yi Tong Wen Zi, he affirmed that Xun and Xiang Erzhuan were written by Confucius, but none of the other biographies were written by Confucius. "The young man asked,' Isn't cohesion written by a saint?' Yue:' The connection between harmony and degree, classical Chinese and divination are not the works of saints. And people's confusion is not a person's words. People who have learned from the past learn from others, not from one family. Or the same or different, or with or without, not refined or refined, so as to hurt the classics and feel the world. ""[3] 568 Ouyang Xiu suspected non-saints, such as cohesion, and made it. The main reason is that there are many essays, which are easy to be lost, "many words are chaotic", "choosing but not refined" and "many words are surly". [3] There are many contradictions and surly places in 569, that is, Yi Gua characters, like figures and haiku characters. However, Ouyang Xiu believes that although The Book of Changes can't be regarded as a saint's work and can't be discarded, it still has certain value. "If scholars know that the Book of Changes is a Confucian work and dare to reject it, then at the end of the three generations, it is not far from going to the saints. Teachers learn from the world, and the words of the elders are mixed, which may not be beneficial to learning." [3] 570 It is from this standpoint that Ouyang Xiu played a valuable role in explaining Yi Zhuan.

Ouyang Xiu thinks that the Book of Changes [3] 56 1 Book of Changes is a book that studies the law of the development of things, and puts forward the proposition that "extremes meet", and thinks that constant change is the fundamental law of things' long-term existence. Ouyang Xiu's exposition of the law of changeability in Yi Zhuan is obviously to find a theoretical basis for the spirit of the times that demanded reform at that time. He pointed out that "if you count to nine, you will change", "If you count to nine, you will change, and the heaven will remain unchanged." [3] 56 1 said that the meaning of "unchanged" is long-lasting, that is, "poor will change, change will pass, and the general rule will last for a long time. He who is good at his Tao knows how to change. Heaven and earth are endless, so the length of heaven and earth is endless. As time goes by, we walk with the sky, so the sun and the moon can grow, and the four seasons metabolize and cycle, so the four seasons change and last for a long time. The sage still releases the surplus and knows how to advance and retreat. Therefore, saints are better at their Tao. " [3]564

Ouyang Xiu explained the way of eternity by constant change, and thought that the reason why heaven and earth are long is not because of constant change, but because of constant change. Therefore, gentlemen and saints should advance and retreat according to the changes of the times, that is, adopt different policies and strategies. When explaining that "undressing is not good for you", Ouyang Xiu said, "undressing is good for you, not extreme for you, beneficial for you, and empty for you. Heaven is also a gentleman's attention, and it stops with the times, sometimes in the ear. " [3] 563 Guaci said, "It's not good for you to go," Ouyang Xiu thought. This is not to say that a gentleman stands still, but to wait for the opportunity and then move on. Still is not motionless. When explaining "recovery, it sees the heart of heaven and earth", he said: "The heart of heaven and earth, recovery, moves at the beginning of the day, so the life of heaven and earth is here, so the heart of heaven and earth is also. Heaven and earth are also creatures. " [3] 563 predecessors generally explained the heart of heaven and earth with stillness, while Ouyang Xiu took the life of all things as the heart of heaven and earth, actually taking sports as the heart of heaven and earth. So, the boy asked, "But the elephant said that the king was closed to the outside world and was not on a business trip, so it was not quiet." Ouyang Xiu replied: "On the day when Yin and Yang first recovered. It rarely comes, so it is better for a saint to be quiet and let nature take its course, and then do something when it is full! " [3] 563 That is to say, during the winter solstice, when the yin and yang alternate, the yang spirit begins to produce, but its potential is still very small, and saints wait for its prosperity and then make great achievements. It can be seen that Ouyang Xiu believes that stillness is not absolute stillness, but a stage of relative accumulation of strength and vitality, and movement and change are always in a dominant position. Ouyang Xiu's emphasis on the "dynamic" concept of Yi-ology has had a positive impact on the dynamic and static concept of Yi-ology in Song and Ming Dynasties, and played a theoretical role in supporting the trend of social change.

Fan Zhongyan put forward the great proposition of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later" in Yueyang Tower, which showed the broad mind and righteousness of the new generation of Confucianism. Ouyang Xiu echoed this and put forward the slogan of "saints care about the world and enjoy it" in the study of Yi-ology. The sage is touching and the world is peaceful, which is of great help to the establishment of the core values of Neo-Confucianism. "Thunder comes out of the ground, which is exciting, and the first king worships virtue with joy," Ouyang Xiu explained. "I see the heart of a saint here." "Saints care about the world and enjoy it. It's fun, but it's just a test of the ancestors. I'm absent-minded A saint takes the world as his heart, the worries of the world as his own worries, and the joy of the world as his own joy. " [3] 562 Ouyang Xiu put forward that saints take the world as their heart and take the world as their responsibility, which is the inheritance and development of the fine tradition of Confucius and Mencius and has a positive impact on Wang Anshi, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, Zhu and later intellectuals. In addition, Ouyang Xiu's denial of Hutuluo in the study of the Book of Changes dispelled the superstition of the number of objects in the study of the Book of Changes, and also played a positive role in the development of the study of the Book of Changes to explore the meaning.

three

One of the great missions of the revival movement of Confucianism in Song Dynasty is to respond to the challenges of Buddhism and Taoism in theory and establish a new theoretical system of Confucianism on the basis of overcoming and defeating Buddhism and Taoism. Ouyang Xiu put forward the idea of "cultivating its essence, surpassing its tools" in his anti-Buddhism, which is profound, sensitive and unique, and has opened up a new road for the development of Buddhism and Taoism, and has undeniable enlightenment for later Neo-Confucianism to rebuild Confucianism and defeat Buddhism and Taoism.

The fierce anti-Buddhism and anti-Buddhism theory in Tang Dynasty, represented by Han Yu, was mainly limited to the consideration of political and economic interests, eager for fame, without theoretical depth, and only talked about its harm, ignoring the systematic Buddhist theory of Buddhism's temptation and attraction. Therefore, it is impossible to defeat Buddhism by adopting the simple method of "man, book and home". Only by defeating it in ontology can it be rejected and replaced in the end.

Shi Jie, who was earlier than Ouyang Xiu, made a breakthrough in expelling Buddha. He emphasized "the distinction between foreign countries and summer countries", criticized Buddhism and Taoism for confusing Confucian sages with "the theory of evil differences", and raised the rejection of Buddhism to the height of defending China's traditional culture: "A husband and a Buddha are old friends, and a man who abandons virtue is also. The Buddha confuses the teachings of China, the clothes of China and the clothes of Yi Di, and the words of China and Yi Di. " [2] Volume 6 is more serious that Buddhism destroys China's ethics: "Destroy the way of monarch and minister, abandon the relationship between father and son, abandon morality, violate rites and music, divide the five permanent members, move to the residence of four people, destroy Chinese clothes, and sacrifice ancestors." [2] Volume 5 However, Sakyamuni did not discuss theoretically how to defeat Buddhism, but only proposed to drive Buddhism out of China.

In contrast, Ouyang Xiu's criticism of Buddhism's second fetal education has more theoretical depth. He was indignant and dissatisfied with the situation of "China, the thief of the Millennium Buddha" and criticized it. Ouyang Xiu believes that Buddhism is far more harmful than Taoism. Buddhist theory is enough to understand human feelings and inspire people, while Taoism will not cause special harm unless the monarch strongly advocates it. "Buddha can clamp human feelings and drum up blessings, and people's movements are often numerous and blazing; The old man's words were pure and far away, and the fairy flew away. The matter is too deep to be investigated, so it is often indifferent. Therefore, the Buddha's vacillation is easy to make moves; Taoism, on the other hand, is not respected by the Lord and is not alone. " [3] 27 1 Therefore, Ouyang Xiu rejected Buddhism and rearranged Buddhism first. Seeing that the previous methods could not achieve the purpose of expelling Buddhism, he proposed that if he wanted to defeat Buddhism, he had to "write books." The "essence" that OCBA wants to cultivate is the traditional Confucian "ritual righteousness", that is, Confucianism is essence, and "the essence of ritual righteousness is to win the Buddha." [3] 123 is actually to revive Confucianism to defeat Buddhism. Therefore, he did not approve of Han Yu's method of expelling Buddhism, nor did he approve of the practice of expelling Buddhism as a heresy. Instead, it advocates that "it is better to learn from it." History shows that the ancient emperors of China took severe measures against Buddhism many times, but they were unable to ban Buddhism. On the contrary, they are becoming more and more prosperous. "When you walk past, you will become more and more concentrated, and the attack will be temporarily broken and strengthened, but the attack will become stronger and stronger." For example, shortly after Han Yu advocated the expulsion of Buddhism, Tang Wuzong Huichang destroyed Buddhism on a large scale in the fifth year (845), which dealt a devastating blow to Buddhism, and was called "Huichang method is difficult" in history. But two years later, in the first year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (847), Buddhism was restored. Ouyang Xiu believes that Buddhism is not necessary, but the method used to expel Buddhism is wrong. In the early days of China, religion and politics were enlightened, and "the religion of propriety and righteousness filled the world", so it was impossible for Buddhism to spread to China. Buddhism was introduced into China when China's etiquette and righteousness were abolished, that is, it took advantage. "Three generations of decline, Wang Zhengque, ritual and righteousness abolished, Buddha came to China for nearly 200 years." [3] 122 Buddhism has been in turmoil for more than a thousand years now. People are familiar with it, and some princes and adults advocate that people soak bone marrow, and the disease of Chitose is all over the world. You can't win in one day. Only by gradually letting the people practice etiquette, benevolence and righteousness, and giving up Buddhism, is this a "book-writing". Buddhism abandons human relations, but it can attract people, so that "everyone returns at the same rate" because "Buddhism says there is goodness." [3] 123 Ouyang Xiu saw that the fundamental charm of Buddhism lies in its "theory of doing good", which is quite insightful. Ouyang Xiu pointed out that Xunzi's advocacy of "evil human nature" confused the views of good and evil human nature, so he attributed the theory of doing good to Buddha. To make people understand that human nature is good, "ceremony" means "being good", engaging in ceremony means being good, and taking Confucianism as a substitute for Buddhism as good. Ouyang Xiu put forward the theory of "cultivating the foundation" and "doing good", which was the right medicine in a certain sense, and opened up a new direction with new methods, which had great influence at that time. Although Ouyang Xiu himself did not accomplish this task, it was obviously difficult to defeat Buddhism by restoring "Wang Zheng" and "Li Yi", but it was along the road of Ouyang Xiu's "correction" that the later neo-Confucianism rebuilt the theory of good nature in the ontological sense and completed the creation of the neo-Confucian system.

This paper discusses Ouyang Xiu's role and contribution in the revival of Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty from three aspects. These three aspects are interrelated as a whole. To promote the ancient prose movement and explore the relationship between literature and Taoism, we should not only learn Confucian classics to absorb Taoist resources, but also criticize Buddhism and Taoism. Ouyang Xiu inherited the excellent tradition of Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius, held high the banner of Han Yu, was upright and personally promoted the revival of Confucianism. His achievements and contributions were praised and admired by later generations. Zhu Shen, a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, summed up Ouyang Xiu's contribution with deep feeling, saying: "Although the study of Ou Gong is not as good as that of Taoism, its strength lies in words, and tracing back to the meaning of seeking sages, in the Book of Changes, the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals, it has tried to repeatedly study the fallacies of the previous generation of Confucianism. The article in Ben Lun is deductive and good, which holds that evil is far from the root of scorpions, and its sage is contemporary great Confucianism, but it is inevitable that it is far from the ancestors who believed in demons in vanity. You can also delve into the survival of the country, and it is not one end. ..... The so-called benevolent in the Real Han Palace! " [7] Volume 38

References:

[1] Chen. Liu Han [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1980.

[2] Shi Jie. Culai collection [M]. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1984.

[3] Ouyang Xiu. Complete works of Ouyang Xiu [M]. Beijing: China Bookstore, 1986.

[4] Guo Shaoyu, editor. Selected literary theories of China in past dynasties [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1979.

[5] Guo Yuheng. History of China's Prose [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1993.

[6] Su Shi. Complete works of Su Dongpo [M]. Beijing: China Bookstore, 1986.

[7] Zhu. Mr. Huian's Zhu Wen's official collection [M]. //Complete Works of Zhu Zi 2 12. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2002.