Survival in troubled times —— A textual research on Confucianism and "practical learning" in Ming and Qing Dynasties —— From the concept of "practical learning" in Twenty-five History

The concept of "practical learning" can be found not only in ancient scholars' books, but also in ancient history books. The Twenty-Five History belongs to the officially revised history, and its use of the word "practical learning" should conform to the established habits of the society at that time, and the evolution of the meaning of "practical learning" in the Twenty-Five History is also a microcosm of the change of the meaning of "practical learning" in history. Let's analyze the information about the word "practical learning" seen in the twenty-fifth history.

(1) The origin of the concept of practical learning. The introduction and use of a concept in history is not without reason, and it must have its specific historical background and cultural connotation. So how did the term "practical learning" come into being?

The word "practical learning" first appeared in Old Tang Book Yang Wan Chuan. Before quoting the text, let's understand the historical background of the concept of "practical learning". As we know, the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty was mainly based on Ming Jing and Jinshi. The purpose of Mingjing Department is to test candidates' memorization of classics. Scholars attach great importance to poetry and fu, which mainly tests the literary talent of candidates, so Jinshi is particularly respected by the society. Confucius once said, "Those who have spare capacity will learn literature." ("The Analects of Confucius Learn") "Words without words are not far away." ("Zuo Zhuan Xiang Gong Twenty-five Years") "Gentleness is a gentleman." "Literature" and "quality" are a pair of contradictions, but in Confucius' view, Ned's cultivation is more important. However, since the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the society has increasingly advocated literature, and in the Tang Dynasty, scholars were mainly selected by poetic temperament. In addition, the civil service election system in the Tang Dynasty stipulated that "self-adaptation", "bootstrapping" and "self-advancement" were allowed. This electoral system has produced many disadvantages: selecting scholars by poetry has nothing to do with politics. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuang, the secretariat of Yangzhou, went to discuss and list ten drawbacks of the imperial examination. Among them, he said, the imperial examination does not seek talent for governing the country, but only takes the beauty of poetry and fu, "learning without using it, learning without using it" and "so there are very few competent officials". Ordinary scholars "make friends with officials and officials in order to attract them, discredit their peers and compete for the first place." The road taken by scholars and the relationship between them have become the trend. Aristocratic families control elections, cultivate private forces and form cronies. It is in view of these disadvantages of the imperial examination system in Tang Dynasty that Yang Wan proposed to change the current imperial examination system and select scholars by "practical learning".

(2) "practical learning" refers to. In the second year of Baoying in Tang Daizong (763), Yang Wan, assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, wrote a letter criticizing the literati at that time for "arguing over articles and words, praising each other" and "learning to be excellent is to be an official", and criticizing that "Ming is better than classics, and they all recite posts and attach them, hoping for luck". Therefore, it is necessary to demand and stop the Ming Classics and the Jinshi Division, and select people who "have a trip of filial piety and loyalty, and try through righteousness" according to the method of investigating filial piety in ancient times. Its play hydrophobic said:

"Take Zuo Zhuan, Ram, Gu Liang, Book of Rites, Zhou Li, Yi Li, Shangshu, Shi Mao and Zhouyi as examples. Once they are passed down, we should take their profound meaning and the meaning of their various schools ... The strategies are all about ancient and modern theories and important tasks at that time. You should take those that are worth using. Those who stay at home must be virtuous people, and politicians all know the sense of shame and self-sufficiency. It is really embarrassing to persuade yourself and teach others. " (Book of Old Tang Dynasty, Volume 119)

Yang Wan's suggestion has been supported by many courtiers, but Hanlin and others think that "if you take a scholar for a long time, you will lose your official position." So the imperial edict was quiet, Jinshi and Xiaolian went hand in hand. From Yang Wan's last book, we can draw a conclusion that the so-called "practical learning" was put forward to cultivate and select talents, mainly aiming at the "floating struggle" atmosphere formed by selecting scholars with poetry and fu in the Tang Dynasty, and its contents include: 1 General classics; Second, Xiu De; Third, use the world. It provides the theoretical framework of the so-called "practical learning" in the future. Because Yang Wan's suggestion has not been thoroughly implemented, poetry, literature and books go hand in hand with "practical learning", so there is a long-term struggle between the so-called "practical learning" and the later Ci and Zhang studies. To illustrate this point, let's quote some more information.

Song History Volume 157 Selected Records: "Anding Hu Yuan has taught Su and Hu for more than 20 years, and the world still worships Ci and Fu, and Hu Xue is governed by its own righteousness and learns by seeking truth." Hu Yuan's teaching method of Hu Xue is neutral in Confucian classics, and unified by two schools in the academy, paying attention to the study of "being clear and practical" to resist the study of Ci and Zhang Zhi. It can be seen that the content of Hu Yuan's "practical learning" is nothing more than three items: learning the classics ("Confucian classics"), Xiu De ("clear style") and studying the world ("Confucian classics"). The so-called "lake learning teaching method" is also about the improvement of the education system.

History of Yuan Dynasty 148 Biography of Dong Jun records that when Yuan Shizu was in power, the imperial monarch and his subjects proposed to set up a scholar. Dong Wenzhong replied: "Your majesty's words are meticulous:' A scholar does not teach Confucius and Mencius, but writes poems, how to cultivate one's morality and how to benefit the country! "Because my family is a scholar, I know a little about practical learning." From this point of view, Confucian classics, Confucianism and Mencius, self-cultivation are all "practical learning", and the scope of "practical learning" here is nothing more than three levels: general classics, Xiu De and practical application. "Practical learning" is also opposite to "poetry".

"History of Ming Dynasty" Volume 143 "Biography of Cheng Ben": "There is little ambition in this study, and reading is not a chapter. The filial son Hong Wuzhong, Mao Wei said:' Scholars compete for the imperial examination in the name of poor classics, but there is no real learning. The quality of children is close to the thickness, so we should learn from the sages. "Those who have the name of" poor classics "but have no real virtue are not called" practical learning ",and the" practical learning "here refers to the inner moral quality.

In "Draft of the History of Qing Dynasty" (volume 106), the emperor shunzhi said to the Ministry of Rites: "The emperor should govern the country, and culture and education should come first. I want to promote culture and education, worship Confucian classics and make peace. Our department sent a message to the provincial Jinshi to train them. All books about neo-Confucianism, morality, economy and allusions should be studied and infiltrated. Ming style is true Confucianism, and it is a good official. If I have practical knowledge, I won't simply pull it out, but add it again. " Based on Confucian classics, "practical knowledge" such as Neo-Confucianism, morality and economy is "practical learning".

In the first year of Qianlong, Wu Yuan, an imperial envoy, said: "In the original period, I got Confucian scholars, learned Confucian classics deeply, and respected practical learning. Although poetry and fu have their own advantages and disadvantages, they are especially rooted in Confucian classics and history. If you are a couple, you will scrutinize your temperament. Even if you have a considerable amount of literature, you will eventually feel worthy of the name. " The Qianlong period was the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, and with the emperor Qianlong's personal interest in poetry and fu, "poetry and fu" no longer opposed "practical learning", but only opposed the one-sided pursuit of rhetoric and formal style. During this period, Tongcheng School's ancient prose rose and advocated the integration of meaning, examination and writing. Ci and Zhangxue were first accepted by Kenner, but they were still rejected from time to time, especially during the Xianfeng period when the foreign powers invaded. The Qing dynasty wanted to prosper the country with practical learning and inspire scholars. "The Draft of the History of the Qing Dynasty" recorded in volume one of 106: "Tongzhi specialized in literature and art with Chinese studies in the early Yuan Dynasty, which was not conducive to practical learning, so that it taught theory and strategy at the same time. Reward people who pay attention to current events with propositions of classics, history and sex. " "Draft of the History of Qing Dynasty" (volume 107) and "Selected Two" contain: "During the Guangxu period, schools in various provinces generally failed to be established, and Chinese and foreign ministers sought flexibility to rectify academies. The imperial edict was revised, the articles of association were approved by the Ministry of Rites, and the course was taught by heaven and earth. Shaanxi and other provinces have established Gezhi Practical College to make up for the shortcomings of the school. " At the end of the Qing Dynasty, * * * improved education, changed the old college education method into a new school education method, and added western courses under the guidance of the idea of practical application. Although the scope of Confucian understanding of "practical learning" has been expanded, it has not yet broken through the theoretical framework of learning history, self-cultivation and being practical.

(3) The opposite of "practical learning". What is the opposite of the meaning of "practical learning" mentioned above? First, from Tang Daizong to Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty, "practical learning" basically confronted "poetry". Second, because "practical learning" has its own general classics and Xiu De's rules, a hundred schools of thought are excluded from "practical learning". For example, Volume 98 of the Draft of the History of Qing Dynasty says: "Worship the Confucian classics, select a hundred schools of thought to contend, seek truth from facts, and prosper the country with knowledge." Thus, practical learning is Confucianism. Third, "practical learning" requires consistency between words and deeds, and integration of theory with practice. If Jing Yi is regarded as a set of "classes" without virtue reality, it cannot be called "practical learning". In this way, not all Confucianism can be called "practical learning", only "true Confucianism" can be called "practical learning"

Above, we have explained the main information about the word "practical learning" in the twenty-fifth history. On this basis, we will do some theoretical analysis. There are forty-four materials about the concept of "practical learning" in Twenty-five History, which originated from Yang Wan in Tang Dynasty. Before we exhaust the ancient literature, we have reason to think that there may be "practical learning" materials earlier than Yang Wan's time in the literature outside the official history. On the other hand, we can also think that Yang Wan's "practical learning" is related to the system of selecting talents and has its specific historical connotation. The "practical learning" mentioned in later generations basically revolves around such problems, so we also have reason to think that what Yang Wan said is the origin of the concept of "practical learning". From the Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, the meaning of "practical learning" has not changed essentially, and it has always been supported by the government.

Why the idea of "practical learning" appeared in the Tang Dynasty and has always been supported by the rulers, which is what we need to explore. In my opinion, there are several reasons.

First, the contrast between education and politics. After the Tang Dynasty, there were often criticisms of "learning without using, learning without using". "Learned" is educational, "used" is political. In ancient China, officials who governed the country had to be selected from scholars. In order to cope, scholars had to learn posts and poems. However, most of the talents selected through the vocational poetry examination lack the ability to govern the country. Although several generations after the Tang dynasty tried to correct this, on the one hand, the state itself should select a group of literary scholars who can draft letters and make patents through the imperial examination; On the other hand, if candidates want to motivate examiners, they must first write well. Although this way of "taking people by poetry and fu" has been corrected, it can never be overcome.

Second, the contrast between poetic spirit and realistic affairs. In ancient China, "scholars" were the first of the four people for a long time, so a huge leisure literati class gradually appeared in the society, and they created a splendid culture, which we can call "poetry" culture. This "poetry and fu" culture developed to a peak after the Tang Dynasty. Courtiers, ministers and even ordinary scholars of past dynasties often expressed their feelings, traveled and exchanged ideas, enjoyed themselves all the time, feasted and celebrated, and even made judgments on cases and prisons. Therefore, ancient China can also be said to be a country full of poetic spirit. In the circle of literati, it is impossible to be elegant without poetry, and "poetry" has almost become an indispensable part of their spiritual life. However, the poet's romantic and detached character is obviously incompatible with his diligence, thoroughness and even fear of triviality in dealing with practical affairs. From the perspective of selecting political talents to do practical things, of course, the less poetic spirit, the better, but this poetic spirit has its special position in the literati society, which is the fundamental reason that cannot be eliminated.

Third, the contrast between academic orientation and social structure. As we know, China ancient society is a patriarchal ethics society, and the Confucian ethics system is the expression of its theory. However, since Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism and Laozi's research have prevailed, showing a tendency to deviate from social ethics, thus attracting the attention of Confucian scholars and constantly emphasizing the establishment and strengthening of Confucianism.

Summarizing the three aspects of the above analysis, we can collectively call it the contrast between scholars' knowledge and social politics. The imperial examination is the regulator of this contrast, and the state often induces scholars' academic orientation through the order of meritorious service. The "practical learning" materials in the twenty-fifth history are often related to the issue of "election", which is the reason. The reason why rulers support "practical learning" is also because "practical learning" shows an academic orientation, that is, first of all, scholars should have a foundation ("morality"), be proficient in the theory of governing the country and the people ("classics"), and have the ability to govern the country and the people ("use the world"). The word "practical learning" shows such an academic orientation. It is not a discipline or an academic school or theoretical system, so we should pay special attention to it. We'll talk about this later.