Where is the way of Confucianism?

by qxingsky on 2009-06-03 15:20:50

Book Collection Network (www.tushuxinxi.com): Where is the way for Confucianism? Every person who loves and studies Confucianism, regardless of whether you have a deep foundation or not, should seriously reflect on Confucianism based on the path it has taken in China, and should have a clear understanding of Confucianism.

Through Yi Zhongtian's series of lectures "Pre-Qin Philosophers; Hundred Schools", even those who never study history can know that after more than a hundred years of contention, only four schools remained: Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, and Legalism. And ultimately, only Confucianism stepped onto the forefront of history. Since Emperor Wu of Han dismissed all other schools and solely respected Confucianism, Confucianism began to influence the historical process of China with its unique charm; and throughout this entire process, the only one that could rival it was Laozi's Taoism, which we will set aside for now.

After Zhu Xi, the great Confucian scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, annotated the "Four Books and Five Classics", it was officially approved as the ultimate version by imperial decree. Afterwards, anyone had to rely on Zhu Xi's annotations of the "Four Books and Five Classics" for research and were not allowed to cross the line. Later, the Yuan Dynasty limited the scope of the imperial examinations to within the "Four Books and Five Classics" and set Zhu Xi's annotations as the standard answers.

Here, none of us can challenge the height of Zhu Xi, have no right to defame Zhu Xi's achievements, and cannot erase Zhu Xi's special contributions to Confucianism. We aim to study the journey of Confucianism, so our discussion of the great Confucian scholar Zhu Xi ends here.

What I want to say is: from then on, because Zhu Xi's annotations of the "Four Books and Five Classics" became the only ultimate version, it completely shackled people's thoughts, and the final result was: forcing Confucianism down an unwarranted path.

Confucianism has been referred to as a synonym for loyalty to the ruler and ignorance of the people by later generations, and the doctrine of the mean within it has been highly controversial. The incompetence, corruption, and decline of the Qing Empire spurred the awakening of the people. As people opened their eyes, the first thing they did was to unreservedly send Confucianism to hell. Can we say that we didn't see or didn't know about the anti-Lin Biao and anti-Confucius movement after the founding of the People's Republic of China?

It can be said that this movement dealt an unprecedented, unparalleled blow to the ideas of Confucius and Mencius. This is politics, let's not discuss it. But the undeniable fact is: from then on, Confucianism entered a vacuum zone on the mainland, the authorities no longer advocated Confucianism, the content in textbooks was minimal, and civilian research was only limited to small circles like the works of Nan Huaijin. This cannot help but be considered a tragedy for Confucianism.

We reflect on the journey of Confucianism from when Confucius established it during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, its emergence after the contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought, its peak period after Zhu Xi's annotations of the "Four Books and Five Classics", to its current awkward situation today. Fellow lovers of Confucianism, don't we still need to seriously think, reflect, and thoroughly awaken?

For more information about images, please visit Book Collection Network: www.tushuxinxi.com