loyal

Loyalty is an important content of Confucius' ethics and morality, and it is also a criterion for Confucius to deal with interpersonal relationships. Loyalty is a controversial content in Confucius' ethical thought. Since the 20th century, when people mentioned loyalty, they immediately thought of the foolish loyalty of "I have to die if you want to be a minister" and blamed it on Confucius. In fact, this is not the original intention of Confucius' loyalty.

Loyalty appeared eighteen times in The Analects of Confucius, distributed in sixteen chapters. Among them, it appeared alone 1 1 time, cooperated with forgiveness 1 time, and cooperated with loyalty for 6 times. As far as its content is concerned, it answers questions about politics, treating friends, dealing with life, serving the monarch, cultivating self-cultivation and governing the people, which mostly belong to the category of dealing with interpersonal relationships. Classifying these sentences that belong to interpersonal relationship, the most prominent ones are making friends, governing the people and being king, which belong to the relationship between individuals and individuals and individuals and collectives respectively.

Friendship is the relationship between people, and Confucius regards loyalty as the moral principle of interpersonal relationship, which is an extension of Confucius' previous loyalty. In the talk about loyalty, the most is about making friends. Confucius directly talked about making friends in seven chapters (repeated in the inner chapter), involving the principles, standards and methods of treating friends, which are very rich in content.

Friendship is an important interpersonal relationship. In feudal society, its relationship with monarch, minister, father and son, husband and wife, and brother is also called the five ethics, which is listed as the most basic relationship between people. Of the five relationships, friendship is the most unstable. The relationship between father and son and brother is maintained by blood ties, the relationship between husband and wife is maintained by family ties, and the relationship between monarch and minister is maintained by Lu tie. However, there is neither blood relationship nor emotional relationship, and there is no political relationship to maintain friendship. Confucius believes that friendship can only be maintained by loyalty.

Loyalty has always been regarded by Confucius as the basic principle of treating friends and the main content of educating disciples. "Zi teaches four things: writing, action, loyalty and faith" (uncle). Loyalty in a friend's relationship means doing your best to treat people and things sincerely and single-mindedly. Loyalty to people is regarded by Confucius as one of the important contents of humanity's highest moral quality "benevolence", and he has repeatedly educated his disciples to be loyal to the Lord, keep his word and keep his word. We should criticize and correct our friends' mistakes. "How can you be loyal if you don't teach?" ("Xian Wen") But this kind of criticism should be "Good advice leads to good guidance, Fukashi", and good advice leads to friends. For example, if advice is hard to hear, friends should stop in time, instead of bringing shame to themselves. "A few friends, a few friends" ("Liren"), nagging, not only fails to achieve the goal, but hurts harmony and is alienated by friends. Under the education of Confucius, Ceng Zi regarded "being unfaithful to others" as the primary content of "three rescues a day", and he got the true meaning of Confucius' principle of making friends. .

Governing the people belongs to the relationship between the government and the people, and the relationship between the government and the people is also interpersonal. In the discussion about loyalty, only two chapters mentioned the relationship between the government and the people.

Ji Kangzi asked, "What about persuading the people to respect loyalty?" Confucius said, "When you are near a village, you should respect it;" Filial piety is loyalty; If you can't teach good deeds, persuade them. " (Politics)

Zhang Zi asked about politics. Confucius said, "Live tirelessly and act faithfully." (Yan Yuan)

Loyalty in these two chapters also belongs to two types. The former talks about how to make people loyal to those who rule the people, while the latter talks about loyalty to those who rule the people. In fact, these two chapters are all requirements for the people. To govern the people, people should be loyal, but to be loyal to the people, we must start from ourselves, be filial to our elders, be kind and young, be diligent in being an official, and be loyal to government decrees.

Monarch belongs to the relationship between monarch and minister, which is a special interpersonal relationship injected with political ethics. But it is not only the relationship between people, but also the relationship between individuals and collectives, because the monarch is the representative of the country, and serving the country is important to the monarch. Of course, in this relationship, the relationship between subject and object is not equal: the object monarch is in the dominant position and the subject minister is in the subordinate position.

In the discussion of loyalty and righteousness, Confucius rarely discusses the affairs of the monarch, except for one chapter: Ding Gong asked, "What if the monarch lets his envoys serve the monarch?" Confucius said, "The monarch makes the minister polite, and the minister is loyal to the monarch." (Bashu)

In this chapter, Confucius put forward the principle of the relationship between monarch and minister. Loyalty to the monarch is the inheritance of Confucius' thought of loyalty to the monarch since the mid-Spring and Autumn Period, but it is not a simple inheritance, but a development. This development is "courtesy to the monarch", which changes the unilateral loyalty obligation of the courtiers into the conditional obligation of both the monarch and the courtiers. There is a premise of "loyalty to the monarch", and this premise is "courtesy to the monarch". Only when the monarch uses his ministers according to etiquette can he serve the monarch faithfully. If the monarch does not use his courtiers according to etiquette, there is no need for them to serve the monarch faithfully. "Serve you with Tao, if you can't stop" ("Advanced"), serve you with virtue. If not, resign. Confucius said so and did the same. Lu Guojun failed to share the meat with the doctor according to the ceremony, and Confucius did not like the stack and resolutely left. In the Analects of Confucius, Confucius also mentioned the principles of governing the monarch many times, namely, "treat the monarch with courtesy" (eight Shu), "kill the father and destroy the monarch, and do not disobey" (advanced), dress the monarch, and do bad things, and do not disobey; We should "not cheat, but commit" the bad behavior of the monarch. We should not deceive him partially, but admonish and offend him to his face.

Through the development of Confucius, loyalty has expanded from the simple political ethics of benefiting the people, the country, the people and the monarch to the altruistic social ethics, and from the criterion of dealing with the relationship between people and the collective to the criterion of dealing with the relationship between people.

If we really want to play the role of loyalty to the monarch in contemporary society, we must solve the problem of loyalty to the monarch.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Confucius' relationship between monarch and minister was ossified into "the program of monarch and minister", and the idea of loyalty to monarch strengthened feudal autocracy and imprisoned people's thoughts. Since the 20th century, Confucius has been regarded as the initiator of "monarch and minister" and the ancestor of feudal absolutism, which is actually unfair.

Confucius' theory of loyalty and righteousness mainly refers to the relationship between friends. Although Confucius also talked about loyalty to the monarch, loyalty to the monarch also has a premise. Combined with Confucius' discussion and evaluation of serving the monarch in the Analects of Confucius, Confucius' loyalty to the monarch is very weak. First of all, Confucius did not have the concept of "being loyal to the monarch and not serving two masters" advocated by later generations. Guan Zhong was Gong Zijiu's teacher, and Gong Zijiu was killed by Qi Huangong. Guan Zhong not only didn't give his life, but also played for Qi Huangong and helped Qi Huangong become a champion. The "second minister" like Guan Zhong was not criticized by Confucius, but was highly praised by Confucius: "The Duke of Huan joined forces with the nine kings, not with soldiers, but with Guan Zhong's strength. That's it! That's it! " (Xianwen) is recommended as having the virtue of "benevolence"-the highest moral character in Confucius' mind. Secondly, Confucius did not have the concept of "sacred and inviolable monarchy" emphasized by later Confucianism. Shang Tang and Zhou Wuwang overthrew the brutal Xia Jie and Shang Zhou respectively. Confucius not only did not criticize this kind of "king" behavior, but praised them as gentlemen. In The Analects of Confucius, he praised Shang Tang's behavior of raising Yi Yin and the supreme virtue of the prince of Wu. It can be seen that Confucius not only did not have the idea of loyalty to the monarch after the world, but was in favor of overthrowing the cruel monarch. It is unreasonable for later generations to accuse Confucius of being the initiator of the "program of monarch and minister"

In fact, loyalty to the monarch is only a special political meaning of loyalty to the monarch, and it is a transformation of the meaning of benefiting the country and the people and altruism. The object of benefiting the country, benefiting the people and altruism is limited to the monarch, and the relationship between the individual and the country is defined as the relationship with the monarch. Loyalty to the monarch in history is linked with patriotism. The monarch is the representative of the country, and loyalty to the monarch is patriotism.

Laozi

1, world view

"Tao gives birth to one, one, two, three and three things." "Things are mixed and born. Lonely! If you don't change your independence, you can become the mother of the world. I don't know its name, the strong word is Tao, and the strong name is Da. Name is death, death in the distance, return to the distance. Big, big, big, big. Of the four largest in China, only Wang Chuyi. Man, earth, heaven, heaven and Tao are natural. " "Nothing, nothing." Yes, the mother of all things. Therefore, there is often nothing and I want to see its wonders; Often, I want to see it. They are the same, but with different names and the same metaphysics. Mysterious and mysterious, the gate of Wan Qi. ""Everything in the world is born of something, and it is born of nothing. " "Whether there is a correlation, it is difficult to complement each other. Compared with the length, the height is oblique, the sound is harmonious, and it grows with each other. "

2. Values

Inaction, Tao and Morality

Laozi's values are composed of nothingness, Taoism and morality.

Laozi said "nothing" and tasted: "Everything in the world is born, and everything is born without it. When the universe has not yet formed, everything will not exist, so it is called "nothing". "The universe was formed at the beginning of heaven and earth, so it is called' you'. Everything comes from something, and something comes from nothing. Everything in the world begins with something and ends with nothing.

Laozi said "Tao" and tasted: "Things are mixed, born naturally, lonely and lonely, independent and unchanged, and can be the mother of the world. I don't know its name, but the word "Tao" is stronger than its name. Lao Tzu thinks that Tao is the noumenon of the universe and the foundation of all things, so he says, "Tao gives birth to one, one, two, three and three things." "Tao" came into being before all things in the world, existed independently outside all things, and operated repeatedly, spreading all over all things in the world and never ending. Lao Tzu also thinks that Tao can't be touched or traced, so it is called "invisible, the fountain of nothing." "It can only be represented by Tao, or it can be called" big "reluctantly. Therefore, "Tao can be Tao, extraordinary Tao, famous name, extraordinary name." Nothing, the beginning of the world; Yes, the mother of all things. It means that Tao is mysterious and profound, and it is difficult for ordinary people to understand and describe it. If Tao can be described in words, it is not a real Tao. When everything in the universe is formed, human beings will name everything, but it is not the real name of things, because everything in heaven and earth originated from Tao. Man is a natural thing and must obey the laws of nature. Therefore, it is said: "People practice the earth, practice the sky slowly, practice the Tao in the sky, and practice the Tao naturally." Tao gives life to all things and makes them have their own lives, so I think Tao is the ancestor of all things.

Laozi said "virtue" and thought that "virtue" was the embodiment of "Tao" and that "virtue" should be subordinate to "Tao", so he said: "Comte is tolerant and Tao is obedient. Taoism emphasizes that people should do good deeds in order to help themselves cultivate and avoid making mistakes.

lean meat

Laozi said "nurturing softness" and tasted: "The softest person in the world is the strongest in the world. The reason why "Tao" can circulate endlessly is because "Tao" has the characteristics of the weak, so it is said that "the weak use Tao. Laozi used the metaphor of "water": "There is nothing weaker than water in the world, and it is impossible to defeat the winner. He also said: "Weak is better than strong, and soft is better than strong. The world knows everything and says everything. Lao Tzu emphasized that "a strong beam will never die" in order to teach people humility and make progress by retreating. If people do this, they can stay sane, so they say, "knowing their men and keeping their women is a clear world;" For this world, Changde will not leave, it will return to the baby. People can be ambitious, but don't try to be brave and beat others. They should keep a weak and modest attitude and keep their simple nature. Laozi emphasized "nurturing softness" because he believed that everything in the world would decline one day, except Tao. So: "the wind will not end in the morning, and the shower will not last all day." Lao Tzu also thinks that things are unpredictable, so he said, "Happiness lies in misfortune, and disaster lies in happiness. "Lao Tzu emphasized' being soft' and asked people to be sober and not aggressive, otherwise there would be no good end.

In the last place.

Laozi believes that people should have the heart of "staying behind and not arguing". He tasted: "I have three treasures, I hold them and protect them; One is kindness, the other is thrift, and the third is not daring to be the first in the world. Kindness can be brave, thrift can be broad, and dare to be the first in the world, so it can last forever. Only people who are kind, thrifty and self-effacing have moral courage, and then give others, get respect and support, and become great. Laozi once said: "The sage exists outside the body after the body is first. It is not because of its selflessness that it can be selfish. As long as people can give up the heart of winning, they know that "it is better to stick to it than to be themselves." If you are sharp, you can't keep it for long. Happiness from now on, can't stay. Being rich and arrogant is to blame. "Don't rely on your own cleverness, but take the attitude of retreating for progress, so as to achieve the state of' the husband is independent and the world can't compete with him'. "

Have little desire

Laozi said that people should "want less", so he said: "Crime is greater than desire, disaster is greater than dissatisfaction, and blame is greater than desire. Therefore, the content is always enough. If people have the heart of "wanting" and "unsatisfying", then greed is self-sufficient. Only the satisfaction brought by "contentment" is the real satisfaction. Laozi pointed out: "Five colors make people blind, five tones make people deaf, and five flavors make people cool. Addicted to sensual pleasures, dogs, horses and appetites will confuse people and damage the senses and spirituality of the body. Therefore, Lao Tzu asked people to "have no desire" and "get rid of desire", so he said: "It is the saints who go to extremes and are extravagant. He also said, "Those who are good at being scholars are not martial. A good soldier won't get angry. He who is good at defeating the enemy does not dispute. Those who make good use of people do it. In daily life and communication with people, we should be "simple, less selfish, less desire" and achieve the realm of "being content with enough and not humiliating, being content with risks and lasting".

3. Political views

Do nothing

"Don't be smart, make people indisputable; Expensive and rare goods, so that people do not steal; If you don't see what you want, you won't be confused. Sage rule: hollow your heart, strengthen your stomach, weaken your will and strengthen your bones. If you often make people ignorant and have no desire, you will die if you know it. "

"Inaction" cannot be understood as inaction. "Huai Nan Zi's Original Tao Xun": "Doing nothing". Taoism's "inaction" means quietness and self-control, which is the ideal realm of Taoism's self-cultivation. If you can reach this ideal state, you can do anything.

Do good for the next one.

"The virtue of the ancient times, a good man does not use force, does not get angry when he is good at fighting, does not dispute when he is good at fighting, and makes good use of his benevolence. It is an indisputable virtue and is based on the strength of employing people. " "There is a saying in war:" Don't dare to take the lead, don't dare to make a guest appearance, and don't dare to retreat. "It means no lines, no arms, no invincibility, no soldiers. Disaster!

4. Epistemology

"He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is wise. Those who win are strong, those who are satisfied are rich, and those who are forced are ambitious. Those who have not lost their position for a long time will live a long life. " "Saint unintentionally, good is good, bad is good. I believe those who believe, and I believe those who don't. Sages are on earth. For the world, muddy its heart. People value their eyes and ears, and saints are children. " "See, go up; I don't know. I'm sick. Because saints don't get sick. It is because they are sick that they are not sick. "