Yang Zhu School was unique in the Warring States Period, contending with Confucianism and Mohism. Zhuang Zhou, the guardian of Taoism, and Monk, the master of Confucianism, both rejected and criticized it, probably because of the influence of this criticism, which spread to later scholars. What's more, Qin Huang burned books, and Hanwu only respected Confucianism, so it disappeared during the Qin and Han Dynasties. However, this does not mean the demise of his theory and its influence, but only the seclusion of the people. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Zhan (referring to Liezi Yang Zhu) was reprinted. Zhang Zhan's Preface to Liezi said that Yang Zhu Pian is one of the "only survivors", not a fabricated word. As for Yang Zhu's theory, it has always been derived from Laozi (for example, Chapter 13 of Laozi says: "If you are the world, you can make it rich. Love is the world, if you can trust it. " ), closer to Taoism, barely classified as Taoism; Or because it is not completely consistent with Laozi's thought, Laozi is soft and Yang Zhu is self-respecting, and he is rejected by Zhuang Zhou and does not belong to Taoism; Most of them started with "Yang Zhu" after Laozi, Confucianism and Mohism. It is really unique, and "Yang Zhu" is its own. To sum up Yang Zhu's remarks, his thoughts must be "valuing oneself" or "doing it for me". Later generations criticized Yang for being selfish, decadent and depraved. In fact, Yang Zhu's words are epochal. In the late Spring and Autumn Period and the early and middle Warring States Period, "Confucius advocated" the world; However, it would be hypocritical to say that feuds between princes and princes, mutual aggression, damage to the interests of death, and the king's well-being led to the death of his subjects. Yang Zhu is cynical and advocates the theory of "valuing oneself". "The ancient people, at the expense of the world, are not harmonious; Knowing that the world is full of clothes, I won't take them. Everyone doesn't lose a penny. If everyone is bad for the world, the world will be ruled. " He also said: "if you are good at others, things may not be cured; If you are good at managing insiders, things may not be chaotic. If it rules, its laws can be temporarily in a country, but it is not in line with the people's hearts; Under my rule, it can be pushed to the whole world. " Everyone values himself within the scope of rule by man, and does not infringe upon or harm each other. Everyone respects and loves himself. It's safe for everyone and the world is governed, isn't it? Starting from "attaching importance to oneself", Yang Zhu constructed his own theory: (1) On life and death: everyone is like this when he is alive. There are differences between the virtuous and the foolish, between the poor and the lowly, and all the dead are rotten bones. Wu Shun is no different from Jie Zhe. (2) Pay attention to yourself: the most precious person in you is life, and it is easy to die when you are born. This short life should be extremely precious. You should live happily. Everything is precious to save me. Don't hurt him. If you leave, you will never come back. (3) All-round fidelity: The so-called all-round, that is, conforming to nature, the existing lunch is comprehensive, things are easy to enjoy for health, but irreversible, envious of life, polymer tired. As long as they have "rich clothes, good taste and good looks", it is enough to meet life. Don't be greedy, don't hurt your life for foreign things. The so-called fidelity is to keep the authenticity of my body endowed by nature and not lose the joy of that year; Follow your heart and do not go against nature; Swim with your heart, not against everything; Do not pity the reputation of the moment, not greedy for the glory after death; Don't envy longevity, fame, position and goods, but you can be fearless of ghosts, people, rights and interests, keep and conform to nature and control your own destiny.

Regarding Yang Zhu, the above materials include Yang Sheng, Andy, Yang Zhu, Yang Ziju and Yang Ziqu. According to the textual research of Zheng Bin in Biography of Yang Zhu compiled in the fourth volume of Ancient History, he is considered to be a Zhu native with the surname Yang (or Zuo Yang) and the word Zi Ju (or Zuo Ziqu). As for the year of birth and death of Yang Zhu, I thought it would be later than Mo Zhai, but earlier than Monk. A comparative study of Yang Zhu and Andy in the fourth volume of Ancient History holds that "his approximate year of birth and death should be between 450 BC and 370 BC (that is, from the 15th year of Zhou Zhending to the 6th year of Zhou Liewang)". Yang Zhu is completely authentic and values himself. Your old man, Mawangdui silk, Lao Tzu said: be empty, be extreme; Keep love and watch. What you value is family, which is in line with Lao Tzu's original intention. I didn't think it was just for personal benefit.

Liezi Yang Zhu belonged to Yang Zhu from Han Dynasty to modern times. It kept the original intention of Yang Zhu's thought, but it did not fundamentally contradict Yang Zhu. Judging from his thoughts, Yang Zhu is not a beggar-thy-neighbor adulterer. Yang Zhu believes: "The ancient people, who lost a dime to benefit the world, can not be the same;" Knowing that the world is full of clothes, I won't take them. Everyone does not lose a penny, everyone is not good for the world, and the world is ruled. " In this regard, Mr. He Lin thinks: "Doing nothing for the benefit of the world means neither harming oneself nor others, which is the opposite of altruism at the expense of others and self-interest, and the opposite of wicked people at the expense of others and self-interest, taking the road between the two ends. When evaluating Yang Zhu's "not conducive to the world, not taking the world", Mr. Lv Simian pointed out: "If a wife doesn't lose a penny, there will be no Yao and Shun. If everyone is not conducive to the world, there will be no ambition; If there is no rebellion, there will be no chaos at that time; Without Yao and Shun, there would be no disadvantage in the future. So the rule of the world. From a philosophical point of view, what Andy said to me is profound and subtle. Or for selfish purposes, it is shallow to test Andy. "Modern scholars' sympathetic understanding of Yang Zhu's rational egoism is consistent with Wang Bi's theory of" taking advantage without losing, focusing on Huawei's ambition "when explaining the" lost "divination, and it also shows people's recognition of the moral value of rational egoism. Because real or reasonable egoism, in order to safeguard one's own life, interests or happiness, can be regarded as egoism, although it will not deliberately do altruistic things, but at least it will not endanger the happiness of others. "Self-protection and self-interest are natural instinctive requirements, but only with considerable intelligence and education can we safeguard our own interests; You must also have considerable self-cultivation and restraint in order not to harm the legitimate interests of others. Therefore, egoism has its moral value. " . Yang Zhu's political proposition is to build a society of "no loss, no one in the world is good". According to Shuo, Yang Zhu once talked with Liang Wang about "ruling the world like a ship". He compared himself to Yao and Shun, claiming to be a saint who "governs the great, governs the small and makes great achievements". He doesn't care about his family, but he specializes in political activities. Han Fei said that Yang Zhu is as talented as Mo Zhai.

Yang Zhu opposed the French king. He thinks that to give up today's people to praise the ancient kings is to praise the dead bones. Therefore, he advocated the establishment of a new society. This political proposition is derived from the theory of never invading things for me. That is, on the one hand, from "losing a dime for the world, not losing a dime for the world", it is deduced that "everyone loses a dime, everyone is unfavorable to the world, and the world is governed together." On the other hand, since it is not easy to benefit from the world, it should also be deduced that everyone does not benefit from the world, and everyone is not easy to benefit from the world. In other words, everyone benefits the world for nothing, and he doesn't pull himself out of greed. Everyone is for himself and does not infringe on others; In this way, the world will be peaceful.

Because Yang Zhu thinks that life is more important than everything, and life is only once for people. Therefore, he only emphasized personal interests and neglected national interests, which led to the theory of no monarch.

Yang Zhu believes that people who govern this society should be virtuous and have the virtue of modesty, that is, behave virtuous without thinking about morality. Yang Zhu believes that all members of this society should be cautious. Xunzi Wang Ba tells the story of Yang Zhu crying "wrong way", which reflects this psychological state. According to this story, Yang Zhu walked to the crossroads and said with emotion: One wrong step in this place will lead to thousands of miles of mistakes! "Therefore, he cried bitterly. Yang Zhu cried "going the wrong way" just for the road of life. If you accidentally choose the wrong road, it will cause endless harm. Members of Yang Zhu's ideal society should not only "do what I do" but also "invade things". But it is not easy to achieve these two aspects, and every step of life must be carefully thought out.

Yang Zhu advocates the establishment of a society in which everyone works for himself and does not infringe on others. However, this kind of society can't exist in class society at all, but people's beautiful fantasy. As Han Feizi pointed out when he criticized Yang Zhu, "Eight Treatises of Han Feizi" said, Yang Zhu's idea was far-sighted, but it was not in line with the actual situation at that time and was not feasible at all.

Mencius said, "Andy took it from me and pulled out a dime to benefit the world, not for his own sake." (The History of the Three Kingdoms) Lu Chunqiu (3rd century BC) said: "Yang begets oneself." (Introduction to Textual Research) Han Feizi (3rd century BC) said: "Today, some people are here, not in the army, and they don't want to benefit the world, but they are born again." Huai Nanzi (2nd century BC) said, "All talents are faithful and things are never tired: the foundation of Andy." (General Theory)

In the above quotation, scholars have proved that Yang Sheng mentioned in Lv Chunqiu is Yang Zhu. Everything goes wrong "said" don't take advantage of the world ",it must be Yang Zhu or his disciples, because no one else had this idea at that time. Synthesizing these materials, we can get two basic concepts of Yang Zhu: "for me" and "light things for rebirth". These ideas are obviously opposed to Mozi who advocates universal love. Doing everything wrong and saying that Yang Zhu is not easy to benefit the world is somewhat different from Mencius' saying that one hair of Yang Zhu is not good for the world. But these two statements are consistent with Yang Zhu's basic thinking. The latter is consistent with "for me", and the former is consistent with "light things and rebirth". The two can be said to be two sides of the same theory. Yang Zhu, a philosopher who was almost contemporary with Mozi, was extremely opposed to Mozi's thought. He opposed Mozi's "universal love", advocated "valuing life" and "valuing oneself", attached importance to the preservation of personal life, and opposed others' encroachment on himself and himself. As Mencius, another great thinker and representative of Confucianism, summed it up: "Andy took it from me, took it from a dime, and benefited the world, not for his own use. Mozi loves everything, follows his heels and benefits the world. " (Andy advocates "for me", even if pulling out a hair on his body can benefit the whole world, he won't do it, while Mozi advocates "universal love", so long as it benefits the whole world, even if his head is polished and his foot is broken, he is willing. )

The bird asked Yang Zhu, "Do you think removing a hair from the offspring can save the whole life?"

Andy said: "The world is not a drop in the ocean."

The bird said, "False aid, why?"

Andy responded.

Bird talk, Yang.

Meng Sunyang said, "I don't agree with your master. Please speak up. What if someone invades his skin and gets a million dollars? "

Say, "For it."

Meng Sunyang said, "Yes. What does it matter if one section wins a country? "

There was silence among the birds.

Meng Sunyang said, "A hair is tiny on the skin."

The bird said, "I can't answer this question." However, if you ask Lao Dan Guanyin in your son's words, then your son will do it. Ask Dayu Mo Zhai in my words, and I will do it. "

Meng Sunyang talked with his disciples about other things out of concern. (Liezi Yang Zhu) The above two aspects of Yang Zhu Thought can be exemplified in Taoist literature. There is a story in "Zhuangzi Xiaoyao Tour" that says: "Yao lets the world take charge. ..... Xu You said: Zi governs the world, the world has been governed, and I am still a son. Will I be named? Celebrities are real guests. Will I be a guest? Wren nest in the depths of the forest, but only one; The mouse drank the water from the river, but the river was full. Return to Hugh or Jun? Children are useless, and the world is everything. " The hermit gave him the world, even if he gave it away for nothing, he didn't want it. Of course, he doesn't take advantage of the world. This is an example mentioned in Yang Zhu Thought.

As mentioned earlier, in Liezi's Yang Zhu, there is a story that says; The bird asked Yang Zhu, "What do you think of pulling out a hair from your daughter to save the whole life?" Andy said: The world is not a drop in the ocean. The bird said: False aid, why? Andy responded. The bird said Yang. Meng Sunyang said, Your son doesn't like your master's wishes. Please speak up. If someone violated his skin and got a million dollars, what if he did? Say: for it. Meng Sunyang said: Take a break and get a country. Where's the son? There was silence among the birds. Meng Sunyang said: A hair is smaller than the skin? "This is another example of Yang Zhu's theory." Liezi Yang Zhu also said: "The ancients lost a dime to benefit the world, and they were harmonious but different; Knowing that the world is full of clothes, I won't take them. Everyone loses nothing, and everyone is not good for the world: the world is ruled. " This sentence well summarizes two aspects of Yang Zhu's theory and early Taoist political philosophy. The incarnation of Laozi and Zhuangzi

Lao Zi, Zhuangzi and Lv Chunqiu all reflect Yang Zhu's basic thought. "Lu Chunqiu" said: "I was born today, which is what I own and what I like. On dignity, it is not enough to compare with being the son of heaven. As far as its weight is concerned, it is not easy to be rich in the world. As far as its security is concerned, once it is lost, it will be lost for life. These three are also cautious about those who have the means. " This passage (Meng values himself) explains why things should be reborn lightly. Even if you lose the world, you may get it back one day, but once you die, you can't live anymore. Some words in Laozi also contain the same idea. For example, "you are the world, if you can send it to the world;" Love is the world, if you can trust it. " (Chapter 13) That is to say, in dealing with people, a person who values his body more than the world can give him the world; He who loves himself more than the world can entrust the world to him. Another example is "name and body: who is close?" Physical goods: how much? "(Chapter 44) all show the concept of belittling things and rebirth. Zhuangzi's "Health Master" said; Good has no near name, and evil has no near punishment. The Governor thinks that you can protect yourself, spend your life peacefully, support your relatives and spend your old age peacefully. "This is also the route of Yang Zhu Thought, which the pre-Qin Taoists thought was the best way to protect themselves from the world. If a person's behavior is very bad and punished by society, it is obviously not a complete way of life. But if a person's behavior is too good and gets a good reputation, this is not the way to live. Another article in "Zhuangzi" said: "The mountain wood decays from itself. The paste is fried by itself. Edible in Guangxi, cut. Cut the paint if you have it. "A person who enjoys a talented and useful reputation will have the same fate as laurel and sumac.

So there are some words in Zhuangzi that praise is useless. In the article "The World on Earth", it is said that big oak trees are useless and craftsmen don't cut them down. The oak tree said to the craftsman in a dream; "Nothing is available for a long time. Some died, but now, it is of great use. Giving is also useful. Do you have to be so evil? " The article finally said; "Everyone knows what is useful, but they don't know what is useless." Useless is the law of life. People who are good all their lives should not do more evil, but they should not do more good. He must live between good and evil. He tried to be useless, but in the end being useless was of great use to him.