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Chapter 328: Yin Yang Family Zou Zi

Among the various schools of thought, the founder of the Yin-Yang School was Zou Zi.

Although the Yin-Yang School existed for a short time, its doctrines run through the entire Chinese history.

Zou Zi summarized the Five Elements Theory and Yin-Yang Theory before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and integrated the two together to form the Yin-Yang and Five Elements thought which had a huge influence on later generations.

After the Han Dynasty, Yin-Yang School gradually disappeared as an academic school.

However, the ideas of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory were further developed and absorbed by Confucianism and Taoism.

Judging from the values ​​of modern people, the theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements has its own superstitious side.

However, it is also a treasure in the traditional culture of the Chinese nation and one of the important ways for ancient Chinese to understand the world.

"He was a super idol in the Warring States Period, and all countries vied to admire him."

"He was the first Chinese to open his eyes to the world and look at the world."

"Zou Yan was a native of Qi during the late Warring States period."

"Because he talked about everything in the sky, people at that time called him Tan Tianyan, also known as Zou Zi."

"Zou Yan summarized and carried forward the experience of his predecessors, promoted the theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and became the founder of the Yin-Yang school."

"Zou Yan once studied at the Jixia Academy and became famous in Qi for his knowledge."

"When he arrived in Wei, he was honored by King Hui of Wei who came out of the city to welcome him."

"When he arrived in Zhao, Lord Pingyuan treated him as a host and a guest."

"When he arrived in Yan, King Zhao of Yan personally swept the dust in front of him and listened to his lectures, treating him as a disciple."

"Compared with Confucius's travels around the countries, where he encountered setbacks everywhere and had to sleep in the open air, Zou Yan can be regarded as a super idol of the Warring States period."

"And the Yin-Yang School he founded was not only regarded by Sima Qian as the leader of the Jixia School of Thought."

"And Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, also put the Yin-Yang School first in his Talk on the Essentials of the Six Schools."

"This shows the status and influence of the Yin-Yang family."

"Not only that, the Yin-Yang masters that were all the rage in Japan also originated from the Yin-Yang school of thought in the pre-Qin period."

"During the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent envoys to China, who brought with them the theories of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Yin and Yang masters gradually became popular in Japan."

"Not only did the Japanese people gain comfort from the Onmyoji in their hard lives, but the Japanese emperor also gained spiritual peace and security for the country from the Onmyoji."

"During the period of Japanese ignorance, Onmyoji was even the spiritual pillar of the entire country."

"So Yin-Yang School has a great influence not only in China but also in Japan, and it has been passed down to this day."

"The reason why the Yin-Yang school headed by Zou Yan was so popular was that the core of its thought was the theory of the Five Virtues and the Great Nine Continents, which were based on the Yin-Yang and Five Elements."

Zhuangzi: Being eloquent and good at debate is not a long-term thing. Gongsun Long is an example. In the end, his livelihood was cut off by Zou Yan.

Being eloquent and good at debate may make you successful for a while, but behind the scenes it will make people despise and dislike you.

Those who rely solely on eloquence to advance their careers will ultimately not escape the fate of being left out.

Gongsun Long was such a person. He was originally a retainer of Lord Pingyuan.

Because Gongsun Long was good at debating and verifying that a white horse is not a horse, Lord Pingyuan treated him as a guest of honor.

Therefore, Gongsun Long naturally thought that he was superior to others, so he began to use his eloquence to display his talents.

When Zou Yan passed through Zhao State, Pingyuan Jun asked him to debate with Gongsun Long on the view that a white horse is not a horse.

This was also an absurd topic, so Zou Yan immediately refused to debate with Gongsun Long and stated his own point of view.

Zou Yan believed that so-called debates should distinguish different types and not infringe on each other.

Arrange different concepts and do not confuse them.

Express your thoughts and general concepts, make your point, and let others understand instead of being confused.

In this way, the winner of the debate can stick to his position, and the loser can also obtain the truth he seeks. Such a debate can be carried out.

If we use red tape as evidence, use clever words to slander each other, use flowery rhetoric to replace concepts, and attract others but make them miss the point, it will hinder the fundamental principles of learning.

Zou Yan would never participate in that kind of endless and aggressive behavior that would not stop until others admitted defeat, as it was detrimental to the gentleman's demeanor.

Zou Yan's speech won unanimous applause from everyone present, and Gongsun Long was demoted by Pingyuan Jun from then on.

Gongsun Long's character was completely exposed by Zou Yan, and his reliance solely on eloquence was no longer tenable.

Because Gongsun Long's eloquence was a debate that did not distinguish right from wrong and was absurd, it led to others being unwilling to associate with him, and it was inevitable that he was ignored.

"The so-called five virtues refer to the five virtues represented by the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water."

"The so-called beginning and end refers to the repetitive cycle of the five virtues."

"The five elements are: water, fire, wood, metal and earth."

“The ancients believed that everything in the universe was made up of these five basic substances.”

"The word 'xing' in 'wuxing' means running."

"So the Five Elements contain a very important concept, which is the concept of change and operation, that is, mutual generation and mutual restraint."

"Zou Yan was the first to combine the concepts of yin and yang and the five elements, and proposed the systematic theory of the generation and restraint of yin and yang and the five elements for the first time in history."

"The Yellow Emperor's time was the time of earth virtue, because wood gives birth to earth, so the dynasty that replaced the Yellow Emperor, the Xia Dynasty, was the time of wood virtue."

"Because metal gives birth to wood, the Shang Dynasty that replaced the Xia Dynasty was the metal virtue."

"Because fire produces metal, the Zhou Dynasty, which replaced the Shang Dynasty, was the virtue of fire."

"Because water creates fire, the Qin Dynasty that replaced the Zhou Dynasty was the water virtue."

"Zou Yan often used this theory to explain historical changes and the rise and fall of dynasties."

"During the Warring States Period when the princes were fighting against each other, Zou Yan's theory was recognized and welcomed by the princes of various countries."

"This view of history regards history as constantly changing and the rise of a new dynasty as the inevitable result of the interaction of the five elements, which meets the political needs of establishing a new unified dynasty."

"Later, Qin Shi Huang used the theory of the five virtues as the theoretical basis for the Qin Dynasty to annex the vassal states and unify the world."

"Dong Zhongshu combined Zou Yan's theory of the five virtues with Confucianism, opening the precedent of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements in Confucianism in the Han Dynasty."

"This has had a profound impact on later generations and has permeated almost every aspect of Chinese life."

"Due to its negative influence, the Yin-Yang theory promoted the prevalence of superstitious thinking, and the supreme ruler of the feudal dynasty called himself the emperor who inherited the destiny of heaven."

"Even traditional Chinese medicine, which is a traditional Chinese medicine system, contains the theory of the five elements."

Ying Zheng: In order to prohibit heretical ideas, I once ordered the burning of books from hundreds of schools of thought, but Zou Yan's theory of the five virtues was not among them.

The Qin Dynasty established its country by law, strengthened its country by law, and thus unified the world.

When the books of various schools of thought were burned, not all non-Legalist ideas and theories were rejected.

There was a political theory that was not legalist, which he adopted and put into practice.

This theory is the theory of the Five Elements created by Zou Yan, a thinker of the Yin-Yang School.

The reason why Zou Yan created the Theory of the Five Elements was to meet the requirements of the development of the times and provide theoretical support for the new dynasty.

After the Zhou royal family moved eastward, royal power declined and the princes rose.

The Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Hegemons of the Warring States Period pursued a policy of expansion and annexation, encroaching on the weak and growing stronger.

If this trend continues, it will inevitably lead to the demise of the Zhou Dynasty and the birth of a new dynasty.

The Zhou Dynasty was formally destroyed by the Qin State, leaving China in a state of chaos.

The trend of history is very clear. In the future, a brand new dynasty will surely emerge to replace the perished Zhou Dynasty and rule the world.

Zou Yan's life happened to take place in this era when division would eventually lead to reunification.

Zou Yan had a strong premonition that the future new dynasty would urgently need a new theory to explain the demise of the Zhou Dynasty and its own rise.

It was in this historical context that Zou Yan combined the knowledge of the Five Elements with the Yin-Yang thought to create the theory of the Five Virtues.

In fact, the theory of changing dynasties was not unique to Zou Yan.

Traditional Confucian theory also supports the change of dynasties.

Mencius and Xunzi denounced King Zhou of Shang as a tyrant and believed that he deserved to be put to death.

These remarks represent Confucianism's approval of changing dynasties through violent means.

However, Confucianism revealed two shortcomings, which made it inferior to Zou Yan's doctrine.

First, it only explains the issue of dynasty changes in one era, without providing a complete explanation of all dynasties in history, and is unsystematic.

Second, the language is too straightforward and will hurt the hearts of the rulers.

If you call someone a tyrant today, you will call me a tyrant tomorrow. The bloody scene of King Wu of Zhou trampling on the body of King Zhou of Shang after his victory in the war against Shang.

After thousands of years, it is still vivid in our minds and hard to let go.

In comparison, the theory of the five virtues shows its advantages.

Not only does it provide a comprehensive explanation for the succession of all dynasties throughout history, but it also does not require the use of radical language such as dictatorship to justify its arguments, and will not irritate the sensitive nerves of the rulers.

The Five Virtues acknowledged that changes of dynasties are in line with the will of heaven and are necessary.

It also confirmed that every new dynasty had unquestionable legitimacy.

This is extremely tempting for a ruler like him.

Perhaps Zou Yan's original intention in creating this theory was not to serve the Qin Dynasty, but rather to hope that his State of Qi would take on the responsibility of unification.

But the State of Qi was not capable of being used, and several upheavals almost led to the destruction of the country.

From then on, the King of Qi became unambitious and quietly waited for his fate to be destroyed.

As Qin accelerated its pace of unifying the Central Plains, it recruited scholars from all over the world, and Zou Yan's disciples also came to Qin.

He scoffed at the theories of various schools of thought, but had a special liking for Zou Yan's theory of the Five Elements.

He found that it not only recognized the legitimacy of the change of dynasties, but also confirmed that the Qin Dynasty's replacement of the Zhou Dynasty to rule the world was in accordance with the law of destiny.

Although he believed in the use of force, the change of dynasties was, after all, an earth-shattering event.

I have been a military officer for many years and have killed countless people, so it is inevitable that I will give people a chance to criticize me.

Why not have such a perfect theory that does not conflict with the Legalist system to embellish it so that the picky scholars will have no doubts?

So, in the year when he unified the country, he used the logic of the Five Elements' beginning and end to explain to the whole world the fact of change of dynasties.

The Zhou Dynasty was the era of fire, and water controls fire.

Therefore, the Qin Dynasty was the water virtue, which was the inevitable result of the flow of destiny.

When the Zhou royal family moved eastward, Duke Wen of Qin went hunting and captured a black dragon by the Wei River. This was regarded as the most important auspicious sign that the Qin Dynasty would replace the Zhou Dynasty.

However, what is more embarrassing is that he was confident that the Qin Dynasty would last forever, which is inherently contradictory to the theory of the Five Elements.

He only saw that the Five Elements confirmed the legitimacy of the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, but did not see that it also confirmed the legitimacy of the end of the Qin Dynasty.

With five virtues replacing each other, no dynasty can last forever, and the Qin Dynasty is no exception.

He dreamed of ruling for one, two, or even ten thousand generations, but was ultimately cruelly defeated by reality.

"The ancients unilaterally believed that the earth was square, with us in the center and the edges all being seas, divided into the east, south, west and north."

"Use the direction to locate the East Sea, South Sea, West Sea, and North Sea to all parts of the country."

“It can be used to refer not only to places all over the world, but also to the residential areas of neighboring ethnic groups.”

"Zou Yan doesn't think so. He uses the theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements as the basis of his theory."

"From the small to the big, from the near to the far, the theory of the Great Nine Provinces was boldly and creatively proposed."

"According to Zou Yan's theory of the Great Nine Provinces, Zou Yan believed that China was actually one eighty-first of the world."

"And it is a piece of land in the ocean, and China's name is Chixian Shenzhou."

"In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor ruled the land. The area ruled by the Yellow Emperor was called Shenzhou, and the area ruled by the Yan Emperor was called Chixian."

"After Huangdi defeated Yandi, the unified land was called Shenzhou Chixian or Chixian Shenzhou."

"The Red Land of Gods is one of the nine great states in the world, and China is divided into nine smaller states, collectively known as the Nine States of China."

"The Nine Provinces of China are the nine provinces surveyed by Dayu, namely Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, and Yong."

"Zou Yan's theory of the Great Nine Provinces was indeed shocking in the Warring States Period."

"Zou Yan was also the first to propose that China is a piece of land in the ocean. It can be said that Zou Yan was the first ocean theorist in China and the first oceanographer to challenge the Confucian concept of China."

"Although Zou Yan had never left China and had never read books on foreign geography."

"But his Great Kyushu theory is basically consistent with the world we know today."

"During the Warring States Period when Zou Yan lived, China only referred to the Seven Kingdoms of the Warring States Period and some other small vassal states granted by the Zhou royal family."

"The area is about half of what is now China, or 480 million square kilometers."

"China now occupies one-fourteenth of the world's land area, and land accounts for about one-third of the Earth's surface."

"According to this calculation, the area of ​​China at the time of Zou Yan was about one eighty-first of the total area of ​​the earth."

"The Great Nine Continents theory says that there are nine continents outside of China, such as the Red County and the Divine Land, which is very similar to the division of the seven continents."

"Due to historical limitations at the time, Zou Yan did not make any effort to explore and understand the world outside of China."

"But with his rigorous reasoning and bold imagination, he still deserves the title of the first Chinese to open his eyes to the world."

Xu Guangqi: People say that I am the first person to see the world with open eyes, but in fact the real first person is Zou Zi.

Zou Yan once taught at the Jixia Academy in the capital of Qi State. The academic atmosphere there was free and it was an academic center where a hundred schools of thought contended with each other at that time.

Zou Yan was smart, wise, eloquent, and especially good at drawing some unreasonable conclusions from small things to big things, so he was given the nickname Tan Tianyan.

As a famous scholar, Zou Yan was not only respected in Qi State, but also received high-level courtesy when he traveled around the various countries.

The reason why Zou Yan received such courtesy from the princes was because of his theory of the Five Virtues and the theory of the Great Nine Provinces.

Such doctrines are very different from Confucius's pursuit of benevolence and Mencius's pursuit of righteousness.

It is good to die for righteousness, but the benevolent government of Confucianism is not suitable for the fiercely competitive Warring States Period, so Confucianism lost its former charm.

Although it was still recognized by the princes, it was difficult for them to implement.

On the contrary, Zou Yan's theory either explains the natural mysteries of political rise and fall, or goes around in circles and is confusing.

Or they infer the vastness of geographical space and make big talk to make people believe it.

Such a doctrine is of course particularly attractive to rulers.

Regarding the theory of the Great Nine Provinces, in Zou Yan's view, the world is composed of four circles of sea and land.

The continent in the center is the first circle, the Bi Sea surrounding this continent is the second circle, the eight continents between the Bi Sea and the Daying Sea are the third circle, and the outermost Daying Sea is the fourth circle.

According to Zou Yan's deduction, the proportional relationship between the world, the country and China is.

The world is nine times larger than the sea, and the sea is nine times larger than China. China is divided into nine provinces, which are the nine provinces of Yu the Great in Confucianism.

The theory of the Great Nine Provinces promoted the ancient emperors' expansion of territory and the ancients' overseas communications, although it was impossible to verify at the time.

But after all, it broadened people's horizons, which inspired the ancients to explore overseas and expand their geographical vision.

Ever since Zou Yan's theory of the Great Nine Provinces came up, the name of China as the Red Country Shenzhou has been used.

Shen means something mysterious, and Zhou originally means habitable land in water.

In this way, Shenzhou, when directly translated, means the magical land.

Red represents direction and refers to the south in a broad sense.

In the Warring States Period, Zou Yan integrated the concept of the Five Elements with the Yin and Yang Eight Trigrams, the Four Seasons and Five Directions, and colors, which is the Yin and Yang Five Elements Theory.

In this theory, the south represents fire and its color is red.

In short, Chixian is a county in the south.

Secondly, county represents national territory and refers to the place directly under the emperor's jurisdiction.

Therefore, Chixian Shenzhou means the southern land and the magical land.

China, which has always considered itself to be located in the center of heaven and earth, became a southern territory under Zou Yan.

This is precisely the boldness of Zou Yan's theory of the Great Nine Provinces, and it is Zou Yan's challenge to traditional statements.

In the grand world constructed by Zou Yan, there is no place for the Confucian Yu the Great and the Nine Provinces.

Zou Yan did not agree with the Confucian concept of the Nine Provinces of China, and instead gave China a new name, the Red Land of God.

From the perspective of location, Zou Yan's Chixian Shenzhou was located in the southeast, which broke the traditional positioning of China as being between heaven and earth.

In other words, Zou Yan placed Chixian Shenzhou in the southeast of the great Kyushu in the middle, instead of in the center.

The objective positioning of the Red Land of China in the southeast fully reflects Zou Yan's broad and open geographical view.

It formed a sharp contrast with the narrow and closed inland geographical view of Confucianism - China is located between heaven and earth, but it also caused intense conflict.

What is even more rare is that Zou Yan did not explore the world outside of China, so it is truly remarkable that he could come up with the theory of the Great Nine Provinces.

(End of this chapter)