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Chapter 329 Pre-Qin: The Founding of Confucianism

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were many schools of thought.

It is said that there are hundreds of schools of thought, but not many of them are truly influential.

Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, Military Strategists, Novelists, Diplomats, and Yin-Yang School.

With the end of the last school of Yin-Yang, some are happy while others are sad.

The ones who were happy were naturally the eight great schools mentioned by Su Chen, while the ones who were worried were those schools that failed to take advantage of this opportunity to become famous.

"That's all about the eight most influential philosophers. Now the host will answer questions about Confucius."

"The development of Confucianism has gone through five important stages of development over the two thousand years of Chinese history."

"The founding of Confucianism in the pre-Qin period, the dominance of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty, the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, the Yangming School of Mind in the Ming Dynasty, and the decline in the Qing Dynasty."

The history of China is vast and spans five thousand years.

Dynasties change constantly, but Confucianism remains.

Looking at the historical development of Confucianism, there have been lows and highs.

Confucianism has long been the orthodox ideology of the Chinese nation. It was not only the political guiding ideology of the dynasty, but also the ideology generally followed by civil society.

In the past, Buddhism and Taoism had a certain influence in both the government and the people, but they never became the official ideology of the court.

The cultural confidence that is often talked about today is inseparable from Confucian ideology and culture.

"The first stage of the development of Confucianism, the founding of Confucianism in the pre-Qin period, the origin of Confucian thought and the initial formation of the system."

"Confucianism has a profound heritage and has undergone a long period of change."

"By the time of Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period, it had basically become an independent school of thought and one of the Hundred Schools of Thought."

"As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, politicians such as Duke of Zhou Ji Dan proposed the idea that people with virtue should occupy the throne, and Confucianism began to take root."

"Duke Zhou and others believed that the monarch's ability to control the world was a blessing from heaven."

"In order to repay heaven, the monarch must govern the country with virtue, cultivate himself with virtue, treat his ancestors well, and protect his subjects."

"Virtue is the key to success, but without virtue, one will be cast away by heaven."

"This is a very high-end start, with a solid theoretical foundation, and it links personal destiny with heaven from the very beginning."

"About five hundred years later, Confucius and his disciples inherited the teachings of their predecessors and founded the Confucian school on this basis."

“It wasn’t very systematic or detailed at the beginning, but the framework and context had been formed.”

"Confucius was born into a declining noble family. When he was young, he entered the political arena of Lu State and opened a school to recruit disciples."

"Confucius, who had been in the political arena of Lu for many years, could not be tolerated by the dignitaries of Lu, so he had to leave and lead his disciples to travel around the countries."

"Fourteen years after leaving Lu and traveling to several countries, Confucius still did not get the opportunity to implement his political ideas."

"Confucius eventually returned to Lu and compiled the Six Classics in his hometown: The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, The Book of Music, and The Spring and Autumn Annals."

"Confucius had a huge influence and was revered as a saint by dynasties and intellectuals in ancient times."

"In the more than 2,000 years since his death, his image has gradually been sanctified, becoming a symbol of Confucian culture and being revered as the most holy teacher."

"The Six Classics he compiled also became the most important classics in ancient China."

"Confucius's conversations with his students throughout his life were compiled into the Analects and have been handed down to this day. His thoughts have been regarded by later generations as the code of conduct for scholars and officials."

Confucius: The fact that Confucianism has survived for two thousand years is beyond my expectation.

Confucianism lasted from its founding to its decline in the Qing Dynasty. It was such a long period of time that he could not help but feel deeply moved.

Once upon a time, his Confucianism was not well received by the monarchs of various vassal states, who believed that Confucianism was useless in their struggle for world domination.

Who would have thought that Confucianism defeated Taoism, Mohism and other prominent schools of thought of the time, and lasted until the end.

Although it eventually declined, he was already very satisfied that it had survived two thousand years of vicissitudes.

The greatest contributor to Confucianism’s impressive achievements was Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty.

If Dong Zhongshu had not proposed to Emperor Wu of Han to abolish all schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone, there would have been no emperors of all dynasties who regarded Confucianism as the foundation of governing the country.

If he was right, Confucianism reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty.

Since Wang Yangming, who proposed Yangming Philosophy of Mind, can be called a saint by the world, it is enough to show that Wang Yangming's Yangming Philosophy of Mind brought Confucianism to a new height.

He was very curious about what Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind was about that could make him be called a saint together with him.

"The Four Books, namely The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects, and Mencius, and the Five Classics, namely The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals, are representative works of Confucianism during this period."

"However, the Four Books and Five Classics are not as clear and well-organized as academic papers."

"It's basically a collection of quotations, with bits and pieces of this and that."

“Sometimes they repeat themselves, and some even give examples and tell stories.”

"Fortunately, their central ideas are relatively prominent."

"After all, it's all about one thing."

"How to correct one's mind? How to deal with things? How to become a talent?"

"Around these three centers, Confucius and his disciples summed up the most core content - benevolence."

“A benevolent person loves others, loving himself as well as others.”

“This is the only way to succeed and go further.”

"Benevolence is manifested in two aspects: loyalty and forgiveness."

"Loyalty means helping others to succeed when you want to succeed yourself, and helping others to succeed when you want to succeed yourself."

"Forgiveness, do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."

“If you want to succeed, you must understand others and support them in their success.”

“Don’t impose on others what you don’t want for yourself.”

“In fact, these two sentences seem easy to understand, but they are not so easy to grasp.”

"Zengzi, a disciple of Confucius, played an important role in the development of Confucianism. His book, The Great Learning, is one of the most classic works of Confucianism and it was the first to propose a systematic and specific path for people to become successful."

"The first is the three principles, namely, to cultivate virtue, to be close to the people, and to pursue the highest good."

"To cultivate virtue is to cultivate one's moral character."

“Be close to the people and live in harmony with them.”

"Be the best, be the best version of yourself."

"The second is the eight items: investigating things, seeking knowledge, sincerity, uprightness of mind, self-cultivation, regulating the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world."

“Study things, learn and practice.”

"To seek knowledge, to enrich one's knowledge."

"Sincerity, be sincere in life."

"Righten your mind and have a correct attitude."

"Cultivate yourself and cultivate your mind."

"Qi family, make the family relationship better."

"Govern the country and govern your own small vassal states well."

"To bring peace to the world and contribute to world peace."

"This path has been recognized by many people in later generations and has had a profound impact on Chinese culture."

"All the various schools of Confucianism in later generations could not avoid this path."

Zengzi: My teacher passed on his legacy to me, and I lived up to his expectations and did not let Confucianism decline in my hands.

Yan Hui always treated his teacher like a father, and his teacher also treated Yan Hui like his own son.

Yan Hui had a high level of understanding and was a humble person, so his teacher initially wanted Yan Hui to be the successor of his teachings.

Unfortunately, Yan Hui, the most suitable successor, died, and the teacher had to look for a suitable successor again.

Among the teacher's many disciples, he is not the best in terms of academic study, ability to do things, and ability to teach disciples.

But in order to ensure that Confucian teachings could be passed on intactly, the teacher resolutely chose him.

In the teacher's words, he was able to preserve the Confucian heritage despite his lack of development.

Facts have proved that the teacher's vision is indeed good and he made the right choice as successor.

He passed on the knowledge he learned from his teacher to his teacher's grandson Zisi, and Zisi passed on the knowledge to Mencius in the same way.

The fact that these two people wrote the Confucian classics "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" respectively is enough to demonstrate his competence as a transitional successor.

"Mencius is another important representative of Confucianism. He claimed that learning from Confucius was his lifelong wish and regarded himself as the successor of Confucius' thoughts."

"In the era when Mencius lived, the Yang Zhu School and the Mohist School had the greatest influence in the field of ideology at that time." "The Yang Zhu School advocated self-interest, and the Mohist School advocated universal love. They both opposed the Confucian principle of benevolence."

"The most vehement attack on Confucianism at the time came from the Mohist school, so Mencius also regarded the Mohist school as the main target of struggle on the ideological front."

"Mencius opposed Mozi's idea of ​​universal love, making the dispute between Confucianism and Mohism one of the main contents of the ideological battle line during this period."

"Mencius advocated that human nature is inherently good and believed that everyone can be like Yao or Shun."

“This clearly involves the issue of transforming the subjective and objective worlds.”

"Mencius's saying that one is born in sorrow and dies in comfort has already touched upon the specific method of becoming a talent."

"Therefore, when Heaven is about to entrust this person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind and will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, tempting his heart and forbearance will benefit him beyond his ability."

"This sentence has been widely circulated and has given a lot of inspiration to later generations."

"In Mencius' view, human beings are inherently good and perfect."

"Everyone can become successful through hard work."

"The Yao and Shun mentioned here do not refer specifically to the two emperors Yao and Shun, but to success."

"On this basis, Mencius advocated benevolent government, and proposed that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the monarch is the least important."

"The king is also a human being, and his nature is good. He should carry out benevolent governance according to the standard of goodness and benefit millions of people."

"Xunzi worshipped Confucius when he was young, and spent most of his time and energy in studying and learning Confucian classics, as well as lecturing and writing."

"Xunzi visited Qi twice, taught there, and served as the chief priest of the Jixia Academy three times."

"He once tried to persuade Qi to implement the Confucian way of benevolence and justice, to select virtuous people and employ Confucian scholars, and then he left Qi and went to Chu."

"In his middle age, he went to Qin to conduct political research, breaking the convention that Confucian scholars did not go to Qin, and put forward his own suggestions to King Zhao of Qin."

"Xunzi was good at absorbing and criticizing the theories of various schools of thought, and proposed the idea that human nature is evil, which was completely opposite to Mencius's."

"Xunzi advocated winning people over with virtue and put forward the famous proposition that the ruler is like a boat and the people are like water."

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. This is a threat from Confucian scholars to the monarch."

"Early Confucianism was mostly persuasive, and there were no very standardized and systematic textbooks."

"However, students with insight and experience can often discover it."

"The teachings of Confucius and Mencius are healthy, the personalities they display are sound, and the conduct they advocate is upright."

"Their thoughts have not been fully expounded in writing, so it is indeed difficult for ordinary people to fully understand them."

"In addition, Xunzi advocated the use of both rites and laws and the control of destiny, summarizing and developing pre-Qin philosophy. Together with Confucius and Mencius, he was later called the Three Sages of Confucianism."

Xunzi: I can be called one of the three sages of Confucianism along with Confucius and Mencius. This shows that my thoughts and ideas have been recognized by later generations, and that is enough.

Thinking about the ridicule and sarcasm he had suffered from Confucian scholars, he felt relieved now.

Later generations vindicated him, which was the greatest recognition for him and swept away all the resentment in his heart.

Because he advocated the use of both Confucianism and Legalism, he became an outlier in the eyes of Confucian scholars and was not welcomed by everyone.

Although he had many complaints in his heart, he still chose to stick to his own opinion and remained unmoved.

Even if those Confucian scholars slandered him, he would never compromise and give up his advocacy of combining Confucianism and Legalism.

Because he firmly believed that his proposition was correct.

Unlike those Confucian scholars who only talked big, he actually went to Qin State for field investigation.

After witnessing the power of the Qin State, he truly felt that the power of law was unmatched by any other school of thought.

But he also understood that Legalist thought alone was not enough, and that Confucian thought of benevolence was also needed.

It is also for this reason that he combined the ideas of Confucianism and Legalism and put forward the idea of ​​developing both Confucianism and Legalism.

Only in this way can we truly uphold the kingly way and ensure long-term peace and stability in the world.

Confucian scholars did not understand him, but later emperors did, and this led to the ruling idea of ​​"Confucianism on the outside and legalism on the inside".

So although the teachings of Confucius and Mencius have always been the norm in later dynasties, it is his idea of ​​combining Confucianism and Legalism that truly represents the ruling ideology for two thousand years.

“In 221 BC, the Confucian culture, a treasure of China, faced a major crisis.”

"Qin Shi Huang established the first unified centralized empire in Chinese history, but he vigorously promoted the burning of books and burying of scholars."

"During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, Li Si ordered that all books on medicine, divination, poetry, and the book of history be burned, and private ownership of these books was prohibited among the people."

"Many Confucian scholars did not accept the book burning initiative and held spontaneous discussions, but they were still arrested."

"Qin Shi Huang even buried alive more than 460 people who violated the ban."

"This led to the famous book burning and burying of scholars in the ground. Confucian culture suffered a serious blow at this time."

"The most fundamental reason why Qin Shihuang burned books and buried scholars alive was to maintain social stability."

"During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, many heroes fought each other and maintained separatist regimes for a long time."

"This special period led to a spurt of development of various cultural ideas, which was called the Hundred Schools of Thought."

"The contention of a hundred schools of thought naturally brought many benefits, leading to the emergence of various schools of thought such as Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, etc., and also became the root of Chinese civilization."

"But as different ideas collided with each other, various ideas became increasingly isolated, and various disputes and cultural differences gradually emerged."

"After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he immediately standardized the writing system and the weights and measures, hoping to gradually reduce these differences."

"But Qin Shi Huang soon discovered that he had oversimplified the problem."

"Because all the differences in writing, language, and currency are due to differences in culture, that is, differences in thinking."

“So, if we can’t resolve the differences in thought, it will be difficult to achieve fundamental unity.”

Qin Shi Huang: I have only burned books, but never killed Confucian scholars. It must be that the Confucian scholars are deliberately trying to discredit me.

The reputation of a monarch depends entirely on the scholars.

Therefore, no matter how tyrannical the monarch is, he will not easily offend this group of scholars.

He should have been highly regarded for his great achievements, but he was slandered by Confucian scholars because of the burning of books and burying of sorcerers.

The burning of books originated from a court discussion.

At a banquet, some ministers complimented him and said that the county system he promoted was beneficial to the unification of the country and was a very good policy.

However, Chunyu Yue pointed out on the spot that if the feudal system was not implemented, when the royal family was in trouble in the future, there would be no royal family with the power to preserve the royal rule, and state power would fall into the hands of powerful ministers.

At the same time, it was pointed out that his various failures to comply with ancient systems would not last long in the future.

As an emperor of all ages, he did not refute Chunyu Yue's accusations, but instead asked his ministers to discuss the issue.

Li Si pointed out that the biggest drawback of the feudal system was that after a few generations, blood ties would become sparse, and the unity that was hard-won might fall apart.

As for Chunyu Yue's statement that not following the ancient system would not last long in the future, it was nothing more than a scholar's irresponsible discussion of the political situation. He was immediately suggested to burn the books of the six countries.

It was after this court debate that he began burning books.

Looking at this court debate, the core issue is how to rule the people's minds.

For the Qin State, which had just completed its unification, how to manage the six states became an unavoidable topic.

The Qin State, which was not known for its culture, chose the simplest way to deal with it.

That was to burn the books of the six kingdoms, leaving only some ancient books of the Qin Dynasty and some books on medicine, divination and tree planting throughout the country.

It can only be said that the original intention was to benefit the Qin State's rule, but the method was biased.

Burning books and burying scholars alive are two different events and causes, and burying scholars alive was due to a rumor.

After he established a unified empire, he was very eager to achieve immortality, so he recruited a large number of sorcerers to make elixirs for immortality.

Now he knows that such things as elixirs of immortality are all scams, but at that time there were sorcerers who knew it was difficult to make an elixir of immortality and were afraid of being punished.

So they joined forces with other sorcerers to discredit him, saying that they should not ask for elixirs for him.

When he learned about this, he was furious and immediately ordered the arrest of the sorcerer who spread the rumors and slander.

This is intolerable. After spending countless gold and silver treasures, he still didn't get the elixir of life.

How could he let it go when he was slandered by these sorcerers who took his money?

Finally, more than 460 alchemists were hunted down throughout the city and all of them were buried alive in Xianyang.

So the so-called "killing Confucian scholars" does not mean killing the Confucian students, but killing the sorcerers who deceived themselves.

In fact, the status of Confucian scholars in the Qin Dynasty was not low, and they were also reused in many fields.

It was clearly a case of burning books and burying sorcerers, but why did it later turn into a case of burning books and burying scholars to discredit him?

Perhaps it was the resentment of later Confucian scholars towards him for burning books, but also an attempt to gain sympathy.

(End of this chapter)