So in the pre-Qin period, Confucianism completed two theoretical developments. One was to establish the two goals of benevolence and righteousness, and the other was to start the discussion of the premise of benevolence and righteousness, that is, the debate on the theory of good nature and evil nature.
The subsequent Confucianism, in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, integrated Taoism and Taoism, and engaged in metaphysics. In fact, it abandoned the pursuit of benevolence and righteousness. It is precisely because the scholars of the Wei and Jin Dynasties had no ideals that cholera plagued the world for three hundred years in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
After that, the Tang Dynasty mostly respected Buddhism and Taoism, but Confucianism was slowly regaining its vitality. A series of famous people came and went, creating historical glory.
By the Song Dynasty, Confucianism formed Neo-Confucianism with the help of Buddhist thought. The ontology of "unity of void and existence" and the epistemology of "unification of suddenness and gradualness" are developed. Through the investigation of things to gain knowledge, we can "clear the mind and see nature" and "return to the original" to achieve the effect of preserving the principles of nature and eliminating human desires.
In this dynasty, Yangming’s Xinxue emerged. Wang Shengren emphasized that “there is nothing outside the heart”, “unity of knowledge and action” and “conscience”. Especially after the “Four Sentences” came out, Xinxue became even more popular today. .
Obviously, Confucianism during this period mainly relied on the epistemology and worldview of Buddhism and Taoism in terms of methodology and worldview.
However, it stands to reason that today, everyone reads books to develop a conscience. However, there are still many corrupt officials and the suffering of the people remains unabated. Why?
If the goal of Confucianism It’s benevolence and righteousness, so why didn’t we feel the rise of benevolence and righteousness after the rise of Confucianism? Brother Shen has data to prove this point. So we can’t help but ask, have Confucian scholars gradually realized the two goals of benevolence and righteousness? Is the introduction of Buddhist and Taoist thoughts by Confucianism in epistemology and other aspects conducive to the achievement of its goals?
Especially after the study of mind, the heart is reason, and every day As long as an individual starts from his conscience, he can achieve conscience and unite knowledge and action. Everyone can become holy.
But this kind of saint is the inner saint. Being your own saint has nothing to do with the people of the world. In addition, the inner saint cannot be verified and compared. Students can easily fall into the trap of thinking that the purest heart is the true saint. , others are in the middle of a dispute of hypocrisy.
Similarly, this also makes Confucianism no longer authoritative after studying from the heart. Just as you cannot prove that others are false saints, you cannot prove that you are a true saint.
So even a saint as strong as Wang had to practice the "Four Sentences" to unify his spiritual philosophy for thousands of years. However, as soon as he passed away, his spiritual philosophy fell apart, and there are now dozens of sects that are inconsistent with each other.
Although Confucianism after the pre-Qin period has made many developments in epistemology, methodology, and worldview, its essence is grafted development. That is to use the teaching thought to develop. It is divorced from the purpose of Confucianism itself.
Confucianism is about realizing benevolence and righteousness. Anything that is not conducive to the realization of benevolence and righteousness is not true Confucianism. Especially when the Song Dynasty began the trend of converging the three religions, Confucianism turned to personal practice. In fact, it runs counter to Confucius’s teaching of Confucianism’s shift from personal morality to state governance.
Unable to be compared and verified, the benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism have become utopian benevolence and righteousness. This is also the reason why today’s scholars are obviously reading the books of saints but in fact they are dressed like beasts. Because most scholars have lost hope in realizing benevolence and righteousness.
The millennium development of Confucianism actually revolves around its founding goal of benevolence and righteousness, and only two generations of sages, including Confucius, Mencius and Xunze, are committed to realizing it. The subsequent development, especially in the Song and Ming dynasties, is essentially to borrow sectarian thought to enlighten readers from a personal level, not to be obsessed with the confusion that the benevolence and righteousness of the whole society cannot be realized, and to just do their best. As for those confusions, they are all illusions and illusions. Just don't think about them, or just pretend they don't exist. It is actually hundreds of years of hard work that turned Confucianism from a social subject into a subject.
This is also the real reason why no one can break the previously rumored 300-year curse. It’s not that no one can break it. It’s because scholars after the Qin and Han Dynasties gave up on the ideal of benevolence and righteousness for the whole society and gradually turned to the pursuit of individuals. The benevolence and righteousness of the heart.
We have never tried hard to break through, how can we say that no one can break it? Please remember to collect it, the latest and fastest website without anti-theft and free reading