What is the difference between Confucianism and Han classics in the pre Qin period?

Pre-Qin Confucianism is a concept of governance, which belongs to a doctrine, and no one wants it. However, it is quite popular.

After the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism, in order to better apply the concept of Confucianism to govern the country, it was necessary to know what the Confucians of the pre-Qin Dynasty said, and it was a long time since the Qin Dynasty burned books and pit Confucianism, so the Confucian classics were rarely handed down, and even if there were handed down, the versions were different and very different. And the group of people who specialized in studying articles in the Han Dynasty were called scripture scholars. The greatest contribution of this event is the development of philology, which is much more significant than the study of Confucianism itself.

The study of scriptures is a part of Confucianism, which also includes such things as the study of science and mind. The two are not opposites, but the relationship between a big circle and a small circle inside.

The difference is: The pre-Qin dynasty was a folk school. The Han Dynasty was an official school.

The pre-Qin period was mainly the study of real-life problems, which was naïve. The Han Dynasty used the five elements of yin and yang to mystify Confucianism and become a kind of theology. The pre-Qin Dynasty cultivated outstanding politicians who traveled to various countries.

The Han Dynasty cultivated only scholars, not actual theorists.

In the pre-Qin period, there was no authentic Confucianism in the hundred schools of thought, just as the Qin Dynasty became strong by adopting Legalism, and Confucianism was only respected in the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty classics specifically referred to the study of Confucian classics, and the difference is that the classics were the study of Confucianism, while the pre-Qin Dynasty was more about the study of etiquette and righteousness.

In the long feudal society of China, Confucianism was continuous, and its development was phased. At present, it is generally believed that there are three periods: pre-Qin Confucianism, Confucianism developed by Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty, and Song and Ming Dynasty Confucianism.

Confucianism in different periods was concerned with the rationality of the existence of human society, but the methods of argumentation were different.

Pre-Qin Confucianism, they used the theory of human nature to argue the rationality of politics, and this argument was based on ontological considerations. They distinguish humans from animals with a macro and profound theoretical perspective and realistic thinking. In the Han Dynasty, scripture was prevalent, and people believed that nature (heaven is the master of nature) was the most beautiful and harmonious, and Dong Zhongshu used this common sense to discuss.

Song Ming Lixue replaced Han Confucian's "heaven" with "reason", and replaced Han Confucian's "heaven and man induction" with "reason".

The pre-Qin period was the beginning of Confucianism, and the three Confucian masters all used the theory of human nature to argue "etiquette" and "virtue", believing that only with "etiquette" and "virtue" can human society exist reasonably. Confucius's "benevolence" contains a view of human nature, and Xunzi advocates "rule of etiquette" and "rule of law". Confucius and Xunzi both proposed to govern the country with courtesy, Mencius said that "benevolence" is the inner goodness, "righteousness" is the external behavior of people, and "wisdom" is the ability to judge right and wrong.

And only "rites" are social behaviors, and the first three are all preparations for "rites".

However, the Han Dynasty classics were characterized by the subtle exposition of Confucius's thoughts, and the inheritance and development of Confucianism. worship Confucius; Zun Confucius is the "plain king" who is "ordained"; Confucius was a philosopher, statesman, and educator; Moved Confucius to "Tuogu reform"; The Six Classics were written by Confucius; It mainly includes the great unification, the great Juzheng, the great revenge, the three unifications, the three unifications, the three unifications, the reform and restructuring, and the punishment of thieves.

Just by looking at the official position of Doctor of the Five Classics, you will understand the difference and the connection.

1. Scripture and Confucianism are both different and related. In terms of time, Confucianism appeared earlier than classics. Confucianism as a school of thought in the pre-Qin hundred schools of thought, and the study of scriptures is accompanied by the improvement of the status of Confucianism, to the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial court set up the "Doctor of the Five Classics", and then formed a special "classics".

Since then, Confucianism has largely existed and developed in the form of classics.

2. In terms of scope, Confucianism is much broader than classics. Classics specifically refer to the study of expounding and interpreting Confucian classics. After the death of Confucius, "Confucianism was divided into eight", in the Qin and Han dynasties, there were fifteen schools of Confucianism, as for Buddhism came to the east and Taoism was established, those non-Buddhist and Taoist doctrines were often called "Confucianism", and the so-called "neo-Confucianism" appeared in modern times.

From the traditional bibliography classification, classics and Confucianism are also both separate and overlapping. For example, in the four-part classification law, there is a separate "scripture department", and most of the literature of the scripture department belongs to Confucian works. The Hanshu Yiwenzhi classifies Confucian works such as Zisi, Zengzi, Mencius, and Xunzi into the category of "Zhuzilu".

It can be seen that the ancients still made a clear distinction between scripture and Confucianism. Therefore, we cannot simply equate "classics" with "Confucianism".

Confucianism in the Han Dynasty absorbed --- idea of the study of criminal names, realized that the relationship between etiquette and music and criminal administration was mutually reinforcing, and advocated the combination of benevolence and the rule of law, with morality as the main and punishment as the supplement, attaching importance to moral education, and properly handling the relationship between morality and punishment, which was in line with the strategy of governing the country in accordance with the "adversity and obedience";

2.The most important thing is the addition of the concept of deified monarchy. Dong Zhongshu focused on consolidating the political power of the entire feudal state, carried out a theological transformation of Confucianism, put forward the theory of heaven and man induction, and theologized ethics and morality; The theory of the divine right of kings is proposed, which provides a theological argument for the rationality of absolute monarchy.

Intrinsic connection ---

1.Confucianism in the Han Dynasty used the theories of pre-Qin Confucianism to expand and carry forward the social environment at that time. Take benevolent government as the moral norm that restricts rulers and alleviate contradictions in all aspects; In order to strengthen the patriarchal system, strengthen the centralization of power, and weaken the separatist forces.

2.Confucianism has always advocated a positive and promising philosophy of life, which has also been carried forward by Han Confucianism, changing the inaction style of Huang Lao.

The differences are: core, content and role.

1. The core is different.

The core proposition of pre-Qin Confucianism is Confucius.

of "benevolence". Confucius as Confucianism.

The founder's historical merit lies in the fact that he sorted out the outstanding cultural heritage of ancient times, deeply studied the political and cultural issues of history and reality, built a theoretical system of Confucianism based on benevolence, and laid the theoretical foundation of Confucianism.

Confucianism in the Han Dynasty is the second important stage in the development of Confucianism in China, and its main difference from pre-Qin Confucianism is that it "established a set of concepts based on the concept of heaven and man induction, with the five elements of yin and yang."

a theologicalized system of thought that is framed". Confucianism in the Han Dynasty became the first imperial school in the world because of official support.

2. The content is different.

The content of pre-Qin Confucianism mainly includes:

Pay attention to human factors, pay attention to the value of life, and advocate moral cultivation and personality perfection; advocate a positive spirit of WTO accession, pay attention to reality, and seek a harmonious social order; Advocate benevolent government, advocate cherishing people's strength, caring for people's livelihood, and have the idea of people-oriented; It advocates respecting ghosts and gods and staying away, with a distinct humanist color, advocating the cultivation of talents and the development of cultural and educational undertakings.

It is named after Dong Zhongshu.

As a representative, it takes scripture as the form of expression, and combines yin and yang. The ideas of Ming, Fa and Huang Lao gradually made Confucianism evolve into the orthodoxy of Chinese feudal society, and had an important impact on the development of Chinese and even East Asian culture.

3. The role is different.

Pre-Qin Confucianism was founded by Confucius and Mencius during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Xunzi and others developed and formed a school. It takes benevolence and propriety as the basic content, ethics as the foundation, humanity as the center, and exalts the spirit of humanism. It is the result of the passage of time in the cultural traditions of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and it is also the product of the controversy of schools.

Dong Zhongshu, a Confucian scholar in the Han Dynasty, used it to expound the classics to demonstrate his political ideas, and used Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

The superstitious fortune and the general reverence of the Han Dynasty for the Mandate of Heaven attached their own ideas to the heavens, and built a Confucian theoretical system with theological colors with the "Ram Spring and Autumn Period" as the axis, integrating the ideas of yin and yang, Huang Lao, name and law, and using the five elements of yin and yang and the induction of heaven and man as the theoretical framework and expression.

The difference between Confucianism in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and Confucianism in the Han Dynasty is that the core is different, the content is different, and the role is different.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu put forward the idea of "deposing the hundred ruined fingers and respecting Confucianism alone", so Confucianism became the idea of positive and short numbers.

This idea was very positive and had a very good impact, unifying the country and stabilizing society at the same time.

It is because the monarchs of the Han Dynasty highly respected Confucianism that Confucianism was able to become orthodox and be widely promoted and applied.

Confucian classics are composed of Confucian classics and their interpretations, which are not only the soul of Confucianism, but also the main component of traditional ideology and culture. With its unique stability, adaptability, and inclusiveness, scholastic studies have had a significant and profound impact on the form of ancient Chinese academic culture, and thus formed a tradition of scholastic studies. It provided a solid theoretical foundation for the effective rule of successive feudal dynasties.

In Bangu's "Han Shuyi Wenzhi", the classification in Liu Xiang's "Seven Strategies" is continued, distinguishing between the "Six Arts Strategy" and the "Zhuzi Luo", while Confucianism is attributed to the Zhuzi, so there is a distinction between scripture and Confucianism in traditional scholarship. Although Dong Zhongshu made a proposal to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to depose the hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone, it seems that he mainly respected the Six Classics, not Confucianism and tradition. Subsequently, the establishment of the Doctor of the Five Classics, the establishment of the Five Classics of Justice, and the use of the Four Books as the textbook for the imperial examinations, all of which can be regarded as the entry of Confucianism into politics and the tradition of scripture.

The most important thing in distinguishing between classics and Confucianism is that Confucius had already seen that the political society established by classics would always have a situation of decay and decay of etiquette, so it was necessary to redefine the system of etiquette and music through benevolence. Therefore, the Confucian academic tradition will be established, as a study of political criticism, in order to ensure that courtesy is lost.

The adoption of Confucianism represents benevolence or conscience, and the re-establishment of the order of ritual and music is still the mission of Confucian scholars. The traditional scholastic society has collapsed, but this does not mean that Confucianism has lost its value and significance. Today, we rethink Confucianism because today's society is still as bad as the etiquette of the past, and Confucius's self-denial and repentance are benevolent, and the world returns to benevolence, which is still a proposition that we must face today.

Therefore, although the scriptures are dead today, Confucianism still exists!