"The Doctrine of the Mean, Twenty-one Chapter": Be sincere and enlightened, be sincere and enlightened

01

To be sincere and clear is called nature; to be clear and sincere is called teaching. If you are sincere, you will be clear; if you are clear, you will be sincere. ("The Twenty-One Doctrine of the Mean") From sincerity to becoming clear about the way to be a human being, this is the so-called nature; from being clear about the way to be a human being to becoming sincere, this is the role of education. Sincerity will become clear, and clearness will become sincere.

In the opening chapter of "The Doctrine of the Mean", there is a sentence: "The destiny is called nature, the will is called Tao, and the cultivation of Tao is called teaching." It is a clear introduction and directly points out its main purpose. When Confucianism reached Zisi's generation, there was further exploration into the "mandate of heaven" proposed by Confucius. Confucius did not give a clear explanation of "mandate of heaven". Just like the "Goldbach Conjecture", Confucius only proposed a rough philosophical category, which was then explored and expanded by Zisi and Mencius, thus gradually forming the Confucian theory of mind.

Confucius said: "You will know the destiny of heaven when you are fifty." He did not say what "the destiny of heaven" actually represents. Before the age of 50, Confucius focused on academic research. He was mainly engaged in "preaching, teaching, and solving doubts." He spent most of his time with his disciples.

The so-called "destiny" is just a general term for the unknown. It does not refer to supernatural things, but more to the understanding of oneself. Confucius focused on the study of ethics and morals and was not interested in metaphysics. "Confucius did not talk about strange powers and chaotic gods." Confucius also said, "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, which is knowing."

It can be inferred from this that what Confucius said about "knowing destiny" is that one's understanding of oneself has reached a high level, and it is a manifestation of the awakening of self-awareness and conscious behavior. As Lao Tzu said, "Those who know others are wise, and those who know themselves are wise." Knowing others can only be regarded as a kind of wisdom, but knowing oneself is true clarity. It can be seen that knowing oneself is difficult.

The development of Confucianism cannot be limited to ethics and morality, but must break through the human being itself. The exploration of "mandate of destiny" has become inevitable. The first sentence at the beginning of "The Doctrine of the Mean", "Destiny is called nature," is an answer to the question about "Destiny." Destiny is the nature given to humans by "Tian". It is the most essential attribute of the Creator entrusted to humans and given to humans.

The theory of destiny is the perfect embodiment of the idea of ??"unity of nature and man". Nature is human nature, which is the highest point of pre-Qin Confucian thought. Then it is not difficult to understand the last two sentences. "The way to follow the way of humanity is the way of humanity."

Zisi’s inheritance of classic Confucianism was not “following the teachings”, but pioneering “continuing teachings”, which pioneered the exploration of “mind-nature”. The "Sincerity and Mingming, Mingzhi sincerity" to be explained in this chapter is a continuation of what was said at the beginning of "The Doctrine of the Mean", and it is intended to answer the question of what "nature" is.

02

Zisi established the ultimate status of Cheng's "Way of Heaven" in "The Doctrine of the Mean", further pushing Confucian philosophy to a metaphysical height, and its philosophical significance was fully realized Expand and enhance. The introduction of the philosophical category of "sincerity" reflects the high wisdom of ancient sages' thorough understanding of the ultimate transcendental issue, and marks the peak of the philosophization of classical Confucianism.

This kind of understanding of the nature of nature made the "Neo-Confucianism" of later generations by Cheng and Zhu seem so rigid and rigid. Compared with the true meaning of "sincerity", "Li" seems more vague and ethereal. In a sense, Neo-Confucianism was a step back from Pre-Qin Confucianism, rather than development and expansion, because it gradually moved away from the understanding of the nature of nature and incorporated many artificial insights.

Later generations' praise for Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was mostly reflected in its function of governance rather than the true meaning of learning. As for its role in history, it is also open to question. "Sincerity is the way of heaven; sincerity is the way of man." "Sincerity" has been endowed with dual meanings of ethics and philosophy. It is an important philosophical category that connects heaven and man, and connects things and myself. "Sincerity" has both ontological and epistemological meanings. It is not only a bridge between heaven and humanity, but also a way of moral cultivation.

The dual meanings of "sincerity" are perfect and in line with the nature of nature, further verifying the rationality and legitimacy of Confucianism. Regardless of the metaphysical meaning of "sincerity" or the personal meaning of innate human nature, they are all in line with the suitability and neutrality of the golden mean, which is a great discovery of truth.

Even the subsequent conclusion that "sincerity is the end of all things, and dishonesty is nothing" proves that "sincerity" is the universal law of all things in the world. At this point, the philosophical system framework of Pre-Qin Confucianism gradually took shape, illuminating the long road of thousands of years of history.

Compared with Western philosophy, Zisi's discussion of "sincerity" focuses more on the essential understanding of the origin of all things, that is, "why". Western philosophy focuses on the material composition of things and the study of the origin mechanism of all things, that is, "what is".

Therefore, do not underestimate or ignore ancient Chinese philosophy and be overly admiring of Western materialistic modern civilization. This is the difference between technology and ideology. Confucianism has been around for more than two thousand years, while Western civilization has only been around for more than three hundred years since the first industrial revolution. It is too early to measure the contribution to human history by measuring the merits of it in terms of the length of history of thousands of years.

03

The so-called "Ming" means knowing the way, understanding the great principles of "the way of heaven" and "the way of humanity", rather than understanding the general and ordinary principles. Just like climbing to the top of a high mountain and seeing all the small mountains at a glance, it is the great wisdom of the world, the great feeling of cultivating all things, and the great ambition of the coexistence of heaven and earth. It originates from a frank and sincere heart, sincerely feels the world and moves all things, just like Fan Zhongyan's "worry first and then rejoice", and Zhang Zai's "heaven and earth establish the heart".

To understand the truth of thousands of worlds is to reach the state of sincerity. Great heroes like Liu Bei and Li Shimin are like this. They are by no means pretentious or hypocritical. Some people say that Liu Bei's defeat of Adou is to win people's hearts and is a hypocritical political trick, but this is not necessarily true.

If you don’t have sincere love for Zhao Yun, how can you bear to throw your own child! Comparing your feelings with your own, try throwing your own son, can you do it? When Liu Bei understood the principles of life and career, he became sincere; the development of his sincere nature made his life goals more determined, and thus he became more self-sacrificing.

Li Shimin's twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion are all life-or-death friends who treat each other sincerely. How can they be compared to ordinary confidants. Yuchi Gong is the door god in folklore, who works with Qin Shubao to exorcise ghosts and ward off evil spirits. Yuchigong was initially a brave general of Liu Wuzhou, who was brave and tough, but later surrendered to Li Shimin.

In troubled times, most of the surrendered generals were insincere and capricious. Some people advised Li Shimin to get rid of Yuchi Gong to avoid future troubles. Li Shimin cherished talents very much and did not become suspicious of him. Instead, he treated Yuchi Gong with sincerity without hesitation, and kept him as his confidant when marching and fighting. Li Shimin's sincerity was exchanged for Yuchi Gong's sincerity. In many critical moments, Yuchi Gong stepped forward to reverse the crisis. The change of Xuanwu Gate relied on Yuchi Jingde's perseverance and courage.

Today, the ups and downs of the stock market most significantly reflect the principle of "honesty and clarity". The illusion of the stock market is entirely caused by dishonesty. Speculative psychology, getting something for nothing, and enjoying the gains are all manifestations of dishonesty. A healthy stock market is based on integrity, otherwise value investment and rational investment will become a joke.

Being dishonest means not knowing. How many people think they are smart, but in fact they are extremely confused. The final result is that they lose everything, or even lose their entire fortune. This is the dialectical relationship of "sincerity leads to clarity, and clarity leads to sincerity". Essence produces phenomena, and phenomena reflect essence. The relationship between sincerity and clarity is similar to Wang Yangming's "unity of knowledge and action". Sincerity is the essence, and clarity is the use. They are one and the same, and one aspect cannot be emphasized separately.

04

Zisi's "Destiny is called human nature" opened up the Confucian exploration of human nature, which was later inherited and carried forward by Mencius. Mencius' "Know your nature with all your heart, cultivate your nature and serve heaven" systematically and hierarchically elaborated on the relationship between heaven and man. By Mencius, the Confucian theory of mind and nature was basically formed.

According to the inheritance relationship between Zengzi, Zisi and Mencius, Zisi is between Zengzi and Mencius. Zengzi was a disciple of Confucius, and Zisi was the grandson of Confucius. According to seniority, Zengzi should be Zisi's teacher, and Zisi was Mencius's teacher.

The writings of three people, "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "Mencius" seem to have this relationship. According to Zhu Xi's interpretation, the study of things to achieve knowledge in "The Great Learning" is the study of things and the pursuit of knowledge; the study of things and the pursuit of knowledge in "Mencius" is about cultivating virtues and understanding heaven; and "The Doctrine of the Mean" is also between the two, mediating and coordinating the relationship between the two. . "Therefore, a gentleman respects virtue and learns the Tao, reaching the broad and subtle, and is extremely wise but the Tao is the mean." ("The Twenty-seventh Chapter of The Doctrine of the Mean")

This passage is very classic and has a great influence on later generations. This led to the dispute between the two schools of "Zun De Xing" and "Tao Wen Xue" in later generations. Relevant to the content explained in this chapter, "Zi Cheng Ming" means starting from morality and then going through knowledge, which is called respecting virtue; "Zi Ming Cheng" means starting from knowledge and then cultivating virtue, which is called Taoism.

This is actually a dismemberment of pre-Qin Confucianism by later generations in order to be closer to their own school. "The Doctrine of the Mean" only talks about "honesty leads to enlightenment, and clarity leads to sincerity" and "respecting virtue and cultivating knowledge." ”, not emphasizing a single aspect, the two are integrated and inseparable.

There is the famous "Ehu Meeting" in history, which was a debate between the Neo-Confucian school represented by Zhu Xi and the Xinxue school represented by Lu Jiuyuan. The theme of the debate was respect for virtue and Taoism. Respecting virtue is attributed to the study of the mind, emphasizing that the original mind is clear and all things arise from the mind. Taoism belongs to Neo-Confucianism, which emphasizes the study of things to achieve knowledge, that is, the theory of things.

Lu Jiuyuan believes that "respecting virtue and governing Taoism and learning", as long as the original mind is clear, everything can be prepared, without any extraneous principles or things. Zhu Xi believed that "to respect virtue, one must first learn about Taoism" and gain moral experience through learning.

The two accused each other. Lu Yilu was too fragmented and cumbersome and stuck in small details; Zhu Yilu was too simple and superficial. The "Ehu Meeting" did not form political consciousness and eventually broke up unhappy, but it had a great influence on the development of Confucianism in later generations and became a public case in academic history

. In fact, both of them respected virtue and Taoism and learning. What they argued about was only the difference in the order. Whether respecting virtue and nature came first or Taoism and learning came first. The decline of Confucianism is related to this, and everyone insists on their own opinions and debates endlessly, which violates the doctrine of the mean in pre-Qin Confucianism that integrates cognition and moral cultivation.

Wang Yangming’s theory of mind corrected Zhu Xi’s erroneous judgment to a certain extent, and bridged the gap between rationality and psychology by “unifying knowledge and action”. However, due to the profound influence of Buddhism's "clear mind and seeing nature", overemphasis on the role of mind and nature sometimes seems to be divorced from the world and unrealistic.

05

Regarding the establishment and improvement of the Confucian philosophical system, there should be such a process. Confucius stated but did not compose. Most of what is recorded in the Analects are Confucius's remarks, and there are also remarks by other disciples. It is said that Confucius participated in the compilation of many ancient cultural classics, such as "The Book of Songs", "Shangshu", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes", "Spring and Autumn", etc.

The "benevolence, justice and etiquette" advocated by Confucius only focused on the principles of human ethics and rarely mentioned the ultimate issue of the origin of all things. Everything involving metaphysical issues generally points to heaven in general, but the nature and meaning of heaven are not clearly explained. Therefore, Confucius’ Confucian philosophy is only in the human world and has nothing to do with God.

"The Great Learning" is the inheritance and practice of Confucius' thoughts. It mainly expounds the rules of governance of "repair, harmony, governance, and peace". It is the practical application and specific practice of Confucius' thoughts. It emphasizes the realization of the value of life of "useful learning and governing the country", starting from self-cultivation, advancing step by step, focusing on personal moral practice, and embodying a kind of "family and country" thinking.

Compared with "The Analects of Confucius", "The Great Learning" goes a step further in terms of ideological system and already has the concept of systematic doctrine. "Great Learning" is a study for adults and a required course for scholar-bureaucrats. What it teaches is how to meet the requirements of governing the world. The so-called "adults" generally have ambitions to join the world, assume certain social governance responsibilities, and are not lower-class common people.

Compared with the teachings of Confucius and Zengzi, "The Doctrine of the Mean" focuses more on philosophical and metaphysical exploration. The opening chapter of "The Doctrine of the Mean" is "Destiny is called nature", which expounds propositions such as "Destiny" and "The Way of Heaven". The Doctrine of the Mean itself is full of philosophical meaning, similar to what Laozi said about the laws of all things and the "Tao" of the origin of nature, pushing Confucianism to a metaphysical height.

The essence of the Doctrine of the Mean is sincerity. Honesty is the main thread running through the entire book "The Doctrine of the Mean". It is the theme, something that represents the eternity of God's will, and is the highest metaphysical point. The subsequent "Mencius" inherited and carried forward the idea of ??"sincerity" and further promoted the study of mind and nature to the king of "benevolent government", which has more practical significance.

Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time. He was in the era of the Warring States Period, when legalism and hegemony were prevalent, and the idea of ??"benevolent government" was eventually abandoned. Si and Mencius are passed down from generation to generation, and "Mencius" is only the expansion and continuation of "The Doctrine of the Mean". At this point, Pre-Qin Confucianism has developed to a new height.

After a long period of more than 1,600 years, the great scholar Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty compiled the "Four Books" and created a new system of Confucianism called Neo-Confucianism. It puts forward the metaphysical philosophical concept that "reason" generates all things, which is actually a philosophical Confucianism. It has developed from a moral creed theory into a philosophical theoretical system.

Perhaps due to the long history and Zhu Xi's personal prejudices, it is unknown whether the Confucianism spread in later generations is the true inheritance of Pre-Qin Confucianism.

Afterwards, another fission occurred in Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism and psychology parted ways. Pre-Qin Confucianism was fragmented in the disputes between various schools. The so-called New Confucianism was essentially the decline of traditional Confucianism.

The rise of Wang Yangming’s philosophy of mind has given a glimmer of hope for the revival of Confucianism. Although "the heart is reason" has a strong idealistic flavor and is still diametrically opposed to Neo-Confucianism, "the unity of knowledge and action" and "the development of conscience" are indeed great developments in Confucianism. It is a pity that after Yangming studied from Confucianism to Zen, his thoughts gradually tended to Zen, and finally he became crazy Zen and changed.

The post-schooling of Yangming seriously violated the spirit of Xinxue. It was absurd and unruly, and was despised by people as "sages walk all over the streets, and wise men are as numerous as dogs." At this point, Yangming's studies had completely deviated from the track of Confucianism. Confucianism, like the spirit of people in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties, gradually became languishing and decadent, and failed to recover.