How did Confucius view the issue of dignity and inferiority?

Qi Jinggong asked Confucius about politics. Confucius said to him: "The king is the king, the ministers are the ministers, the father is the father, the son is the son." The Duke said: "Excellent! Faith is like a king who is not a king, a minister who is not a minister, a father who is not a father, and a son who is not a son. Even though there is millet, I will eat it. "Zhu? (There is a question mark here)" (Chapter 11 of "Yan Yuan") (Qi Jinggong asked Confucius about politics. Confucius replied: "The king should be like a king, the ministers should be like ministers, the father should be like father, and the son should be like "Son." Qi Jinggong said: "That's right! If the king is not like the king, the minister is not like the minister, the father is not like the father, and the son is not like the son, even though there is food, can I eat it? (There is a question mark here)" The Zhou rites stipulate the social hierarchy. There are those in upper positions and those in lower positions. There are those who govern others and those who are governed. From the entire country to every family, there are levels of superiority and inferiority. Confucius put forward the principle of "respecting relatives and relatives". The so-called "Zunzunqinqin" is a pair of overlapping words. The first word is a verb, which means to respect the noble people in the upper position and to love those who are related to oneself by blood.

The venerable is the superior, and the person in the superior position is called the venerable. Humble is relative to it, and those in lower positions are called humble. Those at the top of the hierarchy are all venerable to those below. In the whole world, the most venerable person is the emperor, who is the lord of the world; in a country, the most venerable person is the king, who is the leader of the country. Noble and cheap are relative terms. Noble refers to the nobles, and cheap refers to those who serve the nobles. Honorable people also have levels. The etiquette system stipulates that distinguished people of different levels enjoy different privileges. There are strict regulations on the amount of land they possess, the size of their political power, as well as the specifications of clothing, utensils, and daily enjoyment. To be respectful means to respect the status of the distinguished and obey their privileges in accordance with the rules of etiquette. In this way, the people obey the privileges of the nobility, and the nobility at all levels keep their duties and obey the privileges of the nobility at a higher level. In this way, the principle of respect is implemented, the relationship between superior and inferior in the entire social order is strictly orderly, and the social order is stabilized.

Confucius believed that if the hierarchy of superiority and inferiority were abolished, the ruling order would be chaotic and the country would not be able to function as a country. To respect the emperor, we must first respect the emperor. Therefore, when the Ji family used the Bayi music and dance that can only be used by the emperor, Sanhuan played the "Che" music that can only be played in the emperor's temple, and some people went to worship Mount Tai, which can only be used by the emperor. He criticized them angrily; when Chen Heng seized power by killing the king, he asked for troops to attack him.

Kissing means loving relatives. This is a patriarchal principle. Kinship can also be divided into closeness and distance according to blood relationship. The closest people are parents, followed by brothers, so filial piety and brotherhood come first among relatives. They are both brothers, and they are divided into elder and younger, and they are also divided into legitimate sons and concubines. Some sons are as noble as their mothers, and some are as noble as their mothers.

Externally, the family unites and regards the interests of the family as the highest interest; within the family, they not only love each other, but also receive different treatment according to gender, age, and blood level.

In order to implement the principle of respecting relatives, Confucius put forward the principle of "correcting names". The so-called rectification of names is what he proposed as "lord, minister, father, son, son". These are four groups of overlapping characters. The first character "jun" refers to the individual as the king, and the second character "jun" refers to the king's identity, status, rights, responsibilities, code of conduct, etc. To put it simply, it is Jun Dao. The following "chenchen, father father, son son" and so on. This sentence can be interpreted like this: The king must conform to the rules of the king, that is, he should enjoy the treatment he deserves according to his identity and status, exercise his rights, perform his duties and obligations, and all actions must conform to the rules of etiquette; ministers must conform to the rules of etiquette. The Tao means that the minister should enjoy the treatment he deserves according to his identity and status, and exercise and perform the rights, duties and obligations of the minister; the father should conform to the Tao of the father, and should enjoy the treatment he deserves, exercise his rights, and perform the duties according to his identity and status. Responsibilities and obligations; the son must conform to the Tao of the Son, enjoy the treatment he deserves according to the identity and status of the son, and exercise or perform the rights, responsibilities and obligations as the son of man. The Way of the King, the Way of the Minister, the Way of the Father, and the Way of the Son are all stipulated by the etiquette system. All behaviors that conform to the standards stipulated by the etiquette system are in line with the Tao. Lord, minister, father, son, son, the first character is "name"

, and the second character is "truth". If it is consistent with the Tao, it means that the name and reality are consistent. Everyone can get the treatment they deserve according to their status, exercise their rights, fulfill their responsibilities, and fulfill their obligations. The entire society will naturally be peaceful, orderly, and move forward.

So Qi Jinggong said after hearing this: "This is a great idea. If the king does not have the way of a king, the ministers do not have the way of a minister, the father does not have the way of a father, and the son does not have the way of a son, the king is not like the king, the ministers are not like ministers, and the father is not like the father. If Zi is not like Zi, the world will inevitably be in chaos. Even if there is a lot of food, we will not be able to eat it!"

The chapter "Zi Lu" records that Confucius once again talked about "rectification of names":

Zi Lu said : "The king of Wei is waiting for his son to be in charge of the government, and the son will be the first to show off?" "Circumstantial! Are you ridiculing the truth? (There is a question mark here)"

Confucius said: "You are so wild! A gentleman does not know what he knows. If his name is not correct, his words will not go smoothly; if his words do not go well, If things fail, then rituals and music will not flourish; if rituals and music do not flourish, then punishments will not be adequate; if punishments are not adequate, then the people will do nothing wrong. Ye. A gentleman is nothing more than a gentleman in his words." (Chapter 3 of "Zi Lu") (Zi Lu, a student who has been following him for a long time, asked him: "Wei Guo is waiting for you to govern the country. What are you going to do first?") Question mark)" Confucius said: "Then the name must be corrected." Zilu said: "Is that so? Teacher, you are too pedantic! Why bother to correct the name? (There is a question mark here)" Confucius said: "Yu [Zilu's word] Ah, you are so rude! A gentleman should have reservations about issues that he does not understand. If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct; "If there is no standard for punishment, the common people will not know what to do. Therefore, when a gentleman has a name, he has an understanding and requirement of its specific provisions.") Confucius is talking about the issue of name and reality here. , there have been many explanations since Han Confucian times. Legalists, famous scholars, and Mohists all played their part. According to the annotation of "The Analects of Confucius", Han Confucianism said that this passage of Confucius is "the name of everything". Everything must be consistent with its name and reality. If it has a name, it must have its reality. The legalist point of view can be exemplified by our modern things: after the TV is connected to the power supply, it can receive the image signal and display the image on the screen. If it cannot display the image, it is not called a TV set; an electrical appliance improves after being connected to the power supply. If the indoor temperature is lowered, it is not a TV but an electric heater; a broom is called a broom because its combination and function can sweep the floor. If it cannot sweep the floor, it would not be called a broom. The same is true for the country, the monarch, the ministers, the father and the son. Those who have no blood inheritance relationship or adoption relationship cannot be called father. Everything in the world has a name and a reality. Without actual content, the name would not exist. Legalism developed Confucius' thought of "the king, the minister, the father, the son, the son", and put forward the political thought of "responsibility to the name and pursuit of the truth according to the name". The Mohists proposed the theory of "name theory" based on linguistic logic theory.

This passage from Confucius first explains to Zilu the need to correct names from the relationship between name and reality. The conquest of ritual and music should have been carried out by the emperor. This was the emperor's responsibility and power. If the princes wanted to promulgate the ritual and music system, it would definitely not work. If a place establishes a set of rules and regulations and there is no unified legal system and criminal laws across the country, people will not know what to do. Therefore, Confucius said that a gentleman must correct his name and issue decrees or instructions based on his name. It's the same now. To appoint a county magistrate, you must first issue a letter of appointment or announcement of appointment. This is to clarify your identity and give you this "name". Without this letter of appointment or announcement, when you go to that county, who will care about you? (There is a question mark here) Who will listen to your opinions or decisions? (There is a question mark here) That means "the name is not correct, the words are not smooth, and the things will not be accomplished." However, you are just a county magistrate, and you have your authority and scope of work. If you go beyond your authority and jurisdiction, no one will listen. Rectification of names can be applied in various aspects. A consultant is a consultant, teachers should be like teachers, and students should be like students. A department store is a department store. It cannot knit socks and produce and sell them. Haier Electrical Appliance Group has a large business and a lot of funds, but it is not allowed to make and sell ice cream... These are also correct names.

In this passage, Confucius applied the theory of name rectification to political ethics and raised it to the level of success or failure in governing the country. The rectification of names also applies to family ethics. Between father and son, between brothers and sisters, between husband and wife and their wives and concubines, and between masters and maids, each has his or her own title, each has its own place, and each fulfills its responsibilities.

Confucius was too superstitious about Zhou rites. In the era when Confucius lived, society was transforming from lord feudalism to landlord feudalism, causing great social turmoil. He advocated respecting the king, but the Zhou royal family had declined. The Zhou emperor relied on the support of the princes like a child and was played around. Master Kong also asked the princes of various countries to respect the emperor's title and restore the emperor's power. No wonder the Wei Jun who originally wanted to use him finally did not use him.

In many vassal states, the old masters who represented the interests of the emerging landlords usurped political power, and the old master also talked to them about the conduct of kings and ministers. No wonder some countries where the masters had exclusive power refused him entry.

Mao Zedong also discussed the "rectification of the name" of Confucius in his correspondence. He said that Confucius's idea of ??"rectification of names" was not entirely wrong. The only mistake was that it was based on Zhou rites. His "reality" (Zhou rites) that matched names and reality was backward, outdated, and unworkable. Mao Zedong believed that in front of Confucius's sentence "the name is not right", we should add the sentence "the reality is not clear, the name is not right", recognizing that reality is fundamental. He said:

Not only Confucius, but we are also doing the work of "rectifying names." Confucius is the name of the feudal order, and we are the name of the revolutionary order. Confucius is the master of name, and we are the master of reality. The difference is here.