What does the golden mean?

The doctrine of the mean refers to the Confucian moral standards, namely, the doctrine of the mean, the use of Chinese, and the use of both the mediocre and the ancient. Treat people and things in a just and peaceful way, adapt to the times, things, and local conditions. The theoretical roots of Confucianism are derived from human nature.

The Doctrine of the Mean is a very classic book of Confucianism, and it is also a very high realm. It is often said that being a man requires the Doctrine of the Mean. So what is the Doctrine of the Mean? Let me tell you what the golden mean means. Details 1

The Doctrine of the Mean refers to the Confucian moral standards, the doctrine of the mean, the use of Chinese, and the use of both the old and the young. Treat people and things in a just and peaceful way, adapt to the times, things, and local conditions. The theoretical roots of Confucianism are derived from human nature. From "The Analects of Confucius Yong Ye": "The doctrine of the mean is also a virtue, and it is extremely good." He Yan's summary: "Yong, Chang also, neutralization can always be the way." 2

The Doctrine of the Mean is one of the Confucian classics. Originally the 31st article of The Book of Rites, the text was written between the end of the Warring States Period and the Western Han Dynasty. The author is still inconclusive. On the one hand, it was written by Kong Ji (Zi Si wrote The Doctrine of the Mean), and on the other hand, it was written by scholars in the Qin Dynasty or the Han Dynasty. Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty highly respected the golden mean, so they took it out of The Book of Rites and wrote it independently, while Zhu Xi co-edited it with The Analects of Confucius, Mencius and Daxue into Four Books. 3

The Doctrine of the Mean puts forward five principles, three virtues, self-discipline, and sincerity, which have an important influence on dealing with people and cultivating human nature. The theoretical basis of the golden mean is the unity of man and nature. Usually, people talk about the unity of heaven and man mainly from philosophy, mostly from Mencius, "He who does his best knows his nature;" If you know its nature, you will know the heaven "("Dedicated "), while ignoring the harmony between man and nature in the golden mean, and even ignoring the true meaning of the harmony between man and nature. The true meaning of the unity of heaven and man is to unite in sincerity and goodness, and to achieve "harmony, the status of heaven, and the cultivation of all things" and "only the sincerity of the world, in order to do its best." If you can do your best, you can do your best; If you can make the best of human nature, you can make the best of things; If you can make the best of things, you can praise the education of heaven and earth; If you can praise the cultivation of heaven and earth, you can participate in heaven and earth. "Participating with heaven and earth" is the unity of heaven and man. This is the true meaning of the harmony between man and nature in The Doctrine of the Mean. 4

Therefore, The Doctrine of the Mean begins with "the nature of destiny, the nature of temperament, the Tao, and the cultivation of religion" and ends with "the load of heaven is silent and odorless." To carry on. " This is the highest state that saints should reach, and this is the true unity of heaven and man. The heaven with the unity of man and nature is a kind and beautiful day, and the man with the unity of man and nature is a kind and beautiful person like a kind and beautiful day. The unity of man and nature is the ideal realm that people consciously cultivate to benefit mankind and nature like a kind and kind day.