Ancient Chinese thinkers. Philosophy of ancient China. Basic principles of legalism
We bring to your attention the philosophy of ancient China, summary. Chinese philosophy has a history spanning several thousand years. Its origins are often associated with the Book of Changes, an ancient divination book dating back to 2800 BC, where some of the fundamental tenets of Chinese philosophy were pointed out. The age of Chinese philosophy can only be estimated roughly (its first flowering is usually attributed to the 6th century BC), since it goes back to the oral tradition of the Neolithic. In this article, you can find out what the philosophy of Ancient China is, briefly get acquainted with the main schools and directions of thought.
For centuries, the philosophy of the Ancient East (China) has focused on practical concern for man and society, questions about how to properly organize life in society, how to live an ideal life. Ethics and political philosophy often took precedence over metaphysics and epistemology. Another characteristic feature of Chinese philosophy was reflections on nature and personality, which led to the development of the theme of the unity of man and Heaven, the theme of man's place in space.
Four philosophical schools
Four particularly influential schools of thought arose during the classical period Chinese history, which began around 500 BC. These were Confucianism, Taoism (often pronounced "Taoism"), Monism and Legalism. When China was unified in 222 BC, Legalism was adopted as the official philosophy. Later emperors (206 BC - 222 AD) adopted Taoism, and later, around 100 BC, Confucianism. These schools remained central to the development of Chinese thought well into the 20th century. Buddhist philosophy, which appeared in the 1st century CE, spread widely in the 6th century (mainly during the reign of
In the era of industrialization and in our time, the philosophy of the Ancient East (China) began to include concepts taken from Western philosophy, which was a step towards modernization. Under the rule of Mao Tse-tung, Marxism, Stalinism, and other communist ideologies proliferated in mainland China. Hong Kong and Taiwan revived interest in Confucian ideas. The current government of the People's Republic of China supports the ideology of market socialism. The philosophy of ancient China is summarized below.
Early beliefs
At the beginning of the Shang Dynasty, thought was based on the idea of cyclicality, arising from direct observation of nature: the change of day and night, the change of seasons, the waxing and waning of the moon. This idea has remained relevant throughout Chinese history. During the reign of Shang, fate could be controlled by the great deity Shang-di, translated into Russian - "The Most High God". The cult of ancestors was also present, there were also animal and human sacrifices.
When it was overthrown, a new political, religious and "Mandate of Heaven" appeared. In accordance with it, if the ruler does not correspond to his position, he can be overthrown and replaced by another, more suitable one. Archaeological excavations from this period indicate an increase in the level of literacy and a partial departure from the belief in Shang-di. Ancestor worship became commonplace and society became more secular.
One hundred schools
Around 500 BC, after the weakening of the Zhou state, the classical period of Chinese philosophy began (almost at this time, the first Greek philosophers also appeared). This period is known as the Hundred Schools. Of the many schools founded at this time, and also during the following Warring States period, the four most influential were Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism. During this time, Cofucius is believed to have written the Ten Wings and a number of commentaries on the Ching.
Imperial era
The founder of the short-lived Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) unified China under an emperor and established Legalism as the official philosophy. Li Xi, the founder of legalism and the chancellor of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, suggested that he suppress the freedom of speech of the intelligentsia in order to unify thought and political beliefs, and burn all the classical works of philosophy, history, and poetry. Only the books of the Li Xi school were to be allowed. After he was deceived by two alchemists who promised him long life, Qin Shi Huang buried 460 scholars alive. Legism retained its influence until the emperors of the late Han Dynasty (206 BC - 222 AD) adopted Taoism, and later, around 100 BC, Confucianism as official doctrine. However, Taoism and Confucianism were not the defining forces of Chinese thought until well into the 20th century. In the 6th century (mostly during the Tang Dynasty), Buddhist philosophy gained general acceptance, mainly due to similarities with Taoism. Such was the philosophy of Ancient China at that time, summarized above.
Confucianism
Confucianism is the collective teaching of the sage Confucius, who lived in 551-479. BC.
The philosophy of Ancient China can be presented in the following form. It is a complex system of moral, social, political and religious thought that has greatly influenced the history of Chinese civilization. Some scholars believe that Confucianism was the state religion of imperial China. Confucian ideas are reflected in the culture of China. Mencius (4th century BC) believed that a person has dignity, which should be cultivated in order to become "good". considered human nature as inherently evil, but which, through self-discipline and self-improvement, can be transformed into virtue.
Confucius did not intend to found a new religion, he only wanted to interpret and revive the nameless religion of the Zhou dynasty. The ancient system of religious rules has exhausted itself: why do the gods allow social problems and injustice? But if not the spirits of the race and nature, what is the basis of a stable, unified and lasting social order? Confucius believed that this basis is a reasonable policy, implemented, however, in the Zhou religion and its rituals. He did not interpret these rituals as sacrifices to the gods, but as ceremonies embodying civilized and cultural patterns of behavior. They embodied for him the ethical core of Chinese society. The term "ritual" included social rituals - courtesies and accepted norms of behavior - what we today call etiquette. Confucius believed that only a civilized society can have a stable and lasting order. The philosophy of ancient China, schools of thought, and subsequent teachings took much from Confucianism.
Taoism
Taoism is:
1) a philosophical school based on the texts of the Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu) and Chuang Tzu;
2) Chinese folk religion.
"Tao" literally means "way," but in Chinese religion and philosophy, the word has taken on a more abstract meaning. Philosophy of Ancient China, short description which is presented in this article, drew many ideas from this abstract and seemingly simple concept of "path".
Yin and Yang and the Theory of the Five Elements
It is not known exactly where the idea of the two principles of Yin and Yang came from, probably it arose in the era of ancient Chinese philosophy. Yin and Yang are two complementary principles, the interaction of which forms all phenomenal phenomena and changes in the cosmos. Yang is active and Yin is passive. Additional elements, such as day and night, light and darkness, activity and passivity, masculine and feminine, and others, are a reflection of Yin and Yang. Together, these two elements constitute harmony, and the idea of harmony is spreading in medicine, art, martial arts and social life in China. The philosophy of ancient China, schools of thought also absorbed this idea.
The concept of Yin-Yang is often associated with the theory of the five elements, which explains natural and social phenomena as the result of a combination of the five basic elements or agents of the cosmos: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The philosophy of Ancient China (the most important things are summarized in this article) certainly includes this concept.
Legalism
Legalism has its origins in the ideas of the Chinese philosopher Xun Tzu (310-237 BC), who believed that ethical standards are necessary to control the evil inclinations of a person. Han Fei (280-233 B.C.) developed this concept into a totalitarian pragmatic political philosophy based on the principle that a person seeks to avoid punishment and achieve personal gain, since people are inherently selfish and evil. Thus, if people begin to freely express their natural inclinations, this will lead to conflicts and social problems. The ruler must maintain his power with the help of three components:
1) law, or principle;
2) method, tactics, art;
3) legitimacy, power, charisma.
The law must severely punish violators and reward those who follow it. Legalism was chosen by the philosophy of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), which united China for the first time. In contrast to the intuitive anarchy of Taoism and the virtue of Confucianism, Legalism considers the demands of order to be more important than others. The political doctrine was developed during the cruel time of the fourth century BC.
The Legists believed that the government should not be deceived by pious, unattainable ideals of "tradition" and "humanity." In their opinion, attempts to improve life in the country through education and ethical precepts are doomed to failure. Instead, people need a strong government and a carefully crafted code of laws, as well as a police force that enforces strict and impartial rules and punishes violators severely. The founder of the Qin dynasty placed on these totalitarian principles big hopes, believing that the reign of his dynasty would last forever.
Buddhism
And China has a lot in common. Although Buddhism originated in India, it was of great importance in China. Buddhism is believed to have originated in China during the Han Dynasty. About three hundred years later, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), it experienced an explosion in popularity. During these three hundred years, the adherents of Buddhism were mainly newcomers, nomadic people from the western regions and Central Asia.
In a sense, Buddhism was never adopted in China. At least not in a purely Indian form. The philosophy of ancient India and China still has many differences. Legends abound with stories of Indians such as Bodhidharma who instilled various forms Buddhism in China, but they make little mention of the inevitable changes that the teaching undergoes when it is transferred to foreign soil, especially to such a rich one as China of that time was in relation to philosophical thought.
Certain features of Indian Buddhism were incomprehensible to the practical Chinese mind. With its tradition of asceticism inherited from Hindu thought, Indian Buddhism can easily take the form of the delayed gratification envisaged in meditation (meditate now, reach Nirvana later).
The Chinese, strongly influenced by a tradition that encourages hard work and satisfaction of life's needs, could not accept this and other practices that seemed otherworldly and unrelated to Everyday life. But, being practical people, many of them saw and some good ideas Buddhism in relation to both the individual and society.
The War of the Eight Princes is Civil War between the princes and kings of the Jin dynasty from 291 to 306, during which the nomadic peoples of northern China, from Manchuria to eastern Mongolia, were included in large numbers in the ranks of mercenary troops.
Around the same time, the level political culture China has noticeably declined, the teachings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu have been revived, gradually adapted to Buddhist thought. Buddhism, which appeared in India, took on a completely different form in China. Take, for example, the concept of Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna (150-250 AD), Indian philosopher, the most influential Buddhist thinker after Gautama Buddha himself. His main contribution to Buddhist philosophy was the development of the concept of Shunyat (or "emptiness") as an element of Buddhist metaphysics, epistemology and phenomenology. After being imported into China, the concept of Shunyat was changed from "Void" to "Something that exists" under the influence of traditional Chinese thought of Laozi and Chuangzi.
Moism
The Philosophy of Ancient China (briefly) Mohism was founded by the philosopher Mozi (470-390 BC), who contributed to the spread of the idea of universal love, the equality of all beings. Mozi believed that the traditional concept is controversial, that human beings need guidance to determine which traditions are acceptable. In Moism, morality is not defined by tradition, it rather correlates with utilitarianism, the desire for the good for the greatest number of people. In Mohism, the government is seen as an instrument for providing such leadership, as well as for stimulating and encouraging social behavior that benefits the greatest number of people. Activities such as song and dance were considered a waste of resources that could be used to provide people with food and shelter. Mohists created their own highly organized political structures and lived modestly, leading an ascetic life, practicing their ideals. They were against any form of aggression and believed in the divine power of the sky (Tian), which punishes the immoral behavior of people.
You have studied what is the philosophy of ancient China ( summary). For a more complete understanding, we advise you to get acquainted with each school separately in more detail. Features of the philosophy of Ancient China were briefly outlined above. We hope that this material helped you understand the main points and was useful to you.
Introduction
1. Thinkers of Ancient China
Three Great Thinkers of Ancient China
2.1 Lao Tzu
2 Confucius
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
China - country ancient history, culture, philosophy.
Ancient China arose on the basis of Neolithic cultures that developed in the 5th-3rd millennium BC. in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The Yellow River basin became the main territory for the formation of the ancient civilization of China, which for a long time developed in conditions of relative isolation. Only from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. the process of expanding the territory begins, in a southerly direction, first to the Yangtze basin area, and then further south.
On the verge of our era, the state of Ancient China goes far beyond the Huang He basin, although the northern border, the ethnic territory of the ancient Chinese, remains almost unchanged.
The ancient Chinese class society and statehood formed somewhat later than the ancient civilizations of Ancient Western Asia, but nevertheless, after their emergence, they begin to develop at a fairly fast pace and in Ancient China high forms of economic, political and cultural life are created, which lead to the folding of the original socio-political and cultural system.
Chinese philosophy is part of Eastern philosophy. Its influence on the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan is equivalent to the influence of ancient Greek philosophy on Europe. Thus, the relevance of the topic lies in the fact that the thinkers of Ancient China left their mark on history, whose experience is currently being used.
The purpose of this work: to study the greatest thinkers of Ancient China and characterize the main provisions of their teachings.
. Thinkers of Ancient China
The religions of China have never existed in the form of a rigidly centralized "church". The traditional religion of ancient China was a mixture of local beliefs and ceremonies, united into a single whole by the universal theoretical constructions of pundits.
However, among both the educated and the peasantry, the three great schools of thought, often referred to as the three religions of China, gained the greatest popularity: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. All these teachings more philosophical rather than religious, in contrast to ancient Indian philosophy, which has always been closely associated with religious tradition.
Ancient Chinese philosophy arose around the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The ideas that formed the basis of philosophy were formed in the monuments of the ancient Chinese literary tradition, such as the Shu Jing (Book of Documentary Writings), Shi Jing (Book of Poems), and I Ching (Book of Changes).
Ancient Chinese philosophy is characterized by features that are not characteristic of other Eastern philosophical traditions. It must be said that the ancient Chinese had no idea about the transcendental God, about the creation of the world by God from nothing, they had no idea about the dualism of the ideal and material principles of the world. In ancient China, there were no traditional ideas for the West, India, and the Middle East about the soul as some kind of non-material substance that separates from the body after death. Although ideas about the spirits of ancestors existed.
At the heart of the Chinese worldview are ideas about qi. Qi is understood as Vital energy which pervades absolutely everything in the world. Everything in the world is transformations of Qi.
Qi is a kind of quasi-material substance that cannot be defined only as material or spiritual.
Matter and spirit are inseparable, they are consubstantial and mutually reducible, that is, spirit and matter are in a state of constant mutual transition.
At the heart of existence is the Primordial Qi (Boundless, Chaos, One), which is polarized into two parts - yang (positive) and yin (negative). Yang and Yin are interchangeable. Their transition constitutes the great Tao-path.
The negative potentially contains the positive and vice versa. Thus, the power of Yang reaches its limit and passes into Yin and vice versa. This position is called the Great Limit and is depicted graphically as a "Monad".
Considering everything that exists as a unity of opposite principles, Chinese thinkers explained the endless process of movement by their dialectical interaction. Filling the Universe, generating and preserving life, these primary substances or forces determine the essence of the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.
Actually, these ideas underlie ancient Chinese philosophy and are supported by all Chinese thinkers, with some differences in interpretation.
Differences between Chinese and Western philosophy: integral (holic) perception instead of analytical and cyclical processes instead of their static, linearity. Three of the greatest thinkers of ancient China, to whom we will pay the most attention in the next chapter:
Lao Tzu- covered with a halo of mystery;
Confucius- revered by all;
Mo Tzu- now little known, who, however, more than four centuries before the birth of Christ formulated the concept of universal love.
Acquaintance with the views of these thinkers is facilitated by the fact that there are three texts directly related to their names.
2. The Three Greatest Thinkers of Ancient China
.1 Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu - a nickname meaning "old teacher" - the great sage of Ancient China, who laid the foundations of Taoism - the direction of Chinese thought that has come down to our days. Approximately, the life of Lao Tzu is attributed to the 7th-6th centuries BC. He is considered the author of the main treatise of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching, which has become the most popular test of ancient Chinese philosophy in the West.
Little is known about the life of this sage, and the authenticity of the available information is often criticized by scientists. But it is known that he was the keeper of the imperial archive of the Zhou court - the greatest book depository of Ancient China. Therefore, Lao Tzu had free access to various ancient and contemporary texts, which allowed him to develop his own teaching.
The fame of this sage went throughout the Celestial Empire, so when he decided to leave the kingdom of Zhou, he was stopped at the outpost and asked to leave his teaching in writing for his kingdom. Lao Tzu compiled the treatise "Tao Te Ching", which translates as "The Canon of the Way and Grace." The entire treatise speaks of the category of Tao.
Tao means "The Way" in Chinese. According to Lao Tzu, Tao underlies the world and the world realizes Tao. Everything in the world is Tao. Tao is inexpressible, it can be comprehensible, but not verbally. Lao Tzu wrote: "The Tao that can be expressed in words is not a permanent Tao." The doctrine of Tao is closely connected with the doctrine of the mutual transition of opposites.
Lao Tzu, who lived earlier than two other great Chinese thinkers (VI-V centuries BC), is not easy to understand, not only because his basic concept of “tao” is very ambiguous: it is both “the main thing over many things” and “mother earth and sky”, “the fundamental principle of the world”, and “root”, and “path”; but also because in comprehending this concept we do not have the opportunity (as, for example, in ancient Indian and other cultures) to rely on any mythological images that would facilitate assimilation. Tao is as vague in Lao Tzu as the concept of Heaven in all Chinese culture.
Tao is the source of all things and the basis of the functioning of being. One of the definitions of Tao is "root". The root is underground, it is not visible, but it exists before the plant that emerges from it. Just as primary is the invisible Tao, from which the whole world is produced.
Tao is also understood as a natural law of the development of nature. The main meaning of the hieroglyph "tao" is "the road along which people walk." Tao is the path that people follow in this life, and not just something outside of it. A person who does not know the way is doomed to delusion, he is lost.
Tao can also be interpreted as unity with nature through subordination to the same laws. "The path of a noble man begins among men and women, but its deep principles exist in nature." As soon as this universal law exists, there is no need for any moral law - either in the natural law of karma or in the artificial law of human society.
The proximity of Taoism to the emerging new understanding of nature is pointed out by ecologists. Laozi advises adapting to natural cycles, points to self-movement in nature and the importance of balance, and perhaps the concept of "tao" is a prototype of modern ideas about cosmic information belts.
Tao is sought in oneself. “He who knows himself, he will be able to find out [the essence of things], and whoever knows people, he is able to do things.” To know the Tao, one must free oneself from one's own passions. The one who knows the Tao achieves "natural balance", because all opposites harmonize and achieve self-satisfaction.
The Tao desires nothing and strives for nothing. People should do the same. Everything natural happens as if by itself, without much effort of the individual. The natural course is opposed to the artificial activity of a person pursuing his selfish, selfish goals. Such activity is reprehensible, therefore the main principle of Lao Tzu is not an act (wuwei) - "non-intervention", "non-resistance". Wuwei is not passivity, but rather non-resistance
Another fundamental concept of Taoism, closely related to the concept of qi and the principle of yin-yang, is the concept five primary elements, which are ranked in order of importance as follows: water, fire, wood, earth and metal. These primary elements are given great importance in all traditional Chinese philosophy, science, astrology and medicine; references to them are often found in Chinese texts; without them, Chinese folklore is inconceivable, and, to one degree or another, they influence the daily affairs of the Chinese.
THE STUDY OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS
Any person who tries to seriously study the Taoist postulate of the five primary elements will inevitably come across an unusual mixture of mystery, superstition and logical constructions full of common sense. And the realization that this conglomeration of concepts has puzzled many of the best minds in the West, and indeed some thinkers in China itself, can hardly be comforting enough. The attitude of modern Chinese to the five elements is similar to the attitude of the inhabitants Western Europe to texts Old Testament: many unconditionally believe in what is written there, others tend to interpret them critically. And although the Chinese are ardent adherents of traditions, at the same time they are also characterized by pragmatism of thinking; it is unlikely that many of them perceive all the provisions of their traditional teaching without a certain amount of skepticism.
WHAT IS THE FIVE PRIMARY ELEMENTS?
When defining the conceptual essence of the five primary elements, it is easier to identify what they are not than what is hidden under these categories. They are definitely not adequate to the four elements of the ancient Greeks - air, earth, fire and water, which were considered as the main components of the entire material universe. They cannot be linked in any way with the hundred elements that modern chemistry, such as: oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, sulfur, iron, etc., and which are capable, in their various combinations, of forming a great variety of complex compounds. The five primary elements of the Chinese are non-material and poorly correlated with real entities. In other words, fire is not fire as such, water is not water, and so on.
These elements can be briefly and far from exhaustively presented as certain properties and influences. So, for example, those things that have the property of emitting heat, heating, whether it be feverish heat or sunlight, are considered associated with or caused by the element of fire. And with this approach, it is completely understandable why the ancient Chinese philosophers describe the sun as a “fiery force”, but it is much more difficult to explain why they call the heart a “fiery organ” - although heat human body supported by blood circulation provided by the pulsation of the heart. In the same way, the kidneys and taste sensations are associated with the element of water, since both urine (produced by the kidneys) and sea water equally salty in taste. Metals often have a luster, and therefore other objects, such as glass or a polished surface, are associated with metal, or the brilliance of these objects is attributed to the influence of this element.
Ancient Chinese philosophers also used these five elements to explain phenomena that, although they did not fully understand them, existed in reality - the changes of the seasons, the movements of the planets, some bodily functions, as well as those concepts that in modern Western science are denoted by letters from the Greek alphabet (for example, ψ) or special terms with which the laws of nature are formulated in astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, etc.
ESSENCE OF LANGUAGE
Although the origin of the five primary elements is hidden by a veil of mystery, it is reasonable to assume that their development coincided in time with the development of language, being an elementary idea thousands of years ago. There is evidence that yin-yang symbols were inscribed on turtle shells at a time when most people were very far from any kind of education. The simple word "fire", the meaning of which is clear to everyone without exception, was used to denote such concepts as heat, warmth, temperature, dryness, excitement, passion, energy, etc., the subtle semantic differences between which were simply not accessible to people's understanding. In the same way, the word "water" concentrated in itself the concepts: coldness, humidity, dampness, dew, flow, etc.
ESSENCE OF PHILOSOPHY
The Huai Nan Zu, or Book of Huai Nan, written for an ancient prince and consisting of 21 volumes, explains how heaven and earth became yin and yang, how the four seasons arose from yin and yang, and how Yang gave birth to fire, the quintessence of which was embodied in the Sun.
Confucian sage Zhou Dunyi(1017-73) wrote about yin and yang:
Yin arises from inaction, while yang arises from action. When inaction reaches its climax, action is born, and when action reaches its maximum, inaction again sets in. This alternation of yin and yang gives rise to the five primary elements: water, fire, wood, metal and earth; and when they are in harmony with each other, the seasons smoothly succeed each other.
In the treatise Shujing it is said that the purpose of water is to soak and fall; the purpose of fire is to warm and rise; the purpose of the tree is to bend or be straight; the purpose of the metal is to obey or change; the purpose of the land is to influence crops and crops. Accordingly, the five primary elements correlate with the five taste qualities recognized by the Chinese - salty, bitter, sour, dry and sweet.
Such explanations may seem far-fetched, but they also contain a certain logic. And it should be remembered that the ancient sages built their concepts without having the knowledge that is available to modern man.
RELATIONSHIPS
The table below shows how the five elements relate to different concepts. But if the parallel between fire, Mars, red and bitterness is obvious, then some other associative chains are not so easy to explain logically.
| Water | Fire | Tree | Metal | Earth |
| Mercury | Mars | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn |
| black | red | green | white | yellow |
| salty | bitter | sour | dry | sweet |
| fear | pleasure | anger | anxiety | passion |
| rotten | caustic | rancid | disgusting | fragrant |
| cold | hot | windy | dry | wet |
| six | seven | eight | nine | five |
| pig | horse | rooster | dog | bull |
| kidneys | heart | liver | lungs | spleen |
THE ESSENCE OF MEDICINE
In traditional Chinese medicine, the five elements along with the five colors are used to represent the relationship between treatments and different organs, since vital organs are associated with certain emotions, herbal preparations have different tastes, and some disease states may be accompanied by a characteristic odor emanating from the human body. Such symbolic links were certainly useful in a time when physicians had limited scientific knowledge.
It is clear that the first healers in China were shamans, or healers-sorcerers. Their treatment was reduced to a combination of sound therapy and various magical actions. And naturally, the sick, unless they themselves were shamans, had to believe that the elements have a beneficial effect.
ESSENCE OF ASTROLOGY
The five elements are of great importance in Chinese astrology, which is based on a 60-year cycle, which in turn is made up of two shorter cycles, the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches. Each of the Ten Heavenly Stems is designated by one of the five elements of both yin and yang natures. And the Twelve Earthly Branches bear the names of twelve animals, each of which corresponds to one year of the so-called 12-year "animal" cycle. At the same time, each “animal” year also corresponds to one of the five primary elements and can be of both yin and yang nature. For example, 1966, which was marked by the sign of the horse, fire and yang, symbolized the essence of a horse with a hot temperament. 1959 was the year of the pig, earth and yin, and embodied the essence of the fair and impartial pig. Within a 60-year cycle, 60 different combinations are possible. Moreover, each combination is repeated only once in sixty years. So, 1930 was the year of the horse, metal and yang. The year 1990 passed under the same signs.
The characteristics of "animal" years are given in more detail in the section.
The Chinese tradition, unlike the Indian one, is least of all connected with religion. The efforts of the Chinese, their abilities and work were focused on earthly life, on the desire to realize themselves in this world. Such features of Chinese culture as sobriety, rationalism, stability, high appreciation of life, love for a clear organization and order determined the specific features of ancient Chinese philosophy.
Ancient Chinese philosophy is, first of all, practical philosophy. It is addressed to the practice of today, to the earthly, and not to the other world life. Unlike the Indians, the Chinese were keenly interested in socio-political problems. At the center of the reflections of the philosophers of ancient China were the issues of government and ethics.
Ancient Chinese philosophy is naturalistic philosophy. Naturalism manifested itself, first of all, in the fact that traditional Chinese thought had an orientation towards the natural course of things. It lacked ideas of purely spiritual entities. This circumstance was also associated with the lack of development of formal logic in ancient China.
The beginning of ancient Chinese philosophy was laid by comments on one of the earliest literary monuments of Ancient China - The Book of Changes (I Ching).
The ancient Chinese believed in an unbiased higher regulatory force - tian which establishes a sacred social order in accordance with the cosmic order of Heaven. To find out the desire of Heaven, what awaits a person in the future, the Chinese turned to soothsayers. The same in their predictions were guided trigrams which were built using two lines (solid and broken), symbolizing the duality of cosmic forces. The trigrams formed the basis of the Book of Changes. However, this book was used not only as practical guide by predictions. It laid the foundations of the doctrine, which was accepted by the ancient Chinese philosophers.
The dual cosmic forces "The Book of Changes" calls yang and yin: yang is indicated by a solid line (-), and yin is indicated by a broken line (- -). These concepts replaced such more ancient designations of the forces of the cosmos as heaven and earth, sun and moon, etc.
Jan - positive, masculine, active, bright, solid beginning. yin - negative, feminine, passive, dark, soft beginning. The Book of Changes describes yang and yin as forces that perpetuate the universe through an endless chain of transformations. The interaction of yang and yin is determined by the Tao. Dao (Higher Path) represents the natural order, the highest degree of organization of nature and at the same time the path that a person must go through in his life.
Those who have aligned their lives with the rhythms of the yin-yang Tao live happily ever after. Those who shied away from this doomed themselves to misfortune and premature death. Those who lived in harmony with nature accumulated a large amount qi - the life force that periodically fills the universe. The accumulation of this force leads to an increase de - virtues. Not only a person could possess De, birds and animals, plants and stones could have it. For example, it was believed that the tortoise has a large amount of de and lives for a long time, and the pine tree is a repository of de and does not fade.
It has also been argued that de forms a link between the dead and the living. Representatives ruling class have a large supply of de, which they have inherited from their ancestors and which they will pass on to their descendants. After the death of a person, one of his soul - By- remains in the body until its decomposition, and the other - hun- rises to heaven and feeds on the sacrifices that are made by descendants so that the de of the ancestors does not decrease. At the same time, the descendants are guided whether (rituals, ceremonies), that is, established rules of conduct.
Ordinary people did not have an ancestor cult, so they had a small amount of de. Their behavior is guided by su (customs). The most important thing for them is not to violate the customs of the natural order, to maintain constant contact with the forces of nature. Su received expression in seasonal holidays, on which the spirits of the earth, mountains, rivers were appeased.
Many concepts from the Book of Changes have become common to all areas of traditional Chinese philosophy.
Ancient Chinese philosophy during its heyday, in the VI-III centuries. BC, was represented by many schools competing with each other ( Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Mohism, natural philosophy school, school of names and etc.). In a later period, only two of these schools survived as independent schools - Taoism and Confucianism. At first new era Buddhism, which came from India, was added to them. As a result, the so-called "triad of teachings" was gradually formed, which has existed in China up to the present time.
The concept of Tao gave its name to the school Taoism. Moreover, the ancient Taoists themselves did not call their teaching that way. This name appeared later in
Lao Tzu (604-531 BC) is an ancient Chinese philosopher. His real name is Li Er. He was nicknamed the Elderly Baby (Lao Tzu), because, according to legend, his mother carried him in her womb for 81 years, and he was already born a wise old man. There is no reliable information about his life. It is believed that he served as an archivist at the Zhou court and met with Confucius. Leaving China forever, he left with the head of the frontier outpost an exposition of his teaching called " Tao Te Ching"("The Higher Path and its Good Power"). Lao Tzu is considered the founder of Taoism, which has become both a philosophical school and a religion.historical writings to denote the philosophy of the Tao Way, the founder of which was Lao Tzu.
Lao Tzu understood Tao as the highest first principle and first cause of the world and called it "the mother of all things." He spoke of Tao as generating things and as "nourishing" them, designating the latter with the concept of "de" (good power). At the same time, Tao does not interfere with the natural course of things, giving them the opportunity to develop in a predetermined order. Lao Tzu expressed this idea as follows: "The Tao does nothing, but nothing is left undone."
Departure from Tao violates the original simplicity of the naturalness of being. Lao Tzu contrasted naturalness with an artificial human society. In his opinion, the labor activity of a person led him to a contradiction with the world, alienated him from nature. Inaction, the Taoist thinker put above action and preached the principle of "doing nothing" ("wu-wei") , following which always brings peace. People's commitment to multi-knowledge and the creation social institutions(families, states) interfere with the Tao and give rise to all kinds of misfortunes. Lao Tzu advocated a return to a golden age, when there was no arbitrary division into good and bad, since people lived in perfect harmony, did not interfere in the natural course of things, and did not know such concepts as good and evil.
The principle of "non-action" does not express passive inaction, but following the natural order of things, agreement with one's own inner nature and implies non-interference in the nature of everything that exists, refusal to remake, rebuild the world. This principle acts like water flowing over stones in its path. According to a prominent representative of Taoism Chuang Tzu(c. 369 - 286 BC), the wu-wei mind flows like water, reflects like a mirror, and repeats like an echo. The true way of human life is to fit into the world, and not to break the established order in it.
Thus, “non-action” aims at a sensitive, careful attitude to nature, which is especially important today, when violations of ecological cycles and balance in nature are obvious. Nature, according to Taoism, does not exist to be studied and remade, but to be experienced, to derive pleasure from communicating with it, to live in harmony with it.
Lao Tzu extended the principle of "wu-wei" to the area social phenomena, noting that when the government is active, people become unhappy. He considered such a ruler to be wise, who does not interfere in anything and allows everything to take its course, in a natural way. That's why "The best ruler is the one about whom the people know only that he exists."
In the natural unity of man with nature, the Taoists saw the guarantee of a serene and happy life. Solving the problem of how to live better, they developed the doctrine of zhi. Zhi (literally: "breath") is a special kind of energy that flows through each person. A person must free himself from everything that pollutes and weakens zhi, first of all, from vanity. The way in which one can experience zhi in oneself is through meditation, during which any thought of personal aspirations and emotions should be banished.
Some of the Taoists tried, completely immersed in contemplation, to achieve unity with the primitive forces of nature. Others preferred witchcraft and magic to meditation, as well as such elements of the yogi system as food restriction, physical and breathing exercises. Their goal was to achieve longevity and physical immortality. They conducted alchemical experiments on the invention of the elixir of life, were engaged in astrology and geomancy. As a result, the Taoists made a significant contribution to the development of science. Alchemy led to the invention of gunpowder, and geomancy led to the compass.
In the second half of the 11th century BC. troubled times came in China: the ruling Zhou dynasty (11th-3rd centuries BC) gradually degenerated, political changes followed one after another. In this period importance acquired the power of the military, and special attention was paid to the art of government. Many middle-class military men aspired to become government decision-makers in the courts of ancient Chinese princes. For 13 years, the "traveling officer" ("yu shi") was Confucius, who hoped to convince the rulers of the need to comply moral principles. But the ideas of Confucius were too moral to be accepted by the rulers of his time. Only a few centuries later they gained support from the rulers of the Han Dynasty. In the II century. BC. Confucianism became the official state ideology in China and played an exceptionally important role in Chinese culture and socio-political history.
Confucius (from Kung Fu Tzu, meaning "wise teacher Kung") is an ancient Chinese philosopher. Born in 551 BC. e. in an aristocratic but impoverished family. For a long time he worked in the royal book depository in Zhou, where, according to legend, he met and talked with Lao Tzu. Upon returning to his homeland, in the kingdom of Lu, he opened his own school and became the first professional teacher in the history of China. So P v. BC. he was revered as the Great Sage. The main source of information about the teachings of Confucius are "Lun Yu" ("Judgments and Conversations"), which are records of his statements and conversations made by his students and followers. In 1957, in the hometown of the philosopher Qufu, where his distant relatives still live, annual celebrations resumed in his temple. Confucius shared the traditional idea of Heaven as the highest power that rules the world, and accepted the belief in the spirits of ancestors. He considered the society of his day to be inconsistent with what was destined by Heaven for all things. He idealized the past and advocated the restoration of communal-patriarchal relations in which people understood morality. It is through moral norms, and not by natural forces, as the Taoists argued, that, in his opinion, society should be governed. Following morality, the principles of duty were decisive for Confucius. Therefore, Confucian philosophy is primarily a doctrine of morality.
All issues, including those related to public administration, daily engaged in agricultural, commercial and financial affairs, were considered by Confucius from an ethical standpoint. The basis of his teaching was the idea of an ideal society that would correspond to ancient patterns. He saw his task in the revival of the principles of society that existed in ancient times, because at that time perfectly wise rulers who owned Tao reigned on earth. By Tao, the philosopher understood the path of moral perfection and rule based on ethical standards.
Confucius urged to revere the ancestors, to observe ancient customs and ceremonies, during which the emperor - the Son of Heaven - played the role of an intermediary between the infinity of the cosmos and the finiteness of earthly existence. In steady adherence to the customs of antiquity, Confucius saw a panacea for all troubles, and he considered himself the bearer of forgotten ancient wisdom.
In Confucianism, a whole system of complex rituals was developed for all occasions. How strict the Confucians followed the established order is evidenced by the saying that has come down to us about Confucius: "If the mat is uneven, the Master will not sit on it."
In an ideal society, the principle of moral perfection should be harmoniously combined with activities aimed at streamlining the state. “If there is virtue in the heart,” said Confucius, “then there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character, then there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, then there will be order in the country. If there is order in the country, then there will be peace on earth.”
Confucius developed the concept noble husband (jun-tzu). noble husband, or an ideal person, - one who knows how to combine disinterestedness and sensitivity in personal life courtesy in public life. In his desires, he is not greedy and, unlike « little man» thinks not about profit, but about duty. A person is not born noble, but becomes noble through the cultivation of the highest moral qualities.
A noble husband should have jen and follow li in his behavior. The concepts of jen and li are the most important in the philosophy of Confucianism. Ren (literally: "philanthropy") - this is a law that determines the ethical relationships of people, gives a setting for love for people. It is formulated as follows: "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." Subsequently, this rule in the history of philosophy was expressed in various ways and was called "golden rule of morality". The manifestations of jen are justice, fidelity, sincerity, mercy, etc.
Lee(ceremonial, ceremonies) means ethical and ritual decency and is a wide range of rules that regulate people's behavior in various life situations. Without "whether" social order and, consequently, the prosperity of the state is impossible. It is because of "li" that there are differences between the sovereign and subjects. A properly organized state, according to Confucius, consists of tops and bottoms: those who think and govern, and those who work and obey.
Confucius saw the main means of streamlining relations between members of society in the straightening (correction) of names, which was aimed at ensuring that everything in society remained unchanged. Names- these are the designations of the social, political and legal statuses of various persons in the hierarchical system of society and the state. Everyone must have a name corresponding to him, so that the sovereign is the sovereign, the dignitary is the dignitary, the father is the father, the son is the son, the subject is the subject. With all deviations from the norm, you should return to it. Thus, the meaning of Confucius's teachings about straightening names was that each person must correspond to his purpose, social status in the state hierarchy.
So, for each member of society, Confucius determined one or another place in the social hierarchy, in accordance with which it was necessary to act and conduct business. The criterion for dividing society into tops and bottoms should have been not noble origin and wealth, but abilities, virtues, knowledge and work. The philosopher was convinced that the economic prosperity and stability of both society and the individual depend to a large extent on hard daily work and on the strain of the abilities and efforts of every citizen.
Confucius considered the close-knit and well-organized family to be the basis of the state, and the state itself was understood by him as a big family. Therefore, a special place in his philosophy is occupied by the concept of xiao - filial respect, which determines the relationship between father and child, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, older friend and younger friend, ruler and subjects. essence xiao consists in the assertion that blind obedience to the will, word, desire of the elder is an elementary norm for the younger ones within the family and subjects within the state.
According to Confucian teachings, any person in Ancient China could count on social assistance and a minimum of social benefits, subject to strict observance of the ethical norms recognized in the state, maintaining order, honoring and obeying the authority of elders and subordination to rulers.
Confucianism shaped the way of life and social structure of the Chinese, and to this day it remains a living intellectual and spiritual tradition in China.
Control questions:
1. What are the features of ancient Indian philosophy?
2. What are the Vedas?
3. How do orthodox schools of ancient Indian philosophy differ from non-orthodox ones?
4. What are the main ideas of Vedanta?
5. What is the difference between Mimamsa and Vedanta?
6. What is the specificity of the Samkhya philosophical school?
7. How are the theory and practice of yoga related?
8. How does the philosophy of the Charvakas differ from the philosophy of all other ancient Indian philosophical schools?
9. What is "samsara", "karma", "nirvana" in the philosophy of Buddhism?
10. What is the content of the Four Noble Truths?
11. What are character traits ancient Chinese philosophy?
12. What is "Tao" in ancient Chinese philosophy?
13. What is the meaning of the Taoist principle of "non-doing"?
14. What is the essence of the philosophical teachings of Confucius?
15. What is the meaning of the Confucian straightening of names?
16. What is the xiao principle in Confucianism?
Main literature:
Introduction to Philosophy: Tutorial for universities./Auto coll.: Frolov I.T. and others. 2nd ed., revised. and additional M., 2002.
Kanke V.A. Philosophy: A Historical and Systematic Course. M., 2001.
Kuznetsov V.G., Kuznetsova I.D., Momdzhyan K.Kh., Mironov V.V. Philosophy. M., 2009.
Markov B.V. Philosophy. SPb., 2009.
Spirkin A.G. Philosophy. M., 2006.
Philosophy: textbook / ed. A.F. Zotova, V.V. Mironova, A.V. Razin. M., 2009.
Additional literature:
Anthology of world philosophy. T. 1. Ch. 1. M., 1969.
Vasiliev L.S. History of the Religions of the East. M., 1983.
Ancient Chinese Philosophy: Collection of Texts: In 2 vols. M., 1972.
Laws of Manu. M., 1960.
Lukyanov A.E. Lao Tzu (philosophy of early Taoism). M., 1991.
Lukyanov A.E. Formation of philosophy in the East. M., 1989.
Lysenko V.G. An Introduction to Buddhism: Early Buddhist Philosophy. M., 1994.
Nemirovskaya L.Z. Philosophy. M., 1996.
Oliver M. History of Philosophy. Minsk, 1999.
Perelomov L.S. Confucius: life, teachings, destiny. M., 1993.
Torchinov E.A. Taoism. M., 1993.
Chatterjee S., Datta D. Indian Philosophy. M., 1994.
Kuznetsov V.G. Dictionary of philosophical terms. M., 2009.
New Philosophical Encyclopedia: In 4 vols. M., 2000-2001.
Philosophy: encyclopedic dictionary / under. ed. A.A. Ivin. M., 2009.
Chanyshev A.N. Course of lectures on ancient philosophy. M., 1981.
Databases, information and reference and search systems:
Portal "Humanities Education" http://www.humanities.edu.ru/
Federal portal " Russian education» http://www.edu.ru/
Federal repository "Unified collection of digital educational resources" http://school-collection.edu.ru/
Introduction
1. Thinkers of Ancient China
Three Great Thinkers of Ancient China
2.1 Lao Tzu
2 Confucius
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
China is a country of ancient history, culture and philosophy.
Ancient China arose on the basis of Neolithic cultures that developed in the 5th-3rd millennium BC. in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The Yellow River basin became the main territory for the formation of the ancient civilization of China, which for a long time developed in conditions of relative isolation. Only from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. the process of expanding the territory begins, in a southerly direction, first to the Yangtze basin area, and then further south.
On the verge of our era, the state of Ancient China goes far beyond the Huang He basin, although the northern border, the ethnic territory of the ancient Chinese, remains almost unchanged.
The ancient Chinese class society and statehood formed somewhat later than the ancient civilizations of Ancient Western Asia, but nevertheless, after their emergence, they begin to develop at a fairly fast pace and in Ancient China high forms of economic, political and cultural life are created, which lead to the folding of the original socio-political and cultural system.
Chinese philosophy is part of Eastern philosophy. Its influence on the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan is equivalent to the influence of ancient Greek philosophy on Europe. Thus, the relevance of the topic lies in the fact that the thinkers of Ancient China left their mark on history, whose experience is currently being used.
The purpose of this work: to study the greatest thinkers of Ancient China and characterize the main provisions of their teachings.
. Thinkers of Ancient China
The religions of China have never existed in the form of a rigidly centralized "church". The traditional religion of ancient China was a mixture of local beliefs and ceremonies, united into a single whole by the universal theoretical constructions of pundits.
However, among both the educated and the peasantry, the three great schools of thought, often referred to as the three religions of China, gained the greatest popularity: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. All these teachings are more philosophical than religious, in contrast to ancient Indian philosophy, which has always been closely associated with religious tradition.
Ancient Chinese philosophy arose around the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The ideas that formed the basis of philosophy were formed in the monuments of the ancient Chinese literary tradition, such as the Shu Jing (Book of Documentary Writings), Shi Jing (Book of Poems), and I Ching (Book of Changes).
Ancient Chinese philosophy is characterized by features that are not characteristic of other Eastern philosophical traditions. It must be said that the ancient Chinese had no idea about the transcendental God, about the creation of the world by God from nothing, they had no idea about the dualism of the ideal and material principles of the world. In ancient China, there were no traditional ideas for the West, India, and the Middle East about the soul as some kind of non-material substance that separates from the body after death. Although ideas about the spirits of ancestors existed.
At the heart of the Chinese worldview are ideas about qi. Qi is understood as a kind of vital energy that permeates absolutely everything in the world. Everything in the world is transformations of Qi.
Qi is a kind of quasi-material substance that cannot be defined only as material or spiritual.
Matter and spirit are inseparable, they are consubstantial and mutually reducible, that is, spirit and matter are in a state of constant mutual transition.
At the heart of existence is the Primordial Qi (Boundless, Chaos, One), which is polarized into two parts - yang (positive) and yin (negative). Yang and Yin are interchangeable. Their transition constitutes the great Tao-path.
The negative potentially contains the positive and vice versa. Thus, the power of Yang reaches its limit and passes into Yin and vice versa. This position is called the Great Limit and is depicted graphically as a "Monad".
Considering everything that exists as a unity of opposite principles, Chinese thinkers explained the endless process of movement by their dialectical interaction. Filling the Universe, generating and preserving life, these primary substances or forces determine the essence of the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.
Actually, these ideas underlie ancient Chinese philosophy and are supported by all Chinese thinkers, with some differences in interpretation.
Differences between Chinese and Western philosophy: integral (holic) perception instead of analytical and cyclical processes instead of their static, linearity. Three of the greatest thinkers of ancient China, to whom we will pay the most attention in the next chapter:
Lao Tzu- covered with a halo of mystery;
Confucius- revered by all;
Mo Tzu- now little known, who, however, more than four centuries before the birth of Christ formulated the concept of universal love.
Acquaintance with the views of these thinkers is facilitated by the fact that there are three texts directly related to their names.
2. The Three Greatest Thinkers of Ancient China
.1 Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu - a nickname meaning "old teacher" - the great sage of Ancient China, who laid the foundations of Taoism - the direction of Chinese thought that has come down to our days. Approximately, the life of Lao Tzu is attributed to the 7th-6th centuries BC. He is considered the author of the main treatise of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching, which has become the most popular test of ancient Chinese philosophy in the West.
Little is known about the life of this sage, and the authenticity of the available information is often criticized by scientists. But it is known that he was the keeper of the imperial archive of the Zhou court - the greatest book depository of Ancient China. Therefore, Lao Tzu had free access to various ancient and contemporary texts, which allowed him to develop his own teaching.
The fame of this sage went throughout the Celestial Empire, so when he decided to leave the kingdom of Zhou, he was stopped at the outpost and asked to leave his teaching in writing for his kingdom. Lao Tzu compiled the treatise "Tao Te Ching", which translates as "The Canon of the Way and Grace." The entire treatise speaks of the category of Tao.
Tao means "The Way" in Chinese. According to Lao Tzu, Tao underlies the world and the world realizes Tao. Everything in the world is Tao. Tao is inexpressible, it can be comprehensible, but not verbally. Lao Tzu wrote: "The Tao that can be expressed in words is not a permanent Tao." The doctrine of Tao is closely connected with the doctrine of the mutual transition of opposites.
Lao Tzu, who lived earlier than two other great Chinese thinkers (VI-V centuries BC), is not easy to understand, not only because his basic concept of “tao” is very ambiguous: it is both “the main thing over many things” and “mother earth and sky”, “the fundamental principle of the world”, and “root”, and “path”; but also because in comprehending this concept we do not have the opportunity (as, for example, in ancient Indian and other cultures) to rely on any mythological images that would facilitate assimilation. Tao is as vague in Lao Tzu as the concept of Heaven in all Chinese culture.
Tao is the source of all things and the basis of the functioning of being. One of the definitions of Tao is "root". The root is underground, it is not visible, but it exists before the plant that emerges from it. Just as primary is the invisible Tao, from which the whole world is produced.
Tao is also understood as a natural law of the development of nature. The main meaning of the hieroglyph "tao" is "the road along which people walk." Tao is the path that people follow in this life, and not just something outside of it. A person who does not know the way is doomed to delusion, he is lost.
Tao can also be interpreted as unity with nature through subordination to the same laws. "The path of a noble man begins among men and women, but its deep principles exist in nature." As soon as this universal law exists, there is no need for any moral law - either in the natural law of karma or in the artificial law of human society.
The proximity of Taoism to the emerging new understanding of nature is pointed out by ecologists. Laozi advises adapting to natural cycles, points to self-movement in nature and the importance of balance, and perhaps the concept of "tao" is a prototype of modern ideas about cosmic information belts.
Tao is sought in oneself. “He who knows himself, he will be able to find out [the essence of things], and whoever knows people, he is able to do things.” To know the Tao, one must free oneself from one's own passions. The one who knows the Tao achieves "natural balance", because all opposites harmonize and achieve self-satisfaction.
The Tao desires nothing and strives for nothing. People should do the same. Everything natural happens as if by itself, without much effort of the individual. The natural course is opposed to the artificial activity of a person pursuing his selfish, selfish goals. Such activity is reprehensible, therefore the main principle of Lao Tzu is not an act (wuwei) - "non-intervention", "non-resistance". Wuwei is not passivity, but rather non-resistance to the natural course of events and activity in accordance with it. This is the principle, following which, a person preserves his own integrity, at the same time gaining unity with existence. This is the way of realizing one's own Tao, which cannot be different from the universal Tao. Acquiring one's own Tao is the goal of every Taoist and should be the goal of every person, but this is difficult to achieve and requires many efforts, although at the same time it takes away from all kinds of exertion.
For a better understanding of the teachings of Lao Tzu, it is necessary to immerse yourself in reading his treatise and try to understand it at the inner intuitive level, and not at the level of logical-discursive thinking, which our Western mind always refers to.
.2 Confucius
taoism thinker confucius philosophical
The younger contemporary of Lao Tzu Confucius or Kung Tzu "Master Kun" (c. 551 - c. 479 BC) pays tribute to Heaven as the creator of all things, traditional for Chinese culture, and calls to unquestioningly follow fate, but pays main attention to conscious construction social ties necessary for the normal functioning of society. Confucius is the founder of the doctrine, which is known as Confucianism.
"Teacher Kun" was born into a poor family, he was left an orphan early and knew the need, although, according to legend, his family was aristocratic. The men of this family were either officials or military men. His father was already at an advanced age (70 years old) when he married a young girl (16 years old), so it is not surprising that when Confucius, or as he was called in the family, Qiu was 3 years old, his father passed away.
From a young age, Qiu was noted for his prudence and desire for learning. When he was seven years old, his mother gave him to a public school, where he already amazed teachers with his intelligence and wisdom. After training, Qiu entered the civil service. At first he was a merchant bailiff, supervising the freshness of market products. His next job was the service of an inspector of arable fields, forests and herds. At this time, the future teacher Kun is also engaged in science and is improving in the ability to read and interpret ancient tests. Also at the age of 19, Qiu marries a girl from a noble family. He has a son and a daughter, but family life did not bring happiness to Confucius. The service began to bring popularity to Confucius among officials and they began to talk about him as a very capable young man and it seemed that a new promotion was waiting for him, but his mother suddenly died. Confucius, faithfully fulfilling the traditions, was forced to leave the service and observe three years of mourning.
After he returns to the work of a service man, but he already has students who have learned about the wisdom and knowledge of the great traditions, Confucius. At the age of 44, he took the high post of governor of the city of Chung-du. The number of students grew. He traveled a lot and everywhere found those willing to join his wisdom. After a long journey, Confucius returns to his homeland, and last years He spends his life at home surrounded by numerous students.
Confucius's main work, Lun Yu (Discourses and Sayings), was written down by his students and enjoyed such popularity throughout the subsequent history of China that he was even forced to memorize it in schools. It begins with a phrase that almost verbatim coincides with the well-known to us: "Learn and from time to time repeat what you have learned."
The activities of Confucius fall on a difficult period for Chinese society, the period of transition from one formation - slaveholding, to another - feudal, and at this time it was especially important to prevent the collapse of social foundations. Confucius and Lao Tzu followed different paths towards this goal.
The primacy of morality, preached by Confucius, was determined by the desire of the Chinese spirit for stability, tranquility and peace. The teachings of Confucius are devoted to how to make the state happy through the growth of morality, first of all, the upper strata of society, and then the lower ones. “If you lead the people through laws and keep order through punishments, the people will seek to evade punishment and will not feel shame. If you lead the people through virtue and maintain order through rituals, the people will know shame, and it will be corrected. The moral model for Confucius is a noble husband: devoted, sincere, faithful, just. The opposite of a noble husband is a low man.
The desire for realism led Confucius to follow the rule " golden mean» - avoidance of extremes in activity and behavior. "A principle such as the "golden mean" is the highest principle." The concept of the middle is closely connected with the concept of harmony. A noble husband “... strictly adheres to the middle and does not lean in one direction. This is where true power lies! When order reigns in the state, he does not abandon the behavior that he had before ... When there is no order in the state, he does not change his principles until his death. The Greek philosophers did the same. But a noble man is not reckless. When order reigns in the state, his words contribute to prosperity; when there is no order in the state, his silence helps him to keep himself.
Great importance both in the history of China and in the teachings of Confucius, one acquires adherence to certain, once and for all established rules and ceremonies. “The use of ritual is valuable because it brings people into agreement. The ritual recognizes only those deeds that are consecrated and verified by tradition. Reverence without ritual leads to fussiness; caution without ritual leads to timidity; courage without ritual leads to unrest; straightforwardness without ritual leads to rudeness.” The purpose of the ritual is to achieve not only social harmony within, but also harmony with nature. “The ritual is based on the constancy of the movement of the sky, the order of phenomena on earth and the behavior of the people. Since heavenly and earthly phenomena occur regularly, then the people take them as a model, imitating the clarity of heavenly phenomena, and agree with the nature of earthly phenomena ... But if this is abused, then everything will be confused and the people will lose their natural qualities. Therefore, to support these natural qualities, a ritual was created. ”
Ritual, in a picturesque expression, "is the colorfulness of duty." What is a person's duty? The father should show parental feelings, and the son - respectfulness; the elder brother - kindness, and the younger - friendliness, the husband - justice, and the wife - obedience, the elders - mercy, the younger - humility, the sovereign - philanthropy, and subjects - devotion. These ten qualities are called human duty.
Confucius proclaimed a principle that runs like a red thread through the entire history of ethics: "Do not do to people what you do not wish for yourself." He was not the first to formulate this moral maxim, later called the "golden rule of ethics." It is also found in many ancient cultures, and then among the philosophers of modern times. But this saying expresses the essence of the basic concepts of Confucius - philanthropy, humanity.
We meet in Confucius and many other thoughts regarding the rules of the hostel. Don't be sad that people don't know you, but be sad that you don't know people." “Do not enter into the affairs of another when you are not in his place.” "I listen to people's words and look at their actions."
Understanding the importance of knowledge, Confucius warned against an exaggerated idea of one's own knowledge: “Knowing something, consider that you know; not knowing, consider that you do not know - this is the correct attitude towards knowledge. He stressed the importance of combining learning with reflection: "In vain is learning without thought, dangerous is thought without learning."
The similarity between Lao Tzu and Confucius is that both of them, in accordance with the archetype of Chinese thought, were looking for constancy, but Lao Tzu found it not in deed, but Confucius found it in constancy of activity - ritual. There was also a common call to limit needs.
The difference between them lies in what they considered more important. But Lao Tzu also wrote about philanthropy, and Confucius said: "If you learn the right path in the morning, you can die in the evening."
.3 Mo Tzu
Mo-tzu (Mo Di) - the founder of the teaching and school of the Moists, identified wisdom and virtue, and with his preaching of love was close to Christ.
The years of Mo-tzu's life are approximately 479 - 381 years. BC. He was born in the kingdom of Lu and belonged to "xia", that is, wandering warriors or knights. "Xia" were often recruited not only from the impoverished houses of the nobility, but also from the lower strata of the population. Mo-tzu was originally an admirer of Confucianism, but then departs from it and creates the first oppositional teaching. The critical attitude towards Confucianism was due to dissatisfaction with the established traditional and rather burdensome system of rules of conduct and ritual. Compliance with all the rules of the ritual often required not only internal efforts, but also external ones. The ritual took a lot of time and sometimes forced to spend a lot of money on its exact observance. As a result, Mo-tzu comes to the conclusion that ritual and music are a luxury that is inaccessible to the lower strata or the impoverished nobility, and therefore requires abolition.
Mo Tzu and his followers organized a highly disciplined organization that was even capable of waging war. Mo Tzu was "perfectly wise" in the eyes of his students.
Mo Di preached the principle of universal love and the principle of mutual benefit. Mo-tzu formulated the principle of universal love in a clear form, contrasting love that “does not know differences but the degree of kinship” with separate, selfish love, that each person should love the other as the closest, for example, like his father or mother. Note that love (in the understanding of Mo-tzu) concerns relationships between people, and not to God, as in Christianity.
The principle of mutual benefit assumed that everyone should share their sorrows and joys, as well as poverty and wealth with everyone, then all people will be equal. These principles were put into practice within the framework of the organization created by Mo Di.
Lao Tzu and Confucius stressed the importance of the will of Heaven as higher power. According to Mo Tzu, the events of our life do not depend on the zero of Heaven, but on the efforts made by man. However, Heaven has thoughts and desires. “To follow the thoughts of Heaven means to follow universal mutual love, the mutual benefit of people, and this will certainly be rewarded. Speaking against the thoughts of Heaven sow mutual hatred, incite to harm each other, and this will certainly entail punishment. The authors of the History of Chinese Philosophy correctly write that Mo Tzu used the authority of Heaven as an ideological weapon to substantiate the truth of his views. Later, Marx also used the concept of objective laws community development.
Like all great utopians, Mo Tzu created his own concept of an ideal state and even an idea of three successive phases of social development: from the era of "disorder and unrest" through the era of "great prosperity" to the society of "great unity". But after all, not all people want a transition from disorder and unrest to prosperity and unity.
The views of Mo Tzu were very popular in IV-III centuries BC, but then the realism of Confucius still won in the practical soul of the Chinese. After the death of Mo Di, at the end of the 4th century BC. the Mo Di school is undergoing a split into two or three organizations. In the second half of the III century BC. there was a practical and theoretical collapse of the organization and teachings of Mo Di, after which she could no longer recover, and in the future this teaching existed only as a spiritual heritage of Ancient China.
The teachings of Confucius also aspire to the ideal, but the ideal of moral self-improvement. Mo Tzu was a social utopian and wanted to enforce universal equality. Confucius took his place between Lao Tzu, with his non-action, and Mo Tzu, with his violence; and his concept turned out to be the "golden mean" between passivity and extremism.
Conclusion
The most prominent philosophers of Ancient China, who largely determined its problems and development for centuries to come, are Lao Tzu (second half of the 6th - first half of the 5th century BC) and Confucius (Kung Fu Tzu, 551-479 BC). BC), as well as other thinkers, and primarily the philosophical heritage of Mo-tzu. These teachings give a fairly objective idea of the philosophical searches of ancient Chinese thinkers.
Lao Tzu is an ancient Chinese philosopher of the 6th-4th centuries BC, one of the founders of the teachings of Taoism, the author of the treatise "Tao Te Ching" ("Canon of the Way and Grace"). The central idea of Lao Tzu's philosophy was the idea of two principles - Tao and Te. The word "Tao" literally means "way"; in this philosophical system it received a much broader metaphysical content. Tao also means the essence of things and the total being of the universe. The very concept of "tao" can be interpreted materialistically: Tao is nature, the objective world.
Confucius - ancient thinker and philosopher of China. His teachings had a profound impact on the life of China and East Asia, becoming the basis of the philosophical system known as Confucianism. Although Confucianism is often referred to as a religion, it does not have the institution of a church and is not concerned with issues of theology. Confucian ethics is not religious. The teachings of Confucius dealt mainly with social and ethical problems. The ideal of Confucianism is the creation of a harmonious society according to the ancient model, in which every person has his own function. A harmonious society is built on the idea of devotion, aimed at maintaining harmony and this society itself. Confucius formulated the golden rule of ethics: "Do not do to a person what you do not want for yourself."
Mo Tzu is an ancient Chinese philosopher who developed the doctrine of universal love. The religious form of this doctrine - Moism - for several centuries competed in popularity with Confucianism.
So, it can be said with full justification that Laozi, Confucius and Mo-tzu, with their philosophical work, laid a solid foundation for the development of Chinese philosophy for many centuries to come.
Bibliography
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3.Lukyanov A.E. Lao Tzu and Confucius: The Philosophy of Tao. - M.: Eastern literature, 2001. - 384 p.
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