1 Lao Tzu

When Chinese archaeologists excavated the original work of "Lao Tzu" in the Warring States Period in 1993, they were surprised to find that we had read "Lao Tzu" for 2,000 years, which turned out to be the version after being tampered with by Han Confucianism. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info because the forgery has been widely spread, most of us today still study the Confucian forgery. Sad, or ridiculous.

The "Lao Tzu" we are studying today is the "Lao Tzu" proofread by the metaphysician Wang Bi

The worldview of metaphysics is based on nothing and the end of being. This was proposed by Wang Bi. This is a 'play' of Lao Tzu's idea of 'having out of nothing', not development.

Lao Tzu advocates non-action, but Lao Tzu's nature (i.e., world view) is not based on nothing, but 'the door of all wonders'. In the vernacular, it's ---- too mysterious to figure out. Some people will say that if you don't understand, it's also called a worldview? The author would like to say that Lao Tzu's worldview is the most accurate worldview known. Nature is wonderful, and humans simply don't know it completely. But one thing is certain, the more human beings recognize it, the more they will benefit.

The core philosophical conclusion of Lao Tzu is that "man is the law of the earth, the earth is the law of the sky, the heaven is the law of the Tao, and the Tao is the law of nature." The focus here is not on Taoism and nature, but on deriving "human law and nature".

"Man" refers to human beings, and the core philosophical conclusion of Lao Tzu actually refers to the fact that human society obeys the laws of the natural world.

Lao Tzu further said: "The sky is clear; The land has a single enin; All things come to life at once". That is the other way around, "all things will be destroyed without life", which means that if you do not obey the objective law, you will only perish.

Speaking of which, some people will be entangled in the fact that Lao Tzu's natural laws are different from the natural laws we know today. In fact, no matter whether Lao Tzu thinks that nature is one yin and one yang, or impermanent, or mysterious, this is just his own perception of objective nature. There is no need to read too much into this.

Metaphysics advocates Lao Tzu, that is, advocating Lao Tzu's human law and nature. But the Jin Dynasty's perception of nature has changed. Lao Tzu believes that nature is mysterious and mysterious, while metaphysicians believe that the laws of nature are "based on nothing". Therefore, metaphysicians believe that man must obey the natural law of nothingness. This is still the law of man. Therefore, Feng Youlan sees metaphysics as a branch of Taoism.

Sun Sheng, a metaphysician of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, criticized Lao Tzu not only for not being a saint, but also for not even counting a "great sage" in "The Theory of Lao Dan Fei Daxian". Sun Sheng's first point of criticism is that "(Lao Tzu) the way of the underworld is not completely natural, and the application is not the same." It means that Lao Tzu did not understand nature (law). Why did Sun Sheng say that? The essence of this is that metaphysics and Lao Tzu's cognition of the laws of nature are different. The human law of the same purpose is natural, but due to the change of natural cognition, the final conclusion is also different.

Today's people believe that the laws of nature are objective science, and today's talk about human law naturally means that society is subordinate to objective science.

Therefore, Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" argues that the development of human society must conform to the objective world, emphasizing that the social outlook is subordinate to the world view. Lao Tzu sees the world from the perspective of society, that is, from the perspective of human beings.

The greatest contribution of the Tao Te Ching is to expound the impact of the objective world on human society, emphasizing that the development of human society must conform to the objective world, and emphasizing that the social outlook is subordinate to the world view. The so-called "virtue does nothing and does nothing", people follow nature and do nothing, but they can do nothing!

As a direct official of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Lao Tzu proceeded from the interests of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty court and preached the idea of a small country and a widow. Regardless of whether the Qin State or the Qi State is sealed, if they only seal a castle, they will not be able to do anything big, and the Zhou Dynasty will be stable. This idea sounds right at first glance, but it is divorced from reality, not to mention that there are powerful countries outside the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it is said that only the princes of one city and one place, with the support of new agricultural science and technology, driven by interests, can also become powerful.

However, the Tao Te Ching vividly expounds the influence of the objective world (Tao) on people. Tao and morality, planning the world with a world view and a social view, have had a huge impact on various ideological trends in later generations.

Lao Tzu said: It is the rule of the saints, the law of man, the law of the earth, the law of the sky, the law of the heavens, and the law of nature.

Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs; The saints are unkind, and they use the people as dogs.

The road is wasted, and there is benevolence and righteousness.

Absolute sainthood and abandonment of wisdom, the people benefit a hundred times; Absolute benevolence and abandonment of righteousness, and the people restore filial piety. (This sentence has been used to criticize Confucianism for 2,000 years, but this sentence is forged by the Western Han Dynasty.) In October 1993, the Warring States Bamboo Slips were discovered, the original text was: Absolute wisdom and abandonment of defense, the people's benefits are 100 times; Never hypocrisy and abandon worries, and restore filial piety to the people. ）

Please note to the reader: all that Lao Tzu is talking about here is the whole 'people', a collective, that is, a human society, not an individual person! This shows that Lao Tzu himself is discussing the relationship between world view and social view.

At this time, we can clearly see the most basic difference between Taoism and Confucianism.

Taoism believes in the subordination of the social outlook to the worldview.

Confucianism believes in the subordination of the outlook on life to the outlook on society.

Huang Lao Taoist believes that the social concept is subordinate to nature, that is, human society obeys the laws of nature, what is this natural law? From today's point of view, it is natural science. Whether it is the construction of a small boat or the construction of a nuclear power plant, if objective conditions are not followed, people will die with good intentions. Utopian things that go against the laws of nature cannot be done.

Lao Tzu believed that society should obey the laws of nature, so he denied the laws of society. Lao Tzu said: Loss of morality followed by virtue, loss of virtue followed by benevolence, loss of benevolence followed by righteousness, loss of righteousness followed by courtesy. What Lao Tzu denies here is not benevolence and righteousness, but disagreement with social laws.

To interpret Lao Tzu's saying is to say: if this person does not act according to the laws of nature, he can only use "virtue" to protect himself; If this person does not have morality, he can only engage in interpersonal relations (benevolence); Even if you lack benevolence, you can only rely on worshipping the son (righteousness); If you are unkind and unjust, then you have to swear before the gods.

By extrapolation, as long as you are a virtuous and good person, you don't need to be full of benevolence and righteousness before doing things, and you will naturally do good deeds. Obedience to virtue is naturally benevolent and righteous, and obedience to the Tao is naturally virtuous.

In an ideal state, as long as things are done according to the objective laws of nature, social governance can be done well, but the "ideal state" in this physics laboratory does not exist. Society has its own laws.

Confucianism, on the other hand, believes in the obedience of the individual to the social law, and the social law summarized by Confucianism is the benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism. People have to compromise with society, and our parents are old and useless one day, and we can't abandon them because of this. Natural selection, the survival of the fittest is an objective law of the world, but not a social law.

Obedience to the laws of nature is a common trait of human beings; Obedience to the laws of society is the personality of human beings.

Taoism and Confucianism are mutually countervailing when viewed separately, and complementing each other when viewed side by side. Therefore, Chinese culture is a fusion of Confucianism and Taoism, and in the era of "exact" social morality, it is Confucianism and Taoism; In an era when social morality is not accurate, it is the outer way and the inner Confucianism. (Today, China's society is shifting from a small-scale peasant society to a commercial society, the details of social morality are changing, and the culture tends to be outward and internally Confucian).

Human beings are inherently adaptable to nature and respect morality. Metaphysicians jumped out of Confucianism and Taoism and refined "Confucianism and Confucianism", which is unique.

Western individualism is the mainstream, advocating natural selection and survival of the fittest, so Lao Tzu is more popular in the West than Confucius.

The meaning of Lao Tzu is endless, and often incredible. It is a valuable textbook on human behavior. This book says it all. -- John Gogh

A representative of the ancient world of the East. -- Hegel

Every German family buys a copy of the Chinese Tao Te Ching to help solve people's confusion. -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder

Perhaps we will burn all the books except the Tao Te Ching, and find a summary of wisdom in the Tao Te Ching. - Will Duran

Metaphysicians do not fully accept "Lao Tzu". They are more likely to accept Lao Tzu's theory of the laws of nature, and no longer use the vision of "Tao" to explore society, but to explore human nature with the perspective of Tao. In today's words, it is to explore the individual's obedience and use of the objective world.

Therefore, we found that metaphysics people occasionally have some micro-remarks about Lao Tzu. Metaphysicians do not agree with Lao Tzu's ultimate political conclusion: the idea of a small country and a widowed people. Wang Bi believes that small countries and widows are sacrificing their roots.

Even in the most prosperous period of metaphysics, Lao Tzu's status was not as high as that of Confucius, and metaphysicians still called Confucius a sage. When it was necessary to pull Confucius into the metaphysical circle, he even criticized Lao Tzu for being ignorant of the Tao, so he kept shouting. (This is a well-known allusion, and he represents a very important idea, which we will talk about in detail when we encounter it later.) ）

2 Zhuangzi

In the Wei and Jin dynasties, metaphysicians not only admired Laozi, but also Zhuangzi. Metaphysicians promoted Zhuangzi to the position of "sub-sage" second only to Confucius, while most metaphysicians only recognized Laozi as a "great sage". It was mentioned above that Sun Sheng even tasted Lao Tzu as a "sage". The worship of metaphysics is Zhuang rather than Lao, because Zhuangzi is to explore human nature.

Zhuangzi was the first to propose that "heaven and man are one and the same". The "heaven" here in Zhuangzi is not the Confucian way of heaven, but the natural way of heaven as mentioned in "Laozi". He believes that man himself is a part of nature, and should also conform to the laws of nature, which is that cattle and horses do not need to be fed by people; It can also live strongly, and the grass and trees can grow very lush without being watered. Man is also a product of nature, and it is necessary to conform to nature.

Lao Tzu discussed the obedience of society to the laws of nature. Zhuangzi acknowledges the Tao of Lao Tzu, but he explores the individual man's conformity to the laws of nature.

Starting from the perspective of the theory of human nature (individual), Zhuangzi only studies the influence of the objective world on (individual) people, discusses the relationship between world view and outlook on life, and emphasizes that human nature obeys nature, then it is free and self-forgetful.

In the history of the pre-Qin period, "Zhuangzi" had no sect or faction, and it was outside the various factions. Before the Wei and Jin dynasties, there were few mentions of this book, and even if there were individual mentions, it was because the book "Zhuangzi" was outstanding in writing, and individual passages were quoted in other people's articles. Taoism has always been dominated by Huang Lao, and does not attach importance to the Zhuangzi.

Zhuangzi was a wealthy man, Sima Qian recorded that he wrote more than 100,000 words, in ancient times, a bamboo slip could type 1,200 characters, a book had to be pulled by an ox cart, and how many craftsmen were needed to make a book for 100,000 words, and how many senior craftsmen were required to engrave the characters for it. The advanced craftsmen of ancient lettering can be different from the people who carve stone tablets today, the ancient sages did not write a word, only spoke with their mouths, and these craftsmen carved on bamboo slips. So these craftsmen are literate, and even I think these people are the descendants of non-descendant nobles.

Zhuangzi lectured on the theory of human nature and was a pioneer of free thought in China. And his books will only be recognized when there is a mass emergence of high-end class people like him. Therefore, it was not until after the Wei and Jin dynasties that Zhuangzi was valued by the mature scholar class. It was also during this period that the Zhuangzi Notes became popular, indicating that the scholars began to pay attention to him.

As mentioned earlier, the 'people' mentioned in the book "Lao Tzu" are all people, not individual 'people'. This shows that Lao Tzu himself is discussing the relationship between world view and social view. And all that Zhuangzi talks about is "people".

In the Wei and Jin dynasties, metaphysicians not only admired Laozi, but also admired Zhuangzi, because Zhuangzi started from the theory of human nature, only studied the influence of the objective world on the individual 'man', discussed the relationship between world view and outlook on life, and emphasized that human nature obeys nature, then it is free and selfless.

"Zhuangzi, Miscellaneous, Let the King" is considered by many to be the most absurd. At the beginning of this article, it was said that Yao wanted to give the world to the father and son of Zizhou. The father of the state branch said that it was okay to let me be the son of heaven, but I was suffering from a deep and stubborn disease, and I was planning to treat it seriously. There is no free time to rule the world!

Shun wants to let the world give Zizhou Zhibo. Zizhou Zhibo said, I am suffering from a very deep and stubborn disease, and I am planning to treat it seriously, and I have no extra time to govern the world!

Shun gave the world to Shanjuan again. Zenmaki said, "I am in the middle of the universe, wearing soft fur in winter and thin kudzu cloth in summer. In the spring, the plough is planted and planted, and the body can withstand such labor; Harvesting and storing in autumn is fully sufficient for provisions. When the sun rises, they go down to work; When the sun goes down, they return home and rest in peace. Living between heaven and earth without restraint, and the pleasure in my heart can only be received by myself, how can I use it to rule the world. ”

Whether it is a branch father or a branch uncle, they will not be ordinary people, they should be high-ranking tribal chiefs themselves.

If Heaven says to a group of billionaires, if you are given the choice to be emperor for one year, you will live another 30 years. If these billionaires don't have water in their brains, they won't be emperors. And if you find a hundred beggars and ask them if they will die after being emperor for a year, or will they continue to live like this for another thirty years? There may be some people who stand up and choose to be emperor for a year.

Some people say that Zhuangzi attaches importance to life and enjoys life, and must have a certain material foundation as a backing. For those who are wealthy and have a material foundation to back them, one more day of peace and stability is to stay in heaven one more day. Value life and enjoy life.

This is because we do not understand Zhuangzi, who explores the essence of human nature. Don't say that his freedom must have a certain material basis. For example, even if a person is extremely lazy and throws him on an isolated island, he will be diligent in looking for food; Even if a person is extremely diligent, he will show a lazy side when he opens his mouth for clothes and food, and he will come as soon as he thinks about it.

Zhuangzi explores the essence of human nature. Therefore, in order to pursue the essence of anything, we must put aside all objective pressures and look at things ideally. If we only focus on human nature itself, human nature pursues freedom and freedom.

Zhuangzi's remarks sound unbelievable, but in fact they are because the masses have not reached his level.

The old doctrine of freedom may even sound absurd, but it is like love, justice, and even solidarity. These doctrines, at the time of their origin, were very naïve. In ancient civilizations, tribal 'unity' was even achieved by wizards pretending to be ghosts. However, with the improvement of people's level of cognition, the doctrine of freedom has become extremely brilliant, like a ball of clay that can be turned into fine porcelain.

In the Wei and Jin dynasties, the scholars rose to become the main 'group'. Metaphysics also discusses the relationship between the outlook on life and nature, so metaphysics admires Zhuangzi more. Zhuangzi's Getaway is a masterpiece of the relationship between human nature and world view.

Zhuangzi values life and enjoys life. I have to say that liberals, called individualism in the West, advocate freedom in their outlook on life. The concept of freedom should be embraced by the Confucian outlook on life.

The metaphysicians put "Laozi" and "Zhuangzi" together, using the old to explain the Zhuang and the non-existent as the foundation, opening up the ancient Chinese doctrine of freedom. Of course, it's still far from perfect.

Due to the growth of the small peasants and the disappearance of the aristocratic class, he did not develop independently. But metaphysics had a huge influence on Confucianism and Buddhism. When people have a certain amount of material security and get rid of food and clothing, they will inevitably receive attention when they attach importance to life and enjoy life. Confucianism and Buddhism had to pay attention to the Zhuangzi.

Zhu Xi said that there are many important ideas in Buddhism that plagiarize "Zhuangzi", and even Chen Yinke said: "Buddhism adopts the righteousness of Zhou Yi and Lao Zhuang to help it succeed."

In fact, Buddhism originally had its own things, and plagiarism could not be talked about, but it did draw a lot of money. When Buddhism entered China, the initial purpose was to meditate on suffering, and Shakyamuni said, "All living beings are suffering." The monk said, "Bear the hardships honestly, and take you to the Western Elysium after you die."

Later, "Buddha nature and epiphany" were extracted from metaphysics, which made it show a trace of transcendence. Even some important Buddhist teachings were written by metaphysicians. In the later period of Huan Wen, there was an important strategist named Xi Chao. He wrote the famous "Observance of the Law". The Essentials of the Fa is an important document in the history of Chinese Buddhist doctrine. He advocated the use of the five precepts of Buddhism to "check the form" and the ten virtues to "guard against the heart", believing that good and evil are rewarded, and heaven and hell are all related to the heart, emphasizing that people must "be cautious and independent of the heart, and prevent small considerations from the beginning", and explained the philosophy of life that has been outstanding and detached into a moral doctrine of governing the mind and following goodness, and put the moral role of Buddhism in the first place.

Confucianists believe that Buddhism is a plagiarism of metaphysics because they do not understand the relationship between metaphysics and religion. The relationship between metaphysics and Buddhism is equivalent to the relationship between Confucianism and Taoism, with both external contradictions and internal complementarities. This is also the focus of this book after the introduction of Buddhism. Confucian scholars from small-scale peasant societies would not have been able to recognize this phenomenon, including Chen Yinge.

Zhuangzi also had a deep influence on Confucianism, the early Confucianism paid more attention to the cultivation of life, after the Tang and Song dynasties, absorbed Zhuangzi's research on human nature, and increased the content of human nature cultivation.

Lao Tzu explores the subordination of society to the laws of nature, that is, the subordination of social outlook to the worldview.

Zhuangzi explores the subordination of the individual to the laws of nature, that is, the subordination of the outlook on life to the worldview.

Zhuangzi's theory is that the "individual" obeys Lao Tzu's "Tao". The Zhuangzi is at the heart of metaphysics, embodying the exploration of human nature.