This section examines the worldview of metaphysics. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Huan Wen said to Yin Hao: "You have been talking to me about metaphysics for three days, but you are only talking about the periphery, and you have not talked about the specific content of metaphysics. ”

Yin Hao said: "If you don't explain the ins and outs of metaphysics, you will be taught the inner theory of metaphysics, and you will be confused." ”

Huan Wen asked: "Today's Xuanzhi is politically dedicated to the rule of non-action, is this the same as the rule of non-action of Taoism in the early Han Dynasty?" ”

Yin Hao said: "The rule of inaction in the early Han Dynasty was only a specific measure of Taoism under certain conditions. He does not represent the Taoist concept of statecraft. The Taoist tenet is that society obeys Lao Tzu's natural laws. But Lao Tzu's natural law (world view) is: "The opposite Tao moves, and the weak use the Tao." Nature is fickle and mysterious; The effect on society is subtle and silent. Therefore, the guiding program of Huang Lao Taoism is to follow the changes and judge the situation. Taoists choose different options in different situations. For example, Guan Zhong's and cautious statecraft are different from those of the early Han Dynasty. ”

"The rule of inaction is just a plan of governance of Huang Lao Taoism in a specific period. The situation has changed, and the plan has to change with it. Huan Wen thought thoughtfully.

"Yes," Yin Hao said, "and the natural laws (worldview) of metaphysics are unchanging, based on nothing. Therefore, the rule of inaction is the unchanging political program of metaphysicians. ”

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 that 'all things in the world are born from being, and some are born from nothing', not development. Because Lao Tzu's most general conclusion on the "Tao" --- mysterious and mysterious, and it is impossible to know.

And the worldview of metaphysics is clear——— based on nothing! "Virtualize" the world. In this way, although both Tao and Xuan are subordinate to nature, these two natural laws are different.

Wang Bi, a 20-year-old scholar of metaphysics, summed up the worldview of metaphysics, and on the basis of He Yan's "making something out of nothing", he summarized the laws of nature as "based on nothing". At this point, metaphysics can be independent of the hundred schools of thought and has its own theory.

Feng Youlan believes that metaphysics is a branch of Taoism. The Taoist tenet is that society obeys the laws of nature, while the metaphysical tenet is that the individual obeys the laws of nature. The "laws of nature" advocated by the two are fundamentally different, and metaphysics "virtualizes" nature, which is the introduction to individualism, which is self-contained.

Although there is an in-depth discussion of the laws of nature in Laozi's book, such as the way of heaven, there is more than enough to make up for the deficiency; The movement of the opposite is the use of the weak. Lao Tzu explored many manifestations of natural laws, but he did not clearly point out what the so-called "Tao" of this natural law was, which is where Lao Tzu is difficult to understand now.

Coincidentally, pre-Qin Confucianism did not give a specific explanation of the way of heaven, which is one of the highlights of Chinese philosophy, which is very rigorous in doing scholarship, knowing is knowing, and not knowing is not knowing (Western religions are different, God is a "prophet" and cannot have anything that it does not know). Religion must determine what the way of heaven is: nature is created by God, and the laws of nature are God's will. ）。

If you want to understand metaphysics, you first have to understand Wang Bi. After Wang Su quoted the "Dao" to aid Confucianism, people began to study what this "Dao" (the law of nature) was.

Wang Bi gave a metaphysical answer, this Tao is "nothing". Among metaphysics, Wang Bi's doctrine had the greatest influence. The mainstream worldview of metaphysics is the 'nothing-based' proposed by Wang Bi. This argument opens the door to metaphysics.

Metaphysics is the theory of the subordination of the individual to the worldview. Therefore, this "nothing-oriented" worldview is very important. He became the ultimate guide to metaphysics on political theory and personal development.

(1) Taking inaction as the foundation requires politics to adopt inaction. Elevate the rule of inaction to a political platform.

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 that 'all things in the world are born from being, and some are born from nothing', not development. Because Lao Tzu's most general conclusion on the "Tao" is --- mysterious and mysterious, and it cannot be fully understood, which is correct.

Wang Bi said that everything in the world is originally static, and no matter how you push him, he will eventually be still. So it's better not to push than not to push. He also boldly extended and criticized Confucianism: no matter how benevolent you treat the lowly, the lowly will still be lowly in the end. Therefore, "promising" is not as good as "inaction", so it is necessary to "brake with stillness, govern the country with quietness, and govern by inaction".

In order to demonstrate the political proposition of "ruling the people with the king", Wang Bi used the relationship between one and many to demonstrate the inevitability of "ruling the people with a few" and "ruling the people with one". Wang Bi believes that "one is the mainstay" is the "inevitable principle" and universal law of the universe, and the people must be unified with the king. He said, "Zong, the Lord of all things; Jun, the Lord of all things. ”

The core interest of the lord of the manor is the accumulation of wealth. However, the wealth generated by the estate came mainly from surplus grain, cloth, wine, and fruit. These things were not easy to store and had to be exchanged for currency in a timely manner, so the lords of the estates needed a relaxed political environment. Need for mobility and commerce. The government's 'rule by inaction' is the best support for social mobility.

The social reality of the two Jin Dynasty is that under the current level of science and technology, the manor economy represents the highest productivity of the society. Therefore, in all aspects, the society must revolve around how to better adapt to the development of the manor economy.

At that time, the manor economy ensured the survival of the vast number of poor people to the greatest extent, protected the increase of the wealth of the nobles, and ensured the increase of royal taxes to the greatest extent.

It is difficult to understand the importance of ensuring the payment of taxes to the royal family, and throughout the two Jin dynasties, "soil breaking" was a big problem for the royal family. Later scholars believed that the nobles hindered the increase in royal taxes. In fact, from another point of view, there are still a large number of tax evasion and tax evasion in today's large enterprise economy, and the proportion of taxes levied by the state on them is much smaller than that of small enterprises. However, this does not change the role of large enterprises as the main body of state taxation. Because they represent the highest technology, the highest productivity.

The low percentage of taxes levied on the estates led to the homesteaders even becoming dependent on the estates.

For the royal family, the central interest was to collect taxes to the maximum extent possible for their enjoyment without causing social unrest. Therefore, no matter how much he hated the nobles asking him for privileges, he could only support the manor economy more cooperatively.

One of the purposes of the Jin law, which was nearly 80% lower than that of the Han Dynasty, was to give power to the lord of the manor, so that the owner of the manor could better manage the manor, so as to achieve the maximum increase in taxes under the condition of social stability.

However, there are additions to the Jin Law. Let's look at that "miscellaneous crime." This law was not available in the Han Dynasty, but was added to the Jin law. "Miscellaneous crimes" ensured the authority of the nobles in the manor.

This law was not in the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Guangwu issued an edict as soon as he came to power, stipulating that the world valued people, and that any act of harming the body of slaves was equivalent to harming civilians, and that it must be punished, and no form of reduction was allowed. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty issued an edict in 35 A.D. "The nature of heaven and earth, man is precious." The crime of killing slaves and maidservants shall not be reduced. ”

In the Western Jin Dynasty, without this "miscellaneous crime", it would be difficult for the scholars to manage the tribes, guests and tenants in the manor. That is to say, if the lord of the manor orders someone to discount a leg, he will only be fined. For the tribes, the formation of a legitimate terror in the manor is conducive to the organization and allocation of production activities by the lord of the manor. (The privileges of the lord of the manor can only be weakened when the manor tax is no longer the main tax of the state.) In the Tang Dynasty, the famous poetess Yu Xuanji was sentenced to death by the government because she beat her slave girl to death because of jealousy. ）

Under the manor system, the nobles had held the lifeblood of the country's production for generations, and had the capital to ask the royal family for more privileges. A new idea that is more conducive to safeguarding the interests of the nobles was born. Metaphysics is one of the representatives.

(2) Requiring individuals to be free to do so based on nothing.

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

Wang Bi draws out Zhuangzi and looks at the world from a personal perspective. Starting from the 'theory of human nature', Wang Bi only attaches importance to the 'Tao' in the Tao Te Ching, and criticizes Lao Tzu's above views as 'respecting the essence and the end'. We should 'respect the basics and the end', and pay attention to the fundamentals in order to make the branches and leaves grow better. It is believed that people should master and use the 'Tao' in order to achieve individual freedom and do as they please.

Wang Bi emphasized that the outlook on life should grasp and make use of the 'objective world'. There is a relationship between this and his teacher Wang Su. Wang Su proposed, "Survival and misfortune are all one's own." Natural disasters and earth demons cannot be added. "If you worship the Tao and virtue, the saint will come."

Metaphysics explores human nature, believing that human beings are the same as other living beings (Zhuangzi: Heaven and Man are one and the same). Starting from the naturalness of human nature, so that the natural way of heaven, the laws of nature or the worldview are the primary components of metaphysics.

'Nothing as the foundation' is really groundbreaking for Chinese classical liberalism!

This is the pioneering doctrine of liberalism (called individualism in the West). The world is nothing, so what is "there"?!

Right! Only you and I "have", and only 'self' is there.

The focus of metaphysics is no longer on society, but on the individual (self), which is the origin of individualism.

Early individualism simply brought the 'man' out of the world. Although individualists advocate that "self" exists, metaphysicians have not yet clearly deduced it, and only stay at 'nothing'.

At this time, the mainstream of Western philosophy was Plotinus, the representative of the Neo-Platonic school, who 'all things in one life', and in the future, 'all things will be one'. Many people explain that his one (theone) is actually zero. This is similar to Lao Tzu's "Heaven must be clear; The land has a single enin; God has one Spirit; The grain has to be profitable, and all things have to be born" how similar. It was only after the Enlightenment that Western philosophy began to enter into in-depth study.

"Nothing as the foundation" opened up the study of "existentialism" in the East. "Existentialism" is a major topic of what Kant's so-called first philosophy in the West.

Let's not evaluate it with Confucian glasses, but just make a simple understanding.

Individualism classics: I think, therefore I am. (My suspicion only affirms my existence, and the rest is 'general suspicion'.)

Hegel said: "Man comes from nothingness to being in the world, and consciousness thus becomes a being 'self-being'." ”

Today, the highest elaboration of 'ontology' in the West comes from Husserl (1859-1938) and Heidegger (1889-1976). The doctrines of their masters and apprentices are slightly different, and they are all very complex, but the main body is similar.

Husserl believed that the world is a phenomenon (similar to nothing), that only the 'self' is real, and that everything is a "transcendental self".

Heidegger argues that since Plato, the 'being' has been wrongly equated with all beings, and Western philosophy has gone further and further in this error. He believes that only the 'self' is 'here'.

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.

Throughout the ages, Chinese Confucian scholars have studied the theory of human nature and the subordination of society, but he himself often jumps out of this category and shows a hint of hypocrisy. Just ask about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith, gentleness, courtesy, frugality, and how many people can do it all. Dadai, who wrote the Book of Rites, sighed: Completely act according to the Book of Rites, even Confucius and his old man can't do it.

Eat silently, sleep without speaking, and don't eat ten. Confucianism is managed from waking up to bedtime. There is no such thing as a 'gentleman' who only serves society. (Therefore, 'rites' should be cut down on a large scale, as long as it is in line with the 'interests of people')

Western scholars, on the other hand, study the relationship between the outlook on life and the worldview, so everything has to jump into this study, a priori self. 'I' don't fit in means that everyone doesn't fit in, showing excessive narrow-mindedness.

The metaphysicians used "Laozi" and "Zhuangzi" together, based on nothing, and opened up the doctrine of freedom in China. Of course, it is still very imperfect and has not developed independently, but it has had a huge impact on the development of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Of course, any doctrine is flawed, and the shortcomings of metaphysics are also very clear, and we are discussing them in the metaphysical theory of human nature.

Wang Bi's non-existent worldview has become the mainstream of metaphysics.

The worldview of metaphysics also has Pei's theory of reverence, but its influence is not great. Pei's theory of reverence is very influential in a very short period of time, because he was a powerful minister in that period. The biggest influence is Wang Bi's nothingness.

Because Pei Bi is Empress Jia's most talented relative, Pei Bi has been popular in the political arena. Wang Yan and Le Guang were the Nanshan Beidou in the metaphysical world at that time. From the bottom of their hearts, they opposed Pei's doctrine. Pei Bi opposed Wang Bi and He Yan's theory of making things out of nothing, and Le Guang thought that Pei Bi, who was only 30 years old, might become a long-term ruler, and it was very dangerous to hold this view, so he took the initiative to go to debate with Pei Bi more than a dozen times, hoping that he would change his views. Wang Yan, who is good at accidents, did not participate once, but he was very concerned about the matter, and after each debate, Wang Yan had to carefully ask Leguang about the details of the debate. Many years later, Wang Dun also criticized Pei Liang, thinking that he was even too far worse than Yu Liang. This was, of course, after Pei's death. It can be seen that Pei's theory of reverence has little influence.