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Humanity Call from the Deep History – Filial Piety
Original title: “Sun Haiyan, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences:Humanity Call from the Deep History – Filial Piety”
Speaker:Human Haiyan
Source: “Yi Mo Book Room” WeChat public number
Time: Confucius was in the 2570s, the 19th month of the Gengzi Gengzi
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Confucian filial piety is like a fertility record, imprinted in the hearts of every traditional Chinese. Filial piety is the energy identification of the Chinese people, the “mood” of the Chinese people, and the background color of the Chinese civilization. Li Chenyang, a contemporary scholar who has been abroad for many years, said that if you want to find a problem with the greatest contrast in social ethics between China and the West, it should be about family filial piety.
▼Sun Haiyan, an associate professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Religious Research, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, and a Ph.D., has served as the intermediate director of the National Research and Research Department of Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences. Research areas: Confucian philosophy, Chinese thinking history.
——Why is filial piety unique to the Chinese people?
——What stages has filial piety experienced during the mentality of human beings?
——Why did the Chinese people choose filial piety historically?
——After various criticisms since the May Fourth Movement, how should we examine the traditional filial piety of Confucianism from the beginning in the development of world civilization and comparison with other civilizations?
In Qingyuan Book Drinking Nose Festival·Yun Book Drinking Nose Month, I will give you a gift to my friend Dr. Sun Haiyan, associate professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Religious Research, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, from the 13th class of the public welfare class of high-end Traditional Civilization, to discuss the thoughts, historical occurrences and modern reflections of Confucian filial piety.
The following is high-end traditional civilization national welfareClass 13th class excerpt:
(This article is about 2,500 words, and the reading time is expected to be 2 hours)
1. Filial piety: The unique energy identification of the Chinese people
(I) Filial piety is the foundation of Confucian virtue and the foundation of practice
Confucianism advocates the guidance of benevolence, righteousness, gift, wisdom, trustworthiness, loyalty, filial piety and other moral qualities, but filial piety is the most basic item of various virtues and is the development point of human moral cultivation.
As a Chinese, you can best feel your parents’ love for their descendants, as well as their gratitude and longing for their parents. There is such a saying in “People”: “Sorrow your parents, and I have been born with me. … If you want to report your virtue, the sky will be invincible.” It is about the kindness of our parents to nourish us, and we have been unable to answer the questions throughout our lives. It is precisely from this kind of ungrateful and unkindness to parents that Confucianism has a basic consensus: “Those who do not love their destiny but love others are disobedient; those who do not respect their destiny but respect others are disobedient.” Confucianism believes that life is in the six senses, and the most direct favors that often come from the care of their own parents. If you are born as a human being, if your parents who have nurtured you and even sacrificed your entire life for you do not respect and be grateful. This is contrary to your humanity and morality, and it is unconvincing. On the contrary, if a person is not filial to his parents, and is ungrateful and respectful to him, the master will find it very strange, and even wonder if you are thinking of drawing something else behind your back, because it is very abnormal in Confucianism and is against the mortal nature.
In “The Book of Thoughts·Study and Learning”, Confucius’s son said: “The correct person’s strength is based on the foundation, and the way is born. What is filial piety and brotherhood? Is it the basis of benevolence?” To achieve a good moral character, he should first grasp some of the most basic things before he can embark on the Confucian way. What is the most basic foundation of Confucianism? It is filial piety and brotherhood, that is, filial piety to parents and brotherhood. Here, the master should pay attention to the word “for” in the sentence “it is the basis of benevolence” and should not be translated into “yes”, but should be read in a link with the word “benevolence” – “for benevolence”, which means seeking benevolence and realizing benevolence.
Mencius also said that “If you don’t have to be wise, you won’t be considered a person; if you don’t have to be wise, you won’t be considered a son.” A parent who is unfilial to himself will fall into basic personal qualifications. He also believed that a righteous person had “three joys”, and the first joy was “parents all live, brothers had no reason”, which means that for a person, as long as his parents still live, brothers had no big changes, it was a happy event in life. I remember that in a TV interview program, the person in charge visited a personDirector: “What do you think is the happiest thing in life?” The director replied: Every time I come home, I can still shout my mother when I enter the door, and someone can answer. This is the happiest thing in my life. I think this answer is very moving and suitable for the basic energy of Confucianism.
In “The Psalm of the Garden”, Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty recorded a few sentences that a woodcutter said when his mother was about to die. They were very elegant and gave people a feeling of purity. He said, “When we cry and shout, my voice is clamoring, how can my mother not behave?” So, we Chinese can especially experience the true feelings between parents and daughters. Filial piety can be said to be valuable, and women know that this is closely related to the long-term Confucian customs. Teacher Liang Shuming once said: “It is true to say that Chinese civilization is a civilization of filial piety.” Another famous modern neo-Confucian scholar, Xu Hui, also said: “The highest concept of Chinese thinking, which takes Confucianism as the right, is benevolence, and the most meaningful social life is filial piety.” I think this sentence is very good.
The sentence “Filial piety and brotherhood are the basis of benevolence” involves two focus concepts of Confucianism, one is “filial piety” and the other is “benevolence”. Which of the two is more important? I think this is the case. If one word is used to study the focus of the energy of comprehensive Confucianism, it is of course “benevolence”. Because there are many secondary virtues on “benevolence”, such as wisdom, loyalty, fraternity, courage, righteousness, etc., which certainly also include filial piety, but they only emphasize a certain side of “benevolence”. In more cases, “benevolence” is a concept that expresses “full virtue”, that is, only when all virtues are combined into one is called “benevolence”. Confucius said, “The benevolent must have courage, and the brave do not need be kind”; we can also say, “The benevolent must have filial piety, and the filial piety do not need be kind.” In response to it, “benevolence” points to a state of energy that “becomes oneself and becomes something”, which is a very high moral character and realm. Confucius himself also said, “If the sage and benevolence are, I dare to do so.” He believed that he could not meet the request for “benevolence”. The relationship between “filial piety” and “benevolence” is the root of a tree, which is the primary development and expression in the growth process of this tree. Can “benevolence” be the tree’s tree? no. “Ren” is not any specific part of a tree. If it is not for comparison, it can only be said that “Ren” is the seed of a tree. It includes everything in the future of this tree and is the inner vitality of this tree. From this meaning, benevolence is the most basic foundation of filial piety. Filial piety is only the manifestation of benevolence’s inner vitality in the primary level of humanity, so it is the most basic. It can be seen that the “foundation” of “benevolence” should mean “basic” and “development”, and it does not fail to simply say that “filial piety” is more important and most basic than “benevolence”.
I remember having a partner came to ask me: Since filial piety is the most ba