Great Han Empire

Chapter 425 Confucianism and Zhou Rites

What is 'Confucianism'? _
Confucianism can be divided into Jinwen Confucianism and Ancient Chinese Confucianism
The last master of Jinwen Confucianism in my country is Kang Youwei
The last master of ancient Chinese classics is Zhang Taiyan
Jinwen Confucianism
One of the schools of classics.It is opposite to 'Ancient Classics'.It began in the early Western Han Dynasty.All classics in this article are written in the official script prevailing in the Han Dynasty.Jinwen Confucianism and Guwen Confucianism are different in the form of the scriptures, characters, and chapters, as well as in the important names, systems, explanations, etc. of the scriptures.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the suggestion of Dong Zhongshu, a master of Jinwen Confucianism, dismissed the doctors of biographies of all schools of thought, and only established a doctor of Five Classics, and established Confucianism as one.In the Han Dynasty, all the scriptures in today's texts were all equipped with doctors, and they had great influence.Jinwen Confucianism is also divided into factions. There are fourteen doctors in the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Yi" includes Shi, Meng, Liangqiu, and Jing. There are three schools, "Li" has two schools, Dai and Dai, and "Chunqiu Gongyang" has two schools, Yan and Yan.Jinwen Confucianism advocates generalizing the classics and applying them, combining with reality to elucidate the subtle meanings in the scriptures. For example, Jinwen Confucianism in the Han Dynasty often made arguments for politics, economy, and law at that time.After the Han Dynasty, it gradually declined. In the mid-to-late 18th century, Changzhou schools such as Zhuang Cunyu, Zhuang Shuzu, Liu Fenglu, and Song Xiangfeng discussed Jinwen Confucianism in the Western Han Dynasty. Later, Wei Yuan and Gong Zizhen ridiculed current affairs with classics, which promoted the development of Jinwen Confucianism.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Liao Ping, Pi Xirui, Kang Youwei, etc. vigorously advocated the study of Jinwen Confucian classics, and made public opinion preparations for the Reform Movement of [-].Jinwen Confucianism regards Confucius as a philosopher and political thinker, as a "commissioned" and "Su Wang", and advocates "restructuring from ancient times", and believes that the six classics are all made by Confucius.Its characteristic is that it pays attention to "minor words and great meanings", combines reality to elucidate the classics, and has rich philosophical and political thoughts. Its shortcoming is that it attaches the classics and even deifies Confucius and the classics.
Paleography
Confucian classics is an academic school that studies ancient Chinese classics.It is opposite to "Jinwen Confucianism".Ancient texts refer to the Confucian classics before Qin Shihuang unified China.During the burning period of the first emperor, folk Confucian scholars buried some ancient scriptures, and until the early Han Dynasty, they were discovered one after another. ancient scriptures discovered in theThe kings and others presented it to the court one after another and hid it in the secret mansion.Jinwen Jing refers to the scriptures and explanations recited by old Confucians in the early Han Dynasty and passed down orally, and recorded by disciples in the official script (Jinwen) at that time.At the time of Emperor Ai, Liu Xin was the secretary of the school, and found that not only the text of the ancient texts was different from the doctor's books established by the academic officials at that time, but some doctor's books were designated as the modern texts.He accused the Jinwenjing of burning books in the Qin Dynasty, leaving them incomplete.Based on this, Liu Xin asked the academic officials to set up the ancient classics "Mao Shi", "Zuo Zhuan" and Yi "Li".Due to the opposition of Dr. Taichang, Liu Xin left the capital.At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang wanted to usurp power and put forward the idea of ​​"Wang Tian" to nationalize the land. He used the statement about the well field system in "Zhou Li" as the basis for his current theory. "Zhou Li" belongs to the ancient scriptures, and the status of the ancient scriptures can be improved because of it.During the reign of Emperor Ping, five ancient Chinese doctors were appointed to fight against Jinwen Confucianism.At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu used prophecy to consolidate his political power. After he ascended the throne, he advocated modern writing and abolished ancient writing.The style of prophecy influenced the ancient and modern schools of Eastern Han Confucian classics.After the middle period, the study of ancient Chinese classics overwhelmed the study of modern classics, and famous masters of ancient Chinese classics such as David Hong, Jia Kui, Ma Rong, Xu Shen, etc., used their academics to win high officials.Or there are thousands of disciples, and the power is extremely strong.Ancient Chinese Confucianism denounces the hypocrisy of Chenwei attached to Jinwen Confucian Confucianism, and emphasizes the importance of textual exegesis for the management of classics.In order to accurately explain Confucian scriptures, scholars of ancient texts have done in-depth research on characters, phonology, and exegesis, and have put forward some valuable academic viewpoints, which are written as works. For example, Qi Xin believes that "Six Books" are the basic principles of Chinese characters, Yang Xiong's "Dialect" and Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" are all scientific to a certain extent. They are still the key to understanding ancient cultural classics and are valued by scholars.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan, a master of Confucianism, took ancient Chinese classics as his sect, and also adopted modern Chinese theories.In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong ordered Kong Yingda, the son of the state to sacrifice wine, to unify the divergent theories of the North and the South, and compiled 180 volumes of "Five Classics of Justice", which made the scholars of the Ming Dynasty abandon the views of the ancient and modern prose. Seeking righteousness directly from the scriptures, daring to doubt and think independently, has become "Song Xue".Confucian classics in the Ming Dynasty were weak and made few achievements.Until the Qing Dynasty, the methods used by Qianjia scholars were called "Sinology" and "Pu Xue". Regardless of the Wu School, the Wan School, and the Yangzhou School, they were all close to the Classical Classics.However, the Changzhou School inherited the Jinwen Confucianism of the Han Dynasty, based on "Gongyang Zhuan" and the works of Dong Zhongshu, He Xiu, etc., and expressed its historical philosophy and political attitude through the interpretation of Confucius' "Small Words and Great Meaning", which influenced Gong Zizhen, Wei Yuan, Kang Youwei, etc. thinker.After the ancients, the controversy over Confucian classics, modern and ancient prose came to an end.However, as different research methods and different attitudes towards ancient ideological and cultural classics, the influence of ancient Chinese classics and modern classics has not ended.

"Classification of classics and history" is the classification of classics by ancient Chinese scholars.
"Classic" refers to the dogma of politics, education, general ethics, and moral norms in ancient society, mainly Confucian classics, such as "Four Books and Five Classics", "Six Classics", "Thirteen Books", "Bai Hu Tong" and so on.
"History" refers to historical classics, such as "History", "Hanshu", "Three Kingdoms", "Zizhi Tongjian" and so on.
"Zi" refers to the studies of philosophers since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, such as "Xunzi", "Laozi", "Zhuangzi", "Lunheng" and so on.
"Collection" refers to the works of ancient poetry and prose, which are divided into general collections, anthologies, and separate collections, such as "Yuefu Poetry Collection", "Ancient Poetry Collection", "Quan Tang Poetry", "Guwen Guanzhi" and so on.
Ancient Chinese Etiquette Civilization VI
When it comes to Chinese etiquette culture, we must mention "Zhou Li", "Yi Li" and "Book of Rites", which are commonly referred to as the "three rituals". "Three Rites" is the theoretical form of ancient ritual and music culture. It is the most authoritative record and explanation of etiquette, etiquette and righteousness, and has the most profound influence on the etiquette system of all dynasties.
The Utopian Program of Human Law and Heaven——"Zhou Li"
During the time of Emperor Jing and Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu De, the king of Hejian, collected a batch of ancient books from the people, one of which was called "Zhou Guan", and the author was unknown.The original book should have six chapters: Tianguan, Diguan, Chunguan, Xiaguan, Qiuguan, and Dongguan.During Wang Mang's reign, at the request of Liu Xin, "Zhou Guan" was included in the list of academic officials and renamed "Zhou Li".At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan, a master of Confucian classics, made excellent annotations for "Zhou Li".Due to Zheng Xuan's high academic reputation, "Zhou Li" jumped to the top of "Three Rituals", becoming one of the brilliant canons of Confucianism.
[-]. Academic cases that have been litigated for thousands of years
"Zhou Li" is a work that expresses the plan of governing the country through the official system, and the content is extremely rich. The division of labor among the six officials in "Zhou Li" is roughly as follows: Tian officials are in charge of the court, local officials are in charge of civil affairs, spring officials are in charge of clans, summer officials are in charge of military affairs, autumn officials are in charge of punishment, and winter officials are in charge of construction, involving all aspects of social life. It is rare in ancient literature. The system of rituals recorded in "Zhou Li" is the most systematic, including national ceremonies such as sacrifices, pilgrimage, feudalism, hunting tours, funerals, etc. The specific regulations of the jade system and so on, as well as the records of the grade, combination, shape and degree of various ritual vessels.Many institutions are found only in this volume and are therefore especially valuable.
When "Zhou Li" was first published, for unknown reasons, even some high-status Confucian scholars were hidden in the secret mansion without even seeing it, and no one has ever known about it.It was not until the time of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty that Liu Xiang, Xin and his son collated and managed the documents in the secret mansion that this book was rediscovered and recorded.Liu Xin admired this book very much, and believed that it was written by Duke Zhou, and it was "the trace of Duke Zhou's peace".At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Du Zichun, Liu Xin's disciple, taught the study of "Zhou Li".
It is a pity that, for such an important work, it is impossible to determine which dynasty or generation it was authored by.The title of this book is "Zhou Guan". Liu Xin said that it was the official system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but there is no direct proof in the book.What's more troublesome is that the Confucian classics such as "Yi", "Poetry", "Book", "Yili" and "Spring and Autumn", which were established by academic officials in the Western Han Dynasty, all have a teacher-student relationship. ", "Confucian Biography" have clear records, nothing to say.However, "Zhou Li" was suddenly discovered in the Western Han Dynasty, and there is no trace of its transmission and acceptance, and there is no mention of this book in the pre-Qin literature.Scholars of the past dynasties have engaged in long-lasting debates on this, and formed at least six theories, including the theory of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the theory of the Spring and Autumn Period, the theory of the Warring States Period, the theory of the transition between Qin and Han, the theory of the early Han Dynasty, and the theory of Wang Mang's fake works.Famous ancient Confucians, as well as modern scholars such as Liang Qichao, Hu Shi, Gu Jiegang, Qian Mu, Qian Xuantong, Guo Moruo, Xu Fuguan, Du Guoxiang, Yang Xiangkui and other famous scholars have all participated in this discussion, and the great influence can be seen.
As the opinion of the mainstream school, ancient and modern times are different.Most of the ancient scholars believed that Liu Xin and Zheng Xuanzhi were the classics of Duke Zhou.Sun Yirang, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty, believes that the book "Zhou Li" is a canon system since the Yellow Emperor and Zhuanxu, "considering profit and loss, inheriting and accumulating, so as to concentrate on civil and military affairs, and its great method of managing the world, so it is salty" ("Zhou Li Justice") "Preface"), is the quintessence of the five emperors to Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou.Ancient scholars regarded the Five Emperors and the Three Dynasties as the age of sages, the pinnacle of governance, and then the age of decline.The Duke of Zhou was the culmination of the five emperors and three generations. It is very natural for the ancients to attribute the copyright of "Zhou Li" to the Duke of Zhou.
Most modern scholars oppose this view of history of the ancients.Judging from the literature, there are relatively concentrated records of the pre-Qin official system, including the "Zhou Guan" chapter of "Shangshu" and the "Wang Zhi" chapter of "Xunzi", and "Zhou Guan" has been lost.At first, some people thought that the original name of "Zhou Li" was "Zhou Guan", which should be the "Zhou Guan" chapter of "Shang Shu".However, there are 28 articles in "Shangshu", each of which is only one to two thousand characters, and "Zhou Li" has more than 70 words, which is not like one of them at all. The official system recorded in "Xunzi Wangzhi" can roughly reflect the degree of development of the official system in the late Warring States period, but there are only more than [-] official names in total, which is about one-fifth of the "Zhou Li", and there are no six titles like "Zhou Li". official system. There are many official records in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in "Spring and Autumn", "Zuo Zhuan" and "Guo Yu", but no country has the same official system as "Zhou Li".From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Western Han Dynasty, several official names identical to those in the "Zhou Li" can be found, but no one can identify the dynasties or states that are consistent with the "Zhou Li" official system.
On the basis of philology research, modern scholars have conducted more extensive and in-depth research on "Zhou Li" by means of paleontology, ancient artifacts, and archaeological research.At present, most scholars believe that "Zhou Li" was written relatively late, about the late Warring States period.There are also many scholars who hold other opinions, and they argue fiercely with each other.The essence of the debate is the understanding of ancient society, that is, what kind of society is described in "Zhou Li"?Its level of development is comparable to which period in the thousand-year history of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period, Qin Dynasty, and Western Han Dynasty?Due to the complexity of the issues involved, the issue of the date of completion of "Zhou Li" has not yet been determined.
[-]. Idealized national system
"Zhou Li" shows a perfect national system, everything in the country is orderly and full of philosophy.After reading it for the third time, it gave people the feeling of "ruling the world as in the palm of your fingers".For example, the administrative plan of the country has the following statement:
capital. The choice of the location of the capital in "Zhou Li" is determined by "Tugui". "Zhou Li Da Zongbo" says:
Use the method of Tugui to measure the depth of the soil, and to measure the scene (shadow) of the sun to find the center of the ground. ... The scene (shadow) at the sun's solstice is five inches long, and it is called the middle of the earth: where heaven and earth meet, where the four seasons meet, where wind and rain meet, and where yin and yang harmonize.However, all things Fu'an is to build a kingdom, control its territory for thousands of miles and seal it.
Tugui is a tool for measuring the length of the sun's shadow.The so-called "soil measurement depth" is to find the place that is neither east, nor west, nor south, nor north by measuring the length of the sun's shadow displayed by the soil, that is, the "middle of the ground".On the day of the summer solstice, the shadow length of Tugui here is one foot and five inches.The reason for this choice is that the 'dizhong' is the intersection of heaven and earth, the four seasons, wind and rain, and yin and yang, which is also the center of the conflict between yin and yang in the universe.
Jiuji.
"Zhou Li" measures the shadow of the sun with soil and kui, and builds the king's city in the ground, which is not only the need for philosophical meaning, but also the need for "embodying the country, economy and field".The king divides the country and the wild, with the king's city as the center.For example, Wangji, which is thousands of miles away, was built with the king city as the center.In addition to Wangji, there is the so-called 'Jiuji'. "Zhou Li · Xia Guan · Da Sima" says:
A thousand miles away is called Guoji, five hundred miles away is called Houji, and five hundred miles away is called Dianji, and five hundred miles away is called Nanji, and five hundred miles away is called Caiji. Its five hundred miles away is called Weiji, and its five hundred miles away is called Manji, and its five hundred miles away is called Yiji, and its five hundred miles away is called Zhenji, and its five hundred miles away is called Zhenji. It is called Fanji.
It can be seen that the distribution of Jiuji is centered on Wangji, which is thousands of miles away, and the five thousand miles away from it are divided into Houji, Dianji, Nanji, Caiji, Weiji, Manji, Yiji, There are nine floors, including Zhenji and Fanji, which are set in different sizes and are successively farther away.The distance between adjacent ki is five hundred li. "Shangshu" does have the names of Hou, Dian, Nan, Wei, Cai and other foreign clothes, but there is no distribution similar to concentric circles.
resident organizations. There are two types of resident organizations in "Zhou Li": the four suburbs outside the capital are called Xiang, and the suburbs are called Sui.The countryside is subdivided into five levels of administrative organizations: state, party, clan, Lu, and Bi.Then it is subdivided into five levels of administrative organizations: neighborhood, li, feng, bi, and county.According to the records of "Da Situ" and "Suiren" written by local officials, the composition of households in Township and Sui is as follows:
One ratio: 5 houses One neighbor: 5 houses
One Lu: 25 houses One mile: 25 houses
Family: 100 families Family: 100 families
One party: 500 companies and one contempt: 500 companies
One state: 2500 one county: 2500
A township: 12500 homes A sui: 12500 homes
The establishment of organizations at the township and Sui levels is extremely neat.In addition, the number of Xiang and Sui are both six.The number of residents in Liuxiang and Liusui seems to be exactly the same, and there is neither shortage nor envy.What should be done if there are natural disasters and man-made disasters, the number of households changes, and the above requirements cannot be met? "Zhou Li" never mentioned.
Farmland planning "Zhou Li" also has a uniform plan for "wild" farmland. "Diguan Suiren" says:
Every man governs the field, there is a sui between men, and then there is a diameter; tens of men have a ditch, and there is a barrier on the ditch; a hundred men have a 洫, and there is a coating on it; a thousand men have a 浍, and there is a way on the 浍; ten thousand men have a river, and there is a road on the river. , to reach Yuki.
Two systems are recorded here, one is the farmland system and the other is the ditch system.The basic unit of farmland is 'husband', and one man receives one hundred mu of land.Between Futian and Futian there is a canal called 'Sui', and there is a road called 'Jing' on Sui.Between every field of ten husbands, there is a canal called "ditch", and there is a road called "ditch" in the ditch.Between every centurion's field, there is a canal called '洫', and there is a road called 'Tu' on it.Between every field of thousands of husbands, there is a canal called '浍', and there is a road called 'Tao' on the river.Between every field of ten thousand husbands, there is a canal called "Chuan", and there is a road called "Road" in the river.So proficient in Wang Ji.
It should be pointed out that the above-mentioned ditches and road systems have strict regulations on feet.According to Zheng Xuan's notes, Sui is two feet wide and two feet deep; a ditch is four feet wide and deep;The width of the road on the ditch is that the diameter can allow cattle and horses to pass, the fence can allow carts (the rail width is six feet) to pass, the tu can allow one cart (the rail width is eight feet) to pass, and the road can allow two carts to pass. Pass, the road allows three cars to pass.
From the above examples alone, it is not difficult to find that the system of "Zhou Li" has quite idealized elements.Building the country's capital in the 'ground' is very theoretical, but practically impossible.The neat and uniform Jiuji system, resident organizations, and ditches and road systems, not to mention ancient China, even the era of moving mountains and filling seas has not been realized.Therefore, we say that "Zhou Li" is the blueprint of Utopia.
[-]. The core of thinking of man in law
The intention of the author of "Zhou Li" is not to record the canons of a certain dynasty, but to establish rules for the future.The author hopes to express his philosophical thinking on society and the relationship between man and nature through this book, and the layout of the whole book is all influenced by this.
Confucianism believes that both human beings and society are mere copies of the spirit of nature.During the Warring States Period, the Yin-Yang and Five Elements thoughts flourished, and the academia prevailed, emphasizing the relationship between man and nature, and advocating that social organizations follow the laws of nature. Therefore, there are "people follow the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows the nature." ' said. The author of "Zhou Li" is an active practitioner of the idea of ​​"humanity is the law of heaven".
"Zhou Li" is divided into six chapters: Tianguan, Diguan, Chunguan, Xiaguan, and Dongguan.Heaven, earth, spring, summer, autumn, and winter are the four directions and six unions of heaven and earth, which is what the ancients called the universe. According to the author's arrangement, the six officials in "Zhou Li" command sixty official positions.Therefore, the total number of officials in the Six Ministers is 360.As we all know, 360 is the degree of the sun. "Zhou Li" was originally called "Zhou Guan". There have been many speculations about the origin of the title of this book.In the author's opinion, the so-called "Zhou Guan" actually means "the official of Zhou Tian".The author uses "Zhou Guan" as the title of the book, implying the cosmic framework of the book and the layout of the celestial degrees of the week, as well as the principle of "humanity governs heaven".Later, Liu Xin changed the name of "Zhou Guan" to "Zhou Li". Although he had the intention of elevating its status, it distorted the original intention of the author.
In the traditional concept of Confucianism, yin and yang are the most basic pair of philosophical categories. Everything in the world is either yin or yang. The author of "Zhou Li" fully applied this concept, which belongs to the field of thought, to the level of political mechanism. Yin and Yang in "Zhou Li" are almost everywhere. "Tianguan Nei Xiaochen" says that there are Yang orders and Yin orders in government orders; "Tianguan Nei Zai" says that etiquette has Yang rituals and Yin rituals;The layout of "facing the future market" and "Zuozu Youshe" in Wangchengzhong is also the embodiment of Yin-Yang thought.The south is yang, so the emperor faces the south to listen to the court; the north is yin, so the queen governs the city from the north.The left is Yang, which is the direction of the human way, so the ancestral temple is on the left; the right is Yin, which is respected by the authentic way, so the community is on the right.As mentioned earlier, the location of the royal city in "Zhou Li" is also in the midst of yin and yang.Therefore, Mr. Qian Mu said that "Zhou Li" "conjugated the whole universe and all life into yin and yang couples" ("Zhou Guan's Works Era Research").
The Warring States Period was also an era when the Five Elements thought prevailed.The yin and yang qi rub against each other to produce the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth.Everything in the world must be incorporated into the system of the five elements as the frame, such as the five middle directions of southeast, north and south, the five tones of Gongshangjiao and Zhengyu, the five colors of green, red, white, black and yellow, the five tastes of sour, bitter, salty, sweet, and so on.The Five Elements Thought is also reflected in Zhouli.Among the major national sacrifices in "Zhou Li", local officials offer cattle sacrifices, spring officials offer chicken sacrifices, summer officials offer sheep sacrifices, autumn officials offer dog sacrifices, and winter officials offer hog sacrifices.As we all know, in the five-element system, chickens are wood animals, sheep are fire animals, dogs are metal animals, hogs are water animals, and cattle are earth animals. The five animals enshrined by the five sense organs in "Zhou Li" are completely consistent with the corresponding relationship between the five animals and the five parties in the thought of the five elements, and have an obvious thought of the five elements.Correspondingly, the local officials have the post of "cow person", the spring official has the post of "rooster person", the summer official has the post of "sheep person", the autumn official has the post of "dog person", and the winter official has the post of "dog person". 'One post.
To sum up, "Zhou Li" is a blueprint for a Utopia where man follows heaven.In this way, it does not mean that there is no prime place for the pre-Qin ritual system in "Zhou Li".On the contrary, the author has absorbed a lot of historical materials from the previous generation, but instead of simply misappropriating them, he has carried out certain transformations according to his philosophical concepts, and then combined them with the author's innovative materials to form a new system.
The ideological system contained in "Zhou Li" has obvious characteristics of the times.During the Warring States Period, a hundred schools of thought contended, and each school was based on its own boundaries. The "Yi" said that Yin and Yang were not as good as the five elements, and "Hong Fan" said that the five elements were not as good as yin and yang;Yin and Yang and the five elements were combined through Zou Yanfang; Confucianism and Law were blended through Xunzi.The combination of Confucianism, Legalism, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements originated in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" at the end of the Warring States Period. "Zhou Li" takes Confucianism as the main body, and integrates Dharma, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements, showing the characteristics of "diversified unity".Its degree of delicacy exceeds that of "Lushi Chunqiu", so its writing date may be after "Lushi Chunqiu", and as late as the early Western Han Dynasty.
[-]. Both academic and therapeutic skills
The book "Zhou Li" has a large body and comprehensive thinking, and it has all-encompassing academic and therapeutic techniques, so it has been valued by scholars of all ages. Later Confucianists lamented that "non-sages can't do it", which is not nonsense.
The so-called "academic" means that the book has always been the focus of the debate between modern and ancient Chinese.The classics written in the official script of the Han Dynasty are called "Jinwenjing", and those written in the ancient languages ​​of the six countries are called "Guwenjing".In the early Han Dynasty, most of the documents found in the walls of Confucius' mansion and the documents obtained from the people are ancient texts, while those standing in the academic officials are all modern texts.The records of the Jinwenjing and the Guwenjing are not always consistent, so the two sides have disputes from time to time.The ancient literature of the Han Dynasty is dominated by "Zhou Li", and the modern literature is dominated by "Book of Rites·Royal System".For this reason, "Zhou Li" has often become the focus of debates, and its teaching is unclear, and it has been repeatedly questioned by modern writers. The Apocryphal Classics Research denounced that it was forged by Liu Xin when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty.On the contrary, those who praised it, such as Liu Xin, Zheng Xuan, etc., praised it as "the classic of Zhou Gong".
Nevertheless, "Zhou Li" is still valued by scholars of all ages.People in the Tang Dynasty wrote the "Nine Classics", the best of which was "Zhou Rishu" by Jia Gongyan, which was appreciated by Zhu Xi.Qing Confucianism wrote new compendiums for the "Thirteen Classics", and Sun Yirang's "Zhou Li Justice" is the best in the world.Scholars of past dynasties have made various researches on the authenticity and falsehood of "Zhou Li" and other issues, which are even more extensive.
The so-called governance means that "Zhou Li", as a program for governing the country, has become a model for politicians of all ages to follow.The ancients said that it must be called the Three Dynasties, and the hero of the Three Dynasties was in Zhou Dynasty.The ancients firmly believed that "Zhou Li" came from the Duke of Zhou. The perfect official system and rich thoughts on governing the country in the book became inexhaustible humanities for emperors and literati.
Many ritual systems in "Zhou Li" have influenced EMI.For example, the "system of three provinces and six ministries" implemented since the Sui Dynasty, in which the "six ministries" were set up in imitation of the "six officials" in "Zhou Li".In the Tang Dynasty, the names of the six ministries were named Li, Hu, Li, Bing, Punishment, and Gong. As the main body of the central government system, it was followed by later generations and continued to be used until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.The revised codes of the past dynasties, such as the "Kaiyuan Liudian" in the Tang Dynasty, the "Kaibao Tongli" in the Song Dynasty, and the "Daming Jili" in the Ming Dynasty, were all based on the "Zhou Li" and considered the profit and loss.
Another example is the pattern of the capital city of "left ancestor and right society, facing the future market", which has become a model for the emperors of all dynasties to yearn for.However, most of the capitals of the past dynasties still use the old sites of the previous dynasties, so it is difficult to refresh their layout.When Kublai Khan, the first ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, established the capital of the Yuan Dynasty in Beijing, he was able to re-plan near Shangjing in the Jin Dynasty. Based on the "Zhou Li" as a model, he established a layout facing the future market, with the left ancestor and the right society.Later, the Ming and Qing dynasties not only continued to use it, but also imitated the "Zhou Li", built the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Earth, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon, and the Temple of Xiannong, forming the layout of today.Seoul in North Korea also has a pattern of facing the future market, with left ancestors and right societies, and it is a model for overseas capitals to follow the "Zhou Ri".
The book "Zhou Li" contains rich thoughts on governing the country. Fu', 'Nine Styles', 'Jiugong', 'Nine Liang' and other ten principles are further elaborated in the narratives of local officials, spring officials, summer officials, and autumn officials. It has a profound impact on improving the administrative management thinking of later generations.
"Zhou Li" adopts the policy of integrating Confucianism and Legalism, and morality as the mainstay and auxiliary punishment for officials and common people, which not only shows quite mature political thinking, but also has management skills to control all officials.The measures to manage the treasury's property are rigorous and meticulous, and mutually restrictive, reflecting superb operational wisdom.There are many systems in the book that are still alive and can be used for reference.
Whenever there is a major change in history, there are many people who use "Zhou Li" as an important ideological resource to find reforms or ideological weapons for reform, such as Wang Mang's reform in the Western Han Dynasty, Yuwen Zhou Gedian in the Six Dynasties, and Wang Anshi in the Northern Song Dynasty. Take "Zhou Li" as the standard.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign aggression and internal troubles combined, in order to save the decline, Sun Yirang wrote "Zhou Officials and Political Leaders", which proved that the way of governing the country contained in "Zhou Li" was no less than that of the West.Ding Ruoyong (named Dasan), a famous scholar in the late Joseon Dynasty, once wrote the 30-word "Jingshiyibiao", advocating the use of "Zhouli" to reform the political system of North Korea.
It is impossible for any utopian to draw a blueprint for an ideal country out of reality, and the same is true for "Zhou Li". Under the idealized framework, the author used a lot of historical materials to fill it in.However, the author often processed and modified it according to the needs when using it. This is what must be paid attention to when reading "Zhou Li", which is also the complexity of this book.
(End of this chapter)