Qian Xun

Qian Xun

Qian Xun (October 1933 - August 22, 2019) < / I >, born in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, whose ancestral home is Lin'an, Zhejiang Province, is the son of Qian Mu, a master of Sinology. researcher. Former vice president of the International Confucian Union and former director of the Institute of ideology and culture of Tsinghua University.

In the early morning of August 22, 2019, Qian Xun died at the age of 85.

Life of the characters

Qian Xun was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province in October 1933.

From 1952 to 1953, he graduated from the History Department of Tsinghua University and the Marxism Leninism research class of Renmin University of China. From 1953 to 1981, he successively taught in the teaching and research group of Marxism Leninism and philosophy of Tsinghua University. He once taught the Analects and Tao Te Ching. After 1982, he turned to the history of Chinese thought.

From 1982 to March 1985, he was the director of the literature and history teaching and research group of Tsinghua University. From March 1985 to 1994, he was the deputy director of the Institute of ideology and culture of Tsinghua University. From January 1995 to September 1999, he was the director of the Institute.

In the early morning of August 22, 2019, Qian Xun died at the age of 85.

Social Appointments

He once served as the director of the International Federation of Confucianism, the Chinese Society for the history of philosophy, the Chinese Yanhuang Culture Research Association, the Chinese Confucius Foundation, the Chinese Confucius society and other academic organizations.

study of confucianism

Research direction

Pre Qin Confucianism and ancient Chinese philosophy of life.

On the Analects of Confucius

The Analects of Confucius is a Book of quotations, which records the dialogue between Confucius and his disciples and some things in his daily life. In the Western Han Dynasty, several books were lost. Zheng xuangen of the Eastern Han Dynasty made a note on the Analects of Confucius according to the books he could still see, such as Lu Lun and Qi Lun, which became the basis of the later version of the Analects of Confucius.

The thought of governing the country in the Analects of Confucius

At the end of the spring and Autumn period, the power of the emperor of Zhou, as the leader of the whole world, declined, and the princes conquered cities and lands one after another, and wars continued. In the vassal states, the usurpation of power between father, son and brother came out one after another. All schools of thought and activities of Confucius are aimed at restoring the stability of social order, and changing the world from no way to right way.

In the aspect of governing the country, the core idea of Confucius is "the ruler is right". This "Zheng" has two meanings: Zhengren and Zhengming. The purpose of rectifying people is to make people go on the right path, including rectifying people and themselves. It is not only to educate the common people in morality, but also to educate the people in power.

Another meaning of "Zheng" is "Zheng Ming". Qi Jinggong asked Confucius about politics. Confucius said to him, "the king, the minister, the father, the son." That is to say, everyone should be content with his position, do what he should do according to his identity, enjoy the right he should enjoy, and restore the original order of etiquette. In the past, people criticized that this was to maintain the hierarchy. However, we should see that the development of any society requires people from all walks of life and all parts of the society to be able to assume their own positions, perform their own duties, abide by their own ways and get their own rewards. Without that, there would be chaos.

The way of being human in the Analects of Confucius

（1） Aspire to Tao

Zengzi said that a scholar should be resolute and have a long way to go. Is it not a heavy responsibility, which is to practice benevolence? Isn't it too far to die? The term "heavy responsibilities and a long way to go" here does not mean that a certain task needs a long time and a lot of energy, but refers to the responsibility and mission of carrying forward benevolence and Tao in life, which is a life of "heavy responsibilities and a long way to go".

Mencius said, "if you have enough food, warm clothes, live in seclusion without education, you are close to animals." The difference between man and beast is that man has spiritual life besides material life.

Westerners emphasize developing personality and pursuing personal value. Chinese people emphasize the realization of individual value in the development of group. This is reflected in "worry first and happiness later" and "everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world". The highest pursuit of this value is "sacrifice one's life for righteousness": one is to sacrifice one's life for one's ideals, beliefs and group cause; the other is to complete one's personality. Wen Tianxiang is a typical example.

Mencius said, "fish is what I want, and bear's paw is what I want. You can't have both. It's the same to give up fish and take bear's paw. Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. You can't have both. You can't give up life and take righteousness. Life is what I want, and what I want is more than the living, so I don't get it; death is what I hate, and what I hate is more than the dead, so I don't get rid of the suffering. " Higher than the value of life is "righteousness", which is spiritual life. If I am wronged, I would rather die.

（2） Benevolence and courtesy

A gentleman is the ideal standard of life put forward by Confucius. "Quality is better than literature, and literature is better than history. Gentle, then gentleman. " Wen is the expression of pattern, decoration and appearance, which refers to etiquette; quality is the internal quality, which refers to benevolence. Binbin is a good match between the two things.

Fan Chi asked Ren. Confucius said, "love." Love is the fundamental spirit of benevolence, which is embodied through filial piety, loyalty and forgiveness.

Filial piety is the foundation of benevolence. Confucian love is not an abstract and universal love, but a kind of love with difference, from close to sparse. Parents and brothers are the closest people, so the love for relatives is the starting point of love. By advocating filial piety and fraternity to maintain the patriarchal system, we can prevent people from making trouble.

Zi Gong asked, "is there a word that can be used all one's life?" Confucius said, "it's forgiving! Don't do to others what you don't want to do to yourself. " Don't impose on others what you don't want to do. If you don't want others to treat you like this, don't treat others like this. "If you want to establish yourself, you will establish others, and if you want to achieve yourself, you will reach others", which means "loyalty". It is a more positive level and has a kind of responsibility. The common spirit is to understand others' feelings with one's own, that is, to "treat others as one's own". Chinese people often say that when they encounter problems, they put themselves in other people's shoes, which has become the traditional way of life for Chinese people.

Benevolence, on the one hand, is the most important moral requirement. At the same time, it is the general name of the morality advocated by Confucius, including courtesy, leniency, faith, sensitivity, benefit, warmth, kindness, thrift, yield and so on.

The Analects of Confucius says that "if you don't learn etiquette, you can't stand it.". Etiquette is the norm of all Chinese customs and behaviors. In ancient times, from the worship of the son of heaven and ancestor, the alliance, diplomacy and war between vassal states, to the wedding and funeral of ordinary people, sitting and walking, mutual appellation and so on, all have the norms of etiquette. It can be said that ancient Chinese lived in the middle of ceremony.

"Morality is the foundation of Tao, and propriety is the foundation of Qi." Morality should be implemented in the code of conduct. Confucius said that "it is benevolent to restrain oneself and restore propriety", that is to overcome the thought and behavior that do not conform to propriety and do according to propriety, which is benevolence. To be specific, it is "do not see, listen, speak or move unless you are polite.".

Benevolence is the soul and propriety is the form. Benevolence should be implemented in the ceremony. If the ceremony is separated from benevolence, then these forms are meaningless. "Be cautious in the end, pursue the future, and the people's morality will be thick." Ceremony is a kind of external form, but if you do it seriously, you can be convenient and honest. "Harmony is the most important use of propriety." Etiquette reflects, clarifies and maintains the differences between monarch and minister, father and son, husband and wife, brother and friend, so as to achieve the goal of harmony.

（3） Cultivation

Whether you want to be a gentleman or not, you have to learn and cultivate. Confucius said, "similar in nature, different in habits." People's inborn nature is similar, the difference mainly comes from the acquired influence and habit, so people need and can change and improve themselves through the acquired learning and cultivation.

The basic attitude of self-cultivation is "three selves": for oneself, by oneself, for all oneself.

Confucius said, "scholars in ancient times are for themselves, and scholars today are for people." The so-called self-cultivation means that learning and self-cultivation is to enrich, improve and perfect oneself; being a person is to show others, fish for fame and seek fame and profit. For oneself is the most fundamental attitude of learning and cultivation.

Confucius said, "is benevolence far away? If I want to be benevolent, I will be benevolent. " Moral cultivation depends on oneself, not on others or external conditions. As long as we work hard, everyone can reach the realm of sage in moral thought. The so-called self-reliance.

Confucius said, "a gentleman asks for himself, and a villain asks for others." A gentleman should first ask for everything from his own side without complaining. "If you don't have a position, you have a position. If you don't have to be aware of it, you can be aware of it. " "Do not suffer from people's ignorance, and do not suffer from their inability." I'm not afraid that I don't have a position, that other people don't know me, that I'm incompetent, and that I'm not able to take on important tasks. This is the spirit of self seeking. "People don't know but don't sulk. Isn't it a gentleman?"

"Three self" embodies a spirit: Based on personal consciousness. To inspire individual consciousness, everyone should start from himself and improve the quality of the whole people. In a word, "from the son of heaven to the common people, one is based on self-cultivation."

This is the core idea of Confucianism. The starting point and foothold of all Confucianism lies in the improvement of everyone's quality, which depends on everyone's consciousness. This is also the core connotation of people-oriented.

Character works

A brief explanation of the Analects of Confucius, pre Qin Confucianism, ancient Chinese philosophy of life, Chinese traditional morality (deputy editor in chief of the whole book and chief editor of theory volume), weeding through the old to bring forth the new -- the development of traditional culture in modern times, pacifying the world -- the wisdom of the Analects of Confucius in dealing with the world, and some essays.

Audio book: the wisdom of life in the Analects of Confucius.