Today's video, let’s continue to explore the crisis of Chinese culture. And how does science deal with this crisis? In the last video we talked about China's political system, ideology, and religious beliefs, there is a distinct evolution and development trajectory.

For example, the development of Chinese culture, like an ecosystem on the verge of collapse. When the system encounters a small-scale crisis, the original negative feedback mechanism can also adjust and fix problems, the whole system is still in an open state.

However, as more and more problems, the system loses the tools and resources to deal with the problem, the result can only be a positive feedback, constantly reinforcing existing patterns, even the old model is failing.

The more you want to elevate it to a sacred level, the height of omnipresence, finally, the whole system loses its flexibility. Falling more and more into a state of madness and loss of control, this is a cultural regression.

We say, after a person has experienced a traumatic event, often retreat into a more dependent, fear and irrational states. He will reduce his desire to explore and curiosity about the outside world. Will be more strengthened, even deifying their own traditional values, refuse to reflect, hiding back to the most familiar state of the womb.

He will also show stronger mental cleanliness and control, trying to strengthen the purity of the original system and purity, to eliminate all uncertainty and ambiguity.

This pursuit of purity and rejection of others, this does not mean that the system is strong, it is a sign of fragility. He no longer has the confidence to face an open, a complex world, no longer believe that you can have a dialogue with others, only by constructing a self-consistent, but a closed system, to keep yourself from collapsing. The Neo-Confucianism of Song and Ming clearly reflects this phenomenon.

As we discussed in our last video, although the Qin Dynasty first promoted the Qin system throughout the country, however, to truly run this system stably, but faced with huge difficulties. From Qin and Han to Tang and Song, Chinese Society, experienced numerous institutional and cultural innovations, the imperial power system of Confucianism on the outside and law on the inside became increasingly solid.

For example, the Han Dynasty imperial power in order to avoid the fate of being overthrown by the Qin Dynasty, mystifying and theologizing Confucianism, with the illusory divine will and heaven's will, to replace the real existence of human will.

Thus, the imperial power, covered with a sacred and tender coat. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was an era when imperial power was relatively withdrawn. Emperors often rely on compromise, to maintain relations with the nobles.

However, this retreat of the Qin system was temporary. In this old structure, a new force to restore imperial power began to emerge, that is the control of military power by the Han clan generals.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a series of explicit systems to consolidate and strengthen imperial power, re-shaping. For example, the three-province system, the imperial examination system, etc.

However, although the Tang Dynasty, there are so many measures to strengthen the imperial autocracy, but it still hasn't stopped the political decline, entering the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Chinese Society, it has fallen into a complete and comprehensive collapse of rituals and music. Patricide, fratricide, usurpation of the throne, coups, etc. are extremely frequent.

So from the middle of the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, we can see, Confucian scholars, the anxiety about the current situation is far beyond that of previous generations. They have proposed a number of targeted measures, for example, further strengthen the sacredness and nobility of the Confucian Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, strengthening the admiration for imperial autocracy, and more extreme rejection and elimination of heterodox cultures.

However, in those times such as the separatist regimes, behind the crisis of alien invasion, there is also a deeper spiritual crisis hidden, the scholar-official class itself, a comprehensive shake-up of Confucian ethics and cosmic order. If the Confucian scholars themselves, they all began to doubt their faith, then any external utilitarian means, it all seems useless.

A famous representative is Bai Juyi. Bai Juyi lived in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, he witnessed the harm that various tyrannies in the Tang Dynasty had on people's livelihood. From his works, we can easily feel, his strong dissatisfaction with the current situation and heartbroken.

We know, in Confucian ethics, the Way of Heaven is not only the embodiment of the order of the universe, it is the source of moral order. It rewards good and punishes evil. The Justice and Divinity of Heaven, because he is in tune with public opinion, so-called "God sees me, the people see me", "Heaven listens to the people". Of course God loves the people. The monarch must exercise benevolent governance to comply with the will of heaven.

However, unlike ordinary Confucian people, Bai Juyi did not simply think, these political malpractices are against the way of heaven. Rather, they began to doubt the justice of Heaven itself.

For example, in his "Sixteen Poems in the Style of Tao Qian", he said: "God does not love the people, how can one make a living? God loves the people, why are you a jackal?"

That is, if God does not love the people, why raise humans? But if you really love the people, but why did they release so many evil people to harm the world?

Then, Bai Juyi further questioned whether "Shinto" was fair. He said that Confucius' life was full of ups and downs. And a cruel person like Qin Shi Huang, instead, he could unify the world.

Thus, Bai Juyi began to doubt the order of the entire universe. He: Physics is unpredictable, and so is the way of God. I look up to the sky, and it is pale and grey.

Bai Juyi Questions Heaven, but God is silent, so he felt a kind of disillusionment with the way of heaven. This makes Bai Juyi's thoughts profound. It still exceeds the previous Confucian, reflection on specific events, a tendency to skepticism.

This tendency, this is also reflected in a poem: "Don't be surprised by favor or disgrace, don't worry about happiness or sorrow, don't count favors or grudges, There is no place for Huangdi and Confucius to ask, so how do we know that they are not just in a dream?"

We know, emotions of joy and sorrow caused by favor or disgrace, it is the most basic emotional coordinate of Confucian scholars. Confucian ethics emphasizes, scholars should participate in politics, serving the King and Governing the Country, to realize your own life value, this is the most important and uncertain part, whether you can gain the appreciation of the monarch.

So favor and disfavor, to the dignity of a human being, of decisive significance. The resulting anxiety and joy, Confucian scholars, two basic emotions that you can’t get rid of. Even if you say that you should not be happy with material things, Fan Zhongyan, who did not feel sad for himself, it is not really about transcending the emotions of sadness and joy. But still standing on the Confucian, on the standpoint of "taking the world as one's own responsibility", to express your joy.

However, Bai Juyi, this also deconstructs the moral basis of "sorrow and joy", not only did he no longer feel happy or sad because of favor or disgrace, even think that these emotions themselves are false, there is no point in grudges, hard work is worthless.

Then, Bai Juyi expressed his doubts about the saint, it is "Huangdi and Confucius have no questions, how do you know that this is not a dream? Huangdi was a sage king in ancient times, Confucius is a Confucian saint, they are all symbols of China's orthodox order.

However, Bai Juyi said, who knows if they are not imaginary? This is what Confucian culture sees, this is a very bold blasphemy against the saints.

Bai Juyi's doubt and confusion, in the later period of Chinese history, it is becoming more and more frequent and common. In traditional Chinese novels and dramas, there is often a kind of, whether in the start-up or development stage, what a brilliant achievement, in the end, they will all turn to dust, disappeared, the Lament of Returning to Nothingness.

For example, there is a famous quote in the Qing Dynasty's Peach Blossom Fan: "Seeing him build a red building, seeing him entertain guests, I watched his building collapse.”

More famous, the song "Hao Le Ge" from Dream of the Red Chamber. This feeling of emptiness and despair, it is synchronized with the deepening of the degree of imperial autocracy in China.

Let’s go back to the Song Dynasty, Su Shi also expressed similar nihilism and doubt. He once wrote: How much can honor and disgrace be? The joys and sorrows are endless. Looking back at the human world, nothing is true.

It is also clearly expressed here, doubt and nihilism about all values.

However, Su Shi did not stop there, he also raised more pointed and dangerous questions. For example, Su Shi in his early and late years, for the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Mu of Qin buried three ministers alive, there was a huge change in thinking.

Here is the historical background, Duke Mu of Qin was a king who focused on discovering talents. He used five sheepskins, in exchange for Baili Xi, who was still a slave at the time. Later, Baili Xi became a high-ranking official in the Qin State. Under the reign of Duke Mu of Qin, the Qin State gathered a large number of talents, the country's power is gradually growing.

From the traditional Chinese perspective, Duke Mu of Qi was a wise king. But he has a huge flaw. Has always been criticized, that is, before he died, he asked more than a hundred people to be buried with him. Among them are Sanliang, that is, three good conducts, officials who are popular with the public.

After the death of these three officials, the Qin people felt very sad and grief-stricken. Both the Records of the Grand Historian and the Zuo Zhuan were critical of Duke Mu of Qin, think, this reflects the backwardness and barbarity of the Qin Dynasty's system of burying people alive with the dead.

But some ancients believed, these three officials were, he promised to live and die together with the monarch, therefore, their burial was not forced. Just fulfilling the promise made to the king. Su Shi had this idea in his early years.

In one poem he said: "Ancient people were grateful for a meal and could still kill themselves. People today no longer see this, so they doubt the ancients based on what they see. The ancients could not see this, and people today are even more saddened!"

Su Shi believed, we cannot use later moral standards to judge ancient people. Their behavior precisely embodies the spirit of loyalty, Sanliang's death was not forced, but I am willing to repay the king's kindness. Just today's people, I just can't understand the nobility of the ancients.

However, in Su Shi's later years, his attitude towards this matter, a 180-degree turn. In this poem, Su Shi said: "In this life, Mount Tai is as heavy as a mountain. Suddenly, a feather is left behind... I am not a dog or a horse, so I ask you for a curtain!"

That is, the value of these three people as human beings is as heavy as Mount Tai. Why should death be as light as a feather? People are not dogs or horses. Why beg the king? This veil covering the corpse?

It is worth noting that, criticisms of Duke Mu of Qin by ancient people, all from the perspective of the monarch's interests, it is believed that Duke Mu of Qin required a large number of his subjects to be buried alive, this led to the decline of Qin's national power. Lost the qualification to compete.

The same is true of the Confucian idea that "the people are more important than the king", it is to remind the monarch to cherish the people's strength and pay attention to people's livelihood. But in the final analysis, to ensure the long-term stability of the monarch's rule.

However, Su Shi's criticism is based on the value of human beings. Believe that people are not cattle and horses raised by the monarch, the monarch's words are also wrong, of course the minister can disobey. This is of course a serious violation of the Confucian principle of ruler and subject. For traditional Chinese culture, it can be said to be very bold and dangerous.

Therefore, in Chinese culture, faced with so many internal and external troubles, the science of physics came into being. The Differences between Neo-Confucianism and Ouyang Xiu, Shi Jie and Other Confucianists of the Song Dynasty, it is not about whether political reform is needed. Issue administrative measures, strengthen ideological education for the people, etc.

In the view of science, these things are just the surface. They are keenly aware, Confucian culture itself faces a profound theoretical crisis, fortresses are always breached from within. Therefore, it must be innovated from a philosophical perspective. Improve the theoretical system, this will prevent the scholar-official class from wavering.

Use official language, it is to strengthen political determination, ensure political beliefs remain unchanged, political stance remains unchanged. So, how to strengthen the ideological construction of Confucianism itself?

We say, Traditional Confucianism is a secular utilitarianism, it does not care about the ontology of the universe and the world, only concerned with practical effects, that is to govern the country and bring peace to the world.

We see, Confucius and others explained many Confucian moral values, it's all from this perspective. For example, why should we be honest? Should we have a spirit of benevolence? Because it wins people's hearts, make people love you, etc.

These strategies may be helpful, but it is not possible to, for the scholar-official class, build a more stable belief system. Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism places more emphasis on, how to restore the spiritual faith of the scholar-official class, that is to enable them to believe in an unconditional, the divine and reasonable order.

They will respond, it is a crisis of legitimacy of Chinese culture. It is not a short-term political or social issue.

Therefore, Zhu Xi attempted to reconstruct an omniscient cosmic system, that is the so-called natural order. In the view of science, the reason why heaven is right, because it permeates everything.

This is compared with the Confucianism of Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty. It can be said that it has become more rigorous. The "Heaven" proposed by Dong Zhongshu, is a personal God with emotions, will, likes and dislikes.

People do things that violate the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. Will be punished by God, so Heaven is a supernatural fatherly authority.

But this explanation, more suitable for moral exhortation and intimidation, it has no way to face the kind of questioning that Bai Juyi asked, because it makes the legitimacy of this system, based on external, accidental causes.

Zhu Xi's "Heavenly Principle" is the ontological structure of the universe. He has no personality, no will. It's not about scaring people by punishment.

On the contrary, Zhu Xi is speaking in a way that seems reasonable. Tell you, the universe is an orderly, a system with an internal structure, you are just one of the differences.

“Reason” is the rule that exists in all things, it is the source of order everywhere. As big as rivers, lakes and seas, as small as a blade of grass, although they look very different, but they all share one entity, that is the principle of heaven, they are all created from this entity.

So, Reason is the ontology of the universe, it is also the foundation of social ethics. From the perspective of ontology, this does make Confucian ethics seem more convincing. Because it makes this order, out of experience and historical contingency, no longer dependent on real-world effects.

However, does this kind of thinking sound ridiculous? Actually, I also think it's ridiculous.

So how can we achieve this state? The key lies in the pursuit of knowledge through investigation of things. The phrase "investigating things to gain knowledge" comes from a passage in "The Book of Rites" and "The Great Learning".

This sentence says: In ancient times, those who wished to make the bright virtue known to the world, govern the country first. If you want to govern your country, you must first govern your family. If you want to manage your family, you must first improve yourself. If you want to improve yourself, you must first correct your mind. If you want to straighten your heart, you must first be sincere in your intentions. If you want to be sincere, you must first acquire knowledge, and acquiring knowledge lies in studying things.

That is to say, the root of everything lies in sincerity and uprightness. Studying Things to Gain Knowledge, that is, to correct people's attitudes and understandings. Zhu Xi extracted this passage from the University, as a program of science, because it provides an important methodology, that is to say, a person must learn to learn from all things in nature, discovering the existence of the law of nature.

Many people understand the concept of "investigating things to gain knowledge" as, gaining knowledge by observing and studying everything. Actually, this is an understanding that comes from the influence of Western culture. The Neo-Confucianism says that the study of things leads to knowledge, that's not what I meant.

We know, in the 17th century, a kind of deism was popular in Europe. For example, Newton believed that God created the universe. But after creation, God will no longer intervene. Instead, let everything run according to the natural laws created by God.

Humans can learn, reason, deduce and experiment, gradually discover the laws and rules hidden in nature. As the famous saying goes: nature and nature's laws lay hid in night.

However, science, it does not allow people to discover any new knowledge, it is not about asking people to reason and think. Instead, it emphasizes the need to rely on the understanding and feeling of all things, you will find that the law of nature is everywhere, and then experience a wonderful aesthetic realm.

In this realm, man and Heaven become one, so as to feel, the freedom of man's integration into the cosmic entity, happy state.

For example, let’s look at this poem by Zhu Xi: A half-acre pond is open, and the light of the sky and the shadow of the water wander together. How can the water be so clear? Because it comes from a source of fresh water.

Let’s look at this poem now. I think this is simply, just describing a natural beauty, we will also feel beautiful. However, our sense of beauty in nature, there may be a variety of complex emotions behind it. For example, a sense of freedom, a sense of insignificance, desolation, loneliness, etc.

We may also feel the wonders of nature. Arousing curiosity about nature, and desire to explore, these are all very normal emotions.

However, the study of things to gain knowledge, essentially a propositional essay, it is to regulate a person's aesthetic experience. That is to say, when you face nature, you have to feel that order in everything. Everything is so seamless, so that you can feel that you are one with the Way of Heaven.

In this case, then individuals don't need to doubt anything anymore. What to criticize, loneliness, alienation, anxiety, they are all pathological deviations from the natural order.

The so-called "preserving the principles of heaven and eliminating human desires", when your human desires are completely destroyed, the truth emerges from within.

Therefore, science cultivates a refined and docile mentality, it turns numbness and escape, cleverly packaged in a, aesthetic experience of nature. Since everything is so harmonious and orderly, then follow the ritual system established by the monarch, it is only natural to accept all the sufferings of reality.

As the saying goes, "There is no obstacle for man in the world." As long as you understand this state, you'll find nothing is holding you back. But this is essentially a psychological massage, it is also a way to numb yourself to a spiritual victory.

As, we are talking about what Wang Yangming said in the video, since the Song Dynasty, as the imperial power gradually expanded, the status of Confucian scholars became more humble.

For example, more and more scholars and officials expressed their gratitude to the emperor, using the derogatory self-proclaimed title of "虮買小臣". They increasingly compare themselves to dogs, horses, insects, and rats.

This just shows, the kind of spring and bright scenery advocated by Neo-Confucianism, physical state of comfort, it's quite twisted in nature. This seriously violates the true feelings of the parties involved.

This is similar to what is shown in the official video released by North Korea. Every Korean is so enthusiastic. Full of confidence, no worries or pain. But behind this confidence and enthusiasm, it's actually a pretty deep depression.

From here, we can also see a common phenomenon in Chinese society. Many people have this kind of trouble. They feel that the people around them, seems to fit perfectly into the order, and looks happy. In this case, then you feel anxious, it's because my heart is too dark and dirty. Always focus on the negative things, not broad-minded enough.

This implies a kind of understanding, all emotional fluctuations of the individual, it's all a sign of insufficient personal moral cultivation. Chinese culture is accustomed to using very simple things, metaphor for ideal personality, for example, water, jade, and qi.

Their commonality is that they are all gentle and delicate, water and air are clear and transparent, it can't maintain its shape. Therefore, they are also the most able to integrate into everything. They benefit all things without competing, able to blend into the environment without resisting.

This is also the ideal personality most respected by Neo-Confucianism. That is pure and flawless, bright and upright, be consistent and selfless.

However, this is actually a dangerous temptation. and sophisticated discipline. A healthy personality, it is definitely not spotless and clean. But there must be contradictions, desires or dark parts. Even these things, it drives a person forward and explores.

If a person is really like what rationalism advocates, pure, desireless, gentle, then he will lose his boundaries and judgment. Becoming a model created by power.

Therefore, the collapse and paralysis of science is inevitable. On the one hand, it emphasizes that the law of nature is all-encompassing. Ubiquitous. But the way it perceives the world, but it is rigid, closed and single.

Turn out, it can only make people repeat the words of the saints over and over again, close your eyes and ears. In this state, Yangming's philosophy of mind came into being.

Compared with Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, it looks more radical, more full of fantasy and mysterious colors. But it actually, it is just that Chinese culture is heading towards its end. A flashback. Next video, let’s talk about Yangming’s philosophy of mind.