Confucian Master Dong Zhongshu: How Dong Zhongshu Created "New Confucianism"

儒学大师董仲舒：董仲舒如何创“新儒学”

Dong Zhongshu, a great Confucian in the Han Dynasty, is a great innovator of Confucianism after Confucius. He promoted Confucianism to achieve a new leap.

------Zhuge Changqing

Chinese Confucianism is one of the important pillars of Chinese traditional culture.

Since Confucius initiated Confucianism, Confucianism has become the pillar of China's social development.

Recently, when Zhuge Changqing studied Dong Zhongshu's Confucian thoughts, especially the Spring and Autumn Fanlu, he found that Dong Zhongshu embodied the Confucian idea of being a gentleman, embodied the Confucian spirit of self-cultivation, ruling the country and the world, and Dong Zhongshu was an outstanding representative of Confucianism.

Dong Zhongshu studied hard since childhood, studied hard behind closed doors, and studied Confucianism diligently. In order to study, he was able to achieve "three years without visiting the garden". Dong Zhongshu is another great scholar of Confucianism after Mencius and Xunzi.

Dong Zhongshu, who studied history books, literature and military strategies, had the heart to swallow the universe and the will to contain the world. It happened that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked for talents from all over the world, so Dong Zhongshu came into being and became a new peak of Confucianism.

Dong Zhongshu's thought formed the foundation for the stability of the country after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Changqing believed that Dong Zhongshu's Neo-Confucianism was indispensable for the great Han Dynasty of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Dong Zhongshu (179-104 BC), a Han nationality, is a native of Guangchuan County (Dadongguzhuang, Guangchuan Town, Hengshui County, Hebei Province), a thinker, philosopher, politician and educator of the Han Dynasty.

In the first year of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (134 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an imperial edict to seek the general plan for governing the country.

Dong Zhongshu, a Confucian scholar, systematically put forward the theory of "heaven and man's induction" and "great unity" in his "Strategies for the Promotion of Virtues and Virtues". Dong Zhongshu believed that "the great source of the Tao is from heaven", and that nature and human affairs are subject to the destiny of heaven, so the political order and political thought reflecting the destiny of heaven should be unified. Dong Zhongshu's Confucianism maintained the centralized rule of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and made a certain contribution to the social, political and economic stability at that time.

In the first year of Yuanguang (134 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he served as Liu Fei, the king of Jiangdu Yi, for 10 years. In the fourth year of Yuanshuo (125 BC), he served as Liu Duan, the king of Jiaoxi, and returned home after 4 years. Since then, when he wrote books at home, the imperial court would send envoys and Tingwei to his home to ask his opinions every major event, which was still valued by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

In 104 BC, Dong Zhongshu died and was promoted to the god of heaven because of his immeasurable merits.

Here we share the article "How Dong Zhongshu Created" New Confucianism "written by Mr. Zhu Hanming, which was published in the Popular Daily. This article shows Dong Zhongshu's new Confucianism.

The fate of a theory depends on the degree to which its quality fits the society.

After decades of development in the Western Han Dynasty, to the time of Emperor Wu, economic development, social stability and political unity were achieved. On this basis, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the orthodox position of Confucianism in Chinese history through the "three questions of heaven and man" and Dong Zhongshu Hui's "three strategies of heaven and man", and thus ushered in the first civilization in the history of Chinese feudal society - Western Han civilization.

At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty raised three major questions to the scholars of the world:

The first question is about the rationality of regime change: "Where are the three generations appointed?" It means that the Shang Dynasty replaced the Xia and Zhou Dynasty replaced the Shang Dynasty. What is the sign of dynasty change? The essence is to explain the historical rationality of Qin in the Han Dynasty.

The second question is about nature and human nature: "Where does the change of disaster come from? The feeling of life, whether life is long or young, or benevolent or despicable, is familiar with its name, but not candle." That is, what causes the disaster of celestial phenomena, and what is the principle of human nature's good and evil, and fate's premature death?

The third question is about what is happiness: "Iraq wants to be dissolute and ordered, the punishment is light and treacherous, the people are happy, the political affairs are publicized, how to build and measure and paste the dew, the hundred valleys are ascended, the four seas are virtuous, the grass and trees are perfect, the three lights are complete, the cold and the heat are flat, the lake is covered by the sky, the spirit of ghosts and gods is enjoyed, the virtue is overflowing, the people are happy, the people are happy, and the weather is normal, so that the world can live a happy life.".

After the three major issues were raised, scholars from all over the country offered their opinions in succession. Among many great theories and university questions, Dong Zhongshu's "three strategies of heaven and man" was appreciated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which promoted Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to "depose hundreds of schools of thought and respect Confucianism only", ended the situation of "learning from different ways, different people, and different schools of thought" since the pre-Qin Dynasty, and laid the basic pattern of China's feudal society for more than 2000 years.

Compared with the original Confucianism founded by Confucius, Dong Zhongshu's Confucianism can be called the new Confucianism. With the help of the theories of yin and yang and the five elements, he carried out a phoenix nirvana transformation of the original Confucianism, and established a theological system of heaven and man based on the Confucian benevolence, righteousness and morality.

Dong Zhongshu's thought of the interaction between heaven and man based on deism, in the form of the divine grant of monarchy, announced to people the sanctity of the rise of the Han Dynasty, removed the heart knot of the non-ancient nobles who pervaded the hearts of the Han Dynasty, and demonstrated the rationality of the Han regime; "The great source of the Tao is from heaven, and the heaven does not change, and the Tao does not change", which establishes the authority of "heaven" and unifies the belief in the world; Advocating the view of respecting Confucianism and unification, and maintaining the centralized system with Emperor Liu as the core; The "three principles" and "five constancy" ethical thoughts of taking the law from heaven, conducting benevolent and moral governance point out the direction and goal for social governance.

Throughout Dong Zhongshu's new Confucianism, it has the following characteristics:

First, it is based on Confucianism and embodies the inheritance of culture. The Confucian culture created by Confucius is the excellent culture of the Chinese nation. Despite the war, "burning books and trapping Confucianism" was still handed down in the Western Han Dynasty and has been rooted in the hearts of the people. Dong Zhongshu himself became famous by governing the Spring and Autumn Annals, which is one of the five classics edited by Confucius and reflects Confucius' original Confucianism. However, by the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the primitive Confucian thought of not speaking of ghosts and gods, which was established under the patriarchal system, could not meet the needs of social development. Therefore, Dong Zhongshu began to use the theories of yin and yang, five elements and other theories to demonstrate the Confucian ethics of benevolence, righteousness, ethics and ethics, reinterpret the Confucian thought, and complete the theology of the Confucian thought. Dong Zhongshu's new Confucianism not only inherited the pre-Qin Confucianism, but also opened up a new direction for the development of Confucianism, inheriting Confucius and enlightening Zhu Xi, becoming a key figure in the history of the development of Confucianism, and making a significant contribution to the establishment of the traditional spirit of the Chinese nation.

Second, it is characterized by theology and embodies the originality of culture. To be realistic, the theories of Yin and Yang and the five elements were not created by Dong Zhongshu. As a methodology, the theory of Yin and Yang and the theory of the five elements existed in the pre-Qin period and developed independently. However, it is Dong Zhongshu's original creation to fully integrate all kinds of thoughts since the pre-Qin period, especially the theories of Yin and Yang and the five elements, and successfully transform the pre-Qin Confucianism and establish the theoretical system of the interaction between heaven and man. "The Book of the Han Dynasty · Five Elements Annals" said: "Dong Zhongshu ruled the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Gongyang, and began to promote Yin and Yang, and became the Confucian sect." Dong Zhongshu inherited the original Confucianism, and at the same time, possessed the characteristics of theoretical originality. Zhuge Changqing believes that Confucianism is inclusive, inclusive of all things in the world, including all schools of thought. Dong Zhongshu's contribution is to expand the tolerance of Confucianism.

Third, from the perspective of philosophy, it shows the systematic nature of culture. In the pre-Qin period, Confucianism was still limited to the social and ethical fields. Dong Zhongshu introduced the concept of "heaven" into his theory, gave it a moral category, and put the will of this "heaven" through everything, from heaven, to earth, to people, to society, and to everything, all must follow the "will of heaven", to achieve the unity of heaven and man, through heaven and earth, nature, society and personnel, forming a complete ideological system, It provided a theoretical basis for the rule of the Western Han Dynasty. At the same time, it also put forward many concrete measures and propositions in politics, economy, law, education, official administration and so on.

In a word, Dong Zhongshu's new Confucianism has achieved the goal of paying attention to the general situation and understanding the major points. It has not only passed on from generation to generation, but also kept pace with the times and brought forth new ideas.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "three questions about heaven and man" and Dong Zhongshu's "three strategies for heaven and man" reflect two important qualities of academic innovation.

First of all, academic innovation should adhere to the problem orientation and solve social problems. After hundreds of years of social unrest in the Warring States Period, the social system with "etiquette" as the core since the Western Zhou Dynasty collapsed when the Qin Empire collapsed. After more than 70 years of development, the Liu regime of the Western Han Dynasty, which was ranked as the supreme power through the peasant war, appeared a situation of economic prosperity and political unity during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. However, the traditional "ceremony" system under the patriarchal clan system can no longer meet the needs of social development, and the society needs a new set of theories to explain and maintain the centralized situation. In this context, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty raised three questions for the world, and Dong Zhongshu's new Confucianism came into being. This is the need of history and society. Therefore, all academic innovation should solve social problems. Zhuge Changqing believed that no matter what kind of thought, it can have a foothold only if it plays its role.

Secondly, the fate of a theory depends on the degree to which its quality fits the society. The unprecedented unified political situation created by the Western Han Dynasty, for which many academic schools created new theoretical systems from the Qin Dynasty to the early Han Dynasty, but only Dong Zhongshu succeeded. Liu An, the king of Huainan at the same time as Dong Zhongshu, was the uncle of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He once organized his guests to write the "Huainan Honglie Ji" (i.e. "Huainan Zi"), which integrates the thoughts of Taoism, Confucianism, Yin and Yang, and Buddhism, in an attempt to provide an ideological basis for the unified Han Dynasty, but it was not adopted by Emperor Wu after all. Dong Zhongshu's neo-confucianism, although adding religious theological elements, seems to be a kind of regression from the perspective of materialism, but its theory adapted to the level of Han people's understanding of nature, society and human nature, was accepted by the society at that time, and finally became orthodox thought. (Author: Mr. Zhu Hanming, excerpted from Popular Daily)

董仲舒，汉代大儒，孔子之后儒学的创新大家，他推动儒学实现新飞跃。

------ 诸葛长青

    中国儒学，是中国国学的重要支柱之一。

  自从孔子开创儒学以来，儒家思想成为中国社会发展的栋梁柱。

  最近,诸葛长青在研究董仲舒儒学思想，尤其是研读《春秋繁露》过程中，发现董仲舒身上体现了儒家的君子思想，体现了儒家的修身齐家治国平天下，董仲舒本身就是儒家的杰出代表。

  董仲舒，自幼勤奋学习，闭门读书，苦心钻研儒家思想，为了读书竟然能做到“三年不窥园”。董仲舒是孟子、荀子之后的又一个儒学大家。

  董仲舒，钻研史书、文韬武略，有吞吐宇宙之心、包容天地之志，恰逢汉武帝征询天下人才，于是董仲舒横空出世，成为儒学一个新高峰。

  董仲舒的思想，形成了汉武帝之后的安邦定国之基础。

   诸葛长青认为，汉武帝大汉雄风，离不开董仲舒的新儒家思想。

   董仲舒(前179年―前104年)，汉族，广川郡(今河北衡水景县广川镇大董古庄)人，汉代思想家、哲学家、政治家、教育家。

  汉武帝元光元年(前134年)，汉武帝下诏征求治国方略。

  儒生董仲舒在《举贤良对策》中系统地提出了“天人感应”、“大一统”学说。董仲舒认为，"道之大原出于天"，自然、人事都受制于天命，因此反映天命的政治秩序和政治思想都应该是统一的。董仲舒的儒家思想维护了汉武帝的集权统治，为当时社会政治和经济的稳定做出了一定的贡献。

  汉武帝元光元年(前134年)，任江都易王刘非国相10年，元朔四年(前125年)，任胶西王刘端国相，4年后辞职回家。此后，在家著书，朝廷每逢大事，就会让使者及廷尉到他家，问他的意见，仍然受到汉武帝的重视。

    公元前104年，董仲舒去世，由于功德无量，升为天神。

  这里分享朱汉明先生撰写的《董仲舒如何创“新儒学”》一文，该文章发表在《大众日报》上。这篇文章展示了董仲舒的新儒学思想。

   一种学说的命运,取决于其品质契合社会的程度。

　　西汉经过几十年的发展,到武帝时期,经济发展、社会稳定、政治上空前统一。在此基础上,汉武帝通过“天人三问”,董仲舒回以“天人三策”,从思想上确立了儒家学说在中国历史上的正统地位,并由此迎来了中国封建社会史上第一个文明——西汉文明。

　　汉武帝当时向天下士子提出了三大问题:

　　第一是关于政权更迭合理性的问题:“三代受命,其符安在?”意思是商取代夏、周取代商,王朝更迭,有什么标志?本质要解释汉代秦的历史合理性问题。

　　第二是关于自然和人性问题:“灾异之变,何缘而起?性命之情,或寿或夭,或仁或鄙,习闻其号,未烛厥理。”意即天象灾变是由何引起的,人性的善恶、命运夭寿的原则是什么?

　　第三是关于何谓幸福的问题:“伊欲风流而令行,刑轻而奸改,百姓和乐,政事宣昭,何修何饬而膏露降,百谷登,德润四海,泽臻草木,三光全,寒暑平,受天之祜,享鬼神之灵,德泽洋溢,施乎方外,延及群生?”意即何以做到政治清明,百姓和乐,天时正常五谷丰登,使天下过上幸福的日子。

　　三大问题提出后,全国士子纷纷献言。在众多的大理论、大学问中,董仲舒“天人三策”得到汉武帝的赏识,促成了汉武帝“罢黜百家,独尊儒术”,结束了先秦以来“师异道,人异论,百家殊方”的局面,奠定了中国两千多年封建社会的基本格局。

　　董仲舒的儒学,相对于孔子创立的原始儒学来讲,可以称为新儒学。他借助阴阳、五行等学说对原始儒学进行了凤凰涅槃式的改造,建立了以儒家仁义道德为主的天人感应神学体系。

  董仲舒以自然神论为基础的天人感应的思想,以君权神授的形式,向人们宣布了汉王朝当兴的神圣性,去掉了弥漫在汉朝人心中的非上古贵族取得天下的心结,论证了汉政权的合理性；“道之大原出于天,天不变道亦不变”,树立了“天”的权威,统一了天下信仰；倡导独尊儒术和大一统的观点,维护了刘氏皇帝为核心的中央集权制；取法于天、以行仁政、德治的“三纲”“五常”伦理思想为社会治理指明了方向和目标。

　　纵观董仲舒的新儒学,具有如下特点:

　　一是以儒学为本,体现了文化的继承性。孔子创立的儒家文化是中华民族的优秀文化,尽管遭遇战乱,“焚书坑儒”,到西汉时仍薪火相传,一直根植在人民的心中。董仲舒本身就是靠治《春秋》而成名,《春秋》是孔子删定的五经之一,体现了孔子的原始儒家思想。但到西汉中期,建立在宗法制下的不言鬼神的原始儒家思想已经不适应社会发展的需要。于是,董仲舒开始用阴阳、五行等学说来论证儒家的仁义道德、纲常名教,重新阐发儒家思想,完成了儒家思想的神学化。董仲舒的新儒学既继承了先秦儒家思想,又开辟了儒学发展的新方向,上承孔子,下启朱熹,成为儒学发展史上关键的人物,为奠定中华民族的传统精神作出了重大贡献。

　　二是以神学为特色,体现了文化的原创性。实事求是地说,阴阳、五行等学说思想,不是董仲舒独创的,阴阳学说作为一种方法论,五行学说作为一种解释论,在先秦时期就存在,都是各自独立发展的。但是,充分糅合了先秦以来的各种思想,特别是阴阳、五行等学说思想,成功地改造了先秦儒家思想,建立了天人感应神学理论体系,则是董仲舒的独创。《汉书·五行志》说:“董仲舒治《公羊春秋》,始推阴阳,为儒者宗。”董仲舒在继承原始儒学的同时,具备了理论原创性的特点。诸葛长青认为，儒家思想是包容的，包容天地万物，包含诸子百家思想。董仲舒的贡献就是，扩展了儒家思想的包容。

　　三是从哲学的高度,展现了文化的系统性。先秦时期,儒家思想还仅限于社会和伦理领域,董仲舒在其理论中引入了“天”的概念,赋予了道德范畴,并把这种“天”的意志贯穿一切,从天、到地、到人、到社会、再到万事万物,都要依“天意”而行,要做到天人合一,贯穿于天地、自然、社会和人事,形成了完整的思想体系,为西汉王朝的统治提供了理论基础。同时,又结合实际,提出了许多政治、经济、法律、教育、吏治等方面的具体措施和主张。

　　总之,董仲舒的新儒学做到了顾大体、识大要,既做到了薪火相传、代代守护,又与时俱进、推陈出新。

　　汉武帝“天人三问”与董仲舒“天人三策”,体现了学术创新的两种重要品格。

　　首先,学术创新要坚持问题导向,解决社会问题。经过战国几百年的社会动乱,到秦帝国灭亡时,西周以来以“礼”为核心的社会制度土崩瓦解。通过农民战争而跻身于至尊之位的西汉刘氏政权,经过七十多年的发展,到汉武帝时期,出现了经济繁荣、政治一统的局面。但基于宗法制之下的传统“礼”制已经不适应社会发展的需要,社会需要一套新的学说来解释、维护中央集权大一统局面。在这种背景下,汉武帝为天下人提出了三个问题,董仲舒的新儒学应运而生。这是历史的需要,也是社会的需要。因此,一切学术创新都要解决社会问题。诸葛长青认为，不论什么思想，只有发挥作用，才可以有立足之地。

　　其次,一种学说的命运,取决于其品质契合社会的程度。西汉开创的空前的大一统的政治局面,秦及汉初就有不少学术流派为其制造出新的学说体系,但做得比较成功的只有董仲舒。与董仲舒同时代的淮南王刘安,是汉武帝的叔叔,曾组织宾客门人撰写了融合道、儒、阴阳、法等流派思想的《淮南鸿烈记》(即《淮南子》),试图为统一的汉王朝提供思想依据,但终究没有被武帝所采纳。董仲舒的新儒学,虽然增添了宗教神学的成分,从唯物论的角度,似乎是一种倒退,但其学说适应了汉人对自然、对社会、对人性的认识水平,为当时的社会所接受,最终成为正统思想。(作者：朱汉明先生，摘录自《大众日报》）

(This article is an original article by Zhuge Changqing, and the pictures are selected from the Internet. Welcome to forward it, and please indicate the source for forwarding)

Introduction to Zhuge Changqing: Zhuge Changqing, the inheritor and promoter of traditional Chinese culture, is willing to "learn from sages, promote virtue, revitalize China and benefit the world" together with people with the same ideals in the world.

(Zhuge Changqing: zhuge8031@163.com ）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

Zhuge Changqing's Chinese Dream

Learn from sages and carry forward virtue

Revitalizing China for the benefit of the world

 （本文是诸葛长青原创文章，图片选自网络。欢迎转发，转发引用请注明出处）

诸葛长青简介：诸葛长青，中国国学传统文化传承弘扬者，愿与天下志同道合者一起“学习圣贤、弘扬善德、振兴中华、造福世界”。

（诸葛长青：zhuge8031@163.com）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

  诸葛长青中国梦  

学习圣贤 弘扬善德

振兴中华 造福世界

Selected Articles in Previous Periods

Click the article title to view

往期精选文章

点击文章标题查看

1The wisdom of traditional Chinese culture changes the destiny: filial piety to parents+five in one+self-improvement

1 国学智慧改命运：孝敬父母+五合一+自强不息

2Zhuge Changqing's Three Golden Keys to Changing Destiny

2诸葛长青改命运三把金钥匙诸葛长青施食仪轨 （十五步简洁版）

3Zhuge Changqing's Greeting Ritual (15 Steps Concise Version)

3 诸葛长青施食仪轨 （十五步简洁版）

4How to repent: the ritual of repentance and the method of repentance (full version)

4   如何忏悔：忏悔仪轨忏悔方法（完整版）

5How to read the Dizang Sutra: Methods for reciting Dizang Sutra (complete version)

5 如何念地藏经：念地藏经仪轨方法（完整版）

6How to release? The ritual of releasing life

6怎样放生？放生仪轨

7Zhuge Changqing's Repentance Culture: A Case Study of Repentance Methods for Changing Destiny

7诸葛长青忏悔文化：改变命运忏悔方法案例

8Free Life Culture: Free Life Culture in Ancient China

8放生文化：中国古代的放生文化

9Shocking photo of feeding: Buddha, Bodhisattva and Dharma Protector come to the scene

9施食震撼照片：佛菩萨护法神亲临现场

10Feeding Rite Return: the return is changed to simple return

10施食仪轨回向：回向修改为简洁回向