Feng Bing: Zhu Xi's Research on Zeng Zi's Works and Its Significance

The author is the person in charge of the key project of the National Social Science Fund "Interpretation and Research of the Meaning of Beixi", and a professor of Xiamen University

As one of the important disciples of Confucius, Zengzi is famous for comprehensively inheriting Confucius' ethical thoughts of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and filial piety and the principle of "loyalty, forgiveness and consistency" in the history of Confucianism, but his historical position has ups and downs. It was not until the first month of the third year of Duzong Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty (1267) that the imperial court issued an imperial edict to "share with Yan Yuan, Zeng Shen, Kong Ji and Meng Ke", and Zeng Zi was officially listed as one of the four matches of Confucius Temple, and his orthodox status was fully established. In the process of the promotion of Zengzi's status, Zhu Xi's series of discussions on Zengzi's ideological purpose, orthodox status, etc. are of vital importance. In the discussion of Zengzi's status, the classification and confirmation of his writings are the main line throughout, mainly involving four kinds of documents, namely, The Analects of Confucius, The Book of Filial Piety, The Great Learning and Zengzi. In order to better understand Zengzi, it is quite necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of Zhu Xi's textual research on Zengzi's writings.

The Analects of Confucius was written by Zengzi and his disciples

There have always been different opinions about the author of The Analects of Confucius. In his daily speeches, Zhu Xi did not positively admit who the Analects of Confucius was written, but only admitted that the Analects of Confucius was recorded by Confucius' disciples. However, Er Cheng and his disciples have a clear conclusion on this issue. Zhu Xi once quoted Cheng Zi in the Preface to the Analects of Confucius, saying, "The book of the Analects of Confucius was formed by the disciples who had sons and Zeng Zi, so the book has only two sons named as sons." Yang Shi's theory quoted in Volume I of the Essence of the Analects of Confucius is more detailed, and Yang Shi also believes that the book of the Analects of Confucius refers to Confucius as "sons", In addition to Confucius, they are Youzi and Zengzi, which shows their great respect for them. In ancient times, the word "Zi" was usually used by disciples to honor their teachers, or to honor the highly respected. In view of this, the teachers and students of Chengmen clearly pointed out that the Analects of Confucius was written by the disciples of Youzi and Zengzi. Yang Shi also added that Zengzi was the youngest disciple of Confucius, and the Analects of Confucius recorded Zengzi's death. It can be seen that the book was written after Zengzi's death, so it is reasonable to say that he came from Zengzi and the disciples who had sons.

Zhu Xi cited the above remarks of Cheng Men in his most complacent "Four Books, Chapter and Sentence Collections", indicating that he was finally in favor of the judgment that the Analects of Confucius was written in Zengzi and Youzimen. Another example is that in his letter "Answering Cheng Yunfu", he gave three defense opinions to the question that Zengzi and Youzi were not among the "four disciplines and ten philosophies" proposed by Confucius: "Those who describe the four disciplines in the Analects of Confucius remember the prosperity of the Confucius family, which is not Confucius' words, so they are all words without names, which should not belong to the above. Or, the Analects of Confucius The book is written by Zengzi and the disciples who have sons. But if the two sons are not among the topics, isn't it the intention of the disciples to respect their teachers? The four subjects are all from Chen and Cai, so the reporter listed them because the teacher was inferior. " First, the "Ten Philosophers" are all called words rather than names, which is unconventional and must not be what Confucius himself said; Second, if Zengzi and Youzi were really not respected by Confucius, their disciples would not select this item for the purpose of respecting their teachers when compiling the Analects of Confucius; Third, the theory of "four disciplines and ten philosophies" came from Confucius' disciples. It was because Confucius recalled the plight of Chen and Cai, lamenting that things had changed and people had changed. Accompanying disciples listed their main followers in different disciplines. Zengzi and Youzi did not travel at that time. It was normal that they were not listed in this category.

There are still many discussions on this issue, but such an explanation of "denying the superiority of the ten philosophers" was quite popular in the Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi's second defense is still quoted with the word "or yue", but it also shows that he accepts the view that the Analects of Confucius was written in Zengzi and Youzi people. Perhaps it is because of this that he has the confidence to defend Zengzi and Youzi. The Analects of Confucius is not only related to Zengzi and the disciples who have sons, but also closely related to them naturally. From this we can see that they (especially Zengzi) play an important role in Zhu Xi's eyes.

The Scripture of Filial Piety is closely related to Zeng Zi

There are also many discussions on the completion and author of The Book of Filial Piety. The two mainstream views in history are that the book was written by Confucius or by Zengzi and his disciples. However, Cheng and Zhu both expressed doubts about this. Cheng Yi said, "But there is something suspicious about the text of the Book of Filial Piety." Zhu Xi believed that "The Book of Filial Piety is suspicious of the words of non saints", and wrote "Mistakes in the Book of Filial Piety" to carefully analyze this problem. Based on the ancient text "The Book of Filial Piety", he identified the first seven chapters (the present text "The Book of Filial Piety" is the first six chapters) as the classics, and believed that it was "the words of Confucius and Zengzi who asked and answered, and what the Zengzi disciples remember". Zhu Xi then divided the classics and biographies for the Book of Filial Piety, emphasizing that the part of the classics reflected the views of Confucius and Zengzi, which was recorded by Zengzi disciples, and the content of the biography may be "miscellaneous biographies". According to the records in Volume 82 of Zhu Xi's Analects, Zhu Xi even said that "all of them were made by later generations", "but it seems that people who did not know what was written are mostly in the language of Zuo Zhuan... It is suspected that people fought together during the Warring States Period". In short, Zhu Xi believed that the part of the classics in the Book of Filial Piety was recorded by Zengzi's disciples, and the discussion about filial piety between Confucius and Zeng was closely related to Zengzi; The part of the biography is a patchwork of later generations, "completely without justice", which was written in the Warring States Period.

However, Zhu Xi also pointed out that if it is difficult to clarify the specific situation of the completion of the Book of Filial Piety, it can also be put on hold for the time being. More importantly, it is necessary to analyze the meaning of the book. Because although "The Book of Filial Piety" is also a modest book, you can't trust it all. But it is also true to start with righteousness ". Filial piety is of great significance not only in cultivating morality and regulating the family, but also in governing the country and the world. Even though the Book of Filial Piety is a "makeshift book", its discussion of filial piety is still crucial. He said to his disciple Huang Shiyi on this matter: "Let's pay attention to whether the truth is true or not... It's not necessary to ask who wrote this book and who wrote it." Therefore, Chen Li, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, once pointed out in the Book of Reading in Dongshu: "Zhu Zi told the king and the people to teach them that they all used the Book of Filial Piety. Scholars should not regard Zhu Zi as having the book of errors, but said that he did not respect the Book of Filial Piety." We thought, Zhu Xi attached great importance to the Book of Filial Piety, but it was not so much that he respected the Book of Filial Piety, but rather that he respected the filial piety of Confucius and Zeng. In Zhu Xi's view, the text of the Book of Filial Piety can be divided into classics and biographies. Only the part of the classics is the discussion of Confucius and Zengzi on the principles of filial piety, which is the words of sages, and the part of the biographies is not credible. Therefore, it is not appropriate to say generally that Zhu Xi "respects and believes" the entire Book of Filial Piety.

The University is most relevant to Zeng Zi

As for the statement of the author of The Great Learning, Zhang Xing summed up that there are Confucius, Confucius, Zengzi, Zengzi people, Zengzi people, Zengzi people, seventy scholars, Zisi people, Xunzi people, unknown Qin Confucians, early Han Confucians, Dong Zhongshu people, etc. As for the completion of the Great Learning, Zhu Xi's Preface to the Chapters and Sentences of the Great Learning first divided it into one chapter of classics and ten chapters of biography. He thought that one chapter of classics was "the words of Confucius, and Zeng Zi said it". More specifically, Confucius said that he "took the method of the first king alone, recited it and passed it on to the later generations" when the Zhou Dynasty was in decline, politics, religion and customs were in decline and he was not in his position. The Ten Chapters of the Biography are "Zengzi's meaning and the disciples remember it", which is Zengzi's view on the way of politics and religion recorded by Zengzi's disciples.

Zhu Xi then stressed that the part of the "Great Learning" is mainly based on the success of the way of primary school, stating clearly the "clear method of the university", that is, the goal, principle and path of the university teaching, which is not only grand in scale, but also detailed in content. However, only Zengzi can really understand these thoughts of Confucius. Zhu Xi said: "Three thousand people can't help but hear what they say, and the Zengzi's biography is unique, so it can be used as a biography to express its meaning." Therefore, Zengzi, on the one hand, faithfully spread Confucius' thoughts on the education of university, which is the content of the chapter of the book of the University; On the other hand, Zengzi gave full play to Confucius' thoughts in teaching, and his students recorded them, which constituted the ten chapters of the biography of the Great Learning. In a word, Zhu Xi believes that the Great Learning embodies the understanding of Confucius and Zengzi on politics and the way of enlightenment, and is written by Zengzi and his disciples.

A disciple asked Zhu Xi why he made such a judgment? Zhu Xi first explained in the Great Learning or Quest according to the style of the book of Great Learning, "It is reasonable to make a formal statement, and it is near but far, which is beyond the reach of saints". In his opinion, the style is just like the person, and the words of the book of the Great Learning are simple and simple, but the meaning is complete and profound, which is just a reflection of the sage atmosphere.

As for biographies, Zhu Xi pointed out that their contents either directly quoted Zengzi's words, or were consistent with the thoughts of The Doctrine of the Mean and Mencius. The Doctrine of the Mean was written by Zisi, and Mencius was Zisi's student. The content of the biography of the Great Learning should be handed down by Zisi to Mencius, and Zisi is Zengzi's disciple. Therefore, even if we cannot say that the biography of Daxue was written by Zisi, we can say that it was "written by Zeng's family".

In addition, Zhu Xi also has a clear evaluation of the writing style of biographies in "University Chapters". He said: "If there is no unified discipline, then the literature and theory are connected, the blood is connected, the depth is consistent, and it is extremely precise." The biography is somewhat disordered in the form of citation and expression. At first glance, it seems that there is no organization, but after careful study, it can be found that its theory is profound, and its internal logic is clear and coherent. This style of writing is sufficient to prove that the content of the biography of the Great Learning is from the sages (Zengzi) and recorded by the disciples who are less qualified. It is precisely because the biography records "if there is no unified discipline", so Zhu Xi refused to directly attribute it to Zisi, but only emphasized that it was written by Zengzi's disciples.

"Zengzi" or for Zengzi people

The Confucian category of Hanshu · Yiwenzhi contains "eighteen articles of Zengzi", which was considered by Ban Gu to be the work of Zeng Can. Therefore, in later generations, he only wrote Zengzi. For example, Suishu · Jingji Zhi said that "there are two volumes of Zengzi, one volume of the bibliography, and the State of Lu once wrote it". However, by the time Wei Zheng compiled Qun Shu Zhi Yao in the Taizong period of the Tang Dynasty, a part of Zeng Zi had been lost, and only ten pieces remained, which are stored in the Da Dai Li Ji seen today. However, Zhu Xi did not approve of the Book of Rites of Dadai, saying that "Dadai Rites has no head, and its contents are empty, which are not taken by Xiaodai. There are many false articles in it, which also have the best benefits. However, there are many mistakes and it is difficult to read". In his opinion, the lost items in Zengzi included in Da Dai's Book of Rites probably did not exist originally.

There have always been two opinions about the author of Zengzi: one is that it was written by Zengzi, and the other is that the content of the book is a discussion between Zengzi and his disciples, who wrote the book. Zhu Xi is also skeptical about whether it was written by Zengzi. He pointed out in the book "After Zengzi" edited by Liu Zicheng that Zengzi "has many words and deeds in the Analects of Confucius, the books of Mencius and other biographers, but all of them are scattered, not a single word. However, the author of the legendary book" Zengzi "only took ten articles from" Da Dai Li "to fill it, and its speech climate is based on" Lun "," Meng "," Tan Gong " The pictures in other chapters are far away ". Zhu Xi still judged it mainly by the "speech atmosphere", that is, the style of writing and the character atmosphere of the author, thus denying the possibility of doing it for Zengzi himself. However, he later said that the book was probably written by the "sincere, honest and clean person" among Zeng Zi's disciples, but its "hearing is very shallow", after all, it was also written by Zeng Zi's disciples, and the basic idea can still be regarded as originating from Zeng Zi.

However, Zhu Xi had reservations about Zengzi and its relationship with Zengzi after all, so he never quoted or discussed it much. Luo Xinhui pointed out through analysis: "It should be affirmed that Zengzi is a collection of ideological materials of Zengzi and his disciples, and is a basic reliable material for studying Zengzi's thoughts. Its writing and compilation time was in the early Warring States Period." This judgment basically clarified the reliability of the text of Zengzi, and emphasized that the book is closely related to Zengzi, which is more optimistic than Zhu Xi's view.

The Characteristics and Significance of Zhu Xi's Research

On the whole, Zhu Xi's attitude to the analysis of Zeng Zi's writings is prudent. For example, when it comes to the expression of the author of The Analects of Confucius, he mainly quotes the former saying that he only attributed the author of the biography of the Great Learning to "Zeng's family" rather than directly saying that it was Zisi, he divided the classics for the Filial Piety Sutra and did not generally regard it as written by Zengzi, and he refused to quote more because of his conservative view on the reliability of the text of Zengzi, and so on.

Its principles can be summed up in at least two points: one is to attach importance to the logic and integrity of the text content. For example, the content of Zeng Zi's works that he denied is "messy" and "improvised" in his opinion; Second, based on the literary theory standard of "style is man", we should pay attention to whether the author has a sage atmosphere from the depth of the meaning of the article and the style of the language expression, and divide the classics and biographies of ancient books. From the above methodological principles, Zhu Xi's discussion mainly started from the moral principles and style of writing, which may be insufficient in terms of textual research, but it is also sufficient to show that in Zhu Xi's mind, the great son has a good grasp of the Confucian moral principles, and has a more typical personality image of sages.

Zhu Xi's emphasis on Zengzi is more clearly reflected in his confirmation of Zengzi's orthodox position in his Preface to the Doctrine of the Mean. He pointed out in it that Confucius "inherited the tradition of morality from his husband", and then "only Yan and Zeng passed on their ancestors. And Zeng passed on the tradition again, and the grandson of the teacher thought again... It was true and passed on again to get Mencius..." It can be seen from it that although Confucius preached to Yan Hui and Zeng Zi, Yan Hui unfortunately died early, and Zeng Zi was the only one who was responsible for preaching the Tao. However, Zengzi's orthodox status cannot be established only by the next conclusion in the Preface to the Doctrine of the Mean, so Zhu Xi will spare no effort to demonstrate Zengzi's sage personality image and orthodox status from all aspects. This is the significance of his textual research on Zeng Zi's writings.

Among the works related to Zengzi, Daxue is the one most closely related to Zengzi. Under the influence of Cheng Zi, Zhu Xi, when discussing the order of reading in Farewell to Prime Minister Chen, clearly took the Great Learning as the "gateway to morality", and emphasized that "scholars should study first, knowing that it is the order of learning, is to read the" Yu "," Meng "and" The Doctrine of the Mean ". It can be seen that among the "four books" advocated by Zhu Xi, besides Confucius, Zengzi's thoughts are also connected with them. Even because of his precise and concise understanding and interpretation of Confucius' thoughts, Zhu Xi also regarded the Great Learning as a must read classic for learning Confucianism, ranking first among the "four books". As a result, Zengzi's orthodox status and the image of saints' personality have gradually been fully demonstrated and established with Zhu Xi's research on Zengzi's writings and the construction of Zhu Xi's four books. At the same time, Zhu Xi also showed his Taoist orthodoxy more clearly in the process of examining Zengzi's writings.