Establish a heart for heaven and earth, and establish a destiny for the people
For the sake of continuing to learn from the saints, for the peace of all the worlds
In Hengqu Town, located 26 kilometers east of the county seat of Mei County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, a courtyard with Song style and Ming and Qing characteristics is quietly and thickly stationed in a corner of the street, which is the famous Zhang Zai Ancestral Hall and the location of Hengqu Academy. The ancestral hall is covered with pines and cypresses, lush and lush, and a 9.3-meter-high Zhang Zai hand planted cypress through ancient and modern times, indicating the thickness and depth of the ancestral hall. Cypress branches are like dragons, green branches pointing directly to the sky, although after nearly a thousand years, it is still full of vitality, which is just like Mr. Hengqu Zhang Zai's thoughts, although time flies, but the thought is not old, affecting Chinese history for a thousand years.
Hengqu Academy is in the Hall of Meng
【01】
A life of ups and downs, ambitions are high, and he insisted on establishing Guan Xue
Zhang Zai, originally from Daliang (present-day Kaifeng, Henan), was born in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi) in the fourth year of Tianxi (1020), with a thick character, known as Mr. Hengqu, was one of the founders of the Northern Song Dynasty and the master of Guan Xue. The humanistic value of "honoring and honoring virtue", the Taiping concept of "four sentences of horizontal canals" and the spiritual realm of "the unity of heaven and man" that he left for future generations have far-reaching influence and are still playing an active role today.
According to historical records, Zhang Zai was talented and intelligent from an early age, and when he was 15 years old, his father Zhang Di died of illness, and the family decided to move his coffin to his original da liang for burial. Zhang Zai and his 5-year-old brother Zhang Jian and his mother Lu Shi escorted their father's coffin to Hengqu Town, because of insufficient coiling on their bodies and heard about the war ahead, they buried their father on the Dazhen Valley Mihu Ridge, 8 kilometers south of Hengqu Town. Since then, Zhang Zai has settled down in Mei County, studied at the Chongshou Academy in Hengqu Town, and was later invited to give lectures in Kaifeng, Chang'an, Wugong Lvye Academy, Fufeng Xianshan Temple, and other places, and his disciples were mostly scholars and serving officials in the Guanzhong area.
At that time, the Western Xia often invaded the western border, and in October of the fourth year of the Celebratory Calendar (1044), the imperial court negotiated peace with the Western Xia and "gave" a large amount of materials such as silk, silver and tea to the Western Xia. Zhang Zai always had the idea of saving the country with fine weapons, so he wrote a letter to Fan Zhongyan, who was then the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Jingluo and presided over the defense of the northwest, stating his idea of recovering the land of Taoxi, which had been taken by Western Xia. Fan Zhongyan summoned Zhang Zai at Yanzhou (present-day Yan'an) and believed that Zhang Zai, as a Confucian student, would later become a great instrument, so he persuaded him to abandon Wu Congwen and encouraged him to study the Confucian classics starting from the Zhongyong.
Zhang Zai listened to Fan Zhongyan's advice and went home to read "Zhongyong", but he was still dissatisfied. Therefore, after reading the books of The Buddha and Taoism, I realized that these books could not realize my grand ambitions, and returned to Confucianism. After more than ten years of study, Zhang Zai finally realized the principle of complementarity and mutual communication between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and gradually formed a unique system of Guanxue.
In the second year of Emperor Renzong of Song (1057), the 38-year-old Zhang Zai went to Beijing (Kaifeng) to take the exam, when Ouyang Xiu was the main examiner, and Zhang Zai was with the brothers Su Shi and Su Rui. After that, he successively served as a judicial officer in Qi Prefecture (祁州, in present-day Anguo, Hebei), a writer of Yunyan County (in present-day Yichuan, Shaanxi), and a military judge in Weizhou (present-day Pingliang, Gansu).
When he was making the Yunyan County Order, he handled affairs conscientiously, the government decree was strict, and the handling of political affairs was carried out with "Dun Ben Good Customs" as the first priority, he promoted moral governance, attached importance to moral education, and advocated the social trend of respecting the elderly and loving the young. Standing wine and food hospitality, during the banquet to inquire about the sufferings of the people, put forward the principles and requirements for the discipline of children. The county government's regulations and notices summoned the township elders every time, repeatedly told the people who attended the meeting, and asked them to relay them to the villagers. Therefore, his teachings are not unknown even to illiterate people and children. In Weizhou, he had a very good relationship with Cai Ting, the slight envoy of huanqing road, and was deeply respected and trusted by Cai Ting, and he had to consult him on matters large and small in the military government. He persuaded Cai Ting to take tens of thousands of military funds to relieve the victims in the year of the catastrophe, and created the "Law of Soldiers", popularized the joint training and operations of the military and the people in border defense, and also put forward suggestions such as abolishing the shu soldiers (the central army) and replacing the defense, and recruiting local people to replace them. During this period, he also wrote "Jingyuan Road Jingluosi on Side Affairs" and "Jingluosi Side Affairs Uniform", etc., showing his military and political talents.
At the age of 51, because of his views on Wang Anshi's new coup law, Zhang Zai resigned from the official and returned to Hengqu Town, living on the thin fields of his family, and lecturing and reading at the ChongshouYuan where he was a teenager. During this period, he wrote a large number of works summarizing his life's academic achievements and leading his students to the two practices of restoring the ancient rites and the Ida system. There are still relics preserved in Yaxia Village, Fufeng Wujing Town, and Chang'an Meridian Town in Hengqu Town, and the story of "Hengqu Eight Water Inspection Well Field" is still circulated in this area.
In the tenth year of The Xining Dynasty (1077), Zhang Zai was recommended to return to Beijing again as the deputy of the Ceremonial Department. Because he supported the implementation of the retro wedding crown funeral ceremony without success, he resigned from the government and returned home through illness. In the twelfth month of the lunar calendar of that year, he traveled to Lintong, stayed in the museum that night, bathed and slept, and died the next morning at the age of 58. At the time of his death, only one nephew was around, and the students in Chang'an rushed to raise funds to bury the teacher.
In Zhang Zai's life, he was summoned to Jin twice, and he was three foreign ministers, wrote books and lily, and was poor all his life. In the Dazhen Valley MihuLing, 7 kilometers south of Zhang Zaici Temple, Zhang Zai's tomb is located here. This 100-acre cemetery is the burial place of Zhang Zai, his father Zhang Di and his brother Zhang Jian. The ChongshouYuan where Zhang Zai taught was also changed to Hengqu Academy, and the younger generations honored Zhang Zai as "Mr. Zhang Fuzi of Hengqu".
Statue of Zhang Zai
【02】
The "Four Sentences of The Horizontal Canal" Guan Xue Essence Governing the World and Ruling the Government is determined to establish a destiny
"Establish a heart for the heavens and the earth, establish a destiny for the people, continue to learn from the saints, and open up peace for the world." In Zhang Zai's spiritual legacy, these four famous sayings are widely recited and are also the essence of his thoughts, and Feng Youlan calls them the "Four Sentences of Hengqu". The ideological content contained in these 22 words is very rich, and it is explained in more popular words, that is, to explore the laws of the universe, to seek the truth of the healthy development of mankind, to inherit the progressive ideas of the sages and saints, to govern the country with advanced ideological methods, and to ensure that the whole country and even mankind live a happy and worry-free life. This is Zhang Zai's concept of governing the world.
According to historical records, Zhang Zai was diligent and loyal to his duties when he was an official, and when Song Yingzong assisted Cai Ting, the commander of the Weizhou Army, in planning border defense affairs, he handled the affairs of the military government in an orderly manner, no matter how big or small. In addition, he enforced the law impartially, and went to Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo, Zhejiang) to try the embezzlement case of Miao Zhen, deputy envoy of the Zhongzheng Army Jiedu, and it was confirmed that there was no corruption, so Miao Zhen was sentenced from death to dismissal.
The first three sentences of Zhang Zai's "Four Sentences of Hengqu" are intended to lay a long-term spiritual and cultural foundation for society, reflecting Zhang Zai's foresight. "Opening up peace for all the worlds" is a classic expression of ancient intellectuals taking the world as their responsibility, and it is also the most Chinese style and the concept of great power peace that has influenced it to this day. "Four For" involves human values and goals, the meaning of life, the inheritance of Taoism, and social ideals, and shows Zhang Zai's feelings of love, lofty ambitions and a strong sense of mission.
Throughout his life, Zhang Zai was poor, lived with the people at the bottom of society all year round, tasted the living conditions of the people, and actively promoted his benevolent spirit of "people and things", the moral style of "respecting morality and loving the people", the study style of "fine thinking and practicing", the temperament of "big heart and body", the materialistic cosmology of "too vain is qi", and the dialectical thought of "one thing and two bodies", and jointly built up the academic system of "Guan Xue" thought.
"Guan Xue" was founded by Zhang Zai, and later inherited by his disciples and successors of the Southern Song Dynasty, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, a school of science popular in the Guanzhong region, together with Zhou Dunyi's "Lian Xue", Ercheng's "Luo Xue", and Zhu Xi's "Min Xue", which together formed the four schools of Song Dynasty science, known as "Lian, Luo, Guan, and Min".
In the autumn of the ninth year of Xi Ning (1076), the 57-year-old Zhang Zai finally completed an important work that embodied the essence and system of his philosophical thought, "Zhengmeng". The "Four Sentences of Horizontal Canal" is the concentrated embodiment of his philosophical theme. In the fifth year of Emperor Renzong of Song (1053), a major drought in Qi prefecture (Qishan County) caused a serious crop failure. After Zhang Zai heard about it, every time he ate, he could not swallow the food and sympathized with the hungry people. It is hoped that officials should care for the people and all the creatures of the world as they love themselves and treat their friends.
Inside the Zhang Zai Ancestral Hall, there are two stone tablets inscribed with "Dong Ming" and "Xi Ming" (also known as "Ding Jie"), which is taken from the "Zhengmeng Qian Title", and the famous "Minwu Compatriots, Wu Wu and Ye" thought comes from this short article: "Qian is called father, Kun is called mother." Yuz is in the middle of the chaos. Therefore, the plug of heaven and earth, my body; the handsomeness of heaven and earth, my nature. People, my fellow citizens; things, me and also. ”
Zhang Zai regards the people as his compatriots and all things as his friends, which contains a sense of responsibility and spiritual pursuit that is related to the world and has the world in mind. Zhang Zai's life is a true portrayal of "people's compatriots and things". The ethical sentiment of "people and things" can best reflect the ideological spirit of Zhang Zairenxiao.
At the level of social ethics, everyone should respect the old and the young, fulfill their moral obligations, and give full play to the humanitarian spirit, and treat those who are "tired, disabled, lonely, widowed" as their brothers and give sympathy and love. "Compatriots of the people, things and also", contains the spirit of fraternity based on the unity of heaven and man, the same root of all things, and advocates the ethical feelings of benevolence, loyalty and filial piety, which is also the core spirit of "XiMing". Historically, "people's compatriots and things" have inspired benevolent people to save the country from danger and save the people from charcoal. Today, it still enlightens us to take the world as our own responsibility, care for society, pay attention to people's livelihood, and consciously shoulder the responsibility for the national society.
Not only at home, Zhang Zai and his ideas have also had a far-reaching influence overseas, especially in Southeast Asia. Since the 1990s, many experts and scholars at home and abroad, descendants of Zhang Zaihou, have come to Zhang Zaici to study and carry out academic exchange activities. In addition, some works on Zhang Zai, especially the "four for" ideas, have been published overseas, and Xi Ming has been selected as a textbook in Japan and Korea.
Zhang Zai hand planted cypress trees
【03】
The "Six Haves" and "Ten Precepts" regulate ethics
Godson and grandson Reed and cultivate
As the founder of "Guan Xue", Zhang Zai devoted most of his life to writing books and teaching and educating people. The History of Song zhang Zaiben evaluates Zhang Zaizhi's learning with "honoring and honoring virtue". Zhang Zai ethics consists of the theory of etiquette and morality. Etiquette belongs to the "normative ethics" of Zhang Zai's ethics. For individual cultivation, he advocated "knowing etiquette into nature" and "using etiquette to become morality"; for the content of education, he advocated "teaching with etiquette"; for social atmosphere, he advocated "using etiquette to become customs".
Zhang Zai attaches great importance to the moral and etiquette education of the children and students of the family. For family members, Zhang Zai formulated the basic family rules and family training, that is, "six haves" and "ten precepts", which standardized all aspects of life and still shines with wisdom.
"Six haves" is Zhang Zai's inscription after visiting the Wuhou Ancestral Hall in MianXian County when he was 15 years old: "Words have teachings, movements have laws, daytime deeds, nightfalls have gains, rest has nourishment, and instantaneous existence." This means: there should be culture in speaking, and there should be rules in action. Make a difference during the day, and meditate on your own experience at night. When resting, you must maintain your body and temperament, and you can't rest assured that you can't run outside in an instant, but you must have harvest and save.
Later, Zhang Zai also put forward the "Ten Precepts": Abstain from expelling the ranks of adulterous friends; abstain from fresh clothes and delicacies; abstain from galloping horses and testing swords and fighting cocks and running dogs; abstain from drinking and singing indiscriminately; abstaining from getting up early; abstaining from lightly moving and scolding according to the situation of his father and brother; abstaining from acting sharply and provocatively; abstaining from being close to a bitch; abstaining from arrogance and not following enough feet; and abstaining from more slander and practicing the language of the city.
These ten precepts reflect a cultural belief of Zhang Zai and his family, and set the rules for the descendants of the Zhang family to behave in the world. On the basis of the "Six Haves" and "Ten Precepts", Zhang Zai also put forward higher moral standards, especially the writing of the "Dong Ming" and "Xi Ming" precepts, which are written on both sides of the gate of Hengqu Academy, which are the mottos that his family disciples and students must be familiar with.
"Respect the high age, so grow long; the love is lonely and weak, so it is young and young."
"Worthy of the house leak as no shame, deliberately cultivating sex as a bandit."
"Rich and noble, will be the life of Hou wu; poor and poor, yongyu Ru Yu Chengye."
"DongMing" emphasizes that people should be honest, neither deceive others, nor deceive themselves; "Ximing" emphasizes having a broad mind, filial piety to elders, loving the lonely and weak, and relieving the world's poor people.
Zhang Zai's philosophical ideas and family rules were taught by later generations. In the ninth year of Xi Ning (1076), Lü Dafang, known as the "Four Lüs of Lantian", and Zhang Zai's students Lü Dazhong, Lü Dajun, and Lü Dalin formulated and implemented the earliest written "Village Rules and People's Covenants" in China's history, the "Lü Clan Township Covenant": moral and industrial persuasion; fault and failure; mutual intersection of etiquette and customs; and compassion for hardships. The "Lü's Township Covenant" fully embodies the spirit of improving oneself, serving the society, and promoting civilization, which is a consolation to Zhang Zai, and is also a model of practicing guan xue's good style of "practicing what one practices".
Feng Congwu, a famous educator in the Ming Dynasty, praised: Since the implementation of the "Lü's Township Covenant" in Guanzhong, "the customs in Guanzhong have changed."
Zhang Zai's family rules and family training embodies the essence of Zhang Zai's thinking, not only the "four for" and "six haves" with a very high ideological realm, but also the "Ten Precepts" that standardize specific words and deeds, which establish the direction of spiritual pursuit and the code of conduct for Zhang Zai's descendants, which are still remembered by people, passed down from generation to generation, and spread throughout the Guanzhong Plain and the land of The Three Qins, influencing Chinese history for thousands of years.
◎ This article was originally published in the Overseas Edition of People's Daily (author Gong Shijian), the source network, the copyright of the graphics belongs to the original author.