Study On Xiao Of Confucianism In Early Qin Dynasty

Loyalty, in Xia-Shang Dynasty, was in its first stage of Chinese traditional concept of Xiao, which implied behavior regulations based on 'the connotation of respecting and supporting parents'. This concept appeared in Yin-Shang Dynasty when the time is mature: the appearance of intimate feelings of blood relationship and the emerge of individual family economy. However, because the ancient country of China was transformed from family to country directly, thus building up a 'clan-society linked with blood relationship', it was natural that the maintaining of the country's unity depends on bloodline. For above reasons, the worshiping to ancestors was the main concept of loyalty in Xia-Shang Dynasty. In the view of sociology, such concept can be traced back to the worship to reproduction and ancestors and was promoted by the political need of human survive. So the original connotation of loyalty included two meanings: one is the worship to reproduction and the other is the worship to ancestors and respect to the aged. In the view of the development of loyalty, 'supporting parents' is the added connotation of loyalty and a specialization of general loyalty.Xizhou is the firm establishing stage of Chinese patriarchal society on the basis of patriarchal clan system, the system of enfeoffment and the 'nine-squares' system, Zhou people added moral standards and criterions into the loyalty and finally developed it into a moral political thoughts. In the late stage of Xizhou, with the wavering of the theory of mandate of heaven and patriarchal clan system, the connation of Xiao changed from worship to ancestors to respecting and supporting parents.With the extinction of patriarchal clan system and the emerging of small scale fanning economy and with the breaking down and falling apart of courteous, the connation of respecting and supporting parents was further enriched and developed into the core of Chinese traditional culture. On one hand, loyalty still was of religion and enfeoffment; on the other hand, it had transformed into the concept of ethics gradually. Confucius is the originator of filial piety of early Qin Dynasty and summarized the achievements of Chunqiu and raised a principle of 'respecting parents'. He regarded it as a moral duty based on blood relationship and a foundation stone of his theory. Confucius not only expanded the connotation of traditional idea of Xiao, but also discussed its philosophy. Therefore, the idea of Xiao established its fundamental position in the system of Confucianism.The warring state stage was a period full of revolutions, during which many social changes beginning from Chunqi period completed and all these changes promoted many nations' reforms and popularized the small-scale fanner. What's more, after 200 year's annexing, it was destined to arrive at a unity country of autocratic monarchy. The posterity of Confucianism enriched and developed the concept of Xiao...