The Study On The Emotion Theory Of Pre-Qin Confucianism

Pre-Qin Confucianism is permeated with a strong character of cherishing Emotion,emotion is the starting point of the construction of Confucianism,and exists as a core category in the doctrine of different thinkers of the Pre-Qin Confucian.Emotion theory of Pre-Qin Confucianism is broad and profound while also plain and practical,which can be described as grand while also subtle.Its grand embodies in:On one hand,the meanings of the word of Qing include situation,essence and emotion.The meanings of the word of Qing with meaning of emotion also comprise five broad categories.There is a close association between the different meanings of the word of Qing,which embodies the basic ideas of the Emotion Theory of Pre-Qin Confucianism;On the other hand,Emotion as the core category of Pre-Qin Confucianism is not an isolated category,but is closely related to the other core categories of Qre-Qin Confucianism,such as "Qi","Desire","Cognition","Nature","Heaven","Rite"and so on.Its subtle embodies in:Firstly,the Emotion theory of Pre-Qin Confucianism is not only confined to theoretical construction of abstract emotion in the common sense,but also has theoretical construction of many specific emotions,such as benevolence,sorrow,joy,sincerity,earnest,peace of mind,resentment,shame and so on;Secondly,the Emotion theory of Pre-Qin Confucianism explored diverse forms of emotion:ethical emotion,moral emotion,aesthetic emotion and religious emotion,and also discussed the transformation,promotion and transcendence between the different forms of emotion;Thirdly,the Emotion theory of Pre-Qin Confucianism constructed a practical way of emotion promotion and transcendence,which starts from natural human emotion,and continually improves and transcends it,and makes it rationalization,socialization and moralization.Confucius initiated the Pre-Qin Confucian’s character of cherishing emotion,"Benevolence" which is the highest category of Confucius’s theory,is just a rational emotion.The way of emotion promotion and transcendence that Confucius constructed gives consideration to both inside and outside:On one hand,Confucius pointed people to introspection,and rooted benevolence in blood affection,took genuine emotions as the keynote,and then realised the promotion and extension of emotion from loving oneself to loving others,and from achieving oneself to achieving nonego by the principle of loyalty and forgiveness,discovered a self-contained moral realm of life;On the other hand,Confucius also payed attention to the rationalization,socialization and moralization of emotion through the embellishment and guidance of Poetry,Rite and Music.Confucius took heaven and the mandate of heaven as the metaphysical root of human virtue and the metaphysical basis of life value,which made people’s moral emotion and actual moral practice getting transcendental bases.Confucius’s theory of emotion has the character of practice,and "interpreting by doing" is an important angle of view to interpret Confucius’s theory of emotion."Cherishing sincerity and hating hypocrisy" is the theme of emotion theory of Nature Stems from Mandate.Emotion theory of Nature Stems from Mandate is constructed in systematic relation with many core categories of Confucianism:On one hand,centering on "Heaven,Mandation,Nature,Emotion and Tao",it constructed a vertical theory of emotion;On the other hand,centering on the "Thing,Heart,Qi,Nature,and Emotion",it constructed a horizontal embryological theory of emotion.Nature Stems from Mandate inherited Confucius’s way of emotion promotion and transcendence:On one hand,emphasized the value of sincere emotion,guided people"return to the original goodness",and considered sincere emotion as the basis of Rite,Music and the other Confucianism institutions;On the other hand,controlled and conserved the emotion by Rite,Music and the other Confucianism institutions,made people moral in their hearts.Doctrine of the Mean’s emotion theory of Equilibrium and Harmony provides a theoretical way for the promotion and transcendence of emotion which linked up"metaphysics" and "physics":As for metaphysics,emotion of Equilibrium and Harmony can be connected with "the mandate of heaven" through "nature",thus "the mandate of heaven" can be regarded as the basis of emotion promotion and transcendence;As for physics,emotion of Equilibrium and Harmony bases itself on the reality of human relations and daily life,it can be realized by the direction and regulation of Rite.Doctrine of the Mean pointed out that only in the realm of"sincerity" can people truly get into emotion of Equilibrium and Harmony,and can realize emotion promotion and transcendence in state of unity of heaven and man."Be cautious when one is alone" is the concrete practice of "sincerity".The construction way of Mencius’ theory of good nature can be concluded as follow:Return to conscience,experience and confirm the natural moral emotion,demonstrate the theory of good nature through the good moral emotion.The theoretical way of Mencius’ emotion promotion and transcendence is returning to conscience,taking the natural blood affection as the starting point,applying the principle of extending affection which based on intrinsic moral emotion,followinging the way of"love your own parents then love other people,love people then cherish all things in the world",and then achieving emotion promotion and transcendence by the way of extending love from the nearby to the faraway persistently.Mencius theory of emotion is a systematic construction under the interactive association between Heart,Nature,Emotion,Talent and Qi.Body practice is not only the realization of moral emotion on body,but also the implementation of moral emotion in the actual practice.Master Xun integrated emotion with desire as Qing,and demonstrated the theory of evil nature according to the awful consequences originated from indulgent Qing.Master Xun constructed the theory of evil nature is to highlight the value of Rite,Music,Teaching and Law that could be used in regulating Qing.Therefore,we should give sympathetic understanding on Master Xun’s flaws and contradictions in demonstration of the theory of evil nature.In the doctrine of Master Xun,external basis of regulation of Qing is Rite,Music,Teaching and Law,internal basis of regulation of Qing is cognitive function of Heart,learning is the bridge that connects external basis with internal basis.People can internalize Rite,Music,Teaching and Law into moral personality,meanwhile which can be applied in regulating Qing,so as to realize rationalization,socialization and moralization of Qing,and finally realize the ideal transformation of Qing and nature.The Study on the emotion theory of Pre-Qin Confucianism can provide thought resources of traditional Chinese philosophy for the contemporary study of emotion philosophy,and can also provide a philosophical perspective to explore the formation mechanism of Chinese’s emotional life style,at the same time,it can help to explore the contemporary value of Pre-Qin Confucianism,and can provide wisdom of traditional culture for emotion promotion and transcendence of the contemporary people.