Study On Pre-Qin Confacian’s View Of The Way Of The Heaven

The Way of Heaven is one of the core concepts in Chinese philosophy.Scholars of all ages have paid much attention to its connotation.It is an important issue in the pre-Qin Confucian philosophy.Its interpretation is associated to the understanding of the Confucian philosophy as a whole.Although many studies have been conducted about the pre-Qin Confucian understanding of the Way of Heaven,most of them placed emphasis on the history of this concept,giving little attention to those questions involved in the Confucian concept of the Way of Heaven.Besides,with the advent of the unearthed literature,the evolution of the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of Heaven needs to be reviewed and interpreted again.Thus,with the study of the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of Heaven as its topic,this paper provides a systematic study upon the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of Heaven based on handed-down and unearthed literature of pre-Qin confucianists and from the perspective of two relations:Heaven and the Way of Heaven,Human Nature and the Way of Heaven.In the first chapter,the theoretical origin of the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of Heaven is discussed.The ideaistic source of pre-Qin Confucian scholars is analyzed.The education and influence of Confucian classics upon the formation of the concept of the Way of Heaven by pre-Qin Confucian scholars is clarified.Since all Confucian scholars are familiar with the Six Classics,especially Book of History,Book of Songs,Classic of Changes,Commentary of Zuo,and Guoyu,these classics had a profound impact on the formation of the concept of the Two of Heaven by pre-Qin Confucian scholars.With the intention of clarification and based on Book of History,Book of Songs,Classic of Changes,Commentary of Zuo,and Guoyu,this chapter discusses the category "Heaven" in pre-Qin confucianism,as well as the emergence and evolution of the concept of the Way of Heaven.In the second chapter,the relation of the Heaven and the Way of Heaven is discussed,which is one of the main aspects in the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of Heaven.First,the four implications of the concept " Heaven" in the pre-Qin Confucianism is introduced,namely,Heaven as substantial nature,Heaven as God,Heaven as Ethics,Heaven as fate.Focusing on the analysis on the nature of heaven and the dominance of heaven,and with some discussion on the righteousness of heaven and the fate of heaven,this paper interprets and sorts thee four implications.However,in the system of Chinese philosophy,there is only one Heaven,and these four implications are still based on one heaven.Therefore,we should not only interpret the term "Heaven" in a logical way,clarifying the concept of the Heaven in the pre-Qin confucianism from a analytical perspective,but also analyze the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Heaven in a synthetical perspective.Through analysis and synthesis,it is expected to fully understand the connotation of the Heaven in pre-Qin Confucianism.Second,based on the analysis of the concept of the Heaven,the Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven is interpreted.The interpretation of the Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven is based on those categories related to the Way of the Heaven,such as the Heaven and the Way of Heaven,the Destiny of the Heaven and the Way of the Heaven,the Virtue of the Heaven and the Way of the Heaven.The essential connotation of these concepts is analyzed,which reveals the key issue in the interpretation of the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven.In the third chapter,the relation of the Human Nature and the Way of the Heaven is discussed,which is the second main aspect in the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven.Since the first expression of "Human Nature and the Way of the Heaven" in the Analects of Confucius,the relation between the Human Nature and the Way of the Heaven has been the focus of later Confucian scholars,which has also become the core idea and basic issue in the Confucian philosophy.Taking this relation as the base,this chapter analyzes the theoretical source and connotation of the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Human Nature from two perspectives:textual exegesis and ideological evolution.As to the structure of the Chinese character " Human Nature",it involves two aspects:" Survival" and " Mind".The two aspects is related.The aspect " Survival" reflects the natural property shared with animals.The discussion of the aspect "Mind" place emphasis on the intrinsic subjectivity of the human.However,it is the combination of "Mind" and "Survival"that can reflect the whole connotation of " Human Nature".Spirits and mind constitutes the main part of the human nature,which includes four aspects:desire,affection,material nature and nature of mind.In the natural sense,the human nature has a direct correlation with mind,affection and desire.However,only from the perspective of the good and evil,the human nature is different with mind,affection and desire in respect of emphasis.As to the Confucian theory of Human Nature and the Way of the Heaven,it mainly discusses the Confucian theory of human nature and the moral education,and also studies the relationship between the categories Mind,Affection and Desire related to the human nature,and the Way of Heaven,so as to fully present the evolution of the Confucian theory upon the relation of the Human Nature and the Way of Heaven.Chapter Ⅳ reveals the theoretical features of the pre-Qin Confucian view of the Way of the Heaven.This chapter compares the pre-Qin Confucian view upon the Way of the Heaven with the contemporary view of Taoists,Mohists and Legalists,from three perspectives:the ideological source of the view of pre-Qin Confucians,Taoists,Mohists and Legalists on the Way of the Heaven;the difference and similarity in their theory of the Way of the Heaven in respect of the Heaven;the similarity and difference in their theory of the Way of the Heaven in respect of the human.It is expected to reveal the theoretical feature of the pre-Qin Confucian view of the Way of the Heaven based on the collision and blending with the theory of the Way of the Heaven provided by Taoists,Mohists and Legalists.To sum up,the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven originates from the Confucian scholars’ reading and sorting of Confucian classics.It is common for them in their writings to quote the Book of Songs,Book of History and other literature to demonstrate their own thoughts of the Way of the Heaven.Through the absorption in these classics,these Pre-Qin Confucian scholars formed their own thoughts about the Way of the Heaven.Therefore,it is particularly important to trace the theoretical origin of the pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven.With the overall view of the relation between the Heaven and the Human,this paper expounds the main points of the pre-Qin Confucian outlook on the Way of the Heaven based on two relations:the Heaven and the Way of the Heaven,the Human Nature and the Way of the Heaven,in order to present the change and evolution of the pre-Qin Confucian thoughts on the Way of the Heaven.The horizontal comparison with the concepts of the Way of the Heaven of the Mohist,Taoist and Legalist Schools.The pre-Qin Confucian concept of the Way of the Heaven is of great significance for the current society.First,in respect of the environment,we should insist on the idea of sustainable development with long-term consideration.Second,this concept of the Way of the Heaven provides a solution for the lack of belief.Based on the traditional culture,we can deal with the issue of the age:lack of belief,and combine the traditional culture with Marxism,so as to create a new situation as required by this era.