The Study Of Pre-Qin Confucian Ethical Thought Of Fortitude

In the historical development of the Chinese nation for thousands of years,fortitude notonly becomes the necessary moral which people who want to realize the ideal need, but also hasaccumulated as the basic spirit of the Chinese nation,because of its outstanding quality,suchas strong, aggressive and so on. After Confucius founding,Mencius developing,Xunciusmastering,the pre-Qin Confucian ethical thought of fortitude has developed into a set ofideological system with rich connotation and strict logic.Studying on the pre-QinConfucian ethical thought of fortitude,and revealing the value of moral education, can guide theconstruction of morality in our country at present, and will have important theoretical value andpractical significance.Firstly,this paper discusses the historical background and the theoretical source of thepre-Qin Confucian ethical thought of fortitude. Then systematically summarizes thebasic content of the pre-Qin Confucian fortitude, including the basic connotation、 thebasic requirements and the implement methods.And on this basis， analyses thebasic characteristics of the pre-Qin Confucian ethical thought of fortitude. Finally,evaluates thehistorical value and contemporary enlightenment of the pre-Qin Confucian ethics thought offortitude.The first part mainly expounds the historical background and the theoretical source of thepre-Qin Confucian ethical thought of fortitude.In terms of the historical background,it includes the economic background,political andsocial cultural background.Economically,with the development of productivity and theinnovation of production tools,the square-fields system disintegrates and the feudal productionrelations establish,which make the farmers begin to have part of their own land and greatlystimulate people’s production enthusiasm and initiative.Because the farmers believe that life canbe improved through their own continuous efforts.The development of fortitude has acertain material guarantee.Politically,owing to the annexing warfare and social unrest,manyvassal rulers take the initiative to promote proactive, energetic,and persistent spirit to protecttheir own dominant position. Exactly,the ethical thought of fortitude meets this requirement.In the social culture,with the ritual collapsed,music disappeared,and a hundred schools of thoughtcontending,the whole social morality is in a state of disorder.For the reconstruction of socialmorality,they need a kind of spirit which can encourage people to consciously take on the socialresponsibilities and advance courageously.In the theoretical sources,the weakening of the fatality consciousness and the developmentof the pre-Qin Confucian theory of human nature,promote the rising of people’s subjectstatus, which make people see the possibility of aiming at the good, and believe that they canchange the world around and realize their ideals relying on their own strength.All of theseprovide the chance to shape the fortitude character.In addition,the"strong" point of Mohist,andthe"vulnerability-strong"thought of Taoist also offer a theoretical reference for the formationof the pre-Qin Confucian ethical thought of fortitude.The second part mainly discusses the basic contents of the pre-Qin Confucian ethicalthought of fortitude. First of all, based on the original meaning of fortitude,I summarizethe connotation of the pre-Qin Confucian fortitude.Secondly,the pre-Qin Confucian fortitude hasfive basic requirements:"benevolence"as the core idea,"righteousness" as the value criterion,"theritual" as the behavior standard,"few desires" as the prerequisite,"the doctrine of the mean" asthe ideal.And the pre-Qin Confucian fortitude must develop under the specification and guidanceof the five basic requirements.Thirdly,in order not to make the culture of the fortitude fail,thepre-Qin Confucians give the corresponding methods:aspirations, aggressiveness, toughpersistence, self-confidence.The third part analyses and points out the four characteristics of the pre-Qin Confucianethical thought of fortitude.That is,highlight the subjectivity of man and bring the initiative intofull play;take society as its center and maintain the traditional patriarchal hierarchy order;base onreality and advocate the positive and optimistic attitude;insist the principle and defendthe dignity of personality and moral consciousness.The fourth part, is mainly to make the evaluation of the historical value and contemporaryenlightenment of the pre-Qin Confucian ethical thought of fortitude in general.Firstly,fortitudehas become a necessary quality which people with lofty ideals must need,and has become onekind of spiritual merit which the Chinese nation advocate.But,because of it producing in aparticular historical period,the thought has conservative and political limitations inevitably.Secondly,due to the changes of economic basis, social form and the masspsychological aspects,fortitude is facing challenge and impact.This requires that we should standon a higher view to find the common essence of the pre-Qin Confucian ethical thought offortitude,so as to provide the valuable thought resources for the current moral construction.