Study On The Structure Of Cheng Hao And Cheng Yi's View Of Principle Of Heaven In The Perspective Of Ideological History

The cheng brothers have a historical responsibility on reviving Confucian orthodoxy in the thought transformation of Tang and Song Dynasties.They excavate the concept of Principle of Heaven in the three aspects of N ature,Morality and Pol itics,in order t hat it can construct the unique view of pri nciple of Heaven.The cheng brothers realize the ontology translation by means of making Principle as the content of Heaven in the universal framework,complete the conversion of subject in the relationship between Heaven and man in the ethical framework and follow the way of revering principle and restraining emperor in the political framework.It is a feasible method that shows the ideological peculiarity of the cheng brothers to bring the view of principle of Heaven into the ideological perspective of dynamic development.By seizing the main line of the re lationship between Heaven and man,the peculiarity of the cheng brothers' view of principle of Heaven will be more clearly.From Heaven to Principle of Heaven,it is not only the change of semantic and concept,but also the conversion of spiritual implication.According to the deification of Heaven in the view of Dong Zhongshu,the cheng brothers affirm that Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi regard Heaven as natural law,and oppose the dominant form of Heaven,in which the changes of Heaven is corresponding to Human activity absolutely.The cheng brothers also learn from the ontology form of principle of Flowery Splendor School,come up with the view that Heaven is Principle,emphasize the combination between Heaven and Principle,and achieve the conversion from the destiny of Heaven to the principle of Heaven.As the flourishi ng natural law and the intrinsic factor,principle of Heaven is a lively universal noumenon that governs the principle of natural.Although the cheng brothers make Principle as the content of Heaven and accept the naturalness of Heaven,the naturalness is not only related in Heaven and it is the principle that connects Heaven and man.From the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty,the relationship between Heaven and man has gone through three stages,and that is The Interaction between Heaven and Man,The Distinction of Heaven and Man and The Unity of Heaven and Man.In the view of principle of H eaven,principle of Heaven governs the principle of natural and the principle of morality,and the subject of moral responsibility changes from Heaven to man.As the moral subject,people have exhaustive study of principle,bring moral nature into full play and fulfill mandate of Heaven,which make everyone further comprehend principle of Heaven.The people seek for the existence basis and significance in the process of returning to nature of the mandate of Heaven.Following the Confucian spiritual pursuit of the Inner Sagelihood and Outer Kingliness,the cheng brothers transform principle of Heaven into social ethics and reasonable basis of political order.Confucian explicates the interaction between Heaven and m an excessively in the Han Dynasty,which lead to the prevalence of Prognostication texts and Apocrypha.In the shadow of the theology,the kingship becomes rigid constantly.Confucian owns the change of the social and political history to the theory of th e interaction between Law and Circumstances in the end of Tang Dynasty,which separate emperor from the political responsibility of Heaven.The prevalence of these ideas leads to the weakening of the legitimacy of kingship eventually.To reconstruct the reasonable political order,the cheng brothers think that Rite is Principle of Heaven,try to establish the political principle of the unity of Rite and Principle and the interaction between Rite and Law.According to the traditional Confucian way of respecting Heaven and restraining the Emperor,the cheng brothers transform Respecting Heaven into Revering Principle.By means of Correcting the Emperor' Shortcomings and Governing the Country with Officials,the Emperor improve and perfect his vi rtue,and finally bring about the unity of sage and emperor by his moral consciousness.On the one hand,the cheng brothers carry forward Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi's view of distinction between Heaven and man,against the dominant form of Heaven in whic h the changes of Heaven is corresponding to human activity absolutely,regard the strange change of Heav en as the performance of natural order.On the other hand,the cheng brothers carry forward the structure of Dong Zhongshu's view of interaction between Heaven and man,oppose the view of distinction between Heaven and man,and approve of the traditional relationship between Heaven and man.In fact,it is a contradictory to recognize natural law and affirm moral Heaven.However,the cheng brothers make Principle as the content of Heaven,establish the dominant position of human in the field of morality,reconstruct Principle of Heaven in the Meaning of the Unity of Heaven and Man,and solve the Antinomy between natural Heaven and moral Heaven successfully.The view of principle of Heaven is not only based on the idea of natural law,but also makes Heaven as moral origin in the political field.The cheng brothers solve the contradiction and achieve the recombination of unity of Heaven with man in the new level.The recombination in the new level hold the traditional circulation system that is come from Heaven(Nature),run through Morality and Politics,finally return to Nature(Heaven).This Trinity of Na ture,Morality and Politics is the real implication of the cheng brothers' view of principle of Heaven.