The Recognition On The Awakening Of Humanist Rationality During Spring And Summer Period

In the study of the awakening of humanistic rationality during the Spring and Autumn Period,the previous experts concluded that the humanistic rationality had been awakened in the Spring and Autumn Period by extracting the ideas and behaviors of some outstanding ideologists or politicians of the elite class who had humanistic tendencies.However,if we want to have an objective understanding of the awakening of humanistic rationality during the Spring and Autumn Period,we can’t only pay attention to the elite ideology,because it is characteristic of foresightedness and idealization,and it can’t represent the general social concept at that time.We also can’t only focus on the words and deeds of politicians,because their words and deeds can’t reflect the general social and cultural spirit.It is necessary to expand the research horizons and to explore the overall social concept in a new perspective,so as to make an objective assessment to the awakening of humanistic rationality during the Spring and Autumn Period.In the first part of this thesis,some new ideas were discovered by recognizing the cases that can show the awakening of humanistic rationality in the Spring and Autumn Period.For example,Ji Liang and Zi Yu who proposed that "people are God’s Lords",still regarded the activity of offering sacrifices to ancestors as the focus of political action,and the purpose of caring for the public was to respect God.Zi Chan believed that the natural law is difficult to understand and held the idea that “the natural law is farther than the human ruler ”.,but he didn’t deny Gods’ influence on human.Guo who had proposed that "God’s decision relies on ‘De’" just regarded "De" as one of standards to offer sacrifices to ghosts and gods,and still regarded the blessing of the god as an important guarantee for the stability of the country;Although Zang Wenzhong and Shen Wuyu did not really recognize the value and role of human beings.He still treated the the activity of offering sacrifices to ancestors as an important way to obtain blessings.Through a re-understanding of these examples,it could be found that traditional evidences that prove the awakening of humanistic rationality are actually not so reliable.As a whole,the society was under cover of the divinity,and rationality was a originated from divinity.In the second part of the thesis,the author payed attention to the irrational historical facts that have universal and controlling influence on different levels of the Spring and Autumn society from the political,social,and ideological aspects.Firstly,at the political leave,Looking though political behaviors during the Spring and Autumn Period,we could discover that the concepts of “Mandate of gods” and “ghosts and gods” occupied an important position in the political,military,and diplomatic fields.The rulers often made decisions by making use of divination,prayed for blessings by sacrificing deities,and expected to implement punishment with the help of supernatural power.“Firstly,respect heaven;secondly,worship ghosts and gods;the last,love people” became a rule that a qualified ruler should follow.secondly,at the social level,the sorcery such as divination and dream interpretation,as well as the epiphany of gods had universal social impacts in the Spring and Autumn Period.These sorcery and customs were an important part of people’s lives.Thirdly,at the ideological level,an outstanding thinker of the Spring and Autumn Period,Confucius,still failed to get rid of the traditional concept of gods and ghosts,and his ideologies also presented contradictory features.As a whole,the public had not yet been awakened by the humanistic rationality.They are still immersed in the fear of and dependence on divinity.Irrational ideology still covered the Spring and Autumn Period.It had a holistic and crucial effect on the society of the Spring and Autumn period,and constituted the fundamental social concept of Spring and Autumn period.Looked through the whole ideological situation during the Spring and Autumn Period,it is found: firstly,rationality was entrenched in matrix of divinity,the humanistic rationality and the religious deity were not equal.rationality was submit to divinity,and rationality was a originated from divinity and served to divinity.Secondly,it should be said that divinity was the fundamental part and had universal impacts on Spring and Autumn society.While,rationality was only the contradictory factor of divinity.In essence,the whole society is still shrouded by the divine light.