The Study On Dong Zhongshu’s "Xian Liang Countermeasures"

Dong Zhongshu is a famous scholar,thinker and politician in the Western Han Dynasty.The Xian Liang Countermeasures(aka Tian Ren Three Countermeasures and Ju Xian Liang Countermeasures etc.)were the countermeasures of Dong Zhongshu when he was enrolled in the Han Wudi’s examination for wise men.This Xian Liang Countermeasures can be said to be a programmatic document of Dong Zhongshu’s thought.The study of Dong Zhongshu’s ideas cannot bypass this document.Dong Zhongshu carries the ideal of making the world a better place,but he was disappointed in the real politics.The important reason for this dilemma lies in Dong Zhongshu’s social ideal.In the Xian Liang Countermeasures,Dong Zhongshu longs for a beautiful society that each is suitable and harmony in diversity,the king and the officials are an important part of this ideal,but at the same time,they have also become an important factor in promoting or hindering this ideal.The ideal is based on monism and human nature as its possible basis,words and education have been given the political implication to realize this ideal.The social ideal that each is suitable and harmony in diversity discuss human relations.Next I discuss the changing and invariable relationship between "manager" and "the tools of government" of Dong Zhongshu’s Xian Liang Countermeasures,exploring the eternal Tao and changing people,concluding that the logical starting point and end-result of the thinking of the ancient Chinese represented by Dong Zhongshu are the life process of each individual,focusing on the real realization of human self morality.And this concern for the realization of human nature drive the formation of the ideal.The "manager" and"the tools of government" discuss the relationship between people and things.Next,the author analyze Dong Zhongshu’s view about the relationship between man and Tian in Xian Liang Countermeasures and consider that people’s esteem for the eternal and great universe drive the ancient Chinese to desire to transcend the transient and small self.At the same time,people also feel the sacred mission of the people who are the heart of cosmos,all of this prompte the Chinese people respect the natural law,saint and improve themselves in the process of fleeting life and continue to approach the perfect eternity.According to the basic ideas described above,the structure of the article is organized as follows:The chapter one mainly elaborates the background of Dong Zhongshu and his Xian Liang Countermeasures.The chapter two mainly expounds Dong Zhongshu’s social ideal.The chapter three discusses manager,the tools of government,unchanging Tao,and changing people.The chapter four discusses people’s respect for Tian and saint and their independent spirit.