The Historical Form And Modern Significance Of Mutual-concealing Between Relatives

As a kind of Confucian thought with a typical meaning,the concept of "MutualConcealing between Relatives" germinated in the Zhou Dynasty,and Confucius explicitly put forward the idea.By analyzing many problems in the chapter of " Ye Gong said to Confucius "(such as the meaning of ZHI),it is found that Confucius proposes that " Mutual-Concealing between father and son" is to maintain the blood relationship and affection.After examining the history,reality and thought,this proposition has sufficient reasons.However,Confucius also believed that when "filial piety" conflicts with national interests and human life,the former should give way to the latter,so "filial piety" does not have a consistent priority in practice.Based on other relevant cases(such as the punishment of Shu Yu by Shu Xiang),it is shown that Confucius adheres to the principle of "In the family,family love is higher than justice,;outside the family,justice is higher than family love." This principle contains the ethical principle of " Unity of principle and flexibility".While discussing the above problems,it also shows that " Mutual-Concealing between Relatives " is mainly used as a kind of thought for the purpose of maintaining consanguinity and kinship,which is its true state.In the Han Dynasty,the idea of "concealing relatives" was gradually incorporated into the law system because it was of great significance to the maintenance of the autocracy of the monarch.At the same time,it gradually became the ruling tool to maintain the autocracy of the monarch,thus it broke away from the true state and went to alienation.However,the idea core of maintaining kinship has not been destroyed,and it still plays an active role today,so it is necessary to re-discover it,and then take history as a mirror to establish Family Concealment System that meets the requirements of the development of the times,which is both reasonable and feasible.If it can become a reality,it will make the thought of " Mutual-Concealing between Relatives " which has lasted for thousands of years completes the historical process from true state to the alienation,and then from the alienation to tree state,which is a spiral rising process.It is also a beneficial attempt to inherit and carry forward the reasonable content of Confucian ethics in the new era.