A Study Of The Idea Of Yi In The Early Western Han Dynasty

As one of the traditional Chinese thoughts,"Yi" affects the ruling class in the upper level and the common people in the lower level.It plays a vital role in shaping individual ideology and morality and building the social ruling order,so it has high research value.This paper takes the early Western Han Dynasty as the boundary and three thinkers,Lu Jia,Jia Yi and Dong Zhongshu,as the center to explore the development of the idea of the idea of Yi at that time.The first part,starting from the influential factors of the idea of Yi in the early Western Han Dynasty,involves the exploration of the origin and extended meaning of Yi,the independent idea of Yi in pre-Qin Confucianism,and the background of social development.The meaning comes from the sacrificial ceremony,and its connotation has been enriched and changed in different periods,among which the meaning of appropriate performance is more widely used.Confucius regarded Yi as the essential quality of a gentleman and emphasized "taking Yi as the top".Mencius put benevolence and Yi together,thinking that Yi comes from "Shame and evil within" and stressing that "Ren and Yi are all within".Xunzi,on the other hand,closely combined Yi with propriety and paid more attention to the connotation of "division" of Yi.The pre-Qin Confucian idea of Yi laid the foundation for the development of Yi in the Western Han Dynasty.At the same time,the social background of unstable social order,relatively depressed economy and cultural integration in the early Western Han Dynasty also had an impact on the idea of Yi of Lu Jia and others.The second part focuses on Lu Jia,the first thinker in the Western Han Dynasty,and discusses the connotation of his idea of Yi.The first step is to research the writing background and time of Xin Yu.We can see that Lu Jia’s idea of Yi is based on the hope to change the chaotic order of society from the top down.Secondly,with Xin Yu as the main material,step by step analysis of Lu Jia’s idea of Yi.From the point of view of content,the idea of Yi is still closely related to "Ren",and Ren and Yi are regarded as the important support of blood clan governance and non-blood clan social governance respectively.In the choice of rich and expensive,Lu Jia inherited the pre-Qin Confucianism,valuing Yi over profit.At the same time,Lu Jia also extended the debate of Yi and interests to the issue of the king and ministers,advocating officials to pursue "Yi Rong".Accordingly,he exhorted the monarch to appoint ministers if he wanted to achieve stable rule.Lu Jia’s idea of Yi was formed by feeling the social background at that time,and the content was relatively scattered.The third part focuses on Jia Yi’s Xin Shu and discusses his idea of Yi.Jia Yi was born at the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty,and Xin Shu was written at different points in his life development.Compared with Lu Jia,Jia Yi paid more attention to how Yi played a role in national governance.He focused on the discussion of Yi in three aspects: firstly,the monarch should regulate himself and rule the people with Yi;secondly,ministers,vassals and counties judged whether to submit to the central government with following Yi and not following Yi;thirdly,they regarded Yi as the difference between Xiongnu and the Central Plains.This idea essentially originated from the Qin Dynasty.The military thought of the ruler is developing from the "Shou bing" to the "Yi bing".In the eyes of Jia Yi,the idea of Yi exists more as a governing tool of the ruling class,and different individuals or groups must act in accordance with the idea of Yi.Compared with Lu Jia,Jia Yi’s idea of Yi is more systematic.The fourth part,with Chunqiu Fanlu as the center,discusses Dong Zhongshu’s idea of Yi.From the perspective of "Ren means love for others,Yi means be strict with yourself ",Dong Zhongshu drew the conclusion of "Yi Nei",which became the key factor to judge personal moral quality.At the same time,he combined Yinyang and Wuxing to put forward the view of "Yi and Ii are both parts of the body",holding that profit is a legitimate pursuit of human beings,but in the selection of justice and benefit should be justice first.Based on these two points,Dong Zhongshu began to define the "Yi" that should be adhered to by different subjects,such as the emperors and ministers,to the central part of the Western Han Dynasty and other ethnic groups.First,the monarch was asked to put the importance of Jongmyo sacrifice above his own life.Secondly,the rule of "Cong bian cong Yi" not only endowing the monarch with the supreme status in the world,but also limits his power.Thirdly,Dong Zhongshu believed that as long as the Western Han Dynasty acted righteously,the Xiongnu would naturally understand and attach themselves to the central government.To sum up,Dong Zhongshu’s idea of Yi has both theoretical basis and political practice requirements,which is further advanced while inheriting the predecessors’ views.Based on "Yi Nei",the emphasis is placed on the monarch’s own requirements of the meaning,while maintaining his power and limiting his rights.