Research On The Thought Of "Punishment And Morality" In Taiping Jing

Taoism is a local religion in China,which has exerted an important influence on the evolution of China’s ideology and culture,social development,people’s life and many other aspects.Taiping Jing,written in the Han Dynasty,as an important Taoist classic in the early period,is an important historical material for the study of early Taoist thought."Punishment and morality" is an important concept in the history of Chinese philosophy.Since the pre-Qin period,it has been the focus of philosophical debate.Confucianism attaches great importance to morality,and legalists tend to impose punishment,while Huang Lao Taoists advocate that both punishment and morality should be used.In the fierce ideological collision of this period,the connotation of "punishment and morality" gradually completed the philosophical evolution.In the Han Dynasty,with the collapse of the Qin Dynasty,the emergence of the unified political pattern triggered a new round of thinking on the issue of"punishment and morality".Based on the social background and the spirit of The Times at that time,on the basis of inheriting the ideological connotation of "punishment and morality" in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties,Taiping Jing explained the concept of "punishment and morality" from the perspective of religious theology,and pushed the function of criminal morality to the peak.Therefore,in the ideological system of Taiping Jing,"punishment and morality" is a pair of concepts throughout the whole scriptures,which is reflected in its cosmological,theological and social views.On the introduction of the thought of "punishment and morality" in the Taiping Classic,this paper is divided into four chapters,starting with the introduction and ending with the conclusion.The introduction mainly simply explains the important position of Taiping Jing in the history of Taoism,as well as the reasons,status quo,innovation,methods and significance of the study of "punishment and morality" in Taiping Jing.The first chapter mainly introduces the whole process of the thought of "punishment and morality" from the emergence and formation of its concept to the differentiation and evolution of its connotation in the pre-Qin period and finally to the confluence of the Han Dynasty.The second to the fourth chapters introduce the thought of "punishment and morality" shown in the cosmic,theological and social views of the Taiping Classic.In terms of cosmology,based on the connotation of the concept of "punishment and morality" in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties,and on the basis of its cosmogenesis theory,Taiping jing re-combs the relationship between "punishment and morality" and Yin and Yang.It also focuses on the magical effect of "punishment and morality" in governing all things,as well as its function as the law of all things and the people.In the aspect of theology,through a detailed analysis of his thought of "punishment and morality",it is not difficult to find that the "Great Truth Law" advocated by Taiping Jing supports morality but does not support penalty.However,behind the operation mode of the"Immortal Kingdom",it implies that both penalty and morality should be used.As for the thought of "punishment and morality" in the social view of Taiping jing,on the basis of the first two chapters,this paper analyzes what kind of function and influence Taiping jing wants to have on the whole social life after theological transformation of the traditional theory of"punishment and morality".Obviously,in the social view of Taiping Jing,the thought of"punishment and morality" not only affects all aspects of the emperor’s governance,but also plays a role in changing customs for the whole society.Finally,at the end of this paper,this paper analyzes the main characteristics of the thought of "punishment and morality" in Taiping Jing,and points out that the essential characteristic of "morality is substantial and punishment is empty" is the theological transformation of the thought of "punishment and morality" in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties.The political expectation of attaching importance to morality,not attaching importance to punishment or advocating goodness to prevent evil shows the concern and wishes of Taiping Jing to the country and the world.