Research On Li Gou's Thought Of "Etiquette For The World

Li Gou,a famous thinker in the early stage of the Northern Song Dynasty,was good at Confucian classics,especially in ritual doctrine.His thought of "ritual doctrine of ethos connoted" played an important role in the Song Dynasty and even in the whole history of Chinese etiquette.His thought of "the rank of ceremony" based on the ceremony and the high integration of his utilitarianism are very representative in the whole history of Chinese philosophy.Li Gou inherited Xunzi’s thought of rites.His thought of “ritual doctrine” is very similar to Xunzi’s thought of "respecting rites and valuing laws" in terms of the importance of rites,the definition of rites,the practical function of rites,and adaptability in tactics.However,the thoughts of Li Gou and Xunzi still exist obvious differences.Li Gou inherited the transcendental and universal character of Liyun.He regarded rites as "virtual name" and "general name",which made it not only govern the "four names" of "benevolence,righteousness,wisdom and trust",but also cover the three branches of "music,criminal penalty and politics",so that rites made internal and external oneness and integrated.On the issue of the origin of rites,Li Gou creatively put forward the proposition of "obedience to human feelings" of rites,which is contrary to Xunzi and Hu Yuan’s "restraint of human feelings" of rites.On the one hand,Li Gou based the origin of human nature of rites on the "theory of good nature",on the other hand,while recognizing the legitimacy of human desire,Li Gou guided rites to the direction of realism,thus realizing the internal unity between rites and human nature,emotion and desire.Li Gou’s thought of rites,includes four levels from top to bottom,which are ontology,ethics,politics and legal system,highlighting his theoretical purport of drawing into ethics to realize the transformation from inner sageliness and outer kingliness.He particularly emphasized the Zhou ritual tradition of "establishing people to be good and cultivating good",so the thought of "ritual education" was very prominent in his ritual thought.He believed that the country should spare no effort to carry out "ritual education" for a long time through institutional construction,which can eliminate social and political abuses on the one hand,and make the country stronger on the other hand.The most prominent part of Li Gou’s thought of ritual doctrine of ethos connoted lies in his pragmatism of "benefiting the country and the people" and the spirit of reform aiming to save the current malpractices.He gave full play to the utilitarian factor in Confucius’ thought and put forward the idea that the reality of governing the country must be based on the use of wealth.When he said "profit and desire",he required "speech and courtesy",forming a new form of the Confucian ritual of "righteousness and benefit",which skillfully combined instrumental rationality with value rationality.He saw the dialectical relationship between enriching the people,and the power of the country,and put forward the strategy of "using wealth as frugality" to enrich the people by "damaging the upper and benefiting the lower".He put forward detailed and thorough plans on land reform,disposal of vagrants,expulsion of "redundant people","way of hoarding",and implementation of military reformation.On the whole,Li Gou’s utilitarianism thought was embedded in his“ritual doctrine of ethos connoted”,and the relationship between them was oneness.At the same time,he also inherited the adaptability in tactics thought of Confucianism,which changes with the times and keeps pace with the times.He advocated a positive and promising life and opposed the fatalism of buddha and Taoists.In short,the realistic factors and the spirit of resolute reformation in Li Gou’s thought of rites still have high theoretical value and reference significance today,which is the proper meaning of the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent Chinese classical civilization.