Xing性is an important topic of ancient Chinese philosophy.The discovery of unearthed documents has deepened our understanding of xing.Xing Zi Ming Chu性自命出is probably the Guodian manuscript that has generated the m...Xing性is an important topic of ancient Chinese philosophy.The discovery of unearthed documents has deepened our understanding of xing.Xing Zi Ming Chu性自命出is probably the Guodian manuscript that has generated the most interest among scholars.This article takes Xing Zi Ming Chu and Xunzi as investigations to explore the significance of xing in the Warring States Period in China.This article believes that the xing in Xing Zi Ming Chu only refers to natural properties,and it is not as specific as Mencius and Xunzi to indicate whether it is good or bad.The article will first review the background of Guodian manuscript,introduce the basic situation of Confucian documents in Guodian manuscripts.This article will also introduce the meaning of xing in Xing Zi Ming Chu and Xunzi,which is of great value for us to understand the meaning of xing in the Warring States Period.展开更多
In China, Warring States Period was imbued with chaos of wars and the whole society was in a state of ferment. The disordered phase in ideological area, as the most direct reflection of the change, was characterized b...In China, Warring States Period was imbued with chaos of wars and the whole society was in a state of ferment. The disordered phase in ideological area, as the most direct reflection of the change, was characterized by that all the old ethical standard had been badly weaken, even failed to explain the moral facts. In terms of common people, they were confused and puzzled by the questions as "what is language?" and "what is the standard of speaking and behavior?" Some ancient scholars pinned these problems upon the reversal of "ming" (名) and "shi" (实). As a result, to rectify names and to clarify the name of ethics became a must for reconstructing the old proprieties and system. Among those scholars and thinkers, Xun Zi firstly proposed Zhengming to state the relationship between a name and the thing it represents in a systematical way. This essay only sheds light upon the reason of rectifying names: to distinguish the rank and differentiate the similarities and differences("明贵贱,辨同异")which is the must of "rectifying names".展开更多
基金supported by“The Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University”.
文摘Xing性is an important topic of ancient Chinese philosophy.The discovery of unearthed documents has deepened our understanding of xing.Xing Zi Ming Chu性自命出is probably the Guodian manuscript that has generated the most interest among scholars.This article takes Xing Zi Ming Chu and Xunzi as investigations to explore the significance of xing in the Warring States Period in China.This article believes that the xing in Xing Zi Ming Chu only refers to natural properties,and it is not as specific as Mencius and Xunzi to indicate whether it is good or bad.The article will first review the background of Guodian manuscript,introduce the basic situation of Confucian documents in Guodian manuscripts.This article will also introduce the meaning of xing in Xing Zi Ming Chu and Xunzi,which is of great value for us to understand the meaning of xing in the Warring States Period.
文摘In China, Warring States Period was imbued with chaos of wars and the whole society was in a state of ferment. The disordered phase in ideological area, as the most direct reflection of the change, was characterized by that all the old ethical standard had been badly weaken, even failed to explain the moral facts. In terms of common people, they were confused and puzzled by the questions as "what is language?" and "what is the standard of speaking and behavior?" Some ancient scholars pinned these problems upon the reversal of "ming" (名) and "shi" (实). As a result, to rectify names and to clarify the name of ethics became a must for reconstructing the old proprieties and system. Among those scholars and thinkers, Xun Zi firstly proposed Zhengming to state the relationship between a name and the thing it represents in a systematical way. This essay only sheds light upon the reason of rectifying names: to distinguish the rank and differentiate the similarities and differences("明贵贱,辨同异")which is the must of "rectifying names".
