The Construction Of Political Philosophy Of Dong Zhongshu’s Reform Theory

In the early Han Dynasty,the rulers used the study of Huang Lao and the political institution of the Qin Dynasty,which produced certain effect,but in the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty,the shortcomings of such a political system became more and more obvious.In view of this social reality,Dong Zhongshu developed the idea of reform:if the ruler wanted to achieve good governance,he had to completely change the political system of Huang Lao and the political institution of the Qin Dynasty,and to realize the change,he needed to reform the political system.The first Chapter discusses Dong Zhongshu’s cosmic vision of the Way of Kings and the Reform-the Five Beginnings.Dong Zhongshu thoroughly understood the six classics and had a deep understanding of and belief in Confucianism.On this basis,he drew on the views of other schools of thought,especially the idea of Yin-Yang and Wu Xing,and constructed his celestial pattern of the five beginnings of the Yuan,the Tian,the king,the vassals,and the rule of the territory.Dong Zhongshu gave Yuan the meaning of the supreme essence to highlight the significance of valuing Yuan and the Beginning,which requires that all things should follow and obey their respective beginnings.Under the principle of "repay and return to the origin",the king,as the main body of governance for all the people,should take Tian as the object of obedience and teach all the people on this basis.The second Chapter systematically explores the conditions and methods for the king to follow the example of Tian and right the nations.In Dong Zhongshu’s theory of Tian and man,Tian as the basis of the whole world and the master of all things is difficult to grasp itself,but the king can know the laws and will of Tian-the Way of Tian-through the ten ends of Tian,namely,heaven,earth,yin,yang,wood,fire,earth,gold,water,and man,which are the ten basic elements of Tian,and follow the Way of Tian to reveal his kingly way in order to realize the kingly vision of order and harmony of Tian and mankind.At the same time,Dong Zhongshu’s theory of human nature "to be taught to be good" reveals the possibility and necessity of the king to teach and educate all the people with the kingly way,and the king’s mission to correct the lives and destiny of the people also highlights Dong Zhongshu’s idea of valuing people,and Dong Zhongshu’s system of political philosophy which connects Tian and man is established in its entirety.The third Chapter elaborates the specific content of Dong Zhongshu’s idea of reform.According to Dong,Confucius was an ordained and non-positioned king,and Confucius made the Spring and Autumn Annals which direct at the shortcomings of the Zhou Dynasty and rites to legislate for the later kings.The Han Dynasty was the successor of the Zhou Dynasty,so Confucius made the Spring and Autumn Annals for the Han Dynasty,and the Spring and Autumn Annals became the template for Dong Zhongshu’s reform.On this basis,Dong Zhongshu put forward three ideas of reform,namely,the Three Orthodoxies,treat and cure among loyalty,respect,and ornamentation,and the Four Principles,all of which were developed under the requirements of the kingly way as revealed by valuing Yuan and the Beginning and the ten elements of Tian.Dong Zhongshu abandoned the popular the incessant transmutations of Five Virtues in the reform,such as changing the predominant existing calendar and clothing color,and used his original concept of the three unified cycles of black,white,and red,which was a response to the question of the legitimacy of rule with the Confucian concept of the Way of Kings.The ides of treat and cure among loyalty,respect,and ornamentation reveals that the king’s philosophy of governance and the changing customs of the people follow the three-phase cycle of loyalty,respect,and ornamentation.Guided by this idea,the king should promote education that values virtue,run the Imperial Academy,and recruit virtuous scholars.The Four Laws concept refers to system of rites and music circulate in the order of Valuing Heaven and follow Shang as the king’s government,Valuing Earth and follow Xia as the king’s government,Valuing Heaven and follow Zhi as the king’s government,Valuing Earth and follow Wen as the king’s government,which was proposed by Dong Zhongshu based on the idea of the cyclical change of the quality of literature from the model of Yin and Yang.These three conceptions of reform are all derived from Dong Zhongshu’s summary of ritual and music culture of Xia Shang Zhou,and were able to go hand in hand in the process of concrete practice.Although they all took the basic form of circularism and presented different shapes according to the time,they were all based on the kingly way.The fourth Chapter discusses the influence of Dong Zhongshu’s idea of reform.To a certain extent,Dong Zhongshu’s idea of reform was adopted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and applied to realpolitik.His philosophy combined the six arts and the ideals of Confucian cultural values with the idea of the five elements of yin and yang,and became a model form of Han dynasty scripture.