Utilitarianism Within Reforming The Institution By Returning To The Acients

Yan Yuan (1635-1704), a famous thinker of Qing Dynasty. He was in the age that regarded Neo-Confucianism as official knowledge. The knowledge of internal saints was prosperous, scholars talked of inwardness and ignored benefit. However, the entire feudal system was moving toward a recession. So Yan Yuan attempted to reconstruct the system of unifying internal saints and external kingcraft. He formed his own idea of utilitarianism by absorbing the criticism of the thought of the predecessors. Yan Yuan carried out this idea of utilitarianism through his thought of governmental ideology namely reforming the institution by returning to the acients This article introduced the thought of governmental ideology in three parts:The first part introduces the backgrounds of yayuan governmental ideology. At the time of Mng and Qing Dynasties, the knowledge system of Confucianism advocated in song and ming dynasties was doubted by minority for the political and martial factors, but sophists who went through dynastic cycle began to rethink it profoundly. While the idea about empty inwardness was criticized, sophists preferred to concern about utility. Yanyuan was not educated by traditional Confucianism in his hate teens, but he experienced the dying course of Ming Dynasties and pursued peace which was his learning motivity. When he was nineteen, yayuan educated by Jiazhen accepted orthodox feudal ideology gradually to pursue elder sage's ideology. In this period, Yanyuan came through"Song Hou Chan Luo", his tough life promoted him to concern about the people's livehood. At the same time, he came into contact with lots of classics, and he realized that the truly feudal personages not only sought for the perfect of their moral, but also concerned society and took some kind of social responsibility. Since then, Yanyuan gave up imperial examination. At the course of studying Confucianism, Yanyuan started to doubt about it. When he was 35, he sorted out Cheng zhu Confucianism from orthodox ideas and thought it as falsehood. He believed Zhou kong Confucianism was the truly orthodox ideas. As a supporter of Confucianism, Yanyuan criticized Songming Confucianism drasticly and rethought it. At this process, he searched methods of manage state affairs and shaped his own ideology which emphasized utility and aimed to rich nation and strong army. He used redintegration slogan to set up his utilitarian theory which saw"san shi san wu"as its theory core.The content of the second part is about the connotation of the governance thought of Yan Yuan.Firstly, Yan Yuan maintain that the governance must has the beauty of art, so he contend to resume the system of Zhou Dynasty. He thought that we could get the social stability from the governance of Liyue. Yan Yuan stressed that from the principal of Li, the people can make their feel become calm, and the state can reach harmony by the calm of people.Secondly, Yan Yuan contend the governance must has moral as well as violence, and the separation of agriculture and army is an important reason to the unrest of the country from Tang Dynasty. He argue that the army and farmer is one thing, by this way the people can be warriors in the war, and they can always be neighbors in most times. By the same time, the General is the officer during most times, so the people can like to subject to him. And, the farmer and the warrior being the same person can reduce country military spending, and can also defend to the General has his own army; an the power of army belonging to the centor is benefit to the country.Thirdly, Yan Yuan hold the thought of the system of Jingtian. He maintain the we can resorve the problem of the Richer and the Poor by resuming the average allocation of land. He thought this mold of land is benefit to improve active labor, and improve the development of economic.Forthly, beween the discussion of County system and Feudal system, Yan Yuan contend the Packet feudal system. Yan Yuan maintain that change the County system to Packet system in the stability of Centralized system. He want to strengthen local power from this change. By this way, the central power and the local power to control each other, and to defend the bad results of Autocracy.Fifthly, Yan Yuan maintain the important of talent for the country. On the respect of the personnel training, he argue that the purpose must to help the person to be a man who has really capacity and knowledge. He contend to resume the system of school in the ancient, and the purpose is to cultivate talent who can govern the country. On the aspect of personnel selection, Yan Yuan opposed traditional system of Keju, and he maintain the system of recommendation. Different from the recommendation system in Han Dynasty, Yan Yuan contend the bottom-up recommendation, and maintain the implementation of Accountability. Yan Yuan contend that only through this way can they cultivate the talent who can govern the country.The third part comment on Yan Yuan's governmental ideology.There are strong repristination in Yan Yuan's governmental ideology.This is determined by Yan Yuan's own knowledge system. Throughout the idea of reforming the institution by returning to the acients by Yan Yuan are the idea of utilitarianism and utility. His idea of utilitarianism was different from western utilitarianism and had its own characteristics. This thought of governmental ideology throughout which was the idea of utilitarianism had a profound impact on the thought of the afterworld.