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From History To Economics,

Posted on:2006-09-06Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:N XieFull Text:PDF
GTID:2205360155469726Subject:History of Ancient China
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Chinese people attach great importance to the tradition of history and culture since ancient times, there are rich and varied ancient documents and historical records in china. Six Classic Books refers to The Book of Songs (shi), Classic of Documents (shu), The Book of Rites (li), The Books Music (yue), The Book of Changes (yi), The Spring and Autumn Annals (chunqiu ),which are just the oldest historical documents of Pre-Qin Period. As far as these six books are concerned they are only documents that recorded history customs rules and etc. from Yu and Xia to Spring and Autumn Period. These six books were popular and emphasized by open-minded rulers of kingdoms before Confucius established his school of philosophy. They were the common academic resources of the exponents of different schools of thought in the Pre-Qin times, not unique classics of Pre-Qin Confucian school.Pre-Qin Confucian school represented by Confucius who inherited the historical andcultural legacy of Zhou Dynasty. They advocated the rule of rites and traditional ethics.Confucius read ancient books and writings extensively. He absorbed and interpreted ancientdocuments much more comprehensively and systematically than other later philosophersPre-Qin Period. The Book of Songs (shi), Classic of Documents (shu), The Book of Rites(li), The Books Music (yue), The Book of Changes (yi), The Spring and Autumn Annals(chunqiu) , these six books is not only source of his idea but also material that beelaborated his idea. Confucian, for instance, Zi Si, Mencius, Xun Zi etc. followedConfucius teaching thoughts while they also created arguments about these six books.Pre-Qin Confucian school not only sorted out these six books systematically but also interpreted them creatively. For example, the concept of"modern sage" was developed and abstracted by Mencius from " sage " and " time " which were two important values from these six books in Pre-Qin Period. Meanwhile, "modern sage" was from Mencius introspection and thoughts to his own experiences. The aforementioned trends of philosophy made a tremendous impact on the later generations. Moreover, it is importantperformance that Pre-Qin Confucian annotated Six Classic Books creatively to build up humanism and respect personal dignity and right.Six Classic Books are essential materials for studying ancient Chinese history and Confucianism , which constituted the main trend of traditional culture. The reasons are following: Firstly, these six books suited with ancient Chinese social organization based on consanguineous clan. Secondly, Pre-Qin Confucian school attached great importance the acquisition of knowledge. Thirdly, with the development of circumstance, Confucian were driven by the situation at that time. They had to bow to circumstances. It is through the creative explanation that they have excised more significant influence upon the Chinese traditional culture than other thinkers prior to the Qin Dynasty. It is "benevolence" , "moral", "order", "harmony "etc. that Confucian and Six Classic Books uphold, which are perpetual spirits and can be existed transcending time and space. Meanwhile, with the development of the times, some comments and thoughts of Confucian and Six Classic Books have been out of date, which is what we should distinguish.
Keywords/Search Tags:Pre-Qin Confucian, Six Classic Books, sort out, interpret, creative explanation
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