On Self-consciousness Of Man As Man From"the Peace Of Mind" In Confucius Philosophy

In The Origin and Goal of History, Karl Jaspers thought that the awakening of human spirit had appeared during the Axial Period,800BC to200BC. The human began to have self-consciousness and reflect on themselves. Then in China, the awakening of human spirit was fully manifested in Confucius philosophy. This article This article focuses on "Yang Huo of the Analects" and discusses the argument of three-year-mourning between Confucius and Zaiwo. By discussing on the ceremony’s changing, the discrimination between the ceremony and manners, and the nature of ceremony, we try to figure out the awakening of human spirit during Western Zhou Dynasty to Spring and Autumn Period. During that period, patriarchal relations changed dramatically and the ceremony deteriorated, the ceremony gradually could not maintain the social hierarchy and the harmony of Tianxia. Consequently, people, in Spring and Autumn Period, realized to think on the etiquette difference and the nature of the ceremony. Before Confucius, the nature of the ceremony was generally discussed on the basis of nature, this was why Zaiwo put forward one-year-mourning. Confucius established the nature of ceremony on the basis of human mind. He measured standards of the ceremony from the view of "the peace of mind". He combined the ceremony and human being’s lives together. That reflected the awakening of human spirit. This article discusses on the background, the origin and the significance of the peace of mind. In the peace of mind there is self-consciousness of man as man in Confucius philosophy. It’s the essence of man as man that individuals get the confirmation of the value and significance of their own lives. That confirmation is established from ancestor worship. It is maintained and transferred from the ancestors to the children. This self-consciousness, as Confucius’heritage to future generations of Chinese people, has an immeasurable influence on the Chinese cultural traditions and spiritual structure. It even became a cultural gene in the character of the Chinese people from generation to generation and a fulcrum of generations of Chinese people who want to settle down.