Theory Of Destiny Beliefs In The Book Of Songs

The Book of Songs is the first poetry collection in China. It is one of the most precious historical materials in the Zhou Dynasty, which retains a large number of records of The idea of Destiny of Zhou Dynasty, and provides a true and vivid materials for research in The idea of Destiny of Zhou Dynasty. In the past, The idea of Destiny of Zhou Dynasty had been given a great deal of attention by scholars. Most people selected the perspective in the history of philosophy or the history of religion to study the ideological content of The idea of Destiny of Zhou Dynasty. But the social function of The idea of Destiny had been insufficiently concerned. In fact, The idea of Destiny of Zhou Dynasty, as the performance of a mature form of religion had a lot of important effects on social life. Therefore, this article uses The Book of Songs as the research object and references to previous achievement on the ideological content of The idea of Destiny of Zhou Dynasty, in order to in-depth research the profoundly social function of The idea of Destiny. The whole article is divided into three chapters:The first chapter "The idea of Destiny affected on the moral rule of the King and people’s ethical behavior in Zhou Dynasty" divided into three parts. The first parts looks back into the inheritance and innovation which relative to the Yin Dynasty in early years of Zhou Dynasty. In summary: First, God became the supreme god; Second, Destiny was not eternal and God blessed the moral person. This showed that God was both the highest authority and the power of justice. It was the highest ruler on the values and moral beliefs of the Zhou Dynasty. The second parts analyzes the effects on the moral rule of the King from The idea of Destiny, and the conclusion is that the fear of The idea of Destiny is the original power for King to pursue the moral rule. It was also reflected by two aspects:Firstly, put down the world and blessed the people were the governing ideal. Secondly, the realistic policy was that respected the God and followed the example of the ancestors, then tried the best to manage the nation. The third part analyzes the effects on the people’s behavior expect the King from the Religious beliefs of Zhou Dynasty. Because of the fear of the dynasty, people not only spontaneously regulated their moral behavior, but also had concerns about dealing with conflict of interest between themselves and the community. Necessarily,they could make concessions and sacrifices.The second chapter "The idea of Destiny was the ultimate foundation for the persuasion and criticism" divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the persuasion in the politics of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the late political function. Because of The idea of Destiny was the criterion of social justice, part of the people thought that the wrath of God was the wake-up call for the unfair politics from the King and the powerful minister. Then the wrath of God was the foundation for persuading the King and powerful minister. So "Awed the wrath of God" was the practical requirements for the object. The second part analyzes the function of criticism in the ordinary life in Zhou Dynasty. It was reflected by two aspects:On the one hand, The idea of Destiny was the foundation in criticism of relatives and friends. At the same time, The idea of Destiny was the foundation in criticizing the social unreasonable phenomenon.The third chapter "Adjustment and influence of The idea of Destiny on the soul and emotion of the Zhou Dynasty " try to study from the religious psychology to analyze the foundation in adjusting the state of mind and impacting the emotion of the people in Zhou Dynasty. The first part focuses on the foundation in adjusting the state of mind in Zhou Dynasty. It was concluded that The idea of Destiny gave people the sense of belonging. People could relieve the pain by believing the God and contacting with the God. Simultaneously, The idea of Destiny could give people the hope of a better future, then got the courage for life. The second part analyzes the influence in the emotion of the Zhou Dynasty by The idea of Destiny. It was reflected by the grievance and complaint.