The Debate Between The Confucian Ethical Code And The Taoist Naturism Under Ethical Sight In The Metaphysics Of Wei And Jin Dynasties

The metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties is a special and important part in the history of Chinese ethical thought.Based on the Confucianism and the Taoism,it has opened up a unique ideology.The debate between the Confucian ethical code and the Taoist naturism is an important subject of the metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties,which is closely related to the background and the theoretical development of that time.In face of the social chaos and collapse of the spiritual world,metaphysicists had been working hard to establish a new ethical value system.The debate between the Confucian ethical code and the Taoist naturism is not only the way in which metaphysicists establish metaphysical principles from the perspective of learning,but also the lifestyle with which they live consciously.The discussion of the debate between the Confucian ethical code and the Taoist naturism in the metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties can be roughly divided into three periods:the idea of The Confucian ethical code is based on the Taoist naturism" represented by He Yan and Wang Bi,the idea of "Beyond the Confucian ethical code and let things in the course of the Taoist naturism" represented by Ji Kang and Ruan Ji,and the idea of "The Confucian ethical code is the Taoist naturism"represented by Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang.Wang Bi is the founder of the metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties.He did not stick to the formal framework and formed his own unique ethical system by invoking the Taoist liberal thought into the Confucian doctrine,which provided a new theoretical approach for the Wei and Jin literati.Since then,ethical thoughts different from any previous periods began to appear.Wang Bi proposed an affirmative premise for the theoretical system of"the debate between the Confucian ethical code and the Taoist naturism"in the whole metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties,that is,"The Confucian ethical code is based on the Taoist naturism".Firstly,he started from analyzing various drawbacks of the traditional Confucian ethical code,revealing its sinking situation and made a moral effort to revitalize it from the perspective of self-criticism.Then he was committed to the reconstruction of the moral ontology and proposed the moral theory of"Truth is out of naturalness",internalizing the external social norms into the natural laws of the human heart.In the end,he made the moral requirements of non-action,emphasizing the naturalness and action through inaction.In order to resolve the crisis of the Confucian ethical code,Wang Bi hoped to reconstruct the moral ontology through the internalization of morality and emphasized the importance of returning to the naturalness.We can find that Wang Bi is actually seeking a balance between the Confucian ethical code and the Taoist naturism.Although his ultimate goal is to restore the vitality of the Confucian ethical code,the inclination of the natural principle has inherently contained the opportunity for the Taoist naturism to transcend the Confucian ethical code.With the changes of social environment,this opportunity had been turned into reality by Ji Kang and Ruan Ji,who emphasized that"Beyond the Confucian ethical code and let things in the course of the Taoist naturism".On the basis of focusing on naturalness,the principle of voluntariness was introduced into the principle of nature,so that the Confucian ethical code became a bondage and no longer had rationality,which was completely opposed to the Taoist naturism.This advocacy of the Taoist naturism and the rejection of the Confucian ethical code inevitably lead to the transcendence in the thoughts of Ji Kang and Ruan Ji.During the Western Jin dynasty,thoughts of Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang came down in one continuous line with Wang Bi,which tried to reconcile the contradiction between Confucianism and Taoism,and combined the nature principles with moral norms,giving the answer that "The Confucian ethical code is the Taoist naturism" to the theme of the Wei and Jin dynasties.Following the consistent tradition of the metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties,Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang also had a positive attitude towards the Taoist naturism.However,in the specific interpretation of the concept of naturism,they emphasized the use of the Confucian ethical code to regulate the Taoist naturism,and the Confucian ethical code had long been naturally included among the connotations of the Taoist naturism.Compared with the uncultivated world,Xiang and Guo paid more attention to the value of humanity,emphasizing the realm of getting to naturalness in moral behavior,which united the principle of naturalness and humanity.They also proposed the ontology that everything in the world is self-generated,and there is no such thing in the universal form of"none"'presented by Wang Bi,so all existences are independent.Correspondingly,in the process of unifying the Confucian ethical code and the Taoist naturism,the goal is to integrate the ethical code with the specific individual naturalness rather than pointing to a universal ontology.In modern society,the lack of moral consciousness and the problem of ambiguity in moral norms are getting increasingly serious.Whether it is necessary to establish a universal moral principle is an important issue in contemporary moral construction.Throughout history,the reconciliation of the traditional moral norms and natural principles in the Wei and Jin dynasties may provide ideas for solving this problem.In addition,the thoughts about life,the challenge to traditional authority,and the eclectic emancipation of the thought at that time could also give inspiration to modern people's lives.Although the demeanor of Wei and Jin dynasties are relished,they have indeed caused some negative influences.The Intelligentsia in contemporary society should learn from history and take social responsibilities to balance individual and social values in a better way.