From Intrinsic Ritual To External Ritual

In the Analects of Confucius,there is a dialogue between Confucius and Zai Wo about the three-year funeral.Zai Wo thought that the three-year funeral was too long.People could not carry out ritual and music activities during the funeral,which would lead to the end of ritual destruction and melancholy,and should be replaced by one year.Confucius believed that in order to repay the parents'endless love for their children,their children should be mourned for three years.And it's unkind to criticize me.From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period,with the change of patriarchal clan system and the development of social productivity,the original order was broken,and the original ritual and music system gradually collapsed.As a system of maintaining social hierarchy and discipline,the role of etiquette and music gradually disappears.Under this environment,how to distinguish etiquette from etiquette has become an important topic in society.During the Spring and Autumn Period,thinkers launched a debate on the distinction between etiquette and thought about the basis of etiquette.Before Confucius,people generally believed that the Tao of Heaven was the foundation of rites.The foundation of etiquette is based on the Tao of Heaven.The reason why Zai Wo put forward the idea of "the death of a certain year" is also that it follows the views of predecessors.Confucius shifted his focus from the outside world to the inside of life.He believed that ritual,as a norm,must be based on the real feelings of human beings and be regarded as a criterion to measure ritual from the perspective of "peace of mind".Confucianism advocated that the three-year funeral should be initiated by Confucius.In the context of benevolence,Confucius further elucidated the topic of the three-year funeral.In this context,the reason why filial piety mourning for three years is due to the inner moral conscience,that is,benevolence,which is not only the manifestation of children's emotions,but also reflects the normative significance of etiquette.Although Confucius highly praised the funeral of three years,the funeral of three years was prevalent in the society at that time,which aroused the suspicion of the slayer and triggered a dialogue with him about the funeral of three years.The question of Zai Wo prompted later thinkers to pay attention to this issue and discuss and interpret this dialogue one after another.Zhu Xi,a famous Neo-Confucianist in the Northern Song Dynasty,was one of the representatives.He introduced the concept of Neo-Confucianism and re-discussed the three-year funeral from the perspective of "heart" and "reason",trying to find a more reasonable basis for the three-year funeral.