On The Virtue Of Wisdom In Xu Gan's Zhong Lun

Confucianism in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties advocated the ideal personality of"Benevolence(ren?)and Wisdom(zhi?)".However,under the framework of"Benevolence and Wisdom",most of it is actually based on the benevolence,wisdom is the supplement of benevolence,and wisdom is in a subordinate status.During the Han and Wei dynasties,due to the needs of the times,"wisdom"received more and more attention in the society,forming a trend of"wisdom is virtuous and handsome".In this context,Xu Gan,a thinker in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty,proposed in Zhong Lun that if"benevolence(good)"and"(ming)wisdom"are incompatible,prudence(ming zhe??)takes precedence over benevolence.This reversed the tradition of Confucian"benevolence"as the first virtue since pre-Qin.Xu Gan's thought of wisdom is specifically developed into three dimensions:wise(ming zhi??),wisdom of intelligence(cai zhi??)and wisdom of adaptability(quan zhi??)."Ming"is Xu Gan's overall requirement for wisdom;Wisdom of intelligence is the ability requirement for politicians of governing the world;Wisdom of adaptability requires the moral subject to know the sequence and flexibility,and adheres to the principle of the middle way(zhong dao??).Xu Qian's concept of wisdom embodies the spirit of merit and the principle of Zhong Dao,which not only inherits the Confucian tradition of Zhong Dao,but also corrects the view of Confucianism that does not value merit.How to cultivate"wisdom",Xu Gan advocated that the moral subject should through study to establish the theoretical basis of turning knowledge to wisdom;through speak and act cautiously to discerning,knowing right and wrong;The monarch through"prudently following"to knows how to make good use of people,so that talented people can use their wisdom to make practical contributions for the social governance.