The Historical Generation, Development Path And Contemporary Construction Of The Pre-Qin Confucian "respect" Moral Thought

"Jing" is one of the core categories of Chinese traditional ethical thought,and it is the emotional foundation of moral consciousness and moral behavior.The sense of morality of the Chinese ancestors was derived from awe,"Respect,togetherness of virtue.To be respectful is to have virtue".In ancient books,"Jing" is not only an important moral emotion,but also the essence of self-cultivation and the foundation of the country's prosperity."Book of Rites" begins with the words: "No Disrespect."This phrase is regarded as the program and soul of "Book of Rites".Fan Zuyu said:"three hundred Jingli and three thousand Quli,in one word,saying" No Disrespect ".Chen Hao said: "The three are essentials of self-cultivation and politics: The person with noble character cultivates himself with respect,and its effect is to settle other person and common people." Zhu Xi explained: "The effort of "Jing" is the first meaning of the holy door." Nan Huaijin called this phrase "the basis of rites."However,due to complex reasons,people's theoretical research and practical attention to "Jing" are in a very weak state.First of all,under the fierce impact of the May Fourth Movement and the Cultural Revolution on traditional culture,Confucian ethical thoughts have received some irrational criticism and denial,Its status was getting lower and lower,the Confucian thought of "Jing" was gradually being eliminated.Secondly,based on the promotion of the "national studies fever" in recent years and the warning of the actual moral crisis,the academic community began to look squarely at and focus on the study of traditional Chinese culture,especially Confucian ethical culture.But its research mainly focuses on the core moral categories such as "benevolence","righteousness",and "ritual" in the era of various schools of thought.As the emotional foundation of these core moral categories,there is very little research on "Jing",the study on the historical generation and development of "Jing" is even more lacking.Again,from a practical perspective,"Jing" is also increasingly marginalized.The capital logic of the market economy caters to and enhances people's interest-seeking.People lose their fear of morality in pursuit of material benefits,leading to the loss of bottom-line ethics,which in turn leads to problems such as money worship,hedonism and moral loss.Therefore,cultivating people's awe and admiration for morality has become the urgent task of moral construction.As an important category in Chinese Confucian ethics,"Jing" has undergone a process from the internal moral emotion to the external moral behavior and then to the independent moral virtue.As the "Axial Age" of Chinese culture,the pre-Qin period was a crucial period for the formation and development of Confucian thought of "Jing".The study of this period's "Jing" thought not only helped us to understand and grasp the essence of Confucian ethics,but also contribute to the cultivation of Chinese people's moral awe,provide traditional resources for reference for contemporary moral construction and social fashion improvement.Based on this,this article will examine the historical generation of Confucian thought of "Jing" in the pre-Qin period,discuss the development path and evolution law of "Jing",explore the essence of "Jing" in the development and evolution,analyze the contemporary predicament of "Jing" in the modern society,and on this basis,find an effective path for the contemporary transformation of the "respect" morality.The main contents of this article are as follows:The first is to trace the origin of "Jing" and analyze the historical generation of "Jing" thought.Judging from the changes in the form of "Jing",the original meaning of "Jing" is expressed as awe and vigilance against external things,alien forces,and gradually extended the meanings of caution,seriousness,diligence,and seriousness.The change of the form of "Jing" reflects the generation process of the "Jing" idea,and the generation and development of the "Jing" idea is rooted in the unique historical context of China.It originates from the efforts of people in acquaintance society to cope with living conditions.The earliest manifestation was the awe of supernatural objects,with a strong religious color.In the Yin Shang dynasty,"Jing" was mainly manifested in the awe of God.With the development of society and history,"Jing" gradually expanded to the social field in terms of objects and connotations.Those in power in the political field can directly determine the people's fate,so "Jing" at this time is also reflected in the awe of the monarch."National events are sacrifice and honor." When it comes to sacrifice and war,people must have a respectful attitude and not take it lightly.They must be fearful in the event.At this time,"Jing" is also reflected in the event.During the Western Zhou Dynasty,"Jing" evolved from "respecting God" to "respecting tianming".Under the historical lesson of the Zhou dynasty replacing the Shang dynasty,people realized that tianming would be transferred to those who have virtues.If they want to keep tianming forever,they must be in awe of tianming.Under the logic of "the emperor has no relative,but virtue is the auxiliary",the concrete implementation of respecting tianming lies in respecting the morals and protecting the people,and as a result,the idea of "Jing" was taking shape.Later,during the Spring and Autumn Period,"Jing" continued to develop gradually,its object and connotation continued to expand,and it gradually developed into a moral virtue,and the "Jing" thought became increasingly perfect.The second is the development pivot,development rationale and internal essence of the "Jing" thought.In the Spring and Autumn Period,Confucius inherited and developed the "Jing" idea of the Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty."Jing" has a richer meaning,which means that the pre-Qin Confucian "Jing" idea was basically formed.Confucius' "Jing" thought not only inherited and developed the previous "Jing" thought,but also provided basic categories and research directions for later generations to think and explore "Jing".Later generations' "Jing" drew nutrition from Confucius' "Jing" thought,and interpreted and exerted it in many directions.Therefore,Confucius' "Jing" thought has become the pivot of the development of the pre-Qin Confucian "Jing" thought.From the perspective of development rationale,the pre-Qin Confucian thought of "Jing" virtue experienced a shift from religion to politics,and then from politics to ethics.From the change of the meaning of "Jing" in the pre-Qin Confucian classics,it can be seen that the divinity and religion of "Jing" has been gradually diminished,and it has gradually developed towards humanization and rationalization.In its evolution,it has followed the principles of humanity,rationality,moderation and morality.And no matter how the object and the meaning of "Jing" changes,the essence of "Jing" is always the same,"Jing" is always a rationalized moral emotion,with the fundamental nature of multidimensional,unified inside and outside,knowledge and action,positive,and ultimately point to the harmony of man and nature.The last is the contemporary predicament and modernity transformation of the pre-Qin Confucian thought of "Jing" virtue.Philosophy is the essence of the spirit of the times.Theories must always observe reality,traditions must always project the modern and play its due role in the transformation of modernity.The pre-Qin Confucian thought of "Jing" virtue as a product of history has its time limitations.With the establishment of China's social market economy,the agricultural society dominated by the natural economy is gradually moving towards the industrial society dominated by the commodity economy,and the society of acquaintances based on the kinship and geography is increasingly transformed into a society of strangers beyond the kinship and geopolitical limitations.In the 21 st century,contemporary society has formed a more intricate relationship network.The traditional Wulun relationship has been impacted and challenged,and a moral vacuum has emerged in society.Under the tremendous changes in contemporary social environment and social structure,the pre-Qin Confucian thought of "Jing" virtue encountered the dilemma of the failure of public responsibility,the corruption of individual moral,the lack of value rationality,and the lost of the doctrine of the mean.It is not possible to give effective ethical guidance to Chinese people under the new ethical relationship in contemporary society.In view of these dilemmas,it is necessary to find a path for contemporary transformation,so as to endow the pre-Qin Confucian thought of "Jing" virtue with a new era of connotation and contemporary expression,so that it can continue to play a role in contemporary society.Therefore,this article will be devoted to discussing and analyzing the contemporary dilemma and contemporary transformation of the "Jing" moral thought,and trying to find a suitable path for the solution of contemporary social ethical and moral issues.