Analysis Of Cheng Yi’s Ideal Personality

Confucian scholars have always attached great importance to sages and carried out the pursuit of sages into their own lives.The grandiose spirit embodied in them was also the embodiment of the Confucian spirit of responsibility at that time.With a strong sense of distress and the spirit of taking on the great responsibilities of The Times,they seek the way,practice and preach,and stand up as the subjectivity of their lives.For the development of Confucianism,enriched and developed the personality thought of Confucianism.Among them,the Neo-Confucianist Cheng Yi wrote abundant and extensive thoughts,which has far-reaching significance in elucidating the ideal personality of Confucianism.This article consists of five parts.In the introduction,firstly,introduce the reasons for choosing Cheng Yi’s ideal personality thought as the research topic;secondly,it summarizes the research results of the academic circle on related content,sort out the corresponding information;finally,the innovation of this article is explained.The first part explains the background of the formation of Cheng Yi’s ideal personality thought from two parts:social environment and Confucius and Mencius influence.Cheng Yi studied at Zhou Dunyi when he was young,and was taught to pursue the way of a saint,which laid the direction for the development of Cheng Yi’s academic thought.In the communication with the thinkers of the same period,Cheng Yi’s own academic thoughts were also constantly enriched;The tolerant political environment and free academic atmosphere of the Song Dynasty emphasized the discussion of morality,which opened the curtain for Neo-Confucianists to examine the Confucian classics and value moral consciousness in the new era.And the strong sense of anxiety,the consciousness of the world,the consciousness of criticism and the consciousness of change have also enabled Confucian scholars to better demonstrate the spirit of taking the world as their responsibility;At the same time,pre-Qin Confucius and Mencius’ views on sages and gentlemen also affected Cheng Yi’s ideal personality to a certain extent.The second part expounds the philosophical basis of Cheng Yi’s ideal personality thought from two parts:the law of nature and human nature.The principle of heaven is the noumenon of the universe established by Cheng Yi,and it is also the foundation and value basis of all things in the world.When it is implemented at the level of life,not only the principles of heaven are used as the basis for people to be humans,but also the principles of heaven as the source of social ethics;Cheng Yi believes that "xing is principle",xing and principle are regarded as one,human nature is the expression of heavenly principles in people,and everyone has the same heavenly principles.It laid a solid foundation of ontology and mind-nature theory for its ideal personality thought,and also communicated the path that saints can learn.The third part expounds Cheng Yi’s views on sages,gentlemen and villains from two aspects:Cheng Yi’s division of ideal personality levels and the cultivation method needed to realize ideal personality.The ideal personality considered by Cheng Yi not only pays attention to the stability of one’s body and mind,and emphasizes the cultivation of morality;but also pays attention to the family,the country and the world,and emphasizes the deep concern for social life.In order to achieve such a goal,Cheng Yi proposed a series of cultivation techniques such as learning from things,sincere respect,cultivating righteousness,following the laws of nature,and temperament.The fourth part explains that Cheng Yi’s pursuit of ideal personality is not only embodied in the settlement of his own life,but also embodied in his efforts to realize the world.The concluding part is a summary of Cheng Yi’s ideal personality thought.It points out that he attaches importance to human subjectivity and human value,and thinks about the meaning of life,which reflects the Confucian scholars’ care for the individual and the responsibility of the country and the nation.