The Humanistic Turn Of Yin And Zhou Dynasties And Confucius’ Belief In “TianMing”

The formation of ancient Chinese religious system shows a kind of continuity between man and nature.This kind of continuity makes the supreme god of Shang and Zhou Dynasty lack the characteristics of independent existence,and forms a belief system in which God lies in man,thus providing a value basis for the internal transcendence of Confucianism.People in Zhou Dynasty believed in “Tian” and thought that “Tian” was the master of the highest good.However,in the process of carrying out “Tian Ming”,people in Zhou Dynasty respected virtue not out of their own moral consciousness.It’s purpose is still utilitarian.Zhou Dynasty people’s understanding of the utilitarian nature of human beings and sacrifice shows that the inner divinity has not yet achieved self-consciousness on the level of morality.Therefore,in Chunqiu period,when the society changed dramatically and the virtue and fortune could not reach an agreement,the thought of doubting and complaining about “Tian” gradually rose,and the sanctity of heaven was doubted and denied.The sanctity of heaven was doubted and denied.The sacred value is lost and the Liyue civilization tends to collapse.Confucius attached great importance to “Tian Ming”,whose ideological source can be traced back to the changes of religious concepts since Xia,Shang and Zhou dynasties,and one of the most important ideological sources is the humanistic turn during the Yin and Zhou dynasties.During the period of yin and Zhou,there was a cultural theme: the transfer from God to man,but it did not mean the unilateral development of human spirit.Confucius continued the human tradition of the Yin and Zhou dynasties,but did not give up the belief of “Tian Ming”.Under the influence of the trend of the times,Confucius selectively inherited and developed the traditional theory on “Tian Ming” of the Zhou Dynasty.First of all,Confucius affirmed the dominant meaning of ”Tian”,which means that Confucius had the belief of ”Tian”.Confucius’ affirmation of the dominance of ”Tian” is not only the domination of nature,but also the domination of human affairs.Secondly,Confucius divided“Tian Ming”.Confucius made a distinction between "Lu Ming" and "De Ming" to "Tian Ming",and separated the "Lu Ming" which was difficult to control from "De Ming",which made it possible for "Tian Ming" to be self consistent on the level of "De".Confucius’ theory of “Tian Ming” is of great theoretical significance.First of all,it is reflected in the reconstruction of the belief in “Tian Ming”.This reconstruction of Confucius,in a word,is to find that the only part of man that can be self dominated is man’s grasp of his own virtue by dividing “Tian Ming”,so as to change man’s understanding of himself and the utility of virtue.Therefore,people can arouse their consciousness of their own existence,and finally rebuild their belief in destiny.Secondly,in terms of religious sacrifice,Confucius also provided a new theory of sacrifice.Confucius regarded kindness as the essence of human beings,so he oppose the utilitarian attitude of offering sacrifices to gods.Therefore,it advocates a kind of sacrificial concept of "Jing Gui Shen Er Yuan Zhi"."Yuan Zhi" is to restore the sanctity and authority of the object of belief from the perspective of the object of belief."Jing ",on the other hand,focuses on the inner piety.This kind of sacrifice attitude of Confucius made the belief of ghosts and gods changed from outside to inside.