Laozi · Great Learning · Doctrine of the Mean

Author: Deng Qitong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: A children's guide to classic Chinese culture. Classics are works that awaken human nature and can open people's wisdom! Classics can delve deep into the heart of a person, cultivating a refined temperament and a kind character! Classical Chinese, as the language of literature, is the language used in most classics, refined and elevated through millennia into a beautiful, concise, and precise language. In the long river of China's 5,000-year civilization, the classics that have endured to this day are the Five Classics and the Four Books, which contain a wealth of idioms, allusions, ethics, humanities, history, etiquette, and cultural norms. Children, nurtured by these classics, will exude an elegant aura from the inside out, becoming knowledgeable, polite, open-minded, and greatly enhancing their learning ability! Join the ranks of reading and reciting classics!
Laozi was one of the earliest philosophers in Chinese history. He was from Kuling in the Chu State, surnamed Li, named Er, and styled Dan. He was even older than Confucius and spoke with the wisdom of an old sage, full of both insight and innocence. Laozi is a symbol of Eastern wisdom. His words remain pure and innocent, simple and sincere. His concept of "wu wei" (non-action) has had a profound influence; "wu wei" also means "not doing harm." As the saying goes, "Extremes meet," and "The five colors blind the eyes, the five sounds deafen the ears, the five flavors dull the taste buds, the chase and hunt drive one mad, and rare goods lead to mischief." How many rises and falls of states and nations have been proven by this truth. Reading Laozi helps one understand the principles of being a person and gain insight into the mysteries of the world!
The Great Learning was originally one of the chapters in the Small Seal Records of Rites and was written by Zeng Can, a favored disciple of Confucius. The Great Learning refers to profound and extensive knowledge, the kind needed to become a great person—a moral giant. Its core content revolves around the Three Cardinal Principles—illuminating virtue, renewing the people, and achieving perfect goodness through sincerity—and the Eight Steps—investigating things, extending knowledge, sincerity of heart, rectifying thoughts, cultivating oneself, governing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. Since the Yuan Dynasty, it has been studied alongside the Analects, the Mencius, and the Doctrine of the Mean as the Four Books, becoming essential texts for scholars and the basic curriculum in private schools. Children who read the Great Learning are as if they have entered a university.
The Doctrine of the Mean is also one of the chapters in the Small Seal Records of Rites. Confucius said, "The virtue of the Mean is the ultimate virtue! The people have been lacking it for too long." Confucius's grandson, Zisi, styled Zisi, was a student of Zeng Can and the teacher of Mencius, known as the "Second Sage." Zisi regarded "sincerity" as the origin of the world and made the "Mean" the core of his philosophy. The Mean is not about being lukewarm or compromising; it emphasizes "ultimate sincerity," "sincerity of heart," and "the nobleman's sincerity." Truly, the Mean!