Confucius · The Style of a Sage

Author: Zhang Yanling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The term "pre-Qin thought" primarily refers to the ideas of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, feudal lords engaged in annexation, with powerful states attacking weaker ones and large states. Events such as the initial tax reform in Lu, the Tian family replacing Qi, the division of Jin among three families, Wuqi serving as prime minister of Chu, and Shang Yang's reforms demonstrated how the economy relentlessly paved its own path. Behind the dazzling political and military stage lay the decisive role of the economic base, showcasing its immense selective power. Amid fierce political, military, and diplomatic struggles, various classes and political factions sought their theoretical representatives, consciously or unconsciously advocating for their interests through their theorists and thinkers, intensifying the refinement of their ideological weapons. This led to the extraordinary phenomenon of scholars debating freely and the Hundred Schools of Thought competing. The outcome of this intellectual ferment helped our nation escape the ignorance and constraints of primitive witchcraft and religion, laying the foundation for a rationalistic cultural psychological structure. The thoughts of the various schools during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were both rich and complex. The works left behind by these schools were mostly compiled by later generations, and some were not the product of a single author at a single time. For example, regarding the Zhuangzi, which includes the Inner Chapters, Outer Chapters, and Miscellaneous Chapters, scholars still debate which parts were actually written by Zhuangzi. The Mozi contains both the words and ideas of Mozi and those of his later followers. Whether Laozi came before or after Confucius is also a subject of ongoing debate. Such issues are avoided in this book, as its target audience is readers with a moderate level of education, and its purpose is simply to provide a general introduction. If readers gain a rough understanding of the ideas and doctrines of the pre-Qin schools after reading this book, that will have achieved its goal. The book is divided into eight volumes. Among them, Laozi, Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi each have their own volume; The Book of Changes, The, and The Art of War are combined into one volume.