Xu Gan (171-218) was born in Beihai Drama County (now Changle, Shandong Province). Thinker, writer and educator in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Received family education since childhood. /kloc-at the age of 0/4, he began to study the Five Classics. He was so angry that he forgot to eat and sleep day and night that his father worried that he would harm his health and often banned it. Before I was 20, I could recite five classics and read biographies. Kong Rong, Chen Lin, RoyceWong, Ruan Yu, Angelababy, and Liu Zhen are called "seven sons of Jian 'an". Literature, a former air force commander in charge of wine festivals and a corps commander with five senses, is a subordinate official of the government. At that time, there was a powerful minister in power in the imperial court, and there was a separatist regime outside. The political situation was turbulent and the scholar's style declined. Therefore, I had no intention of becoming an official, resigned and returned to my hometown to concentrate on academic research and teach my disciples. Teach people to be persuasive, learn from each other's strengths, and make people unconsciously affected. In the 23rd year of Jian 'an (AD 2 18), a plague prevailed and he died.
Zhong Lun is Xu Gan's unfinished work due to illness, with a total of 20 articles, * * * 2. 1 ten thousand words. It was compiled for the books of Ceng Gong School in the Northern Song Dynasty. The Four Series of the Commercial Press photocopied the Qingzhou Journal of Ming Jiajing. The topics are as follows: textual research, image, copying, imaginary way, noble experience, noble words, artistic discipline, verification, wisdom, noble deeds, falsification, condemnation, calendar, on premature death, service books, examination of ministers, cautious obedience, national subjugation, rewards and punishments, and people's numbers. The book was written in response to the vulgar trend of thought that scholars at that time advocated flowery rhetoric, but did not pay attention to expounding the great righteousness, preaching the way of sages and spreading enlightenment. The purpose is to "seek the sages above and save the vulgar." Guided by Confucianism, Zhong Lun tried to correct the current disadvantages and rebuild the ideal social and political system. The discussion on education is also aimed at clarifying the way of sages to study, and at the same time criticizing the bad style of study and scholar's style at that time. Gong Zizhen in Qing Dynasty said: "Xu Gan's On China, with Confucianism as the cover, hit the nail on the head." This is a remarkable feature of this book.
(A) "Scholars, saints are above affairs."
Xu Gan inherited the traditional Confucian concept of attaching importance to learning. As the first article of "On Chinese Studies", the first sentence of "Scholarship" is: "What is the reason for a gentleman to become a virtue in the past? Learn also. " Learning can "keep the mind from thinking, be happy with feelings and be rational", that is, it has an important conditioning effect on people's spirit, thinking, emotion and nature, so it is "the important task of saints". When the sun shines into the dark room. Just like the stored objects are immediately obvious and impressive, learning is like the sun that illuminates the heart, which can enlighten people. Only learning can be "virtuous" and "virtuous". Xu Gan did not specifically discuss the issue of human nature. Judging from the criticism of falsehood in Textual Research that "people lose their nature and don't know its mystery", they are often good in human nature. There is also a saying in Textual Research that "a man is not a gentleman, although he has beautiful qualities." But Xu Gan pays more attention to external forces and conditions. In the article "Research", it is pointed out that "thinking alone is stagnant and impassable, and walking alone is sleepy and impossible." Even a saint should "learn from the gods and things". Sages, like Yan Hui and Zi Gong, all learn from sages. The key is to determine the ambition of learning: "those who are determined to learn are also teachers of learning;" Only talented people can learn. Scholars do not suffer from talent, but do not stand. "So, the gentleman" is unwilling and must study; Follow the teacher if you don't move. "Take learning as a journey of the sun and the moon, and never stop for life until death do us part. In short, learning is the only way for personal growth.
Xu Gan exposed and criticized the phenomenon of political relaxation, moral decay and even the corruption of study style in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The article "Task Communication" points out that due to confusion between right and wrong, black and white are reversed, the imperial court selects scholars in name only, and those who are praised are regarded as talents. So the scholars left their native land and made friends everywhere. Don't cultivate morality, just talk big, pretend, and seek fame and reputation. The purpose of making friends with a teacher is to form a party for self-interest, flatter each other and support each other. Although "Confucianism is full of doors and Taoism" at that time, it seems that the atmosphere of learning from Shang Xian is very prosperous. However, the relationship between teachers and students has lost the meaning of teaching. As for those who "said they were born in a rich family", Xu Gan revealed that they were "pregnant with their husbands and attacked the ladies-in-waiting concubines. Or provide goods for self-consolidation. Seeking ambition is a trust and planning is an official. " These people are low-minded, despicable and shameless. The article lamented: "Wang Jiao's defeat, even Hu Si's defeat!" He asked to end his friendship. Be banned. Please help me. Talents should be inspected step by step from the village, "test their virtue, observe their way and be artistic", so as to prevent melodramatic trip and make people "treat each other with sincerity". Xu Gan understood its pseudo-essence from the superficial phenomena of seeking teachers, discussing learning and the prosperity of Shang Xian at that time, which was quite insightful. But he completely denied that the study tour was one-sided.
(B) "Scholars, justice first"
Xu Gan, like most educators in Han Dynasty, advocated erudition. In the article "Textual Research", it is compared that great joy is not taken at once, and good food is not taken blindly. It can be seen that the virtue of saints is not taken in one place. He pointed out: "Scholars, so the Tao is a common group." The way of the regiment depends on its own heart, and the words of the regiment depend on its own mouth. "Learn from other people's knowledge. His erudite criticism of vulgar Confucianism at that time was: "Take the name of things as a consideration, be cautious about instruments, be proud of exegetical training, be precise in chapters and sentences, not unify their meanings, and take the heart of the king first." If we can't unify and master the consciousness of the university, this kind of learning, no matter how extensive, will only serve as a mouthpiece, such as "reciting poems by female history" Thinking, wasting time, getting nowhere. He stressed. "All scholars, righteousness comes first, the name of things comes last, righteousness comes last, and the name of things comes last." In other words, the purpose of learning is to understand the spiritual essence of mastering the sage's way, and all specific contents must obey this "dog righteousness." Therefore, "scholars learn the Tao."
The way of being a saint is embodied in the Book of Sages. In the article "Research", Six Classics is known as "the book of saints". Although the sage died early, "his Tao still exists" in the Six Classics. "Today's scholars are diligent in taking it, which is enough to become knowledgeable." This is the traditional view of Confucianism advocating the Six Classics. However, Xu Gan also praised the teaching of Liu Xing and Zhi in Zhou Li, and thought that "three kinds of teaching should be prepared and humanity should be exhausted". He didn't think highly of those Confucian scholars who only read classics and ignored the study of skills at that time. There is a monograph on the value of skills in On China, which holds that "skill" is the embodiment of wisdom and indispensable for engaging in specific affairs. Art is also a necessary condition for adult virtue. If people are compared to trees, then virtue is equivalent to roots and art is equivalent to branches and leaves. "People can't be virtuous without skills", and he also expounded the functions of the six arts: "Rite is to test respect, joy is to love, shooting is to center the heart, prevention is to reconcile the heart, books are to moisten things, and numbers are to worry." Although the six arts have different functions, they can all make people's virtue more perfect, so "the virtuous, the literature and art will flourish." He thinks that the former king's "cheap art" is to look down on people who only rely on skills to do specific things. If you can "understand the feelings of the group arts", then you can "talk about Tao", which is a matter for gentlemen. Ming Dow should be cultivated through art, and virtue should not be cultivated through art, which is also the important significance of scholars.
Based on the idea of attaching importance to skills, Xu Gan also holds his own unique views on the relationship between wisdom and morality. The article "Knowing and Doing" records: "Or ask:' A scholar or a wise man is poor in reason, or his ambition is pure in ambition. You can't have it both ways. What do saints take? "yes; This is wise! He believes that saints do their best to be beautiful, not just to do good deeds. How can he be kind without a wise man? He praised Guan Zhong and Sean for their outstanding talents and achievements, although their virtues were flawed. At the same time, we oppose the one-sidedness of attaching importance to wisdom over morality, and there is also a quantitative proportional relationship here. He compared water to defeat fire, but a liter of water can't put out forest fires, and pointed out that people who "make more mistakes than merits" are not desirable. These discourses reflect the change of talent view in the turbulent situation of Han Dynasty.
(3) "Call the service book for your own use."
Xu Gan inherited the Confucian tenet of paying attention to self-cultivation and expounded it from the perspective of putting the cart before the horse. The article "Wu Ben" pointed out: "Everyone is reasonable and uses it differently. Either by yourself or by others. Use your own business book, and use someone else's name to call the near end. " A gentleman always perfects his personality with knowledge and morality first, while a villain always faces others after knowing something. His criticism is that he only knows how to smell and think about other people's problems, but he can't "smell", "see" and "think", which can be described as deaf, blind and confused. In his view, to treat people without first seeking self-cultivation is to give up oneself and think about nothing, and to give up the easy and seek the difficult. Because "I have something with my family, which is honest and easy to govern", and "I have nothing with my country, which is sincere and difficult to treat". Self-cultivation can depend entirely on your own will, while governing the country is beyond your own decision. And because of their lack of self-cultivation, they are not convincing. Just as a doctor can't cure his own disease, people won't ask him for treatment. He quoted him as saying, "What is winning the hearts of others?" ? If you can't win his heart, what if you win someone? "So, cultivate one's morality is the premise of treating people.
Under the guidance of the idea of "relying on oneself", the chapter of "Wu Ben" puts forward the following principles of learning and self-cultivation:
1, eager to forgive others. He took Confucius' revision of Chunqiu as an example. When it comes to Lu's own affairs, "small evils must be written"; First, when it comes to other countries' affairs, the "great evil begins" embodies the principle of "being subtle inside and subtle outside, being anxious about oneself and being lenient with oneself".
2. Change good into evil. Treating the good and evil of others should first be used as a reference for self-cultivation, that is, "seeing the goodness of others, I am afraid I can't fix it; You will be afraid of me when you see other people's faults. "In this way, you can make your virtue' brand-new'. The article "Virtual Tao" further points out that what a gentleman values most is not wit, eloquence and courage, but "being afraid of moving the good out of reach and changing the evil out of reach".
3. Match words with deeds. He believes that doing is different from saying "no wisdom" and saying that it is different from doing "hurting people", which is detrimental to others and untrustworthy to others. Therefore, behavior is more important than words. Confucius was quoted in "Returning Wild Goose": "If you want others to believe in yourself, you must do it humbly." Practice first, but try to be cautious and subtle, so that there will be no inconsistency between words and deeds.
4. Degui remains unchanged. He compared pearls and jade as they contain impurities and need to be purified by good work, indicating that moral cultivation is a process of constantly purifying the soul. Xiu De, a gentleman, always "makes a small fortune", while a villain forgets the righteousness at the expense of profit. "If you do good one day, you will always ask for praise." If you don't get praise, you will no longer do good. He pointed out: "the piano and the harp are ringing, and they will not be out of tune because they don't listen;" Benevolence and righteousness do not destroy its path for anyone. " Therefore, we must be self-reliant, self-respecting and self-loving and consistent. This is the truth of "moral invariability".
"Guide by people"
Xu Gan advocates that the contents and methods of teaching should be determined by the objects. The chapter "Returning to the Wild Goose" emphasizes that "a gentleman must repeat his words". To speak highly is to respect the body, to respect the body is to emphasize the road, and to emphasize the road is to teach. He pointed out: "If a gentleman is not a human being, he must talk to him. If he talks to him, he will stand on his side. " For example, with farmers, we should discuss farming, skills, dignity, officials, the rule of law, and scholars. In this way, "words are enough to achieve his intellectual concern, and things are enough to meet his temperament." Therefore, it is necessary to follow the rules as well as the rules, and not to be "over-constrained". He is a wise man who will neither "lose people" nor "slip of the tongue".
Based on this idea, this paper puts forward the specific principles and methods of gentleman's teaching. First of all, we should "measure their minds, their abilities, their spirits and their decline", that is, grasp the characteristics of students' aspirations, interests and temperament. Then "how to observe its harmony when singing, and how to observe its obedience when guiding", that is, pay attention to the students' understanding and acceptance at any time in the teaching process, and observe it from the aspects of speech, audio-visual, expression and behavior. In the case of fully understanding the students' own characteristics and learning situation: "So what makes it so, from it, make it clear, make it clear, make it widely known, make it right and make it reasonable." That is to open up learning channels for students, grasp the learning progress according to the previous foundation, explain it clearly in detail, and make it profound by quoting from many sources. At the same time, establish standards to make them learn correctly and dredge clues to make them learn in an orderly manner. A gentleman "guides people because of his nature" and makes people "complacent". This is the truth.
Xu Gan's "On the Middle Way" aims at expounding the righteous way, in which the content about education occupies a considerable proportion, especially covering a wide range, and has a penetrating exposition on the significance, purpose, content and methods of education, which is rare in the works of scholars in the Han Dynasty. Its exposition is mostly aimed at the disadvantages of the times, with clear positive and negative contrast and strong effectiveness. However, the book lacks a consistent ideological system, and the theoretical depth of the viewpoint is slightly poor. Due to the different emphasis of each article, some formulations are inconsistent.