contention of a hundred schools of thought(bǎi jiā zhēng míng)

contention of a hundred schools of thought

The contention of a hundred schools of thought refers to the emergence of different schools of thought among intellectuals in the spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States period (475-221 BC) and the contention among various schools of thought.

In the history of China, the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period are the most brilliant era of thought and culture. During this period, there was an unprecedented academic situation in which a hundred schools of thought criticized each other, argued with each other, and played an important role in the history of Chinese ideological development. According to the records of Hanshu Yiwenzhi, there are 189 works with 4324 works. Later books such as Sui Shu Jing Ji Zhi and Si Ku Quan Shu Zong Mu recorded that there were thousands of schools of thought. However, only 12 of them are widely spread, influential and well-known. To sum up, only 12 schools have been developed.

During the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the achievements of various schools of thought and academic reflected each other with the ancient Greek civilization of the same period; the three philosophical systems represented by Confucius, Laozi and Mozi. To the Warring States period, a prosperous situation of a hundred schools of thought was formed. However, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carried out the policy of "dismissing a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", Confucianism represented by Confucius and Mencius became the orthodox ideology of the ruling class, ruling Chinese ideology and culture to the end of the Han Dynasty.

Chinese vocabulary

bǎijiāzhēngmíng

interpretation

Baijia: originally refers to the representative families of various schools of thought in the pre Qin period, and then refers to various political and academic schools; Mingming: expresses opinions. 1. During the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the society changed rapidly, and many problems needed to be solved. In the Warring States period, various schools of thought emerged, such as Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism and Mohism. They wrote books, lectured and debated with each other, resulting in a prosperous academic scene, which later was known as the contention of a hundred schools of thought. 2. See: a hundred flowers bloom

usage

Subject predicate; as predicate, object, attribute; metaphor allows various academic schools to express their opinions.

Examples

1. Without the contention of a hundred schools of thought, there will be no scientific prosperity and theoretical development; 2. Since the end of the spring and Autumn period, Chinese thought has been greatly open, showing a situation of contention of a hundred schools of thought. --Guo Moruo's Lu Buwei and the criticism of the Qin government

words whose meaning is similar

We should express our own opinions, speak freely, and accept hundreds of schools.

antonym

They are silent, demanding uniformity, speaking from one family and enjoying themselves alone.

English translation

Allschoolsofthoughtscontendforattention.

source

Ban Gu of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in Hanshu Yiwenzhi: "there are hundreds of schools of thought Bee out and make, each lead one end, worship its good, in this Chi said, United princes. "

Historical environment

The society of the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period was in a period of great changes and upheaval. The vassal states recruited talents to enrich the country and strengthen the army. Economically, iron cattle farming is promoted, productivity is improved, social and economic development provides material conditions. In science and technology, astronomy, medicine and other science and technology have made great progress. Culturally, private schools have sprung up, forming many scholars and schools of thought. This is the reason why a hundred schools of thought contend. The theories of various schools of thought have far-reaching influence on later generations in the field of politics, ideology and culture. in this period, the society has undergone dramatic changes, and history has moved from division to unity. In view of the rapid changes in society, various schools have argued enthusiastically, wrote books and expounded their own ideological and political views. scholars or thinkers representing the political forces of all classes, strata and factions all attempt to explain the universe, society and everything according to the interests and requirements of their own classes (strata) or groups. They wrote books, collected disciples, talked and questioned each other, so there was a situation of "a hundred schools of thought contend" in the field of thought. The emergence of "a hundred schools of thought contend" is the reflection of the above-mentioned social and class relations in ancient Chinese ideology. The emergence of this "contention of a hundred schools of thought" has its special historical environment. In the late spring and Autumn period and the early Warring States period, the Feudal States carried out reform successively. These are the new landlord class to use the power of the regime to change the relations of production of slavery, establish a new social order, so as to complete the process of feudalization. In the Warring States period, because all countries were in a state of feudal separatism, a unified feudal regime had not yet been formed. As a result, the ideology of the new landlord class lagged behind the other aspects of the economic base and superstructure for a long time. Because the ruling landlord class did not consolidate its own political power, and their thoughts had not yet become the ruling thoughts of feudal society, this created favorable conditions for the emergence of the contending situation of various schools of thought. From the middle and late spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, thinkers of all social classes and strata were able to write books freely and spread their ideas and propositions everywhere without being excluded and bound by the ruling ideology of the landlord class. Once the ruling ideology of the landlord class was established and the feudal unified state was formed, it would be difficult to see the grand occasion of "a hundred schools of thought contending" in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period.

cultural background

In the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the most fundamental reason for the brilliant culture is that the era of great social change provided a historical stage for thinkers of various classes and groups to express their own opinions (that is, the theories of various schools of thought and the family precepts of the common people); at the same time, it also depends on the combination of many factors. (1) the great social change of the collapse of rites and music liberated the bottom class of the aristocracy from the heavy patriarchal system, and gained an independent status in social identity. The desire for talents of the princes who were eager to fight for hegemony also contributed to the popularity of the class. The rise of scholars means the formation of a professional cultural class which takes "painstaking" as the task and is engaged in spiritual creation. The material life and spiritual life of the Chinese nation are destined to be deeply influenced by them. 2. The fierce annexation war broke the isolated and static life pattern, the scale of cultural communication is growing, and the conflict, interweaving and infiltration of multiple factors provide opportunities for cultural reorganization. 3. Creative spiritual labor, which provides a prerequisite for the "world split" of Taoism. 4. With the loss of the status of "co master" of the emperor of Zhou, the full-time palace cultural officials went to the lower class or transferred to other countries, which directly promoted the rise of private scholar groups. It is the combination of the above conditions that creates a golden opportunity for the spiritual development of the Chinese nation. It is in such a cultural background that the grand "hundred schools of thought contend" came into being.

Causes

The reasons for the emergence of the contention can be summarized as follows: first, political factors. At that time, the society was in a period of great social change, and the society was in turmoil. In order to obtain the hegemony in the struggle, the monarchs of various vassal states competed to recruit talents, and used different ideas and theories to make their country rich and powerful. This creates a relaxed academic atmosphere for a hundred schools of thought contend. Second, economic factors. At that time, the economy had a great development, which made some people become leisure class and have time to engage in their own academic activities. Thirdly, science and technology. Great progress has been made in science and technology, such as astronomy, mathematics, optics, acoustics, mechanics, medicine and so on. These scientific and technological achievements mark the improvement of people's understanding level and enrich people's spiritual world and material life. Fourthly, cultural factors. At that time, "the emperor lost his official position and studied in the four barbarians". The result was to break the situation of "learning in the government", so that the cultural and academic monopolized by the nobility spread to the lower class of the society and moved down to the folk (this historical phenomenon is called "cultural downward movement"), resulting in the "prosperity of private learning". Fifth, academic freedom. Each academic group is relatively independent in political power. Starting from the interests of different social groups, they wrote books one after another, discussed current affairs, expounded philosophy, and each had their own opinions. However, they were not political vassals, attached to a political power group, but "use me to stay, do not use me to go". In addition, different schools of thought and different schools of the same school struggle with each other and learn from each other. This is another important factor contributing to the contention of a hundred schools of thought. during the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the rapid development of productivity promoted the prosperity of Commerce and towns, and the traditional social order was severely impacted. In the rush of reform in various countries, scholars with cultural knowledge lobbied and lectured everywhere, which greatly broadened their horizons and prompted them to think independently and explore creatively. The representatives of different political and ideological schools in the society put forward different opinions on various issues, and a group of academic masters who made pioneering contributions emerged, forming a situation of a hundred schools of thought contending in the ideological field. in the history of China, the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period are the most brilliant era of thought and culture with stars shining. During this period, there was an unprecedented academic situation in which all schools of thought questioned and argued with each other, which played an important role in the history of Chinese ideological development. In this period, the social structure changed rapidly, the social contradictions were extremely sharp, the annexation wars were continuous, and the cultural thoughts were unprecedentedly active. Most of the great thinkers in China emerged in this era, forming the essence and foundation of Chinese civilization. During this period, an important phenomenon was the emergence and activity of the intelligentsia, the "Scholar" class. How did the "Scholar" class come into being? In the Western Zhou Dynasty, schools were all officials

Chinese PinYin : bǎi jiā zhēng míng