Basic connotation
The basic content of the thought of "moral integrity and cautious punishment" contains two meanings: advocating moral integrity and using punishment cautiously.
The word "de" in the sense of ethics began to appear in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. The initial form of the word "de" appeared in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty and the bronze inscriptions of the early Western Zhou Dynasty. When analyzing the word "de" in the inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Mr. Guo Moruo pointed out: "the word" de "literally means from the heart, which means to put the mind in order, that is to say" those who want to cultivate their body should correct their body first "in Da Xue This concept of "Virtue" reflects the Zhou People's ideological tendency of "using human power to help the poor of heaven". Mr. Guo Moruo thinks that the key of respecting virtue in Zhou Dynasty is "in the same word" and says that "this idea of respecting virtue is repeated over and over again in several articles at the beginning of Zhou Dynasty, just like the same theme and Sonata. This is indeed the unique thought of Zhou people.
It can be seen from the book of Shang · Zhou Shu that there are many comments about "respecting virtue" and "showing virtue". Examples are as follows:
Kanggao: "only PI Xiankao Wen Wang, Ke Ming De, cautious punishment.".
Zi Cai: "the first king was diligent in using Ming De".
Luo Gao: "name Wu Xiande".
Wu Yi: "the emperor respects virtue".
In many ways, it is said that "if one does not know well, one should be cautious in punishing.".
The reason why the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty spoke highly of "understanding virtue" and "respecting virtue" is that they realized that "only heaven does not give to those who are not careful to cultivate virtue", that is, heaven will not give their destiny to those who are not careful to cultivate virtue. In the view of the Zhou people, they took over the mandate from the Yin people and gained the legal throne of governing the world. The reason is that the two kings, Yu Wen and Wu, were able to match the heaven with virtue. This is the meaning of the phrase "not showing the civil and martial arts, the emperor's great dislike of Jue De, match me with Zhou, and receive the great destiny" in Mao Gong Ding. It's a unique concept of Zhou people that the family members of heaven have virtue. It can also be said that it contains the meaning of "Heaven's destiny is constantly changing". The "Heaven's destiny" depends on whether the ruler has virtue or not. Of course, it's a phenomenon of "constantly changing". Therefore, for the rulers, only by persistently and cautiously cultivating morality can they be expected to keep the "destiny" and become the monarch of the world.
Mingde is moral education and positive guidance, which will not have a negative impact. Penalty is a means of punishment, which reflects the ruler's "evil" heart. The difference between it and Enlightenment lies in that if it is not used within the appropriate limits, it will often produce opposite social effects, make the people resentful, and even threaten the ruler's regime. "Cautious punishment" is a kind of idea that we should take punishment seriously, use it within a reasonable limit, make the punishment achieve the expected purpose and avoid the result that goes against our wishes. The basic points of his cautious use of punishment are as follows: first, he should be careful in case determination, not abuse punishment, advocate punishment as his crime, and use "moderate punishment" very carefully. Punishment should not be too heavy or too light, and should be made as his crime. Second, in the conviction and sentencing, we should distinguish between intentional and negligent, habitual and accidental, which is undoubtedly a great contribution in the history of ancient thought. The third is to pay attention to education. Duke Zhou thought that the use of penalty is not simply to punish people, but to persuade people to do good and prevent crimes. "We should be cautious in punishment, but we should not use persuasion. If you want to be imprisoned, kill many crimes and release innocent people, you should also use persuasion. " In the history of Chinese thought, it is the first time to explicitly combine "Virtue" with "punishment", which has a great influence on the formation of the Confucian thought of "virtue is the main part and punishment is the auxiliary part". It can be said that the Confucian thoughts of rule of propriety, rule of virtue, rule of man, rule of virtue first and punishment second, teach first and then punish, leniency and violence, punishment and crime match and so on originated from Duke Zhou.
Although "clear morality" and "cautious punishment" are used together as political means, they are not equally important. "Clear morality" is the core and "cautious punishment" is the auxiliary means. To moralize people, to teach and then to punish. On the issue of promoting enlightenment and cautious punishment, Duke Zhou held the following views:
First, punishment and teaching must be unified on the basis of morality. Duke Zhou believed that the purpose of enlightenment and punishment was to encourage the people to establish morality. For example, Shang, Tang, Dai Xia and even emperor B said, "to kill many crimes, we should also use persuasion, to release the innocent, we should also use persuasion", "to punish recklessly, we should also use persuasion". Education is moral education, so the educator must first have "Virtue", so the "Mingde" in Shangshu first emphasizes the virtue of the king. "If you can't straighten your body, what can you do?" If those in power do not behave properly, how can they correct others? "To govern by virtue, such as the northern star, where all the stars live." If a politician runs the country by virtue, the common people will be convinced. Just as the stars surround the Polaris, the people of all directions will naturally belong to him. "The son wants to be good, but the people are good. The virtue of a gentleman is the virtue of a villain. The wind on the grass will weir. " The style of those in power is like the wind, and the style of the common people is like the grass. The grass falls wherever the wind blows. As long as the ruler can act with virtue, the people will naturally get better. Therefore, the government should set an example, set an example, work hard for the rule of law, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and take the lead in following the rules and regulations.
Second, teach before kill. The Duke of Zhou believed that in the case of the combination of teaching and punishment, we should first educate people and give them the chance to reform. If the offender is still guilty after being educated, he shall be punished. For example, on the issue of "group drinking", the Duke of Zhou believed that the merchants should take this as a warning. After repeated education, those who still drink "group drinking" should "adhere to the restriction to belong to the Zhou Dynasty and kill them." Because Zhou people drink, is knowingly, and endanger the regime. Businessmen "indulge in wine" is "don't kill it, teach it for the time being, have Siming enjoy", because businessmen have the habit of group drinking and don't take it as a crime, so teach it first and don't kill it.
Historical evolution
Thought generation
"The transformation of Chinese politics and culture, Mo drama in the Yin and Zhou dynasties." The famous saying of Wang Guowei, a great master of Chinese culture, reveals the historical fact that the great changes in culture brought about by the great social changes during the Yin and Zhou dynasties. The thought of "clear morality and cautious punishment" is the product of this great cultural change. Its appearance is a reaction to the thought of "emperor punishment" and "divine judgment" in Yin and Shang Dynasties.
In the early Shang Dynasty, the dominant ideology was the idea of "Heaven's destiny" and "Heaven's punishment". However, with the strength of the Shang Dynasty, the rulers of the Shang Dynasty claimed to be the son of heaven, so the essence of "Heaven's punishment" changed into the idea of "Emperor's punishment" and ignored the existence of the people. The founder of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou, attached great importance to morality and was praised as "benevolent King Wen" by Confucius. After the destruction of Yin, King Wu of Zhou, the successor of King Wen of Zhou, summed up the experience of the rise and fall of the Shang Dynasty in theory. He pointed out that from Chengtang to Emperor B, the father of King Zhou, he kept the royal power only when he was not clear about morality and was cautious about punishment, but also used persuasion. In the view of King Wu of Zhou, the establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty was also the result of the rule of Virtue: King Wen of Zhou "controlled virtue and punished cautiously", so he "received great fate from heaven" and "became a nation after King Wu".
But it was Zhou GongDan, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, who first used the concept of "Ming De Shen punishment" and clearly put forward the idea of Ming De Shen punishment. In his life book, Duke Zhou talked a lot about the use of teaching and punishment, and expounded his idea of moral and cautious punishment. Such as "Shangshu kanggao" said: "Marquis Meng, my younger brother, Xiaozi Feng. However, PI Xiankao, the king of Wen, was cautious in punishing the widows and widows. He did not dare to insult the widows and widows. He was mediocre. He was only powerful and showed his people. He used zhaozao to create Xia in our district. " This article is the admonition of the Duke of Zhou to Uncle Kang when he granted him the title in Yin Dynasty. The so-called "mediocrity, only" refers to the appointment of those who should be appointed, respect those who should be respected, which belongs to the scope of the ruler's Moral Cultivation: as for "Wei Wei", it means to punish those who should be punished, which belongs to the connotation of "cautious punishment". At the same time, Duke Zhou pointed out that only by inheriting the virtue of King Wen of Zhou can the royal power be preserved.
Ldeological evolution
Any kind of ideological form will show different characteristics in different social stages, and the change of the thought of "clear morality and cautious punishment" in the Zhou Dynasty is no exception. From the basic point of view reflected in the book of history, the early Zhou Dynasty's idea of "Ming De Shen punishment" was based on protecting the people, or Ming De, and its most basic characteristics were respecting the people, protecting the people, and safeguarding the people as the foundation; the idea of "Ming de Shen punishment" in the book of history LV Xing was based on the punishment, and its most basic characteristics were governing the people and safeguarding the monarch as the foundation.
In the book of Zhou, the people of Zhou put forward some political opinions, such as "heaven is afraid of the people, and the people's feelings can be seen clearly", "only I will do what the people do, but heaven is afraid", "man is not in the water prison, but should be in the people's prison" and "heaven will obey what the people want". These contents reflect the rulers' awe and respect for the people's power in the early Zhou Dynasty. On the basis of this awe and respect, the people of Zhou put forward "Mingde" It also regards the protection of the people as the core content of "moral integrity and prudent punishment". Duke Zhou made it clear: "if you want to live for ten thousand years, you have to protect the people forever." He also repeatedly told uncle Kang that the gist of "Ming De Shen punishment" was: to apply it to the sage king of Yin, to protect the righteous people, and Ru Piyuan only knew how to teach business people. Don't ask to hear that the ancient sage Wang used health to protect the people. "If there is a disease, only the people can get rid of the blame. If there is a child, only the people can have health and righteousness." and "know the difficulty of Jia manuscript." Know where the people depend Huaibao small people, Hui fresh gill few. Protecting the people should be like protecting the children! Through this understanding, it is not difficult to find that the rulers of the early Zhou Dynasty dealt with the people's good and sincere intentions. Not only that, the Duke of Zhou also formulated specific rules for protecting the people: "if you are a successor of the king today, you will not indulge in the view, the leisure, the travel, and the field, so that all the people can provide justice. Wu Huang said, "today, I'm having fun." It's not the people's admonition, it's not the heaven's admonition, it's the Shi tianpi's fault, "it's the heart to go to the end, it's the righteous people without good health and leisure.". From this, we can see that the people's happiness, anger, sadness and happiness are the basic basis for making policies in the early Zhou Dynasty. So we say that the sprout of people-oriented thought appeared in the early Zhou Dynasty.
Once the ruler thinks that he has a stable political power, the "desire of the people" is no longer the fundamental basis for his policy-making. The so-called "Tianshi is self perceived by the people, Tianting is self perceived by the people", that is, the so-called mirror of people's feelings is also placed in a secondary position. In "Shangshu · Lvxing", the purpose and means of "Ming De Shen punishment" have changed greatly. "Shangshu · Lvxing" points out that the origin of criminal law lies in the rule of law, and the establishment of criminal law is to govern the mob. That is to say, in the later period of the same generation, the idea of "moral integrity and prudent punishment" has evolved into the political means of the ruling class, and it is more and more developing in the opposite direction of people-oriented, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding the monarchy.
The evolution of the thought of "Ming De Shen punishment" is closely related to the changes of the political situation in the Zhou Dynasty. In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the ruling class was always worried about the loss of royal power, and "Xia Jian" and "Yin Jian" were their pet phrases, which were almost talked about every day. With the gradual consolidation of the dynasty, those voices full of worry and crisis gradually disappeared, replaced by arrogance and sacredness. In order to make the royal power more stable, the rulers strengthened the work of two sides: one is to further deify the royal power, so that the royal power can be promoted to the maximum extent; the other is to settle the position of the people in the political life in the form of solidification, so that it will not rise uncontrollably, and finally affect the royal power. At this time, it seems that the "clear morality and cautious punishment" is a great respect for the people, but it more reflects the ruler's "golden mean" attitude towards the people, in essence, it is a "middle way" theory. And the so-called "middle" or "punishment only middle" also means putting the people in the "middle" position. I will not allow you to be high enough to threaten the stability of our regime, nor will I allow you to be low enough to make you stand up and resist.
Social meaning
As a part of Confucian traditional thought, the thought of "clear morality and cautious punishment" should be abandoned because it does not meet the needs of the development of modern society. But we can't deny it completely, we should see its positive value. At the same time, many effective measures of governing the country are also worth summarizing and using for reference.
First, attach importance to the moral cultivation of state functionaries. The rule of virtue in the Western Zhou Dynasty emphasized the "self-cultivation" of the rulers, but there is no so-called ruler in today's society. Is this rule meaningless? Of course not! Although the State functionaries are different from the rulers of ancient society, they have one very important thing in common - they both hold powerful state public power, and both have the possibility and convenience of corruption. Therefore, the emergence of a large number of corruption makes the people's trust in the government decline. Although the government has increased the crackdown in the legislative, judicial, administrative and other fields, it has little effect. This also shows that corruption is not a social problem that can be solved only by law or system, but also needs to start from the thought, because there is no absolute perfection From this point of view, it is not too much to emphasize the improvement of the "self-cultivation" of state functionaries. The author thinks that it is necessary to establish a set of "rule of virtue" concept shared by the national managers to improve their self-cultivation, such as service concept, thrifty concept, law-abiding concept and so on.
Second, attach importance to the important role of civic moral education. Under the impact of the tide of economic construction, the overall moral standard of our country has shown an obvious downward trend, especially among the young people. The disappearance of patriotism complex, the failure of socialist concept of honor and disgrace, and the rising crime rate are the best examples. This situation can not be improved by only relying on the construction of legal system. It must be changed by strong and effective civic moral education. The socialist concept of honor and disgrace education we are carrying out is an example of paying attention to the important role of civic moral education.
Thirdly, the rule of virtue must be supplemented by the rule of law. The rule of virtue is not omnipotent. The best interpretation of the combination of "Virtue" and "punishment" is to "be clear about virtue and be cautious about punishment". No matter when and under what circumstances, we should adhere to the view that criminal law is not omnipotent and punishment is not the ultimate goal. Just as Duke Zhou thought that the purpose of punishment is to encourage the people to establish morality, our punishment is to reform and reform is to no longer harm society. Traditional thought tells us that punishment is to punish evil before it is done, and morality is to prohibit evil before it is done. As there is no national coercive force to back up the moral norms, we must have laws to punish those unavoidable behaviors that harm the society and others, and relieve the victims. At the same time, we should also advocate the rule of virtue, in order to reduce the occurrence of harm to society and others.
