The Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties attaches great importance to the sixteen words "The human heart is dangerous, the Taoist heart is weak; the essence is only one, and it is allowed to hold on to the center" (referred to as "Sixteen Characters of the Heart"), which is considered to be written by Confucian saints The Taoist mentality passed down from generation to generation. However, through the investigation of its text and ideological origins, the author found that the "Sixteen-Character Heart Biography" should come from Pre-Qin Taoism.
The first three sentences of "Sixteen-Character Heart Story" first come from "Tao Jing"
Confucianists believe that "Sixteen-Character Heart Story" comes from "Shangshu Dayu Mo". Scholars have unanimously concluded that "Dayu Mo" is a pseudo-chapter created by people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, while the "Sixteen Characters of the Heart" was made up by later generations. So where do these sixteen characters come from? Scholars who study "Shangshu" conduct textual research on this. Mei Ji of the Ming Dynasty pointed out that the first three sentences were copied from "Xunzi":
From now on, only the sentence "Yunzhi Juezhong" is the sage's words. The remaining three words cover "Xunzi", but Chao slightly picks up the glue and pretends to combine it.
He believed that except for the last sentence, which was said by Confucius, the rest of the sentences came from "Xunzi", and he made a strong argument for this. Yan Ruochu in the Qing Dynasty also believed after research that "this cover is purely based on Xunzi, and has not been examined in the world." In fact, it is not entirely correct to think that the first three sentences of "Sixteen Characters of Heart" come from "Xunzi". The original text of "Xunzi: Uncovering" is: "Therefore, the Taoist Scriptures say: 'The danger of the human heart depends on the subtlety of the Dao's heart; only the wise gentleman can know the danger.'" These sentences are not what Xunzi said, but Xunzi quoted from another classic called the Dao Jing.
Yang Liang of the Tang Dynasty's "Xunzi Annotation" said: "Today's "Yu Shu" has this saying, and it is said that the "Dao Jing" is also a sutra of Tao." Yang Liang believes that the "Tao Jing" is An honorific title for "Shang Shu". This is based on the premise that "Dayu Mo" is not a fake chapter. If the premise is not established, this view is self-defeating. Moreover, in "Xunzi", whenever citing "Poetry" or "Book", the source is indicated. When quoting "Poetry", it is said ""Poetry" cloud", when quoting "Book", it is said ""Book" cloud", and when citing "Book", it is said ""Book" cloud". "The practice called "Tao Jing" has no other example in "Xunzi". Mei Ji retorted: "If these two sentences are uniquely beautiful, and therefore are regarded as 'the Sutra of the Dao', then other than these two sentences, all other sutras are the Sutra of the Dao. Is that acceptable? Although it is said that "Xun" is flawed, it is not as good as this. It's contradictory." Pi Xirui, a native of the Qing Dynasty, also said: "After considering the words 'the danger of the human heart, the weakness of the Taoist heart', Xunzi quoted the Taoist scriptures. It is cited as "Dao Jing". It is called "Dao Jing", and it can be known without "Shang Shu"."
Since "Dao Jing" does not refer to "Shang Shu", then what kind of book is "Dao Jing"? book?
The "Dao Jing" should be a Taoist book from the pre-Qin period
The "Dao Jing" should be a Taoist book, but which book it is, I think there are two possibilities.
One possibility is "Laozi". "Historical Records: Biography of Laozi and Han Fei": "Laozi wrote the first and second chapters of the book, talking about Tao and virtue in more than 5,000 words." At that time, Laozi divided his book into two parts, the upper and lower parts, respectively expounding Tao and virtue. The meaning, and the previous chapter is called "Tao Jing". Gao Heng and Chi Xichao's "Talking About the Silk Script "Laozi" in the Mawangdui Han Tomb" also proves that "Laozi" was divided into chapters in the pre-Qin Dynasty, and there are many versions; Tan Baogang's "Bamboo Slips" "Wenzi" refers to the "Classic" as "Jing" "Laozi" points out that in the pre-Qin period, "Laozi" was respected as "Jing". To sum up, it is entirely possible for Xunzi to refer to Laozi (or Part 1) as the Dao Jing. There are no such sentences in the existing "Laozi". This may be because there were many versions at that time, and the version of "Laozi" that contains these words has not been handed down.
One possibility is "Daoyuan Jing". In 1973, four ancient lost books were unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, namely "Jingfa", "Ten Classics", "Cheng" and "Daoyuan". Tang Lan and other scholars identified these four chapters as the "Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" mentioned in "Hanshu Yiwenzhi". Although the "Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" does not have the original text of the "Sixteen-Character Heart Biography", the thoughts in it, especially the "Daoyuan Jing", are very consistent with the thoughts of the "Sixteen-Character Heart Biography".
The reason why the author believes that "Dao Jing" refers to "Dao Yuan Jing" is: "Dao Yuan" is one of the "Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" and can be called "Jing"; the ancients used to use the abbreviation of "Tao Yuan Jing". "Yuan Jing" is referred to as "Tao Jing", just like "Shang Shu" is referred to as "Shu Jing"; "The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" is the representative work of the Jixia Huang-Lao School. The school is closely related, and he said that it was reasonable to quote the "Daoyuan Jing"; more importantly, the idea of ??"Sixteen Characters of Heart Transmission" is exactly the same as the idea of ??"The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor".
The idea of ??"Sixteen-Character Heart Biography" originated from "The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" and another Taoist classic.
"Zhuangzi: Repairing Nature" criticized the world for "getting rid of nature and following the heart" ", the "nature" mentioned here refers to the "Tao heart", and "heart" refers to the "human heart". "The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" also said: "The heaven and the earth have been completed, and the head of Guizhou is born; do not follow the heaven's virtue, and seek to overthrow." It is believed that people's hearts are interested in profit, which often makes people's behavior deviate from the "tian's virtue". How to solve various problems caused by the "human heart", the "Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" says: "Punishment and virtue support each other, and rebelliousness will lead to success." Through various methods, the profit-loving "human heart" can return to the path of "following the virtues of heaven" on, consistent with the Tao.
"Tao" is the highest concept of Taoism. "The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" elaborates on the ontological function of "Tao": "Tao" has no beginning, no name, is both subtle and obvious, and "the subtle cannot reach it" "The Tao can be born or destroyed, it can be yin or yang, it can be soft or hard, it can be damaged or it can be benefited, so it is called "the Tao" as "subtle".
He also said:
Therefore, only the sage can detect the invisible and hear the silent... Those who obey this way are said to be capable of essence. A wise person can certainly observe the extreme, know what others cannot know, and obey what others cannot understand. This is called knowing the best. If the Holy King uses this, the whole world will obey him.
The sage king is able to discern the emptiness, know the essence, and understand the great truth, so the world will be subdued. It is worth noting that this passage puts forward the idea of ??"being able to be fine". The so-called "nengjing" means that "the sky is as bright as the opposite of heaven, and it reaches half of the monarch and ministers. It should closely observe the end and beginning of all things... so it can be as pure as it is refined, vast and invisible." "Zhisu Zhijing" is the source of the thought of "Weijingyiyi" in "Sixteen Characters of the Heart".
Taoism emphasizes the unity of nature and man, so the "Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" puts forward the concept of "Tian Dang", and the word "Dang" means moderation. "Tian Dang" is equivalent to "Yun Zhi Jue Zhong" in "Sixteen Characters Heart Biography". Scholars believe that the sentence "Yun Zhi Jue Zhong" is taken from "Yun Zhi Jue Zhong" in "The Analects of Confucius". "Zhizhong" also means "keeping the middle". Chapter 5 of "Laozi" has already explained this: "It is better to keep the middle than to talk too much." The "zhizhong" mentioned by Laozi means "allowing the middle" "middle".
The first three sentences of "Sixteen-Character Heart Biography" are derived from the "Tao Jing", and the last sentence "Zhizhong" can also find its ideological origin in "Laozi" and "The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor". It can be seen that the "Sixteen-Character Heart Biography" has an inherent and close connection with Taoism in terms of writing and ideological sources.