According to "Ci Yuan": "In ancient times, the Huaxia nation in China was founded in the Yellow River valley, and thought it was one of the best in the world, so it was called China, and the surrounding areas of China were called Sifang. Later, it became the proper noun of China. " It can be seen that the origin of the name "China" has a lot to do with the word "Zhong". Others such as "Central Plains" and "China" have similar origins.
Talking about "Zhong" and advocating "Zhong", "Zhong" and "Zheng" (if you don't "Zhong", you won't be "Zheng") have always been respected by the ancient saints in China! This is why China is not called "the East" or "the West".
The Confucian Doctrine of the Mean points out at the beginning: "Being impartial means mediocrity, and it is not easy to be mediocre; The doctrine of the mean is the right way in the world, and the mediocrity is the theorem in the world. " Impartiality is called "the doctrine of the mean", and not changing the routine is called "mediocrity". "Zhong" means the right way in the world, and "Yong" means the hard law in the world, that is, the theorem. The "golden mean" means that people should always be impartial and always cooperate with China. This is a law that must be adhered to and cannot be changed. This is the "mind method" taught by Confucius.
Now, we should know from the beginning that China's word "Zhong" is a household name with a profound cultural background. Not necessarily because it is "on earth". The ancient China people's speaking like a book can also convince us. As the saying goes, "singing a word can break several stems." . Then the name of my big country, if a person thinks there is even a little inappropriate place, then a few whiskers will definitely be gone, and maybe his hair will be broken. Furthermore, according to the viewpoint of "Five Elements", "China" means "earth" and "yellow", and it seems natural to call the country with yellow skin "China".
It can be seen that China people are still "China", prefer this "China" and think this "China" is really good, so that the name "China" can continue. Moreover, the origin of the word "Zhong" must have something to do with Yin and Yang five lines of gossip, that is, China's study of Zhouyi.
Speaking of the Book of Changes, in fact, the doctrine of the mean of Confucianism and the doctrine of "sticking to the mean" of Neo-Confucianism both come from the Book of Changes. Because first of all, this "middle" is the highest ideal pursued by Zhouyi philosophy.
If moderation, neutrality and harmony are the ideal pursuit of the philosophy of Zhouyi, then using softness is to welcome people to the other side of the ideal of harmony in a canoe. Therefore, the Book of Changes emphasizes "softness is rigidity" (Cohesive Biography), and "softness with rigidity" is the whole philosophy of life repeatedly instilled in the Book of Changes.
Confucius said, "Add me a few years old, and I will learn the Book of Changes at the age of 50, so it won't matter." A few years ago, when I was 50 years old, I began to learn the Book of Changes, so that I could live without losing too much. Confucius had a great feeling of meeting and hating each other, and then he read the Book of Changes.
Wei wrote three unique works, which shows that he studied hard. What can master read and understand? In my opinion, as far as humanistic philosophy is concerned, he generally understands two words: one is "ceremony"; The second is "middle".
After reading the Book of Changes, Confucius established a set of "closed as a jar" ritual order by using the network of gossip model. It is based on the human relations (father and son, husband and wife, brothers and friends), in which compulsory norms (birthright) are injected, and then the responsibilities and obligations of individuals in different positions in human relations are determined, namely, father's kindness, son's filial piety, brother's filial piety, husband's righteousness, woman's listening, long benefit, young obedience, gentleman's benevolence and so on.
The second word that Confucius understood was "zhong". Master's brief feeling of seeing each other for a short time is mainly aimed at this "middle school". He believes that if you understand this "middle school", you can live a "no greater life". It should be said that the Zhouyi emphasizes that "grasping the middle with softness" is understandable and correct; This seems to be the problem. This truth can only be inexpressible. If you say it clearly and let the world know, and say that it is a "hard law", I am afraid it is easy for people to use it and go astray. The golden mean advocated by Confucius is a typical example. In fact, the doctrine of the mean is too strong, and the traditional culture of China based on Confucianism eventually developed into a "conservative" culture. In a sense, it is also good to "hold on"; Unfortunately, sadly, later generations developed into an "autistic" culture. From this point of view, people who advocate the "golden mean" have become mediocre people who do not abide by the "golden mean" and have become typical "fouls".
Mr Xiaoping put it well: "China is the country that is least afraid of isolation, blockade and sanctions in the world. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, we were isolated, blocked and sanctioned for decades. But in the final analysis, it doesn't hurt us much. Why? Because China is so big and has such a large population, the China Producer Party is ambitious, and so are the people of China. We can also add that foreign aggression and threats are not brilliant to us, which makes us more awake. Therefore, foreign aggression and threats are not smart for us, and we can benefit from them. Facts show that those who want to sanction us have also begun to sum up their experience. In short, the people of China are not afraid of isolation and do not believe in evil.
Why does China call China China a real "empire"?
Why is China called China? The general explanation is that ancient China people thought that China was at the center of the world, so it was called "China". The central part of this central government is the Central Plains. There are still some ethnic groups in the world who think their position is at the center of the world in the early stage of development, but their ideas are not as strong as those of the ancients in China.
Why did the ancients in China have such a strong concept of central state? Is there a mystery in this?
In the early history of China, the Central Plains was the most culturally developed area. The original king of the Central Plains, that is, the king of China, was the Yellow Emperor, representing the central government among the five parties. Since then, many backward tribes and small countries in the surrounding areas have been trying to break into the Central Plains and become the king of the Central Plains. Among the numerous wars and conflicts, the most famous or successful event is from the earliest legend that Chiyou attacked the Yellow Emperor in the Central Plains in the south, to the Xia Dynasty in the Central Plains in the east, and then to Tang Cheng in the east to lead merchants to destroy the Xia Dynasty and establish the Shang Dynasty in the Central Plains. The Shang Dynasty was invaded by the Zhou people in the northwest, and the Zhou Dynasty was established in the western part of the Central Plains, and its territory continued to expand. After the demise of the Zhou Dynasty, the Qin people in the northwest unified China, and the national center moved to the west, but it still belonged to the west of the Central Plains. The development of history is still so. Xiongnu reappeared in the Han Dynasty (Xiongnu began to invade the Central Plains in Shang Dynasty), but they were basically beaten back; In the ensuing chaos, all ethnic groups in the border areas participated directly and fought back and forth. After the reunification of Sui and Tang Dynasties, all ethnic groups in the border areas were still eager to move, but they basically failed. But then it fell into chaos. Soon after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, first the Khitans wanted to occupy the Central Plains, and then the Jurchen succeeded. Thus, Jurchen became the king of the Central Plains. However, the Song people established the Southern Song Dynasty in the south. The Southern Song Dynasty did not perish and inherited the unity of the country. Therefore, this is a strange era, and both sides can call themselves emperors.
The Central Plains is like a big meal, and people around you want to keep it for themselves and enjoy it alone. That's why there are stories of "competing for the Central Plains" and "winning the Central Plains".
Then the Mongols came. At this time, the political center moved northward, and the Central Plains became a pure geographical concept. However, the northward movement of the political center still has the significance of geographical center, because the northern territory has expanded. So it is basically a geographical center. After the Ming Dynasty, the central government was occupied by Manchu.
Why is the central region so attractive? The meaning of the center is like the sun. The earth where human beings live belongs to the solar system. In the solar system, the sun is the center of all the planets. The strong gravity of the sun attracts many planets to revolve around it. At the same time, the sun shines on many planets, and sunlight is the key to everything on earth.
China's traditional culture was originally shaped and developed in the Central Plains. Central Plains culture is the main body of China culture, and it plays the role of the sun. On the one hand, it has the ability of cultural cohesion and can dominate the surrounding areas as the sun attracts many planets. From Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the subjects of the vassal States should unite around the central government of the emperor, and now all the "subjects of the vassal States" should also unite around the central government. On the other hand, its culture has the same educational function as sunshine, and it can bring its surroundings into its own cultural circle. The Chinese character "Huang" was originally a luminous thing in China. The ancients in China directly compared the emperor to the radiant sun, which is more common than any other country. The emperor practiced cultural enlightenment, which is the cultural characteristic of China. Cultural enlightenment is like sunshine everywhere. China's territory gradually expanded in all directions from the original Central Plains. The more developed the culture, the farther the "sun" shines and the larger the territory. After thousands of years of development, it has formed its present scale. Not only that, the light of culture also shines overseas, forming the Chinese cultural circle in East Asia. If we continue to expand, is it possible to form what the ancients called "One World"? However, once the culture weakens, just like the sun darkens, its influence on the surrounding areas weakens, and there is a state of division within the national territory.
The central "sun" not only has the power to keep the princes and subjects from betraying and leaving, but also the light of "Kangxi" (radiant) benefits all living beings indoors. Both are indispensable.
The inheritance of China culture all the way depends not only on the inheritance of the core thought and spirit (which is the essence of tradition), but also on its inclusiveness and innovative spirit. China's tradition has remained basically unchanged, but its culture is constantly changing, constantly absorbing and integrating foreign cultures.
This cultural pattern of outward expansion from the center is China's characteristic, with strong continuity, stability and cohesion, which is closely related to the importance attached to the "guard tradition" in China. It is different from other national cultures. It breaks the old culture and creates a new one. Few cultures have survived like China. Therefore, among many ancient countries and cultures in the world, basically only China can maintain and develop all the way. What can I say about such a culture that has stood for thousands of years? China will not die, and China tradition will not die; China's tradition will not die, and neither will China. Although the light of culture has been dim for more than 100 years, we should have confidence in our own culture and believe that it will shine again one day. China is a real "country where the sun never sets".