Internet Business and Social Science丨Jingwei Yin Shang: The Cultural Background of "Zhuangzi"

Article | Diao Shenghu

Abstract: The formation of the unique personality of the book "Zhuangzi" of

can find the answer from the aspects of regional culture and family culture. Specifically, the Shang and Song culture, Jingchu culture, the tragic fate of the Song Dynasty and the history of the rise and fall of the Zhuang Zhou family together constitute the cultural background of "Zhuangzi".

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"Book of Rites: King System" says: "Guanggu and Dachuan are different systems, and the people's livelihoods are different." The cultures of different regions and different countries have different characteristics and styles because of the different geographical environments on which they occur and develop. Have a direct and close relationship. Different geographical environments determine different levels of economic development, different historical traditions and even different national characters, which determines that they will inevitably produce different cultural and literary characteristics. The Song State, the hometown of Zhuangzi, is located in today's eastern Henan, southwestern Shandong, northern Jiangsu and Anhui. It is located between the three tens of thousands of times of Qi, Jin and Chu. It is the intersection of the Central Plains culture and the Jingchu culture. Moreover, in terms of cultural heritage, the Song people who are descendants of Yin and Shang and Chu people who are descendants of Zhu Rong have a long cultural connection and a common cultural psychology. The Yin people unified the Zhurong tribe group, which promoted the blending and confluence of Yin Shang and Jing Chu cultures. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the similar historical fate and special cultural relations made the cultural exchanges between Song and Chu very harmonious. Therefore, the two major cultural traditions of Song culture and Chu culture provided a very strong and realistic cultural background for the production of "Zhuangzi".

From the historical point of view, the ancestors of the Song people were merchants, and they were a small country re-enclosed after being destroyed by Zhou. For the people of the Song Dynasty, although administratively they belonged to the Zhou Dynasty and belonged to the people under the rule of the Emperor Zhou, they still continued the cultural traditions of the Yin and Shang Dynasties in their psychology and folk customs. This determines that Song culture must have a strong Yin and Shang culture. It is well known that the name Qi, the founding monarch of Shang, lived in Shang, that is, the south of Shangqiu, Henan. Although the Shang Dynasty moved its capital many times after the lease, the lower reaches of the Huanghuai River were always the domain of business. Residents influenced by Yin and Shang culture. Among them, the area where Zhuangzi lives belongs to the Song Kingdom area of ​​pure Yin people. The Yin and Shang cultural traditions to which it belongs will not be extinct because of the Yin Shang's surrender to the Zhou, and its traditions such as thought, concept, ethics, and customs still have its own strong vitality and influence. Guo Moruo said: "The temperament of the Yin people is quite different from that of the Zhou people. The Yin people are a people who love art. The ancient relics unearthed in the Yin Ruins, whether they are bronze, stoneware, white pottery or even the characters carved on oracle bone inscriptions, It is full of artistic flavor; because of the time, the people of Yin believe in ghosts and gods most, so their cultural color is fully surreal. It can be said that they are rich in artistic flavor and surreal because of their respect for ghosts and gods, heavy witchcraft, and paradox. Qiyun is the universal feature of Yin Shang culture. This tradition of Yin Shang culture influenced Zhuangzi, resulting in his romantic spirit of emphasizing nature, witchcraft, and ideology, and finally caused the book "Zhuangzi" everywhere It shows the artistic spirit of advocating nature, pursuing etherealness, and romantic style. "Zhuangzi" has become the most artistic work among the works of the pre-Qin philosophers, and it must be said that it has an important relationship with its innate factors. "Hanshu·Geography" says: " Yin people respect the gods, lead the people to the gods, first ghosts and then salutes. "Different from Zhou people, religious functions are an important part of the Yin people’s ruling institutions. The prosperity and popularization of witchcraft has become a major feature of the Yin Shang culture. The Song Dynasty retains the mysterious and surreal Yin cultural heritage. The edification and academic inheritance make the temperament of the Zhuangzi school naturally coincide with the romantic literature and art of the Chu State. Therefore, fundamentally speaking, the Song State culture derived from the Yin and Shang culture can also create the unique ideological trend of "Zhuangzi" And artistic style, not as traditionally believed. When it comes to the cause of "Zhuangzi" literature, it can only be traced back to the cultural background of its Chu state. From the source, Song culture and Chu culture are not opposed to each other. In addition to living in the Song Dynasty and deeply influenced by the Song culture based on the Yin and Shang culture, Zhuangzi and Chu also have a very obvious kinship, and the Chu culture also has a very obvious influence on it. Zhuang Zisheng In the Song Dynasty, which was at the intersection of the north and the south, he traveled to the Chu country many times. The book "Zhuangzi" mentions the Chu country 25 times. It is inevitable that it will be deeply influenced by the Chu culture. The Chu country has always been seen. As the birthplace of Taoism, many of TaoismThe important figures are all Chu people. For example, in terms of history books, Lao Dan and Lao Laizi recorded in "Historical Records" are all Chu people; Huanyuan, Lao Laizi, and Chang Luzi recorded in "Han Shu" are all Chu people; for Zi Shu, " " Analects of Confucius " recorded Jieyu, Changju, Jiedu, and Hezhenzhang are all Taoist figures; "Zhuangzi" recorded Jianwu, Lianshu, Geng Sangchu, and Nan Rong are also Taoist masters in Chu. Because of this, later generations of scholars also started from Chu culture to find the source of Taoism. For example, Liu Shipeiyun: "The people of the mountain country, self-cultivation and practice, are close to Confucianism; perseverance is close to Mo. This northern learning originated in the land of the mountain country. The land of Chu country has Jianghan in the north and Jianghan in the south. There is Xiaoxiang, and the land is the country of Ze. Therefore, Laozi’s learning began in it. From its speakers, it is probably abandoning the world, despising the universe, focusing on nature, and taking humility as the sect. Such as receiving the public and avoiding the world, Xu Xingzhi will cultivate Song Yu and Qu Ping’s disgust with the world, trace their origins, are known to be the tribe of Lao Tan. This southern learning originated in the land of Ze Guo." Wang Guowei Yiyun: "The imagination of the southerners is greater than that of the northerners. Far from it. They are good at analogy, but good at funny: so if the words are big, there is a fish like the beak, if the words are small, there is a country like the snail horn; As for the wilderness of Xiangcheng, the seven sages are all lost; the sun of Fenshui, the four sons go alone: ​​This kind of imagination must not be found in northern literature. Although Wang Guowei's passage is absolute, it is probably not bad. However, Liu Shipei further revealed that the reason for the formation of the style of "Zhuangzi" lies in the southern cultural system centered on Chu: "The place of Jing and Chu is remote in the south, so Lao Zi's book says Deep and far-reaching. (Lao Tzu is from the bitter county of Chu State) and the people of Zhuang and Lie Chengzhi, (Zhuang is from Song Dynasty, listed as Zheng, who are all close to Jing, Chu also) its purpose is far, its meaning is hidden, it is also written , And then reverse, embodies the truth in the futility, the use of absurd and weird words is full of thought and unpredictable. "The State of Chu, once called "Jingman" and "Nanman" by the people of the Central Plains, is in a unique natural environment "with the richness of Jianghan Chuanze, mountains and forests" ("Book of Han Geography"). Social customs, ideological traditions, and living habits have not been "strictly "enlightened by rituals" like the Central Plains region, but "far more strongly preserved the many traditions of the primitive clan society" than the Central Plains region.

Chu is a world filled with primitive religious witchcraft, and witchcraft is the primary content of Chu culture. For this, there are a lot of records in ancient books. The "Lv Family Spring and Autumn·Quai Le" says: "The decline of the Song Dynasty, as a thousand bells . Qi Zhishui also, as Dalu. The decline of Chu also, as Wu Yin. "Book of Han·Geography 2" also said: "Chu...believes in witches and ghosts, and pays more attention to sacrifices." Wang Yi's "Nine Songs Preface" put it more specifically: "Xi Chu Nan Yingzhi Town, Yuan, In Hunan, the common folk believe in ghosts and are good at temples, and their temples will make witches play music, singing and dancing to entertain the gods. "Therefore, the typical manifestation of the customs of the Chu region is "a mixture of people and gods, and you can't afford to share things." Mrs. Zuoxiang, home is the history of witchcraft, and there is no need for quality. The people are deprived of sacrifices without knowing their blessings. Excessive steaming, people and gods are in the same position. "("Mandarin Language·Under Chu Language"). The rich primitive religious atmosphere of the Chu region has become a fertile soil for a large number of wonderful myths. Generally speaking, the development of ancient art in various countries cannot be separated from myths. Marx once said "Greek mythology is not only an arsenal of Greek art, but also its soil." Mythology is a natural and simple way of expressing the free will of primitive people. Imagination is a key element of mythology. Hegel once said: " Myth is the product of imagination. The main content of the myth is the product of imaginative rationality. This rationality takes essence as its object, but there is no other opportunity to grasp it except by the perceptual appearance. "The fusion of witchcraft and mythology makes Chu people immerse themselves in infinite associations and yearning for magical realms outside of real life. This determines that the artistic traditions of Chu culture must be romantic but not realistic. Chu culture The romantic tradition of "Zhuangzi" has a decisive effect on the literary tendency of "Zhuangzi". It not only inspired Zhuangzi's lush imagination, but also, the unique allegorical expression of "Zhuangzi" prose was formed under the inspiration and cultivation of the mythological tradition of Chu. , And the absorption, processing and transformation of the mythical world constitute the important content of "Zhuangzi" fables. This is from the inner spirit. From the external form, "Zhuangzi" seems to be more influenced by Chu culture. It is obvious. Song Huang Bosi said in his "Xin Xiao Chu Ci Preface": "Gai Qu and Song Zhu Sao are all written in Chu language, made of Chu voice, Ji Chu place, and famous Chu Wu, so they can be called'Chu Ci '. "In fact, more than just "Chu Ci", the book "Zhuangzi" also shows distinctive features in this respect. As far as "Book Chu Yu, make the voice of Chu", it is true.It is said that "Inhabiting Chu and Chu, living in Yue and Yue, living in summer and summer, is not natural, it is also due to accumulation" ("Xunzi·Confucianism"), language can best characterize the regional characteristics of culture, a large number in "Zhuangzi" The local dialect of Chu fully proved the fact that Zhuangzi was deeply influenced by Chu culture. For example, Yang Xiong pointed out in the "Xiaoyaoyou" "Xiaoyaoyou" "Xiaoyaoxiaozhizhi" in the sentence, Yang Xiong has pointed out in Volume 11 of "Dialects": "Cicadas are known as "Cicadas". Sima Biao's note in the sentence "howl all day long but not wheeze" in "Chu", Sima Biao noted: "Chu people say bluffs are extremely silent and call wheeze." Another example is the same as ignorance in the chapter of Horseshoe. Morality does not leave.” Today’s Mr. Cai Jingquan has already pointed out based on the relevant essays of Jiang Yong, Zhang Tianjing, Zhu Qianzhi, Wang Li and others that “the “li” and “zhi” in the sentence are all rhymed Chu dialects.” For "Ji Chu land and famous Chu Wu", the birds, beasts, insects, fish, flowers, and trees described in the book "Zhuangzi", such as worms, learn doves, worms, scolding birds, raccoon animals, apes, elm, arbor, oak , Medlar, spine, phoebe, camphor, gourd, basil, maze, etc., are also mostly rich in Chu. Not only that, but even some old stories about the old state of Chu that have long been annihilated appear in the book "Zhuangzi". All of these fully prove that Zhuangzi and his book "Zhuangzi" are deeply influenced by Jingchu culture. In addition to the influence of traditional regional culture, the tragic fate of the Song Dynasty and the history of the rise and fall of the Zhuang Zhou family also had a profound impact on Zhuangzi and his people, and ultimately determined the unique character of Zhuangzi. "Historical Records · Song Weizi Family" has such a record:

Ticheng for forty-one years, Ticheng’s younger brother Yan attacked Ticheng, Ticheng succeeded or failed, and Yan became Song Jun. In the eleventh year of Junyan, he became a king by himself. Defeating Qi in the east, taking five cities; defeating Chu in the south, taking three hundred miles; defeating the army of Wei in the west, which is the enemy of Qi and Wei. The blood is filled with Wei capsule, and it is shot in suspension. Fornicating in wine, women. Qunchen admonishes those who shoot it. Therefore, the princes all said "Jie Song", "Song Qifu was done by Zhou and must be punishable." Sue Qi Fasong. In the forty-seventh year of Wang Yanli, the king of Qi, Wei, and Chu defeated the Song Dynasty, killed Wang Yan, and then destroyed the Song Dynasty and divided the land.

This section of "Historical Records" reveals the following information: First, Song Wangyan was not the legal heir of the Song Dynasty, but he attacked his brother Ticheng through illegal means and established himself as Song Jun; second, Song Wangyan once Want to expand, defeat Qi to the east and occupy five cities; defeat Chu to the south and occupy 300 miles of territory; to the west, defeat the army of Wei. In this way, the Song State then formed grievances with the Qi, Wei, and Chu Kingdoms; third, Song Wang was licentious and obsessed with the technique of "shooting the sky", drinking all day for fun, and if the minister had any advisers, he would be shot to death. So everyone calls it "Jie Song", and everyone will kill him. Fourth, in the 47th year of Song Wangyan, the three kingdoms of Qi, Wei, and Chu conquered the Song, killed Song Wangyan, and destroyed it by dividing the Song dynasty. Here, Sima Qian seems to attribute the demise of the Song Kingdom to the result of Yan’s internal ruin and blind expansion, which eventually led to the people’s centrifugation and the vassals. In fact, he might have overlooked another, perhaps more important, objective reason, that is, the Song State’s status and status in the vassal state at that time, and the surrounding harsh environment and other external factors inevitably determined its demise. The actual situation is that among the vassal states of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Song State can only be regarded as a weak and low-mid-level country at best. In addition, Song State is also in the three largest states of Qi, Jin and Chu in terms of geographical location. In the meantime, this inevitably determined that it could not escape the historical fate of being eaten up by the great powers; furthermore, the status of Song State as a descendant of Yin and Shang inevitably could not escape the fate of the hostility of Ji surnamed as a Zhou cultural tradition. "The Twenty-Two Years of Zuo Zhuan·Xi Gong" carried Ziyu to his younger brother Song Xianggong's remarks that "the sky will abandon business for a long time, the ruler will reinvigorate it, and Fuke will forgive it". According to the records of Zuo Zhuan, the Song State has been invaded by Qi, Chu, Jin, Lu, Zheng, Chu, Chen, Di and other countries successively more than 20 times. I am afraid that no other vassal country has ever suffered. Right. Open the "Historical Records: Song Weizi Family", we can also see that the history of Song Dynasty is the history of being invaded by neighboring countries. For example, in the Song Dynasty, the Kingdom of Zheng once attacked Song to avenge Wei and Song Xiangyue to attack Zheng; “Afterwards, the princes came to invade and attack”; in the second year of Song Huan Gong, “the princes attacked Song”; in the first year of Song Wen Gong, “the Jin led the lords to attack Song" etc. Along with the historical tragedy of the defeat of the Song State, the rise and fall of the Zhuang Zhou family also deeply shocked Zhuangzi's spiritual world. According to the existing historical materials, the true face of Zhuangzi's family history can no longer be verified. As far as his surname is concerned, both the "Yuanhe Surname Compilation" and "Tongzhi" Volume 28 "Clan Strategy" both consider the Zhuang family to be ChuAfter King Zhuang, they belonged to the posthumous surname. For example, the latter said: "The Zhuang family, the Mi surname, after the king of Chu Zhuang, the posthumous posthumous clan." On this basis, Mr. Cui Dahua, the presenter, also based on the fact that although Zhuangzi was from the Song Dynasty, he had a close relationship with the Chu culture. It is further inferred that: "Zhuangzi may be a descendant of the nobles in the Chu Kingdom. It may have been during the Wuqi Reform in Chu Kingdom (approximately between the fifteenth and 21st years of the Chu Mourning King, that is, between 387 and 381 BC). The borders of the Chu Kingdom, and the descendants of the Chu Kingdom clan who finally lived in the Song Kingdom.” In the Southern Song Dynasty, Luo Mi said that the Zhuang family was “the Queen of Song Zhuanggong and Chuzhuang King.” The historian Hu Sanxing also went further. It points out: "Some of the Zhuang family came from the Song Dynasty, and the so-called Dai, Wu, and Zhuang clan in Zuo Zhuan; some came from the Chu, the Queen of Chuzhuang is also." It can be seen that although the Zhuang family is a posthumous post It is a surname, but it does not necessarily have to be taken from the posthumous title of King Chu, but also from the posthumous title of Song Jun. Song Zhuanggong was located in 710 BC, died in 692 BC, and reigned for 19 years. More than 70 years after his death, the king of Chuzhuang came to the throne. According to this, Mr. Wang Bao believes that: “The Zhuang family of Song should not be the descendant of King Zhuang, but the descendant of Song Zhuanggong.” Then he further inferred based on the records of Zuo Zhuan, Han Feizi, and Shi Ben. Out: "Zhuang Zhou was both a Song native, and must belong to the clan of Zhuang Dynasty and Zhuang Jin." And based on "Zuo Zhuan" and other relevant historical materials, the ups and downs of the Zhuang family's rise and fall with the Song Dynasty are sorted out in more detail. Wang's argument is quite convincing and deserves our attention. In fact, as early as the Republic of China, Mr. Dang Qingfan had already pointed out: "The Zhuang family is the son of Song Zhuang. It should be the descendant of Song Zhuang. "Family":'In the second year of Wengong, Zhao's son was married to Wu, Miao and Miao because of his mother's younger brother. The clan of Dai, Zhuang, and Huan are chaotic. Wen Gong is the clan of martial arts and Miao. "Zhuangzi is called Zhuangzi, because it is the queen of Song Zhuanggong. Confucius and Mencius are called Mengsun clan after Confucius is the father of Confucius. Afterwards, it was called Meng the same."

"Zuo Zhuan · Eighteen Years of Wengong" about this matter is quite different from the relevant content of the "Historical Family of Song Weizi" quoted by the Dang clan: "Song Wu, Mu Zhi Family Dao ) Gongzi Zhao, the city of Fengsi will be rebelled. In December, Song Gong killed his mother and brother Xu and Gongzi Zhao, causing the Dai, Zhuang, and Huan clan to attack the Wu clan at Sima Zibo’s pavilion, and then the Wu and Mu clan "But this has no effect on the Dang's conclusion. From the above quotation, it is not difficult to see that although Cui Dahua, Dang Qingfan, and Wang Bao disagree on whether Zhuangzi is after the Chuzhuang King or Song Zhuanggong, they are completely at the point of acknowledging that Zhuangzi himself is of noble origin. Consistent. In addition, there are other scholars who also paid attention to Zhuangzi's noble origin. For example, according to Mr. Cao Chuji, "If you abandon the official government, if you abandon the mud, know your body than the official" ("Tian Zifang"), "Ping is a blessing, and if there is more than harm, there is no exception to the property, and the richer "Planet") and other materials speculate that Zhuangzi had perceived and experienced the field of fame and wealth and the place of wealth and wealth. "This shows that the author's'birth' indeed reflects the consciousness of the declining class." Mr. Bai Bensong also reflected in the book "Zhuangzi" Zhuangzi's profound cultural accomplishment, profound knowledge foundation and unique personal experience came out and concluded that "Zhuangzi is an intellectual who was born in a declining aristocratic family and can support himself." It seems that the current academic circles have basically reached a consensus on the fact that Zhuangzi is from a declining noble family.

Zhuangzi Lake, Minquan, Henan province

Zhuangzi, who lived in such an internal and external environment, had heard and witnessed the shameless and shameless rule of Song Wangyan, and experienced the tragic process of the demise of Song Dynasty and the division of powers. In the process of the destruction of this country, Zhuangzi, who was born in aristocracy, also experienced a cruel reality in which the family went from prosperity to decline, and the individual from noble to cheap. All these historical phenomena related to the domestic and foreign affairs of the Song Dynasty will have a deep or shallow impact on Zhuangzi’s soul, and together they have contributed to Zhuangzi’s strong sense of social criticism, non-cooperation with the ruling class, strong retro feelings and homesickness, and even hostility to the occupation at the time. A series of ideological tendencies such as the dominant Zhou culture were finally reflected in the book "Zhuangzi", forming the unique object of attention and artistic personality of "Zhuangzi".

Introduction to the author: Diao Shenghu, male, from Nanyang, Henan, lecturer and PhD, mainly engaged in the study of ancient Chinese literature and traditional culture.

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Coordinator: Hu Jiyong

Review: Zhao Jibin

Guidance: Shangqiu City Party Committee Propaganda Department