Various Views on History

China boasts a long history, in which various views on history were nurtured. In particular, in Pre-Qin Time that allowed free speech, the various views on history was a part of Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought. Among them, Confucian view on history was the most important as it dominated China for nearly 2,000 years.

Firstly, Confucian view on history was a view on sage and ruler, which claimed that history recorded the deeds of heroes or rulers, or that history was determined by few. Confucius liked following Yao and Shun. In The Analects, Confucius said,

It was so great that Shun and Yu did not rule the country by usurpation.

Shun stands as lofty as mountain. The heaven is the greatest and Shun is following the heaven. (Tai Bo)

Confucius also extolled Zhou Dynasty, "The morality in Zhou Dynasty can be the greatest morality." (Tai Bo) Later, Mencius proposed to follow the early kings (Yao and Shun) and Xun Zi proposed to follow the late kings (King Wen and King Wu). Different as they seemed, they were same in following the tradition, with the difference in degree. Secondly, Confucian view on history was a view on classic, which meant that history recorded experience or tradition and embodied the conservative stance that worshipped the past while denied the present. It was said that Confucius deleted Book of Documents and Classic of Poetry, edited Book of Etiquette and Rites and Classic of Music, expounded Commentaries on Book of Change, and compiled Spring and Autumn Annals (collectively called Six Classics). This was not credible. As a matter of fact, Confucianism had been the dominant school of thought since Han Dynasty that practiced the principle of "rejecting the other schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism." As a result, the books in San Dai (Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties) were worshipped as Confucian classics, from Five Classics, Nine Classics, Eleven Classics to Thirteen Classics. During the process, the view on history that valued classic and tradition was gradually cultivated in China, which was fundamentally destroyed until modern China for various reasons.

In addition to Confucianism, Mohism also valued tradition but it took Xia Dynasty as model. Taoism admired the ancient primitive society but did not worship the sage. Legalism was unique and clear in view on history: worshipping the present and denying the past. Taking Han Fei's view as an example:

In Zhou Dynasty, man vied with morality; in Spring and Autumn Period, man vied with strategy; now, man vied with force. (Han Fei Zi, Five Kinds of Vermin)

Therefore, a sage does not learn all from the past and follow the unalterable law. He takes strategy in accordance with the present condition. (Han Fei Zi, Five Kinds of Vermin)

The way to rule should change according to the time. Like Shang Yang, Han Fei viewed history as changeable and evolutionary. In the history of Chinese thought, Legalism was underestimated compared with Confucianism; however, its view that reformed the old and pursued the new inspired many philosophers with reforming spirit. As the political trickery of legalism was embraced by rulers, the reforming spirit impacted many Confucian scholars.

There were also other important issues in views on history.

Confucianism attributed the rationality of a ruler to the heaven's will or order, also known as Divine-right Theory of Kingship. In other words, what was predestined by the heaven was reasonable. In fact, the theory was established as early as in Shang and Zhou dynasties. Later, Dong Zhongshu summarized it into a philosophical view: "The heaven remains steady, so will Tao." (History of Han Dynasty, Biography of Dong Zhongshu) Meantime, Confucianism realized that the heaven's order was not necessarily given to the ruler. In Zhou Dynasty, the view was deeply understood:

He (the king) is no more credible to the Heaven and cannot maintain the Heaven's order long." (Jun Shi)

There is no ruler who can worship the heaven forever; there is no official who can serve the ruler forever.

Therefore, a ruler must bear sense of crisis as Duke of Zhou discussed. In Commentaries on Book of Change, it was summarized as: "A gentleman must remind himself of danger when in safety, remind himself of fall when in rise, remind himself of disturbance when in peace, so that he can remain safe and a country can enjoy peace. (Xi Ci IT)

In addition, Confucianism in the late Warring States Period considered the stages of human society. In Book of Rites, there were two stages in human society: Great Unity Society (Da Tong, a Utopian vision of the world in which everyone and everything is at peace) and Basically Well-off Society (Xiao Kang, in which people are able to live relatively comfortably). In Li Yun of Book of Rites, Great Unity Society was considered the ideal society. Utopian as it seemed, it had positive impact on many progressive thinkers. In the late ancient Chinese philosophy, the view on history of Wang Fuzhi was the most valuable. Wang Fuzhi proposed the ideas Li and Shi. He believed that Li and Shi determined the development of history. Li stood for the rule and Shi for the trend: "When Shi becomes inevitable, it turns to Li; when Li becomes natural, it turns to Shi." (Reading the Four Classics, Li Lou 1) Wang Fuzhi's view deeply revealed the unity of law and trend, which was important to understand the historical development.