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Living Civilization - Chinese Civilization

"The world is the same, but there are hundred of different thoughts, which lead different routes but towards the same goal. Yin and yang, Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, Dialectician/Logicism, and Taoism are the main ones, which taught different ways to try to solve problems in society and life. It is a matter of simple or complex."

“天下一致而百虑，同归而殊涂。夫阴阳、儒、墨、名、法、道德，此务为治者也，直所从言之异路，有省不省耳。”

- “the Essentials of Six Schools. Shi Ji"《史记.论六家之要旨》

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"The Essentials of Six Schools" was written by (Sima Tan)Tai Shigong with certain meanings, and the sequence to talk about these schools also has been arranged with certain reasons. We need to understand carefully why the first of the six schools of thought begins with the school of Yin-Yang? The representatives of all the six schools are well-known figures more than 2,000 years ago. Each of them has made great achievements, and each of them is proficient in various knowledge, and then has different specialties. These six schools can represent all the knowledge of the various schools of thoughts, not only can have great influence on the country and society, but also have an eternal relationship with our human social life. Tai Shigong listed their essentials to make a general statement, aiming to point out the confusion for the world and leave the eternal truth for future generations. It is well-intentioned work and should really make our descendants feel grateful and pay homage to him.

The first one started from the Yin-Yang school, because the law we humans live by, is to follow nature which is the way of heaven(&earth) and cannot be violated. Next is the school of Confucianism. When human beings can survive in accordance with nature, they must pay attention to benevolence, righteousness, and morality. This is the importance of humanistic culture. The third school of thoughts is the hardworking and frugal school of Mohism. A frugal attitude towards life is the foundation for supporting the family and getting wealthy through hard work. The fourth school is legalism. When the economy develops and life becomes richer and better, corruption may occur. Legalism needs a sound legal system and clarification of people's responsibilities and honesty. Next, the fifth school is the logicism school. When the economy, civilization and law have developed to a certain stage, some people will take advantage of the loopholes in the law. There are more and more cases where the name does not match the truth. In the end, Tai Shigong wrapped up his comments with Taoism as the concluding paragraph, because all schools of thoughts originated from Taoism, which is the root of Chinese culture. In the end, human beings still return to one "Tao", which is a reasonable interpretation of "different routes towards the same goal".

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太史公评论六家学派的精要，有他的固定意义，先后顺序也是有他的道理。我们需要仔细体会，为什么六家要旨的第一家要从阴阳家开始说？所有六家学派的代表人物都是2000多年前鼎鼎有名的人物，每一个人都有很大的成就，每一个人都是通晓各种学问，然后各有不同的专长。这六家学派可以代表了诸子百家的所有学问，不但能够对国家和社会产生很大的影响力，而且跟我们人类社会生活有着千古不变的关系。太史公把他们的精要之处罗列出来做一个总论，旨在于为世人指点迷津，为后世留下千古不变的真理。其用心良苦，实在应当让我们后人感激涕零，顶礼膜拜。

第一家从阴阳家开始讲，是因为我们人类赖以生存的法则是顺应自然，这是天道，不能违背。接下去是儒家，人类顺应自然能够生存的情况之下，就要讲究仁义道德，这是人文文化的重要性。第三个学派是勤劳俭朴的墨家，俭朴的生活态度是养家糊口，勤劳致富的根基。第四个学派是法家，经济发展了，生活富裕了，就可能产生腐败，就需要法家的法制健全和明确人们的责任担当和讲诚信。接下去，第五个学派是名家，经济，文明和法律发展到一定的阶段，就有人钻法律的空子，名不符实的情况越来越多，就需要正名求实的名家做派。最后太史公以道家收尾，因为诸子百家都出自道家，是中国文化的根源，最终人类还是回归一个“道”，就是合理地诠释了“天下同归而殊途“。