What is people-oriented thought?

People-oriented thought is an extremely important ideological resource in China's traditional culture, which originated at the turn of Shang and Zhou Dynasties. The ancient people-oriented thought has gone through the development process from respecting heaven and ghosts to respecting morality and protecting the people, from attaching importance to the people and the king.

Since the country came into being, China has entered a new stage of development, and its social nature has also changed from primitive society to class society, which is manifested in later slave society, feudal society and centralized autocratic society. People-oriented thought has always existed and played an important role in the development and change of national political system.

Extended data:

Development history

During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the superstitious atmosphere was particularly strong, and everything was predictable, so Oracle Bone Inscriptions was born to record divination. People worship heaven and earth, ghosts and gods, stars, the sun and the moon. The highest position in people's minds is the sun god, so that Xia Jie is cruel and heartless, but he compares himself with the sun and says, "If there is a day, there will still be people in our country."

From the collapse of Shang Dynasty, Zhou people realized that "the destiny is eternal" and saw the people's armed rebellion, which made the Western Zhou Dynasty defeat Shang Dynasty. This is "Heaven should be democratic when it is right", "Heaven will obey the wishes of the people" and "Heaven should look at itself and listen to itself and the people".

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty declined. In the sacred and unshakable days, Zhou lost his position as the master of the world, and the world was in chaos and the rites and music collapsed. Reality has shaken people's worship of sacred heaven.

At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, with the fierce class struggle and the emergence of new factors of production relations, the ancient people-oriented thought was greatly exerted, and progressive thinkers represented by Huang Zongxi, Gu and Wang Fuzhi profoundly exposed and criticized the autocratic monarchy.

Baidu Encyclopedia-People-oriented Thought