Nongjia
Nongjia ( Chinese 農家 , English School of Tillers / Husbandry School - "School of Farmers / Agricultural School") is one of the so-called nine currents of ancient Chinese philosophy, which reflects on agricultural issues and the ideology of the peasant class.
The works of various representatives of this intellectual trend are in the Hanshu yiwenzhi ( Chinese 漢書 · 藝文志 / 汉书 · 艺文志 - "Bibliographical Section of the History of the Earlier Han Dynasty"), the authoritative literature catalog (of the Hanshu ) for understanding the pre-Qin period , listed. There are only scattered and fragmentary source texts.
An important representative of the school is the philosopher Xu Xing ( Chinese 許 行 ), about whose world of thought the text Mengzi (Book III (Teng Wen gong), Section A, No. 4) provides information. The text refers to the prince Wen von Teng ( Chinese 滕文公 , Pinyin Teng Wen gong ). In it, Xu Xing's words are communicated to Mengzi ( Chinese 孟子 ) by Chen Xiang ( Chinese 陳 相 ):
- "A wise prince, like his people, must earn his food through his hands, he must prepare his breakfast and supper himself and run the government at the same time. In Teng, however, there are state barns, storerooms, treasuries and coffers; that is called the people." oppress to feed at his own expense and cannot be called wise. " ( Mencius III A, 4, translated by Richard Wilhelm ( Mong Dsi ), pinyinized. In Wilhelm's transcription, the philosopher Hü Hing is written.)
literature
- AC Graham : The Nung-chia 'School of the tillers' and the origins of peasant utopism in China. In: Ders .: Studies in Chinese Philosophy & Philosophical Literature. National University of Singapore 1986, pp. 67-110. (Chinese versions and English translations of the only scattered and fragmentary source texts.)