The concept of "good" in Russian and Chinese

Golovanivskaya Mariya Konstantinovna Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Area Studies, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p. 13 golovanivskaya@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Efimenko Nikolai Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0000-0002-4003-5887 Student, Department of Area Studies, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p. 13 efimenko200205@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The Russian concept of goodness does not relate to any character in Slavic mythology. The origin of this word is unknown, there is a version that it may go back to the Proto-Slavic root * dob, associated with the idea of time.

The derivatives of words that exist today are dated to the 17th and later centuries and date back to the idea of "soundness, soundness, shelf life" ^{[3, pp. 174-176],[5]}.

The active mythologization of the concepts of good and evil is also associated with the new age, which has developed motives for identifying evil with Satan, Lucifer, and good with God. Derivatives with the meaning "compassionate, merciful" arose much later than other meanings, which allows us to conclude that the modern concepts of good and evil are relatively new, and in historical time they are very young and can be interpreted as specific characteristics of the thinking and consciousness of modern civilization, the beginning of which, with the consent of many cultural scientists, refers specifically to the period at the end of the XVIII century, by the time atheism took shape into an independent and well-defined philosophical trend.

The first meaning of the word good is material. Goodness is property, prosperity. A different shade of meaning of this word appears when it is correlated with the synonym of good. V. I. Dahl notes that good, good is that which is honest and useful, that which is required of us by the duty of a person, citizen, family man, that which is the opposite of evil ^[2]. Here we can speculate: if the property is acquired honestly, then it will be good, there will be no bad, that's why it is called good. But if it's not fair, then there won't be any good, either literally or figuratively. Goodness has been a central civic concept for several centuries, and it was in this capacity that it was aligned with the fifth letter of the alphabet, which a Russian child at the age of five or seven got an idea of. A kind person, according to Vladimir Dahl, is a person "sensible, knowledgeable, serviceable, loving, doing good, as well as soft–hearted, compassionate and sometimes weak in mind." Kindness is the corresponding quality of a person, about which Dahl cites the following aphorism: Kindness without reason is empty.

Reading Dahl's definitions of a weak mind, a modern person may wonder: where could this come from? The answer, obviously, must be sought in the history of Russian foolishness, which was called the fool (see slav. ourod – dukak, mad – ^[2]) and constantly acted contrary to self-interest, performing, as it were, a religious feat.

But let's turn to the modern meaning. Firstly, the civil aspect of the meaning of this word has been completely lost in modern language, secondly, in modern language, goodness and goodness differ significantly, and thirdly, goodness is not associated with dementia in any way in the current use of language.

The concepts of "goodness and goodness" were described "In the new explanatory dictionary of synonyms" edited by Yu. D. Apresyan ^[4], and the main points of this description are as follows: goodness and goodness are what is good for people. Synonyms differ in the following semantic features: good is absolutely, good is relative, good is ethically valuable and is associated with a person's goodwill, good is not an ethical category, but a certain positive result, the outcome of a case. Goodness, as opposed to goodness, is the highest moral value.

Goodness is absolute, the idea of it can only change along with the entire value scale of a person, ideas about goodness are both rational, moral, and intuitive. The benefit is purely rational. For good, the main thing is appropriate mental movement, for good – cold calculation. The concepts of goodness and goodness are based on different scales of values and on different subjects of evaluation: the idea of goodness is associated with human judgment, with the point of view of people in general, like the ideas of justice and truth, and goodness, like truth, is associated with an absolute, supreme, perhaps divine point of view on the world.. It is considered as an absolute value and is therefore capable of denoting a high-level abstraction.

We join this analysis by distinguishing between two types of goodness – the absolute and the characteristic, the assessment of human moral behavior.

Let's look at the Russian compatibility of this word.:

They do good, carry it, bring it, create it, sow it, set it up for good.

Good takes root, grows, lives in a person, is spread out in the world, walks around the world, fights evil, wins, retreats before brute force, triumphs and sprouts.

They wish for good, respond to good (evil) with kindness, and call for good;

The Kingdom of good, the Empire of "goodness" (as an antonym of the empire of "evil"), the forces of good;

The light of good, the power of good, the apology of good, the mutual permeability of good and evil, the springboards of good, to bring to good.

The good must be able to defend itself (be with its fists), something will not end well.

The light of goodness, the child of goodness and light, illuminated by goodness.

Goodness is manifested, dissolved in every act.

Let's take a closer look at the images behind compatibility.:

1. Ear/weed. The concept of goodness has a clear connotation of a plant (it is sown, it takes root, it sprouts, it is reaped, and so on). We assume that behind this unidentified plant there may be an ear of corn or another plant that gives a person his "bread". Such an association could be considered basic and systemic, because, as we will see later, evil has the same connotation – a plant (a saying from antiquity: to uproot evil) – but a plant is a bad weed.

2. Property. The image of an object, an object, and property logically follows from this image: they do good, carry it, accept it, and respond with kindness. This image closely matches one of the interpretations that we pointed out in Dahl.

3. The sun. The prototypical image of the harvest behind the ear of a plant logically entails (or vice versa) the image of the sun, light, without which there is no life, no food. That is why goodness shines, warms, illuminates, lights the way, and so on.

4. Water. Water, which traditionally connotes the emotional sphere and embodies one of the elements (we will see this later), is also represented in the combination of the word "good": good is spread in the world, waves of goodness, and so on. In this sense, when goodness is thought of as an internal process (goodness was born in it), it is metaphorically described as an emotion (good feelings overwhelmed it, and so on). If we consider the combination "good is spread in the world", which likens good to a nutrient medium, then here we also tend to attribute this to the prototypical situation of sowing and harvesting, which cannot be successful without water, as well as without the sun. A context where good is thought of as soluble because of its association with water (good is dissolved in each of its actions - that is, it is part of them) is a derived context from the basic association of good with water.

5. The army. The idea of goodness as a system of forces comes from Christianity and is one of the derivatives of this myth.

At the substantive level of the concept of "good" there are curious nuances, revealed by the corresponding adjective "kind".

In our opinion, "kind" (about a person) means not only the ability to give freely, but also the ability to show pity and forgiveness. We can assume that in the meaning of "forgiving," these qualities were traditionally regarded in Russia as purely feminine. Therefore, we can say "she is a kind woman", "He/ she is a kind man" (with an unmarked gender in the word "man", but it would be bad to say "He is a kind man" precisely because of the named features of the meaning of this word).

Note that the concepts of goodness and kindness are common to the Russian linguistic consciousness and are often used to characterize people and their intentions. This very quality – kindness – is socially approved, people who show a selfless intention to help another person are appreciatively supported by society.

Of course, this worldview concept has nuances even in the everyday consciousness, summed up in the biblical expression "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" or in a simplified form – "Do not do well so that it is not bad," but this is the subject of a separate analysis, during which it would be necessary to point out the fact that prototypically of the two brothers, one is always bad and the other is always good (good and evil, Cain and Abel, and so on), and no matter how different the vectors of their potency are, they still remain relatives, that is, they often meet, connect, even in retrospect.

The concept of “goodness" in the Chinese linguistic worldview

The fundamental seme for the concept of "good" in Chinese is 善. The hieroglyph 善 is a hieroglyph of the ideographic category, it was first used in the Jinwen script. The fact that the hieroglyph was used in the Jinwen script, and not in the original Jiaguwen script, suggests that the concept in the original, deepest Chinese worldview, had not yet been formed, but appeared under the influence of a new social structure that arose just then (jinwen began to be used from the first proven dynasty of China Shang, approximately XIII–X centuries BC). Initially, the hieroglyph was written as 譱, consisting of the upper part of 羊 and the lower part of 誩, and the original meaning was “good", opposed to evil ^{[7, p. 196]}.

Of course, the use of these parts of the hieroglyph is absolutely not accidental, and the reasons for such a composition inside the hieroglyph will be clear upon detailed analysis. If we consider the upper part of 羊 separately, it will have the value “sheep" ^[9]. Sheep very often appears in Chinese mythology, is a symbol of good and well-being and is considered an object of happiness.

In the philosophical treatise "Lun Heng" by Wang Zhong from the Han Dynasty (II century BC – II century AD), there is a mention of the legend of the "divine sheep" of the time of the Yao. In Yao's time, there was a judicial official, Gao Tao, who had a divine one-horned sheep capable of distinguishing between good and evil; when it was decided in court which side the guilt was leaning towards, Gao Tao always sent a sheep to determine guilt: "If guilty, the sheep will touch him with its horn, if not guilty, it will not touch him." Subsequently, judges brought sheep horns with them to possess the sheep's divine power, and this influence could be traced back to the Qin and Han times (III century BC – II century AD). It was precisely because the sheep had such qualities that honesty and justice became associated with its cultural image. Ancient people revered sheep, and leather clothing made from sheep served as formal wear for high-ranking officials, which meant that officials were also virtuous like sheep ^[13]. Thus, in this element of the hieroglyph, the sheep is also a symbol of justice ^[9].

The lower part of the 誩 jìng, according to the data from the first dictionary of the Chinese language and its subsequent editions, originates in the Eastern Han era (25-220 AD). The following definition of this hieroglyph was given: "a dispute between two people who are not ready to take a step back" ^{[10, pp. 366-367]}.

Thus, if you combine both parts, the meaning will be "a sheep that fairly resolves a dispute between two people who would not have resolved this dispute without it."

Of course, there are researchers who have come to other conclusions. For example, in Song Jinlan's article, it was suggested that the hieroglyph 善 is the original form of the hieroglyph 膳 "food", since the upper part of the hieroglyph could have the meaning "mutton", and the lower part had the meaning "nutrition process". Since food in China has always been associated with good, this hieroglyph has the meaning of “kind”, “good” ^{[11, pp. 57-59]}.

But judging from the point of view of the philosophical picture of the world, then only the first option can be possible for etymology, that is, goodness as an indicator of justice. In this case, the sheep plays the role of a judge who determines what is good and what is evil. Namely, if we take the Confucian view of the world, then the role of the judge is played by conscience, which is a key concept in the Confucian worldview.

This idea of the token has a great connection with the Taoist and Confucian mythological consciousness. In Taoism, there is the following concept of goodness: ” When the development of an event reaches its limit, it must go back. To submit to the natural and thus show your weakness is consistent with the tao ^[12].

Laozi believed that people usually define "good" as "good as opposed to bad," but this concept is one-sided and violates nature. He did not compare good and evil, because he believed that both of them could not be known. For him, good was something that moves along a natural path, consistent with its nature.

If we talk about Confucianism, then after Confucius' death there was a long-term dispute about human nature. Meng-tzu had a theory of good nature^[16], which later the Chinese official of the Song Dynasty, Wang Yingling, combined into a simple idea.:

"When a person is born, his nature is good"^[17].

Xunzi, on the other hand, had a theory of the evil nature of man.:

"When a person is born, his nature is evil, and kindness is the result of an acquired environment and upbringing" ^[15][18].

Similarly, the concept of conscience is suitable only for Confucian philosophy: conscience plays the role of a judge who measures good and evil within a person. Consequently, we see that the idea of the hieroglyph corresponds to the ideas of Confucianism, more precisely, to the Confucian mythological consciousness.

Analysis of the compatibility of the lexeme dobro in modern Chinese

In modern Chinese, using a frequency dictionary, two lexemes with the meaning of "good" have been identified: 善良 shànliáng and 良善 liáng shàn. The two lexemes consist of the same morphemes and have exactly the same meaning – "good" ^[8], and, according to the dictionary, have the only meaning "kindness, without any malice" ^[6].

If you look at the two morphemes, 善 means good, and 良 means conscience. We see that the Confucian concept, where goodness is known through conscience, is reflected even now, but if we look at the material connotation, we will see a different picture. The following lexemes were identified by their compatibility with verbs using the corpus of ancient and modern Chinese:

利用善良 (lìyòng shànliáng) "to good use"; 欺压善良 (qīyā shànliáng) "to oppress the good"; 保护善良 (bǎohù shànliáng) "to protect the good"; 维护善良 (wéihù shànliáng) "support the good"; 守护善良 (shǒuhù shànliáng) "to protect the good"; 呵护善良 (hēhù shànliáng) "to protect the good"; 发现善良 (fāxiàn shànliáng) "find the good"; 展现善良 (zhǎnxiàn shànliáng) "to be good"; 体现善良 (tǐxiàn shànliáng) "to reflect good"; 培养善良 (péiyǎng shànliáng) "to bring the good"; 传递善良 (chuándì shànliáng) "to transfer good"; 实践善良 (shíjiàn shànliáng) "good practice"; 倡导善良 (chàngdǎo shànliáng) "to proclaim good"; 褒扬善良 (bāoyáng shànliáng) "to praise good"; 颂扬善良 (sòngyáng shànliáng) "to glorify the good"; 张扬善良 (zhāngyáng shànliáng) "to spread kindness"; 宣扬善良 (xuānyáng shànliáng) "to promote good"; 诬陷善良 (wūxiàn shànliáng) "to cast aspersions on the good"; 团结善良 (tuánjié shànliáng) "to unite good"; 唤起善良 (huànqǐ shànliáng) "to encourage good"; 举起善良 (jǔ qǐ shànliáng) "bump ahead" ^[14].

From this comparison of lexemes, the following material connotation was identified:

1. The people. It is a living being, as it can be protected, encouraged to act, slandered, and it is often used. They are defenseless because they are constantly being used or harassed, and they require protection, support, protection, and careful treatment. It is also not immobile, it can be nurtured, rallied and praised for some actions.

In addition to its compatibility with verbs, it is also important to note its most frequent adjective form – 善良的 (shànliáng de) - "kind". Using the corpus, it was found that the following three phrases are most common::

· 善良的人民 (shànliáng de rénmín) - "the good people";

· 善良的百百 ( (shànliáng de lǎobǎixìng) - "good common people";

· 善良的民民 (shànliáng de nóngmín) - "good peasants" ^[14].

The following verbs are most often used before these phrases:

剥削 "exploit", 杀害 "ruin", 掠夺 "rob".

Here we see that goodness is perceived as a people that can develop, rally and unite, that is, it could become a great force, but without it it is defenseless, which makes it most convenient for the government to oppress it.

2. The flag. It is an object that can be cherished, transmitted, praised, protected, and promoted. If it is lost, then it can be found and picked up. This view of goodness reflects the other side of the relationship between the people and the government. The founder of Orthodox Confucianism, Dong Zhongshu (179-104 BC), gave the following insight into Chinese society in his book The Gongyang Commentary:

屈民而伸君,屈君而伸天 (Qū mín ér shēn jūn, qū jūn ér shēn tiān)

"The emperor subdues the people, the sky subdues the emperor."

There are 3 actors: heaven, the emperor, and the people. However, the concept of heaven was explained differently in each epoch, as it depended on the definition of heaven by the Confucians. Usually, the ruler has the right to rule over the people alone, but when he ceases to perform his duties, the people consider it their duty to overthrow the emperor and elect a new one. This action is precisely related to the Chinese perception of the concept of goodness in its Taoist form. If the Emperor performs his function incorrectly, that is, he does not follow his natural path, then the people have the right to stop obeying and overthrow him, then choose another ruler who follows the natural path.

Despite the fact that the original concept emphasizes purely Confucian thought, in modern Chinese, even with morphemes that also show Confucian traditions, Taoist mythological consciousness is still felt.

Conclusion

From the description we have undertaken, we can draw the following conclusions:

Goodness in modern Russian is understood as the highest moral value that connects human consciousness and behavior with the ideas of selflessness and forgiveness. Modern consciousness embodies and animates this concept. Goodness is associated with a luminary, a plant, a militant but vulnerable force. The concept of goodness for a native speaker of the Russian language is frequent and commonplace.

Evil is the antonym of good, and it is also a common concept. It is also reified and animated. It is embodied in the form of a plant, animated in the form of a militant principle, towards which a person is active and hostile.

The Russian mentality, which was formed under the influence of Orthodoxy, did not go through the crucible of repeatedly changing epochs, endlessly conducting a dialogue with ancient origins, and remained for a long time in a medieval, non-bourgeois ideology, did not assimilate many rational and pragmatic views and reflects in many of its manifestations a consciousness not competitive, but global, in which the concepts of goodness and love flourish friendship, interpreted in terms of equality and similarity, rather than in terms of individualism associated with the idea of success, enrichment and material prosperity.

In the Chinese linguistic worldview, good can only be passive, good is humiliated, good needs to be protected, and here good has the image of the people, which is most often exploited by the authorities, but also good is transmitted, good can be raised, good can be nurtured, as well as the national spirit, which does not fall until it reaches goals. Here, with the help of the Chinese philosophical worldview, one can see the influence of Taoist mythological thinking, which passes through the prism of Confucianism. The ruler has power over the people, and heaven has power over the ruler; but what heaven is is again negotiated by the people (Confucians), therefore, if any of these branches cannot follow their natural path, that is, show goodness from the point of view of the Taoists, then the entire socio-political system of China collapses.