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Kong Qiu (551 BC - 479 BC), Zi surname, Kong Shi, Zi Zhongni, Lu Guocheng (Zōu) Yi (now Qufu City, Shandong Province), later generations respected Confucius, a great thinker, politician, educator, founder of Confucianism, the first of the "world's top ten cultural celebrities".
Confucius's ancestors were the nobles of the Song Kingdom, and the Song Kingdom was the descendant of the Zhou Dynasty's feudal Shang kings, so Confucius was the descendant of Shang Tang, the founding monarch of the Shang Dynasty. Confucius's father, Liang Su (hé), came to settle in Lu to escape the civil strife in the Song Dynasty and worked as a doctor in Shanyi.
Shu Liang Su had only one lame son until he was in his sixties, so he married the daughter of the Yan family, prayed in Nishan, and gave birth to Confucius. When Confucius was born, there was a depression in the middle of the top of his head, so the name Qiu, the word Zhongni.
When Confucius was three years old, his uncle Liang Su died, and he was raised by his mother alone, living in poverty. When Confucius played games as a child, he often displayed various ritual utensils such as beans and practiced Xi etiquette movements. At the age of fifteen, he began to study and Xi.
When Confucius grew up, he was nine feet six inches tall, and people at the time were surprised to call him "Changren". Because he was good at learning Xi, he was already proficient in the six arts of etiquette, music, archery, royalty, calligraphy, and mathematics that the children of the nobles had to learn at that time, and he could drive a chariot with four horses with one hand, and he could shoot birds in the sky with an arrow, and everyone thought he was very unusual.
Confucius grew up in a poor family, and in order to make a living, he worked as a small official who managed warehouses and animal husbandry. Because of his conscientious work and talent, Confucius's reputation slowly spread in the Lu country, and people began to follow him to learn Xi.
Confucius realized that this was a good opportunity to disseminate knowledge, and officially opened a private school, thus becoming the first person in the history of our country to run a private education.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when slavery was on the verge of collapse, Confucius advocated educational ideas such as "education without class", "teaching students according to their aptitude", "learning from the past" and "applying what they have learned".
Since then, the aristocratic family has gradually disappeared, the class has been broken, and the face of culture and the direction of history have changed. According to legend, he has taught 3,000 **, and 72 have achieved it, so he was revered by later generations as "Dacheng Holy Teacher" and "Ten Thousand Generations Teacher".
When Confucius was thirty years old, Qi Jinggong came to the state of Lu and met Confucius. Qi Jinggong asked him: "In the past, Qin Mugong's country was small and the place was biased, why could he be hegemonic?"Confucius said, "Although the state of Qin is small, it has great ambitions;Although the place is biased, the behavior is right. Baili Xi, who was born as a slave, was reused and granted national politics. It's okay to be the king, but it's nothing to be the king!Qi Jinggong appreciated Confucius very much.
Soon, there was civil strife in Lu, and Confucius went to Qi to avoid the chaos and saw Qi Jinggong again. Qi Jinggong summoned him many times to talk about the way to govern the country. During this period, Confucius enjoyed the "Shao Music" that praised Emperor Shun, and did not know the taste of meat for three months. Although Qi Jinggong valued Confucius, he did not appoint him, and Confucius was forced to leave after staying for a few years.
Confucius returned to the state of Lu, and after many years of the state affairs of the state of Lu being controlled by the three princes, there was another shift in power, and the retainers of the princes began to dictate power. Confucius was forty years old at this time, and although he was full of enthusiasm, he could not participate in politics, so he retired to his home and concentrated on sorting out classics such as "Poems", "Books", "Rites" and "Music". Confucius, together with the others, deleted and revised them one by one, and made outstanding contributions to the preservation of these ancient documents.
These texts were revised by Confucius and were called "classics" by Confucian scholars. By the time Emperor Wudi of Han exalted Confucianism, the Confucian classics became a must-learn book for scholars of all generations, occupying a supreme position in the vast sea of classics, and thus shaping the inner soul of the Chinese nation and every Chinese.
In 500 B.C., Lu Dinggong appointed Confucius as the chief secretary in charge of the country's judicial work, and exercised the functions and powers of the state minister. Three years later, in order to strengthen the power of the monarch, Confucius decided to demolish the castle built by the three princes, completely offending the ministers, and the operation was suspended. Despite this, Confucius's achievements in governing the state of Lu were still very remarkable, causing unease in the neighboring state of Qi.
Qi Jinggong planned to make an appointment with the Luding Guild Alliance and take the opportunity to blackmail the Lu State. After the meeting, Qi repeatedly provoked Lu Guo, but was accused of being rude by Confucius. Qi Jinggong was very panicked, knowing that he was at a loss, and after returning to China, he blamed the minister and said: "Confucius used the principle of a gentleman to assist the monarch, and you used the method of a villain to assist me, and you lost the face of the Qi country." So he took the initiative to return the encroached land of Lu and apologized.
Qi Guo carefully selected 80 beauties and 120 BMW horses and gave them to Lu Dinggong. The ministers of the state of Lu all wanted to get rid of Confucius, so they secretly accepted the gift and placed it outside the high gate in the south of the capital, luring the Duke of Ding to go and play.
Lu Dinggong lingered, and he didn't bother to take care of political affairs. After that, Lu Dinggong held a sacrifice, and the sacrificial meat was not distributed to Confucius according to the ritual system, and Confucius knew that he was not going to appoint himself, so he left Lu and traveled around the world.
Confucius passed through Kuangyi (in present-day Henan Province) and was mistaken for Yang Hu, a minister of Lu State, and was besieged for five days before he was able to get out of trouble. Confucius's ** Yan Yuan was left behind, and it was not easy to find the teacher, Confucius said: "I thought you were dead." Yan Yuan said: "The teacher is still alive, how dare I die!."”
The situation was critical, and the students were afraid, and Confucius said, "Since the death of King Wen of Zhou, the culture of the Zhou Dynasty has been all with me." If God wants to destroy Zhou culture, it should not be for me, a descendant, to master it;If Heaven doesn't want to destroy it, what can the people of Kuangyi do to me!”
Ji Huanzi, a minister of Lu Guoquan, was seriously ill and instructed his heir Ji Kangzi: "In the past, this country was about to prosper, because I offended Confucius and did not prosper. After you assist the monarch, you must recall Confucius. "After Ji Huanzi's death, Ji Kangzi wanted to recall Confucius.
Doctor Gong Zhiyu said: "In the past, Lu Dinggong appointed him, but he failed to have a beginning and an end, and was finally laughed at by the princes. If you don't die well, you'll be laughed at by the princes again. Ji Kangzi thought about it again and again, and sent someone to recall Confucius's student Ran Qiu.
The state of Chu sent people to hire Confucius. The doctors of Chen and Cai discussed and said: "If Confucius is reused in Chu State, our two countries will be in danger. "Send people to besiege Confucius in the wilderness and cut off food.
The ** who followed was hungry and sick, and couldn't stand up. Confucius still sat upright and lectured to everyone. Zilu asked angrily: "Do gentlemen also have times when they are poor?"Confucius said: "A gentleman is extremely poor, but he is also happy to be poor." When the villain encounters poverty, he will do everything. ”
Confucius knew that they were unhappy in their hearts, and asked, "Is there something wrong with our proposition?"Why did it come to this point?Zilu said: "It may be that virtue and wisdom are not enough to win the trust of others." Confucius said, "If you are right, then Bigan will not be killed by the king of Shang." Zigong said: "Because of the high and low Qu, the teacher might as well lower the standard a little." Confucius said, "If you pursue 'acceptance' instead of 'Tao,' such an ambition will not go far." Yan Hui said: "If you have the right path but are not accepted, it is a shame for those in power, not a shame for a gentleman." Confucius smiled and said, "Yan Hui is an understanding person, I am willing to be your housekeeper." ”
Confucius sent Zigong to the state of Chu, and King Zhao of Chu sent an army to meet him, intending to give him 700 li of land. The state of Chu ordered Yin Zixi to stop him and said, "Do the king's envoys have Zigong who is good at arguing?"Does the assistant minister have Yan Hui virtuous?Is the commander brave in his son?Is it wise to have Zai Yu?King Zhao said, "No." Zixi said: "When the state of Chu was sealed, it was only fifty li, and King Wen of Zhou was only a hundred li of land. If you give Kong Qiu 700 miles of land, plus the assistance of talented **, this is not the gospel of Chu. So King Zhao dismissed his thoughts.
Confucius traveled around the world for 14 years, but was never reused, so he returned to Lu and began to compile the history of Lu "Spring and Autumn". "Spring and Autumn" praised and depreciated the various events of the time based on recognized morality, and the rebellious ministers and thieves were afraid.
In 479 BC, Confucius died at the age of seventy-three. After the death of Confucius, his ** compiled his words and deeds, as well as his conversations with his students, into the book Analects. The Analects embodies Confucius's political ideas, ethical thoughts, morality, and educational concepts, and has been regarded as the golden rule by scholars and scholars for more than 2,000 years, and still exerts an important influence today.
This article is excerpted from "Twenty-four Histories Read Now, Language and History Are Progressing", officially authorized to publish, welcome to continue to pay attention.