Confucius's ambition has always been in the business of a gentleman. Although he was poor when he was a teenager, he came from a noble family. Confucius knew that if he wanted to return to his ancestral business, he must learn the professional skills of the scholars, that is, the so-called six arts of etiquette, music, archery, royalty, calligraphy, and mathematics. According to the current concept, the six arts include almost all aspects of politics, art, military, sports, culture, science, etc. When Confucius was fifteen years old, he set a great ambition to study these things diligently.
The Six Arts were originally the knowledge and skills that the nobles of the Western Zhou Dynasty had to master. In order to master this knowledge, the children of the nobility were sent to schools run by the government from an early age for study and training. The people who taught this knowledge may have been aristocrats in the first place. But apparently, the work was later undertaken by a group of professionals, who were called "Confucians". Confucianism originally referred to a person who specialized in presiding over sacrificial ceremonies. The word "Confucian" originally meant "need", like a person bathing, indicating that the Confucian should bathe and change clothes before presiding over the ceremony. Later, "need" was borrowed as the meaning of need, and in order to distinguish it, I had to add "亻" or "氵" in front of it. Therefore, in some ancient inscriptions, "Confucianism" is also written as "Confucianism".
Because in order to preside over the ceremony, the Confucian must be familiar with the knowledge of etiquette and music. Because of their knowledge, Confucians became teachers in aristocratic schools, and some even became staff members of the aristocracy. The knowledge of the six arts mastered by Confucianism, like other arts, belongs to professional skills, so it is called Confucianism, and Confucianism is also classified as a warlock. In short, Confucianism is a profession that specializes in mastering the knowledge of poetry, writing, etiquette and music, and inheriting classical culture.
Confucianism was carried forward in the hands of Confucius. Confucius was a man with ideals. At the age of fifteen, he decided to study Confucianism, not just to get a job and earn a living. In the eyes of Confucius, Confucianism was a noble profession with the glorious mission of emphasizing order throughout the day. He once said: "It is too rare for a person to study Confucianism for three years, but his mind is still not on fame and fortune!" "Sage Kong is a bit lonely.
Just because you're not focused on earning money doesn't mean you have to be poor. Confucius firmly believed that as long as you study hard and master the skills of the six arts, there will naturally be a monarch to invite you, and wealth and status will naturally be among them. Those who farm the land will starve, and those who will go bankrupt can only be merchants. Therefore, a gentleman only needs to care about the way to govern the country and secure the country, and don't always think about the few acres of land in his own house and how much money he can earn tomorrow.
Confucius also said to his ** Zixia: "You have to be a gentleman, don't be a villain!" This sentence does not mean that Zixia wants to be a good person and not a bad person, "gentlemen" and "villains" did not have good people and bad people in that era. The original meaning of Jun is to give orders, and by extension, to lead, originally it meant aristocrats. At that time, all nobles had quarries, and the lord of the quarries was the king. The leader of the vassal state is the king. Villains refer to ordinary people.
Aristocrats must not only be literate and qualified, but also virtuous and tasteful. As for the common people, worry-free food and clothing is the greatest happiness, and there are naturally no requirements in virtue. So the villain is not a bad person, at most it is a bit vulgar. Later, the moral color of gentlemen and villains became stronger and stronger, and the color of identity gradually faded. In the Analects, gentlemen and villains still refer more to the status of nobles and commoners.
Therefore, the meaning of Confucius's sentence is: to be a Confucian with great ambitions and noble morals, not to be the kind of little white-collar workers who only know how to make money and are vulgar. Of course, most of the children of the scholar clan learned the six arts as a means of earning a living. Confucius sighed: "The ancients studied in order to be a true aristocratic gentleman; But today's people study just to be appreciated by others and to find a good job. ”
When Confucius was in his thirties, he was already quite successful in his studies. He said that he was "thirty years old", but what did he stand? It's a ceremony. Confucius often said that "standing in etiquette", that is, to be proficient in etiquette and music, this is the most important ability of a gentleman to base himself on society. Confucius was good at ritual music, and was a well-known expert in ritual music, and was very influential among the aristocracy.
However, Confucius was not reused by the Lu state. So he opened a school that taught the six arts. As mentioned earlier, during the Spring and Autumn Period, etiquette and music collapsed, and the government-run aristocratic schools gradually fell into disuse. As a result, those well-known professors in the original school have set up private schools. In this way, the aristocratic culture of the Western Zhou Dynasty was transferred to the people, and the children of the common people also had the opportunity to study the aristocratic courses and be able to advance to the noble class.
Confucius accepted students, whether rich or poor, as long as they were willing to learn, he was willing to teach. For those children from poor families, he will reduce the tuition fees. However, Confucius was a man of great propriety, and basic etiquette could not be saved. He said: "As long as the students can take the Bo Li to show that you respect the teacher, I will accept you as a student and teach everything." ”
Confucius's school is different from others in that it not only teaches the six arts, but also pays more attention to the cultivation of the virtues of a gentleman. He once lectured his students, saying: "Students, you must first have the ambition to pursue the way of a saint, be strict with yourself with the standard of an excellent gentleman, start from the benevolence of your heart in everything you do, and work hard to learn the noble business, so that the six arts will become the foundation of your life." ”
At that time, the children of the aristocracy could go to leadership positions even if they did not study hard. And the children of commoners do not have a noble identity, and can only change their fate by studying hard. Confucius said: "Children of ordinary families can only enter the government after they have mastered the rites and music;And those children of the nobility only knew the importance of learning etiquette and music when they became officials first. If I were to select talents, I would prefer to appoint the hard-working commoners. ”
Professor Kong is well-known and influential in the country. The most powerful Sanhuan family in Lu also respects him very much. When Confucius was thirty-four years old, Meng Xizi, one of the three Huan, was dying. Meng Shi summoned his two sons, Meng Yizi and Nangong Jingshu, to the bed and instructed: "Etiquette is the foundation of our noble gentleman. Mr. Kong is an amazing man, a master of liturgy. After I die, you will worship him as a teacher and strive to learn about etiquette and music. Only by mastering the ritual music can you maintain your noble status!(See "The Seventh Year of Zhao Gong").
The History of Chinese Thought, Chapter 25.