Chapter 11 4. The Origin of Taoist Alchemist’s Academic Thought

In the past, the general habit of studying history, culture and academics, when Taoism was mentioned, either Laozi and Zhuangzi, or immortals and "alchemists", were thought of. What's more, the trinity of Laozi, Zhuangzi, immortals, and "alchemists" constituted a "confusing and confusing" Taoist form.Whenever people mention "alchemists", they naturally follow the traditional concept, thinking that they were born between Yan and Qi in the Warring States period.This group of "alchemists" talked a lot about their theory of Yin and Yang without meridian, and the art of refining immortal medicine.Therefore, it has been handed down, as far as the Qin and Han Dynasties, the concept that one can become a god by taking the elixir of "alchemists", and one can live forever after becoming a god, has generally been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.Belief in this concept and the atmosphere of pursuing immortal medicines have been overtly or covertly shrouded in Chinese historical society for two thousand years. From the emperor to the common people, they have always been generally affected by this "" superstition" concept.Although everyone "talks without evidence", they are actually "longing for it".In terms of historical concepts, we are all echoing others. Since we think that "alchemists" are the products of Yan and Qi during the Warring States Period, everyone forgot to ask why at that time, only Yan and Qi could have What about the birth of "Alchemist"?Is the basis of their academic thoughts completely without reliable sources, and they are all fabricated out of thin air, designed to deceive people?If this is the case, these so-called "alchemists" are very proud of their deceptive lies and techniques.Because they not only deceived the first-class smart people in the past history, but at the same time, their legacy of deceiving people has been able to last for thousands of years. Isn't this a very suspicious and strange thing?Therefore, we need to repeatedly trace the origin of these "alchemists" who came out of Yan and Qi during the Warring States period.

(1) Ancient traditional culture and Taoism of the Zhou Dynasty When it comes to ancient culture and Taoism, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties until now, there have always been two concepts. One is to believe in traditional history and absolutely worship and believe in ancient times; In the cultural relics left behind, look for evidence to overthrow the old saying.The further the era goes, the farther away from the ancient times, the stronger and more prosperous the concept of doubting the ancient times.In fact, culture and history are inseparable two sides of the same body. Since ancient times, the ancient history that we have been told is often integrated with ancient history.However, there are only legends about ancient history, and there is too little correct information about ancient history. Therefore, with the attitude of "telling but not writing, believing and loving the ancient", he was very cautious when sorting out ancient and ancient documents. "Jing", broken from the beginning of Tang Yu.The legends about the five emperors above Tang Yu are only scattered in the incidental narration of "Da Dai Li" and "Spring and Autumn".That is, although the ancients are not doubtful, it is still necessary to use credible information, so Yu and Xia are used as the beginning of the dynasties.Later generations took the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties as standard and credible historical materials.However, in modern times and modern times, some people have adopted the viewpoint of Western culture and history, and expressed doubts about this. That is another issue, and I will not discuss it here for the time being.But starting from Confucius, although it was determined from Tang and Yu, during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, there were still doubts and beliefs in the narrations of various schools of thought, and many historical materials passed down from ancient times and ancient times were preserved, and later they became Taoists. It is fully accepted with Taoist thought.Moreover, since the Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars who have been engaged in the annotation of the scriptures have preserved this traditional thought in many places in their annotations.Exactly how our ancient and ancient cultural history should be determined, I am speaking from the perspective of Taoism, it is really hard to say.

So, let’s now take a look at Sima Qian, a historical, cultural and philosophical thinker who claims to be the first person in five hundred years after Confucius wrote "Spring and Autumn" and who admires Confucius very much, in his book "Historical Records" Learn about his views on the history of ancient culture.Although he mentioned in "Biography of Boyi": "Scholars have extensive books, but they still believe in the six arts. Although poems and books are lacking, Yu Xia's writings can be known." But it is very obvious that what he said in Confucius Apart from the Six Arts, one cannot forget about the legends in other "extremely rich" ancient books.Therefore, when he wrote the lineage of the emperors, he had to write the biography for the five emperors, and he first mentioned the Yellow Emperor, which is another attitude and view compared to Confucius's concept of preserving the three generations of documents that can be trusted.Therefore, he said in the "Praise" of "The Book of the Five Emperors": "Scholars often call the Five Emperors, which is good! However, the "Shangshu" only contains Yao since the beginning. But the Yellow Emperor, whose writing is not elegant and tame, is recommended (with Jin Tong) ) Mr. Gentleman, it is hard to say. Confucianism passed on Zaiyu to ask the five emperors' virtues and the surnames of the emperors. Confucianists may not pass it on. I have tasted the west to Kongtong, the north to the ball deer, the east to the sea, and the south to the river and Huaihe River. Even the elders are all different. Where they are often referred to as the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun, the traditions and teachings are different. In short, they are not close to the ancient ones. Looking at "Spring and Autumn" and "Guoyu", they invented the virtues of the five emperors and the surnames of the emperors. What he expresses and sees is true, and there are gaps in the book. His anecdote is often seen in others. He said that he is not eager to learn and think deeply, and he knows its meaning in his heart. Elegant, so it is the first book of this Ji." In his "Praise" of "Five Emperors Benji", we can see the result of his investigation, "The elders are often called the Yellow Emperor, where Yao and Shun are, and the wind and religion are solid. What a difference!", which means that the legends of the folk elders mentioned the Yellow Emperor everywhere. At the same time, the places of Yao and Shun, the relics of cultural customs and enlightenment are also different, and they are not completely consistent.In fact, not only did Yao and Shun’s etiquette represent different eras and local backgrounds, but also the three generations of Yao, Shun, and Yu’s etiquette were also different and not completely consistent, let alone Xia, Shang, and Zhou. !

In "Historical Records", Sima Qian improved the concept of historical and cultural age, but later generations believed in ancient legends, and still felt dissatisfied. Therefore, in the Tang Dynasty, Sima Zhen made up for "Historical Records". According to Taoist legends , wrote another article "The Chronicle of the Three Emperors", and pushed it upwards from the Yellow Emperor.If we look at later historians, they use the Taoist concept of historical and cultural evolution, from the beginning of the Three Emperors, to Fuxi's hexagrams, and then down to the beginning of the Five Emperors, to say the least, it has been 120,000 years The history, to say a little more, can be pushed back to more than one million years ago.Later, Shao Kangjie of the Song Dynasty wrote "Huangji Jingshi", established a new calculation of historical evolution, and used his own laws and regulations derived from Taoism to rule that from the Three Emperors to the year of Tang Yao's Jiachen, the total should be 45,000. Thousands of years.If we want to understand the cultural thoughts of Taoism and the old theories of Chinese culture and history, please read the few materials listed here. What do you think?Of course!You can also call it absurd nonsense, this is your personal freedom of thought, and no one can say "no" casually.

Well, now we can go back and adopt Sima Qian's method. Although the spirit of "extremely rich in books, still trustworthy in the Six Arts", let's discuss the Six Arts in general and extensively - the materials of the Five Classics, so that we can understand the ancient cultural thought, It has a connection with Taoism.However, now we only talk about the ready-made materials of the Five Classics related to the Six Arts. We don't care about the authenticity of its content, and we can't discuss it in detail. We just talk about it roughly.Regarding the cultural thought of the Five Classics literature, the two most important books are the Book of Books.Since the Han and Wei dynasties, when it comes to the Five Classics and cultural history, it is generally regarded as "the head of the group of classics".Because traditional scholars have always believed that the origin of Chinese characters and cultural studies is in Fuxi's drawing of gossip. For the beginning of the contract, it is the evolution of gossip into a book of cultural and academic thoughts. It is the same as medicine and other technical books. Fortunately, when Qin Shihuang burned the book, it was considered to be a first-class divination book, so it was not burned.In the development of academic thought, according to historical legends, there are three schools of Yi learning, Lianshan, Guizang, and Zhouyi. One book, then, the one that was not burned by Qin Shihuang was this "Book of Changes"?Or did Sanyi not burn at all?Which is another big question.Now I will not talk about these issues for the time being, but according to the "Book of Changes", I will talk about the evolution of ancient culture after Fuxi painted the gossip.

Eight trigrams, originally used eight symbols to represent the pictorial marks of the physical universe.It contains the mutual transformation of yin and yang, which is used to summarize the signs of changes in everything, so the eighty-eight-sixty-four hexagrams are generated as the laws of analyzing and summarizing human physics.It is the same as the astronomical stems and earthly branches symbols invented in the age of the Yellow Emperor, and the same as the five elements of Xia, Shang, and Zhou after the Tang Yu era. The system, each representing the regional culture of the ancient clan society, was not consistent with the similarities and differences of the culture of the time. The eight trigrams, the five elements, the heavenly stems, and the earthly branches were completely integrated, and the concept and calculation method of the unity of gods and human affairs were added, so it evolved It is China's original physical theory science, and at the same time it has become a mysterious and religious-like academic. It is actually a masterpiece of scholars and Taoists in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, it has become the source of divination, prophecy and other techniques, which makes Yixue half-clear and half-obscure , will always be in the forest of secret hair. However, according to the research of "Book of Changes", we have discovered another problem, that is, the study of the gossip drawn by the ancient sage Fuxi, after Zhou Wenwang's rhetoric, and his son Zhou Gong’s explanation took most of the theoretical academic content of this kind of primitive universe physics, and turned it into a humanistic thought that promoted humanistic morality and established ethical standards. After about 500 years, Confucius followed King Wen After the Duke and Duke of Zhou, he studied the "Book of Changes" and used it to explain the principles of personnel philosophy. Therefore, later generations said that there is a study of the separation of reason, image, and number. Those who specialize in the general meaning of personnel principles are It belongs to the scope of Yili, and those who specialize in the changes of yin and yang such as astronomy, physics, and physiology fall into the scope of image and number; The philosophical basis of Taoist academic thought and the theory of Taoism after the Jin Dynasty. In other words, the scientific and philosophical basis of Taoist academic thought after the Qin and Han Dynasties actually came from the source of learning. The tradition of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors. However, in the documents of the three generations recorded in the Book of Books ("Shangshu"), except for a piece of "Hong Fan" that mentions the thought of the Five Elements, we really can't find any more What is the reason for this? This is to discuss the academic thoughts of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it is necessary to trace and seek cultural sources above the Zhou Dynasty.

We all know that the birthplace of Chinese national culture started from the northwest plateau and gradually developed to the lower reaches of the Yellow River. After three generations or less, the culture of the Central Plains was formed.The ancestors of this system of culture are generally pushed up from Fuxi’s drawing of hexagrams, centered on Huangdi Xuanyuan, and finally interpreted by King Wen’s philosophy of eight trigrams. The Northwest Plateau is a culture developed in the central area of ​​the Yellow River Basin.Let us assume a term for the time being, and call it the cultural studies of the department, or call it the cultural thought of the Northwest Plateau in ancient China: the former name is centered on Confucian classics, and the latter name is represented by geography and history. It and the "Book of Books" ("Shangshu") culture collected and compiled by Confucius for three generations of political and historical data seem to be two systems.Because the "Book of Books" preserves the political, historical and cultural materials, from Tang, Yao, Yu, Shun, Xia Yu, to Shang Tang, and to the culture of the Zhou Dynasty, in addition to the integration of Zhou Gong and the formulation of the rituals of the Zhou Dynasty. , music, culture, education, and criminal administration, from the Three Dynasties to Shang Tang, are generally cultural thoughts that originated in the northeast of the central basin of the Yellow River, so we can also call it the cultural scholarship of the "Book of Books" department, or call it It is the cultural thought in the northeast of the central basin of the Yellow River in ancient China.

I put forward this two major concepts about ancient culture, which went through three generations and reached Zhou and Qin. They each have different traditions of inheriting clan culture, and still have the spirit of doing their own thing.From the Zhou Dynasty to the ancient times, from Tang Yao and Yu Shun to the upsurge, and from Xia Yu to the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, obviously each has its own system of succession, so we can better understand the unity of Chinese culture. Facts after Qin and Han.As for the content of Taoist academic thoughts after the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, it has a close relationship with the origin of the "alchemist" academics of Yan and Qi, but with the culture of the ancient Northwest Plateau.If we forget about this trace of historical evolution, we will of course feel strange or unrecognizable for the academic thought of Taoism.As for the Confucian academic thought represented by Confucius in later generations, it emphasizes the culture of humanism, morality and ethics. It is really influenced by Zhou Gongli, music, culture and education, and criminal politics, and originated from the three generations of culture in the Book of Books.This is also clearly stated in "The Doctrine of the Mean" written by Confucius' grandson Zisi: "The patriarch Zhongni described Yao and Shun, chartered civil and military affairs, governed heaven and time, and attacked water and soil below." It is a very good explanation.Confucius' study of Yi in his later years was still largely based on the norms of the humanities, and he still developed along the ideological line of King Wen and Duke Zhou.

Speaking of this, let's talk about Fuxi, Huangdi, etc. by the way. Are there any materials about the academic thoughts of ancient culture?For the attention of researchers: According to the records of old history, Fuxi was born in "Huaxu's Zhu", and later established his capital in Chen.The so-called "Hua Xu" refers to Lantian County near Xi'an, Shaanxi.The so-called Chen refers to the Kaifeng area in Henan.Shennong after Fuxi, known as Emperor Yan in old history, was born in Jiangshui, and later moved to Qufu in Shandong after Fuxi succeeded him.The so-called Jiangshui is located in the west of Qishan County, Shaanxi.Fuxi was the leader of the era of fishing and hunting society, and Shennong was the leader of the era of agricultural society.The life of the fishing and hunting society developed from the northwest plateau to the upper reaches of the Yellow River.It is natural for an agricultural society to step into the plains. This is the inevitable situation of civilization evolution from Fuxi to Shennong era.

As for the age of Huangdi Xuanyuan, cultural civilization has entered the stage of initial integration, which is the reason why later generations judged historical relics and ruled that they traced back to the Yellow Emperor.Huangdi was born in "Xuanyuanzhiqiu, because of its name Xuanyuan." The so-called Xuanyuan is the northwest of Xinzheng County, Henan. Later, because of Chiyou's rebellion and the decline of Yandi Shennong clan, Huangdi first invented and trained animals, such as bears, tigers and other fierce beasts to fight. We borrowed To put it in a modern term, he established a mechanized army of animals, and first defeated the tyrannical "Yuwang" in Bao'an County, Hebei Province (Guiquan), and then in Zhuolu, southeast of Zhuolu County, Chahar. Ye, defeated Chiyou again, so he was respected by the princes as the son of heaven, and ruled the world after Yandi Shennong clan.

The Yellow Emperor, the common ancestor of the Chinese nation's culture, was really incomparably great in the era of the grassroots. He not only conquered Chiyou and put down the chaos in the world, but also established the norms of China's primitive natural science in his hands. He discovered the magnetic field Its function is to make a guide car, to establish the laws of Chinese astronomy and mathematics, and to be the pioneer of ancient inventions in the history of natural science at home and abroad.He created astrology and astronomical rules and regulations, built astronomical instruments, measured the wind direction to wait for the weather, created a calendar, set the time and the standard of the sun and the moon in the celestial bodies, and at the same time ordered Dao to make the art of Jiazi and Qimen Dunjia, and established astronomy. With the study of cosmic physics theory, he studied medicine, wrote "Nei Jing", made vehicles for transportation, formulated the system of clothing, established buildings, currency, divided land, and determined local political systems.When it comes to natural science, we have infinite emotions. We must know that in the history of science and scientific knowledge, astronomy has always been the pioneer and mathematics has always been the foundation.Since the invention of astronomy and mathematics by our ancestor Huangdi, we have always been regarded as an advanced science in the history of science. The mathematics department that can catch up with the times has turned us, a primitive advanced country in astronomy and mathematics, into a backward nation that is completely layman and ignorant. Later, astronomy and other knowledge that belonged to the academic scope of Taoism, how many people can really know?Isn't it amazing!The Yellow Emperor not only established the system of China's primitive scientific culture, but also created characters, invented the rhythm of music and rhythm, made degrees, quantities, and weights, established a political system, and first established the system of "historians".In short, the Yellow Emperor has too many merits and virtues. All the benefits of all ancient civilizations and civilizations are all attributed to the Yellow Emperor according to the concepts recorded in the old history. There is indeed a reason why Sima Qian said: "The Yellow Emperor is shared by scholars." In addition to the brief introduction of the Yellow Emperor based on the available historical materials, we can also look at Taoism. Regarding the legend of the Yellow Emperor, we can better understand how Taoist academic thought inherits the source of ancient traditional culture.According to the Taoists, apart from admiring the greatness of the Yellow Emperor as mentioned above, they also said that the Yellow Emperor once worshiped seventy-two teachers and learned all kinds of knowledge. Finally, he went west to Kongtong Mountain in Gansu and asked Yu Guangchengzi, and later went to Emei, Sichuan.Guangchengzi taught his way, so it is generally said that the Yellow Emperor asked in Kongtong and got the way in Emei.But remember, because of this legend, the achievements of the Yellow Emperor originated in the east and north of the Yellow River Plain, and his cultural and academic thoughts were mainly derived from the system of the Northwest Plateau.The so-called Guang Chengzi is an ancient god shared by Taoism?Whether there is such a person, let’s not talk about it, but the names of Taoist figures are the same as the names of Buddhist Bodhisattvas. Often the name represents a kind of content, so Guangchengzi means the collection of Chinese cultural achievements. , which coincides with the concept of "Yellow Emperor, learned by scholars". After the Yellow Emperor attained enlightenment, he lived to be 110 years old, and his total reign was 100 years.Later, because of his success in cultivating Taoism, he ascended in the daytime in Dinghu, went to heaven and became the common ancestor of gods.He ascended to heaven on a flying dragon, so many of his subjects clung to the dragon's beard and followed him up, and a few who couldn't hold on to it fell into the sky in mid-air. Therefore, there was a term "climbing the dragon and attaching to the phoenix" later. , used in the praise of the meeting of the emperor and his ministers.We listened to the mythical history of the Yellow Emperor in the Taoist legend, of course it was "unbelievable".Moreover, Sima Qian clearly recorded in "Historical Records" that "the emperor collapsed in the sun of Jingshan Mountain" and "Buried Bridge Mountain" is the "Qiaoling" in Shaanxi.But the history books also say: "The emperor picked the copper from the first mountain and cast three tripods on the sun of Jingshan Mountain. The tripod was completed and collapsed. His minister Zuo Che took a few sticks from the clothes and hats and worshiped them in the temple." If this is the case, for The death of the Yellow Emperor is another mystery.We don't care about these, anyway, the Taoist legend has always been the respect and title for those whose merits and virtues will last forever.Most of those who have virtue in people's hearts and have merits through the ages are included in the scope of gods, which affects later generations of Confucianism's worship of loyal ministers and filial sons, virtuous wives and righteous husbands, and even the traditional cultural concept of "intelligence and integrity, death is a god" Through this concept, we can understand that the Taoist saying that the Yellow Emperor is "Dinghu Xianqu", as the common ancestor of the gods in the sky, has incomparable reverence and admiration, can it be regarded as a fallacy? From Fuxi's hexagrams, to Shennong and to the Yellow Emperor, we have roughly explained the cultural system of the ancient Northwest Plateau, which is the academic thought that belongs to the department. From the science of cosmic physics to philosophy, it is also the origin of Chinese primitive culture. This line, the system of the origin of Taoist academic thoughts in later generations, is the culture of Yao, Shun, and Yu. With the northern thought system too. Emperor Yao, the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor, was born in Danling and later moved to Qi County near Taiyuan, Shanxi.At the age of thirteen, he was enfeoffed by Emperor Zuo, and was granted the title of Dingtao in Shandong for his meritorious service.When he was fifteen years old, he was restored to Tang County near Baoding, Hebei, so later generations called him Tang Yao.At the age of sixteen, Jian Tianzi was located in Pingyang, Shanxi.According to the "Shangshu·Yao Dian", the first government affairs of Emperor Yao was to sort out astronomy and calendar, which was to form the concept of "Zhengshuo" in the culture and history of later generations.In other words, Emperor Yao's policy for government, on the basis of targeting the agricultural society, still focused on the construction of natural sciences such as astronomy and calendar, and used it to advance simultaneously with the construction of humanities and culture.At that time, it was Yu Shun whom he selected to assist Emperor Yao in administration.Yu Shun assisted Emperor Yao in sorting out astronomy and calendar, and creating many scales and systems such as ritual, music, culture, education, and criminal administration. Many policies of governance.However, in this era, China was plagued by floods, and the so-called "majestic Huaishan Xiangling" situation was a horrible situation, which lasted for about one to twenty years.The so-called "Huaishan" means to embrace the high mountain in the arms of the great water; "Xiangling" means to submerge the ground, as for the hilly area of ​​the plateau.Such a large flood, which has lasted for many years, has brought disasters to China for more than three generations. Its cruelty is self-evident.Later, through the efforts of Xia Yu, he opened mountains and dredged rivers, and turned the disaster of floods into river and canal water conservancy across the country. Therefore, Xia Yu's achievements were not only meritorious at the time, but also virtuous throughout the ages, because the real Chinese cultural history is from ancient times to the present. The success of Yu's water control can be regarded as the formal establishment of a strong foundation for the Chinese nation to build a country based on agriculture. Only with the achievements of the primitive agricultural economy can the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties truly establish a Chinese cultural system.Although the records of ancient history have written about the feats of Yao and Shun in laying down the rule of law in a style of supreme reverence, a detailed study of the historical relics of Yao and Shun centered on the "Dian Yao" and "Dian Shun" in the "Shangshu" From the historical data, it can be seen that it was because of Dayu's success in water control that the great cause of Yao and Shun's cultural governance could be completed.So Confucius said: "Yu, I am inseparable!" He is indeed a sage who has nothing to say as Confucius said.When it comes to Dayu's water control, as well as China's floods and water conservancy, I would like to remind you by the way: For thousands of years in China's imperial era, the most important events were the prevention and control of the Yellow River flood and the development of the Yangtze River water conservancy.Especially the floods of the Yellow River. In history, small floods, at least within ten years, and major floods, at most thirty years, will definitely cause disasters in the Central Plains and other areas in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Scholars with the heart of economics and the ambition to benefit the world all want to continue Dayu's achievements in water control and complete the great plan of building the Chinese nation that Dayu did not complete.After the Song Dynasty, the so-called Confucian rationalists belonged to the meritorious school, and they all wanted to work hard on the water conservancy of rivers and canals across the country, as the purpose of practical peace learning.However, the development of river disasters and water conservancy has not completed Dayu's ambition after all. I hope that the young students of our generation should follow Dayu's spirit when doing business, and can really build a great cause and meritorious service for the nation. . Dayu, the great-great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor, was abdicated by Shun because of his great merit in pacifying the floods in the country and regulating water conservancy. The place where he succeeded the emperor was located in South Korea during the Warring States Period, which was Anyi near Pingyang, Shanxi.This is the famous transition period in ancient history, that is, the great achievements of the three dynasties of Yao, Shun and Yu.At the same time, since Dayu, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou civilizations began to form.From Fuxi's hexagrams, through Shennong and Huangdi to Yao and Shun, Dayu is an epoch-making figure in the history of ancient Chinese founding.It is very regrettable and unfortunate that after the early years of the Republic of China, some scholars, unconsciously influenced by the idea that foreigners intentionally caused an insult to Chinese history and culture, denied the historical sites of Yao, Shun, and Yu.Think Yao and Shun.Yu and others have nothing to do with him; Yao is the symbol of the incense burner; Shun is the candlestick; There is a feeling that "the relatives are painful and the enemies are happy".Little do they know that the incense burners and candle holders for lighting incense used by the Chinese people were changed after the Han and Wei Dynasties, following the introduction of Buddhism into India. For more than three generations, the incense burners and candle holders were not invented at all. The form of the candle holders are all after the Tang and Song Dynasties, and even later, how can the pictograms of the three characters Yao, Shun and Yu be dragged down for thousands of years, and compared to those used in religious ceremonies? tools too!Now we have briefly talked about the cultural system of the "Book of Books", the brief introduction of Yao, Shun, and Yu, which means that the cultural origins of this period were all in the Central Plains, spreading in the east and north of the central basin of the Yellow River, and that is Incidentally, briefly explain the system established by ancient Chinese humanistic culture. As for how Dayu divided Kyushu, he has his own historical materials such as the "Yugong Pian" preserved in the "Book of Books", so let's ignore it. What we want to talk about now is how the academic thought of Taoism connects with the culture of more than three generations .Everyone knows that when Yao and Shun established the country, the first major event was the work.In addition to the construction of astronomy, calendar, etc., which have the spirit of all modern science and nation-building, at the same time, the construction of humanistic culture is also just like the so-called establishment of a "sage teaching with Shinto", which is similar to religion and rich in philosophy. Later Taoists, The Confucian thought of "the unity of man and nature" is formed from this kind of historical and cultural data.Especially during Dayu's flood control period, except for the "Book of Books" and other official historical biographies, which only listed a lot of credible historical materials, the weird legends were deleted long ago and were not adopted. According to folk legend, it later became the legend of Taoism and Taoism, which is quite different.From the standpoint of the cultural system, Taoism narrates Dayu's success in water control, because he received the teachings of the ancient immortals (hermits), and also learned from the Yellow Emperor's Hetu Yixue. Knowledge can cure the floods from ancient times, so it is believed that Dayu's achievements are the crystallization of the orthodox academic spirit of Taoism. It is indeed a sacred and mysterious thing. These half-like monsters and ghosts were all subdued by Dayu's power, and they obeyed his orders and were used by him, so he was able to perform this great work.In short, Taoism believes that Dayu's success "is a gift from heaven".It is even more different when it comes to Taoism's academics, and then it changes and falls into the hands of Taoism. In addition to fully accepting Taoism's view of Yu Dayu, Taoism believes that he is the sage who inherited the destiny of heaven. Come down, heir of all fairy spells.Dayu's success in water control is due to his good at spells such as talisman, he can dispatch Liuding, Liujia and other heavenly generals, he can call wind and rain, and he can spread beans into soldiers. They are put on Dayu's head together, thus forming the karmic relationship between Dayu, Taoism and Taoism, which is particularly profound.This shows that after the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the Taoist academic thought line was related to the integration of the cultural system after Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor, and the cultural system of "Book of Books". In fact, the culture that enabled the descendants of the Xia Dynasty to continue the rule of the world for more than 400 years after Dayu controlled the floods was the culture of the Xia Dynasty that established the country with real agriculture.Because he was adhering to the ancient academic ideas of astronomy, calendar and other primitive universes, using the physical principles of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth to transform the five elements, and matching the humanistic culture of the agricultural society, thus forming the cultural spirit of the Xia Dynasty, which advocates simplicity. The essence of honesty is the cultural spirit of the famous "Xia Shangzhong" in history.After the Cheng Tang Revolution, after the last tyrant Jie of the Xia Dynasty was wiped out, the culture of Shang Tang was established for more than 600 years, which changed from the simple form of the culture of the Xia Dynasty to the concept of the way of heaven, and entered the "religion based on the way of the gods", which is similar to religion Therefore, in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the famous "Yin Shanggui" was formed in history, a cultural spirit that believed in the will of ghosts and gods.This belongs to the "Book of Books" cultural system, which changed again and again until King Wen of the Western Zhou Dynasty flourished in Shaanxi. He inherited the tradition of the Northwest Plateau and bestowed the cultural system of "Book of Books", taking into consideration the appropriateness of ancient and modern times, and developed the book "Book of Changes" After the success of his son Zhou Wuwang's revolutionary success, Zhou Gongdan's expansion of academic thinking, integrating the humanities and culture of the past three generations, and partly inheriting the thoughts of Yin, Shang, heaven, ghosts and gods, it was possible to complete the Zhou Dynasty. Departments of culture, education, criminal administration and other humanities and civilizations.In other words, it was only in the Zhou Dynasty that the culmination of all cultures since ancient times was considered, and it was the cultural spirit of "I follow Zhou" that was later praised by Confucius.Therefore, in addition to the "Book of Books", we can see that many of the "Book of Rites" and "Spring and Autumn" belong to the academic department, that is, the knowledge shared by Confucianism and Taoism, such as "Book of Rites·Yue Ling" and so on. ——The concept of spring and autumn work system, lunar order, calendar, disasters and abnormalities, and changes in astronomical phenomena, etc., are related to the academic thought of image and number. However, the so-called Zhou Dynasty culture here refers specifically to the Zhou Dynasty civilization of the central emperor, and later in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, it belonged to the Lu State culture system.If you study the cultural and academic thoughts of the princes and countries, there are similarities and differences, and they are not consistent. They all retain the cultural spirit passed down by their ancestors and clans.For example, the descendants of Shennong were sealed in Jiaocheng, Henan.A descendant of the Yellow Emperor, he was sealed in Zhu (Changqing County) near Jinan, Shandong.The descendants of Emperor Yao were enshrined in Ji in Hebei (that is, Daxing County in Shuntian Prefecture, Zhili in Qing Dynasty).The descendants of Emperor Shun were sealed in Chen (Chenzhou) near Kaifeng, Henan.A descendant of Dayu, Qi was sealed near Kaifeng.Wei Zi, a sage descended from the Yin and Shang Dynasties, was enshrined in the Song Dynasty.Jizi, another sage descended from the Yin and Shang dynasties, was honored as an unreliable minister because of his dedication to Hong Fan, and was granted the title of Joseon.These feudal vassals are all descendants of the ancient and three generations, and not all of them are the heroes of the Zhou family, and they are rewarded by the enfeoffment.This is the virtuous government of Wen, Wu, and Zhou Gong in the Zhou Dynasty, which is also the spirit of Chinese historical and cultural traditions, the so-called great cultural thought of "prosper and destroy the country, and continue to be peerless".Secondly, the meritorious officials assigned by the Zhou family, headed by their teacher Shangfu (Taigong Lu Wang), were entrusted to Qi, Zhou Gong was entrusted to Lu, etc., the so-called "brother country, there are ten or five people, and more than forty people with the same surname." This is the "feudal" situation of the Zhou Dynasty in which feudal vassals were entrusted and the country was established, which is very different from the "feudal" system in ancient Europe. If the different concepts of "feudalism" in the East and the West are confused, it must be discriminated against.And let's not forget that from the feudalism at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty to the seven or eight hundred years of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the writing and language of the Chinese nation were not unified. The culture of the year, although the country is unified, the customs, habits, and dialects of each place are also different from each other.The so-called confusion of "books with the same text, and cars with the same track" was officially completed between the Qin and Han Dynasties. Therefore, when we read the words of various schools of thought during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, most of the classics about Taoist academic thought are as Sima Qian said: "Its writing is not elegant and tame, and it is difficult for Mr. Jianshen to express it." This is because of the dialect Because of the differences in literature, the style of literature was not unified, so it was written off by Qin, Han and other literati who called themselves Confucianism, and they thought it was worthless.In fact, Taoism's academic thinking is mostly natural scientific theory, unlike Confucianism, which is mostly humanistic.All works that are close to natural science must lack the sentiment of elegant rhetoric in literature. No matter how superficial the study of humanities is, it cannot be separated from literature after all.The Taoist "alchemist" academic thoughts, as well as the theories of the various schools of thought on primitive scientific theories, were ruined and buried under the academic charges of "heretical" for more than two thousand years. We only need to Pay attention to historical and cultural historical materials, this problem will be easy to understand.For example, Guan Zi, who was a little earlier than Confucius, no matter how much authenticity or falseness there is in his works that are circulated today, even if he thinks that they are very reliable, after careful reading, they still differ from the style of Lu literature. A book on the humanities and academic thoughts of Qi State, like "Yanzi Chunqiu", has the tone of Qi State literature. Mentioning that there is a strange book in the academic thoughts of Qi State called "Qi Xie", he added a commentary saying: "Those who are Qi Xie are also those who have strange ambitions." In other words, the book "Qi Xie" is Qi Xie. The people of the country specialize in collecting strange stories.It can be seen from this that the locality of "Qi Min, Kuo Da Duo hides knowledge" comes from this. Therefore, the comments used to criticize nonsense in Chinese culture later have the name "Qi Dong's wild words". Secondly, for example 《墨子》一部书，因为墨翟本人，生活长大在宋国，他受宋国的学术思想影响最深，所以他有类同宗教信仰的崇尚"天志"，而同时又相信鬼神的权能，这些便是受到宋国传统，殷人尚鬼、信天、文化等思想影响的关系。至于他有苦节劳形、摩顶放踵以利天下的学说与作风，那是继承夏代大禹的精神，可能也有受到宋国的邻封，夏禹之后杞国思想的感染。当然，我说这些，都是十分可能，而且是有理路可寻的事，并非就是定案，因为生在两千余年后的今天，高推古代的情形，时间、空间的环境迁变，绝对已非当时的面目，虽然大家采用书本的资料作考证，也是不免出于臆测。"尽信书，不如无书" ，所以不能完全作为肯定的理由，至于曾子、子思、孟子、荀卿一系列的思想，当然是孔门以后的鲁国文化，与鲁国文学的正统。其他如老、庄，是南方楚国文化的情调。兵家著作如孙、吴兵法，是战国时期齐国的传统学术思想，与齐国文学的进步与升华。另如纵横家、法家、名家等学，大多都是秦、晋之间后起的思想，司马迁所说："三晋多权变之士，夫言纵横强秦者，大抵皆三晋之人也。 "杂家的学术思想，与秦、晋、齐、楚有关，也可以说，便是秦、晋、齐、楚学术思想杂集的回旋。阴阳家言，当然就是燕、齐"方士"学术的源流。我们了解了这个春秋、战国文化学术的大势以后，对于其中如何形成为中国文化主流的儒家，姑且另作讲说。其余如阴阳、兵、农、医、老、庄、杨朱、墨子、名、法、纵横、杂家等，综错交罗，互相为用，便成为战国到秦、汉以前，统统归入道家学术思想的范围了。 我们讲述道家的文化学术思想，不厌其烦由周、秦以前，再向上溯，大而言之，是为了说明中国文化的传统渊源，以及追溯道家文化思想，实为源远流长的主旨；小而言之，也便是说明周、秦以前，儒、道本不分家的关系。另一方面，也就是说明道家的文化学术，乃是继承夏、商、周三代以上，中华民族发源于西北高原的文化学系。至于战国前后，变成南方楚国文化的老、庄思想，是其余波的流荡而已。自孔子一系的儒家文化学术，是传承三代以下，起于中原与东方、北方的《书经》文化学系，到了战国；秦、汉以前，便成为鲁国文化，孔、孟思想的中心，所谓继承尧、舜、禹、汤、文、武、周公的传统。总之，用于人文社会，有关礼、乐、文教、刑政的学术，儒家《书经》文化系统，犹如堂堂之阵，正正之旗的正规军。用于因应时变，藉以拨乱反正的，道家文化系统，才是出奇制胜的奇兵，这也便是中国文化历史上有名的"外示儒术，内用黄老"君师之道扼要的说明。 （二）战国时期北方齐鲁燕宋的文化背景 首先要郑重声明，凡是要研究秦、汉以上的历史文化，千万不要忘记，那个时期的历史背景。我们粗看起来，周、秦以上文化学术的形态，固然是继承三代以下的一贯传统，到了周期，才算完成建立一个人文文化具体的成型，但是我们总要不忘历史的发展，不是空中楼阁，无因而来的、当春秋、战国时期，所谓分封建国的诸侯之邦，因为各有历史渊源的背景，与地理环境的不同，所以凡是有关构成各国文化的条件，如言语、文字、风俗习惯、政治方式、财经措施、交通形势等等，大体都是各自为政，并没有像秦、汉以后的统一。我们只要大概没有忘记历史上的记载，自从秦始皇开始，才渐使"书同文，车同轨"，才有废邦国而建郡县的统一制度，就不至于把秦、汉以上的地理文化不同的观念，随便忽略过去。而且那个时候，所谓中央政权的周天子，他为共主的帝王制度，既不是秦、汉以后帝王体制的形态，也不是三代以前的情形，只要大家研究一下三礼（《周礼》、《仪礼》、《记》），便自然会明白了，现在我们要讨论的，是专对有关天燕、齐之间"方士"学术来源的问题，因此，先从齐国说起。 凡是读过历史的，都知道齐国是太公吕望（姜尚）之后。姜太公吕望，是三代以前炎帝神农氏的后裔，到他的时候，已经算是东海上人。他与祖先的传统文化，与他的学术思想，是属于周、秦之际"隐士"思想的道家一系。他在困穷的环境中，过了几十年的苦难时间，到了八十岁左右，才遇到文王，后来以兵谋奇计辅助武王，完成周室革命事业的成功，他是周初道家学术思想的代表者。周武王为了酬谢他伟大的功勋，封他在齐建国，《史记·封禅书》说："齐之所以为齐者，以天齐。"但是那个时候的齐国，并不是好地方，不是春秋、战国时期的齐国可比，而且还存在着原来的地方恶势力。所以太公望在受封就国的路上，也有懒得到差接事的意思，好在靠一位旅店的老板，启示他一番话，他才马上赶去，建立了齐国；当然，这个旅店老板，也应该算是隐士之流的人物，他到齐国施政的首先要务，便是开发经济财政的资源，发展滨海一带的鱼盐之利，所以我们要讲盐务财政史，姜太公吕望，应该算是一位祖师爷，至于有关太公吕望的学术思想，在此不必多讲，我们只要研究一下兵家，与谋略家所宗奉的《韬略》一类的书，与道家、兵家共同推重的《阴符经》等，大概就可以得其眉目了；不管那些典籍是否为后人假托太公之名而著的伪书，但"事出有因，查无实据"，兵家思想，系出于齐，这是大概不会有问题的。齐国的文化学术，既是秉承大公吕望的道家学术思想而来，所以他与鲁国传承周公学术思想的系统，就大有异同了。司马迁说过，他曾经游历过齐国，以他观察的结果，便说："自鲁适齐，自泰山属之琅讶，北被于海，膏壤二千里，其民间达多惹知，其天性也。"他所谓惹知，应有两种解释，其一：等于现代语所说有深沉保留的智慧二其二：也可以说富于神秘性的知识。所以战国时期的"方士"，如名助公卿，诸侯争相迎致的邹衍等人，都出在齐国，秦汉时期的"方士"神仙们，也多数出在齐国。同时因为齐国，自太公望开始，发展了渔业与盐务，所以它在春秋、战国的时期，隐然便是当时中国经济、商业的中心地区，等于唐代的扬州，清末民国的上海。 文化与财经，本来便有不可或分的关系，所以到了春秋时代，便有齐相管仲经济政治的思想出现，大讲其"仓禀实则知礼节，衣食足则知荣屏"的至理名言了。齐国因为经济的繁荣，文化学术也特别发达，因此而成为诸侯各国之间，彼此文化交流的重镇，所以战国时期的名儒学者，大多数都到过齐国，想求发展，犹如现在世界各国学者，多数都想到美国求出路，"天下熙熙，皆为利来。天下攘攘，皆为利往"，古今中外，如出一辙，这也是贤者难免的事。例如孟子、荀卿，都与齐国有过莫大的因缘，这岂是偶然的事吗？而且孟子与庄子，都是先后同一时代的人物，他们在学说理论上，都大谈其养气、炼气的道理。孟子的思想，显然与曾子、子思以后的儒家学说，大有出入，孟子在《公孙丑》与《尽心》章上的养气之谈，俨然同于"方士"炼气的口吻程序，你能说学术思想，可以完全不受历史背景，与地理环境的影响吗？因为孟子有养气之说，与"夫志，气之帅也"的立论，才引出宋儒理学家的理气二元论，如果溯本穷源，放开气度来看，那么，对于战国时期燕、齐"方士"的流风遗韵，便不能不使人为之悠然神往了。 至于鲁国，人尽皆知是周公的学术思想，是秉承他父亲文王的庭训，集成夏、商以来的人文思想，因循改革而形成周代"郁郁乎文哉"的文明。因此，形成鲁国在春秋、战国时期的文学；也是驾凌诸侯各邦之上，因为文学与人文学术，必然是同命的鸳鸯，但自然科学与文学，就会大相逢庭了。鲁国的文化学术，既然是周公的直接传统，在春秋战国时期，仍以代表周代文化的，只有鲁国算是正统的中心，鲁国的诸生，保留鲁国的文化，虽然经过秦灰楚火的断灭，但是还能传到汉朝立国的初期，可见周公与周代文化的流风遗韵，它的源远流长，垂诸后世的价值，实在相当伟大。孔子生长在鲁国，他由衷地钦佩周公，全盘接受周公的人文文化思想，和鲁国的文学造诣，但是他是殷人的后裔，他在潜意识中，又承受有殷人崇拜天道的成分。可是，他到底是恢弘博大的智者，他的认识，见解与兴趣，都是综罗多方面的，所以他也崇拜虞、夏的文化思想，因此他有《礼运篇》等所记的感言，提到三代以下文化的变迁迹象，和上的对话，涉及齐、鲁之间的文化关系，而有"齐一变，至于鲁，鲁一变，至于道"的几句话；不过，这里所引用孔子所说的道，可不是道家的道，他是指人文文化的儒者所宗的仁道，这是不可以牵强附会的。至于他提到当时文化思想的转变趋势，由齐一变而至于鲁、鲁一变而至于道，形成齐、鲁文化融会的结果，产生人文文化的仁道之道，那是很好的研究佐证。我们也可由此而窥见文化思想中心地区转移的趋势，甚之，对于研究、《礼记》等有关于儒、道学术思想的通途之学，都可求出它在文化历史上演变的关键。 其次，我们要讨论的，便是燕国文化思想的根源了，因为历来提到道家的"方士"，很自然的，就会联想到燕、齐之间，在战国时期，突然出现许多"方士"的问题。燕国，在周朝，是处在北方穷边的地区，古代幽燕并称，往往用来表示北方边境的称号。燕国，是周初分封诸侯而建国的，他是与周同姓召公爽之后。召公在周代的历史上，流传有名的甘棠树下听政的美德，成为历来政治上歌颂与效法的榜样，我们可以想见召公有豁达大度的胸襟，和慷慨不羁的风度，他是一个具有政治道德的大政治家。他的德化与政风，加上燕国的地理环境，因此便造成燕赵古多慷慨悲歌之士，在战国时期，就成为产生游侠、刺客的名都了。游侠是隐士的化身，任侠使气，与道家"方士"的炼气、炼剑等方术，又是不可分家的技术。又加燕国的地理形势，本来就与齐、晋交杂相错，所以他们吸收融会齐国的学术思想，那是顺理成章的必然趋势，司马迁作燕世家的结论，便说："燕，北迫蛮貉，内措齐、晋，崎岖强国之间，最为弱小，灾灭者数矣。然社稷血食者，八九百岁，于姬姓独后亡，岂非召公之烈矣．"了解了燕国历史地理的环境，那么，对于燕、齐之章多"方士"，燕、赵之间多快上的原因，也便可以了然于胸了。 再次，我们附带地一谈宋国，便可以了解战国时期阴阳与天道思想发展的成因，以及后世道家认为也是神仙的墨子，和他思想的来源了。宋国，是在周初分封诸侯而建国的时候，因为周室秉承中国传统文化"存亡兴灭"的至德，为了尊崇殷商的后裔，便封殷的贤人微子在殷的故墟，宋国因此而建国，同时，也因此而保存殷商文化思想的部分陈迹。殷商的末代皇帝纣王，固然残暴雨不仁，但是，殷商的文化，也是中国上古文化演进中的主流，确是源远流长，《尚书》所保留的一篇《洪范》，便是留下殷商文化思想的一部分精神。殷人的文化，具有浓厚的宗教气息，他们崇尚天道、相信鬼神，而且将阴阳、五行的学说上神秘的外衣，拿他与天道、鬼神并论，或者以阴阳、五行做为天道、鬼神的注解，那是生有自来，传统悠久，在段人的心目中，是牢不可破的；一变再变，因此形成后来道家"方上"阴阳学说的一系。它与杞国一样，在春秋时期，都有保留他们祖先文化一部分的传统。历史所载，武王革命建国以后，将近百年间，还有殷的顽民，并不十分降顺，由此可以想见上古氏族宗法社会的精神，与信仰的力量了。孔子为了研究殷商文化，曾经到过祖籍之邦的宋国，虽然他很遗憾，感叹来国有关于殷商文化的文献资料，已经无法找到，然而他对于乾坤之理的了解，以及他对于天道与鬼神观念的思想，多少还是受了殷代文化的影响。"至．于墨子类同宗教观念的思想，如相信天有意志，相信鬼神有奖善罚恶的权能等等见解，那完全由于他生活长大在宋国，承受殷人崇尚鬼神的文化思想所致，同时他著作的文字章法，既不同于鲁国文学，如孔子、孟子的文章，而且也不同于齐国文学，如管子的文字，近世有人怀疑他是印度人，或来自中东的阿拉伯人，那是可资疑笑的一得之见，未必可征以为训。 此外，在战国时期，秦、晋的历史文化，和地理环境，便孕育出法家、名家的学术思想，以及产生纵横家捭阖权诈，造成谋略之士的温床。郑、卫介乎大国之间，环境促使颓废，富于风流浪漫的文学情调。齐国由于太公吕望道家思想的影响，又受时代的刺激，便多产生军事哲学思想，与军事学术的兵家。凡此等等，所谓春秋战国诸子百家文化思想的根源，都是各有因缘，互为影响，并非无因而生，笼统一律的。 由于前面的简介，我们简单地分别举出春秋、战国时期，各国文化学术思想的渊源与环境，何以后来会造成这些学术思想，一变再变，融会交流，就统统人于道家？那是秦、汉时期的时代趋势，现在还来不及为它作结论。我们前面所说的，也只是列举当时的情势，由中国西北部的秦、晋以下，直到东部齐、鲁、燕、赵、宋的文化大势，归纳起来，都属于当时黄河南、北的文化区域，勉强可以叫它为春秋、战国时期，北方文化学术思想的概略。可是必须不可忘记的，这个时期的中国文字和言语，犹如诸侯邦国一样，并未统一，所以我们要读秦、汉以上，诸子百家的书，便需要留心了解当时著作的方言音辨，以及地方术语，与不同章法的文字结构的形式，才会清出眉目，大致不会致于尽信书，反被书瞒的过失。可惜后世读书的人，多半都受我们伟大的圣人孔子的著作文章所影响，所以多以鲁国文化的文学观点，来衡量其他诸子的著述，因此便疑情大起，处处力加否定。殊不知这样读书，已经忘记了当时历史文化的背景，与当时地理环境的异同了，如果一律纳入于鲁国文章与学术思想的标准，真有迷失"云月是同，溪山各异"的过错，虽然毕生力学，极尽疑猜考证的能事，而学术见解异同的争端，永无休止，实在使人有低徊惆怅，伤感这个断送一生的牛角尖之可怕了。 （三）战国时期南方楚国的文化思想 已经讲过春秋、战国时期北方文化，与道家方士学术思想的大势，现在再来讨论当时南方楚国的文化思想，我们需要透过这个关键，便可了解老子、庄子所代表的道家思想的背景。同时，我们不要忘记，楚国在春秋、战国的时期，不但有它独成一格的文化系统，而且国势与力量的壮大，也是与时俱增的，到了战国末期，足以与秦国抗衡的便是楚国，后来虽然被秦灭了，而楚南公的预言"楚虽三户，亡秦必楚"，也并非是无因而发的，结果亡秦的，果然都是楚人。在那个时期，楚是一个新兴的力量，它的文化学术思想，与南方好强的民风，都是富有青春新生的气息，比之文化传统悠久而古老的杞、宋，实在不能相提并论。它与齐国有过密切的联盟，更有过文化的交流，齐国不若鲁国的保守，所以齐、楚两国在政治、外交、军事的关系上，一直都有联系，因此联带而有文化学术思想的交流，那也是必然的趋势。 楚国，在周成王时，才受封有子男之田，本来微不足道，它在春秋战国以前，因其祖先不满周室的轻视，便开始自称为南面王。正当北方多故，中原多事之秋的夹缝中，坐以长大，由此渐渐建立而成为大国，便造成后来在战国末期，有举足轻重的势力。虽然他的立国称王，并不如齐、鲁、晋、郑那样的顺理成章，但是他祖先的来历，的确是大有来头的。他们是帝颛顼高阳之后，高阳是黄帝之孙，昌意之子。在帝喾的时代，曾经命其祖先重黎做过火正，住在南方的祝融，后来因为命他征诛共工，没有完成使命而受到诛戮，因此，便由其弟吴回继承其后，这便是他上古家世的简历。吴回生陆终，陆终生六个儿子。因为他的夫人是难产，所以这六子都是剖腹而生的，其中的老大，叫昆吾氏，在夏代，曾经做过侯伯，地位相当崇高。老六，叫季莲，芋姓，楚国便是他的后裔。在周文王时，他的祖先鬻熊，曾经做过文王的老师，而且鬻熊的儿子，曾经跟文王作过事。司马迁说季莲一系："其后中微，或在中国，或在蛮夷，弗能记其世。"最有趣的，是其中的老三，叫彭祖，他在段朝，也作过侯伯。据说就是孔子、庄子他们所提过那个长寿八百岁出名的彭祖，也就是后来道家神仙们所推崇的彭囗，孔子曾经引他来自嘲说："窃比于我老彭"。庄子说他："以久特闻"。换言之，就是说他是活得特别长久而闻名的上古名人。我们了解了楚国的家世以后，知道它在战国时期的各国世家中，实在是极其神秘，而且是最富有传奇性的世家。 因为楚国是春秋、战国时期新兴的南方诸侯，而且不满周天子对它的微薄，早已有不臣之意。它不受约束地逐渐扩张土地，自立规模，并且随时有问鼎中原的意图。春秋时期，第一霸主齐桓公称霸的时候，有第一流的政治家管仲为辅，可是对于楚国，也只能分庭抗礼。订盟而去，还不敢轻樱其锋。正因为楚国是新兴的年轻国家，它的文化思想，没有太多的传统压力，所以它在学术思想方面，也很年轻而富于飘忽的气氛，因此而产生言语文字与北方大有异同的楚国文学，处处具有飘逸、空灵、而富于情感，于是连带它们的学术思想，也如文学一样，磅礴不羁，思想新颖。但是我们不要忘记，楚国的文化，仍然具有它祖先祝融后裔的传承，远绍五帝之首，黄帝学术思想的余风，加上南方地理环境的关系，有滚滚长江，与滔滔汉水的天险，阻住了北方的势力，有无数未经开发的深山峻岭，处处富有神秘而好奇的诱惑，于是在春秋、战国期间，有老子、庄子等道家，属于南方楚国系统的文化思想，便应运而生了。老、庄的文辞格调，与后来屈原的《离骚》，都是楚国文化同一类型的文学，至于有关老、庄思想，由传统道家与南方文化思想结合的问题，就在老、庄的书本中，到处可见，在此无暇多谈。 总之，我们花了许多时间，讨论齐、鲁、楚、宋等文化的渊源和关系，都是为了解决历史上所惯称的燕齐之间方士的学术思想，并非是战国时期，无因而生，突然而来，实在是从上古传统文化的演变而成的。