Confucius, named Qiu and styled Zhongni, was a native of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period.Lucheng, the capital of the State of Lu, is located in what is now the urban area of ​​Qufu City, Shandong Province, but its area is much larger.Lu State is a beautiful and rich place with low mountains and hills in the east and plains in the west. The Zhu and Si rivers run through it.Mount Tai, dominating the northern part of the State of Lu, is tall and majestic and magnificent.Climb on it, watch the sunrise, look at the mountains, and naturally give birth to a sense of heroism. .On the mountain, there is an archway of "the place where Confucius ascended", and an inscription of "climbing Mount Tai and making the world small".The colorful mountains and rivers had a subtle influence on Confucius, but it should be said that the culture of Lu State had the greatest influence on him.Lucheng was originally the old capital of the Shaohao clan, and many legends about this clan can still be heard in the Confucius era.The State of Lu was also the fiefdom of Duke Zhou, a well-known politician in the Zhou Dynasty. Because he wanted to assist King Cheng of Zhou in Luoyi, the capital, he sent his son Boqin to rule the State of Lu on his behalf.Due to Duke Zhou's special contribution to the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the State of Lu received ritual vessels, musical instruments and other cultural relics of the same size and quantity as the Emperor Zhou, making Lucheng the only place where people gather east of Luoyi.At that time, Lucheng showed the demeanor of the "depressed and literary" Zhou culture everywhere.All these strongly attracted and influenced Confucius in his teenage years, making him happy to admire the beauty and be intoxicated by it.

.Due to the awakening of slaves and large-scale resistance, the use of slaves for productive labor could no longer bring more benefits to slave owners; on the other hand, due to the promotion of cattle farming and iron tools, it was possible to carry out agricultural labor on a household basis.Smart slave owners discovered that while continuing to maintain personal affiliation and forcing producers to work for themselves, allocating small pieces of land to them for cultivation and allowing them to support their families can better mobilize their enthusiasm and increase labor productivity. Bring greater economic benefits to yourself.Of course, the change in the way of exploitation not only increased social wealth, but also changed the relationship between the exploiter and the exploited; the relationship between them was no longer the relationship between the slave owner and the slave, but the relationship between the feudal lord and the serf; This is a new production relationship.When the new relations of production took over, the society entered the feudal era.Saying this by no means means that the new system was realized peacefully through economic calculation; on the contrary, the transformation process from slavery to feudalism was full of blood and fire struggles.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countless scrambles, murders, usurpers, coups, and cruel wars took place between the emperor and the princes, between the princes and the princes, between the princes and the ministers, and retainers.After hundreds of years of repeated contests, it was resolved.

Huge changes are taking place not only in the political and economic fields, but also in the ideological and cultural fields.The old ethical and hierarchical relationships have been destroyed, and the system of rites and music has collapsed. However, to maintain the existence of society, there must be a universally recognized ethical order and political system. So how to establish this new ethical order and political system?This question bothers people and presents unprecedented opportunities for thinkers.The pre-Qin schools of thought came onto the stage of history just to answer the big questions of this era.Confucius is the most outstanding and far-reaching thinker among the pre-Qin philosophers.

The ancestor of Confucius was an aristocrat of the Song Dynasty. The sixth ancestor Kongfu Jia was killed in a power struggle, and his son Mu Jinfu had to flee to Lu.The status of this family continued to decline, until Confucius' father, Shulianghe [hehe, named He, styled Shuliang], was just an ordinary warrior.Because of his military exploits, Shulianghe was granted the title of Zou (zou) doctor. He is a doctor who has no benefices and only Lutian. He can eat taxes, but cannot be hereditary.Confucius' mother, surnamed Yan Mingzheng, was the third wife of Shulianghe. When she got married, Shulianghe was 60 years old. She was less than 20 years old. She was a woman who was not afraid of difficulties and had a strong character.

Confucius was the youngest child of his father. He was born on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month in the 21st year of King Ling of Zhou (September 28, 551 BC).The father's first two wives gave birth to nine daughters and a lame son. In order to have an ideal heir, the parents prayed in Nishan (Niqiu Mountain) in the southeast of Qufu.It is said that later Zhengyu gave birth to Confucius in a cave (named Fuzi Cave, also known as Kunling Cave) near Nishan Mountain.Confucius was named Qiu and named Zhongni, and Zi was the honorific title for men in ancient times.Why is the name Qiu?One is because the middle of his head is low and the side is higher, like a hill; the other is because he prayed in Nishan and was born.

Confucius lost his father at the age of three, and his family was in decline. It was only through the hard work of Kong's mother that he was able to maintain it.The mother and son moved from Zouyi to Queli in Lucheng. The cultural environment here was very favorable for the growth of Confucius.As a child, Confucius began to learn culture under the guidance of his mother, and gradually became interested. He often imitated adults to arrange ritual vessels and perform etiquette as games.As he grows older, he has a deeper understanding of Zhou culture and has a strong learning consciousness.Confucius said: "I have five out of ten and I am determined to learn" ("The Analects of Confucius Weizheng", the following quotes only note the title of the article), which refers to this point.When he was 16 years old, unfortunate things happened again, and his mother, who was dependent on him for life, died of illness.Confucius had no one to rely on, and had to break into society alone.Fortunately, under the guidance of his mother, he learned to do a lot of rough work, which is what he called "many capable and despicable things" ("Zihan").After making a living independently, he worked as a small official such as Chengtian (in charge of grazing livestock) and Weili (management of warehouses), and he did a good job.He is engaged in grazing, and the livestock are fat and strong, and the number has greatly increased; he manages the warehouse, and the access is fair, and the accounts are clear.But no matter how difficult the conditions are and how busy things are, he never forgets to study.Confucius learned from the teacher of impermanence, and he never tires of learning. He often said, "There must be my teacher when three people walk together" ("Shu Er").When he entered the Taimiao where the ancestors of the State of Lu were enshrined, he had to inquire in detail about any buildings, utensils, and etiquettes he encountered, leaving behind a good story of "When a son enters the Taimiao, he asks everything" ("Bayi [yiyi]").He has a special interest in music. When he went to Qi State to listen to the music of "Shao" played by a great musician, he was so fascinated that he "didn't know the taste of meat in March" ("Shuer").He once learned the piano from Shi Xiang, a master of music in the state of Lu. After learning one piece for more than 10 days, he was still practicing. Shi Xiang thought he could learn other pieces, but he said that his skills were not good enough.After a few days, Shi Xiang felt that his skills had improved and he could learn new pieces.He said it was not enough, because he did not understand the inner spirit of the song.Later, he finally realized the spirit of the piece and thought it was written by King Wen.After hearing what Confucius said, Shi Xiang was very surprised and said: "That's right! My teacher said that this piece is called "Wen Wang Cao"." Confucius took every opportunity to increase his knowledge. As a man of culture, Confucius always consulted them; sometimes he even went abroad to learn from famous masters.According to legend, he once came to Luoyi, the capital of Zhou, to pay respects to Laozi Shi, the subordinate of Zhou, which benefited him a lot.He lived and learned until he was sixty or seventy years old, and he was still studying tirelessly.When Confucius traveled around the world, Ye Gong asked his disciple Zilu what he was like, but Zilu couldn't answer.Confucius said to Zilu afterwards, about my personality, you can tell him, "As a human being, I never get tired of learning, never tire of teaching, forget food when I am angry, forget worry when I am happy, and don't know that old age is coming." ("Historical Records The Family of Confucius") The reason why Confucius became a great scholar is inseparable from his open-minded, diligent learning attitude and the spirit of mastery and learning.

When Confucius was 30 years old, he already had a solid foundation in learning.He said that he "stands at thirty" ("Weizheng"), which means that he has mastered the six arts of rites, music, shooting, royal, calligraphy, and counting that the scholar-bureaucrats had to learn at that time, and he can stand in the society.Confucius was knowledgeable and well-known far and wide; some nobles and common people's children began to learn from Confucius.Originally, in the government offices of Zhou and the vassal states, there were special persons responsible for educating the children of nobles.But at this time, the old and new systems alternated, the society was in turmoil, the rituals collapsed and the music was destroyed, and the government and learning were abolished.In order to spread the traditional knowledge of rites and music of the Zhou Dynasty and the way of governing the country, and to cultivate talents who are moral and good at governing the country, Confucius initiated a private school and gathered disciples to teach.He adopts the teaching method of inspiration, discussion and summary, which has achieved the effect of teaching and learning; it can be said that his thoughts are formed and perfected in the discussion with his disciples.

Confucius came to Qi State with Duke Lu when he was 35 years old.Qi Jinggong asked Confucius how to govern the country, and Confucius told him: "The king is the king, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, and the son is the son." Son, monarch and minister father and son each perform their own rituals.Qi Jinggong was very satisfied when he heard this, and thought that if it was not the case, "Even if there is millet, I can't eat it"!I want to use Confucius as an official to assist myself.However, ministers such as Yan Ying of Qi State opposed Confucian benevolence, righteousness, ritual and music, and even opposed Confucius occupying a high position. They attacked Confucius in front of Jing Gong and even threatened to kill him, forcing Confucius to leave Qi State.

Confucius became more and more famous. He was appointed as a minister at the age of 51. He took office for one year and made outstanding achievements. All parties learned from him. At the age of 52, he was appointed as Sikong, and then promoted to the Grand Sikou of the State of Lu. He is an official in charge of national security and justice.During his three years in office, his political voice spread far and wide.In the process of trial and judgment, Confucius always brainstormed, consulted the opinions of the jurors, and then pronounced the verdict; therefore, his verdict was relatively fair according to the standards of the time.But Confucius did not take this as his ability. His ideal was to strengthen moral education, so that people would consciously abide by the law, not violate the criminal law, and have no cases to deal with.

During the tenure of Da Si Kou, Confucius' proudest achievement was to win a diplomatic victory for Lu State at the Jiagu meeting.The Jiagu meeting was an alliance between Qi and Lu. At that time, Qi was strong and Lu was weak. Qi wanted to use the alliance to force Lu to submit to itself.Confucius attended the meeting as Lu Dinggong's main assistant and minister of ceremonies.When he saw that the Qi State organized a group of dubious people to create chaos and hijack Lu Dinggong in the name of offering "the joy of the four directions", he stood up in front of Qi Jinggong and accused Qi State of being rude.Zhou etiquette is the code of conduct for princes, and failure to be polite becomes a scandal.Seeing that the situation was not good, Duke Jing immediately admitted his mistake and waved everyone away.The people of Qi refused to stop there. When drafting the covenant, they proposed that if Qi State sent troops in case of emergency, Lu State must send 300 troops to help, otherwise it would be a breach of the covenant.Confucius put forward tit for tat that Qi State must return the land of Wenyang that Lu Guoqiang occupied, otherwise it would also destroy the alliance.In this way, Confucius used Zhou etiquette and his own bravery and wit to resist Qiang Qi's diplomatic offensive and won honor and benefits for Lu.

Confucius' victory at the Jiagu meeting further enhanced his prestige.Ji Sun, who was in charge of the state of Lu, appointed him as acting prime minister.It was the pinnacle of his political career.But the good times didn't last long, and then it quickly went downhill.The reason is that, in the final analysis, Confucius's political ideals are completely different from Ji Sun's.In the political arena of the Lu State at that time, the power of the public office, that is, the Duke of Lu, had declined, while the power of the private family, namely Jisun, Unclesun, and Mengsun, was strong.However, there are also problems within the private sector. The respective retainers of the three ministers took advantage of the management of housekeeping to secretly manage and expand their power, and they also used the three ministers to control the housekeeping and then control the state affairs.Confucius was saddened by these indecent behaviors committed by the following people. He always advocated "the public office restrains the private family", but there is no power and opportunity.Now that he has power, he sees an opportunity from the rebellion of Jisun and Shusun's retainers, and he is going to act, with the specific goal of "falling into the three capitals." It turned out that Jisun, Shusun, and Mengsun established capitals in their own territories, named Fei, Houhou, and Cheng respectively. As the political center and military fortress of the territory, they were managed by retainers.After the conflict between the retainers and the three ministers developed to an irresolvable level, these cities were often used as the stronghold of rebellion.In 502 BC, Ji Sun's retainer Yang Hu rebelled in Feiyi, and in 500 BC, Shu Sun's retainer Hou Gong rebelled in Liyi, which made Ji and Shu Er very annoyed.Confucius took this opportunity to propose a plan to fall into the three capitals. On the surface, it was to deal with the retainers, but in fact it was to kill two birds with one stone and attack the three ministers together.At first, the three ministers agreed with this plan, so they dismantled Fei and Li, and when they were dismantled into cities, they suddenly realized that without their own cities, they would not have their own status, so they changed their attitudes. The retainers of the clan insisted on Chengyi and would not demolish it.As a result, both Confucius and Lu Dinggong, who went out in person, were defeated by Chengcheng, and the plan to fall into the three capitals had to be abandoned.Things got tough for Confucius.At this time, two things that were unfavorable to him appeared one after another.One is that the state of Qi gave Lu Jun and Jisun a singing and dancing team composed of beautiful women and horses. After receiving the gifts, Jisun and the others did not go to court and did not see Confucius.The second is the Lu Gongjiao Sacrifice. According to the custom, after the ceremony, the sacrificial meat is distributed to the ministers. Each time, Confucius has a share, but this time he did not give it to Confucius to show his indifference.Lu Gong and Ji Sun's family changed their faces, so Confucius could no longer stay in Lu State, so he decided to leave Lu State, hoping to realize his political ideals in the countries of other princes. When Confucius was 55 years old, with a heavy heart, he left the country of his parents and began a life of "traveling around the world" for 14 years.The so-called countries are nothing more than Wei, Chen, Cao, Song, Zheng, Cai, Chu and other countries. Among them, he lived for a long time and received a salary, only Wei and Chen countries, and the other countries were just passing by.The kings of Wei and Chen received Confucius, and even gave them very high courtesy, but their purpose was to use Confucius' reputation to promote themselves, and they did not want to implement Confucius' ideas; the other kings did not even have the generosity of courtesy.In 493 BC, Confucius left the state of Wei and traveled southward. When he arrived at Cao and Zheng, the two countries did not welcome him.When he arrived in the Song Dynasty, the great Sima Huanyu (tui歋) even wanted to kill him, so he had to disguise himself and escape. During the 14 years, Confucius' life was rich and sometimes difficult or even dangerous, but he always took it calmly.He did not change his political attitude after eating Weijun's 60,000 hu salary; Kuangren and Huanxuan wanted to kill him, but he was calm as usual; on the way through Chen and Cai, many disciples died of hunger, but he still gave lectures, played the piano, sang, and expressed The spirit of not being promiscuous after being rich and honored, not being moved by being poor and humble, and being mighty and not being subdued. In these years, his main gains are in academic research and teaching.He read a lot, thought a lot, and told the students.The students who traveled around the world with him have made great progress.He paid great attention to educating his disciples on the world outlook and outlook on life in difficult situations.At the time of Chen Jueliang, he knew that some disciples were not happy, so he first asked Zilu to talk.He asked: "We have encountered such great difficulties, does it mean that there is something wrong with our Tao (theory)?" Zilu said: "People don't trust us, maybe we haven't reached benevolence yet? They won't let us pass Maybe we haven’t reached wisdom yet?” Confucius said to him, “If the benevolent must be trusted, how can there be Boyi and Shuqi? If the wise must be able to travel everywhere, how can there be a prince than Gan?” Next, Confucius again Talking about this issue with Zigong, Zigong said: "Your way is too high, no one in the world can accept it, so that others can accept it, can you lower your way?" Confucius said: "A gentleman should strive to pursue the truth. Instead of pleasing others, let them accept you. You are not like this, your ambition is not great!" Finally, Confucius found Yan Hui, who had a better understanding than the two, and he said: "Your way It is so great that no one in the world can accept it. But what does it matter? In this kind of world, a gentleman will show his true colors if he is not accepted. It is our shame not to practice the Tao. Now the Tao has been greatly repaired and the princes don’t use it. This is theirs. Disgrace." Confucius was very satisfied with this answer and encouraged Yan Hui a lot.These three proud disciples have received important guidance, and their ideological realm has improved. In the third year of Duke Ai of Lu (492 BC), Ji Huanzi passed away. Before he died, he regretted not using Confucius, and asked Ji Kangzi, who succeeded him as Qing, to invite Confucius back to his country.However, due to opposition, it was not implemented at that time.Later, Confucius' students Ran You and Zi Gong returned to Lu to serve as officials one after another. In particular, Ran You led the Lu army to defeat the invading Qi army in the spring of 484 BC. He made great contributions and recommended Confucius together with other disciples.Ji Kangzi finally made up his mind and sent someone to invite Confucius back home with a generous gift.Confucius was already 68 years old, tired of lobbying and traveling without hope, so he accepted Ji's request and returned to Lu State in this year, ending his years of exile. Confucius did not change his political attitude after returning home, so it is impossible to be appointed.In 484 B.C., when Ji Kangzi wanted to implement the land tax, he sent Ranyou to seek the opinion of Confucius who had just returned to China.The so-called field tax is to levy military expenses according to the number of acres of land, which is much higher than before. Confucius believed that this practice was not in line with Zhou etiquette and expressed his opposition.He said that if you don't abide by Zhou etiquette and indulge your greed, even collecting land taxes will not be enough.Ji Kangzi did not listen to Confucius' opinion.In 481 BC, Qi State Chen Heng (also known as Tian Chengzi) killed Qi Jiangong and took control of Qi State power.Duke Jian is fatuous and incompetent, and Chen Heng's new policies are quite popular, but Confucius believes that no matter what, ministers and kings are treasonous and immoral.He fasted and took a bath, and made solemn reports to Lu Gong and San Qing successively, asking them to send troops to challenge Chen Heng, but these people ignored him at all.Confucius is indeed conservative in these two matters, but he sincerely believes that only by following the rules can there be order and tranquility in the country. Lu Guo could not use Confucius, he saw it very clearly, so he did not seek to be an official.After returning to the state of Lu, he devoted himself to education and collation of ancient documents.According to history books, there were 3,000 disciples in total, 72 of whom were proficient in the six arts, and a considerable number of them were educated and trained after he returned to Lu. Many documents were handed down from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In order to study ancient culture and the needs of teaching material construction, Confucius edited them and became Confucian classics——, "Li", "Poetry", "Yue", "Yi", "Spring and Autumn" six classics.In the time of Confucius, there were "Xia Shu", "Shang Shu", and "Zhou Shu", which were the government documents of three generations.Confucius classified them into categories and became (also known as "Shangshu").There are three existing books on rituals: "Zhou Li", "Yi Li", and "Book of Rites". Confucius talked about the three rituals and compiled "Yi Li". This is a book that talks about rituals from the perspective of personal behavior norms. "Poetry" is a collection of poems in the Zhou Dynasty. Confucius believed that these poems are not only used to deal with political and social situations, but also can increase knowledge, cultivate sentiment, and cultivate moral awareness.He copied poems from different books, deleted the duplicates, and kept the best book, and adjusted and classified them according to the original tunes of the poems.Ancient poetry and music are unified, in fact poetry is the lyrics filled in the music.Confucius can sing and play, and also understands music theory. He is an all-rounder in music. He correctly matched 300 poems with music, so that each poem can be sung.It is certain that he has sorted out "Yue", as he himself said: "I defend myself against Lu, and then the music is upright, and the song and song are in their place." ("Zihan") It is a pity that "Yue" has been lost. "Yi" is a book of divination by Zhou people, but it contains rich political wisdom and philosophy of life.Confucius liked it in his later years and read it repeatedly, so that the leather strips running through the bamboo slips were broken many times.He studied "Yi" not for divination, but to play with its principles and explain them philosophically.Later, Confucian scholars wrote the "Book of Changes" to explain it, which included Confucius' thought of Yi studies.Confucius liked to read "Yi" and talk about "Yi" in his later years, and he may have done some sorting work. "Spring and Autumn" is the chronicle of the state of Lu. Confucius also put a lot of effort into revising this book. First, he collected and sorted out historical materials, discarded the false and kept the true, and secondly, he implemented his own thoughts in his writing, using extremely concise words to describe historical figures and events. The purpose of praise and criticism is to make people understand right from wrong, good from evil.Mencius said: "Confucius completed the Spring and Autumn Annals, but the rebellious officials and thieves were afraid." Classics are preserved.The "Poetry", "Li", "Yue", "Yi", "Spring and Autumn" compiled by him - the Six Classics are cultural treasures with world historical significance, providing rich materials for people to study Chinese ancient history.Of course, these works were done by him all his life, but they were all completed in his later years.In 481 BC, when he was editing "Spring and Autumn", a strange beast was captured, which was said to be Lin.Lin is a benevolent beast. He came out when he shouldn't and was caught. Confucius thought this meant that his ideal could not be realized, and sighed, "My way is poor!" So he stopped writing and stopped writing "Spring and Autumn". Confucius was old.His wife died a year before returning to China, and his son Bo Yu, his favorite pupils Yan Yuan and Zi Lu also died within three or four years after returning to China.He couldn't bear too many blows, and finally fell seriously ill.When Zi Gong came to visit him, he said to his beloved disciple who had followed him for many years: "There has been no way in the world for a long time, but it is a pity that no one can follow my way." He also said in a sad song: "Mount Tai is ruined! The beams and pillars are destroyed! The philosopher withered!" ("Historical Records The Family of Confucius") died seven days later, in the 16th year of Duke Ai of Lu (479 BC), and was buried on the shore of Sishui, north of Lucheng.Many disciples guarded his tomb for three years, and Zigong for six years.Some disciples and Lu people moved their families to his tomb and guarded it.Generations of the State of Lu paid homage to Confucius on time, and Confucian scholars often practiced etiquette next to the tomb of Confucius. Until the Han Dynasty, the great historian Sima Qian went to Qufu to investigate historical sites, and saw that the tradition of practicing rituals and having fun passed down by Confucius continued.He said with emotion: "As for the kings of the world, there are many sages. They will be honored at that time, and they will be gone when they are gone. Confucius commoner has been handed down for more than ten generations, and he is a scholar. Since the emperor and prince, the Chinese language and six arts are compromised by the master. It can be said to be the most holy! "("Historical Records Confucius Family") The strength of Confucius' personality lies not only in his being a great thinker, a great scholar, and a great educator as a commoner, but also in his noble character, straightforward and easy-going personality, and his sincerity of not being self-righteous, welcoming criticism, and correcting mistakes. manner.It is by no means accidental that his disciples admired and loved him wholeheartedly. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "removed all schools of thought and only respected Confucianism", the rulers of all dynasties have competed to respect Confucius, and gradually lifted this unsuccessful Confucian to a frightening height, and named him "Baocheng Xuanni Gong" and "Wenxuan King". ", "Dacheng most holy teacher" and so on.Confucian temples were built in the capital city, Qufu, and the seat of prefectures and counties across the country.Emperors and officials at all levels offered sacrifices to Confucius, and many emperors personally came to Qufu to preside over the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to Confucius.The eldest son of Confucius was conferred titles of "Marquis of Baocheng", "Marquis of Chongsheng", "Gong of Yansheng" and so on. They obtained a large number of fiefdoms, built splendid mansions, and became one of the largest nobles in the country.Confucius became the patron saint and absolute authority in the feudal era, and people were not allowed to doubt or oppose him. "Unholy and lawless" often leads to death.Confucius was a commoner when he was alive, but he became a king and a god after his death, which Confucius never expected.

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