Chapter 2 Section 2 From "Four Techniques" to "Thirteen Classics"

The Confucian school originally had four homework, that is, the four compulsory courses taught by Confucius to students.They are "Poetry", "Li" and "Yue", which Han Confucians call "four arts".This is a traditional Chinese educational subject, and it was probably the same way before Confucius.Because "Book of Rites King System" said that in ancient times, "Lezheng (the official in charge of university education) respected the four arts, established the four religions, followed the ancient king's "Poetry", "Li", and "Le" to cultivate scholars (cultivate talents)" . Among the "Four Arts", "Poetry" and "Le" are for recitation, and "Ritual" and "Le" are for practice.These four are the literature class, ancient history class, political class, and music class at that time.Later, "Yi" and "Spring and Autumn" were added, which were the philosophy courses and modern history courses at that time.These six subjects are called "Six Arts", also known as "Six Classics".

Because there were no music scores in ancient times, the "Le" was not handed down, and only the "Five Classics" remained in the Han Dynasty.In Taixue, the central educational institution of the Han Dynasty, the scriptures were taught by full-time instructors, called "doctors".During the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, doctors were established, and from Emperor Lijing to Emperor Wu, the "Five Classics" all established doctors.According to the records of "Historical Records Wudi Benji": "In the spring of the fifth year of Jianyuan (136 B.C.), a doctor of 'Five Classics' was placed." Therefore, the name "Five Classics" was completed in the era of Emperor Wu and has been passed down to this day.

As mentioned earlier, "Li" has "three rites" and "Spring and Autumn" has "three biography". In the Tang Dynasty, the name "Nine Classics" appeared.The "Ming Jing" subject of the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty is the "Nine Classics", but only one of them is selected, not all of them are tested. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang Dynasty (836-841 AD), a stone scripture was engraved and set up in Taixue as a standard scripture.In addition to the "Nine Classics", three books, "Book of Filial Piety" and "Erya", were added, making a total of 12 kinds of scriptures.already introduced. "Book of Filial Piety" is a book about filial piety. It was written after "Mencius" and before "Lu Shi Chunqiu", roughly in the 3rd century BC.Confucianism regards filial piety as the foundation of one's life, and filial piety is the basic content of feudal ethics education, so the "Book of Filial Piety" is also included in the scriptures. "Erya" is not a classic, but a dictionary of ancient books that are classified and interpreted according to their meanings.Because it is very useful for reading scriptures, it is also revered as a scripture.In fact, "Erya" was compiled by the people of the Han Dynasty on the basis of the exegetical materials accumulated by scholars in the Warring States Period.

In the Song Dynasty, "Mencius" was included in the classics, a total of 13 kinds.So far, the collection of Confucian classics has been completed, and there will be no more additions in the future.But the Song Dynasty did not have such a proper name as "Thirteen Classics".It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the "Thirteen Classics" and "Thirteen Classics Ancient Notes" were engraved (that is, the "shu" after the Tang Dynasty was removed, and only "notes" were kept), that it officially had the name "Thirteen Classics".The eighteenth volume of Gu Yanwu, a scholar in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, mentioned that "Guochao" was called the "Thirteen Classics".This "National Dynasty" probably should refer to the Dynasty in his mind.From the fifty-sixth year (AD 1791) to the fifty-ninth year (AD 1794) of Emperor Gaozong Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, a stone scripture of the "Thirteen Classics" was engraved and erected in the Imperial College of Beijing.The "Thirteen Classics" we see today, such as the "Thirteen Classics in Baiwen" and "Commentary to the Thirteen Classics" sold in bookstores, are based on this.

The ancient books contained in the "Five Classics" and "Four Books" actually include all the classics in the "Thirteen Classics" except for the "Book of Filial Piety" and "Erya".