Chapter 2 Chapter Two: The External Causes of the Success of Young People in Ancient China
China is one of the four ancient civilizations in the world. As early as in the remote ancient times, it kept pace with Egypt, Babylon, and India, and made great contributions to the creation of world civilization.
In terms of geographical environment, China is a unique country among ancient civilizations.In the vast land of China, the majestic and beautiful mountains and rivers bred and nurtured the industrious and simple Chinese sons and daughters.The Yellow River and the Yangtze River, one north and one south, moisten large fields, and rich agricultural and forestry products provide people with food and clothing.The Yellow River and the Yangtze River originate from Qinghai and diverge from the north to the south. Thousands of streams and rivers converge along the way, breaking through thousands of mountains and ravines, and rushing eastward into the sea. The spirit of the nation's determination to brave hardships and forge ahead bravely.The Yellow River and the Yangtze River have flowed through the ages, with the waves of the front supporting the waves of the back, and the waves of the back pushing the waves ahead. They symbolize the historical process of the Chinese nation in which the predecessors opened the way for the future generations, and the future generations rose to surpass the predecessors, inheriting the past and ushering in the future, and each generation is stronger than the next.The sons and daughters of China who grew up under the nurture of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, inspired and nurtured by nature, will naturally form a broad mind and strong perseverance.
Mountains are like the backbone of the land of China, and numerous mountain ranges stretch from north to south, east to west, across the land of China.The majestic Mount Tai, the majestic and steep Huashan, the tall and straight Mount Heng, the towering Hengshan, the Songshan like a crouching dragon, the beautiful Emei Mountain, and the wonderful Huangshan Mountain are all famous mountains in the world.They inspire the aspirations of the sons and daughters of China with their majestic and magnificent momentum, and cultivate the sentiments of the sons and daughters of China with their endless beauty.The lush forests and bamboos on the mountain and the rich mineral deposits below the mountain are the natural wealth that people rely on to improve their lives.Mountains also provide people with a quiet environment to study knowledge with great concentration, and provide an ideal place to explore the mysteries of nature.The overlapping peaks and rugged mountain roads make it difficult for people to travel. Therefore, mountains also cultivate people's ambition to overcome difficulties. The inspiring and philosophical fable "Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains" has educated many people Rise up in the difficulties and face the bumpy road of life.
The ancients said: "The benevolent enjoys the mountains, and the wise enjoy the water." He also said: "Wuhua Tianbao, outstanding people. Xiongzhou Wuli, handsome stars." It provides a good natural environment, which has a certain role in promoting the growth of young people in ancient China.Some people have said that if the great historian Sima Qian hadn't traveled all over the country in his youth, he had personally inspected Yuxue, the lecture place of Confucius and Mencius in Zoulu, Shandong, Dujiangyan on the Minjiang River in Sichuan, and the capital of Wei State in the Warring States Period. In Daliang (now Kaifeng County, Henan Province), where Qu Yuan sank by the Miluo River, his vision would not be so broad, and the original materials he accumulated would not be so rich, and he would not be able to write "Historical Records" with magnificent scenes and lifelike characters. ".It is precisely because he developed deep feelings for the mountains and rivers of his motherland during his travels that he had a deep understanding of the situation of historical figures in those years, so he was able to write "Historical Records" as a "historian" that is both a historical masterpiece and a literary masterpiece. The swan song".Some people also say that if Wang Bo hadn't once roamed in the middle of Sichuan, and later made a long trip along the Yangtze River, and witnessed the magnificent scenery of the motherland's great rivers and mountains, he would never have written the well-known "Preface to the Pavilion of King Teng" and "City Que Fu". In the Three Qin Dynasties, the wind and smoke look at the Wujin", and there are poems such as "a bosom friend in the sea, and a neighbor at the end of the world".It is precisely because the great rivers and mountains of the motherland have molded his disposition that he can write and think like a tide, and write poems and essays in one go.
The ancients said "travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books". The former refers to enjoying the wonderful scenery of the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, cultivating one's temperament, and at the same time increasing the experience of life and accumulating rich social experience; The latter refers to the individual's diligent study, arming himself with the knowledge accumulated by the predecessors, and enriching himself.Both are indispensable.A person who lives in a cave like a frog at the bottom of a well, has never experienced the wonderful scenery of mountains and rivers, flowing springs and waterfalls, and has seen the world, will never "write like a spirit, and speak like pearls and jade".Many young people who became talented in ancient China grew up under the nurture of the great rivers and mountains of the motherland.
Very closely related to the great rivers and mountains is the cultural accumulation of our ancestors.As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago, the Chinese began to build the Great Wall to guard against enemy intrusion and protect the people's peaceful life. Since then, successive dynasties have continued to build and strengthen it, and it has been built from Shanhaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west. Yuli's Great Wall has become a world-famous grand project.The Great Wall is a symbol of hard work and bravery of the Chinese nation, as well as a manifestation of the wisdom and strength of the Chinese nation. "If you don't reach the Great Wall, you are not a hero." The Great Wall has become the standard for the Chinese nation to measure whether a person is resolute, brave, and powerful, and it has become the driving force that inspires people to move forward.
Comparable to the Great Wall is the Grand Canal, which runs from north to south. It starts from Zhuojun in the north and reaches Yuhang in the south. It is a 2,500-kilometer artificially dug channel.It connects the Haihe River, Yellow River, Yangtze River, Qiantang River and other water systems, facilitates the transportation between the north and the south, and also shows the wisdom and strength of the Chinese people.Water conservancy facilities earlier than the Grand Canal include Hangou, Dujiangyan, Zhengguo Canal, Ling Canal, etc. These are water conservancy projects dug by hand to facilitate irrigation and transportation, and they are also symbols of the wisdom and strength of the Chinese people.The Great Wall, the Grand Canal and many water conservancy facilities built in ancient times not only ensured and enriched the life of the Chinese people, but also set a model for people to display their wisdom and creativity, and inspired people to strive to inherit the cause pioneered by their predecessors.The construction achievements created by the ancestors of these Chinese people have a certain encouraging effect on the success of young people in ancient China.
Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, especially since the unification of China by Qin Shihuang, the ancient emperors, in order to consolidate their rule, built capitals centered on their residences and palaces, forming economic, political and cultural centers that were widely distributed in different periods.The ruins of the capitals of three generations have been excavated successively, and the scale of them has amazed even modern architects.Beijing, Xi'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, the six major cities that once served as ancient capitals, still retain the scale and charm of those days.Among these ancient capitals, the most eye-catching cultural and educational facilities are the ruins of Taixue, Guozijian, Gongyuan, Confucian Temple, etc., telling people that China has attached great importance to cultural education since ancient times, and provided scholars with the conditions to learn and display their wisdom. .Influenced by the emperors, local officials and gentry also worked hard to establish cultural education. State schools, county schools, academies, and schools spread all over the country, enabling young people who aspired to study to enroll and create favorable conditions for them to become talents.
Cultural accumulation is the crystallization of blood and sweat of our ancestors. They are like the milk that feeds babies. They need to be actively absorbed and digested well before they can absorb the nutrients in them, penetrate into their own blood, and become their own things.If you don't work hard to absorb the cultural accumulation left by your ancestors, even if you live in a beautiful natural environment and see mountains, rivers, springs and waterfalls every day, you will not be able to become a talent, a writer, a thinker, a scientist, or a military strategist.An ordinary person without the slightest cultural accomplishment, standing on the top of Mount Tai or the bank of the Yellow River, all he can see is the height of Mount Tai and the width and length of the Yellow River, and he will never rise to "Cangshan bears snow, bright candles in the south" or " The reverie like "Yellow River is far above the white clouds" will never be able to sing the poems like "E'e Dongyue is high, the beauty is soaring to the blue sky", or "If you don't see the water of the Yellow River coming up from the sky, it will rush to the sea and never return".
In short, nurtured by the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, cultivated by famous mountains such as Mount Tai and Huashan, inspired by the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, cultivated by cultural education that has been valued since ancient times, the Chinese culture that grew up on the fertile soil of this ancient civilization Children are very happy.Since ancient times, the Chinese have cultivated a spirit of self-esteem and self-confidence, a spirit of striving for self-improvement, a spirit of tenacity and perseverance that cannot be moved by riches and honors, that cannot be moved by poverty and lowliness, and that cannot be subdued by might and power. The spirit of solidarity and friendship has been developed to help each other and love each other.With these good spiritual outlooks, the young people in ancient China had the possibility to grow into the pillars of the country.
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