Chapter 25 24 Confucius traveled around the world

With the help of Wu Zixu and Sun Wu, King Helu of Wu defeated Chu State with great momentum. Even some big countries in the Central Plains were threatened, and Qi State was the first to be threatened.Since the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the country of Qi has been very unstable.Later, Qi Jinggong became the king of the country and appointed a talented minister Yan Ying as the country's prime minister, reforming the government, and Qi State began to prosper again. In 500 BC, Qi Jinggong and Yan Ying wanted to win over the neighboring country of Lu and the princes of the Central Plains, and re-start the career of Qi Huangong, so they wrote to Lu Dinggong and asked him to hold a meeting in Jiagu on the border of Qilu.

At that time, when the princes held a meeting, they had to have a minister as an assistant, called "Xiangli".Duke Ding of Lu decided to let Confucius, Si Kou (the chief in charge of justice) of the State of Lu, take charge of this matter. Confucius' name was Kong Qiu, and he was a native of Zouyi (now southeast of Qufu, Shandong, Zou in the state of Lu).His father was a military officer of low rank.Confucius' father died when he was three years old, and his mother took him to live in Qufu and raised him.It is said that he loved to learn etiquette since he was a child. When he had nothing to do, he would set up small pots and plates, imitating the way adults worship the sky and ancestors.

When Confucius was young, he studied very hard.He admired the Duke of Zhou who made rituals and made music in the early years of the Zhou Dynasty very much, and was very familiar with ancient rituals.He was relatively proficient in the "six arts" that scholars should learn at that time, that is, etiquette, music, archery, driving, writing, and calculation.He works hard.At the beginning, he worked as a small official in charge of the warehouse, and there was never a shortage of supplies; later, he worked as a small official in charge of animal husbandry, and he bred a lot of cattle and sheep.Before he was thirty, his reputation gradually increased.

Some people were willing to worship him as a teacher, so he simply opened a private school and took in students.When Meng Xizi (xi Yin xi), a senior official in the state of Lu, was dying, he asked his two sons, Meng Yizi and Nangong Jingshu, to learn rituals from Confucius.Relying on Nangong Jingshu's recommendation, Lu Zhaogong also asked Confucius to go to Luoyi, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, to investigate the rites and music of the Zhou Dynasty. When Confucius was thirty-five years old, Lu Zhaogong was blown away by the three big officials who were in power in the state of Lu—Ji Sun, Meng Sun, and Shu Sun.Confucius went to Qi State, asked to see Qi Jinggong, and talked with Qi Jinggong about his political views.Qi Jinggong treated him very politely and wanted to use him.But Xiangguo Yanying thought that Confucius' proposition was unrealistic, and Qi Jinggong didn't use him in the end.Confucius returned to the state of Lu and continued to teach him.More and more students are learning from Confucius.

In 501 B.C., Duke Ding of Lu appointed Confucius to be the governor of Zhongdu (now Wenshang County, Shandong), and the next year, he was made Sikong (the chief engineer in charge of engineering), and he was appointed Sikou from Sikong. This time, Duke Ding of Lu told Confucius about his plan to go to Jiagu to form an alliance with the National Assembly of Qi. Confucius said: "Qi has repeatedly invaded our borders. This time we invite us to make an alliance. We must have soldiers and horses to guard against it. Hope Take both the left and right Sima." Duke Ding of Lu agreed with Confucius, and sent two generals and some troops to accompany him to Jiagu.

At the Jiagu Conference, the State of Lu won a diplomatic victory thanks to Confucius' courtesy.After the meeting, Qi Jinggong decided to return the three lands in Wenyang (southwest of Tai'an, Shandong Province) that had been invaded by the State of Lu to the State of Lu. Li Jia, a senior official of the Qi State, believed that it would be detrimental to Qi State that Confucius remained as an official in the State of Lu, so he persuaded Duke Jing of Qi to send a group of female musicians to Duke Ding of Lu.Duke Jing of Qi agreed, and selected eighty singers to send to the state of Lu.

Lu Dinggong accepted this group of female singers, eating, drinking and having fun every day, regardless of state affairs.Confucius wanted to persuade him, but he avoided Confucius.This incident disappointed Confucius.Confucius' student said: "Lu Jun is not doing business, let's go!" After that, Confucius left the state of Lu and traveled around the world with a group of students, hoping to find an opportunity to implement his political ideas.However, at that time, big countries were busy fighting for hegemony, small countries were in danger of being annexed, and the whole society was undergoing changes.Of course, no one accepted the set of ideas advocated by Confucius to restore the ritual and music system in the early years of the Zhou Dynasty.

He has been to Wei State, Cao State, Song State, Zheng State, Chen State, Cai State, and Chu State.The monarchs of these countries did not use him. Once, when Confucius was in the area of ​​Chen and Cai, King Chu Zhao sent someone to invite him.The doctors of Chen and Cai were afraid that Confucius' arrival in Chu would be bad for them, so they sent troops to intercept Confucius on the way.Confucius was besieged there, had no food, and did not eat for several days.Later, the state of Chu sent troops to relieve him of the siege. Confucius traveled around the world for seven or eight years, encountered many obstacles, and became old.In the end, he returned to the State of Lu and devoted his energy to sorting out ancient cultural classics and educating students.

Confucius also sorted out several important ancient cultural classics in his later years, such as "Shangshu", "Spring and Autumn" and so on.It is the earliest collection of poems in our country, with a total of 305 poems from the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period, many of which are folk songs reflecting ancient social life. It occupies a very important position in the history of Chinese literature. "Shangshu" is a compilation of ancient Chinese historical documents. "Spring and Autumn" is a historical book compiled based on the historical materials of Lu State. It records the major events from 722 BC to 481 BC.

Confucius died in 479 BC.After his death, his disciples continued to teach his theory, forming a Confucian school, and Confucius became the founder of the Confucian school.Confucius' academic thoughts had a great influence on later generations, and he was recognized as the first great thinker and educator in ancient my country.