Chapter 43 Forty, Spring and Autumn Juebi
Confucius tossed his pen and sighed: "I don't want to write anymore. Today, the Zhou Dynasty is in decline, the rites are broken, and the music is broken, and the benevolence and justice are not manifested. It is not the time for the Qilin to appear, so the Qilin was beaten to death... Alas, life is too late." It's time, my way is over!"
In March of Yangchun, the weather was fine. In the morning, a grand hunting team marched out from Qufu. Behind the guard of honor was the dragon chariot of Duke Ai of Lu, followed by Ji Xiangguo in hunting clothes and riding on a steed. Uncle Sun, Meng Sun and other Sanhuan officials, followed by the chariots and riders of civil and military officials, and the imperial guards and Sanhuan's family generals and soldiers led the battle...
This is an annual grand hunting event in Lu State.
The hunting army is slowly heading towards Daye (now in Juye County, Shandong Province).
Spring is a good time for hunting, because after the autumn frost and snow, the spring is warm and the flowers bloom, and all kinds of insects come back, so all kinds of animals in the caves and tree holes come out to look for food, so the harvest of hunting is the greatest.
Ono is the imperial hunting ground of the royal palace, where the hills and forests are open and the slopes are gentle, which is convenient for horses and sports cars, and is very suitable for royals and nobles to go up the mountain.The mountain guards released all kinds of wild animals purposefully there, so every time they go hunting, they can return with a full reward.
When the hunting army arrived, the mountain officials and Yu people bowed down and kowtowed to Lu Aigong and Ji Xiangguo, etc. and said: "This year, the weather is warm early, and all kinds of wild animals have come out of their nests. My lord and adults will be able to pass through the mountains after entering the mountain." .”
Duke Ai of Lu was overjoyed and immediately ordered to enter the mountain.Sure enough, in the mountains and forests, hares swarmed, deer ran, hawks flew in the trees, and squirrels jumped, which made people excited and cheered.So they divided their troops into three groups and encircled one of the hunting mountains.In less than two hours, all kinds of animals were shot, including deer, rabbits, wild boars, badgers, deer...
In the evening, stay in the palace near the hunting mountain.
In the evening, in the field in front of the palace, the monarch and his subjects sat around the bonfire, sacrificed the barbecued game to the world, and then shared it.
Three days later, the hunting army, which had already harvested a lot of prey, was about to set off to return to the palace, when they suddenly heard a shout from not far away:
"Gong Ai and Xiangguo please wait, we have hunted a strange beast."
Ji Xiangguo shouted, "Hurry up and bring it here."
It turned out that Niu Shang, Ji Xiangguo's coachman, had shot a monster, and he was carrying it over with Shanguan Yuren.
Lu Aigong and Ji Xiangzi took a closer look:
"My God! The stag (deer) body, ox tail, wolf forehead, horse hooves... It's neither a cow nor a horse, nor a wolf nor a tiger, what are they?" Ji Xiangguo exclaimed.
Duke Ai of Lu looked at it and said, "Maybe it's an auspicious thing. When it's carried to the Confucius School, saints big and small will be able to recognize it."
Ji Xiangguo was very upset when he heard that, this Lu Jun only has Confucius in his heart, hum, I don’t need them, let them have talents, what can you do to me?Not only do I want to take care of Confucius, but I also want to take care of his disciples.
Uncle Sun Zhouchou, one of the three Huan, who was standing at the side, saw it and thought to test those saints big and small, so he said:
"Okay, let's carry it to the apricot altar and find Confucius to identify it."
Confucius had just recovered from a serious illness and was writing "Spring and Autumn" in Xingtan's study, with Zixia assisting him.
Zixia is quick in thinking, smart and not muddled in seeing problems, and often asks some questions to ask the teacher. He is Confucius' right-hand man in sorting out the Six Classics.
He said: "Teacher, benevolence and propriety, which comes first, benevolence or propriety?"
Confucius put down his pen, raised his head, and asked him with a kind smile, "What do you think?"
"Teacher, benevolence should come first, courtesy should come last, right?"
"That's right, benevolence is at the core, and etiquette is just a kind of ritual. Only with benevolence can etiquette come into being."
Confucius said with admiration: "Zi Xia, your knowledge is very lively and inspiring. You are indeed my good disciple."
"Thank you for the compliment, Teacher." Zixia also smiled happily.
The teacher and the student were chatting cordially, when they suddenly heard the noise of people outside the school, they were wondering when Zigong came in and said to Confucius:
"Teacher, Ji Xiangguo's people hit a strange beast, and the monarch asked someone to carry it out of the door. Please identify it. The monarch is also here."
"Ah, go and have a look."
With the support of Zi Gong, Zi Xia and others, Confucius went to the outside of the Xingtan fence. Sure enough, he saw a large crowd of people surrounded there.Duke Ai of Lu helped Confucius up with both hands, and Confucius saluted Ji Xiangguo, Shusun, Mengsun and other ministers.
Duke Ai of Lu said: "Master is the most sage in the world. He doesn't understand all things. I don't understand everything. I went hunting today. Ji Xiangguo's subordinates killed a strange beast. I don't know whether it is bad or good. I hope Master will make a decision."
Confucius went to the front and saw a beast with a broken leg lying on the ground. He said in a low voice, "The body of the deer, the tail of the ox, the forehead of the wolf, the hooves of the horse..." Confucius got excited and raised his voice and said:
"Everyone can see that the fur on its back is in the shape of colorful swirls, and its abdomen is bright yellow, and it is more than ten feet tall."
"Ah, this is the birth of a unicorn!"
Duke Ai of Lu hurriedly asked: "Kirin? Isn't this an auspicious beast? Ah! That's great, the auspicious auspiciousness has descended to our country of Lu."
Ji Xiangguo asked Confucius in doubt: "Is it really a unicorn?"
"Yes, Qilin is a benevolent beast. Its sound is like music, and its behavior has rules. You must choose where to swim, and you must have a place to fly. Trap, not caught in the net, the patterns on the body are colorful..."
"Ah, so Qilin is so kind." Duke Ai of Lu praised.
Confucius also said: "The appearance of the kylin is a sign that the emperor Ming is in power. When the ancient Emperor Yao was in power, there was a kylin that roamed the suburbs. The people knew its auspiciousness and could not bear to hurt it. The Zhou Dynasty was about to prosper, and there was a phoenix singing in Qishan. The people thought that Rui, at that time, Qilin also appeared in the countryside."
Confucius looked at the monarch and Ji Kangzi, and then said: "Since Yao to the present, the kylin has been seen twice in the world, and both of them are in the reign of Mingjun. Now it suddenly appeared, and the emperor Wuming was in power. It can be seen that this auspicious object appeared at the wrong time, so What kind of omen is this, how can it make me not sad?"
After Confucius finished speaking, he covered his face and wept loudly, sighing: "My way is finished."
Duke Ai of Lu felt indignant when he saw that Confucius thought he was not a wise emperor, and that the monarchy was controlled by Ji Xiangguo and other three clans, so he left sadly.
When Ji Xiangguo saw that Confucius believed that Duke Ai of Lu was not a wise king, he was complacent and wondered if Duke Ai of Lu could govern the country well without my credit. , so he also walked away.Uncle Sun Zhouchou, one of the three Huan who had been watching from the sidelines, saw the monarch and Ji Xiangguo go away angrily. He thought, Kong Qiu, the broken unicorn might be your omen, so he also snorted and left. .
Seeing that the teacher was very sad, Zigong, Zixia and their disciples helped Confucius back to his study in the school.Confucius sat down slumped after a few cases, silently, not speaking for a long time.
"What do you want to write, teacher?" Zixia asked.
After Confucius picked up the pen and wrote the four characters "Xishouhuolin", he tossed the pen and said, "I won't write it anymore. I will never write it again."
Zixia said: "The teacher thinks that the Qilin appears out of time, which means that the state of Lu has no wise king, and the history of Lu is no longer worth writing, right?"
Confucius heard Zixia speak his mind, praised his intelligence, and said: "Yes, now the ruler of Lu is incompetent, the third Huan is in power, and the country is incompetent. What else can be written in the history of Lu?"
Confucius gasped for a while, and then said: "Zixia, Zizhang, Shang Qu, come and listen. From now on, "Spring and Autumn" will never be written, and only continue to organize and compile it, and wait for the six arts. The "Spring and Autumn" that has been written, you can pass it on and copy it. Well, it's all here."
Zimen agreed in unison: "Yes, teacher."
"Okay, you all hurry up, I want to stay alone for a while."
"is teacher."
The disciples were all busy at their desks again.
"Duanmuci, help me to sit at the apricot altar."
"Okay, teacher." Zigong agreed, and put his coat on Confucius, helped him walk step by step to the apricot tree, and helped the teacher to sit down on the futon.Confucius sat down and looked up at the dense apricot trees. He heard the sound of reading books coming from every room, and sighed: "Now I can only see you and hear your reading. This is my greatest comfort."
Zigong sighed and said: "Teacher, the reason why you have not been reused by these monarchs is like the unicorn being killed without its appearance, so the teacher is sad that the way of the teacher will not be carried out."
Confucius looked at Zigong in admiration: "Alas, he is the only one who is most confidant at this moment."
"That's right, in today's world, the Zhou Dynasty is in decline, rites are broken and music is broken, and benevolence and righteousness are not manifested. It is not the time for Qilin to appear, so Qilin was beaten to death... Alas, it is not the right time to be born, my way is over!"
A gust of wind blew, the leaves rustled, and Confucius shivered.
"Teacher, it's windy, let me help you back!"
With Zi Gong's support, Confucius returned to his study tremblingly.From then on, Confucius was very quiet and only devoted himself to compiling the "Poetry" and the Six Arts, and he grew old very quickly.
Zigong, Zixia, Zeng Shen and other students were very heartbroken when they saw the teacher like this, and they could not comfort the teacher, so they always accompanied Confucius, and together with Confucius, they made the final revisions to the six classics such as "Shi", "Yi", and so on.