Chapter 44 Forty-one, Mount Tai falls

Confucius looked at the tall Mount Tai in the north, and felt that the majestic Mount Tai seemed to be toppled, so he couldn't help singing: ... Mount Tai is so decadent! Liang Mu is so bad! Philosophers are so wilted! The death of his beloved wife, his only son, the death of his son Kongli, the deaths of his beloved disciples Yanhui, Boniu, and Zilu... The successive blows, the heart-wrenching grief, and the exhaustion of rectifying the six classics day and night, finally made Confucius bedridden. . Confucius' disciples took turns waiting by the bed without interruption. This morning, Kong Jia’s mother brought Confucius porridge. Zeng Shen took it and brought it to the teacher. Kong Ji’s mother was about to leave when Confucius asked:

"Does Si'er have it too?" "Father, I also prepared a bowl for him. Father, let's eat it while it's hot." "Si'er is the only seedling of the Kong family, you must take good care of him." "Yes, father." Today Zeng Shen is waiting by the side. "Ziyu, you started studying with me when you were eight or nine years old, and traveled around the world with me when you were ten years old. Now you are over 30 years old. At 30 years old, I am 30 years old. I opened Xingtan School and officially recruited students. Now you will also Thirty, I am going to entrust Si'er to you, you accept my thoughts the most authentic, and the most filial, let Si'er worship you as a teacher."

Just in time, when Kong Ji came back from school, Confucius asked Kong Ji to come to the bedside. "Grandpa, are you feeling better?" "Grandpa is getting better, Si'er, quickly bow down to the teacher, from now on, he will be your master." Zisi hurriedly knelt down to Zeng Shen: "The teacher is here, Zisi bows down to the teacher." Zeng Shen hurriedly helped Zisi up.Said to Confucius: "Thanks to the trust of the teacher, the disciple must live up to the trust of the teacher." A trace of relief flashed across Confucius' face, and he held Zisi's hand and said, "Si'er, you must study hard in the future, and you must inherit your father's and grandfather's behest."

"Si'er remembered." Since Kong Ji worshiped Zeng Zi as his teacher, he lived up to Confucius' expectations, studied hard, and really achieved great things. He developed Confucius' thought of the mean, wrote "The Doctrine of the Mean", and fully inherited Confucius' thought of benevolence and propriety. The backbone of the school, inherited and developed Confucian thought. Yuan Xian brought in broth for Confucius. "Teacher, have some soup, you haven't eaten for a few days." Confucius heard the voice, Meng Longzhong slowly opened his eyes.

"Ah, Yuan Xian... Yuan Xian, you have worked hard." Yuan Xian propped up Confucius' head with a pillow, and then fed Confucius broth spoonful by spoonful. "Teacher, Ran Qiu came to see you." Zigong gently woke Confucius up. Ran Qiu hurried in, fell down on his knees under Confucius' bed with a "plop", wept and said, "Teacher, Ran Qiu saw you coming, Ran Qiuzhi made a mistake..." Confucius stretched out his hand from under the quilt, grabbed Ran Qiu and said, "Ran Qiu, you are here." Ran Qiu cried: "Teacher, Ran Qiu made a mistake. He shouldn't have promoted land tax for Ji Xiangguo and increased the burden on the common people."

Confucius handed Ran Qiu a towel to wipe away his tears, and comforted him, "Ran Qiu, it's good to know that you are wrong, you are still my good student. Get up quickly." Ran Qiu still could not afford to kneel. "Get up, Ran Qiu, you have made great military exploits for the state of Lu, and you have also assisted Ji Xiangguo in governing the country well and managing the country well. I am not wrong in my judgment. You are indeed a rare political talent. Get up quickly..." Confucius struggled and leaned over, trying to help Ran Qiu up, but Ran Qiucai stood up, standing next to Confucius' bed with tears in his eyes.

Zi Gong, Min Sun, Zai Yu, Zi Xia, Ran Yong and others who stood by were very moved. That afternoon, Confucius saw heavy snow falling from the window, so he asked You Ruo, who was waiting by the sick bed, to help him up and wrap him in clothes. "Does the teacher want to urinate?" "No, I want to watch the snow in the garden." So You Ruo helped Confucius get dressed. You Ruo's body and appearance resembled Confucius's. His tall body helped Confucius out of the bedroom, and he helped Confucius to the entrance of the hall for Confucius to enjoy the snow. Xuefei fluttered down, the courtyard was silvery white, all the flowers and trees withered, only a few pines and cypresses remained green, Confucius sighed:

"In the severe winter season, thousands of trees wither and thousands of flowers wither, but the pines and cypresses remain green. It seems that the pines and cypresses are the most ambitious. The same is true for people. Their nature does not change in times of crisis. Zilu is one of the pines and cypresses." You Ruo nodded and said, "Teacher is thinking about Zilu again." "Oh, think about it, my good students have left one by one, and I don't have much time...You Ruo, help me to the school, and I'll see what else needs to be finalized." "Teacher, it's too cold."

"Don't be afraid, let's go!" "Then put on another dress." "Ok." Youruo supported Confucius and walked towards the apricot altar. When he arrived at the school, young disciples were listening to a class, and it was Zi Zhang who was speaking.When the disciples saw Confucius coming, they all stood up happily and saluted Confucius. Confucius waved his hand and asked them to sit down and listen to the class. Confucius went to the study again.After entering the study, Confucius sat down after a few cases, and Zixia, Zeng Shen, etc., who were revising the Poetry in the room, stood up to greet the teacher, and brought a charcoal basin for Confucius to warm up.

Confucius said to Zixia: "I plan to re-examine it in my lifetime." Zixia said, "But, the teacher's body." Confucius said with a smile: "It is because the body is not good, so we must hurry up and get it." "Then the teacher will do it during the day, and you must not stay up late at night." "Okay, I'll listen to you. Besides, it's impossible to stay up all night. I have more energy than I want." So Confucius insisted on coming to the school every morning to sort out the "Six Classics", and when he couldn't sit still in the afternoon, his disciples helped him go home and lie down.

Day by day passed, and Confucius' body was getting weaker and weaker day by day. That afternoon, Confucius couldn't hold on any longer, so Ran Qiu and Zeng Shen helped the teacher back home.After Confucius lay down on the bed, feeling very weak, he said to You Ruo and Zeng Shen: "You two are the main ones, responsible for collecting and sorting out what I usually say with you, so let's compile a record of master and apprentice's words!" The two disciples hurriedly said, "Okay, disciples will start collecting immediately." "Let Zixia and Zizhang help you tidy up." "Good teacher." The cold winter is over, and spring is coming. Yellow jasmine flowers, red peach blossoms and white apricot blossoms bloom in the courtyard of the Confucian Mansion.The warm sunlight spills into the courtyard through the pine and cypress branches and leaves, butterflies dance among the flowers, swallows and magpies chirp on the branches... The earth has ushered in spring, but it is still a cold winter for Confucius. He only feels weak and short of breath. He can no longer walk to the hall, so he has to ask his disciples to move the books to their homes for sorting. Confucius was flipping through the bamboo slips at the desk, while Zixia and Zizhang were helping.Zizhang was flipping through the pages, Zixia was reading, Confucius called to stop from time to time, and took it over to try again. One morning, after Confucius woke up, he sighed, "Why haven't I dreamed of the Duke of Zhou for so many days? Alas! Maybe Zhou Li no longer appears." Then he said to You Ruo who was waiting for him, "Help me to the school. " You Ruo helped Confucius get dressed, helped the teacher wash up, sat in the main room, ate breakfast brought by Zisi's mother, and then walked slowly towards the apricot altar with the teacher. When he arrived at the school, Confucius boarded the apricot altar, looked at the big apricot tree, and thought sadly, the branches and leaves of the apricot tree are getting more and more lush, and there are more and more disciples, but I am getting worse... Confucius listened to the students in the room reciting books, and a smile appeared on his face. Anyway, I have trained three thousand students, and now many of them have served in Lu State or other countries.I have also cultivated so many students. Even if I die, my rule of benevolence and etiquette will be passed on. Even if the current king does not adopt it, I will meet Mingjun in the future, and the way will still be passed on. Thinking of this , Confucius' brow stretched a lot. The next day, accompanied by several disciples, Confucius rode a carriage to the banks of the Sishui River. The disciples helped the teacher get out of the carriage.Confucius leaned on crutches tremblingly, stared blankly at the river, and sighed for a long time: "Hey, the phoenix bird does not come, the river does not show the map, the road is difficult to walk, the road is difficult to walk..." Confucius stood leaning on his stick by the river, with the river wind blowing his snow-white silver hair. Looking at the river flowing eastward, he lamented that he had worked so hard all his life, but could not be reused. Is this the destiny?Or am I born at the wrong time?Alas, the past is gone forever, gone forever... I can't help sighing out his famous line through the ages: "I die like a husband, never giving up day and night!" Confucius turned to some of his early disciples and said: "Zeng Xi, Yan Lu, Nanguan Jingshu, do you still remember what I said here?" Gong Yechang said: "The teacher taught us: the dead are like husbands." Confucius sighed: "Yes, the past is gone, and it cannot be restored. The Zhou rituals created by Duke Zhou and King Wen of Zhou are also difficult to recover. Alas, the general situation is gone!" Zeng Xi, already gray-haired, comforted: "Teacher, don't be too sad. Although the idea of ​​benevolence and propriety advocated by the teacher has not been adopted by the monarchs, it has already had a great impact and has spread all over the world." "Zeng Xi is right. The teacher has trained three thousand disciples. The teacher's ideas are spreading everywhere. The teacher should be happy." Yan Lu with white hair said. Zai Yu also said: "Teacher, don't worry, with so many students like us, the teacher's thoughts will surely last forever." Confucius smiled gratifiedly: "Give me my qin." Confucius sat down and held the piano, playing and singing: The desolate song spread across the wilderness, and the disciples were very sad when they heard it, and all of them shed tears... Confucius loved music all his life, and music accompanied him all his life. Whether he was happy or frustrated, music was Confucius' partner to express his emotions... Confucius' body weakened rapidly, and he could not sit still. When he was reviewing, he had to lean on the bed and put the small tea table on the bed. Zeng Shen and Zixia put the bamboo slips and books on them one by one, and then let the teacher make the final review. In the afternoon of that day, only the last part of Confucius’ arrangement was left. Confucius heaved a sigh of relief and struggled to sit up. He saw outside the window that the garden was full of spring and the sun was shining brightly. Standing under the juniper tree for a while, he felt heart palpitations and shortness of breath, and his head was sweating. He hurriedly supported the big tree with his hands and sighed: "... Alas, although the weather is beautiful, my deadline is coming, so I have to go It's gone..." He looked at the tall Mount Tai in the north, and felt that the majestic Mount Tai seemed to be toppled, so he couldn't help singing: Mount Tai is so decadent!The majestic Mount Tai is about to fall! Liang Mu is so bad!O solid beams, are about to be broken! Philosophers are so wilted!A generation of sages, life is coming to an end! Zigong came in and was very moved when he heard Confucius singing. Tears flowed down his face. He hurried to the tree and supported Confucius. "Teacher, it's cold outside, let me help you in!" Zigong helped the teacher back to the bedroom, lay down on the bed, and pulled the quilt for the teacher. Confucius felt flustered and breathless, and his whole body was limp. He called softly: "Gong, I had a dream last night. I was sitting upright between the two pillars of the main hall to be sacrificed. Do you know? After the death of the Xia Dynasty, the coffins were placed on the east steps, those of the Zhou Dynasty were placed on the west steps, and those of the Yin and Shang Dynasties were placed in the hall. Between the two pillars, I am a descendant of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, after I die, you must follow the ancient ritual and place my coffin between the two pillars, remember?" "Ah, teacher, where did you go, teacher, you must live longer than Nanshan." "Gon, do you remember? What I just said.?" Zigong said with tears, "Remember, the coffin is placed between the two pillars of the main hall." Confucius breathed a sigh of relief and stopped talking. Zigong walked along the road and saw that the teacher was still panting lightly, but his expression was no longer as good as before. Knowing that time was running out, he discussed with Zixia, Zizhang, Youruo, Zeng Shen and his son, Yan Lu, etc. who followed, Then they sent out notices to the disciples from all over the place, asking them to come to Qufu quickly. So soon the 3,000 disciples of Confucius gathered in Qufu. Confucius’ home, school, and disciples’ homes in Qufu were all full, and the posthouses and inns in Qufu were also full of Confucius students. They took turns to take care of them in groups. Confucius and Zigong couldn't sleep a wink for several days, never leaving their teacher's bed. Confucius was getting weaker day by day, and his diet was also decreasing day by day. For the past two days, he could no longer eat. Just close your eyes and lie down... Confucius' bed was surrounded by disciples who were weeping in low voices. There were brothers and sisters standing inside and outside the house. There were hundreds of students of Confucius standing in front of and behind the house. All of them had expressions on their faces. Dignified, everyone's eyes are full of tears... When people will go, the past is always vivid... He lost his father at the age of three. Although the little Kongqiu standing on the bed didn't know what death was, when he saw his mother crying, he also burst into tears. ... When his mother died at the age of seventeen, he knelt at the intersection of Qufu Street and asked passers-by where his father was buried. He wanted to bury his parents together. From then on, he entered society alone... ... That day was an unforgettable day in his life. He took his mother's filial piety around his waist and took him to Ji Xiang's country for a banquet, but was stopped and humiliated by his retainer Yang Hu.From then on, he vowed to avenge his shame. ... At the age of thirty, he built an apricot altar, opened a private school for the first time, and accepted the first batch of disciples. He was the first to enroll poor students, created a great pioneering work of "education without discrimination", and smashed the idea that only nobles can be educated. shackles. ... At the age of thirty-five, he went to the suburbs with his disciples and visited Surabaya, and uttered the eternal saying "the dead are like a husband".Taishan asked about suffering, and sighed that "a tyrannical government is fiercer than a tiger". ... At the age of forty, he put forward the political idea of ​​"restraining oneself and returning to the rites" and ruled by benevolence, courtesy and morality. official talent. ... At the age of forty-five, he consulted with Duke Jing of Qi on politics, and published the famous political theory of "the monarch, the minister, the father, the son, and the son". ... At the age of fifty, I found out, and exclaimed: "If I leave me for a few years, it is no big mistake to learn "Yi" after fifty." He put forward the life philosophy of "knowing the destiny at fifty". ... Fifty-five years old, worrying about the collapse of the state of Lu's etiquette, and lack of talent, he had to take twenty or thirty disciples on the road in a bullock cart. From then on, he began his fourteen-year long journey of traveling around the world, and proposed " The benevolent love others" immortal statement. ... At the age of sixty, in his sixtieth year, he was trapped in Kuang, suffered in Chen Cai, frustrated in politics, and was like a bereaved dog.He put forward the famous political concept of "elevating talents", broke the old hereditary official system of nobles, and opened a precedent for civilians to select talents for politics. ... At the age of sixty-five, he put forward an outstanding political thesis of "rectification of names" and "excessiveness". ... At the age of 68, he returned to his hometown, sorted out the "clothes classics", compiled "Spring and Autumn", trained three thousand disciples, 72 masters of the six arts, ten sages, and four high-level students. He proposed "walking with the times" and advocated "great unity Well-off"... ... Sixty-nine years old, after losing his wife in middle age, he also lost his son in his later years, "I have failed you, good wife and son, I exhausted you to death..." ... At the age of seventy-two, "Yan Hui, Zilu, why did you go before me? It's God who wants my life..." ... At the age of seventy-three, the lamp oil has run out, Mount Tai has toppled, pillars and beams are broken, and a generation of sages will wither... "Mother, Qi Guan's wife, Bo Yu, come and welcome me, I miss you so much, finally I'm coming to be with you..." ... Thinking of this, Confucius burst into phlegm, his face convulsed, and the phlegm could not be coughed up. When he closed his eyes, his head fell down... A generation of saints passed away on April 11, 479 BC (February 11 in the lunar calendar), at the age of seventy-three... , revised and wrote "Li" and "Le", compiled, and wrote "Spring and Autumn", and "Six Classics" are biography.Compilation, philosophy of life, governing the country and keeping the country safe, praised for thousands of years.