Chapter 46 Eternal ending

Confucius is dead, but the most sage teacher has a long history. The character, sentiment and thought of governing the country created by Confucius will shine with the sun and the moon, and coexist with the heaven and the earth... During the period of guarding the tomb, the disciples visited the tomb, planted trees, and mourned during the day, and gathered together at night to recall and sort out Confucius’ quotations...In the hut, under the oil lamp, Zhong Gong, Min Sun, Zi Xia, You Ruo, Zeng Xi, Zi Gong When the five of them sat cross-legged, Zeng Zi said, "Everyone entrusted us with the responsibility of editing the quotations of our ancestors, and we must not be expected to bear heavy burdens."

Zixia said: "Zengzi is right. We should take advantage of the opportunity when everyone is gathered together to collect everyone's memories during the day and edit them together at night." You Ruo agreed, "Let's do it this way." Ran Yong also agreed: "Now during the period of guarding the tomb, everyone is together. It is indeed a good time to recall and sort out the teacher's quotations. Let's divide the work and cooperate." Min Ziqian also said: "The brothers are right. It is rare for us to gather together. In the past three years of guarding the tomb, we have to summarize the thoughts of our predecessors."

Zeng Xi also said: "In the quotations, we must emphasize the thought of governing the country with benevolence and propriety and the moral character of benevolence, propriety and loyalty." Zigong said generously: "Everyone, please write hard, and I will pay for the necessary expenses." All four raised their heads and said gratefully to Zi Gong: "Master Burial, you have already paid a lot of money, and now I want you to pay again. Thank you very much." Zigong said, "This is what I should do." When the disciples of Confucius guarded the tomb, they compiled and edited the quotations of Confucius and his disciples, which later became the blueprint of a masterpiece that influenced Chinese ethics and morality and governing the country for thousands of years. Confucius' thoughts will also last forever.

The cold winter passed, and spring came. The earth was green and peaches and apricots were in full bloom. There were still rows of students sitting under the huge apricot tree in Confucius' apricot altar, and the sound of reading was heard.Blossoming apricots come out of the fence wall, and the vitality extends to the outside of the courtyard... After Confucius passed away, his disciples guarded the tomb for three years, and then went to various places to set up schools, train disciples, write books, publicize the ideas of governing the country, and some became officials to serve the country, vowing to continue the Confucius thought.

In the Xingtan School in Qufu, the students were packed, and Zeng Shen was giving the lecture.Zeng Shen, who was nearly forty years old, had sword-shaped eyebrows, a black beard fluttering, and a pair of big and deep eyes... Confucius' grandson, Kong Ji (Zi Si), was his main disciple, sitting in the middle of the front row, listening carefully... Zeng Shen said: "When the master was alive, he taught us that there is no distinction between teaching and learning, so our school-running policy in the future will still follow the teachings of the master: education for all, that is, teaching regardless of rich or poor, regardless of high or low. Everyone is equal, and they are too poor to be exempted from paying tuition fees..."

The students applauded excitedly. Zeng Shen picked up the bamboo slips and wrote: "When the teacher was alive, he once taught us: 'Filial piety and fraternity are also based on benevolence and fundamentals!' That is to warn us that filial piety is the foundation of human nature and the root of all virtues..." The disciples are all listening carefully. Zeng Shen also said: "I reflect on myself three times a day. When I am alone, I must pay attention to being alone. Don't forget that the purpose of our study is to cultivate oneself, to regulate the family, to govern the country, and to bring peace to the world."

In the evening, Zeng Shen and Zisi sat cross-legged and studied Confucianism together under candlelight... Zeng Shen was writing "Book of Filial Piety" and "University", while Zisi was writing "The Doctrine of the Mean"... Zisi was nearly thirty years old, and he looked as tall and strong as Confucius, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his eyes were shining everywhere. Also" famous saying. Later, Zisi was passed on to Mencius and became the direct descendant of Confucius' academic thought—the famous Mencius School. On this day, Zigong, who had a long black beard and nearly fifty years of age, came to bid farewell to Zeng Zi after six years of guarding the tomb. He was going to Weiguo to serve.Outside the city gate, Zeng Shen, Zisi, Ran Qiu, Zaiyu and others all came to see him off.

"You all go back. Zigong is leaving now. No matter where Zigong goes, he will never forget to publicize and carry forward the ideas of his ancestors." Zigong left in tears. Zeng Shen watched with tears in his eyes. Zi Gong is the most loyal and outstanding disciple of the late master.No matter which country Zigong went to serve, he always took Confucius' benevolence and etiquette as his purpose, and he played a huge role in propagating Confucius' thoughts. ... In a fenced courtyard wall in Xihe, Wei State, the courtyard is like Confucius’ apricot altar. Under a huge apricot tree, students sit cross-legged in rows, and on the apricot altar sits the lecturer Zixia.

Nearly forty years old and in his prime, Zixia was speaking to his disciples. "The former teacher Confucius taught us that poetry and music can be sung regardless of the difference, but because of the age, the "Ya" and "Song" are inconsistent, the rhythm is wrong, and the poetry and music are matched. Therefore, The master led us to have fun and poetry together, and now the mistakes have been corrected..." The disciples who listened to the lecture included Tian Zifang, Duan Mugan, Wu Qi, Qin Huali, etc., and they all became disseminators of Confucian thought.

... One day, more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages drove towards the state of Chu, with 300 disciples riding on them. They were disciples of Tantai Mieming (Ziyu).Later, Tantai Mieming became a figure in the south of the Yangtze River who was almost comparable to the influence of Zixia in the north. ... Zi Zhang, a young talent, has grown up and is suave and elegant. He is giving lectures in Chen Guosheng. He has trained many disciples and later became one of the representatives of the Eight Great Schools of Confucius' disciples. ... In another school in the State of Lu, lacquer carvings with white beard and hair were giving lectures.

He said: "We are pursuing the idea of ​​cultivating people first by teachers. Human nature is inherently good and evil. If you cultivate goodness, you will become a good person, and if you cultivate evil, you will become a wicked person. Therefore, we should pay attention to the cultivation of human nature from an early age... " Lacquer carving became one of the representatives of the eight schools of Confucianism who carried forward Confucius' education of virtue and cultivation of people. One hundred years after the death of Confucius, there came out Mencius (Mencius) who pushed his academic thoughts to the apex.The ethics of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety of Confucius and Mencius have had a huge influence in China's thousands of years of history. ... More than 200 years after Confucius passed away, Qin Shihuang burned all the poems and books compiled by Confucius. Fortunately, his ninth grandson, Kong Yu, hid "Shangshu", "Book of Rites", "Book of Filial Piety" and so on in the sandwich wall, so that some of them can be preserved. Preservation, there are sages among the people who risked their lives to hide them, so that the "Six Classics" sorted out by Confucius and his disciples can be passed down. ... Four hundred years after the death of Confucius, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty emerged in the Han Dynasty. He adopted Dong Zhongshu's unique Confucianism, and made the Confucianism created by Confucius and Mencius, with benevolence, propriety, and the mean as the core, become the official Confucianism and the Chinese tradition. The backbone of thought has influenced Chinese feudal society for more than two thousand years. ... More than a thousand years after the death of Confucius, Zhu Xi, a sub-sage, came out, who pushed the Confucianism created by Confucius and Mencius to another climax in history, and raised the six arts organized by Confucius to the status of "Six Classics".In particular, Confucius and "The Doctrine of the Mean", "University", and "Mencius" were designated as the Four Books, and together with the "Five Classics", they became the main body of Chinese Confucian classics. Cai played a huge role in promoting Confucianism. ... Confucius has been highly respected in Chinese history for more than 2,500 years, to the point of being irreversible II. Even the supreme Emperor Kangxi also came to the Confucian mansion and bowed three times and kowtowed to him in person, and personally wrote The "Teacher of All Ages" was placed on the golden plaque and hung high on the apricot altar of the Confucian Mansion. ... Confucius belongs to both China and the world. His influence has already transcended national boundaries, and he has had a huge impact in Southeast Asia and the world.As a result, he was listed as the top ten thinkers in the world. ... The Six Classics compiled by Confucius, namely "Yi", "Poetry", "Li", "Le" and "Spring and Autumn", have made immortal contributions to the continuation and development of Chinese culture. The foundation of civilization, the three universities of Confucianism, Confucianism, and Yixue created by him not only laid the core of Chinese culture, but also became the foundation of oriental culture. The improvement of cultural quality has had a lasting impact. In the second year after Confucius' death, Duke Ai of Lu rebuilt Confucius' former residence into a Confucian temple, and put the piano, books, carts, clothes and hats used by Confucius in front of him, and offered sacrifices every year. Afterwards, after the expansion of successive kings, the Confucian Temple has now become a majestic, resplendent and magnificent complex, one of the three major ancient architectural complexes in China comparable to the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Chengde Mountain Resort. On the apricot altar pavilion hangs a gold plaque inscribed by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, "Master of All Ages".Konglin has also become a huge tomb complex covering an area of ​​more than 3,000 mu with a forest belt as long as 15 miles.Every year thousands of people come to visit Huanghuang Holy Mansion. In short, because of the great reputation of Confucius, China deserves to be a big country with a history of more than 5,000 years.Confucius deserves his reputation as the father of Chinese culture. Confucius' deeds have been immortalized through the ages... exactly: