Chapter 26 Confucius Traveled Around the World (Part 1): Where is the Way?

After the Huangchi meeting, the state of Wu declined rapidly, and the state of Lu, which had been controlled by the state of Wu for many years, gained a respite.In the spring of 481 B.C., Duke Ai of Lu led a group of ministers to hunt Daye (in today’s Juye, Shandong Province). Shusun Zhouqiu’s retainer, Zi Shang, hunted a strange animal in Juye Lake. It was shaped like a deer and had a tail like a A cow with scales all over its body and a single horn on its head.This monster frightened everyone and thought it was an ominous thing, but they didn't dare to jump to conclusions and didn't know how to deal with it.Someone suddenly remembered that Kong Qiu knew everything from the past to the present, and even recognized Fangfeng's bones, so he must be able to recognize this monster as well.People then sent the monster to Confucius' home.After Confucius saw it, he said with certainty: "This is a unicorn." As for what kind of animal the unicorn is, posterity has been arguing endlessly, and modern biology can't come up with a conclusion. Some people think that it is a giraffe from Africa. The author of this book has limited knowledge and will not discuss it here.

This year, Confucius was seventy-one years old.Two years ago, he ended his wandering life for more than ten years and returned to Qufu. It was 495 BC that Confucius left the State of Lu from the position of Da Si Kou.According to "Historical Records", Qi Jinggong was very jealous of Confucius at that time, and asked his ministers: "Kong Qiu is in the government of Lu, and Lu must be strong. Qi will be greatly disadvantaged. Is there any way to make him leave?" The best way to do this, the suggestion is, is to make him feel frustrated, disheartened and leave on his own accord.So Qi Jinggong selected 80 beauties in the country and let them dance in sexy clothes; he also selected 120 good horses and trained them into dancing horses, which can dance to the beat of the music.The two hundred people rushed to Qufu, which immediately caused a sensation. Ji Sunsi went to watch the show three times in micro-clothes, but still felt that it was not enough, so he asked Lu Dinggong for leave, and spent all day watching the performance in the theater, ignoring political affairs.Ji Sunsi's retainer and Confucius' student Zhong You couldn't stand it any longer, and said to Kong Qiu, "Sir, you can go." Kong Qiu closed his eyes, thought for a long time, and said, "Today the country will hold a suburban sacrifice. If the doctor If you can still get some sacrificial meat, I will keep it.” In Kong Qiu’s view, the so-called major national affairs are nothing more than “sacrifices and soldiers.” Like a look, that's fine.Unexpectedly, Ji Sunsi accepted the beauties and dancing horses sent by the state of Qi, and did not go to court for three consecutive days, and did not share the meat with everyone during the sacrifice.Disappointed, Kong Qiu decisively left Qufu with his students.

When the doctor and teacher heard the news, they ran out of the city to see him off, and said, "It's really not your fault, teacher!"Confucius' answer was: "Can I sing a song?" Before the teacher could react, Confucius had already sang at the top of his voice: "The woman's mouth can make people go away; the woman's words , It can ruin a person’s reputation. Leisurely, let’s chat to pass the time!” After Shiji returned, Ji Sunsi asked him what Confucius said, and Shiji told him the truth.Ji Sunsi sighed and said: "He is blaming me for those women's affairs!" But after sighing, the dances in Qufu city continued to dance, and the horses continued to run, and it was still a scene of singing and dancing.

Confucius and his disciples left the state of Lu, and the first stop was Diqiu, the capital of the state of Wei, where they began to live in the home of Zhong You's brother-in-law.When Duke Ling of Wei heard that Kong Qiu was coming, he immediately summoned him and asked, "How much annual salary do you get in Lu?" Kong Qiu said, "Sixty thousand." The specific unit is not clearly stated in historical materials, but it may be 60,000 catties, which was enough to support a decent life for a family at the time.Duke Ling of Wei immediately gave Confucius 60,000 catties of grain so that he could live in Weiguo with peace of mind.However, not long after, someone spoke ill of Confucius to Duke Ling of Wei.Duke Ling of Wei had soft ears, so he sent his doctor Gongsun Yu to go in and out of Kong Qiu's residence on false pretences, apparently to visit, but in fact to monitor.Confucius is also an old bird in the political arena, how could he not see through such tricks?So after only living in Diqiu for ten months, he left voluntarily.

Confucius planned to go to Chen State and passed through Kuangdi (in present-day Henan Province).His disciple Yan Gao drove the chariot for him. When he entered Kuangcheng, he pointed to Confucius with a whip and said, "I have been here before, and I entered the city through this gap." This action was seen by the guards on the city wall. , They carefully identified it, hey, isn't that person sitting in the car Yang Hu from Lu State?It turns out that Kong Qiu looks a bit like Yang Hu, and Yang Hu once persecuted the Kuang people.This misunderstanding almost cost Kong Qiu his life.The Kuang people immediately rushed forward, surrounded Confucius and his disciples, and imprisoned him in a house without any explanation.Yan Hui walked slowly, lagging behind, and arrived at Kuangdi after five days.When Confucius saw Yan Hui, he was surprised and delighted, and cursed: "I thought you were dead!" Yan Hui said with a smile: "You are still alive, how dare I die?" The master and apprentice shook hands and laughed.

However, the situation did not improve because of Yan Hui's arrival.No matter what Kong Qiu explained, the Kuang people just didn't believe that he was not Yang Hu, but there was no evidence to confirm that he was Yang Hu.The students were all very scared, for fear that Kuang people would be irrational and do something out of the ordinary.Confucius was very calm, and comforted the students, saying: "Since the death of King Wen of Zhou, Zhou Li has been in my hands? If God intends to destroy Zhou Li, I, a descendant, should not master it. Since God does not want to destroy Zhou Li, what can the people of Kuang do to me!"

After hearing this, Yan Hui heaved a long sigh of relief, and his expression suddenly became relaxed.Others seem to understand.This is like a person who was kidnapped by robbers with jewelry, but comforted himself and said: "Don't be afraid, if God wants me to die, I will not let these jewelry fall into my hands!" The logic of Confucius is really not ordinary people. understandable. Later, the people of Kuang released Kong Qiu and the others, not because Kong Qiu knew the rituals of Zhou, but because he sent some students back to Emperor Qiu to find the doctor Ning Yu.Ning Yu sent someone to clarify, and the truth came to light.By the way, Ning Yu is a well-known smart character. In the novel, Kong Qiu once commented on him: "If a country has the way, it will be wise, and if the country has no way, it will be stupid. His wisdom can be reached, and his stupidity can't be matched." When the country's politics was clear and clear Ning Yu is smart; when the country is chaotic and corrupt, Ning Yu will pretend to be crazy.Kong Qiu thought that he could be as smart as Ning Yu, but he couldn't pretend to be crazy like Ning Yu.Later generations use "stupid beyond reach" as an idiom to describe stupidity to the limit. In fact, its original meaning is: a higher level of intelligence is unattainable.

After this catastrophe, Confucius and his disciples returned to Diqiu and lived in Qu Boyu's house.Nan Zi, wife of Duke Ling of Wei, heard that Kong Qiu was nine feet tall, and he knew everything. Fan Xin was moved, so she asked Duke Ling of Wei to see Confucius. As mentioned earlier, Nanzi is an extremely coquettish woman, and Wei Linggong is a man who is not afraid of wearing a cuckold, and even sent someone to Song to meet Nanzi's lover.Now that Nanzi wanted to see Confucius, how could Duke Ling of Wei refuse to agree?He immediately sent someone to say to Confucius: "Gentlemen from all over the world, if they think highly of me and regard me as a brother, I will let him see my wife."

Kong Qiu muttered in his heart, it's fine to see Duke Ling of Wei, but what's the matter with his wife?He shied away and said, "Kong Qiu dare not." The envoy said: "Who dare you? Tell you the truth. Mrs. Nanzi personally asked to see you. Don't be ignorant of flattery." Confucius followed the envoy to the harem, and after entering the door, he faced north and performed the ceremony of Jishou.Nanzi saluted twice from the curtain, and the jade on his body jingled—this is the whole record of this meeting. As for whether other things happened, it is up to the reader's imagination.

After returning, the students gathered around Confucius asking this and that.Kong Qiu's face flushed, and he just said: "I didn't want to see her at first, but now that I do, I will answer with courtesy." Zhong You was very upset, thinking that the teacher was dishonest, and did not tell the whole situation truthfully, Kong Qiu became anxious, and swore to God Said: "If I am not what I say, let the heavens hate me!" He lived in Diqiu like this for more than a month. One day Duke Ling of Wei invited Confucius to travel, and Confucius went.Duke Ling of Wei and Nanzi rode in the same car, and the eunuch Yongqu was the guard on the right side of the car, and Kong Qiu took the second car, and ostentatiously passed through the city.Nanzi turned his head back from time to time and smiled charmingly at Kong Qiu.The people all over the street pointed and pointed, which made Kongqiu's face flushed, so he said a famous saying: "I have never seen a person who is as virtuous as he is lustful."

After this incident, Confucius made up his mind to leave the state of Wei, took his disciples to the state of Cao, and departed from the state of Cao to the state of Song. Sima Huan (tui) of the Song State was arrogant and domineering. When he heard that Kong Qiu had come to the Song State, he was afraid that he would be used by Song Jinggong, so he sent someone to follow Kong Qiu.Seeing Confucius and his students sitting under a tree giving lectures, Huan's men cut down the tree.As soon as the students saw that he was not kind, they already guessed seven or eight points in their hearts, and said to Confucius: "Let's go quickly." How is it?" This year, Confucius was fifty-nine years old, according to his own statement, he had already passed the age of knowing the destiny, so he always remained calm and calm about all kinds of difficulties. Having said that, the state of Song couldn't stay any longer, so Confucius had to come to the state of Zheng again.Outside Xinzheng City, Confucius and his students got lost. They were cold and hungry, and had no money, so they could only lean against the city wall outside the east gate in a daze.The students looked for him everywhere, and a man from the state of Zheng said to Duanmuci: "I saw a man at the east gate. His forehead was like Tang Yao's, his neck was like Gao Yao's, and his shoulders were like our Zheng's Zichan. He is three inches worse than Xia Yu from the waist down, and he looks like a good-looking talent, but he looks weak and tired, like a lost dog." Hearing this, Duan Muci asked him to take him to look for him, and he found Kong Qiu.Duanmuci told Kong Qiu exactly what the man said, and Kong Qiu smiled happily: "He may not be accurate in describing my appearance, but he said that I look like a bereaved dog, which is really very vivid!" Confucius finally came to Chen State and lived in the house of Gongsun Zhenzi (the one who died when he visited Wu State later).In Chen Guo, Kong Qiu once again demonstrated his profound knowledge. One day, a falcon died in Chen Mingong's courtyard, with a strange arrow stuck in his body. The shaft of the arrow was made of ku (ku) wood, and the arrowhead was made of stone.No one knew this Neolithic weapon. Chen Mingong had heard of Kong Qiu's name long ago, so he invited him to identify it. Confucius looked at it and said, "The place where the falcon flew is far away. This is the arrow of the Sushen tribe. In the past, King Wu of Zhou conquered the Shang Dynasty, opened up roads in all directions, and let the barbarian tribes pay tribute to the local specialties there. Sushen tribe This kind of arrow was paid as a tribute. In order to demonstrate virtue, the former king distributed the arrows that Sushen paid tribute to the eldest daughter Da Ji, and betrothed Da Ji to Hu Gong, who established the Chen State. He rewarded the treasures and jades to the princes of the same surname, It is to deepen the relationship between relatives; to distribute the tribute from afar to the princes of different surnames, so that they will not forget their obligations, so the arrows of Sushen are distributed to Chen Guo." Chen Mingong tried to send people to the old warehouse. Looking for it, I found this kind of arrow. Confucius lived in Chen Guo for three years.In the past three years, the state of Chen has been in turmoil. The states of Wu and Chu invaded the state of Chen alternately, and life was not peaceful.Finally one day, Confucius said to his disciples: "Go back, go back, those boys in my hometown have great aspirations and talents, but luckily they didn't give up their pursuit." The group then packed their luggage and headed north, but they did not return directly to the State of Lu, but returned to the State of Wei.When passing through Pudi, unfortunately, there was a rebellion there, and the rebels blocked the road to prevent Confucius from passing.Among the students of Confucius, there was a man named Gong Liangru, who was tall and strong, and was known for his courage. When he saw this situation, he stood up and said, "I followed my teacher and died in Kuangdi, and now I am in danger in Pudi." , It seems that this is also my fate! If I am imprisoned again, I might as well die." With several of his followers, he took the initiative to attack and was invincible.The rebels were frightened, and sent someone to negotiate, saying: "As long as Kong Qiu does not go to defend the country, we will let you pass." Confucius heard it, and immediately replied: "Okay." The rebels were worried and asked both sides to take an oath before letting them go.Confucius also agreed.After leaving Pudi, Confucius ordered his students: "Choose the right path and go straight to Diqiu." The students were taken aback and said, "Teacher, you always teach us to keep our promises. You just made an oath not to defend the country. Why didn't you obey it?" Duan Muci asked directly: "Can the covenant be torn up?" Confucius poked Duanmuci's chest with his hand and said, "Idiot, I signed the covenant with them only after being threatened. I don't believe it myself, how could God believe it?" "Teacher, you are really too bad!" Duke Ling of Wei was overjoyed when he heard that Confucius was coming again, and ran to the outskirts to meet him himself. It is not known whether Nanzi followed him. Duke Ling of Wei asked Kong Qiu: "You just came from Pudi, so you must know something about the situation there. Do you think we should send troops to fight against the rebels now?" Confucius said, "Okay." Wei Linggong said: "But my doctors all said no. They mean that if you keep Puyi, you can deal with Jin and Chu in the future. If we attack it now, I'm afraid it's not good?" Confucius said: "The men there would rather die than submit to the rebels. The women there all want to escape to the west of the Yellow River. There are only four or five people that we really need to attack. Why don't we attack?" Wei Linggong said: "You are right." Although he said so, there was no movement, and the matter was finally settled.Confucius also saw that Wei Linggong was old and had no interest in politics, much less wanted to make a difference.He said desolately: "As long as someone is willing to use me, give me a year and you will see results, give me three years and you will gain a lot, unfortunately..." At this time, the state of Jin was in the middle of the chaos of the Zhongxing and Fan clans.Zhao Yang led his troops eastward and attacked Zhongmu.Fo (bi) Xun, the local governor of Zhongmu, led his subordinates to betray the state of Jin, and sent someone to invite Confucius to Zhongmu to raise important events. Confucius couldn't help being tempted.Zhong You said: "In the past, you taught us that a gentleman would not go along with anyone who has done bad things with his own hands. Now that the Buddha is rebelling against the state of Jin in Zhongmou, you still want to go. What's the matter?" Confucius said: "I said that. But I also said that the really hard things can't be worn down, and the really white things can't be stained black. As long as I go there, it will be there. It’s the king’s paradise. Zilu, I’m not a gourd, how can I just hang it on the wall and not eat it?” In retrospect, this was the second time Kong Qiu had such an idea.The previous time Gongshan Buxuan invited him to go out of the mountain, but he was not able to go because of the dissuasion of the students; this time the Buddha waved to him, but was still persuaded by the students.From these two incidents, it is not difficult to see that Kong Qiu still has an idealistic attitude, thinking that as long as he is given a chance, he can change the world. From then on, Kong Qiu lived unhappy in Weiguo.One day when he was knocking a chime (a stone musical instrument) in his house, a farmer thrashing hogweed passed by the door, and when he heard the sound of the chime, he said with emotion: "This is a depression in my heart, and I am also very stubborn. It’s fine if people understand it, why bother to let it go?” In order to pass the boring time, Kong Qiu asked Shi Xiang, a court musician of the state of Wei, to learn how to play the piano.Shi Xiang taught him a tune, and he practiced it for ten days without giving up.Shi Xiang said: "You have played very well, you can practice a new piece." Kong Qiu said: "Now I have only learned how to play this piece, and I am not proficient." One day, Shi Xiang said: "Now I am very proficient, I can practice something new." Without raising his head, Confucius said: "No, I haven't realized the artistic conception expressed by the music." A few more days passed , Shi Xiang said: "You have already entered the artistic conception expressed in the music, you can do it, you can really do it." Confucius said: "No, the characters expressed in the music have not yet appeared in front of my eyes, and I have to continue to work hard. A few days later, when Confucius was playing the piano, he stopped suddenly, thought silently, then raised his head as if he was looking into the distance, and said, "I have already seen the person whom the music sang about. His face is tall, his eyes are piercing, and he looks like a ruler of the world. If this person is not King Wen of Zhou, who else can he be?" Shi Xiang immediately stood up and saluted Confucius, saying: "You It is playing the legendary "Wen Wang Cao"!" Kong Qiu let out a long sigh.He originally wanted to devote his love to music and forget the troubles of being underappreciated, but he didn't expect to delve into it. On the contrary, it made him more difficult to give up.He couldn't hold back any longer, and planned to travel westward to the state of Jin to seek a job with Zhao Yang.Just walking to the Yellow River, I heard the news that Zhao Yang had killed Dou Mingdu and Shunhua, the officials of Jin State.Confucius immediately stopped and said to the rushing river, "What a majestic Yellow River, mighty and boundless! I'm afraid I won't be able to cross it in my life. It's also predestined!" The students listened He walked over and asked, "What do you mean by that? Don't you plan to cross the river when you get here?" Confucius said: "Dou Mingdu and Shunhua are both good officials of Jin. When Zhao Yang was not successful, these two men gave him a lot of guidance and help; once he gained power, they will be killed. I I heard that where people fish in a dry lake, the dragon will not rain water; where someone destroys the bird's nest for the sake of eggs, the phoenix will not go there to fly. Why is this? Because a gentleman does not want to see his own kind hurt. Birds and beasts are not benevolent If you know how to avoid unrighteous things, let alone me, Confucius?" So he retreated and wrote a song "Zou Cao" to mourn Dou Mingdu and Shunhua.Soon after, he came to Weiguo again and continued to live in Yun Boyu's house. One day, Duke Ling of Wei summoned Kong Qiu again and asked about the formation of troops.Confucius said: "I have learned about sacrifices, but I don't know anything about military affairs." Wei Linggong didn't comment, and didn't say anything. He raised his eyes and looked at the swan geese flying by in the sky.Seeing his gray beard trembling in the wind, Kong Qiu felt sad, and quietly retreated without saying anything. In the summer of this year, Wei Linggong passed away.Confucius also left the state of Wei and came to the state of Chen again.It was around this time that he became fascinated by the "Book of Changes", and wrote many works for the "Book of Changes", "Xian", "Xiang", "Classical Chinese", etc., which became important documents for later generations to study "The Book of Changes".It is said that because of his non-stop reading of "Book of Changes", "Wei Bian Sanjue", that is, the leather strips on the bamboo slips were broken three times. In May of the same year, a fire broke out in the government office in Qufu.The flames crossed the palace and burned down the temples of Dukes Huan and Xi of Lu.Confucius heard the news of the fire in Chen Guo, and through the deduction of "Book of Changes", he accurately judged the houses affected by the disaster, "Qihuan, Xihu?" In the autumn of the same year, Ji Sunsi fell ill.He was carried out to inspect the city walls of Qufu, and said with emotion: "This country was almost prosperous at one time, but it was not revitalized because I offended Confucius and made him leave." He looked back at his Son Ji Sunfei: "After I die, you will be in charge of state affairs. You must call Confucius back to help you." Within a few days, Ji Sunsi died.After Ji Sunfei buried Ji Sunsi, he planned to send someone to Chen Guo to summon Confucius.The official Gong Zhiyu persuaded: "At the beginning, your father was ridiculed by the princes because he failed to start and end well with Confucius. If you want to use him today, if you don't start well and end well, I'm afraid you will make the princes laugh again." Ji Sun Fei said, "Then what should we do?" Gong Zhiyu said, "We can consider getting his student Ran Qiu back." So Ji Sunfei sent someone to call Ran Qiu. Before Ran Qiu was about to leave, Kong Qiu said to him: "The State of Lu sent people to call you, not for petty use, but for great use. You have to work hard!" On the same day, Kong Qiu said with emotion: "Go back! , let’s go back, those boys in my hometown are ambitious and talented, but their articles are brilliant, I don’t even know how to guide them.” Ran Qiu heard this, his heart became hot.Duanmuci knew in his heart that Confucius also wanted to return to his roots. When he saw Ran Qiu off, he repeatedly said: "Once you return to China and get an appointment, don't forget to find a way to bring your husband back." In the second year after Ran Qiu returned to the country, Confucius came from the state of Chen to the state of Cai.At this time Cai Zhaohou was preparing to visit the state of Wu.Because Cai Zhaohou conspired with Fu Chai to move Cai's capital to the state without discussing with the ministers before, the ministers were worried that he had some conspiracy this time, so under the leadership of the doctor Gongsun Pian, Cai Zhaohou was killed.Under such circumstances, it was not suitable for Cai to live for a long time, so Confucius had no choice but to continue wandering and came to Yeyi in Chu (now in Pingdingshan, Henan Province).