What did Confucius do in his life?
Looking at Confucius’s life, his main achievements are reflected in the following four aspects.
First, Confucius was an educator.
Confucius started running schools when he was nearly forty years old and died at the age of seventy-three. His main identity throughout his life was that of a teacher. Among them, he served as an official at the age of fifty-one and resigned at the age of fifty-five. During these more than three years, there were still students around him who taught by his words and deeds. He traveled around the country and was always accompanied by a group of students. In "The Analects" we can see that he taught students anytime and anywhere, answered students' questions, and even guided students to practice etiquette when resting collectively under a big tree along the way. Their travels to various countries are like a teacher leading groups of students to study and study. Education was the work that Confucius loved and the main career of his life.
Before Confucius, there were only aristocratic schools in China, which only admitted children of the aristocratic class. The majority of civilians did not have the right to receive education. It can be said that education was monopolized by the aristocrats. Confucius broke Guifang's monopoly on education and founded the first civilian school in Chinese history. It implemented the school policy of "regardless of distinctions such as rich and poor, high or low, nationality, etc., everyone who volunteers can enroll." Opening the door to education and returning the right to education to the people is a great initiative in the history of China and the history of education in the world. The students he accepted came from all over the world, most of them were civilians, and some of them came from very poor families. There were 3,000 students before and after him, including 72 famous figures. Confucius trained a large number of pillar talents for society.
Confucius founded a private school that was independent and free from external interference. He had his own school policy and self-edited teaching materials, which broke through the traditional aristocratic education pattern and made comprehensive improvements and innovations in educational ideas, teaching content and teaching methods. Confucius's school-running model, educational thoughts and teaching experience were inherited by private schools and academies throughout China and East Asian countries for more than two thousand years, promoting the development of Chinese culture, education and world civilization. Confucius was a great educator in ancient times and was revered as the "Teacher of All Times".
Second, Confucius is a thinker.
Confucius lived in a period of great social change in the late Spring and Autumn Period. After the long-term annexation wars of princes throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, and amid the rapid social unrest, political forces (basically accompanying ministers) representing the emerging landlord class in various countries entered the political stage. The aristocratic class declined, and the private ownership of land by the landlord class was replacing the serfdom of the feudal noble lords. The trend of serf emancipation spread throughout the countries, and the old social relations collapsed. The emerging landlord class is still an exploiting class, and the methods they use in the process of making a fortune and seizing power are more vicious and despicable. In this era, Confucius inherited the excellent cultural traditions from the primitive clan society to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties based on the literature and materials he could see and his observations of reality, and put forward the people-oriented humanistic thought, the benevolence theory system, and the The political thought centered on the rule of virtue, the theory of self-cultivation to improve personal morality, and the ideal of constructing a harmonious society based on the philosophy of the mean and in the form of etiquette; these thoughts and theories all reached the height of understanding of his time. Due to the limitations of the times, he yearned for the peaceful, prosperous, and prosperous Western Zhou society with ritual and music culture, and hoped to promote the Western Zhou Dynasty's ritual and music culture to rebuild a prosperous age. In fact, his understanding of the Western Zhou Dynasty was all obtained from books, and he lacked a true and comprehensive understanding of the social contradictions of the Western Zhou Dynasty. His thoughts and theories, including philosophy, politics, social ethics, education, literature and art, as well as many aspects of life and personal cultivation, also have a profound impact on the development of Chinese society and world civilization. Although there are some unavoidable backward and conservative elements in its entire ideological and theoretical system, especially in politics, the flaws cannot be concealed. Overall, it was an advanced thought 2,500 years ago, and many of its basic concepts are It has elements of primitive democracy and socialism and is still an integral part of the traditional advanced culture of the Chinese nation. Confucius is a great thinker, and he deserves it.
Third, Confucius was an expert in compiling ancient documents and a great scholar in ancient China.
The culture of any nation has been inherited and developed from generation to generation. Without inheritance, culture will be interrupted; documents are an important medium for cultural inheritance. The main carrier of pre-Qin documents is bamboo slips. There are hundreds to thousands of bamboo slips for a book. It is not easy to carve, transport, or store. They are mainly preserved by specialized palace agencies and noble families.
In the Confucius era, the royal family declined, and a large number of documents kept by the palace and public courts of various countries were lost. Take "Poetry" and "Le" as examples. According to "The Analects of Confucius Wei Zi":
Tai Shi Zhi Shi Qi, the second rice is suitable for Chu, the third rice is for Cai, the fourth rice is for Qin, drums are brought to the river by Fang Shu, martial arts are broadcast to Han, Shaoshi Yang, and chime and Xiang are brought to the sea.
[Translation] Taishi Shizhi went to the State of Qi, and the musicians Qian, Liao, and Que of the second, third, and fourth meals went to the Chu, Cai, and Qin countries respectively, and the drummers Uncle Fang went to the Yellow River, Wu, who played the snare drum, went to the Han River, Yang, the assistant musician, and Xiang, who played the chime, went to the seaside.
This section records that the musicians in the Lu court were separated and fled in all directions. According to "Guoyu·Luyu": "In the past, I wrote twelve poems about my father's reputation as a school merchant to Taishi Zhou." The ancestral temple of the Song Dynasty had to go to Taishi Zhou to correct the pronunciation of the songs for the ancestral temple. This shows that the documents preserved in the Song Dynasty are scattered and incomplete. Confucius's contribution was his long-term efforts to collect scattered ancient documents from various places, and he also put a lot of effort into compiling them, so that some important documents could be preserved and handed down to future generations. His contribution is unparalleled in history.
After decades of work by Confucius, he personally completed the compilation and compilation of six ancient books.
(1) "Poetry": later called "The Book of Songs", including "Song" (the ancestral temple sacrificial songs of Zhou, Lu and Song Dynasty), "Ya" (songs and poems created by nobles), "Feng" (Folk Songs and Poems from Fifteen Countries and Regions), which compiles 305 songs and poems from 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. This is the first collection of poems that transformed China from oral literature to written literature. It is known as the source of Chinese literature. It is also known as the three major literary masterpieces in the ancient world along with Greek epics and Shakespeare's plays. Confucius not only collected, organized, and collated the songs and poems in this collection of poems, but also performed music (correction of music and rhythm) and standardization of language. "The Analects" contains records of him teaching students to read "Poetry" and his use of "Poetry" and lectures on "Poetry".
(2) "Shu": "Shang Shu", also known as "Shu Jing", is a historical archive document of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. "Shangshu" is an ancient book, dating from Yao and Shun to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. It is China's earliest collection of political and historical materials. It records a number of political activities from 4,000 to 2,600 years ago, involving politics, military, philosophy, Religion, law, geography, calendar and many other fields are indispensable historical documents for the study of ancient history. According to "Weishu", "Shangshu" originally had 3,240 chapters, of which 120 were compiled and compiled by Confucius; according to "Hanshu Yiwenzhi", there were still 100 chapters in the Han Dynasty, and they were scattered and lost in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and now only There are 58 biographies, including 5 "Yu Shu", 4 "Xia Shu", 17 "Shang Shu" and 32 "Zhou Shu".
(3) "Yi": namely "Book of Changes". It was originally a divination book, but it contains rich philosophical thoughts, as well as many social historical and literary materials. Confucius did not believe in ghosts and gods, nor did he do divination. When he was fifty years old, he studied "The Book of Changes" and discovered its philosophical value. "The Analects of Confucius: Shuer" records: "The Master said: Give me a few more years, fifty to study "Yi", there will be no big mistake." He once read "Wei" in "Yi". It is said that in order to explain "Yi", he wrote "Zhou Yi Da Zhuan" and explored the philosophical connotation of "Yi". Confucius was the first scholar to read and speak "Yi" as philosophy, thus defining this document status in traditional Chinese culture.
(4) "Li": Also known as "The Book of Rites", it actually refers to the 17 chapters of "The Book of Rites". (Later, the three "Rites" in the "Thirteen Classics" refer to "Rites", "Zhou Rites", and "Book of Rites". "Zhou Rites" was compiled by people in the Warring States Period, and "Book of Rites" was compiled in the Han Dynasty. These 17 articles are all detailed records of Zhou Dynasty etiquette, recording the process and specific arrangements of weddings, crowns, funerals, sacrifices and other etiquette ceremonies, which retain some elements of our nation's original etiquette. "Rituals" is the basis for Confucian disciples to engage in ritual activities, and some of its elements have been inherited into modern etiquette activities.
(5) "Yue": also known as "Yue Jing". Confucius was particularly fond of music and was also proficient in temperament. He believes that the function of music is to cultivate people's sentiments and stimulate people's emotions. How to use music not only affects people's will, but also affects the social atmosphere and the rise and fall of national destiny. Therefore, he respected some music and firmly opposed some music. "The Book of Music" is the score of the music he admired, and it also has some theoretical explanations. By the Han Dynasty, "The Book of Music" had been lost.
(6) "Spring and Autumn": "Spring and Autumn" was originally the name of the year-by-month account of major events by the historians of the Lu State. Confucius relied on the historical records of the State of Lu and referred to the historical annals of other countries to record the year of the State of Lu and the Twelve Years. It is organized and compiled in order of public years, recording more than 1,800 historical events in various countries from 722 BC to 481 BC to 242 BC. Because of this book compiled by Confucius, this period of Chinese history is called the Spring and Autumn Period. As a teaching book, Confucius was the modern history textbook at that time. It uses the era of the State of Lu to record events in various countries during this period of great historical change. What is recorded in the book are all original records. After verification by later generations, the recorded celestial phenomena are in line with modern scientific calculations, and then verified and unearthed. Cultural relics and historical records of other countries can be used as reliable historical data. When Confucius compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals, he did not just copy the records of historians from various countries, nor did he simply record historical events, but "composed narratives instead of writings" and expressed his political opinions in the narratives. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" said: Confucius "during the two hundred and forty-two years of his life, he thought he was a good figure in the world, demoted the emperor, retreated from the princes, and begged the officials, just to achieve the king's affairs." Later generations called the political thoughts expressed in the book "the great righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period"; his rigorous writing style, which contained praise and criticism in every word, was called the "Spring and Autumn Writing Technique"; both the principles and writing techniques of "Spring and Autumn" had a profound impact on later generations. . The text of "Spring and Autumn" is simple, and the longest record is only 23 words. To read "Spring and Autumn", you must have "biography" and "note" as explanations and supplements to understand it. Popular biographies include Chunqiu Zuo Shi Zhuan (referred to as "Zuo Zhuan"), Chun Qiu Gongyang Zhuan, and Chun Qiu Gu Liang Zhuan. Later generations compiled the classics and biographies together, and the three biographies of "Chun Qiu" were all included in the "Ten Biography". "Three Classics".
The scholar Confucius compiled and compiled the above six ancient books, preserving precious ancient documents for the Chinese nation and becoming a world cultural heritage. Confucius was the first expert in compiling ancient documents with great achievements in ancient China.
The teacher Confucius used this teaching material to teach students, using "Poetry" as a literature and language teaching material, "Book" as a political teaching material, "Yi" as a philosophy teaching material, and "Li" as a etiquette teaching material. , use "Yue" as a music teaching material, and "Spring and Autumn" as a modern history teaching material. After Confucius died, Confucian disciples continued to use these six teaching materials, called the "Six Classics". Since the Han Dynasty, the "Book of Music" has been lost, and of the "Six Classics" only the "Five Classics" remain. It is still the traditional textbook of Confucianism and a must-read textbook for generations of scholars for thousands of years.
Fourth, Confucius is the founder of Confucianism.
Confucius had 3,000 disciples, including 72 famous figures. Some of his disciples were engaged in politics, and most of them were engaged in rites or education. From generation to generation, they regarded Confucius as their ancestor and read the teaching materials compiled by Confucius. Confucian disciples formed the Confucian school during the Warring States Period.
The Warring States Period was an era of flourishing culture and scholarship, the emergence of numerous scholars, and the contention of hundreds of schools of thought. Confucianism was the most influential school among them.
In the Confucian school during the Warring States Period, there were many Confucian masters. They respected Confucius’ thoughts and doctrines, and each enriched and developed Confucianism from different aspects. For example, Zeng Shen focused on the development of the Confucian "filial piety" doctrine. It is said that the "Book of Filial Piety", which was later included in the Thirteen Classics of Confucianism, was compiled and later compiled by Confucius, who was personally taught by Zeng Zi. Zixia (Bu Shang), a student of Confucius, was good at literature. In the early Warring States period, he gave lectures in Xihe (now Qiachuan, Heyang County, Shaanxi Province) and taught the Book of Songs and the Spring and Autumn Annals. Zisi, a disciple of Zengzi and the grandson of Confucius, developed Confucius's philosophy of the mean and completed the book "The Doctrine of the Mean", which was later designated as one of the "Four Books". Zisi and his disciple Meng Ke (Mencius) were called the Simeng school by later generations. Mencius was a Confucian master in the middle of the Warring States Period. He developed Confucius' humanistic theory into a people-oriented theory. Xun Kuang (Xunzi), a Confucian master in the late Warring States period, closely integrated Confucius' etiquette theory with the legal system, promoting the formation and consolidation of China's unified feudal absolutist empire, and became another faction of the Confucian school in the late Warring States period.
In the Han Dynasty, "hundred schools of thought were deposed and Confucianism was the only one respected." Confucianism became the officially established national science and was the dominant ideology in all the country's political, criminal, ritual, musical and social activities. In the feudal society that lasted for two thousand years, the status and influence of Confucianism in Chinese society have basically been inherited for a long time. In various eras over the past two thousand years, many Confucian masters who have gone down in history have developed and transformed Confucianism. The main content of Confucianism is Confucian classics, that is, the study and dissemination of Confucian classics. The Five Classics written by Confucius (and other derived classics, together with the Five Classics, are collectively called the Thirteen Classics) are always the main body of research, and Confucius' thoughts and doctrines are also the main body of research. origin.
Confucianism, which has historically been and is still spreading in modern China and other countries around the world, is an ideological system based on the thoughts and doctrines of Confucius, and it still has a significant influence in today's world. There are now hundreds of Confucius Institutes spread across the world.