Story of Ancient Chinese Etiquette

1. Zengzi avoided the banquet

Zengzi avoided the banquet" comes from "The Book of Filial Piety", which is a very famous story. Zengzi was a disciple of Confucius, and once he sat beside Confucius. , Confucius asked him: "In the past, the sage kings had supreme virtues and essential and profound theories. They used them to teach the people of the world, so that people could live in harmony, and there was no dissatisfaction between kings and ministers. Do you know what they are?" ? "

After Zengzi heard this, he understood that his teacher Confucius wanted to teach him the most profound truth, so he immediately stood up from the mat he was sitting on, walked outside the mat, and replied respectfully: "I am not enough. How can I know how smart I am? I asked my teacher to teach me these principles. " ?

Here, "avoiding the mat" is a very polite behavior. When Zengzi heard that the teacher wanted to teach him, he stood up and walked outside the mat to ask the teacher for advice. This was to express his gratitude. He respected his teacher. The story of Zeng Zi’s politeness was passed down by later generations, and many people learned from him.

2. Confucius met with Laozi

In the spring of 521 BC, Confucius learned. His student Gong Jingshu was ordered by the king of Lu to go to Luoyang, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, to pay homage to the emperor. He felt that this was a good opportunity to consult Laozi, the guardian of the Zhou Dynasty, about "rituals", so he obtained Lu Zhaogong's consent. Accompanying Uncle Gong Jing. The day after arriving in Kyoto, Confucius walked to Shouzang Shifu to visit Laozi.

Laozi, who was writing the Tao Te Ching, heard that Confucius, who was famous all over the world, came. Asking for advice, Confucius quickly put down his sword and pen, straightened his clothes and went out to greet him. Confucius saw an old man who was over seventy years old and energetic coming out of the gate. He thought it was Lao Tzu, so he hurried forward and bowed to Lao Tzu respectfully. p>

After entering the hall, Confucius bowed again before sitting down. Laozi asked Confucius why he came. Confucius left his seat and replied: "I have little knowledge and know nothing about ancient etiquette. I specifically asked the teacher for advice." "Seeing that Confucius was so sincere, Laozi expressed his opinions in detail.

After returning to the state of Lu, Confucius's students asked him to explain Laozi's knowledge. Confucius said: "I am knowledgeable about the past and the present, and understand the rituals and music. The source of enlightenment and the return of morality are indeed my good teachers. At the same time, he also used metaphors to praise Lao Tzu, saying: "Birds, I know they can fly; fish, I know they can swim; beasts, I know they can run."

I can build a net to catch wild beasts that are good at running. I can catch swimming fish by tying them on fishhook with silk strips. I can catch high-flying birds with good arrows. It shoots down. As for the dragon, I don't know how it rides the wind and clouds to the sky. Lao Tzu, he is like a dragon evil! "

3. Sending Goose Feathers A Thousand Miles Away

The story of "Sending Goose Feathers A Thousand Miles Away" happened in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the leader of a minority group in Yunnan sent a special envoy to express his support for the Tang Dynasty. Mian Bogao offered the swan to Taizong. When passing by the Mianyang River, the kind-hearted Mian Bogao released the swan from the cage and wanted to give it a bath. Unexpectedly, Mian Bogao spread his wings and flew high into the sky. Only a few goose feathers were pulled out.

Mianbo was so anxious that he stamped his feet and beat his chest, and howled loudly. His followers advised him: "It's useless to cry as he has already flown away. It's better to think of a remedy." . "Mian Bogao thought that this was all he could do. When he arrived in Chang'an, Mian Bogao paid a visit to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and presented him with a gift. When Emperor Taizong saw that it was an exquisite satin bag, he asked someone to open it, and saw a few goose feathers and a A short poem.

The poem says: “Swans pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty, the mountains are high and the roads are far away. The treasure was lost in the Mianyang River, and he fell to the ground crying. Restore the Holy Son of Heaven, and be able to spare Mian Bogao. The gift is light but the affection is heavy, sending goose feathers thousands of miles away. "Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was puzzled, and Mian Bogao immediately told the whole story.

Taizong of the Tang Dynasty said repeatedly: "How commendable! How commendable! Sending goose feathers thousands of miles away is a light gift but a heavy heart!" This story reflects the integrity of the gift-giver. Rare virtues. Today, people use the metaphor of "sending goose feathers from a thousand miles away" as a metaphor for sending thin gifts but extremely strong affection.

4. Cheng Menlixue

Yang Shi (1053-1135). ) was a very talented scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty. After becoming a Jinshi in Nanjian Prefecture (now part of Fujian), he gave up being an official and continued his studies. 1107) The two brothers were famous academicians, philosophers and educators from Luoyang. They were both the founders of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Their theories were inherited by Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty. Known as the Cheng-Zhu School in the world, Yang Shi admired Er Cheng's knowledge and went to study under Cheng Hao in Luoyang. Cheng Hao died four years later and continued to study under Cheng Yi.

At this time, he was already 40 years old, but he still respected his teacher and studied hard.

One day, it was snowing heavily and the weather was freezing cold. When Yang Shi encountered a difficult problem, he braved the biting cold wind and asked his classmate You Ye (1053-1123) to go to his teacher's house for advice. When he came to the teacher's house, he saw that the teacher was sitting in a chair and fell asleep. He couldn't bear to disturb him for fear of disturbing the teacher's rest, so he stood quietly outside the door and waited.

When the teacher woke up, there was already a foot of snow under their feet and their bodies were covered with snow. The teacher hurriedly invited Yang Shi and others into the room to teach them. Later, "Cheng Men Li Xue" became a widely circulated example of respecting teachers.

5. Lying on the Ice Seeking Carp

Wang Xiang, a native of Langya, lost his biological mother when he was young. His stepmother Zhu said bad things about him in front of his father many times, causing him to lose his father's love. When his stepmother was sick, he took off his clothes to serve her. She wanted to eat live carp, but it was freezing cold, so he took off his clothes and lay on the ice. The ice suddenly melted and two carps jumped out. After the stepmother ate it, she recovered from her illness. Wang Xiang lived in seclusion for more than 20 years, and later rose from the position of magistrate of Wen County to Grand Sinong, Sikong and Taiwei.