Langlang Qilu Month·Journey to Qufu·Konglin·Yi and Heaven and Earth will last forever
Langlang Qilu Month·Journey to Qufu·Konglin·Yi will be with the world for a long time
According to legend, when Confucius was seventy-three years old, he had a premonition that his destiny was over, and soon he died After lamenting that "Taishan is so bad! The beams and pillars are broken! The philosophers are withered", he decided to lead his disciples to go out to select a cemetery. Confucius believed that the feng shui of the cemetery was directly related to the rise and fall of future generations, so he worked tirelessly and personally, and finally selected a cemetery covering an area of 18 hectares on the bank of the Sishui River in the north of Qufu City. Zilu pointed out: "Although the wind here is good, there is still a river in front." Confucius said: "Don't be busy, the people of Qin will come to pick up the river." After Confucius passed away suddenly, more than 270 years later, Qin Shihuang burned books and harassed Confucians. Someone suggested: "If you want Confucianism to disappear, you should first destroy the feng shui of Confucius's tomb. There is no river in Confucius's tomb. If you pick a river in front of Confucius's tomb to separate him from his former residence in Queli, Confucius will not be able to show himself as a saint." Qin Shihuang Upon hearing this, he immediately recruited corvees and dug the Zhushui River south of Confucius's tomb. They happened to serve Confucius and completed the last project of Confucius's tomb.
Today, Konglin covers an area of more than 3,000 acres, and the surrounding forest wall is 15 miles long. In the forest, there are old cypresses and ancient locust trees, which are green and lush; exotic trees and grasses are everywhere. It can be called the largest man-made garden in my country. Hidden among thousands of trees, Confucius and his descendants rest in densely packed tombs stretching as far as the eye can see. More than 60 pavilions and palaces loom in the dense forest, more than 2,000 exquisite stone figures and animals adorn the cemetery, thousands of tablets and rich underground cultural relics make Konglin a veritable cultural treasure house. It is said that the Zhushui River selected by Qin Shihuang runs through Confucius Forest and is closely related to the Holy Vein. It is known as the river with "infinite spiritual source and suitable for long-term relationship with heaven and earth".
Konglin is the oldest, largest and best-preserved clan-specific cemetery in my country. It is also the only large-scale cemetery in my country that combines wood and stone. There is a poem by Li Dongyang of the Ming Dynasty: "The tomb has been there for thousands of years, and the forest is deep and it is cold in May. I am grateful for the rain and dew of the week, and I recognize the clothes of the Han Dynasty. The pavilion is still standing, and the birds in the nesting branches are not yet settled. The broken monument is deep in the tree, and there is no way to find it."
The teachings have lasted through the ages and Mount Tai has never declined
The tomb of Confucius is located in the center of Confucius Forest. Entering the Holy Forest Gate, crossing the Zhushui Bridge and passing by the Xiangdian Hall, you can see the red wall surrounding the tomb. In front of the tomb is a huge stele inscribed with the words "Tomb of the Most Holy Saint Wenxuan of Dacheng", dating from the eighth year of the Ming Dynasty (1443). Written by Huang Yangzheng. The stone platform in front of the tomb was built with Zen stones transported from Mount Tai in the Tang Dynasty. Before his death, Confucius compared his death to the collapse of Mount Tai. After his death, he became the teacher of emperors and the teacher of all generations. This tall stone platform symbolizes that Confucius' thoughts are like the towering Mount Tai, standing tall against the sky and the earth. The tomb of Confucius is of extraordinary size and grandeur. Even the tombs of emperors are slightly inferior. Qianlong lamented: "The teachings have lasted through the ages, but Mount Tai has never declined."
The tomb of Confucius is like a raised horse. The back, called "horse seal", is a special and noble form of tomb construction. On the right side of the tomb is the tomb of his son Kong Li, and to the south is the tomb of his grandson Kong Ji. This kind of tomb layout is called "carrying children and embracing grandchildren." People say that "carrying children and embracing grandchildren will produce meritorious deeds from generation to generation." "If a father is in the arms of his son, he will be rich and noble." Always come”. The Feng Shui formed by this layout is effective for the prosperity of the holy veins. Kong Li was the only son of Confucius. When he was born, Duke Ai of Lu specially sent a big carp to congratulate him, so Confucius named his son Kong Li, with the courtesy name Boyu. Kong Li died before Confucius and made no achievements. Because he was the son of a saint, he was named "Marquis of Sishui" by Song Huizong, and the descendants of Kong's family respected him as "the second ancestor". Kong Ji inherited Confucius' theory and developed it, and wrote Confucian classics such as "The Doctrine of the Mean". Therefore, he was named "Shenggong Shu of Yi State" by Emperor Yuan Dynasty, and his descendants revered him as "Ancestor of the Third Generation".
In front of the tomb of Confucius, there is a Xiangdian dedicated to the wooden master of Confucius. There is a corridor between the Xiangdian and the tomb-blocking gate. On both sides of Yongtong, there are groups of stone instruments. Among them are four pairs of giant stone sculptures, named Huabiao, Wenbao, Jiaoduan and Wengzhong. The Huabiao stands on the inside of the tomb gate and is the symbol of entering the Tianmen. This pair of Chinese watches, also called Wangzhu, is a work of the Song Dynasty, simple and honest. Behind the Huabiao are two pairs of stone mythical beasts, Wenbao and Jiaoduan, lying prone and raising their heads. According to legend, Wenbao is a sacred beast that guards tombs. It breathes fire from its armpits and is docile and kind. Jiaoduan can travel 18,000 miles a day and understands the languages of all directions. , Ming Dynasty's secret affairs in foreign lands, once traveled with Confucius to various countries.
Weng Zhong was said to be a heroic general of the Qin Dynasty, who was powerful at the frontier fortress. Later, he was carved into a stone statue of two people, with text on the right and military on the left, standing opposite each other, and guarding the tomb together. Once, when Qianlong paid a visit to the tomb of Confucius, he walked here and asked a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy: "What is the name of this stone man?" Hanlin was negligent for a moment and replied: "Zhong Weng." Qianlong smiled slightly and recited a poem casually: "Why did Weng Zhong say that Weng Zhong was just because he owed his husband a job under the window, and he was promoted to Hanlin in the imperial court, and he was demoted to the south of the Yangtze River to work as a judge." It's a pity that this Hanyuan celebrity was demoted to the position of assistant and idle cao just because of one word difference.
The disciples shed tears at Zigong’s tomb
After Confucius died, all the disciples guarded the tomb for three years and then left. Only Zigong guarded the tomb for another three years. . To commemorate this event, later generations built three west rooms at the tomb of Zigong and erected a stele with the title "Zigong's Tomb in Lu". The tomb of Lu is located on the west side of the tomb of Confucius.
Speaking of the deep and touching teacher-student friendship between Zigong and Confucius, there are many beautiful local legends. Zigong, whose name was Duanmuci, was a native of Weiguo in the south of the Yangtze River. He was originally a wealthy businessman. Because he admired Confucius' moral knowledge, he gave up business and studied, and soon became one of Confucius's top ten disciples. He later entered politics, and was very prosperous. Although he was a giant, he always admired Confucius very much. He often said: "He who is not tired of learning is wise; he who is not tired of teaching is benevolence. If he is benevolent and wise, he is a sage." After Confucius died, Zigong traveled thousands of miles south of the Yangtze River to mourn. After the funeral, he guarded Confucius's tomb for six years. During this period, he transplanted a rare southern rare oak tree next to his teacher's tomb to express his true love for his teacher. The regular tree has a tough texture and a straight trunk, symbolizing Confucius as a teacher and a model for the world. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Zigong was burned to death by thunder and fire while planting regular script. After Emperor Kangxi learned about it, he ordered a regular script tree to be replanted and a stele was erected to commemorate it. The stele is engraved vertically with the inscription "Zigong's hand-planted regular script" and an image of dried hand-planted regular script. It stands at the original site where Zigong planted trees with tears. It is said that every year around the 27th day of the eighth lunar month, the birthday of Confucius, the surface of this stone tablet is always wet and covered with strings of water drops. Especially on the inscription, there are more water drops than anywhere else, and the word "Zigong" is And the most; what’s even more amazing is that the water drops are endless day and night, and they will appear again immediately after being wiped off, repeatedly. The locals said that it was Zigong who shed tears in order to pay homage to his teacher, so the custom called this monument the "Tearful Monument".
Emperors stayed diligently and Kangxi paid a grand ceremony
Southeast of Confucius’s tomb are three pavilions for emperors Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and Qianlong Emperor. "Zhi" is the carriage used by the emperors to travel. These three pavilions were built to commemorate the three emperors who stayed here when they worshiped Confucius. Among them, the stele pavilion in the middle with multiple lattice lattice and yellow tile roof is the residence pavilion of Emperor Kangxi.
In the 23rd year of Kangxi (1684), Xuan Ye, the saint ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, went to Qufu to worship Confucius in person in order to win over Han scholars. Kong Shangren, the sixty-fourth generation grandson of Confucius, was recommended as a leading official. When going to Kong Lin to visit the tomb of Confucius, Kangxi got off the sedan chair and walked to show his respect. On the way, a fallen oak tree actually fell on Kangxi's crown. After Kangxi's false alarm, he saw a tall oak tree with a canopy-like crown. This tree was native to the Guandong forest area, so he was naturally familiar with it, but he suddenly wanted to test whether the descendants of Confucius were loyal to the Qing court. He asked Kong Shangren: "Kong Aiqing, what is the name of this tree?" Kong Shangren answered truthfully, violating the taboo of calling Manchu (Hu) people. Kong Shangren understood this very well, so he stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, this is The tree is an acorn tree, which was moved to the Holy Forest by the disciples of the ancestors from Kanto for more than two thousand years. It has brought auspiciousness to the Holy Sect, allowing the Holy Veins to continue and the Holy descendants to continue. For this reason, the descendants of the Holy Sect regard it as auspicious. It symbolizes the auspicious word "xiang", so it is called oak; its fruit is called "zi" because "zi" is an ancient honorific for virtuous people, so the Kong family called this tree out of respect. It is also an acorn tree. "Kangxi Longyan was full of praise for Kong Shangren's agility.
After tidying up his clothes at the Zhi Pavilion, Kangxi walked on the yellow felt to the tomb of Confucius. He stared at the large characters on the tombstone, "Tomb of the Most Holy Saint Wenxuan of Dacheng". He did not perform the ceremony for a long time, and turned back to Zhuzhiding without saying a word. Kong Yuqi, the Duke of Yansheng who accompanied him, was at a loss and came to Kong Shangren for discussion. After Kong Shangren paid a visit, he immediately sent someone to wrap the three characters "King Wenxuan" on the tombstone with yellow silk, and then wrote the two characters "Xianshi" on the silk. Later, when Kangxi saw that the words on the stele were changed to "Tomb of the Most Holy Master of Dacheng", he immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times.
It turns out that since ancient times, emperors have not worshiped the king when they worshiped as masters. When Kangxi first saw the words "King Wenxuan" on the stele, he did not worship to avoid bowing to the emperor.