Another question: Confucius said there was nothing wrong with learning Yi at fifty. Does it have anything to do with age?

Confucius said: "If you read the Yi Jing at fifty, there will be no big mistake." There are several meanings: (1) According to legend, Confucius did not have the opportunity to read the Yi Jing before he was fifty (see appendix) ). (2) Older people have richer experience and can understand Yili by heart. (3) Since fifty-year-olds can understand Yili clearly, they will certainly not make big mistakes in doing things. (4) It may not be advocated to be too cautious since childhood (need to accept Ups and downs, accept setbacks, explore and sum up experience by yourself). Adults always hope that children will avoid detours, but children need to go through some detours before they can grow. For most people, the process is the most important, and they must understand the ups and downs of life in the process. ; Encourage people to explore and create, then society will develop and life will have meaning. (But the key is to be careful not to go astray) "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles", so the great principles of the Book of Changes are in After having some social practice experience, it may be easier to understand and understand. Appendix: How did Confucius get the Book of Changes? One day in 500 BC, Zilu and Zigong saw that Confucius was unhappy, so they went to Asked: "Master, why do you frown? Is it the disciple's fault? Is there something that needs the disciple to do?" Confucius sighed slightly and said with a regretful tone: "I am nearly fifty years old, and I have become yours. Master, I haven’t read the book "Yi" yet. This is unjustifiable in any case!"

Zilu hurriedly said: "The book "Yi" is a secret collection of the Zhou royal family, and outsiders cannot read it. Moreover, in the twenty-sixth year of Zhaogong (516 BC), Wang Zichao defected to Chu State with the Zhou Dynasty classics and settled in Nanyang. He lived in seclusion and saw no outsiders. The Zhou Dynasty classics also disappeared, or were burned in the flames of war. , or it may be said that it is hidden deep in the mountains, where can I find the Book of Changes?"

Confucius nodded while listening. When Zilu finished speaking, he turned his eyes to Zigong. Zigong was not panicked. He said hurriedly: "I know that Master likes to read, so I always pay attention to the whereabouts of the classics of the Zhou Dynasty. I heard that in the fifth year of Dinggong (505 BC), King Zhou Jing sent someone to Chu to ask for the royal books. Zhou Dynasty's classics, Wang Zichao refused, so he was killed by an assassin. The next year, Zhou Danpian led everyone to avenge Wang Zichao. King Zhou Jing was so shocked when he heard about it that he left the royal city to take shelter in Guhuo; but in the end it was The disparity in power did not cause any major incident, but the whereabouts of Zhou Danpian and others became more secret from then on."

When Zigong said this, he saw a look of disappointment on Confucius' face, so he added: " When I was doing business, I had many traveling friends. If Master wants to find the book of "Yi", I would like to ask Master for leave. If I go to Nanyang in person, I might be able to find more Zhou Dynasty classics for Master!"

< p> Confucius was overjoyed when he heard this. Just as he was about to speak, Zilu's words came out: "My disciples also have many close friends in the mountains and fields. Zilu is willing to go with Zigong. As long as the book of "Yi" is still in the world, he will dig three feet into the ground. , I want to find it too!"

Confucius said with a smile: "This is exactly what I want. You two can pack your bags and go south to Peidi to meet Lao Dan. The collection history of the Royal Library, Classics, Archives and Archives. Because the Zhou Dynasty classics were taken away by the princes, Lao Dan retired to his land because of self-blame. He should know some information."

Zilu and Zigong. They went to see Lao Tzu with Confucius's autographed letter, and the three of them talked secretly all night. The next morning, Zilu and Zigong said goodbye to Lao Tzu, and they headed west separately. They had a good meal and slept in the open, and had to deal with all kinds of people, and it was inevitable that they would encounter tigers. , leopard, bear, tiger, it is natural that a lucky person has a lucky star shining high, and he can always turn bad luck into good luck. This is an ordinary story, and there is no need to explain it. It is said that there is a Xi'e Mountain in Nanyang area. Although the mountain is not very high, the trees are dense. ; And there is a clear spring, called the Qingling Abyss. It is said to be a good place, but people from a hundred miles radius all show fear when talking about this mountain. It turns out that there is an ape-like monster here with red eyes. It has a red beak and is covered with yellow hair, but it has an auspicious name of Yonghe; it is said that wherever it appears, it indicates that frightening events will occur there (see " "The Book of Mountains and Seas·The Eleventh Classic of Chinese Classics·Fengshan"). Therefore, people only look at Xi'e Mountain from a distance, but never dare to get closer, but occasionally they can hear the faint sound of bells coming from there. Boom. Dong Dong, Dong Dong, Dong. When Yonghe heard the sound of the bells, he knew that the annual commemorative ceremony had begun again. It has been more than ten years since this happened. This was the rule established by the princes at that time. Every year during the frost season, The bell should be sounded as a warning. Because it was the frost season, the prince heard the palace bell ringing for no reason and was anxious.

I was busy doing divination, and then I learned that the Jin State had sent troops to support Wang Ziqi (that is, Wang Zichao's half-brother, who was established as King Jing of Zhou). Because he had obtained this letter in advance, Wangzi Chao had time to send Zhou Dynasty classics and Zhou Dynasty classics to Zhou Dynasty. The royal family's bronze ritual vessels were packed and transported to the Nanyang area for hiding (they were symbols of royal power and throne). "Alas, it is a pity that the prince was assassinated by the prince beggar, and Zhou Danpian led everyone to escape to Mount Xi'e. I'm not young anymore, where should I end up in the future?" Yonghe was thinking deeply when he suddenly heard movement in the distance. When he looked closely, he saw a strong man walking up the mountain. Yonghe hurriedly put on his mask and put it on. The yellow sweater suddenly jumped in front of the strong man. This strong man was none other than Zilu. He had found out that Zhou Danpian was living in seclusion in Xi'e Mountain. If he wanted to find "Yi", he must first meet Zhou Danpian. Zilu was thinking about what to say when he saw someone, when suddenly he saw a monster with yellow hair and a red beak rushing towards him, and instinctively dodged aside. A few years earlier, not to mention one Zilu, but three or five Zilu, would have been nothing. Yong He's opponent. However, Yong He has been worried recently, and his skills are not as good as before. Zi Lu is determined to win, and his skills are also good. Therefore, when the two fight against each other, neither one takes advantage of the other. In fact, it is Zi Lu, if it were changed Others have long been scared away by Yonghe's appearance; this is also due to Confucius, because Confucius often taught his disciples not to be superstitious about strange things, powers, and gods. Therefore, while Zilu was parrying, he was also thinking about how it jumped around. Do you look like a human being? Don't hurt people for no reason, otherwise the following things will be difficult to deal with. "Zilu, stop it! Mr. Yonghe, Mr. Yonghe! Please listen to me and take a closer look." Zilu turned around and felt overjoyed. It turned out that Zigong was here. Yonghe was stunned when he heard the words. How could the person know his identity? So he took off his mask and followed the sound. Zigong walked a few steps quickly, saluted Yonghe, and then said slowly: "We are Kong Disciples of the Master, he is Zilu and I am Zigong. After being introduced by Laozi, I came here to visit your home, Mr. Zhou." Although Yonghe lived in seclusion in the Western E Mountains with Zhou Danpian and others, he was always aware of the outside world, so Confucius gathered a crowd He still knew about the lectures; since he could not defeat Zi Lu, and Zi Gong was polite, he said to the two of them: "You guys wait here for the time being, and I will talk about it after I inform my husband."

After saying that, Yonghe disappeared into the dense forest, leaving only the sound of a series of feet stepping on fallen leaves. After a moment, Yonghe had changed into the official uniform of the Zhou Dynasty and walked over, accompanied by several people, alert and kind-hearted. Yonghe said to Zilu and Zigong: "Two guests, please come with me."

Zilu and Zigong exchanged glances, and then replied: "Please lead the way." Yonghe said. With a wink, those people stepped forward and covered the eyes of Zilu and Zigong with cloth strips, and took them on the road like a frame. They turned left, right, right, left, and heard the chirping of birds. The sound of gurgling water. After Zilu and Zigong's hoods were untied, they realized that they had been taken to a house deep in the dense forest. "You two are wronged. I don't know why you are here in the mountains?" Zilu , Zigong then saw an old man questioning himself. This old man had white hair and white beard, but his eyes were full of energy. He was Zhou Danpian, but the white hair and white beard were fake. The harsh life The encounter forced him to be on guard. Zilu and Zigong hurriedly explained their purpose. The old man listened carefully, but from time to time he smiled and shook his head. His expression meant: "What you two said is completely unbelievable. How can I have anything here?" What Zhou Dynasty classics?!"

Seeing this, Zilu smiled at Zigong, then stepped forward and said to the old man: "Mr. Zhou, I have something here, which I entrusted to give to you." After that, he took out something from his body and handed it to the old man with both hands. The old man hesitated for a moment and then regained his confident smile. He slowly opened the silk silk and saw that it was a piece of tortoise shell that was polished smoothly and had seven drill holes on it. , looks like the Big Dipper, and there is no writing on it. Zhou Danpian was startled, and with a tremble of his fingers, the tortoise shell almost fell to the ground, but then it returned to normal and asked softly: "What can you say about this thing?" Zilu heard this. He was stunned for a moment, stammering and unable to explain, because I told him at that time that as long as he offered this tortoise shell, the problem would be solved. At this time, Zigong walked forward calmly and confidently. Di said: "The outer back of this object is called 'reverse', and the inner wall is called 'weak'. The meaning is: 'Reverse is the movement of Tao, and weak is the use of Tao; all things in the world are born from existence, and existence is born from nothingness.' (from "Reverse" Chapter 40 of the Tao Te Ching)"

Hearing this, Zhou Danpian let out a long sigh, and then said to Zilu and Zigong: "Now that the matter is over, you two can go down the mountain and stay for a few days. I will send someone else to deliver what you need when the time comes, but don’t tell others about what you saw on the mountain, remember this! See off the guests!” After saying this, Zhou

Dan Pian then turned and left. Yong He and others still covered Zilu and Zigong's eyes and sent them down the mountain. It turned out that more than ten years ago, when Wang Zichao was on his way to Chu with the classics of Zhou Dynasty, I had advised him to go to Chu. Hidden the Zhou Dynasty classics deep in the mountains instead of handing them over to the Chu kings and ministers. At the same time, Laozi made an agreement with Wang Zichao to select a number of Zhou Dynasty classics to make copies and pass them on to book lovers, and agreed on a secret code. After that, , Wang Zichao left the matter to Zhou Danpian to handle secretly, and successively copied copies of "Book", "Yi", "Poetry" and other classics. During this period, the King of Chu also continued to send people to ask for Zhou Dynasty classics. He also asked for the bronze ritual utensils of the Zhou Dynasty (including Jiuding, chime bells, treasure goblets, etc.), and called for Dayu's flood control map (this map has been lost for a long time, but fortunately, someone today has drawn about 400 square feet based on the "Wuzang Mountain Sutra"). The giant painting "Emperor Yu's Mountains and Rivers"). Since the princes and his party lived on the territory of the Chu State, they had to bear the pain and give the Chu monarchs and ministers a batch of bronze treasures of the Zhou royal family and the craftsmen who made the bronzes (today in Hunan and Hubei provinces Bronze vessels are still unearthed from time to time); in addition, the geographical content of the previous dynasty classics, namely the "Wuzangshan Jing" of the Emperor Yu era, the "Overseas Four Classics" of the Xia Dynasty, the "Four Classics of the Great Wilderness" of the Shang Dynasty, and the "Four Classics of the Great Wilderness" of the Western Zhou Dynasty The "Five Classics of the Sea" was edited and compiled into the "Book of Mountains and Seas" and sent to the King of Chu. However, the King of Chu was greedy and his ministers were greedy, and the princes were assassinated by people sent by King Zhou Jing. Zhou Danpian had to lead his tribe (including followers) The prince (the former officials, scholars and descendants of the Zhou royal library) who went to Chu lived in seclusion in the Western E Mountains. Now that the book lover recommended by Laozi has arrived, it is just right to put an end to this matter, and from now on, the classics of the Zhou Dynasty can be Hiding in the mountains forever, waiting for the coming of the Qingming era in future generations - Zhou Danpian had made up his mind, so he told everyone to work separately. Zilu and Zigong stayed in an inn at the foot of Xi'e Mountain for many days, but there was no news. When Zi Lu had nothing to do, he thought about it and asked Zigong: "How do you know that the tortoise shell said this?" Zigong saw that the weather was getting colder and thought that the journey would be difficult, so he had no intention of having fun, so he told Zi Lu: " This is what I asked me to say, and I am afraid it is the code word that I and Zhou Danpian have already agreed on." Zilu sighed after hearing this: "No wonder Master praised me as a dragon!"

Now At this time, Yonghe flashed into the house, and Zilu and Zigong stood up to greet him. Yonghe smiled and said, "I have delivered the goods you asked for." The three of them walked out of the house and saw more than a dozen picks in the yard. Chai and Yonghe saw that Zilu and Zigong were in a daze, so they whispered in a low voice: "To prevent outsiders from leaking the news, we had to hide the goods in the firewood."

Zilu and Zigong were overjoyed when they heard this, and Zigong was busy. He took out a hundred taels of gold from his luggage and gave it to Yonghe. Yonghe refused to accept it and left in a hurry. Zilu and Zigong counted the copies of the Zhou Dynasty classics sent to him overnight and disguised them as ordinary goods. They also disguised themselves as business travelers. , hurriedly left the inn and headed east early the next morning. Before leaving, Zigong left a hundred taels of gold at the inn, because he had already seen that this inn was opened by people from Western Eshan. More than twenty days later, Zilu and Zigong returned to Qufu with many copies of Zhou Dynasty classics and handed them over to Confucius. Confucius was overjoyed and read "Yi" day and night, so that he had "three unique skills in reed weaving" - the books at that time were made of bamboo slips. , the rope used to weave the bamboo slips was broken three times, which shows that Confucius went through a repetitive process when reading the "Yi". After that, Confucius organized and annotated the "Yi" into the "Book of Changes" and edited the "Book" into the "Book of Changes" A book, "Poems" was deleted and selected into "The Book of Songs", which was circulated in the world. Later, Zilu and Zigong returned to Xi'e Mountain again, only to see people disappearing into the sky. Zhou Danpian and his party disappeared without a trace, and the Zhou family It is unknown in which mountain the original editions and original documents of the classics are hidden. At the same time, a new industry has emerged in Nanyang, namely the book publishing industry. The practitioners claim to be descendants of the original Zhou royal library officials and scholars. , the industry ancestor gods they worship are Wang Zichao, Zhou Danpian and Lao Dan, and they firmly believe that Zhou Danpian and Lao Dan are still alive in the world. There are still people surnamed Chao in the local area who claim to be descendants of Wang Zichao; and the cemetery of Wang Zichao Also in Xi'e, Nanyang (today's Shiqiao Town, Nanyang City), the village elders claimed that they had seen Zhou Danpian wandering around Xi'e Mountain with a woman. After that, hundreds of schools of thought arose in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; until the Han Dynasty, the Nanyang area was still home to talented people. There emerged in large numbers, including the great astronomer and writer Zhang Heng, the great medical scientist Zhang Zhongjing, as well as the politician Chao Cuo, the military strategist Zhuge Liang, etc. Later, the situation changed, and the secrets of Xi'e Mountain gradually disappeared into the vast river of history. .