Chinese civilization can be dated far back to ancient times and never interrupted Today's China comes along from the depth of the years and is passing on its long-term blood line Chinese people today are who they used to be When we look back at history on the land in the east of Asia after the long historical process of the Dynasties Xia, Shang and Zhou new ideas, new systems and new cultures were being conceived That was a quiet afternoon outside Luoyang City the sun was shining through the trees Confucius, who came from afar had his last conversation with Li Er whom he had been admiring for a long time The young Confucius spouted eloquent speeches in a generous and frank manner He talked about his anxiety and doubts about the current situation and expressed his strong desire for an ideal society Li Er just listened to him without saying anything When Confucius was about to leave Li Er finally broke the silence by saying benevolent persons give others words Slowly he made such a statement to Confucius The true meaning of this statement would not be comprehended by Confucius until many years later They bid farewell to each other Li Er At that moment they all had a clear mind that for all the life such a meeting and dialogue would hardly take place again Li Er watched Confucius going farther and farther In a moment he felt that this young man was like stepping into the vast starry sky With the breeze coming slowly Li Er stood there for a long time This is a story that happened more than 2000 years ago, which may cause boundless reverie of people The distant and clear rays of light have been shining till today Li Er Confucius Jie Yu Mo Di Mencius Zhuang Zhou Xun Kuang Li Si Han Fei Ying Zheng Liu Che Dong Zhongshu Sima Qian Ban Chao Sima Rui Wang Dao Tuoba Hong Xiao Yan Yuwen Tai Yang Jian Dugu Jialuo Abe no Nakamaro China "Spring and Autumn" The dynasty where Confucius lived is called "Zhou" At that time the human civilization in the Yellow River basin where Confucius lived had lasted for at least 3000 years Although in the early Zhou Dynasty the ancestors who lived on this piece of land had already carved the four characters "I Settle in China (Central State)" on the bronze ritual wine vessel "He Zun" Confucius had not known yet that the place he lived was what the later generations called China The bronze ritual wine vessel was the symbol of ritual system in the Zhou Dynasty As the foundation of the state Zhou Dynasty established a complete set of patriarchal system and ritual civilization Tributary Sacrifice Funeral Marriage all have a standard instrumental system The quantity and system of all music and dances as well as bronze wares were used to indicate the hierarchy of social status That also brought a stable and orderly life to the whole society But in the age of Confucius the Zhou Dynasty had been established for more than 500 years Its national strength was declining The system of rites and music established by it gradually became slack and desolate I Settle in China Confucius was tall and he liked reading and travelling around According to the custom at that time he was called Kongzi Confucius' hometown was in the State of Lu which was in the south of today's Shandong Province It was one of the vassal states enfeoffed by the Zhou Dynasty The enfeoffment system began in the early Zhou Dynasty Originally, it was to strengthen the local ruling but it led to segementation Over few hundred years large or small more than 100 vassal states have emerged They took the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty as the common leader of the country Since King Ping of Zhou, for the avoidance of Quanrong's invasion moved the capital city to Luoyang Zhou Dynasty began its way to decline In the face of the current political situation that was in disorder and chaos Confucius, a man of the State of Lu who advocated rites felt confusion in his deep heart He had the idea of examining and understanding the society One of the places that Confucius wanted to visit most was the capital city of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty Luoyang The person he wanted to see most was Li Er who lived in Luoyang Later generations are more familiar with the other name of him Laozi The opportunity came more like a surprise A carriage and a servant bestowed by King Zhao of Lu the emperor of the State of Lu took Confucius to his dream land He was astonished by what came into his sight In the year when Confucius was born Laozi was the keeper of archival records at the court of the Zhou Dynasty which was an official historian in charge of national archives and classics equivalent to the director of the National Library In the Zhou Dynasty and the long history earlier knowledge was monopolized by the powerful class Academic classics were controlled by the royal family Teaching and learning were only limited to imperial princes, court ministers and aristocracies while the lowest class had no access and right to learn The room of archival records that was kept by Laozi gathered almost all the essence of Chinese culture at that time Seeing these precious classics condensing the wisdom and spirit of predecessors Confucius increased his admiration for the heyday of the rites in the Zhou Dynasty Certainly he paid his visit here with a clear purpose He wanted to ask Laozi about rites and prove that his persistence in rites was correct What's more, he would also like to discuss with Laozi the solutions to many social problems at that time expecting his own opinions to be recognized For Confucius Laozi was not only a respectable elder but also a wise man with a lot of insights He was controlling the core cultural resources of this country He was erudite and good at thinking About life about nature even the entire universe he had his own thoughts Confucius talked about his yearning for a Zhou era with clear etiquette and ethical norms hoping to save the collapsing social order with that While Laozi called the law of all things in the world Dao he advocated the idea of Dao following the law of nature and people should act in accordance with the natural law taking no rash action importuning for nothing He advocated the rule of inaction The rulers shall take the world by non action Although their views were far apart Tin the face of Laozi Confucius was always modest He was not disappointed as he came asked and heard and expressed The most symbolic meeting and collision of thoughts in Chinese history like all the events that are significantly meaningful stayed quietly in the depth of time Leaving Luoyang Confucius embarked on his journey back to the State of Lu The world in front of him became more and more unfamiliar to him Occasionally the trace of the rites from the ancient times can be found on the street which is the most fundamental compassion and care among people But that seemed have lasted for only a short period of time it looked more like a reflection of the setting sun from the previous time With the loss of the emperor of Zhou's power the rules, regulations and moral standards collapsed day by day Everything fell in one direction unstoppably The wars between the vassal states had destroyed not only a dynasty that lasted for hundreds of years but also the spiritual structure that kept this piece of land and the people unbroken and stable The contention for power of the upper class was destroying layer by layer from the outside to the inside the society and morality Nothing ever hurt Confucius more than that He couldn't tolerate the world sliding into the abyss in such way He had to do something As a matter of fact before he visited Laozi and after he bid farewell to Laozi Confucius had never changed his mind He would try every means to call for and reinstate the rites of Zhou Dynasty He would put the fragments of ritual norms scattered on the ground back together bit by bit and put them back into the hearts of people He certainly knew that it was a very difficult thing to do Everything started with education Confucius opened his door to the public He broke the tradition of the Zhou Dynasty that schools were only operated by the government and founded the first private school in Chinese history Knowledge was no longer the exclusive privilege of the aristocracies Confucius proposed that there should be no discrimination in education Regardless of his social status endowment one should have equal opportunities to receive education As long as a little tuition was paid even if there was only one piece of dried meat people could come to him for reading books and studying Soon a large number of common people's children came for study Confucius provided for his students six courses rites, music, archery, chariot-riding, calligraphy and mathematics which were called by the later generations the "Six Arts" The place where Confucius running the school had a nice name Xingtan This is an open school for the general public Confucius wanted to expand the rite in the temples that were in its decline to the countryside and among the people "Rites" was an important course that he taught It represented the order, norms and ethics and was the institutional link to maintain the operation of society and the inter-personal relationship Not to look at things not conforming to the rites Not to listen to things not conforming to the rites Not to say things not conforming to the rites No to do things not conforming to the rites Confucius believed that rites are the standard for a person or even a country to behave On the basis of rites Confucius put forward his most important philosophy "Benevolence" As for what is benevolence he had given different explanations while the core of "benevolence" is "to love people" which is the basic principle of being a man This teacher who was in his prime had plentiful and surging thoughts and was full of enthusiasm for education Teaching benefits teachers as well as students Let knowledge flow like a clear spring When more and more people have the ability to think exploring the mysteries and significance of life became a kind of self-consciousness of Chinese people Those days when Confucius recruited students widely were the rare happy time in Confucius' life However what happened next interrupted his teaching career with a widely spread reputation One day in 517 B.C. an unexpected news suddenly came The king of the State of Lu, King Zhao escaped Confucius was so shocked, and he rushed to the capital city The case of the incident was a game between a influential noble of the State of Lu, Ji Pingzi and the minister Hou Zhaobo These two had conflict because of cheating in the cockfight game Hou Zhaobo complained to the king King Zhao wanted to take such opportunity to weaken Ji Pingzi's strength and he sent troops to attack Ji Pingzi While Ji Pingzi united with the other two noble families Mengsun and Shusun to counter attack King Zhao of Lu was defeated and forced to flee to the State of Qi for refuge Ji Pingzi announced that he would take over the power of the State of Lu Everyone kept silent If this can be tolerated, what cannot? Facing this military coup that went against the superiors Confucius was astonished While his anger didn't change anything Witnessing the collapse of rites and music in the land of the State of Lu Confucius felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer on his heart He had always firmly believed in and spread the concept of monarch behaving as monarch and minister behaving as minister father behaving as father and son behaving as son A monarch should behave as a monarch while a minister should behave as a minister What just happened in the State of Lu obviously went against what he believed in Where has the rites gone? and where has the benevolence gone? Would this world be any better? Confucius followed the King Zhao of Lu to the State of Qi where Confucius and his thoughts were not valued A few years later he went back to the State of Lu In 510 B.C. The King Zhao of Lu who once gave a carriage and entourage for Confucius to visit Laozi died in exile In that year Confucius was 42 years old The fate of people living in the great era was always beyond the control of oneself including the emperor History was moving towards the next crossing The days when the emperor of Zhou Dynasty commanded the world had forever gone The vassal states ruled their land independently not following the order of the Emperor They waged wars against each other, without a stop for land, wealth and power Before the birth of Confucius there were five vassal states that announced their domination successively The struggle had been intensifying However, it was farther away from the revival of rites and musics that Confucius wanted Confucius, who returned to the State of Lu had been dormant for a long time while his students Zilu, Ran Qiu and more had stepped into the political arena one after another demonstrating their ambitions Confucius, while teaching had been watching the changes quietly Over ten years passed, slowly but quickly Would the State of Lu need him? Would his political ideal be realized? He had been waiting Finally, one day he received the invitation from the King Ding of Lu the new king of the State of Lu In 501 B.C. Confucius, at his age of 51 was appointed as the local official of Zhongdu of the State of Lu County Magistrate of Zhongdu equivalent to a mayor of today A year later, he was promoted to Sikong in charge of public works and then to Da Sikou in charge of justice At the age of 56 he acted as the prime minister of the State of Lu in his position of Da Sikou Confucius reached the peak of his political career After three months of participating in the governance of the state the internal and foreign affairs of the State of Lu had improved significantly People lived and worked in peace and contentment Everyone abode by rites and laws Lost articles are always returned and guests felt at home However, Confucius himself was in a dilemma both internally and externally Confucius didn't forget the threat of the noble to the king He told the King Ding that the officials should have no weapons in their possession and the senior official should not own any city with a circumference over 300 feet In order to conform to the rites he ordered to demolish the cities of the three most powerful aristocracies in the State of Lu and it was almost inevitable to be opposed This action, which was called "Demolishing Three Cities" was abandoned halfway However, the conflict between Confucius and the powerful noble had already taken its root The good situation in the State of Lu also attracted the attention of the states in neighborhood The State of Qi, which shared borders with the State of Lu was quite concerned about what Confucius was doing would make the State of Lu the one to dominate among all states Their strategy was very simple That was to try to prevent Confucius from being engaged in politics See those in power falling into the stratagem of the State of Qi, step by step Confucius was deeply disappointed So he left the State of Lu again Confucius that set his foot on the journey again had already been 56 years old He wasn't in a bad mood though Now that the State of Lu couldn't undertake his political expectation he would find another king to work for And this time he was not on the way alone With a group of students following him at least he felt no longer alone With hope and ideal in mind the hard journey was also full of romance The goal of these preachers was so clear that they traveled to different states to spread widely the thoughts of "benevolence" and "rites" which they hoped could be adopted by the state rulers Their first stop was the State of Wei As they were badmouthed by someone in front of the king they left in a hurry after only ten months of stay On his way to the State of Chen Confucius was put into jail by the people in Kuang who mistook him as enemy His students panicked Confucius comforted them by telling them "Although King Wen of Zhou was gone the culture of rites and music of Zhou was still with us If God wanted to destroy Rites of Zhou he would not let us have mastery of it If God didn't want to destroy the Rites of Zhou what could the people in Kuang do to me?" In the State of Song Confucius took his students to study etiquette under a big tree After knowing about it Sima of the State of Song attempted to harm them so he cut down the big tree His students urged Confucius to leave quickly but Confucius stayed still calm Now that God bestowed me with virtues what could he do to me? At his arrival at the State of Zheng Confucius accidentally separated himself with his students and was left alone at the east gate of the outer city Someone told his student Zigong that there was a man at the east gate thin and tired like a homeless cur When Zigong found Confucius he passed on the words of others to Confucius but Confucius was brought to laugh "Right, right I am like a homeless dog That man is correct saying so" Along the way on the vast expanse of open ground sometimes they had no idea about the way sometimes they felt extremely tired and sometimes it was rainy and stormy They were robbed of property and vehicles by buglars and they were insulted and ridiculed by a lot of people Sometimes even children laughed at them Confucius had passed his age of sixty He was an old man This period of his life in exile was named by the later generation in a leisure way Traveling Around the States Perhaps only Confucius himself and his students would understand the joys and sorrows of it They left their footprints in the states of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty These people sometimes were ragged and looked like beggars Sometimes talked on the music and gave directions about ruling states Maybe there was nothing wrong with that name given leisurely No matter there was storm and rain the strings of Confucius never stopped along the way He faced every setback with the rational mean but he never wavered He was a brave man who had been defeated but kept fighting repeatedly Though in the eyes of ordinary people Confucius was so frustrated for all his talent and even felt down and out He paid his visits to one king after another and was rejected by one king and another The kings cared about one thing only at the time how to become the next supreme hegemon Obviously, rites and benevolence couldn't help them to open up more territory and achieve their hegemony in an instant It was a long journey without a known destination Such a group of people walked and stopped for a few years They had no plan about where to go Each departure of them may be due to sudden war or may be because of the kings that were capricious and changeable or the counter-balance of power of the vassal states as well as the emerging new opportunities and calls They seemed to have no direction under their feet but they did have direction in their mind Confucius, the idealist practiced his ideals in a nearly stubborn way of acting which had gone far beyond the meaning of success or failure In 489 B.C. had been wandering for several years outside Confucius encountered the most serious crisis in his life The thing sounded ridiculous the State of Wu attacked the State of Chen and the State of Chu sent troops to help Originally this was just an ordinary war waged between the vassal states When King Zhao of Chu heard that Confucius was right at the border of the State of Chen and the State of Cai he sent people to invite him The officials who's in charge in both the States, after knowing this were much panicked They didn't take Confucius' advice before But they knew very clearly what Confucius being sarcastic was right to the point If such a talented person was made to serve the State of Chu that would be very harmful to themselves In order to prevent Confucius from going to the State of Chu the State of Chen and the State of Cai sent people to encircle Confucius and his students in the wilderness Their way was blocked and they had insufficient food Many of his students fell ill and each one had pale look on their face One day Two days three days there was no sign that the siege would be relaxed Their food was about to be cut off Everyone was too hungry to stand up Only Confucius acted as if nothing had happened He preached and talked about theories recited books and played music as usual Some of his students couldn't hold on and left in twos and threes Zilu was very unpleasant with this groundless disaster He couldn't help asking Confucius Could a man of virtue be stuck in such a dilemma? Confucius replied even if the man of virtue was in a dilemma he would still have his own persistence If an amoral would encounter any dilemma he would only act wildly against law and public opinion Although the answer that Confucius gave to Zilu was as firm and clear as ever the distress this time was life-threatening and different from usual In fact, Confucius had his doubts He called for all his students and asked them the same question one by one "Is there anything wrong with my proposition? Why did I get to such situation?" Zilu said "Maybe we don't have enough benevolence so others don't trust us Maybe we don't have enough wisdom so they won't let go of us." Confucius refuted him "If benevolent people will all be believed by others how could Boyi and Shuqi be starved to death in Shouyang Mountain? If wise people could walk without obstruction how could the prince Bigan have his heart taken out by King Zhou?" Zigong then replied by saying "Master's theory is too broad and significant so no state would have room to accommodate you Could Master lower your standard a little bit? Confucius criticized him "You are not studying knowledge well but lowering yourself to cater to others You are at such a low level with your ambition." The last one who responded was Yan Hui who was the most favorite student of Confucius Yan Hui's words were spoken right into the heart of Confucius "Although we are not accepted by all the states what would be the matter? It would be our shame if we don't learn Master's theory well While if we learn Master's theory well but are not adopted by the state rulers it would be the shame of such state rulers" After hearing Yan Hui's words Confucius smiled happily Another day passed the last bit of gruel to satisfy hunger was all eaten Some students of Confucius that lost their hope chose to leave one after another This might be the moment in Confucius' life when he doubted the most of himself Both the dilemma in reality and in his heart surrounded him Communication with his students was more like his questioning of himself "Is there anything wrong with my proposition? Why did I get to such situation?" He should have asked himself such questions for countless times and should have answered himself for countless times Looking back at the way he had passed he recalled Laozi's words at departure on that afternoon outside Luoyang city many years ago which seemed to have predicted the ordeal he would suffer Laozi said "The person who is intelligent and good at observing is close to death because he likes to talk about others." "A knowledgeable and eloquent man is often in danger because he likes to expose the shortcomings of others." At the moment of danger and when death was approaching Confucius fully understood Laozi's heartfelt intention He felt that he was never so close to Laozi Another dark night came Confucius, who had been encircled for days hoped to tell the future from the mysterious images If everyone had his own destiny what would be his? Laozi, who advocated that everything should be taken as it should be had planned to resign from office and travel around the world That was the ideal of Laozi While Confucius was always concerned about the real world "Do what you know you can't do" was the destiny picked by Confucius at his own will On the seventh day of the siege Zigong who was sent by Confucius to seek help from the King Zhao of Chu eventually came back with the troops of the State of Chu At dawn all the hunger, hardship, struggle doubt, forbearance, grievance and resentment disappeared in an instant Seven days and nights of seige was like a rebirth for Confucius There was sayings by later generations that if Confucius was never born The history of China would keep being in long lasting darkness The seven day siege of Confucius was like a fable in the history of thoughts Confucius never stopped looking for his way out for the besieged students of his for himself and for the besieged China After getting out of the siege Confucius planned to go to the State of Chu and the King of Chu had prepared to enfeoff 700 Li of land to him Would they have a foothold in that big state in the south? Having been through the test of life and death together the teacher and his students cherished more each section of the way that they've traveled Confucius was more and more like a spiritual leader They had no idea that in the palace of the State of Chu a dialogue was taking place Some ministers proposed to the King Zhao of Chu that when the ancestors of the State of Chu granted the land it was only 50 Li Confucius had been always reiterating the laws of Zhou Dynasty If he was appointed how could the State of Chu still have the land of thousands of Li in a dignified manner? To have lands granted plus the talented students that he had Such a Confucius would not be a blessing of the State of Chu King Zhao of Chu had to give up on it Before long this king of Chu who appreciated Confucius' talent passed away Confucius' will was disillusioned again When passing by a ferry Confucius met a man who he would never forget in his life His name was Jie Yu He looked perverse Jie Yu People called him "Madman of Chu" Jie Yu passed by in front of Confucius with a swagger sang while walking Phoenix, Phoenix why virtue declining so far? What happened in the past is irretrievable you may still catch up with the forthcoming Phoenix, Phoenix why your virtue declining so far? What happened in the past is irretrievable you may still catch up with the forthcoming Confucius wanted to stop him and talk to him for a few words but Jie Yu didn't give him the chance and left without looking back In many interpretations Jie Yu was the one who came to give Confucius a blow and tip Although the past era was beautiful it was the past after all It was better to embrace the future After being besieged by the State of Chen and Cai Confucius didn't care about many things Perhaps it was the last sentence that Jie Yu sang touched him indeed That's all, that's all People in politics now are in danger Meaning "That's all, that's all People in politics now are in danger." Confucius had lost his enthusiasm for politics After that he refused the invitation for governance from Zilu who was serving as an official in the State of Wei He also warned Zilu that if the reason is not justified, the words can not be right if the words are not right, things can not be done the right way If things are not done the right way, rites and music can not be revived Perhaps the things that he had never forgot were rites and music In the eyes of the ordinary people how could Confucius not be a madman? After 14 years of his traveling around the states Confucius finally went back to the State of Lu and to Xingtan that used to belong to him Most of the students of his who followed him to travel in those years had already been in politics Confucius continued to recruit students and teach in his hometown It is said that he had over 3000 students among whom 72 became known as wise men But all these could not comfort his loneliness when he was at his old age Sad things came one after another Yan Hui, his favorite student suddenly died Zilu, who had accompanied him for the longest time died in the war His only son was gone before him In the last few years of his life Confucius indulged in The Book of Changes Repeatedly, he studied the Book of Changes so hard that the leather rope of the bamboo slips became broken for a couple of times He seemed to have seen more complex universe and nature beyond individual life This book, which he had a glimpse at in Laozi's library more than 40 years ago Now he could finally understand its mystery He finally understood Laozi In 479 B.C. Confucius, who had been seriously ill for a long time had the chance to meet his student Zigong He got up slowly from the sickbed and went at Zigong with the last bit of his strength shouted from a distance Why did you come so late? On that year Confucius was 73 years old Confucius passed away seven days later In the boundless years once on a warm spring evening Confucius went to the bank of river by himself Looking at the endless flow of the river He uttered a deep sigh that time passed like this Day by day Time goes like the running water Confucius knew the limit and regret of life Throughout his life even Confucius himself didn't realize how grand his mission was He lobbied all the states with his own strength and then created a set of unique ideological system which was called by the later generations as "Confucianism" The six works of Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Rites Book of Music, Book of Changes, Spring and Autumn Annals that he complied or revised were regarded as classic works of Confucianism Throughout his life Confucius was criticized and questioned a lot and he took too many misunderstandings He wasn't successful as he expected in his life Instead, he even failed time and time again However this may be the glory of an idealist It was his thoughts that were not understood needed or appreciated at that time that deeply influenced the following two thousands of years of China These thoughts were like an eternal river nurtured generations of Chinese people Day by day A ritually ordered era ended Later generations named this era with two characters "Spring and Autumn" At almost the same period mankind ushered in an extrordinary thought explosion with many great thinkers coming up In ancient Greece, there were Socrates Plato and Aristotle In Israel, there were the prophets of Jewish and in ancient India, there was Sakyamuni The propositions and ethical principles proposed by them created different cultural traditions Some people call that period "the axial age" of human civilization In such a great era on the land of China in the east of Asia Laozi and Confucius were shining like twin stars Standing on the origin of Chinese history of thoughts they became the great mountain that later generations look up to In the years where there was no more Laozi and Confucius seasons changed and people planted in spring and harvested in autumn The earth was still running in its own rhythm History in its ups and downs continued to move forward
