According to Historical Records-Confucius Family, Confucius' ancestors were descendants of Shang Dynasty. After the destruction of Shang Dynasty in Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Chengwang was made an ordinary brother, and Wei Zi was made a loyal minister in Song Dynasty. Its capital is Shangqiu (now Shangqiu, Henan). After Wei died, his younger brother Wei Zhong succeeded to the throne. Wei Zhong was the ancestor of Confucius. After Jia, the sixth ancestor of Confucius, his father, descendants began to take Kong as their surname. His great-grandfather Kong fled from the Song Dynasty to Shandong to escape the civil strife in the Song Dynasty. Confucius' father, Shu (word, name Ge), was a famous warrior in Lu. Shu married Shi first, gave birth to nine women and no children, and my concubine gave birth to a son, Meng Pi, but she had foot disease. Under the circumstances at that time, neither a woman nor a disabled son should inherit. In his later years, Shu Liangyou gave birth to Confucius in a young woman named Yan. Because when Confucius was born, the middle of his head was concave, like a mud hill; Because Confucius' mother went to Niqiu Mountain to pray for blessings, she gave birth to Confucius, so she was named Qiu, the word (which means the second child, the eldest son of Shu is Meng Pi, and Meng Yi is the first). When Confucius was three, Shu died of illness. After that, Confucius' family was quite poor.
Confucius is very clever and eager to learn. At the age of twenty, he was already very learned and was praised as a "learned man" by people at that time. At the same time, little known is that Confucius inherited the bravery of his father Shu, who was nine feet three inches tall (now 1.9 meters above) and had extraordinary brawn, far from the image of a weak scholar that some people in later generations thought. Besides, Confucius was an extraordinary drinker, and it was said that he had never been drunk. However, Confucius never prided himself on being brave and addicted to alcohol. When Confucius was young, he used to be a "Commissioner" (a small official in charge of warehouses) and a "farmer" (a small official in charge of pastures), and everything was almost perfect. Because of Confucius' extraordinary ability and knowledge, he was quickly promoted. By the time Confucius was 5 1 year old, he was appointed as Zhongduzai (equivalent to the current mayor), and his political achievements were very remarkable; One year later, he was promoted to Sikong (equivalent to the current Minister of Construction) and later to Dashikou (equivalent to the director of the local public security department and the procurator of the Supreme People's Court); At the age of 56, he was promoted to acting prime minister and concurrently served as foreign minister (Confucius was promoted too quickly to meet the promotion standards of officials at that time, so he was acting prime minister). Only three months after Confucius came to power, all aspects of internal affairs and foreign affairs in Shandong have greatly improved, the country's strength has greatly increased, the people live and work in peace and contentment, the social order is very good (history books say that "the road is not picked up, the door is not closed at night"), and traitors and unruly people have fled; At the same time, Confucius also forced Qi to return the large territory occupied by Lu in the war to Lu through diplomatic means. Confucius' outstanding ruling ability threatened Qi, so he made a despicable plan to send a beautiful woman and a good horse to the monarch of Lu to indulge in debauchery and crowd out the most moral Confucius. After leaving Lu, Confucius traveled around the world. Although he was treated by the monarch most of the time, his political ideal did not match the "overbearing" who was eager for quick success and instant benefit at that time, and he could not be reused 14 years later. So Confucius returned to Lu at the age of 68 in 484 BC. Due to various reasons, Confucius didn't do much in politics, but in the three months of governing Lu, we can see that Confucius is worthy of the title of outstanding politician.
Political dissatisfaction made Confucius devote a large part of his energy to education, and Confucius served as the commander-in-chief of Lu State. Later, he took his disciples around the world; Finally, I returned to Shandong and concentrated on teaching. Confucius broke the monopoly of education and created a precedent for private schools. There are as many as 3,000 disciples of Confucius, including 72 sages, many of whom are the pillars of senior officials in various countries. Confucius had a far-reaching influence on later generations. When he was alive, he was known as a "heavenly saint", "many heavenly eyes" and "immortal sage". He was one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the society at that time, and was respected by later generations as the most holy (saint among saints) and the teacher of all ages. Because the mother prayed for the birth of the child in Niqiu Mountain, it was named Qiu. She wrote poems and books, ordered music, prefaced Zhouyi and wrote Chunqiu (it is said that Chunqiu was written by an anonymous person and revised by Confucius).
[Edit this paragraph] Political career
Confucius wanted to do something since he was in his twenties, so he was very concerned about world affairs, often thinking about various issues of governing the country and often expressing some opinions. By the time he was 30, he was already famous. In the twenty years of Lu, he visited Lu and summoned Confucius to discuss the question of being king with him, and Confucius got to know him. In the twenty-fifth year of Lu, civil strife occurred in Lu, and Lu was forced to flee to Qi. Confucius also left Lu for Qi, where he was appreciated and entertained by Qi Jinggong. He even prepared to seal the fields around Nishi to Confucius, but the doctor Yan Ying stopped him. In the twenty-seventh year of Lu, at that time, the doctor of Qi wanted to harm Confucius. When Confucius heard this, he turned to Qi Jinggong for help. Qi Jinggong said, "I am old and can still use it." Confucius had to flee to Lu. At that time, the state of Lu was actually in the hands of the doctor's retainer, which was called "ruling the country with the minister." Therefore, although Confucius had two opportunities to enter politics, he gave them up until he was appointed as the capital master in 9 years. At this time, Confucius was 5 1 year old. Confucius was in charge of Zhongdu for one year, and his achievements were outstanding. He was promoted to a small ordinary, and soon he was promoted to a big sheep herder, taking photos to take care of Lu. 12 years, in order to weaken the Third Ring Road (the third-generation leader and uncle Heshi were called the Third Ring Road because they were three grandchildren), the state power of Lu at that time was actually in their hands, and some retainers of the Third Ring Road also controlled the Third Ring Road to varying degrees), and Confucius took measures to reduce the Third Ring Road (that is, demolishing the castle built by the Third Ring Road). Later, the action of capturing the three capitals was abandoned halfway, and the contradiction between Confucius and the Third Ring Road was also exposed. 13 years, Lu Dinggong, Qi sent 80 beautiful women to Lu, and Ji Huan's family accepted female music. The monarch and his subjects were addicted to singing and dancing and ignored state affairs for many days. Confucius was very disappointed. Soon, when Lu offered meat to the doctors after the sacrifice in the suburbs, he didn't give it to Confucius as usual, indicating that Ji didn't want to hire him any more. Confucius had to leave Shandong to find a way out and began to travel around the world.
Confucius took his disciple Confucius' tomb to Weiguo first, and Wei Linggong began to respect Confucius very much. According to Lu's salary standard, he was given a salary of 60 thousand, but he was not given an official position and was not allowed to participate in politics. Confucius lived in Weiguo for about 10 months. Because someone slandered Wei Linggong, Wei Linggong became suspicious of Confucius, and sent someone to publicly monitor Confucius' actions. So Confucius left Weiguo with his disciples and planned to go to Chen. When passing through Kuangcheng, I was besieged for five days because of misunderstanding. I fled Kuangcheng, came to Dipu, met my uncle, a patriotic aristocrat who launched a rebellion, and was besieged again. After his escape, Confucius returned to China to defend his country. Wei Linggong was very happy to hear that Confucius and his disciples had returned from Dipu, and went to meet him in person. Since then, Confucius has gone abroad several times and returned to China several times. On the one hand, Wei Linggong had both good and bad feelings towards Confucius; On the other hand, after Confucius went abroad, he had nowhere to go and had to return.
In the second year (Confucius was 59 years old), Confucius left Wei, passed through Cao, Song and Zheng, and went to Chen, where he lived for three years. When Wu attacked Chen, the war broke out and Confucius left with his disciples. When the Chu people heard that Confucius had arrived at the junction of Chen and Cai, they sent someone to meet him. The doctors of Chen and Cai knew that there was something wrong with what Confucius did, and they were afraid that Confucius would be reused in Chu, which was not good for them. So they sent laborers to surround Confucius and his disciples in the middle of the road, not relying on the village in front or the shops behind. After eating all the food they brought, they were deprived of food for seven days. Finally, Zigong found the Chu people, and Chu sent troops to meet Confucius, so that Confucius and his disciples were saved from death. Confucius returned to Weiguo at the age of 64. With the efforts of his disciple Ran Qiu, he was welcomed back to Lu at the age of 68, but he was still respectful. Lu Aigong 16, Confucius was 73 years old and died of illness.
[Edit this paragraph] Confucius' character
Angry and forgetful, happy and forgetful.
When Confucius was 62 years old, he once described himself like this: "Angry and forgetting to eat, happy and forgetting to worry. I don't know that my old age is coming. " At that time, Confucius had led his disciples around the world for nine years and had gone through all the hardships. Not only did he not get the appointment of the governor, but he almost died. But Confucius was not discouraged, still optimistic, stuck to his ideals, and even knew that he could not do it.
Be content with poverty
Confucius said, "Being unjust and rich is like a cloud to me". In Confucius' mind, upholding justice is the highest value of life. When there is a contradiction between rich and poor and morality, he would rather be poor than give up morality. But we can't regard his peace and happiness as not seeking wealth, but seeking to maintain Tao, which is not in line with historical facts. Confucius once said: "Rich and expensive, people want what they want; If you don't take this road, you will accomplish nothing. Poverty and meanness are disgusting to people; If you don't take the main road, you won't go. " "Money is available, although there are many whips, I can do it. If you can't get it, just do as I say. "
Never tire of learning and never tire of teaching.
Confucius was famous for his eagerness to learn and showed great interest in all kinds of knowledge, so he was versatile and knowledgeable. He was very famous at that time, and was almost regarded as an omniscient saint, but Confucius himself didn't think so. Confucius said, "A saint cannot learn, but never tires of teaching." Confucius learned that there was no teacher. Whoever has knowledge and who doesn't understand will worship him as a teacher. So he said, "A threesome must have a teacher."
Follow the path of integrity-conduct integrity.
Confucius was upright in nature and advocated going straight. He once said, "I treat others, who will ruin my reputation?" If you are famous, you have to try. Simin also, the reason why the three generations went straight. "Historical Records records that Confucius asked Lao Tzu to be polite when he was in his thirties. When he left, Laozi gave a message: "Smart and thorough, close to death, considerate. Those who argue the broad masses are in danger, and those who are evil are also. A son should not have his own, and a minister should not have his own. "This is Lao Tzu's kind reminder to Confucius, and it also points out some shortcomings of Confucius, that is, he looks at the problem too deeply and speaks too sharply, hurting some people with positions and bringing great danger to himself. Confucius founded the moral theory with benevolence as the core. He is also a very kind person, compassionate, helpful and sincere. " Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you; a gentleman's adult beauty is not an adult's evil; and he'll do his best until he dies.
Confucius Conference: It's a pleasure to have friends coming from afar.
Confucius, a cultural saint who "respects heaven and earth, permeates ancient and modern times, deletes six classics and respects the constitution through the ages"; Confucianism is a value concept and ideological system based on Confucius' theory and Confucian masters' theory of past dynasties. A few days ago, in Qufu, Shandong Province, Confucius' hometown, the first World Confucianism Conference jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the Shandong Provincial People's Government was held grandly. It is an international cultural forum and a high-standard academic event, and its convening is a major event in Confucianism.
Xu Jialu, former Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), Zhou Heping, Vice Minister of Culture, Masahiko Takemura, former Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, and 172 experts, scholars and people from all walks of life from 22 countries and regions such as Chinese mainland, Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan Province Province, as well as 86 Confucian research institutions such as Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, France, Britain, Denmark and Australia. These experts, scholars and people from all walks of life from different countries, nationalities and cultures have conducted in-depth discussions and extensive dialogues on the historical research, contemporary value, modern interpretation, world communication, Confucianism and harmonious culture of Confucianism.
Once upon a time, the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing vividly displayed the splendid 5,000-year Chinese civilization in front of the whole world. People of insight pointed out that its main line is the essence of Confucianism, that is, "being happy and eager to learn, respecting the middle and emphasizing harmony." In 2008, the actor sang "It's a pleasure to have friends from afar"; In the sound of guqin, Confucius disciples wearing ancient robes and holding bamboo slips read the Analects of Confucius in unison, such famous Confucian sentences as "All men are brothers in the four seas", "Three people must learn from each other" and "Harmony is the most precious gift". The 887 movable type printing tray transforms the word "harmony" into three different fonts, expressing China's humanistic concept of "harmony without difference" and "harmony is precious". The excellent Chinese traditional culture represented by Confucianism has been further spread in five continents, and "Confucius fever" and "Confucianism fever" are "paid help to add fuel to the fire".
Zhou Heping said that in the long river of history, Confucianism not only maintained its kind and harmonious spiritual characteristics, but also carried the cultural imprint of different times. It has developed with an open attitude and made important contributions to the continuation of world civilization. At the first World Congress of Confucianism, Confucianism in the new century once again issued a voice of the times that conforms to historical development and human interests.
Confucianism: a good medicine for saving the world in today's society
There is no doubt that there are various problems in today's society. Ecological crisis, spiritual crisis, moral crisis and value crisis are profoundly affecting the healthy development of human society, and the fate of mankind and the fate of the earth are once again severely challenged. Professor Fu Yongju, president of Confucius Institute, pointed out that the resources of Confucianism can provide valuable wisdom for the handling and solution of these problems. Dr. Montenegro of Slovakia said that in order to create a moral society without any unreasonable conflicts, the moral principles and unremitting efforts set by Confucius, the great mentor of mankind, are still unparalleled today. Now, for ourselves and our descendants, we should try our best to improve our living conditions. Only the ethical principles advocated by Confucius can help us do this.
Some experts believe that there are two schools in the history of China, one in the pre-Qin period and the other in modern times. 2 1 century, it is very likely that a hundred schools of thought will contend for the third time. It will bring the prosperity of China culture and contribute to the prosperity of the world culture. In the third contention of a hundred schools of thought, ancient Confucianism will be reexamined, baptized, developed and innovated. In the blending with other different ideological trends, * * * creates new ideas and cultures that are more suitable for the requirements of the times. Professor Shen of Anhui University pointed out that the national spirit of the Chinese nation has always advocated, pursued and adhered to "harmony". In today's new historical period, this national spirit will certainly make great contributions to the development history of all mankind.
As if to provide an example for "Confucianism is a good medicine to help the world in today's society", in the middle and late 20th century, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and other countries influenced by the Confucian cultural circle developed rapidly and became newly industrialized countries. The success of these countries has aroused widespread concern among scholars, one of which is the relationship between Confucian culture and economic development. Therefore, in the group discussion, the practice of Confucianism in Singapore in the 1980s and 1990s became an important topic, especially in resisting western individualism and emphasizing social consciousness, thrift, tolerance and frugality, which can be affirmed as a new way of modern society.
Confucianism: Should we pay for China's backwardness in modern times?
Why has China always been beaten behind for nearly 300 years? Is it related to Confucius? Is it related to Confucianism? Scholars attending the meeting had a heated debate on the relationship between China's nearly 300-year development history and Confucianism.
For this complex social and historical problem, some scholars believe that there is a huge difference between the inherent agricultural culture and industrial civilization of the Chinese nation, which has led to the backwardness of China's social industrialization process; Some scholars believe that the key lies in the different ways of thinking, and the west is more suitable to inherit the tradition of logic in ancient Greek civilization to produce scientific concepts and enter the historical process of industrial society. Yang, a professor in Tsinghua University, made a systematic evaluation of these viewpoints, pointing out that the value orientation and mode of thinking of China culture were different from those of ancient Greece as early as the pre-Qin period. Generally speaking, ancient Greece focused on seeking truth, while China focused on seeking goodness. But the more important reason is that although we have reason to say that even without the entry of modern western culture, China culture will inevitably develop a scientific revolution and democracy with China characteristics in the modern sense and enter the capitalist industrial society, but it will take a long process after all. This is also the main reason for China's backwardness in modern times. Confucian culture represented by Confucius, as the main body of China traditional culture, directly bears the main historical responsibility for the rise and fall of the country and the nation for more than two thousand years; Its advantages and disadvantages, in the process of modernization, naturally become the main object of people's attention again and again. This is the historical background and main reason for the repeated appearance of respecting Confucius, opposing Confucius, approving Confucius and commenting Confucius in China in the 20th century.
Confucianism: How to popularize it in China and spread it around the world?
Du Weiming, one of the most famous contemporary Confucian scholars, once pointed out that compared with South Korea, Singapore and even Taiwan Province Province in China, there is still a gap in maintaining the Confucian tradition in Chinese mainland. Many scholars believe that with the China people's thirst for traditional culture, the popularization of Confucianism in China and its spread around the world should become an important topic in the current study of Confucianism.
Wang Junlin of Shandong University thinks that if Confucianism only stays in the small circle of Confucianism, it is usually regarded as a kind of thought and theory, and it is hard to say that it is a kind of culture. Only when Confucianism goes out of the small circle of Confucianism, comes to the society, goes deep into the public, becomes something that people like to see and hear, promotes ethical codes, regulates people's behavior, and advocates benevolence and righteousness to change social atmosphere, will Confucian culture be bred from Confucianism. Macao scholars also suggested that Confucius should be read for one minute every day in primary and secondary schools.
On September 28th, the delegates went to the Confucius Temple in Qufu to attend the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Confucius. Therefore, some delegates discussed the ceremonies of offering sacrifices to Confucius around the world. Kong Xianglin of Confucius Institute pointed out that there are Confucius temples in China, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan. In ancient China, there were also Confucian temples at all levels of government, which had three important social functions: respecting morality, serving the public and educating people. Through Confucius Temple, the government educates its subjects to study Confucianism, respect morality and emphasize righteousness, sharpen ethics and strengthen moral cultivation. This kind of cultural facilities plays a very important role in the spread of a cultural spirit, and should be paid enough attention and protected in today's society. Zhao Rongguang, a professor at Zhejiang Gongshang University, compared the Confucius Temple ceremonies in Qufu, Taibei and Sungkyunkwan in China, and thought that the Confucius Temple ceremony should reproduce the original historical appearance according to the museum principle, and strengthen a series of specific matters such as related systems, etiquette, music and dance, costumes, utensils and sacrifices. When the conditions are met, the relevant parties should "apply for the legacy" to the United Nations.
Dong Jinyu, Taiwan Province Province, introduced that ancient sacrificial ceremonies were divided into "autumn sacrifice" and "spring sacrifice". The "autumn sacrifice" in Taiwan Province Province mainly followed the "ancient ceremony", that is, in terms of etiquette, clothing, music and dance, it followed the rules of sacrificial ceremonies in the Ming Dynasty, and compressed the ritual time according to the characteristics of the times, accepting women to participate in sacrificial ceremonies; "Spring Festival travel rush" incorporates more characteristics of the times and adopts a way acceptable to young people. Its main function is to attract young people to approach Confucius and get in touch with Confucianism.
Some experts pointed out that in the current complex cultural background, the spread and popularization of Confucianism in the world will not be smooth sailing, and even the difficulty is far beyond everyone's imagination. Anderson from Denmark believes that the popularity of Confucianism is not the imposition of values. Confucius philosophy emphasizes mutual understanding, and Confucianism is a harmonious value. He believes that Confucianism should be promoted in a coordinated way, not by preaching.
Experts attending the meeting believe that while we are learning advanced western ideology and culture, Confucianism, represented by Confucius, will go further to the world and be understood and accepted by more and more countries and people in the world, thus bringing mankind into a new era of peace, stability, prosperity and progress. As Mr. Zhang Dainian once said-"The era of blindly criticizing Confucius has passed, the era of blindly respecting Confucius has also passed, and the era of scientifically studying Confucius has arrived." Confucius belongs to China and Confucianism belongs to the world.
[Edit this paragraph] Educational contribution
Since the year of Confucius' establishment, he has been teaching poetry, calligraphy, etiquette and music, and he has been teaching every word and deed in his great personality. It was he who initiated private lectures in the history of our country and transplanted the phenomenon that cultural knowledge was the patent of nobles to the people. He first put forward the policy of "no class for all", and everyone, whether poor, humble or rich, can be educated there. Disciples are as poor as Yan Hui, as rich as Zigong and as expensive as Meng. However, most of them are children of ordinary people, and some of them have come to defend their country, such as Qi, Chen and Wu, which are really full of peaches and plums. Its teaching purpose is to spread his humanitarian theory. That is, self-denial and courtesy are benevolence, changing students' temperament, achieving personality, improving the realm of life, and finally achieving things. In other words, it is necessary to build a pillar of a country and the world. Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and heuristic methods should be adopted to cultivate students' styles of "learning without tiredness", "learning without thinking", "thinking without learning is useless", "knowing what they know, not knowing what they don't know", "three people must learn from each other" and "not ashamed to ask questions". What's more, he is a tireless teacher, caring for students like a loving mother, guiding students like strict father, and learning from each other like friends, all of which are due to his talent. Such as Zi Xiao's stupidity, Lu Zeng's participation, Zhang Zi's extreme, and Lutz's vulgarity ... all became great events. Ceng Zi, in particular, was given the responsibility of preaching and became a saint. There are even outstanding people who divide Germany: Yan Hui, Min Zikai, Ran Boniu and Zhong Gong. Language: Kill me, Zigong. Politics: Ran Qiu, Luz. Literature: Ziyou, Xia Zi, ten people. Confucius has three thousand disciples. Two out of seventy people are proficient in six arts. Therefore, the vast traditional culture can be popularized and passed down.