In the long history of China, there is such a person, his image is like a towering monument in my heart, that is Zhou Gongdan.
His name, like a ray of light, penetrates thousands of years of time and space, illuminating the path of future generations. Although this sentence is widely known, I still want to emphasize that Zhou Gongdan's historical status and contribution have not yet been properly evaluated.
Zhou Gongdan, the fourth son of King Wen of Zhou, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, and the uncle of King Cheng of Zhou, was born illustriously, but he was not an ordinary nobleman.
His name is Ji Dan, because the fief is in Zhou, he was named Shanggong, so he is called the Duke of Zhou. If his life is just to enjoy honor, then the history of the Zhou Dynasty may be a little less brilliant.
However, Zhou Gongdan was not a thing in the pool, he was an outstanding politician, military strategist, thinker, and educator in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and was respected as the "Yuan Sage" by later generations, and the originator of Confucianism. It was he who laid the foundation for the Chinese civilization.
"Shangshu Da Biography" has an incisive summary of the achievements of Zhou Gong's life: "One year to save the chaos, two years to conquer Yin, three years to practice the dying, four years to build the Hou Wei, five years to camp into the Zhou, six years to make the ritual music, seven years to become the king"
These few short sentences contain Zhou Gongdan's extraordinary wisdom and perseverance.
He pacified the civil strife, stabilized the country, assisted the young master, and finally gave up the throne of power. These deeds, perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, are already the ultimate of a virtuous person.
There is no shortage of virtuous ministers like Huo Guang and Zhuge Liang in history, but my admiration for Zhou Gongdan is far more than that.
Zhou Gongdan's regency was a legendary time. During these seven years, he not only consolidated the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty, but also proposed a series of far-reaching institutions.
He perfected the patriarchal system, established the feudal system, established the law of primogeniture, and established the Ida system.
The implementation of these systems closely linked the family and the state, and intertwined politics and ethics, which greatly promoted the formation and development of China's feudal society.
Before Zhou Gongdan, China's history seemed to be an uncultivated wasteland, and although there was Xia Yu's initial attempt to "family the world", the entire social order was still in a state of exploration. Just like a start-up company, there are no clear rules and regulations, just relying on the instinct to survive, groping forward.
Zhou Gongdan, like the wise founder, formulated the first perfect articles of association for this start-up country, so that the operation of the country has a clear direction and goals.
Although King Wu of Zhou overthrew the tyranny of the Shang Dynasty, he did not bring a truly civilized order to China.
Zhou Gongdan sowed the seeds of order in this blank land of civilization and let the flowers of civilization bloom on this land.
The person who makes the rules will always have a harder time than the person who follows the rules. Zhou Gongdan's historical contribution was not only to the stability and development of the Zhou Dynasty, but also to the shaping and guidance of the entire Chinese civilization.
The primogeniture inheritance system proposed by Zhou Gongdan is a deepening and improvement of the concept of "family world". During the Xia Dynasty, "family world" was still a broad and vague concept, and the inheritance of power was full of uncertainty and confusion.
Just like the "young recovery country" in history, that history was full of turmoil and unrest. Although the original Zen concession system meant that everyone had the opportunity to become the leader of the country, over time, this system gradually exposed its risks and drawbacks.
Zhou Gongdan knows that human nature is often fragile in the face of power, and for the sake of interests, fighting and bloodshed seem inevitable.
However, his proposal of primogeniture is like a legal boundary, limiting the struggle for power to a clear framework.
While this system cannot completely erase the shadow of power struggles, it at least sets the rules for this struggle and reduces unnecessary sacrifice and confusion.
Zhou Gongdan's initiative laid a solid foundation for the development of China's feudal society.
With the passage of time, the edifice of feudal society became more and more stable and brilliant on this foundation. Until the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's history and culture have always been based on Zhou Gongdan's theory.
Zhou Gongdan's wisdom is not only reflected in his design of the feudal system, but also in his deep understanding of human nature and his accurate grasp of social laws.
His contribution was not only to the stability of the Zhou Dynasty, but also to the long-term development of the entire Chinese nation. In the long river of history, Zhou Gongdan's image has become taller and taller, and his deeds have become more and more glorious, becoming a model for future generations to admire and learn.
Zhou Gongdan is like a wise man, standing at the crossroads of civilization, guiding the way for confused people. The patriarchal religion he founded was tantamount to a beacon that illuminated the way forward for the society at that time.
In primitive societies, people lived driven by desires and instincts, without a clear pursuit of the future, and without a deep understanding of life.
Zhou Gongdan's patriarchal rituals are like a strict teacher, teaching people how to love their families and the country, how to find their place in awe, and how to find the meaning of life in gratitude. He taught people self-discipline and inspired them to keep moving forward.
At that time when civilization was not yet civilized, people were full of fear and curiosity about the unknown, and they blamed Providence or gods for all their mysteries.
These beliefs may seem absurd today, but at the time, they were the sustenance of people's hearts. Through patriarchal rituals, Zhou Gongdan transformed the power of faith into the cornerstone of social order, allowing people to find the impetus to move forward in faith.
Zhou Gongdan's contribution not only laid the foundation for the stability of the Zhou Dynasty, but also set an example for the moral concepts and behavioral norms of the entire Chinese nation.
His patriarchal rituals have become the mainstream of Chinese civilization and have influenced the cultural inheritance of later generations for thousands of years.
When I was younger, I wondered about the existence of the Ministry of Rites and why it was so important among the six departments.
However, as time passed, I came to realize that the Ministry of Rites is the first of the six because it represents rules and is the cornerstone of civilization. The traditional Chinese character "li", like a sacrificial tripod, is both a huiyi character and a pictograph, which symbolizes order and harmony.
The Ministry of Rites is the institution that formulates these rules, and its existence has laid a solid foundation for the morality, wisdom, principles and politics of the Chinese nation.
In that era of the beginning of civilization, Zhou Gongdan was like an architect with ingenuity, laying a solid foundation for the edifice of Chinese civilization. His patriarchal rituals are not only a set of rules, but also a cultural inheritance and a condensation of wisdom. It is these seemingly invisible rules that provide a strong guarantee for the rapid development of Chinese civilization.
Lile, the word in Zhou Gongdan's pen, has been given a new connotation. It is not only a kind of entertainment, but also a carrier of culture and a kind of spiritual sustenance.
Under the ritual music system of Zhou Gongdan, the culture of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period gushed out like a spring, and the germ of Confucianism also grew quietly in this fertile soil.
Confucius, the later master of Confucianism, actually inherited and carried forward the wisdom of Zhou Gongdan.
Music, this beautiful sound, is not just an art form, it is a special language, a way of communication that can penetrate time and space.
In ancient times, when writing was not yet widespread, music became a bridge for people's emotional communication. From the morning bell and dusk drum to the bell ringing and eating, these sounds constitute the life of ancient society.
And this special language is the essence of Chinese culture. From Tang poems and Song lyrics to Yuan Qu, Ming and Qing novels, all of them were born under the influence of music.
Zhou Gongdan, the founder of the feudal system, is the originator of Confucianism. His Zhou rites influenced Song Xianggong in the Spring and Autumn Period, and also inspired Cao Di's "one drum, then decline, and three exhaustion".
Although some of the concepts in Zhou Li were gradually eliminated with the wheel of history, Zhou Gongdan's contribution was undoubtedly a big step forward for Chinese civilization.
Zhou Gongdan's wisdom, like a seed, is deeply rooted in the soil of Chinese civilization, and with the passage of time, it takes root, blossoms and bears fruit, becoming the towering tree of Chinese culture we see today. His name will forever be engraved on the monument of history and admired by future generations.