Confucius praise
"Confucius Shijia Praise" is extremely short, compared with the long-winded "Qu Yuan Lie biography", "Tai Shi Gong Self-Introduction", "Bao Ren An Shu" and other articles, can be described as refined. Although this small article is short, it is very well written, and 113 words are only 113 words, which not only expresses his admiration for Confucius, but also highly evaluates the life of Confucius. No matter what evaluations later generations have, it is difficult to surpass.
At the beginning of the article, the original words in the Book of Poetry are quoted, and the greatness of Confucius is described: "The mountain is up, and the scenery is stopped." "Confucius is like a towering mountain, which makes future generations look up; the great achievements of Confucius's Six Classics paved the road of Chinese culture, and later people marched along this bright road." It seems that it is really "no poetry, no words." "Yeah.
Sima Qian then expressed his yearning for and reverence for Confucius: "Yu read Confucius's books and wanted to see him as a human being. "Although you can't get there, you still want to go there." This yearning and reverence drove him to the place where Confucius wrote and lectured, to his hometown, to the real environment and atmosphere in which Confucius lived to express his admiration for Confucius, but this was not the only reason why Sima Qian wanted to go to Qufu.
Sima Qian's family learned from his family, his son inherited his father's business, and when he was young, he aspired to write the "History of History" and prepared for it as early as possible. It must be mentioned here that Sima Qian adopted a very serious attitude toward writing the "Records of History". Historical materials are missing, many historical events are not well documented, and there are many hearsayers, so Sima Qian, when he was 20 years old, began to take advantage of various opportunities to roam all parts of the country.
He climbed three mountains and five mountains, waded into rivers, lakes and seas, looked at famous mountains and rivers, visited famous places and monuments, learned about the customs and customs of various places, and collected folk anecdotes, laying a solid foundation for the final completion of the magnificent and magnificent work of "History". He himself said this: "Let the world lose the old news, examine its facts, summarize its end, and audit the success or failure of the rise and fall of the record." "I also want to investigate the time of heaven and earth, through the changes of ancient and modern times, and become the words of one family."
Therefore, when Sima moved to Qufu, it was more important to inspect Confucius's former residence, understand Confucius's life and teaching experience in more detail, and collect more accurate and detailed information.
Sima moved to the state of Lu, went to Qufu, visited the former residence of Confucius, as well as the car that Confucius had ridden, the clothes he had worn, and the ceremonial utensils he had used, and saw the students learning and practicing various etiquettes on time in Confucius's family temple.
Shandong Qufu Confucius Temple
He was full of emotions, thought of many, many more, and added more admiration and more nostalgia.
"The king of the world, as for the wise men, was glorious at that time, but if he did not, he was gone." Since ancient times, there have been many powerful kings and even wise and noble people in the world, who were famous when they were alive, but after they died, they all became obscure and disappeared into the long river of history and were not known.
This is true of kings and men of great talent, not to mention ordinary people. "All the sons of the rich, the generous and the ambitious, whose diseases have died, and who have died and have been annihilated, have also been multiplied. The unheard of the grass in the wild! "Those rich and noble families, those who were famous at that time, those who were doing business in a prosperous and prosperous way, were completely forgotten after death, and more went." What's more, those small people in the city who have no official position, no power, and no power, who are running around and working non-stop for their livelihood all day long!
Sima Qian Ancestral Hall of Weinan City, Shaanxi Province
Sima Qian also expressed the same meaning in the "Book of Baoren An": "The ancients are rich and noble and their names are destroyed, and they are invincible, but only the very people are called Yan." Sima Qian did not want to be such a person, he wanted to make a promise to pass on to future generations, he wanted to write a huge set of works that could be called a huge work.
"Servant Cheng has written this book, and if he hides the famous mountain and spreads it to his people and the capital of Tongyi, then the servant will pay the responsibility of the previous humiliation, although he will be killed, will he regret it?" Until this great deed is accomplished, any kind of humiliation can be tolerated. "Therefore, those who live in seclusion, who are hidden in the dung and do not give up, who hate selfishness, who despise the world and do not express their literary style in the future generations."
And Confucius, "Confucius cloth cloth, passed down for more than ten generations, scholars Zongzhi." "Passing on more than ten generations" refers to the time of Sima Qian, who is now in the 80th generation.
Confucius xiu "poems", "books", "rites", "music", the preface "Zhou Yi" (called the "Ten Transmissions of the I Ching", also known as yi chuan), and wrote the "Spring and Autumn". Later generations collectively called the Six Classics. Zhu Xi, a famous theologian of the Southern Song Dynasty, took two articles from the Book of Rites, "University" and "Zhongyong", and wrote them separately, which were collectively called "Four Books" together with the "Analects" that recorded confucius's words and deeds and the "Mencius" that recorded Mencius's words and deeds. Mencius was a disciple of Confucius in later generations, so it can be said that without Confucius there would be no so-called "Four Books" and "Five Classics".
The Four Books and Five Classics are the most important classics of Confucianism, and the main content of the imperial examination that is related to the future and destiny of the literati and scholars in later generations also comes from the Four Books and Five Classics. Therefore, "scholars have to do so", and we have to do so.
"Since the Prince of Tianzi, the Six Arts of Chinese Speech compromised with the Master, which can be described as the most holy!" Confucius is the master of chinese readers, and it can be said that ancient Chinese readers have been reading Confucius's books all their lives.
In order to maintain their rule, successive rulers have taken Confucianism as the foundation of governing the country, so it is natural that Confucius was admired by the rulers. Confucius was revered by posterity as the Sage of Kong, the Most Holy, the Most Holy Master, and the Master of All Ages, and the honor was beyond reproach.
Confucius compiled the Six Classics (the Analects were compiled and edited by his later disciples), and Sima Qian, in addition to reverence, was probably more inspired and inspired to complete his grand cause, to complete his own historical writings, to fulfill his father's last wishes, that is, to write the "History of History".