Yan Yuan asked how to govern the country. Confucius said: "We should follow the calendar of Xia Dynasty, ride in the car of Yin Dynasty and wear the hat of Zhou Dynasty, and use Shao and Dance as music, abandon the music of Zheng State and stay away from flatterers. Zheng Guo's music is obscene, and flattering people are dangerous. "
Interpretation: Let Zheng Sheng go far away: strengthen cultural self-confidence
Yan Hui's questions seem to be advanced, which is why Confucius valued Yan Hui more and regarded him as his successor. Therefore, Confucius' answer is also very serious, and the requirements for conversation are correspondingly higher.
let's talk about the "calendar" first. The calendar was a very important thing in ancient times. When the dynasty changed, the calendar would definitely be changed first. Typically, when Wu Zetian proclaimed himself emperor, she changed the calendar of the Tang Dynasty into a weekly calendar. She said to the ministers, didn't you tell me to follow the week? Then I'll change the calendar to the calendar of the Zhou Dynasty. It can be seen how important the calendar is to a country and a dynasty. The most ideal calendar in Confucius' mind is undoubtedly the calendar of Xia Dynasty. So, he replied to Yan Hui: You asked me how to run the country and make it safe. First of all, I don't have to go to great lengths in the calendar, just inherit the calendar of the Xia Dynasty.
Next, let's talk about "cars". According to research, the carriages were imported from the late Shang Dynasty through the Silk Road. At that time, they looked tall, elegant and classy. Confucius likes this kind of car, so when traveling, take the carriage of the Shang Dynasty.
Next, let's talk about the "top hat". Of course, the "top hat" here is not just a hat, but a dress. The clothes of the Zhou Dynasty just started to develop, and began to improve and become beautiful, which looked very nice. Confucius admired the clothes of Zhou people very much.
Then, let's talk about "Yue" and "Zheng Sheng". The music in the Confucius era corresponds to the emperor. There are six kinds of the most famous classical music: the music of Huangdi in Cloud Gate, Yao in Xianchi, Shun in Dashao, Yu in Daxia, Shang Tang in Dayun and Dawu. This is a cultural heritage, and Confucius advocated Shun's music and Zhou Wuwang's music.
Then, why did Confucius say "Zheng Sheng"? It is estimated that Zheng's music was avant-garde at that time, which was definitely unpleasant for Confucius who admired Zhou rites. That's why he would call Zheng Sheng a slut.
finally, let's talk about "people". People are those little people who like to flatter. If you have such little people around you, it is very dangerous and you must be alert.
The negative example is Qi Huangong, and Yi Ya is such a horrible person. In order to please Qi Huangong, he even killed his 4-or 5-year-old son, in order to let Qi Huangong eat something he hasn't eaten. In this way, win the favor of Qi Huangong. How can such a pervert be a good person? This kind of person will eventually put a pervert on you. However, Qi Huangong couldn't see it, on the contrary, he was full of emotion. Finally, Yi Ya rebelled, and Qi Huangong was imprisoned in the palace and starved to death. The real thing is that people are in danger!
There are many such examples in the past dynasties, including many people around us. We must be careful of such people and stay away from them.
Then why did Confucius tell Yan Hui about calendars, costumes, cars and music? Because these are the foundations of governing the country in Confucius' view. If you want to govern the country, you must first know what kind of culture you are adhering to. This is the foundation of governing the country, and culture is the foundation.
Therefore, Mr. Gu Jiegang said that the Chinese nation really formed its own culture at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the greatest gain in the Spring and Autumn Period was the presence of Confucius.
Mr. Fei Xiaotong pointed out: "Cultural consciousness is an arduous process. First of all, we must know our own culture and understand the many cultures we are exposed to before we can establish our position in today's multicultural world."
According to Confucius, to govern a country, you must first know what culture your country inherits. For a China person, being able to master the language of China, learn one or two hundred idioms, and understand many China cultures at the same time, which have kept our society confident and cohesive. But cultural self-confidence is not cultural complacency. The real self-confidence is "my culture is very good, but I also tolerate and respect all other cultures". National self-confidence is like a person. Repeated emphasis on superiority is not only meaningless, but also narrows oneself. What we really need to do is to stimulate the value of China's excellent traditional culture through education, so as to make our society more positive and further improve the soft power of China culture.