In the spring of 521 BC, Confucius learned that his student Gong Jingshu was ordered by the king of Lu to go to Luoyang, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, to pay homage to the emperor. He felt that this was an opportunity to ask Laozi, the keeper of the Zhou Dynasty, for advice on etiquette. "It was a good opportunity to learn, so after obtaining Lu Zhaogong's consent, he went with Gong Jingshu. On the second day after arriving in Kyoto, Confucius walked to Shouzang Shifu to visit Laozi. Laozi, who was writing the Tao Te Ching, heard that Confucius, who was famous all over the world, came to ask for advice. He quickly put down his sword and pen, straightened his clothes and went out to welcome him. Confucius saw an old man who was over seventy years old and energetic coming out of the gate. He expected it to be Lao Tzu. He hurried forward and bowed to Lao Tzu respectfully as a disciple. After entering the hall, Confucius bowed again before sitting down. Laozi asked Confucius why he came, and Confucius left his seat and replied: "I have little knowledge and know nothing about ancient rituals, so I specifically asked the teacher for advice." Seeing Confucius's sincerity, Laozi expressed his opinions in detail .

After returning to the state of Lu, Confucius's students asked him to explain Laozi's knowledge. Confucius said: "Laozi is knowledgeable about the past and the present, understands the source of rituals and music, and understands the return of morality. He is indeed a good teacher for me." At the same time, he also used an analogy to praise Laozi. He said: "Birds, I know they can fly; fishes, I know they can fly." I know it can swim; beasts, I know they can run. I can build a net to catch a beast that is good at running. I can catch a fish that can swim with a fishhook tied with a thread, and a bird that flies high. I can shoot it down with good arrows. As for the dragon, I cannot know how it rides on the wind and clouds

Pan Dui asked Xiang Lu

Xi Zhongni, Shi Xiang 搐;

The ancient sages were eager to learn.

Sima Qian's "Historical Records" says: "Confucius lived in Chen for three years. He joined Jin and Chu to compete for power, and then attacked Chen. "In 489 BC, the two armies of Chu and Wu were at war with Chen. The two armies faced each other and were at war with each other. The two armies were on the verge of breaking out. Negan (today's Xinyang, Henan) became the front line. Confucius's masters and disciples who lived in Negative had to say goodbye to them. Ye Gong, a courteous and diligent doctor of Chu, accepted the invitation of King Zhao of Chu and was preparing to go to Yingdu, the capital of Chu State.

In the golden autumn of October, the osmanthus is fragrant, the wheat waves are rolling, and the rice is golden. Confucius took Zilu, Zigong, Yan Hui and other disciples along the Dabie Mountains to the capital of Ying. They rode on the ancient plank road and enjoyed the scenery along the way: farmers working in the fields and shepherd boys. Grazing cattle and sheep in the mountains. The rivers are winding and crystal clear; the trees are shaded by trees, and the bamboo groves are swaying in the wind; the villages are closely connected, with traffic, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard occasionally. The melodious sound of the flute echoed in the air. When it got dark, they would stay in nearby villages, or find villagers to learn about the history, customs and customs of the time, collect folk songs, or hold forums to discuss and preach profound "benevolence, righteousness, and justice." They sometimes stayed in a certain village for two or three days to collect the customs.

One day, accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats and the vast dust and smoke, they came to the Henan side of Xinzhou Taoist Temple. In the old street, you can see the Osaki Mountain like a beautiful woman lying under the blue sky and white clouds, the wind is high and the trees are lush; the sand river is clear and the water is gurgling; the Lion Rock is like a lion squatting, swallowing the sun and the moon. The mountains here are misty and the lake is misty. The light was bright, the birds were singing, and the flowers were fragrant. It was like a paradise on earth. Not far from the south of the street, the driver suddenly reined in the horse, and the horse roared, and the car stopped.

Confucius asked: "Why did you stop?" "

The coachman replied: "There is a group of children blocking the way, Master. "

"Let them give way. "

"Children, you saw the carriage coming, why didn't you give way? "Zigong jumped out of the car and said angrily.

"Why do you want us to give way? Can't you take other roads? "A child who seemed to be the leader replied.

Zigong shouted angrily: "Do you know whose car this is? Let me tell you, this is Confucius’ car! "

Hearing the dispute between Zigong and the children, Confucius had no choice but to get out of the car to see what was going on. Seeing an elder with a dignified appearance, elegant Confucian clothes and elegant manners, the children showed no fear. They disagreed and continued to build their "city" with stones.

Confucius stroked the head of a handsome little boy and said kindly: "Young Master, please move the stones away and let us pass." OK? "

The child looked up at Confucius and said, "We are building a city, so please obey the order. ”

“Okay, let me ask a question. If you can’t answer it, give way to us.” "Confucius thought, we should convince people with "propriety" and treat children equally.

"Come on out," the child thought, I am a disciple of Laozi, the master of Tibetan history in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, how can you still be troubled? Me?

"Listen carefully," Confucius asked, "Are parents familiar with each other? "

" Husband and wife kiss. "The child replied.

"No, parents. How can there be offspring without parents? ”

“Husband and wife are close. Without husband and wife, there would be no parents! "

They each hold their own opinions, and no one can convince the other. "Parents" and "husband and wife" are repeated twice.

Confucius said: Parents are also responsible for food and clothing. Parents have raised their children since they were young, providing them with basic necessities, food, clothing, education, preaching and teaching. Of course they don’t have to worry about that!

Xiang Luo returned the favor with color: husband and wife, loving each other, men farming and women weaving, sleeping together on the same pillow, nurturing each other, loving each other forever, growing old together, and never parting. A husband and wife pay back their kindness in the same day! Of course the husband and wife are intimate.

…….

Confucius thought, I, Confucius, is famous all over the world and is called the Saint of China. Today, I still can't convince a child. His bearing is like the sea, his tolerance is great, and he is not as knowledgeable as a child. Then he took away the great scholar's worth, bowed and said in salute: "Prodigy, sir, I'm polite. We have important things to do, Wan Wang is so generous, and lend us a way."

The child said confidently: "Excuse me sir, since ancient times, has the city given way to the chariot, or the chariot to the city?"

Zilu said: "What kind of city are you talking about? It's just a child's game!"

"It's the city!"

Hold on for a while. The child knew that he was wrong, so he asked: "What do you want to do?"

"Travel around the country, preaching and teaching." Confucius said.

"Preaching and teaching requires a certain set of skills and talents, so what do you know?"

Confucius replied: "I am not boasting, from astronomy to geography. , I know a little bit about everything."

The child said: "I know everything about astronomy and geography. Then I ask you, how many eyebrows do you have?"

Confucius said. : "I can't see the eyebrows, how can I know how many there are?"

The child had an idea and then asked: "I can't see the wind, but I can see the stars in the sky. How many do you think there are?"

“There are so many stars in the sky, how can they be counted?” Confucius said in embarrassment.

The child smiled and said: "Ah, you think there are too many. There is only one sun. It is like an ice disk in the morning and a jade ring at noon. When does it get closer to us? When does it get farther from us?"

Confucius thought for a long time and murmured: "This, this... I really don't know. You are a child prodigy, only Chu has talent! I hope you can give me some advice."

The child said: " I don’t dare to give you advice, I’m busy now, we’ll see you later.”

At this time, the disciples were shouting: “Master, let’s go!” Confucius had to bow to the child: “See you later!” I thought to myself, I really haven’t studied this knowledge well! Then he ordered the driver to turn the car around and take a detour.

Unexpectedly, after traveling for about one kilometer, the wheel broke because of the sharp turn. Confucius had no choice but to ask Zilu to go to the village ahead to borrow an ax for repairs.

Zilu hurried to the village ahead and saw a middle-aged woman weaving in the house. Zilu said respectfully, "Auntie, please borrow something from you." Before Zilu could finish his words, the woman turned around and took out a bright ax from the back room, "Here it is!" Zilu was so surprised that she How did you know you were borrowing an axe? The woman smiled and said, "Don't you want to borrow a "thing"? 'East' means Eastern Jiayi wood, 'West' means Western Gengxin gold, the ax handle is made of wood, the ax is made of iron, 'Gold' Nai Tieye. You want to borrow the ax?" Zi Lu took the ax and ran back to the parking lot and told Confucius what happened.

After hearing this, Confucius sighed with emotion. Just now I met a smart child, and now I met a village woman who was not only helpful, but also very smart. I can’t help but praise: Chu is a place where dragons and tigers are hidden!

The child who stumped Sage Kong was Xiang Lu. "Warring States Policy? Qin Policy" says: "Gan Luo said: Xiang Luo became Confucius' teacher at the age of seven." The popular literary work "Confucius and Xiang Luo's Questions" spread across the land of China, and also spread to Japan and Korea very early on. , Vietnam, Russia and other countries. It is also recorded in the "Three Character Classic": "In the past, Zhongni studied under Xiang Lu; the ancient sages were eager to learn."

For this reason, the dialogue between Confucius and Xiang Lu has been a wonderful conversation throughout the ages. Because Hubei Hubei Hubei Province said that a certain person liked to argue with clever words and was a mouth-watering person, so the place where Confucius confronted him was named Mozui Pan, and the place where Confucius took a detour to repair his carriage was called Huiche Port to commemorate his incident.

2. Confucius sent Zilu to inquire about the matter.

The remains of the inquiry are still there today, with monuments and ancient monuments engraved on them.

About an hour later, the carriage was repaired. With the sigh of "Only Chu has talents, there are dragons and crouching tigers hidden in Chu", Confucius and his disciples continued to drive southeast of the old street. After walking about 3 kilometers, a valley river blocked the way. The river is deep and wide, and I don't know where its mouth is. Confucius and his party hesitated on the bank, and suddenly saw two tall and handsome men plowing side by side in the upper reaches of the river, so he asked Zilu to ask where the ferry was.

Zilu came to the two men, clasped his hands respectfully, and asked: "Sir, where is the crossing of this river?"

A farmer answered the question incorrectly. , asked: "Who is the man sitting in the chariot holding the bridle?"

"It's Confucius." "Is it Confucius of Lu?" "Yes." "Then, he You should know where the ferry is." Another farmer asked, "I am Zilu." "Yes," the farmer said. : "Look, the world is in the same turmoil, and who can change it? Instead of running around with people who avoid others, it would be more comfortable to follow people like us who avoid others.

"

Not only did Zilu not ask about Jinkou, but he was ridiculed and lectured, and he reported to Confucius in frustration. After hearing this, Confucius sighed with regret and said: "People should have social responsibilities. Why? How can he live in seclusion in the mountains and forests, ignoring the common people in the world, and live among birds and beasts all day long? If there was peace in the world, there would be no need for me, Confucius, to run around.

These two farmers working in the fields were the famous hermits Changju and Jiedong at that time. Everyone has his own ambitions, and Confucianism has always advocated joining the world, helping the world, "rectifying the mind, cultivating the body, and harmonizing the family." , govern the country, and bring peace to the world. "But the hermit thought that the world was in chaos and there was no way to save it, so he could only protect himself. Because Confucius once asked Zilu to ask about Changju and Jiedong here, people called the river that blocked Confucius' way the Confucius River. In On both sides of the river, the trapezoidal field ridges cultivated by Changju and Jiechu are called Changjuchong on one side and Bujieyunfan on the other.

"The Analects" and "Historical Records" are correct. There are records of Zilu's inquiries.

"The Analects of Confucius" records: "Changju and Jie indulged themselves in farming. Confucius passed by and made Zilu inquire. "

"Historical Records" records: "Changju and Jie indulged themselves in farming, and Confucius thought they were reclusive, so he asked Zilu to pay attention. "And there was a conversation: "Jie Dun said: 'Youyou is the same in the world, but who can change it? And instead of following the scholars who pioneered others, why not follow the scholars who pioneered the world! ’? And keep doing it. Zilu told Confucius, but Confucius said with dismay, "Birds and beasts should not be in the same group." There is a way in the world, but Qiu does not agree with it. ’”

According to Qian Mu’s note in “A New Interpretation of the Analects of Confucius”: “The names of those who are reclusive in Changju and Jie are not passed down. Ju, Ju. Drowning, drowning. It was named because it is near the water. Jie means strong righteousness and high righteousness. One is slim and long, the other is tall and strong. ”

There are different opinions on whether Confucius sent Zilu to inquire about Changju and Jieyou in Xinzhou. Guanjin, more than 20 miles south of Xincai City, Henan, is also said to be the place where Zilu inquired; Luoshan County There is a legend about Zilu Village, Tuocheng County and Ye County, and there is also a legend about where Zilu asked about it in Yutai, Shandong. There is no historical record in the "Historical Records" that Confucius returned to Cai from Ye and died. Zilu, the envoy of Juzhong, asked whether he was in Cai Cai or Xinzhou. It is not stated in detail in "The Tomb of the Sage Tomb": "Huangcheng Mountain is where Juzhong cultivated, and there is an east flow below, so Zilu asked about it. . "Huangzhou Prefecture Chronicles" written by Wanli of the Ming Dynasty says: "According to historical records, Confucius came from Cai Ruye, and he noted that there is Huangcheng Mountain in Ye... Ancient records indicate that there is Yong'an City ten miles north of the county, which was built by Chu, and Chu Yin was the capital." Today's Linshan River (now Tuanfeng County, adjacent to the north and south of Kongzihe Village) is on the official road, and there is also Huangshan Mountain. "The Records of Wenjin Academy" written by Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty says: "Huangshan, in Confucius's Hebei Province, is known as Huangshanpu and Huanglinshu." "According to the official annals, there is Huangcheng Mountain, and the place named Confucius River is also called Huangshan. There is only one word difference between Huangcheng Mountain and Huangshan, maybe it was later abbreviated to it, and there is Chucheng nearby, and the local area is an official place. It makes sense that Confucius came to Chu from this place. Both the Ming Dynasty's "Tongyi Zhi" and the Qing's "Huguang Tongzhi" record: "It is said that Confucius came to visit Chu from Chen Cai. ”

According to historical records, from about the 16th year of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (164 BC) to the first year of Yuanshou (122 BC) of Emperor Wu, the people of the city excavated the "Confucius Envoy Road Enquiry Place" beside Confucius Mountain. "The stone stele, in order to record his events, Huainan King Liu An built a pavilion and a stele in the local area, built a Confucius temple for people to worship, and recruited bachelors to give lectures and write books in the temple. The stone stele is still there, and despite the passage of years and months, the handwriting is still clear. Xiao Jizhong, a Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty and the host of the academy, wrote in a poem: "The Qin stele is dark and astringent in the fog, and the Han palace is desolate in the clouds." "It can be inferred from this that the Wenjin stele was erected in the Qin Dynasty. It is unknown when the original stele was destroyed, and now only one stele with the same text written by the Ming Dynasty remains.

3. Crossing the river and falling into the water to dry in the mountains

For a while, the wind blows away the bamboo,

The rain in the river sends autumn away

The fish swims in the waves, and the shadows disappear,

The books are left behind.

Although Chang Ju and Jie Dun retreated to the mountains and forests, they did not close their eyes and ears. They knew: Duke Ai of Lu once asked Confucius: "The chaos in the Lu country originated from the Ji family. Everyone understands it. However, why do they understand more and more? The more chaotic it is? "Ask Confucius to point out the "maze". Confucius replied at that time, "Because you only understand a country and a person, but you don't understand the world. "It can be seen that Confucius knew but was not confused. There is a hidden meaning in Chang Ju's words: Confucius knew the "maze" of Lu and must also know the "maze" of Chu, so he did not tell him at the ferry. Confucius and his party had to find others to inquire. They came to the ferry , I saw an old man ferrying us across the river. Zilu said, "Boatman, please take us across the river. ”

“Okay, please drive the carriage and get on board.” "The boatman struggled to hold it up with a bamboo pole, and the horse followed the wooden boat across the river in the water. The horse could swim.

When the boat reached the middle of the river, a strong wind suddenly rose, and the wooden boat bumped and swayed in the waves. He rose and fell suddenly, standing unsteadily like a drunkard, and the whole boat and carriage lost their center of gravity. With the wind and waves, the boat tilted and fell. When they reached the river, Confucius and his disciples all fell into the water, and their clothes were all soaked. The problem of people falling into the water was not serious, and it was still not cold in the south, Confucius shouted. : “Save my books quickly! "

There is a folk proverb: When Confucius moved, it was all books. Confucius worked hard throughout his life and was fond of learning. He was always happy to forget his excellence and did not know that he was approaching old age. He carried many books with him wherever he went.

< p>Books in ancient times were actually seal characters engraved or written on bamboo slips. Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty invented papermaking, and Bi Sheng in the Northern Song Dynasty invented movable type printing many years later.

After everyone's tossing, the carriage was pushed ashore and the books were fished out. However, those books were all soaked in water. Confucius was anxious and looked around, trying to find a place to post his books. Yan Hui was still young and sharp-eyed, "Look! There is a hill on the other side." The hill was more than 300 meters high. It had no leaning on all sides and stood alone. The top was flat and clean, and it was two acres square. Confucius' frown relaxed. The autumn air was crisp and the sun was shining directly on the mountain top, making it a good place to read. The disciples quickly moved the wet books to the top of the mountain and spread them out to dry. There was no one around, and Zilu, Zigong, and Yan Hui took off their long robes and wrung them out to dry in the sun.

After going through all the troubles just now, Confucius stood on the top of the mountain, overlooking the gurgling water. He couldn't help but look up to the sky and sighed: "What a beautiful water! It's a vast ocean! It's a pity that there is no bridge here. If only there was a bridge here." Well, passers-by won’t have to suffer the hardship of wading in the water like me!”

Then Master and Disciple Confucius sat down on a long stone more than two feet long and took a rest while waiting for the books to dry. Dry. Zilu recalled the recent journey and all the misfortunes, and couldn't help complaining, muttering: When practicing rituals under a big tree in the Song Dynasty, Sima Huanzhen of the Song Dynasty wanted to kill his master; Yuye was besieged by Dr. Chen Cai for three days, Many people were starving and sick without eating a grain of rice. In the morning, they were teased by Xiang Luo's furry child in the old street, and in the afternoon, people and cars fell into the water. It was really unfortunate.

Confucius Kuan explained: "Heaven has entrusted us with a great responsibility to realize the Zhou rites and return the world to benevolence. There is a long way to go. Hungry and suffering are inevitable. We must be tenacious and perseverant. The mountain where Confucius's masters and disciples posted their books is right behind Wenjin Academy. The mountain is flat, with thick forests and bamboos, and lush crops. It is called "Shading the Books". Mountain. The feldspar where Confucius sat on is called the "sitting stone". There are also ink ponds and inkstones around it that were used for studying ink and writing when they stopped to give lectures. The Mochi is a small stream not far from the sitting stone. The rocks beside the stream are as dark as ink, so it is named Mochi. Linchi stone carvings are engraved with the word "Mochi", which is still vaguely identifiable despite its age. There is a stone beside the pool, shaped like an inkstone, a perfect match made in heaven. Whenever the weather changes, the "ink" will leach out, and the water in the pond will never dry up after a long drought.

4. A thousand years of sighing at the hole and sighing at the bridge

The integrity is like a mountain, and the palace bridge is close to the sky for thousands of years;

The articles are like the sea, and the origins of hundreds of generations are like bean chimes.

In 489 BC, Confucius stood on the bank of the Confucius River, looked at the water and sighed, saying that it would be great if there was a bridge here. Confucius was later called a saint, but saints are not gods, and Confucius did not believe in gods. "Respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance" ("The Analects of Confucius. Yong Ye"), "If you don't know life, how can you know death?" ("The Analects of Confucius. Advanced") Confucius did not mention "chaos, force, ghosts, and gods", which proves that gods can point Stone turns to gold (of course, God does not exist). Considering the level of productivity at that time, it was not easy to build a decent bridge.

The Confucius River originates from Wuyun Mountain on the southeastern branch of the Dabie Mountains. It is a small mountain river with a length of more than ten kilometers. It is surrounded by hills, dense bamboo forests, pine waves, birdsong, fields and ridges, and villages. She flows through Qingqingsha River, lifts water, merges into the Yangtze River of thousands of miles, and runs towards the boundless sea. For millions of years, the water has been gurgling day and night, flowing from ancient times through the Spring and Autumn Period, and from the Spring and Autumn Period to the present day. Because she left the footprints of Confucius, and because Confucius uttered a thousand-year sigh, she is even more magical and desirable, and carries a deeper cultural heritage.

More than 1,800 years later, Confucius’ long-cherished wish and the expectations of generations of people on both sides of the river have become a reality. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Mao Ruizheng, an admirer of Confucius and Confucianism, a Jinshi of Gui'an, and the magistrate of Huanggang County, fulfilled the wish of the sage Confucius and built a bridge here and named it Kongtan Bridge. Mao Ruizheng was a more accomplished county magistrate. The county chronicle said that he "had great contributions to the people in terms of water conservancy, postal transmission and preparation of classic paintings."

Mao Ruizheng and the people around the Confucius River generously donated money and invited the best craftsmen to prepare for the construction to facilitate this charity. Four hundred years ago, steel bars, cement and other building materials had not yet been invented. Where could we get good building materials? Another amazing story happened here.

Just when everyone was hesitating, an elder with flowing white hair and an immortal spirit came to the village. He pointed out to the villagers: "To build this bridge, you must use a keel." The villagers were surprised, "Where can I find a keel?" He picked up the compass and looked at the ground, and then pointed to a long ridge in the south. He said: "This place looks like a dragon, and you can definitely get the dragon bones." Everyone followed the instructions, came to the ridge, dug the ground and took a look. They saw pieces of naturally formed bluestone, hard and long, each one more than ten meters long and heavy. About ten thousand catties. After lifting it out of the ground, count sixteen roots.

According to local villagers, Langgang is now Mashi Mountain, about ten miles away. At that time, there were neither tractors nor cranes. It was not easy to transport the ten-meter-long and five-ton stone blocks to the construction site without damaging them! To build bridges and roads and do good deeds, the young people from nearby came to Langgang enthusiastically. They were all strong and strong, and they were all good at doing hard work. By one count, there were exactly thirty-two of them.

Sixteen stones and thirty-two strong men are also a kind of fateful coincidence. One more person would be too crowded, and one less person would be too weak. Strangely enough, there was a stone among them, and everyone couldn't move it with all their strength. At this time, the Earth Immortal came over again and explained to everyone: "This is the dragon's spine, don't move it rashly.

"Everyone did as they were told, leaving the keels, filling them up again, and carrying away the remaining fifteen. The shape of the bridge was four piers and three holes, with five stone beams laid on each hole. Exactly fifteen were needed. .

The construction of the bridge was completed, and Confucius’ wish came true. The villagers no longer had to cross the river or ferry. To this day, the villagers still say that Confucius admired the bridge. Blessed and touched by the light of the dragon body, so holding the spirit, there are very few people who slip and fall into the water. Even if someone falls into the water occasionally, there are no injuries or drownings.

If you follow the footsteps of Confucius. , come to Kongtan Bridge for sightseeing, and you will be amazed by the construction of 400 years ago.

The entire bridge is made of bluestone, with clear edges and corners, large, heavy and stable. It is 22.8 meters long, 2.25 meters wide and 2.52 meters high. It is shaped like four piers and three holes, with five or fifteen stone beams paved between each hole. It is a long, thick and neatly built piece. The handling and lifting of the bridge is incredible and a mystery given the level of technology and equipment at that time. It is conceivable that the craftsmen at that time were very intelligent and the quality of the bridge was extraordinary and it has endured for hundreds of years. Despite many people and objects, it still stands tall.

Legends are legends, and atheists only believe in science. The old street itself is rich in building materials, and there is a marble factory for the construction of the Xinzhou section of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. There is also a scientific element in Feng Shui, which is just some exploration using ancient methods, plus some magic. In terms of the handling equipment at that time, the stone weighing 5,000 kilograms should have been a collective effort. , supplemented by equipment such as horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws, to transport pieces to the construction site. The Chinese nation is an ancient civilization. Major projects such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and Dujiangyan all reflect the outstanding wisdom of our ancestors. Kongtan Bridge is one of them. < /p>

5. Zhizi Mountain

Looking at the sky, the atmosphere is very special, and the loops have been running for a while.

The green pines shake the shadow of dragons and strange rocks at night. The body of a tiger and leopard is squatting in the morning.

The air pressure of Dongshan is like Xiaolu, and the light of Taidai can be seen in Wu.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is endless, and the spring breeze is dancing everywhere. >The benevolent man enjoys the mountains, and the wise man enjoys the water. "The benevolent man is quiet, and the benevolent man loves others." "Benevolence" is the core of Confucius' thought, its starting point and destination, and the ideal he strives for throughout his life. While promoting his theories and ideas, he also loved nature very much, and attached great importance to mountains and rivers. During his stay in Xinzhou, Confucius wandered among the mountains and rivers many times, thinking about the great achievements of helping the world, and admiring the infinite scenery.

One morning at seven or eight o'clock, Confucius was teaching. The disciples came to Shaishu Mountain for a walk. They were humming beautiful Shao music while admiring the surrounding scenery: up close, they saw the gurgling water of the Confucius River and the white waves hanging straight up. They were waving their wooden pestles rhythmically by the river. The sound of pounding clothes and the sound of running water seemed to be playing a moving piece of music; the splashing water looked like crystal clear pearls falling from the sky under the sunlight. Looking at the houses on the street from a distance, you can hear the sound of chickens and dogs, and smoke is blowing everywhere, straight into the sky. Looking at the mountains to the east, I can see the green mountains stretching for thousands of miles from north to south, exuding a kind of aura, just like the character "Zhi". The only drawback is that it lacks a "dot" above it.

Confucius muttered: "It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's shortcomings, it's unwritten." He picked up a handful of soil and threw it at the top of the mountain. The handful of soil flew into the air, grew bigger and bigger, and landed on the top of the mountain, forming a zigzag point. Zilu and others exclaimed, "This is like a complete zigzag."

The legend of Zigzag Mountain is wonderful and magical. Chinese characters are hieroglyphs, and nature is miraculous. The mountain-shaped terrain resembles cows and horses, and the elephant characters and elephant characters are full of beauty. Visit it in person, climb up to look at it, and ponder it, and you will suddenly understand the mystery and magic of ZigZag Mountain.

One morning in early October, Confucius was giving a lecture at the Confucius Mountain Lecture Platform on the bank of the Confucius River. There were fifty or sixty people listening, and all the students were fascinated. Confucius chanted:

The wood is cut, and the birds are singing.

Come from the deep valley,

Move to the tree;

Listen to its song,

Ask for the voice of its friends.

…….

Suddenly, a carriage came and two messengers got out of the carriage. They came straight to Confucius. When Confucius saw the official arrival, he stopped teaching. The official sent a letter from Mr. Ye. Confucius took it and read it, and wrote:

Confucius respectfully declares: Unfortunately, the king of our country passed away yesterday. The political situation of Chu has changed, and it is inconvenient to honor the letter of appointment from King Zhao. I pray deeply for my understanding. A special envoy was sent to inform him, and he also sent five thousand travel funds, which he hoped would be accepted.

The master’s profound knowledge and moral articles are as high as the mountains, and the scenery is still in sight. Looking up to him will make him taller, and drilling into him will make him stronger. We will always respect him.

There will be a meeting later, and I will go to see you and pay homage to him that day.

Praise to Shi Qi!

Chu people Shen Zhuliang bowed their heads

October 8, the twenty-seventh year of King Zhao of Chu

In fact, the death of King Zhao was one of the reasons for Chu's broken promise , mainly because Chu Ling Yin Zixi was jealous of talents and talents, and hindered him. After reading Ye Gong's letter, Confucius felt deeply sad and regretful.

He has always regarded King Chu Zhao as a wise king. The great Chu country would be a great blessing if King Chu Zhao could implement benevolent policies to save the people in troubled times. In order to visit King Chu Zhao, their master and apprentice traveled long distances, went through many hardships, and lived in the State of Chen for four years. Unexpectedly, before Yingdu arrived, the king I had known and met had already passed away and had become an old friend.

Not long after, Confucius' master and apprentice ended their journey in Xinzhou, bid farewell to the state of Chu, and came to the state of Wei. They lived in the state of Wei for another three years, serving in Wei and participating in government affairs.