Among the Three Kingdoms, we think the most merciful people are Liu Bei and Liu Huangshu. This Liu Huangshu is a typical benevolent gentleman in the Confucian ideal, so he has been appreciated by people for thousands of years. The reason why Luo Guanzhong created such an image in Ming Dynasty was because of his desire and expectation for saints and benevolent people.
So, who is Liu Bei's teacher? Has he received a complete Confucian education? To know this problem, we might as well look at the records in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and History of the Three Kingdoms.
According to the reflection, reflection, volume 30 "on the fifteenth day of the first month, my mother made a trip to school, and there were both Liu Deran, the same clan, and Gongsun Zan, western Liaoning, all of which had an accident, and they were in the same county as Jiujiang satrap Lu Zhi.
Dylan's father gave his late master and Dylan constant capital. "From here, we can see that Liu Bei's teacher is Lu Zhi, who is a famous scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms says, "At the age of fifteen, my mother traveled abroad, studied under Zheng Xuan and Lu Zhi, and became friends with Gongsun Zan".
The difference is that there is a declaration here. Many people think the History of the Three Kingdoms is more reliable. Zheng Xuan was added to The Romance of Three Kingdoms, which was undoubtedly deliberately added by Luo Guanzhong in order to raise the weight of Liu Bei. We can't be sure whether this is the case, and of course we can't deny it.
It doesn't matter whether Liu Bei's master is Zheng Xuan or not. Because what we are talking about today is not Liu Bei, but Zheng Xuan. Even though he has never been a teacher of Liu Bei, his position in the history of Confucianism cannot be weakened.
Speaking of this, Zheng Xuan is a legend. He was born in 127 and died in 200 at the age of 73, just like Confucius. Kang Cheng, a native of Gaomi, Beihai (now Gaomi, Shandong), was a famous master of Confucian classics in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. We know that the study of Confucian classics in Han dynasty was very prosperous, and the dispute between the study of modern literature and the study of ancient literature occurred from time to time.
In order to highlight the position of Confucianism, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty specially set up doctoral officers in the imperial court to study and inherit Confucianism.
Many people can study a classic all their lives, so there is a saying that "the classic is poor", that is, they can master a classic from the beginning of childhood to the gray hair in their later years.
But this Zheng Xuan, a genius, knows both the Confucian classics of modern literature and ancient prose, so he has the saying that "Confucian classics is Zheng Xue".
Many great men acted beyond ordinary people when they were young, and Zheng Xuan was no exception. He began to learn the number of books since he was a child, and he was proficient in arithmetic at the age of eight or nine. 12, 13 years old can recite five classics: poetry, calligraphy, ceremony, Yi, Spring and Autumn. Of course, we will marvel at Zheng Xuan's talent. Of course, in addition to talent, it is more about acquired efforts.
According to Taiping Guang Ji, when Zheng Xuan was eleven or twelve years old, he went to his grandfather's house with his mother. The guests are all well-dressed and boastful, and Zheng Xuan and his mother are among them. Mother Zheng was ashamed of this and encouraged Zheng Xuan to show some talent to make a long face for herself. But Zheng Xuan felt too vain and said, "It's not what I want, it's not what I want." .
When Zheng Xuan was sixteen, he was not only proficient in Confucian classics and ancient laws and regulations, but also very good at divination. Therefore, it gradually became famous, and people called it "divine power."
At the age of eighteen, in order to support his family, he only got an official position and became a rural miser. Because of his diligence and good reputation, he was quickly promoted to rural assistant. But he is not interested in promotion and wealth, but addicted to academics. So at the age of twenty-one, I entered the business school and paid five yuan as a teacher.
Besides studying for the Fifth Academy, he is also learning from Zhang Zhou Guan, Book of Rites, Zuo's Spring and Autumn Annals, Korean Poetry and the History of Ancient Literature. Fifth, it was originally taught by Confucian classics, while Zhang was taught by classical Chinese classics. It is this study experience that enabled Zheng Xuan to master both modern Confucian classics and ancient Confucian classics. After unremitting study, Zheng Xuan's attainments in Confucian classics are second to none in Shandong (east of Hanguguan).
At this point, Zheng Xuan has been able to set up his own school, but he is still not satisfied. So through my good friend Lu Zhi, I worshipped Fufeng Ma Rong as my teacher. Ma Rong was a famous master of Chinese studies at that time, with thousands of disciples.
Because Ma Rong is a big shot, with many disciples and delicate personality, there is often a female music behind him and a red account in front of him.
Zheng Xuan entered Ma Rong School for three years and has never been taken seriously. He can only give and receive through his disciples. Until one time, Ma Rong encountered a problem of "muddling along", and everyone recommended Zheng Xuan to be proficient in several tricks. So I invited Zheng Xuan, and sure enough, the problem was solved instantly. Ma Rong had to respect him especially, and he paid more and more attention to him from now on.
Zheng Xuan studied under Ma Rong for seven years. Because my mother is old and wants to go home for the elderly, she resigned from Ma Rong. Ma Rong thought that Zheng Xuan was an unparalleled talent and that he would surpass himself in the future, so he said to his disciples with emotion: "Today, Zheng Sheng went, but I learned the East!"
After Zheng Xuan returned from Ma Rong, he wrote so many classics that people called him "Zheng Xue". As summarized in "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty": "It is natural for scholars to know that Zheng Xuan collected all kinds of opinions, deleted the complex and simplified it, changed the publication, and followed the good." Even Yuan Shao, who works at four o'clock and three o'clock, paid tribute to him and praised him: "Zheng used to be a famous Confucian, but now he is an elder in the world. Is it in vain that the husband takes cloth as a hero? "
As for the specific academic achievements that are too professional, I won't mention them here. Tell me about his maid. It is said that Zheng Xuanjia's handmaid can master the Book of Songs skillfully and use its verses for dialogue.
A handmaid was punished by kneeling in front of the commander because she didn't listen to Zheng Xuan, which made Zheng Xuan furious.
Another handmaid saw this and laughed: "Why are you in the mud? (Quoted from The Book of Songs, High Wind Declines) It means why are you kneeling on the ground? Unexpectedly, the handmaid did not show weakness, and replied: "I am angry with him for thin words" (quoted from the Book of Songs, White Boat), which means telling my master something, which coincides with my master's anger, so I suffer.
Are you surprised to see this?
In fact, this is understandable, because Zheng Xuan was the most learned master of Confucian classics at that time, so the handmaiden he chose must also be a wise man. In addition, he talks with his disciples about poetry books on weekdays, and these handmaids can naturally recite them under the influence of their ears.
After learning about Zheng Xuan's deeds, we have to sigh with emotion the strong style of study in Han Dynasty. No wonder there were so many learned and refined people in the Three Kingdoms period, which never appeared in previous dynasties!