Confucius' ancestors were the declining aristocrats of the Song Dynasty and the descendants of the nobles of the Yin Dynasty, and later went to Shandong.
Confucius died when he was only three years old. According to his account, 15 years old, he made a wish to learn all kinds of knowledge and skills well.
Confucius/kloc-married at 0/9. Later, Confucius gradually became a learned man. More and more famous. His neighbors often praise him for his versatility, but Confucius modestly thinks that he can only drive.
Probably when Confucius was 26 years old, he worked as a petty official once or twice, once as a "commission official", that is, a petty official in charge of warehouses and once as a petty official in charge of livestock.
Confucius began to recruit disciples to give lectures at the age of 30, which was the beginning of his educational career. His first disciples were Yan Yuan's father Yan Lu and Zeng Shen's father Ceng Dian. Later, there were sons of famous aristocrats Meng and Nangong, as well as Zigong, Yan Yuan and others.
In Luoyi, Confucius met the great thinker Laozi. At that time, Lao Tzu was working on the History of the Tibetan Ward. Confucius got out of the car according to the etiquette at that time, and gave it to Lao Tzu as a gift with a wild goose in his hand.
Confucius asked Laozi many things, and Laozi gave Confucius a clear answer according to facts and reasons. Laozi also valued Confucius, who was open-minded and knowledgeable.
Confucius was very moved by Laozi's teachings, and returned to Lu to praise Laozi with his disciples: "Like a dragon."
In 522 BC, Qi Jinggong came to Lu, asked Confucius for advice, and appreciated Confucius' words. At that time, the "Sanhuan" rebellion took place in Lu, and Lu was expelled from the country by Sanhuan. Confucius couldn't stand it any longer and decided to leave Lu.
In 5 17 BC, Confucius arrived in Qi, which was the first recorded political activity in his life.
Confucius first became a trusted retainer. Qi Jinggong asked Confucius for political principles, but Yan Ying, an old politician, objected, so Confucius simply left Qi. Back in Shandong, Confucius was 37 years old this year. After Confucius returned to China, he continued to engage in education.
In 50 1 year BC, that is, in the ninth year of Lu, Confucius was 5 1 year old and he became the dictator of Lu. Zhongduzai is the CEO of Zhongdu. After a year of slaughter, Confucius made great achievements. At that time, all the vassal States wanted to learn from Confucius' governance methods. As a result, Confucius was promoted to Sikong, who was in charge of engineering, and was soon changed from Sikong to Sikou, who was in charge of justice.
During this period, although Confucius served as a shepherd, he advocated using morality to influence the people.
Lu's political and diplomatic victory weakened the aristocratic forces and temporarily stabilized the domestic order. This increased Qi's anxiety. Therefore, after deliberation, the ministers of Qi came up with a way to deal with Lu, that is, to gradually weaken the power of Lu by alienating the ministers of Lu. Confucius' situation is getting more and more embarrassing. So Confucius resigned.
After Confucius resigned, he led his disciples to leave Lu to defend the country.
Wei Linggong listened to rumors and sent GongSunYu to monitor Confucius' entry and exit. Confucius felt very uncomfortable and decided to leave the country.
In 489 AD, Wu attacked Chen on a large scale, and Chen fell into chaos. Confucius heard that Faye Wong of Zhao Chu had always been open-minded, and it happened that the king of Zhao Chu also hoped that Confucius could go to Chu and send someone to pick him up, so Confucius decided to go to Chu.
When Confucius arrived at the border of Chu, King Zhao of Chu gave up the idea of using Confucius.
After some thinking, Confucius decided to go back to defend his country. Confucius came to Weiguo again, and Wei Linggong also intended to invite Confucius to take an important position.
Two years later, Wu attacked Lu. You Ran, a former disciple of Confucius, and 700 other warriors bravely killed the enemy. Only the loyal opposition and Wu quit. Ji Kangzi felt that the situation in Lu was critical and saw that Confucius' disciples were brilliant, so he sent someone to Wei State to invite You Ran. Confucius proudly said, "There is hope for returning to China this time."
Back in Lu, I became the housekeeper of Ji's family. Soon, the Qi army invaded Lu and won the battle as commander-in-chief and made great contributions. Ji Kangzi asked Confucius what kind of person he was, and You Ran truthfully described Confucius' talent and ambition.
Ji Kangzi sent people with heavy gifts to welcome Confucius back to China. This is 484 BC. Confucius is 68 years old. He left Shandong and wandered around 14 years. Now I finally returned to my hometown Lu.
14 years later, Confucius became less enthusiastic about political life. He felt that his immortal career was still culture and education, so he devoted all his experiences in his later years to education.
Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, culture and education have been monopolized by the slave owners and nobles, and only the children of the nobles have the right to receive education. This kind of education is called "official learning". Confucius was the first person in Chinese history to break the restriction of "official learning" and offer private lectures. He advocated "no class for all". Thus, it broke the hierarchical boundaries of aristocratic education in the Zhou Dynasty and made education oriented to ordinary people, which was progressive at that time.
Confucius advocated that the training goal of education is "scholar" and "gentleman". "Scholar" is the lowest class in the ruling class of the Zhou Dynasty, and "gentleman" is the general name of the incumbent. The so-called "learning to be an official" means that if you learn well, you can be an official.
Confucius attached great importance to the understanding and cultivation of students' character. He gave corresponding instruction according to the different personalities of his disciples.
Confucius paid attention to the induced enlightenment education, rather than asking students to study hard. His educational method is based on students' deep thinking.
The language used by Confucius to his disciples is often subtle, vivid and chewy. His inspirational education is convincing, and he has made outstanding contributions in the history of education.
Confucius was famous for his erudition at that time. His erudition is due to "learning from the teacher" and "not ashamed to ask questions". He taught his students: "In a threesome, we must learn from each other. Choose good and follow it, but change it if it is not good. "
When Confucius taught his disciples, what he opposed most was subjectivity. He said that four evils should be eliminated: first, the shadow-catching conjecture; Second, seeing things is very dead; Third, stubborn one-sided views; Fourth, the subjective "I" is taken too seriously and put in the first place everywhere. He teaches students to have a realistic attitude towards knowledge. He said: "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, and knowing is also." .
Confucius often inspires his disciples with his attitude of constantly seeking knowledge and actively learning. His so-called "learning" mainly refers to the cultivation and practice of ethics and morality. He emphasized the importance of "doing", but he also attached great importance to reading.
On the relationship between learning and doing, Confucius advocated that both learning and doing should be paid equal attention.
Confucius said, "Learning without thinking is useless, and thinking without learning is dangerous." (for politics), that is, the relationship between learning and thinking is dialectical, and both cannot be neglected. From the Analects of Confucius, we can see that what Confucius called "thinking" means reasoning and inventing.
Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, thought that "Zhou Li", that is, the aristocratic system of slave owners at that time, was almost the most perfect system. He said: "Zhou is also the second generation and melancholy, so I follow Zhou."
Confucius believed that by the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, there was no way in the world. The so-called "no way" means that the hierarchy of emperors, doctors and courtiers cannot be maintained.
Confucius believes that "courtesy" must be based on "benevolence". Applying "benevolence" to politics is his thought of "loving the people", which is another aspect of "benevolence" mentioned by Confucius. So how can we achieve "benevolence"? Confucius proposed two methods: first, loyalty and forgiveness do not violate the Tao; The second is self-denial.
But Confucius thought that the world outlook of "benevolence" could only be possessed by the "gentlemen" of the feudal class, and the villain had no chance. This is the limitation of Confucius' thought.
Confucius said, "What did Heaven say? When you are at four o'clock, everything is born. What is the sky? " (The Analects of Confucius) This is Confucius' revision of traditional theism.
But Confucius' understanding of "heaven" seems to have a mysterious side. He said: "A gentleman has three fears, fear of destiny, fear of adults and fear of the words of saints" (The Analects of Confucius). Regard "fate" as an opposing and alien force.
Although Confucius thought that a person's life and death, wealth, success or failure are all determined by fate, he can still do what he should do.
Confucius was obviously skeptical about the existence of "ghosts and gods". Confucius also often regards poetry and music as one of the important subjects to educate his disciples. He is very proficient in music and fully affirms the value of poetry.
In his later years, Confucius concentrated on sorting out handed down documents in Shandong, consulted a large number of historical books from various countries, and began to compile the historical work Spring and Autumn Annals. Chunqiu is the earliest preserved in China and the earliest chronicle in the world. It has a distinct concept of time and accurately records historical events and astronomical phenomena (such as the year, month and day of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse). Another feature of it is that the myth is very light, mainly about writing people's history, which was valuable more than 2000 years ago. Although Confucius made many attempts in the Spring and Autumn Annals, he wrote it with a very serious attitude. Confucius was meticulous in compiling Chunqiu. He once said: "Later generations know that I am in Kong Qiu because of this Spring and Autumn Annals, and later generations call me Kong Qiu because of this Spring and Autumn Annals." He simply regarded Spring and Autumn Annals as his second life.
In the spring of 479 BC (16th year of Lu Aigong), Confucius was ill in bed and never got up again. Seven days later, in the cry of his disciples, he passed away at the age of 73. The body was buried in "Kong Lin" (now beside the swimming water outside the north gate of Qufu City, Shandong Province).
In a word, Confucius is the most famous figure in thousands of years' history of China, and he has the greatest influence on later generations, not only in China, but also in the world. As a great thinker, educator and the earliest historian, his speech and achievements are unparalleled. Sima Qian in Historical Records? Confucius' family commented on Confucius like this: "The kings of the world, as for the sages, are too numerous to mention. It was a dish at that time, but it was already set. Confucius has been handed down for more than ten generations in clothes, and scholars admire him. During the day, princes and princes will meet, and China, who talks about six arts, will compromise with the master, which can be described as the most holy! "