Then, why are these words related to education related to peaches, apricots, plums and other plants?
There are some interesting allusions.
"Li Tao" had a very beautiful meaning in ancient times. The ancients sang many songs about them.
For example, in the Book of Songs:
It means handsome, and later generations also have the saying "gorgeous as peaches and plums".
At the same time as the Book of Songs, there is also a story that links "peaches and plums" with education.
In other words, Wei offended in court. Wei Wenhou had great influence and was the leader of ministers at that time. He was a disciple of Confucianism, but in the political reform of Wei, he promoted Li Kui and Wuqi, who were called "Wu Shen".
In this way, the daughter can't stay in the court and can only escape.
The hippopotamus chef defected to a friend, but this friend was also poor. Little chef hippo didn't want to add too much burden to him, so he offered to subsidize his family by giving lectures.
When friends saw this, they cleaned up two rooms to give him a lecture.
Students enrolled in quality schools are equally educated regardless of their status and status, but they are required to worship their teachers in the "peach tree" and "plum tree" in the hospital.
Therefore, "Li Tao" became the target of "disciple".
But this story obviously has the shadow of another story, and that is "Zhao Bo Gan Tang".
That is to say, at the beginning of the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhao Bo was called to Gan Tang tree to hear the case impartially, so he called "Gan Tang" as the venue.
For example, there is a sentence in the preface before Wang Yanbo's poem "A political prisoner listens to cicadas":
There is almost no difference between "Apprentice under the Peach and Plum Tree" and "Litigation under the Gan Tang Tree", but the protagonist and specific plot have been replaced, which makes people think that "Peach and Plum" is a replica of the story of "Gan Tang".
There is a more credible version of the story about Zizhong and Li Tao.
The background is similar to before. All this happened because chef hippo offended Wei Wenhou and had to flee.
However, the development of things made Zi disheartened. He told his friends that he has trained a large number of talents for the country, including students under his guidance, from the center of the guild hall to small officials in the countryside. But what if they see their careers frustrated now?
For their own career or special purpose, these students are not on my side, but throwing stones at people.
Such behavior chilled Zizi, so he told his friends that he would never teach students again.
After listening to the child's complaints, his friend cleaned him up and said:
A friend classified two different plants and expounded a very simple truth, that is, there is nothing wrong with the behavior of "educating people", but the real problem is the people who receive education.
So he told Zizhong that in the future, he should distinguish the personality of talents before deciding whether to teach them. In other words, only "peaches and plums" are planted, and "tribulus" are not planted.
Therefore, "Li Tao" is also called an excellent student, with a qualifier, which also exists in today's context.
In court, it is very likely that "students" betray their teachers. Not only did Zi have such an experience, but Qu Yuan also pointed out such a problem.
Qu Yuan was vilified by villains and alienated by the monarch, but the talents he had trained before were silent and even in cahoots with villains.
So he said in Li Sao:
In other words, these talented people originally hoped that they could thrive and become pillars. But even if it doesn't grow up, how can it wither like this? Why do we have to be "dirty" by weeds in order to survive?
So this story is obviously more credible, and it has a basis for life.
In addition to "peaches and plums", there is also "apricot altar", which is used by later generations to refer to schools and other places and is related to Confucius.
According to "Zhuangzi Zapian Fisherman":
This is a very vivid description. Confucius sat on the altar, playing the piano and singing, and educating his disciples around him. Pictures depicting Confucius' lectures often show disciples sitting around Confucius, which is related to such records.
However, many words describing Confucius in Zhuangzi are groundless, and Zhuangzi likes to make up stories, so the fact that Confucius is sitting on the "apricot altar" is not necessarily true.
However, the meaning of this "apricot altar" was later divided. The annotation of Jin people refers to the high platform, that is, "the highest in Zezhong", not the rostrum covered with apricot trees.
The "Xingtan" changed from a virtual reference to a real reference, which originated from a renovation of the Confucius Temple by the descendants of Confucius in the Song Dynasty.
Song people thought that since it was mentioned in ancient times that Confucius gave lectures at the "Xingtan", this "Xingtan" should be in the Confucius Temple.
But what if there is no such place in Confucius Temple? Then make another one.
So:
In fact, this practice can't be said to be far-fetched, because the "apricot altar" at this time has become a symbol, which means a place to give lectures. Confucius Temple resurrected an "apricot altar" not to distinguish history, but to better publicize the true meaning of Confucius education.
Later, "Xingtan" spread from the meaning of referring to Confucius' lecture place, referring to the pulpit and pulpit in general, so many academies in later generations have many settings.
As for why apricot trees are planted in the "apricot altar", it is a bit far-fetched.
The correspondence between things in human society and things in nature actually reflects the habit of ancient people to sum up the characteristics of things, which urges them to move forward, and many of them contain expectations as human beings.