Gentleman's six arts refer to the six basic talents that China ancient Confucianism required students to master, and it is also the general name of higher education. The six arts of gentlemen have two different meanings, one is the six arts in ancient Zhou Li, and the other is the six classics put forward by Confucius. Below I will introduce the contents and significance of these two kinds of six arts respectively.
Zhou Li ancient six arts are six subjects of aristocratic education in the Western Zhou Dynasty, namely:
Ceremony: refers to the etiquette and norms of getting along with each other, including auspicious ceremony, fierce ceremony, guest ceremony, military ceremony and ceremony. Ceremony is an important means to maintain social order and harmony, and it is also the basis to cultivate gentleman's demeanor and moral cultivation.
Music: refers to music and dance, including Cloud Gate, Daxian, Dashao, Daxia, Daxie and Big Dance. Music is an effective way to cultivate sentiment and adjust emotions, and it is also an important way to express emotions and thoughts.
Shooting: refers to the skill and art of archery, including five shooting methods: white arrow, joint, stroke, ruler and well instrument. Shooting is a beneficial exercise to exercise and enhance courage, and it is also a strict standard to test skills and character.
Imperial driving: refers to the skill and level of driving a carriage, including five driving methods: singing Luan, chasing water songs, crossing the king's table, dancing across the road and chasing birds to the left. Defense is an effective training to improve the ability of reaction and judgment, and it is also an important occasion to show grace and talent.
Book: refers to the ability and level of writing, literacy and composition, including pictographic characters, fingering, knowing, pictographic characters, phonetic notation, phonetic notation and borrowing books. Books are the basic tools for spreading knowledge and culture, and also the necessary means for learning, thinking, expressing and communicating.
Number: refers to the knowledge and methods of arithmetic and mathematics, including square field, millet, difference, sparseness, quotient, even loss, equation, surplus and deficiency, margin and so on. Numbers are an important tool to explore nature and laws, and also an effective way to cultivate logic and wisdom.
The Six Classics proposed by Confucius are six classic works of Confucian education in the Spring and Autumn Period, namely:
Poetry: refers to the Book of Songs, which contains 305 poems from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, reflecting all aspects of social life at that time. The Book of Songs is known as "the beginning of a hundred schools of thought contend", which has a far-reaching influence on later literary creation.
Book: It refers to Shangshu or Shu Jing, which contains political documents published or recorded by kings or sages from ancient times to the early Zhou Dynasty. The book classics are regarded as "the discipline of political affairs", which has important enlightenment to later political thoughts.
"Rites" refers to three etiquette books, Zhou Li, Yi Li and Li Ji, which record the etiquette systems and ceremonies followed by all social strata in the Zhou Dynasty. Ritual classics are called "the foundation of governing the country" and have a far-reaching influence on the ritual culture of later generations.
Yue: It refers to Jing Yue, which is a lost musical book and records the musical system and dance forms of the Zhou Dynasty. Jing Yue, known as "the way of harmony with the people", has made important contributions to the music art of later generations.
Yi: It refers to the Book of Changes or the Book of Changes. It is a book that discusses the changes of the universe and the philosophy of life. It uses eight diagrams, sixty-four hexagrams and other symbol systems. The Book of Changes is regarded as "the way of heaven and earth" and has a great influence on later philosophical thoughts.
Spring and Autumn Annals: Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronological history book that records the history of Lu, covering 242 major events from 722 BC to 48 BC1year. The Spring and Autumn Period is called "the discipline of governors", which has important reference significance for the historical methods of later generations.
The above is my detailed explanation of the six arts of gentlemen, hoping to help you.