Zhong Ni is Confucius.
The meaning of the whole sentence is: if heaven does not create such a great man as Confucius, then the ages will be as bleak as the long night. But God created us (referring to a new generation of young people in China, including Fudan students), and made all times glow again.
In 2005, Li Ao, a crazy student studying in Taiwan Province, visited Fudan University and wrote an inscription for him: "If Zhong Ni was not born in heaven, eternal life would be like a long night. The sky gave birth to us again and went to Fudan for a long night. " There is no big problem with the inscription, but he explained that "Heaven will not give birth to Zhong Ni, and eternity will be like a long night" is a poem by the poet Du Fu, which caused many netizens to question it, because this sentence could not be found in Du Fu's poems. However, Li Ao is not the only one who regards it as Du Fu's poem. Mr. Tang Enjia, Dean of the Confucius Institute in Hong Kong, holds this view in The Confucius Reader, and Professor Peng Lin, a Tsinghua University ritualist, holds this view in The State of Chinese Etiquette. In addition, researcher Liu Mengxi, president of China Academy of Art, also mentioned that the eulogy was a poem by Han Yu.
The above scholars may have their own ideas, but so far no one has provided clear literature to give strong support. As far as I know, even if it didn't first appear in Zhuzi school, it was because Zhuzi (1 130- 1200) once quoted it that it got the attention of later generations. "Genre" Volume 93 "Confucius and Mencius Zhou Cheng Zhang Zi" says: "Heaven does not give birth to Zhong Ni, and eternity is like night." Tang Zixi tasted this in a postal kiosk. "Similarly, Zhu also quoted this sentence in The Complete Book of Sexual Principles, which shows that he attaches great importance to and recognizes Zhu. Zhu Dui's record was also confirmed by the May 4th Miscellaneous Notes of the Song Dynasty. The previous volume Hu Zai (1 10- 170) "Fishing in Tiaoxi from Conghua": "Tang Zi Opera Quotations Cloud: Between the walls of Shudao Pavilion. I don't know who writes poems. "
Tang Geng (Gregorian calendar1071-1/kloc-21), a native of Meizhou, Sichuan Province, was a scholar during the Shaosheng period of the Northern Song Dynasty, and later became an official. When he was pardoned, he returned to Shu and died. According to the previously quoted Hu Zai's "Tiaoxi Fishing Hidden Conghua", "Heaven is not born, and eternity lasts like night" is just a couplet that Tang Geng saw on the post office wall, and Tang himself has made it clear that he does not know who wrote it. Thus, although Confucius has been mentioned in Du Fu's poems, such as "Zhong Ni is a traveler, knowing the gains and losses from his son" in "Wu Jiangshangzhai in Liangdang County" and "Drinking", "Xi Nong has been away from me for a long time, and there is little truth in the world; Learn from Lu Zhongcuo's poems and sew them up to make them pure. However, the eulogy of "Heaven will not give birth to Zhong Ni, and eternity will last like night" is Du Fu's poem, at least it is not supported by original documents. However, if Tang Geng respects and is familiar with Du Fu's poems and doesn't know who the eulogy is, it can generally be concluded that it is not Du Fu's poems. Later generations often regard it as Du Fu's poems, or Tang Geng praised Du Fu's poems. However, it is certain that the eulogy appeared before the death of Tang Geng at the latest, that is, the Gregorian calendar 1 12 1 year.
At the same time, it is unlikely that the eulogy will appear before the Northern Song Dynasty, because it is hard to praise Confucius, and it is impossible for future generations not to pay attention to and record it. More importantly, the knowledge of Han and Tang dynasties is mainly based on Confucian classics. Although Liu Han worships Confucianism and respects Confucius, most of his praises to Confucius are "saints" or "Ping Yuanjun". In the Tang Dynasty, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were in parallel, Buddhism flourished, and Taoism deliberately flattered Li, and Confucius was not given enough praise. Therefore, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, although Han Yu stood up to "restore orthodoxy and respect Confucius and Mencius", the crazy donation ideas such as "I have been elegant for a long time, but I failed" and "I am a madman in Chu, and I am ridiculed by Feng Yin" are not uncommon. During the Zhao and Song Dynasties, Mao Youwen and Confucianism revived, and scholars generally improved their understanding of Confucius' lofty position in China culture. Therefore, "Heaven will not give birth to Zhong Ni, and eternity will be like night" most likely appeared in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, and it was written by an unknown or unknown person.