The so-called wandering in the Six Classics means that Confucianism relies on the Six Classics and does not go beyond them. The Six Classics refers to China's six ancient books, namely, poetry, calligraphy, ceremony, Yi, Yue and Chunqiu, which are the fundamental classics of Confucianism. In the pre-Qin period, people paid very limited attention to them, let alone called them "classics", which was probably related to the low political status of Confucianism in the pre-Qin period. It was probably only in the Han Dynasty that they were called "classics" and were highly praised. At that time, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty ousted hundreds of schools, respected Confucianism alone, raised Confucianism to the supreme position, and designated the Six Classics as a calligraphy book, which led to the prosperity of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty. Although it is customarily called "Six Classics", there are actually only five Classics, because Yue has only sounds but no words, which can only be understood without words.

Confucian music refers to aristocratic music recognized by Confucianism, such as elegance and praise in poetry, rather than musical instruments. "The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo XVII" said: "Music rhyme, music rhyme, bells and drums?" He also said, "Evil purple takes Zhu, and evil chaos is elegant, and evil covers the country." [24] Confucius opposed Zheng Sheng and advocated elegant music. Why? Because "Zheng Sheng is lewd and dangerous" [25], because Yayue is "happy without lewdness, sad without injury" [26]. Confucius believes that elegant music can really cultivate people. He said: "Xing is in Poetry, courtesy is in ceremony, and joy is in success." [27]

Confucianism attaches great importance to poetry, which plays an irreplaceable role in cultivating talents. Confucius said, "Boy, why don't you learn poetry?" The poem "can be exciting, impressive, crowded, and resentful. The father of military affairs, the king of distant affairs, knows more about the names of birds and beasts." [28] He also said, "There are 300 poems. In a word, it says' thinking naively'. " [29] This fully shows that Confucius attaches importance to poetry: it can not only cultivate noble sentiments, but also enable people to learn how to be a father and a monarch, and also increase their knowledge. Therefore, Confucius not only taught students to learn poetry, but also asked his descendants to learn poetry. Confucius once said to Confucius, "If you don't learn poetry, you have nothing to say." [30] In other words, even if you get the least, you can be good at words. Because poetry has such a function, Confucianism often quotes words from poetry to prove itself. For example, The University quoted "Although Zhou was an old gang, he was born again", and The Doctrine of the Mean quoted "A good wife plays the lute. The two brothers are happy and anxious. Shi Jia, the wealth of Leer's wife, The Analects of Confucius, Learning first, Mencius Liang Wang Hui I cited "Others have a heart, give them some thoughts", "Fear the power of heaven, keep it timely", and Mencius Gong Sunchou II cited "from west to east"

About books, Confucianism refers to history books. Since Confucius and Mencius, Confucianism has attached importance to Shangshu and often quoted its words to explore knowledge. For example, The Analects of Confucius and Erzhi quotes "Filial piety! Filial piety, brotherly friendship, and political affairs ",the fourteenth question in The Analects of Confucius quoted" The emperor always respected Yin and remained silent for three years ",and the first book in Mencius quoted" Heaven descended on the people, being a teacher for the monarch, and speaking of it,' Heaven helped all sides, only I was guilty and innocent', and the world was in the world. The reason why Confucianism attaches importance to Shangshu is because Confucius thinks it is as elegant as poetry. The Analects of Confucius said: "As Confucius said, poetry, books and rituals are all elegant. "Mencius believes that as long as we can correctly understand and use the Book of History, we can stand in the world. He said: "It is better to believe in books than to have no books. I only adopted two or three strategies in Wucheng. " [3 1]

With regard to "ceremony", Confucianism refers to "Shi Li" who recorded relevant etiquette. In Confucianism, starting from Confucius, they respected the rites of Zhou Dynasty, that is, the etiquette system of Zhou Dynasty. Confucius said, "Zhou Jian was born in the second generation. Why is he so depressed?" I am from Zhou. [32] Confucius' admiration for "Zhou Li" can be reflected in two aspects: first, life; Second, education. In life, Confucius often dreams of Duke Zhou. He said, "What a pity! I'm weak! For a long time, I stopped dreaming about Duke Zhou. " [33] Because he didn't dream of Duke Zhou recently, Confucius lamented that he was old. In education, when Yan Yuan, his favorite student, asked about the road of a country, Confucius said, "Go, use Yin, serve Zhou Zhimian, enjoy Shao's dance, and let him go far away." [34] It can be seen that Confucius never forgets to educate people with courtesy. Of course, Confucius not only knew Zhou Li, but also knew Li Xia and Li Yin very well. He said: "Yin's gains and losses are all known from this, and its gains and losses are also known; Its successor, though immortal, can be named. " [35] He also said: "Li Xia, I can say this, but it is not enough; Li Yin, what I can say is not enough in the Song Dynasty. If the literature is insufficient, then we can collect it. " [36] Like Li Xia and Li Yin, Confucius can not only tell people, but also know the gains and losses well, which is by no means what ordinary people can do. The reason why Confucius values ceremony so much is that ceremony is the foundation of people's foothold in society and the embodiment of the institutionalization and systematization of social order. "The Analects of Confucius Ji 16" said: "If you don't learn etiquette, you can't stand. "The Analects of Confucius Yao Yue 20" said: "I don't know my life, I don't think it's a gentleman; Don't understand the ceremony, can't stand it; You can't know people if you don't know what to say. "This fully shows that in the eyes of Confucius, it is impossible for people who do not follow the etiquette to get social respect. "The Analects of Confucius Governing the Second" said: "Life is based on ceremony; When you die, you will be buried with ceremony and sacrificed with ceremony. " It can be seen that all life, birth, death and burial must focus on ceremony and not be rude. Confucius said, "courtesy is tiring, caution is embarrassing, courage is chaotic, and straightforwardness is twisting." Gentlemen are loyal to their relatives, and benevolent people are prosperous; If the old are not left behind, then people will not steal. "[37] It is worth noting that the so-called ceremony of Confucianism is completely different from the gift-giving ceremony that is popular today. Confucius said, "Liu Yun, Liu Yun, what about jade and silk?" [38] He also said, "People are heartless, how can they be a gift!" [39] In Confucius' view, ceremony is not an object like a treasure, but a manifestation of social order based on benevolence. If you leave benevolence, the ceremony will go to the opposite side. For a country, "class is impolite, class is ill-bred, people are miserable, and the weather is miserable" [40]. Therefore, Confucius advocated treating people with "virtue, courtesy", "shame and dignity". [4 1]

About the Book of Changes, Confucianism refers to the Book of Changes. According to Sima Qian, King Wen "walked in Zhouyi" [42], and the sixty-four hexagrams in Zhouyi were deduced by Zhou Wenwang himself. On the basic principle of Zhouyi, Yi Zhuan said:

The previous book of sages, Yi, will also follow the principle of life. The way to establish heaven is yin and yang, the way to establish people is soft and rigid, and the way to establish people is benevolence and righteousness. It is a combination of three talents, so the Yijing is painted with six pictures; Divided into yin and yang, rigid and flexible, so the Book of Changes is divided into six chapters.

The reason why Confucianism attaches importance to Zhouyi is that Zhouyi can meet all the needs of Confucianism. The Book of Changes said: "There are four ways to become a saint: the speakers are still loyal to their words, the people who act are still loyal to their changes, the people who make devices are still loyal to their image, and the people who predict are still responsible for them." Therefore, a gentleman must do something and do something. "China ancient contacts with people, nothing more than these four things. According to Confucius, all the above four aspects can make a saint. So "Yi Chuan Cohesion" went on to say:

The reason why saints study Yi is very deep. Only deep, it can pass the ambition of the world; There are only a few, so it can become a matter of the world; Only God is there, so it is not quick and impossible. Confucius said, "There are four ways to sanctify the Book of Changes", which is the so-called "Book of Changes".

Although Confucius attached great importance to Zhouyi, even Confucius felt that he didn't understand enough because of the extensive preparation of Zhouyi. He said, "Add me a few more years, and I will learn the Book of Changes at the age of 50. It's no big deal." [43]

According to Sima Qian, The Spring and Autumn Annals was written by Confucius. [44] Mencius believes that Spring and Autumn Annals is a historical reflection of the hegemony of princes. He said:

The trace of the king died and the poem died, and the poem died and then wrote the Spring and Autumn Period. Jin's Cheng, Chu's Kongtong and Lu's Chunqiu are all written in harmony, and they all write about history. Confucius said, "Its meaning was stolen by Qiu." [45]