A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 54 Encountering a tiger on the road, Confucius learned to shoot

The 551nd year of Lu Xianggong, the th year of Bai Kingdom ( BC)
Confucius was born. Confucius was born in "Yehe" by Liang He, a doctor in Zouyi, and his concubine Yan Zheng.

Because Yan Zheng was less than 20 years old at the time, and Shu Liang He was already 66 years old. There was a huge age difference between them. The two were not compatible with each other in terms of wedding etiquette, so the couple lived in Niqiu Mountain and became pregnant. Therefore, they called it "Yehe", which is also the name of Confucius. Qiu, the origin of the name "Qiu".

Uncle Liang He's first wife was Shi, and she gave birth to nine daughters but no sons. In order to inherit the inheritance, he took a concubine and gave birth to his eldest son Meng Pi. And because Meng Pi had a foot disease and could not inherit the status of Shu Liang He's scholar according to Zhou rites, he adopted Yan Zheng Zai and gave birth to Confucius.

The twenty-fourth year of Duke Xiang of Lu, the two hundred and twenty-second year of Bai Kingdom
When Confucius was three years old, his uncle Liang He died of illness. After the death of Shu Liang He, his wife Shi Shi expelled Yan Zheng Zai out in order to seize the family property. Yan Zheng Zai had no choice but to take Kong Qiu's brothers Meng Pi and Kong Qiu to Qufu to live in poverty.

The carriage gurgled toward Qufu. In the carriage, Yan Zhengzai's cousin was driving. Yan Zhengzai was holding the young Confucius, and beside him was the teenage Meng Pi. Yan Zheng looked at Confucius who was sleeping and touched him distressedly.

Suddenly, a stone blocked the road. Unexpectedly, Master Ran made the carriage roll over and all four of them fell to the ground. Xiao Kongqiu was also frightened by this unexpected situation and cried. Several people stood up slowly and patted the dust on their clothes.

Master Ran wanted to right the carriage, but he was unable to do so alone. Upon seeing this, Yan's mother asked Meng Pi to help, but after several attempts, she couldn't help him up. Master Ran became a little discouraged.

After resting for a while, Master Ran looked at the surrounding environment and saw lush green trees, and the faint sounds of birds and animals could be heard in the woods. He said to Yan’s mother:
"No, let's wait for help from passers-by! It's getting late now, and it looks like it will get dark soon. We need to light a fire quickly, otherwise there will be wild beasts spying on us at night."

Yan's mother also agreed very much, so a few people gathered a lot of firewood nearby, and soon a fire was lit on the roadside. Master Ran found two animal skin tents from the overturned carriage and set them up. One room with Meng Pi, and one room with Yan Mu and Kong Qiu.

Soon the sky was getting dark, and people could hardly see clearly. They hurriedly drank the water, finished the dry food, and immediately got into the tent, because at night, except around the fire, other places should be Can't see clearly.

Soon, the next morning, when Master Ran and others were packing their things, they suddenly heard the roar of a tiger.

"Oops! Tiger, hide now!"

Several people hurriedly hid behind the overturned carriage and waited for a while, but there was no sound. Master Ran held the bronze dagger nervously and stared intently into the woods, fearing that he would miss any details.

Suddenly Confucius looked to the other side of the road, chuckled, and said, "Tacco!" Yan's mother followed Confucius' gaze and saw the tiger that was slowly approaching them with its head lowered. She didn't know when the tiger would come around. Yes, the tiger’s sharp fangs scared Yan Mu and she immediately shouted “Tiger!”

Master Ran also reacted, and then he blocked his sword in front of him, letting Yan Mu and the other two people stand behind him, and then they faced off against the tiger.

After a while, the tiger seemed to lose its patience and pounced forward. Master Ran fell to the side and avoided the tiger's attack. The tiger did not pounce. Then he saw Yan Mu and the three of them. Master Ran looked at it: " Oops!"

The tiger rushed towards Yan Mu and the others, and Master Ran had no time to save them.

"Whoosh!"

A bronze arrow hit the tiger's eye. The tiger felt a sharp pain and ducked to the side. "Roar!" The tiger was enraged and rushed towards the person.

The visitor pulled out his sword and started fighting with the tiger. The visitor's body technique was very flexible. Soon, the visitor found an opportunity and pierced the tiger's abdomen with his sword. The tiger died.

Master Ran and the others looked at the visitor. They were all dressed in white, with white crowns on their heads, and a bamboo hat hanging on their backs. Their faces looked very young. The young man sheathed his sword and hung up his bow. Walking towards the four people.

In Confucius' sight, there was a tall man in white clothes, holding a sword, a bow and a quiver. The most eye-catching thing was the white jade on his waist.

"Thank you sir for saving your life. Please leave your name so that we can repay the favor." Master Ran saluted.

The young man returned the greeting and said, "Don't worry about it. When we see danger on the road, drawing our swords to help is what we rangers should do, isn't it?"

"Sir, is he a ranger?"

"Exactly, please tell me about the Bai Kingdom. I wonder why some of the Bai Kingdom's rangers are staying in the wilderness?"

"To be honest, sir, it was all an accident. Yesterday, the carriage rolled over. I was not strong enough and could not right it, so I stayed here all night. Unexpectedly, I encountered a tiger early this morning. Thank you so much for saving my life, sir." "

"It's okay, come on, let me try!"

As he spoke, Fang Xiang, Ran Fuzi and Meng Pi used all their strength to finally push the car onto the road.

Fang Xiang wiped his sweat and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Go to Qufu."

"What a coincidence? I'm going to Qufu too, so let's go together and take care of each other!"

"Thank you, sir." Soon, Master Ran and others finished packing, and together with Fang Xiang, a total of two carriages drove towards Qufu.

Outside Qufu City
"That's it. Let's say goodbye. See you later!"

"Sir, please leave your address so that we can repay you!"

"Haha! If we are destined, we will meet each other. There is no need to say anything in return. As long as you try your best to help when you meet someone in difficulty, that is the best reward for me." Then he took out a piece of jade from his body and handed it to him. Master Ran then pointed at Confucius and said:
"On the way, I saw that this son is sensible and polite. He is not like ordinary children who cry and make noises. This shows that his mother has taught him well. I have a piece of white jade here. You also know that a piece of jade needs to be carved.

I think this son is a fine piece of jade, and you must carve it carefully. I hope that he will be as pure and flawless as this jade in the future.

If you want to ask for advice in the future, you can go to the Taishi of the Lu State. He is from the Bai State. He is a man of good moral character, knowledgeable yet rough, and a virtuous man. Okay, that’s all, see you later! "

After saying the details, he drove away.

Master Ran paid a solemn salute to Fang Xiang before entering Qufu.

The thirty-first year of Duke Xiang of Lu, the two hundred and twenty-ninth year of Bai Kingdom
Confucius was ten years old. In this year, Duke Xiang of Lu died. Qi Gui's son Cui succeeded Duke Lu as Duke Zhao of Lu.

During these seven years, Confucius had been studying at Master Ran's place, because five years ago they met Fang Xiang again, and Confucius insisted on learning archery and swordsmanship. Fang Xiang really liked the child, so he agreed and stayed in Qufu temporarily.

When Yan's mother heard that Confucius wanted to learn archery from Fang Xiang, she immediately asked someone to make a small bow for Confucius. Although the family's money had been used up this time, Yan's mother was not stingy. Confucius felt sorry for his mother. Yan's mother said: " It’s okay if I’m tired, I just hope you can learn your skills and come back to Zouyi in the future to fight for me.”

Outside the city, Fang Xiang looked at Confucius holding a small bow and said seriously: "Confucius, are you willing to learn archery?"

Confucius said: "Yes!"

Fang Xiang said: "In this case, you should study seriously. As the saying goes, if there is no threshold for knowledge, people will not pay attention to it. Therefore, if you ask me to learn shooting, you should pay me the tuition fee."

Confucius looked embarrassed after hearing this. Fang Xiang saw Confucius' embarrassed look and said with a smile: "I know your family is not well off, but I see that you really like to study. I can't bear to be a disciple who is studious like you, so you can Learn to shoot from me.”

Confucius was very happy after hearing this, and Fang Xiang added: "Even so, the etiquette cannot be discarded. You can't take it out now. In this way, after you learn how to shoot a bow, you have to use the archery etiquette I taught you to hunt three times." Leave this beast to me and treat it as if you have handed it over to me."

After hearing this, Confucius said very seriously: "Confucius has taken note of it."

Fang Xiang saw that the boy could be taught, so he nodded and started teaching archery:
"There are four types of shooting rituals, namely Dashe, Binshe, Yanshe, and Xiangshe.

Dashe is a sacrificial ceremony held by the emperor and the princes who choose to participate in the sacrifice before the ceremony. First, before the Dashe, guests are received, presented to the guests, entertained, and entertained by playing music and singing according to Yanli. After the banquet, the Dashe is held.

The chief archer in charge of the archery etiquette needs to bare his left arm, hold a bow and an arrow to the front of the steps, and ask for the shooting ceremony to begin. The chief will present the bow and arrow to the king, and set up the calculated "hit" and the counter, and use it to punish those who violate the etiquette. The 'pounce'.

Binshe is the shooting ceremony held when the princes meet the emperor or when the princes meet;
Yanshe is a shooting ceremony usually held on the day when swallows take their breath;
Finally, there is the Xiangshe ceremony, which is a ceremony held by local officials to recommend talents and scholars. There is often drinking before and after the ceremony, and the Xiangshe ceremony is often held at the same time as the township drinking ceremony. "

Seeing that Confucius was listening attentively, Fang Xiang continued: "The steps of the shooting ceremony include preparing the ceremony, welcoming guests, opening the ceremony, coupling, receiving the shooting device, relying on the flag, inducing shooting, first shooting, second shooting, and third shooting. The shooting, the travel reward, and finally the farewell.”

While talking, he demonstrated the process and actions for Confucius. When Confucius remembered it almost, Fang Xiang said again:

“The reason why archery rituals are complicated is that in addition to practicing archery techniques for hunting and fighting, it is more importantly used to cultivate one’s own physique, character and spirit.

In the process of archery shooting, each step of archers should be relaxed and relaxed, with strict etiquette and standard behavior. Through long-term training and practice, we can achieve the purpose of self-cultivation.

Shooting ceremony pays attention to modesty, courtesy and solemnity, advocates "shooting without hitting the target, seeking others from yourself", and pays attention to people's moral introspection. If you want to look at a person's moral character and character, and compare his shooting skills with him, you will know whether this person is impatient or peaceful, polite and virtuous, or rude and ungrateful. "

Seeing that Confucius was listening carefully, Fang Xiang examined the process and meaning of the shooting ceremony, and finally asked him to do it completely by himself, while Fang Xiang corrected and guided him.

Finally, when parting was approaching, Fang Xiang said to Confucius: "I'll be here today, and every three days from now on. I'll wait for you here when the sun rises on the morning of the third day, and I'll go back when the sun sets in the evening. Remember, you don’t need to bring food for the day of teaching, I will provide you with food for the day.”

After Confucius heard this, he knew that the Master was helping him reduce the burden on his family, so he knelt down solemnly and bowed three times. Fang Xiang said: "Okay, let's forget it this time. Next time, you must behave in a manner consistent with your status."

"Here"

The teacher and student returned to Qufu together and then separated.

　Happy party holidays! ! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)