Near the Temple of Duke Huan of Lu, everyone got off the carriage and walked on a tree-lined street. This place is called Lu Temple Street by the locals in Qufu, and the ancestral temples of many Lu kings are located here.
Due to its age, this area has been closed and no one is allowed to enter without a warrant from the Kong family.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, Lu was a powerful country. Duke Huan of Lu attacked other countries many times, and then gradually weakened. When the Duke Huan of Lu Temple was built, Confucius had not yet become a saint, but because Confucius once led his disciples to visit the Duke Huan of Lu Temple, this temple has extraordinary significance.
Soon, everyone arrived in front of the Lu Huan Gong Temple. This ancestral temple dedicated to Lu Huan Gong was very small, less than 30 meters in radius, not as big as a military camp. The temple building was shabby and low, built with rough stones. If it were not for the protection of the Kong family, this Lu Huan Gong Temple would have collapsed long ago.
However, everyone is familiar with history and does not feel disappointed, because the human race in the Spring and Autumn Period was not as good as it is now in all aspects. The residences or ancestral temples of the monarchs at that time were not as good as those of some of the famous families today.
Fang Yun glanced at the Kong family members who followed him and found that their expressions were a little complicated, and he understood what was going on.
After Duke Huan of Lu passed away, his eldest son became Duke Zhuang of Lu, while the other three sons were granted titles of ministers by their elder brother. They were known in history as the Three Huans, which laid the hidden danger for the future decline of the state of Lu.
At that time, Confucius became the Grand Minister of Justice of Lu State, and was regarded as the leader of all ministers. However, because Duke Ding of Lu ignored the affairs of state and Ji clan, one of the Three Huans, treated Confucius lightly during sacrifices and Duke Ding of Lu did not care, Confucius was disappointed with Duke Ding of Lu and resigned from the post of Grand Minister of Justice without any attachment to power.
After Confucius was canonized as a saint, he no longer cared about what happened in the past. However, his descendants were dissatisfied with the lineage of the king of the State of Lu. As a result, when Confucius was in seclusion and the State of Lu was destroyed, the Kong family did not lend a helping hand, but simply designated the surrounding areas such as Qufu as the Kong family's land.
The crowd entered the inconspicuous Temple of Duke Huan of Lu one after another. No one dared to make a loud noise, and everyone was respectful.
Led by the temple keeper, the crowd entered the main hall of the Lu Huan Gong Temple. On the right side of the main hall was an artifact.
"That's the singing instrument." The temple keeper led his men over.
Fang Yun had seen it in a book. The singing instrument is also called a "欹器". "欹" is pronounced the same as "七", which means slanting.
Fang Yun observed carefully and found that it was a bronze object, like a bronze bottle fixed on a shelf. It was empty inside and was tilted upward at an angle of about 45 degrees, motionless.
The temple keeper walked over with a bucket of water and said, "If this singing instrument is empty, it will tilt." As he spoke, the temple keeper reached out to fiddle with the singing instrument and straightened it. As soon as his hand left the instrument, it immediately returned to its tilted position.
"If you pour in the right amount of water, the instrument can stand upright." The temple keeper said, slowly pouring water into it. As the water gradually increased, the instrument finally stood upright. At this moment, the water inside had been half filled, and the temple keeper stopped.
"If you continue to fill it with water, the singing instrument will tilt to the other side." As he said this, the temple keeper poured all the water into the singing instrument.
As soon as the singing instrument was full, it immediately tilted to the other side, and all the water inside poured out, and finally returned to this side and tilted as usual.
"This is what Confucius said: When it is empty, it tilts. When it is moderate, it is upright. When it is full, it overturns. When there is no water, it tilts. With the right amount of water, it can be upright. Once it is full, it overturns."
Afterwards, the temple keeper slowly recited the passage "Confucius visited the temple of Duke Huan of Lu". His voice echoed in the room, and seemed to drive the singing instruments, forming a peculiar rhythm, which made everyone listen respectfully unconsciously.
Everyone nodded to express their gratitude to the temple keeper, thanking him for teaching the doctrine of the mean on behalf of Confucius.
Fang Yun felt that after watching the musical instruments, his understanding of the doctrine of the mean and some related aspects had improved. Although the progress was not particularly obvious, it was also a benefit.
Soon, Fang Yun realized that this singing instrument probably contained the power of Confucius. Even after many years, it was like Confucius personally instructing his students. Listening to the sage's words was like being bathed in a spring breeze, and he naturally learned more.
The temple keeper said: "You all know that scholars have a 'motto', and this singing instrument is the instrument of the motto. The origin of the word motto is this singing instrument."
Everyone nodded, they knew about this kind of thing.
"According to custom, anyone who comes to worship at the Temple of Duke Huan of Lu for the first time must leave a motto to prove their sincerity. Listening to the music is like listening to the words of Confucius. The writing desk and ink table have been arranged. You can write immediately."
"Yes." Everyone saluted to the temple keeper.
Everyone left the room one after another and came to the courtyard of the Temple of Duke Huan of Lu. The Kong family had already set up three tables here, on which were all the necessary pens, ink, paper and inkstones.
Everyone looked at Fang Yun.
"You guys go ahead and let me think for a moment."
Fang Yun finished speaking and lowered his head to think. The mottos at that time were different from those in later generations. The mottos in later generations were basically one sentence, simple and powerful. The mottos nowadays are actually still in the category of "inscriptions", belonging to articles. No matter how short the length is, it is about 100 words, such as "Praise of the Humble House".
However, "Praise of the Humble Dwelling" is to express one's aspirations, while the purpose of a motto is to warn oneself.
"Since Fang Yun was able to write "Praise of the Humble Dwelling", he must be able to write a good motto. I have been here before, so I won't write one. You should write it quickly, and don't wait until Fang Yun has finished writing and there is no chance to write!" Zong Wude still can't forget the tragic experience of being overwhelmed by Fang Yun's literary reputation.
Xun Ye immediately said, "That's a very good idea! Fang Yun's motto must be stronger than ours, and it may even be the best motto in the Lu Huan Gong Temple throughout the ages."
Everyone present looked at Xun Ye. Xun Ye's words seemed to be praising Fang Yun, but they clearly had the intention of flattering him. Fang Yun could overwhelm everyone present, but to say that he was the best in history, who knows how many people Fang Yun would offend.
Kong Delun's face was gloomy, and he said slowly: "Xun Ye, this is the land of my Kong family, and it is also the place where Confucius once visited. If you dare to be presumptuous again, I will kill you on the spot to correct the etiquette of my Kong family!"
Everyone was secretly envious, and only the Kong family had such confidence.
"Oh, you misunderstood me again. Okay, I'll shut up." Xun Ye shook his head and sighed.
Most of the descendants of the saints' families had been here before, so the most outstanding ones did not write mottos. Except Fang Yun, a total of twelve people wrote mottos here.
After the last person finished writing, everyone looked at Fang Yun.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Fang Yun nodded slightly, then walked to a table, picked up a pen, but did not start writing immediately. Instead, he glanced at Xun Ye.
Xun Ye had a smile on his face, without any hostility on his face.
Fang Yun's eyes swept over the people in the Holy Ruins, and he said slowly: "I have a lot of feelings during this trip to the Holy Ruins. I thought that whether inside or outside the Holy Ruins, the literati are the same and should not be shaken by external things, but I didn't expect that I overestimated some people and almost died in the Holy Ruins. Today I will write a motto with the theme of sincerity, respect, loyalty and forgiveness as a warning to myself."
After Fang Yun finished speaking, he picked up the pen and started writing slowly.
"When you go out, be like a guest; when you serve, be like a sacrifice. Keep it like this, how dare you lose it?"
As soon as the first four sentences came out, everyone hurriedly walked behind Fang Yun and watched carefully. These sentences meant that when going out, one should be like a respectful guest, and when doing things, one should be as serious as offering sacrifices. If one treats everything with such an attitude, how could there be any mistakes or omissions
Everyone knew that Fang Yun compared going out to entering the Holy Ruins, and that not only should they not be indulgent, but they should be more cautious.
Later, Fang Yun wrote: "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."
This is a saying of Confucius in The Analects of Confucius. It often appears in aphorisms and is most suitable to be excerpted into mottos.
Up to this point, all the contents are from Zhu Xi's "Jingshu Zhai Ming", but the content after that is not applicable, so Fang Yun wrote the rest according to his own feelings and insights.
Fang used the experiences in the Holy Ruins as arguments, supplemented by the words and deeds of ancient saints, to explain that if scholars want to achieve a higher level of thought and obtain a higher literary status, they must be consistent and not harm others without reason.
When he finished writing, Fang Yun suddenly changed his writing style, and the last few lines of words leaped onto the paper like sharp swords, piercing everyone.
"Respect and forgive, and treat others as you would treat yourself. If respect and forgiveness are not possible, treat them as enemies. Repay kindness with kindness, and repay evil with justice!"
The last eight characters also quote the words of Confucius.
Everyone was stunned. The first and middle parts of Fang Yun's writing were very moderate, but the last four sentences were really straight to the point. If treating others with sincerity, respect, loyalty and forgiveness doesn't work for him and he gets harmed by others in return, then he will definitely regard them as enemies and retaliate against them using his own methods.
When Fang Yun wrote "Jing Shu", he actually sounded murderous, which shocked everyone. However, those who had personally experienced the Holy Ruins and saw Fang Yun being poisoned sighed softly, as Fang Yun did have a reason to write that way.
Suddenly, a long sound of singing instruments appeared, which aroused the literary courage of the people.
Everyone was extremely happy, but after the joy they were confused and puzzled, not understanding why Fang Yun caused the singing instrument to sound so long.
"In history, there have been only a dozen or so times when a singing instrument has been heard. Each time, the person who caused it to happen had made great achievements. Which sentence in this article can cause a singing instrument to sound for a long time?"
The temple keeper said slowly: "It's a good idea! I didn't expect that this person who said 'human nature is good' could best understand the meaning of Xun Sheng."
Xun Ye was stunned at first, then a look of surprise appeared on his face.
The temple keeper said slowly, "It is recorded in Xunzi that after Confucius and his disciples watched the singing instruments, Zilu asked: 'Is there a way for people to stay full?' Confucius replied: 'If you are the most accomplished in the world, you must be humble. If you are the most courageous in the world, you must be cautious. If you are the richest in the world, you must be frugal. This is how you can stay full.' Fang Yun used this motto. The first words are about respect and forgiveness. What if you have done enough respect and forgiveness? Use the way of courage and forge ahead to maintain your respect and forgiveness! This is the true understanding of the meaning of Confucius and Xunzi!"
Everyone was familiar with Xunzi, and they suddenly understood.
Yan Yukong added, "Fang Yun's understanding of the classics of the saints is no less than that of a Jinshi in a country. Fang Yun's previous text about forgiveness corresponds to 'Confucius visited the temple of Duke Huan of Lu', which talks about respect, forgiveness and moderation. But the following 'treat it with hostility' and 'repay grievances with justice' correspond exactly to the latter part of 'Confucius visited the temple of Duke Huan of Lu', where the saint Confucius executed Shao Zhengmao!"
Li Fanming couldn't help but say the sentence after the story of "Confucius visited the temple of Duke Huan of Lu" in "Xunzi": "Confucius was acting as prime minister of Lu. After seven days, he executed Shao Zhengmao!"
Snap…
The sound of a literary talent splitting open.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xun Ye holding his head with his hands, his face distorted, and he was gritting his teeth to prevent himself from making any sound.
Fang used the idea of Xunzi to shatter the descendants of Xunzi! (To be continued...)
ps: Happy National Day!