As they approached Lu Huan Gong Temple, the group got off the carriage and walked along a street covered with trees. This street was called Lu Miao Street by the locals of Qufu. Many Lu Emperors' ancestral temples were located here.
Due to the passing of time, this area had been sealed off and no one was allowed to enter without the permission of the Kong Family.
During the early Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Huan was a powerful country. Lu Huan Gong had attacked other countries many times and gradually weakened. When Lu Huan Gong Temple was built, Kong Zi had yet to become a saint. However, Kong Zi had once led his disciples to visit Lu Huan Gong Temple, which made the temple special.
Soon, the group arrived at Lu Huan Gong Temple. This ancestral temple was very small, with a radius of less than three hundred feet. It was smaller than a military drill ground. The ancestral temple was shabby and low, built with rough stones. If not for the Kong Family's protection, this temple would have collapsed long ago.
However, the group was familiar with history and did not feel disappointed. This was because the human race during the Spring and Autumn Period was not as good as the current era. The residences and ancestral temples of the emperors back then were not as good as those of the current era.
Fang Yun glanced at the Kong Family members who followed them and noticed that their expressions were somewhat complicated.
After Lu Huan Gong Temple passed away, the eldest son became the emperor, Lu Zhuanggong. The other three sons were conferred the title of Minister by their elder brothers and were known as the Three Huan. This was the hidden danger of Lu Huan's decline in the future.
Back then, Kong Zi became Lu Huan's Grand Minister of Justice and was considered the leader of the officials. However, Lu Ding Gong ignored the imperial court and the Ji Family, one of the Three Huan, treated Kong Zi lightly during the worship ceremony. Kong Zi was disappointed with Lu Ding Gong and resigned from his position as Grand Minister of Justice.
After Kong Zi was conferred the title of Saint, he did not care about what happened back then. However, Kong Zi's descendants were dissatisfied with the Lu Emperor's lineage. When Kong Zi went into seclusion and Lu Huan was destroyed, the Kong Family did not lend a helping hand. They only designated Qufu and the surrounding areas as the Kong Family's territory.
The group entered the inconspicuous Lu Huan Gong Temple one after another. No one dared to make a noise and everyone was respectful.
Under the temple guard's lead, the group entered the main hall of the Lu Huan Gong Temple. There was an object on the right side of the main hall.
"That is the Song Instrument." The temple guard led the group over.
Fang Yun had read about it in a book. It was also known as a musical instrument. The musical instrument had the same pronunciation as the word "seven", which meant that it was slanted.
Fang Yun observed it carefully. It was a bronze object, like a bronze vase fixed on a shelf. It was empty inside, and it was tilted upwards at a forty-five degree angle, motionless.
The temple guard walked over with a bucket of water and said, "This singing vessel is empty. Then it will tilt. " As he spoke, the temple guard reached out to fiddle with the singing apparatus, straightening it. Once his hand left, the singing apparatus immediately returned to its tilted position.
"If an appropriate amount of water is poured in, the singing apparatus can stand upright." As the temple guard spoke, he slowly poured water into it. As the amount of water gradually increased, the singing apparatus finally stood upright. At this moment, half of the water had been poured in, and the temple guard stopped.
"If you continue to fill it with water, the singing apparatus will tilt to the other side." As he spoke, the temple guard poured all the water into the singing apparatus.
The karaoke machine was full. It immediately tilted to the other side, and all the water inside poured out. Finally, it returned to this side and tilted as usual.
"This is what Kong Sheng meant when he said, 'Empty is empty.' Middle is upright, full is overturned. When there is no water, it is tilted, but with an appropriate amount of water, it can be straightened. Once the water is full, it will overturn. "
After that, the temple guard slowly recited the passage, "Confucius was in the temple of Duke Huan of Lu." His voice echoed in the room, and it seemed to move the singing apparatus, forming a strange rhythm. Everyone unconsciously listened to it respectfully.
Everyone nodded and thanked the temple guard, thanking him for teaching them the way of the middle on behalf of Kong Sheng.
Fang Yun felt that after watching the singing apparatus, his understanding of the way of the middle and some related aspects had improved. Although the improvement was not particularly obvious, it was still a kind of benefit.
Soon, Fang Yun realized that the singing apparatus might contain Kong Sheng's power. Even after so many years, it was as if Kong Sheng was personally teaching his students. Listening to the words of the sage was like bathing in the spring breeze, and naturally, he could learn more.
The temple guard said, "You all know that scholars have a 'motto', and this singing apparatus is the right instrument. The origin of the word 'motto' is this singing apparatus."
Everyone nodded. They knew this kind of thing.
"According to the usual practice, anyone who comes to the temple of Duke Huan of Lu for the first time must leave a motto to prove their sincerity. Listening to the singing apparatus is like listening to Kong Sheng's words. The pen, ink, and table have been arranged. You can start writing immediately. "
"Yes." Everyone bowed to the temple guard.
Everyone left the room one after another and came to the courtyard of the temple. The Kong family had already set up three tables here, with pens, ink, paper, and inkstone on them.
Everyone looked at Fang Yun.
"You all go first. Let me think for a while."
After saying that, Fang Yun lowered his head and pondered. The mottos of this era were different from those of later generations. The mottos of later generations were basically one sentence, simple and powerful. The mottos of this era were actually still in the category of "inscriptions", which were articles. No matter how small they were, they were still about a hundred words, such as the Epigraph of My Shack.
However, the Epigraph of My Shack was used to show one's sincerity, while the mottos were used to warn oneself.
"Since Fang Yun can write the Epigraph of My Shack, he must be able to write a good motto. I've been here before, so I won't write one. If you want to write, hurry up. Don't wait until Fang Yun finishes writing and you won't have a chance to write! "Zong Wude still could not forget his tragic experience of being suppressed by Fang Yun's Literary Name.
Xun Ye immediately said, "That's right! Fang Yun's mottos will definitely surpass ours. Perhaps it will be the best mottos of the Temple of Lu Huan in history. "
Everyone present looked at Xun Ye. Although Xun Ye's words seemed to be praising Fang Yun, it was obvious that he was flattering him. Fang Yun could surpass everyone present, but if he said that it was the best mottos of the past, who knew how many people Fang Yun would offend?
Kong Delun's expression was gloomy as he slowly said, "Xun Ye, this is the territory of the Kong family. It's also the place where Kong Sheng visited in person. If you dare to be presumptuous again, I'll kill you here and now to correct the Kong family's etiquette!"
Everyone was secretly envious. Only the Kong family had such confidence.
"Sigh, you've misunderstood again. Alright, I'll shut up." Xun Ye shook his head and sighed.
Most of the disciples of the Holy Clans had been here before, so the most outstanding ones did not write their mottos. Other than Fang Yun, there were a total of twelve people who wrote their mottos here.
When the last person finished writing, everyone looked at Fang Yun.
Fang Yun saw everyone looking at him and nodded slightly. Then, he walked behind a table and picked up a brush. He did not immediately write but instead glanced at Xun Ye.
Xun Ye had a smile on his face, and no hostility could be seen at all.
Fang Yun's gaze swept across everyone in the Holy Ground, and he slowly said, "This trip to the Holy Ground has left me with many regrets. I originally thought that no matter whether it was inside or outside the Holy Ground, scholars should be one and should not be swayed by external matters. Who would have thought that I overestimated some people and almost died in the Holy Ground. Today, I'll write a mottos with sincerity and loyalty as the theme to remind myself. "
After Fang Yun finished speaking, he slowly wrote with the brush.
"Go out like a guest, accept like a sacrifice. Therefore, how dare you make a mistake? "
As soon as the first four lines were spoken, everyone hurried to stand behind Fang Yun and look at him carefully. The first few lines were saying that one had to act like a respectful guest when going out, and that one had to treat everything as seriously as a sacrifice. With such an attitude, how could there be any mistakes or omissions?
Everyone knew that Fang Yun compared going out to entering the Holy Ground. Not only could they not be indulgent, they had to be more cautious.
After that, Fang Yun wrote, "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you."
This was a saying from Confucius in the Analects of Confucius. It often appeared in epigrams and was most suitable to be excerpted as a mottos.
So far, it was the content of Zhu Xi's Jingshu Zhai Epigram. However, the content after that was not suitable, so Fang Yun wrote the rest based on his own feelings and understanding.
Fang Yun used his experience in the Holy Ground as an argument and supplemented it with the words and deeds of the ancient sages to explain that if a scholar wanted to reach a higher level of thinking and obtain a higher position in literature, he had to be consistent from beginning to end and not harm others for no reason.
At the end, Fang Yun suddenly changed the tip of his brush. The last few lines of words were like sharp swords that jumped out of the paper and stabbed at the crowd.
"Only respect and forgiveness, put yourself in the shoes of others. If respect and forgiveness are not enough, treat them with hostility. Repay kindness with kindness, repay enmity with justice! "
The last eight words were also quoted from Confucius.
Everyone was stunned. The beginning and middle of Fang Yun's speech were very moderate, but the last four sentences were very direct. If one's sincerity and loyalty to others didn't work, and in exchange, the other party harmed them, then one would definitely regard them as an enemy and use one's own methods to take revenge.
Fang Yun's words of respect and forgiveness were written with a murderous aura. Everyone was shocked, but those who had been to the Holy Ground and seen Fang Yun being poisoned sighed softly. Fang Yun did have a reason to write this.
Suddenly, the Song Instrument rang, washing away everyone's courage.
Everyone was overjoyed, but after the joy, they were puzzled. They did not understand why Fang Yun had caused the Song Instrument to ring.
"In history, the Song Instrument had only rung a dozen times, and every time, the person who had rung it had achieved great things. Which sentence in this article could have caused the Song Instrument to ring?"
The Temple Guardian said slowly: "Intention! I did not expect that the person who said 'good by nature' would be able to understand Plant Sage's intention. "
Xun Ye was startled at first, then his face revealed a look of shock.
The Temple Guardian said slowly: "In the 《Xun Zi》, after Confucius and his disciple used the Song Instrument, Zilu asked: 'Is there a way for people to maintain their fullness?' Confucius replied: 'If one's achievements cover the world, one must be humble. If one's courage covers the world, one must be cautious. If one's wealth covers the world, one must be thrifty. This way, one can maintain one's fullness. 'Fang Yun's motto, the first few words of respect and forgiveness, so what if one has enough respect and forgiveness? Using the path of bravery to maintain one's own respect and forgiveness! This is what it means to understand Confucius and Plant Sage! "
Everyone was familiar with the 《Xun Zi》, and was enlightened.
Yan Yukong continued: "Fang Yun's understanding of the Sages' scriptures is no less than that of a country's Grand Scholar. Fang Yun's previous sentence of forgiveness corresponds to 'Confucius looked at the temple of Duke Huan of Lu', talking about respect and forgiveness, talking about moderation. But the following sentence of 'Treat with hostility' and 'Repay with justice', corresponds to 'Confucius looked at the temple of Duke Huan of Lu', 'Confucius killed Shao Zheng Mao'! "
Li Fanming could not help but say the last sentence of the 《Xun Zi》, 'Confucius looked at the temple of Duke Huan of Lu', 'Confucius was the Minister of Lu, and killed Shao Zheng Mao in seven days!'
Kacha ….
The sound of Wen Guzi cracking could be heard.
Everyone looked towards the source of the sound, and saw Xun Ye hugging his head with both hands, his face contorted as he gritted his teeth, not allowing himself to make any sound.
Fang Yun used the meaning of the 《Xun Zi》, to crush Xun Zi's descendant! (To be continued …)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
