What kind of image is Yang Yang reading Lao Zi? 25 years ago, a lonely old man came from Hangu Pass on a green cow, leaving a 5,-page book and drifting away. This is probably the image that Lao Tzu left us. But what we are talking about here is not the external image of the old man with a beard like snow and a sage like style, but the cultural image he left us. Let's see how Confucius described Laozi.
Confucius asked Lao Tzu
Yang Yang said Lao Tzu
"Confucius is suitable for Zhou Dynasty, and he will be polite to Lao Tzu. "
" When Confucius went, he said to his disciples,' Birds, I know they can fly; Fish, I know it can swim; Beast, I know it can walk. Walkers can be useless, swimmers can be nylon, and fliers can be arrows. As for the dragon, I don't know, it took the wind and cloud to heaven. I saw Lao Tzu today, and he is still evil!' "
—— Biography of Lao Zi Han Fei in Historical Records:
Today, on February 2nd, the dragon looked up, and I thought of a person, who was like a dragon described by Confucius. We know this mysterious figure, called Lao Zi.
it's hard to talk about Laozi. In a few hundred words in Historical Records, Sima Qian told us a famous story: Confucius asked for courtesy. Who did Confucius ask for a gift? It's Lao Tzu. Confucius should be a very proud figure in the history of China, right? But there is another person who is better than him. It's Lao Tzu. However, Confucius is also great, with the demeanor of a saint, "not ashamed to ask questions" and asked Lao Tzu many times.
According to Records of the Historian, Confucius asked Lao Zi for courtesy and Tao. When he returned, his disciples asked him what kind of man Lao Zi was. Are you knowledgeable? Is it profound? Confucius replied: "bird, I know it can fly;" Fish, I know it can swim; Beast, I know it can run. Those who can run can catch it with a net, those who can swim can catch it with silk thread, and those who can fly can shoot it with an arrow. As for the dragon, it's not what I can know. It's flying in the wind and clouds. The Laozi I saw today is just like a dragon! "
No one has ever seen a dragon, nor has Confucius, but why did he say that Laozi is like a dragon? "Ci Hai" explains that the dragon is a miraculous animal with scales and needs that can make trouble in ancient legends. "Dragon" was mentioned at the beginning of the divination in Zhouyi.
"Daming is always a man of six talents, and he can ride six dragons to rule the sky"
"The ninth day: Don't use hidden dragons"
"The ninth year: seeing dragons in the fields, benefiting adults"
"The ninth five-year plan: flying dragons in the sky, benefiting adults"
This dragon is a kind of image, like what Lao Tzu said. "Tao is a thing, but it's only a thing, and it's like it. There is something in it. " Faint and mysterious, invisible and ubiquitous. The Book of Changes also emphasizes that only by constantly striving for self-improvement and imitating the endless heaven can a gentleman change from a "hidden dragon to a dragon and finally become a" flying dragon ". As a mysterious and auspicious thing in ancient times, the dragon is hailed as a great figure, bringing vitality and hope to the world. For thousands of years, the dragon has become the spiritual totem of the Chinese nation. Therefore, Lao Tzu is as profound and supreme as a dragon in Confucius' mind.
It is recorded in the article "Zhuangzi, the Fate of Heaven" that at the age of fifty-one, Confucius went to Song Guopei to see Confucius again, and he didn't speak for three days after he came back. His disciple asked the teacher, "Do you have anything to persuade Lao Zi?" Confucius said that I seem to have seen a dragon today. Dragons, combined into adults; Scattered, but chapter. Take advantage of the clouds to nourish yin and yang! I was dumbfounded and surprised. How can I persuade him?
in this passage, Confucius vividly described the modality of "dragons are combined into adults and dispersed into chapters", and dragons can gather and disperse like clouds, with endless changes. Confucius believes that Laozi's thought of the avenue is profound, and the Tao he talks about is invisible and intangible, but it also stipulates that everything dominates everything, changing and lasting. Lao Tzu is like a superb dragon, the embodiment of the dragon. It can be seen how much Confucius admired Lao Tzu and what kind of collision he aroused in his heart! Of course, Confucius said that Laozi is like a dragon, which is a metaphor. In Confucius' mind, Laozi is as unfathomable, mysterious and mysterious as Tao, just like a dragon. Confucius' respect for Laozi comes from Laozi's bottomless, trance-like and brilliant thoughts. Laozi used a core "Tao" to answer the origin of the universe, the laws of heaven and earth, the wisdom of life, and the ultimate concern for the world and life. The charm of Laozi is not personal charm, but the ideological charm of Laozi. No one can reach that peak. Perhaps, Confucius can't use the best words to express it, so he can only use "dragon" to describe Laozi.
Two thousand years ago, the meeting of these two sages and sages was a historical dialogue and collision between Confucianism and Taoism, and it was also an unprecedented event and an important stroke in the ideological and cultural history of our country.
the pictures are all from the internet.