What does Confucius mean by "six arts"?

Confucius's "six arts" refer to ceremony, music, shooting, royal, calligraphy and number.

Confucius admired the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty very much, so there was a saying of "self-denial and courtesy". "Six Arts" refers to the aristocratic education system of the Zhou Dynasty in China, which began in the Zhou Dynasty in 1046 BC. Students are required to master six basic talents: etiquette, music, archery, imperial edict, calligraphy and mathematics.

From "Bao's Family in Zhou Li": "Cultivating the country by Tao is to teach six arts: one is five rituals, the other is six music, the third is five shots, the fourth is five emperors' rituals, the fifth is six books, and the sixth is nine numbers." This is the "Six Arts" of "Five Classics and Six Arts".

First of all, the ceremony

Ceremony is etiquette (similar to moral education today). Five rites, auspicious, fierce, guest, army and Jia also.

Second, music.

Music is music. Six kinds of music are ancient music, such as Yunmen, Daxian, Dashao, Daxia, Daxie and Dawu.

Third, shoot.

Shooting is archery. At that time, five kinds of shooting techniques were emphasized, namely, white arrow (the arrow goes through the target and turns white, indicating that the arrow is accurate and powerful), joint shooting (one arrow is put in front, and the last three arrows keep going, and the arrows return to one, if the beads are connected), hitting note (referring to the arrow disease, the arrow hits) and joint ruler (I shoot with Jun, and I stand side by side with Jun).

Fourth, the royal family.

The horse was an important armed force in the Zhou Dynasty, so it attached great importance to horse-related skills.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) book

Books refer to calligraphy, including writing, literacy and composition. The six books are pictographic, indicative, knowing, pictophonetic characters, phonetic notation, phonetic notation and borrowing.

VI. Figures

It refers to rational number and qi number (the law of use), that is, the law of movement of yin and yang and five elements.

Extended data

"Five Classics" in "Mastering Five Classics and Six Arts"

The Five Classics generally refer to the Confucian classics The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Book of Rites, Zhouyi and Chunqiu. Poems are gentle, books are profound, broad and easy, easy to be quiet and subtle, and Li respectful and thrifty. Chunqiu is a metaphor for words. Traditional Chinese medicine refers to the meridians of liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney.

"Five Classics" refers to poetry, calligraphy, Yi, etiquette, Spring and Autumn Period. These five books are the oldest extant documents in China and the main classics of ancient Confucianism in China.

The Book of Songs, also known as The Book of Songs, is the earliest collection of poems in China. There are 305 existing poems, which are composed of three parts: style, elegance and praise. The wind includes fifteen national winds, *** 160; Elegant and elegant, *** 105; Praise Zhou Song, Truffles and Shang Song, ***40 articles. The creation age of each article is mostly unknown.

Book, also called Classic Book or History Book, is the earliest collection of works in China. The book is divided into four parts: Yu Shu, Xia Shu, Shangshu and Zhou Shu. It mainly describes some important political events in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, such as important wars, class relations, political systems and policies, which have high historical value.

The Book of Rites, also known as rites, ten rites or rites classics, is a compilation of some etiquette systems in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with a total of 17 articles. It is said that it was made by Duke Zhou or revised by Confucius. According to the textual research of four neighbors, it is believed that the book may have been written before and during the Warring States Period.

Yijing, also known as Yijing or Yijing, is the earliest divination book in China. The content includes two parts: Jing and Zhuan, which may appear in Shang and Zhou Dynasties and be written in the Warring States or Qin and Han Dynasties. His exposition of natural or social changes is full of simple dialectical views.

Spring and Autumn Annals, also known as Spring and Autumn Annals, is the earliest chronological historical work in China, centering on the history of Lu, and briefly records the historical events from the year of Lu Yin to the fourteenth year (722 BC-48 BC1year) * * 242 years. Legend has it that it was compiled into a book by Confucius. In this book, thirty eclipses and seven earthquakes observed in China at that time were also recorded, all of which are of high scientific value.