What does it mean to stand at 30, not be confused at 40, know your destiny at 50, and be obedient at 60?

(Confucius said): "When I was 15 years old, I was determined to study. At the age of 30, I was able to stand on my own feet. 40 years old, not confused. At the age of 50, I understood what fate was. At the age of 60, I can listen to different opinions. At the age of 70, I can do anything I want without going beyond the rules. "

Confucius said: "I began to study at the age of fifteen;" At the age of 30, I can stand on my own feet; Forty years old, he is not confused; At the age of fifty, I learned what fate is; At the age of sixty, I can listen to different opinions; When you are 70 years old, you can do whatever you want, without overstepping the bounds. "

Analyzing the Generation Track of Confucius Thought from a Macro Perspective

-the explanation of "I am determined to study in five tenths" ... I am determined to do what I want to do within 70 years, without crossing the line "

Yao comes from Yizheng Middle School in Jiangsu Province.

This paper interprets that "I am determined to learn at five out of ten, stand at thirty, be puzzled at forty, know my destiny at fifty, obey at sixty, and be seven."

This paper attempts to make a brief analysis of Confucius' life and the dynamic generation track of his thoughts on the representation level from a macro perspective under the background of "do whatever you want and don't overstep the moment", so that ordinary readers can have a general understanding of Confucius and his thoughts.

Key words: fifteen are interested in learning, standing at thirty, not confused at forty, knowing destiny at fifty, obeying at sixty, and willing to do it at seventy, all of which are superficial.

Hierarchical thinking, dynamic generation trajectory, macro dialysis

As a kind of cultural accumulation, the old adage "I am determined to learn ..." Don't cross the border "has deeply penetrated into the cultural and psychological structure of people in the eastern Confucian cultural circle, forming a cultural gene.

These old sayings were summed up by Confucius in his later years, that is, "at ten, you are determined to learn five, at thirty, you are puzzled at forty, at fifty, you know your destiny, at sixty, you are obedient, at seventy, you follow your wishes and don't overstep your bounds." [1] Based on Confucius' life experience, this paper makes a brief analysis of the seemingly dynamic generation track of Confucius' thoughts reflected in these ancient sayings from a macro perspective.

Confucius' father, Shu, was a lower-class aristocrat in Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was appointed as a local official of the State of Lu in Yi Shan (Yi Shan, now southeast of Qufu, Shandong Province), so Confucius was called "the son of a mountain man" [2]. Confucius' mother's surname is Yan and her name is Zheng Zai. According to legend, she is the third wife of Shu. It is possible to live together freely without media employment, but this free combination will inevitably bring about the randomness of the relationship between men and women. Under the social conditions of women's low status, this randomness will cause them misfortune. Shortly after Yan Zhizhai gave birth to Confucius, his relationship with Confucius broke down and he left his home in Qufu with Confucius who was still in infancy. In this way, the abandonment of his wife and orphans cast a shadow over Confucius' childhood. Although Qufu, Yan Zhizai, can mainly rely on their own livelihood. Therefore, although Confucius had the opportunity to attend local civilian schools in his spare time when he was young, he still had to help his mother grow crops, vegetables and graze. Later, when Confucius recalled his teenage life, he said with emotion: "I am too small and too cheap, so I can do more despicable things." [4] The so-called despicable things are all kinds of labor that ordinary people engage in. The burden of life fell on the poor boy prematurely. What's more, Yan Zhizhai was seriously ill and died two years later. In this way, Confucius, who was not yet an adult, was forced to finish his school studies at the age of 15, and arranged his own life and self-study without any relatives.

As mentioned above, Confucius' study in adolescence is divided into two stages: he went to civilian schools before the age of 65,438+05, and turned to self-study after 65,438+05. For Confucius, the enlightenment education in civilian schools is very important. There, young Confucius not only gained general cultural knowledge and military training knowledge, but also was influenced by traditional etiquette activities, which laid the foundation for his self-study in the future. With the shrinking of his family, Confucius could not continue his studies at school, so he decided to teach himself. Later, he recalled that "I was determined to learn in five times out of ten", which meant that he entered the stage of self-study from the age of 15. The main contents of his self-study are poetry, books, rituals and music.

After more than ten years of self-study, Confucius' academic achievements have reached a fairly high level. At that time, Confucius followed the trend of the times and began to set up private schools, and because of its unique school-running policy-"teaching without distinction"; Novel and vivid teaching methods-"draw inferences from one instance", "What you know is what you know, and what you don't know is what you don't know", "If you don't want to do it, don't start without being angry", "Learning without thinking is useless, and thinking without learning is dangerous". All these make the schools founded by Confucius far superior to all private schools in the same period and in the past, which are still in the exploration or pilot stage, and stand out in creating a new situation of private schools in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After successfully running a private school, Confucius had a broad and in-depth understanding of the rites and music of the three generations (Xia, Yin and Zhou). He not only asked people for advice at any time, but also made a practical inspection of Yin, Zhou and Xia rites in Song, Luoyi and Qi. His investigation and study made him find two points: First, he thought that the ceremony of the three generations was a gradual historical process, that is, "Yin Yin Xia Li." This shows the gains and losses of Zhou. Although his successor or successor is immortal, it can be known. [5] Secondly, he felt that Li Xia and Li Yin were unknown because they had a long history and lacked literary works. Only Li Zhou, who developed on the basis of Li Xia and Li Yin, is rich and colorful. He praised them in a very amazing tone: "Zhou Jian is the second generation, he is depressed! Starting from "Zhou" [6], Confucius' admiration for "gloomy prose" in the Zhou Dynasty not only refers to the aesthetic characteristics of rites and music in the Zhou Dynasty, but also includes its rational spirit of advocating ethics and morality, and even includes the achievements of material civilization and spiritual civilization with aesthetic feeling in all contents and forms. Compared with the classical culture in Xia and Shang Dynasties, it belongs to modern culture. Compared with backward areas, it is an advanced culture. Confucius believes that this kind of Zhou culture, which transcends the previous generation and other nationalities, should first be respected and carried forward. The so-called "Cong Zhou" is a brief expression of his desire. In the Spring and Autumn Period when different national cultures and three generations of cultures coexist, it is undoubtedly of great significance to establish the dominant position of Zhou Culture for the ongoing national integration and cultural exchange at that time. Confucius returned to Shandong at the age of 37. After a period of research, at the age of 40, he established the desire of "following the week" and did not give up. He calls himself "forty without confusion". He is not confused, including the belief of "following Zhou", which also means that he has mastered all kinds of knowledge and will not be confused about anything.

Before Confucius, people's understanding of fate experienced a gradual process from worship of gods to rational discussion. The word "destiny" originated from the imperial edict of the Yin people, which was first seen in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Yin Ruins, and later became "God", "Heaven Emperor" and "Heaven". The word "troublesome" means life, but there was no such word in ancient times. It is the master of the world and the protector of kingship, and its fate is the embodiment of its will. Everything should be divined for good or bad, for the revelation of God. At the end of Yin Dynasty, Zhou Wang said, "Alas! I was born in heaven [7], and I still don't believe that when disaster strikes, my kingship will be in crisis.

The hard-working Zhou people, inspired by the lesson of Yin's demise, put forward "the fate of heaven is impermanent" [8], "Heaven has no relatives, only virtue is the supplement" [9], and thought that the protective role of heaven is not absolute. This ideological tendency in the political turmoil at the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty made people's belief in heaven waver, and their doubts and complaints about heaven generally increased. The so-called "things don't work out."

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the concept of destiny ghosts and gods was impacted by two aspects: first, due to the progress of science and technology, people's observation of natural phenomena such as astronomical phenomena was increasingly rich, and mysterious nature was increasingly recognized by people; Second, because people's role in the field of production and social change is increasing day by day, they gradually realize their own strength, thus affecting the status of ghosts and gods in their minds. The combination of these two situations promoted the growth of atheism in the Spring and Autumn Period. There are many new views on the relationship between God and man and the issue of good or bad luck, such as "husband and people, the Lord of God, is the holy king who becomes a citizen first and then dedicates himself to God" [12], "Yin and Yang things do not give birth to good or bad luck. Good or bad luck is born in people "[13]," Heaven and earth are heartless, and everything is a grass dog "[65438]

Confucius advocated benevolence, emphasized man-made, and was familiar with astronomical calendars, so he unconsciously formed a view of destiny with the brand of the times. For example, "What does the sky say? Travel in the four seasons, everything grows "[15], which means" the weather does not give orders, the four seasons run as usual, and everything grows as usual. " This is exactly the same as what Lao Tzu said, "Heaven and earth are heartless, and everything is grass and dogs". Of course, it can't be simply understood as the embodiment of the will of the Emperor of Heaven, but it must mean the laws of nature or things. Therefore, Confucius claimed to know his destiny at fifty. Knowing the destiny, that is, knowing the laws of natural development and change, is an important ideological gain of his period.

After the age of 50, Confucius began to hold an important position in the court of Lu. From this important position, he became a cameraman, that is, he assisted or represented Ji in handling state affairs. Because Confucius' political views can't be used by the state of Lu, Confucius saw no hope in politics in Lu. Some students can go abroad to visit princes, but his political views can't be used by countries in the Central Plains. Confucius and his party went through many twists and turns and arrived in Chen State in May 492 BC. Chen Hou was very happy with the arrival of the celebrity from the Central Plains and his group of tall people. He treated the above guests and allocated them the best house to live in. Confucius thus gained temporary peace and tranquility in his life.

At this time, Confucius was 60 years old. After a long search and setbacks, he turned to a quiet life, which gave him time to sum up his search and experience. One of his experiences is to discover and understand the golden mean, that is, the degree of the golden mean, that is, the degree of contradiction, the golden mean and the golden mean, that is, to use China. In Confucius' view, grasping this degree can promote the coordination between things. The discovery and understanding of the doctrine of the mean, as well as the theoretical exertion of the doctrine of the mean in the future, as he later said when recalling his own ideological course, is that after decades of exploration and pursuit, at the age of 60, listening to others will be able to distinguish between true and false and judge right and wrong.

After Confucius was 60 years old, on the one hand, he continued to preach and teach, sort out ancient books and give theoretical play to the doctrine of the mean; On the other hand, he continued to practice his political ideas to realize his ambition of helping the world and people. After nearly ten years of wandering, he finally returned to his hometown of Lu. After returning to Lu, the number of disciples increased and private studies further developed. In addition to teaching, he also focused on the collation of cultural classics. But things are not as expected. Confucius, who struggled for social development all his life, had a very miserable family life in his later years. After his wife ai. His only son, Kong Li, also died before him. Soon, two of his closest students, Yan Hui and Lutz, also died. In this way, long-term fatigue took away his health, and due to the successive deaths of Kong Li, Yan Hui and Lutz, the hidden diseases in his body deteriorated sharply.

In the first month of the summer calendar in 479 BC, although it has entered the Meng Chun season, it is still cold outside. Withered grass curled up on the roadside with winter dreams. Only three juniper trees in front of the courtyard stand upright in the cold wind with their unique green color. He looked at these juniper trees planted when he was young, and now they are tall and shady, and he can't help sighing the passage of time. He remembers what he said to the students not long ago. Fifty knows the destiny, sixty is pleasant to the ear, seventy is satisfactory, and it does not exceed the moment. "He is well aware of the tortuous experience and hard cost reflected in these words. After decades of exploration and pursuit, it is precious to "follow one's inclinations without exceeding the moment" (not violating the law of development of things, thus guiding actions correctly and avoiding major mistakes). )! It seems that he realized the true meaning and value of seventy years old to people at this time. But who can understand me? "Only God can understand me!" He exclaimed.

In this way, Confucius was bedridden and finally died at the age of 73 in February of the summer calendar 1 1.