What are the six ancient arts?

The ancient six arts refer to the six arts, namely: ceremony, music, shooting, imperial, calligraphy and number.

1 gift. The ceremony in the "Six Arts of Gentleman" refers to five ceremonies, namely, auspicious ceremony, fierce ceremony, military ceremony, guest ceremony and Jia ceremony. "Rite" is a very complicated concept. The Zhou Dynasty paid attention to "ruling the country by courtesy", while Confucianism attached great importance to "etiquette system". In ancient times, "Li" was a very important system from simple to complex.

2. Music. The music in "Six Arts of Gentleman" is very easy to understand and very specific. It refers to six sets of songs and dances, namely: Yunmen Dajuan, Xianchi, Dashao, Daxia, Dayun and Dawu. When there were important sacrificial activities in ancient times, people would use these six sets of songs and dances to express their piety.

3. shoot. Shooting in the "Six Arts of Gentleman" is archery, you are not mistaken. Ancient literati should also practice martial arts and be proficient in archery. "Shooting" has a detailed definition in Six Arts of Gentleman, namely: white arrow, ginseng, writing brush note, ruler and well instrument. These are five different archery methods, in which "white arrow" means that the arrow passes through the target, and the arrow is white, which means that the bow and arrow are strong enough.

4. Royal. "Six Arts of Gentleman" refers to the skill of driving a carriage, not riding a horse. The ancient carriage was an important means of transportation, and the chariot was an important strategic resource. In ancient times, four war horses pulled a cart, which was called "one riding", and "the country of a thousand riding" represented its numerous chariots. The "emperor" in the six arts of a gentleman prefers etiquette to fighting.

5. books. Among the "six arts of a gentleman", only the art of "calligraphy" has an intersection with "qinqi calligraphy and painting", and that is calligraphy. As the saying goes, "a word is like a person", and writing a good hand is a necessary condition for ancient literati. Not to mention the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi, even a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, his calligraphy can also be called "seal".

6. number. In the six arts of a gentleman, "number" refers to calculation and arithmetic, which is subject to "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic". Although it seems that "six arts of gentlemen" has been far away from us, it is not. At present, "Six Arts of Gentleman" has evolved into a practical subject, which is popular in schools.