What are the four books, five classics and six arts?

The Four Books refer to Daxue, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius, the Five Classics refer to The Book of Songs, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes and The Spring and Autumn Period, and the Six Arts refer to Rites, Music, Shooting, Imperial, Books and Numbers.

There are two versions of Six Arts. One is the six basic abilities that China ancient Confucianism required students to master, including courtesy, music, shooting, imperial command, calligraphy and number. Ceremony is etiquette, music is music, shooting is riding skill, royal is driving a carriage skill, books are calligraphy, and numbers count.

There is another saying that the Six Arts are interpreted as the Six Classics, namely, The Book of Changes, Shangshu, The Book of Songs, The Book of Rites, Jing Yue and Chunqiu. The Four Books, Five Classics and Six Arts are the core carriers of Confucianism and an important part of China traditional culture.

The four books and five classics are collectively called the four books and five classics, which generally refer to Confucian classics. Four books: University, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius. Five Classics: The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Book of Rites, Zhouyi and Chunqiu. The Book of Rites usually includes three rites, namely, Yili, Zhou Li and the Book of Rites. Chunqiu is usually published together with Zuo Zhuan, Yang Gongzhuan and Gu Liangzhuan, which explain Chunqiu.

The naming of the Four Books began in the Song Dynasty, and the naming of the Five Classics began in Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Six arts refer to six skills, namely, etiquette, music, shooting, driving, writing, numbers and arithmetic; Refers to the six classics, namely, poetry, calligraphy, ceremony, righteousness, joy, spring and autumn.

The Significance of Four Books and Five Classics

The Four Books and Five Classics recorded in detail the political, military, diplomatic, cultural and other historical materials in the most active period in the history of China's national ideological and cultural development, as well as the important philosophical thoughts of Confucius and Mencius that have influenced China culture for thousands of years.

Science has promoted the selection of officials in past dynasties, and the propositions in the test paper are nothing more than four books and five classics, which shows its importance to the way of being an official. Today, the contents and philosophical thoughts contained in the Four Books and Five Classics still have positive significance and strong reference value for us modern people.