What is the meaning of the Six Arts in The Biography of Six Arts?

Six Arts refers to the six basic disciplines stipulated by ancient Confucianism in China, including etiquette, music, archery, imperial examination, calligraphy and mathematics. These subjects are not only the important contents of China's ancient aristocratic culture, but also the criteria for the country to select officials and acquire intellectuals.

The specific contents of these six disciplines are as follows:

Rite: Also known as etiquette, it is the most important cultural form in ancient China. Mainly refers to the etiquette norms and etiquette between people.

Music: Music is the most representative art in ancient China, including song and dance and instrumental music.

Archery: an ancient military discipline, which refers to archery, archery and other skills.

Yu: Riding is the study and training of ancient ways of transportation and war.

Book: refers to calligraphy, philology, etc. It is an indispensable part of China's traditional culture.

Mathematics: including mathematics, astronomy and other disciplines, is a basic form of ancient mathematics and celestial observation in China.

In ancient times, learning these six subjects was regarded as the basic requirements of officials and intellectuals at all levels, and was called "primary school". However, in different historical periods and schools, the contents and scope of these subjects were also different.