Chinese characters have a long history. The earliest Chinese characters discovered by archaeologists appeared more than 7,700 years ago. This situation is unique in the world. No culture can compare with the inheritance of Chinese civilization, especially the inheritance of Chinese civilization has never been interrupted. Among them, the contribution of Chinese characters is indelible.
Among Chinese characters, there is one that not only appeared very early, but the meaning it represents also plays an irreplaceable and important role in the 5,000-year civilization inheritance of China.
This Chinese character is “师”.
The first explanation for the word "teacher" in the Chinese dictionary is "a person who educates others."
The name "shi" has existed since the Xia and Shang dynasties. In oracle bone inscriptions, there is the title "wenshi". Dong Zhongshu of the Western Han Dynasty used the word "shi" and Sima Qian used the word "shi biao". They both emphasized the role of the teacher as a model.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the word "master" also appeared, but at that time the word specifically referred to the emperor's teacher. As the saying goes, "As a master, you are the most honorable person among the ministers." In that era, the usage of "master" was somewhat exclusive.
But in the Tang Dynasty, the word "shifu" gradually evolved into "shifu", and there is almost no difference between the two meanings. But the word "shifu" is more emotional. The saying "once a teacher, a father for life" is enough to prove the meaning of the word "shifu".
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the meaning of the word "master" became more and more important. When a master accepted a disciple, the disciple would often live in the master's home. The master would pay for the disciple's training and treat the disciple as a family member. The disciple would treat the master as if he were his own father. When the master passed away, the disciple would also wear mourning clothes like the master's own son...
Although "master" and "disciple" are two relative terms, the relationship between them is as close as that between "father" and "son".
In modern times, with the further liberation of thought, many industries no longer attach importance to the relationship between master and disciple. On the surface, this is a kind of ideological progress, but in fact, it is the loss of an extremely important heritage in Chinese civilization...
Fortunately, even in modern times, there are still many industries that maintain this ancient tradition. Teachers work hard to find disciples, and then devote their entire lives to teaching and training disciples so that the disciples can inherit the master's unique skills, thus ensuring that the inheritance of this lineage continues.
This kind of disciple is usually called "personal disciple" in the circle to distinguish him from other ordinary disciples.
There is a huge difference between direct disciples and ordinary disciples, just like Confucius had three thousand disciples and seventy-two sages. In fact, the seventy-two sages were Confucius' direct disciples, and the three thousand disciples were ordinary disciples.
In the antique business, this ancient tradition has actually always been upheld, especially the top masters, who pay more attention to this tradition.
This is also why during the Spring Festival, Cai Yi and the other three started arguing over the opportunity to become Yang Jing's direct disciple, regardless of the presence of Master Yang.
For these top masters, a good disciple is as important as a son. Of course, these top masters have no shortage of money or material things, and their lives can be described as worry-free. But what they lack is a disciple who can pass on their skills and ensure that their skills will not be cut off.
For these masters, if their skills were to be lost without anyone to inherit them, they would die with regrets!
Therefore, once these masters meet a good disciple, they will fight for him even if it means they fall out with each other! This is a matter related to their lifelong inheritance. For these successful masters, nothing can be more important than this.
China has a population of 1.3 billion. It is not easy to find a suitable disciple in such a vast sea of people. It is no exaggeration to say that it is "something you can only encounter but not seek".
Mr. Liu is 72 years old this year. He is a top expert in bronze and ancient bronzes at the Palace Museum and one of the top masters in the country. He started looking for a suitable disciple when he was 50 years old, but after more than 20 years of searching, there is still no trace of a disciple.
Mr. Xiao is 71 years old this year. He is a top calligrapher at the Palace Museum. His cursive script ranks among the best in the country. He also started looking for a disciple who could inherit his mantle when he was in his 50s, but before the Spring Festival of 2018, there was still no disciple.
Mr. Guo is 69 years old this year and is a top cultural heritage expert at the Palace Museum. Those who can do cultural heritage work at the Palace Museum are all top masters. His situation is similar to that of Mr. Liu and Mr. Xiao, and he has no direct disciples so far.
As for Cai Yi, although he looks like he is less than 60 years old, that is because he takes good care of himself. In fact, he is 63 years old.
As the top porcelain master in the Palace Museum, his attainments in porcelain are naturally needless to say. Just the position of director of the Ancient Porcelain Research Institute is enough to prove his achievements in porcelain. Like the other three elders, Cai Yi has been looking for a suitable disciple for nearly 20 years. Before meeting Yang Jing, he once thought that he might not be able to find a disciple in this lifetime.
As a result, Yang Jing, who suddenly emerged out of nowhere, suddenly appeared in the eyes of three top masters: Cai Yi, Mr. Liu and Mr. Guo.
At first, the three top masters did not want to accept Yang Jing as their personal disciple, but as they came into contact with Yang Jing more and more, Yang Jing's intuition and luck, which were like a demon, made the three masters feel as if they had seen a rare treasure. After a period of understanding, the three of them were very satisfied with Yang Jing's character, so they decided to accept Yang Jing as their personal disciple.
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