"The dead have passed away, and the living are like this" means that the dead have left us, and the living must live strong and well, so that the dead can rest in peace in heaven. This sentence There is no next sentence. This sentence extends to "the dead are like a man, not giving up day and night", which is a famous saying of Confucius.

"The passing of time is like a man, never giving up day and night" describes the passage of time like running water, never to return. It expresses emotion about the rapid changes in life and the meaning of cherishing time. From the Analects of Confucius "Zihan".

It is said that Confucius heard that Luliang Hong (now Luliang Mountain in Xuzhou) was the most dangerous among the four dangers 2,500 years ago, so he took several of his proud disciples to watch the flood. Unexpectedly, when Confucius and his disciples were passing through a mountain nook at high speed, the mountain road was rugged and the axle of the carriage broke with a "click", so they had to stay for two days. Because there was a saint staying there, the Sage's Nest Village got its name. When Confucius and his disciples saw the flowing Sishui River (now the Yellow River) at the foot of the mountain, they were inspired and wrote, "The deceased is like a man who never abandons day and night."

Detailed analysis

When Confucius was on the river bank, he must have looked up and down, then looked at the flowing water in the river, and he sighed. The "dead" he refers to has no specific reference and can be all-encompassing. And as far as the heaven, earth and human affairs are concerned, Confucius looked up at the astronomy and thought about the movement of the sun and the moon and the changes in day and night, so one day went forward. When he looked down at the geography and thought about the flowers blooming and trees falling, and the changes of the four seasons, he thought about the changes in the four seasons. One year. Heaven and earth are like this, and people born between heaven and earth are no exception.

After a person is born, he grows from young to strong, from strong to old. Every day that passes is one day gone, and every year that passes is one year old. This is true for individuals, and it is no exception for groups. In the era of the Five Emperors in Chinese history, there were no longer three emperors. In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were no longer five emperors.

Confucius was born in the turbulent times of the Spring and Autumn Period. He wanted to see the grandeur of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but he could not see it. He could only dream of the Duke of Zhou. It can be seen from this that all things in nature, the human world, and the universe are all dead, and all are like the flowing water in the river. It flows day and night. Once it flows away, it will never flow back.