"The initiator, no wise after the event", from Mencius Wang Hui. It is usually explained that the first person buried with him may have no children. This explanation and Confucius' original intention have been controversial since ancient times, and there are still various opinions today. This is mainly because there are many doubts about this sentence. For example, the most obvious suspicion is that Confucius pays attention to the golden mean, and it seems that people should not be called childless. To correctly explain the meaning of this sentence, three problems need to be solved. First, Confucius' attitude is criticism or opposition; Second, the reason why Confucius opposed or supported the initiator; Third, is Confucius cursing? First of all, let's look at Confucius' attitude towards the initiator. Some people think that the buried figurines are a kind of progress compared with the martyrdom system, and Confucius has no reason to object, so this sentence should be a rhetorical question: Did the first man who made the figurines have no children? Obviously, Confucius was in favor of the initiator. But this explanation is obviously untenable, because Mencius added a sentence when quoting this sentence: "It uses its image." Mencius believed that Confucius opposed the initiator because the figurines were too human. Let's look at the reasons why Confucius opposed the initiator. Zhao Qi in the Eastern Han Dynasty was the first person to annotate Mencius. He thought, "terracotta figures, even people, are used to die." Zhong Ni values people, saying that when Qin Mugong and Sanliang were buried together, it was originally made of a small statue. He hated it, so this person has no heir. " (See Notes on the Thirteen Classics and Mencius). Zhao Qi thought that the system of figurines was the first and the system of martyrdom was the last, so Confucius criticized the initiator. His view had a great influence on later generations, and Gui Li, Huang Xiuyi and Cheng Dazhong held this view in the Song Dynasty until the Qing Dynasty. However, judging from the relevant documents and unearthed conditions, the system of martyrdom was obviously earlier than that of martyrdom figurines. Although Zhao Qi's statement is logical, it is not true. In contrast, Zhu's statement may be closer to Confucius' original intention. Zhu's Notes on Mencius said: "The figurines are from the buried dolls. Sokcho, an ancient burial man, thought he was submissive to Wei, calling him a lowly spirit, just like a human figure. In the middle ages, it was easy to use figurines, but they were as big as people. Therefore, Confucius is evil and ruthless, but as far as it is concerned, there will be no afterlife. " Zhu believes that Confucius opposed this practice because these figurines are too human-like and cruel to use. This statement is based on Mencius and other early Confucian documents. For example, "Book of Rites under Tan Gong": "Confucius called it a bright instrument, knowing, preparing things without using them. Alas! It is not dangerous for the dead to use the tools of the living and martyrdom. It's called funerary wares, also called gods. It has existed since ancient times, and it is also the way of light. Confucius said that being a ghost is good, and being a villain is heartless. This is almost the way to choose people. " The Book of Rites pointed out that Confucius opposed the use of figurines because he was close to the people. Let's take a look at Confucius' Home Talk: "Ziyou asked Confucius,' It's useless to mourn today because it's buried and painted cars and grass spirits since ancient times. "Confucius said,' Be kind to his spirit, be evil to his spouse, and employ people without danger.' "At this point, the reason why Confucius opposed the initiator is already very clear. So, did Confucius really curse? Confucius pays attention to the golden mean. From Confucius' remarks today, we can see that he rarely makes swearing remarks, and swearing on the issue of childlessness is not in line with his identity and consistent position. Therefore, to understand the meaning of "no afterlife", we should also look at Confucius' other view of funeral-the dead can't use the tools of the living. In addition to the Book of Rites quoted in the last article, Confucius' family also said, "When Confucius' mother is buried, how will she be buried?" It said,' I heard that she has something ready-made, but she can't use it, so bamboo is useless, that is, tiles can't reach her knees ... Alas, the dead use the tools of the living to replace martyrdom. "Confucius believed that the funerary objects of the dead should be symbolic grass, people and people. This is a basic view of Confucius, and this thought is also reflected in the attitude towards the initiator, because the cost of making buried figurines is much higher than that of the drafters, and such waste is a substantial damage to the interests of the living, because the ancient productivity is backward, and it is costly to make a large number of buried figurines, but it is not beneficial to the living. Some people may think that Confucius should pay attention to the funeral of princes and ministers, but the ceremony also requires that the ceremony should not be overstepped. The rulers in ancient times lived a luxurious life, and it is actually a kind of economy if they can respect the ceremony without overstepping the bounds. As mentioned above, Confucius opposed making figurines for two reasons. One is like a human being, inhuman, and inhuman is cruel; Second, waste, waste is not compassionate to the people and is harmful to future generations. Of course, Confucius would criticize cruelty and luxury, but he may not really curse, and he may not really have no children. Confucius' attitude should be criticism rather than curse. Why only criticize and not curse? The key lies in how to understand the "after" of "nothing behind". For figurines, Confucius was not against ordinary people, let alone the craftsmen who made them, but against the rulers at that time, such as princes and nobles. Only they will pay attention to the scale of the funeral. For them, the most important thing is not personal life and death, but the continuation of family or title, which is called "sacrifice". No offspring, of course, no sacrifice. Confucius' "childless" here is not only as simple as not having offspring, but also that there is no afterlife, which refers to the loss of fiefs, the decline of families and even the collapse of dynasties. For nobles, this is more terrible than personal life and death. In other words, Confucius is not talking about street abuse in general, but about political issues. Making figurines is just a trivial matter, but Confucius saw unkindness and unkindness from it, and then predicted its future decline. A ruthless aristocratic ruler is bound to cause widespread indignation and resentment, and its subsequent development is unsustainable. Therefore, "the initiator has no consequences" should be explained as follows: now you nobles buried with the army, your days will not last long.