The first is benevolence. "Benevolence" is the core of Confucius' thought, "Benevolence is a human being." (See "The Analects") However, before Confucius, the idea of ??"benevolence" existed. For example, King Xu Yan, who was more than 400 years earlier than Confucius, was described in "Huainanzi Human Training" as "a wise king who was fond of benevolence and righteousness". Because King Xu Yan "could not bear to fight against his people", when the Zhou and Chu companies were planning to conquer, he chose to avoid the war and "walked to Pengcheng" and was "defeated by Chu", and later moved south to the coastal areas of Zhejiang. Before his death, King Yan said that he "I am a man of virtue, but not of military preparation. I love to practice benevolence and righteousness, but I don't know the heart of deceiving others, which is why I am like this" (see "King Xu Yan's Chronicles"). Here he has made it clear that he is a "benevolent" person. As for the content of "benevolence", it must be the content of his behavior. And because he "good at practicing benevolence and righteousness", "the thirty-two kingdoms of the Eastern Han Dynasty were all subdued" ("Shuo Yuan"). "The Genealogy of Xu's Family in the Northern Song Dynasty" says: "Those who quarrel with the princes from all directions do not come to Zhou but to Xu." From this, we know that Xu's benevolence has been known to the world, even surpassing that of Zhou. Before that, the word "benevolence" had already been included in the oracles. "Book of Shang·Taijia" had "Hua Yu You Ren", "Book of Songs·Uncle Zheng" had "Xunmei and benevolence", and Zhou Gong also claimed to be "the one who is benevolent". "(Part 2 of "Book of Rites·Tan ??Gong"). The meaning quoted here is that "benevolence" has been one of the ideological weapons of the ruling class for a long time. By the time of Xu State, its content had gradually become richer and more concrete. "Benevolence" (also including "filial piety", "loyalty", "forgiveness", etc.), as the core content of Xu culture, has actually been fixed at this time. The second is righteousness. The Xu people and the Yin people are both Dongyi people. According to research, the Yin people, the ruling class of the Shang Dynasty, developed from the Teng County area of ????Shandong Province, and then moved all the way to the Central Plains, and moved their capital to Anyang several times. The "fellow-townsman complex" made the Xu people dependent on the Yin people, turning the originally independent feudal state into a "branch" of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. "Zuo Zhuan" calls Xu one of the six ethnic groups of the Yin people (see "Zuo Zhuan" for the fourth year). Although the Yin people were rude to the Xu people most of the time, the Xu people were still loyal to the Yin people. Let me give you an example: At the end of the Shang Dynasty, when King Wu of Zhou attacked Zhou, Xu Gai and his son still stayed in Luoyang. Although they later changed sides, there were reasons for the situation and they had no choice but to do so (see "A View of Xu's Ancient and Modern Culture" edited by Xu Weijian). "Yi" and "benevolence" can be regarded as a pair of "twin brothers". They have both the same and different sides. During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the rulers not only created "benevolence", praised the benefits of the Yin people's rule, and enslaved slaves and other foreigners with a false mercy. As a need for rule, they also created "righteousness" to make the ruled willingly accept slavery. and slaughter. Xu State absorbed and implemented this culture. King Yan "loved benevolence and righteousness", "exerted loyalty" to the "Shang Dynasty" Zhou, and "was born to be a loyal and good minister" (see King Zhou Mu's "Edict to Confer King Xu Yan"); For the people of the country, "Be humbled by kindness and behave benevolently and righteously" ("Huainanzi"). In short, it is very polite to treat superiors and subordinates kindly. Once the concepts of "benevolence" and "righteousness" are fixed as a culture, they will have relative stability and influence. Historically, Xu Guo was an active promoter of this cultural and philosophical concept. The third is virtue. Mr. Yang Rongguo said: From the meaning of "virtue", "virtue" means "getting", which means doing things appropriately, doing things well for others and yourself, and having no regrets. This is "virtue", which is "getting". ” ("History of Ancient Chinese Thought"). In the proclamation mentioned above, King Zhou Mu conferred the title of King Xu Yan. King Zhou Mu boasted that "those who are loyal and commendable for evil must be treated as such; when discussing virtue and merit, one must verify the truth." His edict to King Xu Yan was based on King Xu Yan's actions were actually carried out. Originally, King Xu Yan was elected by the eastern princes to oppose King Mu of Zhou. Because King Mu of Zhou visited the west and was nostalgic for Yaochi, he forgot to return and ignored the government affairs, causing widespread resentment among the people. Zhou Lian and Chu attacked Xu, but King Yan avoided fighting and lost his country. King Mu not only refused to answer the question, but instead granted him a title and allowed the descendants of King Yan to revive Xu Fang. Is it King Mu of Zhou who is generous? In fact, it was King Mu of Zhou who was forced by the voice of the people. King Yan was virtuous and the people obeyed him. Han Yu said that the Xu State was "located in the middle of the land, governed by culture and virtue", and "the country is governed by its people" ("Monument of the Temple of King Xu Yan in Quzhou"). It can be seen that "virtue" has been recognized as the ruling ideology in Xu State, and has been widely promoted to achieve "governance". In Volume 2 of "The Chronicles of the King of Xu Yan", "Chronicle No. 1", Xu Bo's remarks about the Taoist and the Taoist monarchs and ministers are recorded, including "to cherish his virtues", "to follow the virtues of his ancestors", etc., which illustrates that Xu Guo's understanding of "virtue" was quite "avant-garde", so that Duke Huan of Qi and other princes followed suit. The fourth is faith. "Faith" and "sincerity" are often connected together. Trust means sincerity and sincerity means trust.

In the sixth year of King Mu, Xu Dan went to pay homage to the Emperor of Zhou, and "Xi Ming was the uncle" ("Bamboo Book Annals"), and "he was divided into the Eastern princes, King Xu Yan" ("Book of the Later Han·Dongyi Biography"). King Xu Yan thought that the emperor had given the enfeoffment and had spoken, and Xu could rest easy. He trusted people with "faith". Therefore, "It is obvious that the city has fallen outside, but there is no defense inside" ("Baopuzi"). So much so that he "did not know the intention of deceiving others" and "lost his country to death". This is an example of letting down one's vigilance and not being alert because of integrity, which proves the importance of "trust" in Xu State, and "trust" has become an important part of Xu culture. The fifth is etiquette. "Shuowen": "Li" is the code of conduct that regulates order. To give an example: In 574 BC, during the funeral of Zhu Lou Kaogong, Xu Jun sent Rong Ju to pay his respects. The etiquette at that time was very strict. Let the king's envoy enter the seat of the king. The head of the Zhu Lou Kingdom disliked the potential envoys of the king and rejected them, saying: "When princes come to the city, ministers should perform courteous etiquette, and the king should perform royal etiquette. It is rare for the king and ministers to perform mixed etiquette." Rong Ju said confidently. "Rongju heard about it, and he dared not forget his king, nor his ancestors. In the past, my ancestor, King Ju, asked for help from the river, and Xu used the king's system for everything among the princes. Rongju, a fool, dared not forget him. "Ancestor." The words were spoken in a majestic and reasonable manner, which showed the courage of Xu State (quoted from Xu Yongsheng's "Rediscussing the Position of Xu State in Chinese History") and the development of Xu State's "ritual" culture. We can also see its clues from the cultural relics unearthed in modern times. The inscription "Han'er Zhong" in Xu ware describes the situation in which several generations of a family, old and young, live in order and harmony, which is the embodiment of "Xu Li" in the Xu family. In 1993, nineteen bronze bells were unearthed from the Jiunvdun ancient tombs at the Liangwang City site in Pizhou. Each of them had inscriptions recording the history of the Xu Kingdom and the words "The grandson of King Xu, for the purpose of eternal treasure". Secondly, thirteen bronze chimes were unearthed here. Both bells and chimes were court instruments of the ancient Xu State (see the 1995 edition of "Pizhou Chronicles"). The level of development of musical instruments indicates the degree of development of "rituals", because in ancient times "rituals" and "music" were often connected together. In the so-called "rituals and music", "rituals" require "music", and "music" is "rituals". If there are "rituals" and "music", the world is at peace, the government is harmonious and the people are harmonious, then this is "rule by etiquette". There is "music" in the unearthed materials, and there is "ritual" in the Chao Gang, which should be regarded as true. The sixth is Tao. Mr. Ren Jiyu said in his book "New Translation of Laozi" that the category of "Tao" was first proposed by Laozi. In fact, there was "Tao" before Laozi. There is a saying in "The Book of Songs" that "Zhou Dao is like a stone". "Guangyun" said that "Tao" is "reason, all wonderful things are Tao, and it is the combination of the three talents and the ultimate reason for all things." , "Book of Changes" also says that "one yin and one yang are the Tao." The "Tao" that Xu people talk about is much more specific, such as "the way of virtue", "the king with Tao", etc. In their view, heaven has a way, earth has a way, and humans also have a way. Although "Tao" is so big that it encompasses all things, all things have their own "Tao". Xu Bo's remarks in "Four Titles of Guanzi" can be regarded as the content of "Tao" in Xu culture, "Huan Gong is good at it", which I think is very good. Xu Bo was the king of Xu State. King Mu appointed Xu Zi to be his uncle. King Xia appointed Uncle Xu to be in charge of Huaiyi. The title of Uncle Xu was inherited from the old title. The content of Xu Bo's "Four Days" here is very extensive, including the road to governing the country and the principles of conduct in the world. It also includes benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, trustworthiness, loyalty, filial piety, etc. This shows the development of the culture of Xu State at that time.