The Beauty of the Three Dynasties Condensed into a Single Chapter: A Deep Interpretation of "Yan Yuan Asking about Governing the State" in the Analects of Confucius, Weilinggong
This article provides a rigorous analysis of the "Yan Yuan wen weibang" passage in the *Analects*, examining Confucius’s political pedagogy—centered on the calendar of the Xia, the carriage of the Shang, the ceremonial cap of the Zhou, and the music of Shao—as a synthesis of the essential wisdom of the Three Dynasties. By situating these practices within the broader framework of Confucian statecraft, the study elucidates the idealized civilizational paradigm of the tradition and the enduring philosophical significance of its transmission.
1. What is "Time" (Shi)$23
The Master’s first answer to Yan Yuan was "Follow the calendar of the Xia." This sequence is by no means accidental. In the Master's governing strategy, "time" is placed first, before carriages, before caps, before music. Why$24
Because "time" is the fundamental link between Heaven and humanity.
"Time," on the surface, appears to be just a calendar—when a year starts, how the four seasons are divided. But in the pre-Qin world, "time" was much more than a technical tool for measurement; it was the earthly mapping of the operation of the Way of Heaven, the most basic way for humans to communicate with the universe.
The Book of Changes (I Ching), Qian Hexagram, Tuan Zhuan states:
Great is the generative power of Qian, to which all things owe their beginning, and which permeates all Heaven. Clouds move and rain spreads, things take their forms. The great brilliance reaches its end and beginning, the six positions are established through time, and the sage rides the six dragons in time to manage Heaven. The Way of Qian changes, each thing rectifying its nature and life.
Here, "the six positions are established through time" and "rides the six dragons in time to manage Heaven" emphasize the sequential nature of the Way of Heaven. The Way of Heaven is not static; it unfolds and changes with time. All things rectify their nature by following this sequence.
The Book of Changes, Kun Hexagram, Wen Yan also says:
Kun is extremely gentle, yet its movement is firm; it is extremely still, yet its virtue is square. Following and having a leader, it is constant, containing all things and transforming them in brilliance. Is not the Way of Kun submissive$25 It follows Heaven and moves in time.
The phrase "following Heaven and moving in time" reveals the essence of "time"—it is the way the Earth submits to the Way of Heaven. Human calendars are, in essence, the institutionalized expression of "following Heaven and moving in time."
So, why the "calendar of the Xia"$26