Chapter 1671

"Boss, you are too amazing." Huang Yali's eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhou Andong with admiration: "You know so much."

Zhou Andong asked with a smile: "Do you like watching martial arts novels and TV series?"

"I like them." Huang Yali said with some excitement: "I like watching The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and I like Huang Rong the most."

With nothing to do, Zhou Andong sat cross-legged on the bed and started chatting with Huang Yali.

"Then do you know what the 'three religions and nine schools' are?"

"I know!" Huang Yali blurted out: "The three religions refer to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The nine schools are divided into the upper nine, middle nine, and lower nine."

Zhou Andong nodded: "The three religions are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism; this is correct. But the nine schools were originally a term for the Hundred Schools of Thought, originating from the book "The Essential Meaning of the Six Schools" written by Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan.

Sima Tan divided the Hundred Schools of Thought into six schools: Taoism, Yin-Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, Logicians, and Legalists. Later, Liu Xin added the School of Diplomacy, the Eclectic School, the Agricultural School, and the School of Fiction in "Seven Summaries," making ten schools at that time.

Later, Ban Gu pointed out in the "Book of Han" that among the ten schools of thought, only nine were worth watching. So people removed the School of Fiction, and this was when the term "nine schools" began.

At the same time, the social class system was strict, and the nine schools also had new definitions, dividing people into three, six, and nine grades, and people's jobs were also divided into different levels.

But there are so many professions in the world; these nine schools are not enough to divide them, so what to do? So there was the division of the upper nine, middle nine, and lower nine. Of course, even if divided into upper, middle, and lower, these twenty-seven professions are just a collective term..."

Zhou Andong told the story, and not only was Huang Yali fascinated, but many passengers in this carriage also stood by and listened.

"The first rank is Buddha, the second rank is Heaven, the third rank is the Emperor, the fourth rank is officials, the fifth rank is cabinet elders, the sixth rank is prime ministers, the seventh is jinshi, the eighth is juren, and the ninth is jieren. This is the circulated song of the upper nine schools.

It says that the first rank is Buddha, the second rank is the Jade Emperor, after the Emperor are the cabinet elders, the veteran heavy ministers, the sixth rank is the prime minister, and the jinshi, juren, and jieren are ranked level by level.

The middle nine schools also have songs: the first rank is scholar, the second rank is doctor, the third rank is painter, the fourth rank is shadow puppeteer, the fifth rank is singer, the sixth rank is fortune teller, the seventh is monk, the eighth is Taoist, and the ninth is musician.

Although there have been slight changes in the division of the upper and middle nine schools in history, the changes are not large, and those with high status since ancient times have not fallen from the altar later.

But the lower nine schools are different; this is a place where dragons and snakes are mixed in society, and it is the most complex. And regarding the division of the lower nine schools, there are several historical versions.

The first version: first is actor, second is pimp, third is cuckold, fourth is turtle, fifth is barber, sixth is back scrubber, seventh is prostitute, eighth is thief, ninth is ash blower. The second version: first is witch, second is prostitute, third is shaman, fourth is drummer, fifth is barber, sixth is blower, seventh is actor, eighth is beggar, ninth is candy seller.

Because various performances in ancient times were collectively called "hundred plays," actors of various trades were called "actors." Because their social status was relatively low and humble, the word "actor" itself was a derogatory term.

"Actors have no righteousness"—everyone should have heard this. In ancient times, it was emphasized to govern the country with filial piety. Actors harmed their bodies to entertain others, which was unfilial and despised by people.

As the saying goes, "The body, hair, and skin are received from parents and should not be damaged; this is the beginning of filial piety." Actors didn't even have the most basic filial piety, so they were despised and hated by people."

At this time, a young girl, only seventeen or eighteen years old, asked.

"Then are actors today actors?"

Zhou Andong turned his head to look; the girl was very beautiful, with big eyes and a standard oval face.

Beside her was a middle-aged woman who looked very dignified and was seven-tenths similar to the girl, only her face looked a bit unpleasant.

Zhou Andong nodded politely at them and then replied: "Of course not. Ancient times and modern times are two different social systems. Modern actors, strictly speaking, should be called literary and artistic workers.

Because in modern society, many actors are professionally trained, have read books, and have gone to university, which is equivalent to the Imperial Academy students in ancient times. Think about it, how many actors in ancient times read private schools and entered the Imperial Academy?

Moreover, the actors now are from this song and dance troupe or that song and dance troupe, and they are all national teams. Their status is vastly different from the actors of the old days. Who dares to say they are the lower nine schools?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged woman immediately turned from cloudy to sunny, and a smile appeared on her face.

The girl giggled: "I was just preparing to take the exam for the Beijing Film Academy, and I almost gave up because of your words."

"There's no need." Zhou Andong said with a smile: "Ancient professions have different understandings and meanings in modern times. When ancient people evaluated a person, there was a golden standard.

In summary, it is a sentence in the "Zuo Zhuan": "The gentleman labors with his mind, the small man labors with his strength." In ancient times, the working people were directly judged as small men, judged as having low morality.

The rulers who labored with their minds were directly judged as gentlemen, judged as people with high morality. But now, we often say that labor is the most glorious, raising the status of laborers to a certain height.

So, in modern times, no matter what profession you are engaged in, there is no distinction between high and low. Supporting yourself through your own labor is worthy of respect."

"Clap, clap, clap..." The girl clapped her hands: "Well said."

The smile on the middle-aged woman's face became more and more obvious; this man's knowledge was really profound.

She carefully looked at Zhou Andong, and only then did she find, why did he look so serious?

But she didn't think too much, pulled the girl back to her sleeper, and the others also dispersed.

"Peanuts, melon seeds, beer and drinks." A conductor pushed a small cart over: "Newspapers, magazines, journals!"

The middle-aged woman said: "Give me a newspaper."

The conductor asked: "People's Daily, Economic Daily, Youth Daily, Science Daily, and Fengjing Daily, Evening News, what newspaper do you want?"

The middle-aged woman asked: "Do you have Beijing Daily?"

The conductor shook his head: "No!"

The middle-aged woman said: "Then give me a copy of People's Daily."

"Okay!" The conductor picked up a set of newspapers: "Eighty cents!"

The middle-aged woman felt her pocket and said to the little girl: "Yingying, I don't have any change."

Yingying found a small bag, opened it, took out a one-yuan bill, and handed it to the conductor.

The middle-aged woman was named Huang Mingxia, and she was the little girl's mother.

She took the newspaper and opened it; the front-page headline was the news of the snow disaster in Ali.

Yugong Group Chairman Zhou Andong went to the disaster area to visit the affected herdsmen in Ali.

"Hmm?"

Huang Mingxia looked at a photo below and was stunned for a moment, then leaned over and poked her head out to take a look.

Then she sat up straight again, looked down at the photo in the newspaper, and muttered.

"No wonder it looked familiar, so it was you."