Stepping out from the Hall of Friendship, a broad stone plaza stretches ahead. Pines and cypresses stand scattered to either side, verdant and towering like a canopy. Raising one's eyes, the stone statue of Confucius looms high, its peak seeming to touch the clouds.
When I first arrived, I stood alone in the plaza, gazing upward for a long while. The statue rose into the clouds, its brows and beard lifelike, its robes frozen mid-motion as though it had gathered in all the winds. My companions fell silent, none speaking a word. Only then did I sense the vastness of heaven and earth, and how small I truly was. I gazed upward for a long time, recalling how the Master once wandered from state to state, besieged in Chen and Cai, driven from Wei, yet never ceased his songs and teachings. Now that we enjoy the peace of scholarly halls, gazing upon his likeness, how could we not strive harder?
After that, I passed by this plaza every morning. Sometimes I walked around the statue with a book in hand, my footsteps soft and slow, the rustle of pages mingling with the breeze through the pines; sometimes I sat upon the steps, looking up at the statue, and my heart grew calm along with it.
One day, standing among the crowd, I looked up and saw the Sage's downcast eyes, silent and wordless, and suddenly felt that though ages have passed and the man himself is gone, his Way remains. What he left behind is not merely this statue, but the words of the Six Classics, the teaching of benevolence and righteousness... truly a teacher for ten thousand generations.
The Master taught at the Apricot Altar, with three thousand disciples and seventy-two worthies among them. What did he pass down? Loyalty, forgiveness, benevolence, and love. Now we who carry our satchels here spend our days reading the classics; if we fail to grasp this spirit, our books become mere ornaments, no different from a merchant's wares. And so I straightened my robe and cap, bowed twice before the Master, and departed.
As dusk gathered and the shadows of the pines deepened, the statue stood in the darkness, as majestic as ever. I stepped out from Aspiration Court, and looking back, saw the first lanterns lit, the statue's silhouette faint in the gloom, as though watching me go.
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