The ancient traditional six arts can be dated back to the Zhou Dynasty， 1046 BC. The noble class used the six arts as a standard to judge whether a son of aristocrats was fit to hold his title. The six arts included courtesy， music， archery， riding， writing and math.

古代傳統(tǒng)六藝可以追溯到公元前1046年的周朝。貴族階層以六藝為標準，來判斷貴族的下一代是否有資格擁有他的頭銜。六藝包括禮、樂、射、御、書、數(shù)。

Courtesy禮

Courtesy is an extraordinarily important cornerstone in Chinese culture. Without courtesy， the 5000-year-old country would never exist. In ancient China， there were officers in charge of courtesy for every aspect of life， like marriage， funerals， school entry and sacrifice.

Chinese people started to live with a sense of ritual thousands of years ago and nothing can remove it from Chinese culture.

“禮”是中華文化中十分重要的基石。沒有“禮”，這個擁有5000年歷史的國家就不會存在。在古代，有專門的官員負責生活中方方面面的“禮”，比如嫁娶、葬禮、入學和祭祀。

“禮”與中國人相伴了幾千年，它是中國文化不可或缺的一部分。

Music樂

Music was not just a melody or a pastime for entertainment in ancient China. It was a symbol of great manners and a well-educated person. It was not just a melody but also contained music theory. To learn music， one should have high aesthetic standards.

Confucius himself studied from three different people to learn courtesy， music and how to play music. Music was also an indispensable part of Chinese culture. People play music in every ritual to express feelings and emotions. Also， there was a special position for a music officer in the court.

“樂”在中國古代并不僅僅是旋律或者娛樂消遣。它是禮節(jié)的象征，也是受過良好教育的人的象征。它不僅僅是一段旋律，還包含著音樂理論。要學習“樂”，人們要有很高的美學素養(yǎng)。

孔子自己師從多人去學習禮、樂和演奏?！皹贰蓖瑯邮侵袊幕豢苫蛉钡囊徊糠?。人們在每一場儀式上演奏音樂來表達自己的感受與情緒。同樣，宮廷中有專門負責“樂”的樂官。

Archery射

Archery was not only a way to protect the kingdom or to kill enemies， but was also a good sport. China measured its force of strength as much as literature. A real gentleman should not only be well-educated but also should be strong and demonstrate great archery skills. A good archer was highly admired in ancient China not only among the nobility but also among ordinary people. The ancient emperors took archery classes as a required course and it was a tradition to hold a big hunting ceremony every year.

“射”不僅僅是保衛(wèi)王國、消滅敵人的手段，也是一項很好的運動。中國將它的力量看得和文學一樣重要。一個真正的君子不僅僅要受到良好的教育，同時也要有強健的體魄和好的射箭技術。在中國古代，一個好的弓箭手無論是在貴族還是平民間，都會很受尊敬。古代皇帝將射箭設為必修課，每年舉行一次大型的狩獵活動是一種傳統(tǒng)。

Riding御

Riding is an interesting subject in ancient China. If you wanted to compete in riding， your skills and your talents would be both required. Riding contests were always popular， and the winner always showed great leadership and great skills in operation research. Also， riding was so important in wars， so almost every man and even woman had to learn how to ride.

“御”是古代中國很有意思的一門課程。如果參加騎術比賽，這不單單需要技術，還需要天賦。騎術比賽在中國古代很流行，獲勝者總能表現(xiàn)出卓越的領導能力和高超的操控技能。同樣，騎術在戰(zhàn)爭中十分重要，所以在中國古代幾乎每個男人甚至是女人都要學習騎術。

Writing書

Writing usually included handwriting， reading， drawing and composition. There have been so many great calligraphers throughout the history of China and Chinese greatly valued handwriting. Theres a saying that your handwriting reflects your alter ego. Especially in ancient China， it was necessary for an emperor to write beautifully. There were many emperors in China who were not only calligraphers， but also poets. Having the ability to compose poems is the skill of an educated person. Chinese ancient poetry is a precious heritage for every Chinese and to the whole world.

“書”通常包括書法、閱讀、繪畫和寫作。中國的歷史上有很多書法家，中國人很重視書法。有這樣的一個成語：字如其人。尤其是在中國古代，皇帝得寫得一手好字。中國古代的皇帝有很多不只是書法家，同時還是詩人。作詩是每一個受過教育的人應有的才能。中國古詩是每一個中國人，甚至是全世界的寶貴遺產(chǎn)。

Math數(shù)

In ancient times， math was a useful method to make predictions. Ancient Chinese also developed links between math and ancient astronomy. Ancient Chinese used math to develop astronomy， to predict the weather and applied knowledge to real life. The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was the earliest Chinese math book. The ancient Chinese also developed the abacus to benefit daily living and this invention is one of Chinas material cultural heritages.

在古代，“數(shù)”是一種重要的占卜方法。古代中國人也建立起了數(shù)學與古代天文學之間的聯(lián)系。古代中國人利用數(shù)學來發(fā)展天文學，以此來預測天氣并將知識運用到現(xiàn)實生活之中?！毒耪滤阈g》是中國最早的數(shù)學書籍。古代中國人還發(fā)明了算盤，以方便人們的日常生活，這項發(fā)明是中國的物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)之一。

Word Study

sacrifice /'s?kr?fa?s/ n. 祭祀；獻祭

They offered sacrifice to the gods.

demonstrate /'dem?nstre?t/ v. 表現(xiàn)；顯露

You need to demonstrate more self-control.

contest /'k?ntest/ n. 比賽；競賽

I only entered the contest for fun.

reflect /r?'flekt/ v. 反映；映出

She could see herself reflected in his eyes.

heritage /'her?t?d?/ n. 遺產(chǎn)

benefit /'ben?f?t/ v. 使受益；有益于

We should spend the money on something that will benefit everyone.