The Twin Concepts by Confucius
Two underlying principles that underlie the philosophy of China’s Uncrowned King
A long time ago, in the Kingdom of Zhou located at the Eastern lands of ancient China, a woman named Yan Zhengzai visited Mount Ni, a mountain that had been dedicated to the worship of its guardian spirit, a water god. She made her journey there in hopes of bearing her husband, Kong He, a son to carry on his legacy. Atop the mountain, Zhengzai offered up her prayers with utmost sincerity. That night, a spirit visited her in her dream and prophesied that Zhengzai would birth a son that would grow up to become a great sage and prophet. Not long after, Zhengzai was with child.
Five elderly men came to visit the pregnant Zhengzai, bringing along with them a Qilin that carried a green jade tablet. On the tablet, an inscription foretold a propehcy: The son of the essence of water shall soon succeed to the withering Zhou, and be a throne-less king. She tied a silk scarf around the Qilin’s horn, upon which her visitors disappeared.
Soon, it was time for the child to be born. The birth was to be done in a dry cave of a nearby hill. On that night, two…
