As the saying goes, "a chicken does not exceed six, and a dog does not exceed eight." What do you mean?

Everything in the world is like a machine that keeps running. I don't know when it will start, and no one can guess when it will stop. Taoism believes that everything has its own law of development, and only by operating according to this law can we achieve the so-called harmony between Yin and Yang.

This is also reflected in folk proverbs. Although the people don't know the truth, they keep practicing this law with the simplest behavior.

There is a saying in Tao Te Ching that "heaven and earth are heartless and everything is a grass dog". On the surface, heaven and earth only regard everything in the world as a tribute.

However, if we dig deeper into its connotation, we can find that the world's view of everything will not be particularly good or bad for anyone with a fair mind, and everything will only develop according to the laws of nature.

Although ordinary people living in ancient society may not understand the truth and significance. However, under the influence of objective laws, this truth is vividly expressed in common sayings.

"No more than six chickens and no more than eight dogs" is one of the more classic words.

Confucius said, "Being old and never dying is a thief.". Although this sentence means old, if you are still stubborn or have no virtue, then this person is worse than a thief.

"No more than six chickens and no more than eight dogs" is actually an objective natural law. If the life of chickens and dogs exceeds the limit, it is what the ancestors said, "there must be a demon in an accident."

First, there are no more than six chickens. According to objective laws, the normal life span of chickens raised by farmers at home is actually only a few short years. Yi Yao, an ancient book circulating between the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty, introduced many rare images in the world.

As the saying goes, "one chicken does not exceed six" means that the normal life span of a chicken will not exceed six years. Once the time limit is exceeded, it will be regarded as an abnormal phenomenon. "If something goes wrong, there must be a demon." If the world is irrational, it won't be long before the world will be in chaos.

Or in the superstition of the ancients, if everything in the world does not conform to the law of development, then there will be a vision.

And this anomaly is also a harbinger of catastrophe. In the Book of Changes, it is recorded that "dogs don't last eight years, chickens don't last six years", and the connotation of the expression is: if there is a vision in the sky, there will be chaos.

Second, there are no more than eight dogs. "No more than eight dogs" is a popular saying. People living in ancient society basically had the custom of keeping dogs in every household. Because raising a dog can not only protect the home, but also be a good way to go out hunting.

Under normal circumstances, the life span of a dog will not exceed eight years, because there is a folk saying that "people live for one day and dogs live for seven days".

A puppy who has reached the age of eight is equivalent to a human who is about 60-70 years old. According to Yi Yao's theory, once a puppy has lived for more than eight years, it is a vision, or a very abnormal phenomenon.

As the saying goes, "old ruffian, slippery horse, old demon dog" and "everything goes wrong" make sense here.

Although "chickens don't exceed six, dogs don't exceed eight" is just a superstition of the ancients or an alarmist talk by Yi Yao, such proverbs can be found everywhere among the people, and people living in remote areas are also convinced. Although no one believes it now, the proverb has been handed down.

Third, the story about the white dog In fact, Yi Yao also recorded a story about "no more than eight dogs".

In ancient society, there was a rich man who had many servants because of his wealth. In order to pass the boring life, the rich man keeps a white dog. It can be said that the rich man's white dog is inseparable every day. Whether going out to play or at home, this white dog can't live without its owner.

Later, because the rich man's health went from bad to worse, he finally died under the premise of ineffective treatment. In order to express deep condolences, the family arranged the rich man's funeral beautifully. After the funeral, the rich man's white dog suddenly disappeared. Because everyone is in a deep mood, no one cares about the whereabouts of the white dog.

But a year later, something strange happened. One night, the dead rich man suddenly returned to his home. Everyone in the family thinks that the deceased forged the body, but his words and deeds are almost exactly the same as that of the rich man. Therefore, no one doubts his identity at all. It was not until the rich man had a few more drinks on his birthday that the old white-haired dog showed its true colors.

The rich man's family was very scared when they learned about it, but in order to avoid more harm, people hacked him to death while he was unprepared. In fact, legends like this abound, especially during the Qin, Han and Jin Dynasties. The author believes that through this story, everyone must have understood the true meaning of "no more than six chickens and no more than eight dogs".

Ordinary people living in ancient society, because of their lack of cultural knowledge, could not explain many natural phenomena at all, and over time they formed their imagination of monsters. As the saying goes, "One chicken does not exceed six and one dog does not exceed eight" is actually an extension of this idea.