New Shun 1730

Zhao Liben walked quickly along the path of the village community, and had no intention of looking at the people working in the fields, because he wanted to see his family as soon as possible and know whether his wife and children were okay.

But even though he walked so fast, he finally stopped in front of a thatched cottage where the sound of reading aloud came from.

There were a few simple thatched cottages, but they had glass windows that were relatively rare or expensive compared to here, perhaps to make the light brighter when the children inside were reading.

The sound of children reading inside continued to come, and Zhao Liben didn't understand what they were reading, but he stopped to listen for a while.

"If my child is still alive, maybe he is studying inside?"

Thinking of this, he looked at the thatched cottage a few more times, as if he wanted to distinguish the voice of his own child from these babbling reading sounds. Although, he himself forgot what the sound of his own child was when he ran away because of Liu Yu's enclosure policy.

In front of the thatched cottage, there are two simple wooden gatehouses. Although they are simple, they have the temperament of a college.

There are two couplets written on them. Basically, Zhao Liben doesn't recognize all the words.

In the front row, there is a couplet with a horizontal scroll.

The horizontal scroll has two words.

[Tongru].

The upper couplet is:

[The great affairs of the court, what the world cannot do, my disciples can do it]

The lower couplet is:

[Dangerous and difficult, what the world dare not take on, my disciples can take on it]

And on the simple gatehouse archway inside, there is a couplet without a horizontal scroll, which is not a couplet, which is the purpose of the school's entry into the world.

[Just bring books to school, and you will be a reincarnated person, don't be a reincarnated person for the world]

[And go forward bravely, change the world with me, don't let the world change me]

Zhao Liben doesn't recognize the words on it.

In fact, even if he recognized it, if he was not someone who had studied Confucianism systematically, at least to the level of being able to take the imperial examination, he would not understand how strange it was that these two couplets and the ballad he had just heard at the entrance of the village could coexist in the same place.

Inner saint, outer king.

Become a saint in the heart, learn to be a saint for utilitarianism.

Things that can obviously make brains explode are strangely harmonious here.

Because, the group of people who are thinking about becoming "universal Confucianists", doing things that the world cannot do, and taking on tasks that the world dare not take, the goal is to turn the millions of students in the world into "universal Confucianists", and the goal is "scholars".

And, by preaching with ballads, taking root in the countryside to spread the Six Edicts of morality, and fools can also become saints, the goal is "people".

Of course, the more realistic compromise and helplessness is that these 240,000 acres of land were jointly funded by people from these two major schools.

After the reform in Jiangsu, this also involves a very "vulgar" and "copper-smelling" property rights issue.

The real property rights issue is here, and no one can drive the other away.

If someone like Quan Zheshen, who has received a systematic Confucian education, comes to the village and sees these scenes and these two couplets, he can see the weirdness in them.

He can also understand the attitude of the Yanli School towards Liu Yu. Their attitude is simply contained in the two words "Tongru".

Tongru is a vision, a vision of cultivating the "scholar" class with all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical beauty, labor, astronomy, geography, military tactics, and agriculture.

Tongru can also be read in reverse, which means that all the knowledge related to people's livelihood in the world is considered to be the common knowledge of Confucianism.

Yan Yuan believes that "scholars", or "true Confucians", should [live one day and do things for the people for one day].

And the "virtue" he believes in must rely on skills, and must be able to intimidate the enemy with martial arts, be able to accomplish things with skills, benefit the people, and make achievements, before it can be called "virtue".

It is still the same as utilitarianism, and you have to do things and achieve results.

This is the key link in the dispute between Zhu Xi and Chen Liang, and it is also the key that prevented the two from continuing their argument:

[Brother, look at what Emperor Gao of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang did and examine their hearts. Is it really out of profit? Is it out of righteousness? Is it out of righteousness? Is it out of evil? If we can say that they can establish a country and pass it down for a long time, then we can say that they have obtained the righteousness of heaven. This is to judge right and wrong by success or failure.]

Chen Liang actually understood what Zhu Xi meant.

Since ancient times, the Central Plains has crushed the surrounding areas. But when the two debated, it was already the Jingkang Shame.

If one day, a country is established without Confucianism, it is passed down for a long time, the military is extremely prosperous, and even the people may temporarily sit on the slaves, then can it be said that he has obtained the righteousness of heaven? Should we judge right and wrong by success or failure?

Even if utilitarianism continues to develop, in the future, a group of people who use the knowledge of law, Taoism, Mohism, military, hegemony, etc., or even a group of people who do not use Confucianism at all, will gain the world and the people will live and work in peace and contentment. Then for Confucianism, the country and the people will live well, but the Confucian tradition will be over.

That is why Zhu Xi said that we should guard against Lu Wang's school of mind, but mainly against utilitarianism.

Zhu Xi's school of thought could flourish in the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, and could flourish in Korea, Ryukyu, and Japan.

But if utilitarianism really rises, Confucianism may still exist, but its status will definitely decline, because other schools seem to be better at making contributions, serving the people, making profits, and fighting.

Now it is Dashun, so what the "shun ancestor" did and observed his heart, was it really out of profit? Out of righteousness? Out of righteousness? Out of evil?

Judging right and wrong by success or failure, in the case of "success", it is naturally easy to be accepted because there are no sequelae.

Unlike the time when Zhu and Chen debated, success was very slim and failure was imminent. At that time, success and failure could never be used to judge right and wrong.

If the Northern Expedition fails, and the Jin people take over the world, or even pass it down for a long time, does that mean that they are justified by heaven? At that time, can you, Chen Liang, bear this responsibility? Your set of utilitarianism, if deduced, doesn't it mean that whoever is stronger is orthodox? If it were the Han and Tang dynasties now, I might support you. The problem is that Hangzhou is now Bianzhou, how can I support you? Don't argue, you understand and I understand, so far, I won't reply to your letters again.

Now, success or failure can be used to judge right and wrong.

A piece of stone, or the success or failure of the Jingxiang counterattack, determines whether utilitarianism can be revived.

The propaganda of the Li family of Dashun, who shamelessly leaned on the Li Tang, determined which kind of orthodoxy would be adopted.

This also ultimately led to the "needs of people" implicitly mentioned by Dai Zhen in the book "Using food to explain the changes of the times", which determined who is the orthodox school. Since the emperor can need it, don't the people need it?

This has opened a gap in the deconstruction of the sacredness of Confucianism.

But before that, the "universal Confucianism" concept of the Yanli School actually expressed its position and stood firm on the issue of Dashun's allusion to the prominent scholar "Guan Zhong".

This is the definition of the concept of "sage" by the Yanli School, that is, a universal Confucian is a sage. A sage is one who is well-rounded in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor development.

Sages can be pursued. Just as Dashun believed that the Three Dynasties can be pursued, as long as the "exam" is passed.

As the saying goes, [Scholars are those who learn to be sages. People must know that I can be a sage. If you can't be a sage, you don't dare to be a sage, you have no ambition! ]

This is not a big problem.

It is mainly a practical problem.

Sages are "universal Confucians".

But what should ordinary people do if they can't be "universal Confucians"?

One school believes that they should cultivate virtue.

Another school believes that fools can become sages after enlightenment, and the way of sagehood is in daily life.

The Yanli School believes that being a generalist is the highest level, and below being a generalist, there are Confucian scholars of different levels, namely, A, B, C, and D.

The key is still in "arts". It does not mean that virtue is not valued, but that "virtue" needs to be reflected in merit, and art is the foundation of merit.

If you can do it, then you are a generalist.

If you cannot do it, you can choose one from dozens of majors.

If you cannot even master one subject independently, it is okay, just like funerals and reds. If you think you cannot learn funerals and reds at the same time, it is okay, you can learn funerals, and Zhang San learns funerals, and you can always learn it, right?

Similarly, you cannot cast iron by yourself. It is okay, you can learn sand casting, Zhang San learns mold making, Li Si learns annealing, and Wang Wu learns blowing...

As long as what you learn can benefit the people, you are a Confucian.

Then, "Guan Zhong" is no longer a question of benevolence or not.

Rather, although Guan Zhong was not a "universal Confucian", he could be considered a first-class Confucian; Wang Anshi, who used the techniques of Shen Shang, was certainly not a "universal Confucian", but he could also be considered a first-class Confucian.

Although the Duke of Xingguo did not understand the classics and was far from being a universal Confucian, and his moral character was problematic, he was a "second-class Confucian".

And this is a big problem.

In fact, as early as the beginning of the founding of the Dashun Dynasty, the ideas of the Yanli School had been criticized by many people.

This is a problem with the philosophical logic of Confucianism itself. According to the logic of Confucianism, the Yanli School is actually doing useless work.

Moreover, there is a special term.

It is called "the purpose of studying things is to study things".

But according to the orthodox philosophical concept of Confucianism, the purpose of studying things is to study things to gain knowledge.

It needs to be verified with Confucian classics. Otherwise, you are not Confucianism at all, and it is not really the purpose of studying things to gain knowledge, but the purpose of studying things for the sake of studying things.

It's like mathematics. If the purpose of studying mathematics is to study mathematics, then mathematics is no longer the "number" in the Six Arts. This is the purpose of studying things for the sake of studying things.

Yan Yuan himself also said that learning and practicing economics is the main business of Confucianism. If you abandon the main business of practicing economics and only talk about scriptures, you are a Confucian of the Song and Ming dynasties, not a Confucian of the Tang, Yu and Three Dynasties.

It is enough to read the scriptures a little bit. The key is to understand the true meaning of Confucianism in practice.

Therefore, the Yan-Li School has had a root cause since the day it was born.

Either, you risk the world's disapproval and say that you are not a Confucian and do not use the Confucian system. Then, if you admit that you are not a Confucian, then there will be no dilemma of "investigating things for the sake of investigating things".

Or, if you insist on saying that you are a "true Confucian" and others are all fake Confucianists, don't blame others for saying that your school is "investigating things for the sake of investigating things, not for the sake of gaining knowledge".

In fact, from the perspective of an observer, the philosophy of the Yan-Li School is indeed problematic.

How can practice and art be investigated to find the truth? How can these knowledge be verified from the classics?

This is also the reason why the rise of textual research founded by Gu Yanwu, ultimately, still has to return to the "Bible".

In the final analysis, the question is, what exactly does Confucianism do?

Is it, as Yan Yuan said, for "living one day, doing one day for the people", for practicing economics?

Obviously not, this is an obvious heresy, how can it be called Confucianism?

Since it is not, then if you do not reflect the classics when you study things, then isn't it just for the sake of studying things?

Just like how to evaluate Liu Yu at this time, Zhang Boxing, a great Confucian scholar of the same era as Yan Yuan, predicted it.

It is said that your Yan Xizhai's knowledge is a study of hegemony and a study of killing.

According to what you said, if a person is unkind, unrighteous, unfaithful, and unfilial, and studies the six arts, agriculture, military, industry, commerce, mathematics, and astronomy every day, from morning to night. The world criticizes him, but he does not stop, saying: I study things, this is the way to enter the university.

Is it reasonable?

Isn't this nonsense? You study mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, military, industry, commerce, and the six arts. You are nothing but a Confucian scholar. You even got the door to the university wrong. How can you be considered a Confucian scholar?

The conclusion of the study of things to gain knowledge must be derived from the Confucian classics and must be verified with the research of the Confucian classics, otherwise it will be groundless.

If your school continues to do this, it will definitely become a heresy and a "school that brings disaster to the world."