As Confucianism developed into the Song and Ming dynasties, it was completely different from the original simple empirical morality theory.
It fully absorbs the origins of Buddha and is based on the ontology constructed by itself. It goes a step further and achieves the transcendence of the real world in the moral paradigm.
In theory, it has two connotations.
The essence of it is to know oneself, which is the so-called who I am and where I come from.
In the category of Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, more specifically, it refers to "nature", that is, the moral ontology endowed by people, which is the basis for the practice of life cultivation and sainthood.
The second skill - moral practice, Confucianism does not need to answer where I want to go, because the ultimate destination of people is to become a saint, so this is explaining how to become a saint.
That is, the means and methods of self-cultivation adopted in order to grasp the ontology of morality and realize or achieve human nature.
All of this is done in the moral superego world, whether it is "unity of knowledge and action" or "observation of things to gain knowledge", and it has never had anything to do with physics.
Since Gu Xiancheng wants to restore ancient times and rectify the origins, he has to talk about the origins he wants to rectify.
Gu Xiancheng felt slightly cold, and he spoke and moved on the stage: "Generally speaking, learning has a purpose, which is the strength of its people and the entry point for scholars. The meanings in the world are endless, and it is difficult to pin them down to just one or two words. How can we summarize them and make them work?
I?"
"Therefore, when teaching, we should start with clear principles."
"That is, the essence of the language is only the word "nature is good"; the language "gongfu" is only the word "care".
In lectures, in order to facilitate dissemination, knowledgeable people always give total points and list one, two and three in the middle, which shows that the regulations are clear.
When all the scholars in the audience heard Gu Xiancheng's outline, they couldn't help but nodded in approval.
Yu Menglin led several students from the Imperial College to listen to the lecture, and many fellow students and supervisors whispered to each other and discussed in low voices.
"Be careful with this name. I figured out Master Xue's way just by hearing it. It seems that Gu Xiancheng has completely turned his back on his first teacher, Master Zhang."
"This is so normal. How can Master Zhang compare to his current teacher, Master Xue? The latter is a great Confucian who has entered the Xian Temple and lived in the Spring and Autumn Festival. Whose opinions do you need to ask?"
"That's not necessarily the case. As a disciple of Yang Ming, Master Xue is a great Confucian of the time, and his knowledge itself is deeper."
"I'm afraid it's too deep. I sent a disciple whose hair has just grown to stir up trouble here. Those who don't know think he is planning a journey to the west."
Several supervisors spoke one after another.
The Zhang Fuzi mentioned in the words refers to Zhang Qi, who is somewhat famous in the local area.
Master Xue refers to Xue Yingqi.
His ancestor Xue Ji was a great scholar and privy envoy in the former Song Dynasty. His recent ancestor had provided financial assistance to Emperor Taizu before he gained power. He himself even studied under Shao Bao, Ouyang De, and Lu Nan.
He is an authentic successor of Neo-Confucianism and a disciple of Yangming’s Xinxue.
He held a pivotal position among the scholars and could be called a great scholar in the world.
One supervisor looked around and lowered his voice.
"It's still the root cause of the disaster that His Majesty laid down during the banquet last year. The various factions of the royal family were attacking and killing each other well, but the emperor intervened and started talking about good and evil. I don't know which banquet official was ignorant."
There are many factions in the Wang Clan now, but there are only three mainstream factions.
They are divided into the royal sect's orthodox, left-wing and right-wing factions.
Rightists have never been popular, and are often criticized as Buddhist trappings.
It advocates the return of conscience to tranquility. Inspired by Longchang's enlightenment, this school believes that the fundamental way to achieve conscience is to achieve tranquility of mind.
With fewer distracting thoughts in consciousness, the natural aura of conscience will emerge. The way to practice is to rely on enlightenment. Becoming a monk or living in seclusion are all good ways.
Even traveling around the Fasi all day long - all those with bad morals can find a dark place to "return to silence" for a few days to clear their conscience.
The left is more mainstream than the right, but it is also the primary culprit that is being blamed today.
This school holds that the human heart itself has no distinction between good and evil and is enlightened and enlightened, while thoughts are divided into good and evil. Therefore, one only needs to know oneself to become a saint.
The tributaries are also divided into two. The first is the ready-made school, which says that since the conscience is ready, then everyone can just be themselves. Most of them are attracted by high-ranking officials and dignitaries, who are dissolute and respect themselves; the second day-use school, which says that since everyone has
If one has a conscience, then everyone is a saint. He preaches that "a saint is never high and everyone is never low" and "the common people's daily use is the Tao." The main representative is the Taizhou School, which is also where Li Zhi's orthodoxy lies.
Wang Menzheng is the most familiar with Wang Yangming's sutras, and the market is also the worst.
Now I just put on airs and criticize the left and right factions all day long, scolding Guiji for being too fond of meditating and enlightening, and scolding the daily necessities faction for focusing on the people and being too external.
In short, it focuses on an authentic source and a moderate balance.
The orthodox, left and right factions now have huge differences and fierce disputes. They all hope to clarify the world with their own doctrines, achieve three immortalities at the same time, and occupy a holy throne vacated in the end of the world.
Especially after the emperor extended his tentacles to Confucian classics, the situation intensified.
It started with a treatise on good and evil written by the previous year's emperor, started with Li Zhi of the Daily Use School taking over Xinbao at the beginning of last year as a turning point, and took last year's emperor's success in the Confucian Classics as a symbol.
The entire Confucian classics debate moved to the center of the capital, and the various factions gathered their attention and published articles to express their opinions, and the fighting became more and more intense.
"Jingyan official? Hey, why can Li Zhi stay securely in Xinbao and say those things that confuse the world and the people? You think Tu Xiying, Luo Wanhua, Gu Xiancheng and others are giving lectures one after another. Who are you expressing dissatisfaction with?
"
"Gu Xiancheng is just a scholar. At best, he is just the mouth of his teacher Xue Yingqi, his uncle Zha Duo, and his ancestor Qian Dehong."
"Isn't this a partisan struggle within the Confucian classics? A rebellion against the emperor!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Menglin, who was sitting upright and listening to the lecture, suddenly turned his head and interrupted the discussion: "Don't talk about irrelevant things."
Several candidates were scolded and realized that they had made a mistake. They quickly shut up, separated their ears and temples, and continued to listen seriously.
Only Gu Xiancheng's voice continued to be heard on the stage.
"'Sheng is called Xing', Xing is Qi, Qi is Xing, and Sheng is called Xing."
"Human beings are endowed with good and evil principles, but these two things do not exist in opposition to each other in the nature of nature.
"Some people are good since childhood, and some people are bad since childhood. This is the endowment. Goodness is a solid nature, but evil cannot be ignored. It is called "nature". "Human being born quiet cannot be said."
, when we first talk about human nature, it is no longer human nature. When ordinary people talk about human nature, they just say, "The following is good. Mencius said that human nature is good."
"..."
"In order to explain the truth, I will first criticize the two theories to make a distinction."
Gu Xiancheng stopped talking here, looked around, and then said word by word: "The first is Xu Jie's theory of no good and no evil, and the second is the moral worldview of the monster Li Zhi."
"It's all nonsense! It's all nonsense!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience was instantly buzzing.
There are those who whisper to each other, there are those who are dismissive, and there are those who loudly agree.
One of the supervisors looked at Yu Menglin and said hesitantly: "Senior Brother Yu, the test will be held in half a month. How about... let's go back and review our homework?"
After all, Li Zhi is the director of the Imperial College, so the topic is a bit sensitive.
What's more, it also brings a little bit of Xu Jie.
These two people now frequently come in and out of the palace, and they have to look at the Buddha's face even if they don't look at the monk's face.
The other supervisors quickly held the person down: "Listen again! Listen again!"
Apparently he was just watching the fun and not afraid of big trouble.
When the person who spoke first saw this, he couldn't help but persuade him: "Since Gu Xiancheng has published the newspaper, it will definitely be published tomorrow. We can just listen then. Why bother here?"
Unfortunately, seeing that both his classmates and Yu Menglin were indifferent, and embarrassed to leave his classmates alone and leave alone, he sighed secretly.
Yu Menglin turned a blind eye, but felt helpless in his heart.
There is no way, academic disputes, how can anyone with a sect avoid them? Do you think he wants to come?
Gu Xiancheng on the stage raised his hand and pressed it to signal everyone to be quiet.
After the scene calmed down, Gu Xiancheng continued: "Let's talk about the theory that there is no good and no evil."
"Guan Dongming said, any statement that is incorrect and circulates in the world for a long time must be based on the selfishness of a villain and can be attached to the great way of a gentleman."
"Foolishly speaking, there are four words that can be used to describe it: no good and no evil. Which one can be used?"
"Seeing that the true nature of the heart is originally neither good nor evil, when combined, it becomes the word "empty"."
"Empty means all is liberated, and there are no more worries. We use benevolence and righteousness as shackles, etiquette and law as soil, we use rivers and rivers as our bounds, we use discipline as our grasp, we use introspection as we move forward, and we use repentance and change as reincarnation. The following is
Those who are academically advanced are those who are below the class; those who are disciplined and independent in conduct are not afraid of being driven by their own whims."
"..."
Gu Xiancheng quoted scriptures and severely refuted the theory that there is no good and no evil.
In short, what is not in line with Confucian teachings and the origin of a saint is also an obstacle that he wants to clear for his restoration.
As for the bad parts?
The reason is that it will weaken moral values! All benevolence, justice and etiquette can be discarded, and they are no different from animals!
At the same time, the main culprit of today's turbulent society and declining moral standards - moral corruption - must be dealt with starting from the time when Xu Jie was in power!
Everyone in the audience, many of whom agreed, nodded frequently.
As soon as he finished saying this, a voice immediately sounded from the audience: "Those people confuse morality and regard selfishness as their conscience. Naturally, there is room for criticism. Then why do I, Mr. Li, rank with them?"
The voice sounded like he was at least forty years old, and his tone was extremely rude.
Everyone subconsciously looked at the person coming.
When the students of the Imperial College saw the coming person, they were all startled and stood up quickly: "Si Ye."
"Li Siye."
There were still people in the venue who had never seen Li Zhi before, so they couldn't help but understand the identity of the person coming.
His eyes looked back and forth between Gu Xiancheng and Li Zhi, with different expressions.
As the leader of the supervising students, Yu Menglin couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. He hesitated for a moment before approaching him: "Li Siye."
The role of the Imperial College Secretary is to teach academics and supervise the affairs. When students see him, they will naturally be polite, but this scene is a bit embarrassing.
Li Zhi nodded, without even returning the greeting, and walked straight away.
Jiansheng, Juzi and others subconsciously separated the two sides to make way for a way out.
Li Zhi did not go on stage, but silently walked to Yu Menglin's seat. Shi Shiran sat down, just like a qualified audience, quietly waiting for Gu Xiancheng's follow-up.
Gu Xiancheng naturally understood the identity of the visitor and just watched Li Zhi quietly as he took his seat.
Facing uninvited guests, Gu Xiancheng still showed restraint.
Not only was he not angry, but with a smile on his lips, he stretched out his hand to invite Li Zhi to take a seat, and explained in a gentle voice: "Li Siye, it's not that I can't tolerate other factions, but it's actually the fact that he handles public affairs, but has the idea of ​​harming the world and confusing the people.
A knowledgeable person can tell the difference, but how can the common people and the young emperor tell the difference?"
Li Sancai, who was watching with cold eyes, looked in the direction where Li Zhi appeared.
He recalled in his mind the person who had just asked the question with ulterior motives, and quietly moved up to the second floor.
Li Zhi was sitting in the Imperial Academy seat, while a group of students stood behind him with awkward expressions.
The former waved his hand: "Stop chattering, continue talking, what are the flaws in Mr. Li's moral conformity?"
Gu Xiancheng nodded, looked away, and continued to talk: "I just talked about moral conformity, and I have to talk about Li Zhi, a monster. He can be said to confuse the world and chaos the people."
He called Li Zhi a monster in his words, with no regard for Li Zhi's face.
Li Zhi didn't care and even listened with interest.
Gu Xiancheng said loudly: "Li Zhi controlled the public affairs and used the national newspaper to openly claim that morality is based on the world, and conscience can only be in line with the times and consistent with the common interests of the people."
"The main disadvantage is that the root cause is the word 'mixed'."
"If everything is confused, there will be no choice. The harmonious ones will be moved away. Moderateness will be regarded as following the customs and wrongs. All things will become one with the eunuch and flattery of the world. Sacrificing one's body to benefit the world will be regarded as searching for a ruler in vain. Tolerance will be regarded as accommodation.
There is nothing wrong with it, being arrogant and unscrupulous is a bad name, being able to avoid danger in the face of trouble is a saint's immortality, and being stubborn and shameless is a sign of being unmotivated."
"A chaotic world is a chaotic world!"
"But that generation is so bold that they use the concepts of world, era, people, etc., and occupy a very high position. Those at the top can follow the path of a gentleman, and those at the bottom can follow the selfish motives of a villain."
"Even if Confucius and Mencius reproduced their works, what can be done about it?"
When Gu Xiancheng said the last thing, he was already gnashing his teeth and his eyes were wide open: "This is called killing the heaven with academics!"
Everyone in the audience was affected by this, and many of them seemed to be in deep thought.
They all looked at Li Zhi.
Li Zhi turned a blind eye and looked a little confused.
It's not that I suspect that my theory is wrong, but Gu Xiancheng's words made it very clear why he is so hated now!
He was from the daily necessities sect, and took "daily necessities of the common people as the way" as his motto, claiming that "common people are not inferior, and princes and kings are not high."
On this basis, after being inspired by the emperor, he went further in more than a year, demonstrating the essential source of moral conscience and constructing an ontology of history, the world, and all peoples.
This is something that comes naturally.
But for people like Gu Xiancheng, this is not the case.
Li Zhi's narrative is too grand.
How can external factors determine the self? How can they determine the ontology?
Just like Gu Xiancheng said just now, this is not called salvation, this is called "fascination with the world".
As an elite who stands out from the crowd and never changes his ambitions, how can his moral values ​​be affected by "material things"?
How can Confucian scholars, who teach the world with dignity and establish moral principles through words and deeds, allow their moral values ​​to be composed of the consensus of "lower people"?
Not only can the source of morality be found in Confucianism, but it must at least be in the category of Tianli, right?
In particular, when Confucian scholars treat the common people, if they are not condescending to inspire and save them, then they are just "following the customs and attacking the wrong", which is an act of abandoning the self and "compromising".
If saying that there is no good or evil is self-centered, then Li Zhi's approach, in Gu Xiancheng's view, means abandoning the self.
Only then did Gu Xiancheng regard the two as two extremes and criticize them together.
So, does Li Zhi care about Gu Xiancheng's criticism?
He definitely doesn't care. He has been criticized countless times in the past year or so.
However, Gu Xiancheng had something to say about this. He called it "arrogant and unscrupulous". Instead, he claimed to have a bad reputation and used "stubborn and shameless" to resist criticism from the outside world.
The position was too high, so high that Gu Xiancheng admitted that this doctrine followed the doctrine of the saints and that it catered to the selfishness of the people.
Even if Confucius and Mencius were reborn, what could they do with Li Zhi?
It is precisely because of this horror that Gu Xiancheng regarded it as a scourge!
It's so elaborate and crooked, it's almost possible to obliterate the law of heaven!
Therefore, nowadays, both Neo-Confucianism and Wang Xue regard Li Zhi as an enemy.
After Gu Xiancheng finished speaking, he looked at Li Zhi.
All the scholars unanimously turned their attention to Li Zhi.
Li Zhi shook his head, looked at the crowd, and slowly stood up.
He just stood in the audience, not looking at Gu Xiancheng. He looked around and said loudly: "Gu Jun cited scriptures, claimed to be old-fashioned, provoked orthodoxy, and promoted saints. The plaque clearly wanted to refute me as a deviant."
"Little did you know, the breeze was blowing in your face and ears."
"Today, I will tell you what to say..."
"The saint is dead! I can't control him anymore!"
As soon as the words fell, everyone's expression changed with shock!
Whispering and talking to each other in an uproar.
Several students from the Imperial College hid their faces one after another, fearing that they would get into trouble because of these words when they met Li Zhi just now.
There are even more thoughtful people who quietly recorded it with pen and ink.
Li Zhi's words obviously did not mean that the saint was dead - the saint was already dead.
The theory he was referring to! He was so audacious that he regarded the teachings of saints as outdated nonsense!
How arrogant!
How wanton!
Gu Xiancheng's expression changed drastically. He looked around helplessly at Li Sancai's figure and yelled randomly: "Arrogant! Arrogant!"
As if unaware, Li Zhi left the supervisor and walked to the stage.
He didn't take any detours and climbed up the stairs. He directly supported the platform with his hands, turned over and climbed up.
Li Zhi dusted off his hands, looked at Gu Xiancheng and continued: "Last time, Li published a theory of moral conformity in the Xinbao."
"When it comes to moral conscience, it is a product of the times, based on historical evolution, and an aggregation abstracted from everyone's past life experiences, current living standards, and pursuit of common interests."
"Gu Jun obviously doesn't quite understand it now, so he uses saints as his source and ancient times as his argument."
"Just in time, I'll explain it to you carefully, so that you don't follow Confucius and bark like crazy again, and even the shit you eat must be said to be Confucius's."
“Why do I call morality a product of the times?”
"The morality of ancient times is very different from the morality of today. Why? It's so different throughout the universe!"
"The morality of the barbarians is very different from the morality of the Chinese. Why? It's so different!"
"Confucius's teachings were in line with the era at that time. Ritual and music were the common aspirations of the people. Confucius made rituals, which gave him the status of a temporary saint. I call him a 'sage of his time', not the eternal saint you call him."
"This is what the times produce and what history needs!"
"Two thousand years have passed, and times have changed. Morality and conscience are completely different. They are completely out of date!"
"The world's conscience and morality are different, so how can a saint be called a saint?"
"It's just that his thoughts, origins, and writings are preserved in the form of history and the consensus of all peoples. Only by extracting their essence and changing with the times can he be respected by all generations. This is what made Confucius greater than you and me.
That’s the fundamental thing! It’s not the innate sanctity you keep saying, the classical teachings will never change!”
"That's why I say that the saint is dead!"
"Erna restrains me with his old age, but suppresses me with a saint? How ridiculous!"
"You don't want to start a new faction and fight with me. You spend all your time rummaging through the piles of old papers to find outdated things. What should you use to fit the general trend of the world? What should you use to fit the hearts of all people?"
"Today I will make it clear that the teachers, leaders, and orthodox people behind you all want to compete for the holy throne..."
"Anything that is not based on the ills of the times, listens to the interests of the people, and seeks the needs of the country is nothing more than a castle in the air!"
"The saints of the past are dead, and you may not be able to compete with the saints of the present generation against me!"
After saying that, Li Zhi looked at Gu Xiancheng, who looked slightly confused, and snorted coldly.
He turned around, lifted up his hem, rolled over and walked off the stage gracefully, and walked away.
…
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but applaud after hearing these words on the second floor.
Arrogant and arrogant, it is indeed Li Zhi who started mocking Confucius at the age of eight!
Hearty, hearty, hearty!
Zhu Yijun turned to look at Li Chengming and urged: "Quick, stick your head out and cheer for me!"
Now that his voice is changing, his voice is not very pleasant, so he asked Li Chengming to do the questioning on his behalf.
Li Chengming had no choice but to go to the window and cheered several times, such as "Well done, no points lost".
After he finished shouting, seeing that the emperor had no other instructions, he walked back from the window.
Li Chengming asked curiously: "Your Majesty, are Li Zhi's words a little too radical..."
The saint is dead, and his courage is truly outstanding.
Likewise, the trouble will not be small.
If word spreads, I'm afraid it won't just be these young guys below who charge.
When Zhu Yijun heard this, he shook his head and said with some emotion: "Radical? Where have we come from now? Just look at it. Today's dispute is just the beginning. After that, the capital will become noisy."
"There is a saying that the more you think about it, the more angry you become. Today, Li Zhi uttered arrogant words, which made Gu Xiancheng forget to refute in a panic. When he went back, he was determined to be upset. Didn't he file a newspaper? It depends on when he thought of the wording and choked.
"
At this point, Zhu Yijun sighed again for no reason: "Hey, this is also for Confucius's own good. Return to the correct position as soon as possible to avoid getting scolded that you shouldn't receive."
How many saints can there be at one time? It is already extraordinary.
Like Zhou Shuren, he now calls Confucius a modern saint, all from the bottom of his heart.
As for being a law for all eternity? Let’s forget it.
It would not be conducive to carry out work if there was a person on the throne who could never make mistakes.
Just as I was thinking about it, there was a sudden knock on the door.
They both turned around.
Gu Huan raised his sword and asked coldly: "Who?"
There was a quick reply from outside: "I am a poor Taoist, Qingyang. I would like to ask Governor Gu to tell His Majesty that there is a scholar Li Sancai below who wants to see you."
The emperor's identity was not hidden from Sanyang Palace. After all, he said he didn't know how to wear the white dragon fish suit, so the surrounding defenses were directly replaced by Jin Yiwei.
But Li Sancai was seeking an audience with a nobleman, and he obviously did not know the identity of the emperor.
Gu Huan remained silent and cast a questioning look at the emperor.
Li Chengming's face turned bitter, and he cast a begging look at the emperor - if word of what happened tonight were spread, he would definitely be in bad luck.
Zhu Yijun laughed.
He stood up slowly and motioned to Gu Huan to open the door.
There were three people standing at the door. Seeing this, they quickly saluted: "Qingyang pays homage to Your Majesty."
"Chiyang pays homage to His Majesty."
The third person was about to salute, but Zhu Yijun was afraid that his name would be revealed, so he interrupted him in a panic: "No need to be polite!"
Master Qingyang glanced at the emperor carefully and lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty, Li Sancai seemed to have seen Mr. Li by the window just now. He became suspicious and is now causing trouble on the first floor."
Zhu Yijun nodded: "Bring me the pen and paper."
…
Li Sancai frowned and looked upstairs.
Just now he clearly saw Li Zhi coming down from upstairs.
At the same time, I also saw a man with a deer head and mouse eyes, who looked exactly like the young master of the father-in-law's family, lying at the window and cheering, his voice was the same as at the beginning.
Obviously, the two of them will not get together easily.
So who is the noble person among Qingyang Taoists...
He had some thoughts, but he didn't dare to think about them deeply. He even pretended not to know anything and asked for permission openly.
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw three Taoists walking towards the stairs.
Li Sancai said without revealing any trace: "How about the three Taoist priests?"
Taoist Qingyang shook his head: "The noble man said that the family is busy and he must go home early. It is not good to stay too long. We will meet again if we are destined."
Li Sancai was silent.
Goodbye...
It depends on whether you can pass the exam.
It's a pity that I couldn't see it.
He thanked the three Taoist priests with his hands and turned to leave.
Taoist Qingyang suddenly called Li Sancai again, and Li Sancai turned his head in confusion.
Taoist Qingyang took out a rolled copybook from his sleeve and handed it over: "The noble man said that you should also learn from Gu Xiancheng. Don't be so restrained just because your father is an official in the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Li Sancai subconsciously took the copybook.
He looked complicated and slowly unfolded it.
There is a line of big characters that reads: The more the truth is argued, the clearer it becomes.
Li Sancai was stunned and speechless.
Chapter completed!