Mencius's concept of people-oriented benevolent government is completely contrary to the idea of monarchy under centralized power strengthened by Zhu Yuanzhang.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang believed in the concept of "the emperor allows his ministers to die, and the ministers will not be loyal until they die". If you Confucian scholars talk about the theory of pre-Qin Confucianism that "the emperor respects his ministers, he will be loyal, and if he disrespects his ministers, his ministers will rebel", you are obviously hitting the point of the gun.
, am I not good enough to you, so you can rebel at will?
Where are the three cardinal principles and the five constant principles? Where are the ethics and morals? Where are the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers?
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang rejected Mencius precisely because he believed that the concept of benevolent government promoted by Confucianism was different from the political concept of the time, so the thoughts of Confucian scholars in the world must be suppressed.
Song Lian was bursting into tears at this moment: "After I finished speaking, the Holy Spirit was furious and said that if I am still alive today, how can I spare my life?"
Zhu Biao looked a little embarrassed. What should I do if my grumpy father wants to kill someone?
Song Lian continued: "I tried to persuade you a few times, but your Majesty ignored it and ordered someone to go to the Confucian Temple to remove the tablet of Mencius. I had no other choice, so I hurried to the East Palace and asked Your Highness to come and persuade me."
Zhu Biao didn't want to see Song Lian crying anymore. His teacher had always been elegant and elegant. This was the first time he saw Song Lian crying.
But it is understandable. After all, when this incident spread to Shilin, Song Lian's reputation in this life was ruined. They would not care about anything else. They would only say that Song Lian, a brilliant man, pretended to be a great Confucian. The prelude to the king actually mentioned Mencius's reputation.
The memorial tablet cannot be saved, so one should die to thank the world!
Zhu Biao gave some advice and then asked Liu Jin to send him out of the palace and go home to recuperate. The old man was so angry that he could hardly breathe evenly.
Zhu Biao returned to the Wenhua Hall and took out Mencius and flipped through a few pages. He felt that the matter was not that simple. Zhu Yuanzhang was not a reckless man. He was a qualified emperor. He could not touch the memorial tablets in the Confucian Temple out of anger.
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This reminded him of what happened when he was still fighting on the grassland. Zhu Yuanzhang once issued an edict in a court meeting: "The Temple of Confucius will pay tribute in the Spring and Autumn Period and stop in Qufu. There is no need for the whole world to worship Confucius." That is to say, the ceremony of worshiping Confucius
The scope of implementation can be limited to Qufu County and does not need to be spread to other areas."
The result was an uproar between the government and the public. Qian Tang, the Minister of Justice at that time, directly stated: "Confucius has taught for all generations, and the world respects his teachings. Therefore, the world must worship Confucius, and the ritual of repaying the foundation cannot be abolished."
The rest of the people also took turns to report, among which Song Lian also actively participated. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang withdrew the edict, and Zhu Yuanzhang did not blame anyone, including Qian Tang, and appointed him as the censor of Youdu.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he disliked Confucianism, but he did not expect that he would suddenly attack this time. Although Mencius was not as good as Confucius, he was still a Confucian sage and had been praised by literati all over the world for many years.
Zhu Biao shook his head and thought it would be better to talk to his father, so he led people to the imperial study. When he got to the door and asked someone to report, he saw Mao Xiang coming out quickly. He looked very urgent and in a hurry.
He bowed to Zhu Biao and walked out quickly.
Liu Jin stayed outside, and Zhu Biao walked in. He saw Zhu Yuanzhang standing in the room with his hands behind his back. Zhu Biao bowed and saluted: "My son, I see my father."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son and said, "Where have you been, Song Lian?"
Zhu Biao straightened his back and said, "My father really scared him this time. Master Song burst into tears."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "Song Lian is a scholar after all, and what matters most is his useless reputation."
Zhu Biao didn't say anything. Song Lian was also an old man who followed Zhu Yuanzhang, but for so many years he was still a Hanlin scholar and his official position was not high. It was because he valued his reputation too much. If it weren't for Zhu Biao's kindness,
Song Lian was not qualified to be the examiner of the imperial examination.
The father and son found a place to sit down, and Zhu Biao asked: "Your move this time has shocked even my subordinates. Tomorrow's morning court will probably be very lively."
Zhu Yuanzhang leaned back in his chair and said: "We just want to see their attitude. The more they defend us, the more they will take action. The teachings of Confucius and Mencius have long been outdated. We must uphold Zhu Xi."
Cheng Zhu’s Neo-Confucianism? Zhu Biao had a headache after listening to it. In fact, Neo-Confucianism has become the mainstream since the Yuan Dynasty. Although Zhu Xi did not receive the same courtesy as Confucius and Mencius due to his own reasons, his status was also very high.
And now Zhu Yuanzhang's intention is to bring down Confucius and Mencius, so that they can be like Zhu Xi, using their knowledge to disrespect others, so that the literati in the world can remove their spiritual leaders, so as to consolidate the imperial power.
Zhu Biao's attitude towards Neo-Confucianism was very correct. After all, this was what he had studied for so many years. In fact, Neo-Confucianism was not a stupid idea. It was a summary of the spiritual civilization of an era, at least it was extremely advanced at the time.
We all know that true philosophy is the spiritual essence of our time and can effectively guide people to understand and transform the world. However, Neo-Confucianism has its historical limitations and class limitations.
The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang likes him is also very simple. Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism established a strict hierarchical order. Their "natural principle" is that the king, the king, the minister, the three cardinal guides and the five constant principles of father, son and son must be vigorously maintained. Anyone who violates this natural principle will be punished.
It is the most evil "human desire" that will be knocked to the ground and stepped on by ten thousand feet.
From the perspective of future generations, this is undoubtedly backward and feudal, and it imprisons people's thoughts. But if you look at it from the perspective of the emperor, then you will find that the emergence of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was in compliance with the increasingly strengthened imperial power.
Rule is simply tailor-made for the ruling class.
Zhu Biao was very conflicted in his heart. He also needed to strengthen the imperial power. What he had to do must integrate all the power of the country. Only in this way could he lay an eternal foundation for China.
Neo-Confucianism has great limitations. Once it is vigorously promoted and combined with the eight-part essay selection system, literati will gradually become groveling, insensitive, cowardly and selfish slaves who stick to the rules and obey orders.
It will also put the dynasty on the road to inevitable decline. In terms of confining the world's thinking, suppressing the spirit, and gnawing at the soul, there has been no one like it for thousands of years.
Zhu Biao said to his father, "My son wants to go to court tomorrow."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded. His will needs to be inherited by his son, and Zhu Biao did not come to persuade him to respect Confucius and Mencius, which made him very satisfied. They are emperors, and the emperor only needs to worship himself in his heart, and must not let others suppress him.
On the head, if there is one, smash it to pieces!
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "Just watch tomorrow and don't say anything."
Zhu Biao nodded. This was because Lao Zhu was afraid that he would be criticized. After all, he was a weakling himself. If he didn't respect Confucius and Mencius, he would respect it. No one dared to say anything. But Zhu Biao had a well-known literary name and was still young, so he showed his disdain so early.
It is not good to disrespect Confucius and Mencius.
Zhu Fan did not intend to say anything. Suppressing Confucius and Mencius needed to be done step by step.