"Oh? It's been a long time since I've seen any students from Ziju School."
The old man seemed a little surprised, but soon he returned to normal:
"The rules of the Wen Palace are that only those who pass the most basic test can enter the back hall and be qualified to seek the crown of glory. Do you know these?"
"Students understand."
Chen Shaojun nodded. He already knew this when the students of the Zilu School were talking in the front hall.
"In addition, if you fail the assessment, you will have to wait at least half a year before you can enter here. Do you understand?"
I continued.
Chen Shaojun was shocked. He really didn't know this. If he didn't pass, wouldn't it mean that he would not be able to obtain the literary crown for at least half a year?
For a moment, Chen Shaojun's expression suddenly became solemn.
"Students understand."
Chen Shaojun still said.
"Very good. The Wen Palace examination is very simple. Let me ask you, why do you want to get the crown?"
"this one?"
Chen Shaojun was startled. When he heard the two people talk about it before, he thought that the assessment at this level was very harsh, but he didn't expect it to be this question.
But after thinking about it, Chen Shaojun knew that this question was definitely not that simple, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people who failed it.
"Students have encountered some problems in their knowledge. The crown can improve the speed of comprehension and literary quality. In addition, students' learning has reached a bottleneck, so I hope that obtaining the crown can further improve it."
Chen Shaojun pondered for a moment and answered truthfully.
"oh."
The old man frowned immediately when he heard this:
"Is that why?"
After hearing these few words, Chen Shaojun's heart skipped a beat. It was obvious that this answer did not satisfy the old man.
But despite this, Chen Shaojun did not panic.
"There is no limit to the sea of learning, and there is no end to the pursuit of knowledge through investigation of things. However, life is limited, and you can fake things from outside when necessary. Therefore, Confucius once said, "Three people walking together must have my teacher. Since you can fake things from others, you can also fake things."
.”
"The Wen Mian itself is a cultural artifact. Since it is a legacy of the sages, why shouldn't students take it?"
Chen Shaojun said calmly.
When the old man heard this, he showed a rare smile.
"Sly Ash!"
It is not without reason that civil and martial arts have been indifferent to each other since ancient times. Martial arts pursues the exercise of the body and gaining strong strength, while civility and Taoism pay more attention to tempering one's soul and wisdom.
The two have different paths and do not conspire against each other.
If Chen Shaojun only wanted to gain strength, covet understanding and the convenience of improvement, it would be impossible for the guardians to let him pass.
However, Chen Shaojun used a little wisdom to associate Wen Mian with the sages Confucius and Saints, and described obtaining Wen Mian as a way to gain wisdom and pursue knowledge. If the old man denies Chen Shaojun's reasons, it is equivalent to denying the sages.
This is absolutely impossible.
The old man saw through this, so he called him cunning and smart.
But no matter what, Chen Shaojun passed this first question.
"The next is the second and final question. What do you think is Confucianism? What is Confucianism and Taoism?"
After saying this, the old man stared at Chen Shaojun. His previous attitude changed and his expression became extremely serious.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became extremely solemn.
"It's actually this."
Chen Shaojun looked startled, then his expression became solemn, he lowered his head and was silent.
At this moment, he suddenly understood why the two talented Confucian and Taoist disciples said that this level was so difficult.
What is Confucianism and what is Confucianism and Taoism?
This is never a trivial question, and even great masters would not dare to answer it easily.
And everyone has different understandings and answers to these two questions, even the sages.
The reason why the sages were able to do this was because they had their own different understandings of Confucianism and Taoism and formed their own sect. That is why they were called "zi" and were called saints and sages.
This is the simplest question, but also the most difficult to answer. It is like the emperor asking the ministers in the court what is the king and what is the imperial power?
If you answer well, that's all. If you answer poorly, you may even be expelled from Confucianism.
"What is Confucianism? The essence of Confucianism is benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, and trust, but this and Confucianism are obviously two different issues."
At this moment, Chen Shaojun's thoughts fluctuated and he suddenly thought of many things.
Many things are uncontrollable, as if he was an immortal in his previous life, but was reincarnated in this life and joined a Confucian and Taoist family.
The original purpose of Chen Shaojun's study of Confucianism was because the spirit of Confucianism and Taoism is the most powerful way to cultivate spiritual power in all the worlds. Only with the strongest spiritual power can one achieve higher achievements in martial arts and finally rescue his master. From this point of view, there is no doubt that his original purpose was utilitarian.
But is that really the case?
At this moment, Chen Shaojun thought of Confucius and the sages of all dynasties.
If our purpose is utilitarian, what about the sages? Are they just pursuing wisdom and understanding the world?
Then what is the purpose of understanding the world?
Confucianism emphasizes teaching without distinction, educating people in the world, and enlightening people's wisdom.
However, Confucianism and Taoism have been extremely prosperous thousands of years ago and have already achieved their goal of educating the world. So will the road of Confucianism and Taoism end here? If so, how will the sages of later generations explain it?
And what did later generations of Confucians pursue?
If the sages and saints are selfless and what they pursue is to educate the world, then what do the people under the guidance of the saints pursue? Could it be that they hope that everyone will be like the sages and follow them to educate the world?
Obviously, this is impossible.
For a moment, Chen Shaojun frowned.
Chen Shaojun had never thought about this problem before, but when he actually faced it, he suddenly realized that it was not as simple as he thought.
"Then what is the true meaning of Confucianism?"
Chen Shaojun murmured to himself and fell into thinking.
There was silence in the main hall, and the old man seemed to have been accustomed to such a scene, waiting silently and not in a hurry.
But the next moment——
"Buzz!"
Without the slightest warning, the rows of huge bookshelves on the four walls of the hall suddenly shook, and even the whole hall was shaking slightly. Not only that, in the eyes of the old man, the bookshelves were full of ancient books. It seemed to be attracted by something, it kept vibrating, and at the same time, countless pages turned rapidly.
"What happened?"
"It's a mighty river!"
At this moment, all the masters and scholars in the Wen Palace felt the vibration. Several Wen Dao masters in charge of sweeping looked up at the sky, and what they saw in their eyes was completely different.
The majestic long river hanging down above the Wen Palace has been extremely stable from the moment the Wen Palace was built. It has never changed. It is like eternal time and will never change. How many times have they stayed in the Wen Palace?
After ten years, I have become accustomed to this.
But at this moment, the majestic river in everyone's eyes was completely different from what they had remembered. It became extremely active, as if it was attracted by something, and accelerated towards the ground, looking even more terrifying.
"Impossible! The Great River will never change. Who can cause such a big change in the Great River?"
A Confucian and Taoist master said with a shocked face.
"It can't be the Guardian. No one in the Wen Palace can cause such a big change."
"I just saw a disciple of the Ziju School entering."
For a moment, everyone's expressions were shocked, as if they understood something, and they all looked in the direction of Chen Shaojun.
Ziju School?
Isn’t that the school with the smallest number of people? Could it be that they started it?
"This is...an epiphany!"
At this moment, the most shocking person was the white-haired old man who witnessed this scene with his own eyes.
He opened his eyes wide and looked at the young man in front of him in shock.
Scripture resonates!
All the scriptures placed in this hall are very ancient books, many of which have even been read by sages. Not only that, the scripture hall is washed away by the awe-inspiring righteousness every day, and even these books have become spiritual, and they contain
The essence of Confucianism and Taoism makes these scriptures even more special.
These scriptures may seem simple, but in fact, even if the great scholars arrived here, they would not be able to open the scriptures, let alone read them. Even the masters could only read a few of them.
——Wen Sheng whose literary power is less than one liter (ten Dou) is even more unthinkable.
But now, all the scriptures seem to be attracted, and they are read at the same time. The aura of all the words emerges, as if they are about to jump out of the paper. This is the resonance of the legendary scriptures and meanings.
What exactly did this fifteen or sixteen year old boy realize?
Not only that, Wen Dian's awe-inspiring righteousness kept shaking, and in the eyes of the old man, most of the awe-inspiring righteousness poured into the young man's body.
But the young man's literary spirit has risen from the four realms of literary spirit, to the five realms of literary spirit, to the sixth realm of literary spirit, and finally stayed at the realm of seven realms of literary spirit!
However, as we all know, those with less than ten levels of literary power are not qualified to cultivate Haoran's righteousness, and everything in front of them cannot be explained by common sense.
Also, after absorbing such a huge amount of Haoran's righteousness, why did this young man's literary energy stop changing after it grew to seven Dou? Where did the huge amount of Haoran's righteousness go? Why did it suddenly disappear after entering his body?
?
However, before the old man could think more, the next moment, Chen Shaojun raised his head and finally spoke:
"Teacher, Confucianism is taught by sages and sages. Students dare not speculate. But for students, Confucianism is me."
Chen Shaojun looked serious and gave an unexpected answer.
"What?"
There was a look of surprise in the old man's eyes, obviously he didn't expect this answer.