Next to the lonely pavilion in the clearing of the bamboo forest, a spontaneous lecture seemed to be taking place.
Inside the pavilion, on the floor tiles still covered with withered yellow bamboo leaves, an old man wearing a Nanhua turban and plain white cloth sat cross-legged.
Sitting casually among the dust and fallen leaves, he held a string of wooden beads in his hand and rolled them with his right thumb.
Zhao Rong looked from a distance.
Tao Yuanran's expression was calm and calm, and he spoke in an unhurried manner.
In the open space around the pavilion, among the well-proportioned banquets, Zhao Lingfei and Qian'er were sitting cross-legged on the tufts side by side.
With their backs to Zhao Rong, their waists straight, like the tall bamboos in the surrounding forest, and like two sheathed swords, they were listening carefully to the words of the Taoist gentleman in the pavilion.
The two girls are tall and short.
One person wore her hair in a bun, dignified and deserted.
One person is wearing a fairy bun, pretty and cute.
And this eye-catching pair seems to exude an aura that is hard to ignore.
From the perspective of Zhao Rong in the forest behind them, most of the students around them had a tacit understanding and did not approach them and kept a certain distance.
The positions of Qingjun and Qian'er were highlighted.
This is one of the reasons why Zhao Rong discovered them at a glance just now.
At this moment.
Zhao Rong stood under the shade of the trees at the edge of the bamboo forest clearing, looking through the gaps in the leaves at this peaceful and interesting Taoist lecture.
He is dressed in a student's Qingjin, which makes his figure somewhat inconspicuous.
Zhao Rong took a few steps forward and listened with interest.
"To be virtuous is not virtuous, so it is virtuous; to be virtuous is not to be virtuous, so it is virtuous."
Tao Wu Peiliang continued in a leisurely tone:
"The supreme virtue does nothing but does not think; the superior benevolence does it but does not think about it; the superior righteousness does it but does not think about it. The superior rite does it but fails to respond, then throw it away..."
Zhao Rong listened for a while.
What he didn't expect was that Tao Yuanran was actually describing "action and non-action" in detail.
Well, although on the surface it is talking about "morality, benevolence, justice and propriety", the foundation still falls on the difference in concepts of "Taoism is inaction and Confucianism is action".
This is a topic on which Confucianism and Taoism differ greatly.
And this topic happened to be the topic of the debate between the two of them in the third round of the Confucianism-Taoism debate in the Southern Kingdom.
It's just that at the beginning, Zhao Rong, as a Confucian scholar, argued for the "inaction" viewpoint in the debate question.
Tao Yuanran was a Taoist gentleman, but he held the view of "doing something".
And at that time, because it was just a conversation and debate, I just had to win the argument on the floor and leave the other party speechless. It was not about persuading the other party.
Therefore, there is not much content in explaining the truth in detail.
More emphasis is placed on quick wit, eloquence and profound knowledge.
And now.
This old man wearing a Nanhua crown, in front of this lonely pavilion in the bamboo forest, returned to the true views he held in his heart. As a Taoist master of Taiqing Prefecture, he taught Taoism to the surrounding Qingjun and dozens of other students.
The road of inaction.
Well, by the way, I’ll give Confucianism another kick, no, two kicks...
"...If you lose virtue, then you will be virtuous; if you lose virtue, you will be benevolent; if you lose benevolence, you will be righteous; if you lose righteousness, you will be righteous..."
At this moment, as he gradually heard Tao Yuanran's words clearly.
Zhao Rong pursed his lips slightly.
What Tao Yuanran just said is easy to understand.
Because people in the world have lost the original pure and good nature - "Tao", so the saints teach people virtue.
People's hearts change, and people in the world lose the virtue of kindness, so the saints teach people to be kind.
Later, because people in the world had lost their heart of benevolence, sages taught people how to be righteous.
Nowadays, people's hearts are no longer what they used to be, and the righteousness of the world is gone.
Therefore, the sage, in order to restore the Taoism, teaches etiquette.
Here, according to Tao Yuanran, who is the saint who established the etiquette, or what kind of saint he is.
Well, the answer is already obvious, I just have to point my nose and curse...
Are you going to scold me again?
Tao Yuanran is actually emphasizing the Taoist concept of "doing nothing without doing anything" in a disguised form.
Deny the active 'promising' behavior of Confucian scholars.
As we all know, Confucianism advocates "morality, benevolence, justice and propriety".
This is not the case with Taoists. They only advocate "Tao".
Tao Yuanran believes that the reason why Confucianism advocates "ritual" today is due to the lack of Tao, virtue, benevolence, and righteousness.
Confucian scholars have always been active in "doing something". As a result, now only "ritual" is left.
At this moment, the voice of the old man in Nan Hua Jin came again.
"If there is a way in the world, why bother asking about etiquette? If you are a man of etiquette, your loyalty and righteousness will be weak and you will be in chaos!"
When "rituals" are discussed every day, there will be very little loyalty, and chaos will soon follow.
Zhao Rong stood quietly and silently.
Tao Yuanran's meaning is obvious.
It is to say that etiquette itself is the source of turmoil.
It is failure after failure caused by Confucian scholars' active "progress".
In short, the Taoists of "inaction" believe that in the Confucianism of "action", yes, there are hundreds of schools such as Mohism.
Thanks to their active and "promising" efforts.
This world...is moving downwards.
Well, it's very stable, and there's no slight tendency for the world's moral trends to improve.
Until now, we are in a period where rituals and music have collapsed and the cauldrons are thundering.
Look around and see the entire Xuanhuang Realm.
Up and down the mountain, things are not peaceful now, with undercurrents surging.
It has a tendency to become more and more chaotic...
Well, to put it nicely, it is the eve of the great war.
To put it more unpleasantly, it means that the era of great chaos is coming, and I don’t know how many lives will be ruined.
And about this, not only the scholars of hundreds of schools of thought have seen it.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a widely accepted consensus among the Xuanhuang cultivation world.
After all...it has been thousands of years since the last time.
It seems that there is an urgent need for someone who is an inner saint and an outer king to appear in this world.
However, no matter what, Zhao Rong feels that Wangquezhou is doing well at the moment and feels quite stable.
Maybe it's because he 'woke up' too late?
Haven’t caught up with the more stable and peaceful era?
No, Zhao Rong felt that he woke up just right. He was lucky enough to become Qingjun's sweetheart, and lucky enough to meet a stupid fox demon who was abducted by the bad guys before he could.
Therefore, Zhao Rong thinks the main reason may be...
He already has a family.
Qingjun and Xiaoxiao are both in Duyou City, beside Zhao Rong.
It is said that the wife and children are hot on the bed...
He is now just short of one of them to achieve perfect success.
It's just that Qingjun hid the jade in his son's canteen. However, Zhao Rong couldn't go to the canteen without getting the jade. If he didn't get the jade, he couldn't check his son's food in the canteen. If he didn't check the food safety in his son's canteen, what would happen to him at night?
Sleep peacefully?
Well, thinking about it this way, Zhao Rong was also quite anxious, and suddenly he no longer felt safe.
Hiss, the tense atmosphere of a time of great chaos came all at once.
At this moment, Zhao Rong was in a chaotic world with a serious expression.
I was thinking that after Qingjun and Qianer finished class, they would have an open and serious talk with the lady without delay.
Maybe she also became anxious after hearing this? Then... just... it made Zhao Rong not anxious anymore.
Zhao Rong nodded slightly.
But even though he was thinking this, he was always paying attention to what was happening on the field.
At this moment, Zhao Rong's ears were filled with the teasing and sarcastic tone of the old man sitting cross-legged in the pavilion.
The bamboo forest was also silent, with only the sound of falling leaves and Tao Yuanran's clear and clear voice.
"When you talk about etiquette, it's the day when you lose your moral principles. Confucian scholars, since you all ask about etiquette, it must be that the world is in chaos."
Looking from a distance, the old man in Nanhua scarf in the pavilion lowered his head, rolled his thumb, and seemed to be shaking his head slowly.
Tao Yuanran suddenly looked around and said:
"Then what are they going to do next to save this world where rituals and music are collapsing?"
"Everyone, did the headmaster of Linlu Academy teach you anything when he taught you?"