"Reciting without writing, trusting but fond of the past, stealing and comparing it to me, Lao Peng." [The Analects of Confucius·Shuer]
Zhao Qi is proficient in "Mencius", and his understanding of "Mencius" is unparalleled in the world. Even Zheng Xuan is not as good as him in this regard. However, although "Mencius" is one of the Confucian classics, it does not belong to the contemporary literature.
Mainstream Confucian studies are only 'auxiliary classics'. The emperor included "Mencius" among the canonical classics. In addition to personal interest and the analogy of the value of "Mencius" to "The Analects of Confucius", the emperor probably also appreciated Zhao Qi's own talent.
Thinking that the "Mencius Chapters" he had worked so hard to write would finally be put to use, Zhao Qi felt his heart surge. He had been striving for it all his life and hoped that the ideal of "Mencius" could be carried forward and be realized soon!
"This book is complete and can be regarded as a classic for hundreds of generations, but I don't know what it should be called? I hope your majesty will tell me." Zhao Qi asked.
The emperor had already thought about this issue, and he planned to copy the name of the work written by Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty that influenced later generations for six hundred years, leaving a meaning: "Since it is a synthesis of the Thirteen Classics, let's call it "The Imperial Decree of the Thirteen Classics Chapters and Verses of Justice".
It can be referred to as "Qin Ding Zhengyi" or "Thirteen Classics Zhengyi". After the book is completed, not only must it be engraved on stone and established in the Imperial Academy, but it must also be printed into a book and published all over the world, so that all scholars who seek to learn will use it as a guide.
Fan.”
Justice, which means clear, upright and fundamental meaning, is one of the annotation systems of the scriptures. Adding the word "improvised" is enough to express the academic value and ideological status of this book.
Among those present, not only Zhao Qi could not control his emotions, but also Huan Dian and Yang Biao, who wrote the annotations and heirlooms for "Ouyang Shangshu", Cai Yong, who studied the Five Classics, and Xun Yue, Cui Lie and others who had their own heirlooms were secretly
I imagine that in the not-too-distant future, after this work that combines their annotations is compiled, people all over the world will use their annotations as the standard to interpret the scriptures, and they will serve as examples for scholars all over the world.
Which one is more touching?
It's just that the emperor's idea of unifying the Thirteen Classics and editing and annotating them sounds like it's a matter of drawing on the strengths of others, but if it's not, it's just a one-pot mess. Not only must it be compiled, but it must be compiled well, at least to gain the approval of the vast majority of scholars.
It can be said that if they do well, they will be remembered for generations. This achievement alone is enough to be called "civilization". If they do poorly, they will make people laugh, and they will also be ridiculed by future generations.
Yang Biao was secretly surprised by the emperor's ambition, and couldn't help but say: "The ancient and modern classics have been at odds for a long time, and each school has its own classics. For example, "Yi" has "Jingshi" and "Feishi"; "Book" has "Jingshi" and "Feishi";
"Ouyang", "Ancient Prose"; "Poetry" is also divided into "Lu Poetry" and "Mao Poetry", not to mention the three "Spring and Autumn", which are quite complex and different from each other. To integrate them into one and adopt the essence, we must
It takes more than ten years to accomplish this, and to do it hastily will not only lose the face of the imperial court, but also cause criticism from the people of the world."
"So, I owe you a favor." The emperor said solemnly, with a bewitching tone in his voice: "To establish a heart for the heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry forward the unique knowledge of the saints, and to create peace for all generations, isn't it our generation?
What needs to be done? If you are afraid of difficulties and refuse to move forward, how can you move mountains?"
This sentence has a strong spiritual appeal. Even though everyone here is a scholar who has studied scriptures and matured with age, they were stunned after hearing this sentence. This sentence accurately and powerfully said everything.
In the hearts of scholars, when they first started studying the classics, in addition to promoting family learning, they also held the original intention of the "four principles"! Huan Dian, who had always been cold-faced and taciturn, even felt a sore nose, and tears kept rolling in his eyes.
"I don't know that your majesty has such ambitions, so I am really ashamed of myself!" Yang Biao stood up from his seat, walked to the atrium and kowtowed.
The emperor immediately stood up and continued to speak impassionedly: "Kuafu died chasing the shadow of the sun. Didn't he overestimate his own abilities? Life only lasts a hundred years, but he spent a hundred years pursuing the eternal path. How can a man do it?
To know the 'Tao' of heaven and earth? It is nothing more than being a foolish man, studying from generation to generation in the hope of infinitely approaching the 'Tao'."
"I am not talented, but I am willing to be a foolish old man, to pursue the place of 'Tao', to leave classics for future generations, and to spread the Confucian classics!" Zhao Qi immediately expressed his position. He was on the verge of death, and all he was looking forward to was the resurgence of the Han Dynasty and his life.
There was no one to inherit what he had learned. Now that the Han Dynasty had an emperor, he had no worries about being able to revive it, so he planned to focus all his attention on carrying forward what he had learned.
It aroused everyone's enthusiasm, and the next thing to do is to state the purpose. As a later generation, the emperor understood how important it is for rulers to unify their thoughts and master the highest ideology. If we talk about Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Classics"
"Lu" and Ban Gu's "White Tiger Tongyi" each use the theory of yin and yang and prophecy to explain the legitimacy and orthodoxy of why the Western Han and Eastern Han dynasties were established. So the book the emperor is going to compile this time is to combine the first two
This book is used to explain two basic issues.
Why did Liu, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, rule the world and govern the people? How did Liu, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, rule the world and govern the people?
If these two basic issues are not properly explained, the rule of the Han Dynasty will be like building a tower on sand, crumbling.
The request made by the emperor was expected by everyone. It had been 400 years since the founding of the Han Dynasty. After the three prosperity of the Han Dynasty at the hands of the emperor, the idea of the Han Dynasty to rule the world would be deeply ingrained. They only needed to deify the emperor like Dong Zhongshu and Ban Gu did.
, just to find a theoretical basis for the Han Dynasty. However, they did not expect that the emperor would not trust them to entrust this matter to them.
"Researching the thirteen classics, cutting out the complicated and simplifying it, and re-annotating it will not only trouble you, but I will also be involved in the whole process." The emperor said seriously, and it didn't seem like a polite statement at all, but rather a decision made after careful consideration:
"Every article and chapter you compile must be submitted to me for review. If there are any mistakes, I can circle them and make changes in time."
This not only increases the difficulty, but also puts a barrier in the minds of those who want to add private goods to it.
Everyone is keenly aware that the new concepts such as "applying knowledge" and "studying things to achieve knowledge" proposed by the emperor will certainly occupy a lot of space in this work. But in this way, the emperor will directly
Participating in the annotation of the Thirteen Classics, looking at the previous emperors, even Emperors Guangwu and Xiaozhang, who were well versed in Confucian classics, did not have so much confidence to dare to comment on the Confucian classics. The emperor is only fourteen years old now, and he has not even read the classics.
If you don’t, you just want to annotate and interpret the scriptures? Not only is this something that has never happened before, but it is also likely to reduce the credibility of the writings!
Yang Biao and Cai Yong had some concerns, but Zheng Xuan ignored them and asked directly: "Your Majesty also wants to annotate scriptures?"
This sentence was not euphemistic at all, and could easily be interpreted as contempt and contempt. However, the emperor did not feel dissatisfied and said calmly: "The Six Classics annotated me, and I annotated the Six Classics. This is not allowed!"
The Six Classics refers to the six most basic ancient classics: "Poems", "Books", "Rites", "Yi", "Yue" and "Spring and Autumn". Everyone has different interpretations of the classics, and they are not actually interpreting the classics.
The original meaning is just to explain one's own thoughts and opinions through the annotations of the classics. As for the true original meaning of the Six Classics, it is no longer within the scope of people's consideration.
The emperor's words not only well explained the reason why he wanted to annotate the classics, but also raised his intention to a philosophical level, that is, the Six Classics influenced his thoughts and concepts, and he in turn influenced the Six Classics, making it
Different eras radiate new vitality, so they complement each other and develop and progress together.
Anyone who can say this sentence has already stepped into the threshold of annotating classics, not to mention that the other person is the emperor.
Thinking of the various deeds of the emperor since he took office, it seems that there is nothing like the wisdom and knowledge that children of this age should have. Maybe there are people in this world who are born with knowledge.
Just when everyone was thinking about how to prevent the emperor from misinterpreting the meaning of the scriptures at will while agreeing to the emperor's participation in the annotation, Zheng Xuan said inexorably: "Your Majesty, do you want to be a saint?"
The scene was silent for a moment, everyone was surprised by Zheng Xuan's unbridled speech, and at the same time they were vaguely looking forward to the emperor's answer.
The emperor did not answer the question directly. Instead, he sat down again, leaned on the jade holder with brocade behind him, and asked with a slight smile: "But I don't know who is greater, the emperor or the saint?"
Zheng Xuan also avoided this sensitive question, and he had already got the answer he wanted. He felt that his old friend Lu Zhi had spotted the right person and that he was in the right place. At this time, he had no worries anymore, bowed his head, and said sincerely
He said: "Chen Xuan, the great minister of Taizhong, comes to see your majesty. I wish your majesty a long life and long lasting happiness!"