Chapter 641 The river does not flow into the green mountains
On the second day of February in the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, the 78-year-old Cangshan lay scholar Yuan Mei and the 67-year-old Zhao Yi met in Yangzhou with Qing Gui, an important minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty who was ordered to go to Zhejiang.
In the house near Chaoganji Temple.
Luo Qilan was one of Yuan Mei's most proud students. She became a widow at the age of thirty, and then moved to Jingkou, where she studied poetry under Yuan Mei and Wang Wenzhi successively. She is one of the rare female literati nowadays who has broken away from the "three obedience" family relationship.
Although Yuan Mei's eldest son Yuan Tong is getting married at the end of this month, and many things have to be prepared in advance, he is not in a hurry to return to Xiaocang Mountain. You must know that the place is crowded with guests all day long, and there are many people. He came to Zhenjiang this time to wait
A person, a messenger from Beihai Town.
Speaking of Yuan Mei, people in later generations focused on "Suiyuan Food List" and "Zi Buyu", especially the allusion of "women are tigers", which countless people talked about.
In the eyes of many people, this old man who lived for 82 years in history did not only eat, drink and travel all day long, but also recruited a group of female disciples. He was a model of "not doing his job properly".
However, what Yuan Mei did on the surface was just a helpless response to the high-pressure cultural rule of the Qing Dynasty. He was fed up with the reception and inaction in the officialdom. In his heart, he had always adhered to the principles of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
His idea of "applying wisdom to the world" is simply "respecting Zhou and converting to Confucius, and denying Cheng and Zhu". From this point of view, he is completely consistent with the views of Wang Zhong, Jiang Fan, Hong Liangji and even Ruan Yuan, the successors of Gu Yanwu.
However, unlike Wang Zhong and others, Yuan Mei was not only a thinker influenced by this trend of thought, but also a practitioner of the lifestyle. However, due to the cultural autocracy of the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Mei did not dare to write any purely theoretical writings. He
All his thoughts on "managing the world for practical purposes" are contained in his lifestyle and literary works, just like salt dissolved in water.
As Yuan Mei's old friend, Hong Liangji, who likes to joke, described him as "an old fox who is always drunk and shows off his tail". He seems to be wild and unruly, but in fact he knows it well.
It is said that the trend of thought that took place during the changes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, criticizing Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and advocating practical application of the world, was actually a self-reflection movement within Confucianism, and was also called by later Western scholars as "the germination of Chinese modern thought and culture"
”.
True Confucianism is not conservative. Although it has been reduced to a tool of rulers since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it has been seeking changes until Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which talked about human nature, was officially established as the official orthodox consciousness in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
All in vain.
The purpose of studying is only for the imperial examination, and the imperial examination is for becoming an official, and to become an official you need to be promoted and make a fortune. Intellectuals who were bribed by self-interest collectively fell into a group of people with knowledge but no culture, body and soul, who only knew self-interest and neglected public affairs.
They are spiritual refugees who have neither struggle nor sacrifice nor integrity. The most elite part of Chinese civilization is heading for decay.
When the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty, the real culprits, the Neo-Confucian Scholars and Doctors Group, surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty; during the Jingnan Campaign, the Neo-Confucian Scholars and Dafu Group quickly defected to the Yuan Dynasty; when the Qing army entered the customs, the Neo-Confucian Scholars and Dafu Group, represented by the Donglin Party, surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty on a large scale; when the Revolution of 1911 came,
The scholars and doctors changed their vests and became two of the three mountains.
Beginning from the Jiajing period, the Confucian introspection movement that started with Wang Tingxiang and became a big phenomenon in the early Qing Dynasty finally formed a powerful system of economic management and practical application. These include Gu Yanwu's "Bo Tong Guan" and Fang Yizhi's "
The study of "qualitative test and general knowledge", Yan Yuan's thought of "practical learning, practice, and practicality", Fu Qingzhu's research on the pre-Qin scholars, Wan Sitong's "History of the Ming Dynasty", and Gu Zuyu's historical geography, etc.
However, in order to realize the reform ideal within Confucianism, it must be combined with the external political environment. The problem is that the thinking of "managing the world for practical purposes" during the Ming and Qing Dynasties was all based on resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, so this external condition is not suitable for
Confucian scholars who adhered to this idea were completely inapplicable. They were unwilling and would not be reused by the Manchus and could only become academic and spiritual leaders.
Yuan Mei has been pretending to be confused for nearly fifty years. She thought that this would be the end of her life, but she didn't expect that Beihai Town suddenly appeared.
In early August last year, Wei San, an upper-level figure in the Songjiang Cao Gang, suddenly came to Suiyuan to ask for an audience. Although Yuan Mei was impatient to deal with such people, she still met him to save face. Unexpectedly, after Wei San paid a courtesy visit, he said a lot
He gave me some off-base compliments, then took out a letter and presented it, then said goodbye and left.
Because there was no signature on the envelope, Yuan Mei didn't pay attention at the time and put it aside casually. It took him two days to think of it. However, when he opened it and took a look, he was shocked to find that it was a letter written by the child Hong Liangji. No wonder there was no letter on the envelope.
Signed, there has been no news about this person for several years. I heard that he defected to the Northern Pirates.
Yuan Mei read Hong Liangji's letter several times, and the more he read it, the more he felt. From the solemn but free and easy description between the lines, he saw the realization of the idea of jianshiyizhen in Beihai Town, and he couldn't help but be very excited.
There are no eight-part essay exams that imprison thoughts. What is taught in schools is the knowledge of world affairs. The knowledge that everyone learns is for practical application. Even a farmer who cultivates the land must be literate in order to cultivate the land better. No
People have free time to make unrealistic empty talk. From Zhao Xin to even a small official in a village or town, everyone does it to save the people from misery.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhao Yi visited Jiangning, and Yuan Mei invited him to come to Suiyuan for a banquet. However, Zhao Yi was tired of Suiyuan being so noisy because of the large number of people coming to dine every day, so he wrote "Famous paper filled in the door to serve on the altar.
Suiyuan's great deeds wanted to stay for dinner. There are five hundred arhats in Lingshan, and it is difficult for a Guanyin to entertain guests." Someone was sent to Suiyuan.
After reading the poem, Yuan Mei couldn't laugh or cry. After much thought, he decided to go to Jiangning City to meet the other party in person. During the dinner, he deliberately stood aside and showed Hong Liangji's letter to the other party. Zhao Yi was very surprised at first when he read it, and then became angry.
Find a place.
He was not angry that Hong Liangji defected to Beihai Town, but he was angry that this guy didn't write to him first and actually wrote to an old guy like Yuan Zicai! You must know that Zhao Yi and Hong Liangji are not only fellow townsmen, but also have a very good personal relationship. Earlier he
I once joked with Hong Liangji that when I die, you can write my epitaph for me. Hong Liangji also joked back that he had better pass away early so that I can write it.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! So after discussing with Yuan Mei, the two decided to write a reply letter each. The main purpose was to test Zhao Xin's attitude, and the second was to ridicule him severely.
Hong Liangji. As for how to send the letter, naturally we have to ask Wei San from the Songjiang Cao Gang.
Speaking of Zhao Yi, although he has been teaching at Changzhou Anding Academy for many years and has been in seclusion, during the "Lin Shuangwen Rebellion" five years ago, he was invited to serve as an aide under Li Shiyao and assist in the planning of military supplies.
, worked for a full year. In his spare time, Li Shiyao once mentioned many secrets in the court, asserting that Beihai Town, under the banner of the "King of Zhao" in the former Ming Dynasty, was the life and death enemy of the court.
From this, Zhao Yi learned the truth about the fight between the imperial court and Beihai Town, and was shocked that even a figure like Fu Kang'an was used as a "meat ticket" by Zhao Xin, giving Qianlong a hard blow.
Even though Zhao Yi had once won the lottery, joined the Military Aircraft Department, and even held a fourth-rank military position, this sixty-seven-year-old man was not pedantic. And like Yuan Mei, he was a member of the "Xingling Sect"
Go-getter.
The Xingling School in the Qianjia period was known as the "Three Great Masters", the chief general Yuan Mei, the deputy general Zhao Yi, and the general Zhang Wentao. When talking about the poetry of the Qing Dynasty, these three people cannot be avoided. When many people mention the poetry of the Qing Dynasty, they will think of Na
Lan Rongruo, in fact, these three were the ones who created the last shining era of classical poetry. After these three, the classical poetry of the Qing Dynasty also declined.
Sinology in the Qing Dynasty developed to the middle of Qianlong's reign, and Pu Xue (textual criticism) had already occupied the mainstream academic position. The so-called "Pu Xue" was actually based on "Poetry", "Book", "Li", "Yi" and "Yue"
, "Spring and Autumn" as the foundation, conduct textual research on all aspects of the content to distinguish authenticity, and its scope covers exegesis, phonology, history, astronomy, geography, laws and regulations, epigraphy, collation, and compilation.
The advantage of Pu Xue is that it emphasizes "disbelief without evidence", and everything must be based on citations from scriptures and evidence. It is precisely because of the large number of Pu scholars who have succeeded in academic pursuits that future generations can know what accents the ancients of various dynasties used to speak, and the ancient Yellow River dialect
How waterways are changing, etc.
However, the shortcomings of Pu Xue are as obvious as the advantages. That is, the purpose of all textual research is to explain the saint's subtle words and great ideas. As for literary nature, everything is crooked, so go away!
The reason why Yuan Mei is criticized by the world is because he took a different approach and advocated that the essence of an article lies in virtue and literary nature. It is enough to understand its true meaning. As for figuring out the trivial matters of the seven aunts and eight aunts, it is completely unnecessary. Just like in the "Book of Songs"
"Guanyong", it is enough to understand what Confucius said about being sad but not sad. There is no need to research and find out who wrote it. Concubine? Palace servant? Satirizing King Kang of Zhou for being too sleepy and not getting up early? Write tens of thousands of words on this.
,Are you tired?
This is just like watching "A Dream of Red Mansions". You only need to understand the various aspects of life, the love, hate and divorce of men and women, and the rise and fall of families. But you have to research the mystery of Qin Keqing's origin, who killed Lin Daiyu, and the insinuations of the King of Beijing.
People like the deposed prince are doing it just because they are full, or they are just trying to make money by selling books.
In the early years, Hui Dong, the leader of Pu Xue Wu School, twice sent a letter to Yuan Mei, urging him to join the school of Confucian classics and to use the Six Classics passed down by the ancients as the foundation and not to make any tricks in literature. Yuan Mei not only refused to listen
, instead he made some refutations in his reply. He even traced back to the source and pointed out the poor character of Zhuang Zhou and Dai Sheng, the originators of the Six Classics. He denied the sacred meaning of the Six Classics and almost made Huidong's nose crooked with anger.
In the mid-Qing Dynasty, literati had a strong sectarian concept, which was either this or that. Yuan Mei's satire on the Six Classics was like a declaration of war for the textual criticism school.
So you understand the meaning of the song "Moss Flowers", right? That is Yuan Mei's cry for this era. Even though the Xingling sect has few words and is like moss flowers in the corner, in terms of knowledge that can be applied to the world, it is as graceful as
Noble peonies are no different.
When the day is gone, youth comes naturally; the moss flowers are as small as rice, and they bloom like peonies.
The most important thing is to express virtue through writing, everything else is nonsense!
Back to the subject. After Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi replied to the letter, it was like nothing. It was not until the second half of the first month of this year that Wei Sancai sent someone to Xiaocangshan Suiyuan and agreed to meet. Yuan Mei heard this by coincidence, and he was going to Yangzhou to meet him on the 27th of the first lunar month.
Qinggui, Zhao Yi will also go there at that time, and there will be no delay in finishing the work.
The reason why Yuan Mei went north to Yangzhou to meet Qinggui was because of the relationship between Yuan Mei and his father Yin Jishan, who was both a teacher and a friend. When Yuan Mei was a jinshi at the age of 23, he was selected as a shujishi and entered the common hall for further studies. The person responsible for teaching him was Qinggui.
His father Yin Jishan; later Yin Jishan was transferred to the governor of Liangjiang, and the two had a close relationship.
The two lived in Luo's house for four consecutive days. In addition to drinking tea and chatting every day, they also told a few disciples about poetry and painting. They lived in a comfortable life. In the afternoon of the fifth day, there was a boatman dressed as a stranger.
Someone sent a message, and they were scheduled to meet at Yinshan Temple at noon tomorrow. The specific location would be known outside the mountain gate. Yuan and Zhao understood that the other party was afraid of causing criticism to their master Luo Qilan, so they did not come to visit directly. So near noon the next day,
Accompanied by Yuan Tong, the eldest son of Yuan Mei, and Zhao Tingyan, the fifth son of Zhao Yi, the two arrived at the agreed place.
Later generations knew that there was a Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, but they did not know that there was a Yinshan Temple built in the Yuan Dynasty on the Suan Mountain in the southeast. It is said that during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang agreed on the strategy of attacking Cao Cao with fire on this mountain, so it is also called "Suanshan Temple".
Mountain"; at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Liu Yu also defeated the pirate Sun En here. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng in another time and space, the entire Suanshan area was classified as a British concession, and Yinshan Temple disappeared since then.
Because it was early spring, there were not many tourists coming to Yinshan Temple. As soon as the four of them arrived in front of the mountain gate, a man who looked like a young master came over with a servant. This man was not tall and looked to be only in his twenties.
He stood out, wearing a rain-stained azure robe, a brown buckle vest, and a royal blue belt around his waist. He had long and delicate features that made people fall in love with him at first sight. But his servant was very lean,
A pair of eyes kept looking at the four people, and then scanned the surroundings vigilantly.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The young man stepped forward to Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi, cupped his fists slightly, bowed and said: "My surname is Shen, and my name is a noble character. I think these two are Duke Jian Zhai and
Mr. Ou Bei, right?"
Zhao Yi nodded slightly, while Yuan Mei smiled and said, "It's the old man. Is Brother Shen from Yangzhou?"
"He came from Yangzhou, but he has been in the north these years." After the young man said this, he raised his hand and said: "My proprietor is waiting in the temple. Please follow me."
When Yuan Mei's eldest son Yuan Tong heard that the other party was not the rightful owner, he immediately felt unhappy. Although the Garlic Mountain was not high, his father was nearly eighty years old, and he had carried him all the way, so he said coldly: "
Your boss is really a big boss."
Shen Gui looked apologetic and said: "It's not that I'm dishonest, but the matters discussed today are of great importance. My Majesty has always admired Mr. Cangshan, so I specially sent my confidants here. However, all precautions are paramount. I hope Mr. Yuan will not be surprised." "
Yuan Mei smiled slightly after hearing this and said without any problem: "It's okay, please let Brother Shen lead the way."
Yuan Tongxin said, Dad, it’s easy for you to talk, but the problem is that it’s hard for me! Then he turned around and bent down, and with the help of Zhao Tingyan, he carried his father on his back and followed Shen Gui up the steps...
The six people entered the temple gate. They walked straight through the various temples, ignoring the monks coming and going. When they arrived at the door of a Zen room, before Yuan Mei could get off her son's back, the door of the Zen room was opened from the inside. A middle-aged man walked out quickly, bowed to Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi and said, "Forgive me! I'm sorry, Mr. Jian Zhai, Mr. Ou Bei! I'd like to ask you two to run over. I'm Xu Wuyong." .”
The speaker was about forty years old. He was wearing a large gray poplin robe. His fat figure stretched the clothes a little tight, making him look a little ridiculous. His white and wide face had a pair of beards with two inlays. He has only small, dark eyes, carefree and with an insouciant look.
Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi were both startled, wondering why Beihai Town had sent such a famous figure. They looked at Shen Gui who was not standing next to them. However, due to the prestige of Beihai Town, the two of them still met with each other and then entered. They sat down in the Zen room. While tea was being served, Zhao Yi finally couldn't help but ask: "May I ask what your position is as an official in Beihai Town?"
Xu Wuyong said with a smile: "I am ashamed to say that I am the deputy director of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau. I have the honor to come to meet these two old gentlemen this time. It is because of the order of the king and I bring with me a letter written by the king of Zhao."
Intelligence Bureau? Deputy Director?
Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi looked at each other and thought, What kind of official is this? I have never heard of it in the official system of past dynasties!
By the way, if Ruan Yuan were present, he would definitely be surprised if the other party's name wasn't "Xu Dachun" and why he changed his name to "Xu Wuyong"? However, if Liu Quan, the housekeeper of the Hefu, met him, he would secretly curse "Xu Dayong, the bastard" in his heart. .
That's right, it was Zhao Xin's confidant Xu Dayong who came to see Yuan Mei on behalf of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau. And the young man named Shen Gui before was naturally Shen Guisheng.
After Xu Dayong ended his trip to the capital a year and a half ago, he returned to Beihai Town and has been responsible for internal espionage prevention work. He also trained a group of new personnel for the Military Intelligence Bureau. At the end of the year before last, he and Cha Mei got married. , now he is a father and has a big fat boy.
The peaceful days had passed for a long time, and Xu Dayong, who had gained more than ten kilograms, couldn't hold it in any longer and began to rest in silence again. Wang Zhong happened to find Wang Changsheng and wanted to send someone to Jiangnan to contact Yuan Mei. Xu Dayong immediately volunteered. That's why this trip to Zhenjiang came about.
Although this guy has been registered with the Manchu and Qing government, he is from Chongming and has no problem with his Jiangnan accent. He also helped the Songjiang Cao Gang fight against the Suzhou Cao Gang, so he is very familiar with people on both the Yangtze River and the canal. The reason why I arranged to meet Yuan Mei at Yinshan Temple this time was because I could go down the mountain immediately and take a boat directly if something happened.
Xu Dayong did not explain to Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi what the Intelligence Bureau was. He only said that it was a military agency in Beihai Town, directly under the management of Zhao Xin. This meeting with the two men was of great importance, so he was sent to go south in person. Fortunately, he did not Say otherwise, the two old men would definitely be shocked. Isn’t this the same as the Jin Yiwei from the previous Ming Dynasty?
After a while, Shen Guisheng brought the tea and immediately exited the meditation room. Only then did Xu Dayong take out the autographed letters from Zhao Xin and Wang Zhong from his arms, explaining that all relevant matters were mentioned in the letter, please You two take a look.
Zhao Yi raised his hand and took the letter from Zhao Xin, and opened it without any explanation. Yuan Mei smiled helplessly and picked up Wang Zhong's letter.