Chapter 124 The dispute between orthodoxy (Part 1)
As the faction gets bigger and the status gets higher, it is not so easy to react quickly to some things. Just like Pan Sheng suddenly chose to side with the Xin School this time, the response of the Real School was not too fast until the Double Ninth Festival half a month later.
Xu Guocai chose to hold another meeting as a last resort.
China has a tradition of respecting the elderly since ancient times, but this Double Ninth Festival is not only about respecting the elderly, but also an activity that has been passed down for thousands of years, which is climbing.
The big names in practical education in Beijing received invitations from Jian Xinzhai a few days ago. The invitations were all in a unified format and read: "On September 9th, I will ascend to the heights to drink wine. Fragrant mountain white jade, waiting for your visit."
"Fragrant Mountain White Jade" is a scene that has been called "the best new scene in Shenjing" by good people in recent years. This place is quite mysterious to outsiders, but it is commonplace for Gao Pragmatic, because he is talking about it.
Jianxinzhai Baiyulou Villa is located at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain.
Xu Cifu of the State of Xu convened a "private" meeting with officials from the Real School in Beijing, but in the end they chose the Baiyu Tower as the venue. What this explains is very thought-provoking in itself.
Some people believe that this is a manifestation of Xu Cifu's inability to control such a huge faction, so he finally had to resort to the high pragmatism that mastered the "legacy" left by the three leaders of the Practical School.
Some people believe that when Xu Cifu did this, he was just like Guo Pu and Zhang Siwei, who had to rely on Gao Jingshi's "direct relatives of the Party" in Gao Jingshi's hands. The purpose of doing this was just to show that he had obtained Gao Jingshi's support.
Some people believe that gaining Gao Pragmatism's support is just a superficial phenomenon. The fact that the "Double Ninth Festival Conference" was held in Baiyu Tower shows that Gao Pragmatism has completed the "usurpation of power" within the Pragmatic School - Xu Cifu can no longer control the huge power.
The power of the Practical School has been transferred to Gao Pangshi, and Xu Cifu is just a name.
There are even conspiracy theorists who swear that the "Double Ninth Festival Conference" in Baiyulou was decided by Gao Jingshi, and Xu Cifu was forced to agree. Maybe this is a conference where the power struggle within the Pragmatic School breaks out. Gao Jingshi will definitely think
In this conference, he obtained the actual control of the Real School and used his position as minister to overpower the second assistant.
Gao Jingshi himself also heard Gao Mo relaying such rumors in Shenjing's officialdom, but he simply ignored them.
Overwhelm the secondary assistant?
Why should I suppress him? Is Xu Cifu my enemy?
Obviously not.
He is my senior brother, someone high, and is the leading face of the Realistic School. Why am I trying to overpower him? Is it because I am full?
Yes, Senior Brother Xu's personal style is indeed not as clear-cut as the first three leaders of the Practical School.
He is not as enterprising as Gao Gong, who always dares to be the first in the world as long as he believes in everything; he is not as kind as Guo Pu, who is loyal to the emperor, sincere to his colleagues, and caring for his subordinates; nor is he as soft on the outside as soft on the inside like Zhang Siwei.
Just now, it seems easy to talk to him, but actually you try to disobey him? He will look good to you later.
Xu Guo is a typical Confucian official. He has ideals, but does not pursue self-centeredness. He is very enthusiastic about some simple and easy-to-handle things. For some big things that are more troublesome and difficult to judge the impact, he is somewhat
He is hesitant and prefers to make temporary compromises in order to achieve long-term results and avoid intensifying conflicts when he is in power.
Specific to the Pan Sheng incident, after Xu Guo listened to Gao's pragmatic analysis, he tended to be conservative - that is, to wait and see what happens and not to deal with it for the time being.
His reason is that although Pan Sheng was relatively slightly inclined to the Real School in the past, there was a premise, and the premise was that the first assistant was from the Real School. Moreover, Pan Sheng was only slightly inclined, and he never
He is considered a member of the Practical School, but a neutral one.
Nowadays, although Pan Sheng has turned to the Heart School, as long as he calms down and thinks about it, he will find: So what? The power of the Practical School itself has not been damaged.
Xu Guo believes that after the era in which the three chief assistants of the Real School were in power, now, whether everyone is willing or not, we have actually entered a new era in which the Xin School is the first assistant. Under this new overall situation, the Real School is the first to
What should be done is to ensure the unity within the faction and ensure that the entire Practical School officials can still firm their beliefs and continue to promote reform as the purpose, rather than falling into party disputes and forgetting that "everything is for the sake of doing things" that Gao Wenzhenggong emphasized repeatedly in the past.
However, it is a pity that Gao Pragmatic only admits that his idea is noble enough, but is not optimistic about the future of doing so.
Gao Pragmatic has always believed that the essence of factional struggle is war, and it is a war that must be fought.
Factional struggles are completely different from his manipulation of the peaceful "evolution" of Tumut, and his efforts to win over nobles to give up "land wealth" and turn it into "marine wealth" and so on.
The latter can all be solved by technical means, because they do not involve any political ideals, but only interests, or the importance of interests is far greater than the so-called political ideals.
The factional struggle is different. Whether it is the Real School or the Xin School, it is reasonable to say that they are both Confucianists, and they even criticize Neo-Confucianism. However, the contradictions between them are irreconcilable.
In Chinese academic circles, the nature of practical learning is a controversial issue. In the history of Chinese thought, practical learning is a widely used concept.
The so-called practical science in China is actually the study of substance and application since the Northern Song Dynasty. It is a multi-level concept with extremely rich content. It includes not only the philosophy of vitality substance, the study of moral practice, but also the practical science of economics and practical measurement.
There are also empirical studies, enlightenment studies, etc.”
What is the main content of Practical Studies? Gao Pragmatic believes that it can be summed up into three points, namely "advocating the real and deposing the imaginary", "seeking truth from facts" and "applying practical knowledge". These three points constitute the spiritual core of Practical Studies.
The origin of the spirit of practical learning in Confucian culture can be traced further back. As Lu Jiuyuan said: "Everyone knows how to love relatives and respect brothers...this is the practical learning of the three dynasties of Tang and Yu." From the ancient classics compiled and revised by Confucianism, we can see
Learn how the spirit of practical learning gradually developed.
For example, the highly pragmatic classic "Book of Changes·Tai" says in the sixth chapter: "If you are elegant, you will not be rich. If you are not careful, you will be prosperous."
, the central wish." The line 64 of Tai hexagram means that the family is not rich, but they want to brag and show off to their neighbors. This is an "untrue" mentality and should be taken as a warning.
There are many ideas similar to "advocating reality and opposing virtuality" in the historical documents of the Three Dynasties. Although there was no such term as practical learning at that time, the basic spirit contained in practical learning in the future was being condensed and formed at this time.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were China's "Axial Age". The collapse of traditional religions created a huge spiritual void in society, causing hundreds of schools of thought to emerge in droves and put forward their own ideas for governing the country.
The Confucianism founded by Confucius was one of the most influential schools among the pre-Qin scholars. The spiritual direction of "advocating truth and overthrowing emptiness" unveiled by Confucius laid the foundation of China's practical culture.
Why do you say that? Because Confucius gave a doubtful answer to anything that could not be verified. Facing the huge legacy left by ancient religions, the most illusory thing is the other side of the world. So "Ji Lu asked about ghosts and gods. Confucius said
: "'If you can't serve people, how can you serve ghosts?" Dare you ask about death?' He said: "'If you don't know life, how can you know death?'"
Although Confucius did not completely deny the existence of the other side of the world, he emphasized that the focus of his scholarship was on "knowing life" and "doing things for people." Therefore, regarding the relationship between this side and the other side, Confucius advocated "serving the people, respecting ghosts and gods, and keeping away from them."
"In other words, although smart rulers respect ghosts and gods, they should keep a distance from them and focus their main energy on the real world.
The tendency of Confucian philosophy to become worldly is the inevitable result of the spirit of "respecting reality and overthrowing emptiness". In the process of exploring the development laws of real society and politics, Confucius also advocated a spirit of "seeking truth from facts".
He said: "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, it is knowing." When studying, you should have an objective attitude, and you cannot replace actual learning with your own subjective imagination.
Confucius said: "I am not a person who is born with knowledge. I love the past and am keen to pursue it." Confucius did not study for the sake of knowledge, but regarded learning as a game for the wise.
The important difference between the pre-Qin scholars and the ancient Greek philosophers is that the motivation that prompted them to conduct research was not metaphysical interest, but the worry of saving the country and the people in troubled times. Therefore, Confucius always emphasized "application of knowledge."
For example, he asked students to study the "Book of Songs". He said: "There are three hundred poems in the Book of Songs, which can be summed up in one sentence, saying: thinking is innocent." "The Book of Songs can be inspired, observed, grouped, and complained about." Study.
The Book of Songs is of great significance, even to the point where "it is impossible to describe it without studying the Book of Songs".
However, studying "The Book of Songs" is by no means just for personal appreciation or entertainment. Confucius pointed out: "Reciting the "Book of Songs" three hundred times and teaching it to govern is not effective; it is impossible to teach it to all directions. Even though there are many, it is also a joke?
"
Even if you recite the Book of Songs very accurately, you will not be able to exercise the political power granted to you, be sent as envoys to various countries, and will not be able to answer questions during negotiations. So what is the use of learning more? So Confucius particularly emphasized "applying what you have learned"
, he said: "A gentleman learns his way."
The spirit of practical learning is a basic tendency in Confucian culture and has universal value, which can be proved by the development of Confucianism for thousands of years.
From the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars over-exploited the internal and external transcendental ideological resources of Confucianism, resulting in an academic atmosphere of "ostentation and exaggeration" in society. The modern classics are "minor words" that are thousands of miles away from the topic, and the ancient classics are becoming increasingly cumbersome.
"Exegesis and textual research" all deviate from Confucianism's academic purpose of paying attention to social reality issues.
"Lunheng" written by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty is a battle cry against the ills of social emptiness. "Reality" and "virtual" can be said to be the keywords that appear most frequently in the book. Wang Chong also explained why there are so many emptinesses in society.
After analyzing the reason for the word, the root lies in superstitious belief in the so-called classics left by Confucian sages.
He said: "The world believes in false books and thinks that those written on bamboo and silk are all passed down by sages and sages. It is nothing other than the case. Therefore, they believe it and read it satirically. Seeing that the true biography is contrary to the false book,
This means that it is a short book and cannot be trusted."
It is particularly worth mentioning that when Gao Pingshi searched a subset of classics and history documents, he found that it was Wang Chong who was the first to use the two concepts of "practice" and "learning" together.
He said: "Han Zi is not a Confucian, saying that it is useless and harmful, and that he is a vulgar Confucian who has no conduct, does not pay attention to etiquette in his actions, uses the name of Confucianism to practice vulgarity, uses practical learning instead of false teachings, and corrupts the honor of officials, so he is not noble."
Of course, the concept of "practical learning" used here is different from the usage of scholars after the Song and Ming Dynasties. The "learning" here is a verb rather than a noun. But everyone knows that Chinese grammar is not rigorous, and various parts of speech can
Converting each other, the practical learning of later generations developed from these words.
Wang Chong accidentally used the term "practical learning", which on the one hand shows that practical learning at that time was still a spiritual tendency of Confucianism and had not yet formed a stable academic school; on the other hand, Wang Chong worked hard to rectify various "false and unrealistic" errors in the development process of Confucian classics.
That is to say, we are developing practical learning.
From the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was the peak period of the development of Buddhism and Taoism in China, and the development of Confucianism was relatively stagnant. In order to restore the "Taoism" of the sage kings, Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties must revitalize the original practical culture of Confucianism, so it once again set off a stir in the ideological world
This has led to the cultural trend of “advocating reality over virtuality”.
Hu Yuan, a Confucian scholar in the early Song Dynasty, first raised the banner of "bright body and effective use" and opposed the bad academic style in society of "advocating sound, rhythm and flashy words". He was later called "principal learning" by Huang Zongxi.
Later, Zhang Zai advocated that "Taixu is the reality of heaven. All things are based on Taixu, and humans also come from Taixu." "But Taixu is unshakable, so it is the ultimate reality." He said that "Taixu is Qi."
The ontological thought of vitality opposes the emptiness in the religious thoughts of Buddha and Lao Lao.
Ercheng said: "What is true is that it is real. There is such a principle, so there is such a thing; there is such a thing, so there is a use; there is a use, so there is a heart; there is a heart, so there is a real heart.
"Yes, it is." They regard the laws of all things as the truth between heaven and earth, and thus oppose the supernatural and superhuman religious doctrines of Buddha and Lao Lao.
Zhu Xi made full use of Er Cheng's "real theory" thought and pointed out: "All the theories of Confucianism are real, but all the theories of Buddhism are false." For a time, "advocating reality and deposing virtuality" became the main topic in the ideological circles of the Song and Ming Dynasties, and "practical learning" became a
The word appeared frequently in the works of thinkers at that time.
The "virtual" that thinkers at that time opposed was Buddha and Lao. There is no doubt about this. However, different opinions on what kind of "real" should be advocated were not unified.
Gao Pragmatic felt that King Cheng, Zhu and Lu focused on the development of the inner transcendent spirit of Confucianism, on the study of ontology and the cultivation of mind and morality, so their practical learning can be called "moral practical learning".
Wang Anshi, Li Gou, Chen Liang, Ye Shi, and Wang Tingxiang (Note: Please pay attention to this one. He had a great influence on Gao Gong’s practical theory and practice. It is generally believed that Gao Gong is the successor of Wang Tingxiang’s practical thought.
and practitioners) and others focus on the Confucian thought of merit, and their practical learning can be called "practical learning of managing the world."
Gao Pragmatic doesn't have much favorable impressions of "moral practical learning". He has always believed that "only practical learning can save the Ming Dynasty" since time travel. The "practical learning" here actually refers to "practical learning of managing the world", which is what Gao Gong inherited from
Practical learning of Wang Tingxiang.
However, how come the "practical learning of managing the world" is so opposed to the Lu Wang Xinxue that Gao Pragmatic believes that this contradiction is irreconcilable?
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PS: This chapter talks about the essence of practical learning, especially the practical learning of managing the world. It may be thought that I am too short on words, but I thought about it for a full hour before I started writing today, and I still think this chapter is indispensable.
The core of this book, from beginning to end, is not about pretending to be a slap in the face. You can see that today's readers should be able to feel this. "Reform of practical learning" is the fundamental core of the plot of this book.
, Therefore, I must find a node to explain the spirit of practical learning clearly, and the root cause of the "controversy between orthodoxy" between it and the Lu Wang Xinxue in the late Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, all the contents of the book will become a castle in the air - why do these people in the book want to
Fight?
Therefore, not only in this chapter, but also in the next chapter, I will also talk about the issues related to Lu Wang’s Xinxue, and then compare the two sides and explain the roots of Gao’s pragmatic approach. However, the entire “water word count” is only for today and tomorrow.
There are two chapters, so I won’t focus on it later.
For those who "don't like reading theory", I forgot to explain this chapter in advance. I'm very sorry, but you can not subscribe to tomorrow's chapter and jump directly to the meeting with senior leaders of the Practical School the day after tomorrow. It should not have any impact on the "direct plot"
It will be too big.
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