The old man paused and said: "Xunzi's "Evil Nature" says: Today's people who practice mastery, accumulate literature, and practice etiquette and justice are called gentlemen; those who indulge their temperament, live happily, and violate etiquette and justice are villains.
Judging from this, it is clear that human nature is evil, and its good nature is false.”
"Does the Marquis really question the words of the Confucian sages by saying this?"
After the old man spoke, his tone was very excited and his expression was very angry, as if Lin Xuan had done something heinous.
Lin Xuan said calmly: "I think Xunzi is right."
The meaning of that passage is: Today's people can be influenced by their teachers and laws, accumulate knowledge of literature and classics, and abide by etiquette and justice, they are gentlemen; those who are indulgent and willful, accustomed to wanton debauchery and violate etiquette and justice, are villains.
From this point of view, it is obvious that human nature is evil, and their good behaviors are man-made.
In fact, Lin Xuan agrees more with Xunzi's words. As the saying goes, if you have a solid warehouse, you will know etiquette; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace.
In fact, it doesn't matter whether Lin Xuan agrees or disagrees. From the time Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed hundreds of schools of thought, Confucianism continued to flourish until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
The majority of students in the world study Confucianism. If he dares to question the Confucian sages, all the literati in the world will not be able to tolerate him.
This is much more serious than offending a noble family.
Zhu Yuanzhang must be so powerful, he kills officials without mercy.
Throughout history, no matter whether it is a wise king or a foolish king, no one can compare with Zhu Yuanzhang in terms of officials who want to be killed in turn.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang did not like some of Mencius' remarks, he ordered that Mencius's tablet be moved out of the Confucius Temple.
In the end, he still couldn't stand the pressure and had to restore the quota, but deleted some of Mencius' remarks from the book.
If Lin Xuan dared to say that he disagreed with Xunzi, maybe tomorrow the Confucian disciples would kneel outside the palace and beg Li Shimin to kill him as a deviant.
And it's really not certain whether Li Shimin will protect him.
During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo suggested cutting down the vassalage. When he suggested cutting down the vassalage, everyone in the civil and military dynasties was in an uproar. No one expected that this guy would be so stupid.
Who doesn’t know the harmful effects of the feudal king? But why doesn’t anyone dare to mention it? Because the feudal king holds real power, and ministers like them with foreign surnames cannot deal with it.
Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was very happy after hearing this. He had always felt that the threat of the vassal king was too great, but he could not take the initiative to propose reducing the vassal. Now that someone proposed it, it was just a sleepy pillow.
Chao Cuo insisted on fighting with these vassal kings, which was tantamount to hitting an egg with an egg against a stone. Those ministers who thought they were smart were all wise enough to protect themselves. They were unwilling to offend either the vassal king or Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Everyone remained silent.
.
Not speaking means agreement. This was the logic of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, so Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty issued the order to cut down the vassalage. As soon as the order to cut down the vassalage was issued, the princes in the world wanted to eat Chao Cuo alive.
Even Chao Cuo's father chose to commit suicide after admonishing Chao Cuo to no avail.
As a result, the reduction of vassal status caused the seven kings to join forces and join forces. Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty had to kill Chao Cuo in order to appease the anger of the kings.
As a result, they still had no intention of retreating, so Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty had no choice but to send troops to suppress it.
What is ridiculous is that after Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty suppressed the Seven Kings Rebellion, he took advantage of the situation and continued to reduce the vassal status.
It can be seen that Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was not opposed to the reduction of vassal status, but he killed Chao Cuo under pressure.
In history, there were countless emperors who treated their ministers as abandoned sons due to pressure.
Although Li Shimin is strong, I really don't know what he will do when he gives up on Lin Xuan's determination to calm the world's scholars alone.
Therefore, Lin Xuan's tone at the beginning was that I also agreed with Xunzi's words and had no intention of questioning it.
"You only speak what Xunzi said, have you forgotten what Mencius said? Are you questioning Mencius's words?" Lin Xuan looked at the old man and said.
Mencius first proposed that human nature is inherently good.
Mencius is revered as a Confucian sub-sage, and his status in Confucianism is much higher than that of Xunzi.
Didn't you say that I questioned Xunzi's words? Then I will say that you questioned Mencius's words. Who wouldn't be able to slap a big label on you?
The old man was furious, glared at Lin Xuan and said, "Master Hou, please don't spit on others."
The old man's name is Xun Wen, and he is a direct descendant of Xunzi, so he naturally supports his ancestor's remarks.
The theory of evil nature is naturally not as popular as the theory of good nature. In fact, just as the theory of good nature does not enable people to automatically do good, the theory of evil nature does not mean that people are allowed to do evil at will. In its original meaning, the evil of nature is
It refers to the survival instinct that human beings, as a kind of creature, originally possess. If a creature wants to survive, it must want to live.
However, whether it is because Mencius is a Confucian sub-sage or because the theory of good nature is more acceptable than the theory of evil nature, the ideas proposed by Xunzi are not accepted by the public.
As a descendant of Xunzi, Xunwen must have supported his ancestor's remarks in his heart, but he did not dare to oppose and question Mencius's words, but he did dare to question Lin Xuan.
This time when He Yu proposed a debate, he volunteered.
When He Yu heard what Xun Wen wanted to argue, he hesitated but agreed.
Although Xunzi's theory of evil nature is not accepted by the public, it is still supported by some people.
Regardless of whether Lin Xuan supports the theory of good nature or the theory of evil nature, he will offend some Confucian disciples.
Regardless of the theory of good nature or evil nature, there is no final conclusion so far, and he does not believe that Lin Xuan can argue anything.
Lin Xuan smiled faintly and said, "I'm just discussing the matter, how can I make such bloody remarks?"
Xun Wen took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and said: "Since the Marquis said he agreed with Xunzi's words, but quoted Mencius's words in the Three Character Classic, can I think that the Marquis is really just trying to gain fame?"
Naturally, Lin Xuan would not be fooled by him. He smiled calmly and said: "I said that I agreed with Xunzi's words, but I did not say that I would refute Mencius's words. In fact, I also very much agree with Mencius's words."
"Pfft~"
Everyone almost laughed when they heard Lin Xuan's words.
I support everyone who co-authors me, but I don’t offend anyone.
But these are two contradictory statements, and you actually agree with them?
Lin Xuan didn't know what everyone was thinking. He turned around and picked up the pen and wrote a few words casually. He picked it up, looked at Xun Wen and said, "What do you think of my writing of these words?"
Xun Wen didn't know what kind of medicine Lin Xuan was selling in his gourd. He looked carefully at the few words written by Lin Xuan and found that he couldn't even form a basic sentence. It seemed like he had written it randomly.
"Master Hou created a unique font, and the characters he writes are naturally unmatched." Xun Wen said with a cold face.
The underlying meaning of his words is: fonts can be created, and others are still learning and exploring. Naturally, they can't compare to you in writing this kind of fonts.
Lin Xuan ignored the sarcasm in Xun Wen's words, turned around and wrote a few more words, picked it up and said, "Look at these words again."
When Xun Wen saw the words on the paper, he said angrily: "Master Hou deliberately wrote such ugly words. Could it be that he was teasing me?"
If there is a very appropriate adjective for the words after Lin Xuan in later generations, it would be called "Ghost Painting Talisman".