Chapter 40 Confucian Skin, Legalist Bones
"Yes." Qin An said, "It is indeed the Confucian family that dominates."
"That's right. Since one family is the only one, why are the Legalists still there?" Fusu asked.
"Because the law is the foundation of the country, the country cannot be ruled without rule, and the people cannot be ruled without independence. Everyone is equal before the law. The emperor who breaks the law is as guilty as the common people." Qin An replied in a deep voice.
"Bold." Li Si, Meng Tian and others roared in unison.
Qin An was startled again.
Damn it, what's wrong with you all? Are you crazy? Why are you reacting so big?
"Presumptuous." Ying Zheng said with a gloomy face, "How could you do this to your husband? What should you do if you scare him? Why don't you apologize to him quickly?"
Li Si and others came to their senses and apologized to Qin An again in unison: "Sir, we apologize to you."
Qin An gave a bitter smile and said: "No, it's just that you are making too much fuss. I thought I was used to everything in the village, but I still underestimated the backwardness of the village.
Since you mentioned the way of governing the country, let me tell you the difference between Confucianism and Legalism.
Let’s talk about Confucianism first, because Confucianism is the most profound influence on China and the most important culture for more than two thousand years.
The main idea of Confucianism is "benevolence", which means "loving others". It is the "great unification" and "great harmony" in politics.
It is advocated that rulers should "treat the people with virtue and harmonize them with propriety".
The biggest difference between Confucianism and other schools of thought is tolerance. It is precisely because of this tolerance that our country has a certain degree of tolerance for other cultures and ideas.
This is also the fundamental reason why Confucianism later became the philosophy of Chinese governance. "
Fusu was stunned for a moment and said: "Sir, is Confucianism tolerant? Why didn't you teach me?"
Everyone knows who the second gentleman Fusu refers to.
Qin An smiled and said: "I don't know who taught you Confucianism, but what I said is the summary of two thousand years.
If Confucianism is not tolerant, how can it tolerate the coexistence of other schools, and how can rulers be willing to let the Confucian family dominate?
Or do you think other schools except Confucianism don’t need it? "
Ying Zheng smiled and said: "Sir, Quanzi's knowledge is not as good as yours, so please don't worry about it."
"The village chief's words are serious. He just teaches people randomly if he doesn't have enough knowledge, which is misleading his children." Qin An said.
His words aroused everyone's approval, but Fusu disagreed. He felt that Chunyu Yue could be called a doctor, how could he have no knowledge.
Qin An continued: "Next is the Legalists. In fact, strictly speaking, the true origin of Legalism should have started during the reign of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty.
The punishment of burning with fire was a punishment in the law.
Legalist thinking is very simple, it is based on the law, and it is very realistic. It is the foundation of the country.
It’s just that the laws in the early period were very extreme and could be considered torture. Just like the laws of Great Qin were very cruel. The real reason why it was called Tyrannical Qin by later generations was that Qin’s laws were too cruel.
The country not only needs laws, but also needs corresponding supervision and inspection, and modifications to the laws. Otherwise, it will be difficult to serve as a long-term way of governing the country for a big country.
Therefore, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the Qin Law was abolished.
Legalist thought was actually the most effective way of governing the country under the feudal system.
Legalists emphasize two key points in governing a country: first, reward good and punish evil without mercy; second, the ministers must be skillful and the king must be neither happy nor sad.
If I insist on saying it, four words can embody the legalist thought: rule the country according to law. "
"If that's the case, why do we still want to let Confucianism dominate?" Fusu said unconvinced.
Qin An said: "Didn't I say that Confucianism conformed to the great unification at that time, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dismissed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism.
However, Confucianism is only the skin, and Legalism is the bone. Throughout the ages, Confucianism has been used to govern the people, and Legalist laws have been used to govern the country.
A simple thing, kill to pay for life, why kill to pay for life, why kill to pay for life? Under what circumstances does murder not require life, and under what circumstances does murder not only require life but also be rewarded?
Xiao Su, can you answer this question? And can you ensure that the murderer must be punished with his life? "
Fusu was speechless. It was a principle from ancient times that one must pay for one's life by killing someone, but when it came to Qin An's words, one did not necessarily have to pay for one's life by killing someone. Didn't this violate the ancient principle?
Li Si said: "The murderer should abandon the market. No matter why he killed, the court will arrest the person and abandon the market."
"Abandon the city?" Qin An shook his head and said, "Old Li, you are talking about Qin Law. I told you that Qin Law was too cruel. After the demise of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Law disappeared."
Ying Zheng said: "Sir, you said Qin's laws are too cruel. However, if Qin's laws are not cruel, and if the people of the six countries are afraid of Qin, once they unite to fight against Qin, wouldn't Great Qin be in danger?"
"Maybe." Qin An said, "But I don't think the people of the Six Nations want to provoke another war. As long as they can survive, no one is willing to provoke another war.
Even if the remnants of the Six Kingdoms want to start a war, how can they join them if the people have already returned? "
The young master nodded and said, "Sir, you are right. As long as you have faith and return to your heart, you will not have to worry about the remnants of the Six Kingdoms.
Father, what I just said is that Confucianism is the skin and Legalism is the bone. In fact, it means that we use Confucianism to govern the people and laws to govern the people.
However, the laws of the Qin Dynasty were too strict, and there were no inspection and supervision officials. As a result, the laws of the Qin Dynasty were very confusing, and it was impossible to know whether they were applicable or not. "
Qin An nodded and said: "You can teach me. It seems that only Zhao Yun understood it first. Although I know that you have been continuing the rules of the Qin Dynasty, why do the words I say from your mouth always make me feel that this is the Qin Dynasty now."
Ying Zheng and others were shocked.
"Sir, please don't say it's a joke." Li Si said, "If this is Da Qin, how come you are here?"
"That's right." Qin An smiled, "Xiao Su, it's not feasible to govern by doing nothing. Besides, if you really think Confucianism is good, then you can continue to learn Confucianism.
To be honest, Confucian thought guides people to be good, so after you learn Confucianism, although it will not be of much use, at least you will not become a bad person. "
Fusu was stunned for a moment and said, "Is Confucianism really useless?"
"It cannot be said that it can lead people to be good. If it is ancient times, it can educate all people. Confucianism is still very useful for a certain period of time.
What I want to teach you is practical knowledge, knowledge that is often used in life. The external classification of academic qualifications is: primary school, junior high school, technical secondary school/high school, junior college, undergraduate, master's degree, doctoral degree, and postdoctoral.
And I am a doctoral candidate in 211985. My academic qualifications are quite high, and I should be more than enough to teach you. "
