It is said that Wang Zhong has not been able to eat well or sleep well these days because of this literary conference. When the scholars from the island countries either started to visit Beihai Town Hospital to study, or were taken by Lin Ziping to survey the railway lines, he became more and more anxious.
Although Wang Zhong studied under his father's friends Zhang Wen and Guo Nengji in his early career, he was personally devoted to Gu Yanwu. The political ideals of this lineage are often referred to in later generations as "both physical and functional" and "inner sage and outer king".
As for the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties, which talked about the nature of mind, they upheld the attitude that "fate and benevolence are something that Master rarely talked about; nature and the way of heaven are something that Zigong never heard of."
It has been more than two years since he came to Beihai Town. After more than a dozen conversations with Zhao Xin, Wang Zhong felt that he almost understood what Zhao Xin wanted to do. However, the more he understood, the more he wanted to find a way for Confucians and Taoism.
In order to ensure Wang Zhong's personal safety and reduce the attention of the Qing court caused by this gathering, the Leishen waited near Wutiaosha off the coast of northern Jiangsu for two days until news came from Sheyang Lake that the personnel had arrived in Funing. Then a boat was sent to send Wang Zhong to land.
When he arrived at Xuzhuang in Sheyang Lake that night, his friends, including Hong Liangji, Jiang Fan, Jiao Xun, and Zhong Huai, also rode in carriages and entered Xuzhuang one after another after nightfall.
When Hong Liangji was led into the spacious and bright back hall, the first thing he saw was Duan Yucai, who was over fifty years old. This gentleman and several young people were looking at the brass lantern on the table.
Duan Yucai was eleven years older than Hong Liangji, and he was also a famous Confucian scholar. This man passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-five and once served as a tutor at the Imperial College. After that, he failed in the examination many times. During this period, he studied under Dai Zhen. In the 35th year of Qianlong's reign, he was appointed magistrate of Guizhou and transferred to Sichuan two years later. In the forty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, 47-year-old Duan Yucai resigned from office and returned home on the grounds that his parents were old and sick and he himself was ill. He lived in Fengqiao, Suzhou, and devoted himself to writing and collecting books.
"Brother Ruoying, I didn't expect that I alerted you!" After Hong Liangji said this, he stepped forward and held Duan Yucai's hands.
Duan Yucao chuckled and said: "You Hong Changzhou can come, but I, an old man, can't come? He, Wang Rongfu, is so mysterious that he wants to save Tao Tong from danger. For such a big thing, do you think I can come? have a look?"
Because Hong Liangji was from Changzhou, Duan Yucai called him Hong Changzhou.
At this time, Hong Liangji heard someone next to him say: "Brother Jun Zhi, is it possible that only Brother Ruoying is the one in your eyes?"
Hong Liangji turned around and saw a middle-aged man sitting in a corner of the room with a thin face. He was wearing a long green cloth gown and a black jacket. He quickly cupped his hands and said: "Jiang Cen, you are here too! You are not Do you want to be a tutor in Alchemy?"
Thirty-eight-year-old Liu Taigong said: "It's very boring. I have already resigned and returned to my hometown."
Liu Taigong, also known as Duanlin, was born in Baoying, Jiangsu Province. He passed the national examination at the age of 21, but failed in many attempts after that. In the middle period of Qianlong's reign, Sikuquan Library started to run books. Liu Taigong, Wang Niansun, Zhu Jun, Cheng Jinfang, Dai Zhen, Shao Jinhan and others entered the library to repair it. During this period, they often discussed classics and archeology. He was silent and spoke little, but every time he made a comment, everyone was impressed.
At this time, Jiang Fan, who was sitting opposite Liu Taigong, winked and said: "I said that when I entered Xuzhuang just now, the old bird kept calling in the tree. It turns out that the rehabilitated layman is coming."
"Rehabilitated layman" was Hong Liangji's nickname. When several people heard it, they burst into laughter.
Hong Liangji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He pointed at Jiang Fan and just said "naughty". He is fifteen years older than Jiang Fan, already a generation behind him.
Jiang Fan rolled up his sleeves, stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Brother Beijiang, it has been three years since we parted ways in the capital."
After the two of them finished the ceremony, Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji came up to salute Hong Liangji and say hello.
While everyone was talking and laughing, they heard someone cough slightly outside the hall, and then they saw a man wearing a gray cotton preacher robe, a dark scarf, and a round and fat face walking in quickly.
"Mr. Rong Fu!"
"Brother Rongfu!"
"Brother Rongfu."
Wang Zhong cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Everyone, Wang is late, so I will offend you!"
Although it was pitch dark outside, the hall was full of brightness. In the eyes of everyone, today's Wang Zhong no longer has the decadent look on his eyebrows. His face is rosy and he is high-spirited. However, it can be seen from the gray hair at his temples that he is no longer young.
Wait! Sideburn hair? !
The hair accessories of this era were not the yin and yang heads of later generations, but money rat tails. Although the "rat tail" is slightly thicker than in the early Qing Dynasty, three-quarters of the head still needs to be shaved.
Hong Liangji stepped forward and took a look, then walked around to look behind Wang Zhong, and suddenly said in shock: "Brother Rong Fu, where are your braids?!"
"This is not a Han attire, so what's the use of keeping it? Jun Zhi, I've been growing my hair for more than a year." After Wang Zhong said that, he took off the scarf, revealing the tied bun.
This made everyone present stunned. They thought that this man was really a thief and an enemy of the imperial court. No wonder there had been no news for two years. Even his wife and children were missing. He had probably taken his family to Beihai Town. Bar.
Looking at the expressions of the seven people opposite him, Wang Zhong said: "Have you forgotten the 'Nagifa Order' a hundred years ago?"
Duan Yucai, Hong Liangji and Liu Taigong were suddenly startled and remained silent. But Jiang Fan, Jiao Xun and others of the younger generation showed confusion.
It is said that when the policy of cutting pigtails was implemented in the early years of the Republic of China, the reason why many people were unwilling to cut their braids was not because they were backward and ignorant and regarded ugliness as beauty; rather, after nearly three hundred years of deliberate concealment by the Qing court, that period of history was limited to those in China. circulated among intellectuals and revolutionary parties. The reason why some Han intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China cared so much about having braids was actually mainly because they hated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which had long hair.
Throughout the Qing Dynasty, the use of the word "fa" was extremely careful from top to bottom. The Manchus spent more than eighty years revising the "History of the Ming Dynasty", but the four words "a thousand critical moments" were never used in it from beginning to end. The word "Qing Shi Lu", which records the emperor's words and deeds, is even missing. To describe a piece of hair as "extremely heavy" seems to be very reminiscent of the "Nagi Fa Order".
Let alone the Han people, many Manchus nowadays do not remember the history of forcing Han people to shave their hair and leave braids. Instead, they think this is a Han custom. Not to mention how many people don't know that the emperor sitting in Beijing is actually a Manchu.
For example, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji who were present did not understand this history at all. They glanced at Wang Zhong's temples from time to time, trembling all over and sweating on their foreheads.
Wang Zhong noticed the uneasiness of the two men, shook his head and sighed: "The moon is hanging miserably on the besieged city, the swords and halberds are thin and frosty, and the frost is too bright; the crows do not sing, the drums and horns are silent, and the whole battalion sings "Zhuan Wu Geng". The sound of the song is miserable and the flute bursts. , This night the three armies shed tears like blood; the west wind blows and the river is cold, and our army is miserable even if it drinks into it. Xin'an Changping is not an accident, it is rare in ancient times to die in peace; sixty or seventy thousand people have not fallen, and tens of thousands of bones and tombs are piled up like a mound."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Hong Liangji looked at Wang Zhong and said, "Is this Rong Fu's new work?"
Wang Zhong shook his head and said, "King Zhao did it."
"Huh?" Everyone said that Zhao Xin, who was said by the court to be causing trouble in Northern Xinjiang and greedy for money, actually still has such literary talent?
Well, Zhao Xin finally acted shamelessly and stole words and phrases from the poems of Feng Guifen, a Qing Dynasty poet. But at this time, there were still twenty years before Feng Jingting was born, and his teacher Lin Zexu was just four years old, so he didn't need it in vain.
Jiang Fan's eyes turned red and he sighed: "Sixty or seventy thousand people!"
In fact, there were more than 600,000 to 70,000 people. When Jiangyin defended the city, there were more than 200,000 people including the villagers outside the city who came to help defend the city. All men, women, and children in the city went to fight. When the city was destroyed, all the women in the city committed suicide, and all the elderly and children set themselves on fire. Only 53 people were too late to commit suicide and were forcibly rescued by the Qing army.
This period of history was recorded in Wuxi scholar Ji Liuqi's "Southern Strategy of the Ming Dynasty". Due to the literary ban during the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, it has never been published, and only the handwritten version survives. Historically, it was not until the Jiadao period that the outline of the text was slightly relaxed before it could be published, but it was not complete.
Everyone here today likes to collect books, and Jiangyin and Yangzhou are only separated by a river, so except for Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji, the other four people have privately read the manuscript of this book.
Duan Yucai, the oldest, coughed lightly: "Everyone, please sit down and talk."
As soon as these words came out, everyone with their own thoughts sat down one after another. However, because of their age and the time of passing the exam, they rearranged their seats.
Among those present, Duan Yucai was Dai Zhen's eldest disciple, so in terms of seniority, Duan Yucai took the top spot on the left, Wang Zhong took the top spot on the right, followed by Liu Taigong, Hong Liangji, Jiang Fan, Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, Huang Chengji.
Afterwards, Wang Changsheng, who was stationed at Xuzhuang, served tea with his men, whispered a few words to Wang Zhong, and then all retreated.
Sinology in the Qing Dynasty was founded by Gu Yanwu, with Yan Ruocha and Hu Wei laying the foundation, Hui Dong pioneering it, and Dai Zhen gathering its great achievements and reaching its peak. Starting from the middle of Qianlong's reign, with the opening of the Sikuquan Library, the image of the emperor's "integration of governance and Taoism" was reached to the extreme, and he completely controlled the discourse power of the literati. However, literati no longer dared to discuss government affairs and comment on political rights and wrongs, so in academic development, there was a grand situation of "everyone Xu Zheng, every family Jia Ma".
Numerous scholars focus on Confucian classics and immerse themselves in textual research. They believe that the older the classics, the more true they are. The so-called "Every ancient must be true, and every Han must be good." This is different from the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties that focused on abstract discussions on the rationality, qi, and mind, forming the famous "Qianjia" theory in later generations. school".
The most famous among them are the "Wu Faction" headed by Hui Dong and the "Wan Faction" headed by Dai Zhen who have the greatest influence. The characteristic of the Wu School is to collect the scriptures and sayings of Han Confucians and to clarify and prove them. In short, "as long as the classics of the Han Dynasty are good"; the Anhui School attaches great importance to the textual research of the system of names and objects in the Three Rites, and understands the content and meaning of ancient books from the perspective of phonology and philology.
The Yangzhou School not only inherited the characteristics of the Wu and Anhui schools, but also developed and surpassed the two schools to form its own unique style. This faction is headed by Duan Yucai of Jintan and Wang Niansun of Gaoyou. Although its origin is Dai Zhen, it is its own entity.
At this gathering in Sheyang Lake, except for Wang Niansun who is working as an official in the capital, Wang Yinzhi and his son who are studying behind closed doors at home, and Ruan Yuan who is staying in the capital, the people from the Yangzhou School have basically arrived, and there are more I met Hong Liangji, a member of the Wu sect.
From a Confucian perspective, everyone present, whether old or young, now or in history, are all famous Confucian scholars in the Qianjia School.
In terms of personal research preferences, Duan Yucai specializes in text exegesis (the study of ancient Chinese word meanings), Wang Zhong specializes in the evolution of ancient and modern institutions, Hong Liangji specializes in geography, Liu Taigong specializes in astronomical music, and Jiang Fan specializes in "Yi". Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, and Huang Chengji were majoring in mathematics.
As the Qianjia School in history developed, the content of its research had nothing to test, and was even completely out of touch with social reality, and it became research for the sake of research.
Struggles and exegesis, dissection and analysis, and the exhaustion of all the wisdom and wisdom in the world have produced these things, which are of no use to the prosperity of the country! This "spirit" has continued into later generations. What are the four ways of writing the word "fennel"? Even "A Dream of Red Mansions" can provide a conspiracy theory based on textual research!
Duan Yucai was a former county magistrate. Faced with Wang Zhong who had revealed his identity and rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, he really didn't know how to speak. He thought about it for a long time, and then asked Wang Zhong: "Are the wife and children okay?"
Wang Zhong smiled and said: "Everything is fine."
His son Wang Xisun is just three years old this year, and his wife Zhu is his second wife. Because the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was so bad in the early years, the first wife Sun did not do anything at home, so Wang Zhong, who was a filial mother, had no choice but to marry her.
Liu Taigong was always taciturn, but faced with such an embarrassing situation, he still spoke: "Brother Rongfu, you mentioned in your letter that you wanted to save the Taoist order from danger. What do you mean by this?"
Wang Zhong picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, moistened his somewhat dry throat, and said in astonishing words: "Everyone, we are experiencing changes that have not happened in a thousand years. The Manchu emperor in the north is already in danger. Today, the saint descends. , Beihai repeatedly defeated the imperial army, conquered the Japanese in the east, and punished the Rakshasa in the west. Now it stretches from north to south, and the subordinate territory under its control has exceeded ten thousand miles."
After hearing this, everyone present suddenly looked astonished. The Qing government blocked news from outside the customs and only said that foreign barbarians had invaded and occupied the White Mountains and Black Waters. Although everyone doesn't know much, they are not fools. But no one knows what Beihai Town is like.
Duan Yucai twirled his beard and said, "Even so, it's just the rise of dynasties. How can we talk about changes that haven't happened in a thousand years?"
Wang Zhongdao: "This is also the main reason why Wang invited you all this time. Nowadays, Beihai Town's military force is too strong. More than a thousand people can defeat the imperial army of ten thousand people without harming a single thing. However, the system is completely new. Zhong Shen has been in Beihai for two years. There is no precedent for what I have heard and seen, even if I look through the classics.
Now that King Zhao has attacked the Japanese country several times, the government and the public are as silent as cicadas upon hearing his name, and dare not disobey. There were also Japanese hypocritical Confucians who relied on the meager knowledge of Westerners to join their ranks one after another. If things continue like this, when Beihai enters the pass and aspires to be crowned the emperor, there will be no place for scholars like us to live. "
Everyone was shocked when they heard Wang Zhongyan's conclusive statement that the Manchu Qing Dynasty was about to fall.
Jiang Fan cupped his hands and said, "Senior Rongfu, can you tell everyone what the details of Beihai Town are?"
So next, Wang Zhong spent almost an hour telling everyone in detail about the up and down, inside and outside of Beihai Town in his eyes. During this period, people sometimes admired, sometimes disdained, sometimes clapped their hands, and sometimes looked at each other in horror.
Even though all of the people who came today look like pastoral hermits, in fact they all have aspirations for fame, but they are just unlucky. In fact, if Wang Zhong had not written a letter to convene him this time, Hong Liangji would have been ranked second in high school the year after next.
It is said that in the Confucian political pursuit of "inner sage and outer king", "inner sage" refers to self-cultivation, "ordering the family" is only the minimum requirement and the foundation of the outer king; and the highest ideal is "ruling the country" and "pacifying the world."
The participation of ancient scholars in actual politics was the political ideal of traditional scholars. This kind of participation in politics was not only a utilitarian behavior, but also because it was connected with the "inner sage" and was the way to achieve the highest realm of life. way.
Confucianism is both a set of systematic beliefs and a set of political doctrines. While politicized Confucianism provided a basis for legitimizing China's monarchical rule, primitive Confucianism also provided the scholar class with the basis for the road to officialdom and the ultimate spiritual sustenance.
Hong Liangji's brows furrowed more and more as he listened. Although Wang Zhong talked about large iron ships, towering chimneys, molten iron running around the clock, mechanical farming and many other confusing new things, he was still keenly aware of Beihai Town. means of governance.
The use of machinery to replace human labor in farming has led to a large number of agricultural people putting down their farm tools and entering factories and the army. Although it is sensational, it is understandable.
However, the government was sent to the countryside, a large number of low-level officials who did not understand Confucianism were trained from illiterate peasants, no imperial examinations were held, Confucianism was not the core of education, and military literacy was not adopted, etc., etc., he gradually understood that Wang Zhong was worried about What. The King of Zhao has made this method very easy. Once he aspires to the throne and ascends the throne, what will the world look like? Where is the refuge of the scholars?
Thinking of this, Hong Liangji suddenly shuddered, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
It is said that in the traditional "scholar politics" form, since "scholars" and "bureaucrats" are the basic sources of bureaucracy, "tradition" and "political tradition" are integrated. Once the imperial examination system is abolished, Taoism and political tradition will be separated immediately, and Confucianism as a carrier will be separated from politics. For all scholars, the disintegration of the "Four People's Politics" is nothing less than a catastrophic disaster!
Don't think that there is no difference between scholars and intellectuals. This is not just a change in name, but essentially the collapse of Confucian politics. Scholars combine Taoism and politics, and have the responsibility to clarify the world and implement people's hearts; while intellectuals, due to the separation of Taoism and politics, can only bear the responsibility of academic research to a certain extent.
In the letters written to his children by later generations, Liang Qichao showed the similarities and differences in the mentality of scholars and intellectuals during the transitional period. He claimed that at that time, he was “in inner battle and pain every day.” “Because as a political party, there were many people I didn’t want to see and I had to do things I didn’t want to do. I really couldn’t live this kind of life. If I were completely If you stay on the sidelines and shy away from the situation, you will have a hard time with the country in your conscience."
In the end, he could only adopt a compromise approach, which was to stay away from political discussions. The roots are gone, how can it not be painful?
(End of chapter)
