Zhao Kai’s three questions are actually not that difficult!
It’s really not that difficult!
Find a knowledgeable monk to answer, it will only take a few sentences.
The Buddhist worldview is that the four great things are all empty. No matter how much money you have, how much power you have, how many wives you have, how many children you have, just kicking off your feet, all four great things are empty!
This truth...who can falsify it? Who can climb out of the coffin and continue to enjoy all the happiness in the world?
The value of Buddhism is also obvious.
There are so many temples in the world, how many of them are supported by imperial government funds? almost none. Even a royal temple like Daxiangguo Temple is profitable, and makes a lot of money. Even under the pressure of the imperial court - for example, when "three martial arts and one sect destroyed Buddhism", Buddhism can continue to survive and develop.
This shows the tenacious vitality of Buddhism!
As for the outlook on life of Buddhist disciples, of course it is to go to the West!
Although some people who believe in Buddhism believe in Buddhism for the sake of fame, officialdom and money...but there are also many people who have all these, such as those emperors and generals, who believe deeply in Buddhism. Even among those scholar-bureaucrats who passed the imperial examination and became officials, there are many who believe in Buddhism!
Without the support of the imperial court, even if Buddhism is suppressed, some people will still believe it.
And compared with Tianfang Sect and Catholicism, this Buddhism is almost like fighting against the five scum!
But Zhan Wuzha's Buddhism, or even the even more humble Taoism of cultivating immortals, or the weird Japanese Shintoism next door, can all answer Zhao Kai's three questions with actions.
How difficult would you say these three questions are?
It's not difficult at all!
But today, the more than a hundred great scholars and one of their more than a hundred disciples sitting on the top of the triangular fortress outside the east gate of Shanyang County were unable to answer Zhao Kai's three questions.
Not only was there no way to answer it...many of them hadn't even considered it!
Oh, it’s not that everyone hasn’t considered it, there are still some people who have considered these issues.
For example, Li Tong, a famous Confucian scholar recommended by Fujian Road and known as Mr. Yanping, considered these issues.
This Li Tong is not well-known in history, but one of his students is very famous, named Zhu Xi.
It was Zhu Xi who was revered as Zhu Xi before the collapse of Confucianism and ranked among the twelve philosophers of the Dacheng Hall.
Although after the collapse of Confucianism, people's evaluation of Zhu Xi became lower and lower... almost regarded him as a hypocrite who brought disaster to the country and the people.
But apart from the Song Dynasty Neo-Confucian scholars represented by Er Cheng and Zhu Xi, and the Song Dynasty Confucian scholars represented by Lu Jiuyuan, who else is considering these three major issues related to the survival of Confucianism?
And Zhu Xi did answer the first of these three questions, and his answer was pretty good, otherwise he wouldn't be considered Zhu Xi!
The answers given by Zhu Xi do not entirely come from his personal thinking and wisdom. They also come from his teacher Li Tong, Li Tong's mentors Yang Shi and Luo Congyan, and Yang and Luo's mentor Cheng Yi, as well as The collective wisdom of many Neo-Confucian masters of the Song Dynasty, including Cheng Yi's brother Cheng Hao.
However, the Neo-Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty had never seen or thought that there would be a day when etiquette would collapse, and they themselves also wanted to be officials (it was good to be an official, even the saints wanted it too!). Therefore, they only thought about the Confucian worldview and did not think about the other two questions raised by Zhao Kai.
Because no one has ever thought about what would happen if Confucianism lost the imperial examination? So when Confucian scholars had no officials to hold, Confucianism died... Although the influence of Confucian culture still exists, as a school or sect, it no longer exists.
Hu Yin, who asked the three questions on behalf of Zhao Kai, was actually one of the Neo-Confucians of the Song Dynasty. His father Huan Guo was a disciple of Yang Shi, and later he became a disciple of Jin Cai, a great Confucian who also studied in the Second Cheng Dynasty. Hu Yin and his brother Hu Hong were not only taught by Hu Guo, but also became disciples of Yang Shi and Hou Zhongliang (who were also disciples of the Cheng family). In addition, Hu Yin's younger brother Hu Ning and cousin Hu Xian both studied under Hu Guo.
In the original history, Hu Yin, Hu Hong, Hu Ning, and Hu Xian were all the founders of the Xianghu School of Neo-Confucianism!
Now, these four, plus Huan Guo, who is old and frail and is retiring at home, and Liu Kai's second son Liu Zihui (Liu Ziyu's brother), are all Confucian scholars in Zhao Kai's camp. Not only was he proficient in traditional Confucian classics, but also in Neo-Confucianism created by Er Cheng. He had also studied "New Arithmeticology" and "Gewu Xue" written by Zhao Kai, and even proposed some methods of studying things. He could be called a great Confucian.
But they also did not consider the last two questions of "Zhao Kai's Three Questions".
Now Hu Yin saw that the two to three hundred Confucian scholars present were frowning and lost in thought. It seemed that no one could answer "Zhao Kai's three questions", so he just smiled bitterly and said: "What the officials asked is indeed true." It’s not easy to answer. Anyone who can ask these three questions is already a great scholar of the world. If he can answer one of them, future generations will definitely respect him as a saint..."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly heard a sigh, so he followed the sound and found that the person sighing was actually Li Qingzhao, a layman in Yi'an.
Hu Yin asked: "How should the layman Yi An sigh?"
Li Qingzhao said: "I was just thinking, before Confucianism was the only one, when a hundred schools of thought contended, and when books were burned and Confucians were burned, what did the Confucian ancestors do? How did they inherit the way of the saints, and how did they stand out from the hundreds of schools of thought step by step? To become a master of learning and to dominate the world? The Confucian ancestors could do things, but can we, the younger generation, still do it? Do we still know how to do it?"
Hu Yin nodded, "What layman Yi An asked is indeed extraordinary!"
The prominent position of Confucianism today did not exist from the beginning. Through preaching and fighting, the Confucian ancestors gradually expanded their influence and attacked their opponents, and finally seized the "exclusive" position.
But after more than a thousand years of "monopoly", do the Song Confucians still know how to rob, how to fight, and how to develop and grow in adversity?
I no longer know!
They have become pets kept by the rulers... If the Confucian scholars back then were big bad wolves, then the Confucian scholars now are huskies. They look similar, but their ability to bite people is much different.
Then Hu Yin gave another wry smile: "Our Confucian supremacy was achieved step by step by the sages who fought for it, but we only know that we can only be good at reading, and we only know how to use the "Four Books and Five Classics" to make articles, but we don't know what our ancestors did at that time. Those who strive for such a status...are really ashamed of their ancestors!"
His sentiments soon resonated with Geng Nanzhong, and he heard the old man sigh: "Although we have read poetry and books and can write beautiful articles, we have forgotten the fighting methods of our ancestors. The art of preaching is so great that even if you have the intention to kill a thief, you are unable to save yourself... You are really ashamed to be a Confucian!"
His words really touched the hearts of many people!
Don't they just want to kill the gold thief, and they also want to kill the regular thief, but they are unable to save their lives?
The Southeast Confucian scholars present could not help but sigh, but no one dared to break out in front of Hu Yin, even if they were still on the territory of the Wu Kingdom.
Of course Hu Yin could also understand the profound meaning of Geng Nanzhong's words... Maybe the old man really felt ashamed of Zhao Huan, or maybe he was determined to provoke the Confucian scholars here to fight.
But no matter how much trouble he makes, Wu Guo will be helpless!
Thinking of this, Hu Yin squeezed out a smile and said to everyone: "The three questions asked by the officials cannot be answered in a short while. You can think about it slowly on the way to Qufu... Now is the turn." It’s time for you to ask questions to the officials!”
What? Can we still ask questions?
A group of Southeast Confucian scholars were stunned. They were all confused by "Zhao Kai's Three Questions", and most of them actually came with the same question... This question is: How many high-ranking officials and generous salaries are the officials prepared to bribe me?
But how to express such a question? We are all moral gentlemen who have read poetry and books, how can we be so shy and ask for rewards from officials?
Seeing that none of the Confucian scholars below said a word, Geng Nanzhong couldn't help but said: "Since you don't say anything, it's up to the old man to make suggestions."
Hu Yin said with a smile: "Mr. Geng, it's okay to ask... The officials said that this Confucius and Lin Conference is for everyone to speak. You can say anything, and the speaker is not guilty!"
"Okay, then I'll ask!" Geng Nanzhong said, "Will there be any imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty in the future? If so, what will be tested? How many scholars will be selected? In this world...are there still rich people like us? What’s the place for scholar-bureaucrats who read books from sages and sages?”
This question is really sharp!
Hu Yin nodded, and then called a messenger next to him to come up and collect the leeks on the table. Then he took out a scroll and unfolded it on the low table in front of him. Following his idea, he brought a brush and an inkstone. He even helped me sharpen the ink. Hu Yinze picked up his writing brush and recorded the questions raised by Geng Nanzhong on the scroll.
After finishing recording, he smiled and said to everyone: "Xiaguan is just an official, so he can't answer the questions you raised to the official... So I can only record it and rush it for six hundred miles." Send your questions to the officials, who will naturally answer them one by one when they arrive at Konglin."
"Yes!" Someone immediately stood up and asked, "There is something unknown in Lubenzhong, Lower Donglai!"
This person turned out to be the great-great-grandson of Lu Yijian, the great-grandson of Lu Gongzhu, the grandson of Mr. Lu Xizhe of Xingyang, the son of Taoist Lu Haowen who was the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the Taoist Confucian Lu Benzhong known as Mr. Donglai.
"It turns out to be Mr. Donglai," Hu Yin smiled and nodded at the man, "What do you want to ask?"
Lu Benzhong frowned and looked at Hu Yin with eyes like a torch: "When the official asked about Confucian politics and the heart of Confucian scholars, do they want to abandon Confucianism and switch to Legalist theory, no longer using benevolence, but exclusively using kings and dominators?" The art?"
Hu Yin nodded and said to himself: The questions raised by Lu Benzhong really hit the point, even sharper than those asked by Geng Nanzhong! Now it depends on how the officials will respond?
