Chapter 622: Confucianism and Taoism
If the sky is healthy, a gentleman will strive to strengthen himself; if the terrain is weak, a gentleman will be virtuous. ----------Confucius' "Xiang Zhuan"
It is said that Zheng Xuan spattered on the podium and talked about the "Book of Rites" for a long time. The content involved was profound and thoughtful, but the reason for it was the ancients' confusion about the universe and the mysterious nature. Because it couldn't be explained, they came up with the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements to explain it. And because Yin-Yang and Five Elements seemed to conform to certain fixed natural laws, the ancients thought that they could predict the occurrence of events by referring to mysterious rules, and use the observed movements of stars to correspond to human beings. The direction of destiny generally gave rise to the "divination" and "prophecy" studies of the "Book of Changes".
After Zheng Xuan raised the question of heaven and earth, there was a break in the middle of the sermon. This meant that Sasan, a nobleman from the Parthian Empire, took the initiative to come to Chen Long to strike up a conversation and make friends. It also made Chen Long understand that there were still people outside the Western Regions to the west. Infinite land, there are still infinite empires on the earth. Based on the knowledge recorded in Chen Long's brain, of course, he can clearly understand the Roman Empire, Parthian Empire, Kushan Empire and other dynasties at that time. These empires are also constantly experiencing external troubles and internal strife. The fights between various tribes are even worse than in the last years of the Han Dynasty. It is still unclear whether Chen Long's time travel has brought changes to the entire world history. .
The arrival of Sassanid at least proved one thing. The Western world knew that such a prosperous and prosperous Han Empire existed, and it had established a considerable trade channel, which was the ancient Silk Road. There are countless large and small tribes sandwiched between several major empires. No one knows which tribe will suddenly rise and become the new Xianbei or Turks driven by ambition. Among them, some surrendered to the Roman Empire, and many were attached to the banner of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, at the Hundred Tribes Conference, there are not a few foreigners who come to learn from the advanced Eastern culture, and what they bring may be trade, or they may be inflated ambitions and covetousness.
After learning about the world outside the Western Regions from Sasan, Chen Long secretly made up his mind that since he has come to this world, as long as he can contribute to human society and as long as Sasan can become a king who treats the people well, he might as well become Sasan The magic gun used in his hand helps restore peace to the world outside the Western Region, thereby achieving maximum stability and peace on China's western border. At that time, the world was full of killing battlefields. Even if you died in a foreign battlefield by killing, it would not be considered a wasted journey through this life.
Zheng Xuan came on stage again, and Sashan hurried back to her seat. Apparently he had a background behind him to get the VIP seat. Chen Long saw a masked young man behind him. After a few glances, he couldn't see his face clearly, so he withdrew his gaze and looked at Zheng Xuan intently. After all, his main task was to win the qualification for the martial arts competition to recruit a bride.
Regarding the nature of heaven and earth, no one here knows better than Chen Long. The difficulty is that Chen Long cannot say the truth that the earth is round and there is a new continent on the other side of the ocean. Otherwise, he will be judged as a lunatic on the spot. Just when Chen Long was considering the scale of his answer, Zhang Ji, the host's handsome general, finally couldn't sit still. He stood up, saluted, and replied: "Master Zheng, my disciple Zhang Ji is willing to answer."
Zhang Ji calls himself a disciple. He seems to be modest, but in reality he is arrogant. He declares to the bosses and scholars around him that his family has a close relationship with Zheng Xuan. Zheng Xuan smiled and didn't point it out. He just listened to Zhang Ji's answer: "My disciple believes that the word "Yi" means "sun" and "moon", and "moon" means "sun" and "yin". Sun and moon represent heaven and earth, which means yin and yang." Zheng Xuan He nodded slightly, seeming to be applauded.
Zhang Ji was encouraged and continued: "The ancient sage Confucius said in the "Xiang Zhuan": 'Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement; the terrain is flat, and a gentleman carries things with great virtue.' This means that the movement of heaven is strong, strong, and healthy, and accordingly, Here, a gentleman's behavior in the world should be like the sky, striving for progress, perseverance, perseverance, and never giving up; the earth's momentum is thick and gentle, corresponding to this, a gentleman's behavior should be like the earth, self-enhancement of virtue, Stick to the roots, have great ambitions, and accommodate all things. The so-called way of heaven. The law of its operation is to adapt to changes, that is, if things change, they will become permanent, and if things become permanent, they will change. Heaven is eternal and eternal, and in this kind of constant and eternal In it, there are variable laws that only adapt to changes. Things change according to the laws of the operation of Heaven, so everything in the world is changing. Only the laws of Heaven itself remain unchanged, so changes in things must follow the laws of the operation of Heaven. "
"As for the earth, since everything in the world changes according to the laws of heaven, and only the laws of heaven itself remain unchanged, then the earth should follow the laws of heaven, not go against the laws of nature, and adapt to changes with the times. Only in this way can the earth be maintained for a long time. "At this point, Zhang Ji paused slightly, as if he was thinking about how to continue his train of thought.
Zheng Xuan interrupted without hesitation and asked: "Then whose changes should people between heaven and earth follow?"
Zhang Ji was speechless for a moment, and after a while he replied: "As for people between heaven and earth, they should naturally follow the golden mean and operate in the middle of the natural way of heaven and earth. They can neither go too far nor fall short. They must be consistent with the current situation. Do things according to the laws of heaven and earth." After saying this, he looked at Zheng Xuan slightly proudly, because the so-called golden mean he mentioned was exactly the Confucian classics.
Zheng Xuan smiled and nodded, but he continued to ask: "What is the difference between your explanation and the Taoist saying that 'man follows the earth, earth follows the sky, heaven follows the Tao, and Tao follows nature'?"
This involves some of the most fundamental differences between Confucianism and Taoism. Zhang Ji did not expect that Master Zheng would press forward to ask questions. He was speechless for a moment, panicked, and even more at a loss what to do. Just when he was embarrassed, a white light suddenly flashed out of the corner of his eyes. Ma Yunluo, who was dressed in white and snowy, suddenly stood up, opened his mouth and asked: "Can I answer for General Zhang?"
Zhang Ji couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw Ma Yunluo come forward. The beautiful gang leader relieved himself of his embarrassment in public, which showed that he valued Zhang Ji. Seeing Zheng Xuan nodding, Ma Yunluo replied generously: "My daughter believes that the pre-Qin Confucianism and Taoism have similar understandings of heaven and earth, which is the so-called harmony. Harmony is a kind of law or law, and it is also an ideal state. It emphasizes that people should live in harmony and advocates "the unity of nature and man." However, pre-Qin Confucianism advocates that the heart is the master and pays attention to the power of human beings and the role of morality; pre-Qin Taoism advocates transcending the world, valuing the harmony of nature, and believes that the true nature of human beings is harmony. , we must take refuge in nature and follow the laws of nature. Therefore, although they both agree on the laws of heaven's operation, the 'Tao' they follow is different."
After Ma Yunluan said a few words, Zhang Ji bared his teeth and nodded, indicating that he meant the same thing. Zheng Xuan took a deep look at Ma Yunluan, and finally smiled and said: "Very good. General Zhang has a good family background and vividly describes the relationship between heaven and earth, so he will naturally be qualified to pursue the caravan leader."
Ma Yunluo immediately put a touch of red on his face, rolled his eyes at Zheng Xuan and sat down. Zhang Ji was even more happy, as if he had succeeded in pursuing Ma Yunluo. But he forgot that that was not the era of free love. If it was a competition to recruit a bride, even if Ma Yunluo was willing, he would still need to use force to defeat all his competitors.
At Zheng Xuan's signal, the attendant was about to write Zhang Ji's name on the whiteboard when suddenly someone in the VIP seat got angry and suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Master Zheng, please wait!"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
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