Zhu Su was asking Song Lian directly, since you said Confucianism is so important. But during the time of Yao and Shun, there was no Confucianism.
Why was Confucius more respected in the Yao and Shun eras without Confucianism than in later generations with Confucianism?
This is undoubtedly an attempt to slap Confucianism in the face.
Song Lian frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and replied: "Three generations have passed, and people's hearts have not lost their hearts. With a wise king alive, the world can be unified."
"Afterwards, the Duke of Zhou established rituals and brought great order to the world. Unfortunately, later the rituals collapsed and the music collapsed, and the world fell into ruin. Above the temples, rotten wood served as officials, and between the emperors and emperors, animals and beasts devoured their wealth."
"The saint was born at this time, just to restore respect for etiquette. In this chaos, he regained the morality of people's hearts and showed a glorious and righteous path."
"If there were no saints, wouldn't it mean that rites would continue to collapse, music would be ruined, and people's hearts would be lost? The learning of saints is the way to rectify the world's people's hearts. If you repent and abandon it, you will be dressed like an animal. Who can tell the difference?"
As expected of the great scholar Song Lian, he eliminated Zhu Su's heart-wrenching questions in just a few words. He also pointed out that the teachings of Confucius were for the purpose of rectifying people's hearts, and that abandoning Confucianism would only return the world to chaos.
"That's it." Zhu Su nodded, not in a hurry. The Analects of Confucius mostly elaborate on the moral standards, principles of conduct, political thoughts, etc. advocated by Confucius. Confucius, as the teacher of all generations, most of his concepts were actually without any problems at the beginning.
Zhu Sub had never thought about criticizing someone who could be called a teacher to all generations without thinking of his own abilities.
He thought for a while and continued: "The student has one more question."
"Since Confucianism aims to rectify people's hearts and bring great governance to the world, then other than the three dynasties, which dynasty can be considered to have great governance?"
Song Lian was stunned. This question was completely beyond his expectation. He thought hard for a long time, and then sighed: "How can it be easily restored that the world's hearts have lost their hearts? The rule of Datong, even if it is as virtuous as the Master, cannot be restored."
"Now that I think about it, maybe during the Han and Tang Dynasties, the world could barely speak of the word 'governance'."
Zhu Su breathed a sigh of relief. Song Lian was objective and upright, and respected the Han and Tang Dynasties for governing the world. He was worthy of his reputation as a great Confucian.
After all, the Song Dynasty was a dynasty with prosperous literary culture and a true "emperor and scholar-bureaucrats co-ruling the world". It was also a dynasty that countless literati flocked to and longed for.
If you ask other literati who have no bottom line, they may insist that the Song Dynasty is closest to the so-called "era of great rule", and then put the blame for the "weak Song Dynasty" on the head of the Zhao emperor.
Although Song Zhi was weak, Jiumei, etc., the Zhao family emperor was the culprit, but in real terms, how could it be that the emperor was the only one to blame?
If we really meet such an unobjective gangster, we won't be able to talk anymore.
"This will make it even harder for students to understand." After hearing that Song Lian's answer was as he expected, Zhu Su then asked:
"Since the purpose of Confucianism is to bring great order to the world. Several generations of sages have mastered the classics. The knowledge of how to bring great order to the world should become clearer with more debate, and the world should get closer and closer to the great unity. It’s the right thing to do.”
"But why was it that the Han and Tang Dynasties, which were so long ago, were closer to the rule of the world? But in the Song and Yuan Dynasties after the Han and Tang Dynasties, the people were in dire straits and the world was in chaos?"
"You must know that both the Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty respected Confucianism as the official school of the imperial court... They also used Confucianism to govern the country. Why did the Han and Tang Dynasties prosper, while the Song and Yuan Dynasties ruled and declined?"
"This..." Song Lian was stunned by the question. For a moment, he was speechless.
Even Liu Bowen, who was always watching, gradually frowned and began to think deeply.
"The Analects of Confucius only has more than 16,000 words." Zhu Su expressed his point of view without waiting for Song Lian to come up with an explanation. "However, many so-called 'great Confucianists' in later generations, such as Dong Sheng and Cheng Zhu, could easily come up with brilliant words of millions, millions, and tens of thousands of words in front of only 16,000 words. It makes sense.”
"When I was in the main hall, I often thought about it. The Analects of Confucius is what Confucius taught his disciples. If you want to teach others, it should be concise and clear so that the disciples can understand and absorb it."
"Is it true that the master is so secretive and mysterious, trying to make every sentence or even every word he says contain such mysterious and profound truths as explained by Cheng Zhu?"
"There are really so many truths. Why doesn't the master say it directly, but let the stupid disciples who need to be educated guess and discover it? If they are really so smart, what else do you need the master to do?"
"If a word is passed on to three people, it will be completely different. Can those so-called later generations of great scholars who wrote annotations for the Analects of Confucius and often wrote thousands of words really not be wrong about Master's meaning?"
"Is this complicated Confucianism that students are learning today... really the Confucianism that Confucius said and thought in the past and wanted to spread to the world?"
Zhu Su's words were astonishing.
"Your Highness, be careful!" Song Lian suddenly stood up in shock, even the tea cup on the table was thrown to the ground, as if he hadn't heard anything. His forehead and face were already covered with dense beads of sweat.
"Cheng Zhu...Cheng Zhu's Neo-Confucianism is so profound and profound that ordinary people can hardly get a glimpse of it even if they spend their entire lives."
"Your Highness doesn't know what's going on, how can you say something wrong?"
Song Lian said. It's just that his expression at this time is no longer as sharp as before.
"Profound, profound, profound?" Zhu Su chuckled. "Master Song, aren't the things I wrote to Fang Xiaoru not profound and profound?"
"In terms of profoundness, those remarks are probably no less than those of Cheng and Zhu. Why did the Master of the Song Dynasty regard Cheng and Zhu as the sage of Confucianism, but regard those words as monstrous words to deceive the public?"
The few words Zhu Su wrote to Fang Xiaoru are the essence of philosophy that can be passed down to later generations. They are all thoughts that have influenced millions of people and caused uproar in a certain era.
After the long process of history, these ideas, even those that are very nonsense idealism, still contain enough profound "philosophy" for people to dig deep and explore. Otherwise, how could a rigid talent like Fang Xiaoru be deceived into lameness?
Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, if we only talk about the profound, boring and obscure Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, I am afraid it will not be as good as these many famous philosophical sentences that can be passed down to future generations!
"Zhengshuo, Yaoyan, Zhengshuo, Yaoyan..." Song Lian, a learned man, was suddenly shaken by Zhu Su's conclusion.
Yes, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is indeed profound, but those few words that came out of Fang Xiaoru's mouth are not inferior to it. Could it be that just because Cheng and Zhu were affiliated with Confucianism, they were Zhengshuo?
If Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which is now regarded as the Zhengshuo of Confucianism, is really the so-called "Zhengshuo", then why was the world strong and prosperous during the Han and Tang Dynasties? But in the Song and Yuan dynasties, the imperial court followed the Cheng-Zhu rule to govern the country, but the whole world was in decline and became more and more decadent?
Doesn’t this just show that the Neo-Confucianism respected by thousands of students has led the world into a wrong dead end?
Moreover, are Cheng and Zhu’s words really what Confucius meant?
If not, then what is the difference between Cheng and Zhu's studies and those fallacies and heresies spoken by Fang Xiaoru?
Students all over the world have been studying for many years and are very knowledgeable. Could it be that they are all wrong?
(End of chapter)
