"True Confucianism, fake Confucianism..." Seeing Fang Xiaoru intoxicated, Zhu Su was also thoughtful. This statement is quite good, as it can clearly divide the literati team.
Zhu Su was already considering whether to spread these two words to the world to cause literati to attack each other.
Since he was able to successfully persuade Fang Xiaoru, Zhu Su immediately led people to drive into the palace. Whether this will work or not depends on Lao Zhu’s opinion.
It was already noon when we arrived at the palace gate, and Lao Zhu had a rare free time. Together with Queen Ma and Prince Zhu Biao, he was playing in the pavilion of the imperial garden with his grandson Zhu Xiongying.
"So, the fifth brother wants to restore the original Confucianism of Confucius' time, use Confucianism to attack Confucianism, and release the constraints of Confucianism on thought?" Zhu Biao frowned and thought. "Confucius is the sage of Confucianism. Restoring his old system will indeed be easier for Confucian scholars all over the world to accept."
"Just like this, wouldn't it mean starting from scratch? The original Confucian thought was poor after all. How can we ensure that no other Confucian scholars will still find chapters and sentences in these old papers and tinker with new ideas after dozens or hundreds of years? Confucianism has brought disaster to the country and the people?"
Zhu Su nodded: "What the elder brother said is true. Therefore, when we promote original Confucianism, we are not just following the old book."
"While promoting it, we should also draw a bottom line for it, one is 'managing the world and applying it', and the other is 'confucianism is clear and the nature is clear'."
"The original meaning of the so-called 'jingshijiaizhi' is that Confucian thought must have its practical significance. It is necessary to pay attention to reality, face contradictions directly, never apply mechanically, and oppose those empty theories such as 'reason', 'qi' and so on. .”
"And 'Ming Confucianism sees nature' means to put an end to taking quotes out of context and applying mechanically. For example, 'Zilu asks about politics', that is talking about 'asking about politics', and cannot be related to morality, ethics, heaven and earth, and qi. From reality We should set out to understand the Master's intention to teach students according to their aptitude. We should not mechanically apply superficial methods, but should explore and understand the original intention of why the Master said this, so as to 'not only observe his actions, but also see his nature'."
Zhu Biao pondered for a while, and then praised him fiercely: "Wonderful! What a man who manages the world and makes practical use of it, and who is a wise scholar and sees his nature!"
"In this way, Confucianism can be regarded as truly enduring. Once there are those who abandon reality and stick to conventions, it cannot be regarded as Confucianism!"
"Yes." Zhu Su nodded and smiled. "In addition, the method of science can be used in parallel with Confucianism. Science arms the hands, and Confucianism arms the mind. Scientific logic is rigorous, and it can also make people down-to-earth and think less about illusory things. Moreover, only by practicing both internally and externally can you achieve success. The real China that never comes easy."
"What Su'er said makes sense." Empress Ma, who rarely expressed her opinions in discussions and held Zhu Xiongying in her arms, also spoke. He said to Zhu Biao: "Mom has not read many books, but she also knows that this science is a good knowledge that can really benefit the people. If not talk about anything else, let's talk about wool. Who would have thought that wool can be rinsed with medicinal water and spun into thread? , the knitted clothes are actually warmer than cotton clothes?”
"Those Confucian scholars always look like they know everything. I don't think they can figure out this truth. How good is this saying about thoughts and hands? I think the Great Song Dynasty was because they cut off their hands and their thoughts were gone. Only when it was done crookedly did it become so cowardly. In the end, it was invaded by foreigners and sent the entire country of China away."
Ever since she learned about Chongzhen's death, Empress Ma, who had always been a virtuous and virtuous woman, became unusually hostile to civil servants. Moreover, she has always been very kind-hearted and has always spared no effort to support science, a knowledge that can truly benefit the people.
"We understand what Lao Wu means." Seeing Lao Zhu who had been pondering, he spoke. Zhu Su and others all fell silent. "But we still have two doubts."
"First, if Confucianism is to go back to the original intention of Confucius, does that mean that even the Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Virtues, the connection between heaven and man, etc. should no longer exist?"
"And the second thing. What we want is that the civil servants no longer only focus on fighting with the emperor, but also shift their goal of 'wanting to share the world with the emperor'."
"I don't seem to know how to transfer this point?"
Lao Zhu looked directly at Zhu Su and said.
As an emperor, what Lao Zhu cares about is not whether the inheritance of Confucianism can be accepted by others, or even what kind of content it contains.
What he cared about was always whether such a theory could help the Ming Dynasty, prove the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty's rule, and whether it would become an obstacle to imperial power in the future.
"You know everything about me. Someone has asked about the core." Zhu Su smiled and flattered, making Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao, and Queen Ma laugh.
Under Lao Zhu's laughter and scolding of "Stop talking nonsense", Zhu Su said: "Actually, your two doubts are already contained in what I just said, 'Ming Confucianism sees nature.' Look beyond the appearance to the essence and understand what Confucius wanted to teach people."
"Brother, you are well-read. Tell me, Confucius traveled around the world and created Confucianism, sparing no effort. So what was his fundamental goal?"
"The fundamental goal?" Zhu Biao was slightly startled. Under the gaze of Lao Zhu and Empress Ma, he thought for a moment and said: "What Confucius wanted in his life was nothing more than the four words 'reviving Zhou rites'. Could it be that what you, fifth brother, are referring to are Zhou rites?" "
"Brother is right, but not right either. 'Zhou Rites' is still just a means of expression. What Confucius wanted to achieve was a polite, orderly, strong and fertile China behind the 'Zhou Rites'!"
"The three cardinal principles and the five constant principles are inspired by heaven and man. It seems to strengthen the imperial power, but in fact it is illusory and has long lost its power to intimidate. Changes in the sky are a natural phenomenon, but in the Song Dynasty, whenever there was a change in the sky, scholar-bureaucrats would often gather in groups to write letters and refute the emperor's father in the name of heaven. Policies and regulations are in place to protect one’s own interests.”
"Does this kind of rule strengthen or weaken the imperial power?"
When Zhu Su said this, Lao Zhu was thoughtful. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he wanted to promote Neo-Confucianism. What he valued was actually that Neo-Confucianism emphasized the preservation of natural principles and the elimination of human desires, and the three cardinal principles and five constant principles. It was for the imperial family to restrain officials and maintain the original status quo of society.
However, after knowing the situation of the Ming Dynasty in the future, he has completely understood that simply by promoting Neo-Confucianism, he cannot control all officials. After all, the so-called great Confucian scholars are from the same school as the civil servants. How many of them would truly believe in the so-called Son of Heaven, the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Rules?
If you want to use their knowledge to control Confucian officials, you will let them take care of themselves. By the way, he handed them a knife, a knife that could stab the imperial power.
Looking at Emperor Zhengde and Emperor Chongzhen, etc., we can see how much injustice the emperor had to suffer at the hands of civil servants.
"Father, you started at a young age, expelled the Tartars, and achieved the righteousness of the country without anyone else in the world. The reason why you became emperor was not because of the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Rules, but because you complied with the people's will. If you really want to follow the so-called principle of a king as a minister, you were still the same in the past. The subjects of the Yuan Dynasty. After all, don't they become rebellious ministers and traitors?" Zhu Su said.
"It is untenable to use this argument to persuade thieves and bandits."
"In this case, why not change it to a more tenable term, 'respect the king and repel the barbarians'!" Zhu Su said.
(End of chapter)
