Gao pragmatically told Guo Pu that they would stay in his bachelor's palace before the general examination. In fact, it was just a rhetoric. It was mainly used to express support for Guo Pu and thereby strengthen Guo Pu's authority in Gao's party. Gao pragmatic knew that Guo Pu would be able to see this.
Since it was just a gesture, then after Zhu Yijun's "regal power" and Gao Dang thunderously overthrew Ling Yunyi, Gao Jingshi didn't really have to live in Guoge's old mansion all the time.
The examiners of the examination were all temporarily decided by the emperor before the examination, but Gao pragmatically knew that even if Guo Pu was appointed by the emperor to preside over the examination, he would definitely refuse. The reason is simple, because Gao Pragmatic will also take part in the examination this time, and Gao Pragmatic is his student.
For the same reason, Gao Pragmatic estimates that his uncle Zhang Siwei will not serve as the examiner for this examination.
This makes Gao Pragmatic scratch his head a little, because there is a high chance that a cabinet minister will be the chief examiner of the professional examination, and there are only three cabinet ministers in the cabinet now. If Guo Pu and Zhang Siwei are not willing to serve as examiners, There is a high chance that the examiner this time will be Shen Shixing.
When the late emperor ascended the throne, Shen Shixing "co-informed the prince on the banquet affairs". Although he was not a daily lecturer, because he "took overall responsibility", he actually gave lectures to Zhu Yijun, that is, to Gao pragmatism.
Shen Shixing was the number one scholar in Jiajing's 41st year, so there is no doubt about his academic level. However, I have never been particularly fond of this number one scholar because of his high class and pragmatism. It's not that he can't explain the truth, but that Shen Shixing's teaching style is very practical. He is too calm and composed, and speaks in a small voice. He is more than gentle and elegant, but not powerful enough.
However, this is probably also Shen Shixing's personal style. He is a gentle and elegant person, and his scholarship even brings Confucianism to Taoism's Wuwei. To a certain extent, he represents a certain trend in the current psychology. It means that we pay too much attention to the so-called cultivation of mind and deliberately downplay many things in reality.
China has two thousand years of feudal history. During these two thousand years, the unified dynasties since the Han Dynasty have always respected Confucianism as orthodox values. But the so-called Confucianism has also changed and developed since Confucius and Mencius. Since the Song Dynasty, it has entered a new period. The New Confucianism founded by the Five Scholars in the Northern Song Dynasty was divided into Zhu and Liu schools in the Southern Song Dynasty. By the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism gradually became the mainstream in the ideological and cultural circles. By the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism further became the official orthodox ideology, and was fixed as the orthodox essentials of monarchical rule through measures such as the Eight-Part Composition Recruitment.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, various social contradictions intensified, capitalism sprouted in Jiangnan, and the citizen class grew. A trend of individual thought with a common meaning began to violently impact the official ideology represented by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the ethical code. concept. It was at this time that Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind appeared.
His ideological achievements are more impressive than his political experience. After experiencing arduous trials in reality, he developed his own theory of mind. "Towards conscience" is the core of Wang Yangming's philosophy. Later generations also called Wang Yangming's philosophy the study of conscience.
It is said that someone once invited Wang Yangming to give a lecture and asked him, "Besides conscience, what else can I talk about?" The questioner meant that he hoped that he would not just talk about conscience, and not stick to "leading to conscience". Wang Shouren used the same words to refute him, saying, "Besides conscience, what else can we talk about?"
In fact, Gao Pragmatic has a personal view on this story, and it is a "different view."
Mencius, the "Taizong" of Confucianism, said that conscience is a kind of nature that is close to instinct. It is knowing without learning and being capable without learning. The four ends of compassion, shame and disgust, resignation, and right and wrong that people embody through their good nature are all innate. inherent. But Wang Yangming turned this instinctive moral induction into the core values of the Three Views.
Gao Pragmatic has always believed that Zen Buddhism is the Sinicization and popularization of Buddhism, while Wang Xue is quite similar to Zen Buddhism in that it has popularized Confucianism. There is no need to stick to the teachings of the Four Books and Five Classics, and everyone can understand Confucianism as they wish. , everyone can be a sage.
Yangming's theory of mind has always been widely circulated among the people, but because it does not have a systematic and rigorous theory, it has not been able to achieve the status of orthodox thought and has even been attacked by the authorities at different stages. Even after Wang Yangming's death, Emperor Jiajing still commented on him, saying, "Shouren spoke freely, slandered the Confucian scholars, called on his disciples, made hypocritical claims, used deception to indulge sentiments, and harmed people's minds. In recent years, scholars have spread all kinds of heresies and advocated them." If the theory can be summed up in one sentence, it can be said that "Xinxue is a fallacy and heresy".
However, the strange thing is that half a century after Wang Yangming's death, Xinxue is still popular and has been officially recognized. In the twelfth year of Wanli in history, Zhang Juzheng died, and some disciples of Xinxue entered the center of power. Under their instigation, Emperor Wanli regarded Xinxue as a Confucian theory to develop innovations, and Wang Yangming was worshiped in the Confucius Temple.
Gao's pragmatic point of view is that Wang Yangming may be qualified to enter the Confucius Temple, but his Xin Xue at that time was already an obsessive Xin Xue and was no longer the true "Yangming Xin Xue".
Because Fu Shen Shixing, one of the representatives of Xinxue in the court at that time, the approach he insisted on could not be said to be "leading to conscience."
In fact, "conscience" itself is the most difficult word to define. The "theory of good nature" and the "theory of evil nature" have been arguing for thousands of years, and there is no absolute winner. What is "conscience"? It's that simple
Ask the two simplest questions: Is it right or wrong to kill? Is it right or wrong to kill the aggressor?
It can be seen that conscience sometimes cannot solve all problems. The root cause of many problems is not conscience at all, but only pros and cons.
"Children only talk about right and wrong, adults only look at the pros and cons."
Of course, the masters of mind science are all adults, but they have to use the guise of "conscience", which is troublesome. As a result, figures like Xu Jie and Shen Shixing emerged. It is one thing when talking about knowledge, and another thing when doing politics.
The pursuit of conscience has finally degenerated into the pursuit of selfish desires.
Xu Jie and Shen Shixing's "selfish desire" is manifested in moderation and perseverance. As long as they can keep their positions, they can ignore other things for the time being. If something happens, just He Xini. What matters is He Xini's ability, not the solution. problem means.
Zhang Juzheng was caught between them. Although he was born in physical education, he was greatly influenced by Gao Gong, so he embarked on another path. He preferred practical learning when governing the country, and he preferred mental learning when seeking personal gain. This is actually the root cause of Zhang Juzheng's history of resisting the corruption of others while committing corruption himself.
However, Gao Pragmatic is not worried that Shen Shixing will be disadvantageous to him if he really serves as the examiner, because Shen Shixing's political and human thoughts make him dare not break up with Gao Dang. Gao Pragmatic is fully sure of this. , especially after Gao Jingshi decisively took Ling Yunyi down.
With Shen Shi's cautious behavior, it is very possible that he was even careful to avoid conflict with Gao Dangshi during this period. After all, Gao Dang seemed to be tending to reunite after Gao Pragmatic returned to Beijing. If there was any action against Gao Pragmatic at this time, Gao Dang, who was "drawing his sword and looking around at a loss", might suddenly find his opponent and rush to "take the lead".
From the time when Gao Gong first entered the cabinet, to now for more than ten years, Gao Dang has always been in a style of defying heaven and earth. With Shen Shixing's way of life, how could he be willing to be the leader and fight with Gao Dang fights to death
Therefore, the question that Gao Wuzhi needs to consider now is, if Shen Shixing, who is ranked lowest in the cabinet, becomes the chief examiner, who will be the deputy examiner will have an impact on his path to Jinshi?
