As the faction gets bigger and the status gets higher, it is not so easy to react quickly to some things. Just like Pan Sheng suddenly chose to side with the Xin School this time, the Real School's response was not too fast. It was not until the Double Ninth Festival half a month later that Xu Guo chose to hold another meeting as a last resort.
China has a tradition of respecting the elderly since ancient times, but this Double Ninth Festival is not only about respecting the elderly, but also an activity that has been passed down for thousands of years, which is climbing.
The big names in practical education in Beijing received invitations from Jian Xinzhai a few days ago. The invitations were all in a unified format and read: "On September 9th, we will climb high to enjoy the cup. Fragrant mountain white jade, waiting for your visit."
"Fragrant Mountain White Jade" is a scene that has been called "the best new scene in Shenjing" by good people in recent years. This place is quite mysterious to outsiders, but it is commonplace for Gao Pingshi, because it is his Jianxinzhai Baiyulou Villa located at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain.
Xu Guo and Xu Cifu convened a "private" meeting with officials from the Real School in Beijing, but in the end they chose the Baiyu Tower. What this explains is very thought-provoking in itself.
Some people believe that this is a manifestation of Xu Cifu's inability to control such a huge faction, so he finally had to resort to the high pragmatism of mastering the "legacy" left by the three leaders of the Practical School.
Some people believe that when Xu Cifu did this, he was just like Guo Pu and Zhang Siwei, who had to rely on the "Gao Party direct lineage" in the hands of Gao Jingshi. The purpose of doing this was just to show that he had obtained Gao Jingshi's support.
Some people believe that gaining Gao Pragmatism's support is just a superficial phenomenon. The fact that the "Double Ninth Festival Conference" was held in Baiyu Tower shows that Gao Pragmatism has completed the "usurpation of power" within the Pragmatic School - Xu Cifu can no longer control the huge power. The power of the Practical School has been transferred to Gao Pragmatic, and Xu Cifu is only in name.
There are even conspiracy theorists who swear that the "Double Ninth Festival Conference" in Baiyulou was decided by Gao Jingshi, and Xu Cifu was forced to agree. Maybe this is a conference where the power struggle within the Pragmatic School breaks out. Gao Jingshi will definitely think In this conference, he obtained the actual control of the real school and used his position as minister to overpower the second assistant.
Gao Jingshi himself also heard Gao Mo relaying such rumors in Shenjing's officialdom, but he simply ignored them.
Overwhelm Jisuke?
Why should I press him? Is Xu Cifu my enemy?
Obviously not.
He is my senior brother, someone high, and the leading face of the Realistic School. Why should I try to overpower him? Enough support?
Yes, Senior Brother Xu's personal style is indeed not as clear-cut as the first three leaders of the Practical School.
He is not as enterprising as Gao Gong, who always dares to be the first in the world as long as he is determined in everything; he is not as kind as Guo Pu, who is loyal to the emperor, sincere to his colleagues, and caring for his subordinates; nor is he as soft on the outside and gentle on the inside as Zhang Siwei. Gang, it seems easy to talk to him, but actually you want to disobey him? I’ll give you a good look later.
Xu Guo is a typical Confucian official. He has ideals, but does not seek to be self-centered. He is very enthusiastic about simple and easy things. For some major issues that are more troublesome and difficult to determine the impact, he is somewhat hesitant and prefers to make temporary compromises in order to achieve long-term effects and avoid intensifying conflicts when he is in charge.
Specific to the Pan Sheng incident, after Xu Guo listened to Gao's pragmatic analysis, he tended to be conservative - that is, wait and see what happens and not respond for the time being.
His reason is that although Pan Sheng was relatively slightly inclined to the Real School in the past, there was a prerequisite for that, and the premise was that the first assistant was from the Real School. Moreover, Pan Sheng is only slightly inclined. He is not considered a member of the Practical School from beginning to end, but a neutral school.
Nowadays, although Pan Sheng has turned to the heart school, as long as he calms down and thinks about it, he will find: So what? The power of the Practical School itself was not compromised.
Xu Guo believes that after the era in which the three chief assistants of the Real School came to power one after another, now, whether everyone is willing or not, we have actually entered a new era in which the Xin School is the chief assistant. Under this new overall situation, the first thing that the Practical School should do is to ensure the unity within the faction and ensure that the entire Practical School officials can still firm their beliefs and continue to promote reforms as their purpose, rather than falling into party disputes and forgetting the high moral integrity of the past. The repeated emphasis on “everything is for the sake of doing things”.
However, it is a pity that Gao Pragmatic only admits that his idea is noble enough, but is not optimistic about the future of doing so.
Gao Pragmatic has always believed that the essence of factional struggle is war, and it is a war that must be fought.
Factional struggles are completely different from his manipulation of the peaceful "evolution" of Tumut, and his efforts to win over nobles to give up "land wealth" and turn to "marine wealth" and so on.
The latter can all be solved by technical means, because they do not involve any political ideals, but only interests. In other words, the importance of interests is far greater than the so-called political ideals.
The same cannot be said for factionalism. Whether it is the Real School or the Xin School, they are both Confucian in theory, and they even criticize Neo-Confucianism. However, the contradiction between them is irreconcilable.
In Chinese academic circles, the nature of practical learning is a controversial issue. In the history of Chinese thought, practical learning is a widely used concept.
The so-called practical learning in China is actually the practical learning that began in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is a multi-level concept with extremely rich content. It includes not only the philosophy of vitality and substance, the study of moral practice, but also the practical study of the world and the practical study of actual measurement, as well as the practical study of textual research and the practical study of enlightenment, etc. "
What is the main content of practical learning? Gao pragmatism believes that it can be summed up into three points, namely "advocating reality and overthrowing virtuality", "seeking truth from facts" and "applying practical knowledge to the world". These three points constitute the spiritual core of pragmatism.
The origin of the spirit of practical learning in Confucian culture can be traced further back. As Lu Jiuyuan said: "Everyone knows how to love relatives and respect brothers...this is the practical learning of the three dynasties of Tang and Yu." From the ancient classics compiled and revised by Confucianism, we can see Learn how the spirit of practical learning gradually developed.
For example, the highly pragmatic classic "Book of Changes·Tai" says: "If you are elegant, you will not be rich. If you are not careful, you will be prosperous." "Xiang" says: "If you are charming, you will not be rich. If you are not disciplined, you will be prosperous." , the heart is willing." The line of Tai Gua Sixty-four means that the family is not rich, but they want to brag and show off to their neighbors. This is an "untrue" mentality and should be taken as a warning.
There are many ideas similar to "advocating reality and opposing virtuality" in the historical documents of the Three Dynasties. Although there was no such term as practical learning at that time, the basic spirit contained in practical learning in the future was being condensed and formed at this time.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were China's "Axial Age". The collapse of traditional religions created a huge spiritual void in society, causing hundreds of schools of thought to emerge in droves and put forward their own ideas for governing the country.
The Confucianism founded by Confucius was one of the most influential schools among the pre-Qin scholars. The spiritual direction of "advocating reality and overthrowing emptiness" unveiled by Confucius laid the foundation of China's practical culture.
Why do you say that? Because Confucius gave a doubtful answer to anything that could not be verified. Facing the huge legacy left by ancient religions, the most illusory thing is the other side of the world, so "Ji Lu asked about ghosts and gods. Confucius said: "'If you can't serve people, how can you serve ghosts? "Dare you ask about death?" He said: "'If you don't know life, how can you know death?' '"
Although Confucius did not completely deny the existence of the other side of the world, he emphasized that the focus of his scholarship was on "knowing life" and "doing things with people." Therefore, regarding the relationship between this shore and the other shore, Confucius advocated "to serve the people, respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance." In other words, although smart rulers respect ghosts and gods, they should keep a distance from them and focus their main energy on ghosts and gods. in the real world.
The tendency of Confucian philosophy to engage with the world is the inevitable result of the spirit of "advocating reality over virtuality". In the process of exploring the laws of real social and political development, Confucius also advocated a spirit of "seeking truth from facts."
He said: "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, it is knowing." When studying, one should have an objective attitude and cannot replace actual learning with one's own subjective imagination.
Confucius said: "I am not born to know. I am fond of the past and keen to pursue it." Confucius did not study for the sake of knowledge, but regarded learning as a game for the wise.
The important difference between the pre-Qin scholars and the ancient Greek philosophers is that the motivation that prompted them to conduct research was not metaphysical interest, but the worry of saving the country and the people in troubled times. Therefore, Confucius always emphasized "putting what you have learned into practice" into practice.
For example, he asked students to study the "Book of Songs". He said: "There are three hundred poems in the Book of Songs, which can be summed up in one sentence, saying: thinking is innocent." "The Book of Songs can be inspired, observed, grouped, and complained about." Study. The Book of Songs is of great significance, even to the point where "it is impossible to describe it without studying the Book of Songs".
However, studying the Book of Songs is by no means just for personal appreciation or entertainment. Confucius pointed out: "Recite "Poems" three hundred times and teach them how to govern, but they are not good at it; when they are sent to all directions, they cannot be specific. Even though there are many, is it a joke?"
Even if you recite the Book of Songs very accurately, you will not be able to exercise the power when you are given the power, you will be sent as an envoy to various countries, and you will not be able to answer questions during negotiations. So what is the use of learning more? Therefore, Confucius particularly emphasized “learning and applying it”. He said: “A gentleman learns and applies it.”
The spirit of practical learning is a basic tendency in Confucian culture and has universal value, which can be proved by the development of Confucianism for thousands of years.
From the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars over-exploited the transcendent ideological resources within and outside Confucianism, resulting in an academic atmosphere of "ostentation and exaggeration" in society. The "minor words and big meanings" of modern classics that are thousands of miles away from the topic, and the increasingly cumbersome "exegesis and textual research" of ancient classics all deviate from the scholarly purpose of Confucianism that pays attention to social practical issues.
"Lunheng" written by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty is a battle cry against the ills of social hypocrisy. "Reality" and "fictitious" can be said to be the keywords that appear most frequently in the book. Wang Chong also analyzed the reasons why there are so many empty words in society. The root cause is superstitious belief in the so-called classics left by Confucian sages.
He said: "The world believes in false books and thinks that those written on bamboo and silk are all passed down by sages and sages, and they are all the same. Therefore, they believe in them and read them in a satirical way. Seeing that the true biography is contrary to the false books, It is also called a short book and cannot be trusted."
It is particularly worth mentioning that when Gao Pingshi searched a subset of classics and history documents, he found that it was Wang Chong who was the first to use the two concepts of "practice" and "learning" together.
He said: "Han Zi is not a Confucian, saying that it is useless and harmful, and that he is a vulgar Confucian who has no conduct, does not pay attention to etiquette in his actions, uses the name of Confucianism to practice vulgarity, uses practical learning instead of false teachings, and corrupts the honor of officials, so he is not noble."
Of course, the concept of "practical learning" used here is different from the usage by scholars after the Song and Ming dynasties. The "learning" here is a verb rather than a noun. But everyone knows that Chinese grammar is not rigorous, and various parts of speech can be converted into each other. The practical learning of later generations developed from these vocabulary.
Wang Chong accidentally used the term "practical learning", which on the one hand shows that practical learning at that time was still a spiritual tendency of Confucianism and had not yet formed a stable academic school; on the other hand, Wang Chong worked hard to rectify various "false and unrealistic" errors in the development process of Confucian classics. That is to say, we are developing practical learning.
From the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was the peak period of the development of Buddhism and Taoism in China, while the development of Confucianism was relatively stagnant. In order for Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties to restore the "tradition" of the sage kings, it was necessary to revitalize the original practical culture of Confucianism. Therefore, the cultural trend of "advocating reality and deposing fictitiousness" once again set off in the ideological world.
Hu Yuan, a Confucian scholar in the early Song Dynasty, first raised the banner of "bright body and effective use" and opposed the bad academic style in society of "advocating sound, rhythm and flashy words". He was later called "principal learning" by Huang Zongxi.
Later, Zhang Zai advocated that "Taixu is the reality of heaven. All things are based on Taixu, and people also come from Taixu." "But Taixu is unshakable, so it is the most real." He said that "Taixu is Qi" The ontological thought of vitality opposes the emptiness in the religious thoughts of Buddha and Lao Lao.
Ercheng said: "What is true is that it is real. There is such a principle, so there is such a thing; there is such a thing, so there is a use; there is a use, so there is a heart; there is a heart, so there is a real heart. It is a matter of fact." They regard the laws of all things as the truth of heaven and earth, thereby opposing the supernatural and superhuman religious doctrines of Buddha and Lao Lao.
Zhu Xi used Er Cheng's "real theory" thought and pointed out: "All the theories of Confucianism are real, but all the theories of Buddhism are false." For a time, "advocating reality and deposing virtuality" became the main topic in the ideological circles of the Song and Ming Dynasties, and "practical learning" became the The words appeared frequently in the works of thinkers at that time.
There is no doubt that the "virtual" that thinkers at that time opposed was Buddha and Lao. However, different opinions on what kind of "real" should be advocated were not unified.
Gao Pragmatic felt that King Cheng, Zhu and Lu focused on the development of the inner transcendent spirit of Confucianism, the study of ontology and the cultivation of mind and morality, so their practical learning can be called "moral practical learning".
Wang Anshi, Li Gou, Chen Liang, Ye Shi, and Wang Tingxiang (Note: Please pay attention to this one. He had a great influence on Gao Gong’s theory and practice of practical science. It is generally believed that Gao Gong is the successor of Wang Tingxiang’s practical theory of managing the world. and practitioners) and others focus on the Confucian thought of meritorious service, and their practical learning can be called "practical learning of managing the world."
Gao pragmatic does not have much favorable impressions of "moral practical learning". He has always believed that "only practical learning can save the Ming Dynasty" since time travel. The "practical learning" here actually refers to "practical learning of managing the world", which is what Gao Gong inherited from Practical learning of Wang Tingxiang.
However, how come the "practical learning of managing the world" is so contrary to the Lu Wang Xinxue that Gao Pragmatic believes that this contradiction is irreconcilable?
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PS: This chapter talks about the essence of practical learning, especially the practical learning of managing the world. It may be thought that I am too short on words, but I thought about it for a full hour before I started writing today, and I still think this chapter is necessary.
The core of this book, from beginning to end, is not about pretending to be a slap in the face, which all of you readers today should be able to feel. "Reform of practical learning" is the fundamental core of the plot of this book. Therefore, I must find a node to clearly explain the spirit of practical learning and the root cause of the "controversy between the orthodoxy" between it and the Lu Wang Xinxue in the late Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, the whole book will Everything becomes a castle in the air - why are these people in the book fighting?
Therefore, not only in this chapter, but also in the next chapter, I will also talk about the issues related to Lu Wang Xin Xue, and then compare the two sides and explain the roots of the high pragmatic approach. However, the entire "water word count" is only two chapters today and tomorrow, so I will not focus on it later.
For those of you who "don't like to read theory", I forgot to explain this chapter in advance. I'm very sorry, but for tomorrow's chapter you can not subscribe and jump directly to the meeting with senior leaders of the Practical School the day after tomorrow. It should not have any impact on the "direct plot" would be too big.
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