"What kind of organization is this..." Theodora felt that she had heard too much news today.
"It is an extreme fundamentalist Confucian faction. These Confucian believers, in the name of spreading Confucius' teachings, carry out violent activities everywhere." Guo Kang specifically said in Chinese: "So, they are also called 'Kongbu elements.'"
Theodora rubbed her head and waved her hand towards him, gesturing for him to continue. Guo Kang thought for a moment that he could recommend one of Zhu Wenkui's headbands to her.
"I have seen their propaganda brochures. This idea roughly originated from the Southern Song Dynasty." He said: "At that time, there was a huge debate within the Southern Song Dynasty over the issue of peace. The leader of the country, Zhao Gou and others advocated peace, but many Confucian scholars believed that we should insist on peace. and the Jin Kingdom. In the end, the imperial court designated the peace negotiation as a 'state issue', and many of the people who took charge of the battle were persecuted by Zhao Gou, Prime Minister Qin Hui and others."
"At that time, there was a popular school called 'Taoism', also called 'Neo-Confucianism'. Because it persisted in opposing the imperial court's efforts to pursue peace, it was also suppressed and banned by the imperial court, which made many people quite dissatisfied."
"Zhu Xi, a prestigious Neo-Confucian scholar at the time, wrote the "Preface to the Wu Wu Chan Conference" and believed that 'the reason why Qin Hui's sins are connected to heaven, and tens of thousands of deaths are not enough to redeem him', he criticized the 'harmony' mentality and advocated revenge. Although At this time, Qin Hui was dead, but Zhao Gou was still in power, and Qin Hui's party members were still there. These people were very afraid and hated this, so they looked for opportunities to arrest Zhu Xi, causing him to die in prison."
"Zhu Xi's death caused a great shock to Confucian scholars. Many people realized that there are big problems with the current theories, which are no longer enough to change the deteriorating status quo, and they must find ways to break the situation."
"Some of them suggested that the reason why the Chinese court is weak and incompetent today is because Confucianism has been distorted in the process of spreading through the ages."
"Today's Confucian scholars like to speak loudly but are timid, and they like to talk broadly but have narrow tools. They are simply not enough to achieve success. If we want to restore the world to the power and prosperity of the Zhou and Han Dynasties, we must abandon the adaptation and attachment of later generations of Confucianists and seek the guidance of Zhou Gong and Confucius. The true meaning. From the original classics, find the wisdom of the sages and discover the power of the holy kings."
"This statement sounds familiar." Theodora commented.
"Yes, everyone likes this statement. Just like here, a lot of people want to restore ancient Rome." Guo Kang said with a wry smile: "Retro is a banner that the whole world likes to use. Even the Franks know it. "
"I heard that some people over there advocate reforming the church, only following the Bible and not recognizing the Holy Tradition and the edicts of the Bishop of Rome, hoping to return to the original faith. Look, aren't they all the same? "
"No wonder it's a Confucian fundamentalist." Theodora nodded.
"Later, when the Southern Song Dynasty was on the verge of extinction, the situation worsened, and the ideas of these Confucian scholars became more and more radical. Some even believed that optical thinking was useless, and that one had to behave like the Confucian scholars of Confucius' time in order to realize their ideals."
"So, a group of die-hard Confucian scholars began to imitate Confucius and traveled around various places. They tried to understand the original sage's intentions through imitation. They regarded Zhu Xi as their spiritual idol, called him 'Zhu Zi', and called on everyone to learn from it. His spirit, do not be afraid of suffering and sacrifice.”
"This man's prestige is so high." Theodora admired.
"Yeah, when you die, the impact is really big." Guo Kang nodded.
"Ah?" Theodora didn't quite understand. However, Guo Kang continued the topic.
"But you also know that the situation in the Southern Song Dynasty was impossible to support, and the movement of these people quickly failed. Even so, because of the loose management of the Yuan Dynasty, it was still relatively popular among the people."
"The big families in the south of the Yangtze River actually didn't like this theory, and began to exclude and attack them. Many people took advantage of the vast territory and convenient westward trade routes of the Yuan Dynasty to travel to other places to spread the theory. One group even went to Persia.”
"Are these the people you were talking about?" Theodora asked.
"Yes." Guo Kang said: "The culture of these people is very adaptable. They were quickly praised by the local Persians and became a unique sect."
"They believe that 'Heaven' is the supreme will of the world, integrating the wishes of all people and the principles of nature. But the will of Heaven itself is too sacred and mysterious to be directly understood, so the heavens sent down ancient kings and prophets such as Zhou Gong and Confucius to The overflowing secret knowledge is explained to everyone.”
"The knowledge that ancient kings and prophets obtained from heaven is 'ritual' and 'music'. However, this knowledge is too obscure for people today. Therefore, it is necessary to imitate the saints in daily life through spiritual practice, worship and other rituals. By doing this, you can create a mysterious resonance between yourself and heaven, thereby achieving the state of 'attaining the Tao'..."
"Wait a minute." Theodora stopped him quickly: "Is this a heresy of Confucianism, Taoism, Tianfang Sect, or Gnosticism?"
Guo Kang thought for a long time and found that he didn't know either, so he replied: "It is a sect that is very capable of fighting..."
"Well……"
"I don't understand much about the deeper aspects." He thought for a while and said, "Anyway, these people are stubborn Neo-Confucianists, very... one-minded."
"Moreover, they respect the six skills required by military nobles in ancient times. Those who are qualified will hone their abilities in this way, so they are very powerful in combat. Those ordinary Confucian scholars are not afraid of death and are very difficult to deal with."
"It is said that these people believe that if they die in battle to spread the teachings of Confucius, they can ascend to a world full of almond trees, where there are 72 sages of Confucius who will accompany them to learn the ultimate truth closest to 'Heaven' The scriptures and meanings allow them to enjoy the ultimate happiness of 'hearing the Tao'."
"The souls of scholars are in this world. They study every day and make long-term preparations for the distant final showdown between good and evil."
"That's how much kneading..." Theodora exclaimed.
"So Confucianism's ability to adapt is really strong." Guo Kang also sighed.
"However, their political views are not very popular." He continued: "These people insist that God is the source of legitimacy for all political power, and God's will will be manifested through various ways. As I said just now , monarchs and ordinary people cannot effectively understand such abstruse knowledge, therefore, it must be interpreted by professional scholars."
"God's will is a warning to the political power and is also the source of legitimacy of the political power. Therefore, the great Confucians have the right to supervise the country and take the initiative to correct national affairs when necessary. This is called the 'Guardianship of the Great Confucian' system." He As he spoke, he spread his hands and said, "Of course, you also know that the sultans definitely don't like this, so no one cares about them now."
"I also feel now that people from the East are better at fighting than people from other places." Theodora said.
"ah?"
"It's really not easy to be able to survive and drive away others..."
(End of chapter)
