Liu Zongzhou did not bring his servants with him, so he walked out of the military camp alone.
The cold wind howled all around, and the whole night was like ink. It was so dark that no light could be seen, which was astonishingly like his current state.
He studied under his maternal grandfather Zhang Ying since childhood, and later under Xu Fuyuan. After studying for many years, my thoughts have matured.
Since I met Zuo Mengeng, I have been shocked.
There is a huge difference and contradiction between Zuo Menggeng's materialist views and his idealism.
But just like the trend of history, idealism is really vulnerable to materialism.
With the cultivation of Liu Zongzhou and other Confucian scholars, they can only continue to improve themselves in the hope of finding a solution.
It is natural that something that one has believed in for a lifetime cannot be swayed by a few words.
Liu Zongzhou never felt that there was anything wrong with his knowledge, and he always tried to persuade Zuo Mengeng and Huang Zongxi, the two youngest but most rebellious students.
But everything collapsed after witnessing what the Kong family did today.
I can't see anything in the dark, but that doesn't matter anymore.
Because Liu Zongzhou could not find a way forward in his thoughts.
The road was rugged, and after taking a few steps, his foot suddenly slipped, causing him to fall.
The bones all over his body tingled, but it couldn't compare to the emptiness in his heart.
He struggled to get up and continued walking, but he fell again no matter how far away he was.
When I got up again, I had no strength left.
He happened to touch a stone next to him, and Liu Zongzhou slowly sat down with his support. Various thoughts came to his mind, surging and surging.
What he learned throughout his life can be divided into three stages.
Because he studied under Xu Fuyuan, Xu warned him to "preserve the principles of nature and curb human desires."
Liu Zongzhou never dared or forgot. He always followed Taoism and was respectful, orderly and serious. Whenever there is selfish intention, pain will be added and pain will be reduced.
After he entered the official career and became an official, Xu Fuyuan encouraged him to "learn not in vain, but in practice."
This had a great impact on Liu Zongzhou's ideological development.
Liu Zongzhou "did not like Xiangshan and Yangming's studies in his early years" and believed that Lu and Wang's Xinxue "all believed in their original minds to achieve sagehood and did not like to talk about self-denial and self-restraint, let alone knowledge and speculation", which could easily lead to Zen learning.
Therefore, he once said: "Wang Shouren's study of conscience is neither good nor evil. The disadvantage is that the Buddha must be stubborn and shameless."
But in his middle age, especially after he was dismissed from office during the Tianqi period, he studied behind closed doors. If he had some enlightenment, he gained a new understanding of knowledge, and began to turn to Lu Wang Xin Xue.
It was also at this time that Liu Zongzhou established his philosophy of "being cautious in independence" and "sincerity".
From this point on, he also criticized Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan, Wang Yangming and others, and was highly praised by the world.
"Zhu Zi was confused by Zen and opened it up, so he missed it; Lu Zi got into Zen and avoided Zen, so his mistake was rough; Wencheng was like Zen but not Zen, so he might as well use Zen, but his mistake was mysterious."
Although he had to examine himself three times a day and guard against arrogance and impetuosity, Liu Zongzhou was still very happy with his academic progress.
I believe that nothing is more profound than this in Confucianism. If we educate the world in this way, great rule of the world will not be far away.
But today's performance of the Kong family gave him a solid blow.
The descendants of the saints who should have followed the teachings of Confucius and Mencius have harmed the world with their greedy and vicious faces, and used the teachings of Confucius and the saints to maintain their families, remain standing, and enjoy their prestige and prosperity.
Why can’t such Confucianism even educate the descendants of saints?
His mind was in chaos, with Zuo Mengeng's extremely mocking scene echoing all the time.
"Is this the way you have followed for thousands of years?"
Is this the path he is pursuing?
Is this the way that scholars all over the world strive to maintain?
Since it is not the case, why do the descendants of Confucius and Sheng continue to succeed?
If not, why do dynasties rise and fall and people mourn?
What went wrong?
Is it that the teachings of the saints are wrong, or that the orthodoxy has collapsed?
In today's world, where will Confucianism go?
If possible, he really wants to travel through the vicissitudes of these thousands of years to personally ask the saint, what should the Tao you preach be like?
Liu Zongzhou's thoughts couldn't help but spread.
Thousands of years ago, what did Confucius do?
As a master of Confucianism, he did not need to read the classics about Confucius' deeds, they were all engraved in his mind.
Miraculously, the deeds of saints that were so treasured in his family in the past gave him a different feeling when he looked at them again now.
It turns out that thousands of years ago, the saint's journey of spreading his ideas was so unsatisfactory that emperors, generals and ministers were not interested in his knowledge.
In that chaotic era, the saint and his knowledge did not bring any changes to the world.
Once this idea arises, it grows like a devil in my mind.
Liu Zongzhou was very frightened and searched his mind hard, trying to find available evidence to eliminate these evil thoughts.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find it.
Not only did Confucius' teachings fail to end the troubled times of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but even after he became an official, he had no outstanding achievements in governing the country with his own knowledge.
It was the Western Qin Dynasty that advocated Legalism that truly ended the troubled times.
Although there are many descendants, Qin died due to Kufa II, who used it to criticize Legalist doctrine. But it is undeniable that it is Legalism that unites the world and condenses the soul of China.
Why did Confucianism later become a prominent school and dominate Chinese thought for thousands of years?
For a powerful person like Liu Zongzhou, it is easy to figure it out.
Depose hundreds of schools of thought and only respect Confucianism.
Why did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty support Dong Zhongshu, and why did Confucianism gain the favor of the Han emperor?
Liu Zongzhou understood the key point with almost no effort.
Great unification, connection between heaven and man, and the three cardinal principles and five constant principles...
None of these three theories proposed by Dong Zhongshu are original to Confucianism. In other words, Confucianism before and after Confucianism was exclusively respected had completely different ideas and contents.
Since later generations have tampered with Confucian teachings, is it inevitable that the world will collapse and moral decay will occur?
Thousands of years of Confucian scriptures passed through his mind, and Liu Zongzhou gradually calmed down, no longer confused and desperate as before.
For a moment, the light awakened his eyes.
He raised his head slightly and suddenly realized that it was dawning in the east.
"Nian Taigong, you can make it easy for us to find him!"
In the distance, Lu Shanji, Li Banghua, Sun Qifeng, Huang Zongxi and others were running towards them.
Liu Zongzhou left in despair. They were all frightened. They searched for it all night and finally found it.
An old man in his fifties could easily get into trouble on this bitterly cold winter night.
Seeing them, Liu Zongzhou smiled slightly and stood up without any signs of fatigue.
"Everyone, I'm sorry to send you my thoughts."
When everyone arrived and saw his state, they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
No one could figure out why he didn't get frozen after spending a night in the wild?
Liu Zongzhou didn't know what they were thinking, but asked: "How is Zhongheng? Have you sent troops?"
Li Banghua sighed and shook his head.
"No troops were sent. He was still in the big tent, guarding Zuo Hua all night."
Liu Zongzhou looked up to the sky and smiled, and then bowed to everyone again.
"Congratulations everyone, the world...is saved!"
Lu Shanji and Sun Qifeng were confused, but Li Banghua was the only one who was stunned, and if he had some understanding, he bowed in return.
"Same joy."
Lu Shanji thought he had lost his mind and gone crazy, so he felt sorry for him and tried to comfort him.
"After the Kong family pretended to be a saint and abandoned the teachings of the saint, we must seek justice."
"justice?"
Liu Zongzhou is as tall and straight as a mountain.
"Who can give us justice? Who can give justice to the world?"
Sun Qifeng said as tactfully as possible: "We uphold the path of saints and we should correct people's hearts..."
Liu Zongzhou smiled slightly and interrupted: "Tao is Tao. Tao exists between heaven and earth and is transformed into the principles of all things. Tao will not be destroyed by hundreds of schools of thought, nor will it be enhanced by Confucius and Mencius. Confucius and Mencius founded Confucianism and promoted Xianxue. What we do is only to teach and spread the way of heaven. In this case, why should we abandon the near and seek the far away? Wouldn't it be better to respect the way of heaven?"
A surge of water instantly woke everyone up. When they looked at Liu Zongzhou again, they found that this person was slightly unfamiliar.
Is this still the master Shendu who always touches people's hearts and speaks the truth?
What he said actually broke through the barriers of Confucianism. Did even Confucius regard it as an equal?
At this time, the sun jumped out of the horizon, spreading its blood-red light all over the earth.
Liu Zongzhou stared at the bright land and chanted slowly.
"Hundreds of schools of thought were deposed to satisfy the emperor's wishes. Cheng and Zhu Xiansheng defeated people's hearts. The King of Qin unified Confucianism and destroyed it. In troubled times, there is no need to talk about Zhongni."
Those present were all well-educated people, and they instantly understood the profound meaning of the poem.
But just because they understood, everyone was pried open from their solidified bodies, as if they saw a brand new world.
Liu Zongzhou leaned over and picked a decaying weed, put it in his hand and stared at it for a moment, then turned back to look at everyone. He smiled and said loudly: "In the troubled times of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucianism was not prominent; in today's troubled times, what is the use of Confucianism? My dear gentlemen, only the way of heaven, that is, the way of Confucianism, can save others and ourselves."
The bright sunshine shines from the east, covering Liu Zongzhou with a layer of holy glory.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the weeds in his hands turned out to be full and tall, green and full of life!
Everyone's hearts and minds were cleansed, and their minds were no longer shackles. Qiqi paid tribute to Liu Zongzhou sincerely.
"Meet the Grand Master!!!"
