Chapter 158: Hold high the banner of Mencius
Zhu Yuanzhang has not paid much attention to Confucianism in recent years. The books on his desk now include Selected Works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Mao and so on.
But he did not lose his memory. Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed the status of Mencius and deleted the chapters of Mencius, which severely dealt a blow to the development of the Simeng school. Now let Zhu Yuanzhang make a 180-degree turn, from suppressing Mencius to admiring Mencius. This is tantamount to making Zhu Yuanzhang slap himself in the face.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not too willing.
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, reforms must have their roots, and the people are valued and the emperor is valued, which is the most appropriate theoretical basis. The people are valued, why should the people be valued? What is the people? These are all issues that can be discussed. Taking Simi Meng as the At the beginning, we integrated the Yongjia School and Confucian schools as the foundation, and accepted scientific logical thinking. This was the theoretical basis of the Ming Dynasty Reform."
"Only based on this can we reduce the resistance to the greatest extent. Please give your Majesty a clear warning."
It can be said that the idea of what sect will be called by later generations has now been formally formed.
First of all, Confucianism pays attention to moral principles. Coincidentally, under the promotion of Song Confucianism, Mencius' status became higher and higher day by day. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, Mencius was only a member of the Confucianists, but by the Song Dynasty he was known as Confucius and Mencius. Mencius' status was also improving.
The so-called Simeng school. It's not that I miss Mencius, but that I miss Mencius.
Zisi is the direct grandson of Confucius and the teacher of Mencius. His most important representative thought is moderation. Zisi's thoughts are one of the sources of Neo-Confucianism.
What is the benefit of holding high the banner of Mencius?
He Xi's inheritance suddenly became clear. He definitely comes from a Confucian family. The battle between him and Neo-Confucianism was an internal struggle within Confucianism, or even within the Simeng school. Because many contents of Neo-Confucianism are directly related to Zisi, especially the theory of destiny, theory of mind, etc.
As for the previous interpretations of Mencius' thoughts by sages, He Xi can use them with deletions or deletions. Some people may say that those people may not have meant this at the time.
It does not matter. Song Confucianism has already said, will the Six Classics annotate me? When today's Song Confucians take the Six Classics out of context, they don't think about whether the original meaning of those sages was this. Now there is no need to think about them.
Although for Neo-Confucianism, heretics are generally more hateful than heretics.
But the problem is that Confucianism is too broad. It can be said that for thousands of years, Confucianism has long equated Chinese culture with Confucian culture. It can even be said that all literate people in the Ming Dynasty were enlightened using Confucianism. There is nothing wrong with them calling themselves Confucian scholars.
But Neo-Confucianism is different from Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism is the mainstream of Confucianism. But the problem is that in this world, there are only a few scholars who really have their own opinions, ideas, and persistence. Most people just go with the flow.
This kind of thing happened not only in the Ming Dynasty, but also in later generations.
For most ordinary people, there is no difference between Neo-Confucianism and today's Confucianism. Between the two, it's not difficult to replace.
Secondly, what is the most important contribution of Mencius’ theory? In He Xi's opinion, the people value the king more than the king. This theory has too much room for development.
What is the people? This concept is enough for He Xi to develop.
By defining the people as ordinary people, it becomes possible to protect the rights of the people and fight against feudal ethics. After all, Mencius advocated compassion, which is shared by everyone. Is this kind of behavior that is really in line with Mencius' intention to have his clan lynched for violating feudal ethics?
I'm afraid that if Mencius was reborn underground and talked with He Xi, he would also agree with He Xi's approach.
Even on the logical line of Min Zhong, He Xi has too much material to play with. Let’s talk about some ideas of the Republic of China from afar, people’s democratic dictatorship. Represent the most fundamental interests of the people, etc. Coupled with Western civil rights ideas, He Xi was able to adopt ideas and integrate into them.
Many seemingly ordinary thoughts are actually ideological weapons that many thinkers have pondered over.
Now I will take it and focus on Neo-Confucianism, determined to control it fully and make it effective.
Finally, the thoughts of the Simeng School, the Yongjia School, and other schools, coupled with the scientific thoughts and logical thinking added by He Xi, formed a complete set of self-supporting theories.
The people are important, so many things must be done for the people, and the Yongjia School advocates meritorious service. This is called the study of kings and hegemons by Neo-Confucianism and does not belong to the orthodox path of Confucianism. And with the premise of respecting the people, and the premise of reassuring the people, protecting the people, and loving the people, isn't it not in line with the teachings of the Confucian sages?
This is the most important point in Neo-Confucianism's attack on the Yongjia School. The Yongjia School was a school that advocated the Northern Expedition and the restoration of the Central Plains, so Neo-Confucianism attacked the Yongjia School in order to enjoy great achievements and waste money and people.
Nowadays, special emphasis on people-centeredness and respect for the people can resolve this problem.
Of course, others may not be convinced by this kind of system construction. However, the most important thing about many doctrines is not how others say it, but how you say it to your own people.
As mentioned before, scientific methodology is a method system for analyzing things concretely and doing things. It has a certain instrumentality and is very consistent with the Yongjia School. These several theories are interlocked and spread out sequentially. At least one is complete. The system is there.
Of course there are many errors, omissions, and contradictions that need to be sorted out. But when used as a political tool, it already has the strength to compete with Neo-Confucianism.
But He Xi was a little worried when he brought this up.
Some of these thoughts had been thought about by He Xi a long time ago. How did some of them come into contact with others? For example, some contents of the Yongjia School were only understood after He Xi arrived in Nanjing and had a detailed conversation with Xie Jin. From this point of view, Xie Jin is definitely a great talent, especially in theoretical construction.
There are just some things that can fool others. But he couldn't deceive Zhu Yuanzhang.
Because most of what He Xi can think of, Zhu Yuanzhang can think of.
The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was dissatisfied with Mencius was that Mencius' attitude towards the monarch was the most mean among the so-called Confucian schools. Others talk about loyalty to the emperor. And what did Mencius say? "I have heard that one husband was killed, but I have never heard of regicide." This made Zhu Yuanzhang, who was very insecure in his bones, very dissatisfied.
And the ideas added by He Xi are even more revolutionary.
What will be Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude?
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time. The prince said: "Father, this is a serious matter. There is no need to rush this matter. It is better to discuss it in the long term."
The prince was trained by Zhu Yuanzhang. Many of the prince's thoughts were reflections of Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts before Zhu Yuanzhang met He Xi. This is even more true today. As far as the prince was concerned, the prince also felt bad about Mencius being banned. But if some revolutionary ideas are cultivated based on Mencius' thoughts, the prince does not think it is a good thing.
The prince was very confused. On the one hand, he felt that the future was naturally very good. On the other hand, they are wary of the future.
Because if the bright future is not the future of the Zhu family, does it really make sense? In other words, is there really a wonderful future for the Ming Dynasty, and not the other way around?
The prince is essentially a politician. He has seen many despicable things done in the name of noble people, and he has a deep understanding of interests. He himself had no answer to this matter. ,
The prince could also see the hidden dangers of He Xi's approach, so he said.
But he didn't expect it.
His words made Zhu Yuanzhang make up his mind.
Why? Because strength and strength complement each other.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to do this today. Why did he bring He Xi and the prince to discuss it? Because He Xi and the prince were the team that Zhu Yuanzhang left for the future Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang should not only pay attention to future reform plans, but also pay attention to the implementation of reform plans.
Because no matter how good many theories are, they still need people to implement them.
Zhu Yuanzhang also had to examine the two people's character and weigh the importance of his actions.
What He Xi was worried about was true.
Zhu Yuanzhang did have this worry, but Zhu Biao's words made Zhu Yuanzhang realize that his son was too unstable on this matter. so what should I do now?
It is impossible to change the prince.
Then make up for it.
How to make up for it and give He Xi more and more radical support to balance the prince's wavering in this regard. So that the reforms and revolutions that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted could be carried out. As for longer-term matters, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think about it.
After all, life is less than a hundred years, and it is already remarkable to be able to plan the decades behind you. There is no use in thinking more.
