Chapter 111 Either/or
A theory has its strengths and areas that cannot be replaced by others. Even if it is established, it will be able to stand. As for whether it can develop, it depends on whether the theory can support or explain more things.
And He Xi's theory is full of loopholes. But the problem is that He Xi's theory can solve many problems that Confucianism cannot solve.
It has obviously established a foothold and even surpassed Neo-Confucianism in many aspects.
What makes Fang Xiaoru even more uncomfortable is that He Xi's theory is essentially a mixture of famous schools, Mohism, Taoism, Legalism and other theories. To say that he is from the Confucian school is simply too much of a lie.
Logic is the core of science. It is similar to famous scholars and the distinction between a white horse and a non-horse. Everyone is equal. This concept seems to be Buddhist, but in fact it is similar to the Mohist universal love. In short, fundamentally, they are not of the same lineage as Confucianism.
But He Xi insists on packaging it as a Confucian school, but instead slanders Neo-Confucianism as a remnant of Buddhism.
Fang Xiaoru was very annoyed.
But I also understand that academic arguments can no longer suppress the other party.
He could only tell the matter so openly.
What is the essence of Confucianism?
Perhaps it can be said that Confucianism in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period really had a desire for knowledge and wanted to find ways to govern the country for the world. But this period until Wang Mang's period was the end of this idealized Confucianism. The real foundation of Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty is Confucianism, to be precise, it is the Gongyang faction. They believe in the Three Generations Theory and believe that the Liu family has become a problem for the world, so they want to usurp the throne. This is to solve the problem of the world.
But Wang Mang's end also plunged Confucianism into negativity. In fact, Confucianism was shackled after Wang Mang, and it was only in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties that it truly died. Of course, idealized Confucianism died. In the troubled times of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, metaphysics and Buddhism could not save the people of the world.
Therefore, the monarch needed a theory for governing the world, and Confucianism came into being.
Confucianism has begun to evolve from a branch of knowledge into a doctrine that assists the emperor in ruling the world. It can be said that it is tailor-made.
The foundation of Confucianism has changed.
The person who worked harder on this matter was Hao Jing of the Yuan Dynasty.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, Confucianism failed to externalize and could only be gradually internalized. It could not pursue governance externally, but could only pursue inner morality. This internalization was the emergence of Neo-Confucianism or Taoism. But no matter what, Confucianism in this era is still about face. Although loyalty to the emperor is the first criterion, rather than governing the world. But no matter what, there are still many people among Confucians who pray for the people. This is the person who shoulders the responsibility of the country.
But what did Hao Jing do? In order to help the Yuan Dynasty seize control of the Central Plains, he put forward some incredible theories that referred to deer as horses. Everyone knew that this was definitely not what Confucius meant. If Confucius were still alive, he would not smash this unworthy descendant to death with his fist as big as a sandbag. m.
But at this time, the bottom line of Confucian scholars has become more and more flexible, and the essence of Confucianism has become more and more exposed, although it has some effects in governing the country. But the essence of Confucianism is not to pursue progress, but to provide support for the emperor's dictatorship.
They are parasites of imperial society.
Scholar-officials can naturally control the world and make the world their own, but they cannot live without the emperor. Because there is no emperor, their theoretical foundation is not stable. They claim to be loyal to the emperor, but in fact they use the name of loyalty to the emperor to confirm their status in society and assist the emperor's authority in governing the world.
But at the same time, Fang Xiaoru also made the matter clear.
Doesn’t that mean your royal family wants to change horses? But you also need to be clear about one thing: whether the new horse you want to replace needs an emperor. At the very least, He Xi's various theories did not leave any room for the existence of the royal family.
It can be said that Confucianism is not good in this way and that is not good in that way. But as the ideology of imperial dictatorship, no theory is better than Confucianism. In this subdivided field, Confucianism has reached its extreme and cannot be surpassed.
And these words also touched the heart of the prince.
Zhu Yuanzhang's mentality was relatively free and easy, and he also struggled with the survival of the Ming Dynasty and the survival of the royal family. But He Xi asked Zhu Yuanzhang to entrust the disciples overseas, and Zhu Yuanzhang was relieved. On the one hand, it established overseas vassals to check and balance China. As long as all overseas vassals of the Ming Dynasty did not change their surnames, the Ming Dynasty would also retain the royal family. Even as a mascot.
The world was in a turbulent situation, and Zhu Yuanzhang never thought about thinking much about his children and grandchildren. After all, when he was born, he had no body, but now he has left enough for his children and grandchildren, and the rest is that his children and grandchildren will have their own blessings.
But the prince is different.
He is not as open-minded as Zhu Yuanzhang. This is the most difficult point for him. That is, should he do something that is good for the world and bad for the Ming royal family?
Fang Xiaoru pointed this out accurately.
Fang Xiaoru had been getting along with the prince for so many years, and he could see the change in the prince's expression at a glance. He immediately struck while the iron was hot and said: "Your Highness, I am not doing it for myself. This is the idea of the world's scholars. In the past few years, even though I am a ninth-grade official, I do not hesitate to live and die, and serve one after another to uphold justice for the people of the world. I am a close minister of the imperial court, and I am very close to the central government. Now that I think about it, I feel really ashamed. I invite your highness, how can I punish you to bring peace to the world, or ask your highness to kill me, In order to fulfill the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects."
The prince's expression suddenly changed, his face flushed, and he said: "Bold, are you threatening Gu? I really think Gu can't kill anyone."
Fang Xiaoru said: "I have a good heart, and even though I died nine times, I still have no regrets. There are travelers before me, and there are people coming after me. I am not alone on the road to Huangquan. I can walk with loyal and righteous people, and wake up the world with my death." .I will die without regrets."
The prince stared at Fang Xiaoru, suddenly smashed the tea bowl on the ground, and said: "Get out, get out of here."
After Fang Xiaoru saluted, he slowly stepped back.
The prince's face flushed, and suddenly a mouthful of blood spurted out, covering most of his clothes, and said: "You are all here to force me to be orphaned, you are all here to force me to be orphaned."
Even if Fang Xiaoru's words sound nice, they can't change the fact that Fang Xiaoru is trying to force her to marry.
Although the prince is kind and even a little soft-hearted, as the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, he never lacks the necessary means. Even though Fang Xiaoru had such a good relationship with him, the prince would not hesitate to kill him when necessary.
But the prince understood from Fang Xiaoru that this matter was not just about killing Fang Xiaoru alone.
If you support He Xi's reform, then start with Fang Xiaoru and kill the Ming Dynasty court in one fell swoop to suppress this momentum. Even the prince didn't know how many people would be killed, but he knew that this time, more people would be killed than the four major cases in the early Ming Dynasty combined.
After all, reform is not about treating guests to dinner.
Let's see who dares not to mess around. But the prince couldn't do it.
The prince knew that He Xi's choice was right and the direction was right. Even with some historical inevitability.
Confucianism lags behind the times and will inevitably be abandoned by the times. But the problem is that the prince himself is a Confucian scholar. Revolution, this thing, is easy to revolutionize other people's lives, but the most difficult to revolutionize one's own life. The prince has been studying for so many years and has read the Four Books and Five Classics.
Today, the overt and covert opposition of many Confucian scholars is based on Confucianism.
This is the deepest tear in the prince's heart, the tear between modern thought and Confucian thought.
The prince did not have a thorough understanding of modern thought, and he only understood it as if he had swallowed it wholeheartedly. However, he had studied with the great Confucianists since he was a child, and Confucianism had penetrated into his bones. Even though he knew that the modern direction was right, he could not tell himself that everything in Confucianism was wrong.
What he most wanted to do was to reconcile the two, like Zhang Zhidong’s idea of Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application.
But the problem is that Zhu Yuanzhang and He Xi did not agree before. Now, it is true that his ministers do not agree.
The prince felt that he had obviously tried his best to protect these people. If it weren't for protecting these people, he would not conflict with his father. There would be no embarrassment like today. But it turns out that he doesn't please both sides, and he's not a human being inside and out.
Now, the prince felt that what he had done was simply a fool. The sadness came from it for a moment and was hard to suppress. The prince's health has not been good for a while, and under such circumstances, it affects the inner palace even more, and it is not just as simple as a mouthful of blood spurting out.
The originally weak body was severely weakened again.
Some people died, but not completely...
