pdf-ebookys Chapter 147 Child's Play
Chapter 147 Child's Play
Chapter 147 Child's Play
"There are no fixed answers to knowledge; everyone has their own perspective."
Ouyang Xiu smiled and said, "Baixian and I are also fulfilling Shengyu's last wish. Everyone can express their own opinions."
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"Then let me share my opinion."
An old man stood up and said, "The book of Sheng Yu says that when the mind is free from external things, reason resides within. The laws of Heaven are not outside, but within."
There's no need to seek it externally; you can discover it simply by introspecting.
But as the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not their heart; the human heart is hidden behind the skin. Looking inward, setting aside outward appearances, is difficult! difficult! difficult!
Does the philosophy of mind have any merit?
Yes, it definitely exists, and its philosophical implications are quite profound.
This idea breaks away from the traditional constraints of "seeking reason externally" and advocates that people understand the world through their own hearts, giving individuals the ability to make independent judgments.
This "reason" is not just a reason, nor does it simply refer to logic.
It includes moral values, values, and so on.
According to the current mainstream thinking, the approach is to seek reason externally.
The so-called seeking reason from the outside means that a person's words and actions should conform to mainstream ideas and concepts.
Take morality as an example: loyalty to the emperor and love for one's country, filial piety to one's parents, and parental love and filial piety are the most basic moral principles.
However, this moral view is not one's own understanding, and one may not necessarily know why one should do it.
Rather, it's because everyone around me has said and done this since I was a child.
If someone violates morality, they will be condemned and may even find it difficult to move an inch.
Unless you find a secluded mountain forest where you have no contact with outsiders.
Whenever there is contact, this set of guidelines must be followed.
It's not that there's anything wrong with this concept, nor is the philosophy of mind refuting it.
Instead, it encourages people to understand why they should do it, and then to do it.
This is what it means to unite knowledge and action.
Otherwise, the philosophy of mind would not have been able to be passed down through history.
But this presents a problem.
According to traditional moral values, regardless of whether you agree with it or not, you have to accept it and do it.
Take filial piety as an example.
You must not talk back to your parents, and you must obey whatever they say.
Even if you know your parents are wrong, you have to obey them, because there are no parents who are wrong.
Even if some people know it's blind filial piety, they still have to do it.
Otherwise, they will be branded as unfilial, which will not only affect themselves, but also their wives and children.
The word "filial piety" can be so powerful it can crush a person!
The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, compiled later, recorded some exemplary cases of filial piety in ancient times.
However, apart from a few normal ones, the rest are all outrageous.
One of the stories is about Guo Ju burying his son to support his mother. It tells the story of a man named Guo Ju who, after his family fell on hard times, still tried his best to prepare better food for his mother.
Later, when he had a child, his mother gave the food that her son had prepared for him to her grandson.
There's nothing wrong with it; in fact, it's quite heartwarming.
But Guo Ju didn't think so. He felt that his mother was eating less because of her son's presence.
Moreover, raising a son is expensive and he cannot better serve his mother, so the couple buried their son.
Their actions moved the gods, who placed a jar of gold in the ground where they had dug the pit.
After the two found gold, they were not only able to better serve their mother, but also had money to support their son.
Such an outrageous thing was written about extensively and used as a model.
Secondly, the well-known story of lying on ice to catch carp is also particularly outrageous.
A man's stepmother wanted to eat fish, so he lay down on the ice, intending to melt it and catch some fish for her.
Wang You felt that it was highly likely that his stepmother wanted him dead, so she used all sorts of words to belittle him and accused him of being unfilial.
The man didn't want to live anymore and tried to commit suicide by breaking through the ice, but he was eventually saved.
It's also possible that he wanted to use this method to retaliate against his stepmother.
After all, if he uses this method to get fish for his stepmother, others will definitely praise him for being filial and criticize his stepmother.
Finally, it was artistically embellished and then spread.
Among the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, there are many such bizarre examples of filial piety.
Not only has it been passed down through generations, but it has also been regarded as a guiding principle.
Even Kong Rong's act of giving away a pear has been passed down to later generations and regarded as a model.
It's not that this tradition can't be passed down; giving away pears is indeed immoral. But writing extensively about it creates a fixed idea.
This leads to a vast web of ideas and morals in which only those who conform can survive.
Although Wang You scoffed at the so-called Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, he actually approved of this practice.
Because most children actually lack the ability to discern and do not have such high thinking ability.
Seeking reason externally is very suitable for children. They may not understand why they should do it, but they should still do it.
In Wang You's view, the philosophy of mind should not be a new product, but a fundamental principle that has always existed, rather than some deeper philosophy.
When children are young, they don't understand; they just hear and imitate. As they grow older and their thinking matures, they gradually understand why they should do things a certain way, thus achieving unity of knowledge and action.
However, current ideas have gradually become entrenched through the exploration of generations of scholars.
Normally, filial piety should arise from a loving father.
People have their own ability to discern. When they find that their parents' words are wrong, they can refuse. If their parents are not kind, they can also choose not to listen to them.
When they get old, they should just do their job properly.
Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on intellectuals; it also has a lot to do with those in power.
When those in power link filial piety and loyalty, it inevitably creates a mindset that compels blind obedience.
Because they need the world to blindly follow and be loyal to them.
The core concept of the philosophy of mind, in essence, is that one must have one's own thoughts and one's own ability to discern.
But this conflicts with what those in power think.
Knowing why you should be filial means you can be unfilial when your parents are not kind.
If you know why you must be loyal to the emperor, does that mean you can be disloyal to the emperor when he is not virtuous?
Of course, this disloyalty is not a direct rebellion.
To truly be loyal, one must separate the emperor from the state.
Loyalty should be shown to the country, not the ruler.
Zhang Juzheng is a good example of this.
You could say he was devoted to the country, but he was definitely not a loyal subject.
Because he was a powerful minister during his lifetime.
Under any feudal system, his reputation would never be good.
However, from the perspective of later generations, he was a loyal minister.
Despite their extravagant lifestyle, they continued to work and change the country.
In feudal society, the philosophical nature of the School of Mind had to be somewhat restrained.
This is also an important reason why the philosophy of mind failed to become a prominent school of thought.
The debate between the two sides stemmed from this, as they believed that such an external pursuit of reason would lead to many hypocritical individuals.
They are clearly disloyal and unfilial, but in order to conform to mainstream values, they have to pretend to be very loyal and filial.
Conversely, the same applies to the philosophy of mind.
If someone claims to have put their knowledge into practice, are you suggesting we dissect their brain to see if they truly do?
Since it's impossible to make a judgment, why promote the philosophy of mind?
In fact, Wang You also agreed with this point, believing that the philosophy of mind is suitable for personal cultivation rather than for becoming a mainstream school of thought.
A prominent school of thought must be universal, while the philosophy of mind is not only profound but also places too much emphasis on personal cultivation.
However, he needs the philosophy of mind to break down outdated ideas, and most importantly, he needs to use the philosophy of mind as a foundation to win over some people to his side.
Whether or not someone who supports the philosophy of mind agrees with it is actually not important.
The very purpose of the philosophy of mind is to transform the debate over right and wrong into a debate over ideas.
In essence, ideological debates are also debates about right and wrong, but conversely, ideological debates are neither right nor wrong.
Although the reform itself was a clash between old and new ideas, everyone's core concepts were the same, and it did not come to the point of either one or the other.
Simply put, it's a matter of political differences.
This is also an important reason why no one died during the two reforms of the Song Dynasty, when the two sides were fighting each other.
What is the fear of harming one's own kind? It is the fear that if the emperor starts a reign of terror, one day the knife will fall on one's own body.
These things certainly exist, but essentially it's because we haven't reached that stage yet.
But when it evolves into a clash of ideas, it's a different story. Just like the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Warring States period, they were extremely exclusive, completely advocating for either one or the other.
You're right, I know that, but I'm going to kill you.
This is a true clash of ideas.
Wang You did not intend to incite internal strife, but rather that if the reforms did not evolve into a debate of ideas and remained a struggle of political views, then the reforms would never succeed.
The reforms were intended to benefit the court, but there were too many vested interests, so the number of those who supported the reforms was always less than the number who opposed them.
Only with the emperor's support can reforms be implemented. Once the emperor's support is lost, or the emperor's attitude changes, the suppressed conservatives will instantly gain the upper hand and drive the reformers out of the court like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
Ultimately, the reformers weren't ruthless enough; when they had the upper hand, they didn't try their best to strike back at the opponent.
Once it devolves into a clash of ideas, there's no turning back or room for leniency.
Only in this way can the reform succeed.
In the end, neither side could convince the other.
Ouyang Xiu and Hai Wenqing were actually at a disadvantage, since the School of Mind had only just been perfected and it was very difficult to break through the concepts and ideas inherited from the previous years.
It was only because Mei Yaochen had just died that the others were somewhat restrained and their words were not strong enough; otherwise, the two would have been defeated long ago.
However, the two of them did not care. They did not have the same kind of schemes as Wang You, so their only goal was to promote the philosophy of mind.
They didn't really care whether the philosophy of mind could sprout or grow into a towering tree.
Therefore, it is enough as long as these people do not denigrate the philosophy of mind as worthless, do not hinder its promotion, and acknowledge its philosophical nature and value.
"Gentlemen, the purpose of today's poetry gathering is to see the talents of the younger generation. We have already competed, so why don't we move outside and see the poems written by those young talents, and then pass on our philosophy to them?"
Hai Wenqing smiled and said, "The philosophy of mind still has many merits. Let the young talents judge for themselves."
His meaning was simple: spread the philosophy of mind, and whether others learn it or not is their business; he wouldn't force them.
No one disagrees with this point.
They also acknowledge that the philosophy of mind has its merits, and they might oppose including it in basic education books.
But those who had already taken the imperial examinations had already matured in their thinking, so they didn't find anything wrong with it.
Immediately, a group of people moved outside, and the previously noisy square instantly became quiet.
Many people looked at the crowd that had come out with excited expressions.
The status of Ouyang Xiu and Hai Wenqing goes without saying. Although the others were not as famous as the two, they could all be called great Confucian scholars.
Many of them taught at the Imperial College, and it's no exaggeration to say that they had students all over the world.
If one's poems can be praised by the other party, one's future prospects will be much brighter.
"Ladies and gentlemen, an hour has passed since the poetry gathering began. Although today is a poetry gathering, we are not required to compose poems or judge their quality. Instead, we are here to make friends through literature."
Ouyang Xiu stood up and smiled, "If you have any excellent works, you can give them to me."
Upon hearing this, some confident individuals handed their poems to the eunuchs.
Before long, the eunuch received over a hundred poems.
Seeing that no one else was handing over poems, they put the poems they had received on the stage.
Ouyang Xiu and the others each received some and began to watch.
When I see something well-written, I will read it aloud in public, praise the good parts, and point out some flaws.
Those whose names were called all humbly expressed their gratitude, but they couldn't stop smiling.
After all, being named is an honor in itself.
Half an hour later, the poetry critiques were finished. Some people who had submitted poems but had not received any critiques were quite disappointed, but they wouldn't be foolish enough to ask why their poems hadn't been critiqued.
If their poems weren't commented on, it's because they're mediocre; asking would only be humiliating.
"Ziqian, come forward."
Hai Wenqing stood up and greeted Wang You.
Upon hearing this, Wang You stepped forward and stood half a body length behind.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is my student, Wang You, also known as Wang Ziqian!" Hai Wenqing introduced Wang You in a clear and loud voice.
Among the crowd, apart from a few people like Sheng Changbai and Feng Ping who knew Wang You, everyone else looked at Wang You with a hint of jealousy.
In their view, Hai Wenqing's introduction of Wang You at this time was intended to help his student gain fame.
They didn't think Wang You was anything special; otherwise, how could they not have heard of him?
Wang Youye really didn't have anything special about him. The only things worth mentioning were his good performance in the prodigy test and his relationship with Hai Wenqing as a student.
However, the prodigy test was ultimately child's play. The top scholar in the imperial examination might become famous throughout the world after the imperial examination ended, but even if someone got first place in the prodigy test, they wouldn't be very famous.
"To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations."
Hai Wenqing read the four lines of Hengqu in a clear voice and said, "Many people are very curious about who wrote these four lines."
There are even rumors that it was written by Yongshu.
"Hehe, if it were me, I would have already spread it far and wide. After all, these four lines alone are enough to make me famous for all time." Ouyang Xiu smiled and stood up.
The scholar below smiled slightly upon hearing this.
Indeed, since these four sentences spread, there have been various speculations about their author.
Because it originated from Ouyang Xiu, many people speculate that it was written by Ouyang Xiu.
Because Ouyang Xiu was indifferent to fame and fortune, he was unwilling to admit it.
Ouyang Xiu neither admitted to it nor publicly denied it.
Ouyang Xiu smiled, pointed at Wang You, and said, "These four lines were written by Ziqian."
These words caused an uproar, and everyone looked at Wang You in disbelief, including Sheng Changbai, who was most familiar with him.