Chapter 1278 Why Should People Today Be Worse Than Ancient Times

Chapter 1278 Why Should People Today Be Worse Than Ancient Times

Chapter 1278 Why Should People Today Be Worse Than Ancient Times

The debate at the beginning was very exciting, and Lu, Zhang and Wang also recorded it very well.

During the half-time break, Shao Xun took a look and burst out laughing.

There is nothing special about Pei Shen, Mao Bang and his speeches in the beginning. The words spoken by the scholars from various counties who asked questions to them were preceded by "the virtuous and wise said", and the names and hometowns of the speakers were noted at the end.

It makes people return to the famous Salt and Iron Conference debate during the Western Han Dynasty.

However, the scholars of the Daliang Dynasty did not debate whether or not to "compete with the people for profit" - well, it's hard to say. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, many scholars have been engaged in business, and they probably did not want the Shaofu to compete with them for profit.

But to be honest, Shao Xun actually hopes there are more business masters like Wang Rong and Mrs. Guo.

During the Han Dynasty, perhaps only large cities had businesses of a certain scale. Now with the establishment of government soldiers, there is one more consumer group, and the number is not small. The latest data is 97200.

Although their spending power is not as good as that of the wealthy families, they are numerous. Before they go bankrupt due to the war, they should not be underestimated. At least for now, the military headquarters of the world are places frequented by small and medium-sized merchants - large merchants generally only engage in wholesale and rarely directly face the end.

Retracting his thoughts, Shao Xun looked at Xie An, who was specially summoned, and asked, "After debating for the whole morning, what is Anshi's opinion? Feel free to speak."

Xie An waved the feather fan in his hand.

Everyone's eyes widened. Isn't this fifteen-year-old boy really so clueless?

If you do this in front of Wang Yan, it's fine. After all, he's just a talker. But the man in front of you is the one holding the knife. You do this? Do you know what his temper is like?

However, Shao Xun was smiling and his expression did not change at all.

Xie An pointed to an old pine tree in the courtyard with his feather fan and said, "This tree grows alone and has stood firm for many years despite the strong north wind. When Yao and Shun ruled the country, they never counted the number of grains of millet, but the world was in great peace."

Shao Xun continued to smile and nodded slightly.

He kept his word and spoke freely during the Vientiane Academy meeting, and was not guilty of anything, so he did not say anything.

"Then..." Xie An changed the subject, holding a feather fan and bowing to the northwest, saying: "If there were no diligent people like Yimin Gong, the idle people under the pine trees would probably be hungry and talk about metaphysics."

Damn, so pretentious! Shao Xun secretly complained, it turns out that he has had this pretentious nature since he was a child.

"That's a very good point." Shao Xun nodded and left.

After he walked away, Xie An put his hands behind his back, hummed and whistled, and went to the courtyard to look for his good friends.

Shao Xun came to the prince, patted his shoulder and said, "Sixth Prince, how is it?"

"After listening for half a day, I always feel that my father is thinking too far ahead." Shao Jin told the truth.

"Keep listening." Shao Xun smiled and said, "I am not only good at sowing seeds on women, but also good at sowing seeds for the whole world."

Shao Jin glanced around and saw that there was no one nearby, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Grandpa, don't joke, there are many famous people from various counties here today."

Shao Xun hummed, and then asked: "Liang Nu, don't you want to see the lives of the people of the world become better? For example, if someone brings sugar back from Jiaozhou and lowers the price of sugar, people who couldn't afford it before can now eat it."

"Grandpa, isn't this too much?" Shao Jin asked back.

When his son refuted his question with a ready-made theory, Shao Xun did not respond for a moment.

The main reason for not answering was not that he couldn't refute, but that he felt a little emotional.

In the eyes of the upper-level rulers, it doesn’t matter whether the common people can eat sugar or not. It is not a necessity.

On the contrary, in order to get sugar, they had to build gardens in Jiaozhou, which might very likely enslave the local people and stir up civil unrest.

Besides, you have to ship the sugar back, right? Even if you don't go by sea, you have to ship it to Guangzhou first, which is risky. If the boat is destroyed and people die a few times, people will say that you ruined the boatmen's families just for the sake of sugar.

In short, it is better to have less trouble than more, and this is true for the emperor and for officials.

Why do something that is thankless? It has nothing to do with the survival of the country.

"When the court is short of money in the future, you will remember the benefits of sugar." Shao Xun said and left.

Shao Jin seemed to have realized something, and subconsciously searched for the figure of King Zhao. Third brother should be very knowledgeable about this, right? He talked about financial planning with his father very clearly, and even compiled laws to regulate the market...

******
After lunch, everyone took a short break.

At 3 p.m., Wang Xizhi unfolded paper and pen and began to record.

The virtuous and good (Jiang Yuan He Dian) said: "The Purple Palace is where the emperor's chariot is located, and the clear light should be flowing. I observed the stars last night and saw that the energy of the stars in the palace formed into a ball, which should be today. I ask your Majesty to rest with the people. The land in Shu is very urgent, and people far and near are in turmoil. If you discuss what you have and what you don't have today, it will cause the scholars of the world to be at odds. I am afraid this is not the way to govern the country."

Shangshu (Mao Bang of Luoyang) said: "Do you have any concrete evidence for what you said about Ziwei? If not, isn't it just nonsense?"

Xianliang said, "There are historical records that can verify this. In the second month of the second year of Emperor Hui of Jin, the northwest of the sky split open. This was the sign of the empress's dictatorship. At that time, Jia Nanfeng was in power. In the second year of Tai'an, on the eighth month of Gengwu, the sky split in two, and there were three thunderous sounds. This is a sign that the ruler's virtue is weakened and the ministers are tyrannical. On that day, the King of Changsha followed the emperor to resist the two kings of Chengdu and Hejian. Later, Chengdu, Hejian, and Donghai also took turns to dominate the country. This is the response."

The Shangshu said: "The Han Confucianists' theory of the interaction between heaven and man is actually far-fetched. On the first day of the fifth month of the first year of Kaiping in Daliang, there was an eclipse in the well. Well represents wine and food, and is also a symbol of a female ruler. However, when Daliang was founded, it was full of vigor and vitality, so where did the symbol of a female ruler come from?"

The wise man said: "This solar eclipse should be in the southeast. There is someone behind the mountain who usurps power. This has been verified."

The Secretary of State said, "In the first month of this year, a white rainbow pierced the sun, predicting that the ministers would cause chaos within the month. Where would the chaos come from?"

Xianliang said, "The divination is not accurate."

The Shangshu asked, "What is the standard?"

The wise and virtuous said, "Maybe the foreign ministers will raise an army to cause rebellion."

The Secretary of State asked, "When?" The wise and capable people could not answer.

The Shangshu said, "It is ridiculous to make such a far-fetched claim! The emperor wants the world to question and verify it. If it cannot be verified, it is suspicious. You should leave immediately."

After He Dian was refuted, Zhang Yu took over the record, giving Wang Xizhi a chance to catch his breath and rest for a while.

Shao Xun asked someone to bring the records.

There is nothing impure about his motive. If I hadn't said today that I would not be punished for my words, I would have reprimanded him severely.

What he talked about was actually the rigid routine of the late Han Confucianism, the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man, and far-fetched ideas. It is still very popular today, and even people who are keen on metaphysics study this stuff.

As for how much one believes in it, that depends on the individual. Anyway, Wang Yan likes to talk about this, but Shao Xun found that he actually doesn't believe it. The reason is very simple. Many astrological phenomena, celestial changes, and solar and lunar phenomena have never come true. Some of them are just after the phenomena appeared, and then an event is found and forced to fit.

This is also the main reason why some people question the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man. Why does it sound like hindsight?

Mao Bang understood his intention and asked for evidence.

If you can't prove it, it's just a hypothesis. Don't take it as the truth.

This questioning and empirical attitude was what Shao Xun tried hard to promote, and was also the main reason why he proposed "seeking truth from facts" in his major policy guidelines.

To be honest, the debate has already deviated from the topic. This is evident from the fact that He Dian did not refute the idea itself, but instead made a roundabout personal attack.

Maybe that’s how the debate will end.

At the great debate at the Salt and Iron Conference of the Western Han Dynasty, in the end Sang Hongyang talked about finance and national defense, and Xianliang Wenxue talked about generating electricity with love. You talked about yours, I talked about mine, and we were all expressing our opinions, talking at cross purposes.

But this kind of debate cannot be said to be meaningless. At least it can win over some centrists and help those who are already inclined towards you to better understand the deeper meaning of the debate. It may even weaken the will of the opposition.

Even in modern society, such policy discussions and debates are still common, even if those who initiate the meeting have already made up their minds.

After sending the records back, Shao Xun was about to continue listening when someone asked him again.

Hmm? Who is so ignorant of the rules that he always bypasses the debaters he has set up and directly "assassinates the king"?
He looked up and saw that it was Gong Zhuang, the governor of Baxi. Who brought him here? Doesn't the governor have to do his job? Is it okay to just give it to the county magistrate?

Well, those who stab me in the face are not guilty today.

"May I ask Your Majesty, Lao Tzu wrote five thousand words on keeping quiet and embracing oneness, which makes people happy physically and mentally. But Your Majesty wants people to explore the truth in depth, perhaps to obtain one or two rare things and prosper the family and industry, but it ultimately goes against the original intention of the sage." Gong Zhuang said.

"First, Lao Tzu's idea of ​​keeping quiet and embracing oneness is not to keep to nothingness, but to keep to the Tao. Although the Tao is invisible and formless, it is not without trace. The Tao gives birth to all things, and all things hold a part of the nature of the Tao. For example, cinnabar is heated in a furnace and becomes sulfur and mercury. The two have their own endowments, and are different from cinnabar. Does the Tao give birth? Does it give birth to life?" Shao Xun asked.

Gong Zhuang frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "It seems like life."

"That's right." Shao Xun said, "What is Tao? It's written in the first paragraph. The fundamental thing that encompasses and unifies all things in the universe is called Tao. I have a note at the end of the first paragraph. The principle of Tao is the fundamental principle of the universe. I call it 'truth'. Truth is Tao, but it has no spiritual wisdom and is a dead thing. People can also use a part of Tao that all things hold. Isn't it close to the Tao to act in this way? If generations continue, perhaps they will really become Tao and obtain Tao."

After that, Shao Xun continued to give examples: "Can cinnabar contain sulfur and mercury?"

"No." Gong Zhuang shook his head.

"The cinnabar, however, is transformed into sulfur and mercury by human hands. This is the transformation of Tao by human beings. Those who can do this and understand the principle behind it have collected one Tao nature." Shao Xun said, "If you can understand the transformation of grass and trees into alkali, you have collected the second Tao nature. The more you collect, the clearer the truth is, and you are close to attaining Tao." Shao Xun said, "Do you want to attain Tao?"

Gong Zhuang looked puzzled and sighed, "I am old."

"You can understand as much as you can about the nature of Tao. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Just like Yugong moving the mountain, your descendants will never stop working. One day, you will be able to collect all the knowledge." Shao Xun added, "Moreover, many scholars in the world advocate empty talk, but there are still those who value practical work. If those with aspirations work together, the Wanxiang Academy will collect the nature of Tao that everyone has mastered and make it public. Perhaps it won't be that slow."

Gong Zhuang couldn't help but ask, "Can you really attain enlightenment?"

Shao Xun asked, "Did you ever discuss Lie Zi's riding the wind?"

"I have discussed this myself."

"It's hard to tell whether Lie Zi's riding the wind is real or fake." Shao Xun said, "But ordinary people don't necessarily need to attain the Tao to ride the wind. The New Theory of Worshiping Existence mentions external objects. Perhaps if one's understanding of the Tao and the truth deepens, one day one will be able to ride the wind with the help of external objects without actually attaining the Tao."

Gong Zhuang was stunned, then burst into laughter.

"What I just said is only one of the points. There is another." Shao Xun added, "Most of today's classics were written before the Qin Dynasty. What was the Central Plains like then? And what is it like now? I have repeatedly mentioned 'keeping pace with the times'. Please understand these four words well."

"Why should modern people be inferior to ancient people? Confucianists always mention Confucius' words and poems, and mystics always quote Laozi and Zhuangzi. They have no ambition at all. Imperial College and Imperial College are still studying the classics of the pre-Qin period, but how many years ago was the pre-Qin period? Hundreds and thousands of years. Are the habits and knowledge of our ancestors the same as now? Are the classics applicable to that time still applicable today? They may still be useful after some repairs, but why not create a new school of thought? Let future generations read your classics?"

"The Analects was written hundreds of years ago. It doesn't matter if we read it today, but if it is still used as a standard for the Imperial College exam hundreds or even thousands of years later, I will be really disappointed. I am afraid that Confucius would also scold the later generations for not living up to their expectations. Why are people still testing him on his book a thousand or two thousand years later?"

"Confucius is like this, and so are Laozi and Zhuangzi. Is it possible that each generation in China is inferior to the previous one, and that no great work can be produced to surpass the achievements of our ancestors? The Imperial College is now testing the Five Classics set by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. How many years do I have to wait before I can bring these Five Classics out of the Imperial College?"

Gong Zhuang's face changed drastically and he was speechless for a moment.

At this point, Shao Xun concluded: "You collect hundreds of thousands of hu of grain from the farmhands every year, which is more than enough to support your entire clan. I don't ask you to do more than what you can, just take out tens of thousands of hu of grain every year to explore the principles of the universe. If you have any insights, please write to the Wanxiang Academy and exchange your experiences with fellow Taoists. I will print them in the collection of articles and return them to you regularly. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Every thing you do is one step closer to the great way. You should work hard."

After saying that, Shao Xun stood up from his seat and went to change his clothes.

In fact, he didn't want to say more and just let the debaters talk to them.

There would be no debate like today, but it is true that some people do research out of their own interest.

But by holding this debate, it is possible to attract more people to participate, and that is the purpose.

When there are more "sparks" willing to engage in this path, questioning, empiricism, logical thinking and scientific methodology of seeking the truth can be promoted among them - the importance of these may be more important than most people imagine.

(End of this chapter)