Chapter 169: A bird's-eye view, a letter to Yu Ming

As the leader of the contemporary literary world and the leader of scholars all over the world, Wang Shizhen's every move attracted a lot of attention.

For example, the villa where the literary gathering was held this time was just renovated and rebuilt, and it was bustling in the capital for quite a while.

Last year, Wang Shizhen came to Beijing and bought a manor from Shuntian Prefecture. The ill-gotten gains of Sun Yizhen, the former governor of Shuntian Prefecture, naturally had to be auctioned off. Qian Gu and You Qiu came to his house in person to paint and draw pictures. Zhang Nanyang came from afar to stack stones and create landscapes for Wang Shizhen. Even though Wang Shizhen declined to receive guests, enthusiastic scholars still asked people to send their poems and songs to congratulate him, and there were more than fifty poems in total.

The renovation of the garden is so lively, let alone a serious literary gathering.

The sky is beginning to brighten.

Early in the morning, a large number of scholars, students, poets, old masters, and Confucian scholars came to Wang Shizhen's Yanshan Villa one after another.

The luxurious carriages of officials and gentry, the scholars who had passed the imperial examinations and were waiting for the imperial examinations, and the strong local accents that came from afar all collided and interacted in the Yanzhou Villa.

……

Wang Shizhen was well-versed in historical records, and was proficient in everything from calligraphy, painting, poetry, music, gambling to chess. Naturally, the literary gatherings he organized had many titles.

Today's literary gathering is based on the four parts of poetry, fu, prose and essays in Wang Shizhen's "Four Parts of Yanzhou Shanren", and the "Classics" part is added, which are the five venues of today's literary gathering.

The first four are mainly about reciting poems and composing couplets, and appreciating poetry, prose and novels - this is Wang Shizhen's main business, especially for scholars who need to enhance each other's reputation.

The "Jingbu" in the latter is obviously used to analyze classics, and the title of the sign at the entrance of the venue clearly indicates this.

[Defining the ontological category of conscience and exploring ways to understand the world from different ontological perspectives - Ming Dynasty Yanzhou Academic Seminar]

The slightly strange name made all the guests who wanted to enter the venue stop and look.

When Li Sancai and Sun Jigao saw this line of words, they looked at each other and frowned.

"It's fine to discuss it, but to use the word definition is a bit arrogant." Sun Jigao couldn't help but shake his head.

The wording is a bit strange, but the meaning is still very simple.

Ontology is the origin of entities and the foundation of objects. It is innate and exists prior to acquired experience, and is therefore a priori.

The essence of conscience refers to the foundation of human beings and their innate attributes.

When it comes to morality, the central issue is one's mind and nature, which is also the point that Li Zhi and Xue Yingqi are arguing about today.

But Wang Shizhen used the word "definition" right from the start, and the word "arrogant" was a euphemism.

Li Sancai smiled and said, "The Duke of Yanzhou has an air of power that has lasted for hundreds of generations, and he seems to be invincible. It is reasonable for him to have such an attitude."

At first, several large Buddhist temples invited Wang Shizhen to this literary gathering and held the meeting in the temples in an attempt to increase his popularity.

As a result, Alliance Leader Wang acted like a celebrity and replied with a mocking poem, with the left line "Fill the sand in the south to nourish the marrow, and decorate the statue with the blood of the Ganges" and the right line "What can I do with my greed and anger, and how can I hope to be united with the holy truth", showing no mercy at all.

It can be said that after Wang Shizhen returned to the court, not only did his mind become more active, but his arrogant nature also seemed to be revived.

Sun Jigao glanced at the title on the sign again, and even as he turned to enter the venue, he still stood with his hands behind his back and shook his head, "I thought the Duke of Yanzhou was just trying to gain some fame, but I didn't expect he was really planning to get involved."

“I don’t know where the confidence comes from.”

Wang Shizhen is a great talent, but that doesn't mean he is an all-rounder.

Although he is talented and knowledgeable, and his scope is large, he may not be able to compare with those who specialize in one thing, let alone something like debating on scriptures.

If you don't have enough skills and get beaten, it would be a joke.

Li Sancai heard this and said thoughtfully: "Since the Duke of Yanzhou has decided the theme of today's literary gathering, it must not be a rootless duckweed."

"Besides, although this sentence at the door is a bit arrogant, it easily points out the key point of the current debate, which shows his real skills."

People who manage their reputation are naturally the most cautious about matters related to their reputation.

Li Sancai regarded Wang Shizhen as a role model of the society and had extraordinary confidence in him.

The two of them walked in and chatted casually.

As soon as Fang entered the venue, he saw a bald monk in a cassock talking on the stage.

The people below the stage were either sitting or standing; some people on the second floor were leaning against the railing, listening attentively.

Sun Jigao showed a surprised look: "Has it already started?"

Sun Jigao, who was standing by, naturally didn't know either.

The two men were not shy people, so they grabbed a scholar nearby and asked politely.

The scholar who was asked looked at the two of them for a while before explaining in a low voice, "It hasn't started yet. Those great scholars wanted to take their seats on the stage and prove their knowledge according to the rules of the literary gathering."

The two of them suddenly realized what was going on.

Wang Shizhen had already mentioned this matter before.

Wang Shizhen understands rankings.

Although there is no best in literature, differences in knowledge naturally exist.

In various schools of Confucian classics, there are so many titles such as professor, great scholar, master, and dean. How can we not differentiate between them?

Therefore, Alliance Leader Wang thoughtfully separated the seats on the stage and in the audience for this literary gathering.

In short, only those sitting on the stage are qualified to put forward their arguments and debate. Those sitting in the seats? Just listen.

As the invitation stated, Li Zhi, Xue Yingqi, Qian Dehong, Wang Ji and others were all "main speakers" with master positions. As for others, they had to prove their knowledge and gain recognition from everyone present before they were qualified to go on stage.

The two of them bowed, thanked him, and found a seat to sit down.

"Is that Master Lianchi?"

Sun Jigao was a little nearsighted and couldn't see the face of the person on the stage clearly.

Li Sancai nodded when he heard this: "It's Master Lianchi, but it seems he has finished speaking."

Master Lianchi was almost regarded as an Arhat among the people, and his dialectical thinking and knowledge of Buddhist scriptures were recognized as unique by the scholars.

When the old monk finished speaking, the people in the audience either shook their heads and remained silent, or bluntly said that his speech was shallow. Only about ten people asked the master to take the seat.

Wang Shizhen's younger brother Wang Shimao smiled apologetically at Master Lianchi and invited the master to take a seat in the audience.

Li Sancai realized that Sun Jigao's eyesight was not very good, so he explained: "There are only four chairs on the stage now, and it is obvious that no one has been added."

Sun Jigao nodded when he heard this: "The Arhat's cultivation is not shallow, but he cannot talk about his true body."

The essence of Buddhist conscience is the Spirit Mirror Platform.

Although its thinking is not bad, today's Confucianism's thinking on the essence of conscience has already integrated the three religions into one, and its level is much higher than that of Buddhism and Taoism.

If Master Lianchi wants to take the throne, he will no longer be able to convince the public.

As soon as the man went down, another young scholar came up.

He took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said aloud: "My teacher is touring the garden. Let me read an article for him. If he is popular, I will invite him to the pavilion. If he is not popular, we will go back home."

He did not say who his teacher was. He bowed to everyone, then unfolded the article and read aloud.

"Between heaven and earth, there is reason and qi. Reason is the way of the world, the basis of all living things; qi is the instrument of the world, the tool of all living things."

"The essence of Qi is called Li; the transformation of Li is called Qi. This is Zhu Xi's argument between Li and Qi."

"I inherited Shao Yong's 'Xiantian', Zhou Dunyi's 'Taiji', Zhang Zai's 'Qi Lun', and the Cheng brothers' 'Tianli'. Zhu Xi passed it on to my teacher, and my teacher passed it on to me. Now I have also gained something."

“Where is the ontological scope of conscience?”

"Zhu Ziyun, sex."

"Benevolence and righteousness are called nature, compassion and sympathy are called emotions; nature is unmoved, emotions are moved; nature is innate, emotions are acquired; nature is the body, emotions are the function, and with the heart as one, the body and function are unified."

"..."

After hearing this, the scholars on the stage had already tasted something of it.

They all whispered to each other.

Li Sancai was surprised and asked, "Is this a great scholar of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism?"

It is not certain whether a great Confucian scholar is a great Confucian scholar, but he is definitely an authentic source of Neo-Confucianism.

Because after Wang's school of thought, people only say that "reason" is nothing more than the principle of "qi", and never maintain the transcendence of "reason".

Sun Jigao was also somewhat surprised and speculated: "Is this the disciple of Lord Yuchun?"

As Neo-Confucianism declined, scholars all over the world either turned to Wang Shouren or to Zhan Ruoshui. The only ones who remained faithful to Cheng and Zhu were Lu Tan and Luo Qinshun.

Among them, Lu Tan’s disciple was Xue Yingqi, but he was not pure because he mixed in Wang’s school of thought.

From the orthodox perspective, today's orthodox Neo-Confucianism is in the lineage of Luo Qinshun, which is Yuan Hongyu, the Yuchun Gong mentioned by Sun Jigao.

Yuan Hongyu, Duke of Yuchun, was a famous official during the Jiaqing and Longqing periods. His reputation for being upright and honest, and his willingness to endure poverty, was widely praised. In particular, the story about how he sponsored a poor student and owed 20 taels of silver, and had to ask Wang Shizhen to repay the debt on his behalf, made him a role model for scholars.

At the same time, this classmate of Zhang Juzheng, the sponsor of Hai Rui, the uncle of Shen Shixing, and the close friend of Wang Shizhen was the foremost scholar of Neo-Confucianism among the Confucians of the time.

After saying this, Sun Jigao couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect that a great scholar like Mr. Yuchun didn't even have a seat, and was even worse than Master Li."

Although giving lectures on stage was not humiliating, Li Zhi and others gave him seats, which naturally lowered Yuan Hongyu's status.

Li Sancai shook his head: "That can't be helped. Back then, Master Xu used public resources to invite scholars from all over the world to open Lingji Palace for lectures, and thus raised Master Nie Bao to the status of a great scholar."

"Although the Xin Bao is only circulated in northern Zhili, Li Zhi's influence through newspapers for more than a year is much stronger than that of a lecture. It is normal for it to have such an effect."

"On the other hand, how can Mr. Yuchun compare to him in studying behind closed doors?"

Unless you are the leader of your generation in academic knowledge and want to build a reputation, paper media are always much better than word of mouth.

The most well-known story about Yuan Hongyu is that Wang Shizhen paid off his debts. This shows that marketing is something that still requires professionals to do.

As for Qian Dehong and others who have seats elsewhere, they are recognized professors throughout the world and cannot be compared with them.

While the two were chatting, the people on the stage were still talking.

"In the metaphysical sense, the principles and qi are divided, while in the physical sense, the principles and qi are unified."

"It can only train people to conform to the model, only follow the external appearance of common consent, but cannot see the true conscience of morality."

“So, I say, the reality of reason is beyond the outside; the manifestation of qi belongs to the heart and nature.”

"..."

After a long time, the man finally finished reading the article.

There were mostly spectators in the audience. Even the old scholar could frown and think deeply, while most of the new students looked at each other in bewilderment.

Even Sun Jigao, the top scorer of this year's imperial examination, could not help but feel exhausted - mainly due to the decline of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism.

It all sounded difficult, and naturally there was no longer the scene of everyone enthusiastically expressing their opinions after Master Lianchi finished his speech.

The man on the stage looked around and said loudly: "Since you all do not recognize our teachings, then my master and I will return home."

After that, he turned around and left.

At this moment.

An old voice sounded in the hall.

"Why are you so impatient, young man? Go and invite Yuan Yizhi over."

Qian Dehong and Wang Ji came together, led respectfully by Wang Shizhen.

Wang Ji bowed to the audience and said, "I think Yuan Yizhi's knowledge is not bad. How about you come up and discuss it?"

Qian Dehong also nodded with a smile.

Naturally, everyone on the field nodded in agreement without saying a word.

"One of my elders once said that the more truth is debated, the clearer it becomes. The orthodoxy of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism should naturally be brought up."

Everyone turned around and saw Li Zhi walking down from the second floor leisurely.

"Please invite the person here quickly."

Xue Yingqi came out from nowhere and sat down leisurely on the stage, facing the audience.

Li and Xue had obviously arrived a long time ago, but they did not want to be left behind by waiting, so they did not show up.

It was not until this time that Qian Dehong and the other man arrived and sat down at the same time.

Wang Shizhen, wearing a wide robe with big sleeves, helped the two old men to sit down, then laughed heartily: "In that case, quickly go and invite Mr. Yuchun." The man who was reading the article on the stage bowed to the few people, then walked off the stage at a leisurely pace, obviously to invite the teacher.

During this period, chatting is inevitable.

Xue Yingqi half-squinted his eyes and looked at Wang Shizhen: "Wang Fengzhou is indeed a versatile person. He is so confident in his attainments in classics."

Wang Shizhen laughed when he heard this: "Recently, Master Xue and Master Li were discussing the Dao. I listened in and gained a little bit, so I temporarily added the 'Classics' section to the literary gathering, hoping to discuss it together."

Xue Yingqi did not comment.

He glanced at the audience below the stage, the Buddhist monk Lianchi, Zhou Ziyi who was known for integrating the teachings of Lian, Luo, Guan and Fujian, and Hong Jueshan, the direct disciple of Zhan Ruoshui...

Even scholars from Sichuan were invited, it didn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Wang Shizhen quietly changed the topic elsewhere.

Li Zhi looked at Qian Dehong and Wang Ji, pretending to be indifferent and said, "I have been arguing with Mr. Xue recently, but I haven't read the articles of the two professors. I don't know what they think of the main body."

It’s false that I haven’t read it, but it’s true that I want to test their attitudes.

Qian Dehong snorted twice and said nothing.

Wang Ji chuckled and said, "Didn't Li Zhuowu just criticize me for having a false conscience?"

He chanted softly: "The current true self is like the traces of a bird in the sky, the shadow of the moon in the water, sometimes there, sometimes not, sometimes sinking, sometimes floating. The plan will go wrong, the trend will turn around, and the divine machine will respond in a wonderful way."

The essence of conscience is illusory and unreal. Once we try to capture or discuss it, we will deviate from its essence. Once we try to pursue it, we will instead deviate from it.

As for how to appeal to one's conscience, that requires some thought and understanding.

Li Zhi said "oh" and stopped talking.

It takes a while.

Yuan Hongyu arrived late.

He is an old man with a large build and a strong and ferocious appearance.

"Mr. Yuchun."

"Mr. Yuan."

Many people I knew came to greet me.

Xue Yingqi nodded at him.

Wang Ji smiled and said, "Yuan Yizhi seems to have made further progress?"

Yuan Hongyu returned the greeting to everyone meticulously: "Sorry for the long wait, let's get started."

After that, several people sat down together.

Only Wang Shizhen smiled and shook his head: "Some people haven't arrived yet, please wait a moment."

He paused and said, "This person has asked me to read an article. Please comment on it and see if you should sit on the stage or stand off the stage."

"It can be considered as a warm-up."

Li Zhi remained indifferent when he heard this; Qian Dehong and Wang Ji looked at each other with confusion on their faces.

Xue Yingqi and Yuan Hongyu remained indifferent.

The people in the audience were actually very considerate. They listened for half the morning without getting bored and were eager to let Wang Shizhen recite.

Wang Shizhen was wearing a green robe today, with loose sleeves and wide sleeves, looking extremely handsome.

Seeing this, he nodded with a smile and took out an article from his arms.

He cleared his throat and began to recite.

"The Book of Changes says that the metaphysical is called Tao, and the physical is called Qi."

"The physical world refers to tangible things that can be seen or felt, called objects. I tried to give examples, such as the sight of the eyes, the hearing of the ears, and the body of objects. I summarized it as what can be perceived by the five senses and determined by experience in cognition."

"Metaphysics refers to invisible or intangible things, which are called Tao. I tried to give examples, such as ideas, concepts, origins, natural laws, and spirituality. I concluded that they can only be deduced through thinking."

"I will tentatively call the 'dispute over the great way' metaphysics, which is the definition of its scope of thinking."

This sentence came out.

The scene suddenly became much quieter.

Even the big monk who went up to fight for a seat was talking in a lot of nonsense, but now he suddenly spoke in plain language, and everyone was obviously not used to it.

Especially the old masters, they all frowned and shook their heads.

On the contrary, the young scholar sat upright, secretly sighing in his heart that finally someone who could understand him had come. In recent days, everyone had been accustomed to seeing Li Zhi arguing with others in the Xin Bao, always in plain language, and was somewhat used to it.

"The study of metaphysics originated in the pre-Qin period, and it was in the Song and Ming dynasties that widespread theories were formed."

"Metaphysics is divided into three stages: the theory of heaven, the theory of human nature, and the theory of mind and nature. This is the general trend of Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties, and its basic direction is to return to the theory of mind and nature of Confucius and Mencius."

"In terms of the central concept of each stage, the first stage is based on the principle of heaven, which is a mixture of the two elements of the principle of heaven and cosmology."

"Li means law, Qi means matter. Its purpose is to study the transcendence of law and the reality of matter. This is the essence of Zhou and Zhang's theory of Qi and Li - a method of understanding the world."

“Li is the transcendent, eternal and unchanging principle, while Qi is the concrete, ever-changing substance.”

"This dualism emphasizes the transcendence and universality of reason, but it is too crude and confusing, making this way of understanding the world unpopular."

"Cheng-Zhu came into being."

“The second stage is based on nature or reason, which is to filter out the cosmological elements and retain the heavenly principles.”

"It strictly distinguishes between Li and Qi, and then explores the self and the outside, the ontology and the entity - since Li is the law and Qi is the substance, then where is the Li of 'me'? Where is the Qi of 'me'?"

"Finally, a path was constructed, which is to study the reality of all things in the world and deduce the origin of 'I', so-called seeing one's true nature through studying things."

"However, Cheng and Zhu attempted to use the different principles of 'investigating the external world' to achieve a unified principle, in order to realize the benevolence of one's original heart."

“This kind of penetration does not find a unified theory in the category of heavenly principles to explain the relationship between things, but implies a heterogeneous leap, finding a transcendent metaphysical basis for all things in the world.”

“This is the flaw of Cheng-Zhu.”

"Lord Lu, you have found this flaw and are bringing forth something new."

"By confusing 'reason is nothing but the principle of qi', it forcibly projects the original law of heaven's principle onto the real 'I'."

“Thus, we abandoned the idea of ​​‘seeking truth from the outside’ and discovered a way to seek truth from within.”

"In the third stage, the heart and knowledge are the main concepts, which means that conscience is the principle of heaven, and the unity of knowledge and action is seen in the Tao."

"These three stages are the evolution of the 'origin of self', the distinction between 'principle' and 'qi', and the exploration of 'laws' and 'matter'. The fundamental point is that the way of understanding the world gradually becomes more profound."

As soon as he finished speaking this passage.

There was an immediate buzz from the audience.

"Which Grandmaster is this vision?"

"Comprehensive understanding! Explain in simple terms! Regardless of the school of thought, just this vision is at least at the level of a great scholar!"

"Three stages, everything, I see everything, everything sees me, these three levels of combing, colorful! Colorful! Colorful!"

All the young scholars were amazed.

The old man, who had just complained about the plain language, also sat upright with a serious expression and listened carefully.

Not only the people in the audience, but also several people on the stage were surprised.

Yuan Hongyu seemed to be inspired. He looked at Wang Shizhen seriously with a thoughtful expression, carefully pondering the vision described by Wang Shizhen.

Qian Dehong and Wang Ji looked at each other and frowned, wondering which old friend had come unannounced.

"The physical tools often explore the cause and effect through direct proof or falsification, and then summarize the corresponding 'Kung Fu'."

"The twenty-four solar terms that guide agricultural seasons are like this, as are the ingenious machines that are used for a wide range of purposes, and the symbols of the auspicious signs of heaven and earth."

“But the metaphysical Tao is different.”

“The former often has clear boundaries, while the latter is people’s exploration of the fuzzy boundaries of cognition and knowledge.”

"As something beyond natural entities, it can only be deduced through imagination."

"Because this kind of exploration can only be deduced by imagination, different schools of thought must have different thinking paradigms, which can be self-circulated and argued."

“It all comes down to different perspectives on the world.”

“I try to give examples of many genres.”

"Mencius said, 'All things are within me'; Zhu Xi said, 'The mind has reason'; Prince said, 'There is nothing outside the mind'."

“Or, aren’t humans also part of everything?”

"This is caused by different perspectives on the world. It is precisely because humans are part of all things that we need to draw a clear line between 'I' and all things. Sounds are heard by 'I', scenes are seen by 'I', smells are smelled by 'I', and the world is re-imaged in my mind by 'I' relying on my five senses. Isn't this the case that all things are in me?"

“I am prior to everything, so we must begin by understanding ourselves and then understand the world.”

"If that's the case, then my ability to understand the world is naturally innate and pure."

“Enlightenment, understanding, deduction, ideas, all innate and pure knowledge, the so-called pure reason.”

"Wang Ji Wang Gong believed that 'I' was pure, and any attempt to understand the world would affect the understanding of 'I', so he kept his conscience clear."

"Xue Yingqi believed that the knowledge of 'I' is the embodiment of the principle of heaven. If one wants to know things through investigation, the most important thing to investigate is 'I', so he holds that there is no other way except this mind."

The voice just fell.

Xue Yingqi stood up suddenly, his face gloomy and uncertain.

Wang Ji immediately clapped his hands and said, "Great!"

It's not just a comprehensive understanding, it's a bird's-eye view!

At this level, Wang Ji felt as if Zhan Ruoshui had been resurrected!

His eyes wandered around the stage, trying to see which acquaintance was hiding something.

Unfortunately nothing was found.

The people in the audience were in awe of this master figure who had not appeared.

Monk Lianchi, who had just gone on stage to fight for a seat, sighed and secretly felt lucky that he did not go up and embarrass himself.

Wang Shizhen saw everyone's amazement and couldn't help but flash a trace of fear across his face.

His expression became more serious and he continued to recite the article.

"Li Zhi, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. The Taizhou School often said, 'Conscience is readily available, and the truth is hidden in the common people.' This can perhaps be summed up as Li Zhi's perspective."

“The world exists objectively, regardless of whether I know it or not…Things will not disappear because I don’t know them, peddlers will not die because of my stupidity, and the world will not be annihilated because of my madness.”

"In that case, from the perspective of cognition, which came first, the 'I' or the world?"

"If the world is before me, does the innate me still exist?"

"Under this perspective, Li Zhi had to rely on the prince's original intention and return to Zhu Xi's old path of "investigating things to gain knowledge", embracing all and creating something new."

"Contacting things, communicating with ordinary people, and perceiving the world - the new study of things to gain knowledge is not about enlightenment, but about 'practice' in behavior, which is the commonality of the abstract origin of the world and the place where reason lies."

"This is the origin of Li Zhi's theory of universal morality."

"Universality, experience, practice, and all the knowledge formed by practice are called practical reason."

"Different perspectives lead to different categories of conscience. These two are the most fundamental disputes between Mr. Li and Mr. Xue, and even between many schools of thought."

"It is the struggle of the path."

The audience was silent.

Several people on the stage felt inexplicably horrified.

After Wang Shizhen finished reading, he closed the article silently.

He waved his sleeves and asked the audience, "Gentlemen, should this Taoist friend take a seat on the stage or listen respectfully from the audience?"

(End of this chapter)