Chapter 217 Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming were all wrong!
"Fang Aizhu? Didn't you go to Nanping to accompany my uncle?"
A maid beside Mrs. Li brought out tea and saw Fang Aizhu, and then saw Su Ze behind Fang Aizhu.
The maid hurriedly returned to the house to report. After a while, she came out with a cheerful face and said: "Xie Yuanlang, madam, please come in."
Su Ze followed the maid into the room. At this time, Mrs. Li was already sitting on the main seat, sitting on her right. A scholar under thirty years old, he wore a Confucian shirt and had bright eyes. What surprised Su Ze was that he didn't have a beard.
Scholars these days basically grow beards, especially those who have reached a certain status.
Generally, scholars like Su Ze who are still studying for exams would shave their beards in order to make it easier for them to study. The person in the hall should be Li Zhi who was just scolded by Mrs. Li.
But at this moment, both Mrs. Li and Li Zhi looked harmonious, and the quarrel just now was not visible at all.
Su Ze was sizing up Li Zhi, and Li Zhi was also sizing up Su Ze.
Li Zhi had long known about this future son-in-law of the Fang family through letters with the Fang family's father and daughter.
Li Zhi is not yet thirty years old, but his age is not much different from Fang Ruolan's.
Li Zhi was also raised by Mrs. Li. As the so-called eldest sister is like a mother, he and Fang Ruolan also have a very close relationship. They are not elders and juniors, but closer to brother and sister.
Fang Ruolan mentioned this Su Ze in her letter, from which Li Zhi also saw his niece's feelings.
When his brother-in-law Fang Wanghai wrote about the marriage, Li Zhi was naturally very happy.
At that time, Su Ze had not yet passed the exam, but Li Zhi did not think that fame was so important. Instead, he wrote to his sister to persuade her to lower her demands and get married as soon as possible if it was suitable.
Later, when Su Ze graduated from Fujian High School, everyone in the Fang family became more and more satisfied with this future uncle.
Li Zhi was a young genius. He was able to write essays at the age of twelve and moved the countryside. At the age of twenty-six, he passed the civil service examination in Fujian, a major imperial examination province. However, for some reason, he was unwilling to continue taking the exams and instead indulged in various academic studies.
Mrs. Li also had nothing to do with her younger brother. Now Li Zhi was about to be thirty years old and had already started a family. After all, she was married and could no longer discipline him like she did when she was a child.
Even if he got angry and scolded him, Li Zhi could always laugh and fool him.
This time Li Zhi came back from the Imperial College and said he wanted to resign, which made Mrs. Li angry again.
Under the system of the Ming Dynasty, if someone resigned from office after being promoted to an official position, he could not continue to be an official in the future.
Dr. Guozijian was also an academic officer, and he could serve as an official after serving for several years. Moreover, the Nanjing Imperial College was located in Nanjing. This was also a good job that Fang Wanghai requested for Li Zhi in the same year.
Nowadays, the Imperial College is no longer what it was in the early days of the Republic of China. Even the Imperial College in Nanjing is a dawdle. He is also an academic officer. Compared to Hai Rui, who works hard, Li Zhi is already much more comfortable.
But just like that, Li Zhi still wanted to resign and go on a study tour, which was why Mrs. Li was so angry.
Su Ze paid homage to Mrs. Li honestly, Mrs. Li introduced Li Zhi, and Su Ze saluted Li Zhi again.
Li Zhi was very interested in Su Ze, his nephew and son-in-law, but since his sister was in the room, he just lowered his head and drank tea.
Mrs. Li asked Su Ze about Nanping and lamented how time flew by. Su Ze took advantage of the opportunity to send a gift list.
In addition to the rouge and gouache given by Su Ze last time, the gift list also includes newly dyed cloth, a few new books, and the latest black tea from Wuyi Mountain.
In addition, there is also a pair of ivory bone carved folding fans that Su Ze found among the trophies of the Deer King, and a pair of exquisite hand-painted horse tags.
Mrs. Li was very satisfied with this gift list, and her face looked much better after she had just scolded her brother.
After Mrs. Li finished chatting about household matters, she started talking about business again.
However, it was naturally impossible to talk about marriage directly with Su Ze. We had to wait until Fang Wanghai found an opportunity to settle it. The business Mrs. Li was talking about was Fang Wanghai's official business.
"Rulin will leave for the Imperial College in the next year, right? Are you going to the Imperial College in Beijing or the Imperial College in Nanjing?"
Su Ze said honestly: "This junior wants to go to the Imperial College in Nanzhili and study nearby. ."
This sentence reached Li Zhi's heart, and he immediately intervened and said: "Just go to Nanjing Imperial College and make a name for yourself! There is no need to go to prison to study! Those idiots can't teach you anything!" Mrs. Li said seriously
. After glaring at his brother, Li Zhi lowered his head as he was suppressed by his bloodline.
Mrs. Li said: "Lan'er's uncle is a professor at the Imperial College. He is going back to his hometown to visit relatives. Let him go to Nanjing with you to enter the prison after the New Year." Li Zhi originally wanted to refute that he was not going home to visit relatives
but He was ready to resign, but Mrs. Li glared at her again, lowering her head again and not daring to speak.
Mrs. Li stood up and left Su Ze to eat, then took the maid to the back to prepare dinner.
Li Zhi finally caught on to his plan to talk to Su Ze alone. He looked at Su Ze with burning eyes and said, "Xie
Yuanlang, I always see your name in my brother-in-law's letters. Last time he went to Jiangnan for a post. Zhili, I met you once, but I am full of praise for you!"
"The elders are so complimentary, and the juniors are so frightened."
Su Ze finally met the strange uncle Fang Ruolan said, a unique figure in the ideological history of the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and also Li Zhi, a representative figure of Taizhou School.
Li Zhi was a deviant since he was a child. He wrote essays criticizing Confucius at the age of twelve. He was able to pass the examination in the highly competitive Fujian Province at the age of twenty-six. His level of Confucianism was extremely high.
Now Li Zhi is only thirty years old. Fang Wanghai found him a teaching position in the Imperial College of Nanjing. However, Li Zhi is not even willing to go to the Imperial College to hang out, and is clamoring to resign and study abroad.
Li Zhi is now in a period of absorbing the ideas of various schools, but Su Ze doesn't know if he has come into contact with the knowledge of the Taizhou School.
Li Zhi pulled Su Ze and said, "I'll call you Rulin, and you call me Hongfu. How about we stop getting involved in any red tape?"
Sure enough, the history books said that Li Zhi was a madman who "disdained etiquette and law, and did not adhere to famous religions." There are not many people like him in the Ming Dynasty who attaches great importance to seniority and etiquette.
But Su Ze still shook his head and said, "Let me call you sir."
Li Zhi thought for a while and said, "Then call me Zhuowu."
"Mr. Zhuowu."
Li Zhi was a little disappointed. He thought that Su Ze, a young man, would solve the problem. He should have a young and frivolous character, but he didn't expect him to be so stable and similar to his wooden brother-in-law. This made Li Zhi, who had lived in Nanjing, a little disappointed.
At this time, Nanjing was in the Jiangnan area where literary style was most prosperous. It could be said that celebrities and madmen emerged in endlessly. Li Zhi was nothing in the Jiangnan area. How could such a strict person write such a masterpiece as "The Peony Pavilion"?
When Li Zhi was in the Imperial College of Nanjing, he received "The Peony Pavilion" from Fang Ruolan. He was shocked by heaven and earth. He promoted it in the Imperial College of Nanjing, and everyone thought that Su Ze was a great talent.
"Does Rulin know how to study things to achieve knowledge?" Li Zhi asked, looking at Su Ze.
It turns out that at this time, Li Zhi still accepted the thoughts of Xinxue, but that was normal. This was the period when Xinxue was prosperous, and the Taizhou School was only a branch of Xinxue.
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions where Nanjing is located are also the areas where Xinxue is most widely spread. It is natural that Li Zhi is enthusiastic about Xinxue.
Su Ze said: "Does studying things lead to knowledge and conscience? I understand slightly."
Confucian interpretations of the understanding of studying things to achieve knowledge vary.
Zhu Xi believes that "investigating things to achieve knowledge" means to obtain knowledge by investigating the principles from all things.
Lu Jiuyuan and Lu Jiuyuan believed that the meaning of "ge" was to get rid of material desires and seek the principles of nature, and opposed to seeking knowledge outside the heart.
Wang Yangming went a step further and believed that "to know things" means to have good knowledge, and "to investigate things" is to know the right things. Therefore, he said "to know things to know things" as "to know things", which means "to develop my conscience in everything".
So when Su Ze mentioned "Zhi Li Zhi", Li Zhi knew that Su Ze knew about the study of the mind, and he immediately started discussing it happily.
"Rulin, I recently studied "Xunzi", and there is a sentence in it, 'ice is made of water, and it is colder than water', and I have gained a little bit of information." "Please enlighten me." Li Zhi said, "Rulin, do you know how to make
salt
? Brine? This winter, brine and ordinary water are placed outside the house. Ordinary water freezes but brine does not. Doesn't it mean that brine is as cold as ice? Water is as cold as ice. Is Xunzi wrong?" Su Ze didn't think so at all
. Unexpectedly, Li Zhi said something like "Xunzi was wrong." Judging from Li Zhi's life, he has always despised authority.
However, such smart people are also the easiest to get into trouble. They like to study words with their books in their bags, and finally fall into empty philosophical speculations.
Today's psychology trend is like this. Everyone is focusing on studying things to achieve knowledge, but no one can tell how to "acquire conscience", and all discussions fall into empty talk.
However, it can also be seen from here that Li Zhi is very good at observation. He has discovered that the freezing point of saturated solution is lower than water.
Su Ze shook his head and said:
"It's not that Xunzi is wrong, it's that Mr. Zhu Zi and Mr. Yangming are wrong."
Li Zhi was accustomed to refute Su Ze. This was a habit he had developed while debating scriptures with others in Nanjing. He just opened his mouth, but I heard what Su Ze said clearly.
"What?!"
He thought that Su Ze would be horrified when he said that Xunzi was wrong, but Su Ze actually refuted both Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming in one breath.
You must know that Xunzi's status in Confucianism is quite embarrassing. Many Confucian students are not familiar with his works. Although this person may seem to have a high status, in fact, his status in the hearts of Ming Confucian scholars is not as good as that of Wang Yangming and Zhu Xi.
Of these two people, one is the official ideology of the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty, and the other is the new sage of Confucianism. Now Su Ze actually said in one breath that they were both wrong?
mad!
This was the first time Li Zhi had seen such a madman!
I didn't expect that Su Ze had such arrogant thoughts under such a gentle appearance!
He is indeed my nephew-in-law!
Li Zhi, who was an invincible debater at the Imperial College in Nanjing, became interested in debating the classics.
But debate is not about winning by comparing whose arguments are weird. You also need to be able to convince the other party, or at least refute the other party's arguments.
Li Zhi straightened his body and made a fighting posture. He raised his hand and said, "Ru Lin, please speak!"
Su Ze said calmly: "To study things is to study things, and to know is to know. They are two different things. The ancestors were puzzled. The meaning is confused."
Seeing Li Zhi thinking, Su Ze continued:
"Take ice water as an example. In Nanping, I once made an object based on the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, called a thermometer."
Su Ze explained the thermometer. principle, and then said: "If you use a thermometer to measure it, Mr. Zhuowu's question is self-evident. The freezing temperature of water mixed with brine is lower than that of pure water. Only then does the water freeze but the brine does not freeze. "
Li Zhi was shocked. Although he had never seen a thermometer, after listening to the principles explained by Su Ze, he felt that this thing was feasible.
Yes, if temperature can be quantified, then you don't need to study the problem, you just need to record the results.
Su Ze said: "The study of things is to study the principles of things, and what is physics? It is the unchanging way."
"Water boils and evaporates, water cools and freezes. These are the principles of things, and the principles of things are constant. , without any change due to human consciousness."
Although this sentence is a bit avant-garde, Su Ze said that water freezes when it is cold and boils when it is hot. It is indeed constant and cannot be affected by human consciousness. He couldn't help but nodded.
Su Ze added: "The study of things is to study the principles of things. Where should we start with the principles of things? From phenomena, from laws, from data, from simple laws to deducing complex laws, studying the principles of things does not require the meaning of sages' scriptures. , only need to summarize and deduce according to the rules, so some craftsmen do not understand the words of the saints, but they can understand the principles of things. Doesn't this mean that there is no relationship between the investigation of things and the ancient teachings of the saints?" Li Zhi was shocked, Su Ze was so
shocked A theory that really went against his common sense, but he seemed unable to refute it.
Su Ze added: "The next step is to achieve knowledge. Knowledge is the knowledge of all people. The so-called knowledge should be the knowledge of all people. This is the study of human heart.
" This is the kind of knowledge."
"In a broad sense, how to govern your subordinates, how to judge cases, and how to manage property are all knowledge that studies the human heart." "To gain knowledge, you need to read the words
of saints, learn from the examples of predecessors, and study history . The most important thing in politics is to clearly discern human principles and comply with people's hearts. These need to be adjusted and changed at any time according to the current situation. How can they be confused with studying things?" "That's why the younger generation said that Mr. Zhu Xi and Mr. Yangming were wrong
. Studying things to achieve knowledge is the two disciplines of studying things and developing knowledge. It is impossible to explain the fickle human heart with the unchanging principles of nature, and it is equally impossible to explain the principles of nature with thinking about the principles of the human heart." Li Zhi stammered
: "In other words, there are two ways to become a saint?"
Su Ze nodded and said, "Of course, one can become a saint by studying the principles of all things, and one can become a saint by discerning the hearts of all people!"
Li Zhi suddenly thought of something and said: "Wait a minute, Rulin, you said that the laws of nature are constant. The movement of the stars affects people's hearts. Isn't this just how people's hearts affect the laws of nature?"
Su Ze said categorically: "The movement of the stars is a law of nature, and it has nothing to do with people's hearts!"
Seeing that Li Zhi didn't With a look of belief, Su Ze said:
"I can calculate the movements of the stars!"
(End of Chapter)