Chapter 247 Lecture Taizhou
Magistrate Zhao naturally agreed to Su Ze’s “small” request.
Su Ze chose the venue for his lectures, which was the Chongru Temple next to Guangxiao Zen Temple.
There is also a reason why Su Ze chose this place to give lectures.
In the eighth year of the Jiajing reign, Wang Gen, the leader of the Taizhou School, gave lectures here. At that time, Wang Gen held the slogan "The common people's daily use is the Tao" and gathered people to give lectures in front of this Confucian temple. As well as the officials of the border areas, the Taoist and Pastoral Orders, and the officials who arrested the scholars, commoners, woodcutter, pottery and farmers." They all gathered at the entrance of the Chongru Temple to listen to Wang Gen preaching his doctrines.
Wang Gen advocated the Tao of daily necessities, believing that the Tao was not mysterious, and proposed that the only way to become a saint is to make the people rich in food and clothing.
Wang Gen proposed that "the body and the world and the country are the same property. We know that the body is the foundation, and the country and the world are the end. Those who fail to do something will turn to others." What he means is that talents are the most important in the world, and Tao
is Serving people, he further proposed that "the people are the foundation of the country", pointing out that everyone from common people to emperors must first rectify themselves before they can rectify the world.
Wang Gen's ideal of "disciples and scholars do not ask for flying dragons in the sky, but see farmers in the fields, work hard among the people, and be teachers for all generations in the world" was quickly shattered after his death.
Although the Taizhou School was vigorous, this kind of thinking obviously touched the interests of the rulers of the Ming Dynasty.
In particular, Emperor Wanshou, who always believed that he was the master of all the people in the world and "Qian Shang", after seeing the articles of the Taizhou School, ordered the Ming Dynasty to ban the Taizhou School's doctrines, prohibit Taizhou School disciples from serving as officials, and even At one time, the Tianxia Academy was banned and destroyed in order to prevent the spread of Xinxue and Taizhou School knowledge.
The Taizhou government once expelled the disciples of the Taizhou School, and Wang Gen's disciples could only scatter all over the world.
However, we cannot help but think. In the eighteenth year of Jiajing, Wang Gen's disciple Yan Jun once again traveled around and began to spread the knowledge of Taizhou School.
Yan Jun's thoughts paid more attention to the desires of the people and believed that a qualified ruler must satisfy the needs of the people in order to achieve peace in the world.
While Yan Jun was giving lectures, he also accepted Luo Rufang and He Xinyin as his disciples.
He Xinyin's real name was Liang Ruyuan, and he was originally from Jieyuan, Jiangxi in the 25th year of Jiajing. However, after being exposed to the ideas of the Taizhou School, he gave up becoming an official and instead gave lectures and practiced knowledge in his hometown.
He Xinyin founded the "Juhetang" in his hometown, carried out social practice, and led the people to live a life of great harmony. Su Ze looked at Li Zhi beside
him. In the history before his time travel, Li Zhi was the last prominent figure of the Taizhou School.
Starting from Wang Gen, as the influence of the Taizhou School expanded, the court's suppression became more severe.
Wang Gen was only prohibited from giving lectures, but Yan Jun was trapped and persecuted by the government, and was released from prison after being rescued by his friends.
In the history before Su Ze's time travel, He Xinyin and Li Zhi were directly persecuted to death by those in power.
However, it is now the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing. Wang Gen has passed away. Yan Jun is giving lectures in various places at this time. He Xinyin is still practicing his "Juhetang" in his hometown. Li Zhi has not yet fully recognized the knowledge of the Taizhou School. Instead, he was attracted by Su Ze I am attracted by astronomy, and recently started studying arithmetic under the guidance of Su Ze.
But now, nearly thirty years have passed since Wang Gen gave public lectures in Taizhou.
Although Wang Gen's disciple Yan Jun also gave lectures in Taizhou, it was the most tense period when the court was banning "heretical doctrines", so Yan Jun only gave lectures in Taizhou secretly.
The people who listened to Wang Gen's lectures in the early years have grown old, and there are only a few people who listened to Yan Jun's lectures. Taizhou has not had such a huge public lecture event for a long time.
Su Ze's huge reputation for treating diseases outside Taizhou City also made everyone in Taizhou curious about the content of Su Ze's lectures.
However, I heard that Su Ze was the Fujian Jieyuan of Jinke. The people of Taizhou did not doubt Su Ze's level. They were just curious about which school Su Ze wanted to teach.
As Su Ze was about to give a lecture, Li Zhi and others became timid.
Li Zhi first said: "Rulin, this is Taizhou where Mr. Xinzhai gave lectures. Ordinary doctrines cannot attract them." Xu
Shixing and others also nodded, and even Li Shizhen, who was sitting aside, also nodded.
Wang Gen's knowledge was inherited from Xinxue, but he also became his own school. Although it was not as influential as Xinxue in the court, it was extremely influential in the southern Zhili area.
Taizhou is the base camp of the school. Maybe the old salt seller by the river and the old pottery man in the cave have studied under Wang Gen. If Su Ze cannot convince the audience, or refutes it, then what? His reputation was ruined.
In the past few decades, Taizhou has seemed to be an academic forbidden area. Except for the great Confucians of the Taizhou school, all the great Confucians of other schools will bypass Taizhou.
Su Ze smiled slightly and said confidently: "My academics are also from the lineage of Mr. Xinzhai." Everyone
knew that Su Ze's academics were close to the Taizhou School, but Li Zhi still said uneasily:
"But Rulin still You need to come up with something new."
Everyone nodded. Of course, a lecture cannot just talk about the previous theories, just like a concert can't just sing other people's songs.
If you can't speak your own things, you will still be ridiculed. Since you are all talking about the words of sages, why not read the books of sages yourself?
Su Ze saw Li Zhi's nervous look and said, "Mr. Zhuo Wu, don't be nervous. Isn't it just lectures? Didn't I also lecture at Quzhou Academy?" Thinking of Su Ze's unparalleled eloquence at Quzhou Academy, Li Zhi finally felt relieved
. Come, he asked:
"Is that so, Ru Lin still wants to talk about the theory of Chinese barbarians?"
Xu Shixing and the others had never heard of the theory of Chinese barbarians. Li Zhi explained to them that Xu Shixing and others were still young scholars after all. After hearing Su Ze's words A set of Chinese barbarian theory made their blood boil, and they all said: "If we talk about this, the event will be no less grand than when Mr. Xinzhai lectured!"
Su Ze smiled noncommittally, and he changed into a gray Confucian shirt, Entering Taizhou City surrounded by people.
Taizhou Magistrate Zhao waited for Su Ze in a carriage at the city gate. He invited Su Ze to the carriage in public, but Su Ze politely refused.
Magistrate Zhao simply got off the carriage himself and accompanied Su Ze to Chongru Temple.
More and more people began to gather at the Chongru Temple. By the time Su Ze sat in front of the Chongru Temple, the whole street was already full of people.
From the officials in Taizhou Prefecture and County Government, to the gentry and businessmen in silk and satin, to the craftsmen and farmers in coarse cloth, to the gangsters wandering the streets.
Su Ze also saw several monks in cassocks and Taoist priests in Taoist robes. There were thousands of people surrounding the entire street.
Governor Zhao had never seen such a scene before. Before he took office, he had heard that Taizhou lectures had a profound foundation and a strong academic atmosphere, but he did not expect that it would be so strong.
Li Zhi and others were also worried. With so many people listening, if Su Ze didn't speak well, his reputation would be ruined.
Xu Shixing also said nervously: "Although Brother Rulin's theory of Chinese barbarians is very enjoyable to listen to, it is still a small theory after all. Is it really okay to talk about this in Taizhou?" Everyone also nodded. The style of lecturing was prevalent in the Ming Dynasty
. Topics are also divided into "major essays" and "minor essays."
The Great Theory is similar to the fundamental theories of Confucianism, such as the Taizhou School's "daily use of common people is the Tao", or the Yangming Xinxue's "investigation of things to achieve knowledge". These theories are all leading to the way of the sage.
Theories such as "Barbarian China" belong to a certain theme and are analysis of specific problems, so they are called "small theories".
"Silence, Ru Lin is about to start lecturing." Su Ze walked to the Chongru Temple. He sat down cross-legged on the straw mat and began to talk:
"The common people's daily needs are the Tao."
As expected, Su Ze didn't say anything. "Theory of Chinese Barbarians" was originally the programmatic slogan of the Taizhou School.
As soon as this sentence came out, it really aroused the reaction of everyone who was listening. Magistrate Zhao frowned. Although the Taizhou School was not banned by the imperial court, the princes of the imperial court now criticized the school a lot.
Among the crowd, an old man dressed as a woodcutter showed a reminiscing expression.
The woodcutter Zhu Shu was a disciple of Wang Gen when he was giving lectures. He was one of the disciples who followed Wang Gen in his lectures.
After Wang Gen's death, the Taizhou school was suppressed by the government, and Zhu Shu was wanted by the local government on one charge.
He escaped the pursuit of the government by fleeing into the nearby mountains and forests. From then on, he remained anonymous and stopped talking about "the daily life of the common people."
Today, he was able to hear these words again in front of the Chongru Temple. Zhu Shu only felt that Su Ze's figure overlapped with that of Mr. Xinzhai, and he felt as if he had returned to that era.
Which senior brother is this young man's nephew? Or is it the self-taught Taizhou School of knowledge?
The old people present had tears in their eyes, the middle-aged people were talking a lot, and the young people were a little disapproving.
The common people's daily needs were a fashionable academic idea thirty years ago. Today, they have been talked about so many times that they are no longer as enlightening as they were first proposed at that time.
After Su Ze finished saying the slogan, he continued:
"Mr. Xinzhai has already explained the way of daily use, how to return to the origin and gain conscience."
The crowd made another noise.
Su Ze waited for everyone to stop and then said: "If Su continues to talk like this, everyone might as well read the quotations of Mr. Xinzhai's disciples. So what Su is talking about is not about one person's personal virtues, but about everyone's virtues." Virtue."
Now everyone present was quiet.
Su Ze said: "The words of saints, whether they are the first sages, Chengzi and Zhuzi, and then Mr. Yangming and Mr. Xinzhai, the morality they practice is personal virtue, but whether it is the principles of nature and human desires, or the investigation of things to achieve knowledge. , the unity of knowledge and action cannot be achieved without great wisdom and perseverance!"
Li Zhi and others nodded, and Magistrate Zhao also nodded.
The path to sainthood mentioned in the saint's words is naturally extremely difficult and dangerous, otherwise there would not be so few saints in history.
It is because it is difficult to cultivate a saint that some great Confucian scholars such as Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming proposed specific methods in order to help everyone find the path to becoming a saint.
Su Ze said, "Why? Everyone has selfish motives and desires. How difficult is it to cleanse ourselves of this troubled world?"
Su Ze used Buddhist terms, but it was also simple, and everyone nodded.
Su Ze continued: "Since it is difficult for an individual to become a saint, what about everyone?"
After saying this, everyone was stunned.
If you can't cultivate by yourself, how can you succeed if you have more people? Does this saint lead a group?
Su Ze said in plain and easy-to-understand words:
"One person's heart is selfish, and the heart of everyone is public-minded!" "
Don't we, the Confucian disciples, seek for a 'gong'?" "
Confucius traveled around the countries and sought what he wanted. It is self-denial and restoration of etiquette. Isn’t it just the way of the public?”
“Mencius advocated righteousness. Didn’t he seek justice?” “
When Zhu Zi said it, it became clearer. The world is all about cultivating public morality from private morality."
"We must unite knowledge and action, and learn the way of daily life, which is to turn selfishness into public morality." "
Since this road is difficult to walk, my way is, it is better to do the opposite. Come here and practice your selfishness with a public heart!"
"The so-called 'public' will last forever!"
As soon as these words were said, everyone was stunned like Hong Zhongdalu.
Su Ze paused for a moment, and then said:
"Since we are cultivating public morality, we can't cultivate it behind closed doors at home, we must cultivate it among everyone." "
So my method is to cultivate public morality first with the public, and then with public morality. Cultivate private virtue!"
Su Ze wrote the word "zhong" in small seal script on the ground with a branch, and then said:
"Zhong, there are three people. Confucius said: 'When three people walk together, there must be one teacher from me.'" Cultivate public morality among everyone, It is to use others as teachers and learn from everyone's strengths to supplement one's own. This is a method in line with the teachings of the saints." At this
time, someone asked: "Excuse me, sir, how to cultivate these virtues?"
Su Ze saw that the speaker was a The old woodcutter, he said with a smile: "This old gentleman asked a good question! We all have many virtues, but we are all mortals, and we cannot be born with the public heart of all people in the world like the sages. So my method is to first Start with the way of daily use."
Why does this bring back the way of daily use?
Everyone looked at Su Ze, who said,
"Excuse me, what do we do the most besides being at home on weekdays?" At
this time, people were talking about it: "Go to work!"
"Farming!"
" Do business!"
Su Ze waited until everyone had finished speaking, and then said: "Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants, we all have something to do except at home. This is the way of daily life. If you want to cultivate virtues, you must do it yourself. Let's start with the matter."
"For example, this old gentleman, if the woodcutter wants to collect wood, everyone can gather together to discuss what the woodcutter's ethics are." "Farmers are farming, and they
can also gather together during slack times. Discuss what the public morality of farmers is."
"Morality originates from the hearts of all people, and there is no such thing as high or low." "
Scholar-officials can talk about moral ethics, businessmen can also talk about business ethics, and craftsmen can also talk about work ethics. "
Tao, the more you debate, the clearer it becomes. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many saints writing books and writings. Everyone gathers to learn public morality based on daily necessities, and then use public morality to transform private morality. Only then can we It's what Mr. Shinsai said, 'Everyone is like a dragon'!"
(End of this chapter)