Taiping Dao at the end of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 91 Your so-called righteousness is something my Xun family cannot afford to touch.
Two old men shared a cup of millet wine, their hearts filled with mutual respect, yet their faces remained expressionless. The spirit of the scholars had not yet crumbled; faced with those who sought the Way so selflessly, only a thorough and earnest discussion of the Way could offer true respect. And this cup of wine, like a battle horn, heralded the start of the next round of ideological clashes.

"The Han dynasty inherited the rites of the Zhou dynasty, and the Mandate of Heaven was tied to 'the Way of the King—the System of Rites—Virtuous Governance.' 'Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it.' When a king cultivates virtue, the people will naturally submit. The Son of Heaven receives the mandate of Heaven, presides over sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and establishes officials with assigned duties. Law is the standard, and rites are the measure. Without this, the fundamental principles of governance cannot be established, and the people will have no one to rely on. If the ruler is not a ruler and the ministers are not ministers, how can it be called 'peaceful'?"

"The Tao Te Ching says, 'Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish,' emphasizing the importance of doing little. Eliminate burdensome and harsh measures, and reduce taxes. The calamity lies not in the people, but in the errors of governance. With repeated celestial changes, the Yellow Heaven has replaced the Azure Heaven. To restore the old system with the 'Way of Great Peace' is to follow Heaven and respond to the people's will. The Yellow Heaven does not refer to the Heaven of the Liu family, but to the Heaven of all people. Celestial changes manifest in disasters and plagues, and calamities continue in the court; this means Heaven is weary of its ruler. Now famine is widespread, and the dead lie piled high. Heaven's will is so clear; how can it harm the people for the sake of one family's selfishness?"

"Master Zhang! Disasters and anomalies arise from the court's loss of its proper order. An ancient saying goes: 'Those who speak well of Heaven will surely find evidence among the people… Sages emulate Heaven and establish their Way, spreading virtue and benevolence to enrich it, and setting forth righteousness and rites to guide it.' This is 'the sign of Heaven and humanity, the Way of all time.' Therefore, we should quell the disasters and plagues through the methods of rectifying rites and clarifying virtue, rather than changing the dynasty. The world has long suffered from accumulated ills; the changing of the mandate of Heaven is merely a matter of changing emperors. But to overthrow the order of ruler and subject and start anew is as absurd as burning down a house infested with worms! Now, instead of following the established path of rites and laws, we seek uncharted territories, reversing the order of rank and status; I fear that in the end, we will only be walking a dead end, causing even more deaths among the people!"

"Lord Xun! The Yellow Heaven belongs to all people, not just the emperor, nor to us nobles, but to humanity! The *Zhouyi Cantongqi* takes the concepts of Heaven and Earth from the *I Ching* as its foundation, using the Dao to govern all things, and these all things refer to the common people. The *Taiping Jing* states that the chaos in the world arises from the loss of the Dao by those at the top, and these top levels include more than just the emperor. We wish to govern according to humanity, follow the benevolence of Heaven and Earth, and share power with all people!"

"Ha! The Way is ever-changing, and all people share its rights? Then who can represent the 'Way,' and how can all people 'share its rights'?"

"The Way pervades all people, and those who can truly represent the Way are naturally the 'cultivators of the Way.' Cultivators are chosen from among the common people regardless of their social status, taught using the teachings of the Great Peace Scripture, and then gather the people in the Way community. They uphold the principles of the Yellow Heaven, practice equitable self-governance, and ensure that everyone has enough to eat and wear."

“Zhang Jun, rites do not extend to commoners, and classics are not transmitted to the people. What fundamental difference is there between your so-called ‘cultivators of the Way’ and the selection of ‘virtuous and capable scholars’ to govern the world? It’s just a change of name, a change of the set of texts for examination, and a change of the name of the government!”

"Lord Xun, our Way of Great Peace has no sectarian bias. We wish to open our doors to learning widely, to spread the *Taiping Jing* (Scripture of Great Peace) to the common people, and to select 'Daoists' from among them. The key difference lies in the principles of conduct between Daoist societies and government agencies. We, the common people, form our society from the bottom up, not from the top down like the government. We prioritize the people and pursue merit. Our standard of measurement is the people's basic needs, the irrigation and farmland in the countryside, and the yield of the land. We emphasize practical results rather than moral virtue; in other words, 'merit before virtue!'"

"Improvement before virtue? A way of achieving results based on the people? Mr. Zhang, forgive my bluntness, but many of the common people are ignorant. How can they possibly restrain the government from the bottom up? In the end, won't it all be decided by the word of the superiors? This way of achieving results based on the people will likely end up like the harsh rule of Emperor Wu of Han, causing turmoil throughout the land, which is far inferior to the way of achieving results based on virtue and morality through the joint governance of wise men."

The two old men sat facing each other, discussing the Dao, while a group of disciples knelt and listened. Zhang Chengfu's waist was empty, having removed his fine iron dagger, but his eyes were even sharper, and his ears were perked up to listen.

At this moment, both Xun Shuang, a prominent Confucian scholar and a member of the partisan faction, and Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Way of Great Peace, unanimously acknowledged that the world at the end of the Han Dynasty was suffering from serious malpractices, that is, "the world has lost its way." This was the consensus among Confucian and Daoist scholars: the world was in trouble, and the cause of the problem lay largely with the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

However, regarding how to solve the problems of the world, the great Confucian scholar Xun Shuang hoped for "reform of the gentry," that is, to re-enforce the Confucian ritual and legal order of the Zhou and Han dynasties, and to establish order and constraints on all levels of society from the perspective of the gentry, especially on the emperor and the eunuchs. Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Way of Great Peace, however, hoped for a "revolution of the common people," hoping to propose a Daoist system of governance based on the people's perspective. He not only inherited the scholarship of the "Taiping Jing" (Scripture of Great Peace) from the Han dynasty, but was also influenced by the ideas of his disciple Zhang Chengfu, possessing sufficient academic ability and social experience to propose a new people-oriented theory that was more in line with the people's values ​​of the time.

"May I ask you, Lord Xun, frankly, what are the ills of the world, from top to bottom, and how should they be addressed?"

Upon hearing Zhang Jiao's candid question, Xun Shuang pondered for a moment, picked up a cup of clear wine and drank it all. Without looking at the expressions of the clan members, he answered frankly.

"There are three major problems in the country: the first is the damage to the nation's foundation caused by harsh taxes and the sale of official positions; the second is the exploitation and protection of households by powerful and wealthy families; and the third is the suffering of tenant farmers who have lost their land and are burdened by heavy corvée labor."

"How to treat it?"

"The Zhou rites were practiced, and the rites and laws were used to define roles and responsibilities."

"I dare not agree. I would like to add one more sentence."

Which sentence?

"Equalizing wealth and poverty is the way of Heaven to achieve equality!"

Zhang Jiao remained solemn, while Xun Shuang remained silent. After a moment of looking down, Xun Shuang did not discuss "equality" but instead reiterated his Confucian reformist ideas.

"We scholars should restore the system established by the Zhou and Han dynasties. To address the tyranny of the emperor, we must govern with propriety and punish wrongdoing with law. The Three Dukes should regain their power, and the collusion between the inner and outer courts should be severed; extra levies and 'land tax' should be abolished, and the sale of official positions should cease. Regarding the abuses of powerful families in the middle class, taxes should be set at one-tenth, the register of land should be revised, land ownership should be limited to curb land annexation, and leases should be contracted with upper limits. To address the plight of the common people at the bottom, granaries should be established, the equalization of transport should be implemented, and even the organization of military farms should be undertaken, solely for famine relief and price stabilization, not for profit. In addition to these policies for the upper, middle, and lower classes, the Imperial Academy should resume its lectures, and the recommendation system should be strictly enforced, so that the gentry can set an example of virtue and conduct, and restrain the emperor and eunuchs with propriety and righteousness, thus rebuilding the credibility of the court and the order of the counties!"

Upon hearing Xun Shuang's Confucian principles of governance, the Xun family members nodded in agreement. Zhang Chengfu's eyes flickered slightly as his gaze swept over Xun You and Xun Yu, recognizing in them the shadow of the policies of the later Cao Wei regime. Zhang Jiao, seated at the head of the table, pondered for a long time before nodding in agreement.

"Lord Xun's words are indeed insightful and true to the times. To address the problems of the world, four things must be done: First, stop the sale of official positions and the extra levies imposed by the court; second, conduct a thorough survey and restrict the annexation and protection of local powerful clans; third, return the regular tax to one-tenth, reduce the amount of money collected, and use the official granaries to stabilize prices; fourth, prohibit eunuchs from interfering in politics and clarify the power of the outer court. However, these four measures alone can only alleviate the problem temporarily and cannot cure the root of the world's problems. To fundamentally solve the ills of the past four hundred years, we must start from scratch!" With that, the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao straightened his back and slowly began to speak, revealing his conceived, albeit immature, yet novel, Daoist general principles of governance.

"We, the followers of the Way of Great Peace, practice the Way of Great Peace, taking from the surplus to supplement the deficiency, with 'helping the needy and the poor, upholding the Way and cultivating virtue' as our foundation. The Way of Great Peace means establishing the Way of Great Peace Communities, publicly electing 'Way Masters'; setting up community fields and granaries, with light and equitable taxes, the rich contributing more and the poor less. We limit land annexation in the countryside, and no large clan or wealthy household can shelter those who flee their registered residence. Community service is on a rotating basis, and community soldiers guard the villages. In the event of major disasters or epidemics, local corvée labor and taxes are exempted. Grain is loaned and returned, without repeated exploitation through calculations. We provide mutual relief to save lives and promote the livelihoods of the common people. Policies are made through community discussions, and virtue is in the hearts of the people, without the exploitation of the government or the manors of the powerful. In short, it is about promoting production through the equality of the world and ensuring the people's basic needs are met through self-governance!"

Upon hearing this crude outline, the expressions of the Xun family disciples immediately changed, and some even erupted in uproar. The great Confucian scholar Xun Shuang also frowned again and asked a question.

"Master Zhang, your Taiping Dao wants to change both the official system and the land system?"

"Of course."

"Which is fundamental? Which is secondary?"

"Government originates from the Way, and the Way governs all things. The land system is fundamental, ensuring that the common people can live and have enough to eat. This is the core goal of the Way to peace. The official system follows this principle, and the selection of officials is for the benefit of the common people."

"Is the land system the foundation? And the official system follow suit? If this changes, then the education system, which forms the basis for selecting officials, will naturally have to change as well?"

"Of course."

"The Four Books and Five Classics are all unacceptable?"

"There is also a righteous path of putting the people first in the classics. However, it needs to be reinterpreted, with a change in the order and explanation."

"Isn't this change going to cause a cataclysmic upheaval, a calamity of slaughter?"

Xun Shuang shook his head, his aged eyes sharpening like an eagle's as he looked at the silent Zhang Jiao.

“Master Zhang, let me ask you again. You said the land system should be changed to implement a more equitable system, stopping land consolidation and allowing the rich to contribute more and the poor to contribute less. Does this mean equalizing the land ownership of powerful families?”

"Of course."

“The powerful clans are deeply entrenched, each controlling territory in the prefectures, counties, and villages. Their landholdings and tenant farmers are countless, and they enjoy the privilege of being exempt from taxes and having their own armed forces. If they do not comply, how can you achieve equality?”

"."

Upon hearing this question, the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao's eyes deepened, and he remained silent. Then, the great Confucian scholar Xun Shuang also pursed his lips, his brows furrowing deeply. Further out, Xun You and Xun Yu exchanged glances, their eyes conveying a subtle meaning. Zhang Chengfu's hand paused at his waist, as if he were lightly pressing on the hilt of his sword. The atmosphere remained tense and silent. Only after a long while did the great Confucian scholar Xun Shuang shake his head and sigh heavily.

"Someone! Take all the wine away from this table!"

“Master Zhang, your Taiping Dao is willing to risk your life for the sake of the people. But we cannot allow your Taiping Dao to take away the family property of my Xun clan!”

"Your Taiping Dao's righteousness towards the common people, though it points directly to the ideal of Great Harmony, is something my Xun family cannot touch. We can only stay far away from it. Otherwise, sooner or later, we will be facing each other with swords drawn."

(End of this chapter)