Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 174 Emphasizing Both Yin and Yang
The one who asked this question was a young woman.

But almost all the women looked at Wang Xi with great anticipation.

Clearly, they were very interested in Wang Xi's theory.

Because all along, the relationship between men and women has followed the Confucian system. Even Wu Zetian did not deny the Confucian concept of male superiority over women, because Wu Zetian was not a feminist, but a pure politician.

She didn't have any grand political ideals, so she can't be called a politician. She just wanted to be the emperor, and she spent her whole life striving for that.

Wang Xi can be said to be the first to propose a theory that is different from Confucianism.

Moreover, it stems from personal emotions and implicitly emphasizes individualism.

This idea was quite novel, and the women present all loved to hear it, hoping that Wang Xi would elaborate further.

Wu Chongwen and the others, on the other hand, felt somewhat depressed.

The question of how Wang Xi managed to gloss over the issue of a marriage based on social standing was far more pointed than this one. What frustrated them even more was that some of the prominent families present actually agreed with what Wang Xi said.

Actually!
Some prominent families have already realized this problem, or perhaps, due to their lust for power, they desperately want to form marriage alliances with powerful figures in the court to maintain their family's status, but they are too concerned about saving face to do so.

Wang Xi's Taoist philosophy also gave them some excuses.

This is not a bad thing.

This is why not many people have come forward to criticize Wang Xi.

Wang Xi smiled and said, "You have heard a lot of opinions about women's education, and you believe there are some misunderstandings in them."

"What misunderstanding?"

Wu Chongwen asked.

Wang Xi said, "The master said that regarding women's education, this is obviously the way of heaven. Women are also human beings, and as human beings, they have a desire for knowledge. No one would willingly be ignorant, and no sage has ever said that women are not allowed to study."

In fact, talented women have never ceased to exist throughout history, so women's education and reading have never been a problem; the problem lies in the conditions.

"condition?"

"Not bad!"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Children from poor families naturally don't have the opportunity to study, that goes without saying. But children from rich families, regardless of gender, generally do read and write. Take Zhu Yingtai for example, she already knew how to read and write at home. So her problem isn't whether she can study, but whether she can attend academy. These two things shouldn't be confused."

Another young woman asked, "Is it in accordance with the natural order for women to attend academies?"

Wang Xi smiled and said, "I also asked you about this, but you dared not make a judgment. You only said that, judging from the current trend, it is possible."

"What do you mean?" the young woman asked anxiously.

Wang Xi said: "Because you believe that whether women can go to college is not about their desire to learn, but about the college itself. At present, there are very few private colleges, and education generally comes from the family. Even many men cannot go to college. As things stand, it is unlikely that women will be able to go to college."

However, with the arrival of our Holy Emperor, the country is peaceful and prosperous, and the people are wealthy. More and more people are eager to pursue their studies, but the Imperial Academy is struggling to afford it. In the future, private academies will become increasingly prosperous.

Once everyone gets used to attending college, women will inevitably follow suit; it will all happen naturally, not through any deliberate effort.

Cui Riping suddenly said, "Your husband seems to be deliberately avoiding the important issues."

Wang Xi asked, "What do you mean by that, Uncle Cui?"

Cui Riping said, "When women go to academy to study, they will inevitably encounter the issue of gender differences."

Wang Xi responded with an "oh": "Confucius said: 'Feelings arise from emotions, but are restrained by propriety.' This shows that Confucianism also values ​​human feelings, believing that emotions are a manifestation of human nature, but they need to be restrained by propriety to prevent them from going astray."

This actually coincides with Taoist thought, which emphasizes the equal importance of Yin and Yang. A balance between the two is considered unbalanced, with either Yang being dominant and Yin being weak.

So, if young boys and girls study together, help each other, make progress together, learn etiquette and how to conduct themselves in society, does this actually violate etiquette?

For example, if you were to place two highly learned men and women, and two illiterate men and women, in separate rooms, which group do you think would be more likely to transgress the rules of propriety?

Cui Riping frowned slightly.

Wang Xi continued, "Actually, my husband believes that any behavior that goes against nature will backfire, and living in harmony with nature is the most harmonious approach. To this end, my husband even secretly conducted a survey."

Wu Chongwen asked, "What kind of investigation?"

Wang Xi said, "It's about how often students from the Imperial Academy and the Wuming Academy go to Pingkang Ward. The facts prove that there are far more students from the Imperial Academy."

".!"

Wu Chongwen's face instantly turned bright red.

Yang Zhan asked excitedly, "What proof do you have?"

Wang Xi said, "Go to Pingkangfang and ask around. See who spends the most."

"Hahaha!"

Everyone laughed.

Yang Zhan remained silent. In his memory, it seemed that students from the Nameless Academy rarely went to Pingkangfang.

Wang Xi continued, "Please don't laugh, everyone. This is actually quite normal. As the saying goes, Yin and Yang are indispensable. It's just that forcibly separating Yin and Yang will only create a distorted fusion of Yin and Yang. On the contrary, when people get along naturally, they can treat each other with more respect."

Do any of you have female friends? I'm not talking about that kind of relationship, just a pure friendship, regardless of age. If you do, you'll deeply feel that you should have such a friend by your side. It's a very natural harmony, and chatting with her brings a subtle pleasure.

These words immediately garnered the approval of many scholars.

That's how it is.

That's really true.

The woman present had developed a fanatical passion for Taoist thought; she thought it was truly wonderful and wondered why she hadn't noticed it before.

A young woman said, "Brother Que, your master is truly learned."

Wang Xi laughed and said, "This is the idea of ​​our ancestors, not something my husband created. In fact, my husband has never opposed women pursuing education; on the contrary, he has always been very supportive. The reason he refused was simply because of social status and marriage."

Because my husband doesn't support this, he won't intervene if it happens at the academy, which would cause trouble.

In other words, as long as one gets their parents' approval and passes the academy's exams, they can study at the Nameless Academy.

"So it turns out we can go to the nameless academy to study."

“Hmm.” Wang Xi nodded. “It’s just that, in order to avoid the tragedy of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, you need your parents’ approval.”

But in my heart I was thinking, if your parents agree, I'll chop off my head and give it to you as a stool.

"So, you're thinking of us too, sir."

"of course."

Wang Xi said, "My master is well now. If he knowingly does something tragic, it is neither the way of Heaven nor the way of humanity."

At first there were some scattered applause, but then the applause became more enthusiastic and was mixed with cheers.

"it is good!"

"That's very well said!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Wang Xi cupped his hands in greeting to everyone around him and said, "If everyone feels there are no problems, then let's continue the performance."

"it is good!"

Everyone immediately became excited again.

Wu Chongwen and the others exchanged glances and could only give up.

Wang Xi immediately signaled to Linghu Baodi and the others that they could continue performing, while he himself stepped off the stage.

Wang Xi's remarks quickly spread like wildfire, for a simple reason: they were highly regarded by young people and women.

The negative comments about Tao Mo were quickly reversed, and at the same time, Taoist thought began to attract the attention of young people.

When you first come to believe in an idea, it must be because of your own needs; there is no such thing as faith without a reason.

Although social class marriages are deeply rooted, there are many opponents, especially young people, and women today also crave more freedom.

They all have strong needs, but haven't found a breakthrough yet, because this requires a foundation of ideas.

Empress Wu Zetian's belief in Buddhism was not because she had become a nun at Ganye Temple, but because Buddhism advocates equality for all beings, including gender equality.

At the same time, Mr. Wuming also became very famous, especially for his line "The swallows that once graced the halls of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of ordinary people," which spread throughout Chang'an.

But Tao Mo is very worried about this.

"Oh dear! Young man, you can't learn poetry and songs by doing!"

Tao Mo said with tears in his eyes, "Moreover, this old man still has a lot of lessons to finish, and he hasn't even figured out the Taoist philosophy yet."

Terrible!

This is really dangerous!
Tao Mo almost knelt down before Wang Xi.

Wang Xi said, "You think I want to give you more homework? I have no choice. But you don't need to learn poetry and songs for now, and I doubt you can learn them anyway. But you must thoroughly understand Taoist thought. From now on, when you talk to anyone, you will more or less touch on Taoist thought."

Tao Mo gasped. "I'm just a wandering sorcerer, and you want me to study ideas?"

You're really something!

All Wang Xi could do was pat him on the shoulder and say, "You can do it, Lao Tao, you definitely can."

The pirate ship had already reached the middle of the sea, and disembarking would be a certain death. Tao Mo could only say, "However, young master, you should try to stay by my side. Otherwise, I really have no confidence."

Wang Xi nodded: "That's for sure. If you are exposed, even though you are the main culprit, we will also suffer."

Old Tao's vision went black, and he almost fainted.

Listen!

Is this human talk?
After Tao Mo went back to the inner room for extra lessons, Li Jieman hurriedly asked, "Brother Que, where did you copy this poem from?"

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "I wrote it myself."

The three of them immediately looked at each other with disdain.

Li Jie snorted, "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."

Wang Xi snorted, "If you don't believe me, then forget it."

Li Jieman asked, "Do you dare to swear an oath?"

"Why should I swear an oath?" Wang Xi asked.

Li Jieman said, "It must have been written by someone else."

Wang Xi smiled but remained silent.

Huangfu Sengnian didn't want to get entangled in this issue, and laughed, "This time it's truly a case of turning misfortune into blessing. Not only has the crisis been resolved, but it has also made many people pay more attention to Taoist thought."

Even those who oppose our nameless academy are promoting Taoist thought.

Wang Shuang asked, "Why is that?"

Huangfu Sengnian laughed and said, "It's very simple. If they can't come up with any objections, then they will choose to praise Taoist thought or praise Mr. Wuming."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "That's why I say Wu Chongwen is our lucky general. Every time we meet him, something wonderful always happens. Breaking down barriers of social class and gender, with these two sharp blades in hand, Taoist thought will surely be widely admired."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "But it could be temporary. The key is to see what kind of ideology the court needs."

The imperial court was definitely guided by Confucianism.

No matter how much you dislike Confucianism, you have to admit that it is very suitable for monarchical centralized systems.

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "But we can take another route."

Huangfu Sengnian asked, "Are you referring to developing rouge or eyebrow pencils?"

"Not bad!"

Wang Xi said, "Don't underestimate this point. It is closely related to people's lives and is liked by many people. So as long as we succeed, although we can't say that Taoist thought will dominate, it can still gain a place."

(End of this chapter)