I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 238 Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi

Chen Yu nodded slightly: "These principles are not just nonsense that Sima Jian Gong is spouting now."

"Such a statement was made by sages a hundred or two hundred years ago."

Chen Yu then brought out Huan Tan's "Xin Lun" and Wang Chong's "Lun Heng" again and told them about them to the great Confucian scholars of Jingzhou.

Now, these great scholars were not just angry, but horrified!

These things that frightened them had actually been created a hundred or two hundred years ago?
But why have they never heard of it?

And ironically, much of what they said was something they couldn't refute!
For example, in response to Dong Zhongshu's claim that earth dragons bring rain, Wang Chong had actually proposed a century earlier that "rain and dew that freeze and condense all originate from the earth, not from the sky." He believed that rain is not inherent in the sky, but rather is formed by the rising of earth vapor that freezes upon encountering cold. First, "clouds rise from the hills," and then "the initial appearance becomes clouds, and the dense clouds become rain."

Compared to some "dragon" that no one has ever seen, this explanation is undoubtedly more convincing to ordinary people.

For example, regarding lightning as a manifestation of "divine wrath," Wang Chong also spoke the facts and reasoned with the people.

The saying, "In the first month, the yang energy is active, hence the first thunder; in the fifth month, the yang energy is at its peak, hence the thunder is swift; in autumn and winter, the yang energy is weak, hence the thunder is latent," refutes the absurd claim that "thunder in summer and autumn signifies great wrath from heaven, while thunder in the first month signifies minor wrath." Wang Chong also used the analogy of "thunder is fire" and "people under trees or in houses, if struck by lightning, will die" to explain why some people are struck dead by lightning.

Most importantly, Wang Chong inherited Huan Tan's analogy of "using candlelight to represent form and spirit," believing that "what has a beginning must have an end, and what has an end must die," and that "only those without beginning or end are immortal." He even explained why people die from a medical perspective...

This is no longer just heresy.

In a corner where no one paid attention, Wang Chong not only destroyed the foundation of Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty, but also built a new house for himself there!
And yet, these top Confucian scholars had never even read such a monumental work?
"Everyone."

“There is always someone better than you.”

Chen Yu said, "I had never heard of these two works before. It was only after visiting several great Confucian scholars in the north that I was able to gradually compile them."

"Moreover, these two works were not created out of thin air by Huan Tan and Wang Chong; many of their arguments bear the influence of the various schools of thought in ancient China."

As the sage once said, "Renew yourself daily; if you can renew yourself one day, then keep renewing yourself."

"Now that the rites and music have collapsed, the classical studies of the Han Dynasty have no future. Even a great talent like Zheng Kangcheng, who was able to integrate ancient and modern classical studies, is still useless."

"It would be better to learn from the sages of the past, revisit the teachings of the various schools of thought, and put them into practice to save the world!"

Chen Yu's voice was deafening, but it did not elicit enthusiastic praise from these great Confucian scholars.

Some people even disregarded the fact that Liu Miao was sitting next to Chen Yu and muttered in a low voice, "To revive the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought, what is that if not heresy?"

When these words reached Chen Yu's ears, he disregarded the other person's status and directly rebuked him, saying, "Is reviving the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought considered heresy?"

"So, it wouldn't be considered heresy to have people believe in Zhang Daoling's Taoist teachings, Zhang Jiao's Taiping Daoism, or even the Buddhist religion from India?"

"According to you, wouldn't Zheng Kangcheng's unification of the Old Text and New Text schools of Confucianism also be considered heretical by these two schools?"

Classical texts of Confucianism refer to ancient texts collected from the common people by the Prince of Hejian during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, and ancient texts discovered by the Prince of Lu Gong during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, which were found in the walls of Confucius's former residence.

The New Text School of Confucianism refers to the classics and their interpretations that were recited and passed down orally by senior Confucian scholars in the early Han Dynasty, and which were then recorded by disciples in the clerical script of the time.

Therefore, the ancient text school of Confucianism is actually "not ancient", and the modern text school of Confucianism is actually "not modern".

The two schools of Confucian classics fought tooth and nail to prove who was the true orthodox Confucian! After all, heresy is more despicable than heresy! In the end, with Liu Xin's strong advocacy, the Old Text School of Confucianism finally triumphed over the New Text School, becoming the dominant school of thought in the Later Han Dynasty, and at one point even tried to completely eradicate the New Text School, preventing it from ever appearing in the world again.

However, as the late Han Dynasty approached and classical studies gradually declined, Zheng Xuan finally stepped forward and unified the Old Text and New Text versions of the classics in an attempt to revive classical studies during the Han Dynasty!
Unfortunately, it has now been proven that neither the Old Text Classics, the New Text Classics, nor the Classics after Zheng Xuan's unification are in line with the pursuits of modern scholars.

The fact that people would rather pursue the Taoist philosophy of non-action and the ascetic practices of Buddhism from the West than continue to fawn over the Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty speaks volumes.

The Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty are now half-dead, but some people are still trying to save them like burying their heads in the sand. Such people are either stupid or wicked!

Judging from the reactions of these Confucian scholars in Jingzhou, they are undoubtedly more "bad" than "stupid".

After all, their current status is due to people's admiration for classical studies.

If the people of the Han Dynasty no longer believed in Confucian classics, then their status as "great Confucian scholars" would naturally become worthless, and they would instantly be reduced to ordinary people.

Therefore, Chen Yu's act of "reviving the various schools of thought" is just like Liu Miao's act of "equalizing land distribution"—both are like using a knife to cut off the flesh of others!

At a time like this, it would be strange if others didn't resist! How could they possibly let you cut their meat without saying a word?
Therefore, these Confucian scholars from Jingzhou once again began to denounce Chen Yu. Some of the more astute among them quickly realized that the key to this matter did not lie with Chen Yu, but with Liu Miao.

After all, all academic issues can ultimately be reduced to the question of "kill you and I win," and among those present, Liu Miao was undoubtedly the only one qualified to take up the butcher's knife!
And what about Liu Miao?

He was looking down and eating soybeans with wooden chopsticks!
While eating, he muttered some words that no one else could understand—

"I wish I could make popcorn..."

Refusing to express an opinion is itself a form of expression!
Seeing Liu Miao like this, Chen Yu immediately felt as if she were seeing her husband's wife. She straightened her back, clearly wanting to engage in a debate with the group of scholars!
Thanks to the solid theoretical foundation laid by Huan Tan and Wang Chong, Chen Yu actually managed to hold his own against multiple opponents! However, a large part of the reason for this was that Liu Miao was sitting on the throne, which limited the fighting power of most of these great Confucian scholars from Jingzhou, allowing Chen Yu to stand at the summit and survey all the mountains below!

Just as the group of Confucian scholars were fuming and helpless, one person at the end of the banquet suddenly stood up slowly.

"Who is this young man? How come he is so imposing?"

Huang Chengyan immediately stroked his beard and said, "My son-in-law is none other than Zhuge Kongming."

Zhuge Liang and the others bowed to each other before finally approaching Chen Yu. Zhuge Liang shook his head at Chen Yu and said, "You want to revive the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought, don't you?"

Chen Yu didn't recognize Zhuge Liang, but seeing that Zhuge Liang was sitting with Lü Meng, Lu Yi, and the others, he assumed that Zhuge Liang was Liu Miao's adopted son. Therefore, he was still polite in his words: "It's not that I want to revive the teachings of the ancient philosophers, but that the teachings of the present world are no longer of great use!"

"Have you ever thought about how to prove the right or wrong of a field of study?"

Chen Yu frowned.

Zhuge Liang had gradually regained the initiative.

"The debate over the lineage of learning and doctrine can never be won through debate."

"The only way to test knowledge is through real practice."

Zhuge Liang has now come to realize that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth"!

However, precisely because of this, Zhuge Liang did not think that it was time to start reviving the various schools of thought and cause confusion among scholars and common people!

"Now that Jing and Yang have finally been pacified, scholars and common people all hope to live peacefully under Liu Biaoji's rule. If the study of the classics is suddenly abolished, I'm afraid there will be another upheaval!"

Zhuge Liang pleaded with Liu Miao: "I hope that General Liu will consider the people's welfare and refrain from stirring up trouble!"

"It will not be too late for Liu Biaoqi to carry out such reforms when the world is at peace and the people live in peace and contentment."

Zhuge Liang did not lack the desire for change.

He hoped to replace classical studies with other disciplines at the lowest possible cost.

In these chaotic times, physical pain is already unbearable; how can we also subject scholars and common people to mental anguish?
Chen Yu was at a loss for words and could only look at Liu Miao.

Liu Miao, on the other hand, continued to eat soybeans one by one, indicating that he would not get involved in these matters at all!

"Kongming, you are mistaken!"

Just when Chen Yu was at his wit's end, Sima Yi, who had previously turned the tables on Chen Yu, stepped forward again!

He walked to Zhuge Liang's side.

Coincidentally, Zhuge Liang was dressed in a moon-white outfit today, while Sima Yi was dressed in a dark black robe.

The two, one yin and one yang, were like the supreme and bright sun and moon, completely overshadowing all the great scholars, as if they were the only two people in the world!
Sima Yi approached Zhuge Liang and bowed to him. Zhuge Liang returned the bow, but his eyes remained fixed on Sima Yi.

"Does Zhongda have anything to say?"

"Kongming, you say you don't want the people to suffer, but aren't the people suffering right now?"

"In these chaotic times, what can saying such self-deceiving things change, other than making yourself feel better?"

Compared to Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi was undoubtedly much more ruthless, pragmatic, and utilitarian!

The value of "a hundred schools of thought contending" lies in the word "contending," not in the word "hundred schools."

"Kongming himself said that only real practice can judge whether someone is good or bad."

"If we don't 'stir things up' this time, then who will judge the level of scholarship? Will it be you? Will it be me? Or will it be some sage or great scholar?"

Sima Yi's eyes were pitch black.

"If we can find a way quickly, then even the temporary pain is bearable!"

"Instead of continuing to waste time on classical studies, we might as well abolish classical studies altogether and establish new classics!"

"At the very least, please have Liu Biaoqi publish his two books, 'Xin Lun' and 'Lun Heng,' so that the world can judge for itself whether they are right or wrong!"

(End of this chapter)