Wanli Xinming

Chapter 2 The Sutra

After the dress was put on, Empress Dowager Li called Feng Bao, the eunuch in charge of Yin and Li, and sent them to the main hall of the Emperor's Yuwenhua Hall like stars holding the moon.

When we arrived at the main hall, the static whip sounded three times (the static whip is a small object made of bamboo that makes a whip sound), and the celebrant praised: "The Holy One is here!"

Zhu Yijun immediately climbed to the jade palace from the back of the hall, walked to the front of the hall, and stood in front of the dragon chair.The escorts and others on this section of the stairs were not allowed to go, and they had to go around the front of the hall to arrange their own shifts.

Zhu Yijun looked down, his head immediately sweated, the scene was too big, and he saw:
The Duke of Cheng, Zhu Xizhong, the great scholar Zhang Juzheng, and others brought high-ranking officials from the imperial court to the imperial court. They were all present, old or young, tall or short, fat or thin.The body is either a python robe or a red robe, and the eyes are full of red and purple.In addition to the Hanlin, the imperial censor, the imperial guards in Jinyi, etc., and the rest of the high-ranking warriors, the blackness was overwhelming, and the eyes were dizzy.

The hall was full of awe, and he didn't hear a word. Zhu Yijun looked down. Apart from Zhang Juzheng, Lv Tiaoyang and others, he didn't know a few of them, but the mentality of being alone and widowed spontaneously emerged.

When he sat on the golden dragon couch inlaid with gold engraved dragon, the celebrant praised: "Bye!" age!"

Although Zhu Yijun was previously served by people in the harem, and knew that the identity he passed through was the respect of the emperor, it is absolutely difficult for modern people to imagine what the supremacy of imperial power is - lack of perceptual knowledge.

At this moment, when he saw the important ministers prostrate and bowed down to him as a child, he understood one thing: he is really the most powerful person in this world, and even in this world!
A kind of pleasure running through the whole body swayed the whole body like an electric current. This feeling made him sincerely happy, and there was a little confusion in addition to the happiness.Immediately, there was a sense of fear rising deep in his heart, as if a slight movement of his own would shatter something.This feeling made him fascinated and confused, and couldn't help but stunned God.

Seeing him sitting blankly, the celebrant couldn't help the grass growing in the temple - panicked, he hurriedly coughed, looked up at the emperor again, and winked.

Only then did Zhu Yijun come back to his senses, and hurriedly said loudly: "Be flat!"

As soon as the celebrant raised his hand, all the ministers shouted in unison: "Thank you, long live!" This thank you, the division between the ruler and the minister is clear, Zhu Yijun finally understands why countless romantic figures have come forward for this dragon chair, and why this glorious palace is full of blood rain. fishy wind.

Now is not the time to think about these things, Zhu Yijun recalled the process of the feasts taught by the Ministry of Rites, coughed lightly, and said, "I heard that there is no way to correct the present without archaeology. If you hear more, you will be able to build things. I am deeply afraid that virtue is not worthy of the worship of the people and the entrustment of the emperor. Now, according to the method of the ancestors, we respect the Confucianism and the Tao, and prepare a light banquet. The end, the reasons for political gains and losses, the debate between talents’ loyalty and evil, and the reasons for the rise and fall of the common industry, to reflect the sincerity of our vigilance and encouragement!”

"My ministers are grateful for the grace of God, and I will obey the decree!" Again, like the wind blowing the grass weir, I bow down and bow down.

After the answer was over, the ministers withdrew from the hall, and the banquet officially began.

Honglu Temple's ceremonial officials are in Danbi, such as the feast of introducing the classics, the feast of the same knowledge, the attendants, the lectures, the exhibitions, the deacons, and the attendants. After five worships and three kowtows, they enter the temple in turn, and they are placed in the order of grades and things. .

There are two servants in the service center and two in the imperial censor, and they stand on the left and right inside the gate of the palace.The deacon lifted the table that had been placed in advance in the north of the hall to the center of the south of the throne, and stepped back.

The praise officer praised: "Enter the lecture!" The two lecturers, Wang Xilie, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, and Ding Shimei, a student of Taichang Temple, stood side by side in front of the lectern.

The exhibition officers Luo Wanhua and Wang Jiaping stood behind the lectern.The celebrant praised: "Bye!" The four bowed first, and the emperor bowed in response.It is not easy, the emperor only bends when he meets the teacher.

Afterwards, the four knelt down, still bowed five times and three times, and were still flattened.

Luo Wanhua, the book officer of the East Exhibition, went to the front of the imperial court, knelt down and unfolded the book placed on the imperial table, but it was the volume of "University" in the "Four Books", then stood up and bowed down.

Wang Jiaping, the librarian of the West Exhibition, went to the lecture and bent down to spread the book on the lecture table to the same page.

The compliment officer praised again: "Reading!" The emperor lowered his head to read the book, and the reading officer began to read the first paragraph of the "University": "The way of the university, when it is bright and virtuous... it is the closest way." Read it ten times in a row.

When the reading officer was reading, the ministers raised their eyes one after another, peeping at the emperor's performance from the corner of their eyes.Seeing the emperor bow his head and recite silently, the corners of his mouth showed a smile, as if he was relieved.

After reading, the lecturer starts to speak.The Four Books and Five Classics are the things that officials eat in this era. Every word has been thoroughly researched, and all kinds of annotations are thoroughly familiar, and it is effortless to speak.

Wang Xilie was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing, a veteran of the three dynasties, and spent many years in the Imperial Academy and the Imperial Academy. At this time, he was really eloquent and full of hype, but he could explain profound things in simple terms, fully taking care of the emperor's ability to accept.

After talking for a while, another lecturer, Ding Shimei, combined this book to talk about historical allusions, but also closely related to the theme, using specific examples to demonstrate the meaning of the book.

Zhu Yijun sat quietly and listened without squinting.The original owner of his body could actually recite the Four Books long ago, but he didn’t know much about the meaning of the words in it. Today, he is re-educated in ancient times with the thoughts of an adult of later generations. Comparing the philosophical thoughts in “University” with what later generations learned, he is deeply impressed. I deeply understand that I have a superficial understanding of the past life of Sinology.

After the first paragraph, Wang Xilie bowed and asked, "Does the emperor understand?"

Zhu Yijun replied solemnly, "I know."

So the compliment officer called to read again, the reading officer read the second paragraph of "The Great Learning" ten times, and the two lecturers spoke again.

After the second paragraph, Zhu Yijun interjected: "I have doubts here."

The two lecturers and the ministers, especially the imperial servants, were all excited. The etiquette of this feast was complicated, but they were all familiar with the content. Everyone saw that the emperor was smart and eager to learn. After being excited for a while, then basically all the souls wandered out of the sky.

Suddenly hearing the emperor's doubts, the whole group immediately became energized as if smeared with divine oil. It turned out that these ministers were not decorations. If the emperor did not understand or was dissatisfied with what the main lecturer said, the assistants could go out and add them. Explanation, if you show it on this occasion, it is possible to "Jane is in the heart of the emperor".All eyes are bright, waiting for the emperor to ask questions.

"What's the solution to the matter?"

All the ministers in the hall were delighted. In the chapter of "The Great Learning", the difficulty is generally recognized as "checking things". Since Dong Zhongshu, Zheng Xuan, Sima Guang, Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming of the Zhengde Dynasty were all Confucian masters, but there is no agreement on this explanation.

The emperor raised this question, indicating that he had achieved "something to learn and think about", and it was really "a saintly school to arrest Xi, and Junlie to give glory".

Just now, Wang Xilie and the other two have already talked about quantifying things, of course, according to Zhu Xi's annotations (the official school is authentic), quantifying things is "exhausting the principles of things", but due to the limitations of the times, the connotation of the principles of things cannot be explained, and it is only reflected in the things. Zhu Yijun was dissatisfied with his "morality" efforts.

Before waiting for the lecturers and other ministers to answer, Zhu Yijun said: "Everything has its own reason, and if you really study it, this can be called a 'style'? It can be said to be as big as the world and the universe, as small as the grass and trees, and even the affairs of scholars, peasants, industry, commerce and soldiers." What's the matter? The thing is there, so it's also there, why should it be defined? You will tell me for me."

This sentence contains three questions. The first question is that “things” (objects to be studied) all have their own objective laws. If we really study them, is this study a “case”?

The second question is what is the subject of the study?The third question is that the object to be studied is objective and real, and the laws in it also exist objectively. How do we study it?In what way to research?
If the group of ministers were happy just now because the emperor had learned and thought about it, they felt a little terrified at this time.One of the chief corner children, asking questions that are close to Taoism in Confucianism, gives everyone the feeling that they are too wise and almost demonic. Several Confucian Confucians in the Hanlin compilation cannot avoid thinking about "Sacred Cong God" and even burst into tears with excitement. Among the important officials in the hall, none of them had emotional intelligence and IQ below the standard line. It was inevitable that someone had prepared such a question for him when the emperor was preparing for the banquet.

Zhang Juzheng, who was the first civil minister, looked up at Feng Bao, who was the first minister in the opposite court - but saw that Feng Bao also opened his mouth wide, his face full of doubts, and his forehead was full of capital letters.

The ministers turned back and forth in their hearts, thinking about various possibilities in their minds, but the two lecturers opposite the emperor were a little confused.

Regarding the question asked by the emperor, although the two usually thought about it when they were studying the scriptures, they both obeyed Zhu Xi's explanation, and they did not accept it.Suddenly asked such a profound question by the emperor, and the emperor also gave a scope - a specific definition of "case" and "object", how to answer this TMD?The standard answer is that the emperor is "doubtful", although he knows other answers, but who dares to talk nonsense at the banquet?Immediately, his forehead was sweating profusely, and he was dumbfounded.

Luo Wanhua, the exhibition reading officer, was the champion in the second year of Longqing.The so-called new-born calf is not afraid of tigers, but when he saw that the official reading was dumb, he hurriedly bowed and said: "Return to Your Majesty, the knowledge is in me, the reason is in the thing, this Zhu Zi called 'the debate between the host and the guest', which is exactly in line with the 'style' that the emperor just said. With the gist of 'things', another Zhu Ziyun 'defines things to the end, to the end', and 'those who consider things are those who exhaust physics'."

When the ministers heard this, they all gave Luo Wanhua a thumbs up.

Luo Wanhua not only answered the emperor's question and avoided the cold, but also patted the emperor's ass, saying that Zhu Zi's annotations met the essence of the emperor's definition, and the answers provided to the emperor did not deviate from the exam syllabus. Only!Zhang Juzheng, who was in the first place, kept his eyes on Luo Wanhua, showing his appreciation without concealment.

When Zhu Yijun saw that the lecturer was dumbfounded just now, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He was afraid that he would disturb the feast of the scriptures. When he saw someone answering, he was very happy, with a smile on his face, and said, "What's your name? What official do you live in?"

"Chen Luo Wanhua, now writing for Hanlin Xiu." Luo Wanhua's voice trembled.

Why do scholars in the world want to be officials of the capital, and why does Xiaoxinnen want to be the emperor's close ministers such as Hanlin Zhanshu and Shijiao?Just look at Luo Wanhua, there are thousands of officials in the world, such as Luo Wanhua, there are eight hundred people, but how many can let the emperor know the name?I answered a question from the emperor today, and the name was put on the number - even if the empress dowager is in charge now, but he Luo Wanhua is still young and can afford to wait!

Seeing his excitement, Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "You are right, but you can think about the exhaustive methods, what can you gain? Tell me and listen to me. After the banquet today, you can fully demonstrate what you have learned - all the ministers have thought and gained, I Let's listen together."

Luo Wanhua and others are so excited, the emperor is really "Sacred Cong God", I know that those of us have concerns and can only provide you with a standard answer, so let us express our personal views - show what you have learned, Laozi learns After so many years, isn't it just for this highlight moment!
Luo Zhuangyuan immediately began to review the question: the emperor gave the definition of "case" and "object", this is the question stem, and asked "how to exhaust", this is the meaning of the question - his mind turned very fast, and in less than a breath, He replied in a loud voice: "I think that the principles of things are unqualified and unobtainable, so why should they be qualified? You need to measure them qualitatively. For example, if you want to know the weight of things, you should call them; if you want to know the length of things, you should measure them. ."

As soon as Luo Zhuangyuan finished his answer, Hanlin Wang Jiaping also replayed: "The nature of this thing is not the principle of the thing. If you want to understand the nature of things, you need to measure the amount. If you want to understand the principle of things, you must first correct yourself. Meaning - Zhu Ziyun 'one piece today, one piece tomorrow, once you have accumulated a lot of habits, then you will naturally have a connection point', it can be seen that the gain of this principle is not a day's work, you must first correct your body and mind, and have a clear mind, in order to be able to To defend the disturbance of foreign objects, you can get the power of penetration."

These two took the lead, and the motivated ministers and Hanlin ministers in the hall all spoke up, either answered directly, or refuted others, but couldn't say anything for a while.

Seeing that the atmosphere was rising, Zhu Yijun listened with a smile, and occasionally interjected a few words to guide everyone in the direction of "the realm of things is real, and it needs to be classified into different reasons", which was quite lively.

Seeing that it was not early, the celebrant looked at Zhang Juzheng, and nodded when he saw Juzheng.He said: "Your Majesty, it's time to talk about the "Book of Documents"." The crowd stopped.

It was two other officials, Tao Dalin, the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites, and Wang Tang, the right attendant who also served as a sacrificial wine. Zhu Yijun listened carefully, and there was no more moth, and it was quiet.When the celebrant praised: "After the lecture and reading, give a feast." Only then did everyone realize that it was past noon.All the ministers thanked them, worshipped and danced according to the banquet system, used the banquet, and received royal gold, silver, satin, silk and other rewards.

　These two chapters describe many ritual systems of the Ming Dynasty, mainly highlighting the strictness of the emperor's authority, which will be discussed less in the future.Readers need only understand the inherent power that the emperor's character bears.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)