Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 434 New Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou ([-])

It is said that Wang Zhong couldn't eat well or sleep well these days because of this literary conference.When those scholars from island countries either started to visit and study in Beihai Town Hospital, or were taken by Lin Ziping to investigate railway lines, he became more and more anxious.

Although Wang Zhong studied under his father's good friends Zhang Wen and Guo Nengji in his early career, he secretly admired Gu Yanwu.The "both body and function" and "inner sage and outer king" often said by later generations are the political ideals of this vein.

As for the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties, which is empty talk about mind and nature, it upholds the attitude of "fate and benevolence are rarely mentioned by the master; nature and the way of heaven are never heard of by Zi Gong".

It has been more than two years since he came to Beihai Town. After talking with Zhao Xin more than a dozen times, Wang Zhong felt that he almost understood what Zhao Xin was going to do.However, the more he understands, the more he has to fight for a way for Confucianism and orthodoxy.

In order to ensure Wang Zhong's personal safety and reduce the gathering's attention from the Qing court, the Thunder God waited for two days near Wutiaosha off the coast of northern Jiangsu until the news came from Sheyang Lake that the personnel had arrived in Funing. Only then did the ship send Wang Zhong to land.

When he arrived at Xuzhuang in Sheyang Lake that night, his friends including Hong Liangji, Jiang Fan, Jiao Xun, and Zhong Huai also took a carriage and entered Xuzhuang one after another after night fell.

When Hong Liangji was led into the spacious and bright back hall, the first thing he saw was Duan Yucai, who was over fifty years old. This justice and several young people were looking at the brass lantern on the table.

Duan Yucai is 11 years older than Hong Liangji, and he is also a well-known master of Confucian classics nowadays.This person was 25 years old and had been a teacher of the Imperial College, but he failed many times after that.During this period, he was a teacher of Dai Zhen. In the 35th year of Qianlong, he was awarded the county magistrate of Guizhou, and was transferred to Sichuan two years later.In the 45th year of Qianlong, 47-year-old Duan Yucai resigned from office and returned to his hometown on the grounds that his parents were old and sick and his own illness. He lived in Fengqiao, Suzhou, and devoted himself to writing and collecting books.

"Brother Ruoying, I didn't expect to alarm you!" After Hong Liangji said, he stepped forward and took Duan Yucai's hands.

Duan Yucai chuckled and said, "You Hong Changzhou can come, but I, an old man, can't? He, Wang Rongfu, is acting mysteriously, saying that he wants to save the Daoist system from peril. Do you think I can come for such a big matter?" have a look?"

Because Hong Liangji was from Changzhou, Duan Yucai called him Hong Changzhou.

At this time, Hong Liangji heard a person beside him say: "Brother Jun Zhi, is it possible that you only see Brother Ruoying?"

Hong Liangji turned his head to look, and saw a middle-aged man sitting in a corner of the room, with a thin face, wearing a long blue cloth gown and a black jacket, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Jiang Cen, you are here too! Aren't you Do you work as a trainer in Dantu?"

38-year-old Liu Taigong said: "It's not very interesting. I have resigned from office and returned to my hometown."

Liu Taigong, styled Duanlin, was born in Baoying, Jiangsu. At the age of 21, he won the examination, and then failed repeatedly.In the mid-Qianlong period, the Siku Quanshu Library began to publish books. Liu Taigong, Wang Niansun, Zhu Yun, Cheng Jinfang, Dai Zhen, Shao Jinhan, etc. entered the library to usurp and revise. During this period, they often discussed classics and archaeology.He was silent, but every time he made a comment, all the elders were amazed.

At this time, Jiang Fan, who was sitting opposite Liu Taigong, winked and said: "I said that when I entered Xuzhuang just now, the old raven on the tree kept calling. It turns out that the rehabilitated layman is coming."

"Rehabilitated Layman" was Hong Liangji's nickname, and when they heard it, they burst out laughing.

Hong Liangji didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and pointed to Jiang Fan and said "naughty".He is 15 years older than Jiang Fan, already a generation behind.

Jiang Fan flicked his sleeves, stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Brother Beijiang, since we parted ways in the capital, we have not seen each other for three years."

After the two met and saluted, Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji at the side came up to greet Hong Liangji one after another.

While everyone was chatting and laughing, they heard someone cough lightly from outside the hall, and then saw a man wearing a gray cotton robe, a dark scarf on his head, and a round, fat face walking in quickly.

"Mr. Rong Fu!"

"Brother Rong Fu!"

"Brother Rong Fu."

Wang Zhong cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Everyone, Wang is late, what an offense!"

Although the outside of the house was pitch black, the inside of the hall was bright and full of details.In the eyes of everyone, today's Wang Zhong's brows no longer have the decadent look of the past, his complexion is ruddy, and he is full of vigor, but it can be seen from the gray hair on his temples that he is no longer young.

wait!Sideburns? !

The hair accessories of this era are not the yin and yang heads of later generations, but the money rat tails.Although the "rat tail" is a little thicker than it was in the early Qing Dynasty, three quarters of the head still needs to be shaved.

Hong Liangji stepped forward to take a look, and then went around Wang Zhong's back to look, and suddenly said in surprise: "Brother Rong Fu, where's your braid?!"

"It's not the clothes of the Han family. What's the use of keeping them? Jun Zhi, I've had my hair for more than a year." After Wang Zhong finished speaking, he took off the scarf, revealing the tied bun.

This made all the people present stunned, thinking that this person is really a thief and has become an enemy of the imperial court. No wonder there has been no news for two years, and even the whereabouts of his wife and children are unknown. It is estimated that this person has taken his family to Beihai Town Bar.

Looking at the expressions of the seven people facing him, Wang Zhong said: "Have you forgotten the 'Decree to send out' a hundred years ago?"

Duan Yucai, Hong Liangji and Liu Taigong were startled for a moment, and remained silent.However, Jiang Fan, Jiao Xun and others of the younger generation looked bewildered.

It is said that when the policy of cutting braids was implemented in the early years of the Republic of China, the reason why many people were unwilling to cut braids was not that they were backward and ignorant and regarded ugliness as beauty; Molecular and revolutionary parties circulated.The reason why some Han Chinese intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China were so concerned about wearing braids was mainly because they hated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom where they kept their hair.

Throughout the entire Qing Dynasty, the use of the word "fa" was extremely careful from top to bottom. The Qing Dynasty spent more than 80 years compiling the "History of Ming Dynasty", which never used the word "fat thousand" from the beginning to the end. As for the "Qing Shilu", which records the emperor's words and deeds, there is no such thing.Describing a piece of hair as "heavy" seems to be easily reminiscent of "shaving hair order".

Not to mention the Han people, many Manchus nowadays don’t remember the history of forcing the Han people to shave their hair and keep their braids. Instead, they think this is a custom of the Han people.Not to mention how many people don't know that the emperor sitting in Beijing is actually a Manchu.

For example, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji who were present did not understand this period of history at all. They glanced at Wang Zhong's temples from time to time, trembling all over, and sweating on their foreheads.

Sensing the uneasiness of the two, Wang Zhong shook his head and sighed: "The moon is hanging on the besieged city tragically, the sword and halberd are thin and frosty and cold beyond the light; the magpies don't sing, the drums and horns are silent, and the first battalion sings "Zhuan Wu Geng". The song is miserable and the flute bursts , This night, the three armies are crying like blood; the westerly wind is Xiaoxiao and the water is cold, and our army will die if it drinks into it. Changping in Xin'an is not accidental, and it is rare in ancient times; 7 to [-] people have not surrendered, and the tombs of thousands of bones are as high as piles."

Everyone was stunned when they heard the words, Hong Liangji looked at Wang Zhong and said, "Is this Rong Fu's new work?"

Wang Zhong shook his head and said, "It was Zhao Wang who did it."

"Huh?" Everyone thought that Zhao Xin, who was said by the court to be a troublemaker in northern Xinjiang and greedy for money, still has this literary talent?

Well, Zhao Xin finally got shameless and stole words from Feng Guifen's poems from the Qing Dynasty.But at this time there are still 20 years before Feng Jingting's birth, and his teacher Lin Zexu is just four years old, so it's useless.

Jiang Fan's eyes turned red, and he sighed, "Sixty or seventy thousand people!"

In fact, there were more than 20 to 53 people. When Jiangyin defended the city, counting the villagers who came to help the city from outside the city, there were more than [-] people.When the city was broken, all the women in the city committed suicide, the elderly and children all set themselves on fire, and only [-] people were forcibly rescued by the Qing army because they were too late to commit suicide.

This period of history was recorded in Wuxi literati Ji Liuqi's "Ming Ji Nanlue", which was not published due to the cultural prohibition of the Kang, Yong, and Gan Dynasties, and only manuscripts survived.Historically, it was not until the Jiadao period that the essay outline was slightly relaxed, but it was not complete.

Everyone here today likes to collect books, and Jiangyin and Yangzhou are only separated by a river, so except for Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji, the other four have privately read the manuscript of this book.

Duan Yucai, the oldest, coughed lightly: "Everyone, sit down and talk."

As soon as this remark came out, all the people with different thoughts took their seats one after another. However, due to their age and different time for the Zhongju, the seats were rearranged.

Among those present, Duan Yucai was Dai Zhen's eldest disciple, so in terms of seniority, Duan Yucai took the top spot on the left, Wang Zhong sat on the right, followed by Liu Taigong, Hong Liangji, Jiang Fan, Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, Huang Chengji.

Afterwards, Wang Changsheng, who was guarding Xuzhuang, brought his men some refreshments, whispered a few words to Wang Zhong, and then retreated one after another.

Since the founding of Gu Yanwu, Sinology in the Qing Dynasty was founded by Yan Ruoqi and Hu Wei, started by Hui Dong, and finally reached its peak by Dai Zhen.Since the middle period of Qianlong, with the opening of the Siku Quanshu, the image of the emperor who "governed the Tao as one" reached the extreme, and completely grasped the right to speak of the literati.However, literati no longer dared to discuss government affairs and comment on political right and wrong, so in the academic development, there was a grand occasion of "everyone Xu Zheng, every family Jiama".

Numerous scholars centered on the Confucian classics and believed that the more ancient the classics, the more authentic they are. The so-called "Ancient must be true, and every Han must be good", which is different from Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism, which focuses on the abstract discussion of rationality, qi, and mind. school".

Among them, the most famous ones are the "Wu faction" headed by Hui Dong and the "Wan faction" headed by Dai Zhen.The characteristic of the Wu school is to collect the scriptures of Han Confucianism and to prove them.In short, "as long as the classics of the Han Dynasty are good", the Wan school attaches great importance to the textual research of the system of names and objects in the three rites, and understands the content and meaning of ancient books from the perspective of phonology and philology.

The Yangzhou School not only inherited the characteristics of the Wu and Anhui schools, but also developed and surpassed the two schools, forming its own unique style.This school is headed by Jintan Duan Yucai and Gaoyou Wang Niansun. Although the source is Dai Zhen, it is self-contained.

This time at the gathering at Sheyang Lake, apart from Wang Niansun who was working as an official in the capital, Wang Yinzhi and his son who were studying behind closed doors at home, and Ruan Yuan who was staying in the library in the capital, the people from the Yangzhou School were basically present. Hong Liangji of the Wu faction was recruited.

From the perspective of Confucianism, no matter whether they are old or young, no matter whether they are present or in history, they are all famous Confucian masters in the Qianjia School.

In terms of personal research preferences, Duan Yucai focuses on text exegesis (studying the meaning of ancient Chinese words), Wang Zhong focuses on the evolution of ancient and modern institutions, Hong Liangji is good at geology, Liu Taigong is more astronomical and rhythmic, Jiang Fan is good at "Yi", And Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, and Huang Chengji are mathematics.

When the Qianjia School in history developed until later, its research content had nothing to test, and it was completely out of touch with social reality, and it became a research for the sake of research.

Competing for the sound of ancient Chinese teachings, dissecting melons and analyzing them, exhausting the wisdom and wisdom of the world, the things that come out are of no use to the prosperity of the country!This kind of "spirit" has been carried on to later generations. What are the four ways of writing the word "fen"? Even "Dream of Red Mansions" can give evidence to a conspiracy theory!

Duan Yucai was a former county magistrate, and he really didn't know how to speak to Wang Zhong, who had already revealed his identity and rebelled against the Qing Dynasty.He pondered for a while, and then asked Wang Zhong, "Are the madam and the child alright?"

Wang Zhong smiled and said, "It's all good."

His son Wang Xisun is just three years old this year, and his wife Zhu is his second wife.The original wife, Sun, did not do any housework because of the poor relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the early years, so Wang Zhong, who was filial to his mother, had to get a wife.

Liu Taigong has always been a taciturn person, but facing such an embarrassing situation, he still opened his mouth and said: "Brother Rong Fu, you mentioned in your letter that you want to save the Taoist system from peril, what do you mean by that?"

Wang Zhong picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, moistened his dry throat, and said surprisingly: "Everyone, at the moment of unprecedented changes in the millennium, the Manchu emperor in the north is already in danger. If the saint descended today , Beihai has repeatedly defeated the imperial army, conquered the Japanese kingdom in the east, and punished Rakshasa in the west. Now the north and south are running horizontally, and the subordinate territories have exceeded ten thousand miles."

When everyone present heard this, they were suddenly stunned.The Qing government blocked the news outside the pass, only saying that the barbarians invaded and occupied the white mountains and black waters.Although everyone doesn't know much about the news, they are not fools.But no one knows what Beihai Town is like.

Duan Yucai stroked his beard and said, "Even so, it's just the rise and fall of dynasties. How can we talk about changes that haven't happened in a thousand years?"

Wang Zhongdao: "This is also the main reason why Wang invited you this time. Now Beihai Town is too powerful, and more than a thousand people can break the imperial court without harming tens of thousands of troops, but its system is a new one. Zhongshen has been in Beihai for two years. There is no precedent for what you hear and see even if you search through the classics.

Now that King Zhao has attacked the Wa country several times, the government and the public are silent when they hear his name, and dare not disobey him.There are also pseudo-Confucians in the Japanese country, relying on the meager knowledge of Westerners, they have defected to serve under their command.If things go on like this for a long time, there will be no place for us scholars to stay when Beihai enters the customs and aspires to the crown. "

Everyone was shocked when they heard Wang Zhong's categorical words, and they were sure that the Manchu Qing Dynasty would perish.

Jiang Fan cupped his hands and said: "Senior Rong Fu, what is the background of Beihai Town, can you tell everyone here?"

So next, Wang Zhong spent almost an hour telling everyone about the ups and downs of Beihai Town in his eyes, inside and out.During this period, people sometimes admired, sometimes disdained, sometimes clapped their hands, and sometimes looked at each other in horror.

Don't look at these people who came today are all like pastoral hermits, in fact, they all have aspirations for fame, but it's just bad luck.In fact, if Wang Zhong hadn't written a letter to convene this time, Hong Liangji would have been ranked second in high school in the next year in history.

It is said that in Confucianism's political pursuit of "inner sage and outer king", "inner sage" is self-cultivation, "regulation of the family" is only the minimum requirement, which is the foundation of outer king; and the highest ideal is "governing the country" and "peace the world".

The participation of ancient scholars in actual politics itself is the political ideal of traditional scholars. This kind of political participation is not only a utilitarian behavior, but also because it is connected with the "inner sage", it is the highest realm of life. way.

Confucianism is not only a set of systematic beliefs, but also a set of political theories.The politicized Confucianism provided the legal basis for China's monarchy, and the primitive Confucianism also provided the basis and ultimate spiritual sustenance for the scholar class on the road to officialdom.

Hong Liangji frowned more and more as he listened. Although Wang Zhong talked about many new and confusing things such as large iron boats, towering chimneys, non-stop molten iron, mechanical farming, etc., he was still keenly aware of Beihai town. political means.

The replacement of human farming with machinery has led to a large number of agricultural population putting down their farm tools and entering the factory and army. Although it is sensational, it is also understandable.

However, when the government went to the countryside, trained a large number of low-level administrative officials who did not understand Confucianism from peasants who could not read big characters, did not conduct imperial examinations, did not take Confucianism as the core of education, and military literacy, etc., all made him gradually understand Wang Zhongzai's worries. what.That Zhao Wang made this set of methods handy. Once he aspires to the throne, what will the world look like?Where is the shelter of the scholars?

Thinking of this, Hong Liangji felt shuddering, and beads of sweat burst out on his forehead.

It is said that in the traditional form of "scholar politics", since "scholars" and "bureaucrats" are the basic sources of bureaucracy, "orthodoxy" and "political system" are one.Once the imperial examination system is abolished, orthodoxy and political orthodoxy will be separated immediately, and Confucianism as the carrier will be separated from politics.And the disintegration of "Four People's Politics" is nothing less than a catastrophe for all scholars!

Don't think that there is no difference between scholars and intellectuals. This is not just a change of name, but essentially the collapse of Confucian politics.Scholars integrate Taoism and politics, and have the responsibility of being fundamental, both to clarify the world and to implement people's hearts; while intellectuals, due to the separation of Taoism and politics, can only assume the responsibility of academic research to a certain extent.

Liang Qichao of later generations showed the similarities and differences in the mentality of scholars and intellectuals in the transitional period in his letters to his children.He claimed that at that time, he was "in the pain of fighting in his heart every day", "Because as a political party, there are many people who don't want to meet, and I have to do things that I don't want to do. I really can't live through this kind of life. If I completely Watching from the sidelines and avoiding difficulties, I really feel bad for the country in my conscience."

In the end, he can only adopt a compromise method, which is to discuss and not participate in politics.The root is gone, can it not be painful?
(End of this chapter)