Ming Zuo

Chapter 278 Digging a Pit
This is Jiangnan, not Shandong.

Therefore, when Liu Zongzhou decided to give lectures on stage, he was deliberately conservative.

According to the content of his academic research in Shandong, I am afraid that there will be an uproar immediately, and the world will shake.

Even so, his question caused a great shock.

Liu Zongzhou asked a crucial question.

Apart from helping to be an official, what is the use of Confucianism?
Scholars far away from officialdom, ordinary people, after learning Confucianism, have they applied these knowledge?

To put it bluntly, Liu Zongzhou was questioning the lack of practicality of Confucianism.

Chen Zilong was young and energetic, and couldn't help jumping out.

"Mr. Yangming once said that true knowledge means action, and knowledge is not enough if you don't do it. Knowing is true when you know it, and doing it is knowing when you know it. Knowing and doing are inseparable. People of my generation have long Keep it in your heart and use it to observe."

This is to refute Liu Zongzhou's thesis.

You say that Confucianism lacks practicality, but the great Confucians of the past have already warned us to unite knowledge with action and apply what we have learned.

It's a pity that Chen Zilong's Taoism is too shallow, how can he compare with Liu Zongzhou, a great master who has mastered everything and mastered the world?

"The Master said: 'Recite three hundred poems and teach them to govern, but they will not achieve success; if they are sent to the four directions, they cannot be specially corrected. Although there are many, do you think it?' How do people explain it?"

Liu Zongzhou directly took out the original words of Confucius.

You say that today's scholars are all practicing the unity of knowledge and action, and applying what they have learned. Well, are they really applying their knowledge to the right place?

Even Confucius said that no matter how well you recite poems, you cannot succeed in politics.There is no corresponding ability to go on a mission.In this way, what is the use of reading more poems?
This is to say that today's knowledge, no matter how much you learn, is useless if it is divorced from reality.

With Chen Zilong's foreshadowing, Liu Zongzhou made further progress.

"Take this gentleman as an example..."

He casually pointed at a simple man, which made the man feel flattered and dizzy.

Liu Zongzhou bowed his hands and asked.

"I don't know what your name is, what is your occupation?"

That person never thought that a famous Confucianist would come to talk to him, and he stumbled to answer.

"The little one... the young one's name is Chen Sanxie, and he's... the steward of the workshop."

Liu Zongzhou asked again.

"Have you ever read?"

Chen Sanxie is extremely sincere.

"Small and dull, although he admires the sages, he only knows half of it, and dare not say he understands it."

Zuo Menggeng, who was listening on the sidelines, was full of expressions. He didn't expect that an ordinary worker in Jiangnan would have such literary talent.

Liu Zongzhou chuckled and said, "Since you have read books and lived and worked on a daily basis, have you ever practiced the way of sages? Can you turn the way of sages into skills?"

Chen Sanxie was speechless, with a look of shame on his face.

"Small and stupid, unable to achieve the unity of knowledge and action, and defile the holy doctrine."

Liu Zongzhou shook his head and sighed: "No, no. It's not that you don't understand the holy way, but the holy way can't teach you."

There was an uproar in the audience, and everyone felt incredible.

The Holy Way is brilliant, how can it be impossible to teach even a mere worker?

However, what Liu Zongzhou said next completely destroyed the beliefs of many people.

"Just because the sage never knew the art of weaving or silk reeling, how could he teach you?"

No matter how powerful the Confucian sages are, who knows how to weave cloth and reel silk?
I believe that even the fanatical Confucian believers would not dare to open their eyes and speak nonsense.

"Nian Taigong's words are absurd!"

There was a clear shout from a distance, and the crowd immediately divided into two, attracting countless people to look forward.

Who is so bold, dare to directly denounce a master like Liu Zongzhou?

But I saw the people who came in, dressed in the official uniform of Yunyan Buzi, shouting and hugging, with an extraordinary aura.

The people present saluted one after another.

"Meet your parents!"

The official didn't dare to be negligent, and replied honestly.

"Everyone is worthy of my Confucianism. Today is the Wenhui. Don't make any distinctions."

Huang Zongxi let out a sneer.

He said it was a literary society, and everyone had equal status, but in the end he came in official uniforms, which was utter hypocrisy.

Liu Zongzhou also saw the intention of the visitor, so he didn't get up to greet him, but took care of himself happily.

"It must be the prefect Fang."

That person was Fang Yuegong, the magistrate of Songjiang.

It was just now that he spoke first to win people over, but now in person, he is very respectful.

"At the end of my studies, I went to Fang Yuegong to pay my respects to Nian Taigong. I was excited for a while, and I spoke rudely, and I still looked at Haihan."

Liu Zongzhou smiled slightly, not paying attention to it at all.

"If you don't know the reason, you can't be clear about it. Confucianism is concerned with the people of the world. You can't be careless. If Fang Taishou has something to teach me, you can speak it out, so that my generation can be educated."

When Liu Zongzhou first arrived in Songjiang, Fang Yuegong knew about it.

This made him very entangled, wondering whether he should come to see him or not.

Fang Yuegong is not from Donglin, so he doesn't have a good impression of Donglin Party.Of course, he is not a remnant of the eunuch.

It is the most traditional kind of scholar, who is not only angry with the eunuch party for disrupting the country, but also very dissatisfied with the Donglin party's unconventionalism.

Originally, Fang Yuegong planned to turn a blind eye to Liu Zongzhou's visit to Songjiang.

But later, the servants reported that Liu Zongzhou actually gave lectures on the riverside, and more than ten thousand listeners.

Fang Yuegong couldn't sit still when he thought that the Great Confucianists of Donglin were going to preach deviant words in his own territory.

He couldn't use his authority to suppress such things, otherwise he would immediately become a public enemy of the world.

The only way is to come forward and argue with Liu Zongzhou to correct people's hearts.

To be honest, facing a great master like Liu Zongzhou, Fang Yuegong was still very flustered.

But his heart became firmer, he was indomitable, and he stood upright, was an upright official, and thought to himself that he would be upright all his life and fearless.

He walked across to Liu Zongzhou, imitating Liu Zongzhou, and sat cross-legged on the stone platform.

"Whether it's weaving, silk reeling, or other industries, it's just a small way, a trivial skill. I have learned the great way, see the clarity of the mind, promote good and eliminate evil. If the heart is solid, the world will be solid. When the world is solid, the people are safe.”

Uninspiring rhetoric.

If it was in the past, Liu Zongzhou might still praise it.But in his view today, such clichés are full of flaws.

Liu Zongzhou didn't answer directly, but pointed at Chen Sanxie again, and asked, "Mr. Chen, you make a living by weaving. May I ask, what if you don't study? What if you don't work?"

Chen Sanxie never thought that he would become the eye of the storm.

But comparing Liu Zongzhou's and Fang Yuegong's remarks, for some reason, I always feel that Liu Zongzhou's words are very kind, and everything is said into his bones.

This made him take the courage to talk about his situation.

"The small family is poor, and there are still wives, daughters, and children to support. If you study less, you don't feel it. But if you stop working for a day, the whole family will starve."

It seemed that he was just talking about his own affairs, but he answered Fang Yuegong's pressing question.

For the common people, it doesn't matter whether they read the books of sages or not.The first consideration is obviously to survive.

Most of the people around were similar to Chen Sanxie, they were ordinary people.For his words, it is natural to empathize with him and echo him again and again.

This made Fang Yuegong very dissatisfied, and hummed: "Reading can be sensible, and understanding can be a human being, otherwise how is it different from animals?"

Zuo Menggeng knew that it was not easy for Liu Zongzhou to come forward at this time, so he took over and said with a smile: "Don't you know Fang Taishou... Only if he is alive can he be considered a human being. Otherwise, he will be nothing but dry bones in the soil, and everything will be empty. What's the use?"

Fang Yuegong, who said just one sentence, was dumbfounded and speechless.

The people below burst into laughter and even applauded.But after careful taste, I found that Zuo Menggeng's words were really rough and reasonable.

After the vulgarity, Zuo Menggeng said another elegant sentence.

"Guan Zhong has a saying, the granary is real and the etiquette is known, and the food and clothing are sufficient to know the honor and disgrace. The material basis is the objective condition for the realization of civilization sublimation. Since Confucianism has the teachings of the unity of knowledge and action and the application of learning, it does not know what good method can make the people of the world What about getting rid of poverty and becoming rich and pursuing civilization?”

This move of using the other's spear and attacking the other's shield is extremely ingenious, and the point of view is not uncommon, but it killed Fang Yuegong all at once.

Many great Confucians and scholars blindly emphasize the importance of seeing the mind clearly, so as to elevate the height of Confucianism and consolidate the dominant position of Confucianism.

But the most fatal flaw of Confucianism is that the practice of learning it advocates is empty talk.

Because the so-called applying what you have learned by the great Confucians of the past dynasties only includes the four words "apply what you have learned".

As for how to apply what you have learned...

Sorry, you have searched all the Confucian classics, but you can't find a clear guide.

Just like when Confucianism discusses politics, opening one's mouth means ignoring corvee, benevolent government and caring for the people, which sounds very reasonable.

But the problem is that they never tell those in power how to lightly pay and pay less, and how to govern benevolently and love the people.

Because saying and doing are two different things.

Saying is just empty words, anyone can say it.But the method of doing it is the most important, but there are no practical examples to refer to.

If it is said that in politics, the application of Confucianism may still have some potential, but when it comes to the people's livelihood and economic issues among the people, there is really no place for it.

This question, as Liu Zongzhou raised it, suddenly entered the hearts of countless people, and it was tantamount to digging a big hole for Confucianism.

(End of this chapter)