Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 418 The First Banned Book in History

In August of the sixth year of Wei Huangchu, Cao Pi set up Taixue, established the method of five classics class examinations, and placed Dr. Chunqiu Guliang.

At the ceremony, Cao Pi personally presented congratulatory gifts for the reopening of Taixue.

Now after the Nine Rank Zhongzheng system, poor families, powerful families, and small aristocratic families all have ways to become officials, and Cao Wei's support will naturally increase.

And Cao Pi reopened Taixue to stabilize this relationship.

What are the admission requirements for Taixue?
Sons of officials.

There is even a school rule directly in Caowei Taixue, and the students who enter the school are only allowed to be arranged in order of age, not according to the official position of father and brother.

It seems to be a good school rule, but it also reflects that only the father and brother are the children of officials, can enter the Taixue to study.

After that, these people continued to be officials, inheriting the duties of their father and brother.Such as Zhong Hui, the son of Zhong Yao, and Cheng Xiao, the grandson of Cheng Yu.

So in the final analysis, Cao Pi's original intention of establishing Taixue was actually to continue to expand his relationship with small and medium-sized aristocratic families and wealthy and poor families in exchange for their support.

For this reason, even after the establishment of Taixue, it was opposed by the big family.

Many big aristocratic families are unwilling to take out the family classics and put them in the Taixue. In addition, the Taixue students are all the children of the powerful and powerful. Many people come here to avoid military service, and their will to study is not high.

Therefore, the Taixue during the Cao Wei period has not been very ideal, and it has not achieved Cao Pi's intention of attracting small and medium-sized families and helping him expand the scale of talents.

But this is all later, at least for now Cao Pi is still in high spirits, and wants to run the Taixue and strengthen his rule of Cao Wei.

The opening ceremony of Taixue began with a sacrificial ceremony. Hundreds of Taixue students were bustling in the audience. Under the leadership of the sacrificial ceremony officer, they carried out various sacrificial activities and prayed to the sages.

Cao Pi had already offered incense before, and now he was sitting on it, smiling at the sacrificial ceremony below, and said happily to the doctor of Taixue beside him: "Nowadays, there are so many talents in Wei Dynasty, and all the sons and daughters of the princes have entered the Taixue, why don't Suffering from a great cause will not succeed."

Le Xiang was not so optimistic, he just cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, although all the sons and daughters of the princes are admitted to the Imperial Academy, it is said that only those from the family who are not good at school come here, and there are very few truly capable children."

"Oh?"

Cao Pi frowned and said, "Why?"

Le Xiang explained: "Because there are fewer classics in Taixue nowadays, and there are not many books in the collection, and all major families have family scriptures, compared with Taixue, they pay more attention to family studies."

"Ugh."

Hearing this sentence, Cao Pi sighed, slammed the table hard and said: "How did Taixue flourish in the past? Emperor Ling collected books from all over the world and placed them in Hongdu Pavilion, Lantai, Piyong, Dongguan, Shishi, Xuanming, Taixue and other places, among which there are many Taixue, ordered Lu Zhi, Ma Ridun, Cai Yong, Yang Biao, Han Shuo and others to collate Confucian classics, publish authentic scriptures, and inscribe Taixue Shijing It's a pity that Dong thief caught fire and burned it."

This is a very regrettable place.

Confucianism flourished during the period of Emperor Lingdi of the Han Dynasty. Because the world's scriptures were widely collected in Taixue, Taixue was the place that Confucian scholars all over the world yearned for at that time.Many people studied in Taixue. Later, on the day when the stone scriptures of Taixue were engraved, more than a thousand horse-drawn carriages at the gate of Taixue filled the streets, causing a sensation all over the country.

As a result, Dong Zhuo burned most of Luoyang's books in a big fire. Even if Cai Yong rescued them, he only took away a small part. Later, Cao Cao asked Cai Wenji to recite many lost classics for this reason.

Now Cao Pi has set up Taixue again, but the collection of books inside is far less brilliant than before.

As a well-known litterateur in the late Han Dynasty and early Wei Dynasty, Cao Pi read the scriptures extensively and was familiar with the theories of various schools of thought. Naturally, he felt very sorry for these burned scriptures, and hated Dong Zhuo's evil deeds extremely.

But it is useless to hate, it is indeed a fact that Taixue lacks books now.

Le Xiang suggested: "Your Majesty still needs to recruit more great Confucians who study ancient and modern scriptures and literature. Although the great Confucians each rule the classics and form a family, the original texts of the books and their theories are also inherited from each school. , may be able to restore the prosperity of the original Taixue."

"Ah."

Cao Pi nodded, this matter should really be taken seriously.

Seeing that he was easy to talk to, Le Xiang said, "Besides this, there is another matter, I hope Your Majesty will be careful."

Cao Pi asked, "What's the matter?"

Le Xiang said: "Nowadays, many Confucian scholars in the north take "Shen Shijing", "Zhuziyan" and even the newly published "On Man" as classics, and rule them day and night. Especially "On Man", in which the words are weird, are borrowed from Confucianism. Clothes, distorting the meaning of the saint, if things go on like this, it may be detrimental to His Majesty."

"Well"

Hearing this sentence, Cao Pi frowned.

Shen Chen is now a well-known great Confucian in China, and the appearance of "Shen Shi Jing" and "Zhu Zi Yan" established his status as a great Confucian.

These two books are actually books that explore the core of spirit and culture based on Confucianism. They are close to Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind and belong to the interpretation of Confucian culture. Therefore, they have a high status in the current Confucian circle and are regarded as classics by the world.

Cao Cao also thought this book was good in his early years, and it did not harm the content of his rule, so he not only read it, but also let Cao Pi and Cao Zhi study it to strengthen their political ability and master new ideas.

The result is that Shen Chen's influence in the north is growing, and he is regarded as the number one Confucianist in the contemporary era by many Confucian scholars, and has a tendency to develop towards the fourth sage of Confucianism.

The Han Dynasty itself had no literary inquisition, and the spread of culture was limited to the bamboo slips. Cao Pi’s Taixue had never been established, because the major families regarded the family’s classics as treasures and were unwilling to share them. The result was Cultural barriers.

Therefore, there are very few people like Shen Chen who spread Confucianism generously, distribute and sell all kinds of classics printed in books.

This has caused the contradictions and divisions of the Cao Wei Group.

In military terms, they regarded Shen Chen as a formidable enemy and attacked him repeatedly.

But in terms of culture, they regard Shen Chen's books as orthodox. Even if they don't say it, they can rule even the rulers of Cao Wei, let alone the aristocratic and powerful families below.

Therefore, in the face of Shen Chen, the Cao Wei Group's attitude was still very complicated, and the different treatment of military culture produced a feeling of insanity.

But after "On Man" came out, it was different.

"On Human Beings" greatly shook the rule of Cao Wei, and made the people at the bottom more impetuous. Many people even dragged their families and left the Northern Dynasties and ran to the South.

A series of situations caught Cao Pi by surprise, and he had to find a way to fight against it.

It's just that with Shen Chen's current influence in Confucianism, it is almost impossible to erase Shen's influence.

Because today's great Confucians are at most paying attention to ancient classics, that is, explaining Confucian culture.

And Shen Chen directly wrote a few classics by himself, and he is one of the creators of Confucian culture, on the same status as Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi.

So if you want to fight or erase, unless there is another saint, but that is completely unrealistic.

Therefore, Cao Pi could only choose to lie flat and let it go.

Now that Le Xiang brought it up, it reminded him of this terrible thing again, and Fu Er said: "Of course I know about it, but Shen Chen is a great Confucian in the world, and Confucian scholars are now ruling Shen Xue, so Ma If you learn Zheng Xue, you will be cured, and it is not easy to compete with it."

Le Xiang thought for a while and said: "I think that Your Majesty can follow the example of Emperor Wu. Use it if it is useful, and discard it if it is useless. The pragmatism, ideological education, and unity of knowledge and action advocated by "Zhuzi Yan" and "Shen Shijing" are all good. , can be kept. "On Human Beings" is not good for His Majesty, it is better to prohibit dissemination, copying, and discussion in the north."

"prohibit?"

Cao Pi propped his chin with his left hand, tapped the table in front of him with his right hand, and fell into deep thought.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, knowledge has been extremely valuable.Except for historical records that Qin Shihuang burned some books, there is no official ban on a certain book.

The "Book of Shang Jun" written by a marketing accountant in later generations was the first banned book in my country, and it was banned during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. one.

For example, Chao Cuo learned Shen Zi and Shang Jun Shu from a teacher named Zhang Hui before Fu Sheng studied "Shang Shu". The words of Han Fei, Su Qin, and Zhang Yi will endanger the country, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty should be deposed.

Even before Liu Bei died, he told Adou to read "Hanshu" and "Book of Rites", and to observe the philosophers and "Six Secret Teachings" and "Book of Shang Jun" in his spare time, which will benefit people's mind and wisdom.It can be seen that the imperial court did not list the "Shang Jun Shu" as a banned book at that time, but it was only Confucianism that must be learned by scholars. Therefore, there were more Confucianists at that time and fewer people who studied Law.

Even when Qin Shihuang burned books, he did not completely destroy these books, but refers to the destruction of books that were not collected in museums and wandering among the people. Basically, the destroyed books were backed up in Qin Shihuang's museums.It was Xiang Yu who actually burned the books, and burned Xianyang, resulting in the loss of many classics.

Therefore, at least in the historical materials, it is clearly recorded that "Jiandeng Xinhua", which was completely banned from the seventh year of Zhu Qizhen, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was banned. Before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were no banned books. statement.

This means that if Cao Pi listed Shen Chen's "On Man" as a banned book, it would be the first banned book in history.

"Ah."

After a while, Cao Pi nodded slowly and said: "Wenzai's public statement is reasonable. This kind of theory of no father and no king should indeed be banned. After I went back, I issued an edict that "Humanism" is not allowed to be collected by major families. , spread, Taixue can’t explain the meaning of this book, anyone who has this book will be burned. If it is kept privately, it will be punished as a conspiracy.”

"Your Majesty is wise, but after all, "On Human Beings" has a wide influence, and many Confucian scholars have studied it. If the crimes set are too large, it may cause a large number of Confucian scholars to panic. If they have links with the Southern Dynasty, it will be even worse. , I still hope that His Majesty will act cautiously."

Le Xiang bowed his hands and saluted. "On Human Beings" did have a huge impact on traditional Confucian scholars like them. Although Shen Chen's "On Human Beings" was already close to Confucianism, it refuted Dong Zhongshu's three cardinal guides and five constant principles thoroughly, and Advocating the equality of personality, and the emperor breaking the law is the same crime as the common people, which is obviously contrary to the Confucian thought of loyalty to the emperor, which is that the emperor humiliates the minister and dies.

Therefore, for traditional Confucian scholars, "On Human Being" is not liked by them.On the contrary, those young Confucian scholars are more moldable and more receptive to new things.Once they regard books like "On Human Beings" as Guimian, it may be detrimental to the rule of the court, so Le Xiang hopes that Cao Pi will ban it.

However, it is not easy to completely ban a book with a wide audience, because the previous books are all bamboo slips, which are not easy to preserve and are still rare in the world. prohibit.

But now, as Shen Chen has perfected the papermaking technique and invented the printing technique, after more than 20 years, the printing capacity and the quantity of paper in the south have been fully popularized.

The north is not much different, at least a large number of powerful families already have paper books in their hands. Books like "On Man" have not stopped printing, and have been dumping them to the north.

So this task is still very difficult for Cao Pi.Even if you are not careful, the Confucian scholars may rebel and shake their rule.

Therefore, Le Xiang hoped that Cao Pi would proceed with caution and not make things too big at the beginning.

Cao Pi felt that Le Xiang's words made some sense, and after thinking about it, he asked, "In this case, according to Wen Zai's opinion, what should I do?"

Le Xiang said: "Your Majesty, if you want to ban "Renlun", you should use cleverness instead of prestige. For example, if the imperial court selects scholars, those who study "Renlun" will not be admitted. Even if you presided over "Renlun" before It is the best policy to change the books to treat it, and at the same time summon great Confucianists to compile books, refute "On Humanity", and then destroy its foundation step by step."

"Oh?"

Cao Pi himself is a great writer, so he immediately felt that this idea was good.

Those who presided over "On Human Beings" could not be officials, so for the sake of official career, Confucian scholars can only choose to give up studying this scripture.

It is obviously much better to convene great Confucians to refute the views in "On Humanity" and to bring back the thoughts of Confucian scholars influenced by "On Human Beings" than to directly forcibly block them.

Because of things like banned books, the more banned you are, the more curious people will be.On the contrary, targeted treatment is more cost-effective than direct ban.

Thinking of this, Cao Pi nodded and said: "Well, what Wen Zaigong said is reasonable, but the ban should still be banned, but not punished. First ban his book, and then destroy his words. If this goes hand in hand, this disaster should be solved. gone."

"Your Majesty, as it should be."

Le Xiang and salute.

In this way, "On Man" became the first officially banned book in history.

The following sacrifices are still going on.

Cao Pi listened to the suggestion of Le Xiang, a great Confucian, and planned to go back to deal with the problems of the lack of books in Taixue and the prohibition of "On Humanity".

But before the Taixue sacrifice was over, Xu Chu hurried over.

"what?"

Hearing Xu Chu's report in his ear, Cao Pi was shocked and said, "Is the news conclusive?"

Xu Chu nodded: "Not only Nanyang, but also Jianye, Hanzhong and other places are transporting food, supplies, and ordnance. Shangshu Youpu shot that Liu Bei may attack by the end of this year or early next year."

Knowing that it was Sima Yi's judgment, Cao Pi couldn't sit still, and immediately said: "Go back to the palace!"

At that moment, he didn't even attend the rest of the Taixue opening ceremony, and left in a hurry, which made the Taixue students below talk a lot, suspecting that something big happened in the imperial court.

(End of this chapter)