Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 736 Master-disciple conversation ()

"Well..." Gu Xun nodded, "Although I don't know how much of it you can understand, but at least you have learned it."

Then he continued to ask, "Since Shang Yang's reform, Qin has always been governed by Legalism. What is your understanding of Legalism's doctrine?"

Fusu pondered for a moment and then slowly replied, "Legalists advocate the use of severe punishments and laws to restrain the people. They emphasize that the people's hearts are like running water, and they can only be quelled by the law."

"Everything is left to the judgment of the law, measured and judged by the law. There is no talk of benevolence and faith, and no personal feelings or thoughts."

"Well..." Gu Xun nodded, "Although it does not involve the means of governing the country, it does have a basic understanding of the concept."

"Among the hundreds of scholars in the world, only the four schools of Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism and Taoism have relatively complete governance concepts and policies. I think you can only read some relevant classics about the Mohist and Taoist schools, so let's put them aside for now. "

"So, which one do you think is better, Confucianism or Legalism?"

When Fusu heard this question, his face suddenly began to turn bitter.

Of course he has an answer to this question, but...

Seeing him like this, Gu Xun couldn't help but smile, "Looking at your behavior, I guess you think Fu Nian's way of the Holy King is more to your liking, right?"

His mind had been broken, and Fusu stopped being speechless and replied, "Teacher, Legalism puts the law first and ignores the human nature of the human heart. Everything is governed by law and excludes the rule of man. However, if the law is made by man, how can it completely ignore humanity? ?”

Gu Xun's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction, "That's right. It seems like he's not just stupid at reading. He knows how to use his brain."

"Confucianism and Legalism have always been hostile to each other. A large part of the reason is that one values ​​the rule of man, while the other values ​​the rule of law."

"It can be said that Falun Gong practitioners are out-and-out skeptics. They never believe in human nature. They firmly believe that human nature is inherently evil, likes leisure and hates work, seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages, etc. These are all ineradicable fundamentals, so they leave everything to legal principles. decision."

"This is also the reason why Mr. Xunzi, a great Confucian who advocated the theory of evil nature, was able to teach two great legal scholars."

Fusu interrupted and asked curiously, "Teacher, if this is the case, why is Xunzi still recognized as a Confucian scholar and not classified as a Legalist master?"

The classification of scholars from hundreds of schools of thought depends more on their thoughts than their origins. Therefore, both Han Fei and Li Si are regarded as Legalists rather than Confucian scholars. The most they can say is that they are disciples of the Confucian Xiaoshengxianzhuang. That’s all.

Although Xunzi has a sharp tongue and criticizes everyone in the world, except Confucius, and his thoughts are very different from ordinary Confucian scholars, he has always been firmly recognized as a great Confucian scholar.

Fusu was a little confused.

Gu Xun smiled and replied, "It's very simple, because the Legalist theory of evil nature is an unchangeable conclusion, while Xunzi's theory of evil nature is just an initial understanding that is different from Meng Sheng's theory of good nature. "

"For Legalists, human nature is inherently evil and cannot be changed, and can only be restrained by law. For Xunzi, the evil of human nature is only the initial evil, and it is an error that needs to be corrected through acquired practice. The emphasis is on Confucian teachings It’s necessary.”

"Xunzi never gave up the concept of moral education that Confucianism valued. This is absolutely in conflict with the concept of Legalism."

Fusu nodded repeatedly after hearing this, "Student understands."

Gu Xun continued, "Mentioning Xunzi just brings back your previous understanding of Confucianism and Legalism."

"Xunzi has always been regarded as an alternative to Confucianism, because he not only emphasized the Confucian rule of man, but also believed that the Legalist rule of law was indispensable."

"As you said before, the law is made for people. If human nature is lacking, how can the law be perfect?"

"But on the other hand, if human nature is lacking and the rule of law is flawed, wouldn't the problem of human governance be even more serious?"       "In a country's government system, from top to bottom, there are so many people, big and small, who govern people. How can it be possible for everyone to be noble? To carry out the so-called majestic and royal ways?"

"Then..." Fusu replied calmly after hearing this, "According to the teacher, isn't Mr. Xunzi's idea the most perfect?"

Gu Xun smiled and shook his head and said, "Fusu, this concept and policy is not about adding and subtracting numbers. One plus one gets two."

"It's good to have rule by man plus rule by law, but how to balance it? If there are too many of one, the role of the other will probably be suppressed and buried, and it will lose its meaning."

"Besides, ideas are ideas, and the actual situation is the actual situation. Times have changed and things are changing. Whether it is appropriate or not depends on the circumstances."

"You just thought that the principles of the Holy King were better, but in fact, in the hundreds of years after the decline of the Zhou royal family, almost all the countries that were powerful for a while were inseparable from the Legalist reforms."

"Your Qin State relied on Shang Yang's reforms to sweep away its decline. It has dominated Guanzhong for hundreds of years and suppressed the six countries of Shandong."

Fusu understood somewhat, but also didn't understand. He asked confusedly, "Teacher, what do you mean, is the Legalist rule of law more appropriate now?"

Gu Xun shook his head, "For you, what's important is not whether the rule of law is appropriate or whether the rule of man is appropriate, but you have to understand why it is appropriate."

"Whether Fu Nian's 'Inner Saint and External King' or my good friend's 'Stop the Punishment with Punishment', these are the ways of being a minister, not the way of a king."

"Fusu, although you are not the legitimate son and crown prince, the throne will be yours sooner or later, so what you need to consider more is the latter."

Although there are only two people at the moment, the master and the disciple, so it doesn't matter if the words are more explicit and straightforward, but when he suddenly heard this topic, Fusu still said helplessly, "Teacher, what you said..."

Coming from a royal family, even at a young age, Fusu knew how sensitive the matter of the crown prince's throne was.

He was just the eldest son, not the legitimate son. His teacher was too sure of himself when he said this.

Gu Xun waved his hand nonchalantly, "Fusu, although it's still a little early for you, I can tell you clearly that your father's position will be yours sooner or later, and it will definitely be yours."

Will Ying Zheng pass the throne to Fu Su?

It doesn't matter, whether it's passed on to Fusu like official history, or passed on to someone else by some accident. Anyway, after Ying Zheng's death, the person who finally ascended to the throne and ruled the world must be his Gu Xun's students.

"Teacher..." When Fusu heard Gu Xun's sonorous and affirmative words, he was a little lost and speechless.

Gu Xun waved his hand again, "Don't think too much. These words came out of my mouth and entered your ears. Just remember. Let's continue what we just said."

"The reason why Legalist reforms can make a country stronger, I will explain to you in detail later, but I will briefly explain it now."

"The apparent result of Legalist reforms is often to take away the benefits from the hands of other aristocratic classes except the king, collect some of them back into the hands of the king, and distribute the profits to the people."

"This is the main reason why Legalist reforms often achieve immediate results in a short period of time. Of course, doing so will offend the aristocracy. This is also the main reason why reformers often die badly."

"At the same time, there will be various policy proposals to change the existing way of distribution of interests. This is the foundation for ensuring the continued growth of national power in the future."

"Compared with other countries that have implemented Legalist reforms, the reason why the Qin State has always been strong is that Shang Yang's rule has not been extinguished after the fall of Shang Yang, while other countries often end hastily after a moment of momentum."

　My neck is twisted, so I can only tilt my head while typing...

　　It hurts!
  　　It hurts!
  　　It hurts!
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)