Chapter 21: Those who believe in Confucius, will the world be healthy?
Su Xu was also very human, and quickly put aside his little embarrassment and said: "Yes, among all the scholars, Confucius should be the most knowledgeable and the most virtuous."
Say this. As he spoke, Su Xu's eyes showed reverence. It was obvious that he was really thinking about it and not just saying it with his mouth.
"As Confucius said, you can cultivate your character in a small way, but you can manage your family and govern the country in a big way! But like the Taoists, they live in seclusion and live alone; and like the Mohists, they have no king or father, only a giant son... ”
Su Xu commented on the famous schools of thought, and the meaning was nothing more than: Except for my Confucianism, the other schools of thought are rubbish. If we want the world to have long-term peace and stability, we must use my Confucianism. Come on, believe in Confucius. Those who believe in Confucius will make the world healthy!
Although in Li Nian's eyes, Su Xu's words contained too much personal information, he had to admit that this person really dared to speak out and was so brave!
‘This guy is so brave, isn’t he afraid that his remarks will reach the First Emperor? No, he definitely knew that the First Emperor would know, he did it on purpose, he was just not afraid! ’
‘He is also a guy like Chunyu Yue. He must be one of the ‘Confucians’ who were ‘burned books and entraped Confucians’ by the First Emperor! '
Chun Yuyue, when the First Emperor clearly wanted to implement the system of prefectures and counties, dared to come out and clamor to restore Zhou rites and continue the Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment system, which led to the famous event in history-the Burning Books trap Confucians.
‘How should I answer? ’
Li Nian thought in his mind that he could not express his thoughts without scruples like Su Xu and Chun Yuyue. Every word and deed he said would be transmitted to the First Emperor. If he answered inappropriately, the consequences could be very serious.
‘The First Emperor of this period probably didn’t have much opinion on Confucianism, otherwise he would not have allowed Chunyu Yue to teach Fusu, nor would he have allowed Confucian disciples to become doctors of the Qin Dynasty. My answer today will definitely affect the First Emperor's views on Confucianism! ’
Recalling the various dynasties that were influenced by Confucianism in later generations, Li Nian made a decision in his heart: he must point out the shortcomings of Confucianism and try his best not to let certain historical problems recur.
‘Although it is definitely wrong to blame all certain historical problems on Confucianism, Confucianism is by no means a white lotus and has no problems at all. ’
Seeing Li Nian deep in thought, Su Xu felt a little strange.
According to his opinion, after listening to his comments on various schools of thought, this person should refute or ask him why he made such comments. Why did he fall into thinking?
Is his review so amazing?
After thinking for a while, Li Nian said: "Since Master Su talked about self-cultivation, family order, and country governance, dare I ask which of these three comes first and which comes last?"
Su Xu is a doctor of Confucianism , who is very familiar with Confucian classics, saw the shallow trap in Li Nian's words at a glance, and said with a smile: "Young Master does not want to ask which of the three is first, but wants to ask Meng Sheng "If you are poor, you can help yourself; if you are prosperous, you can help the world," right? "
Li Nian was not embarrassed about having his trap discovered, so he asked another question, which was exactly what the First Emperor asked Fusu: "" There is a saying in "Mencius" that "those who have attained the Dao will get many help, and those who have lost the Dao will have few help." I would like to ask Master Su, do we, the Qin Dynasty, have few helpers who have lost the Dao, or do we have many help if we have gained the Dao?"
This problem can be difficult for Fu Su, but not for Confucian doctors like Su Xu. He only heard Su Xu say: "Of course, if you gain the Tao, you will get more help! 'Those who gain the Tao will get many help, and those who lose the Tao will have little help.' The important thing is 'Tao', Rather than counting "numbers", Dao means benevolence and righteousness!"
"Although the Qin Dynasty is few, it has the Dao. Although the Six Kingdoms are numerous, they have no Dao. Therefore, the Da Qin conquers the Six Kingdoms with the Dao. "Everyone who has the Tao in the world will follow it, which is exactly what it means to be a person who has gained the Tao, but who has lost the Tao has few help." This answer made Li Nian want to applaud him. Regardless of the number, he should seize the word "Tao". The key point is further extended, from the argument of the number of the Six Kingdoms compared with Da Qin, to the fact that the righteous people in the world are on the side of Da Qin, so in fact, Da Qin is not that those who are unrighteous have few help, but those who have gained righteousness have many help.
Hearing this answer, Li Nian knew that his attempt had failed. Regarding this question, no matter what he said next, this person could come back and give a " "reasonable" explanation.
Even the point is not whether Li Nian thinks the explanation is reasonable, but that Su Xu himself thinks it is reasonable, that is, he justifies himself and is immersed in the reasons he made up, and others cannot get in.
Even if Li Nian told him that Da Qin was able to devour the Six Kingdoms because the system of Da Qin was more advanced and that the kings of Da Qin were wiser than the kings of the Six Kingdoms, so that Da Qin could unleash a stronger combat power than the Six Kingdoms and destroy the Six Kingdoms, Su Xu would not If you know how to listen, you will still use Confucian methods to explain.
Fortunately, Li Nian didn't really want to convince Su Xu, he was just showing his attitude towards Confucianism to the First Emperor - he didn't like Confucianism as a school of thought!
In fact, Confucianism still has a lot of things worth learning, and it is not without merit, such as some words that teach people to cultivate their moral character:
“Learn and practice what you learn, don’t you say?”, “ I examine myself three times every day: Are I being unfaithful to others? Believe it or not?”, “Learning without thinking will lead to failure, and thinking without learning will lead to peril”...
Furthermore, the Confucians at this time were not a group of conservative and minded people. They are rotten Confucians, but they are a group of learned men who are proficient in the six arts and have great ambitions.
But Li Nian must consider the impact he will have on the First Emperor!
Therefore, when it comes to Confucian issues, we must have a clear-cut stand and not be ambiguous.
Confucianism is acceptable as a moral education discipline that teaches people to behave, but if it is used to govern the country, even if it is a Confucianism, it will cause endless disasters. Even if this is not the original intention of Confucianism, in the hands of the emperor, it is not the original intention. It will become a shape conducive to imperial rule.
Li Niandao: "According to Master Su's words, it seems that only Confucianism can cure the world and make the world peaceful and stable. If Confucianism is so powerful, why haven't the kings of all countries adopted it?"
This question is easy to answer, Su Xu said: "It is precisely because they did not adopt it that the country perished."
As if predicting that Li Nian would ask next, "The Qin Dynasty did not use Confucianism to govern the country, nor did it destroy the country." Su Xu quickly patched it up: "Although the Da Qin Dynasty did not use our Confucianism, the Da Qin Dynasty gained the benevolence of the world, which is in line with Confucianism." Essential principles. "
Talking lies with open eyes, Da Qin is obviously using the Legalist approach, when did it have anything to do with Confucian benevolence and righteousness?
Li Nian didn't care, and added: "I heard that Confucius advocated Zhou rituals, and most of the methods of governing the country discussed in Confucian classics were based on Zhou. Can I think that Zhou is the country that Confucians admire?"
Suxuda They probably guessed what Li Nian was going to say, but he couldn't answer this question, because they really thought that Confucian scholars like him and Chun Yuyue would appear in Da Qin because they wanted to realize their political ambitions after Da Qin unified the world. .
And their political ambition is to restore the Zhou rites, that is, to restore the ritual and music system of the Zhou Dynasty, restore the well field system, and the hereditary system of enfeoffment, and recreate the era in Confucius's mind when the rituals and music were sound and the people's hearts were ancient.
Therefore, even if he guessed Li Nian's next words, Su Xu could only say solemnly: "Yes!"
(End of Chapter)