Chapter 25 Confucianism, Self-castration to Serve the King
In the afternoon, not long after dinner, Li Nian was called over again by someone sent by Ying Zheng.
Li Nian is not surprised by this. He is a new thing to Ying Zheng. He can get many novel experiences from him. It is not surprising even if he is called in for questioning every day.
It was still the same palace where they first met, and Meng Yi was still accompanying Ying Zheng, but compared to the first and second meetings, Ying Zheng and Li Nian were much more familiar.
After Li Nian saluted, Ying Zheng pointed to a seat prepared in the hall: "Sit!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat!"
As soon as he sat down on his seat, Li Nian heard Ying Zheng say: "Today you and Su Xu had a question and answer session. I was very curious, so I asked you to come over."
Li Nian was not surprised and said : "It is my great honor to be able to answer your questions. Anyone who knows anything can inform your Majesty."
After reading the bamboo slips of Li Nian and Su Xu's questions and answers, Ying Zheng thought for a long time today and came up with something. The reason why Legalism could not govern the Qin Dynasty.
But if these reasons are true, wouldn’t Great Qin be in danger?
And if Legalism cannot govern the Qin Dynasty today, what kind of theory should be used?
Therefore, Ying Zheng called Li Nian over!
Ying Zheng asked the first question: "You seem to dislike Confucianism. Is it possible that Confucianism has done something in the history of later generations?"
Li Niandao: "Your Majesty is wise! Confucianism has a very important role in Chinese history An important position, the influence is extremely far-reaching. These influences are both good and bad, but as a minister who is in the position of later generations, I think the influence of Confucianism is more bad."
Ying Zhengdao: "There are many. Bad?”
Li Nian did not answer immediately, but said: "Before I explain the Confucian confusion to your Majesty, I have the courage to ask your Majesty a question!"
Ying Zhengdao: "Even if you say it, I will forgive you! From now on, Just speak up if you have anything to say, and I won’t blame you for what you say.”
Really? I don't believe it!
I said Lao Ai had penetrated your mother, but you wouldn’t punish me?
But Li Nian only dared to think about it in his heart and did not dare to say it. He said: "My question is, in the opinion of the king, what are the hundreds of schools of thought? The king wants to use your identity to Think about it!”
As a humble person, what does it mean to think about the various schools of thought?
As expected of the first monarch in Chinese history to call himself emperor, Ying Zheng thought about the answer that Li Nian wanted to tell him after just a moment's thought.
He looked at Li Nian and said, "Do you want to say that in the eyes of kings like me, hundreds of schools of thought are a tool used to govern the world?"
Li Nian nodded and said: "Yes, later generations said it was used for It is a tool of feudal rule, and since it is a tool, it is natural to use it well and to your own advantage."
Ying Zhengdao: "You mean that Confucianism has become a tool for future generations of kings?"
It was pointed out that Confucianism became a tool for the rule of later kings, and Ying Zheng had a new question. Confucianism became a tool, but what about the other hundreds of schools of thought?
"Yes! During the Han Dynasty, Confucian doctor Dong Zhongshu wrote to Emperor Wu to 'depose hundreds of schools of thought and only respect Confucianism'. Since then, Confucianism has gradually become the most mainstream school in the world, no one!"
Ying Zheng recalled it. He remembered that in the prophecy that Li Nian memorized, Han ranked after Qin and was to "unify Qin and Han". Was Han Wu the king of which dynasty after Qin?
This Han is not that good. There is such a foolish king who listens to that Confucian scholar named Dong Zhongshu, deposes hundreds of other schools, and only respects Confucianism. Li Nian continued: "Confucianism will become a tool for kings because they have transformed themselves to make themselves suitable for kings to rule. Otherwise, since Confucianism came out in the Spring and Autumn Period for so many years, why have no kings governed the country with Confucianism?"
"In short, it was Confucianism that first turned itself into a tool suitable for kings to use!"
"Only in this way can it stand out from a hundred schools of thought and allow the king to depose all schools of thought and dominate all other schools." "The foundation of Confucianism"
"After becoming the king's tool, the king naturally wanted to make Confucianism more convenient and more convenient to use, and Confucianism was in order to meet the needs of the king. Hejunwang is also continuing to transform himself. "
"In this way, Confucianism becomes more and more conducive to the king's rule, but the more suitable it is for the king, the less suitable it is for the people of the world."
This sentence shocked Ying Zheng, and his eyes fell on Li Nian. The meaning was obvious. What is "the more suitable for the king, the less suitable for the people of the world"?
Feeling Ying Zheng's gaze, Li Nian felt his scalp numb, but he couldn't lie. Lying would only cost more than telling the truth, so he had to bite the bullet and continue.
“For kings, it is a good thing to govern the country with Confucianism, because the transformed Confucianism is very beneficial to them. For example, in the Outline of Rites and Laws set by Confucianism, it emphasizes that ‘heaven and earth are kings and teachers’, except for heaven and earth. who Outside, the king is supreme."
Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows. From the perspective of a king, this is completely fine. Although the king has "heaven and earth" before him, heaven and earth cannot speak. Still the king is the greatest.
He didn’t know that this “Heaven and Earth, Lord, Prince and Teacher”, Confucianism also equipped with a set of “Heaven and Man Sensing”, if a disaster occurs, it must be God’s father warning the mortal king’s son to do something wrong.
“Another example is the etiquette formulated by Confucianism. Each person of status has his or her own position and the hierarchy is strict. This makes the society stable and less prone to turmoil.”
There's nothing wrong with that. Isn't it a good thing that society is stable and free from turmoil?
“The transformed Confucianism also has the wonderful function of imprisoning people’s thoughts. Firstly, the Confucian etiquette and laws have often become a social order, and everyone in it must abide by it; secondly, Confucianism is a doctrine approved by the king. When a king is an official, he must learn Confucianism."
"So many talented people were attracted to the Confucian classics. We are very knowledgeable and have been studying Confucian classics all our lives. Naturally, we have no time to think too much. If we don’t think too much, we will not cause trouble.”
Hearing this, Ying Zheng felt that he probably understood that Confucianism is too powerful. It is beneficial to the king and makes the king too powerful. If it is a wise king, it is okay, but if it is a fatuous king, then under the Confucian approach, it is easy to lead a dynasty astray.
“But for the nation and the country, the transformed Confucianism is not a good thing and has seriously hindered the development of the country and the nation.”
"It is a dominant force and suppresses the development of other schools of thought, making our nation's thoughts like stagnant water and difficult to have vitality; it sucks away many talented people, making it impossible for other industries to have sufficient talents and making it difficult for technology to progress..."
“It is definitely wrong to blame Confucianism for many problems in history, but in some matters, Confucianism There is no escaping the problem. Confucianism has influenced China’s history for more than two thousand years!”
In modern times, it is often said that many kings use Confucianism to rule, but it is not entirely Confucian, but it is absolutely true in the feudal era! Most people cannot see the bones inside. They only know the outer skin. They are living under the skin of Confucianism and are shackled by Confucianism.
Confucianism has influenced China’s history for more than two thousand years?
Ying Zheng was also shocked. For such a long time, the Confucian family was the dominant one. It can be seen that Confucianism was respected by later kings and was very beneficial to the king.
The views on Confucianism in this book are only the author's humble opinions on Confucianism. There are good and bad Confucianisms, but if there is a better choice, of course I would not choose Confucianism (this is the case in the book). Thank you for your support!
(End of this chapter)