Princess Consort of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 281
However, Shen Sanwen went to the palace today to ask for universal education, how many people were secretly worried about him, and they were all the masters and servants in the princess mansion.

The princess only thought, if this matter can be accomplished, then it will be possible, and if it cannot be accomplished, don't feel bad about it, as long as the son-in-law does not get off the stage, it will be fine.

As for Cui Xuan, he is not optimistic about it. This is really difficult. In the past few years, in order to popularize literacy, the Princess Mansion’s finances have been tight, and everything has to be considered carefully. It is His Majesty the Emperor.If it is not careful, it will cause opposition from some classes, or some people will be restless after there are more scholars, and it will shake the foundation of the country.

Will His Majesty allow him to mess around?How fierce the court's opposition will be.

Cui Xuan was already prepared, how to comfort him, he had already thought out the words, "Three questions, don't be obsessed, everything has a gradual process, and the popularity of writing is still not enough. Five years, at that time, to promote learning literature among the next generation, the fathers and brothers can still help, and the younger generation can bring the content home, learn from each other, and get twice the result with half the effort. Boss, if it doesn’t work once, let’s do it again, His Majesty will agree one day. If it’s not possible, when the princess ascends the throne, we will definitely help you make the Education for All a success, and those old stubborn people can’t stop it anymore.”

Besides, in the court hall, Shen Sanwen was very satisfied with this opponent.

However, this opponent still misinterpreted Lao Tzu's meaning.

Laozi's rule by doing nothing is not to avoid differences and let nature take its course, nor is it to assimilate and weaken people.Instead, follow the avenue of heaven and earth, and use inaction to achieve the goal of action.Lao Tzu only pointed out in Chapter 3 of the Tao Te Ching to make the people ignorant and desireless, but Lao Tzu’s purpose is not to fool the people. On the contrary, he also advocates that everyone practice Taoism, not to cultivate morality, nor to practice, but to learn his set of world views , methodology, and philosophy of being a human being.

This set of philosophy is not something that ordinary people in this era can learn. Listening to his theory can drive people crazy, needless to say to understand.

Laozi is a philosopher with simple dialectics, and Shen Sanwen is a philosophy student who has been influenced by Marxism-Leninism. Therefore, Shen Sanwen thinks that he is better than others in dialectics.

Nowadays, there are not many people who respect Lao Tzu's theory, but Shen Sanwen knows that Wu Zetian agrees with many of Lao Tzu's views to a certain extent, especially making the people have no desire to benefit the rule, so he did not carelessly think about this issue. , thinking forms a complete chain.

Shen San asked, "Tao can be said, very Tao, does it mean that there is an internal law in everything, but this law is not static."

"Yes."

Shen San asked again, "Fortune is where misfortune lies, and misfortune is what blessing is for. Does it mean that good and bad things are relative and can be converted into each other?"

"Yes, but it doesn't mean that Dazhou has reached the moment when it can implement education for all. The implementation of education for all will make Dazhou better. Maybe one day in the future there will be no natural disasters and man-made disasters, and it will be possible to achieve it, but it is definitely not now. .”

Shen Sanwen didn't care about his rebuttal, and continued to ask, "People follow the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature. Does it mean that if you understand the virtues of the earth, you can carry things without complaining, and then understand the laws of the sky?" Do not ask for repayment, grow the greatness of all things, and finally understand the nature of the Dao, and then follow a set of laws of the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and reach the realm of doing nothing and doing everything."

"Yes, I didn't expect the son-in-law to love Huang Lao's theory."

Shen Sanwen raised his eyebrows. Lao Tzu's words are awkward and troublesome, "I said that heaven and earth are self-propelled by no one, the sun and the moon are self-illuminated by no one to burn, the stars are self-ordered by no one, and animals are born without man-made." , this is natural. It has been said that people are ignorant and the country is safe."

"Lao Tzu didn't say that, but he said that the rule of a sage is to empty his heart, strengthen his belly, weaken his will, and strengthen his bones. A scholar has the highest spirit and the highest ambition."

Shen San asked: "This is natural, because since Dong Zhongshu, scholars have learned Confucianism, not Taoism. Taoism governs the world by comprehension, which is too difficult for most people. It is far less important than Confucianism for family and country. He explained thoroughly with the Grand Duke."

Confucianism emphasizes that the monarch and the ministers are ministers. To be a minister is to learn the arts and martial arts, to protect the country and the people. If you have no heart, no ambition, what can you accomplish.

Shen Sanwen continued, "Although Lao Tzu did not specify the order of the country and the people, he has already told us. That is to follow the social laws and the changes of people as the society changes. If you are rich, don't force yourself to do nothing.

Inaction is a state that must be achieved in accordance with the law.

Make the wise man dare not do anything, and the wise man dare not do whatever he wants, only then can he rule by doing nothing.

However, in today's Great Zhou, the people of Liming can already feed their hunger. They are not strong, but their ambitions are not small, and their conflicts are not small.The major yamen, let's say Chang'an County and Wannian County, most of the cases they deal with each time are cases of personal prejudice, and they are litigating for personal interests.

What is their ambition?It's studying and being an official. After ten years of hard work, no one asked him, and he became famous all over the world in one fell swoop.Farmers, businessmen, and businessmen are all eager to transform into gentry, whether it is to realize their own political ambitions, to leave a clear future for the world, or to change the status and circumstances of the family, so as to live up to expectations and honor their ancestors.

All scholars aspire to be officials, and all those who have not read aspire to be able to understand the books of sages and become famous through the imperial examination. Nowadays, most of the people in the imperial court are selected by the imperial examination. Who does not want to take the exam, but is selected? Your Majesty values ​​it, is there any? "

Of course there is no more. Saying this, you can basically resign from office and say goodbye.

Shen San asked without giving everyone a chance to answer.

"So where is today's inaction? Weakness of ambition, empty heart, how to do it?

It lies in education for all.

Only when everyone is courteous and reasonable can they truly not admire scholars, show off their skills, and value rare and precious things, so that they can settle down to their careers.

The opportunity to govern the world is reserved for those who have good self-cultivation, have a common language with the sages, and have a deep understanding of society, who can comfort the people.

However, in order for them to use what they have learned as quickly as possible, the people under their control must be able to understand what they are doing, understand what they are saying, and obey his management and arrangements.

How can it be smooth to manage a group of foolish people who don't understand reason and only know about their own interests.

A policy that can produce short-term results is misunderstood, misunderstood, and abused, and the more it is governed, the more difficult it will be to govern.

The more you learn, the more you realize your insignificance, and the deeper you learn, the more you understand your shallowness. To make people humble, first of all let them understand the real truth.Officials, on the other hand, should take the lead in setting good examples, serving the country and the people well, sacrificing their time, dedicating their wisdom, thinking what others can't think, and being able to do what others can't, so that they can be modest.

Only education for all allows people all over the world to have the opportunity to study, so as not to be left behind in the sea, only officials who are good enough selected from enough scholars, and only those officials who can convince the king and the people with a broad mind and lofty aspirations, can Let them realize the gap between people, so they give up things beyond their ability, eager to improve their studies, but no longer aim at being an official, this is weak will.

Complying with nature and one's own abilities is the way of doing nothing that suits Da Zhou's Lao Tzu.

Furthermore, as Lao Tzu said, there is Dao first, and all things are born, and then there is inaction and inaction is action, and action is inaction.So should the people follow the self-righteous way to do nothing, or should they learn the scientific way, and then follow the guidance of the way, do nothing and fight, and be kind to others? "

At this time, the hall was silent again.

Shen San asked if he didn't make a song today, he would already be a blockbuster.

These words are thought-provoking. Many people think of their ambitions when they were studying, and feel that if they become officials, people will be happier and happier than they are now. But now, most of them are just standing still. Still able to eat.More pursuits?No, can you live a rich life?nor.

I once remembered that when I was young, I admired Zhou Gong and worshiped Di Gong, and secretly vowed in my heart to use these two as an example to help the community and assist Ming Jun.I once remembered that the contempt and contempt in my heart when someone gave a gift for the first time, but my conscience was polluted by the weight increased again and again, and I gave up morality.I once remembered that compassion for the victim, emphasis on public interests, and justice and impartiality when adjudicating cases and distributing government funds, never backed down in the face of loud clamor, but because of the words of his wife, children, mother, uncle, etc., Changed the solar terms.

Recalling the past, I can't bear to look back.

Injured ambition, tears in the heart.

The main hall knelt down again, "Your servant is ashamed."

How many people in the world dare to say that they have no regrets in their lives, that they are upright officials and never stained with dust.

As soon as these remarks about how to be an official come out, how can this group of people still think about education for all? .

In the huge hall, only Shen Sanwen was left standing in it, his indescribable charm.

And invincible loneliness.

Wu Zetian didn't say a word, and everyone just knelt on the ground. After a long time, those who had refuted earlier agreed, "I read Lao Tzu's words, but I don't know anything about it, and I don't know how to apply it to reality. I made my son-in-law laugh."

Shen San asked a little bit of appreciation for such a person, who was able to argue with reason, and corrected when he knew his mistakes.

But the man said again, "I don't know what the son-in-law thinks of Buddhism?"

It turns out that you haven't given up yet, Shen San asked to take back the previous appreciation, "May I ask who you are?"

"It's Zhang Yuanqiang, the servant of the lower household department."

No wonder, the Ministry of Households is in charge of finances, and all expenses must be carefully calculated. There is a minister above this servant.

Whether he personally approves or not, it doesn't really matter in this court.

However, the theory of Buddhism is even more mysterious. No matter how you explain Shen Sanwen, you can make some sense. Confucianism and Taoism support education for all in theory, and Buddhism can turn the world upside down.

Shen San asked and looked at Wu Chengsi, "Master Wu, what did you say about Buddhism?"

After debating for so long, he really forgot what Wu Chengsi said.

Wu Chengsi: "All living beings are suffering, letting go is freedom."

Shen Sanwen looked at Zhang Yuanqiang, "Buddhism has no objection, Master Wu persuaded me to let go."

Zhang Yuanqiang replied, "The son-in-law said that all living beings want fame and fortune, and they aspire to be officials and scholars. Shouldn't this kind of compulsion be let go? Buddhism crosses people, that is, a person who crosses the heart and is free and at ease. Why bother to force fame and fortune? read."

Shen San asked: "The Buddha said, form is emptiness and emptiness is form, form is transformed from emptiness, emptiness is the origin of form, everything is fate, there is fate, form can become emptiness, and emptiness can form form.

Similarly, seeking or not seeking is all fate and freedom.If you don’t seek, how do you know the difficulty of seeking?

If you don't ask for it, how can you be envious of the richness and honor you get, and thus generate the desire to ask for it.

Survive not seek, do not seek to survive.If you ask, you don't ask, if you don't ask, you ask.

What does it have to do with literacy or not, reading or not reading, education or not.

If there is, it is all fate, how can the worldly people force it. "

Shen Sanwen also expected Zhang Yuanqiang to say a few more embarrassing words, but he didn't say a word after finishing his routine.

It seems that he understands Shen Sanwen's difficulty, and has given up the treatment.

Today the princess put a lot of people outside the court hall, and people were reviewing documents in the hall next to the morning court. Cui Xuan also entered the palace in the name of assisting, waiting for the news from the morning court. The people argue that the people can know what they know, but they can't let it go.

This kind of flexible debate topic is actually not easy, because there are various explanations, and no one can convince anyone. What did Confucius think at that time.After all, Confucius advocated order and hierarchy. Who can say clearly whether this sentence is serving the king as a dog's leg, or educating the people.

Cui Xuan sighed immediately, I'm afraid the son-in-law's Analects of Confucius has been completely forgotten, can he still debate with this group of Confucian scholars?When the court is over this morning, I have to make up the Analects of Confucius homework for him, otherwise I will suffer a lot in front of this group of scholars.

The princess was startled, thinking about how she should break the situation if she stood in Shen Sanwen's perspective.Confucius said too much, and it is not difficult to find evidence, but the difficulty is how to make these scholars give up their prejudices, prejudices and contempt for the disadvantaged classes.The scholars selected by the imperial examination are not all dregs who have forgotten that water can carry a boat and overturn it.

The person who came to pass the message changed one after another, and the two finally listened to the Confucianism dispute. Cui Xuan immediately sighed that he was not as good as he was, and he transformed his own ideas into those of Confucius and His Majesty. can object.

Junjunchenchen, a scholar, how dare to resist, this is the mountain that weighs on them.

This first round of debate is considered to be stable, at least His Majesty is willing to speak encouragement, so he will not fall behind.

As for the society of education for all mentioned by Shen Sanwen, they have long been familiar with it. The son-in-law has so many "common" concepts that they can't count them all. Love is free, there is nothing he dare not think about.Now it has only been implemented to the point of universal education, and it has already become Amitabha.

Everything else is the big problem.

Cui Xuan thought, Lao Tzu's rule by doing nothing is really indisputable. It's not ugly to win a round, lose a round, and even a round.

(End of this chapter)