Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 111 0106 [The daily use of the common people is the way]

More than 200 teachers and students in the school, and even some school workers, all ran to the square to listen to Chen Yuan's lecture.

The rules here are very strict. When the students arrived at the square, they spontaneously arranged the benches.And according to upper house, inner upper, inner lower, outer upper, outer lower, it is divided into five grades and sits clearly.

There are more than [-] students in the foreign house.

The number of students in Shangshe is the least, only twenty or thirty.

As an off-campus observer, Zhu Ming could only sit with the lower-ranked students in the outer dormitory.

Min Ziran, the dude of the Min family, doesn't care about the conflict between the principal and Zhu Ming.Da Lie Lie sat next to him, only separated from Zhu Ming by a bench, turning his head from time to time, chatting and laughing.

After a while, the number of students in the Shangshe began to increase one after another.

"These students don't usually study in school," Zheng Fatty said, "They were promoted to the upper house several years ago, and they have learned everything they need to learn. They only have a name in the academy, and they don't even need to take the quarterly exam. I guess It’s because they heard that famous Confucianists gave lectures, and they returned to the academy one by one.”

"Who is that person?" Zhu Ming saw a student who seemed to be very prestigious, and the students in the upper hall stood up to greet him.

Min Ziran smiled and said, "That's my elder brother, Min Zishun, who took the exam at the age of 17 and won the exam. He passed the exam four times in a row, and every time he was Jie Yuan, it's a pity that he has never been a Jinshi."

No. 1 in Yangzhou solution four times, unexpectedly failed to pass the Jinshi examination.

Zhu Ming asked curiously, "How many years has there been no Jinshi in Yangzhou?"

Min Ziran said: "For more than 20 years. Not only Yangzhou, but the entire Lizhou Road, there have been no Jinshi for more than 20 years."

The cultural context is weak, I am afraid that I am very depressed about this as I have served as the Luti student envoy of Lizhou.

Zheng Hong said with a smile: "That's why I don't bother to study. I failed four times for the first solution. Can we still pass the exam?"

Ju Ming smiled and said nothing.

Min Wenwei has been in charge of the academy for more than 20 years, that is to say, under the hands of this mountain chief, not a single Jinshi has been cultivated.

After waiting for a long time, Min Wenwei and Chen Yuan arrived hand in hand, and the teachers and students present immediately shut their mouths.

Min Wenwei took the lead in speaking: "Today, I am honored to invite Mr. Chen, a famous Confucian of the South Sword Academy, to explain the study of saints in our Yangzhou Academy. Mr. Chen is the first student of Mr. Guishan, and Mr. Guishan is also a student of the second Cheng. The school has passed on the authentic tradition. Although Yangzhou is a place of literary excellence, the cultural context has not flourished in recent years. Mr. Chen’s lectures here will definitely bring a new atmosphere... All students, please stand up and hold your disciples to worship!"

The students of the whole school stood up one after another, and collectively performed the disciple salute to Chen Yuan.

It was so formal and solemn, and it was the first time Chen Yuan met him while giving lectures in various places.At the beginning, it was unavoidable to be a little happy, but then I sighed secretly. The rules of Yangzhou Academy are too strict, and the students have been trained to be wooden people.

Standing tall, Chen Yuan began to talk about his knowledge in front of more than 200 teachers and students: "Excuse me, why do you study?"

The audience was silent and no one answered.

According to the rules of Yangzhou Academy, when the teacher is giving a lecture, he cannot interrupt casually.

Chen Yuan could only pick a student at random: "You tell me."

The student immediately gave a standard answer: "Cultivate one's morality, regulate one's family, govern the country and the world."

"Very good," Chen Yuan said with a smile, "Those who can cultivate themselves, manage their families, govern the country and the world can be called saints. Reading is to become a saint, and learning to become a saint. It is difficult to be a saint, just like learning archery, you have to be neutral in the field A target, this so-called target. To be a saint is the target of our studies."

"If you can't hit the target at the beginning, don't be discouraged, just practice hard. One day, if you can hit the edge of the target, you can be called a gentleman. If you hit the bull's-eye again and again, you are called a saint. Hitting the bull's-eye once in a while is worthy of praise in this life."

Min Zishun, a top student, couldn't help asking: "Sir, can Er Cheng be called a saint?"

Chen Yuan shook his head: "No, the two Mr. Cheng only hit the bull's-eye once or twice. But they can not miss the target every time, and they are the gentlemen among gentlemen. Those who hit the bull's-eye every time have already become one with heaven and man, and have attained the golden mean." The Great Dao has never existed for more than a thousand years.”

Most of the teachers and students in the school belong to the students of Luo School.

At this time, I heard that even Er Cheng could only hit the bull's-eye occasionally, and there was an uproar in an instant.

Chen Yuan continued: "How to practice archery? One word, honesty. Another word, benevolence. Whether you are doing learning or being a man, you must seek benevolence with sincerity. The way of benevolence is the way of people. There is a gentleman in the world. I don't know how to read a single book, but he has benevolence in his heart, so he can be called a learned scholar. There is a villain in the world who is rich in learning and has read the classics and history. If he has no benevolence in his heart, he has no knowledge at all."

As he spoke, Chen Yuan glanced at all the students: "Do you have benevolence in your heart?"

Everyone was speechless.

Chen Yuan's words overturned their cognition.

Isn’t studying a lot about reading a lot and comprehending the way of a sage?
How to distinguish learning from benevolence?

Chen Yuan also said: "How to seek benevolence? What is benevolence? This requires understanding goodness. The law of understanding goodness lies in investigating things and gaining knowledge. Exhausting physics is to seek from the outside; Investigating things to gain knowledge, doing good deeds every day, is the way to do learning. Therefore, learning should be divided into three steps, that is, understanding goodness, seeking benevolence, and becoming holy. Reading, literacy, and understanding scriptures are just a means of understanding goodness and seeking benevolence, not The true purpose of scholarship."

When the students were still confused, the top student, Min Zishun, seemed to have suddenly realized something.

He stood up and bowed to Chen Yuan: "Your junior has passed his thirties, and he has read all the sage's articles. Today, Fang Xiaozhi learns the righteous way. This junior is willing to follow Mr., be kind and benevolent. Within ten years, there will be no more imperial examinations."

This sentence made Min Wenwei lose face.

Min Zishun was his nephew, who had studied with him for more than twenty years, but was kidnapped by Chen Yuan.He also said that "Fang Xiaozhi learns the right way today", didn't he teach the right way before?
Chen Yuan smiled and nodded, told Min Zishun to go back and sit down first, and then began to talk about how to learn from things.

Zhu Ming listened for a while, and found that this person's knowledge was somewhere between Neo-Confucianism and Psychology.

It not only explores the original mind inwardly, but also has the taste of mind being reason.It is also similar to Zhu Xi's investigation of things and extension of knowledge, but only similar, because Zhu Xi's investigation of objects and extension of knowledge are separated.

Chen Yuan still preached there: "Being kind and seeking benevolence requires not only understanding the truth, but also practicing benevolence and righteousness. Anyone who thinks about it will think about it, and anyone who says it will say it. If you don't put it into practice, it will be nothing in the end. Four words, classics of the world Practical! If you can’t apply it to the world, your knowledge will be in vain.”

"If you want to be useful in the world, you can't just study hard, you have to learn some real skills."

"In ancient times, there were six arts for a gentleman. My teacher, Mr. Kameyama, added three more to the six arts. One is water conservancy, the other is shipbuilding, and the third is military strategy."

"Agriculture is the foundation of all industries and the foundation of a country. My teacher, Mr. Guishan, whenever he is an official in a place, he must build water conservancy. In Liuyang, my teacher built dams to protect the people from floods. In Xiaoshan, my teacher The water is stored as a lake, which can be drained during floods and irrigated during droughts. Fish, shrimp and water shield can also be caught in the lake. So far, it has become a lake of 14 mu, which can irrigate more than [-] mu of farmland."

"Why do we need to mention shipbuilding again? Waterways are the best way to transport food and taxes. After dredging the canal, we should develop more shipping, which can not only transport money and grain, but also salt. In this way, grain and salt can be quickly transported to various places through ships. , to stabilize the local prices, so that the victims of the disaster have a chance to breathe. Today's government shipyards have neglected management, withholding materials, and at least half of the ten official ships are unqualified!"

"There is also military strategy. Since the establishment of the Song Dynasty, there have been many border troubles. Scholars must know soldiers. Civil servants may not know how to fight in battle, but they must know military strategy, how to allocate money and food, and how to train and select generals. enemy?"

The more Min Wenwei listened, the more he felt something was wrong. As the head of the academy, he usually asked the students to concentrate on their studies and not be disturbed by worldly affairs.

But the famous Confucianism he invited asked the students to learn the six arts of a gentleman, and also to learn water conservancy, shipbuilding, and military strategy.

What is the use of learning these?

If you delay your studies, you will not be able to pass the Jinshi exam, and you will not be able to display your skills.

Min Wenwei's face was gloomy, he didn't want Chen Yuan to continue talking, otherwise the students would be led astray.

But it's not easy to drive people away directly, after all, he is the reincarnated disciple of Ercheng, Chen Yuan belongs to the authentic lineage in terms of status, and he, Min Wenwei, is not even considered a branch.

But Zhu Ming liked it more and more. His understanding of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism mainly came from Zhu Xi's lineage.

But Zhu Ming knew very little about the earlier Yang Shi and Chen Yuan. Now that he heard it, Yang Shi and Chen Yuan were more in line with his wishes.

While talking, Min Wenwei couldn't help it, and interrupted: "Mr. Chen, let's talk about how to learn."

Chen Yuan was puzzled and said, "I'm talking about the way of doing scholarship."

Min Wenwei said: "Sir, you know the scriptures well, so you can explain them in detail."

"The scriptures are there, and so are the meanings of the scriptures. Don't the teachers of the academy understand?" Chen Yuan said, "The teachings can explain the meanings of the scriptures. I only talk about how to understand the meanings of the scriptures and how to use them. .I’m here to give lectures, not lectures. Lectures are naturally fine, but before lectures, you must first give lectures!”

Min Wenwei said: "Lectures are lectures, and lectures are lectures."

At this moment, Chen Yuan was so dumbfounded that he didn't know how to respond.

Taking a deep breath and carefully sorting out his words, Chen Yuan said patiently: "Take the analogy of shooting a target again. The scriptures are just bows and arrows, and the scriptures are the horns, tendons, wood, and feathers for making bows and arrows. The real knowledge is how to shoot arrows. How to make the arrow more accurate when shooting. If you don’t study the scriptures, you don’t even have a bow and arrow. But if you only study the scriptures, you will become a craftsman who makes bows and arrows. This is true! "

Min Wenwei said: "Only when you pass the Jinshi examination can you shoot an arrow. The most urgent thing is to make a good bow and arrow."

Chen Yuan was going crazy when he heard it, what a mess, he didn't believe that a mountain chief was so stupid.Not only ignorant, but also arrogant. If you have true knowledge, you don't seek it, but seek only a few words of the scriptures.

"Could it be that if you can't become an official through the imperial examination, don't Confucian scholars stop learning? It's extremely stupid!" Chen Yuan finally got angry.

Min Wenwei said: "Study is of course to be done, the way is in the book."

"I won't talk about this lesson, and I will refund you the money I received!" Chen Yuan walked away, trembling with anger.

The teachers and students looked on stupidly, the scene seemed very familiar, it happened once last year.

At that time, Lu Tixue returned from Xixiang County and was invited by Min Wenwei to give lectures in the academy.It was just like before, they broke up in the middle of the talk, and Lu Tixue even had a big fight with Min Wenwei.

Zhu Ming hurried to catch up, bowing with a smile: "Why do you need to be angry, Mr. The way is different, don't conspire with each other, just don't talk about it."

Chen Yuan said: "My anger is not for myself. I am angry that I have misunderstood my children!"

Zhu Ming suggested: "Since this is the case, it is better to give lectures at the foot of the mountain. It can be done in the downtown area or by the Han River. Scholars can come to listen, ordinary people can come to listen, even officials can come to listen. Is it better to give lectures on the mountain?"

Chen Yuan thought for a while, nodded and said: "This method is feasible. But those foolish men and women who don't know a few big characters can really understand it?"

"Didn't you say just now that as long as you have sincerity and benevolence in your heart, ignorant people are also great scholars?" Zhu Ming said, "Sir, as long as you explain the truth in a simple way and use everyday things as metaphors, foolish men and women will naturally be enlightened. "

Although the style of lecturing was prevalent in the Song Dynasty, and academic works became more and more colloquial, there were really no lectures on the street.

It wasn't until the middle of the Ming Dynasty that lectures were directed at the bottom of the population, and even beggars could listen to the Tao.

Chen Yuan was a little uncertain: "You can try."

Zhu Ming also said: "What Mr. said, as long as you are honest and benevolent, everyone can be holy. If this is the case, where is the way to promote the common people?"

This questioned Chen Yuan. He said that everyone can become a saint, but it was just a theory, and it was mainly aimed at the scholar class.But ordinary people are also human beings, and humanity is the way of benevolence, so where is the way of ordinary people?How should the common people's benevolence be manifested?

"Successfully asking this question is quite rare, and I should think about it." Chen Yuan discovered a new way of thinking, he wanted to find out where the common people's way lies.

Zhu Ming said: "My father once said that the people's daily use is the way. The younger generation is less talented and less learned. I don't know if my father is right."

This remark was like Hong Zhong Dalu, Chen Yuan was dumbfounded when he heard it, and froze on the spot for a long time.The more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense, and repeatedly muttered: "The daily use of the people is the way, and the daily use of the people is the way..."

Zhu Ming stood silent, waiting for Chen Yuan to slowly digest.

Chen Yuan began to pace back and forth, and just seven words opened a new academic door for him.

Zhu Ming did not throw out this point of view indiscriminately, but combined Chen Yuan's lecture content.He found that Chen Yuan's academic thinking was in the middle of Neo-Confucianism and Psychology, and also included a little meritorious thinking, which could fully absorb the Taizhou School of Psychology's "Daily use is the Tao".

The more Chen Yuan thought about it, the more excited he became. These seven words are in line with the meaning of the sage, and they are an expansion of the avenue of sage learning.

At this time, Chen Yuan's academic ideas all came from Yang Shi, and he didn't have many new things.

If he started from "the daily use of the people is the Tao", a new school can be created.

Chen Yuan grabbed Zhu Ming's hands suddenly, and said excitedly, "Where is your father now? I should ask him face to face."

Ju Ming said: "My father was farming in the countryside, and my father's knowledge has been passed down to younger generations."

"Let's go, let's find a place to talk about it." Chen Yuan pulled Zhu Ming and ran away, just like a womanizer who meets a peerless beauty.

Zhu Ming smiled smugly. His idea was very simple. He wanted to use Chen Yuan to make a name for himself, so that scholars who valued the world would recognize him.

(End of this chapter)