Song Gexing

Chapter 282 Heaven and Human Induction
In March, Sima Guang finally completed the compilation of "Zizhi Tongjian", which was another cultural event in the Song Dynasty. It happened that a piece of news came from Shaanxi, and Zhang Zai finally came up with the deafening four sentences of Hengqu.

With a stroke of his pen, Zhao Fang personally named the book "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and wrote the preface. He also named Zhang Zai's four sentences as Hengqu Four Sentences.

"I ordered Zhang Zai to return to Beijing and serve as Minister of Rites!"

"I grant Sima Guang the title of Marquis Jian, Prince's Young Master!"

Another two edicts caused a sensation in the entire Song Dynasty. This is the first time someone has been granted the title of Marquis for writing a book. Don’t think that Jianhou sounds bad. The pronunciation in ancient times is different from that in later generations.

Later generations will think that "Jian" and "Jiang" have the same pronunciation as "Jiang" because of Mandarin, with the purpose of humiliating people. In fact, they are completely wrong. Guyinjian is the biological mother of G, and it does not sound like "Jiang".

Of course, not any book you write can make you a marquis. The reason why Zhao Fang granted Sima Guang the title of a marquis is because the book "Zizhi Tongjian" itself is a history book for rulers.

It starts from King Weilie of the Zhou Dynasty and ends in the four years of Xiande of the Later Zhou Dynasty. It does not record the history in detail, but selects the events caused by military, political, economic, national and other issues in each dynasty and generation.

This is the first time in Chinese history that historical records have been used to show the reasons for the success, failure, and safety of monarchs and ministers in the past dynasties, allowing rulers to more clearly understand the rise and fall of governing the world.

Sima Guang himself did not name the book. Historically, the title was given by Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty. He believed that the book had the great merit of "taking into account the past and is suitable for governing Taoism", so he gave the title to the book.

And Sima Guang was able to shine through the ages because of this book. Otherwise, his civil and military skills were not as good as those of the famous officials of his generation, so why would he be ranked alongside them.

No, it's not tied. During the Song Dynasty, Sima Guang's reputation even exceeded these people. Han Qi, Fu Bi, Bao Zheng, Ouyang Xiu, and Su Shi were all overshadowed by him.

In terms of merit, Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Bao Zheng were much better than him. In terms of literary excellence, Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi were among the eight great writers of the Tang and Song Dynasties, but he was not on the list.

But in terms of the achievements of scholar-bureaucrats, literati in the two Song Dynasties praised him. As mentioned above, he was listed as one of the three Confucian saints before the Song Dynasty, as famous as Confucius and Mencius.

This evaluation also surpassed that of Zhang Zai, Er Cheng, Zhou Dunyi and other Neo-Confucian masters. With this, he compiled the book "Zi Zhi Tong Jian".

Zhao Fang thinks so too, and even thinks this book is more important than "Spring and Autumn" and "Historical Records". The reason is that this book teaches you how to be a good emperor.

Ever since this book was published, it was a must-learn for the subsequent education of princes, whether it was the Southern Song Dynasty or the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, in short, if you want to govern China, this book is a must-learn.

In April of the eighth year of Xining, an earthquake occurred in Hebei. The ancients liked to use this kind of thing to say that the emperor had done something bad and was warned by God.

Zhang Zai, who had just rushed back to Bianjing, the first thing he did when he took over as the Minister of Rites was to refute this ridiculous statement. But then he turned around and went to the palace to see Zhao Fang privately, and quietly asked if the official had lost his ethics. .

Zhao Fang was amused and laughed: "Didn't Zihou just defend me with righteousness? Why did he change his mind as soon as he turned around?"

Zhang Zai couldn't help but roll his eyes and said: "Since ancient times, natural disasters have been induced by heaven and man. The officials just say if there are any, and why talk about other things."

When Zhao Fang heard this, he sighed and said, "It's divine induction! I thought Zi Hou disdained this theory, but I didn't expect that you can't get away from it either!"

Zhang Zai frowned when he heard this and said, "Do the officials not believe in the induction of heaven and man?"

"Of course I don't believe it."

Zhao Fang answered firmly, and then asked: "Heaven and earth are ruthless, and humans are one of the sentient beings. Why can sentient beings affect ruthlessness?" Zhang Zai stared at him seriously: "This is a big fallacy from the officials. Heaven Human induction is not only a point of view that my Confucian disciples cannot object to, it is also the same point of view of all schools of thought..."

Zhao Fang was taught a lesson today. Souls from later generations believe in science and have always looked down on the weird remarks of the ancients.

But now I realize that I am actually the clown. It turns out that the connection between heaven and man is not the idealism of Taoism and Confucianism, but the scientific viewpoint of various schools of thought.

This is exactly the same as the holographic theory of the universe in later generations, and is even more radical. The universe can be considered virtual, and the human world is a computer game.

The reason is very simple. If the universe is described as a host that receives and releases information, wouldn't everything in the world be just one component of the host?

All information will be received by the host and processed centrally. Good information allows the host to run normally, while bad information is viruses, which can cause the host to freeze or even crash.

In this way, it is the correct theory to say that natural disasters are caused by man-made disasters, because too much negative information has caused problems in the operation of heaven and earth.

The vicious side of people's hearts is like a virus. Once it spreads, the world will come to a halt. The great destruction of civilizations again and again is just a system reinstallation.

And natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, and floods are not the system's reminders that you are poisoned and must clean up garbage, clean up Trojans, and kill viruses.

Zhang Zai is a rare simple materialist among the masters of Neo-Confucianism. Even he firmly believes that the connection between heaven and man is not a lie, but a reality. Zhao Fang is really breaking out in a cold sweat now.

After hesitating for a long time, he asked weakly: "But...but I really haven't lost my virtue! Do all changes in the sky depend on me?"

Zhang Zai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and said with a soothing expression: "As long as the officials have not lost their morals, it is right for me to argue with reason today. As for why the officials should be blamed for the changes in the sky, it is because of the desire to wear clothes." The crown must bear its weight.”

"This is……"

Zhao Fang looked at him in confusion, looking aggrieved.

Zhang Zai smiled slightly and said: "The perception of heaven and man is right. The anger of heaven is because people do evil things. Of course, it does not mean that the evildoers must be officials. There are so many people in the world, and there will always be good and bad people. But it is the officials who are to blame." On the head, it’s because the official is the emperor and the father, and it’s the son’s fault not to teach his father!”

Zhao Fang understood now that if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. It is not just about the hardships of ascending to the throne. You have to endure many things that ordinary people cannot bear.

The deeper reason is that you still have to bear the faults of your people, because you are the king's father and you have the responsibility to educate your people.

The collapse of rites and the decay of people's hearts are caused by your ineffective education. You can't let people support you in vain. You only enjoy rights without taking responsibility.

If that's the case, why do we need you as the emperor? Wouldn't it be better to just go up and become the emperor?Anyway, the pig does not need to take responsibility, just feed it and it will not cause trouble.

After understanding this, Zhao Fang began to understand why his father, Zhao Zhen, had been trembling and walking on thin ice all his life. It was not because of cowardice, but because of awe.

I also understand why during the Song Dynasty, only during Zhao Zhen's reign, talents appeared like a spurt, and I understand why the ancients said that when a country is about to prosper, there must be Zhen Xiang, and when a country is about to fall, there must be monsters.

This is also the inspiration of heaven and man. Zhao Zhen's unprecedented benevolence allowed talents to emerge and pushed Chinese civilization to its peak.

(End of this chapter)