The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Wang Wenlong was also very curious about Li Zhi. He was the number one thinker during the Wanli period. He was popular all over the world at this time and was touted to a very high status by some people in later generations. Wang Wenlong wanted to know what the real Li Zhi looked like.

Wang Wenlong and Mao Wenlong traveled north from Linqing together to Tongzhou, which was the eastern gateway to the capital. All grain supplies sent to the capital were unloaded here, and the port was very prosperous.

As soon as they arrived in Tongzhou, they saw Ma Jinglun's carriage coming to greet them on the pier. After picking up Wang Wenlong and others, they all rushed to the Lotus Temple together.

Although he was prepared in his heart, Wang Wenlong was still a little surprised when he actually saw Li Zhi.

Li Zhi looked exactly like an old monk. He is tall, skinny and old. He is wearing a monk's robe and a cotton hat on his bald head. He looks like an old knotted pine.

"Mr. Jingguan, I finally see you today." Li Zhi was the first to greet him, and Wang Wenlong also quickly raised his hand in greeting: "Mr. Zhuo Wu's fame is spread all over the world. It is really a blessing for the younger generation to meet you today."

Ma Jinglun was very attentive to Li Zhi. After the two greeted him, he took the initiative and said: "Master, Mr. Jianyang, Bolong, it's cold outside, let's go to the temple."

Wang Wenlong also said: "Let's go in together."

Li Zhi was already moving quite slowly. When several people came to the warm house where he lived, they saw a bowl of cold medicinal soup on the table in the room.

Seeing this, Ma Jinglun quickly asked the monk serving Li Zhi: "Why didn't you finish the medicine today?"

The monk complained: "The old gentleman just doesn't drink, what can I do?"

Li Zhi shook his head and said: "I don't take this medicine. After taking it, I feel uncomfortable in my stomach and have a bad smell in my mouth. Since I am about to die, why should I suffer like this? You just give me some chicken tongue flavor to chew every day and go to remove the smell from my mouth." Even if it smells bad, I will be content and happy."

Wang Wenlong didn't expect that Li Zhi's outlook on life had become like this, and couldn't help but said: "Why should Mr. Zhuo Wu be so down on himself? Since he is sick, he still needs to take medicine and look forward to everything."

Li Zhi said with a smile: "The world has no definite quality. It is nothing more than the exchange of yin and yang. Living beings like us are just the products of the intersection of the two qi. What difference does it make if we return to yin and yang after death?"

"Right and wrong are uncertain, and everything in life is impermanent. It is precisely because of all this impermanence that it becomes the law of the world."

Wang Wenlong shook his head when he heard this. He said: "Although I agree with what Mr. Wang said, the interpretations of Confucian classics by various schools since the Han, Tang and Song Dynasties are mixed with a lot of selfish motives, but there are still common principles in the world. Yes, everything is guided by its own laws, and we can understand this law through research."

"This is foolish talk." Li Zhi showed arrogance on his face and was unwilling to accept it at all. "I have been reading the "Book of Changes" for many years and realized that the truth of the world is that impermanence is regarded as permanent. The heaven and earth are created by the two qi of yin and yang. , is there any reason behind the two qi of yin and yang?”

Wang Wenlong said: "No matter how the heaven and earth are created, they must operate under some rules. Otherwise, all heavy objects will fall to the ground, and can ships float on the sea? All production and life will be impossible."

He said: "The theory of heaven and earth is not the ethical principles mentioned by Neo-Confucianists, but some objective laws, which we can call physics."

Li Zhi shook his head and continued to talk about his idealist thoughts, "Even if there is physics in the world, how can humans know this kind of thing?"

Wang Wenlong looked at the sky outside. He suddenly took out the hairpin on his head and asked Mao Wenlong with a smile: "If I stand this hairpin on the ground now, in which direction does Bolong think the shadow should be facing?"

Mao Wenlong was stunned when he was suddenly called. He looked at the sky outside and replied, "It's winter now, and this place is close to the north. It's noon, so the shadow should be short and northerly."

Wang Wenlong asked Li Zhi: "What do you think, sir?"

Li Zhi replied: "You can understand this even if you ask a child. It is naturally short and north."

Wang Wenlong inserted his hairpin into the ground, and sure enough, the shadow that fell was short and northerly.

Everyone didn't know what Wang Wenlong was going to do. At this moment, Wang Wenlong smiled at Li Zhi and said, "Sir, you have not inserted this hairpin before, but you can predict the results of the experiment. Isn't this because you know the laws of sunshine? The same is true of the laws of sunshine." It is one of the laws of physics. Sir, he said that people cannot know physics, but don’t they also know the laws of physics?”

Li Zhi was speechless for a moment, and then said angrily: "If the physics mentioned by Jianyang is this kind of thing, it is of no use."

Seeing Li Zhi's attitude, Wang Wenlong finally understood why Li Zhi was marginalized everywhere.

Although Li Zhi was defeated everywhere, he was completely arrogant and stubborn. He was extremely confident in his own theories and was unwilling to listen to other people's opinions after deciding on a path.

This is true even when debating with Wang Wenlong, let alone meeting Confucian scholars from other schools.

Li Zhi's thoughts are indeed beyond this era. Neo-Confucianists believe that the world is governed by Confucian "principles". For example: the stars in the sky orbit around the North Star, the North Star is the king, and the stars in the sky are the ministers, which shows that there is also a relationship between monarch and ministers in the sky. present.

The science that clarifies this principle is Neo-Confucianism.

Li Zhi believed that the universe was originally composed of only the two qi of yin and yang that produced all things. There was no principle that produced the two qi of yin and yang, and there was no Tai Chi above heaven and earth.

However, although he criticized the "reason" of the Neo-Confucianists, he also fell into the Buddhist idealism that everything is empty when explaining the world.

He believed that the essence of the world is "vacuum" and impermanence, which probably means something like the sophistry of later generations who said, "There is only one law in the world, and that is that there is no law in this world." It sounds reasonable, but it is actually a paradox. This self-confirming paradox is called Russell's paradox in Wang Wenlong's previous life mathematics.

Russell's paradox caused the third crisis in the history of mathematics. It was not until the 20th century that mathematicians established axiomatic set theory to eliminate this paradox. The mathematical discussions involved were already too advanced. Wang Wenlong was just a mathematician in his previous life. Liberal arts students have really never studied.

But Wang Wenlong knew that the discussion of this paradox was meaningless, and directly brought Li Zhi's thought to another level of idealism.

Because this kind of thinking will lead to Li Zhi's point of view becoming "indefinite and inconclusive".

Neo-Confucianists believe that the Confucian Three Cardinal Principles and Five Constant Principles are the truth of the world, while Li Zhi believes that there is no truth in the world at all. In fact, both of them have fallen into objective idealism.

The conversation between the two reached a dead end. After sitting for a while, Wang Wenlong stood up and said, "In that case, I will come to the temple to meet you in a few days."

Li Zhi was also very stubborn and snorted: "I won't give it away."

It's not that Wang Wenlong is rude, but the conversation really can't go on. The two originally wanted to discuss the Book of Changes, but the exchange just now was already telling the content of the world view. The two were sure that it would be difficult to integrate their world views unless Li Zhi could accept Wang Wenlong. thoughts, otherwise it will be useless to say more.

"Are you leaving now?" When Ma Jinglun saw Wang Wenlong, he turned around and left, exclaiming that it was a pity.

Li Zhi sat there sulking.

At this time, Mao Wenlong was seen running back in a hurry.

Li Zhi looked at him and asked, "What are you doing here again?"

Mao Wenlong took out a book from his arms and said: "Mr. Jingguan asked me to send this book. This is a textbook for the physics club published by Mr. Jingguan in Suzhou. This physics club specializes in studying the principles of all things. This book comes to Tongzhou." I also read it carefully along the way, and the content is very profound, and I think it can change Mr. Zhuo Wu's mind."

Li Zhi said: "Since my idea is correct, what should I change?"

Mao Wenlong didn't bother with him. He smiled and cupped his hands: "I'll put the book here. If you have time, sir, you can read it."

Ma Jinglun stood up and said, "Thank you very much, Brother Bolong. I'll give it to you."

The two walked out of the house together, and Ma Jinglun deliberately placed the physics club's in-house textbook on the table.

Li Zhi sat on the bed for a long time, and finally couldn't help but be curious. He stood up holding the table, picked up the book next to the medicine bowl and looked through it.

After Ma Jinglun came back from seeing someone off, he saw Li Zhi sitting there with his legs crossed and reading a book. Ma Jinglun smiled and asked, "Didn't Mr. Zhuo Wu say he doesn't want to read?"

Li Zhi said: "I just want to see what Wang Jianyang has in mind."

They watched the evening like this. When the sky outside became gloomy, Ma Jinglun and the monk who was waiting for Li Zhi came into the room and said, "Mr. Zhuo Wu, it's getting late. Let's have a meal first."

"So soon?" Li Zhi raised his head and realized that it was already dark outside the wing. Li Zhi stood up and said to the young monk who was taking care of his daily life: "Don't touch this book. Give me another oil lamp. I will read when I come back."

After dinner, Li Zhi returned to the room and thought for a long time. He spread out a piece of manuscript paper and wrote a letter of greeting to Wang Wenlong seriously. He apologized to Wang Wenlong very sincerely, saying that what he said today was somewhat arbitrary, and then said that he I had been in poor health for a few days and could hardly go out, so I could only invite Wang Wenlong to meet him at the Lotus Temple.

……

Early the next morning, Wang Wenlong put on Confucian clothes and took Mao Wenlong to the Lotus Temple again.

As soon as he entered the temple gate, he saw a group of officials in the temple, surrounded by an elegant middle-aged man who was also standing outside Li Zhi's wing waiting.

Wang Wenlong bowed his hands to the middle-aged man and asked, "I am Wang Jianyang of Fujian Province. Do you dare to ask your friend his name?"

The middle-aged official cupped his hands and said, "I'm Wang Keshou. I'm just saying this in vain. My master is waiting for you in the house."

Wang Keshou, a native of Hubei, was an early disciple of Li Zhi and became a Jinshi in the eighth year of Wanli. He is now serving as governor of Shuntian Prefecture, twenty miles away from Tongzhou. In the original history, he would later become the governor of Datong and the minister of the Ministry of War. After his death, the court declared him "the most honest in the world."

This man could not speak when he was four years old, and he was once thought to be mute. But later on, he became very enlightened in reading. He became a Jinshi at the age of 21, and had a good official reputation. There were a lot of legends about him among the people in Hubei in later generations. His story even It was written into "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" by Pu Songling.

Wang Wenlong nodded and asked Wang Keshou to go in with him, but Wang Keshou waved his hand and said: "Master said that only Mr. Jianyang should go alone, and we will not be disturbed."

(End of this chapter)