Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4741 Taoist Talent
Li Ji never considered himself a person who clung to power, let alone those corrupt officials who were greedy for power. He was appointed to the position of Shangshu Zuo Pushe by Emperor Taizong, who even forced him to do so. In addition to his merits and qualifications, he was also worried that his power in the army was too great, so he was given a position that could not be higher, and his every move was put under the eyes of the world to be scrutinized, so as to avoid some conspiracy and disloyalty behind his back...

However, no matter what the original intention of sitting in this position was, whether actively or passively, this is after all the "Shangshu Zuo Pushe", the undisputed "head of the prime minister", and everything is different when sitting in this position.

He may not care about himself, but he cannot ignore his children, grandchildren and his entire family. When his former subordinates could not gain more political benefits from him and gradually gathered around Li Jingye, the core figure of the third generation of the Li family, he knew that it would be difficult to retreat even if he wanted to, at least not now, otherwise this interest group that had risen up around Li Jingye would be completely out of his control.

When he was alive, he could still restrain them, but when he died, who knew what kind of earth-shattering things these guys would do...

……

The green mountains are hidden in the distance, and streams of green water meander through the mountains. The verdant bamboo forest is like a sea of ​​smoke, with birds chirping and springs gurgling. The mountains are picturesque and the mist is hazy. The eaves of the corner buildings are looming in the swaying bamboo leaves, giving it a feeling of a fairyland on earth or a blessed land from heaven.

It is said that this place was the former residence of Yin Xi, the commander of Hangu Pass in the Zhou Dynasty. Yin Xi built a hut here to observe the celestial phenomena, so it was named "Caolouguan". The name "Guan" of Taoist temples originated from this...

One day, he looked up at the sky and saw purple clouds coming from the east. He knew that a sage was coming to the pass, so he hurried to the pass. At that time, Lao Tzu entered Qin from Chu and passed through Hangu Pass. Yin Xi asked Lao Tzu to write a book to pass on to future generations, and thus Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" was published. Therefore, Louguan became one of the ancestral homes of Taoism.

The inheritance here is even older than that of Longhu Mountain...

At that time, the east was in the morning light and the mountain was foggy. A Taoist priest came leisurely from the foot of the mountain. His long black beard was neat and tidy, swaying slightly in the wind. He was wrapped in green, with sleeves and a belt, a flying green skirt, and a lotus crown. He looked like a swimming dragon with an immortal air.

As we followed the path into the mountains, we saw open spaces between bamboo forests where vegetables were planted, fruits were grown, and clear streams flowed. Our eyes revealed an increasingly leisurely and joyful expression. When we arrived in front of the thatched cottage, we saw a young Taoist priest standing solemnly, bowing his head in greeting, and speaking in a clear and pleasant voice: "Master, you have come from the East China Sea to join us in this great event of Taoism. It is a blessing for Taoism and the world!"

"Jingxian is the head of Louguan Dao, why are you so polite? Today I have come to your place and I see beautiful mountains and rivers, like a fairy cave. There is also a rising star of Taoism like Jingxian. It is really a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, which complements each other. I am very pleased."

They stepped forward to return the greeting, and the two Taoists smiled at each other, holding hands and entering the thatched cottage.

Kneeling on the mat, Yin Wencao boiled water to make tea, filled the cups in front of the two people with tea, the elegant tea aroma wafted in the air, and stretched out his hand to make a "please" gesture.

Cheng Xuanying picked up the teacup and took a look at the clear tea in the white porcelain cup. He sniffed it, took a sip, and felt the smoothness of the tea in his throat and the rich aroma lingering between his teeth and cheeks. He praised softly, "Good tea! This kind of tea should be produced in Qiantang. It is probably the best quality and worth a lot of money."

Taoist believers are either wealthy businessmen or high-ranking officials, so they never lack money. However, Louguan Dao is a little different. The founder Yin Xi was just a Hangu Ling, and most of the people who came after him were people who respected nature and practiced hard. The inheritance was very difficult. If Yin Wencao had not been praised by Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende, he would have been worried about his livelihood. Even so, he planted vegetables, melons and fruits in the gaps in the bamboo forest.

It is somewhat surprising that despite the difficult life, one can still buy such high-quality tea that is more expensive than gold.

Yin Wencao also took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and said with a smile: "We are poor and have a hard time making ends meet. After buying some new stargazing equipment, we almost went bankrupt. How can we have extra money to satisfy our appetite? Besides, tea of ​​this quality cannot be bought with money. It was a gift brought by Li Jingxuan, the Dean of the Academy, when he came to visit us."

Cheng Xuanying was slightly surprised: "Academy?"

Today, the name of "Zhenguan Academy" has long been known throughout the world. Its "arithmetic" and "investigation of things" studies are unique in the world. Although it has received mixed reviews, it has undoubtedly become a famous school in the world. Fang Jun's frequent words "professional people do professional things" are highly praised by many powerful people.

Yin Wencao nodded and said, "The academy wants to open a subject called 'Astronomy' and invites me to be the instructor of the academy. I have already agreed."

Taoism originated from this land and is also rooted in this land. The various schools of thought are inseparable from Taoism and are deeply involved with it. Emperors, generals, and peddlers are all deeply influenced by it. Today, it is regarded as the "state religion" by the Li Tang royal family. It is very common for Taoists to hold official positions, but becoming the "teacher" of an academy is unprecedented.

Cheng Xuanying nodded: "Astronomy is used to observe the changes of the stars and participate in politics."

The concept of "the correspondence between Heaven and man" was proposed by Confucianism, but it was combined with the Taoist knowledge of "astrology". The two were combined into one to explain the connection between human blessings and disasters and heaven's warnings.

Yin Wencao shook his head and said, "No, astronomers look up to observe the sky and look down to observe the geography. That is how they know the causes of the dark and the bright."

Cheng Xuanying is the most outstanding theorist in Taoism. He is familiar with the concepts of various Taoist sects. He asked curiously, "What's the difference?"

Isn't this what "astronomy" means, that we can know the blessings and misfortunes of the human world by inferring the changes of the earth through the movement of the stars?

Yin Wencao said, "There is a theory in the academy now. They only study how the stars move and how the mountains and rivers change. They think that all this is just a pure natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with the blessings, disasters, successes and failures of the human world."

"Nonsense! This is heresy!"

Cheng Xuanying was very angry and said repeatedly: "Such remarks are contrary to the philosophy of Taoism and can even shake the foundation of Taoism. You should criticize them!"

"There is a group in the academy that has been calculating the law of solar eclipses for many years. Li Chunfeng is also involved. They use mathematical methods to measure the movement and speed of the sun, moon, and earth. They have come to the conclusion that solar eclipses are natural phenomena. No matter how dynasties change, how the world changes, how the mountains collapse and the earth cracks, a solar eclipse will always appear on the day it is supposed to appear. Combined with the records of solar eclipses in history books, it can be said that they are accurate to the minute."

Cheng Xuanying was shocked and stunned. After a long while, he took a deep breath and said, "If this is true, what should we do?"

The theory of "the interaction between heaven and man" has been passed down from ancient times to the present and has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts. "Solar eclipse" is one of the most serious celestial phenomena. Once a solar eclipse occurs, it is considered to be "the king's immorality" and "the emperor's unrighteousness". It is a warning from heaven to the world.

"A solar eclipse hurts the king", "A country without a good government will suffer the consequences of the sun and the moon", "When the sun is completely eclipsed, the throne is lost. When the sun is not completely eclipsed, the position of the minister is lost". All these things illustrate the connection between a solar eclipse and the human world.

If a solar eclipse is just a natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with the human world, then the theory of "the connection between heaven and man" will completely collapse, and the strongest chain imposed on the king will be broken, and the king will no longer have any scruples in his actions.

Yin Wencao sighed and said, "I'm afraid that if this is true, the Taoists can only adapt to the times. Otherwise, once all the theories are destroyed, it will be a big deal."

Cheng Xuanying was silent for a long time. He still found it hard to believe that the solar eclipse was a natural phenomenon. Otherwise, the various Taoist theories he had been writing tirelessly would have lost their most original principles and would be completely untenable.

However, he was one of the most outstanding figures in Taoism in thousands of years. After being suspicious for a long time, he said decisively: "After you go to the academy to teach, you must actively participate in astronomical observations. If the so-called movement of stars and the connection between heaven and man are nonsense, then Taoism must adjust its strategy and redefine our core concept."

It is indeed difficult to overturn the ideas that we have pursued in the past, but sitting still and waiting for death is not the right thing to do. However, the Taoist philosophy is really profound and difficult to understand, and there are many things in it that are not true or not. It is not impossible to selectively change it, but the work involved will be extremely cumbersome and huge.

Yin Wencao said: "But now is the critical moment of competition between Taoism and Buddhism, how should we choose?"

Cheng Xuanying was also very distressed. Who could have expected that the core concept of Taoism would suffer the heaviest blow? "We cannot give up on competition. Otherwise, once we are suppressed by Buddhism, it is very likely that we will not be able to turn things around for dozens or even hundreds of years, and we will become sinners of Taoism."

Yin Wencao sat upright and said, "But how do we compete? To compete for believers? Excuse me, we cannot compare with the Buddhists in this respect. We can only 'ignore the superiors', not 'ignore the inferiors'!"

The Taoist concept of "cultivating this life" can only deceive the elites. The more powerful and wealthy a person is, the easier it is to fall into the trap. Who doesn't want to be rich and live forever? But for the lower class people, it's just the opposite. This life is already too hard and hopeless, so why bother cultivating this life? They can only cultivate the next life, but "cultivating the next life" happens to be the concept of Buddhism...

Therefore, based on the basic doctrines, there is a difference between Buddhism and Taoism. One can only focus on upwards, and the path becomes narrower and narrower, while the other can continuously capture believers in the vast lower space.

After all, there are still more people suffering in this world...

Cheng Xuanying noticed Yin Wencao's excitement and asked curiously, "What do you think? As long as it is beneficial to the inheritance of Taoism, please speak frankly. Whether it is reasonable or not, we can discuss it. After all, it is now a matter of life and death for Taoism. We should gather ideas and forge ahead instead of cherishing our own things and protecting ourselves."