Diqin Designer

Chapter 21 If you believe in Confucius, will the world be at peace?

Su Xu was also an extraordinary person. He quickly put away his embarrassment and said, "Yes, among all the philosophers, Confucius has the deepest knowledge and the highest moral character."

When he said this, Su Xu's eyes were full of reverence, and it was obvious that he really thought so, not just said it.

"Confucius' words can be used to cultivate one's character or to govern a family and a country! The Taoists, on the other hand, live in seclusion and keep to themselves; the Mohists, on the other hand, have no king or father, only great men..."

Su Xu commented on the famous schools of thought, which simply meant that except for Confucianism, the other schools of thought were rubbish. If we want long-term peace and stability in the world, we must use Confucianism. Come on, believe in Confucius. If you believe in Confucius, the world will be peaceful!

Although in Li Nian's eyes, Su Xu's words contained too many personal opinions, he had to admit that this person was really bold and courageous!

'This guy is really brave. Isn't he afraid that his words will be reported to the First Emperor? No, he definitely knows that the First Emperor will know. He did it on purpose. He just isn't afraid!'

'He is a fellow like Chunyu Yue. He must be one of the 'Confucian scholars' who were 'burned books and buried alive' by the First Emperor!'

Chunyu Yue, when Emperor Qin Shihuang clearly wanted to implement the county system, still dared to jump out and clamor for the restoration of Zhou rituals and the continuation of the Zhou's feudal system, which led to a famous event in history - the burning of books and burying of scholars.

'How should I answer?'

Li Nian was thinking in his mind that he couldn't express his ideas as freely as Su Xu and Chunyu Yue did. His every word and action would be reported to the First Emperor. If he answered inappropriately, the consequences could be very serious.

'During this period, the First Emperor probably didn't have much opinion on Confucianism, otherwise he wouldn't have let Chunyu Yue teach Fusu, nor would he have let Confucian disciples become doctors of the Qin Dynasty. My answer today will definitely affect the First Emperor's opinion on Confucianism! '

Thinking of the dynasties that were influenced by Confucianism in later generations, Li Nian made a decision in his heart: he must point out the shortcomings of Confucianism and try his best to prevent certain historical problems from happening again.

'Although it is certainly wrong to blame Confucianism for certain historical problems, Confucianism is by no means a white lotus with no problems at all.'

Seeing Li Nian lost in thought, Su Xu felt a little strange.

According to his thinking, after listening to his comments on the various schools of thought, this person should have refuted him or asked him why he made such comments. Why did he fall into deep thinking?
Are his comments so shocking?
After thinking for a while, Li Nian said, "Since Master Su talked about self-cultivation, family management, and governance, I would like to ask which of these three should come first?"

Su Xu was a Confucian doctor and was familiar with Confucian classics. He saw through the shallow trap in Li Nian's words at a glance and said with a smile: "Sir, you don't want to ask which of these three should come first, but you want to ask about the words of the sage Meng, 'If you are poor, you should improve yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world', right?"

Li Nian did not feel embarrassed about his trap being discovered, and asked another question, which was exactly the same question that the First Emperor asked Fusu: "Mencius said, 'Those who have the right way will have many supporters, while those who have lost the right way will have few supporters.' Master Su, do we have few supporters because we have lost the right way, or do we have many supporters because we have the right way?"

This question could stump Fusu, but it couldn't stump Su Xu, a Confucian scholar. Su Xu said, "Those who have the Way will have many supporters! 'Those who have the Way will have many supporters, while those who have lost the Way will have few supporters.' The important thing is the 'Way', not the 'number'. The Way is benevolence and righteousness!"

“Although the Qin State is small, it has the Way. Although the six kingdoms are numerous, they have no Way. Therefore, the Qin State’s attack on the six kingdoms is to punish the unjust with the Way. All the righteous people in the world will follow its lead. This is exactly in line with the saying ‘those who have the Way will have many supporters, while those who lose the Way will have few supporters.’” Li Nian wanted to applaud him for this answer. Regardless of the number, he grasped the key point of “Way” and extended it, arguing from the number of the six kingdoms compared to the Qin State to the fact that the righteous people in the world stood on the side of the Qin State. So in fact, the Qin State was not one where those who lost the Way had few supporters, but where those who had the Way had many supporters.

Hearing this answer, Li Nian knew that his attempt had also failed. No matter what he said next, this person could always come back and give a "reasonable" explanation for this question.

In fact, the point is not whether Li Nian thinks the explanation is reasonable or not, but that Su Xu himself thinks it is reasonable, that is, he can justify himself and immerse himself in the reasons he made up, so that others cannot interrupt.

Even if Li Nian told him that the Qin Dynasty was able to swallow up the six kingdoms because the Qin Dynasty's system was more advanced and the Qin Dynasty's king was wiser than the six kingdoms' kings, which enabled the Qin Dynasty to burst out with stronger combat power than the six kingdoms and destroy the six kingdoms, Su Xu would not listen and would still use the Confucian explanation.

Fortunately, Li Nian was not really trying to convince Su Xu, he was just showing his attitude towards Confucianism to the First Emperor - he did not like Confucianism as a school of thought!
In fact, there are still many things worth learning from Confucianism, and it is not completely useless, such as some of the words that teach people to cultivate their character:
“Isn’t it a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned?”, “I examine myself three times a day: Am I disloyal when I work for others? Am I trustworthy when I interact with friends? Do I practice what I have learned?”, “If you study without thinking, you will be lost; if you think without studying, you will be in danger”…

Moreover, the Confucians at this time were different from the Confucians later on. They were not a group of corrupt scholars who followed the old ways and had rigid minds, but a group of erudite people who were proficient in the six arts and had great ambitions.

But Li Nian must consider the impact he will have on the First Emperor!
Therefore, on the issue of Confucianism, we must be clear-cut and not be ambiguous.

Confucianism is fine as a moral education subject that teaches people how to be human, but if it is used to govern a country, even if it is Confucian in appearance and legal in nature, it will cause endless harm. Even if this is not the original intention of Confucianism, once it falls into the hands of an emperor, no matter how unintentional it is, it will become a form that is beneficial to the emperor's rule.

Li Nian said: "According to Master Su, it seems that only Confucianism can heal the world and bring long-term peace and stability to the world. If Confucianism is really so powerful, why didn't the kings of various countries adopt it?"

This question is easy to answer. Su Xu said, "It is precisely because they did not adopt it that they lost their country."

As if predicting that Li Nian would ask "The Qin Dynasty did not use Confucianism to govern the country, but it did not perish", Su Xu quickly made a patch: "Although the Qin Dynasty did not use our Confucianism, the Qin Dynasty gained the benevolence of the world, which is in line with the essence of Confucianism."

You are lying with open eyes. The Qin Dynasty was clearly using the Legalist school of thought. When did it have anything to do with Confucian benevolence and righteousness?

Li Nian didn't care and continued, "I heard that Confucius admired Zhou rituals, and the Confucian classics also discussed the way of governing a country based on Zhou. Can I think that Zhou is the country that Confucianists admire?"

Su Xu probably guessed what Li Nian was going to say, but he couldn't answer this question because they really thought so. He and Chunyu Yue, these Confucian scholars, appeared in Daqin because they wanted to realize their political ambitions after Daqin unified the world.

Their political ambition was to restore the Zhou rites, that is, to restore the ritual and music system of the Zhou Dynasty, the well-field system, and the hereditary system of feudal fiefdoms, so as to recreate the era in Confucius' mind where rituals and music were sound and people's hearts were ancient.

Therefore, even though he guessed what Li Nian would say next, Su Xu could only say solemnly, "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)