Diqin Designer

Chapter 25 Confucianism, self-castration to serve the king
In the afternoon, not long after dinner, Li Nian was called over by Ying Zheng again.

Li Nian was not surprised by this. To Ying Zheng, he was a new thing. He could gain many new experiences from him. It was not surprising even if he called him over for questioning every day.

It was still the same palace where they first met, and Meng Yi was still accompanying Ying Zheng, but compared to the first and second meetings, Ying Zheng and Li Nian were much more familiar with each other.

After Li Nian finished his greeting, Ying Zheng pointed to a prepared seat in the hall and said, "Sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat!"

As soon as Li Nian sat down, he heard Ying Zheng say, "You had a conversation with Su Xu today. I was very curious, so I asked you to come here."

Li Nian was not surprised at all and said, "It is my honor to be able to help the king. I can tell the king everything I know."

After reading the bamboo slips of the questions and answers between Li Nian and Su Xu, Ying Zheng thought for a long time today and thought of some reasons why the Legalists could not govern the Qin Dynasty.

But if these reasons are true, then isn’t the Qin Dynasty in danger?
Moreover, if the Legalists cannot govern the Qin Dynasty today, what doctrine should be used?

Therefore, Ying Zheng called Li Nian over!

Ying Zheng asked the first question: "I see that you seem to dislike Confucianism. Is it possible that Confucianism has done something in later history?"

Li Nian said: "Your Majesty is wise! Confucianism has a very important position in Chinese history and has a profound influence. These influences are both good and bad, but for me as a minister standing in the position of later generations, I think that the influence of Confucianism has more bad effects."

Ying Zheng asked: "How bad is it?"

Li Nian did not answer immediately, but said: "Before I help you solve your doubts about Confucianism, I have a question for you!"

Ying Zheng said: "Speak up, I will forgive you! From now on, if you have something to say, just speak up. I will not punish you for your words."

Really?I do not believe!
Even if I say that Lao Ai raped your mother, you won't punish me?

But Li Nian only dared to think about this in his heart, not to speak it out loud. He said, "My question is, in your opinion, what are the Hundred Schools of Thought? Your Majesty, please think about it from your own perspective!"

As an ordinary person, what do I think about the various schools of thought?
As expected of the first monarch in Chinese history to be called emperor, after just a little thought, Ying Zheng figured out the answer that Li Nian wanted to tell him.

He looked at Li Nian and said, "You mean to say that in the eyes of a king like me, the Hundred Schools of Thought are a tool for governing the world?"

Li Nian nodded and said, "Yes, later generations said it was a tool for feudal rule. Since it is a tool, it is better to use it in a way that is convenient and beneficial to oneself."

Ying Zheng asked: "You mean Confucianism has become a tool for future kings?"

When it was pointed out that Confucianism became a tool for later kings to rule, Ying Zheng had a new question. If Confucianism became a tool, then what about the other hundreds of schools of thought?

"Yes! During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu wrote to Emperor Wu, asking him to 'reject all other schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone'. Since then, Confucianism has gradually become the most mainstream school of thought in the world, without a doubt!"

Ying Zheng recalled. He remembered that in the prophecy that Li Nian had memorized, Han was ranked after Qin, and it was "the unification of the Qin and Han dynasties". So, which dynasty after Qin was Emperor Wu of Han the king of?
The Han Dynasty was not that great, as it had such a foolish king who listened to the Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu, dismissed all other schools of thought, and respected Confucianism alone. Li Nian continued, "Confucianism became a tool for the king because they transformed themselves and made themselves suitable for the king's rule. Otherwise, since the advent of Confucianism in the Spring and Autumn Period, why had no king ever ruled the country with Confucianism?"

"In short, it was Confucianism that first turned itself into a tool fit for the king to use!"

"Only in this way can it stand out from the hundreds of schools of thought and have the foundation for the emperor to 'reject all schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone.'"

"After becoming a tool of the monarch, the monarch naturally wanted to transform Confucianism to make it more handy and convenient to use, and Confucianism continued to transform itself in order to cater to the monarch."

"In this way, Confucianism is more conducive to the rule of the monarch, but the more suitable it is for the monarch, the less suitable it is for the people of the world!"

This sentence shocked Ying Zheng's heart, and his eyes fell on Li Nian. The meaning was obvious. What did "the more suitable it is for a king, the less suitable it is for the people of the world" mean?
Feeling Ying Zheng's gaze, Li Nian felt his scalp tingling, but he couldn't lie. The price of lying would be greater than telling the truth, so he had to bite the bullet and continue.

"For the king, it is a good thing to govern the country with Confucianism, because the reformed Confucianism is very beneficial to them. For example, in the Confucian rituals and laws, it emphasizes 'Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teachers'. Apart from Heaven and Earth, the king is the most important."

Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows. From a king's perspective, there was absolutely no problem with this. Although there was "heaven and earth" before the king, heaven and earth could not speak, and in reality the king was still the greatest.

He didn't know that in addition to "Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents and Teachers", Confucianism also provided a set of "Heaven-Man Resonance". If a disaster occurred, it must be God who was warning his son, the king, that he had done something wrong.

"For example, in the Confucian ethics, people of all social status have their own position, and the hierarchy is strict, which makes society stable and less prone to unrest."

There is nothing wrong with this. Isn't it a good thing to have a stable society without unrest?

"The reformed Confucianism also has the wonderful effect of imprisoning people's thoughts. First, Confucian etiquette and laws have become the social order, and everyone in it must abide by it; second, Confucianism is a doctrine recognized by the king. If you want to be an official under the king, you must learn Confucianism."

"As a result, many talented people were attracted to the Confucian classics. They spent their whole lives studying the Confucian classics, so they naturally had no energy to think too much. If they didn't think too much, they wouldn't cause trouble."

After hearing this, Ying Zheng felt that he roughly understood that Confucianism was too beneficial to the king, making the king too powerful. If it was a wise king, it would be fine, but if it was a foolish king, then under the Confucian system, it would be easy to lead a dynasty astray.

"But for the nation and the country, the reformed Confucianism is not a good thing. It has seriously hindered the development of the country and the nation."

"It is the only dominant school, suppressing the development of other schools, making our nation's thought like stagnant water, and it is difficult to have vitality; it absorbs many talented people, making it difficult for other industries to have sufficient talents and technology to advance..."

"It is certainly wrong to blame all the problems in history on Confucianism, but in some things, Confucianism cannot be avoided. Confucianism has influenced Chinese history for more than 2,000 years!"

It is often said in modern times that many kings ruled with the appearance of Confucianism and the bones of law, not that they completely used Confucianism. However, most people in the feudal era could not see the bones inside, but only knew the outer skin. They lived under this layer of Confucianism and were shackled by Confucian thinking.

Confucianism has influenced Chinese history for more than two thousand years?
Ying Zheng was also shocked. For such a long time, Confucianism had been the only dominant school. This shows how much Confucianism was respected by later kings and how beneficial it was to the kings.

　The views on Confucianism in this book are just the author's humble opinions on Confucianism. Confucianism has its good and bad sides, but if there is a better choice, of course I would not choose Confucianism (this is what the book says). Thank you for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)