The big man has a living father

Chapter 25 Don’t know the true face of Mount Lu

Not only Liu Che came to watch the fun, many ministers also watched the fun and didn't mind the big deal.

Li Cai, in particular, was very excited to watch.

With all the excitement today, who cares about my groom talking about Your Majesty?
Some ministers also gasped: "If Confucius had not been born, the world would have been dark forever. Hiss~ This evaluation fits my respect for Confucius. He is worthy of being the Second Master Huo. This article is really well written!"

"Who said it wasn't? Why not say that he is so powerful? Unlike me, I would only say that Confucius is so powerful and nothing else."

Everyone was discussing and eating melons at the same time.

Kong Anguo didn't dare to speak about Confucius, but he dared to speak about the second sage: "The sage is not necessarily right. For example, the second sage Mencius said that human nature is good at the beginning, while Xunzi said that human nature is evil at the beginning. These two views are opposite. At least one of them is wrong. What do you think?"

In the court, the people of Yingchuan Xun family widened their eyes, and the descendants of Meng family also perked up.

As a military general, Xun Zhu subconsciously reached for his sword at his waist, but found nothing.

As a master of Confucian classics, Meng Qing subconsciously reached for Xun Zhu's sword from his waist and touched Xun Zhu's hand.

After the two shook hands, they looked at Kong Anguo together: You bastard Kong Anguo, you...

Kong Anguo is not afraid. You are just descendants of a sub-sage. Who says our ancestor is a true saint?
Huo Hai didn't care at all: "Indeed, at least one of the two sub-saints is wrong, or... both of them are wrong."

When these words were spoken, everyone in the court was shocked.

Wow, Dong Zhongshu has been dedicated to promoting Xunzi for many years.

Mencius was brought out to oppose Xunzi.

Otherwise, Mencius would not be able to be on par with Xunzi.

You have now offended both parties who have been fighting for so many years? You are very brave!
Huo Hai: "During the Warring States Period, Lie Zi once wrote an article called "Two Children Arguing About the Sun". You should be familiar with it, right?"

At the scene, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Two kids arguing about the sun?
WTF?

When Huo Hai saw the condition of everyone, he knew it was all over, something had happened.

When I was learning this stuff, I heard that it was written by Lie Zi in the Warring States Period. Now it seems that it was probably compiled by someone during the second round of the scripture editing competition in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Huo Hai: "Oh, then I might be reading a unique copy, you haven't read it, let me tell you about the original text."

When Confucius was traveling east, he saw two children arguing with each other and asked them why.

One son said: "I think when the sun begins to rise, people will be closer, but when the sun is at midday, people will be far away."

One child said, "I think the sun is far away when it first rises, but near when it is at its zenith."

One child said, "When the sun first rises, it is as big as a car cover, but when it is at its highest point, it is as big as a plate or bowl. Isn't it because those that are far away are small and those that are near are big?"

One child said, "When the sun first rises, it is cold and dark, but when it is at its zenith, it is like dipping into hot water. Isn't it because those who are near are hot, while those who are far away are cold?"

Confucius could not decide. The two children laughed and said, "Who knows more?"

After Huo Hai finished speaking, everyone fell into deep thought.

Huh? Is the sun closer in the morning or at noon? Why do both seem to make sense?
Huo Hai smiled and gave everyone time to understand and think.

In fact, according to Confucianism, Mencius's theory that human nature is good is more popular, while Xunzi's was more or less influenced by Taoism.

However, the two people have the same goal.

Mencius said that human nature is inherently good and praised others for being born good. In fact, this was to make everyone be bound by morality and do good deeds.

When Xunzi said that human nature is evil, he was promoting the importance of learning and education and highlighting the word "ritual".

At this time, the quick-witted people had already understood the story of the two children arguing about the sun: "Master Huo, didn't you just say that Confucius was omnipotent? Why are you saying now that Confucius couldn't make a decision?"

Huo Hai: "Confucius is of course omnipotent! But he is omnipotent in his own field. When it comes to studying, being a person, and educating people, Confucius is omnipotent."

"The reason why Confucius is Confucius and a saint is that he would not pretend to know something he does not know, and would not jump to conclusions about things he does not understand."

Everyone suddenly understood. Some people wanted to argue: "So, Meng Fu and Xunzi are just pretending to know something when they don't?"

Huo Hai: "Wrong, for Mencius and Xunzi, it is not a moral issue, nor is it pretending to know something when they don't. It is a problem of ability. Because they are not saints, they cannot really see the truth of a matter from a global perspective, so they all have a one-sided view."

"Since Xunzi, almost everyone has thought that Mencius and Xunzi's views are contradictory, but in fact, the views of the two sub-sages are the same and complement each other."

After these words were spoken, the ministers were dissatisfied.

Okay, okay, let me see how you write it.

One is inherently good, the other is inherently evil, and both conditions are present at the beginning of life.

You said that the two people have the same views? And they complement each other?

Kong Anguo also said: "Oh? Is it the same idea that human nature is good and human nature is evil?"

Huo Hai: "What if elegant words are prone to misunderstanding? Do you think the sub-sage will make a big mistake? Is it more likely that the sub-sage has flaws or that he will make a mistake?"

No one present dared to speak.

We all have to make a living, who dares to say this?
Huo Hai: "Then it is definitely more likely that the sub-sage has flaws than the sub-sage makes mistakes, so, man is inherently good, you translated it wrong."

"Do you think this sentence means that people are kind when they are born?"

"That's totally wrong. This sentence should be translated as, when a person is born, there is kindness in the origin of his nature. Similarly, Xunzi's words should be translated as, when a person is born, there is evil in the origin of his nature."

If this discussion were to take place in later generations, Huo Hai would definitely say, "You two must act as diodes, right?"
But this happened during the Han Dynasty, so we need to give an example.

Huo Hai: "When I was a child, I heard about a mountain called Lushan, which was very beautiful. I asked people who had been to that mountain what it looked like."

"After visiting Mount Lu, a man came back and told me that it was a ridge. I imagined that it was endless. Then another fellow villager who had been to Mount Lu told me that it was a peak."

"Hey, I'm confused. Is Lushan a peak or a ridge? I can't imagine what Lushan looks like."

"Later I learned that the first person was standing in the horizontal direction of Mount Lushan and saw many mountains lined up to form Mount Lushan, so he said that Mount Lushan was a ridge. The second person was standing in the vertical direction and saw that the highest mountain in Mount Lushan blocked all other mountains, so he said that Mount Lushan was a peak."

"This is what it means: a mountain looks different from the front and from the side, and its height and distance are different. I cannot see the true face of Mount Lu because I am inside it!"

As soon as Huo Hai finished reading, Liu Che, who loved literature, eating melon seeds and watching opera, shouted: "Good poem! But what is the rhythm of this poem?"

Everyone looked at the great Emperor.

Is this the time to appreciate literature? Now is the time to discuss Taoism, Your Majesty!
Liu Che shrank back and continued to eat melon seeds: You guys continue.

Indeed, it is not that Mencius was wrong, nor was it that Xunzi was wrong. It is that both of them were human beings, so they looked at human nature from a human perspective. Because their starting points were different, they saw different things.

It’s like, it’s not that the sun is far from the earth, nor is it that the sun is close to the earth, but because we are standing on the earth, so we cannot make an objective evaluation.

understand?

Anyone who really thinks about this problem will understand.

Ah? So that's how it is. That's right. We don't know the true face of Mount Lu because we are in it. We don't know the true face of human nature because we are all human.

Someone murmured: "Mencius and Xunzi are both human beings, so they cannot see human nature clearly from a human perspective, because they are in the mountains... Then doesn't Confucius mean he is not a human being?"

The general next to him slapped him on the back of his head and said, "Stupid, I've already said Confucius is a saint. He's not an ordinary person."

In the court, those who had thought about the dispute between Xun and Mencius felt that this was the truth and that they had been stupid to argue about Xun and Mencius in the past.

In the court, those who had never thought about good and evil and only wanted to stir up trouble by arguing about good and evil were all staring at Huo Hai.

This person is so good at speaking and writing.

He can speak eloquently and compose poems at will. The key is that he is not even an adult yet, but he already has the potential to confront Master Dong head-on. What will happen if he is in his forties or fifties?
And there was a third type of people in the court, Liu Che and Huo Hai, who were only interested in money.

Liu Che: I laugh at Huo Hai's incompetence and the lack of wisdom among his ministers. If I were him, I should be reading the advertising slogan now.

(End of this chapter)