The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 403 Volume Taibai Discusses the Dao
Liu Xie returned to the Xuanshi Hall, and before he had time to continue looking at the official documents on the table, he heard two of the three ministers, Liu Biao and Yang Biao, coming outside the hall.

Although he would occasionally tease Yang Biao, the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty were still the Three Dukes after all, and even the emperor had to be treated with courtesy.

After Liu Biao got rid of the trivial affairs in Jingzhou, he became more and more energetic, with his eyes shining brightly like stars. If you met him outside, someone would definitely call him "old immortal".

Yang Biao was still the same listless look as before, the only not-so-noticeable change seemed to be that his back straightened a little.

"Captain, how is Dezu's condition?"

Hearing that the emperor was so concerned about his son, Yang Biao also laughed and said, "Your Majesty, it's strange that my son's illness came and went quickly. After receiving Jia Lingjun's gift a few days ago, my son instantly became full of energy, as if he had never been sick before, haha."

It can be seen that Yang Biao is really worried about Yang Xiu from the bottom of his heart.

An old cow licks its calf. Now Yang Xiu is really Yang Biao's lifeblood. If something really happens to Yang Xiu, Yang Biao might die with him.

After hearing this, Liu Xie nodded slightly: "In that case, let him come to work as soon as possible, and don't stay at home pretending to be dead. There are some things that can't be avoided by pretending to be dead."

Yang Biao was a little terrified when he heard this: "May I ask your Majesty, what crime did Dezu commit?"

Liu Xie told Yang Biao everything that Yang Xiu had done when he followed him in the grasslands of Hebei, which really made Yang Biao very upset!
"Don't worry, Your Majesty! I will beat him up as soon as I get back, and then bring him before the Queen to apologize!"

"That's right! You should spank your children as early as possible!"

Liu Xie was quite satisfied with the corporal punishment implemented by Yang Shi of Hongnong.

"Don't spank his legs, he still has to go to work, just spank his butt."

"Yes! I understand!"

"..."

After the emperor finished talking about Yang Xiu's handling method, he asked, "You two are here together, it must be a big event?"

Hearing the emperor mention important matters, Liu Biao and Yang Biao nodded seriously.

"Your Majesty, do you want to reform the official system now?"

"Exactly."

"Your Majesty, do you want to abolish the three dukes?"

Liu Xie did not deny this, but he also did not admit it.

"The Three Dukes were set by the Zhou Li. How can I easily abolish them?"

"It's just that the Three Dukes of the Later Han Dynasty are essentially the positions of prime ministers."

"But because of the connection between heaven and man, it is common for the three officials to be dismissed and replaced... Political instability has always been a taboo. The court had no choice but to transfer power to the Shangshutai, but now the Shangshutai has expanded too much, and it is obviously impossible to continue to let it go, so it is imperative to reform the official system."

Liu Biao and Yang Biao were the Three Dukes themselves.

They themselves know that the three officials today do not take care of things.

Therefore, what they came to discuss with Your Majesty today was not political affairs at all, but academic matters.

"If Your Majesty wants to abolish the system of three dukes and nine ministers, does that mean you want to completely abandon the theory of 'the connection between heaven and man'?"

……

Sensation from heaven and man.

The idea of ​​the correspondence between heaven and man has a very early origin. It was recorded as early as in "Hong Fan": "If it is solemn, it will rain; if it is peaceful, it will rise; if it is clear, it will be warm; if it is strategic, it will be cold; if it is wise, it will be windy. If it is a sign of trouble, it will rain all the time; if it is arrogant, it will rise all the time; if it is cautious, it will be warm; if it is urgent, it will be cold; if it is foggy, it will be windy." It believes that the monarch's attitude towards governance can affect weather changes.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius once said: "When a state suffers from severe drought, is it because of the failure of punishment and virtue?" He also advised the monarch to "correct punishment and virtue to serve the heaven." This also indicates that Confucius' epistemology also has the concept of the unity of man and nature.

By the Warring States Period, when Yin-Yang scholar Zou Yan "deeply observed the changes of Yin and Yang and created strange experiences", the idea of ​​the correspondence between heaven and man became systematized.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, Dong Zhongshu inherited the theory of disasters and anomalies in the Gongyang Commentary and established a cosmological theory that encompassed both heaven and man.

In order to supplement his own theory, Dong Zhongshu further proposed the theory of analogy from the perspective of yin and yang, completing a key step in the transformation of Confucianism into a religion.

Although there were people like Sima Qian at that time who opposed attaching religious superstition to scientific knowledge, which made people restrained and fearful, they criticized the superstitious ideas of witches and witches, and were critical of the theological worldview of "the connection between heaven and man".

However, as Emperor Wu of Han acted as both a referee and an athlete in order to maintain his rule, he eventually completed the "abolishing all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", allowing Dong Zhongshu's theoretical system to dominate the worldview and epistemology of all scholars and become the consensus of academia and even the entire world.

The Baihuguan Conference convened by Emperor Zhang of the Later Han Dynasty thoroughly promoted the development of the theory of the correspondence between Heaven and man, and together with the theory of prophecies and divinations, it became the official learning of the time.

but!

It’s fake, after all!

"The correspondence between Heaven and man" eliminates the need for scientific exploration and believes that everything in the universe, from nature to all phenomena in human and society, manifests according to the will of Heaven.

"Heaven is the ancestor of all things, and all things cannot come into being without heaven" ("Spring and Autumn Fanlu·Shun Ming"), and the purpose of heaven in creating all things is to feed people, which is the so-called "creatures of heaven, to nourish people" ("Spring and Autumn Festival") Fanlu·Fu Zhixiang").

Heaven has molded human beings completely according to its own model. Human body, spirit, moral character, etc. are all said to be copies of Heaven and consistent with Heaven.

In this way, the interaction between heaven and man becomes inevitable! Therefore, disasters are considered as punishment from heaven!

“Disasters are punishments from Heaven, and anomalies are the power of Heaven” (“One must be kind and wise” from “Chun Qiu Fan Lu”)!

The changing seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter are expressions of the love, severity, joy and sorrow of heaven, while the warmth, coolness, coldness and heat of the weather are explained by the emperor’s likes, dislikes, joy and anger, and so on…

Such a strange theory obviously cannot explain everything that happens in the world.

The superficial law of the five elements obviously cannot explain this complex world.

and so!
As early as the period of Emperor Guangwu, Huan Tan opposed the theology of prophecies and divinations and put forward the famous argument of "using candlelight to symbolize form and spirit". He asserted that the spirit cannot exist independently without the human body, just as candlelight cannot exist apart from the candle body. This was a simple materialistic idea.

then……

Then Huan Tan was almost beheaded by Emperor Guangwu...

But people’s thoughts cannot be locked up!
After Huan Tan, another great man named "Wang Chong" appeared!

He criticized the theory of "correspondence between heaven and man", proposed "atheism", and constructed a relatively systematic atheistic thought system, trying to awaken the people of the time, break people's blind trust in prophecies and theology and superstition of ghosts and gods, guide people back to reality, and promote the normalization of social life.

Wang Chong wrote Lun Heng, systematically expounding his own views:

First, atheism, vital energy and naturalism!
Wang Chong believed that there was "qi" between heaven and earth, and everything was made up of "qi". The movement of "qi" led to the generation and change of everything. "Heaven", "earth" and "qi" were all unconscious existences, and the influence of heaven and earth on everything (including humans) through "qi" was also natural.

Wang Chong emphasized that the emergence of all things is a natural process, and the changes of all things are spontaneous, objective, and inevitable. He opposed Dong Zhongshu's proposition that Heaven consciously created human beings and all things in the world, and opposed Heaven's intentional sending of auspicious signs and disasters, and pointed out its absurdity.

Although limited by technical conditions, Wang Chong could not explain clearly what "qi" was, but he still used the Taoist idea of ​​"non-action" to fight back against the world, believing that "heaven" was natural and objectively existed independently of human subjective consciousness, and therefore "heaven" could not be personified by human subjective intentions.

Second, atheism.

A basic point of Wang Chong's thought is to emphasize the materiality of the world and oppose the existence of a personal God who arranges the fate of all things in the world... Unfortunately, due to the limitations of cognition, although Wang Chong proposed "atheism", he introduced a more mysterious and bizarre "fate" to explain the composition of human beings, and developed into a pessimistic "fatalism."

Third, epistemology.

Wang Chong believed that people should use and exert their cognitive abilities, acquire knowledge, and expand their cognitive scope. The purpose of cognition is to understand the nature of various things as much as possible, but the ultimate goal is to recognize the internal laws and essence of things.

He also pointed out that human knowledge is not innate, but is learned through gradual contact with the outside world.

He refuted the myth that saints are born with knowledge, and believed that people can improve themselves through learning. Fourth, the view of history.

Wang Chong opposed the idea of ​​"obeying heaven and following the ancients" and believed that the times were progressing. For example, the Han Dynasty was more advanced than the pre-Qin period. At the same time, precisely because the times are progressive, historical governance methods may not be effective today, so we must choose the correct governance path again.

Fifth, the theory of human nature.

Wang Chong believed that human nature can be divided into three categories: good, neither good nor evil, and evil. He also pointed out that human nature can be improved through later learning or living environment.

……

These "heretical" theories also doomed Wang Chong to an unsuccessful official career, and he eventually died of illness at home.

…………

After Liu Xie quickly reviewed the past and present of the "Heaven and Man Theory" in his mind, he looked at Liu Biao and Yang Biao with a serious expression.

"Correct!"

"I have decided to abandon the theory of 'heaven and man' from now on!"

……

The expected shock did not occur.

Both Liu Biao and Yang Biao's brows revealed an expression of "as expected".

In fact, the theory of "the connection between heaven and man" has become completely untenable at this point.

Even though great scholars like Zheng Xuan worked hard to perfect the theory of "correspondence between Heaven and man", it still could not gain universal recognition.

If nothing else...

This series of turmoil at the end of the Han Dynasty, the previous severe drought in Guanzhong, and now the emperor's recovery of Hebei and revival of the Han Dynasty, how can it be explained by a phrase like "the interaction between heaven and man"?
Moreover, they clearly felt that the emperor did not like the theory of "correspondence between heaven and man", so much so that after having done so many things since he ascended the throne, he had not even held a few large-scale sacrifices.

The feat of recovering Hebei, pacifying the grassland, and expanding the territory of the Han Dynasty by thousands of miles... If it were any other emperor, he would have to spend the people's money again, offer sacrifices to the heavens, worship his ancestors, and show off himself.

But after the emperor came back, he didn't even mention it...

Moreover, through the previous debate on "hiding treasures in etiquette" at Taibai Academy, the emperor had actually expressed his meaning very obscurely.

Plus fine poison, fertilizer, curved plow, "Jian'an Law"...

Although the emperor has never expressed his thoughts in public, one can tell which side he stands on from everything he does.

Therefore, when Liu Biao and Yang Biao heard the emperor say today that he wanted to abolish the "harmony between heaven and man", they were not surprised at all.

But Liu Biao was puzzled by one thing...

"Since Your Majesty has had this intention for a long time, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Liu Xie is not the emperor who has just come to power.

If he wanted to, he could have done it as early as the first year of Jian'an.

But he didn't.

It has been dragged on for five full years!
Such procrastination is inconsistent with the emperor's "decisive and swift" style in the eyes of the world.

"Do you know, Zong Bo, how I transported ships from Guanzhong to Hebei during the battle in Hebei?"

Liu Biao naturally knew it.

"Your Majesty used human power to overcome nature and dragged the ship directly through Sanmenxia. It is truly a miracle!"

"This time, my reason is still the same."

Liu Xie laughed and said——

"Since I am the Son of Heaven and the ruler and father, I must trust my people."

"In fact, the people of our Han Dynasty have never let anyone down."

"Even with official endorsement, there were still people like Huan Tan and Wang Chong who stood up and pointed out the mistakes in the 'correspondence between heaven and man'."

"So, even if I don't take the lead in these matters, as long as I do my job with peace of mind, someone will eventually realize the problem and take the right path on their own."

"Now that I see the two of you coming to see me, I know that I made the right bet again!"

Liu Xie never expressed his views on these matters.

There was no such thing in the past, there is no such thing now, and there will never be such thing in the future.

but……

Liu Xie slowly stood up, walked to a wall in the palace where pottery was placed, and kicked it hard!
The pottery fell to the ground and broke into pieces!
This is the emperor’s answer to “hiding one’s weapon in a ceremonial manner”!

When Liu Biao and Yang Biao saw this scene, they immediately knew what they should do.

They immediately bowed, and the two of them left the Xuanshi Hall and went to Taibai Academy.

a few days later.

The two highest officials, Liu Biao and Yang Biao, as well as Cai Yong, Kong Rong, Song Zhong and other famous Confucian scholars of the time, gave lectures again!

This time, it is not a small fight like "hiding the weapon in etiquette", but is directly aimed at "the resonance between heaven and man"!
For a time, all the scholars in Guanzhong rushed to Taibai Academy like crazy!

Even things like "Three Provinces and Six Ministries" and "Reform of the Official System" were overshadowed by this debate and became ignored!
Someone wrote a letter to the emperor asking him to go to Taibai Academy, but the emperor refused.

"What's the matter with academic matters? I went there."

With this time, wouldn’t it be nice to have a few more children?

……

And in Taibai Academy, the two sides are already on the verge of a fight!

Kong Rong holds "The Analects of Confucius"!
Liu Biao holds "Lun Heng"!
Behind Kong Rong stood countless Confucian scholars, looking at Liu Biao with anger.

The number of people behind Liu Biao seemed a little sparse.

Sima Yi stood behind Liu Biao and asked Zhuge Liang beside him in a low voice.

"Kong Ming, do you think Sikong can win?"

Zhuge Liang wore a feather fan and a blue scarf and smiled without saying a word.

"Zhongda, it's not Sikong who will win."

"We will win!"

(End of this chapter)