My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 58 Confucius is not Confucian
Because Zhu Biao arrived suddenly and asked his questions unexpectedly, Ma Yu was not prepared at all.

So he didn't answer directly, but instead thought about it on his own for a long time, selecting and sorting out the relevant content.

Zhu Biao wasn't in a hurry. The longer he prepared, the more important it meant that he had a lot to say.

He wished Ma Yu could prepare for a little longer.

While Ma Yu was thinking, he was not idle either. He found a pen, ink, paper and inkstone and arranged them in preparation to take notes later.

To avoid having too many things to remember and missing anything.

After about 15 minutes, Ma Yu finally finished combing her hair, raised her head and said:

"Alright, let's begin."

Zhu Biao immediately picked up his pen and said, "Cousin, you speak, I'm listening."

Ma Yu nodded and said, "Any group that wants to maintain itself in the long term needs an administrative system for management."

"The same applies to the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties."

“Those who are in charge of population and land are called the Minister of Education.”

“Those who are in charge of military horses and military administration are called Sima officials.”

"Those who are in charge of criminal justice are called Sikou officials."

“Those who are in charge of shamans, historians, priests, and diviners are Confucian scholars.”

Zhu Biao exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, were Confucian scholars originally in charge of matters related to the worship of gods and spirits?"

Ma Yu shook his head and said, "No, it is a Confucian scholar, not a Confucian student."

According to the "Treatise on Literature" in the Book of Han, the Confucian school originated from the office of the Minister of Education.

“Confucian scholars originated from Confucian scholars and officials of the Ministry of Education, and it was they who founded Confucianism.”

"The officials at that time were actually descendants of nobles or even rulers of various states."

"It's just that because the blood relationship is too distant, they lost the right to be feudal."

"But they also have the status of nobles, which allows them to learn knowledge that only nobles can learn."

"With knowledge, they could seek employment in various countries and become officials."

“They worked specifically for the monarch and high-ranking nobles, and were responsible for specific tasks.”

"This group had a unified name at the time: 'shi' (士)."

This time, Zhu Biao didn't ask any questions, but instead wrote down this point.

Ma Yu waited until he finished writing before continuing:

"As I said before, the advancement of productivity led to the collapse of the Western Zhou system."

"The Zhou emperor lost his authority, and the world entered a period of moral decay and social disorder."

"Today we will analyze this problem from another perspective."

"The Zhou royal family lost its authority, and the royal houses of the various states were mostly sidelined by the nobles, and a large number of vassal states were annexed."

"The administrative system built around them has also basically lost its function."

"This also means that the practitioners in these systems have lost their role."

"To put it bluntly, they lost their jobs and had to find other ways to make a living."

Zhu Biao was busy taking notes and couldn't speak anymore, only nodding occasionally to indicate that he understood.

"Now let's talk about another issue, education."

"Schools existed as early as the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties."

The Mencius, Book 1, Part 1, states: "In the Xia dynasty it was called 'xiao', in the Yin dynasty it was called 'xu', and in the Zhou dynasty it was called 'xiang'. Learning was common to all three dynasties, and it was all for the purpose of clarifying human relationships."

"However, at that time, the schools were established by the state, and only children of nobles could attend them."

"But in addition to government-run schools, nobles and scholars who possessed knowledge would also open private schools to teach their own children."

“After the collapse of the social order, official schools could no longer operate.”

"On the contrary, private schools run by nobles and scholars were not significantly affected and continued to exist."

"That's why Confucius said, 'When ritual is lost, seek it in the countryside.'"

"Now, let's revisit what we just said: with the collapse of ritual and music, the scholar class lost their jobs."

"They used to study to become officials, but now that they can't become officials anymore, what should they do? What's their way out?"

"At that time, the entire scholar class was in a state of confusion."

Zhu Biao nodded thoughtfully: "The best among them established the Hundred Schools of Thought, right?"

Ma Yu nodded and said, "Yes, ordinary taxi drivers can only go with the flow."

"The best among them began to ponder why the world has become the way it is?"

"How can we solve the existing problems and restore peace to the world?"

"Then the founders of each school of thought, based on their own knowledge and experience, put forward their own solutions."

"Thus, the Hundred Schools of Thought came into being."

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "The various gentlemen are responsible for different tasks, deal with different things, and therefore have different perspectives on issues."

"That's why their thoughts are so different."

Ma Yu praised, "That's exactly right."

"The Mohists originated from the guardians of the Qingmiao Temple."

"The Daoist school originated from historians."

"The Legalists originated from the officials in charge of law."

"These are recorded in detail in the Book of Han, Treatise on Literature and Art, so I won't go into details. You can look it up yourself when you get back."

Zhu Biao didn't say anything more, but simply wrote down the title of this piece.

Ma Yu continued, "Let's talk about Confucius. His greatest qualities lie in three points."

"Firstly, he inherited the cultural system that had been formed over the previous thousands of years, summarized and organized it, and passed it on to future generations."

"The Chinese culture that existed for thousands of years before Confucius was passed down through Confucius."

"The Chinese culture that has developed for thousands of years since Confucius was initiated by him."

Secondly, he taught without discrimination, imparting knowledge that was only available to nobles to everyone.

"As we mentioned before, private schools have always existed."

"But at that time, private schools were internal schools for powerful and wealthy families, and they only taught the children of nobles."

"Confucius' private school allowed anyone, regardless of their social status, to learn from him."

"From then on, knowledge entered the lives of ordinary people, and everyone had the opportunity to learn."

"It laid the foundation for the subsequent flourishing of diverse schools of thought and the great cultural development."

"Thirdly, he popularized the etiquette of the aristocracy, making it the standard by which people are human."

"In the past, the term 'gentleman' referred to nobles, but now it has come to represent a kind of cultivation, a state of being."

"As long as an individual has sufficient knowledge and moral character, everyone can be a gentleman."

Zhu Biao nodded again. This was a well-worn topic, and as Song Lian's student, he was naturally well aware of it.

Ma Yu took a deep breath and said, "The above are all just prerequisites, the social environment in which Confucianism was born."

"Now let's talk about the relationship between Confucius and Confucianism."

Zhu Biao perked up. In fact, by this point, he already had some guesses, but he still wanted to hear Ma Yu's explanation.

"Although Confucius was also a scholar, he was neither an official of the Ministry of Education nor a Confucian scholar."

"He almost lost even his identity as a soldier."

Zhu Biao nodded. He did know about this; Song Lian had told him about it.

When Confucius was seventeen, he attended a banquet for aristocratic youths hosted by Ji Sun, a high-ranking official of the State of Lu.

However, he was stopped by Yang Huo, the steward of the Ji family, who even mocked Confucius for no longer being a scholar and therefore not qualified to enter the mansion.

Confucius left in sorrow.

"Confucius's teachings pointed out the way forward for the 'scholars' who had lost their way and were in a state of confusion."

"If I have the opportunity to enter the imperial court, I will use my talents to serve the country and the people."

"Even if one never holds an official position in one's lifetime, one can still be considered a virtuous person if one teaches and educates people in the countryside and influences the local people."

"As a result, his ideas quickly spread among the literati."

"Scholars who studied the ideas of Confucius began to call themselves Confucian scholars or Confucian gentlemen."

“They call their group Confucianism and Confucius’s teachings Confucianism.” “Therefore, in fact, Confucius and Confucianism have nothing to do with each other.”

"He would not consider himself a Confucian, much less believe that his learning is Confucianism."

Zhu Biao suddenly realized and said, "I see, I've learned something."

Ma Yu continued, "Now that we've discussed the origins of Confucianism, let's move on to the initial question."

Why were Confucian scholars so excited and eager to support the Ming Dynasty when Zhu Yuanzhang adopted Confucian-influenced rituals and laws?

"Actually, the problem is not complicated. Although some people do agree with Confucius's teachings, they consider themselves his disciples."

"But most scholars revered him only for their own benefit."

"They used Confucius's teachings as a stepping stone and a tool to gain benefits."

"There is naturally no reverence for Confucius's teachings."

"They would interpret Confucius's thoughts arbitrarily according to the monarch's preferences."

"This is one of the main reasons why there have been so many versions of the interpretation of Confucius's thought over the past thousands of years."

"Saying that everyone else's interpretation is wrong and that only he truly grasped the teachings of Confucius is just self-aggrandizement."

These words were so blunt that even Zhu Biao found them hard to accept.

Ma Yu could naturally see through his thoughts and smiled:

"Don't find it hard to accept. The real reason why everyone, including myself, interprets Confucius is to achieve their own goals."

"Confucius is nothing but a tiger's skin, a facade to shut everyone up."

"But no matter how we interpret it, we can't avoid the word 'benevolence'."

"As I said before, Confucius's concept of benevolence is a state of being."

"Everyone is different, their level of understanding is different, and what they perceive will naturally be different as well."

"Therefore, as long as we do not deviate from the category of 'benevolence,' our interpretations are all a continuation and expansion of Confucius's thought."

"There are new interpretations of Confucianism every now and then, and another reason is that the progress of productive forces leads to changes in production relations."

"These new interpretations are actually in order to adapt to the new relations of production."

"After thousands of years of development, Confucius, Confucianism, and Chinese civilization have become an inseparable whole."

Zhu Biao breathed a sigh of relief. This explanation was much easier to accept and made him feel much better.

After comforting him, Ma Yu brought the topic back:

"Let's get back to the main topic and continue what we were just saying."

"Confucianism has indeed inherited the ideas of Confucius and is the most important component of Chinese civilization."

"But we should not regard Confucian scholars as a group that is so noble or remarkable because of this."

"They are nothing more than people who use Confucius and Confucianism as a pretext to seek personal gain."

"So they pander to the monarch, but in turn they restrain the monarch."

“When the monarch is powerful, they lie low and pander to him.”

“When the monarch is weak, they turn around and use etiquette and law to hold the monarch hostage.”

"The Han people are the main body of Chinese civilization, so Han dynasties often adopted Confucian rites and laws to govern the country."

"The regimes established by some barbarian groups will gradually be assimilated by Confucianism, and Confucian scholars can benefit from this."

"But the Mongol Yuan dynasty was different from all the previous foreign regimes."

"He was too powerful. The Mongol Empire was arguably the largest country in human history in terms of territory."

"Its strength is unparalleled in the world."

"So they are proud and very confident in their ethnic group's system and culture."

"In their view, the Han people were the conquered, and naturally they disdained to learn the Han people's etiquette and system."

"However, the Mongol emperors did not initially dislike Confucianism."

"After the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, Yelü Chucai, the Confucian leader of the Jin Dynasty at that time, led his people to surrender and successfully persuaded Ögedei Khan with Confucian rites and laws."

At that time, Ögedei Khan was very disdainful of the Confucian system of rites and laws and planned to abolish them all and implement the Mongol system.

Yelü Chucai taught Ögedei a lesson through taxation.

It was only then that Ögedei realized that he could obtain several times the wealth he had plundered by collecting taxes through the system without lifting a finger.

Therefore, he permitted Yelü Chucai to implement the Confucian system of rites and laws in the Central Plains.

Kublai Khan greatly admired Confucianism and even entrusted the education of his son, Prince Zhenjin, to Confucian scholars.

However, at this very moment, the Confucian scholars became arrogant.

They felt that these Mongol barbarians were too backward and that the world should be handed over to us Confucian scholars to govern.

So the Confucian scholars went directly to Kublai Khan and asked him to abdicate the throne to the crown prince.

Kublai Khan's expression at that moment must have been quite something.

Prince Zhenjin was shocked when he learned of this and hurriedly went to Kublai Khan to explain.

However, after such an event, how could the father-son relationship not change?

Not long after, Prince Zhenjin, the most legitimate heir, died in shock.

Kublai Khan was forced to appoint another son as crown prince, sowing the seeds for future internal strife within the Yuan Dynasty's royal family.

Hearing this, Zhu Biao couldn't hold back any longer.

Is this something a human being could do?
Kublai Khan was the founding emperor; where do you Confucian scholars get your confidence from?

"It was from this time that the Mongol Yuan dynasty began to guard against and suppress Confucianism, and eventually abolished the Confucian system of rites and laws."

"Although later Mongol emperors attempted to restore the status of Confucianism, they were quickly thwarted by opposing forces."

"With Confucianism abandoned, Confucian scholars can no longer use the banner of Confucianism to seize sufficient benefits."

"Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty was very frustrated during those nearly 100 years."

"When the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty arrived, they began to look for new spokespeople and tried to restore their former glory."

“Your father actually looked down on Confucianism, but he knew that the Confucian scholars were very powerful.”

"In order to win over Confucian scholars, he pretended to be friendly to Confucianism on the surface."

Zhu Biao felt extremely helpless. Why was his father starting to talk about crickets again?

However, he had gotten used to it, and his brain simply filtered out the sentence.

"But a fake is a fake, and it can never become real."

"Your father successively eliminated Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, completely laying the foundation for victory and establishing the Ming Dynasty."

"Then he stopped pretending."

"Want to escape punishment for high-ranking officials? How about the death penalty for embezzling sixty taels?"

"Confucian scholars want to rule the world together with the emperor? Ha, don't be ridiculous."

In the original world, it was stipulated that officials had to kneel before the emperor and speak to him while kneeling.

Princes and princesses rank above the three dukes.

Want power? We'll just abolish the prime minister system altogether.

They treated Confucian scholars like servants, trampling their dignity into the ground.

The Confucian scholars then realized they had been tricked, but it was too late.

But as the saying goes, the harder you press a spring, the greater the rebound force.

You, Zhu Yuanzhang, are so powerful that you don't treat us like human beings?
Then we'll just have to put up with it.

You can't expect all your descendants to be as domineering as you.

We'll settle the score then.

Therefore, the struggle between imperial power and Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty was the most intense in all dynasties.

This manifests itself in what is commonly referred to as the civil service group.

In this lifetime, due to Ma Yu's influence, Zhu Yuanzhang ultimately chose a system of rites and laws that leaned towards Confucianism.

The purpose of doing so was to solve the survival problems brought about by population growth.

But unlike in the original world, the dignity of Confucian scholars was not trampled underfoot.

Moreover, the Confucian scholars were unaware of these things; they only believed that Zhu Yuanzhang was fulfilling his original promise.

"So after your father promulgated the new system of rites and laws, they changed their previous wait-and-see attitude and began to support the Ming Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)