My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 69 The Bible of Confucianism

To split Confucianism and to reform Confucianism.

Empress Ma showed a thoughtful expression and said:

"That's why you want to persuade Mr. Song."

"With his knowledge and your help, he has the opportunity to come up with a new set of ideas."

"At that time, we will be able to stand on equal footing with the current mainstream Confucianism."

Ma Yu said regretfully, "Yes, it's a pity that Mr. Song was the most steadfast supporter of Neo-Confucianism."

"I'm afraid we won't be comrades this time."

Not only will they not become comrades-in-arms, but they will most likely become enemies.

Empress Ma was not concerned with this; instead, she asked:
"You think there's something wrong with Neo-Confucianism?"

Zhu Yuanzhang plans to restart the imperial examinations next year, and the answer template will be "Collected Annotations of Master Zhu".

If there's a problem with the theory, then this is a serious matter, and she can't afford to take it lightly.

Ma Yu was naturally aware of this, but he had only learned about it from historical records, so he could only pretend not to know.

Why did he choose this moment to attack Confucianism?

Actually, now is not the most appropriate time to take action against Confucianism, since unifying the world is the primary task.

Further modifications can wait until the situation stabilizes.

However, the situation no longer allowed him to wait.

Once Zhu Yuanzhang declared that "Collected Annotations of Master Zhu" was the ultimate explanation for all problems, it became virtually impossible to challenge Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism.

So even if it's not suitable right now, he still has to take action.

At the very least, it should dispel Zhu Yuanzhang's idea of ​​using "Collected Annotations of Master Zhu" as the sole template for the imperial examinations.

At this moment, in response to Empress Ma's question, Ma Yu solemnly replied:
“Religiousization cannot be achieved by simply talking about it; it must be supported by a complete set of ideologies.”

"Many of Zhu Xi's ideas, in fact, provided the ideological foundation for the religiousization of Confucianism."

Zhu Biao's heart stirred, and he said, "If Heaven had not given birth to Confucius, the world would have remained in darkness forever."

Ma Yu silently gave a thumbs up in her heart: "Yes, you can tell how much Zhu Xi admired Confucius from this sentence."

"He places Confucius above all other sages."

"It should be noted that before the Song Dynasty, the sages of Confucianism were a group of virtuous predecessors such as the Yellow Emperor, King Wen of Zhou, and the Duke of Zhou."

"They are the pioneers and founders of Chinese culture."

"Confucius's ideas originated from them."

"The ideas of the various schools of thought in ancient China all originated from them."

"However, the Yellow Emperor, the Duke of Zhou, and other sages were also revered by other schools of thought, and were not unique to Confucianism."

“Confucian scholars during the Song Dynasty began to create a unique Confucian deity.”

"Confucius's status rose higher and higher."

"In Zhu Xi's mouth, everything originated from Confucius, and he became the only sage throughout history."

"I'm afraid even if Confucius were to be resurrected, he would be so ashamed that he would want to disappear."

"As mentioned earlier, a religion needs one or a group of supreme gods."

"So Zhu Xi, without realizing it, completed the great task of creating a god for Confucianism, and this god is Confucius."

"As long as Neo-Confucianism continues to flourish, and as long as the deification of Confucius within Neo-Confucianism is not eliminated, we cannot stop the religious transformation of Confucianism."

Empress Ma's expression turned very solemn. She had studied Zhu Xi's scholarship and naturally knew that Ma Yu was right.

Zhu Xi's collected commentaries are filled with praise for Confucius.

She hadn't thought much of it before; Confucius was indeed great, and wasn't it only right to praise and sing his praises?

But now she finally realizes what the problem is.

Even she was influenced and came to believe that Confucius was the greatest sage, not to mention others.

Zhu Xi's commentaries, in an intangible way, served as the Confucian Bible.

Those who are familiar with Zhu Xi's works from a young age will become followers of Confucius.

At this point, she finally fully understood Ma Yu's words: Confucianism was indeed becoming a religion.

She also understood why he wanted to split Confucianism and reform it.

However, she still had doubts: "What about the philosophy of mind?"

Ma Yu said, "The philosophy of mind has its own strengths, and it has always opposed the deification of Confucius."

"Especially Lu Jiuyuan's words: 'Even if I don't know a single word, I must still be allowed to be a dignified person.'"

"It can be described as a wake-up call."

"My elders all believe that Lu Jiuyuan is worthy of being called a saint based on this one sentence alone."

Zhu Xi believed that one should read more books and study the Six Arts to cultivate one's character and temperament, so as to become a gentleman.

Lu Jiuyuan disagreed, arguing that studying requires resources, and ordinary people couldn't even afford to read books, let alone master the Six Arts.

Does that mean that ordinary people who cannot read or practice the Six Arts cannot be gentlemen?
What we should really be doing is finding ways to give more ordinary people the opportunity to become virtuous people.

We should lower the threshold for becoming a gentleman.

That's why I said, "Even if I don't know a single word, I should still be allowed to live an upright life."

What a magnanimous heart and great concern this is!

Even in her past life, Ma Yu would feel her heart surge with emotion whenever she read this sentence.

Empress Ma was even more puzzled: "If that's the case, why don't your elders use their knowledge of psychology to fight back?"

Ma Yu sighed, "Because the philosophy of mind also has its flaws."

"They place too much emphasis on inner qualities and too little on material things, making them unsuitable as a system for governing a country."

This world is material, and society needs order to regulate it and etiquette to embellish it.

A doctrine that overemphasizes the inner self while neglecting the external world is clearly unable to meet this need.

For example, Wang Yangming took his philosophy of mind to a new level.

However, not long after his death, his scholarship was rendered unacceptable by later generations.

Li Zhi, a master of Neo-Confucianism, even with his hair and beard turned white, still frequented brothels.

They claim that "my mind is the universe," and that we, as disciples of the philosophy of mind, should act according to our own nature.

Regardless of whether he is a hypocrite or not, if everyone in the world followed his example, wouldn't things descend into chaos?
Clearly, such knowledge can only be used as knowledge, not for governing the world.

Empress Ma was deeply disappointed. The only school that could rival Neo-Confucianism was the School of Mind. Since the School of Mind was not viable, she would have to create her own.

However, creating a discipline that can overwhelm Neo-Confucianism is not so easy.
Now we can only pin our hopes on Ma Yu:

How confident are you of your success?

Ma Yu was overjoyed. He had finally persuaded Empress Ma. As long as she supported him, he would have a chance to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even if they couldn't persuade Zhu Yuanzhang, they could still influence him to some extent.

What's more, there's also Brother Biao.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also an 'ancient person'; he had a conservative side.

The mindset of small farmers is not so easy to change.

Ma Yu never imagined that everything would be completed during Zhu Yuanzhang's era.

What he's doing now is simply improving upon the existing foundation, laying the groundwork for what's to come.

He seems to have said a lot, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear that he never spoke to Zhu Yuanzhang about anything beyond his time.

Even when discussing productivity, it's merely a summary of the past, without offering any suggestions for the future.

They were afraid of scaring Zhu Yuanzhang. Biao Ge is the new generation; if we really want to change the world, we should count on him.

Only when he ascends to the throne will it be time for sweeping changes.

If Zhu Biao is also unsuitable, then let's put it in the third generation.

Given their positions as employers and employees, it shouldn't be a problem for them to fight for the right to education for the third generation, right?

Don't forget about the smaller groups; once those people grow up and enter the political arena, you won't be alone anymore.

But those are all things for the future; let's deal with the present issues first.

At the very least, we cannot allow Neo-Confucianism to become the only official version.

“I told you before that my elders had noticed this problem long ago.”

"They have always felt that Zhu Xi's deification of Confucius would cause a series of problems."

"It will cause Confucianism to gradually lose its essence and cast a shadow over the secular Chinese civilization."

"So at that time they were thinking about how to solve this problem."

"Through an analysis of the development process of Confucianism, Buddhism, and other schools of thought."

"They found a way and came up with some frameworks."

"It's just a pity that they were all destroyed in the war."

"But I can still remember some of it."

"If we can find a great scholar and combine his memory with my own, I am 50% confident that I can come up with a new doctrine to counter Neo-Confucianism."

Empress Ma's expression relaxed somewhat.

A 50% chance of success is already very high.

She had no doubt what Ma Yu said.

Those lessons have proven that the Ma family is truly omnipotent when it comes to scholarship.

Since he said that, he must be able to produce something real.

She didn't press him about what Ma Yu knew.

They do have that much self-awareness.

Although she had read works on Neo-Confucianism, her understanding of them was not deep.

Even if Ma Yu explained it, she might not understand.

Of course, most importantly, Ma Yu was always under their noses.

When we actually start to reform Confucianism in the future, it will become clear.

The most important question now is where to find a qualified scholar.

The thought of this gave Empress Ma a terrible headache.

Zhu Biao also began to worry, as the scholars of today were either irrational or driven by their own desires.

Those with this ability are all masters of their own schools of thought; it's almost impossible to get them to give up their scholarship.

Those who lack the ability cannot participate, even if they want to.

The current situation is awkward: those who are capable are not being utilized, and those who are capable are not being utilized.

At this moment, Empress Ma seemed to have thought of something and looked at Ma Yu, asking:

"When your elders commented on the heroes of the world, did they ever say who could shoulder this heavy responsibility?"

Ma Yu nodded and said, "There is one, but I think we should let His Majesty look for him first. If he can't find him, then I will tell him about this person."

He was the one who spoke about this whole thing, and if he's the one who ultimately makes the choice, no one else would feel comfortable with it.

Let Zhu Yuanzhang search first. If he finds someone, that would be even better. If he doesn't find someone, then reveal the candidate. They will be more likely to accept it that way.

Empress Ma, of course, knew what he was thinking, and chuckled:
"You are sometimes very smart, but sometimes you are very confused."

"How could one person accomplish such a great task? The study of Neo-Confucianism was perfected through the efforts of several generations."

"Even with the ideas you provided, it's not something that one or two people can accomplish in order to create a new school of thought within Confucianism."

"His Majesty will find some suitable people to participate, and the candidate you provided will also be included."

"Let them rely on their own abilities. Whoever can subdue the others will be the leader."

Ma Yu slapped her forehead and said, "Oh dear, look at me, I'm really confused."

Zhu Biao urged from the side, "Cousin, tell me quickly, what kind of talent is he that your elders value him so highly?"

In their hearts, Ma Yu's elders were like towering mountains that seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

They all valued such a person so highly, believing that someone capable of creating their own school of thought must be incredibly talented.

Ma Yu did not hesitate any longer and immediately said:
"This man came from a family of doctors. He shaved his head and became a monk at the age of fourteen, but soon after, he became a disciple of the True Man Xi Yingzhen."

Empress Ma exclaimed in surprise, "Master Ziyangzi?"

Xi Yingzhen was a representative figure of Taoism in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and was very knowledgeable.

He was proficient in the I Ching and history, and knowledgeable in Yin-Yang numerology, military strategy, divination, and other related fields.

It's not surprising that Empress Ma knew him.

Strangely, a monk actually became a disciple of a Taoist priest.

Ma Yu nodded and said, "Yes, more than ten years ago, an elder of my family passed through Suzhou and wanted to visit Master Xi."

"It's just that we couldn't see him in person because of the war."

"But at Baihe Temple, I saw a novice monk who was a little over ten years old."

"It was a strange thing to see a monk in a Taoist temple, and my elders looked into it."

"I only just realized he was Master Xi's disciple."

"After learning about his situation in detail, my elders gave their evaluation."

“He was a monk but did not worship Buddha, he studied Taoism but did not respect the gods, he studied Confucianism but did not respect Confucius.”

"Yet it has grasped the essence of the three religions."

"If he does not die young, he will surely become a man of great talent in the future."

Empress Ma and Zhu Biao were both shocked; this was extremely high praise.

"Since he is so talented, why doesn't your elder mentor him?"

Ma Yu laughed and said, "Who would dare to steal Master Xi's disciple?"

"That was a joke. The main reason is that my elder was just passing through, and the chaotic times have brought many inconveniences."

"So I left with only regret."

"He talked to me about this several times afterward, and even wanted to take me to visit him."

"It's just a pity..."

He sighed and didn't continue.

Empress Ma and Zhu Biao automatically assumed that Ma Yu's family must have suffered repeated disasters and was too busy taking care of themselves to visit friends.

At this moment, Zhu Biao asked, "By the way, you haven't told us who that person is yet."

Ma Yu shook her head and said, "It's been too long, I've forgotten all the names, these are all I can remember."

Empress Ma continued, "Whether Master Xi is a disciple or a monk, these two pieces of information are enough."

"We can find out by sending someone to Suzhou to inquire."

Zhu Biao thought about it and agreed. It was already quite conspicuous for a monk to take a Taoist priest as his master, and with Xi Yingzhen being his disciple, it would be even easier to find him.

At worst, we can just ask Xi Yingzhen.

(End of this chapter)