The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 122

Xu Tian was startled and hurriedly caught him, "Third Prince, be careful."

"Master, you're finally back!" Li Zhuozhi was overjoyed and smiled as he looked at Xu Tian. "I've missed you so much these past few days."

When the other teachers saw how much Li Zhuozhi liked Xu Tian, ​​they frowned slightly, their expressions showing some degree of rejection.

The Grand Tutor then gave a light laugh, “Gentlemen, let’s see what the new Grand Tutor is like.”

When he said that, it really made people feel like he was showing off like a monkey.

Xu Tian didn't say much.

The other teachers then put down their books and came up to greet them one by one.

"This Master Xu was once a village teacher, but now he is a favorite of the Emperor. He is very knowledgeable and skilled in arithmetic, and many people admire him." The Grand Tutor said with a forced smile, "You all should learn from Master Xu."

These words were largely intended to provoke conflict, and it seemed to imply, both openly and covertly, that Xu Tian was a treacherous person who only managed to enter the royal court through the emperor's connections.

Xu Tian's expression remained unchanged.

The other teachers now felt even more disgusted and disliked Xu Tian.

"Since he is so remarkable, why don't we invite Master Xu to talk to us about the various schools of thought in ancient China? It just so happens that I have encountered some problems while studying the academic ideas of these schools recently."

Xu Tian knew that this was their way of giving him a warning, and that they had all chosen to side with the Grand Tutor.

But he still said, "Okay."

"Then I'll ask first. Lao Tzu's concept of 'governing by non-action' is truly difficult to understand. What is its true meaning?"

Xu Tian smiled and said, "In my eyes, 'wuwei' doesn't actually mean doing nothing."

Upon hearing this, the scholars immediately displayed expressions of disdain and contempt.

Everyone knows that Lao Tzu's concept of "wu wei" (non-action) does not mean doing nothing, but who can easily understand its specific meaning and deeper implications?

Seeing their expressions, Xu Tian continued, "Lao Tzu's philosophy of non-action is to establish laws to govern the country, but not to interfere too much in the lives of the people, to give full play to the thoughts of the people, and to follow the Tao."

"Oh? How do you know that governing by doing nothing is truly achieving something?" one of the teachers asked with a disdainful look.

"Lao Tzu also said, 'The most difficult things in the world must be done from the easiest; the greatest things in the world must be done from the smallest; do things before they exist; govern things before they are in chaos.' Here, 'must be done' means to take action. So, connecting this to Lao Tzu's core idea of ​​governing by non-action, it directly shows that governing by non-action does not mean true inaction," Xu Tian answered frankly.

In fact, he had already read a great deal about the academic thoughts and doctrines of the Hundred Schools of Thought in his original world. After arriving in ancient times, he was further influenced by the Li family. He noticed many classics about Lao Tzu and read them countless times. Naturally, he had a very good understanding of Lao Tzu's ideas.

Xu Tian responded accordingly, while the others exchanged bewildered glances. No one had ever connected Lao Tzu's words with Lao Tzu's concept of non-action (wuwei) in governance; Xu Tian was the first to do so. Although they were well-versed in the teachings of various schools of thought, they were more familiar with the doctrines of Confucius.

At this moment, Xu Tian said, "Since everyone has nothing more to say, how about we talk about something else?"

Seeing that no one responded, he quickly asked, "Gentlemen, what do you think a gentleman should do, and what kind of person is a gentleman?"

“A gentleman is naturally a person of high moral character, and a gentleman’s conduct is defined by his words and actions,” someone quickly replied.

Xu Tian chuckled and said calmly, "The gentlemen I admire are also people of high moral character, but they know how to introspect, how to be frugal, and how to clarify their aspirations without targeting others. They are like lotus flowers, daisies, tall bamboos, and calm lakes. The conduct of a gentleman should be characterized by morality and his own integrity, without arbitrarily targeting others, but only focusing on learning and improvement."

Upon hearing these words, everyone was slightly shocked. They had all considered themselves gentlemen, but now they were all targeting Xu Tian together.

Where is the gentleman in this? Where is the conduct of a gentleman?

Immediately, everyone fell silent.