Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

On the 26th day of the first lunar month of the second year of Yongle, Nanjing Imperial College.

"I'm coming!"

Naturally, the debate in the Confucius Temple was not allowed to be watched by other people, but cats had cat lanes and dogs had dog lanes. In order to satisfy their curiosity, several older international students also found a way.

Li Jie, He Duanzhi, Hu Hancang, and Lu Gong directly collected money and bribed the people in the Imperial College who were cleaning the Confucius Temple. They pretended to be servants and stood in the corner of the next courtyard with brooms in their hands, listening to the sound of the corner.

"Hey, you guys, don't make any noise!"

The speaker was a little scholar wearing a blue cotton robe. He was slightly chubby and round like a rubber ball. His eyes were rolling. He was obviously a lively master.

This little fat man is like a "Bai Xiaosheng" in the Imperial College, and he certainly has some skills. The reason why the four foreign students came to listen to the corner today is all because of his hard work to open up the joints. No, in order to listen and see, They also specially made a gap in the wall.

"Who's here?"

Even Emperor Hu only knew that the Supreme Emperor of his family was invited to participate, but that was all. He did not know who else was invited.

The former Emperor of Dayu was now accompanying a few barbarians here to listen to the wind. It should have been something that he would never have thought about before. Now that he put down his body and started to let himself go, Hu Hancang felt a different kind of fun.

Some people are not born to be emperors.

Hu Hancang himself does not want to be the emperor. He knows very well that he has never been able to compare with normal people, let alone his elder brother, since he was a child. The reason why he can become the emperor is only because his mother has the royal blood of the Chen Dynasty.

It was not easy for Hu Hancang to become the emperor. He mostly played the role of a puppet on the strings of his old father Hu Jiya.

Hu Hancang once wanted to be a good emperor, once wanted to bravely shoulder his due responsibilities, and even wanted to die for his country when he was passionate.

But now it seems that it is better for people to lie down flat.

For Hu Hancang, life was indeed much easier after he became emperor.

Although he was living in a foreign country, he was having fun every day with a few friends he looked down on, which made him feel much more at ease than before.

"Hush, wait for me to take a look."

Everyone around them showed interest: "Who are you? Making you so mysterious?"

The little fat man did not whet his appetite, but cleared his throat and said in a low voice as if announcing the names of dishes: "The first ones to come in are Wang Siye (Wang Yunsheng) from our Imperial College, Hu Jijiu (Hu Yan), Mr. Yuechuan (Cao Duan) from Lianxue, Mr. Shidao (Wang Yuli) from Jinhua, and Yang Shiqi from the cabinet, and there is another person I don’t know.”

What the little fat man didn't recognize was, of course, Yang Jingcheng, the head of the Guanxue Yang generation who had just come from Guanzhong a few years ago and had never shown his face in Nanjing.

"Your dad! Your dad is here!"

Hu Hancang listened to the little fat man's greeting with a dark face.

But the embarrassment soon passed, and the little fat man continued: "Gao Taichang also came in. I heard that there is a distinguished guest today. Sure enough, Mr. Kong is here in person!"

Everyone was a little surprised when they heard that even Kong Xilu was alarmed. You must know that during the last three debates on "Wang Ba Ancient and Modern Righteousness", Kong Xilu did not appear in public. He has been staying in prison. Now he is out. He has not appeared in prison for several months. Strictly speaking, this is the first time Kong Xilu has appeared in public in the past six months, so the significance is naturally extraordinary.

"Really or not? You're not bragging again, are you! Can you invite Mr. Kong here?"

Hearing He Duanzhi question him, the little fat man didn't know that it was a provoking method, so he stepped aside and said, "You can see for yourself."

He Duanzhi took a look and realized that it was true. He had seen Kong Xilu from afar last time. He clicked his tongue and said: "Our Imperial College is not that generous. The last time we came here was for the imperial master. This time we failed to protect the integrity of the country. We are also for the country." The teacher is here."

"Didn't you say that the two of them turned their hostility into friendship?"

"Do you believe this too?"

The little fat man dismissed it, and then sighed: "Oh! It's a pity that it's just such a crack, it's not enough to see."

Then Jiang Xinghuo, Yao Guangxiao, Xie Jin, Zhang Yuchu and others all appeared.

Different from the previous three debates on "Ancient and Modern Righteousness, Benevolence and Kings", this debate was not held in a large venue with tens of thousands of people, but was more similar to the one hosted by Lu Zuqian of the Jinhua School in the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to reconcile Zhu Xi's "Neo-Confucianism" and The theoretical differences between Lu Jiuyuan's "Xinxue" led to the Ehu meeting where the two philosophical views "unified".

The Ehu Meeting was an exemplary academic symposium in the history of Chinese philosophy, the first of its kind to be held in an academy.

In fact, this is the normal state of academic discussions, with as few as a dozen people and as many as dozens of people sitting together to discuss debates. The environment of a vegetable market with thousands of people is an extreme example.

In front of the main hall of the Confucius Temple in the Imperial College.

Hu Yan, who is forty-three years old this year, wears a square scarf on his head, a Confucian robe, and a gold belt hanging from his waist. He kneels on the futon according to ancient rituals and sits upright.

Opposite him was a young man in green clothes and a jade belt, holding a feather fan, with a graceful manner and a certain elegance of a scholar. It was Jiang Xinghuo.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was not like in martial arts novels where young heroes could easily wear jade belts. According to Lao Zhu’s rules, princes and princes had first-grade jade belts, second-grade rhinoceros belts, third-grade gold ribbons, fourth-grade plain gold belts, and fifth-grade gold belts. Silver flower belt, sixth and seventh grade plain silver belt, eighth and ninth grade black horn belt. In such a formal occasion where official robes are not worn, the belt becomes the best symbol to represent different statuses.

As for why I need to bring a feather fan before February, don’t ask, it’s just to keep out the wind, for fear of getting rheumatoid arthritis in old age.

The remaining eleven people sat in a circle on both sides of Hu Yan and Jiang Xinghuo. This was also an elegant rule left over from the Ehu Club.

A golden pot was brought up, with several rolled-up pieces of paper inside, on which were written several major issues today. These are also the issues that the entire Ming Dynasty is most concerned about after the debate in Ming Pao.

"Hu Jijiu, today's meeting is due to you, and the Imperial College is your territory. There is no reason to overshadow the guest. When it comes to issues, you choose first."

According to rank and court status, Rongguo Gong Yao Guangxiao, the "prime minister in black", is naturally the first to do his duty. Therefore, if the rules are set, Yao Guangxiao will be the first to speak.

"Wait a minute."

At this moment, Kong Xilu suddenly rolled up his sleeves with one hand, raised his hand with a smile and said: "One hundred and twenty-nine years ago, Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan gathered in Ehu. It is a good story in the history of Qing Dynasty. Today, great scholars from all over the world have gathered together. How can this be nameless?"

In the officialdom, you don’t have to give Kong Xili face, because strictly speaking, Nankong no longer even has the title of Yanshenggong, and no longer has the treatment of a superior official. He is just a commoner, and in theory, a county magistrate. You can ignore Kong Xilu.

But in academia, if you don't give Kong Xilou face, there will be many people who can't get along with you.

Nankong itself is the direct descendant of Confucius, and is very important in Confucianism. However, based on moral factors, Nankong was able to give up even the wealth and wealth of Yan Shenggong. The scholarly prestige accumulated by this behavior was in this case Today, only thirty years after the incident, it is still very terrifying.

In addition, Kong Xi, the patriarch of Nan Kong's generation, was both talented and lucid, and his knowledge was as deep as the ocean. With the double superposition, he was naturally famous throughout the world, a walking moral code, and a beautiful incarnation of a saint in the world.

Therefore, as soon as Kong Xilu said this, he received an immediate response.

"Since we are in the Imperial College today, let's call it the Taixue Meeting. How about that?"

Several people made suggestions one after another, and Wang Yunsheng, the director of the Imperial College, said at this time.

The earliest prototype of the Imperial College was the "Tai Xue", the country's highest institution of learning during the Han Dynasty. There was no such thing as the Imperial College before. When Yang Jian usurped the Zhou Dynasty and established the Sui Dynasty, it was decided that the Imperial College would govern the Imperial College, Imperial College, and the Four Schools. , calligraphy, and arithmetic. In the 13th year of the founding of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty by Yang Jian, Guozi Temple was no longer affiliated with Taichang Temple and became an independent educational management institution. It was renamed Guozi School. Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty established it for three years and was renamed Guozijian. The dynasties in China switched back and forth between "Guozijian" and "Taixue", and the students of the Imperial College were often habitually called "Taixue".

"Can."

After all, the Confucius Temple Meeting and the Guozi Meeting are not as good as the Taixue Meeting.

And with this, the overall atmosphere began to relax a little.

Although the debate is full of words, it is no less dangerous than real swords and guns.

But compared to the tense feeling at the beginning, this kind of relaxation makes it easier for people to stay calm and thinking.

After all, in this environment, who has time to think about other things? The most important thing is to express your own opinions while ensuring that you make as few mistakes as possible. Since it is an academic seminar, it is enough to put the ideas you agree with on the table and argue.

The so-called debate does not have to be as noisy as a quarrel, as long as it can make others feel that what you insist on is well-founded.

Unlike the lively discussion about the name of the meeting just now, when it came time to draw lots from the golden pot, the whole process seemed extremely quiet. Except for a few people such as Jiang Xinghuo and Yao Guangxiao, everyone else's attention was completely focused on the paper ball in front of them. .

Kong Xilu drew the lot, and everyone around him seemed to be slightly excited and excited. After all, today's Taixue meeting will definitely go down in history, so some people are even a little nervous, but Dukong Xilu held the note in his hand with a confused look on his face, looking left and right, puzzled by its meaning.

Because there are only two words on this note.

"Broken window."

What the hell?

Kong Xilu grabbed the note and seemed to want to knead it hard, trying to get the meaning out of the paper, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable all over, as if there were ants crawling on him.

He glanced at Jiang Xinghuo and finally understood how much the candidates taking the imperial examination hated the examiners who "cut out words to spell out questions" from the four books.

Kong Xilu's abnormal behavior also made people around him aware of it.

what happened?

Is it possible that today is the final?

In the past, didn’t we always pay attention to a step-by-step approach?

Kong Xilu was a little confused, but the people around him felt very clear at this moment. The first debate topic drawn was definitely not easy, so Kong Gongdu was hesitant for a moment.

Because the emperor had already established the rules before it started, the issue of official administration was undisputed, and rectifying the official administration was a matter of principle and did not need to be discussed.

Therefore, there are only two main aspects left, namely worldly style and academic style.

Shifeng, that is, with the development of the commodity economy, the sprouts of a new economy appeared in the Jiangnan area, manifested in the emergence of handicrafts and the prosperity of commerce in large cities. The growing sprouts stimulated the development of commerce and brought ideas The innovations formed a new concept of justice and benefit. The emergence and development of factory handicraft industry prompted the emergence of a new social class, that is, the citizen class composed of handicraft workers, small commodity producers, factory owners and small and medium-sized businessmen.

The emerging citizen class, on the one hand, through their own efforts, on the other hand, places its hope on the emergence of new ideas, hoping that new ideas can impact traditional concepts and make new ideas dominate.

As for the academic style, it actually refers more to the "scholarly style".

There is no need to elaborate too much on how much weight these four words "Scholar, Farmer, Industry and Commerce" contain.

Ordinary people are not qualified to learn. Those who can learn are scholars. Therefore, the atmosphere among scholars is the style of study.

Here, scholars refer more to young scholars represented by the imperial examination students and imperial examination candidates.

Among the scholars, the older and highly respected Confucian scholars certainly had more say, but in terms of composition and base, the young scholars at the bottom also played a very important role.

Scholars had a lofty status in ancient times because they had the right to speak in the spiritual and cultural fields.

And once young scholars unite, in a sense, they can even control public opinion and form a one-sided posture.

This is called "public opinion".

Even in ancient times, as long as it was a peaceful period with stable order, "public opinion" was very important. This kind of thing cannot be reversed by violence or force, because in this era, once there is the support of public opinion, many things will It is logical, but once there is no public support, even the strong imperial power will sometimes suffer. For example, in the late Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan could not collect money. In order to make money, Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty sent eunuchs to collect mining taxes. The eunuchs were beaten to death several times. They confiscated a penny, and even received infamy. They wanted to catch a few of the troublemakers, but they all left their names forever. This is public opinion.

Now, for the mainstream Confucian scholars in the ideological world, mainly the academic style of the school sergeants, there have been changes that they think are not good. Students have become more radical and eager for innovation, and have begun to try various new things. They began to like to use novel vocabulary to express their thoughts, and began to pursue the "real" spirit of scientific exploration. The result of this ideological atmosphere is that many Confucian scholars with old-school thinking are increasingly resistant to this new school of thought. The stronger.

At this time, as a representative of Confucianism, Kong Xilu was actually pushed to the stage by the turbulent public opinion. He held the paper ball that he had grasped, took two deep breaths, and then opened the paper ball and officially announced it. road.

"The first argument - broken window."

The pressure will not disappear, but now the pressure has undoubtedly shifted away from Kong Xilu, and the confused people have become the participants in the debate.

Broken window, these are two very simple words, but obviously, these two words do not come from Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics.

So, what does this have to do with today’s theme of world style and academic style?

Everyone was lost in thought. At this time, Lu Gong, who was listening in the corner, also asked in a low voice: "Is this, forest, vague?"

The little fat man lowered his voice and said: "The one who breaks the problem is to solve the problem; the one who is using the window is paper paste. This means that we must first make a simple one to solve the problem."

Listening to the little fat man's serious nonsense, Hu Hancang was speechless for a while.

Hu Hancang said: "From my point of view, it is clear that he wants to break the skylight and speak out."

"Oh I got it!"

"Best regards, Brother Hu!"

Everyone was stunned, and then praised in a low voice.

Everyone here knows very well that if Hu Hancang's father can use this opportunity to establish a reputation among the scholars of the Ming Dynasty, then regardless of whether the laid-off emperor is re-employed, he will be able to become a cultural celebrity in the future. And if this thing comes true, Hu Hancang will Their classmates may have the opportunity to meet higher-level people. Who can predict their future fortunes?

This is the saying that "one person can attain enlightenment and chickens and dogs can ascend to heaven".

On the contrary, there is no need to mention the things that happened in our respective countries before. What, you are the emperor and I am not the prince or the young chief of the tribe? We are all barbarians, and no one is any better than anyone else. If they were really strong, they would not come to study in Ming Dynasty.

On the other side, since it is not in the Four Books and Five Classics, it seems that the word "broken window" comes from poetry.

At this time, Cao Duan said with a dark face: "But Yu Wen Gongliang's poem "Picture of Wind and Rain in a Broken Window by Wang Shuming"?"

"Liu Lang studied like a scholar, never leaving the house or sleeping at night.

When I hear a broken window on a stormy night, I am clearing my heart to the sage.

When you are poor in life, you know that the golden horse in the Yutang has its own period.

Qingli visits him day and night, but he recalls the stormy time when the window was broken. "

When talking about the word "broken window" alone, this famous Yuan Dynasty poem to encourage learning, which mentions "broken window" three times in a row from title to content, is obviously the most appropriate.

If we follow this interpretation, then it obviously refers to the study style of studying hard.

"This poem written by Yuwen Gongliang has much higher intentions than Song Zhenzong."

Well, Zhenzong has directly put the benefits of studying in front of you. It is a good idea to write down the salary in advance in the recruitment notice.

“Rich families don’t need to buy fertile farmland, they have thousands of millet in their books.

There is no need to build a high hall to live peacefully. There is a golden house in the book.

When you go out, don’t regret having no one to follow you. There are so many carriages and horses in the book.

When marrying a wife, don’t hate an unscrupulous matchmaker. There is a beauty in the book.

The man wants to fulfill his life ambitions and reads the Five Classics diligently in front of the window. "

However, because it is too straightforward and directly links reading with being an official and wealthy person, Zhenzong's famous poem to encourage learning is often criticized by academic circles for being too low-key and too vulgar.

What is elegance? Elegance means not talking about money.

This is why at the beginning of this debate, many traditionalist Confucians directly targeted the emerging trends of thought. Although many of them were unable to attend the Taixue Conference, they were still in the capital, Jiangnan, Jiangxi and other places. In other places, the voice of "being ashamed of speaking and profiting" is very high.

Now, it is the turn of Kong Xilu, the most authoritative person in the academic world, to draw lots. Since he has been drawn, these opposition debaters will not let it go easily.

Moreover, this topic was drawn up by Jiang Xinghuo.

So after a brief silence, everyone's eyes soon focused on Jiang Xinghuo, who was sitting opposite Hu Yan, waiting to see how he planned to answer.

Jiang Xinghuo also knew that it was time to stand up at this time, so he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Ahem! You are right in what you said. The word 'broken window' does indeed come from "Wang Shuming's Broken Window Storm Picture", but the first thing that needs to be corrected is that the title is called 'broken window', which actually has another meaning. "

Jiang Xinghuo said seriously: "There is a street hut today. In the house, Wang Shuming, a poor civil servant, is studying in it to prepare for the imperial examination next year. Wang Shuming is short of money, so he only uses paper windows. Suddenly one day, the wind is strong, and it is the autumn wind. As you can see, the price of glass mirrors has dropped at this time, and the price is slightly more expensive than that of paper. I would like to ask you, if you were this Wang Shuming, what choice would you make next? Turn a blind eye, continue to use paper to frame it, or choose a glass mirror? "

Wang Meng, whose courtesy name was Shuming, also known as Huangheshan Qiao and Xiangguang Jushi, was a native of Wuxing. He was influenced by his grandfather Zhao Mengfu in his early years. Later, he had close contacts with Huang Gongwang and other famous figures. He received Huang Gongwang's guidance and took the imperial examination to become an official in the Yuan Dynasty.

In the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he abandoned his official position and returned to Huanghe Mountain. In the early years of Hongwu, he resumed his official career and was appointed magistrate of Tai'an. Later, he attached himself to the Prime Minister Hu Weiyong and often viewed paintings in Hu Weiyong's mansion. Soon after Hu Weiyong was imprisoned, Wang Meng was imprisoned. In nine years of the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Yue, died in imperial prison.

Wang Shuming's family is not considered poor, and the protagonist of his "Broken Window Storm" painting is not himself. The protagonist is called "Liu Lang", but these are obviously not important. Jiang Xinghuo just borrowed a short story .

As soon as these words came out, the entire venue fell into silence, as if time had suddenly frozen for a short time.

The core of this topic is not to break the window, but to replace the window.

The meaning of this was basically not difficult for everyone present to understand, and this short story full of wit, since it was chosen as the first topic by Jiang Xinghuo, it must be particularly meaningful, so we must be extra careful when discussing it. .

Yang Jingcheng said at this time: "Many of you here are scholars and have experienced hard study in a cold window. I think your thoughts are similar to mine, right? The poet Du Fu wrote "The Thatched House Broken by the Autumn Wind" "Song", it is when the mountains and rivers are broken and human relationships are in chaos. Seeing the big from the small. If there is a paper window in a thatched house forced by the autumn wind, there must be thousands of paper windows forced by the autumn wind in the world. This is how things are in the world. If This is how we interpret the world's style. Naturally, I am taught that those who study must have great ambitions and practice great righteousness in order to protect the poor people in the world. If we use this to interpret the world's academic style, it means that the wind and frost of the world cannot bend the ambition of the husband. When heaven is about to give a great responsibility to this person, he must suffer first. Mind.”

Jiang Xinghuo: "So which window do you want to replace?"

Yang Jingcheng: "."

You see, this is the bad thing about scholars. They talk a lot, quote scriptures, and are impassioned, but in the end they avoid the most important points.

Now there was no way to hide. Yang Jingcheng was not someone who could shamelessly stage a "non-still scene". He simply said: "If I don't change the window, the wind will just blow. Sharpen your mind. The so-called 'hardships and hardships, Yu Ruyu' That's how it is."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded, but not to express his affirmation.

"Very good. Then, as the weather got colder, your body was too weak to withstand the cold. Eventually, you caught the cold and swayed in the hut. You missed the opportunity to rise to the top in the imperial examination."

Yang Jingcheng: "."

Now Yang Jingcheng knew that he was out to explore the road, so he simply continued to step on the minefield, determined to find out the answers to all the questions, so that others would save effort later.

"I choose paper windows."

Jiang Xinghuo added: "Papering on the windows treats the symptoms but not the root cause. The next day the autumn wind gets stronger and it breaks the problem again."

Yang Jingcheng was helpless now. You just asked me to choose the glass window, right?

"What about glass windows?"

"The window is bright and clean, and it is airtight. You look at the scenery outside the window in the warm room, and you feel very good. After studying hard for more than half a year, you passed the second grade of high school in the imperial examination next year, and you have been prosperous ever since."

"Then what does the Imperial Master want to explain? Today's old world style and academic style are like paper windows, which will eventually be blown apart by the wind of the times? Or should we say that only the new world style and academic style are clean, transparent and brand-new 'glass windows' This new thing, although the cost of replacing the old paper windows is higher, will the future be brighter?"

If you just say that, it is obviously meaningless.

Jiang Xinghuo smiled: "After Wang Shuming became a Jinshi, the thatched cottage in his hometown became free. Everyone thought he had the 'Wenqu Xing Qi' and did not dare to destroy it. But year after year, Wang Shuming settled in the capital and never came back, and this thatched cottage also Not many people cared about it. One day, children hit it with rocks while playing, and the glass windows were broken. After that, Wenquxing's former residence, which had been carefully maintained by the neighbors, gradually became a place where children played and beggars hid. Said: Broken Windows Effect.”

This is a very simple psychological effect. It means literally. If a window in a house is broken and no one repairs it, other windows will be broken inexplicably soon. If there is some graffiti on a wall that has not been cleaned, , and soon the walls were covered with messy and unsightly things; in a very clean place, people would be embarrassed to throw away rubbish, but once there was rubbish on the ground, people would throw it away without hesitation. Feel ashamed. This is a really strange phenomenon.

Psychologists study this "tipping point". How dirty does the ground have to be before people will feel that it is so dirty anyway and it doesn't matter if it is a little dirtier? How bad does the situation have to be before people will give up on themselves and let it rot to the end.

If any bad thing is not stopped at the beginning and becomes a trend, it cannot be changed. It is like a river embankment. If a small gap is not repaired in time, the dam can collapse and cause millions of times the damage.

"The same is true for worldly conduct and academic conduct."

Hu Yan, on the other hand, was thoughtful and said, "So, please forgive me for speaking frankly. For example, the fundamental problem that exists in our Imperial College is not the academic style."

"oh?"

Wang Yunsheng on the side looked surprised.

Hu Yan's words are tantamount to telling everyone that he not only does not support the reform, but also believes that the new social atmosphere is like a "stone that breaks the window."

Some people praised in their hearts: "However, Jiang Xinghuo has some insight and sees the problem. This metaphor of the 'broken window effect' is really exquisite."

And in the din of people with different thoughts and occasional voices, Hu Jima suddenly spoke: "I dare to ask the Imperial Master, your story is not over yet, right?"

As soon as these words came out, the other scholars were stunned and couldn't help but look sideways at Hu Jiya.

In their impression, although Hu Ji Ya used to be Emperor Annan, he was also a great scholar. Now that he has come to Ming Dynasty, he can be said to be cautious in his words and deeds. He has always been silent and does not like to get involved in academic debates. Today he actually He opened his mouth, but it seemed that he had been holding it in for a long time.

When Jiang Xinghuo saw that it was Hu Ji Ya who was asking the question, he didn't hide it and said, "That's true."

"First of all, the broken window effect is one thing. Today's social style and academic style have indeed reached a point where we must pay attention to whether it will affect the overall situation of the world. Because of this, you will gather here to conduct this Taixue War meeting."

"But Wang Shuming's story is not over yet."

Jiang Xinghuo raised his hand as he spoke: "Seeing that the world was about to be in chaos, Wang Shuming resigned and returned to his hometown. When he returned to his hometown, he saw that the glass window of his thatched hut that once protected him from the cold wind had long been broken, but Wang Shuming's current financial situation is naturally far from what it used to be, so he simply built a new house, still using glass windows, and using glass windows on all sides."

"Children playing here have long been accustomed to hitting the broken pieces of old glass windows with stones to compare the accuracy of throwing. A few days after Wang Shuming moved to the new house, the new glass windows were broken again by naughty children, but Wang Shuming I was not annoyed at all, but made a point - although the children smashed the glass windows of my new house, today I don't expect it to protect me from wind and rain, I just want a clean and clear place, so smashing the glass windows will not help me. No matter how my life changes, my purchase of a new piece of glass can provide opportunities for glass merchants. The merchants can make money and pay their workers. With their wages, the workers go to look for children, parents and other vendors to buy food and clothing. It is used in this way. Although it has caused harm to me, it is good for more people. What should I be upset about?"

In fact, the "broken window effect" is two of these.

The first one is psychological, emphasizing that the existence of any kind of undesirable phenomenon is conveying a message, which will lead to the infinite expansion of the undesirable phenomenon. At the same time, we must be highly vigilant about those seemingly accidental and individual phenomena. If you turn a blind eye to this behavior or fail to stop it in time, you will allow more people to break more windows, and it is very likely to lead to the consequences of "a dike thousands of miles away, collapse in an ant nest" , so the ancients said, "Don't do good deeds because they are small, and don't do evil deeds because they are small." This is not unreasonable.

The second type is economics, which believes that the broken windows theory can promote economic development, which is the saying of "harming but benefiting". Because this is against common sense, it is generally believed that it is a bad thing if the glass window is broken and you need to spend money to buy it again. However, under this broken window effect, consumption promotes the social economy and benefits many people in the consumption chain, which is a good thing.

Everyone participating in the Taixue Meeting fell into a brief silence.

"Why do I feel something is wrong?"

The foreign students who were eavesdropping always felt that their intelligence was insulted.

There was obviously something wrong with what Jiang Xinghuo said, but they couldn't tell what the problem was.

In fact, the problem here is that although breaking the glass window promotes consumption, the labor force that originally produced the glass can be used elsewhere. Breaking the glass reproduces consumption, and the total social income remains unchanged, while the same labor force is used to produce other items. It will also increase the overall income of society, but if you calculate the general ledger, it will still decrease.

But in fact, in economics, it is not just as simple as addition and subtraction. This problem is much more complicated.

Regardless of whether the loss of broken glass is assessed as "wealth" in another sense (that is, just like debt is regarded as wealth), the concept of the broken window effect traces back to its roots. It actually talks about the demand theory of economics, that is, short-term In the economy, demand can have a significant impact on output. Macroeconomic control and large-scale infrastructure construction are actually for this reason. However, if the timeline is extended, this effect will be quite insignificant for long-term economic growth.

This is why Jiang Xinghuo chose "Broken Window" as the title.

After explaining the pass here, Jiang Xinghuo asked again.

"So do you think that broken windows are a good thing or a bad thing? Should we nip it in the bud and beware of the wind starting at the end of the green duckweed, or should we let it break the window and not stand it without breaking it?"

Broken window means broken problem.

There may be many debate topics that can be discussed today, but in fact, the most critical ones are the two issues of social style and academic style. As for the topic of "broken windows", if the topic is extended to this point, it is enough to cover it.

In response to this question, Hu Yan, as the number one debater of the opposition, also had his own answer in his mind.

He did not want to be led by Jiang Xinghuo, because Hu Yan had already realized at this time that once he followed Jiang Xinghuo's ideas, he would be taken to a new field and then be hit by dimensionality reduction.

So Hu Yan went against the grain and asked, "Why use glass windows?"

Wang Yuli, Yang Shiqi and others did not speak. This debate was bound to be long and there were many opportunities for them to take part. However, at this time, they all unanimously praised Hu Yan's reaction.

Because following Hu Yan's ideas, they discovered how to effectively deal with Jiang Xinghuo.

That is to drag the debate topic into the area they are best at.

As expected, Hu Yan immediately said: "Of course glass windows are stronger than paper windows. You can paste a few more layers and seal them with strips. There is always a way. Of course, a living person cannot be frozen to death, but the second grade in high school and the bright window can only clean up the mood. Comfort may not have much to do with it, but today's world is just like Wang Shuming's hut. Human beings are born quiet, which is the nature of nature. Things are infinitely touching, and people's likes and dislikes have no rules, so things come and people transform into things. Also, people turn into things, destroy the laws of heaven and have poor desires, so they have a rebellious and deceitful heart, and then they can cause chaos."

"That's what I'm trying to say."

Hu Yan knelt on the ground and responded solemnly: "Does Wang Shuming really need this glass window?"

The glass window here actually does not refer to the glass window itself, but was dragged into a classic Confucian debate topic by Hu Yan, called "The Debate between Reason and Desire."

Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism attaches great importance to the distinction between reason and desire, puts reason and desire in direct opposition, and emphasizes that only by eradicating human desire can the natural principle be restored. For example, Cheng Yi in the Northern Song Dynasty said, "The human heart is driven by selfish desires, so it is in danger; the Tao is based on the natural principle, so it is subtle. If selfish desires are eliminated, the natural principle will be achieved." "It's clear", Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty also said in "Zhu Ziyu Lei·Volume 13" that "if people have one mind, if the natural principles exist, people will want to perish; if people want to win, the natural principles will be destroyed, and there will be no combination of natural principles and human desires." Cheng Zhu The purpose of Neo-Confucianism is to ask people to give up desires beyond the needs of daily life, absolutely abide by feudal ethical dogma, and thereby rectify their hearts and pursue the abundance of their inner world.

Those who oppose this view are the studies of meritorious service represented by Chen Liang and Ye Shi of the Yongkang and Yongjia schools. For example, Ye Shi simply ridiculed Neo-Confucianism and said, "The interpretation of the doctrine of divine madness is based on the principles of nature and human desires. "

Although the section of "Book of Rites" that Hu Yan drew from just now has a tendency to oppose "natural principles" and "human desires", "Quoting out of context - don't take it out of context" is still a classic. There is also a sentence in "Book of Rites" It is said that "eating and drinking men and women, how can people's great desires exist", or the "Book of Rites" itself does not deny the rationality of material desires.

In short, the "discrimination between reason and desire" in Pre-Qin Confucianism did not have such an "either/or" diode thinking. Even in the Han and Tang dynasties, there were "controlling desire with reason", "preserving reason and destroying desire", "preserving reason and destroying desire", and "existing reason to destroy desire". Three views on "desire" coexist. For example, Dong Zhongshu of the Western Han Dynasty advocated that "the sage controls the people so that they have desires and do not have to live in excess; they make them simple and do not have desires." Desire is regarded as the prerequisite for whole body survival.

In fact, it was not until the Song Dynasty, when Confucianism iterated to the version of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, that this dualistic idea was developed.

The "discrimination between reason and desire" is obviously a good idea to explain the problems of social customs.

"Does Wang Shuming really need this glass window?" This question is not asked to Wang Shuming, who died in prison twenty years ago, but to everyone today. Do they think the Ming Dynasty really needs these glass windows brought about by economic development? The increasingly complex material desires?

This is a very deep question, and even Jiang Xinghuo cannot deny it.

If you are an ordinary citizen, worker, or farmer, you don't need to think about this kind of problem, because it really doesn't make much sense.

But for these Ming Dynasty scholars who are almost at the top of the list, these elites in the ideological and academic circles, this question is very meaningful.

Economic development may be necessary, because the court does need money, but economic development will bring huge changes to the traditional, relatively "simple" world style.

"As the National Master said in the 'broken window effect', more and more material desires are like gusts of autumn wind. If we don't take strict precautions and block the windows today, but let them break, I am afraid that moral customs will no longer exist. By then, it will be too late. By then, even if you want to make amends, it will be too late."

The emergence of the debate topic "The Difference between Reason and Desire" did not exceed Jiang Xinghuo's expectations.

Jiang Xinghuo was not unprepared for this debate question, which had a very high winning rate among followers of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

Looking at the Confucius Temple, Jiang Xinghuo raised his head and began to pray to the gods.

Soon, among the many thinkers in his mind, three figures appeared.

——Three gentlemen in the late Ming Dynasty: Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi, and Gu Yanwu.

Come on, it’s you!