Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Everything in the world, from the twinkling stars to the fleeting mayflies, are all born of matter. Do you agree?"

This is of course recognized. Many things in Confucianism are difficult to be simply defined by idealism or materialism. However, in the view of Li Qi, since it is the "Qi Fundamental Theory", it actually believes that the world is composed of matter, and this material basis is different. gas.

"Too much deficiency is energy."

Regarding Jiang Xinghuo's point of view, Yang Jingcheng was the first to agree with the opposition debaters before others spoke.

It's not that he wants to be a traitor, but the view that "Taixu is Qi" is an important philosophical proposition put forward by Zhang Zai, the founder of Guan Xue, and one of the foundations of Neo-Confucianism's Li-Qi theory.

But just as Zhu Xi sewed many things from Buddhism, Zhang Zai, Zhou Dunyi and other five scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty also sewed many things from Taoism.

The word "Taixu" is not from Confucianism itself. It was first seen in the Taoist "Zhuangzi Zhibeiyou" in "It is impossible to level Kunlun and not to travel to Taixu." Of course, in the context of this sentence, Taixu Void refers to a place of extreme nothingness, and it is not a philosophical concept in a complete sense.

But later, with the development of the times, "Su Wen·Tian Yuan Ji Da Lun" put forward the view of "Tai Xu Liao Kuo, the origin of the foundation, the beginning of all things, and the end of the five fortunes", and Tai Xu became a real The philosophical concept of "Tao", as a Taoist term, initially refers to the material carrier of "Tao" mentioned by Laozi and Zhuangzi, that is, the initial state of the universe with profound emptiness and silence, that is, the origin from which all things are generated.

Well, in the words of modern science, "Tai Xu" is the "singularity" of the Big Bang.

It is precisely because of this origin that there is a subsequent saying that "Tao generates one, one generates two, two generates three, and three generates all things".

Zhang Zai believes that Taixu is the ancestor of heaven and earth, and that heaven and earth all come from Taixu, that is, "Taixu is formless, the essence of Qi; its gathering and dispersion are the changing forms."

simply put:

Taixu (singularity) → produces Qi (cosmic matter)

But unlike the Big Bang theory of modern science, in Zhang Zai's theoretical system, the relationship between "Taixu" and "Qi" is an intangible and tangible relationship. In Zhang Zai's view, Qi is tangible. , Taixu is formless and imageless. Taixu, which is formless and imageless, is the essence of Qi. Qi has different existences due to its different forms of gathering or dissipation. It is also the material form of everything in the world, that is, Qi. When it gathers, it condenses into matter, and when Qi disperses, it returns to Taixu.

It may be a bit strange to say this, but in fact, it is easy to understand from a perspective that is familiar to the world. If the "Qi world" is understood as the Yang world, and the "Taixu world" is understood as the underworld, when the Qi disperses, it will return to Taixu.

Of course, Zhang Zai definitely didn’t mean this.

The correct way to open Zhang Zai's "Ontology of Taixu Qi" is: Taixu is the eternal ontology of the universe, and the gathering, dispersion and change of all things in the world are the temporary forms of the existence of Qi, which are the so-called "various forms of change". Taixu is Qi that is scattered but not gathered, and when it gathers, it becomes Qi. This is the basic connotation of Zhang Zai's thought of "Taixu is Qi".

At the same time, Zhang Zai believes that all things in the world, including human beings, are material existences and that matter is immortal. The worldviews of Buddhism and Taoism are both wrong, that is, "Buddha sees mountains, rivers and the earth as a disease. Knowing Taixu That is Qi, then there is nothing." The first sentence is a criticism of Buddhism, and the latter sentence is a criticism of Taoism.

Zhang Zai believes that Buddhism's concepts of reincarnation, ghosts and gods, and Taoism's concept of immortality are all wrong. Buddhism believes that "the heart gives rise to all things." , everything in the world is an illusory and unreal existence, and the mountains, rivers, and lands we see are all illusory illusions. This is called "Buddha takes the mountains, rivers, and lands as its source of illness." The world is all real and material. How can it be? What about fake ones?

Regarding the development of Neo-Confucianism's "Qi Theory", in Zhang Zai's theory, the relationship between "Taixu" and "Qi" as the ontology of Qi is intangible and objective, insensible and objective, to tranquility and harmony. Gathering and dispersing, thus giving people the impression that "Taixu" and "Qi" are two opposite things, which easily makes people understand "Taixu" as a transcendent existence above "Qi" rather than the essence of "Qi". The natural state is even understood as the origin of Qi or the reason for the existence of Qi.

In other words, it is not that Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi could not understand Zhang Zai's exquisite harmonious and symbiotic relationship between "Taixu" and "Qi", but they made a theoretical opposition based on their practical needs.

Therefore, Zhang Zai's "Taixu" was replaced by "Li" in Cheng Yi's case.

This is the macro-micro dichotomy of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism just mentioned, which is also the foundation of the dualism of Li and Qi.

The reason why we want to sort this out is to explain that in the Zhang Zai era, the original theory of Qi was "Taixu Harmony Qi", but in the Cheng Yi era, it became "Li He Qi", and in the Zhu Xi era, it was further extended. It has become "the laws of nature and human desires".

Therefore, although the debate between reason and desire and the debate between rationality and qi are not exactly the same thing, they are closely related in origin.

Since "reason" is used to replace "taixu", then when discussing whether starving to death is a small matter and being dishonest is a big deal, we must not just talk about "reason". Otherwise, the arguments that Neo-Confucianists have are almost There are infinitely many, and the arguments are very detailed.

As for Jiang Xinghuo's train of thought, everyone on the opposing side also guessed it.

Jiang Xinghuo wants to trace back to the source, find flaws in the "Qi Theory", and then break through Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi's weak Li-Qi dualism.

Sure enough, Jiang Xinghuo was fine if he didn't take action, and he hit the vital point when he did.

"If there is Qi in the world, how can there be Taixu? Qi can be called matter or atoms, and no matter what it is called, it forms the basis of everything in the world. There must be this thing. But it is called 'Taixu', Who can prove it?"

This step is absolutely irreversible.

"Li" is used by Neo-Confucianists to replace "Taixu". Today's Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism rarely mentions "Taixu", but you have to admit it, because if you don't admit the existence of "Taixu" , then the "reason" that was replaced from here was directly shaken.

Yang Shiqi refused to back down, so he raised his voice and responded: "The vast void, every inch of air, is all too void!"

Kong Xilu looked at Yang Shiqi. If a speech bubble could pop up on his head, there would definitely be only three words on it - "silly boy".

"Is it true?"

Jiang Xinghuo smiled half-heartedly.

Then, Jiang Xinghuo clapped his hands and said, "Come up under a microscope."

Microscopes, starting from the first generation of hand-ground crystal microscopes, have always been under the strict control of Jiang Xinghuo.

The first generation of microscopes was only given to Dai Sigong, the Imperial Hospital envoy, to study bacteria, and Kong Xilu to study cells and microorganisms. Apart from these two places, nothing else has been passed down.

As for the second-generation hand-ground glass microscope, only samples were provided to Kong Xilu for trial use.

What is presented today is a second-generation glass microscope that has far greater magnification and clarity than the first-generation crystal product.

"Mr. Kong, what do you think of my microscope?"

Jiang Xinghuo placed the glass microscope on the table and asked Kong Xilu to examine it carefully.

This posture is exactly like the monster showing off treasures in "Journey to the West".

But what surprised everyone was that Kong Xilu actually picked it up and looked at it carefully with an extremely solemn and pious attitude.

In fact, except for Cao Duan, Gao Xunzhi and others, no one else really knew what Kong Xilu was studying recently.

Kong Xilu's latest public release was in Ming Pao, where he expressed his opinions on classics, history, and the genealogy of ancient and modern texts. However, few people know about the "Tao of the Body" of microorganisms.

The main reason is that Kong Xilu himself is also engaged in theoretical research, and many things have not been studied clearly. It is definitely impossible to come up with things that are not understood due to Kong Xilu's character.

When Kong Xilu feels that he can take it out, he will definitely use this thing to completely establish his historical position.

"What is this doing?"

The microscope was first given to Kong Xilu, and then presented to everyone one by one.

“Of course seeing is believing.”

Although the glass on the microscope is small, it is very transparent, and it has a light blue halo under the reflection of sunlight, just like a natural gem.

Yang Shiqi watched eagerly from the side, his mood gradually changed, and his eyes showed surprise.

"Could it be..." Yang Shiqi suddenly remembered a rumor in the palace.

Jiang Xinghuo had a magical spell that extracted the essence from garlic and saved Cheng Guogong Zhu Neng's life. However, this spell lasted for a very short time. All the garlic essence could only be stored for a very short time. For this reason, the doctor from Taiyuan Hospital People are doing research.

This version of the rumor was of course circulated privately by ignorant palace maids and eunuchs, but to Yang Shiqi's ears, it had other meanings.

Not long after, a glass microscope and a small square table were placed in front of Yang Shiqi's table.

Yang Shiqi picked up the glass microscope and looked at it carefully for a moment. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "What a wonderful thing."

The appearance of this glass microscope is actually the same as that of the first-generation microscope, except that the color is slightly lighter and appears more transparent.

But at this moment, Yang Shiqi heard Kong Xilu suddenly scream: "What do you want to do? Throw this thing away quickly."

"Why?"

Hu Jima, who was trying to pick up a branch and put it on the lens for observation, stopped.

Kong Xilu explained eagerly: "This kind of glass is specially processed and is used for eyes to observe, not for placing things."

After that, Kong Xilu taught everyone step by step how to use the microscope.

If Jiang Xinghuo were to do this kind of thing, some people might still be unconvinced, but since it was Kong Xilu who came forward, no matter what, everyone has to give face and do it, even if they feel it is wrong. Do it and then protest.

What is Jianghu status?

"Adjust the brightness first, then fix the temporary film on the stage, align the objective lens with the light hole, and observe with your eyes from the side to avoid the objective lens coming into contact with the glass. Glass and the lens are both fragile, so be careful!"

"Then what?"

"Observe the changes in the field of view with the left eye through the eyepiece, and at the same time adjust the lens barrel to move upward slowly until the field of view is clear. If you can't see it, move the glass piece carrying the object below. The formula is 'If you want to go up, go down, if you want to go left, go right. '."

Yang Shiqi followed Kong Xilu's instructions and placed the glass slides containing different objects one by one under the microscope for observation.

These glass slides were obviously prepared in advance.

In each group, there are ants, branch fibers, soil, water droplets, dust, etc.

Under the lens of a microscope.

Suddenly, Yang Shiqi's eyes fell into the world of the lens. Yang Shiqi turned it slightly, and the lens slowly rotated, as if the world was twisted and blurred.

The blur was only temporary. Through rotation, Yang Shiqi also saw the scene inside the lens.

The world inside the lens is very scary.

Yang Shiqi tried hard to concentrate and could barely see clearly. There was a ball of green liquid, and in the liquid, there were many tiny "granulation buds" floating in it. The shape of the "granulation buds" was somewhat similar to the tentacles of insects.

Yang Shiqi looked inside and saw many "sarcomas". These "sarcomas" did not seem to be all dead objects. They were connected to many other parts and even incomprehensible tissues.

Yang Shiqi suppressed his nausea, pointed and asked, "What is this?"

"As you can see, this is the stripped silk from a newly sprouted willow branch."

Jiang Xinghuo explained calmly.

"No, I mean, what are the things in here?"

"In the words of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, this is called 'Qi', maybe the Qi of the willow tree? In my words, this is the biological tissue of the willow tree, the 'cells' made up of its material."

As the saying goes, hearing is false and seeing is true.

After personally observing all the glass slides one by one, the scholars all fell into awkward contemplation.

This thing makes people feel quite embarrassed.

Everyone has never thought about "qi" being like this before.

Of course, it is not that no one questions it, thinking that the microscopic components of the world should not be like this. Perhaps there is something wrong with this "microscope" and it is a trick of a charlatan.

But he was soon speechless and speechless.

Because the principle of a microscope is very simple.

Nowadays, everyone understands the principles of telescopes and magnifying glasses. If you take a convex lens and a concave lens and overlap them, you can also achieve a magnifying effect. At worst, you can go home and rub it by hand, but the accuracy is not good. But you have to It would be unreasonable to insist that there is something wrong with the amplification principle of this device.

The Taixue Association has not yet degenerated into acting like a rogue.

"Is everything in the world made of these 'cells'?" Hu Jima asked curiously.

Today's participation is a very novel experience for Hu Jiyou, which is tantamount to opening the door to a new world.

“All living objects, whether animals or plants, are made of cells.”

Kong Xilu said with certainty: "According to my long-term observation, summary, and experiments, generally speaking, these microorganisms, like 'miniature mayflies', are composed of one cell, that is, single-celled organisms, and Plants and animals are multicellular organisms."

"Cells are extremely tiny, and the movement, nutrition, and reproduction of life are all accomplished by these cells. They are invisible to the naked eye but can only be seen under a microscope. They have various shapes. Normal single cells are mainly composed of nuclei and cytoplasm. The surface There is a cell membrane. Some plants have a cell wall outside the cell membrane. There are often plastids in the cytoplasm, and there are chloroplasts and vacuoles in the body, as well as mitochondria. Animal cells have no cell wall and there are often centrosomes in the cytoplasm."

Hu Jisao asked again: "So, the essence of Qi is actually these things?"

"You can understand it this way, even cells themselves can divide. It is said that two are born, two beget three, and three beget all things. This is the principle. If you are interested, I can show it to you, but the process may be quite long."

Cao Duan pondered for a moment and then said: "In other words, cells are actually eggs. They will hatch out from the mother's body and then breed more eggs. In this way, there will be more and more of them."

Kong Xilu nodded: "You can understand it that way."

"Wait. Egg?"

Cao Duan was stunned: "Then we, humans, are grown from these cells?"

Kong Xilu looked at the young man.

"The great road of human relations, the essence and blood of parents, don't you understand?"

Cao Duan seemed to have thought of something, and he couldn't hold himself any longer.

"What Mr. Kong means is that we are all hatched from such little things?"

"Well, that's the theory."

Jiang Xinghuo added at this time: "And there is a hypothesis that the cells themselves are born for self-reproduction, or to pass on the family line from generation to generation. If people complete this task, there will be no meaning for the cells to exist."

"That's not it."

"Well, after it eats up the old cells, it will slowly wither. This is human aging."

Hearing this, a trace of fear flashed on the faces of the people around him.

People of this era probably cannot imagine that there are such terrible things in this world.

But today, the laws of birth, aging, sickness and death of all life in this world were suddenly and without warning revealed to them.

This kind of impact is unparalleled.

These great Confucians who stand at the top of Ming Dynasty's current ideological circles have basically fallen into a state of sluggish downtime and can only passively accept the indoctrination of Kong Xilu's research results.

Kong Xilu explained in detail, and he had no intention of keeping anything private, because this valuable experience and law of observing the microscopic world must be widely recognized by the academic community before it can be used as capital to establish a sect and leave its name in history.

Kong Xilu knew that Jiang Xinghuo needed his identity endorsement and was essentially using him to attack Cheng Zhuli.

But Kong Xilu didn't care.

No, not only did Kong Xilu not care, but he was very, very grateful to Jiang Xinghuo for giving him this opportunity.

Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, what the hell?

My surname is Kong!

Not to mention attacking Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, if we really want to talk about it, the entire Confucian school should be named Confucius, right? On the contrary, the current Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism has completely tampered with the pre-Qin Confucian thought.

Therefore, Kong Xilu had no grudge against smashing Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's "Li-Qi dualism".

The academic dispute is the battle of orthodoxy. Either you die or I die.

Either don't take action, or be fully prepared and kill with one strike!

As mentioned before, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism’s “Li-Qi dualism” itself cannot explain the detailed distinction between macro and micro.

From a macro perspective, Kong Xilu has no control over how to crack the "reason".

However, from a microscopic perspective, it is possible to completely study the composition of "Qi" or the "material world" using the new "Way of Body" discovered through the microscope.

And this supreme honor was given to him completely and without any secret by Jiang Xinghuo.

Jiang Xinghuo does not need this reputation, just as he has never told anyone that the main ideas of the New Mind Theory were put forward by him.

Similarly, Jiang Xinghuo handed Kong Xilu the new "Tao of Body and Things", which could have a subversive impact on the most important "Qi Theory" in the Confucian worldview.

Kong Xilu is the most suitable candidate.

——The head of the Nankong family, a generation of Confucianism, the embodiment of beautiful virtues in the world, Confucius's walk in the world.

With this identity, he came up with new and well-founded methods to smash Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's "Li-Qi dualism". This was another heavy blow to Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which had already suffered three consecutive blows from "the kings of ancient and modern times overlording justice and benefit". hit!

"It seems that the Ming Dynasty is indeed extraordinary." Hu Jiyou thought in his heart while listening.

After Kong Xilu finished describing all his research results, the scene became extremely quiet.

Yang Shiqi's face became very ugly, even livid.

He knew what Jiang Xinghuo wanted to do, and he also knew what Jiang Xinghuo wanted to do.

Although he was unwilling to accept the facts, he still had to admit that Jiang Xinghuo was right and he was terribly wrong.

No, it’s not that he, Yang Shiqi, was so wrong, but that all the predecessors of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism were wrong!

This world can be said to be made of "qi", whether it is specifically called "cells" or the more microscopic "atoms" mentioned by Jiang Xinghuo just now, it actually doesn't matter.

What's important is that this is the first time the form of "qi" has been revealed in front of the public.

It turns out that a gentleman is not made up of positive yang energy, and a villain is not made up of evil yin energy.

All life in this world is composed of "cells", which are the basic expression structure of "qi". Most of the microorganisms in the air and dust are single-celled, while plants and animals are multi-celled. , these cells have different shapes and functions, but they all bear the function of maintaining life.

Even humans, who are the spirits of all things, are made up of these small cells. From the cells, they grow into babies and then adults in the mother's body. They age as the cells decay and wither, and become sick as the cells die. ,die.

Facts speak louder than words.

This sentence is particularly obvious now.

The principles of microscopes can be understood by everyone; the materials for microscopes and observation experiments can be found by everyone; everything Kong Xilu said is based on the results of experimental observations and can be reproduced by everyone.

So, what is there not to believe?

There is no doubt that this is a historic academic breakthrough.

From now on, the new way of observing things will replace the old method of investigating things, and examine things at a more microscopic level, and will become the mainstream of academic research.

And the true face of "Qi", which was vague and hazy in the past and that no one could explain clearly, was revealed to everyone.

What follows is the truth about how life works.

The impact was so great that the scene was silent for a long time.

Jiang Xinghuo pointed at the microscope and said: "Everyone, let's talk about the argument just now. Is the ethereal void and every inch of air really all Taixu? Or, does Taixu really exist?"

Yang Shiqi tried his best to say: "It is indeed observed that 'cells' are the manifestation of 'qi', but this does not falsify the existence of Taixu."

——Still speaking harshly.

"Then what do you think Taixu is like?"

Yang Shiqi was silent.

"Since you can't tell, let me tell you."

Jiang Xinghuo pointed to a piece of grass in front of the Confucius Temple and said: "From what I see, what people see as too empty is qi, not emptiness. Deficiency contains qi, and qi is full of emptiness. There is no such thing as nothing. In the final analysis, It’s too imaginary, but it’s too real.”

What Jiang Xinghuo means is that the Taixu that people see is a form of Qi existence, rather than a void. The Taixu that seems to be nothing is actually full of Qi, and is not really an absolute void. In the final analysis , as a state of Qi, it is too emptiness and not nothingness, but reality.

"At the same time, the 'Qi' that constitutes all things is also real. Cells actually exist. Reality is the most essential feature of 'Qi'. All tangible and intangible things are real. There is no such thing in the world. Absolute nothingness, even if it is formless, is not true nothingness, but reality.”

"The world is composed of matter, and the first nature of matter is objective reality. Matter is an objective reality that does not depend on human consciousness and can be reflected by human consciousness."

Zhang Yuchu seemed to have some understanding and started singing.

"The intangible is not nothing. When you look for it quietly, when you look at it in the open air, there is nothing intangible in the universe."

"Too empty refers to the amount of qi. The qi is boundless and has no shape, so people see the void but not the qi. All voids are qi. When gathered, they appear, and when they appear, people call them existence; when they disperse, they are hidden. If they are hidden, they will appear. Then people call it nothing.”

Zhang Yuchu's singing became louder and louder, while the faces of the great Confucians on the other side became increasingly ugly.

"Void and empty are all qi. If it is manifest, it is called existence, if it is hidden, it is called non-being. If it is, it is real, and if it is not, it is not nothing. In the great emptiness, it is the real qi, and there is nothing else."

Translate translate, what does it mean?

This is to regard Qi as the sole source of all things in the universe, which fundamentally denies the possibility of other existences above Qi, leaving no place for metaphysical transcendent things such as "natural principles" and "human hearts".

Jiang Xinghuo and others not only want to prove that the existence of "qi" is the objective material existence of cells, but also cut off the orthodox foundation of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's "Li-Qi dualism" and destroy Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's worldview.

This kind of thought is epoch-making in this era, but it had its own academic term in the late Ming Dynasty in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life.

——Qi monism!

In the hands of Jiang Xinghuo, it is the "material monistic world theory".

However, the concept of "qi" is not completely equivalent to matter in the theoretical structure of Confucianism.

The huge destructive effect brought by "Qi Monism" to Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was realized by all the great Confucians almost in the next moment.

There is another question here, that is, the so-called "gentleman's righteousness and yang energy, villain's yin and evil spirit" is not simply ignorance, but also involves an important Neo-Confucian basic structure, that is, what is human nature? Whether it is good or evil, or neither good nor evil, there has been no conclusion since Mencius. It was not until Zhang Zai first proposed the difference between "the nature of heaven and earth" and "the nature of temperament" that the debate on human nature came to an end.

Zhang Zai's theory of human nature was a very big theoretical breakthrough in Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties.

It is because Zhang Zai extended the view that "Taixu is Qi" to include that humans and all things are derived from the Qi of heaven and earth. Therefore, human nature is connected with nature, and the nature of heaven and earth is pure. Since the opening of Hongmeng, there have been differences between Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. The nature of temperament is a mixture of good and evil, and there are individual differences, which are related to the genetics of the parents, the geographical environment, and social conditions.

That is to say, "Form has the nature of temperament, and when good is reversed, the nature of heaven and earth exists. Therefore, the nature of temperament is not the nature of a gentleman."

But now once it is confirmed that "qi" has become a cell, then although genetic factors can also be used to explain human nature, the most important thing "human nature is connected with nature" cannot be explained.

What are the consequences of the inability to explain "human nature is connected to nature"? That is the absolute opposition between human desires and natural principles constructed by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which has lost its logic.

Zhang Zai said that human nature is connected with nature, and the nature of heaven and earth is pure goodness, but is this really the case in heaven and earth?

Heaven and earth are unkind and regard all things as stupid dogs.

Before the laws of the world, everything is equal.

"The nature of heaven and earth" is actually the ethics and morality advocated by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, in order to find a transcendent and transcendental support for Confucian ethics and morality.

Where did Prime Minister Wen's phrase "Heaven and earth have righteousness, and the chaos is endowed with manifolds"? It comes from this theory.

The "qi monism" kills not only the so-called righteousness and evil qi, but also the inevitable logic between heavenly principles and human desires.

Only then did Yang Shiqi understand how Jiang Xinghuo planned to break the ultimatum of "starving to death is a small matter, but losing integrity is a big deal".

Unfortunately, it's too late.