Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Although the people at Jiang Xinghuo's table looked a bit ordinary in their clothes, they couldn't stand up to Jiang Xinghuo's arrogance. Who would believe him if he was said to be a poor scholar?

Therefore, when Jiang Xinghuo said, "I understand a little bit," no one thought he was declining.

"If you have any insights, please tell me. I have nothing to do."

The young people's strong curiosity, coupled with that damn desire to win, made them very eager to know what Jiang Xinghuo said they "somewhat understand".

After all, it would be embarrassing if you couldn’t tell!

And since Jiang Xinghuo came out to understand the current ideological trends among scholars, in addition to listening, there must be some communication.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo secretly thought that since they wanted to listen, they wouldn't mind saying a few words.

Then, he coughed and began to talk: "The foundation of "King System" lies in the Six Classics. The meanings, examples, sentences in the Six Classics are fine and subtle, mixed and complicated, like a tree with tangled roots. If you want to To straighten things out, we must grasp the fundamentals, and the fundamentals of the Six Classics, according to "Ming Pao", are nothing more than the four words "Tong Jing Zhi Yong", and the imperial court said "Tong Jing Zhi Yong" is a form, with "Jing Shi Shi" "Zhiyong' is the inside."

Jiang Xinghuo's few words immediately made the smart scholar feel like he could see the sun through the clouds.

These things are not mentioned in Ming Pao, and no gentleman will explain them to them. They have to understand this on their own.

There is a saying that "the Tao should not be preached lightly, and the law should not be sold cheaply." This is the truth.

Even if someone finds out these doorways hidden under the high-sounding words of "Ming Pao", they are probably bureaucrats who have been immersed in the temple for a long time. What can such people say outside? It’s too late to realize it deeply behind closed doors.

"How about the application of the classics? National political affairs, scholars must know it if they want to climb the dragon gate. And the application of the classics is the Confucianism of the past dynasties, from the beginning to the last work, every word is not blood-line. This is how to govern The laws of the Jing Dynasty govern the world, and then all the big and small are included, and the difficult and easy are in accordance with the law. From the kings to the men and women, from the big affairs to the plants and trees, everyone must have their temperament, so that the administrative measures will be without harm."

"Government measures depend on systems. Systems are the foundation of dynasty politics and the hub of social operations. If you want to apply the classics, you must use systems to manage the world. Therefore, the six classics should be based on the "King System"."

Everyone was silent for a while, all attracted by Jiang Xinghuo's words.

Even the diners on the other side couldn't help but look at him sideways, with a hint of brilliance in their eyes. It wasn't that they heard something, but that they saw a bunch of people looking at one person and couldn't help but follow along to see what was special. at.

In fact, from what Jiang Xinghuo said, the content in "The King System" represents too much meaning.

It’s simply worth pondering.

Jiang Xinghuo talked eloquently and analyzed "The King System" lucidly.

After everyone listened, they all fell into deep thought.

One person couldn't help but murmured in a low voice: "It turns out that the meaning of "Kingdom" here is so complicated."

Although they read a lot, they are not expert in all the Five Classics. Therefore, let alone the "Yue Jing", which the imperial court began to devote to archeology, they do not understand, even the "King System" in the "Book of Rites" is not as subtle as the "Spring and Autumn" , there are really not many people who have studied it seriously.

But this didn't mean that they couldn't understand what Jiang Xinghuo said.

Anyway, he was stunned by Jiang Xinghuo. Looking at Jiang Xinghuo, his eyes became more and more hot.

"It's really amazing!"

"This analysis is very insightful."

Everyone applauded and looked at Jiang Xinghuo with admiration in their eyes.

Jiang Xinghuo waved his hand modestly: "It's just a superficial glimpse, not worth mentioning."

At this moment, Jiang Xinghuo's image suddenly became taller——

It’s really hidden!

"This is no trivial matter. I see that you are an extraordinary person. Don't belittle yourself."

"Yes, it's no ordinary person to have such knowledge."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and kept his scarf tightly covered, but said no more.

After claiming the "Expert" buff, these scholars wisely stopped bothering him. They probably figured out some plot in their own minds, so the topics they discussed no longer went in dangerous directions that might cross the line. Instead, he moved closer to some purely academic issues.

"Do you know about "Xunzi"?"

The scholar named Fang asked.

"Hey, forget it, I failed the test here this year."

"I've heard a little bit about it. I also heard that some people pee in a hurry while taking the exam."

Guo Jing and Chai Che at the next table had very strange expressions at this time, but fortunately they were hiding their faces due to their drunkenness, so they were not too rude, but the way they looked at Jiang Xinghuo made Jiang Xinghuo strange. .

Do you blame me for having difficulty with the questions?

What's so difficult? The questions have been set like this for so many years. Those who can take the Four Books and Five Classics test have already failed. Those who are forced have to splice the questions together. Don't talk nonsense with your eyes open. The questions are very difficult. "Xunzi" is already very simple, okay? good?

Sometimes I look for my own reasons. Xunzi’s thought was mentioned two years ago, and it didn’t start to be mentioned just this year. Have you studied seriously over the years, answered the questions seriously, and prepared for the exam seriously?

But these words were just spinning around in his mind, and Jiang Xinghuo would definitely not say them out loud.

Saying such things in front of this group of people is not like throwing firecrackers in a cesspool.

The scholar surnamed Chen, who usually focused on studying, said at this time: "I have recently heard a widely circulated statement among scholars, which is that the reason why this year's exam focuses on "Xunzi" is that His Majesty is fond of the theory of the Holy King. , there are other explanations.”

"Other explanation?"

Everyone looked puzzled.

"Yes, it is said."

The scholar surnamed Chen paused for a while: "It has something to do with the Taixue Association. Do you understand the dispute between Han Confucianism and Song Confucianism?"

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of several scholars around him suddenly changed.

"No, how is that possible?"

"Even if your Majesty likes Xunzi no matter how much you like him, you will definitely not be able to do such a thing."

"Yes, Song Confucianism has been orthodox for so many years."

The dispute here lies in which one should be respected, Xunzi or Mencius. In fact, it is not just about respecting this person.

If Xunzi was carried into the Confucius Temple, it can be understood as the emperor's personal preference, then "Xunzi" became a key part of the imperial examination, which is not the case at all.

The emperor could decide at will who should enjoy which temple, regardless of whether it was the Confucius Temple, the Confucian Temple, or the Martial Arts Temple. As long as the emperor was willing, he could let in whoever he wanted.

But this is not the case for the imperial examination. Once someone's thoughts become the content of the imperial examination, it means a change in the direction of the imperial examination. This will directly cause scholars all over the world to study and study his thoughts out of utilitarianism.

Although Xunzi has been devalued for hundreds of years starting from the Song Dynasty, Mencius and Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, who inherited Mencius, are the ideological leaders in the Ming Dynasty.

But this does not mean that Xunzi’s thought has never had its moments of glory.

In fact, compared with Song Confucianism, the thoughts of Han Confucianism are very close to Xunzi.

"Xunzi founded a sect of Han studies, which was devoted to the study of Buddhism and focused on preaching the scriptures; Mencius founded a sect of Song studies, which focused on teaching broad and subtle studies and focused on preaching."

"This is the more popular definition of Sinology and Song Dynasty."

There is definitely no big problem with this statement. In fact, even if you look at the current Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism that respects Mencius, the roots of Taoism can indeed be traced back to Mencius, but a lot of the content in it is the result of taking it out of context. .

However, Sinology, which focuses on "governing the Classics" and the "Classics" that evolved later, mostly admire Xunzi, but are more original.

"Indeed."

Another person probably knew that his companions usually worked a lot on the examination content, but did not have a thorough understanding of Confucian history, so he explained: "Han Confucianism mostly passed down the learning of Xunzi, so it was inherited from Zisizi's learning of Mencius." In fact, it was not obvious in the Han Dynasty. The only person who paid attention to it was Zhao Qi. It was not until Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty that he began to respect Mencius. Before the Huangchao Rebellion in the late Tang Dynasty, Pi Rixiu respected both Mencius and Han. This was the forerunner of Song Dynasty learning. There are stories about the Five Sons of the Northern Song Dynasty."

"But now the talk of respecting Xun has become more and more exaggerated."

The scholar surnamed Fang had no choice but to say: "Some people advocate that Confucius's school had two schools, Xun and Mencius, in the late Zhou Dynasty. The direct sect, so those who can really teach the Six Classics of Confucius should be regarded as the Xunzi sect."

Everyone was a little surprised and asked one after another.

"Who is this, so shameless?"

"The Prime Minister of Guanglu Temple is Gaozhi."

Jiang Xinghuo: "."

But this is obviously something that can't be helped. Xunzi's thoughts don't even say that he wants to return to the top. Even if he rises again, he will have to go through a lot of ups and downs, so being more high-profile is really a last resort.

If you humble yourself, no one will take notice of you.

"You continue."

The scholar surnamed Chen continued: "So there is a saying now that the imperial court respects Xun, not only to use the theory of the Holy King to conform to His Majesty's wishes, but also to restore the learning of Han Confucianism to balance Song Confucianism, especially Song Confucianism. Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism."

“Isn’t this a change of course?”

"Are there not many cases where the imperial court changes its tune?"

The scholars talked a lot.

Although disputes over dominant ideas have never stopped in the past dynasties, in most cases, as long as they pursue stability, they will choose a theory, such as Dong Zhongshu's set of heaven-human induction in the Han Dynasty, or Zhu Xi's theory of heaven and human desire in the Song Dynasty. Shao takes the initiative to allow two completely opposite ideas to collide.

If the control is not good, then the ideological world is likely to become a mess.

But now, for these scholars who have studied Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism passed down from Mencius for 20 or 30 years, it doesn’t matter if there are more new things in the exam, because they don’t know it, and neither does everyone. For people, it's basically the same new starting line.

But if they delete the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucian content they know, it will be a disaster.

If the news that the imperial court intends to respect Sinology is confirmed, it will be like the sky has fallen for this group of people.

It's like the last batch of scholars in the late Qing Dynasty who studied hard for ten years in a poor family. Just when they were about to leave the country, the imperial examination was abolished.

"Don't forget, the Imperial Master doesn't like Cheng and Zhu Lixue very much now."

Another scholar sighed and said: "I'm afraid, we are really ready to take action. After all, although the content of the imperial examination is not related to the survival of the country, it is also related to the welfare of all people. The imperial court must have some ideas before taking action."

After hearing this, everyone became even more silent.

Jiang Xinghuo was also silent.

After a long reincarnation, he has actually confirmed a point of view with his own experience.

——This world is indeed a huge grass-roots team.

Although the imperial court did implement policies after careful deliberation (inefficient delaying decision-making) in many cases, in fact, it is not necessarily true that you said these policies have gone through careful research, research, design and planning. Many of them are just photos. It came out of my head.

The reason why classic governance cases are so classic is because there are only a few that stand out, and the rest are screwed up that no one can know about from history books.

For Jiang Xinghuo, the reform is of course planned and step-by-step, but the reform is so complicated, and there are so many seemingly "important" areas that are advancing simultaneously, so planning for a single area is actually very difficult. The thinking is not so comprehensive, especially since many of the associated consequences cannot be predicted in advance.

In other words, respecting Xun led to the revival of Han Confucianism. Jiang Xinghuo had this plan. This is why he asked Kong Xilu, Gao Xunzhi and Cao Duan to be responsible for the ancient reform of "Kingdom" and sorting out the ancient literature school and modern literature respectively. In addition to these original purposes, such things as sects and the division of classics and history are also within the academic scope of Han Confucianism.

But Jiang Xinghuo never thought that because of the victory of the Taixue Association and the fact that Jiashen Keke passed the "Xunzi" weightlifting exam, such radical public opinion would emerge between the government and the public.

"As expected, the so-called 'conservatives' are the group of people who dislike the 'radicals' for being too conservative."

Deep in his heart, Jiang Xinghuo sighed sincerely.

At least to be honest, Jiang Xinghuo only intends to revive Han Confucianism and sort out the origins of practical learning. He has no intention of regressing the academic world back to the era of Confucian classics.

At this time, he had to come out and say a few words.

Jiang Xinghuo coughed lightly and said: "I think the division between Han Confucianism and Song Confucianism is a bit biased. Han Confucianism not only understands the classics and applies it, but also inherits the learning of Confucius and Mencius. The so-called Han Confucianism and Song Confucianism are more different. Most of it lies in the study of Confucian classics by Han Confucians, so they like to talk about big ideas. As for the theory of human nature, Han Confucianism still originated from Mencius. It is true that the court respects Xunzi, but it does not necessarily reject Mencius completely. It is true that the court wants to revive Han Confucian thought. But it also doesn’t mean that Song Confucianism should be buried in the ground. If that were really the case, wouldn’t the world be in chaos?”

Jiang Xinghuo's words were of course a true one-to-one statement. They were very fair and unbiased, so everyone felt they were objective.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Although reforms require changes, changes do not make you go to extremes. Things must be done step by step. For the ideological world, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism has been dominant for so many years, and it has become easier to issue political orders. , then what can we do to take over? How to face the backlash from countless scholars? It should always be done step by step.

Jiang Xinghuo has realized that the reform has been recognized by the world in terms of thought. The next step is to slowly promote the new ideas and at the same time use his heart to study Neo-Confucianism. In this way, after more than ten years and decades of subtle influence, The dominant position of Neo-Confucianism was naturally replaced, and this was a matter of course.

Blowing up the dam without digging the diversion channel is not called ruthless work, it is called seeking death.

"Then in your opinion, what do the views on the 'division of classics and history' published by these great Confucian scholars in Ming Pao mean?"

The scholar surnamed Fang asked Jiang Xinghuo seriously.

Jiang Xinghuo held his hands, leaned against the window, and leaned over slightly.

"What I understand means, whether it is the division of classics into history or the guiding significance of studying the "King System", the purpose is definitely not to completely overthrow Neo-Confucianism, but to say that there are many things that cannot be achieved by studying Neo-Confucianism."

"To understand the classics and apply it, to manage the world to apply it, what matters is practicality."

"The so-called understanding of the classics and its practical application means that we should not just talk empty words, but should 'speak while sitting and then make it practical'. That is to say, there should be no such shortcomings as Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which is like 'talking about one's nature with one's hands in peacetime, and repaying the king with death in times of crisis'" .”

"As for why we need to study the 'division of classics and history'? Classics is the foundation of scholarship. You should know this, right?"

The scholars nodded one after another. There is no doubt about this. After all, the first test is usually the Four Books + the Five Classics. Now it is the Five Books + the Five Classics, but adding "Xunzi" is one thing. The Five Classics have always remained the same. .

As for the Five Classics, what is passed down is the set of Confucian classics. Although the most important "Spring and Autumn" is so comprehensive that students no longer pay attention to it. But no matter what, Confucian classics are always passed down.

Jiang Xinghuo added: "It is true that Confucian classics is the foundation of scholarship, but when it comes to application methods, history is more important."

"If a person doesn't read the scriptures, he doesn't know how to live his life; if he doesn't read the history, he can't govern his country."

"Today's discussion of the division of classics and history probably means this."

"Similarly, why mention the "King System"? I just mentioned this matter, but I didn't go into details. In fact, the more in-depth research, it is simple to put it bluntly. It is nothing more than the purpose of "King System" and other rituals and music, not to restore the ancient times. The design of Mianben's robes and tripods during this period was to study the classical rules and regulations, clarify the development of cultural systems, and provide reference for today's system design. This is the practical purpose of 'tongjingzhiyong'."

Jiang Xinghuo didn't actually say a few words, but every sentence was on point. With these failed examples, he really felt as if he had suddenly been raised several levels in terms of the level and depth of the problem.

The scholar surnamed Fang was careful and wanted to interrupt, but he couldn't help but asked in a low voice.

"Then why do we need to sort out the ancient and modern schools of literature? Please give us your advice."

"Do you know what the ancient and modern literature schools are about?"

Jiang Xinghuo really didn't look down on these actions when he asked this question.

For scholars in this era who were focused on entering official careers through the imperial examination, all books except those related to the imperial examination could be classified as "miscellaneous books".

I have already mentioned before what the imperial examination will test, and in the default weighting of the imperial examination, the first test of four books, five classics and eight-part essays \u003e the second test of essays, judgments, and imperial edicts \u003e the third test of current affairs policy questions.

After so many years of exams, these things already have complete training manuals.

Although there is no "Five-Year College Entrance Examination and Three-Year Simulation" in Ming Dynasty, there is no shortage of similar things.

For example, there are fixed templates for things like imperial edicts and forms. Prepare a few more sets and fill them in according to them. It doesn't matter if you don't write well. You just get a normal score and you can't get full marks. But originally, these things related to history accounted for The ratio is not high.

As for the current affairs policy question in the third exam, in the Tang and Song dynasties, it was one of the key points of the examination, but in the Ming Dynasty, the examiners did not bother to take a look at it. For example, this year, when Jiashenke clearly paid attention to the current affairs policy question, on the contrary, is extremely rare.

Therefore, under real test preparation conditions, in order to save time and pursue efficiency, it is normal for candidates to not know much about the content of history books.

As for the Four Books and Five Classics that are tested, although the Five Classics are the meanings of the classics and are inseparable from the study of classics, to be honest, the ones that are most frequently tested at this time are "Poems", "Yi", "Books", "Book of Rites" and "Spring and Autumn" Basically, the test is not very important. The Four Books and Five Classics rely on eight-legged essays, and candidates are not required to understand the history involved.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo would not be surprised if these unsuccessful candidates knew nothing about the historical origins of the ancient and modern literature schools.

But the scholar surnamed Chen here really loves reading, and he was able to answer the question fluently and completely at this time.

"The origin of Confucian classics was in the fifth year of the founding of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. Dong Zhongshu implemented Dong Zhongshu's policy of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone." It is divided into two schools: ancient Chinese and modern Chinese."

"Jinwen Jingxue refers to the scriptures written in the Han Dynasty in the language of the time for people to read. It emphasizes understanding the classics and applying them, making the classics a tool for governing the country and the world, and at the same time elucidating the subtle meanings in the Six Classics. "

"The ancient classics are scriptures written in pre-Qin seal characters. They are works of the retro school. They were only circulated among the people at first. They believed that Confucius described the Six Classics without making any excuses. They are all history. They mainly study the original meaning of the Six Classics because they are written in seal characters. , and the writings of various countries in the pre-Qin period were not uniform, so ancient classics focused on the research methods of textual research and interpretation of famous objects and text exegesis."

This answer is very standard. In fact, the difference between the modern literature school and the ancient literature school is very simple at the beginning, that is, the different emphasis on real politics and academic research. The modern literature school pays more attention to real politics and regards Confucius as a politician. It is believed that the Six Classics was Confucius' political method of "relying on ancient times to reform the system" in the Spring and Autumn Period. In fact, to put it bluntly, it was to give Dong Zhongshu's series of reforms ideological and legal basis through the interpretation of the scriptures, that is, "the Six Classics note me" .

The ancient literature school focused more on academic research at the beginning. It regarded Confucius as a historian and believed that the Six Classics were all historical materials left by the previous dynasties. Confucius was the recorder, so they had to use methods such as textual research and exegesis of names and objects. , using methods similar to archeology to restore the subtle meaning of the Six Classics, and then explain them, that is, "I annotate the Six Classics".

"What about the ancient and modern schools of literature?"

The scholar couldn't answer, so Chai Che helped to rescue him: "Later, it probably changed its flavor and became a tool for internal struggles in the Han Dynasty. For example, in the late Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xin vigorously promoted ancient classics and fiercely criticized modern classics. Confucian classics led to a dispute between ancient and modern literature that lasted for more than two hundred years. Wang Mang was the leader of the ancient literature school. After the establishment of the new dynasty, he established the ancient Chinese version of "Zhou Li" as the official school. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan used the ancient literature school to The classics are the main focus, while the modern classics are included, and the classics are re-examined, thus unifying the two major schools of ancient Chinese and modern classics."

Jiang Xinghuo seemed to be asking more questions: "What happened next? Did Confucian classics suddenly disappear? Did it directly transition to Neo-Confucianism of the Five Scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty?"

"this"

Chai Che couldn't answer this time. Chai Che looked at Guo Jing, but Guo Jing didn't know either.

If Jiang Xinghuo didn't ask, they usually wouldn't think about these issues.

It is as if the 740-year history from the Three Kingdoms to the Northern Song Dynasty has been broken and bloody, and the academic thought seems to have disappeared.

So, has it really disappeared?

of course not.

So why do today’s scholars feel this way?

The answer is also very simple. This is the artificial "academic historical fault" deliberately created by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

This period of intellectual history from the Three Kingdoms to the Northern Song Dynasty did not exist, but was deliberately blocked by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

The reason why it needs to be blocked is because the orthodoxy of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism came directly from Mencius, so most of the academic thoughts in the intervening period are inconsistent with Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. , just block them all.

Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism never talked about these histories. Even if the influence of Confucian classics was not too great (the Five Classics cannot be bypassed), Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism would not talk much about Confucian classics.

Today's scholars don't know much about the history of Confucian classics, and they are certainly less likely to understand how China's ideological world has changed during this 740-year history between Confucian classics and the emergence of Neo-Confucianism.

"After the Three Kingdoms, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, just like the geographical division of the north and the south, the ideology was also divided into two parts, that is, the Northern Dynasties Confucian classics and the Southern Dynasty Confucian classics, that is, the 'Northern study' and the 'Southern study'. The Northern study adhered to the old teachings of the Eastern Han Dynasty , which focuses on analyzing and interpreting chapter and sentence exegesis of pre-Qin Confucian classics, and follows the path of the ancient literature school. However, Nanxue deviated from the path of the modern literature school. After going through the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen Dynasties, it was greatly influenced by Buddhism and evolved into Metaphysics mainly develops the theory of destiny and nature in "Book of Rites: Doctrine of the Mean"."

"Guess why there is such a difference?"

The scholar surnamed Chen replied: "About the Northern Dynasties, all foreign races occupied the Central Plains, and academic research was suppressed. They could neither rely on the ancients to reform the system, nor recognize the destiny of foreign races, so they had to bury themselves in old papers. In the Southern Dynasty, there was no hope of the Northern Expedition. Even if there was The entry of Baipao into Luo was just a flash in the pan. Emperors such as Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, were addicted to Buddhism. They sang and danced for a long time and lost their will to strive. Naturally, they could only talk about destiny and character."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded, a little biased, but not much different.

In fact, the Confucian scholars in the Northern Dynasties were not that spineless. Even in the middle of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Northern Dynasties already regarded themselves as orthodox in the Central Plains. The high-ranking officials looked down on those who crossed to the south, thinking that the south was a land of barbarians, and so did the Southern Dynasties. Think so.

"At the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Kong Yingda, Yan Shigu and others compiled the "Five Classics" Yi Xun, which summarized the respective characteristics of the Southern Dynasty metaphysics and the Northern Dynasty exegesis of chapters and sentences during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, thus unifying and compiling the various scriptures of the previous dynasties. Publish a unified set of scripture annotations as a standard so that scholars can learn from their own traditions and have a basis for selecting scholars through the imperial examination."

Yi Xun means to clarify and explain based on the annotations.

In this version of the "Five Classics" or "Five Classics Justice", "Mao Shi" and "Book of Rites" mainly use Zheng Xuan's annotated version, "Zhouyi" mainly uses Wang Bi's annotated version, and "Shangshu" uses Kong Anguo's biography and "Spring and Autumn Annals". " is based on Zuo Zhuan. On the basis of learning from the former Confucianism, Kong Yingda deleted, edited and revised the manuscript. It is recorded in the history books that "it is necessary to obtain detailed documentation, examine the principles carefully, cut off the complexity, and summarize the secrets." The final draft The quality of the book is quite high. Because of the selection and emphasis, it basically does not have the common problem of official textbooks being mixed and impure, and everything is crammed into it.

In fact, Kong Yingda not only founded the "Yishu School", which became the standard for official Confucian classics in the Tang Dynasty, and became a textbook for imperial examinations, but his portrait entered Lingyan Pavilion in the 18th year of Zhenguan. Kong Yingda died in the 22nd year of Zhenguan. At that time, he was directly buried with Zhaoling.

It is a pity that few people know about this generation of Confucianism due to the deliberate cover-up of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

As for why it was covered up, the main reason is that Zhu Xi put a lot of effort into commenting on the Four Books, but not the Five Classics.

Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on Chapters and Sentences of the Four Books" can indeed be proudly said to have thoroughly understood the Four Books. This is not unreasonable, even Jiang Xinghuo has to admit it.

But in terms of the Five Classics, Zhu Xi has not annotated it in the book category, the "Collected Poems of Poems" in the poetry category, the "Original Meaning of the Book of Changes" in the Yi category, and the "General Interpretation of the Classics of Ritual Classics" in the ritual category, all of which can only be said to have a limited level. In terms of the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhu Xi has not annotated it. I have never seriously noted that the "Zi Zhi Tong Jian Gang Mu" can be regarded as the embodiment of his historical views, but Confucian classics is the most exegetical. A player like Zhu Xi who likes to take quotes out of context and create new interpretations, in Confucian classics, a complete system that has been developed for nearly a thousand years. In front of us, there is no room for taking things out of context.

Why?

Because what can be explained and textual research has long been completed by the ancient Chinese and modern literature schools, and later the Southern and Northern Studies, and even the "Yishu School" of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, since Zhu Xi's Five Classics did not surpass the Tang Dynasty's "Five Classics of Justice" system, he was unwilling to talk more about it and naturally chose to cover it up.