The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 479: Brought by the Spread of Buddhism to the East

Zhu Xiongying naturally supported Chen Jingke's decision.

He immediately said, "I will have the Imperial Academy print this book and distribute it throughout the country."

Then the two discussed the details, mainly how to promote the book and how to deal with the incoming criticism.

Afterwards, Chen Jingke went to see Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao separately and told them about his plan.

Naturally, both of them supported it.

After communicating with the palace, Chen Jingke went to the Hanlin Academy and found Fang Xiaoru.

Fang Xiaoru was undoubtedly very happy to learn that Chen Jingke was going to officially publish the Great Harmony World:
"Haha...it should have been published a long time ago. The weekly newspaper will publish a special issue specifically for this book."

Chen Jingke did not object. His goal was to fill the gap left by Neo-Confucianism as soon as possible, and using official channels was undoubtedly the most convenient way.

As for whether someone would gossip about me...

When Confucius traveled around the countries, wasn't he also hoping to lobby the monarchs and gain their support?

It was only because Neo-Confucianism gained the support of the emperor that it eventually overwhelmed other schools of thought and became a prominent school of thought.

Chen Jingke followed the same path, and no one could blame him.

It’s just that his book naturally gained the support of the royal family, so there was no lobbying process.

"Let's publish the first article first and see how people react."

Fang Xiaoru also thought this was a good idea and said:
"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to do the layout right away."

The so-called first chapter is also the general chapter, what is Datong.

Its content is about the development and evolution of the idea of ​​Great Harmony in Chinese culture.

In the article, he first gave a general explanation of the origin of Chinese culture.

It was born among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, matured in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and flourished in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

All the schools of thought emerged under such circumstances.

The two cornerstones that have the greatest influence on the various schools of thought, or the reason why the various schools of thought were able to come into being, are indispensable.

One is Taoism, the other is Confucianism.

Taoism and Confucianism summarized and developed the thoughts of the ancient sages and formed their own thoughts.

For example, the main body of Confucianism originated from the thoughts and policies of Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao.

All other schools of thought were inspired by these two schools.

Even many schools of thought are branches extending from the ideas of these two schools.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, hundreds of schools of thought competed with each other, and Confucianism eventually won.

Up to this point in its development, Chinese civilization has actually been evolving independently.

During this process, we were not influenced or impacted by foreign ideas.

Therefore, it is for this reason that Chinese civilization is considered the origin of civilization.

But soon after Confucianism came to the fore, Buddhism emerged.

A new and completely different ideological system emerged, which had a huge impact on Chinese civilization.

The schools of thought that suffered the most were Taoism and Confucianism.

Because they were the only two left at the time, and they were also the most important external manifestations of Chinese civilization at that time.

Taoists, who have always advocated governing by inaction, have the fastest response.

They quickly absorbed the advantages of Buddhist thought, organizational structure and other aspects.

It also integrated the essence of the Yin-Yang School, the Alchemist School and other schools to form Taoism.

In sharp contrast is Confucianism.

When faced with the impact of Buddhism, they reacted too slowly and failed to make timely adjustments.

In terms of academic thought, we were once at a disadvantage.

Therefore, from the Southern and Northern Dynasties until the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism had always been competing in the ideological world, with Confucianism at the bottom.

Afterwards, Chen Jingke made a detailed analysis of the aspects in which Buddhist culture had an impact on Chinese thought.

For example, compassion, salvation of all living beings, and equality of all beings.

This kind of Buddhist thought contains a very grand ultimate humanistic concern.

As a rule for a group of people, an ideology that is open to everyone, this is essential.

But what were the Confucians doing at that time? Killing one's own relatives.

The so-called killing of relatives means determining the relationship between people based on the closeness of their relationship.

I do not look at closeness or distance from the perspective of the entire human race, but rather from the small circle of bloodline and kinship.

This is very different from the Buddhist approach of letting go of one's own identity and looking at everyone from a grand perspective, and judging who is superior and who is inferior.

It must also be acknowledged that Confucianism is a summary of the aristocratic culture formed during the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Confucius believed that what made aristocrats noble was not their bloodline but their upbringing.

Being rich is not innate, but can be acquired through education.

So what is the template for education?
It is the aristocratic culture formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Confucius summarized it into Confucianism, and then recruited many disciples to pass on this thought to people all over the world, making everyone become "nobles".

Therefore Mencius said: "Make those who know first awaken those who know later, and make those who are aware first awaken those who are aware later."

However, Confucianism also does not deny the existence of classes.

On the contrary, it also deliberately emphasizes class attributes and class privileges.

The most typical manifestation is: punishment does not apply to officials, and courtesy does not apply to common people.

This emphasis on class seems so powerless when faced with the Buddhist belief that "all beings are equal."

Faced with the same problem, Taoists remain calm.

Because Taoism itself also has thoughts in this regard.

Zhuangzi said in "On Equality of Things": Heaven and earth are like one finger, and all things are like one horse.

Moreover, this kind of thought has undergone a certain degree of development.

Therefore, when faced with the impact of Buddhism, Taoists took out the existing ideas of the ancient sages and evolved them to form their own theory of "equality of all beings."

Confucianism also has similar ideas, such as "Great Harmony".

However, it has not been taken seriously and no one has expanded the content in this area.

Therefore, there were internal reasons why Confucianism could only watch the competition between Buddhism and Taoism from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the end of the Tang Dynasty.

But Confucianism did not really stand still; it was always seeking breakthroughs.

Wang Tong of the Sui Dynasty proposed the theory of the integration of three religions, but unfortunately he did not find a suitable way.

By the time of Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan, Confucianism had finally figured out the trick and began to absorb the essence of Buddhism and Taoism to perfect its own ideas.

In the Song Dynasty, Zhang Zai and Zhang Hengqu put forward the idea that "all people are my compatriots and all things are my companions."

His idea of ​​"loving all people and all things" gave Confucianism its own "equality of all beings".

Buddhism has brought more than just this to China.

For example, making ideas simpler and easier to understand.

Both Confucianism and Taoism were born out of aristocratic culture and are very complicated and difficult to understand.

Confucianism, in particular, requires "liberal arts" to cultivate and develop aristocratic temperament and character.

The fundamental purpose of Confucius in promoting the Six Arts was also to achieve "liberal arts".

However, "Bo Ya" is destined to be out of reach for the poor.

Only the wealthy class who have separated themselves from production can afford to pursue "liberal arts".

Buddhist thought is simple and easy to understand; even an old farmer who cannot read a single word can understand it.

This has a huge impact on the dissemination of knowledge.

It forced Confucianism and Taoism to make changes.

Taoists also responded very quickly in this regard and soon developed simple and easy-to-understand Taoist ideas.

The Five Pecks of Rice Sect was able to flourish thanks to this simplification.

Confucianism did not complete this simplification until the time of Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao.

The two Cheng brothers abandoned the poetry, songs, calligraphy and painting that Confucianism had previously pursued and began to pursue a direct connection with one's nature.

There is no need for poetry, songs or anything like that. Just grasp the "principles" directly through teaching by words and deeds.

This simplification cleared the last obstacle for the promotion of Confucianism.

Therefore, the flourishing of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty was not only due to the support of the royal family.

It also lies in its own transformation.

Of course, Buddhism and Chinese thought complement each other.

While China absorbed the essence of Buddhism, Buddhism was also forced to improve itself by China's excellent ideas.

Eventually, Buddhism, which was integrated with Chinese thought, became Mahayana Buddhism and continues to this day.

However, the development of Theravada Buddhism that was spread in other places was not very good, and even the Buddhist countries were destroyed.

Therefore, the spread of Buddhism to the East was a mutual benefit.

Closer to home.

As the saying goes, there is a latecomer advantage. The late transformation of Confucianism has become an advantage.

It can wait until the Buddhist and Taoist thoughts are fully developed, absorb the most essential parts of both, and then achieve transcendence. At this point in the article, Chen Jingke finally brought up the topic of the world of great harmony.

Based on the ideas of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism about ultimate care, I have some thoughts of my own.

Write down your thoughts for everyone to critique.

In order to pay tribute to the predecessors, I named this idea the World of Great Harmony.

This is the end of the article.

As for the specific contents of the world of Great Harmony, it was not mentioned.

This article only introduces the origin of 'Great Harmony World'.

The specific content will have to wait until the book is officially published, so you can go and read it yourself.

When this article was published, the sensation it caused can be imagined.

No one has ever explained the evolution of Chinese thought in such a systematic way, and no one can clearly explain the relationship between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

Even Fang Xiaoru, the founder of materialism, only analyzed the reasons for the emergence and demise of the various schools of thought.

No one has been able to explain the development of Chinese civilization from a macro perspective.

Chen Jingke was the first to do this.

However, this article also caused widespread dissatisfaction among Confucianists.

Although Chen Jingke's description of Confucianism was of the type that first criticized and then praised, it was generally mostly praise.

But what qualifications do you have to criticize my Confucianism?

Moreover, since Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty established Confucianism as the only official school of thought, Confucianism has become the most prominent school of thought.

Why do you appear so powerless when facing the impact of Buddhism?

“When has Confucianism ever lacked ultimate concern?”

“If you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. Isn’t that the ultimate concern?”

“Respect the elderly as well as the elderly of others, and respect the young as well as the young of others, aren’t these the ultimate concerns?”

Countless people criticized this article based on the contents of classics.

They thought Chen Jingke was just trying to attract attention.

Even many people in the court changed their attitude towards Chen Jingke.

They did not simply think that Chen Jingke was just trying to attract attention.

Is that necessary?

The more one knows about his achievements, the more one realizes how extraordinary he is.

Everyone has the potential to attract attention, except him.

They had only one idea:
Is Chen Jingke finally going to make changes to this country from an ideological level?

Everyone knows that starting from the 15th year of Hongwu, the person who truly influenced the direction of the Ming Dynasty was Chen Jingke.

He demonstrated extraordinary political wisdom, a far-sighted vision, and a compassionate heart...

Designed a whole new system for the Ming Dynasty.

The changes in the Ming Dynasty are obvious to all.

In just over a decade, they achieved a height that would have taken hundreds of years for all previous dynasties to achieve.

But he never did anything constructive or changeful on the ideological level.

Even though everyone knew that he and Fang Xiaoru were close friends.

Fang Xiaoru even admitted that it was under his guidance that he came to realize materialism.

Everyone also suspected that he had profound academic attainments.

I also had doubts that he would change his academic thinking sooner or later.

But he himself never revealed it, so everyone can only suspect it.

And now, the suspicion is finally becoming reality.

Faced with this situation, the ministers reacted differently.

Some people are at a loss and don't know how to respond.

Some people don’t care. No matter what new ideas or old ideas they are, I will believe whoever can make me an official.

Some people are opposed to this, believing that ideas cannot be changed so easily.

Which kind of thought has not been formed through thousands of years of refinement?

No matter how smart you, Chen Jingke, are you?
There are also some people who simply cannot accept dissenting ideas. In fact, this type of people is the majority.

The same reason is why Confucian scholars generally oppose the idea of ​​a world of great harmony.

Not to mention ancient times, even the 21st century is no exception.

Everyone only believes what they want to believe.

Once they find something that differs from their own understanding, they will become furious and attack without thinking.

In fact, the reason is very simple. Everyone has a different perception of the world.

The hardest thing for people to change is cognition, and the most unacceptable thing is having their cognition broken.

But there was a group of people in the government and the opposition who went on a wild goose chase because of the announcement of the Great Harmony World.

That is the accounting official system headed by Qiu Guangan, and the entire mathematics circle.

As for the reason, is it a matter of interest?

Moreover, everyone can see it through this article.

Chen Jingke's world of great harmony should have been formed by integrating the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought.

Then you can also go and study in their mathematics circle.

Who will dare to laugh at them for only knowing techniques but not principles?

Is Confucianism great?
We are from the same class and have excellent ideas.

So they encouraged Qiu Guang'an, Cheng Yimin and others to petition Chen Jingke.

I’ll start a class at Luoxia Academy in the future.

Chen Jingke personally served as a teacher to teach others the idea of ​​Great Harmony.

When several people found Chen Jingke and told him their request, Chen Jingke was both amused and excited.

He could naturally see that everyone was supporting him with practical actions.

The power represented by mathematics is already very strong.

With their collective support, the idea of ​​Datong will be able to spread faster.

Naturally, he agreed to the request to teach at Luoxia Academy.

From now on, I will go to the academy to teach half a day of classes every two days.

The mathematics community was even happier after receiving a positive response and began to prepare for it.
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Most of the officials in the court, whether they supported or opposed it, were not in a hurry to express their opinions.

Everyone is waiting for the Datong Thought to be officially published.

Only when you understand the whole picture can you express your opinion.

Otherwise it's easy to slap yourself in the face.

On the contrary, the criticism against him among the people became more intense.

More and more scholars expressed their dissatisfaction with him.

Everyone knows that there must be someone behind this.

As for who it is, there is no need to think about it at all. It must be the great Confucian scholars.

However, at this time, Buddhism and Taoism collectively stood up and expressed their support for Chen Jingke.

More than ten great masters of Buddhism and Taoism have published related articles.

However, they were relatively restrained and did not directly attack Confucianism.

It only explains the influence and changes after Buddhism was introduced to the East from its own perspective.

Buddhism mainly talks about what advantages they absorbed from China and how they evolved into what they are today.

Taoism absorbs the essence from Buddhism.

But these articles all helped Chen Jingke to prove the authenticity of his article from the side.

This left many people speechless.

Attack Buddhism and Taoism at the same time?

Stop joking. Although Confucianism is the most prominent school of thought, the power of Buddhism can never be ignored.

It is now obvious that the imperial court does not stand on the side of Confucianism, and a real war would only bring humiliation upon itself.

Of course, there are also people who mock Buddhism and Taoism in order to flatter Chen Jingke.

But these voices are relatively small and not many people pay attention to them.

However, the smaller voices of opposition are not because those people have changed their minds.

They are waiting too.

Wait for the Great Harmony World to be officially announced.

They were already prepared and began their rebuttal based on Confucianism's ultimate concern.

You said that Confucianism did not have this kind of content before?
Then I will prove that we have.

(End of this chapter)