Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 510 The Fallen Giant

No one has ever considered whether the Tang Dynasty would collapse.

Because the Tang Dynasty was so powerful that it could easily win against the combined forces of all the other countries in the world. This was proven during the Zhanwu Years.

The war during the Zhanwu years gave the people of the Tang Dynasty an unprecedented confidence.

At that time, who in the world could be a rival to the Tang Dynasty?
When the aftermath of the First World War slowly faded away and the whole world fell into a state of peace again, some dark things began to develop quietly.

During the reign of Emperor Zhanwu, for unknown reasons, the Chen family began to slowly shrink their power. They no longer served as high-ranking officials in the court, but remained active in other parts of the Tang Dynasty.

Whether it is a school or any other place.

The Chen family truly became a drop of water among the "common people" - of course, there were also disciples of the Chen family serving as officials in the court, but most of them were not high-level officials, except for every head of the Chen family.

Every head of the Chen family would serve as the chief of three provinces and hold the title of Duke, which meant that no noble family in the Tang Dynasty would be stupid enough to test the Chen family. This allowed peace to continue in the world.

The Zhanwu Year passed quickly, and the lives of the people of the Tang Dynasty continued to improve.

The railway that connected the whole country began to extend in all directions, from the shores of Hanhai Lake in the northernmost part of the Tang Dynasty to Jiaozhou on the southernmost side of the sea, running through this vast empire.

During the reign of Emperor Zhanwu, he also paid great attention to the development of science and technology.

"Universities" are no longer just flourishing in the city of Chang'an.

During the 27 years of Emperor Zhanwu's reign, hundreds of universities were opened in various local courts, and most of the doctors in these universities were recognized by the two universities of Chang'an and Guandu.

And their knowledge became broader with the emergence of some "geniuses".

The old days when local universities were not even as good as the third-rate universities in Chang'an were gone forever. Under such a tide of the times, the four major academies of the past began to adapt. The academies jointly founded by the Xie and Wang families also began to become "universities", teaching both new and old studies.

Yes.

Even in this era of science and technology, the knowledge known as "old studies" has not been lost.

All of this is because of one person, a man named "Chen Sheng".

Chen Sheng was also the eldest son of the Chen family, but he did not like to go into politics. Instead, he liked to study "knowledge", whether it was the old learning or the new learning.

In the seventeenth year of Zhanwu, the traditional school of thought was caught in a huge crisis.

Countless people have become obsessed with studying the new learning and feel that there is nothing more to learn from the old learning. People should abandon the weak old learning and start to learn the new learning in an all-round way. Emperor Zhanwu was also obsessed with science and technology. He felt that the old learning was nothing but a "burden" and intended to ban all the old learning and submerge it in the dust of history.

Under the suggestion of Emperor Zhanwu and the encouragement of many university doctors and presidents, the idea of ​​"promoting new learning and eliminating old learning" soon emerged throughout the world. People almost thought that those old learning societies would disappear into the dust of history and never appear again.

But Chen Sheng changed all that.

With great wisdom and perseverance, Chen Sheng learned from his ancestors, and argued all the way from south to north, defeating all the doctors and presidents of the top universities in the world. He truly established the status of traditional learning.

Therefore, Chen Sheng is also called "Chen Shengzi".

Among Chen Shengzi's words, the one that is most admired by people all over the world is "The old learning is the heart, and the new learning is the bones. A man without a heart cannot live, and a man without bones cannot stand."

He said that the old learning talks about and studies the human soul and sentiment, enriching people's inner world, while the new learning talks about and studies the application of the laws of heaven and earth. The two are not in an absolute relationship of if you exist, I must disappear.

Just like the Yin and Yang in Tai Chi, Tai Chi Yin and Yang are things that coexist. Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. Therefore, the new and old studies are the Yin and Yang sides of human beings.

If a person has learned new knowledge but has not cultivated the sentiments of old knowledge, he can only become an emotionless monster. If he has only old knowledge but no new knowledge, he can only become a kind of waste who can only recite poems and compose songs.

Chen Sheng's doctrines were also controversial in later generations, because in later generations, whether people only studied new knowledge or only studied old knowledge, they could find the path they liked, and they would neither become monsters nor waste, but in this era it was inspiring.

People's thoughts are always based on the tide of the times and cannot be separated from the tide of the times. Things seen many years ago may not necessarily be considered correct many years later. Only truth can last forever.

This is the truth that people understand.

In the last years of Emperor Zhanwu's reign, he also realized this point, so he chose to integrate new and old learning. Universities that study new and old learning are all universities, equal in status.

After Emperor Zhanwu passed away, his eldest son ascended the throne and changed the reign title to "Hongtu", so this emperor was also called "Emperor Hongtu".

During the reign of Emperor Hongtu, he ordered that the old and new studies would no longer be differentiated. Instead, three compulsory subjects were defined within the university, namely "Political Science", "Literature" and "Mathematics". These three subjects were required subjects, while the rest, whether new or old, were optional.

This order was supported by many people at the time, but also opposed by many people. But regardless of opposition or support, in short, this order and decision have been passed down.

Therefore, later generations believed that Emperor Hongtu was the originator of the "division of disciplines".

The reign of Emperor Hongtu was also the most prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty - or in other words, the Tang Empire never experienced a period of "decline". When later generations studied the history of the Tang Dynasty, they found it very strange.

This strange dynasty was unlike any other in history.

Whether it was the Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, or the Dayu, Sui, Song and Ming dynasties, they all had their decline and peak, except the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty was the most powerful empire in the world from the first day it was founded by Li Shimin, and it remained so until the last day of its demise.

The rest of the empires would turn from giants into "cripples" in the end, but the Tang Dynasty remained a giant from beginning to end.

Therefore, people also call the fall of the Tang Dynasty the "fallen giant."

That was during the time of the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Longwu.

PS: I wish you all a happy New Year's Eve! I wish you all a happy New Year in advance! A safe and peaceful new year!
(End of this chapter)