Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After Yuan Keli reminded him of this point, Zhu Youjian was no longer in a hurry to seize the orthodox doctrine and established a supreme authority in the ideological field.

After seeing Yuan Keli off, he took out his own book, "On Mind and Matter," and found that it had many areas that could be improved and was not as perfect as he had previously thought.
Although dialectical materialism is comprehensive, it has not completely escaped the dualistic opposition.

The line between materialism and idealism is not so clear-cut; more often than not, they are intertwined and mutually influential.

"We must break free from the binary opposition of thought and integrate materialism and idealism into one."

With this thought in mind, Zhu Youjian picked up his brush and wrote down the six characters: "The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two."
Materialism and idealism are considered "two," while the unity of mind and matter is considered "one."

This "one" comes from "Tao". Whether it is materialism or idealism, they can all be categorized within the scope of "Tao".

In this way, all theories from ancient times to the present can be summarized, becoming a monument in the history of philosophy:
Later philosophy cannot escape this category.

"This is the correct way to compete for the Daoist lineage; no one can bypass it!"

Inspired by a burst of inspiration, Zhu Youjian wrote a new treatise on mind and matter based on the original manuscript.

Although this article still categorizes materialism and idealism, it emphasizes the unification of the Dao, integrating various theories into one.

At the same time, in order to prevent people from unilaterally emphasizing either the material or the spiritual, Zhu Youjian proposed that "the material world is materialistic, and the spiritual world is idealistic."

It points out that the advantage of materialism lies in understanding and transforming the world, while the advantage of idealism lies in self-cultivation and moral development.

Both are two sides of the same coin, originating from the Tao.

Both are indispensable for governing a country; their advantages should be fully utilized:
Materialism excels at understanding and transforming the world, and thus contributes to the development of production.

Although idealism has been criticized in later generations, it is nonetheless indispensable.

"Having the will to learn this kind of knowledge can help one resist certain religious beliefs."

"It can provide psychological comfort when encountering things that materialism cannot explain for the time being."

"Now is not the time to fully implement materialism; idealism must be allowed to exist."

This is why Zhu Youjian had not published "On Mind and Matter" before.

If we follow dialectical materialism completely, religion, gods, and so on should not exist.

However, the people at that time found it difficult to accept this. They encountered many inexplicable things and could only explain them by the gods.

Even in later generations, many people, after experiencing life and death or encountering inexplicable bad luck, will choose to believe in God for psychological comfort.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian hesitated for a long time about whether to write his own "On Mind and Matter" in accordance with dialectical materialism.

It wasn't until Yuan Keli reminded him that he realized his philosophical thinking was still biased and that he shouldn't reject idealism based on the idea of ​​binary opposition.

Thus, his theory finally became comprehensive, choosing to take the Tao as its foundation and merging materialism and idealism into one.

"On Mind and Matter" also summarizes the philosophical thoughts he knows, encompassing all philosophical theories from ancient times to the present and even hundreds of years to come.

So much so that Zhu Youjian was quite proud of himself after writing this article, believing it to be a theory that could stand on its own.

In the future history of philosophy, I will surely be one of the sages:

"All philosophy under heaven falls within this category."

"I will certainly have a share in the future transmission of the Way."

"In this way, we can consider it a legacy for our descendants. As long as they don't lose their virtue, they can at least become descendants of sages like Confucius."

The next step is to promote this theory.

Contemplating this matter, Zhu Youjian decided to submit "On Mind and Matter" to the Datong Academy for publication, using it as the core of his theory in his struggle for orthodoxy. He also arranged for the Practical Learning School founded by Qian Qianyi to promote "On Mind and Matter" and disseminate this theory within academic circles.

He assigned the scientific school to study materialism, using dialectical materialism as a guide to understand the world and develop science.

The School of Mind naturally studied idealism, using dialectical idealism as a guide to explore the world of the mind.

The three schools of thought each have their own emphasis, but they are all based on the "Theory of Mind and Matter".

No matter which school of thought gains power, it will not affect one's own status.
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Zhu Youjian, having made this decision, quickly summoned Qian Qianyi and instructed him:

"I have completed the Treatise on Mind and Matter. You may consult with the people of Datong Academy to see if there are any areas that need revision."

"If there are no objections, then finalize the draft as soon as possible and publish it in the first issue of Datong."

"This is an article I wrote for the sake of the orthodox tradition; it must be perfect."

Qian Qianyi was startled upon hearing this, followed by ecstatic joy.

He had already discerned from the court assembly that the emperor intended to use the Datong Academy as an assistant in upholding the orthodox tradition, but he hadn't expected things to happen so quickly.

If he can help the emperor establish his position in terms of moral authority, becoming the Grand Secretary in the future is almost a certainty.

He said with great delight:
"Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to assist you in upholding the orthodox tradition."

"The Datong Academy will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust and unite the people of the world."

I respectfully accepted the article and carefully read the theories within.

As the person who founded practical learning under the guidance of the emperor, Qian Qianyi, after realizing that his abilities were insufficient to create the School of Mind, chose to accept the emperor's theories in their entirety.

Upon reading "On Mind and Matter" now, he immediately felt that this article was in line with "On Yin and Yang" and "On Contradiction." Dialectics is clearly presented in these three articles.

This kind of theoretical creativity was something he could only dream of, and he said with heartfelt admiration:
"Your Majesty's words are all precious."

"I believe this article should be published together with 'On Yin and Yang' and 'On Contradiction' for overall revision and improvement."

"This will make it easier for people to understand and learn the theory of dialectics."

"This suggestion makes a lot of sense," Zhu Youjian nodded.
“They were compiled together into ‘Dialectics’ as a philosophical theory.”

"After the Datong Academy finalizes the manuscript, it will also publish a commentary in vernacular Chinese to facilitate public understanding and learning."

"Whether it is the practical school or other schools of thought, I hope to learn dialectics and understand this theory."

"It should become the foundational theory of the practical school!"

This was somewhat of an imposition, but Qian Qianyi did not resist at all.

Because the Practical School's "On Constant Property" and "On Production" were written under the emperor's guidance, Qian Qianyi also hoped that the emperor would produce "On Practice" to lay the foundation for the Practical School.

Therefore, he immediately assured everyone in the practical school that they would learn dialectics.

The Datong Academy will also promote dialectics and assess all members' understanding of dialectics.

With such a well-developed theory and the emperor's support, Qian Qianyi was certain that it would spread throughout the land.

Even philosophy would be elevated in status, becoming a discipline on par with classical studies among history, literature, and philosophy.

As a promoter of dialectics, he too will be remembered in the history of philosophy, becoming one of the sages. (End of Chapter)