Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The introduction of the theory of mind and matter caused a huge stir.

No one has ever classified philosophy into such a clear category before.

The relationship between mind and matter, in particular, is frequently mentioned in traditional Confucianism, especially in Neo-Confucianism and the philosophy of mind.

This made it easier for Confucian scholars in the Ming Dynasty to understand this theory.

Chen Jiru, who had been invited by the emperor to join the Datong Academy, remarked with great emotion:

"I used to only know that the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of principle, and the philosophy of qi were different."

"Now, after reading Your Majesty's 'On Mind and Matter,' I realize that the Mind School is subjective idealism, the Principle School is objective idealism, and the Qi School is naive materialism."

“These schools of thought all have their biases, and should be integrated into one using the dialectics proposed by Your Majesty.”

His friend, Chen Renxi, who was also at Datong Hospital, remarked with emotion:

"Your Majesty integrated various philosophies with the 'Theory of Mind and Matter,' even including Confucianism."

"In the future, philosophy will surely become a prominent field of study, becoming a discipline no less important than classical studies."

"The academic world of the Ming Dynasty is about to undergo a major transformation. In the future, people of insight will surely flock to study this subject."

The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Compared to classical studies, philosophy is an ancient yet newly emerging discipline.

No matter how well one studies the classics, it is merely embellishing the work of predecessors. Even if one dedicates one's entire life to studying the classics, it is difficult to surpass those who came before.

But philosophy is different. If you study it well, you can establish your own school of thought under the guidance of dialectics.

This gave many people the opportunity to become sages, and their future achievements could be no less than those of the philosophers of the past.

They used to envy Qian Qianyi and Zhang Pu for being able to receive guidance from the emperor, but now, after reading "On Mind and Matter," they feel they have the same opportunity:
"Ever since Emperor Wu of Han dismissed all other schools of thought, the doctrines of various schools of thought have declined."

"Until the Emperor, under the guise of studying the wisdom of ancient philosophers, integrated it into philosophy."

"However, the Hundred Schools of Thought have not yet been revived, and some disciplines can be completely transformed using dialectics as a guide."

"If I succeed, I can establish my own school of thought!"

This is the view of many people. Even though the scholars of the Ming Dynasty did not reject the various schools of thought, their attitude towards their doctrines was one of "application."

Whether it's drawing upon the practical knowledge of various schools of thought or supplementing Confucianism with scientific knowledge, the purpose is to use them to improve one's own scholarship.

Now that the "Theory of Mind and Matter" has been published, they suddenly realize:

While each of the various schools of thought may have its own shortcomings, they can all be integrated within the scope of the "Theory of Mind and Matter".

It is entirely possible to extract theories that conform to dialectics and, under the guidance of dialectics, develop them into a new discipline.

These areas of knowledge may not be independent, but they can all become part of philosophy.

Philosophy, under the guidance of dialectics, can fully integrate the various schools of thought into one.

Thinking about the Emperor's "Discourse on Mind and Matter," which is concise and to the point, there are many aspects that leave one wanting more.

These people all began to think about how to improve this field of knowledge—

If one could gain the emperor's favor through this, it could be considered a ladder to heaven.

The emergence of "The Theory of Mind and Matter" gave many people such an opportunity.

Having obtained this theory from the emperor, Qian Qianyi knew even more that philosophy was bound to rise.

Because of the current systems of the Datong Academy, the Academy of Sciences, and the Hanlin Academy, papers and monographs are very important evaluation criteria. Since classical studies have been overused by predecessors, many people will inevitably turn to newer philosophies.

In particular, he was in charge of the Datong Academy and controlled the Datong journal. The Academy of Sciences' Science and the Hanlin Academy's Hanlin were also deeply influenced by the emperor.

With the support of these three top journals, contributors would inevitably be inclined to write philosophical articles, putting the emperor's dialectics into practice.

He is now thinking about how to leverage the influence of the three top journals to attract more scholars to study philosophy.

Moreover, practical learning should be promoted in this process, and dialectics should be integrated into the theories of the practical learning school.
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The current leader of the scientific school is Chen Zilong, a young and promising man who is open to new ideas.

Upon reading "On Mind and Matter," he pondered how to use it to guide science.

However, compared to the clearly categorized schools of mind and principle, science is much more complicated.

Because the subjective idealism of the School of Mind and the objective idealism of the School of Principle are both very easy to understand, the emperor's demand to guide science with dialectical materialism was indeed quite difficult.

"The School of Mind and the School of Principle have matured, and both are idealistic. These two schools of thought can be integrated into dialectical idealism."

"However, the study of Qi is a form of naive materialism, and this discipline has traditionally been neglected, even being included within Neo-Confucianism."

"Materialism hadn't developed much, but Your Majesty directly proposed dialectical materialism."

"There's a huge leap forward involved, and it's not easy to rebuild the foundation now."

According to the historical development of materialism, after naive materialism came metaphysical materialism.

Then came Ma Sheng's synthesis of these ideas, leading to the proposition of dialectical materialism.

It is truly difficult to understand why Zhu Youjian would bypass metaphysical materialism and directly have the scientific school study dialectical materialism.

But no matter how difficult it was, Chen Zilong decided to study dialectical materialism.

Because the purpose of science is to understand principles through numbers; it is a discipline that investigates things to acquire knowledge.

The emperor said that the material world is materialistic, so the scientific school should naturally learn materialism.

However, after he put forward this view, some scholars who were not so receptive to the *Xinwu Lun* (Treatise on Mind and Matter) could no longer hold back. One by one, they cited classical texts to refute Chen Zilong's arguments—

In their view, the emperor's proposal of dialectics to support philosophy was a heretical act.

If the theory is good enough to be integrated into Confucianism, why bother supporting the teachings of other schools of thought?
How can Confucianism maintain its current status if those outdated academic disciplines are allowed to resurface?
Most of these people are old and find it difficult to accept new ideas; they are really unwilling to see the situation of Confucianism being the sole state ideology changed.

However, with the emperor's support, Chen Zilong was not afraid at all.

He had long known that the emperor looked down on the doctrines passed down by Song Dynasty Confucian scholars, considering them outdated.

He was naturally not going to be polite, as science was poised to replace the old ways of learning.

Not only did he refute these people with his theory of mind and matter, but he also incorporated the objectivity of Neo-Confucianism into science with a dialectical materialist attitude.

As he spoke at length about the investigation of things and the extension of knowledge, and about materialism, frequently quoting Zhu Xi, the crowd exchanged bewildered glances, fully realizing the power of "On Mind and Matter"—

This is not just about integrating the philosophies of various schools of thought; it can even integrate Confucianism.

What they need to do is no longer reject dialectics, but rather strive to maintain the independent status of Confucianism under the framework of dialectics.

Otherwise, if Confucianism is completely deconstructed by dialectics, how can it be distinguished from other disciplines?

For a moment, these people all thought of the dialectical idealism proposed by the emperor. According to the idealist view of the spiritual world, Confucianism should occupy a place in self-cultivation and moral cultivation.

In particular, it is essential to grasp the power of moral judgment and to implement Confucian virtues such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness throughout the entire society.

Science should not be rejected either; it can be seen as a branch of Confucianism's investigation of things. (End of Chapter)