Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Wang Fuzhi never imagined that he would become a member of a viscount family simply by coming to the capital.

Although the title belonged to his elder brother, who was required to earn it overseas, he, the future viscount's younger brother, still enjoyed many privileges.

The spot for the Imperial Academy student, awarded to Wang Jiabuyin, fell to him, and he became an Imperial Academy student from then on.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Academy, the first lesson he attended was taught by Liu Zongzhou.

Liu Zongzhou, who spent nearly a year in Annam, had many insights.

The first thing he did upon returning to the Imperial Academy was to expound on his own summary of "On Ritual and Music":
What are ritual and music?

"Literally, it means etiquette and music."

"After the Duke of Zhou established rites and music, it became a collective term for a series of systems, namely the system of rites and music."

"The principles of benevolence and righteousness passed down by our ancestors must be realized through the system of rites and music; this is where the orthodox tradition lies!"

It is clearly pointed out that the orthodox tradition lies in rites and music, and must be realized through the system of rites and music.

This, combined with the emperor's statement that he wanted to take control of the orthodox tradition, makes it clear that Liu Zongzhou's words were in response to the emperor's.

One student immediately objected and asked:

"Sir, if a tyrannical ruler like Qin Shi Huang established rites and music, would he also have control over the orthodox tradition?"

Why can't I see benevolence and righteousness in the laws of Qin?

Liu Zongzhou nodded and said:

"That's a great question!"

"This is the difference between the imperial era and the ritual era."

"When Qin Shi Huang established the imperial system, he considered himself the emperor to be the greatest, and everyone had to listen to him. He could not tolerate anyone disobeying him."

"Therefore, the system of rites and music he created was biased and not generally recognized."

"After his death, the Qin Dynasty soon collapsed, and people replaced the harsh Qin laws with a new system of rites and music."

Speaking of the reasons for the Qin Dynasty's demise, Liu Zongzhou then said:

"But what about the era of ritual and etiquette?"

"The system of rites and laws was established by the National Assembly, and the emperor agreed upon the rites and laws with all the people."

"Whether it is the emperor or the common people, everyone must abide by this etiquette."

"As long as the emperor and the people are benevolent and righteous, benevolence and righteousness will be reflected in the system of rites and laws."

Do you think this statement is correct?

The students unanimously agreed, believing that the era of ritual system was a major step forward compared to the imperial era.

But some people have asked:
"What if the laws of etiquette enacted by Congress are not benevolent or righteous?"

"Then what should we do?"

Liu Zongzhou countered with a question:
"Do you personally believe that the laws enacted by Congress are unjust, or do most people think so?"

"If this becomes a consensus, then naturally some legislators will propose to revise the etiquette law and amend it in accordance with the relevant regulations."

“The rules of etiquette in the future will not be static; they will change every so often.”

"This is exactly what the character '易' (Yi) means. The Book of Changes says: When things reach an extreme, they change; when they change, they become accessible; when they become accessible, they endure." When a set of rules and regulations reaches its dead end, it needs to change.

“Our purpose in re-establishing the rites and music this time is not to leave behind a written law that remains unchanged, but to set forth the rules for how to formulate and modify the rites and music.”

"In this way, there will be a system to follow in the future for the creation of rites and music, and we can continuously formulate rites and music according to this method."

This is the insight he gained after communicating with the emperor.

He originally intended to establish a system that could be used for hundreds of years, just like the sages of the early dynasty.

However, the emperor told him that this was unnecessary, and that the most important thing was to preserve the method. When the Ming Dynasty's system of rites and music was established, Emperor Taizu had also considered using it for a long time, but not long after his death, the Jianwen Emperor's reforms, which drastically changed the system, were implemented.

Although Emperor Chengzu restored the old system after the Jingnan Campaign, some aspects of the system left by Emperor Taizu were not fully restored. Some restorations even resulted in changes; the names remained the same, but the actual implementation was completely different.

The current emperor believes this is wrong, so instead of forcing a set of rites and laws that can be used for hundreds of years, he leaves behind a system for establishing rites and laws.

This is the significance of the existence of Congress; it will be responsible for continuously formulating and revising laws and regulations in the future.

Liu Zongzhou was deeply inspired, so he stopped focusing on the specific articles and instead hoped to leave behind the norms for establishing rites and laws.

His "On Ritual and Music" devotes a large portion to this topic. Modeled after the "Li Yun" chapter of the "Book of Rites," it discusses the operation and changes of ritual laws.
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The young Wang Fuzhi was deeply inspired by what he heard and wrote in his diary that day:

"The rites and music of today are not something that can be established overnight and is not easily changed."

“What cannot be changed is the essence of benevolence and righteousness.”

They believed that rites and music should always emphasize benevolence and righteousness, as this is the way of the sages.

Based on this, he wrote an article, which was fortunately published in the academic journal.

Upon seeing this, Liu Zongzhou believed the young man had great potential and instructed him to study diligently at the Imperial Academy, gaining experience in the creation of rites and music.

The Imperial Academy today has many tasks. Various institutions frequently hire Imperial Academy students part-time or even directly delegate tasks to the Imperial Academy to share its heavy workload.

Liu Zongzhou recruited students from the Imperial Academy to participate in some of his work on revising the rites and music.

The young Wang Fuzhi was fortunate enough to get this opportunity to participate in the reconstruction of ritual music.

These assistants of Liu Zongzhou in matters of rites and music later formed a school of thought, namely the Ritual and Music School, which stood alongside the Practical School and the Scientific School.

They claim to be the most orthodox Confucian successors, carrying on the traditions of benevolence and righteousness of their ancestors. They champion benevolence and righteousness and are very active in formulating laws and regulations.

Wang Fuzhi was naturally unaware of these events at the time. When he returned home and recounted his experiences, Wang Chaopin and the others were extremely agitated.

The fact that Wang Fuzhi was assigned such a task clearly shows that he caught Liu Zongzhou's eye.

If he performs well in the future, he may well become a disciple and elevate the Wang family's social standing.

Wang Chaopin instructed Wang Fuzhi to focus on his studies and leave the matter of making achievements to his elder brother.

His elder brother Wang Jiezhi and other clansmen were eager to go overseas and establish the family business.

Although Wang Fuzhi was instructed to focus on his studies, he still expressed his concern:

"Brother, are you going to establish territories overseas? Have you chosen a direction yet?"

“We are not like those nobles; we don’t have our own team and manpower.”

Wang Jiezhi's Way:

“I have already written back and recruited people from the garrison to come over.”

"The imperial court is reforming the military garrisons in the interior, and it will not stand in the way of this."

Wang Fuzhi shook his head and said:

"Our family has been scholars for generations, and we haven't served in the military for many years."

"Even if we could summon a few people from the garrison, we still couldn't find an officer."

"If you ask me, we should select some people to study martial arts or go to military academies in various places. The talents trained there are the ones that will truly belong to us."

"What's especially important is going to the naval academy. You can't go overseas to establish territories if you don't know how to fight naval battles!"

These were common sense lessons he learned at the Imperial Academy, and many families did the same.

Wang Chaopin and the others, however, were unaware that what they heard was quite refreshing:
Indeed, compared to recruiting others, cultivating talent within the family is the most reassuring approach.

In this day and age, even minor nobles can't attract many talented people.

Soon, they began selecting students to enter various academies, hoping that after graduation they would manage the family's territory. (End of Chapter)