Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Qian Muzhai did not agree.

"He is determined to create practical learning!"

Hou Xun said bitterly, expressing his deep concern for the future of the Donglin Party.

Although Qian Qianyi's official position was not the highest among the Donglin Party members, his reputation and his relationship with other Donglin Party members made him worthy of being called the party leader, or at least the leader of the younger generation.

With Han Kuang, Sun Chengzong, and others passing away, Qian Qianyi will inevitably be the one to take charge of the Donglin Party in the future.

How could the other members of the Donglin Party not worry if such a person wanted to establish his own school of thought and create practical learning?

However, some people expressed understanding. Lü Weiqi said:

"Donglin Neo-Confucianism takes Mr. Jingyang, Mr. Qixin, and Mr. Jingyi as its masters, and inherits from Mr. Guishan."

"No matter how learned Mr. Muzhai was, it would be difficult for him to surpass them, let alone the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi."

"It's understandable that he wants to start his own business."

These words sounded like a defense of Qian Qianyi, and Hou Xun said with dissatisfaction:

"Brother Lü, are you also going to abandon Neo-Confucianism?"

Have we forgotten the teachings of our ancestors?

Lü Weiqi explained:

"I, Lü, will never forget the teachings left by our ancestors."

"However, the Emperor has decided to improve Neo-Confucianism, and this has been approved by the court officials."

"What we can do is preserve the knowledge of our ancestors and prevent certain people from distorting it with their commentaries."

He called on everyone to actively participate and strive for the leading role in collating and annotating the Four Books and Five Classics.

Scholars who upheld Neo-Confucianism naturally responded enthusiastically.

But this is easier said than done!
Hou Xun frowned and said:
"The collation and annotation of the Four Books and Five Classics were led by Liu Jishan and Qian Muzhai."

“If the annotations don’t get their approval, they can’t be added.”

"The final annotations will certainly be based on them."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads, and many began to realize the difficulties involved.

After thinking for a moment, Lü Weiqi suggested:
"Mr. Jishan was also a member of the Donglin School and had a close friendship with Mr. Jingyi."

"Although he was good at the philosophy of mind, he did not reject the philosophy of reason."

"As for Mr. Muzhai, we will do our best to maintain the relationship."

It is hoped that the complex relationships among the Donglin Party members can be leveraged to integrate Neo-Confucianism into new scholarship.

This was a last resort; the others were unwilling, but they had no better ideas.

Some even began to consider whether they should join the new school of thought.

After all, the emperor's support for Neo-Confucianism was already quite evident, and he was even supporting the new school of thought.

In the future, Neo-Confucianism will inevitably decline further and may be surpassed by new schools of thought.

Those who are not so steadfast in their belief in Neo-Confucianism naturally want to jump ship.
-

Those who harbored the idea of ​​seeking refuge with the new school were not just the fence-sitters.

Chen Jiru and Chen Renxi, who had been recruited into science by Zhang Pu, were very excited at this time.

Because they knew that the emperor had appointed more than just Liu and Qian as the heads of the collation and annotation; Zhang Pu was ranked third.

This means that in the emperor's eyes, not only did he value the study of mind and practical learning, but science was also given equal importance.

As pioneers of the scientific school, they are sure to gain fame in academia and may even have the opportunity to become sages.

Chen Renxi said with a mixture of joy and envy:

"His Majesty truly favors Tianru, valuing the scientific school he founded so highly."

"I just don't know how Tianru did on the exam this time. Will she be able to establish a reputation for science?"

Although Zhang Pu was a rising star and had a great reputation, his foundation was not deep.

In comparison, Liu Zongzhou was already a universally recognized master of scholarship, and no one could object to his work in collating and annotating the Four Books and Five Classics.

Although Qian Qianyi was not particularly accomplished in scholarship, he was renowned for his literary talent and was the new leader of the Donglin Party. After publishing "On Production," he was regarded as a master of Confucianism.

Although Zhang Pu's scientific work was established early, its roots were in Western learning. This field of knowledge did not have a significant impact on the world, requiring Zhang Pu to personally promote it.

This would naturally put Zhang Pu's reputation and abilities to the test. Chen Renxi was somewhat worried about this, but Chen Jiru was very confident, stroking his beard and smiling as he said:

"Just wait and see!"

"If Tianru wins the top prize in the Ming Suan Ke (a type of mathematics exam), he will very likely become the Huiyuan (another type of mathematics exam).

"He has already achieved the highest score in the provincial examination. If he becomes the highest scorer in the imperial examination in the future, he will achieve the triple honor of being the top scholar in all three examinations."

"Given the Emperor's favoritism towards him, do you think he might be chosen as the top scholar?"

Chen Renxi was dumbfounded and momentarily lost in thought.

He knew that Zhang Pu had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations last year, but he hadn't expected this.

Looking back now, I realize that the reason Zhang Pu became the top scholar in the imperial examination was because the emperor changed the method of judging the top scholar.

The imperial examination has been revised again; how could it not be intended to prepare it for Zhang Pu?
If Zhang Pu could seize the opportunity to achieve the highest honors in all three categories, it would be an unprecedented event in hundreds of years.

With this title, he presided over the collation and annotation of the Four Books and Five Classics, and few people could criticize him.

After figuring this out, Chen Renxi was overjoyed.

But then he worriedly said:

"If we become the champion, then the matter of Tianru becoming the top scholar will be easier to handle."

"I'm afraid that even if he doesn't become the champion, the emperor will force him to become the top scholar in the imperial examination."

"That would not be good for Tianru, and science would be tarnished."

This was what he was worried about; he feared that Yang Jingchen, acting on the emperor's orders, would forcefully appoint Zhang Pu as the top scholar.

Chen Jiru, however, remained calm and confident, saying:
"Niantai is overthinking it!"

"The Emperor will not go against the tide, and Tianru also has the strength to become the champion."

"I even suspect that the reason the Emperor changed the evaluation method for the top three scholars in the provincial and metropolitan examinations was to allow Tianru to pass the examinations fairly and squarely based on his own strength."

"When he becomes the top student in two or even three subjects, who will be able to question him then?"

They had great confidence in Zhang Pu, believing that he would surely amaze the world.

Under his influence, Chen Renxi also gained a lot more confidence.

Thinking again about the imperial lectures, he said:

"His Majesty specially invited Master Mei to the lecture on the twelfth."

"Tianru is currently taking the exam. Whether science can gain fame at the lecture depends on Master Mei."

"I wonder what Master Mei intends to say? Has he come up with a plan yet?"

Chen Jiru did not answer directly, but instead said to Chen Renxi:
"Science is the study of mathematics."

"But neither of us is proficient in arithmetic."

"Has Shiseido ever considered how to establish itself in the scientific field?"

Chen Renxi had never thought about this question, because what he heard from Zhang Pu was "Supplementing the Hundred Schools of Thought to Confucianism"—

They used their familiarity with the various schools of thought in ancient China to supplement the deficiencies in Confucianism and strengthen the scientific school.

As for raising the flag among the scientific faction, he didn't even consider it.

Chen Jiru, however, had been pondering this point and said to Chen Renxi:
"After careful consideration these past few days, I have found that among scientific perspectives, democracy is the most suitable for us."

"The Emperor recognizes that 'the people are the most important,' and the parliaments being established in various places are also implementing the lottery election method to achieve democratic elections."

"The Citizens' Committee, which I chair, is responsible for upholding citizens' rights and ensuring that citizens can be masters of their own destiny."

"Do you think it's possible to raise the banner of democracy within the scientific community?"

The intention is to establish a position in academia using scientific and democratic perspectives.

He believed this was his advantage, and that the emperor would not object.

The purpose of the current emperor in establishing a parliament is to use the people and bureaucrats to check and balance each other, and to promote the joint governance of the emperor, his ministers, and the people.

He had subtly demonstrated this point in his previous essays on the subject-subject relationship, which earned him praise from the emperor.

That's why he was summoned to the capital and, as a commoner, was ordered to establish a citizens' committee.

These experiences gave him great confidence in promoting democracy. He even hoped to receive academic guidance from the emperor, just like Qian Qianyi.

The lecture on the 12th would be his opportunity. He wanted to establish his position in the academic and general public circles of the capital. (End of Chapter)