The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 210: The World Changes!
As if a whirlwind had swept through, people were scattered and displaced within the Fengtian Hall.

It was midsummer, and the wind was scorching, but almost everyone felt a chill creeping into their hearts. This was the second time!

This was the second time Li Xianmu had said in the palace that some of the Ten Sages of the Confucian Temple were unworthy of holding the high position of a sage, and he cited three people as examples: Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty, and Li Qi of the Ming Dynasty.

This time, however, the situation in the palace had changed. All those who debated with Li Xianmu were defeated, and the emperor himself acknowledged his theories.

Inside the hall, the courtiers were making a ruckus, cheering and celebrating.

Who can stop all of this?
Who can answer Li Xianmu's question?
"The reason for worshipping the saints is naturally because they have merits, passed on the great way of Confucius, restored the saint Yan Hui and became the Yan family Confucian scholars, and passed on the teachings of the saint Zeng Shen, the saint Zisi, and the second saint Mencius generation after generation, becoming the Si-Meng Confucian scholars."

The purpose of worshipping the sages is naturally to ensure that scholars and intellectuals throughout the land take them as role models and carry on the sacred teachings, just as Li Zhongwen often emphasized in his philosophy of mind: "To continue the lost learning of the past sages!"

These words finally restored some morale to many civil officials in the hall. They had been repeatedly defeated by Li Xianmu, and their defeats had made them question their very existence.

Now he can finally launch a counterattack, and he will use the principles of Xinxue to counterattack. Everyone knows how much Li Zhongwen Gong Li Qi revered the four sentences of Hengqu. He said the sentence "to continue the lost learning of the past sages". What can you, Li Xianmu, say?

Li Xianmu's lips curled into a mocking smile.

Do they really think they'd leave such a huge opening for others to attack? Don't they understand what it means to be completely impenetrable?

Starting from the Yuan Dynasty, the Temple of Literature had four consorts: Yan Hui, Zeng Shen, Zisi, and Mencius. These four were of higher status than the other ten philosophers.

Previously, when discussing the establishment of the legal system of the Ming Dynasty, although the legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown, it was not thoroughly and comprehensively cleaned up, and Confucianism had become the norm.

Besides, it's impossible for barbarians to all revere the Confucian Way, only to abandon it when they come to the Ming Dynasty. The things related to Confucianism are not easy to change, so they have been preserved to this day.

"Well said!" To everyone's surprise, Li Xianmu was not angry at being refuted at all, and even clapped his hands heavily. "To continue the lost learning of the past sages, well said."

But the next moment, a deep unease swept through the hearts of the court officials. How could Li Xianmu admit defeat so easily? He had cut down the enemy one by one in the palace. How could he suddenly admit defeat when he was about to win? What was he trying to do?
It was as if a shadow had descended, and the light that had fallen into the hall stopped at one's feet, dazzling one's eyes.

Then Li Xianmu laughed loudly: "As long as one continues the lost learning of the past sages, one can enter the temple; as long as one continues the Confucian tradition, one can enter the temple. How many of the seventy-two sages in this world continue the lost learning of the past sages?"
Did Confucius's classics only last for one generation?

I think it would be better to enshrine every Confucian scholar from each generation in the Confucian Temple, expanding it to seven thousand two hundred, or even seventy-two thousand!

As soon as Li Xianmu said this, the hall erupted in laughter, which was quite comical.

"That's sophistry. The deities enshrined in the Confucian Temple are all those who have made outstanding contributions. How can just anyone be enshrined there?"

"Are you saying that Confucius's students all made outstanding contributions, while later Confucian scholars were not as good as Confucius's students? Without Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty, Confucianism would still be standing in the court alongside scholars of other schools of thought."

How dare they spout such words about contributions here!

Li Xianmu blatantly mocked, "Besides..."

He put away all his smiles and said coldly, "To enter the temple and become a saint simply by continuing the lost teachings of the past sages, isn't that putting the orthodox tradition above the state?"

He once again killed the debate with a single sentence!
After this sentence, the few who had been resisting just now turned pale and could no longer speak. The question of whether the orthodox tradition or the state was more important had already been decided and was no longer a matter for discussion.

“Sages should have three immortal achievements: establishing virtue, establishing words, and establishing merit. If one does not have all three, it is acceptable to have countless sage words left to the world, like Mencius. But what do some of the so-called Ten Sages have?”

Ignoring the shock of the crowd, Li Xianmu pointed directly at Yan Hui, the second-ranked scholar in the Confucian Temple, asking, "Yan Hui is known as the head of the Seventy-Two Sages of Confucius and is revered as the head of the Ten Philosophers. What is the basis for this?"
Based on morality that is merely praised in history books?

Based on his status as Confucius's most favored disciple?

Based on the so-called Confucianism of the Yan family that has been passed down to later generations?

He's merely a conservative transmission of Confucian teachings. He might be considered a great Confucian scholar, but to call him a sage? He's not qualified!

Zeng Shen, Zisi, and Mencius, three of the Four Masters, are somewhat special. Three of the Four Books were written by these three, and their status in Confucianism is too high. Unless the status of the Four Books and Five Classics is shaken, they are not easy to challenge. Only Yan Hui is an easy target.

The Confucian school of Yan Hui had long since declined, and he himself had no Confucian classics left to posterity. He basically never held an official position in history and had no significant achievements. The fact that he was selected as the first of the Seventy-Two Sages was purely because of Confucius.

If we don't punish someone like that, are we supposed to punish Mencius instead?

Confucius said, "To achieve benevolence," and Mencius said, "To uphold righteousness." Confucius and Mencius were two people standing at the end of the great road of benevolence and righteousness.

Let alone Li Xianmu, even if Li Qi were alive, as long as he was still within the framework of Confucianism, if the selection of the Confucian Temple were to be changed, there would be no way to remove Mencius from the ranks of sages.

Li Xianmu's goal was simple: Confucius's position as the principal deity in the Confucian Temple must remain untouched, as must Mencius's position; he should remove the other ten philosophers, and then select one or two individuals from each dynasty who possessed all three immortalities (the highest level of Confucianism, the highest level of scholarship, and the highest level of moral integrity) to fill the vacancy. This time, no one dared to object to Li Xianmu.

Li Xianmu looked around, but no one spoke. Even though their faces were grim, they simply turned away. He calmly took two steps forward, bowed to the emperor, and said eloquently, "Your Majesty, it seems that the court officials have reached a consensus with me. Please make your judgment!"

The phrase "a consensus has been reached" caused everyone's faces to darken, but they were speechless, knowing that speaking again would only bring further humiliation.

The heated debate in the hall finally came to an end. Zhu Di slowly exhaled and looked at Li Xianmu with a satisfied expression. As expected, Li Xianmu did not disappoint him.

He sat high on the emperor's throne, looking down at his ministers. Seeing that no one dared to debate with Li Xianmu anymore, he spoke up loudly, his voice filled with obvious pleasure, "Since all of you agree with what Xianmu said, then the matter of re-electing the sages of the Confucian Temple shall be settled here. However, throughout the ages, the historical records are as vast as the sea, and there should be a procedure for who should be admitted to the temple."

"Since this matter was raised by you, Xianmu, do you have any thoughts? If so, please share them in court so that I may have some consideration."

Criteria for inclusion of the Confucian Temple!
This is naturally of utmost importance. Li Xianmu bowed solemnly and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty."

The old Confucian temples only valued the Confucian tradition, which was a misconception. The purpose of re-electing Confucian sages was to correct this misconception and form a new Confucian temple based on loyalty to the country and the people.

In my opinion, the selection of the new Confucian temple should be changed from the past practice of focusing solely on the orthodox tradition.

I have three points to make.

First and foremost, one must be loyal to the nation and its people. Those who have been two-faced and served two dynasties are not eligible. Furthermore, one must be of impeccable virtue and practice the principles of benevolence and righteousness. This is what it means to establish virtue.

Secondly, one must make contributions to Confucianism, annotate the classics, and serve as a teacher to the world; this is what it means to establish one's teachings.

Secondly, one must have achievements that are sufficient to demonstrate merit in one's time, having made outstanding contributions to the country and society; this is what constitutes meritorious service.

There are three paths to sainthood—

Firstly: Those who possess all three qualities can be considered sages or saints.

Secondly: If one establishes the ultimate truth through words, like Mencius who opened up the great way, one can be considered a saint. If one is merely like Yan Hui who is eager to pass on the tradition, one can only be considered a great Confucian scholar of the time. Even if one is added to the last position in the Temple of Literature, it is not acceptable.

Thirdly: If there are those who have established the highest moral character and the highest merit, such as Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and Wen Zhonglie Gong, these people who devoted themselves to the country and forgot themselves can be considered saints. Although Prime Minister Zhuge Liang was not known for his Confucian scholarship, he practiced the teachings of Confucius himself, which was truly heroic.

This is merely my humble opinion; I humbly request Your Majesty's wise judgment!

These words made everyone ponder, and then they immediately realized that this corresponded exactly to what Li Xianmu had said earlier: to suppress the orthodox tradition and to elevate the nation and its people.

If we take Mencius as the standard for establishing doctrines, then who else can be selected?
Even the other three of the four pairs probably wouldn't work!

The way of establishing words is the traditional path of the Way. Li Xianmu directly cut off the path of being selected for the Temple of Literature based solely on establishing words. It can be said that he directly kicked out almost all of Confucius's disciples.

The third item: establishing virtue and merit. According to the standards of Zhuge Liang and Wen Tianxiang, even Zhu Di couldn't help but twitch his eyelids. This is too ruthless.

The three immortalities are not easy to achieve; one must at least become a great Confucian scholar, make great contributions, and be renowned for one's virtue.

However, relying solely on establishing words is not enough; the latter two must be considered: establishing merit and being loyal and diligent, which perfectly aligns with Li Xianmu's thinking.

Zhu Di understood Li Xianmu's line of thinking, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "What Xianmu said is very much in line with my thoughts."

As for who should be admitted to the temple, who should be removed, and how they should be ranked, it is probably impossible to decide in a short time. If it is decided in such a hasty manner, it will be too hasty to win people's hearts.

It is already late today, so let's postpone this matter for a while. After you all return, please think it over carefully. Based on these three criteria, if you have any candidates to recommend, you can submit them to me and wait for the grand court assembly at a later date.

They both chose to visit a cultural temple.

Zhu Di chose to stall for time. Changing the Confucian Temple was a major event concerning the ideology of the Ming Dynasty, and even he had to think carefully about who should be enshrined in the temple.

"The Holy One is wise!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Li Wenzheng, in his impassioned address at the Fengtian Hall, wielded Han Yu as his sword, Fan Zhongyan as his blade, and Li Zhongwen as his banner. Bearing the tears of generations of Confucian scholars, braving the vicissitudes of three thousand years, he pointed his sword at the Temple of Literature, rebuked the Ten Sages, expelled the false saints, opened the gates of Heaven, and quelled the decline of Confucianism. His merits are as lofty as Mount Tai, unyielding through a hundred generations; his achievements as vast as the ocean, unchanging for ten thousand ages! — *The Official History of Confucian Scholars*

(End of this chapter)