The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 218 Ultimately, We Walk Different Paths

Walking along the palace corridor, Li Xianmu stood with his hands tied behind his back, looking up at the narrow sky above the high walls. The sky was a clear, azure blue, but there was only a small patch of it.

In the vast Ming Dynasty, how many people were confined to a tiny place for their entire lives?
How many geniuses born into poverty are buried in the yellow earth?

Li Xianmu's expression was somewhat cold. In the past twelve years, he had proposed many policies, and each time he had received the emperor's full support. But today was the first time he had encountered such a rebuff.

The emperor was still persuaded by him and still expressed his agreement with his suggestions, but he was unwilling to give him real support.

Let him do it himself.

Li Xianmu didn't have the audacity to believe that the emperor had to support all his suggestions. After all, he wasn't a god, and it was impossible for every suggestion to be perfect. Whether the emperor adopted it or not, he would accept it.

But today's event is the first time Li Xianmu has truly and clearly felt that there are differences between him and the emperor, and that their ideologies are fundamentally different.

However, these differences and distinctions have been obscured in the past.

Just like during the War of Resistance against Japan, all political parties united to fight against Japan, but this does not mean that these parties can really get along well.

In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was more concerned with consolidating imperial power and maintaining stable rule. To this end, he was even willing to sacrifice some fundamental interests and tolerate the existence of people who were of great harm to the people.

The stability of the nation and the long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty must be prioritized over the stability of the regime, and the well-being of the people must be prioritized even further.

As for the future prospects of scholars from humble backgrounds, they are even worse than the well-being of ordinary people. In essence, the talents selected so far are already sufficient to maintain the Ming Dynasty. Promoting scholars from humble backgrounds is something that offends some people but benefits others.

"If I hadn't shown such a firm stance, the emperor would probably have tried to persuade me not to do it."

Li Qi remained silent aloft in the heavens. Perhaps promoting those from humble backgrounds was only politically correct in modern China.

Even in modern society, most countries do not have this kind of political correctness.

Li Xianmu spread out his hands, which had been bound tightly, revealing prominent veins. He remained silent, knowing that he was about to face a tough battle, which would undoubtedly be the most difficult one since he entered officialdom.

A fire ignited in Li Xianmu's heart; he craved more power than ever before, even more—

Power that transcends imperial authority!

As summer drew to a close, the evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, dispelling the restlessness and gloom in Li Xianmu's heart.

……

Since the Grand Assembly and the election of new officials at the Confucian Temple, the intensity of the discussion has remained high, with some Confucianists feeling as if the sky is about to fall.

They never dreamed that one day they would see a large number of Confucius's students kicked out of the Confucian Temple, and the Four Sages and Ten Philosophers of the Confucian Temple completely replaced.

Unexpectedly, one day, later Confucian scholars were able to surpass their predecessors. This is "too un-Confucian." Isn't this what Wang Anshi meant when he said, "The ancestral ways are not worth following"?

On the eve of the autumn imperial examination.

Candidates from all the prefectures of Zhili rushed to the capital. With so many scholars gathered together, they naturally discussed current affairs. The most popular topic at the time was the Confucian Temple. The scholars expressed their opinions, and most of them proposed the figures they thought should be included in the Confucian Temple.

Modern people like to rank historical figures, from emperors, military generals, civil officials, to beauties—they rank them all. Fans of different historical figures can argue fiercely, and the same person can be praised to the heavens or denigrated to the ground.

For example, some say Yang Guang was a great emperor of all time, while others say he should have died at the age of one to avoid causing trouble. In fact, not only in modern times, but people throughout history and across the world have enjoyed ranking historical figures. The ancients also had this hobby, and they all cited classical texts to make their rankings sound reasonable to the average person.

As they discussed this matter, the conversation naturally turned to Li Xianmu, the Right Censor-in-Chief, since the Left Censor-in-Chief had already been imprisoned and was awaiting execution in the autumn. Li Xianmu was now temporarily in charge of the Censorate.

As Li Xianmu's status rose, having only his given name and courtesy name was no longer enough. Elders could call him by his given name, while peers and friends could address him by his courtesy name.

What about the younger generation?

Li Xianmu styled himself "Shouzheng," so people called him "Mr. Shouzheng" or "Lord Shouzheng."

Qingyun Tower.

One of the largest restaurants in the eastern part of the capital was naturally bustling with business at this time of year, attracting a large number of scholars.

"It is likely that Lord Shouzheng's early re-election of the Confucian Temple was out of a desire to speak out for Lord Li Zhongwen."

Everyone knew that Li Xianmu made this suggestion in order to have his father included among the Ten Sages of Confucianism. Li Xianmu himself did not hide it at all. At the grand court assembly, he directly placed Li Zhongwen Gong (Li Zhongwen Gong) together with Zhuge Wuhou (Zhuge Liang), Han Wengong (Han Yu), Fan Wenzheng Gong (Fan Zheng Gong), and Wen Zhonglie Gong (Wen Zhonglie Gong).

"Li Zhongwen was the only great Confucian scholar who was able to reopen a new path a hundred years after the fall of the Song Dynasty. His philosophy of mind pointed directly to the path to sainthood, and it was clear and unambiguous."

It can be said that one person alone surpassed the achievements of three hundred years of Song Dynasty Confucianism.

Even disregarding his past position in the central government and his wielding of power, his merit in establishing doctrines alone surpasses that of all the Confucian scholars, making his inclusion among the Ten Philosophers entirely justifiable.

"That's right." Many scholars in the restaurant agreed.

Most of them are from the school of mind-body philosophy, which has developed very rapidly in recent years.

Aside from political support, the main reason lies in the superiority of the Neo-Confucianism in its theory of mind over that of the Neo-Confucianism.

Li Qi's philosophy of mind differs from Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind in many ways. The biggest difference is that Wang Yangming's doctrines incorporated a large amount of Chan Buddhist thought, while Li Qi's philosophy incorporated very little of it. The part he adopted was only to support his moral cultivation. The essence of Li Qi's thought is actually more similar to that of Zhu Xi. However, because Li Qi's understanding of the world was much higher than that of Zhu Xi, the final results were very different.

The reason why Neo-Confucianism was defeated by the School of Mind was because the two were essentially on the same track. Li Qi's School of Mind was the ultimate form of Neo-Confucianism. Once anyone put aside their prejudices, they would naturally abandon Neo-Confucianism and turn to the School of Mind.

However, the philosophy of mind points directly to the way of the sage, and its path is clearly visible.

But Neo-Confucianism only tells people that you must attain enlightenment, and if you can achieve enlightenment, you will become a saint.

This is utter nonsense.

It's like the story of the Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, which features four extraordinary books. However, three of them, namely the "War God's Record," "Longevity Secret," and "Heavenly Demon Strategy," can shatter the void, while the "Compassionate Sword Manual" can only lead to death. Isn't that just a case of trying to outdo each other?

After the School of Mind was listed as an official textbook of the Ming Dynasty, the last obstacle to its development disappeared. The fact that Neo-Confucianism could withstand the test of time for so long can only be attributed to its profound accumulation over a hundred years.

"It is said that after the autumn examinations, a grand court assembly will be held. Not only court officials will attend, but also highly respected scholars from the common people will be invited to the palace to listen in. It will surely be a grand event."

"It's not just a grand gathering, it's also a battleground of swords and spears!"

(End of this chapter)