Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"Yuanruo, you go first," Sheng Changbai said.

Upon hearing this, Qi Heng stood up, bowed, and pondered for a moment before saying, "I believe that rule of rites and rule of law are not in conflict, nor is there any distinction between them."

Saints are saints because their moral standards are beyond the reach of ordinary people like us.

Since we cannot do it ourselves, we naturally need to continuously learn from the sages of the past while also being bound by the rule of law.

Moreover, there is no clear standard for defining moral character; different people have different understandings and standards.

Cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—these are the moral standards.

However, taking care of one's own family, abiding by the laws of the court, and not harming the interests of others is also a matter of morality.

Mencius said: "When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven." This is the meaning of the saying.

Morality cannot demand that someone who cannot even provide for their own basic needs do good for others.

From the students' perspective, moral character determines an individual's moral ceiling, while the law guarantees the moral floor for the entire world.

These are just some of the student's humble opinions!

"What a profound statement! Moral character determines an individual's moral ceiling, while the law safeguards the moral floor for the entire world!"

Zhuang Xuejiu clapped his hands in approval, then, after gesturing for Qi Heng to sit down, looked at Sheng Changbai and said, "Zecheng, you tell us what you have to say!"

"pedant!"

Sheng Changbai stood up and said, "Yuan Ruo has already said everything I wanted to say, and he even said things I hadn't thought of. I really don't know what else to say!"

Zhuang Xuejiu gestured for Sheng Changbai to sit down and said, "A local gentryman who distributes porridge to the people is known as a benevolent man by everyone in the area."

An ordinary citizen saw a beggar who had fainted from hunger at his doorstep and gave him some food.

After eating, the beggar continued on his way, but he hadn't gone far when he collapsed from exhaustion.

The weather was cold at the time, and the man eventually froze to death.

Afterwards, when the villagers learned that the family had given the beggar food, they all criticized him for not taking the beggar in, otherwise the beggar wouldn't have died. Who do you think was good and who was evil?

"pedant!"

Sheng Changfeng was the first to stand up. Although Zhuang Xuejiu had not said that his point of view was wrong, Zhuang Xuejiu praised Qi Heng, which obviously meant that he agreed with Qi Heng's point of view.

Therefore, eager to make a name for himself, he naturally had to speak first.

The students believed that while the former was kind, the latter had also done his best. The kindness of a meal is greater than heaven, even though the latter did not take in the beggar, which ultimately led to the beggar freezing to death.

But since the other party's identity is unknown, there's nothing wrong with doing so.

After Sheng Changfeng finished speaking, he looked somewhat smug. This time, he was speaking entirely according to Qi Heng's previous point of view.

If Sheng Changbai and Qi Heng were to raise different opinions, it would be to refute what they had said before.

Therefore, Qi Heng and the others had no choice but to agree with him.

"Um!"

Zhuang Xuejiu nodded slightly, then looked at Sheng Changbai and Qi Heng and said, "What do you two think?"

"pedant!"

Sheng Changbai stood up and said, "It is certainly commendable for local gentry to do good deeds, but we must see how the land in the gentry's family came about."

The other villagers criticized the people who gave out food, not because they were particularly righteous, but because they had also faced beggars' pleas, but had not given them any.

Their accusations against the family who gave alms to the beggar were merely an attempt to deflect their own guilt!

"I disagree with what you said, elder brother. These two things are just Zhuang Xuejiu's assumptions. Secondly, since those people did not offer any help, it shows that they have no compassion in their hearts. How could they feel guilty about the death of the beggar?" Sheng Changfeng retorted.

"What I just said was all based on my own observations when I was a child!"

Zhuang Xuejiu smiled at Sheng Changbai and said, "What Zecheng said is all true. The gentry who set up soup kitchens to relieve the people would exchange a small amount of grain for the people's land during natural disasters, so his land became more and more abundant."

The family that fed the beggar, yet was criticized by others in the village, was my neighbor when I was a child.

When that beggar came to the village to beg, none of the families in the village were well-off, and no one gave him any money, including my family.

My neighbor wasn't the richest person in the village; on the contrary, he was one of the poorer families. Yet, he gave the beggar a meal.

Back then, I was thinking about what exactly is good and what is evil.

A landowner who acquired land was hailed as a benevolent man simply for distributing some porridge. Yet, a man struggling to make ends meet was accused of causing the beggar's death by giving alms to him.

Even now, I still haven't figured this out, because although good and evil can be distinguished, most people can only see the surface.

The villagers' failure to help the beggar was not necessarily evil, because they themselves were also struggling financially at the time.

The reason they condemned the family that gave alms to the beggar was because they still had a conscience and felt guilty.

But that family was kinder than them, and in comparison, they appeared wicked.

They didn't want to be the bad guys, so they could only blame the people who gave alms to beggars.

But evil is evil, even evil born of conscience.

Sheng Changbai seemed to be deep in thought, while Sheng Changfeng was somewhat unconvinced.

The only one who could understand what Zhuang Xuejiu meant was Qi Heng.

Because I've seen similar things far too often.

This is the worst aspect of human nature.

An elderly man fell to the ground, and passersby avoided him. Eventually, someone helped the man, but was then extorted by the man's family.

When people see something like this, most people will criticize the old man and his family.

But those who turn a blind eye to an elderly person falling to the ground will not see it that way.

Instead, they might feel smug, thinking they're smart and made the right choice.

But the truth is that they need to use these things to convince their conscience and to cover up their indifference.

If the elderly person is rescued and their family is grateful and gives the rescuer a generous reward.

Those who pass by will certainly not mention it, and may even tell others that the other person had already been rescued when they passed by.

If it had been a little earlier, I would have been the one to save them.

However, in ancient times, information was scarce, and the situation described by Zhuang Xuejiu was something he had witnessed firsthand.

But those who haven't seen it with their own eyes will parrot what others say and join in criticizing those who give alms to beggars.

"I'm saying this simply to tell you that moral standards alone are often not enough."

If the world is governed by moral standards, the person who gives alms to a beggar will be punished.

However, the law does not require him to rescue others, so he is innocent.

After Zhuang Xuejiu finished speaking, seeing that it was almost time, he said, "Let's end the lesson here!"

In the second lesson, Zhuang Xuejiu did not continue the previous topic, but instead talked about the Discourses on Salt and Iron.

The "Discourses on Salt and Iron" is not merely a debate between state-run and private enterprises; from a higher perspective, it elucidates the role and influence of the economy on politics and military affairs.

Studying "Discourses on Salt and Iron" greatly inspired them when writing their essays for the imperial examinations.

However, because the topic involved some sensitive issues, they were not allowed to debate.