The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

Yingtian Prefecture, on the banks of the Qinhuai River, is brightly lit.

A high platform was erected in the square in front of the Confucius Temple, and stalls selling acrobatics, storytelling, and mooncakes were crowded together, creating a bustling atmosphere.

The air was filled with the salty aroma of Osmanthus Duck and the sweet and sticky taste of Taro. Occasionally, a few firecrackers would explode, startling the gray pigeons perched on the roof tiles.

Ma Wenyuan led the two children on a stroll all the way to Confucius Temple. They were just wandering around, but they stopped in front of a teahouse.

At that moment, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen stood up and shouted,

"Gentlemen, our dynasty has reopened the imperial examinations, taking Zhu Xi's 'Collected Annotations on the Four Books' as the standard. This sets the rules for all writing in the world. We scholars only need to read and memorize the words of the sages and understand them according to the annotations of the ancients, and we will not go wrong."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

That's not entirely wrong; nowadays, we don't always follow the Four Books with their commentaries and annotations.

But Zhu Xi had pretty much decided that the imperial examinations would be based on the commentaries and interpretations of Song Dynasty Confucian scholars such as Zhu Xi.

At least that's the case for this subject this year.

Ma Wenyuan was unaware of events after the Hongwu reign.

Because he didn't even know if, after this three-year series of imperial examinations, the next imperial examination would still be held more than ten years later, following the historical process.

At that very moment.

A voice suddenly rang out.

A young man put down his teacup, raised his head, and said calmly, "I cannot agree with what Brother Chen just said."

The boy was wearing a faded blue cloth robe and had a thin face.

That's why Ma Wenyuan stopped there.

Another young student said sarcastically, "Oh? What brilliant idea do you have, Brother Fang? Perhaps you have some dissatisfaction with Zhu Xi's commentary?"

The young man stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and answered.

"In my opinion, when reading the classics, we should respect the commentaries of the sages, but we should not lose our own insights."

"Zhu Xi's commentary on the Analects is certainly accurate, but not every sentence necessarily reflects the original intention of the sages."

"For example, Zhu Xi interpreted 'learning and practicing what one has learned' as 'learning means imitating,' interpreting 'learning' as emulating those who have come before. But I believe that the original meaning of 'learning' is to understand principles and put them into practice, not just to imitate."

"If one blindly imitates others, where is one's own true nature?"

These words shocked everyone present.

The young man who spoke first had a dark expression.

"Are you criticizing Zhu Xi? Zhu Xi was a great Confucian scholar who synthesized all the knowledge; his commentaries were set as the standard by the imperial court. How dare you, a mere youth, make such a presumptuous statement?"

Another scholar chimed in, "Indeed, the commentaries of the sages have stood the test of time for centuries. How can we, the younger generation, easily question them?"

"Without Zhu Xi, you wouldn't even be able to enter the door of the Analects."

Soon, many people noticed them. Ma Wenyuan walked into the teahouse and approached the people eating melons.

The boy shook his head and said,

"I am not criticizing Zhu Xi, but I am saying that one should have one's own understanding when reading."

Confucius taught people to "review the old to learn the new." If one only knows how to recite Zhu Xi's commentary without trying to understand it for oneself, then one is "reviewing the old" but not "learning the new."

Mencius said, "To believe everything in books is worse than having no books at all." Even Mencius said this, so does that mean we should not doubt a single word or dare to think a single sentence when reading Zhu Xi's commentaries?

The young man sneered, stood up, and strode over to the boy.

"What a wonderful saying, 'It is better to have no books than to believe everything in them.'"

"Then let me ask you, who annotated this sentence in Mencius?"

"It's still Zhu Xi's commentary. You're using Zhu Xi's commentary to question him? Isn't that like using the knife he gave you to slit his own throat?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Ma Wenyuan did not laugh, but listened quietly.

Zhu Di didn't understand or listen at all; he just ate the snacks that had just been served.

Zhu Su seemed to be deep in thought.

The young man frowned, about to retort, but the younger man didn't give him a chance, continuing his rapid-fire speech.

You said that Zhu Xi's interpretation of "learning" as "effect" is not comprehensive enough.

"Then let me ask you, what did Zhu Xi write in that commentary? The very first sentence: 'Learning is about imitation.'"

"Then it goes: 'Human nature is inherently good, but the awakening occurs at different times. Those who awaken later must emulate the actions of those who awakened earlier in order to understand goodness and return to their original state.' Where does Zhu Xi say that 'learning' is merely imitation?"

Have you ever read the six characters "明善而复其初" (Míng shàn ér fù qí chū)?

"He was talking about returning to one's true nature through imitation, which is a complete process! You single out the word 'imitation' and accuse Zhu Xi of being one-sided, but who is really being one-sided?"

At this point in the debate, Ma Wenyuan shook his head, knowing that the argument was over.

As he expected.

Upon hearing this, the young man opened his mouth but found himself unable to refute it.

He did indeed read Zhu Xi's observations.

But it was obvious that he was in such a hurry to refute that he only got to the beginning and thought he had found a loophole.

Now that the young man has turned the tables and seized the opportunity to press forward step by step, how can they not be defeated?

After a while, the boy's face flushed slightly, but he still stubbornly held his head high.

"That's not what I meant... I was just saying that reading shouldn't just be about imitation, but also about developing your own understanding..."

The young man, however, didn't give him that chance, bursting into laughter and interrupting him.

"Understanding? You haven't even read all of Zhu Xi's commentaries, yet you're talking about understanding? With your method of reading, you dare to discuss the meaning of the classics? Mencius said, 'To understand the will of the classics through one's own understanding,' so tell me, what does 'understand' mean here?"

The young man paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "'Ni' means to welcome. It means to use one's own ideas to conform to the author's will."

The young man pressed further, "Then whose intention is this 'intention'?"

The young man paused for a moment: "The reader's interpretation."

Ma Wenyuan shook his head again; they were being led by the nose.

Zhu Su also sighed.

But then the young man clapped his hands and continued,

"Very well! That's the reader's intention. Now let me ask you another question: When Mencius said 'to interpret the words of sages according to one's own understanding,' was he suggesting that people interpret the words of sages however they pleased?"

Having said that, the young man turned to the crowd, his voice suddenly rising.

"When Xianqiu Meng asked Mencius, 'The Book of Poetry says, "Under the whole heaven, there is no land that is not the king's; on the shores of the whole land, there is no one who is not the king's subject.' Does this mean that the emperor can command all the people of the world?"

Mencius replied: "Those who interpret poetry should not let the words obscure the meaning, or let the meaning obscure the intent." Mencius interpreted this poem using the method of "inverse interpretation," but the conclusion he reached precisely conformed to the Zhou Dynasty's ritual system and the original meaning of the sages.

"If we follow your brother's idea of ​​'contrary to one's own will,' then my statement today that 'Confucius was a commoner' is also valid as long as I feel that my 'contrary' is correct? That's utterly absurd!"

Upon hearing the address "Brother Fang" and looking at the young man, Ma Wenyuan suddenly had a guess.

The boy's face turned bright red, his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to retort, but he found himself unable to utter a single word under the barrage of questions.

Clearly, he had read this passage from Mencius.

But he never imagined that his "going against the grain" would lead to this outcome.

He wanted to argue, but the other party's logic was so tightly linked that he couldn't find a flaw in it.

The crowd laughed even louder at the sight of the young man's embarrassed state. Several scholars, who already disliked his arrogance, began to shout and argue.

"Brother Chen's eloquence is truly remarkable!"

"Brother Fang, admit defeat!"

But at this moment...

Ma Wenyuan suddenly spoke up, "Please wait, everyone."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and discovered an official in a scarlet robe sitting in the room.

And they are extremely young.

Everyone immediately bowed in respect.

"I have just listened to your insightful discussions here."

Ma Wenyuan gestured for everyone to sit down, his tone unhurried.

"That student just now was eloquent and quoted extensively from classical texts; he has clearly put in a lot of effort."

"Student Chen Ying."

The young man didn't know who Ma Wenyuan was, but he dared not offend such a nobleman in red robes, so he could only stand up and bow again.

"Your Excellency, you are so complimentary."

Ma Wenyuan didn't look at him, but changed the subject, his voice still calm: "But Zhu Xi's annotations are indeed not entirely without room for debate."