White-robed Minister

Chapter 245 0243 [The Chaotic State of Academia]

Wang Anshi was reading Xu Lai's "Treatise on the Supreme Ultimate," sometimes nodding, sometimes frowning, and sometimes pondering.

He was indeed reading carefully.

Wang Anshi's worldview differed slightly from Xu Lai's. His theory was: Dao → Yuanqi → Yin and Yang → Chongqi → Five Elements → All Things.

In Wang Anshi's cosmology, the Dao is the origin of the universe, and primordial energy is the material carrier of the Dao.

Principle is the law and manifestation of the Dao in all things. The Dao is the essence, and principle is the function; the Dao is one, and principle is many. After mastering and unifying all principles, what we summarize is the Dao.

Wang Anshi's Dao is further divided into the Dao of Heaven and the Dao of Humanity. The Dao of Heaven is the law of nature, while the Dao of Humanity is the law of society.

Seeing that his father remained silent for a long time, Wang Pang couldn't help but call out, "My lord—"

Wang Anshi raised his hand to interrupt: "Go do your work, I need to think about it."

He felt that his worldview was in many ways the same as Xu Lai's. Xu Lai's "ethics" was his own "humanity"; Xu Lai's "physics" was his own "the way of heaven".

The explanations of Qi and Li seem to be largely the same.

However, Wang Anshi focused more on human ethics and kept his distance from the Way of Heaven. Xu Lai, on the other hand, valued both human ethics (morality) and the Way of Heaven (physics), and even said that the two influenced each other.

That's not right either, Wang Anshi thought about it carefully. He himself regarded all trades and professions as the way of humanity, but Xu Lai said that they contained the way of heaven, and classified things like the principle of leverage and plant grafting into the category of the way of heaven.

Xu Lai's understanding of the Way of Heaven (physics) is more secular than Wang Anshi's, as it is tangible and perceptible. Wang Anshi's understanding of the Way of Heaven (physics) mainly focuses on wind, rain, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, floods, droughts, solar eclipses, and comets.

After thinking for a long time, he looked at the magazine in his hand, called his son over, and asked, "Have you found out anything about 'The Sound of the Bell'?"

Wang Wu replied, "Xu Lai and Shen Kuo worked together to improve movable type printing. The mint in the capital city carved the master plate and cast the movable type, while the ink official purchased ink from ink merchants to produce ink. The movable type and ink were sent to the Imperial Academy, where the librarian dispatched craftsmen to carry out printing."

The Imperial Academy was a very large institution, which not only governed schools such as the Imperial College, but also had the authority of the "Great Song Dynasty General Printing Factory and Publishing Administration Bureau".

However, the printing and publishing management was handled by a librarian, and the head of the Imperial College basically did not get involved.

Wang Anshi had already taken control of the Imperial Academy through Zhang Zao, but they hadn't paid much attention to mundane matters like printing books. So much so that Wang Anshi and Zhang Zao only realized Xu Lai had printed "The Sound of the Bell" through the Imperial Academy after seeing the magazine.

Wang Anshi said, "So, you're saying that movable type printing was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Academy?"

Wang Pang explained in detail: "The Imperial Mint in the capital is still minting movable type, and the next batch of movable type will be allocated to the Printing House. In the future, the Imperial Academy will be responsible for printing the classics, histories, philosophical works, medical books, legal books, as well as official gazettes and documents published by the court. The Printing House will be responsible for printing Buddhist and Taoist scriptures."

Wang Anshi had by this time realized the importance of movable type printing and decided to strengthen the supervision of this technology.

Wang Pang continued, "The mint in the capital is still recruiting buyers for movable type. After the Imperial Academy and the Printing House are satisfied, the surplus movable type will be sold to private booksellers. It seems that they are also recruiting buyers for ink. Lead movable type and ink will make the court a lot of money in the future."

Wang Anshi glanced at the punctuation marks and felt that they were quite convenient.

Punctuation marks and such did not attract much attention.

No one praised or fawned over it, nor did anyone question or oppose it. Most readers shared Wang Anshi's opinion and found it quite easy to read.

This does not involve the issue of interpretive authority; Confucianism has already moved beyond the stage of interpreting classics by punctuating them.

The great Confucian scholars of the Han and Tang dynasties had long ago established the correct punctuation for the Confucian classics.

For example, the phrase "民可使由之不可使知之" was already fixed in its punctuation during the Han Dynasty. The various punctuations of this phrase mostly appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era, and were mainly for the purpose of being unconventional.

The period and comma have existed since ancient times and were extremely popular in the Song Dynasty.

Under the teacher's instruction, students learned to add punctuation to books themselves. The period was a small circle, similar to the period in later times. Commas, however, came in all shapes and sizes; some looked like commas, some like pause marks, and some like decimal points, depending entirely on the reader's habits and preferences.

Xu Lai merely standardized the period and comma using movable type printing, eliminating the need for readers to manually add the colon, which he pioneered.

Wang Anshi said, "Your idea to publish 'New Voices' is excellent. You should get on it immediately!"

Wang Anshi gradually realized the necessity of unifying thought. He later organized the compilation of "New Interpretations of the Three Classics," the fundamental purpose of which was to unify thought.

Not only did they intend to unify the thinking of the reformists, but they also aimed to unify the thinking of scholars nationwide, thus forcefully promoting the *New Interpretations of the Three Classics* as the textbook. Answering questions in the imperial examinations had to use the *New Interpretations of the Three Classics*!

Wang Anshi further instructed, "You may compile poems, novels, jokes, and the like, but the content should preferably advocate the new laws. As for academic articles, I will write them myself."

"My lord, should we try to sabotage 'The Sound of the Bell'?" Wang Pang asked.

Wang Anshi shook his head: "No need."

The current emperor encourages freedom of speech. If we try to obstruct the "Duo Sheng" (a type of speech), it may not be effective and could even displease Emperor Shenzong.

Take book printing as an example.

Before the first year of the Xining era, private printing was strictly regulated. Scholars and officials who printed their own works would usually present a copy to the imperial court, essentially submitting a report.

If it is not reported, the imperial court can ban it at any time.

Private bookstores are not allowed to print books privately, but it is impossible to completely eradicate them.

In the second year of Zhao Xu's reign, before Wang Anshi had even entered the capital, the court suddenly lifted the ban on private printing. Only astronomical and calendrical records remained.

Contents such as Yin-Yang divination and state secrets are prohibited from being privately engraved.

From the first year of the Xining era to the present, in just over three years, the printing industry of the Song Dynasty has developed rapidly. Private printing shops that used to operate clandestinely are now openly operating and paying taxes.

All of this was orchestrated by Zhao Xu.

Luoyang.

Cheng Yi, who had never held an official position and had started teaching students in recent years, received a magazine that his students had entrusted to someone in Kaifeng to bring back.

Xu Lai's worldview is closer to Wang Anshi's and far removed from Cheng Yi's theories.

Cheng Yi believed that "Li" (principle) is the origin of the universe. Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) and Dao (the Way) are simply other names for Li. Li is the metaphysical (Dao), while Qi (vital energy) is the physical (Qi). Li drives Qi to form all things.

He believed that principle is the root of everything, purely good and without evil. Qi (vital energy) gives rise to all things, and all things share the overall principle, each possessing its own principle.

One part. And evil arises from the absence or ignorance of natural principles in certain things.

"Sir, Scholar Xu is using this book to promote his doctrines, and he will surely attract a large number of scholars from Kaifeng. Why don't we also start a magazine?" a disciple suggested.

At this time, Cheng Yi's teaching scale was very small, and his influence was almost confined to Luoyang. None of his later famous disciples had come to formally become his students yet; he was surrounded by ordinary students from Luoyang.

Cheng Yi was somewhat tempted and said to his disciple, "Go to Kaifeng and inquire about how to save money on printing. This copy of 'The Sound of the Bell' is definitely not printed using woodblocks."

He planned to start a magazine called "Tianli" to directly compete with "Duosheng" in Kaifeng. He also planned to publish some articles opposing the new laws.

Sima Guang also settled in Luoyang.

Sima Guang continued to serve as an official, holding the position of Imperial Censor of the Western Capital. However, he was utterly disillusioned with the government and stopped speaking about politics, devoting himself to compiling the Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government).

At this very moment, an old friend also sent Sima Guang a copy of "The Sound of the Bell".

Unlike Cheng Yi's "theory of principle as the foundation", Sima Guang insisted on the "theory of qi as the foundation".

However, Sima Guang's worldview was far too complex, and sometimes even contradictory: emptiness → qi → body → nature → name → action → destiny.

Sima Guang didn't want to talk about politics, but he did want to talk about scholarship, so he immediately wrote an article and submitted it to the journal *Duosheng*. He criticized Xu Lai's worldview and wanted to expound his own.

If Sima Guang had written a historical essay, Xu Lai might have been willing to use his manuscript.

But as for Sima Guang's worldview, it would be a miracle if Xu Lai approved his manuscript!

Also in Luoyang.

Fu Bi was chatting with Shao Yong.

Fu Bi took out a book called "Duo Sheng" and turned to the "Later Heaven Taiji Diagram" in it. He smiled and said to Shao Yong, "Old Yichuan, please take a look at this diagram."

Shao Yong didn't take it seriously at first, but the moment he saw the yin-yang symbol, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

After looking at the illustrations, then the text, and finally the math and physics sections, Shao Yong asked, "Is the book 'Mathematics' very popular in Kaifeng?"

Fu Bi said, "Mathematics and Geometry are both books used in Kaifeng mathematics education. In recent years, mathematics students have been required to master these two books. For scholars, this is a minor skill. But for the country, it is indeed quite important."

Shao Yong and Xu Lai's cosmologies focused on completely different things, but their core elements were not significantly different.

Shao Yong followed the path of "symbolic mathematics," using numerology to deduce the evolution of the universe, society, and history.

All he wants now is to get his hands on "Mathematics" and "Geometry".

Hengqu Town, Meixian County, Shaanxi Province.

Last year, Zhang Zai was demoted because his younger brother opposed the new laws, and he also resigned from his official post due to illness and returned home to teach.

Zhang Zai's theory is exactly the opposite of Cheng Yi's; he advocates the "theory of Qi as the fundamental substance," arguing that Qi precedes Li (principle).

The Great Void is Qi. Qi is the origin of everything.

Tai Chi, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and all things are states of Qi circulation.

Dao is the process of Qi circulation, and Li is the principle governing Qi circulation.

Zhang Zai greatly admired the four sentences "proposed" by Xu Lai, which resonated deeply with him. However, he had reservations about Xu Lai's worldview; while questioning it, he also appreciated some of its content.

Zhang Zai planned to incorporate Xu Lai's distinction between ethics and physics into his own doctrine. At the same time, he also liked the essay "The Boat Woman" and wrote a similar essay, "The Laborer," to submit to a magazine.

The attitudes of these scholars toward Xu Lai's articles reveal just how chaotic academic thought is today.

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Even their worldviews are incredibly diverse, with no single viewpoint dominating.

Even the theories of all the scholars mentioned above were not yet mature at this time, and were far from being systematic. Their ideological systems were perfected amidst the clashes between the old and new parties.

Another major school of thought, "Shu School," has not even emerged yet. It will only gradually form as an academic school after Su Shi travels to more places.

Xu Lai acted the fastest, seizing the academic high ground before the others could even exert their strength!

The first issue of the magazine has just been published, and Xu Lai is already writing for the second issue.

The core article this time is called "On Inner Sage and Outer King".

The first issue of "The Theory of Yin and Yang" discusses cosmology and worldview.

The second installment, "Inner Sage and Outer King: Part 1," and the third installment, "Inner Sage and Outer King: Part 2," discuss philosophies of life, values, and methodologies.

Next are "On Seeking Truth from Facts," "On the Unity of Knowledge and Action," "On Family, Country, and the World," and "On Governing the World and Benefiting the People."

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