Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

Fu Yuan nodded, glanced at the book in front of him, and said, "Today we will study the Three Character Classic. I will read it once, and you will repeat after me: 'When a person is born, his nature is good.'"

“When a person is born, his nature is good.”

"Natures are similar, but habits make them different."

"Natures are similar, but habits make them different."

"..."

Fu Yuan's tone was ups and downs, with a clear rhythm. It was easy to read and very pleasant to listen to. The children naturally followed suit and learned from him.

During the recitation, Fu Yuan was focused and sincere. After reading only three or four sentences, the righteous energy in his body began to brew and flourish.

Everything happened naturally.

After teaching the first eight sentences, Fu Yuan led the children to read them a second time, and then began to explain, "When people are born, they are kind by nature and have similar instincts, but the environment and education they receive after birth can cause people to develop different habits and personalities..."

As he was explaining, someone outside the window interrupted him, saying, "Human nature is good? I don't think that's right. Human nature is evil!"

When Fu Yuan looked over, he saw a young man looking at him intently. Regardless of his appearance, his eyes were unusually bright, clear, and without any impurities.

The children looked at Fu Yuan, then at the young man outside the window, their expressions somewhat confused, not knowing who was right or wrong.

The young man bowed and said, "I'm sorry, I interrupted your teaching on a whim. I just felt that with your abilities, your views shouldn't be so superficial!"

Fu Yuan didn't care and nodded, "It's just enlightenment. If I explain it in too deep terms, the children won't understand."

The young man smiled and said, "If the teacher didn't tell you, how would you know the children didn't understand? Take the first sentence, 'When a man is born, his nature is good.' Although it encourages people to be good, if you really believe that human nature is good, you will probably suffer greatly in the future."

Fu Yuan looked at him and said after a moment: "What do you think?"

The young man said seriously, "Teacher, you must teach the children the truth that 'man is born evil'!"

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "Good, is it kindness? Evil, is it evil?"

The young man was stunned, somewhat confused.

Fu Yuan shook his head and said, "Good means perfect! This is from Mencius. The first part of the book says, 'At the beginning of life, one's nature is perfect and complete. One is born with 'compassion, shame and disgust, respect, and a sense of right and wrong.'"

These four virtues, which are “able without learning” and “known without thinking,” have nothing to do with good or evil; they are simply the innate goodness and ability of our perfect nature.

The young man looked at Fu Yuan in surprise. He didn't expect that this sentence could be explained in this way.

At the beginning of life, nature is perfect, there is no good or evil, there is no good or evil.

Fu Yuan continued, "Evil doesn't mean evil at all. It simply refers to the various emotions and desires that emanate from human nature. It's called 'evil,' but it doesn't mean it's evil!

Because human nature gives rise to various emotions and desires, these "evil" need to be properly controlled and restricted, which is why "ritual" and "law" are needed.

Therefore, Mencius's view that "human nature is good" and Xunzi's view that "human nature is evil" are not actually in conflict; they simply refer to different things.

After Fu Yuan finished speaking, except for the young man outside the window who seemed to be lost in thought, the other children all looked confused and stupid, obviously not understanding.

The young man also noticed the children's reaction and felt a little ashamed. He said, "I am sorry for being so rude... Please come out and talk to me, sir!"

Fu Yuan nodded and said to the children, "I will only teach you eight sentences today. Read them several times. I will check tomorrow. Anyone who can't memorize them will be spanked."

After the children responded "yes" in unison, Fu Yuan left the classroom.

Outside the classroom, a young man came forward and said, "I am Feng Yao. I am attracted by the aura you exude. Such a great and powerful aura, could it be the legendary Haoran Qi?"

"I am..." Fu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Chen Junyuan."

Chapter 117 Returning to Their Roots

After Feng Yao and Fu Yuan introduced each other, they looked at each other silently, secretly amazed in their hearts.

After a moment, Feng Yao extended his hand and said, "I heard that shaking hands is popular in the West. Would you like to shake one?"

Fu Yuan smiled and extended his hand. Feng Yao took the initiative to shake it. As soon as their hands touched, a faint energy burst out and flowed in their palms...

Feng Yao couldn't help but sigh, "The general of an army can be taken away, but the will of an ordinary man cannot be taken away. The righteous spirit, though it's called qi, is dominated by the righteous spirit contained in the qi!"

Fu Yuan could also feel that there was an inexplicable force between his palms, constantly trying to disintegrate his righteousness, but his will was stronger and he was able to resist this disintegrating force.

After thinking about it, Fu Yuan simply retracted his will. Suddenly, countless points of light burst out from the palms of the two people holding each other, like starlight. The starlight wandered everywhere, as if countless fireflies were flying. The light points gradually became sparse, and finally all disappeared into the darkness.

Feng Yao raised his left hand and touched it gently. A faint, inexplicable joy surged in his heart. It had no root or source, it was just joy...

In addition, there are sadness, anger, fear... and other emotions and desires, which appear in my heart in a confused and rootless manner.

Of course, there is also the innate Qi that Feng Yao is most familiar with.

"Haoran Qi, so that's what it means!" Feng Yao exclaimed. "According to your explanation, the various 'evil' emanating from human nature can be controlled and rectified through one's own will, nurtured with 'benevolence and righteousness', and thus attaining Haoran Qi."

Fu Yuan also gained some understanding and said, "The universe began with primordial energy. We must organize all the energy in the universe into its original form, so that it can return to its original state..." What a good method!"

Feng Yao smiled and said, "You and I are on the same page, right?"

Feng Yao himself is not a nosy person, but he just had the audacity to disturb and criticize Fu Yuan's teaching. It was not an active provocation, but he felt a kind of mysterious connection.

The moment he saw Fu Yuan, he could sense the discomfort in Fu Yuan's heart.

He clearly had his own understanding of the saying "Man is born good", but he insisted on explaining it according to textbooks or popular annotations. This made Fu Yuan feel a little uncomfortable, which was sensed by Feng Yao, so he interrupted him.

Fu Yuan also had this feeling. The first time he saw Feng Yao, he sensed the curiosity and openness in his heart, so he didn't mind at all.

The two men let go of each other's hands, and Fu Yuan sighed, "I may not have the wings of a phoenix, but we are connected by a single thought. Lingxi, also known as Tongtianxi, means to communicate with the gods, to understand each other by heart."

Feng Yao laughed heartily and said, "I never thought that one day I would have such a profound connection with a man... You can even say 'everyone returns to their roots.' You know a lot about Taoist practice, too?"

Fu Yuan nodded and said, "I have dabbled in it a little."

"Excellent!" Feng Yao said happily. "To be honest, I only just realized that my understanding of the saying 'Man is born good' was wrong. I'm afraid I've made even more mistakes in my understanding of Taoism, which is even more obscure than Confucianism."

"It's not a matter of right or wrong." Fu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Your understanding of human nature being good is also an explanation, not a mistake."

Feng Yao asked curiously, "Please elaborate."

“Everyone has their own understanding.”

Fu Yuan extended his hand and led Feng Yao to sit at the stone table outside the school. He said, "Take the opening line of the Analects, 'Learn and practice it from time to time.' Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty annotated it as 'learn and review it frequently.' Can you say he's wrong?"

Feng Yao asked, "Then how do you understand it?"

Fu Yuan said: "What you have learned should be put into practice at the right time."

Feng Yao was stunned for a moment, then said, "I think your understanding is better, and it better corresponds to the following 'Isn't it a pleasure to say it?' Learning something brings joy only when it can be put into practice."

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "But Zhu Xi's annotations also correspond precisely to the saying 'reviewing the old to understand the new.' Reviewing old things and gaining new understandings is itself a joyful thing. Moreover, 'isn't it a pleasure to talk about it?'" This can also be interpreted as meaning that one should express new understandings."

Feng Yao said, "Uh," and said, "That seems to make sense."

Fu Yuan shook his head and said, "Personal interpretation is personal, and there's no right or wrong. However, Zhu Xi's annotations to the Four Books were used as the standard for the imperial examinations at the time. So if you wanted to become an official, to stand out, you had to follow Zhu Xi's annotations."

Feng Yao thought for a moment, slapped his thigh, and said, "Isn't this just like Zhu Xi imposing his will on all scholars?"

Fu Yuan smiled and said, “So, my “Annotations to the Six Classics” emphasizes faithfully restoring the original meaning of the classics and understanding the objective content of the text through methods such as exegesis and textual research.

"The Six Classics Annotate Me" uses the classics as a tool to interpret personal thoughts, emphasizing the expression of one's own views after a thorough understanding of the classics. This is a different level."

Feng Yao nodded and said, "One is 'studying the classics till old age', and the other is 'studying to understand the basics'."

Fu Yuan sighed and said, "Confucius said: 'The only one who knows me is the Spring and Autumn Annals! The only one who blames me is the Spring and Autumn Annals!' If one spends his whole life studying the classics, then Confucius is altering the history of the State of Lu according to his own will and from his own subjective perspective."

If "learning is about knowing the root", then Confucius was expounding his own "Tao" through subtle words and profound meanings.

"The Spring and Autumn Annals" is a history book, and history books should not have personal understandings, but only need to record coldly.

Just like Dong Hu of the Jin Dynasty, who was the Grand Historian of Jin and was responsible for recording history books. After Zhao Dun's cousin Zhao Chuan killed Jin Linggong, Dong Hu coldly recorded "Zhao Dun killed his king" without bringing in any personal emotions.

Even though Zhao Dun argued that he was killed by Zhao Chuan, Dong Hu used the words "You are the chief minister, you did not cross the border when the enemy fled, and you did not fight the enemy when the enemy came back. Who else but you?" to explain that Zhao Dun should bear the title of "regicide". This is the "calligraphy" of writing history.

However, Confucius' "Spring and Autumn Annals" is infused with too many personal insights and personal wills, and no longer conforms to the "method" of writing history.

Feng Yao scratched his head and said, "I haven't read the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "It's okay, as long as you understand the meaning. Just like your technique just now, although I don't know how you did it, the root of it all lies in the five words 'each returns to its roots'."

Feng Yao nodded and said, "All things return to their roots. Returning to the roots is called tranquility, which is called returning to destiny. Returning to destiny is called constancy, and knowing constancy is called enlightenment. My method is called 'divine enlightenment'."

Fu Yuan said: "Exerting one's mind will make it confused, and stubborn prejudices will hinder our ability to understand. Therefore, 'reaching emptiness' is to eliminate obstacles in the mind and clarify confused mental activities."

Feng Yao said: "Reach the utmost emptiness, maintain profound stillness, and all things will come into being. I will observe their return. To achieve emptiness, one must maintain stillness. Only when the mind is clear and tranquil can one "return to its roots."

Fu Yuan sighed, "The words 'pure' and 'quiet' are well said. 'Pure' means not disturbed by turbidity, and 'quiet' means not disturbed by movement. To think clearly, one must get rid of turbidity, not have any distracting thoughts, and clearly see one's true nature, which is also called 'clear mind'."

Feng Yao laughed heartily and said, "This corresponds to your explanation of 'Man is born good'. Man's nature is perfect and complete, without any flaws or deficiencies, and self-sufficient. Isn't this a kind of 'Ming Shen'?"

Fu Yuan also laughed and said, "Human nature is evil. The various emotions and desires that emanate from this nature are called "evil," and they are also the various "falsehoods" above human nature. To eliminate falsehood and seek truth is called "cultivation"!"

Feng Yao clapped his hands repeatedly: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! Taoism is the Tao, Confucianism is the Tao, and even the Three Character Classic that children learn to use is also explaining the true way of cultivation!"

Chapter 118: Conservatism and Innovation

For the first time, Fu Yuan understood how happy it was to have a conversation with someone who shared the same feelings with him.

Whenever he put forward a point of view, Feng Yao could understand it very well and at the same time put forward his own views. Similarly, Fu Yuan could also understand the views put forward by Feng Yao and understand what he meant at the first time.

If it were a man and a woman, they would probably get married on the spot after chatting like this... Unfortunately, they are both men, so they can only get along better the more they chat.

Li Bai said in "Drinking Song" that "all the sages and wise men in ancient times were lonely", which means that when the level of thinking reaches a certain level, there is no one who can communicate with him, and he will naturally feel lonely.

Zhuangzi's "communicating alone with the spirit of heaven and earth" was due to loneliness, and Confucius' "no one understands me" was also due to loneliness...

Whenever Fu Yuan met someone, he liked to talk about scriptures and doctrines, and he liked to give long speeches as a teacher. He was also lonely and hoped to find someone to communicate with. But at this moment, he finally found such a person.

Feng Yao naturally had the same feeling.

The two chatted for a long time and didn't even pay attention to the students in the school.

Fu Yuan finally understood why Feng Yao appeared in Chenjiazhuang... He came to get married.

Feng Yao was picked up from a pile of dead bodies by his master and was raised in a charity cemetery outside Lantian County, which belonged to the property of Master Chen of the Chen family.

Feng Yao's master, Feng Laodao, had an old relationship with Master Chen, and it seemed that there were some personal connections involved. Therefore, before he died, he asked Master Chen to arrange Feng Yao's marriage.

After an investigation, Master Chen Da directly asked Feng Yao to come to Chenjiazhuang and pick one of Master Chen Er's daughters to marry.

After Feng Yao finished explaining the cause and effect of this, Fu Yuan smiled and said, "Master Chen has his own career and doesn't care much about women. He has only two sons and one daughter in his family, all born to the first wife, and his only daughter has already been engaged.

The second master Chen is different. He guards the family business and has nothing else to do except eating, drinking and having fun. There is nothing fun in Chenjiazhuang, so he can only play with women.

Feng Yao said with a click of his tongue, "I asked around before coming here. I heard that Master Chen Er just married his eighth concubine last year. He has a ton of sons and daughters at home."