"To act or not to act" is the fundamental difference between Confucianism and Taoism.

There are three reasons why Taoism advocates "non-action":

In the past there was inaction but now there is action, the Tao is inaction but virtue is action, the Heaven is inaction but man is action.

Therefore, the dispute between Confucianism and Taoism is also a dispute between the past and the present, between morality, and between heaven and man.

The right and wrong of Confucianism and Taoism also lies here.

The debate between Zhao Rong and Tao Yuanran this time focused on these three points.

Zhao Rong and Tao Yuanran competed against each other.

Zhao Rong: "Do not promote the virtuous, so that the people will not quarrel; do not value hard-to-get goods, so that the people will not steal; do not show what is desirable, so that the people's hearts will not be disturbed. Therefore, the way a sage governs is to keep the people ignorant and desireless, so that the wise will not dare to act. If you do nothing, everything will be governed."

Tao Yuanran: "A gentleman is at peace but does not forget danger; he survives but does not forget death; he governs but does not forget chaos. Therefore, when a gentleman is about to do something or take action, he will answer questions and answer them. He receives orders as if he were facing a direction, without any regard for distance or depth. He knows what is coming. If he is not the most sophisticated person in the world, who can compare with him?"

Zhao Rong: "When there are too many taboos in the world, the people will become poorer; when there are too many sharp weapons, the country will become chaotic; when there are too many tricks, strange things will appear; when laws are more and more clear, there will be more thieves. Therefore, I do nothing, and the people will be transformed; I like peace, and the people will be upright; I do nothing, and the people will be rich; I have no desires, and the people will be simple."

Tao Yuanran: “…”

…

Below the stage, Lin Wenruo listened attentively to the debate on the stage, stared at the two people on the stage, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Before the debate began, Lin Wenruo was very worried, especially after learning that Zhao Rong's opponent was a Taoist gentleman. He even had the illusion that he had already lost. But now seeing that Zhao Rong was not at a disadvantage at the beginning, he couldn't help but feel relieved a little. At least there was still hope!

The more Lin Wenruo listened, the more surprised he was. He discovered that Zhao Rong possessed outstanding eloquence and was able to quote Taoist classics with ease. He knew this before, as he knew that Zhao Rong had a good memory. He just didn't expect that Zhao Rong had actually studied Taoism in his daily life, and it seemed that he had done more than just a cursory glance at it.

On the other side of the venue, where the audience was, the atmosphere was a bit depressing.

This conversation is not one-sided?

This was very different from what they expected.

Qingjingzi's face looked a little ugly. Although he was not good at debate, he understood the matter very well. The stalemate between the two sides on the field only proved one thing.

The two people on the field have similar debating skills and cannot defeat each other immediately. It all depends on which side reveals a loophole first, becomes passive, and finally loses.

Qing Jingzi glanced at Qing Yuanzi and found that the other party was staring at the scholar on the stage whom he had always looked down upon, with an incredible expression on his face.

Qingjingzi suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, Qing Yuanzi did not choose Zhao Ziyu in the second game, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous!

At this time, the fight between the two people on the stage gradually became more intense.

Zhao Rong has always adhered to the idea of ​​"doing nothing, and achieving everything". He believed that a gentleman governs the country with the principle of "ruling by doing nothing", does not take the initiative to provoke wars, and the country does not suffer from disasters, and the people will naturally become prosperous.

If the gentlemen who govern the country have no desires, the people will naturally be simple and honest.

It also states that "governing a large country is like cooking a small fish", and that you should not stir the meat as soon as it is put into the pot, otherwise the meat will fall apart. By extension, it means that governing a large country means not disturbing the people, not making things complicated, and not changing orders every day.

In short, only by doing nothing can you achieve everything.

However, Tao Yuanran strongly opposed it, believing that the prerequisite of "rule by inaction" is that officials and people abide by it consciously, or that they should be anti-intellectual, making the people stupid and desireless, and obeying the rulers' orders like lambs. Otherwise, "inaction" means no action, and the country will become more and more chaotic.

These assumptions are idealistic and therefore invalid.

He also believed that a gentleman in governing a country must do something, that is, be "active". He must stand up and do something, regardless of whether the result is good or bad.

Zhao Rong clenched his fist with one hand on his leg, and held the jade pendant in front of his abdomen with the other hand. His eyes were focused and his words were passionate.

Tao Yuanran, who had been turning his rosary beads when the debate began, stopped what he was doing and looked at the scholar in front of him with an increasingly serious expression.

Both of them were eloquent and spoke fiercely, neither of them gave in at all.

Zhao Rong: "Do nothing, teach without words, do not be lazy, and the world will settle itself."

Tao Yuanran: "How do you do it?"

Zhao Rong: "The sage said, 'Empty their minds, fill their bellies, weaken their wills, and strengthen their bones. The superiors are like branches, and the people are like wild deer.'"

Tao Yuanran: "If you do what you have done, you will be a beast without a father or a king! The chaos in the world started with you!"

After that, the situation suddenly took a turn!

Lin Wenruo, who was sitting in the audience, frowned and looked at Tao Yuanran, who was acting aggressively after gaining the upper hand, and had a bad feeling.

Tao Yuanran said in a fiery tone, "You said, do nothing and yet everything is accomplished; put others before yourself and yet you are ahead of them; and you also said, because you do not stay, you do not leave. This is completely focused on the gains and losses of human affairs, and completely planned on coping with political schemes."

He also said: "They began to value practical benefits, emphasize power tactics, and are close to fraud. They grasp nature and play with it in the palm of their hands, pretending to do nothing, but in their hearts they are deliberately trying to do anything."

Tao Yuanran focused his attack on Zhao Rong's conclusion "do nothing and achieve everything" on the three words "achieve everything", and attributed Zhao Rong's views to conspiracy theory and power politics.

He used clever logic to distort Zhao Rong's point of view, making Zhao Rong's previous dialectic untenable and self-contradictory.

Zhao Rong suddenly stopped, frowned, leaned forward, and placed the hand that was holding the jade token heavily on the table.

Zhao Rong was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to defend himself.

His heart skipped a beat, remembering that the rules of Qingbian were that one could not pause for more than three breaths. He hurriedly responded when he caught a glimpse of Mr. Liuyi preparing to speak.

But in such a hurry, I could only use vague and sophistry as much as possible in an attempt to divert attention.

But Tao Yuanran took advantage of the situation and continued to seize the opportunity.

Suddenly, the situation on the stage changed drastically. Zhao Rong began to become passive and increasingly unable to hold on.

In a debate, being passive means you are not far from defeat!

Lin Wenruo, who was sitting in the audience, clenched his fists, his fingertips sunk into the flesh of his palms, and stared at Zhao Rong with bated breath.

On the other side, Qing Yuanzi, who had a tense face, suddenly let out a sigh of relief, grinned, and laughed silently.

Qingjingzi on the side shouted "good" and looked at a certain cauldron in the crowd opposite with a playful look, as if it was within reach. Then he looked at the young Confucian scholar on the stage who was pausing and hesitating, with a cruel look in his eyes.

Zhao Rong barely held on, dealing with Tao Yuanran's "attack" while trying to think of countermeasures.

His right hand was pressed tightly against the table, and the milky white jade plate in his palm kept emitting waves of burning sensation, just like his heart at the moment.

Zhao Rong felt that he was in a very strange state. He clearly felt the theory to resolve the loophole, but he couldn't describe it!

Just like sometimes, you are thinking about something one second, and forget it the next second, and then you know it exists, but it is difficult to remember it no matter how hard you try.

Zhao Rong also fell into this strange state at this moment.

I want to argue but I have forgotten the words.

The situation became more and more critical. Suddenly, with Tao Yuanran's powerful shout, Zhao Rong paused again and was speechless.

At this moment, Zhao Rong felt as if time had slowed down. He stared blankly at the old man's scorching eyes and saw his own reflection in them. He could feel time passing quickly, like countless flying swords passing by on both sides of his face. He knew that in less than three breaths, he would lose, lose his dignity, lose the life of his best friend, lose the seven hundred years of ancestral foundation of the Lanxi Lin family, and lose... that stupid girl.

Under the pressure of this mountain-like burden, he suddenly wanted to give up everything and admit defeat...

no!

He shouted in his heart, like a giant beast sealed in the abyss, tearing apart the eternal chains.

He bit his tongue hard with his teeth. The sweet and fishy taste of blood hit his taste buds, and the tingling pain tore at his nerves, telling him that he had senses.

No, I didn’t lose!

Zhao Rong turned his head to briefly avoid the old man's gaze, took a deep breath, and prepared to continue his specious arguments while searching for the key in his mind, but at this moment his eyes happened to catch a glimpse of the people in the audience.

There was Su Xiaoxiao, who clenched her fists and bit her lips, looking up at him as if praying.

There is the pale-faced Lin Qingxuan.

There was Chen Muzhi, slumped in his seat with a lifeless look in his eyes.

And... Lin Wenruo, whose face was red and eyes were wide open.

He even saw Qing Yuanzi, who was looking at him with his arms folded and a smile on his face...

etc!

Qing Yuanzi! Lin Wenruo!

A flash of inspiration flashed through Zhao Rong's mind like the first ray of light at dawn, piercing through the endless darkness.

I remember now, it’s the “theory of one origin of body and function”!

It was just the second conversation, in which Qing Yuanzi put forward the idea of ​​"taking nothingness as the basis" regardless of the "theory of the unity of substance and function" involved!

His wide-open eye sockets were like a thousand-year-old dark room, with an orange fire lit in vain.

One lamp is bright.

When Mr. Liuyi saw that the third breath had come, he sighed inwardly and said, "I..."

Before he could even utter the first word, he suddenly stopped talking because the scholar had already spoken out loudly, and the two of them resumed their debate.

Mr. Liuyi shook his head slightly.

Zhao Rong was confident and kept his footing. Although he was still at a disadvantage and extremely passive, he did not lose his momentum and kept climbing up gradually. At a certain moment, when Tao Yuanran once again tried to seize his previous loophole, the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, and he uttered the "Theory of the One Origin of Body and Function" in a deep voice.

Zhao Rong said: "The most subtle is the principle, the most obvious is the image; the essence and function have the same source, and there is no gap between the subtle and the obvious..."

Just as Zhao Rong was beginning to narrate meticulously, some commotion occurred in the audience.

It would be fine if you had been at a disadvantage before, and you might still have a chance to turn the tables, but you have just paused for such a long time, it is obvious that you have run out of words to hold on. Even if Mr. Liuyi were more strict, he could have directly declared you the loser, and you are still quibbling.

We are all experienced as experts, we have all been on the debate field and we all know what this situation means.

It's useless, futile, just a desperate struggle.

A loud burst of ridicule could be heard from the audience, as if they realized the outcome was already decided. Many audience members whispered to each other and talked a lot, and from time to time they looked at the Lanxi Lin group in the audience with pity, regret, or indifference and mockery.

Some people who were on good terms with the Lanxi Lin family had even begun to leave secretly, unable to bear to see what would happen to the Lanxi Lin family after the Confucian-Taoist debate was over.

And some of these people were secretly thankful that when the Chongxu Temple and the Lanxi Lin family had a conflict, they did not take sides and make surrender at the first moment, but waited and watched until now, otherwise they would probably not be able to leave Taibai Mountain today.

As for those in the audience who originally supported Chongxu Temple, had the same interests as Chongxu Temple, and those who were neutral between the two sides, they could not help but cast their gazes with awe and eagerness towards the Chongxu Temple group below the stage.

They are almost certain to be the winners today.

On the stage, when Zhao Rong meticulously argued to the seventh sentence, Tao Yuanran, who had originally had a calm look, suddenly frowned. This was the first time he frowned today.

Zhao Rong kept talking: "In terms of self-reasoning, it is the essence and function in it, the so-called 'one source'; in terms of self-image, it is obvious and subtle, the so-called 'no gap'..."

A philosophical proposition that has never appeared in this world is slowly coming out of the mouth of the young Confucian scholar in front of him. Every word is like a building block, building a magnificent castle. Although it is not yet completed, its momentum is already magnificent.

Liu Yi, who was watching the debate from the side, was a little absent-minded. In his opinion, the last debate was coming to an end. As long as Tao Yuanran didn't deliberately...

The old man with the wine gourd on his waist suddenly interrupted his thoughts because he heard the young Confucian scholar in front of him, who was already on the verge of collapse, making a strange statement.

He put down the wine gourd in his hand, his eyes gradually attracted by the young scholar, he moved forward a few steps, and listened to every word.

At the same time, somewhere in the audience, a lively and festive atmosphere had begun to form.

Qingjingzi, who was standing at the front of the Taoists, was looking at the platform with a smile on his face, but his mind was no longer on it. Instead, he was thinking about how to put a grand end to this debate between Confucianism and Taoism.

Thinking of this, he turned around impatiently, facing the awe gazes of many people in the audience, to look for Lin Wenruo, wanting to see the expression of the man who was tormented by the situation of being on the verge of losing.

But when Qingjingzi turned around, he suddenly noticed that Qingyuanzi's face looked a little strange. He couldn't help but follow his gaze and saw that it was still on the stage.

"What's wrong?" Qingjingzi asked casually.

Is that yellow-haired boy still making excuses? Haha, that's right. Once we walk out of the lecture platform, we won't have the chance to talk anymore...

The smile on Qing Yuanzi's face slowly faded, his expression became cold, and he did not immediately answer Qing Jingzi's question.

When Qingjingzi saw Qingyuanzi like this, his heart skipped a beat and he quickly looked up at the stage.

"What the hell is he talking about, kid? Is he talking nonsense again?"

When the young Confucian scholar on the stage argued eloquently to the thirteenth sentence.

Qing Yuanzi, who had humbly listened to many incredible debates in a holy place of knowledge in the world, suddenly took a deep breath and licked his dry lips.

"Body and function are of the same origin? This seems to be somewhat similar to Gui Ruoshi's 'taking nothingness as the basis'... What on earth is he trying to do?"

The next second, he almost pulled his beard off with his hand, and a look of disbelief appeared in his eyes, "Could it be..."

Impossible, impossible! How can there be such a theory? Crazy, crazy!

Qing Jingzi's breath was choked when he saw this. He still didn't understand what the young Confucian scholar was saying for the time being. However, at a certain moment, he felt as if the sunlight around him had disappeared and it became dark, as if... some terrible existence was about to descend.

"What is Tzuyu doing?" Chen Muzhi asked blankly from the other side of the venue.

"The body and function are of the same origin, and there is no difference between them?" Lin Wenruo, with bloodshot eyes, stared at the stage intently. At one moment, his pupils shrank slightly, and a trace of disbelief flashed across his eyes. "Tzuyu is not going to use this theory to directly unify 'doing nothing' and 'doing everything' into one... to directly prove his point of 'doing nothing but doing everything'?"

When Zhao Rong narrated in a deep voice to the 21st sentence, and meticulously constructed more than half of the edifice called "Theory of the Unity of Substance and Function", the noisy noise in the audience had gradually subsided, and from time to time someone in the crowd would suddenly open their eyes and slap their thighs.

At this time, more than 70% of the people in the lecture hall understood what the young Confucian scholar on the stage was going to do. They began to hold their breath and did not dare to make any noise. As for those who did not understand, even though they were at a loss, they understood something from the expressions of the people around them.

"Words are born from images, images are born from ideas, ideas are expressed through images, and images are expressed through words..."

Zhao Rong blurted out everything that was on his mind. He became more and more excited as he spoke. He leaned forward with a look of intense aggression in his eyes, like a young dragon that had just poked its head out of a black pool. Although it had not yet grown into words, it already had the aura of wanting to eat a cow.

Mr. Liuyi had been listening carefully since the beginning, and his eyes gradually brightened. At this moment, he suddenly sighed and subconsciously reached for the wine gourd at his waist with his right hand, but he suddenly stopped halfway and withdrew his hand angrily.

He stared at Zhao Rong with shock, his spirit was completely different from before.

The Confucian scholar actually proposed a theory that he had never heard of, which was about "body" and "function". They refer to the essence and function.

It is generally believed that "body" is the most fundamental and essential, while "function" is the external expression and representation of "body".

At the beginning, the young Confucian scholar's argument was that "do nothing and achieve everything" means that "do nothing" is the essence and "achieve everything" is the function. The two are separated and divided into levels, forming a relationship of primary and secondary, fundamental and subordinate.

This is also the point that was misinterpreted and criticized by Tao Yuanran, and it is a fatal loophole.

Today, young Confucian scholars have proposed the theory that "if the body is the function, then the function is in the body; if the function is the body, then the function is in the function; this is to say that the body and the function have one source", and the theory is self-consistent, well-reasoned and well-founded.

The theory of the unity of substance and function unifies the entity and its phenomena, so "non-action" and "everything is possible" can also be unified.

There is no subordinate relationship between inaction and doing everything. Inaction itself is a kind of action.

Then Tao Yuanran would not be able to misinterpret Zhao Rong's argument, focusing on "doing everything" and accusing it of being a political strategy!

Moreover, the "theory of the unity of body and function" also indirectly proves Zhao Rong's argument of "doing nothing and achieving everything"!

The shock he received from this brand-new theory far exceeded that from the second conversation. Not to mention the "taking nothingness as the basis" proposed by Qing Yuanzi, he even vaguely discovered that the "theory of the unity of substance and function" could better debate the "debate on existence and non-existence" in the previous conversation!

At this moment, Tao Yuanran, who had been aggressive not long ago, had been overwhelmed. The rosary in his hand stopped spinning again and was clenched tightly.

He began to abandon the loophole that he had been clinging to, trying to stop being entangled with Zhao Rong, and was eager to escape from this vortex where he was about to become the host, but Zhao Rong reversed the host and the guest and kept chasing him.

Active and passive, advantages and disadvantages were reversed in an instant.

Gradually, the old man in the Nanhua scarf became more and more exhausted, and was even silent for two breaths after being refuted by Zhao Rong before he continued to argue.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhao Rong's spirit had reached its peak, as if it would burst out from his eyes in the next moment and turn into a ray of sword light!

There was light in his eyes and his voice was like a piece of metal falling to the ground, sonorous and powerful, laying the last cornerstone of the edifice of "the theory of the unity of body and function".

"To do nothing, to do nothing, to taste nothing..."

"Therefore, do nothing and nothing will be left undone!"

Suddenly, the old man in the Nanhua scarf fell silent.

In fact, he could continue to argue and delay, but it was meaningless.

Because he knew that he had lost, lost on the "Theory of the Unity of Substance and Function" that had just shocked him. The last time a theory had made him feel this way was when the Mohist philosopher Mo Debate spoke at the Jixia Academy twenty years ago.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

The winner is decided!

At this moment, the whole audience was silent.

Countless eyes fell on the two people on the platform.

There were thousands of people in the audience, but it was silent.

The Taoist gentleman suddenly stood up and performed an ancient ritual to the young Confucian scholar in front of him. This was a unique etiquette of the Jixia Academy.

The old man in the Nanhua scarf spoke again.

"My name is Tao Yuanran."

The young Confucian scholar stood up and returned the greeting.

"My name is Zhao Ziyu."