"Okay, okay." Han Yu stroked his beard with his hand and said with a gentle smile, "Although I don't consider myself a scholar, I have read for so many years and have gained a lot of experience. If you have any questions, you can come and ask me. Of course, it's not just academic questions, anything else is also welcome."
Zhang Yu's face lit up with excitement when he heard Han Yu say this. He quickly said, "It is truly a blessing for us to receive your support. If you have anything to say, please let me know."
"It is a scholar's duty to mentor the younger generation. I have some experience in officialdom. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask for advice." Han Yu looked like a veteran mentoring the younger generation. His smile became even more kind, and he said in a clear voice, "I will teach you everything I know."
Hearing Han Yu's words, Zhang Yu immediately understood the meaning behind the song. He smiled gently and said, "I wonder if we will be fortunate enough to become his disciples?"
Song Yingsheng and Song Yingxing looked at Zhang Yu and Han Yu with a little surprise.
The two of them only met for the first time today, but after just a few words, they were actually going to become each other's disciples?
The two Song brothers were really not used to it.
"I haven't accepted any students for many years. Plus, I'm currently in officialdom, so it's really inconvenient. But I'm not a narrow-minded person. If you have any questions, you can come and ask me. I will never hide anything from you. Although we don't have the official status of master and apprentice, we can be both teachers and friends." Han Yu said sincerely and humbly.
Zhang Yu bowed to the ground and said sincerely, "As the saying goes, Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, parents, and teachers are all important. Your generosity is admirable, but we cannot do that. From now on, we will treat you with respect as a teacher, showing you our sincerity. We hope that one day we can become your disciples."
Han Yu nodded in satisfaction, but he still had a polite smile on his face and didn't force himself to keep silent. He was no longer as resolute as before.
After the two of them exchanged a few polite words, they tacitly agreed not to mention the matter of becoming a disciple again. It was obvious that they both understood each other's intentions, so there was no need to waste any more time.
Now that the polite words have been exchanged and the relationship between the two parties has been confirmed, we can get down to business.
"I've been studying some Guanxue these days, and I can say I've been quite touched!" Han Yu's face grew serious, and he continued to stroke his beard. He said with a look of regret, "Take the Book of Changes as the core, the Doctrine of the Mean as the essence, the Book of Rites as the application, and Confucius and Mencius as the law."
As he spoke, Han Yu shook his head, looking as if he really felt sorry for it.
In fact, although Guanxue is a Confucian school, it is more like a Confucian school with a facade. Because it is based on the Book of Changes, it contains more Taoist ideas. However, the three religions are integrated into one, today you copy me, tomorrow I copy you, and people basically don’t pay much attention to this issue.
Ideologically, the debate has faded; it's all about who's on the team. If you're on my side, you're my scholarship; otherwise, you're not.
This was basically the atmosphere in the academic circles of the Ming Dynasty. Under such circumstances, factional strife was inevitable.
Basically, every political party has the same ideology and can also connect with each other in terms of interests.
Schools of thought like Guanxue, based in Guanzhong, were largely unpopular in the capital. This was partly due to ideological reasons, and partly because Guanzhong was not Jiangnan. Guanxue was ostracized, and thus never developed.
There are both political and economic issues involved.
Although Shanxi merchants were very developed and powerful, they did salt business in Yangzhou and needed to better integrate into the local community. They advocated Yangzhou Neo-Confucianism and did not support Guanxue very much.
For big capitalists and big businessmen, whichever theory is useful to them is the good one.
Zhang Yu and the two brothers Song Yingxing and Song Yingsheng looked at each other, and none of them said anything on this issue.
When people praise your knowledge, you can't say anything bad, right?
Flattery also seems too much like flattering yourself, so it is best not to say anything at this time.
"I have also wondered why such a good knowledge has never become a famous discipline?" Han Yu looked at Zhang Yu and the other two and asked this question with a serious face.
Han Yu's expression was a bit hesitant, but more of it was regret, but he didn't ask the three people what they meant. Because after he finished speaking, he spoke first and gave the answer directly.
"After studying it several times, I think it's because there are not enough writings. Look at Neo-Confucianism, they have Zhu Xi, and with Zhu Xi's writings they can achieve twice the result with half the effort, but it's not the same with Guanxue. Guanxue has never had a suitable person, nor has it had any representative writings." Han Yu looked at Zhang Yu and the others and said with a bit of regret.
After hearing Han Yu's words, Zhang Yu and the other two all looked a little gloomy.
In fact, Zhang Yu and the Song brothers knew this even without Han Yu's explanation. Because by this point, the strengths and weaknesses of each school had become apparent.
The shortcoming of a small school like Guanxue is that it has no saints, that is, no outstanding figures.
Although Guanxue's ideas seem to be applicable in many ways, they are not clear enough, their stance is not firm enough, and the disciples do not have any outstanding remarks that can make people think that they are reasonable.
Although Zhang Zai said "establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and bring peace to all things", the slogan was really loud, but there was no technique in the actual action strategy.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
