Fu Xiaoguan originally thought that this code must be a thick volume, but he didn't expect that Wen Xingzhou handed him just a small booklet.
He took it, opened the title page, and saw these words:
One principle, many differences!
Rule by law!
He was slightly stunned. "One principle, many differences" was an important proposition in the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties in his previous life. It was really not easy for this old man to figure it out.
Then he turned to the first page, the proposition of which was: Principle is the origin of all things.
"Principle is the foundation of heaven and earth, and of the existence of all things! The so-called principle is human nature. Nature is simply principle, and because it is inherent in human beings, it is called nature."
"The ancient sage kings established schools to educate the people of the world... They must all be taught to remove the biases of their temperament and the obstructions of material desires, to restore their true nature, and to fulfill their moral principles."
"Thus, there is affection between father and son, righteousness between ruler and subject, distinction between husband and wife, order between elders and juniors, and trust between friends. These are the great human relationships..."
Fu Xiaoguan read it word by word with a serious expression on his face. Wen Xingzhou was also looking at Fu Xiaoguan very nervously at this moment, not realizing that the two cups of tea had already gone cold.
An hour passed quietly, and Wen Xiruo led several maids into the study with food.
She knew that since her grandfather had invited Fu Xiaoguan over, the two of them would definitely talk about many things, especially poetry and prose, and they probably wouldn't be in the mood to eat in the front yard cafeteria.
Also coming with her was her father Wen Canghai.
When Wen Canghai learned that his daughter had cooked for him personally, he guessed that his father might have invited some celebrity. After hearing Wen Xiruo say that it was Fu Xiaoguan, he could not contain his excitement, so he decided to go to his father's study to have a meal.
When they came in, they saw Fu Xiaoguan looking at the book carefully with his head down, while Wen Xingzhou's face was not filled with the pride he once had, but with uneasiness.
Wen Xiruo felt a little strange and thought to himself, could it be that this young boy is more powerful than my grandfather, a great scholar?
Wen Canghai walked lightly to the side of the tea table and sat down quietly. Wen Xingzhou glared at him. He grinned and reached for the teapot, only to find that even the water in it was cold.
This was the first time that Fu Xiaoguan had read a book so seriously in the more than one year since he came to this world.
In this book, he read the wisdom of the ancients and also read the great thoughts of Wen Xingzhou.
This idea is similar to that of Zhu Xi in his previous life, but Wen Xingzhou combined it with the rule of law, integrating reason and law together. Although the reason is not perfect and the law is quite rough, this path is right!
Even though this so-called code still contains traces of the ideas of sacred learning and still emphasizes the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, in Fu Xiaoguan's opinion, this is simply because sacred learning has been rooted in people's hearts for too long and is difficult to erase. Even so many scholars over the past thousand years have been unable to escape its constraints.
Wen Xingzhou had at least taken a step forward. He had seen the threshold of science and even touched the door.
If you push it again, the door will open.
After reading the last line, he raised his head, stood up and bowed respectfully to Wen Xingzhou.
"Duke Wen is the true great scholar!"
Wen Xingzhou raised his hands in a hurry, but still asked cautiously, "Sir, do you agree?"
Fu Xiaoguan sat down and decided to help Wen Xingzhou.
"This is just a crude opinion, Lord Wen, please listen carefully!"
This sentence was a bit contradictory, so Wen Xiruo frowned, thinking, since it's such a crude opinion, why would Grandpa listen carefully? Besides... I've read this Neo-Confucianism several times, it's a world-class classic. Can you really find fault with it?
But Wen Xingzhou said expectantly, "I'd like to ask you to clear up my confusion!"
Fu Xiaoguan was not polite and spoke freely:
"I believe that as long as we exist in this world, we are part of all things in it. Duke Wen believed that reason is human nature, but I believe that 'the heart is reason'! All things originate from the heart. The four directions and the upper and lower are the universe, and the past and the present are the universe. The universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe!"
Fu Xiaoguan's words immediately stunned Wen Xingzhou. This point of view was completely different from his own.
In his view, since reason is the origin of all things, it naturally existed before the universe.
But Fu Xiaoguan’s point of view is that reasons arise in the mind, because there are people and ideas, and then there is reason.
"Reason exists in the heart. The laws of nature, humanity, and physics reside only within our hearts. All people share the same heart and the same principles. Although the universe is vast, if we have a thought for goodness and a conscience, even ordinary people can become saints and sages! We can all become Yao and Shun!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Wen Xingzhou, Wen Canghai and Wen Xiruo in the study were all stunned!
This view is a bit outrageous. If ordinary people can become sages and saints, and become Yao and Shun, then everyone can become emperor. Wouldn't that mean there would no longer be any distinction between high and low social classes?
Isn’t this a mess?
Fu Xiaoguan didn't take it seriously and smiled calmly, "Let me ask Duke Wen, everyone is born of their parents, and everyone is unique in this world. So why are people divided into different classes?"
Without waiting for Wen Canghai to answer, he continued, "If we could go back in time, to the very beginning of humanity, would people at that time be divided into different classes? Why did this happen? Because during the birth of human civilization, humans needed people with exceptional wisdom to lead them, to resist attacks from wild beasts, to organize food gathering, and so on, so the division of labor emerged."
"This division of labor was originally equal. Just because you weave at home doesn't make you more noble than me picking fruit in the mountains."
"As civilization progressed, elected leaders needed to maintain their leadership, and so they transformed the once equal division of labor into a hierarchy of high and low. This gave rise to the sacred learning that defined human relations and destiny through the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues."
"That's roughly the process, but I don't think it's fair, because everyone has their own reasons for thinking. The heart is neither good nor evil; good and evil are the movements of the mind. Knowing good and evil is conscience; doing good and avoiding evil is the study of things. The human heart is inherently neither good nor evil, but because of thoughts, we develop concepts of good and evil."
Fu Xiaoguan spoke eloquently, bringing up Wang Mingyang's philosophy of mind. His words made the minds of Wen Xingzhou and the other two a mess.
This argument was too advanced, especially after Fu Xiaoguan talked about the equality of all beings and the fact that the king's power was not granted by God. The two ideas collided fiercely in their minds. They seemed to think that what Fu Xiaoguan said was reasonable, but they also found it difficult to accept.
"During the Yu Dynasty, I heard a word called a cage."
"I once said that the world is a cage, this country is a cage, and this home is also a cage. If the heart is not free, then everything is a cage."
"Now I feel I need to add one more sentence: In fact, the human mind is the biggest cage!"
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