Chapter 14 Crazy Monster——"Heretical" Champion Chen Liang

In the middle of winter in the fifteenth year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1188), in Qianshan, Jiangxi. The snow that started to fall at dusk didn't mean to stop at all, but became more and more urgent. Everything was silent, and everything in the world seemed to be overwhelmed by the heavy snow. There are still lights on in the Siwang Building of the big family Wu's, which is used to receive distinguished guests.In the room, a middle-aged man was wearing a leather jacket, pacing back and forth around a fire plate, sometimes frowning, sometimes showing his face.Gradually, his expression became more and more serious, and there seemed to be some sadness.Suddenly, he threw off his fur coat, walked quickly to the table, picked up a pen, dipped the inkstone next to it with thick ink, and wrote quickly on the rice paper that had been laid long ago.

He used his pen like a snake, quickly dipped in the ink, and poured the ink all over the table. Finally, after writing the last word, he let out a long breath.Sitting down slumped, he recited in a low voice: "Talk about Jiu Changting. Looking at Yuanming, the romantic looks exactly like Crouching Dragon Zhuge..." Satisfied, he picked up the pen again, and wanted to write the title of the poem that he had just completed. "Congratulations to the bridegroom, congratulations to the bridegroom..." He paused, and muttered to himself: "Groom, groom—Tongfu should be forty-six. What about you? You will be fifty after the new year!" He I remembered that poem, which was also written for the same person, the last few lines of "Pozhenzi": "End of the king's affairs in the world, and win the fame before and after him-it's a pity that it happened for nothing!"

With the pen in his hand, he didn't move for a long time, and he didn't even know that the fire was off, as if he was insane. Finally, with one stroke and one stroke, he wrote down another name of this Cipai: "Ruyan Fei" with a dignified expression. At this time, the neighbor didn't know who it was, and he didn't fall asleep on such a snowy night, so he played a flute, tearing the boundless silence.The sobbing was desolate, and the more he played, the harder he was blowing, which made people worry that the flute pipe would be blown apart. The wildly dancing snowflakes were disturbed even more by the night flute.

This person is the famous Xin Qiji. On this snowy night, he was stranded in Qianshan Mountain in order to pursue the first confidant in his life. In fact, that confidant has been traveling with Xin Qiji hand in hand in the past ten days, drinking papers in the Ehu Temple, talking freely about world affairs, and only returned east yesterday.After the breakup, Xin Qiji was in the carriage returning to the Daihu mansion in Shangrao, recalling his friend's impassioned discussions, especially when the state affairs were mentioned and the North was on his face, and he regretted more and more that he broke up so early This rare gathering.After he recalled the man's heroic demeanor when he drew his sword and danced under the moonlit night after he was drunk that day, and sang loudly "A man's heart is like iron", he couldn't restrain himself anymore, and immediately ordered the driver to turn the car around and rush towards his friend. Chase.

He is determined to get this good friend back, and get drunk on him eight out of ten times! Reluctantly, it began to snow.When we got to the Heron Forest, the snow was deep and the mud was slippery, so we couldn't go any further.Qiji got out of the car and pushed it himself, but it didn't help.I had no choice but to find a village shop, drank some wine, and found a place to live in dismay. can't sleep.He felt a passion churning in his chest.So I borrowed pen and ink from the master - he wanted to write a poem for this friend who couldn't get back. Xin Qiji's first confidant was Tongfu, who was 46 years old, whom he was always talking about.

Tongfu is a character for a person, a character for a commoner who opens a museum and teaches apprentices. Tongfu is a representative of the meritorious school, Mr. Chen Liang from Yongkang, Wuzhou. In his poems, Xin Qiji compared Chen Liang to Tao Yuanming and Zhuge Liang, and he highly praised him.And "Song History" clearly mentioned: At that time, almost everyone regarded Chen Liang as a very abnormal person: "crazy monster"! Chen Liang is indeed crazy and weird. His eyes were also somehow long, as if no one could be seen in the pupils.According to his fellow countrymen, when this kid was born, his eyes were glowing and sparkling—did it be burnt out at that time?Anyway, few people in the world can get into his eyes.In a few words, he dismissed almost everyone in the world as worthless: he said that there are only two types of courtiers in the world today, one is the so-called bachelor of classics who read some dead books, and they are just well-behaved and pedantic kings The careless nerds are nothing but useless once there are extraordinary circumstances; the other is the so-called talented ministers and wise men, although they have done some things, they actually seem to understand but don’t understand, and they don’t know the fundamentals, and what they do is in vain.

They're all "weary" stuff! Since everyone in the world is worthless, Chen Liang himself is the only one who can save Da Song from the predicament and reopen China's prosperous age.At the age of twenty-seven, still young, and not knowing which end of the shoulder pole is thick, he proudly wrote a book for us Emperor Xiaozong: "Five Essays on ZTE", which, when the whole country is peaceful and peaceful, promises to go to war and restore the country. Shengshang is wise, ignore you, just keep quiet.Learn from the beginning the down-to-earth knowledge of the sages, cultivate your mind and cultivate your character, and you can become a man.But you have been raising her for more than ten years, but in the end you couldn't hold back, changed your name, and went straight to the book again!

You have to be polite to the emperor, but if you ignore you for eight days, you, Chen Liang, can't stand it anymore, come on!Go ahead, see what you say: "I, Chen Liang, wrote the letter, which is the root and end of the country's founding. It is a great strategy to develop a great strategy; discuss the ups and downs of the world situation, and it will definitely have a great opportunity. After writing the letter, I have been on standby for eight days. If there is even the slightest movement, it is impossible for such a thing to happen in a world of peace, let alone such an urgent time? If the king is like this, I am afraid that the hearts of all the heroes in the world will be chilled!"

When it came to the third book, Chen Liang was almost threatening: "This book is written, if there is no reply in three days, I, Chen Liang, will immediately cross the river and go home, and I will die in my hometown!" The world is in a mess. For the emperor, in front of the ministers, Chen Liang's arrogance and arrogance can be imagined. Back then, Yu Yunwen thought highly of him and was going to find a way to find an official position for him, but Chen Liang declined in public: "When Prime Minister Yu enters the Central Plains, I will come to take the imperial examination, and then I will decide on a Bianjing champion!" He didn't look back at himself: You didn't even pass the test.It's strange during the meeting-you can write some procedural essays honestly and according to the rules, but it depends on what you write?Each article is a strategy for talking about current affairs-do you really take the exam paper as a memorial?

To Yu Yunwen, Chen Liang was quite polite.After submitting the letter for the second time, Emperor Xiaozong was tempted, and arranged a special review in the capital hall, which was equivalent to an interview before recruitment. The person who led the review was a minister at the prime minister level, which clearly showed his expectations for him.The details of the censorship are unknown today, and it was very unpleasant anyway. One or two of the reasons were revealed in Chen Liang’s subsequent letter: He said he had a strategy for reopening the century-old peace, and he knew it well, but it was related to the foundation of the country, and it was the country’s highest priority. Confidentiality can only be discussed with the emperor, so I only mentioned it a little bit during the interrogation; but it is so, "The second and third ministers have already looked at each other in shock"-the implication is that this mediocre person is not worthy of listening to my strategy in Chen Liang's chest!

He is even more unabashedly contemptuous of treacherous people.The minister Zeng Ji, who was included in "Song History·Ning Xing Biography", guessed that Chen Liang might be hired, so he came to visit overnight and sold it well.Chen Liang did a great job - he even jumped over the wall and ran away. This kind of person is destined to have no good fruit to eat. Those who were stung by Chen Liang time and time again, and who hated Chen Liang to the point of itching their teeth, pinched his affairs and demolished him whenever they had the opportunity, which made it difficult for Xiaozong to try to use Chen Liang's ideas several times.Besides, Chen Liang is too indiscreet, and there are always so many things for others to catch—maybe he is too careless.But speaking of it, it wasn't a big deal. It should be said that it had nothing to do with Chen Liang. It was just that the villagers at the same table died of a sudden illness or something.But because of these things, Chen Liang was imprisoned again and again, and his friends and disciples were so tired that they asked for help—did they know that the people who wanted to kill Chen Liang the most were often the upper class gentlemen. Gentlemen are really not pleasing to the eye when they see Chen Liang.Let’s take that Taichang Shaoqing Zhan Tiren as an example. Don’t say that no matter what the occasion, every time he sees Chen Liang, he will turn his head and slap his ass and leave. He will never say a word to him. Blame heresy and heresy. Not to mention those upper-class people, even those in the countryside, those shabby country bumpkins pointed behind their backs at Chen Xiucai's spine, snorting from time to time. Even the younger generation of his students wrote letters to teach and ridicule: "If others don't come to ask, you just grab the corner of their clothes and chatter endlessly; if you don't come to ask for advice, you forcefully come to talk. I'm exhausted—even if you can come out of the mountains one day, how much talent will you have left?" In the notes of later generations, Chen Liang is often described as a person who is anxious, vulgar, reckless, greedy for officials, and provocative. clean). After being falsely imprisoned again, he spent a year and three months in prison, and was finally released after various rescue efforts. Chen Fuliang, a good friend of Chen Liang and a scholar of the Yongjia School, sent a letter.He persuaded Chen Liang earnestly: "From now on, these Qin and Han scholar-bureaucrats should put away their anger, lower their heads and close their eyes and sit at the Dumen Banquet, enjoying the blessing of peace." Chen Fuliang is indeed a learned man. The words "Qin and Han scholar-bureaucrats" touched Chen Liang's bones. Not to mention the chivalry and integrity in the Qin and Han Dynasties.This Qin and Han, is he referring to the Qin and Han before Dong Zhongshu "rejected all schools of thought and only respected Confucianism"?The Qin and Han Dynasties when a hundred schools of thought were mixed? Is he wondering whether Chen Liang can still be regarded as a Confucian scholar? Regarding Confucian scholars who regard them as gods, Chen Liang said: "It's just common knowledge! Scholars want to learn something thorough and understandable, but they can't get it. They have to study what seems to be subtle speech. When they feel a little bit of insight, they come to a conclusion: 'Only this is the subtle thing! ’ So even if you study hard all your life, you can’t find your direction and you will get stuck in the thorn bushes.” As for Mencius, who has been listed as a sub-sage, Chen Liang also has objections to his almost conclusive theory of good nature: "Liang thinks that only people with human hearts will have a lot of uncleanness!" He rolled up his trousers and stepped into a restricted area that no one dared to enter for thousands of years, rehabilitating the business that was oppressed and discriminated against by Confucianism: "Liang thinks: agriculture and commerce are all about it! Business is established through agriculture, and agriculture is based on commerce, seeking to complement each other rather than separate them!" He even dared to reverse the case for Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou who was punished by the sage Duke Zhou: he was the first to write in his history book "Biography of Loyal Officials", saying that Wu Geng was the dutiful son of King Zhou and a loyal minister of Yin and Shang! ... So many "bright thoughts", like a burst of blazing blares, roared and shot towards the solemn idols high above. If we say that the above madness is nothing more than what Emperor Xiaozong said, "Scholars talk nonsense when they are drunk" and so on, and they are just strange and ignorant theories. The bold refutation of the statement that does not talk about utilitarianism shocked Zhu Xi, the master of Neo-Confucianism. Dong Zhongshu refined and summed up this upright and awe-inspiring attributive as "righteousness (righteousness) does not seek self-interest, and understanding the way does not consider merit". If you do something well, it is justified." If everything is done successfully, it must be in line with the natural law; if it is done badly, there must be something wrong with your reasoning—where is the reasoning coming from? What's more, as long as you sit upright, you will be It can save the world from suffering! Those rotten Confucians who only talk about motives but don't do practical things think they have learned the sage's righteousness and sincerity, but in reality they are just stupid fools who don't know what to do! Zhu Xi, the wise man, keenly smelled the increasingly pungent smell of saltpeter and sulfur on Chen Liang's body. He was worried. In order to be Chen Liang, a friend he once admired very much, who was once known as "magnificent and unusual", and also for the sake of the holy religion, he had to give this misguided wizard a hand. Long before he met Chen Liang, Zhu Xi saw that Confucianism, which has been passed down for thousands of years, was facing a great crisis. Confucianism actually had problems at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Years of brutal battles, who cares about those sour benevolence and morality?Cao Cao gave Confucianism a heavy blow, regardless of virtue and talent.Although Confucianism later sinicized the Hu people with its powerful vitality, and reopened the prosperous Tang Dynasty.But who doesn't know that years of suffering have made compassionate Buddhism firmly established in the land of China, spreading its branches and leaves, and hiddenly becoming a powerful enemy of Confucianism?Isn't the continuous turmoil and separatism after Anlu Mountain the evil result of the loss of effectiveness of the Confucian doctrine of loyalty and filial piety? Taizong Taizong of this dynasty was sage, and he attached great importance to literary affairs, and a large number of scholars spewed out.But whoever has what to say, no one is convinced.Luoxue, Guanxue, Shuxue, Xinxue... What people say is different, but it makes the students in the world at a loss what to do, and it will inevitably mess up the political program-who said that the difficulties of Jingkang in the Song Dynasty were all because of the useless military officials? Zhu Xi felt that the sacred teachings passed down from Confucius and Mencius and handed over to him by Mr. Er Cheng—at least he thought so, the disorder and chaos he was facing now were waiting for him to reorganize.He had to get rid of the fake learning, restore the prestige and dignity of the holy religion, and once again make Confucianism, which has been weakened amidst the quarrels and chaos, the only way in the world. After decades of painstaking efforts, he was finally confident that he fully understood the saint's subtle words and righteousness.He more thoroughly realized what Mr. Er Cheng said, the supreme foundation of the universe that has been hidden behind everything: "reason". As long as students prove this "principle" by studying all things by themselves, and act according to the principle, they will naturally be upright and upright.As long as there is a reason for everything, if there is a reason, there is no need to think about the effect.Utility and morality are two completely different things.This is what Mencius said: Even if killing an innocent person can gain the whole world and benefit the whole world, a true Confucian would never do it. But Chen Liang insisted on telling the result of everything, and insisted that if the result was wrong, there must be something wrong with the reason.He also firmly insisted that justice, profit, king, and tyrants are all inseparable. Let’s use a pair of shoes as an analogy.If Confucianism is a pair of shoes that have been put on since Dong Zhongshu’s time, during the long journey, the person who wears the shoes gradually grows up, and feels more and more uncomfortable that the shoes do not fit the feet.Zhu Xi's method is: try his best to hypnotize himself, make himself believe that this pair of shoes is the only one in the world that can be worn, and he must never take it off-and he has to wrap a tighter and tighter pair of shoes tightly. layer cloth.The pain can only be blamed on your own feet that don’t fit the shoes, bear with it, and you will discover the magical effect of these shoes after a long time: if you get used to these shoes, you will be well-behaved from now on, and you won’t go astray.Besides, shoes and walking are two different things.However, Chen Liang decided that uncomfortable shoes were not good shoes, so he struggled with his toes in the shoes, trying to make a hole for ventilation—even wanted to take off these shoes and look around to see if he could make another pair that would fit. What about? Zhu Xi believed that Chen Liang had made a mistake on the first day of his study: how could he underestimate the scriptures of the saints and start with those trivial and messy historiography?Without a correct foundation in your heart, how can you understand everything in the world? But Zhu Xi knew very well how dangerous Chen Liang's theory would be if it prevailed: the theory that came out of the belly of Confucianism was the most terrifying.External blows are mostly flesh and blood wounds, but the spread of the Merit School will cause people to doubt the foundation of Confucianism-morality.And the ultimate goal of his life is to repair and strengthen this highest morality that has been loosened: reason.He even regarded Chen Liang's theory as more harmful than that rough and empty Lu Jiuyuan's "mind theory" which he called "Zen": "Scholars have been groping for Lu Jiuyuan's Zen for a long time, and when they can't make further progress, they will naturally turn around Come to learn the right way. And Chen Liang’s theory of utilitarianism, it is very worrying for scholars to learn it as soon as they learn it.” As written in Jin Yongli, the Qizong who has cultivated his mind for many years, can he meet the Dugu Nine Swords who is unrestrained and open-eyed to find the flaws in the opponent's moves, can he not be as good as the enemy? Perhaps Zhu Xi had a premonition that Lu Jiuyuan and himself would eventually come together, after all, they were the ones who defended those shoes.What about Chen Liang?Sometimes he didn't dare to think too much, and sometimes he felt that he didn't need to think too much—— How much can Chen Liang achieve by himself? But when chatting with his disciples, when he mentioned Chen Liang, he still had lingering fears: "Chen Tongfu has traveled to Jiangxi to study, and the Zhejiang people have many trusts. Every family talks about kings and hegemony, not about Confucius and Mencius, which is awesome! Awesome!" From another perspective, it can be said that the debate between Zhu Xi and Chen Liang is still going on today.Before the reform and opening up, many people from Yongkang fled to Jiangxi to earn a living; now, there are many private enterprises in Yongkang with a prosperous economy and employees from all over the country, among which Zhu Xi's hometown Jiangxi people are the most. So Zhu Xi persuaded Chen Liang's increasingly frenzied opponent in his letters discussing Dao again and again, hoping that Chen Liang could "get rid of the theory of righteousness and benefit, and use kings and bullies together, and engage in punishing anger, suffocating desires, and embarrassing people." If you are good at correcting your mistakes, you should discipline yourself in the way of pure Confucianism." He sincerely hopes that Chen Liang can return to the only truth that has been passed down through the ages and has been passed down to this day-Confucianism. But after reading Chen Liang's reply, Zhu Xi was sweating profusely. He clearly saw all the fire dysprosiums gathered together, turning into a ferocious poisonous dragon, twisting and hesitating in Chen Liang's hands, roaring and struggling in a low voice, eager to try the card master gods that firmly controlled the world of China. He felt that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and more worrying.He has to do his best to defend and maintain this holy religion that has been violently attacked. He was already sure that Chen Liang was hopeless, and even when Chen Liang's new house was completed, he was unwilling to ask him for a poem, so he pushed back and forth.He now believes that Chen Liang's ups and downs, hardships, and downfalls in his life should be doomed.That's right, what a monster!Fortunately, he failed in many trials and went to jail several times. Chen Liang's reply was another "Liang thought": "The purpose of studying learning is to become a 'perfect person', not necessarily to become a Confucian. Confucianism is just one of the larger schools—does a scholar have to be a Confucian?" ("Liang He thinks that scholars learn as adults, and Confucians are also the big ears in the school"; "Scholars learn to be human, so why should they be Confucians?") "A scholar must become a Confucian?!" On that night more than 800 years ago, when Chen Liang wrote these words lightly on the paper, he wondered if all the sleepless ghosts and gods wandering between the heaven and the earth had screamed. From these few words, I seem to see towering mountains slowly cracking, sacred halls shaking slightly, and cold shackles creaking—as if I saw a stubborn The tip of the bamboo shoots breaks out of the rock under the thousand-year-old glacier and permafrost, shaking off the remaining ice and stabbing nine days of anger! Tear away the heavy fog set by the scriptures, use the historical lessons of the past and present as experience, break free from any shackles, "stirring gold, silver, copper, iron and tin into one tool" to build a heart——Chen Liang's pair of giant eyes that were born with light are even colder now Ten thousand zhang, overlooking this vast land full of suffering and danger. The freshest and hottest blood of the twelfth century surged in his veins, tormenting Chen Liang to be restless, prompting Chen Liang to scream to the sky again and again. As he grows old, the filthy and conformist world is even more anxious, making him mad like mad, screaming louder and louder: In such a perilous world, the one who overthrows the wisdom and bravery of this life, opens up the heart of the ages, and brings peace to the ages—who else is it?Who else can I?Who else can I? No one pays attention to him.Full of enthusiasm and rampage, looking for all opportunities to vent: yelling, yelling, laughing, yelling, crying, cursing... Even writing poems is like a handsome army of millions of soldiers marching, and the strength of the pen is full of wind, rain, clouds and thunder. They come overwhelmingly, making the bold and unrestrained like Xin Qiji applaud. In the bushes of thorns, Chen Liang stood upright amidst the overwhelming sound of "wild monsters", and let out a long cry: "The purpose of studying knowledge is to become a 'perfect person'!" Does this long roar echo the horns shouted by the pioneers of the Renaissance on the other side of the earth—— From the Old East, on the clarion call of being a real "man"? It is by no means an easy task to stand up straight from the oppressive and dark religious theology of the West. Confucianism, on the other hand, is more delicate and flexible than ridiculous theology can match.At least it will never discuss some boring and stupid questions such as "do the roses in heaven have thorns". Every generation of outstanding wise men meticulously maintains and maintains Confucianism, despite its age, it is still powerful. Naturally, years of running-in have also made its combination with the regime more tacit.Externally, it can be said that it is getting weaker and weaker; but internally, it is more than enough to restrain these honest beings. Under the stagnant and firm Confucianism rule, it is most suitable to fall asleep in a drowsy state. When it was dark and everyone was still soundly asleep, if someone woke up early and made a lot of noise to pull everyone up to work, thank God they didn't get beaten up. Therefore, Chen Liang was destined to become a crazy monster. Even Chen Liang himself didn't seem to really wake up.No matter how crazy and weird he was, he didn't realize that he had stepped out of the circle of Confucianism intentionally or unconsciously, and stepped on a wider and more vibrant strange land.Instead he always felt that he was a faithful disciple of the saint. In the thank you poem written after the champion, he also said: "Revenge is a life ambition, don't say that Confucian ministers have gray hair on the temples." No miracles. China still has to move forward slowly on its own track and at its own speed. It can be said that Chen Liang won the first prize, but it was a small miracle. It's not that he doubts Chen Liang's talent, but that he is surprised that a monster who is at odds with the government and the public will be selected as the number one scholar by the imperial pen. However, "Song History" records that Chen Liang's success this time was just a few words in the countermeasure that made Xiaozong Guangzong, who was in conflict with his father, son, husband and daughter-in-law, very happy: "(Guangzong) was very happy when he got a good strategy. between." It's just a cliché to use Zeng Zi's filial piety as an excuse for Xiaozong and his son. Still no miracles.There is no chance - the mad monster offends not only the living beings in the world, but also the heavens. In the second year after becoming the No. 1 scholar, Chen Liang "did not become an official, but fell ill. He died overnight." When the heroes of later generations read Chen Liang's political, literary and historical theories, they sweated and sighed, and they lamented hypotheses: as Fang Xiaoru said, if Chen Liang had a chance to try, the things in the Song Dynasty might not be impossible, so it became nothing. meaningless words.Ye Shi, a scholar close to Chen Liang's academics, couldn't help but say some sad and indignant empty words; "It's hard to listen to the sound; it's hard to answer the question. Woohoo! Sad husband! Is he guilty of the world? My God!" More than seven hundred years later, one day, Mao Zedong read Chen Liang's words, and suddenly felt sad. He burst into tears, crying very sadly, and no one knew why.The following year, the chairman passed away. On that snowy night when Xin Qi missed Chen Liang bitterly, there were still five years before Chen Liang won the first prize. He rode his horse and galloped alone in the snow, his gray cloak flying in the wind. Suddenly, the black horse neighed - it turned out that Chen Liang had strangled the horse in a hurry.He rolled over steadily and walked to the side of the road.There is a wild plum tree there, although it is full of flower buds, but it has not bloomed. Chen Liang folded his hands behind his back and searched carefully.Finally, he noticed that the tip of the tallest branch was a bit bright red—after all, there were also red plums blooming in this snowy night. Chen Liang took the gourd from the saddle, unplugged it, drank a big gulp of spirits, loosened his collar, and looked at the early plum blossom quietly—he also came to Shixing. After a while, he chanted loudly: "One flower suddenly changes first, and all flowers are fragrant later; if you want to spread the news of spring, you are not afraid of being buried in the snow." At this time, he seemed to think of something, and he didn't answer for a while.Not long after, the snow covered his head and body, and the horse was waiting beside him, with a thin layer of white on its black and shiny back, snorting impatiently and pawing its hooves lightly. Suddenly, Chen Liang gulped down half of the remaining wine in one gulp, and threw an empty gourd far away.He got on his horse, flipped his legs, and rushed into the snow again. "Don't be afraid of being buried in the snow! Don't be afraid of being buried in the snow—" The sound of hooves was far away, and a long laugh came from afar, which made the snow flakes fall from the branches, making the red plum more colorful, like a flame. The snow fell harder, covering the horseshoe prints on the snow in a blink of an eye.