Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Chen Baisha and the Ming Dynasty's "Ideological Emancipation"

After talking about the intricate official plots in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the golden and iron horses with swords and blood, the difficulties at home and abroad, and the painstaking efforts to remove the old and build the new, finally we will talk about a familiar but unfamiliar link-prosperous culture. I say familiar because this is an era with a lot of "gossip". Just a farce of "Tang Bohu Spotting Autumn Fragrance", the "Three Smiles" for hundreds of years still makes the world feel unsatisfied.Although it is fictional, it also witnesses the gathering of cultural figures of this era: calligraphy and painting include the four talents of Wuzhong with a long-lasting ink fragrance, prose has the "former seven sons" led by Li Mengyang who "wenbi Qin and Han", poetry and prose has Li Dongyang's " Chaling School of Poetry", academically has the "School of Three Principles" held by Wang Shu, who can be described as "brilliant stars" in view of all heroes.However, at the beginning of the 20th century, early Chinese bourgeois patriots who struggled to think about the road to saving the country in a semi-feudal society, even though they had different political opinions, all gave the highest praise to a man of this era. A natural fit."Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the revolutionary faction, would like to "proclaim himself to be the son of a virtuous son five hundred years later."In the great era, he is the banner of everyone's tacit understanding.This person is the greatest thinker in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and an outstanding figure in Chinese Confucianism who inherited the past and ushered in the future-"Mr. Baisha" Chen Xianzhang.

Speaking of the "ideology" of the Ming Dynasty, this is something that is very strange to future generations in the culture of the Ming Dynasty. In the traditional concept of history, the Ming Dynasty respected Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism, opened stereotypes to select scholars, and strictly defined the "examination scope" and "The way of answering questions", every word and every sentence must be "quoted from the classics" in Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism, and even the literary inquisition was promoted at the beginning of the founding of the country, and a highly terrifying cultural autocracy policy was implemented.However, after the "terror" and "dictatorship", it was the new trend of thought that flourished in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. It is said that "the autocratic Ming Dynasty created the Renaissance era that belongs to the Chinese nation itself."And the pioneer of this "Renaissance" is Chen Xianzhang, Mr. Baisha.

Chen Xianzhang, courtesy name Gongfu, nicknamed Shizhai, also known as Old Man Biyu, Nanhai Woodcutter, Yutai Jushi, etc., was nicknamed "Mr. Baisha" because he moved to Baisha Township, Jiangmen, Guangdong with his grandfather when he was young.Compared with the "cultural heroes" of the same period, Wang Shu, the head of the "Sanyuan School", was born as a Jinshi, and he has been in the officialdom for 30 years; In high school, he once entered the cabinet, and they were all "people of the world" at that time; only "Mr. Baisha" Chen Xianzhang, although he became famous at a young age and was a genius, was admitted to the Imperial College at the age of 21, but he suffered repeated failures in the examination room. No way, throughout his life, he is just a "white man".However, after years of great waves and sandstorms, when the "heroes" of the same generation have been submerged into the dust and smoke of history, "Mr. Baisha" has stood firm and finally become a "banner" amidst the vicissitudes.To understand his achievements, we must start with the "construction of spiritual civilization" after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Like the feudal dynasties in China since the Han Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty also regarded Confucianism as a "spiritual banner." As early as the "fighting for the world" period, Zhu Yuanzhang recruited Confucian scholars from all walks of life and set up a "Lixian Pavilion" to attract cultural heroes.The famous civil servants Song Lian and Liu Bowen in the early Ming Dynasty were both famous officials of Confucianism at that time.When Liu Bowen discussed the "great cause of nation-building" to Zhu Yuanzhang, he proposed "taking the books of Confucius and Mencius as classics, and taking Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as annotations."Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once wanted to recognize Zhu Xi, the master of Neo Confucianism, as his "ancestor". From then on, "the words of Zhu's family will not be respected", from the examination system to the way of answering questions are strictly regulated. The county schools, prefectural schools, and even the central Guozijian must "teach the teachings of sages, but there are private Those who make false comments will be severely punished."Even the courtiers' report must "write in accordance with the stereotyped style, citing the teachings of the sages to make arguments", but those who "violate the system" will be thrown from office and imprisoned, and beheaded or even copied.In the fourth year of Ming Yongle (AD 1406), during the reign of Emperor Yongle Zhu Di, Xie Jin, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, took Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism as the standard, compiled scriptures and annotations, and compiled them into Five Classics, Four Books, Xing Li Daquan was "promulgated to the world" by Zhu Di. From then on, "unifying all paths in one track and understanding all principles in one source" officially established the "main idea" of the founding of the Zhu Ming Dynasty - Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism.

In order to defend the "theme", the Ming Dynasty practiced strict dictatorship in culture.The cultural dictatorship in the early Ming Dynasty not only had strict "restrictions on style", but also to the point of "picking bones".Zhu Yuanzhang has been in power for 30 years, Daxing "Literary Prison", Zhao Boning in Beiping "Let the children and grandchildren set the example", Zhu Yuanzhang suspects that "Ze" is connected with "thief", kill!In Jiangzhen, Changzhou, there is a saying that "sharp nature produces knowledge", and Zhu Yuanzhang suspected that "birth" is related to "monk", so kill him!Li Rui in Huaiqing had "Looking at the Emperor's Door from afar", but Zhu Yuanzhang suspected that "door" connected with "non", kill!There are more than 30 similar "cultural cases" recorded in Ming history alone, all of which are bloody.Zhu Yuanzhang even dared to purge "Zou Guoya Shenggong Mencius".One day Song Lian lectured on Mencius for Zhu Yuanzhang, and when he read the passage "The people are the most important, the ruler is the least, and the country is the second." Zhu Yuanzhang was furious on the spot and scolded: "If this old man is today, he would rather be spared?" Immediately, a decree was issued to delete 85 "prohibited speeches" in the book "Mencius", and the remaining 175 sections were compiled into "Mencius Jiewen", which was issued nationwide as "imperial textbook" in the fifth year of Hongwu (AD 1372).The following year, Zhu Yuanzhang issued another imperial edict, scolding Mencius' remarks as "unsuitable for ministers", announcing the dismissal of Mencius's "worthy status" in the Confucian Temple, expelling Mencius' tablet from the Confucian Temple, and expressly telling the officials that anyone who dissuades them will They will all be sentenced to death for the crime of "disrespect".After painstaking efforts, the "high degree of cultural dictatorship" of the Ming Dynasty was finally built.

This period of "cultural tyranny" has received mixed praise and criticism from later historians. For example, Yang Tinghe, a famous official during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, once praised, "If the Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang) was in power, how can we allow the current evil talk to harm the country?"During the Wanli period, Zhu Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, praised Zhu Yuanzhang's move as "rectifying people's hearts, making the rules clear, and the world will be safe from now on."It is indeed true to say that "the world is safe". In the "mess" of internal and external troubles and extremely backward "material civilization" in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's "high degree of autocracy" really played the role of "unifying the people of the whole country".The prosperity of the Hongwu and Yongle eras where "the treasury was full and the officials and the people were rich" was indeed closely related to it, but the "negative impact" was also far-reaching.Fang Xiaoru, a thinker in the early Ming Dynasty, once criticized that "because of the crime of speech, everyone is in danger, and it is not a sign of a prosperous age." "Beating to death with a stick", denouncing "the conservative decline of China began in the early Ming Dynasty".Looking at history, we will find that from the establishment of the Ming Dynasty by Zhu Yuanzhang to the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, for more than half a century, although the Ming Dynasty had "cultural achievements" such as "Yongle Dadian" and "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", there was no one who made a breakthrough. Chinese thinkers have not had a "cultural work" that can last forever, and the ones leading the trend of poetry turned out to be dogmatic and rigid "Ge style poems", which shows the depth of "cultural imprisonment".

In such a "dead life", new ideas are also "quietly sprouting".Even in the Yongle era when the "juche idea" was fully established, the important minister Xia Yuanji took the lead in proposing "don't kill people because of literature". "Ancestral training".With the development of the economy and the comprehensive revival of culture, by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, thinkers adhering to Neo-Confucianism but with independent views appeared one after another. The representative figures were Xue Xuan's "Hedong School" and Wu Yubi's "Chongren School".Let me first talk about Xue Xuan, courtesy name Dewen, a native of Hejin, Shanxi, who was once a minister in the court during the Tianshun Dynasty.He once gave lectures in Bailu Cave, where Zhu Xi gave lectures. His core idea was only one sentence: "The truth is in everything, and the words of the sages are nothing more than imitating the truth." That is the famous "materialism" thought in Chinese Confucianism. At that time, it had a profound influence and was called "Northern Confucianism".Echoing it is the "Southern Confucianism" Wu Yubi and his "Chongren School".Wu Yubi, courtesy name Zifu, was born in Linchuan, Jiangxi Province. His core idea is "cultivate when you are still, and examine when you are in motion". .During the Ming Yingzong Tianshun era, the "North and South Confucianists" both retired and returned to their hometowns, and opened altars to teach disciples. Many heroes from Chenghua to Hongzhi Dynasty came from their disciples. Among the disciples of Wu and Bi, there are the "banners" of the intellectual history of the Ming Dynasty ——Chen Xianzhang.

In the third year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1428), Chen Xianzhang was born in the village of Shanxiahui, Beidufeng, Xinhui, Guangdong. Neighbors are amazing."Although it is a rumor, Chen Xianzhang learned extensively and memorized when he was young. He was able to read at the age of 3 and memorize it at the age of 5. He can be called a local "child prodigy". At the age of 7, Chen Xianzhang moved with his grandfather and family to Baisha Township, Jiangmen, Guangdong, so later generations respected him as "Mr. Baisha". The school he founded was called "Jiangmen School".

As a "child prodigy", Chen Xianzhang became famous at a young age. According to historical records, he was "a young and sensitive policeman", and his reading was "readable at a glance". At the age of 19, Chen Baisha took part in the Guangdong Provincial Examination and ranked ninth in one fell swoop. At the age of 21, Chen Xianzhang went to Beijing to take the general examination, but he only passed the "Deputy Jinshi" and had to enter the Imperial Academy for further studies.Compared with Qiu Jun and others who had a similar fate, Chen Xianzhang's luck was "recited". After that, he took part in the examination twice and lost his name to Sun Shan. When "reading the papers", the chief examiner Xiao Zi (i.e. Qiu Jun's benefactor) decided that Chen Xianzhang's writing "does not follow the teachings of saints, and although he is quick-witted, he must be an apostate", and "swept him out" with a swipe of his pen. Three years later, Chen Xun, the deputy examiner, admired Chen Xianzhang, "I praised him for his thoughtfulness and thoughtfulness, and I wanted to show it off."However, Jiang Yuan, the chief examiner, was annoyed by Chen Xianzhang's "arrogant writing" and "eliminated" him again.Frustrated twice, Chen Xianzhang decided to leave Guozijian and visit famous teachers all over the world in order to "understand the way of saints".In the seventh year of Jingtai (AD 1456), Chen Xianzhang went south to Linchuan, and was accepted by Wu Yubi, the "Southern Confucianist", and became a direct disciple of the "Chongren School".This Wu Yubi could be called a "strange man" at that time. When he was young, he was also a prodigy in Jiangxi. ". When I was 19 years old, I accidentally read "He Luo Yi Yuan Lu" written by the great Confucianist Zhu Xi. Years stay at home. After the age of 21, he returned to his hometown to run a school. Since then, "scholars from all over the world have come to teach and teach" and created the "Chongren School".Although "famous all over the world", the life of "teacher" is really hard. After middle age, Wu Yubi's family fell into poverty and lived in poverty. During the days, Wu and Bi worked half-farming and half-studying, and often studied knowledge with other students while working on the farm. When they ran out of lamp oil for reading at night, they actually "burned salary to make up for it, and they read very well." Such "optimistic spirit" naturally infected them. His disciple and student Hu Jiushao once lamented that "Mr. Wei can still learn and benefit in the face of adversity".In his later years, Chen Xianzhang also recalled: "Every time I encounter difficulties and hardships, I recall my husband's peace and happiness, which is unforgettable."

Wu Yubi admired Chen Xianzhang from the very beginning. When Chen Xianzhang first entered the school, Wu Yubi praised all his disciples: "You are all the pillars of my school, but Gongfu (Chen Xianzhang) will be able to form a family of his own." Even so, Chen Xianzhang's "study performance" was dismal.Wu Yubi is strict in his studies, requiring students to "first engage in elementary school to establish a foundation, and then enter university", that is, to pay attention to "step by step" in learning.Chen Xianzhang has always been "arrogant in his writing" and is often reprimanded for his "absurd remarks".However, Chen Xianzhang benefited a lot from Wu Yubi's "poor but happy" lifestyle and his "quiet and self-examination" learning method.The most important influence of Wu and Bi on Chen Xianzhang is just as Chen Xianzhang said in a letter to his brother Hu Jiushao later: "When I first started as my teacher, I wanted to seek the method of fame and fame, but after a long time of nurturing, I finally took it as my duty to preach. Since then, Chen Xianzhang, "golden list title" is no longer a goal in life, and "learning" has become a lifelong pursuit.In the first year of Tianshun (AD 1457), Wu Yubi, who was well-known all over the world, was recommended by the powerful minister Shi Heng, and was recruited by Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, and was appointed as "Zuo Chunfang Zuo Yude". "Applying for recruitment", but after that, he repeatedly "resigned" and finally "retired" to go home a few months later. Twenty-five years later, Chen Xianzhang, already a "great Confucian", also repeated the same life choice as his mentor.

In the first year of Tianshun, only one year after entering the "Chongren School", Chen Xianzhang bid farewell to his teacher and returned to his hometown of Jiangmen, Guangdong to continue his studies.Regarding this short study career, Wu and Bi sent a message when they said goodbye, "You like to seek a deep understanding, but you are a solitary person. Only by cultivating yourself can you achieve great achievements."Many years later, Chen Xianzhang also admitted in the article "Answer to Zhao Ti Xueqian Xian" that in the short one year he joined the Wumen, he "had not yet obtained his purpose, failed to understand his teacher's way", until he returned home and "sit quietly Over a long period of time, after repeated savoring, you will see the body of this heart."Li Dongfang, a contemporary overseas scholar, even commented: The short one year of joining Wu Yubi's school was an important turning point in Chen Xianzhang's lifelong academic career. In the winter of the first year of Tianshun, Chen Xianzhang returned to his hometown - Baisha Village, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. He built a hut in the south of Xiaolu Mountain in his hometown village and named it "Spring Balcony". With the academic thought of "cultivating clues in meditation", and the learning method of "a primary school and a university, step by step", I immerse myself in the "Tao" of Neo-Confucianism. This "drilling" lasts for 8 years. For eight years, Chen Xianzhang "refused to make friends" and "didn't do farming", and his family even brought three meals a day from the hole in the wall. Since then, he not only "understands his teacher's way", but also made great progress in his knowledge.In the spring of the first year of Chenghua (1465 A.D.), Chen Xianzhang, who had been "retreating" for many years, finally "leaved" and opened a school in the Spring Terrace. As soon as the news came out, neighboring prefectures and counties came in droves. ".The reason for such a "sensational effect" is that Chen Xianzhang was a "Lingnan prodigy" in his early years. Although he failed many times, he enjoyed a high reputation in Guangdong, which was considered a "wild land" at that time. Yu Bi is a direct disciple of the mainstream "Chongren School" of Southern Confucianism. He naturally has a "celebrity effect" in Guangdong, where the culture is not yet developed. As Wu Yubi's "direct disciple", Chen Xianzhang has a unique style of opening lectures. The teaching method is divided into five units: first, sit quietly first, and then read books; second, learn more by yourself and less indoctrination; third, think hard and learn the essence; , emphasizing questions, seeking truth; fifth, poetry introduces teaching, and philosophy enters poetry.His academic thinking has inherited the essence of Wu Yubi's "meditation and cultivation of character", but the focus is on the three links of "self-study", "thinking" and "true knowledge".Looking at his academic quotations, the sentence "Study is valuable to know doubts, small doubts will lead to small progress, and great doubts will lead to great progress", which completely broke the "superstition" of saints since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.The core idea can be summed up in one sentence: independent thinking, seeking the truth with the heart, can be called "quality education" with the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty. In the way of "quality education", Chen Xianzhang is also ingenious.He wrote very few articles in his life, never had a monograph, only a few poems and essays, which were collected and published as "Baishazi Collection" by later generations.Especially in poetry, Chen Xianzhang advocates that "poetry introduces teaching, and philosophy enters poetry". "Xi Ge" is catchy, not only became the "motto" of his students, but also widely circulated among the people in the mountains and fields. At the same time as "preaching", as predicted by his teacher Wu Yubi, Chen Xianzhang has "formed his own family" at this time, and his core idea has been formally established-it is divided into 3 links. "If you have doubts, you should seek knowledge, and if you seek knowledge, you will advance", that is, to "critically inherit" the cultural thoughts of the predecessors; "Quietness", get rid of utilitarian impetuousness, inherited from Wu Yubi's academic thought of "cultivating clues while sitting still"; ", believes that the purpose of learning is to "benefit", and "one heart has one thing, and all hearts are different", which is what we call "independent thinking spirit" today.It is precisely this article that overturned the tradition of "cultural dictatorship" since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Even when the Qing Dynasty compiled the "Siku Quanshu" a hundred years later, it was also "mixed with praise and criticism".Qian Mu, a master of modern Chinese studies, also said: "Chen Baisha's spirit of independent thinking and skepticism created a precedent for ideological emancipation in the middle and late Ming Dynasty." Although he had "mixed praise and reputation" in later generations, at that time, Chen Xianzhang was "wise and wise", and even Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen, who was far away in the capital, also heard of his name.In the second year of Chenghua (1466 A.D.), 38-year-old Chen Xianzhang was recommended by Xing Rang, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, to enter Beijing again. All the civil servants in the middle school were amazed and circulated one after another. Xing Rang praised him as "the rebirth of true Confucianism".Although "shocking everyone with skills", Chen Baisha's upright temperament and "rebellious" thoughts angered a group of "old Confucians" headed by Yin Hao, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. . Four years later, Chen Baisha took part in the examination again, but because Yin Hao was the chief examiner, he lost his name again to Sun Shan.In this regard, Chen Xianzhang has long been "calm", just "smiled loudly", and then returned home again.In the following decades, he devoted himself to teaching and preaching. According to historical records, "scholars from all over the world came to ask for gifts from their disciples." The school is one of the important schools of Neo Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty - Jiangmen School.Regarding his "academic contribution", Huang Zongxi, a great Confucian in the late Ming Dynasty, once praised "Confucianism in our dynasty, from Baisha to subtlety", and Liu Zongzhou, a great Confucian in the Southern Ming Dynasty, commented that Chen Baisha "opened his own door and is extraordinary".As for the "Yangming Xinxue", which was popular in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it actually has a deep relationship with this.When discussing the relationship between the two, Wang Ding, a master student of Yangming's philosophy of mind, once said, "Our Neo-Confucianism started from Baisha (Chen Xianzhang), and became the Great Ming Dynasty from the first teacher (Wang Yangming)."Although Zhao Yi, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, criticized Chen Xianzhang a lot, he also admitted that the schools of thought in the later period of the former (Ming) dynasty were mixed, thanks to Mr. Baisha (Chen Xianzhang)'s self-satisfied theory. In the 19th year of Ming Chenghua (AD 1483), recommended by Zhu Ying, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Chen Xianzhang was recruited to Beijing by Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen. Zhu Jianshen ordered him to go to the Ministry of Officials to "take the exam". After a few days of soaking, Zhu Jianshen had no choice but to give him the vain post of "Review of the Imperial Academy", and he still returned to his hometown to teach.In the 12th year of Ming Hongzhi (AD 1499), 72-year-old Chen Xianzhang passed away in his hometown. Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youzhang honored his posthumous title "Wen Gong".In the second year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (AD 1574), the Ming Dynasty issued an edict to build the "Baisha Ancestral Hall" in Jiangmen, Chen Xianzhang's hometown. shrine. Eleven years later, Chen Xianzhang was ordered to "sacrifice to the Confucius Temple". This Lingnan Confucian who had studied Confucianism all his life and was denounced as "slandering saints and deviant", has finally become a "sub-sage".