Chapter 19 The fourth section "On the Essentials of the Six Schools"——the end of Huang Laoxue in the early Han Dynasty

Sima Tan (?—110 BC), the father of Sima Qian, a great historian and writer in ancient my country, worshiped Huang Lao. He commented on the popular theories of Confucianism, Legalism, Yin-Yangism, Mohism, and famous schools at that time. Long and short, only Taoism is the best.For this reason, he wrote "On the Essentials of the Six Schools". Sima Tan said that the yin and yang family taught people to do things according to the seasons, such as planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, and storing in summer and winter. This is correct.But they took this requirement too far, and extended it to national politics and people's daily life. There are sayings about what to do and what not to do every day. If you violate it, it will be unlucky.Let people be restrained and have a lot of fear in their hearts.The "auspicious days of the zodiac" we talk about today are the creations of this school.

Confucianism teaches people too much to learn, and they can't finish it in a few lifetimes.Too much and it gets lost.But it is right for them to distinguish between superior and inferior, and to establish a system of etiquette and justice corresponding to this. The Mo family is too frugal and their life is hard, which makes people unbearable.But they require hard production and cost saving, which is a way to get rich. Legalism does not distinguish between closeness and estrangement, high or low, everything is governed by the law, regardless of kindness, righteousness, and affection. This can be done for a while, but it is not a long-term solution.However, they respected the monarch and advocated that each should have their own duties and not overstep. No one can change this.

Famous scholars scramble for words and mix up the truth, making it difficult to refute, and the conclusions are often absurd, such as "a white horse is not a horse".However, they have to be serious about examining whether the reality matches the name according to the name or name. Taoism makes people single-minded, do things quietly, but know everything and lead everything.They pay attention to the seasons, but they don't taboo about good and bad; they adopt the strengths of Confucianism and Mohist schools, and master the essentials of Mingfa.Going forward with the times and adapting to changes in things, the measures taken are not inappropriate.Their essentials are simple, easy to master, less effort but more success.They say "do nothing and do everything", which is difficult to understand, but it is very easy to do.They "take nothingness as the basis", that is to say, they do not set a frame first, but make decisions based on specific circumstances.Not leading, not lagging behind, so can lead everything.It is said that they have standards, but they have no standards; they have rules, but they have no rules.Standards and rules depend on the timing and the specific target.They don't listen to those empty words, but based on reality, so that good and bad are naturally clear.So as long as they want to do anything, there is nothing impossible.

Sima Tan also said that the reason why people have life is because they have spirit, and the spirit must be placed in the body.If you think too much, your mind will be exhausted; if you are overworked, your body will be damaged.When the spirit leaves the body, the person dies, and after death, he cannot live again, so the saints pay special attention to this matter.If you can't take care of your body and calm your mind, what's the point of saying "I can rule the world"? From this point of view, Sima Tan is a member of the Huang-Lao School.In the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he served as Taishi Ling.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went to Mount Tai to enshrine Zen. This is a grand ceremony that has never happened in a thousand years. Its grandeur is unimaginable today.But Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't let him go, and he died of anger because of this.Before he died, he took Sima Qian's hand and asked Sima Qian to inherit his career and write "Historical Records".

Sima Qian (145 BC - about 86 BC) inherited his father's will and finished writing "Historical Records".Sima Qian is loyal to the facts, neither exaggerating, narrowing, or concealing.So he also bluntly criticized Confucianism and Confucian scholars.Based on this, some people say that he is also a scholar of Huang-Lao Taoism, but in fact he is just seeking truth from facts. Sima Qian was tortured for defending Li Ling who was defeated and captured. With a realistic attitude, he roughly wrote down some shortcomings of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which once again angered Emperor Wu.According to Mr. Guo Moruo, he may have been killed by Emperor Wu shortly after he finished writing "Historical Records".

After Sima Qian's death, Huang-Lao Taoism disappeared from the political arena. Decades later, there was a strict compliance in Chengdu, Sichuan.He makes a living by fortune-telling, and uses fortune-telling to teach people to be kind.After earning enough money for a day's food, he closed his stall and went home to study "Lao Tzu", and "Lao Tzu's Guidance" has been handed down to this day, and it is a book with profound thoughts. The situation of Yan Zun shows that Taoism left the imperial court and turned to the people after Confucianism was respected exclusively.