Chapter 38 postscript two

There is a Utopia, an ideal world in the minds of every intellectual who takes the world as his own responsibility—although this ideal world often does not exist in reality. Those who are born in prosperous times are lucky, the distance between the real world they live in and the utopia in their minds is not too far away, even if there are some minor unsatisfactory, it will not become excessive mental pain; however, born in People in troubled times are different. In troubled times, politics is dark, people's livelihood is dying, and all the phenomena make people of insight feel sad; however, there are two completely different kinds of deeds that follow, one is negative and the other is positive.

Negative people make themselves hermits, do not care about everything, or are rampant, or escape from Zen, or escape into the field of religion to seek relief from pain, and place themselves in another world after death to avoid facing the darkness in reality; Some people stood up and challenged the darkness in reality, trying to change the world and turn the tide. Therefore, in the history of China, there are not only the period of great religious prosperity in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, but also the historical fact that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Qingliu stood up to fight against corruption and dark politics, causing the "disaster of the party"; Intellectuals also set off a "Donglin Movement" to try to turn the tide, and finally left a page of "glorious failure" in history.

As the founder of "Donglin", Gu Xiancheng, his determination and moral courage also illuminated that desperate dark age. The same is a "portrait of a brave man", and also takes the world as his own responsibility, but Gu Xiancheng's struggle process is quite different from that of Nurhachi or Zhang Juzheng - Nurhachi has successfully transformed the universe and created a new era; Zhang Juzheng once had ten years of During the ruling period, he turned the tide and delayed the decline of the Ming Dynasty; Gu Xiancheng was not the case. He could not establish a new dynasty, and he never had the opportunity to display his ambitions in the era he lived in.

And precisely because of this, his struggle contains more tragic... Gu Xiancheng was born in the 29th year of Jiajing Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty and died in the 40th year of Wanli Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty (1550-1612). The period of his life happened to be the critical period for the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. The twenty-ninth year of Jiajing was the year when I Da entered the bandits and encircled Beijing during the "Gengxu Revolution". With his birth came troubles. Is this a coincidence, or is it a destiny?Perhaps neither, he is just like all human beings in history, he has no choice of time and space for his birth, and he must shoulder a historical responsibility for the era he lives in. That's all.

After all, there were lucky moments and turning points in the history of the Ming Dynasty. After experiencing the dark period of Sejong's absurdity, obsession with Taoism, and Yan Song's power over the world, Zhang Juzheng, a rare great politician, stepped onto the stage of history. After carrying out his task of "turning the tide", politics began to turn to Qingming, the economy recovered, the people were happy, and the country reached the point of prosperity. At the age of 31, Gu Xiancheng passed the Jinshi examination and became an official in charge of the household department. It was the eighth day of Wanli (1580 AD), which coincided with the prosperous period of Zhang Juzheng. Unfortunately, the good times did not last forever. , Zhang Juzheng died of illness two years later, and the country's situation has declined rapidly since then.

After Emperor Wanli came to power, he soon became addicted to wine, sex and wealth and neglected political affairs. A few years later, because of disagreements with the ministers about the establishment of the crown prince, he simply refused to go to the court and see the faces of the ministers as a passive resistance. In the end, they were reduced to slaves of "fushou cream"; the people who became the chief assistant after Zhang Juzheng happened to be a group of mediocre and villainous people with no ability and no integrity. It is also only placed on the struggle for one's own self-interest—under such a situation, can politics not be dirty and corrupt?

And how can an intellectual who has read sage books since childhood and has high ideals and ambitions not feel pain in such an environment?How can we not take political reform as our mission? However, the actual environment does not allow him to develop his ideals and engage in political reforms. Soon he will not be tolerated by those in power and those in power. This is an inevitable phenomenon since ancient times. It has already appeared, that is, "worried quietly, outraged by the small group, with a lot of troubles, and a lot of insults"! Of course, as a scholar, he upholds the same aspirations: "My heart is a rock, and I cannot change it; my heart is a rock, and I cannot roll it; my prestige is not optional"...

The first incident occurred in the 15th year of Wanli. Shoufu Shen Shixing took advantage of the Beijing inspection to eliminate dissidents. As a senior official, although he had principles and integrity, he refused to join forces and stood up to speak out, but he had no political Compared with Shen Shixing, who had occupied the officialdom for decades, he was of course at a disadvantage, so he was demoted as a magistrate of Guiyang Prefecture. The second time was in the 21st year of Wanli. He had been recalled to Beijing and served as a doctor in Wenxuan of the Ministry of Officials. When he met a cabinet minister, he elected Wang Jiaping.

Since then, he has been cut off from official career, but even if he is dismissed from office and returned to his hometown, he will be an ordinary citizen without official or job at home, and the sense of mission of "taking the world as his own responsibility" that belongs to intellectuals in his heart is still in the slightest. Even, because he was "in the wild", he was able to discover many social problems more deeply among the people, and the feeling of "concern for the country and the people" in his heart became even heavier. Because politics has turned from clean to dirty, and the economy has turned from prosperity to decline, the people of the country in the middle of the Wanli period have begun to bear the sequelae and pains of prosperity. After his strength declined, this social atmosphere indirectly contributed to the degeneration of people's hearts and the corruption of morality; it can be seen that he is burning with worry.

The style of study that exists among intellectuals is an agent that accelerates the deterioration of the social atmosphere; Wang Yangming, a great Confucianist, has passed away for more than half a century, and his theories of "promoting conscience" and "unity of knowledge and action" have become the mainstream of the academic world. , after being popular for a while, a school of thought was formed, with countless disciples and re-disciples, which lasted for decades, and has produced many abuses; one is only talking about "heart" and ignoring moral practice; One emphasizes that "heart" is the standard of right and wrong, and the result is "one's own heart" as the standard, while rejecting "other people's hearts"; The school has long been separated from the true meaning of "Wang Xue", and even runs counter to the original theory advocated by Wang Yangming.

However, such a theory of "selling dog meat with sheep's tricks" became very popular because of the "deliberate hype" of a few people. Shameless profit-seekers and lawbreakers use such signs to confuse the standards of right and wrong, good and evil in order to grab benefits, making the morals of the world and the social atmosphere even more corrupt. In his later years, Wang Yangming was well thought out, and when he instructed his disciples, he often used words that did not fall into both good and evil. Moreover, many concepts and opinions in his later years were not explained in detail. Therefore, after his death, many disciples under his school added their own opinions to his theories. To hold on to it, often loses Yangming's original intention. "There is no good and no evil", Yangming himself did not talk much about it, but Zhou Rudeng, a disciple of his leftist disciple Wang Gen, took it out and flaunted it. In the Wanli period, another branch of Wang Xue developed, that is, the "Crazy Zen School"—from Yan Shannong and He Xinyin of the Taizhou School, to Li Zhuowu who claimed to be a heretic. The school took a crazy road of extreme individualism, and attracted many followers, which also affected the atmosphere of literature. First, the three brothers Yuan Zongdao, Yuan Hongdao, and Yuan Zhongdao, Li Zhuowu's disciples, formed the "Gan'an School" based on their hometowns in Gong'an; But the opinions are the same, starting from the "freedom" and "crazy" of "Li Zhuowu style", playing some banners such as "poetry masters spirit", and carving out some words with no substantive content; His literary style was promoted by these people. Essays are standard "leisure literature", with a few words, frivolous and short, and the writing develops in a clear and elegant style. The specious "Zen" of "Buddhism, non-Confucianism, non-Buddhism"; after it was launched, it was greatly welcomed by the public, and then it began to flourish. After a period of prosperity, sequelae followed. The literary world is almost completely swept by this gentle style of writing, and there is an apocalyptic atmosphere as if it has reflected the fate of the country in advance, and the word games without content are all gorgeous in the style of "Yushu backyard flower" Femininity leads readers into an illusory, sluggish spiritual realm where they just want to enjoy the aesthetic feeling in front of them and don't care about the rise and fall of the world. What's worse is that some writers of short essays have very low moral character, but they can turn their pens into beautiful flowers to deceive the world; however, this kind of works are very popular in society, so, as small as Personal outlook on life, as well as the social atmosphere are gradually sinking under the guidance of this style of writing. Seeing all these phenomena in Gu Xiancheng's eyes, he couldn't help but feel anxious—even though Chen Jiru, one of the authors of the essays, was his old acquaintance, he couldn't help but express his sincere talk: "Now scholars are officials in the court. , enjoy wealth and honor, but don't put your mind on helping the king govern the country and relieve the king's worries and labor; when you are sent to be an official in a foreign place, you don't take care of the people's lives and solve their problems; A house is built in a place with clear water, and we gather together in twos and threes, talking about "life" and "feelings" all day long, writing some exquisite and small sentences, daydreaming, and not caring about the changes in the world, people's hearts and the country's destiny. ——Scholar If he becomes like this, no matter how good his articles are and how famous he is, he will still make a real gentleman feel ashamed!" As for Wang Yangming, although he also admired his life's achievements and knowledge, he strongly opposed the theory of "no good and no evil" advocated by him in his later years-Wang Yangming's knowledge was extensive and profound. When he said "no good and no evil", he had reached the mature and harmonious state of "harmony between man and nature", so he had "four nothings" in his heart; however, a great Confucianist like him is only A few, the vast majority of people in the world are just "ordinary people", not great Confucians and philosophers who have integrated moral knowledge. If there is no concept of right and wrong, good and evil in their hearts, the world will become unimaginable because there are no constraints and norms Therefore, he believes that the saying "no good and no evil" is not only an academic theory, but a problem that has affected the morals of the world and the social atmosphere. It must be clarified to save the declining world. Therefore, from political reform to social transformation, as well as correcting academic thoughts, it has become the mission he entrusted to himself, and he has been working tirelessly in this direction throughout his life. In the twenty-sixth year of Wanli, he gathered several like-minded friends and students to rebuild Donglin Academy, which was built by Yang Shi, a great Confucian of the Song Dynasty, when he was lecturing in Wuxi; six years later, when the academy was completed, he served as the head of the mountain, and formulated a formula similar to that of Zhu Xi in the Southern Song Dynasty. The school regulations of the "Bailudong Academy" built by the General Assembly will be lectured by scholars who are interested in learning. Because he believes that all kinds of corrupt phenomena that exist in politics and society are caused by the corruption of morality in people's hearts and the inaccuracy of academic thinking: Therefore, the purpose of his lectures and the establishment of academies is to correct the style of study, government and the world. , the theory put forward starts from "good nature", emphasizes integrity, emphasizes morality and practice; and reveals it as the ultimate goal of learning: "The title of a scholar is a person with ambition, and there is no one who is not eager to save the world." He believes that "scholars" should take saving the morals and hearts of the world as their first duty-the word "scholar" is of course the "scholar" in Confucianism, and intellectuals who take the world as their own responsibility-this doctrine aims to restore the "connotation" of Confucianism. The ideal of "Sage Outsider King" is also his expectation for himself and intellectuals all over the world. As soon as this theory with lofty ideals was put forward, it immediately gained a lot of resonance - living in troubled times, anyone with a little conscience would agree with his appeal. Therefore, the influence of "Donglin Academy" is increasing day by day, and it has become a "clear" force in society that cannot be ignored. It has not only led to the establishment of academies for private lectures across the country; The thoughts and theories of "manipulating the world and applying it" have also aroused the ambition and enthusiasm of many people; . In fact, "influencing the political situation" was originally one of the goals of Gu Xiancheng's lectures; Huang Zongxi's "Ming Confucianism Case" records: "Mr. It is hoped that those in power will hear about it and treat it with medicine." It is such a heartfelt wish, a great sentiment belonging to an intellectual, that burns into the brilliance of his life, stands proudly in the dark late Ming, and is worthy of the mission of being a human being. In the 40th year of Wanli, only eight years after the completion of Donglin Academy, Gu Xiancheng passed away due to illness, leaving behind the unfinished task of saving people's hearts, as well as his admirable outlook on life, academic outlook and fighting spirit. His unfinished tasks were continued by his comrades, friends, and disciples. In the following decades, the proper term "Donglin" was closely integrated with the history of the Ming Dynasty, no matter in terms of politics. It is the most influential torrent in the history of the late Ming Dynasty in any aspect of political, social, and academic thought. Of course, historical events only happened in a specific time and space, and the Donglin Movement in the late Ming Dynasty has become a specific historical event; however, the spirit and connotation contained in the event have lasted forever. Many years ago, I read Tolstoy's view on art. He pointed out: "The art related to human beings is the most beautiful, because our love for human beings precedes our love for art." Later, when I read Gu Xiancheng's biography and works, I heard him put forward the same argument very clearly: "The science related to human beings is the most beautiful!" My heart was hit hard at the same time. Gu Xiancheng and Tolstoy were born in different eras and countries, and were of different races. It was impossible to exchange opinions, but they both established the same point of view. In my opinion , This is because they have the same great, broad, and selfless hearts, so they can resonate without communicating! In fact, they are not the only ones who have such artistic and academic views; throughout the ages, although there are many people who "don't ask the common people and ask ghosts and gods" or "ask about the wind, flowers, snow and moon"; A person whose mission is to save the world——Du Fu's sentence "to the king, Yao and Shun, and then to make the customs pure" is exactly the voice of every scholar in every time and space, who expects himself to be a "scholar"! Perhaps, the "Yao, Shun" and "Three Generations" that Gu Xiancheng - and even every intellectual - yearns for and pursues are just a high ideal, a utopia that does not exist in reality; therefore, the pursuit itself is a However, the establishment of pursuit represents "doing what you know you can't do", and the process of pursuit presents the completion of life; although Gu Xiancheng's life's efforts have never yielded substantial gains, they have left a legacy in history. Great heart and sentiment. The thick and heavy "History of the Ming Dynasty" was bound into twelve huge volumes, recording a dynasty that has perished; however, although the dynasty has perished, the great souls left inside are immortal; , For those who haven’t read "History of Ming Dynasty" for two days, every time in the dead of night, I always suddenly feel that some souls I admire are resurrected in the pages of the book, conveying to me their love and expectations for human beings; Gu Xiancheng His biography occupies only four or five pages in the nearly 10,000-page "History of Ming Dynasty", but his voice is deep, huge and eternal, and it resonates deeply with me.

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Notes: Waiting for the book, the writing is beautiful, but its character is low.