togophonebook #236 - How to bring peace? The death of the contemporary son and the head of Confucianism!
#236 - How to bring peace? The death of the contemporary son and the head of Confucianism!
The birth of any doctrine cannot be without cause.
Just like Taoism, with its long history, it didn't just spring from Lao Tzu's emergence.
Don't forget that Taoism also has another name: Huang-Lao.
The 'Huang' refers to the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of Chinese civilization, and 'Lao' refers to Lao Tzu.
From this, we can see that the Taoist tradition has been passed down from the barbaric era.
It was only with Lao Tzu that it finally solidified its foundation and completely transformed into a complete doctrine.
The same is true for Confucianism.
The foundation of Confucianism began after King Wu's conquest of Zhou, with the establishment of the Rites of Zhou.
The royal way and restoration of ancient ways that Confucianism revered was the restoration of the Rites of Zhou.
Mohism, which originated from Confucianism, was incompatible with Confucianism in many ways.
The Yin-Yang School can even be considered a branch of Taoism.
Although the various schools of thought had many differences, they also had many things in common.
During the period of contention among the hundred schools of thought, there were many instances of 'great plagiarism of articles under heaven'.
It was almost a common occurrence for one school to copy another.
If one school proposed a logically self-consistent and constructive idea, other schools would quickly rehash it and turn it into their own.
Those ideas that were fundamentally contrary to their own doctrines would be refuted, belittled, and suppressed by various means.
Even Mencius, who advocated the inherent goodness of human nature, described the doctrines of Mozi and Yang Zhu as being like birds and beasts without rulers or fathers.
This shows how merciless the various schools were when it came to belittling theories that contradicted their own.
While the Confucianists were preparing to receive Luo Fu, an unexpected event occurred.
As the leader of the Confucian school, he was already at the end of his rope.
If Luo Fu hadn't come to challenge him, the position of the Confucian leader would have been smoothly passed on by now.
But because of Luo Fu, the aging and frail Confucian leader had no choice but to brace his failing health and prepare to meet Luo Fu for a debate.
Unexpectedly, the Confucian leader accidentally died prematurely.
In the Little Sage Village, the Confucianists were instantly thrown into a panic.
The Confucian leader's death was too untimely.
Just as Luo Fu, who claimed to be a disciple abandoned by Confucianism, was about to start the debate, the Confucian leader suddenly died on the same day that Luo Fu arrived in Sanghai City.
Even though many people knew that the Confucian leader had already intended to hand over the position of leader, more people attributed the cause of the Confucian leader's sudden death to Luo Fu.
Of course, they were not blaming Luo Fu, but praising him greatly.
Such a coincidence only served to highlight Luo Fu's power.
In the increasingly widespread rumors, the Confucian leader had apparently been scared to death by Luo Fu.
Now, Luo Fu had originally come to debate and make a name for himself, but now he had directly become a mourner.
Confucianism values ritual, or rather, at this time, almost all the various schools of thought advocated ritual and rules.
Even the Mohists, who pursued frugality in funerals and consumption, universal love, and non-aggression, which were contrary to many Confucian ideas, would not choose to debate with someone when their leader had just died, because it was a violation of public order and good customs passed down from ancient times.
Having just arrived in Sanghai City, Luo Fu had no choice but to temporarily put aside the idea of debating at the Little Sage Village and wait for the Confucianists to finish the funeral for their leader.
However, because Luo Fu was ultimately related to the death of the Confucian leader, and because Luo Fu now claimed to be an abandoned disciple of Confucianism, he naturally could not directly stay in the Little Sage Village.
Although the Confucianists had some criticisms of Luo Fu, they were very thoughtful in terms of etiquette.
After Luo Fu refused to stay in the Little Sage Village, the Confucianists directly arranged for Luo Fu to stay at the Youjian Inn outside the Little Sage Village.
In the past few days, Luo Fu could only wait.
As time passed, Luo Fu's reputation became more and more exaggerated.
An abandoned disciple of Confucianism went to the Confucian holy land, the Little Sage Village, to debate, and on the day he arrived in Sanghai City, he directly scared the Confucian leader to death.
But even so, Luo Fu's reputation was ultimately built on the back of Confucianism, and he established his status as a giant in one fell swoop.
Yes.
Don't look at the fact that Luo Fu's debate with Confucianism hasn't even started yet.
Even before this, Luo Fu was only known throughout the world for his astonishing martial prowess, but now Luo Fu is already a recognized giant of the hundred schools of thought.
It's just that Luo Fu's identity is not easy to define.
He is an abandoned disciple of Confucianism.
Whether he is now a Confucian disciple or starting a new lineage is almost what all the various schools of thought and spies of various countries are concerned about.
If Luo Fu returns to Confucianism, then he will be able to become a giant of Confucianism in one leap, and even create his own academic system, like the ninth faction of the eight factions of Confucianism.
Even if Luo Fu, like Mo Di in the past, creates a new school and develops a new academic field, he will be able to attract a large number of followers in a short period of time.
Become a contemporary 'Zi'!
As the funeral of the Confucian leader, of course, it would not be done hastily.
In the following days, the Little Sage Village was busy preparing for the leader's funeral.
Because the Little Sage Village is located in Sanghai City, Qi State, even the King of Qi State specially sent an envoy to attend the funeral.
In addition to Qi State, as the two most prominent schools of thought in the world, the death of the Confucian leader, one of the two, attracted envoys from the other six countries as well.
And Luo Fu, such as the Youjian Inn, naturally became the most concerned existence among those who attended the funeral.
Behind the Youjian Inn, in a quiet courtyard.
"Boy, the matter has become so big, do you regret it now?"
In front of Luo Fu, an old man with white hair and beard teased Luo Fu with interest.
In front of the two, there was a chessboard with half of the game played.
On the chessboard, black and white were clearly distinguished.
"Is Master Xun here to avenge his senior brother?" Luo Fu asked while playing chess.
Before entering the shared space, Luo Fu's understanding of chess was actually superficial.
Not to mention playing chess with Xunzi, he might not even be able to beat a bad chess player.
But after sharing the abilities of himself in other worlds, Luo Fu's qualifications, bloodline, talent, and other aspects have reached or even surpassed the level of an unparalleled genius.
Even if he only relied on his powerful computing power, he would be enough to defeat Xunzi.
Now, the Confucian leader, who is said to have died because of Luo Fu's challenge, is actually Xunzi's senior brother in terms of seniority.
Although he is a senior brother, the Confucian leader is obviously far from being comparable to the later sage Xunzi in the reputation of the various schools of thought.
At best, he can be considered to have more than enough to maintain the status quo, but not enough to expand it.
As fellow disciples and with their special identities, Xunzi did not need to worry about the leader's funeral.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to appear in front of Luo Fu now, and even play chess with Luo Fu with interest.
Of course, playing chess is only on the surface.
Luo Fu's reputation is too great, so even if he is holding a funeral for the leader, many disciples have the idea of exploring Luo Fu's background in advance, especially Luo Fu's academic ideas, which are the focus of Confucian attention.
Xunzi's contact with Luo Fu also holds such thoughts.
Although Luo Fu claims to be an abandoned disciple of the Zisi School, and even Confucianism has already figured out the origin of Luo Fu's inheritance, even some of Luo Fu's previous remarks in the school have become the focus of Confucian attention, but how Luo Fu suddenly mastered such powerful martial arts is simply unexplainable.
The only possibility is that Luo Fu really attained enlightenment one day, implemented his own ideas, and became an existence like the pioneer of the various schools of thought, an academic giant, a martial arts master!
Such an existence can only be personally tested by Xunzi, the recognized grandmaster of the various schools of thought.
"Birth, old age, sickness, and death are just the cycle of heaven, what's there to be upset about?" Xunzi glanced at Luo Fu indifferently, and said with a smile: "You kid don't really think that the Confucian leader was scared to death by your challenge, do you?"
"Remaining unchanged in the face of Mount Tai collapsing in front of you, not blinking an eye when an elk suddenly appears on your left." Luo Fu said quietly: "I'm just at the right time, how dare I take the credit of heaven?"
"Moreover, although I am an abandoned disciple of Confucianism, I was enlightened by Confucianism after all, how can I have such a rebellious heart?"
With a bright look in his eyes, Xunzi praised: "What a 'Remaining unchanged in the face of Mount Tai collapsing in front of you, not blinking an eye when an elk suddenly appears on your left'!"
After praising, Xunzi said with some emotion: "The Zisi School is getting worse and worse, and can't even tolerate a disciple like you."
After a moment of stunned, Luo Fu quickly reacted, the sentence 'Remaining unchanged in the face of Mount Tai collapsing in front of you, not blinking an eye when an elk suddenly appears on your left' came from Su Xun's 'Art of the Mind' in the Song Dynasty.
Although he is now in an alternate Warring States period, where even stockings and high heels have appeared ahead of time, this sentence is clearly the first time Xunzi has heard it.
“Master Xun, could it be that you want to persuade me to return to the Confucian fold? The Confucianism of Zisi cannot tolerate me, so how can I tolerate the Confucianism of Zisi?” Luo Fu sneered, not concealing his contempt for the ideas of Zisi's Confucianism.
At this moment, in Xunzi's eyes, Luo Fu's performance was like seeing his former self. Back then, the young and vigorous Xunzi also strongly disagreed with many of the Confucian ideas, which is why he pioneered his own line of inheritance.
Although belonging to Confucianism, it is closer to the idea of combining Confucianism and Legalism.
If this were not the case, nearly half of Xunzi's disciples would not have embarked on the path of Legalism, and even Han Fei, the great master of Legalism, and Li Si, the giant of Legalism, would have emerged.
“Now is not the era of strife in the world.” Xunzi said meaningfully: “If you want to be independent of Confucianism and start your own school, I'm afraid there will be no chance of prosperity at all.”
Obviously, for the real top experts of the Hundred Schools of Thought, they can see the general trend of the world very clearly.
The Yin-Yang School has the art of observing the stars, and the other Hundred Schools of Thought also have their own methods.
After experiencing the last failure of the Vertical Alliance not long ago, Guiguzi only taught Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang the martial arts of Vertical and Horizontal, but did not teach the way of Horizontal Alliance and Vertical Disintegration. This is enough to show that the Vertical and Horizontal lineage has declined. The opportunity for unification of the world has appeared, and the Vertical and Horizontal lineage has naturally lost the soil for survival.
“Then what does Master Xun mean?” Luo Fu looked at Xunzi meaningfully.
“You cunning little brat, you want to take advantage now?” Xunzi laughed, pointing at Luo Fu with a chess piece in his fingers, and said: “Once the sect leader's funeral is over, even if you want to give up the debate, Confucianism will not be willing. Now, a victory or defeat must be determined between you and Confucianism. Ask me this question after you win.”
“It seems that Master Xun is not optimistic about me.” Luo Fu smiled indifferently.
“Han Fei.” Xunzi did not answer immediately, but directly called his disciple Han Fei.
After Han Fei appeared, Xunzi stood up and stretched, saying: “I'm old, my energy is insufficient. I can only trouble my disciple to finish this half-finished game of chess.”
After leaving these words, Xunzi smiled and nodded at Luo Fu, then left Youjian Inn and returned to Little Sage Village.
“Han Fei has met Uncle-Master.”
Han Fei bowed to Luo Fu, then came to the position that originally belonged to Xunzi.
Luo Fu was surprised after Han Fei sat down: “According to the Confucian seniority, you and I should be of the same generation, and I should even call you Senior Brother. Why do you call me Uncle-Master?”
“Uncle-Master is no longer a Confucian disciple, and he is acquainted with the teacher, so Han Fei should call him Uncle-Master!”
After a moment of silence, Luo Fu did not refute.
After all, a higher seniority is also conducive to the spread of Luo Fu's future ideas.
While playing chess with Luo Fu, Han Fei pretended to be nonchalant and said: “Uncle-Master has traveled far to Sanghai this time. I wonder what topic you plan to debate with Little Sage Village?”
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do!” Luo Fu looked confident.
Han Fei looked at Luo Fu with some surprise, and after hesitating for a moment, he said: “What if Confucianism uses the theory of human nature?”
“You want to ask me whether human nature is inherently good or inherently evil?” Luo Fu looked at Han Fei meaningfully. He knew that Xunzi had left Han Fei behind for a reason.
First, he asked Han Fei to call himself Uncle-Master, and then he pretended to be curious and asked himself questions about academic ideas.
This is simply a clear and open attempt to find out his academic ideas from Luo Fu.
Confucianism is indeed one of the prominent schools, with many disciples. At present, they only do not know Luo Fu's academic ideas for the time being. As long as they understand Luo Fu's ideas, then with a large number of people and collective wisdom, they may be able to come up with arguments to deal with Luo Fu's debate in advance.
It's just that now, Xunzi and Han Fei are using a conspiracy.
In terms of etiquette, Luo Fu cannot find any fault at all. Even when Confucianism is holding a funeral for the sect leader, they did not forget to entertain Luo Fu.
It can be said that in terms of etiquette, Confucianism has done everything perfectly.
Han Fei looked curious and said: “That's right. Within Confucianism, the teacher says human nature is inherently evil, while Mencius says human nature is inherently good. I wonder how Uncle-Master views it?”
Luo Fu said almost without thinking: “Let me ask you a question. You are the son of the State of Han. If the State of Qin attacks Han, a soldier of the State of Qin is purely good, and everyone praises him. The soldiers of the State of Han are hated by everyone. From the perspective of the State of Han, is the soldier of the State of Qin good or evil? From the perspective of the State of Qin, are the soldiers of the State of Han good or evil?”
Luo Fu is now purely asking about positions.
After all, good and evil need to be judged from a position.
One man's hero is another man's villain, that's all.
Han Fei is indeed worthy of being the great master of Legalism. Even his thoughts and theories are required learning for emperors even two thousand years later.
In just a moment, Han Fei understood what Luo Fu meant.
“Uncle-Master is saying that good and evil are not absolute?”
“Good and evil are not absolute in themselves! The body of the mind is without good and without evil, and the movement of intention is with good and with evil.”
Luo Fu's sentence, copied verbatim from the viewpoint of Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind, immediately struck Han Fei like a thunderbolt, causing him to stand there dumbfounded.
Good and evil actually come from intention.
Doesn't that mean that Luo Fu's ideas overturn both Mencius's theory of the inherent goodness of human nature and Xunzi's theory of the inherent evil of human nature?
With just one sentence, Han Fei was completely plunged into mental confusion.
As the future great master of Legalism, without a doubt, Han Fei holds the view of the inherent evil of human nature.
This is not only because he is Xunzi's disciple, but also because the Legalist school, which advocates strict laws and severe punishments, is itself an absolute supporter of the theory of the inherent evil of human nature.
If there is no theory of the inherent evil of human nature, then even the foundation of the Legalist school's existence will be shaken.
Luo Fu's words are theoretically impeccable. Han Fei even began to waver in his own ideas.
During the process of playing chess, he also began to become absent-minded.
Soon, Luo Fu's voice came again, causing Han Fei to suddenly regain his senses.
“You lost.”
At this time, Han Fei seemed to realize that his moves were completely disorganized and he had been completely defeated by Luo Fu.
It's just that now, Han Fei is not in the mood to think about the chess game.
Compared to winning or losing the game, Luo Fu's ideas are what truly shook Han Fei's mind.
“Uncle-Master's chess skills are superb. Han Fei is ashamed of himself.”
Han Fei stood up and bowed to Luo Fu.
Luo Fu waved his hand. After Han Fei admitted defeat, he tidied up the chess pieces while casually saying: “Your mind is no longer on the chess. You should go back and have a good rest!”
When he said 'rest', how could Han Fei not understand that he was being told to go back and think carefully about the issue of the inherent goodness or evil of human nature?
With a wry smile, at this moment, Han Fei felt as if he was completely naked in front of Luo Fu, being seen through completely.
His thoughts seemed to be completely understood by Luo Fu.
After bidding farewell to Luo Fu, Han Fei hurried away, his face no longer showing the composure and elegance he once had. As soon as he returned to Little Sage Village, he went straight to Xunzi's room.
Inside Xunzi's room, Xunzi, who had returned from Youjian Inn, was playing with a half-finished game of chess with great interest.
If Han Fei's mind had not been shaken by Luo Fu, then with his memory and wisdom, he would have quickly discovered that the half-finished game of chess in front of Xunzi was exactly the game between Xunzi and Luo Fu earlier.
As soon as he saw Han Fei's absent-minded appearance, Xunzi couldn't help but tease: “It seems that you suffered a lot of setbacks at Luo Fu's place. What? Could it be that Luo Fu's theories and ideas are really that terrifying?”
Han Fei looked intently at Xunzi and said: “Teacher, is human nature inherently good or inherently evil?”
“If human nature were not inherently evil, how could there have been five hundred years of chaos in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods?” Xunzi said with a sigh.
But soon, Xunzi seemed to notice something, “Tell me, what did you say to Luo Fu? How could you have suffered such a blow?”
After Han Fei repeated what Luo Fu had said.
Xunzi was stunned, but unlike Han Fei, who was struck by lightning, Xunzi's eyes became brighter the more he thought about it.
After a long time, Xunzi praised: “Good! What a body of the mind without good and without evil, and the movement of intention with good and with evil. Luo Fu has clearly become a master!”
“Teacher.” Han Fei said eagerly: “If Luo Fu's ideas are correct, then how should the Legalist school conduct itself? Wouldn't your theory of the inherent evil of human nature and Mencius's theory of the inherent goodness of human nature also become fallacies?”
“You, you're worrying about things that are unlikely to happen.” Xunzi smiled and pointed at Han Fei, saying: “Mencius said that human nature is inherently good, and I said that human nature is inherently evil, but has there ever been a consensus on the theory of good and evil so far?”
“Then…” Han Fei also understood what Xunzi meant.
The theory of the inherent goodness of human nature and the theory of the inherent evil of human nature have been developing for so many years, and the two sides are still arguing endlessly. There is no winner.
Moreover, Luo Fu's ideas had actually taken shape before this, but they were not as clear in their exposition as Luo Fu's, making them clear at a glance.
Even with Luo Fu's added philosophy, it still wouldn't diminish Xunzi's theory of inherently evil human nature or Mencius's theory of inherently good human nature; at most, it would just be another school of thought.
If before, Xunzi only regarded Luo Fu as a young man with strong martial prowess, now he truly had the idea of bringing Luo Fu into the Confucian fold.
Since Xunzi proposed the theory of inherently evil human nature, the Confucian school had never seen a descendant as astonishingly talented as Luo Fu.
In Xunzi's view, without fresh blood, the development of Confucianism would gradually fall into a stalemate.
And Luo Fu was the fresh blood in Xunzi's eyes.
For several days in a row, the bustling funeral of the Confucian leader came to an end.
Whether it was the various schools of thought who came to offer condolences or the envoys of various countries, none of them had any intention of leaving. Because these people were all waiting, waiting for Luo Fu's challenge to the Confucian school.
After all, Luo Fu's existence had already become the hottest topic in the seven kingdoms.
A Confucian disciple who was expelled, discussing Dao at the Confucian holy land, Xiaoshengxianzhuang, and sweeping away bandits and strongmen along the way. As soon as he arrived in Canghai City, he scared the Confucian leader to death.
This level of topicality might not occur once in a hundred years.
If they missed Luo Fu's debate with the Confucian school, everyone would probably regret it for the rest of their lives.
After the funeral of the Confucian leader ended, and everything was properly taken care of, before Luo Fu could even come to the door,
the new Confucian leader, Fu Nian, took the initiative to come to Youjian Inn and delivered a formal invitation to Luo Fu's hands.
Rather than calling it an invitation, it was more like a challenge.
Although Luo Fu was not the direct cause of the Confucian leader's death, his appearance indirectly contributed to the early demise of the Confucian leader.
As a disciple, how could Fu Nian not avenge his teacher?
Early the next morning, the entire Xiaoshengxianzhuang was overcrowded.
In addition to the host Confucian school, the Mo family, the Taoist school, the military school, the agricultural school... even Dongjun Yanfei and Moon God, two Yin-Yang School disciples who hadn't appeared in a hundred years, showed up.
Besides the various schools of thought, envoys from the seven kingdoms and more people who came out of curiosity filled the entire Xiaoshengxianzhuang.
Some unknown people, or dignitaries who came to join the fun, didn't even have the qualifications to enter Xiaoshengxianzhuang and could only have people stay around Xiaoshengxianzhuang, transmitting the process of the debate in real-time, playing out a live broadcast in the Warring States era.
Inside Xiaoshengxianzhuang, the eight branches of Confucianism were gathered here, a rare sight.
Among the eight branches of Confucianism, although there were many contradictions among themselves, they appeared quite united in dealing with external matters. However, the reason why there was such a grand occasion this time was still because the commotion caused by Luo Fu was indeed a bit too great.
This time, the person welcoming Luo Fu, the newly appointed Confucian leader Fu Nian, was one of them.
Yes.
Fu Nian was only one of them. In order to regain the reputation of Confucianism, the eight branches of Confucianism had rarely truly worked together.
Moreover, among the eight branches of Confucianism, the Zisi Confucian school contributed the most.
Who told Luo Fu that the banner he was flying was that of a Zisi Confucian school's abandoned disciple?
It could be said that this disaster that caused the Confucian school to lose face was originally caused by the Zisi Confucian school.
If the Zisi Confucian school hadn't expelled Luo Fu from the school, the Confucian school wouldn't have had this embarrassing incident now, and they might even have had a powerhouse like Luo Fu.
As the initiator, or at least the initiator among the other Confucian branches, the Zisi Confucian school had to show sincerity.
As Luo Fu stepped into Xiaoshengxianzhuang, the people of the entire Sanghai City began to pay attention to the upcoming debate.
When Luo Fu, led by a Confucian disciple, arrived at the debate venue,
Fu Nian, who was at the forefront, bowed directly to Luo Fu and said, "Fu Nian greets Uncle Luo Fu."
Before being expelled from the school, Luo Fu's seniority in Confucianism was actually the same as Fu Nian, Han Fei, and others.
But because of Xunzi's previous friendship with Luo Fu, he had forcibly raised Luo Fu by a generation.
This was also something that the Confucian school was happy to see. After all, raising Luo Fu's seniority meant that if Luo Fu lost, he would be completely defeated and his reputation would be completely lost. If Luo Fu won, raising Luo Fu's seniority could also barely save some face for the Confucian school.
This was also enough to show the Confucian school's importance to Luo Fu.
Of course, the eight branches of Confucianism initially disagreed with this approach until Han Fei, with Xunzi's authorization, said Luo Fu's words of Yangming Xin Xue's "the body of the mind is neither good nor evil, the movement of intention is good and evil."
For ordinary people, this might just be an ordinary sentence, but as the core view of Yangming Xin Xue, the lethality to Confucianism was too great.
It was no exaggeration to say that with this philosophy alone, Luo Fu could start another branch in Confucianism.
Among them, the most regretful were undoubtedly the Confucian disciples of the Zisi Confucian school. After all, if it weren't for that unknown branch of the Zisi Confucian school expelling Luo Fu from the school, their Zisi Confucian school might have had another academic giant now.
When raising Luo Fu's seniority was recognized by the Confucian school,
it became the reason why Fu Nian, the dignified Confucian leader, addressed Luo Fu as "Uncle" as soon as he entered the door.
Luo Fu had already learned this from his previous exchanges with Han Fei, so he naturally appeared very calm at the moment.
After exchanging greetings, and after Luo Fu was seated, the debate that had attracted the attention of the seven kingdoms finally officially began.
"Fu Nian asks Uncle, are there any rules for today's debate?" Fu Nian asked politely.
The so-called rules were the scope of this debate.
After all, the various schools of thought each had their own strengths, and in many ways, they were completely unrelated.
It was like the military school, the agricultural school, and the medical school; there was not much value in debating between them at all.
Could the agricultural school talk about farming, the medical school talk about healing, and the military school talk about battlefield killing?
A reasonable debate had a basic rule, which was the scope of the topic.
Although Luo Fu also came from Confucianism, he had been expelled from the school. Who knew what scope he wanted to use for the debate now?
Like the School of Names, the topic of "a white horse is not a horse" was famous throughout the seven kingdoms. Although there was a suspicion of sophistry, it was undeniable that the School of Names did indeed establish its prestige by relying on "a white horse is not a horse."
Now, Luo Fu's challenge had caused such a big commotion, shaking the seven kingdoms. Even if the Confucian school wanted to save face, they couldn't leave any flaws that could be criticized.
As one of the two prominent schools of thought, Confucianism itself was one of the targets closely watched by the various schools of thought.
If it weren't for too many interested people, the scandal of the Confucian leader being scared to death by Luo Fu wouldn't have spread so quickly throughout the seven kingdoms.
Luo Fu smiled confidently and said, "Since you call me Uncle, then I should naturally be polite first. Today's topic will be limited to the scope of Confucian philosophy, how about it?"
Whether it was Fu Nian, who had just become the leader, or the other disciples of the eight branches of Confucianism, they all breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.
It was really, really that in their view, Luo Fu was simply seeking his own death by doing this. In the academic scope of Confucianism, they had been cultivating for many years. Luo Fu's proposal was simply hitting a brick wall.
Feeling relieved, Fu Nian bowed and said, "Then let's follow Uncle's intention, please Uncle propose a question!"
Luo Fu's eyes flashed; he hadn't come unprepared.
"May I ask Nephew Fu Nian, how can we achieve great peace?"
Luo Fu's question immediately stunned everyone present.
Because this argument was indeed a bit too big.
Achieving great peace was the highest ideal of Confucianism. Regarding how to achieve great peace, from the Rites of Zhou to Confucius and Mencius, developing to the current Xunzi and various branches of Confucianism, all aimed at achieving great peace.
If Luo Fu used this topic as an argument, it was almost impossible for Fu Nian to lose.
"By practicing education," Fu Nian said confidently. "In the chaotic Spring and Autumn period, rites and music collapsed, people's hearts were not ancient, we should follow the former kings..."
He thought that his answer would win applause from the audience.
But soon, Fu Nian suffered a blow that caught him off guard.
"Nephew Fu Nian, wait, wait!" Luo Fu waved his hand repeatedly and said, "What I asked was how to achieve great peace, not this kind of empty talk that is reasonable but useless to the world."
"Presumptuous!"
"Bold!"
"Luo Fu, you were once a Confucian disciple, how can you be so rebellious now?"
Luo Fu's title of "empty talk" almost completely trampled the Confucian philosophy underfoot.
This was even more unacceptable than Mo Di's refutation of Confucianism back then.
Even Fu Nian couldn't help but show a bit of anger at this moment.
But in addition to anger, Fu Nian also quickly realized that since Luo Fu was using achieving great peace as the topic, his direct answer with Confucian philosophy was obviously falling into a trap.