20demayo Chapter 61 The Sixth Prince's Bloodlust
Chapter 61 The Sixth Prince's Bloodlust
As the saying goes, "If you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet." Walking the dark path too often, you might just run into a ghost. One moment Yinzhu was smugly pleased with himself for giving his fourth and fourteenth brothers a little shock, and the next two days he received a tiny, unexpected surprise from his fourteenth brother…
"You insolent fool, kneel down before me! Yinzhuo, do you know your mistake?"
Well, although I don't know what happened yet, I can tell from the noise that the old man is really angry. It seems I'll have to be careful when I go in. But I haven't been very well-behaved lately, and I can't remember doing anything to upset my father.
Before entering Qingxi Study, Yinzhuo still felt that he had done nothing wrong today. But when he entered Qingxi Study and saw the fourteenth prince kneeling with a dejected look on his face and the study teacher next to him who was so angry that his beard was almost standing on end, he knew that he was probably going to be in trouble today.
"Father, please listen to my explanation... please let me explain."
Kangxi, seeing Yinzhuo's eyes darting around below, knew that he had not wronged him at all today. It seemed that this kid had really been spoiled by him, daring to even bring up Confucius for amusement. He was now curious to see how this guy would argue. As for whether he could persuade Mr. Yuan, that would depend on his own abilities.
"Fine, then explain why you're misinterpreting the words of those sages."
This was something not only Kangxi wanted to know, but also the tutor in the study. He knew that the shock he felt today when he heard the Fourteenth Prince utter those treasonous words was no less than that of Yinzhen, who was stunned by lightning yesterday.
"Father, Mr. Yuan, Yinzhu has a question for you both. I wonder if you could answer it for me."
Yes, our Sixth Prince is trying to shift the blame. He thought about it for a long time and still felt that he couldn't take the blame now. You know, in every era, there has always been a malignant group: impoverished scholars and pedantic Confucianists. These people are extremely dogmatic, always spouting the words of sages, but they are full of scheming thoughts. In order to achieve their own goals, they keep saying that the sages said and the ancestral rites and laws cannot be abolished. Yinzhuo thought that if they caught him doing something wrong, he would be in big trouble. So this blame must be shifted far away.
"Sixth Prince, please ask. If I can answer your question, I will answer it without reservation."
Mr. Yuan had always had a good impression of Yinzhuo. After all, what teacher wouldn't like a smart, diligent, good student who is also good-looking and polite?
Compared to Yinzhi and Yinzhen, who had a clear hierarchy and respected their teachers, Yinzuo, being a modern man, only saw his tutors as teachers who imparted knowledge and skills, without any ulterior motives. Naturally, he felt more relaxed around them. In addition, he was good at playing the innocent and always had a smile on his face, so he made a very good impression on his tutors when he was studying in the study. Even though Mr. Yuan was so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring, he was still willing to give him a chance to explain.
"Yinzuo thanks Mr. Yuan in advance."
Yinzhu could not get up without Kangxi's order, but after hearing Mr. Yuan's words, he still raised his hand and bowed to Mr. Yuan, adhering to the principle that it is never wrong to be polite. Sure enough, seeing his well-behaved and polite appearance, both Kangxi and Mr. Yuan's expressions softened.
"Father, Mr. Yuan, what I want to ask is whether the current interpretation of the sages' words has been approved by the sages themselves?"
"Isn't that obvious? Of course not," both Kangxi and Mr. Yuan shook their heads when they heard Yinzhuo's question. They had no idea what the question had to do with his distorted interpretation of the sage's words.
"That's it. In other words, all the commentaries on the words of the sages today are summaries and selections made by us, their descendants, based on our own understanding and then according to our own wishes. How do you know that these commentaries on the words of the sages are correct? Since they are all summaries and selections based on our own understanding, how can my understanding be wrong? Is it just because my statements contradict your common sense and theories?"
Yinzhuo's meaning was very clear: I didn't say you were fake or wrong, so you'd better not say anything about me either, or I'll really get angry.
Clearly, Yinzhuo's words were like a thunderbolt to Kangxi and Mr. Yuan. Yinzhuo looked at Kangxi and Mr. Yuan, who were staring at each other in disbelief, and smiled slightly. What's wrong? Your head is buzzing, isn't it? That's right.
"But this is how everyone has understood it for thousands of years, and everyone agrees with the interpretations of these sages' words..."
"But does everyone agree that it's right? Has no one distorted the facts or taken things out of context during the thousands of years of transmission? Then I ask Mr. Yuan, what is the meaning of Confucius's saying 'repay evil with kindness,' and what is the next sentence?"
Yinzhuo's main tactic was to strike swiftly and decisively, before Kangxi and Mr. Yuan could even react.
"Of course, it's about how to repay kindness."
"Yes, sir, you only remember 'repay kindness with kindness,' but do you also remember the following saying, 'repay kindness with justice, and repay kindness with kindness'? Even Confucius himself said to repay kindness with justice and repay kindness with kindness. So what's wrong with me saying that Confucius never held grudges and usually settled them on the spot?"
Upon hearing this, Kangxi raised an eyebrow. Yes, what he said seemed to make sense. Although Mr. Yuan thought that what he said sounded correct, he obviously did not quite agree with it. However, Yinzhu did not give him a chance to speak at all.
"Father, when I was studying in the study, I looked through the words of the sages and often felt that the mainstream thought today was very different from what these sages meant when they said these words. Many of them were taken out of context and misinterpreted. For example, the most classic saying, 'The pitiful person must have something hateful about him,' but who remembers the next line, 'The hateful person must have something pitiful about him'? And the saying, 'One must keep one's word and carry out one's actions,' but the next line is so rigid and petty. Mencius also said, 'A great man does not necessarily keep his word or carry out his actions, but only follows what is right.'"
Seeing that Mr. Yuan and Emperor Kangxi both seemed to be deep in thought after hearing his words, Yinzhuo felt that he could shift the blame, so he pressed on.
"Father, Mr. Yuan, when I went out of the palace before, I heard people complain that Confucianism was rigid and dogmatic. I did think so at the time, but after returning, I thought about it for a long time and realized that it wasn't Confucianism that was rigid and dogmatic, but rather a group of selfish and self-serving pedantic scholars who spouted benevolence and morality but were full of evil intentions. In order to achieve their own goals, they did not hesitate to distort the words of the sages and commit all kinds of evil deeds, yet they still had to find a high-sounding reason for themselves. They always said that the laws of the ancestors should not be abolished, but were the ancestors of Confucianism dogmatic? If so, would Confucius have said that teaching should be tailored to individual students? Confucius said to respect the Zhou rites, but wasn't it because the only systematic set of rites in Confucius's time was the Zhou rites? He wanted to follow other rites, but did they exist at that time?"
Seeing that both Emperor Kangxi and Mr. Yuan were somewhat swayed by his words, Yinzhuo quickly delivered his final statement.
"In conclusion, Yinzuo believed that Confucianism is neither dogmatic nor rigid. It is only those pedantic and pedantic scholars who are rigid and dogmatic. On the contrary, Confucianism is not only not dogmatic and rigid, but also very tolerant. It even allows the existence of those pedantic and pedantic scholars. However, those pedantic and pedantic scholars now turn against the heavens and only allow themselves to exist. They use the name of their ancestors to do things for their own benefit and want to kill any opinions that are different from their own. But the original era of Confucianism was a time of flourishing and contention among a hundred schools of thought."