Chapter 867 Debate

Chapter 867: Debate Chapter 867: Debate Editor: Atlas Studios Fang Zhiyuan lowered his eyes.

Since all Zhu Xi did was write a book, he might not have anticipated the impact his book would bring.

The reason why the Cheng-Zhu school of thought had been pushed to such a height was just the result of deliberate manipulation by people with ulterior motives.

It was laughable that a woman had exposed something that many scholars and officials could not see through.

When Fang Zhiyuan thought of the current situation in the scholarly world in Jiangnan, he felt as if his heart was on fire.

Just as Princess Consort Rong had said, if they really allowed the popularity of the Cheng-Zhu school of thought to ensue, there would probably be no new advancement in the academic world in a few decades.

Everyone would only blindly follow Zhu Xi’s interpretations.

He wanted to break this rule, but he was afraid of arousing the dissatisfaction of the royal family.

Zhu Xi’s “Annotation of the Four Books” was clearly exactly what the royal family wanted, because all his annotations were hinting at loyalty to the ruler and filial piety.

Loyalty to the ruler and filial piety were not wrong, but such emphasis lost the original meaning of the sages’ words.

Fang Zhiyuan looked at Princess Consort Rong, who had already walked away, and sighed faintly.

Even the Princess Consort understood this logic, but he didn’t know if the Emperor understood it.

Of course, Qi Xiuyuan did not understand because he was too busy to pay attention to this.

However, no matter how busy he was, when he received Fang Zhiyuan’s memorial, he still called him over for a sincere discussion before approving it.

Then, the scholars of the Hanlin Academy were informed of the drastic change in the learning schedule in the palace, allowing the princes to have plenty of free time to themselves now.

Before the teachers in the Royal School could object, Fang Zhiyuan invited them to his home for a discussion.

He got someone to tidy up the large room next to his study and invited them to sit on the couch.

Like how the famous scholars of the Two Jin Dynasties debated back then, the two sides expressed their opinions.

Of course, Fang Zhiyuan did not merely quote Mu Yangling’s words.

It was fine if this was said to the commoners, but the well-read and proud Hanlin scholars might be dismissive hearing those words.

Hence, Fan Zhiyuan summarized it and singlehandedly convinced everyone.

Those who could be chosen by Qi Xiuyuan to be a teacher in the Royal School were naturally not too young.

The youngest was already 38 years old, so none present was an impulsive brat.

Naturally, they would consider Fang Zhiyuan’s words.

Everyone argued for a day and night in the room.

In the end, they were no match for Zhiyuan and those on his side, and had no choice but to accept the new learning schedule.

Rather than saying that they were arguing for the learning schedule, it was more fighting over the teaching methods.

The royal family could influence the aristocratic families and nobles, and the aristocratic families and nobles could in turn affect the commoners.

With such a change, in a few decades, the teaching methods of the entire country would probably change.

Though aristocratic families and nobles had resources and ability, what about the children of poor families?

It was difficult for them to even buy a book, let alone adopt such a free-style teaching method.

This would undoubtedly be a blow to them.

Moreover, in this debate, many Hanlin scholars revealed their dissatisfaction with Zhu Xi’s “Annotations to the Four Books”.

If the content of the debate was leaked, it would also have an impact on the poor students.

This was because the scholars in this room were all famous personalities and had a profound impact on the scholars.

Some knowledgeable people couldn’t help but wring their hands.

“The humble class has been fighting with the aristocratic families for a long time.

In the previous dynasty during Emperor Shizong’s era, the humble class had the upper hand.

Later on, the aristocratic families have always steadily occupied the top positions.

Because the current Emperor is dissatisfied with the aristocratic families harboring hidden households in their territory, he strongly supported the humble class.

However, after the contents of this debate spreads, I’m afraid the Imperial Examination questions will deviate from the contents of Zhu Xi’s ‘Annotations of the Four Books’ next year.

This will be a huge disaster for the humble class.” Fang Zhiyuan also sighed faintly and specially passed those words to Mu Yangling.

Mu Yangling said in surprise, “How can it have such a huge impact?” Qi Haoran said matter-of-factly, “Most of the officials who set the questions were students of those Hanlin scholars, or they personally set the questions.

Isn’t it reasonable for them to be biased towards their own likes and dislikes?” Mu Yangling sat up straight and said, “I’ve always thought that education reform should be carried out in a subtle and silent manner.

Not quickly, but stably.

Because if it’s carried out in an unstable manner, we might ruin the lives of a generation.

Although I don’t like Zhu Xi unifying the answers of the four books, it doesn’t mean that I agree to ban its use and deny its status.

Unless the country comes up with a solution to accommodate this batch of students who have been using the ‘Annotations to the Four Books’ as textbooks since they were young, I don’t agree to change the scope of the examination.” “Haoran, you have to get Royal Brother to issue a decree.

Otherwise, the scholars everywhere will feel uneasy and cause chaos.” Qi Haoran glared.

“A bunch of scholars dares to cause trouble?” “This concerns their future.

Anyone who isn’t a coward will fight for it.

Since Royal Brother has issued an imperial edict, we can use this opportunity to break the monopoly of the ‘Annotations to the Four Books’ and show the attitude of the royal family and the Hanlin Scholars.” Mu Yangling pushed Qi Haoran.

“Hurry up and enter the palace.” It was not until Qi Haoran entered the palace that Qi Xiuyuan realized that this matter had blown up.

All he wanted to do was to give his sons more freedom and time to do their own things.

How did this end up offending all the scholars in the world?

Qi Xiuyuan asked, “Why did they drag Zhu Xi into this during the debate?” How could a martial arts practitioner like Qi Haoran understand?

He only said, “Big Brother, let’s not bother with how Zhu Xi got dragged into this.

Point is, he’s already dragged into it, so we’ve got to resolve this matter.

Ah Ling said that if word gets out, those scholars will definitely cause a ruckus.

She suggests you quickly issue a decree to reassure them.” Qi Xiuyuan had never read Zhu Xi’s “Annotations to the Four Books”, and had learned the contents of the four books directly taught by his teachers.

At that time, this book did not have such a huge impact in the scholarly world.

When he grew up, although he occasionally flipped through the four books, he already had his own fixed understanding.

Besides, he was a general, so he naturally had no reason to read Zhu Xi’s book.

He couldn’t quite understand why a book of annotations was admired by so many all over the world.

Qi Haoran told Qi Xiuyuan that most of the students who read this book were from the humble class, and who could not afford to attend school or hire teachers.

Many books of annotations were not only scattered but also incomplete.

Although Zhu Xi’s “Annotations to the Four Books” consisted of just one school of thought, it was considered a great help to the humble class students everywhere.

Even now, Mu Yangling did not deny his contribution.

However, his descendants and the people from the Cheng-Zhu school of thought had other motives and blindly praised this book.

They ostracized the annotations and analysis of other scholars and made many scholars only recognize this book.

Even if Mu Yangling was not a scholar, she could not help but be angered by their domineeringness.

Moreover, she knew very well that the consequences of only acknowledging one book were rigid thinking.

She wanted her sons to have a global perspective and did not restrain the children’s whimsical thoughts.

Now that they were still young, the effects were not immediately obvious.

But when they grew up, their different way of thinking would definitely clash with the masses’ rigid thinking style.

She feared that when that happened, her children would be labeled as an anomaly.

Mu Yangling knew the importance of an ally, so before Qi Haoran entered the palace, Mu Yangling spoke to him of all her worries and asked him to think of a way to pull Qi Xiuyuan over to their side.

As long as the Emperor was on their side, they’d have nothing to be afraid of.

As for the concept of loyalty to the Emperor and filial piety promoted in Zhu Xi’s books, it wasn’t as if there existed a book that actually promoted rebellion, if you think about it.

Moreover, if this book was really useful, why would Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran still rebel?

Well, maybe those two hadn’t read this book.

Then why were the courtiers of the previous dynasty who had read this book still working for Qi Xiuyuan?

Why didn’t they jump out to commit suicide to pledge their undying loyalty towards Emperor Jingyan?

At the end of the day, it was just because humans were simply creatures that pursued benefits.

Therefore, don’t be under the illusion that a book wielded such great influence.

At the end of the day, people were motivated by self-interest.

The popularity of Zhu Xi’s book was based on benefits.

It could allow humble class students to pass the Imperial Examination at a lower cost.

Everyone followed the principle of loyalty towards the ruler as suggested in the book because of benefits.

Naturally, if they should violate the principle, it was also because of benefits.

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