[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-assuming-the-langya-surname":3,"chapter-assuming-the-langya-surname-assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-50":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The False Clan of Langya",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2273846,4442,"Chapter 50","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-50",50,"\u003Cp>When asking someone for a favor, why even need a bicycle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether you sit or not doesn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just get the household registration sorted out!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang thought it over quite clearly. He waved at Liu Zhao and gave him a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao had no choice but to sit down first and state his purpose to his old friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, Zong Ce interrupted Liu Zhao right at the start, showing clear resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t say another word! You come to me with this vulgar matter? You’re looking down on me! Besides, I don’t understand any of this— if you want something done, go straight to Zong Rui!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao said: “You know your son’s temperament as well as I do—he’s as stubborn as you. If you don’t speak up, how could he possibly agree to me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, I never meddle in such vulgar affairs—you know that. Even when your county school was about to collapse, I didn’t lift a finger. How could I possibly get involved in forging household registrations?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao frowned: “What do you mean ‘forged’? They’re originally from the Langya Wang clan— they just never registered before and now they’re applying for it retroactively. How can you call it—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense! Which aristocratic family ever registers retroactively? If they truly needed to, it’d be the Langya Wang clan themselves coordinating with the Ministry of Personnel. Why are you getting involved? Let’s not talk about this. By the way, is your county school really collapsing? Then switch to Daoist metaphysics with me—Confucianism is truly boring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bullshit!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao grew agitated and stopped holding back— to slander learning, even an old friend deserved scolding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t criticize your Lao-Zhuang empty talk, and you won’t slander the great principles of Confucius! Even if my county school collapses, I will still uphold the good path—nine deaths, no regrets!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce folded his hands behind his head, lay back slowly, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes: “Only after great awakening does one realize this is but a great dream; fools think themselves awake and whisper to themselves, ‘Do I know? Am I a ruler? Or a herdsman? How crude!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a passage from the Zhuangzi’s “On the Equality of Things,” meaning fools are trapped in a great dream yet believe themselves awake, speaking of rulers and ministers—how base! Confucianism, which emphasizes ruler-subject hierarchy, was directly struck by this remark targeting Liu Zhao’s earlier words about “Confucius’s great principles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao needed Zong Ce’s help, so he ignored the sarcasm, swallowed his anger, and pleaded further:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know your attitude toward Confucianism, so I didn’t ask you for help with the county school. But this matter absolutely requires your personal intervention. For the sake of our decades-long friendship, just this once—will you help me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce lazily replied: “I study Zhuangzi—you know that. Zhuangzi champions non-attachment. Why are you talking to me about friendship?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang suddenly interjected: “Zhuangzi isn’t without feeling—he’s deeply emotional.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao’s expression froze. Though he studied Confucianism, he knew Zhuangzi advocated emotional detachment. Wang Yang’s words clearly defied common sense. But it wasn’t surprising—he was so young yet mastered the Book of Documents; he likely hadn’t had time to explore Daoist texts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce paid it no real mind and chuckled lightly: “You probably haven’t even read the Zhuangzi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang spoke calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Laozi said: ‘When the six kin are not in harmony, filial piety and kindness emerge. When the state is chaotic and in decline, loyal ministers appear.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when family members lack filial piety and kindness do people begin to promote them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when the state is chaotic and on the brink of collapse do loyal ministers become visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the same logic,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who is it that loudly proclaims the ‘non-attachment’ doctrine?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is the one who carries profound emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The highest transcends emotion; the lowest lacks emotion entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who lack emotion cannot be said to have feeling or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those deeply attached, tormented by their feelings, yearn for non-attachment and devise the doctrine of non-attachment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhuangzi repeatedly laments: ‘Is this not pitiful?’ ‘Is this not tragic?’ ‘Alas!’ ‘Is this not also tragic?’—these sighs number over twenty times. How could a truly emotionless person utter such things?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhiyan... you...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao was utterly stunned!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always assumed Wang Yang was a Confucian scholar—how could he possibly discuss Lao-Zhuang?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce sat up straight, scrutinizing Wang Yang, his expression now serious: “When Zhuangzi’s wife died, he pounded a basin and sang—what else is that but detachment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang countered: “If truly detached, why pound the basin? Why sing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is helplessness—uttering words of detachment to soothe oneself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pounding the basin and singing is merely singing as a lament!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing in this world is more desolate than helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ruan Ji’s mother died, he played chess, ate meat, roasted a fat pig, and drank three dou of wine—why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To vent his inner anguish through outrageous, seemingly heartless acts!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhuangzi said: ‘Better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than to moisten each other with breath in distress.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could a truly cold-hearted person even speak of forgetting?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cold-hearted need not forget—they are already without feeling. Only the deeply attached need to forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Better to forget’ is not detachment—it is a sigh, seemingly cold, yet profoundly tender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the greatest sound is silent, the greatest snow leaves no trace, the greatest joy knows no joy, the greatest emotion is without—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce jumped up with a cry, his whole body covered in goosebumps, voice trembling:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Greatest emotion without feeling! Greatest emotion without feeling! Well said, well said! I’ve read the Zhuangzi for over forty years and never realized this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rushed forward, grabbed Wang Yang’s hand, and pulled him to Shan Tao’s seat: “Come, come, Young Brother Wang, sit here—keep going!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao remained frozen in shock, staring blankly at Wang Yang: “Zhiyan, you—how—when did you...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t interrupt, don’t interrupt!” Zong Ce rolled up his sleeves and waved his hand to cut Liu Zhao off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang, tired from standing, sat down naturally and continued, aiming to resolve the household registration issue:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhuangzi saw the world as muddy and unworthy of serious discourse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hence he invented strange, bizarre tales—tiny universes, mocking sages and worthies, appearing as jesting words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All know Qu Yuan’s sorrow, yet few know Zhuangzi’s sorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qu Yuan’s sorrow was for one state; Zhuangzi’s sorrow was for all under heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qu Yuan’s sorrow was for one time; Zhuangzi’s sorrow was for ten thousand generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhuangzi’s ‘In Freedom and Ease’ says: ‘Today, the slain lie piled upon one another; the shackled press against one another; the executed gaze upon one another—yet Confucians and Mohists still strain and gesture within their fetters! How utterly tragic!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could one who speaks such words of profound grief for the world be without feeling?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is what is meant by ‘the world is muddy’—Confucians and Mohists cannot save it, so Zhuangzi devised his teachings to correct the world’s ills and return it to the right path!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well said! Well said!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce slapped his thigh, beaming at Liu Zhao:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s that? You always say Lao-Zhuang are passive and useless to society—yet you never knew Zhuangzi had such deep concern for the world!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zhao grumbled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you so proud of? You only just learned this yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce eagerly beckoned Wang Yang: “Come, come, Young Brother Wang, stand up—don’t sit in Shan Tao’s seat, sit in Ji Kang’s! Your insights deserve this chair!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need, I’m fine right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How can that be fine? Shan Tao cannot compare to Ji Kang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce insisted Wang Yang change seats; Wang Yang, reluctantly, yielded to his host’s wishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Brother Wang, continue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ce rubbed his hands, his expression eager, cheeks flushed with excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhuangzi spoke of the snail kingdom’s war, with a million corpses. He said: ‘Those who steal a hook are executed; those who steal a state become marquises—’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhiyan!” Liu Zhao, alarmed by Wang Yang’s words veering too far, immediately cut him off, then glanced warily around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Southern Qi had been founded only eleven years ago. The founding emperor, Emperor Gao of Qi (father of the current emperor), had once been a minister of the Liu Song dynasty. After seizing power, he emulated Cao Pi, forcing the Song emperor to abdicate and thus seized the realm. Thus, Zhuangzi’s remarks about “stealing a state” were a direct taboo to the court.\u003C\u002Fp>",1414,"2026-06-19T23:36:03.373Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","65d890757e85fb91b7bc2a6b271a7430906e2d19e9c47b77d53173462b8b99a2","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-51","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-49",62,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-false-clan-of-langya-cover.jpg"]