Chapter 26: Gu Kang Establishes Learning, Posthumously Enshrined as Sage

Gu Kang seemed to have sensed the abnormalities in his body.

From then on;

he devoted himself even more relentlessly to writing.

He exhausted all his energy into it.

The core idea of Gu Kang's book was "Respect ghosts and gods but keep away from them," aiming to persuade people to solve problems through their own efforts rather than through blind worship of heaven and deities.

Yet he also integrated elements of the current-text school's apocryphal studies.

He fused orthodox concepts such as "the emperor's authority granted by heaven" and "the Three Bonds and Five Constants" into it.

He truly achieved comprehensive synthesis, drawing the essence from both ancient and current texts.

This was Gu Kang's brilliance.

He wished to expound his own ideas without completely severing ties with either school.

He also incorporated the ritual systems he had previously established with Emperor Ming.

Moreover, in this work, Gu Kang annotated classical texts and infused them with his own insights.

He had no intention of concealing this matter; as his work gradually took shape, he repeatedly visited the Imperial Academy to debate learning with its students.

The impact of this affair was no less significant than Gu Sheng's opening of the entire Western Regions.

Gu Kang was actually studying!

The ministers finally realized what Gu Kang was trying to do.

Especially after hearing Gu Kang's doctrines, the entire current-text school erupted!

The influence of such a matter could not be suppressed merely by status.

Although Gu Kang excelled in his field.

Yet its core content diverged sharply from the current-text school's views.

The two sides engaged in prolonged debates within the Imperial Academy.

Gu Kang naturally gained the upper hand repeatedly.

After all, his scholarly standards were already strong, not to mention the foundation of the current golden age.

This made Gu Kang appear utterly impregnable.

Gradually, some began to support Gu Kang.

But even so, the academic turmoil across Han remained unresolved.

Liu Da's talent in classical studies was indeed exceptional.

Under these circumstances,

he decided to summon Confucian scholars from across the empire to the White Tiger Pavilion to discuss the differences among the Five Classics.

The impact of this event was truly unimaginable.

Scholars of the current-text school, the ancient-text school, and renowned Confucians from every region flocked there.

Though they had always been at odds, under these circumstances, they naturally joined forces to confront Gu Kang.

Everyone recognized Gu Kang's danger.

For Confucians who held their own beliefs in the empire, a man of his status with the foundation of a golden age was a profound test.

But even if they joined forces, what then?

What did it mean to synthesize the strengths of both schools?

The effort Gu Kang poured into this was beyond others' imagination.

He always struck both sides at the most precise angles.

Most crucially, Gu Kang's foundation in this golden age was simply too profound.

Even if one scoured all historical records,

it would be impossible to find a golden age like the present.

This was a golden age crafted by Liu Zhuang and Gu Kang themselves.

For Gu Kang, this was a killing move!

The successive successes of fertile fields and water control established a solid foundation for Gu Kang's entire philosophy.

For months on end,

Gu Kang faced relentless opposition from everyone.

More and more people were influenced by Gu Kang; his ideas, combined with the present golden age, were simply too persuasive.

In the end, everyone fell silent.

Throughout, Liu Da had been listening carefully.

Now, as he grew older, he appeared increasingly dignified and commanding.

He had been having Ban Gu record everything.

Moreover, he held his own judgments.

Regarding Confucianism,

Liu Da demonstrated a level of concern surpassing even Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Ming.

In the end, he ordered Ban Gu to compile the Baihu Tongyi, fully incorporating Gu Kang's ideas and establishing them as official doctrine.

He definitively settled the academic divisions within the Eastern Han!

For a time, Gu Kang's prestige reached another peak.

Especially after the students who followed Gu Kang entered the Imperial Academy, everyone seemed to sense something—indeed, the very atmosphere of the Imperial Academy gradually shifted.

Gu Yi had been watching all of this, and now his heart was filled with profound shock.

"Is this the embryonic form of Tongxue and Lunheng?"

Who could have imagined that, back then, I merely sought to prevent the younger generations of our family from becoming overly superstitious, only to end up here today?

Gu Yi remembered clearly.

Zheng Xuan's comprehensive scholarship drew from the strengths of both schools, while Wang Chong's Lunheng critiqued the superstitions of the prophetic apocrypha.

Although Gu Kang's writings today seem less comprehensive than those of the two.

But what era is Gu Kang living in now?

How much this will impact future scholarly development, Gu Yi still does not know.

But for the Gu family,

this is a matter of immense good fortune!

The world is bustling.

Countless people come, countless people go.

Yet none of this has anything to do with the Gu family anymore.

After the White Tiger Pavilion meeting, Gu Kang seemed to have truly exhausted all his energy.

His condition rapidly deteriorated.

Though his age had not yet reached the twilight years, his entire body was already white-haired, clearly the result of having drained his life force.

"Father."

Inside the Guan Jun Hou Fu, Gu Liang and the other Gu family youths knelt in the room, their faces filled with grief as they gazed at Gu Kang, barely clinging to life on the bed.

The entire room was steeped in heavy sorrow.

Gu Kang struggled to turn his head, his eyes brimming with worry as they swept over the family youths, finally settling on Gu Liang: "Liang'er."

His voice was weak and hoarse.

Gu Liang had to lean closer just to barely make out his words.

"After I die, our family's influence will rapidly weaken."

"Though you all possess some talent, you might suffice to preserve another family—but for our Gu family, it is not enough to hold it together."

"This is why I never recommended you."

"This burden is beyond your capacity to bear."

"Since the late Emperor's passing, I have gradually reined in my sharpness, no longer involving myself deeply in state affairs except for major matters, and have successively recommended capable men."

"It was not, as the world assumes, that I buried all my energy in writing and scholarship."

"Rather, I was slowly relinquishing power—for the future of our Gu family."

"I spent my life assisting the late Emperor in suppressing the officials; they have long revered and feared me."

"Under these circumstances, if I were to remain sharp-tongued,"

"after my death, the ministers would surely vent their anger over me onto the Gu family."

"These past years of relinquishing power were meant to reduce their resentment toward our Gu family."

"Thus, they may not target us."

"Our Gu family has held prestige for two dynasties, and the current Son of Heaven values loyalty and sentiment; after my death, he may bestow official ranks and titles upon you."

"But you must remember: under no circumstances should you rush. If danger truly arises, yield when you must."

"Our Gu family's ambition lies in eternal legacy, not fleeting dominance."

"Even if our family's power truly declines, the reputation built by two generations of our family will suffice to protect us in peace for a hundred years."

Gu Kang's breathing grew increasingly rapid, his thoughts seeming unclear, his speech disjointed—but his gaze remained fixed on the Gu family youths before him:

"Julu is our family's foundation."

"For two generations, our Gu family has bestowed grace upon the people of the commandery."

"After my death, this must not cease."

"You, the family youths, must remember: if great chaos truly comes, these people will be our Gu family's safeguard."

Watching Gu Kang grow weaker, sobs rose one after another in the room.

Gu Kang paid them no mind.

He seemed determined to use his final moments to give these family youths his last instructions.

"Remember this: from now on, ensure our family youths study my writings deeply."

"Though I will not live to see how the future unfolds,"

"I still feel, faintly, that this may be the foundation upon which our Gu family will stand forever."

"As for the many problems our Gu family may face in the future, I have thought long and hard, and left specific solutions."

"Yet our family youths need not obsess over them."

"You may use the methods I provided as a guide—but never follow them blindly."

"The world is always changing."

"No one can know what the future holds."

"In the end, I am merely worrying needlessly."

His voice grew even weaker.

Having finished speaking, as if he had now given all his final instructions, he slowly turned his head, his vision growing ever dimmer.

"Do not grieve."

"Like Zhen Yu, I have no regrets."

"I believe death is not the end of a man—forgetting is."

"Just as I will never forget my father, nor the late Emperor, nor Zhen Yu."

"As long as our Gu family endures."

Then the people of the world will never forget us.

After my death, send my body back to Julu.

In former years, I thought Julu was a cage that bound our Gu clan; now I know it was the only place where we could find peace.

If

His voice suddenly stopped.

The eyes that had struggled to stay open closed slowly at this moment.

—— Jianchu Year Three, Eighth Month.

Grand Tutor, Marquis of Guanchun, Gu Kang, died in Luoyang.

When this news spread.

Luoyang trembled.

The court and the realm erupted in uproar.

Even Empress Dowager Ma and Liu Da came personally to the Marquis of Guanchun's mansion, their faces heavy with sorrow.

Regarding this minister, Gu Kang,

whether it was Empress Dowager Ma or Liu Da,

they all knew well.

He was the foundation Liu Zhuang left to Liu Da to suppress the entire court.

Liu Da, ascending the throne as a youth, was able to seize real power only with Gu Kang's aid.

Even when he said nothing,

he was an awe-inspiring presence to all ministers.

Although after Liu Zhuang's death, Gu Kang no longer managed state affairs with the same meticulous care as before,

was this not also a statement?

Every time he spoke, it was over matters of great importance.

He fulfilled every promise he had made to Liu Zhuang.

He truly guarded this golden age for him.

Yet this minister—

today, he simply died!

How could they not grieve?

Even the court ministers' moods were now complex.

For them, Gu Kang, the minister who alone enjoyed the Emperor's favor, was deeply resented.

But Gu Kang's achievements stood before them.

They were all the most direct beneficiaries.

Who in all the land could claim they had never received Gu Kang's grace?

His policies on fertile fields and water control benefited the entire realm!

Today's Han Dynasty still maintained a high moral standard.

Added to this, in the years before his death, Gu Kang had relinquished power.

These men now felt not a trace of hatred toward him, and flocked to pay their respects to Gu Kang!

Liu Da decreed three days of court suspension to mourn, and honored Gu Kang's final wish by dispatching central army troops to escort his body back to Hebei, and ordered the ministers to deliberate on his posthumous title.

Yet the greatest shock was not in the court.

It was among the common people!

Gu Kang's reputation among the people was astonishing!

With years of bountiful harvests, Gu Kang had long become an object of worship among the people, all calling him "Immortal!"

Now, this Immortal had passed away!

When this news spread through Luoyang,

the masses wept in grief.

The scene resembled that of Liu Zhuang's death.

Even larger than that occasion!

For the people could not reach the palace, so they wept toward it.

But the Marquis of Guanchun's mansion was different.

Though the people still could not approach, they could face the mansion directly and weep.

The people wept blood!

And this was not yet over!

The news spread rapidly from Luoyang to all of Guanzhong, then to every corner of the realm!

The people's reaction was unexpectedly uniform!

Wailing cries echoed across the entire Han realm.

Some even built temples for Gu Kang; though they had never seen him, they carved imagined images of him based on rumors, enshrined them, and offered incense without end.

When Gu Kang's body was sent to Hebei,

from Luoyang onward, every people along the route came to pay homage.

The entire Han Dynasty was once again shrouded in gloom.

Under this scene, the ministers grew ever more earnest in deliberating Gu Kang's posthumous title, proposing many honorable ones.

In the end, it was Liu Da who decided on the final posthumous title.

"Wencheng."

"Wen" signifies the intention of orchestrating heaven and earth, and of benevolent love for the people.

"Cheng" signifies the intention of securing the people and establishing governance, aiding the sovereign to see his rule through to completion.

And with the moment the posthumous title of Gu Kang was settled;

A glorious era also came to an end at this very moment;

——completely over.

—————————

"Lord Kang, courtesy name Jishi.

In youth he bore extraordinary ambition, mastered the arts of farming and husbandry, and understood the essentials of hydrology.

In the first year of Yongping, the empire's fields were mostly barren, and the people suffered from famine; Jishi submitted a memorial stating:

'Agriculture is the foundation of the state; we should expand field boundaries, instruct the people in deep plowing, and supplement it with manure-fertilization methods, so that soil fertility may be restored and harvests will surely be abundant.'

The Ming Emperor accepted his words and appointed him Grand Minister of Agriculture, placing him in charge of all agricultural affairs across the empire.

Jishi encouraged and supervised farming and sericulture, taught the people to accumulate fertilizer and enrich the soil, and divided labor according to seasonal planting cycles.

Within less than three years, no land lay fallow; grain overflowed granaries; the people sang: 'Lord Kang's fertile fields, heaven grants a bountiful year!' For consecutive years, harvests were plentiful; the state's strength grew daily; the treasury's reserves were unprecedented in history.

Later, the rivers Jiang and Bian frequently burst their banks, drowning many in Yan and Yu; Jishi again petitioned to manage the floods.

The Ming Emperor granted him the ceremonial axe and staff, appointing him to oversee river works. Jishi led the people in carving through Dizhu, dredging the Bian Canal, building dikes and embankments for a thousand li, and diverting the Yellow River into the sea. He often slept exposed along the riverbanks, toiling alongside laborers, braving wind and rain without retreat. Within a single year, the flood disasters ceased; grain transport became smooth and unobstructed; the people could live in peace.

The people, moved by his virtue, called him 'River Lord, Immortal Official,' and erected a living shrine beside the river.

In the third year of Jianchu, Jishi passed away.

The Zhang Emperor was deeply grieved, suspended court for three days, and bestowed the posthumous title 'Wencheng,' decreeing: 'Lord Kang deepened irrigation ditches to save countless lives, diverted rivers and streams to secure the realm; his virtue rivals that of Yu.'

On the day of his burial, mourners in white filled the roads; farmers abandoned their plows, craftsmen laid down their axes, their wailing shaking the wilds.

From Heluo to You and Ji, every village privately worshipped him; some carved wooden statues, praying for bountiful harvests.

In later generations, whenever drought, flood, locusts, or plague struck, people prayed at Kang's shrine, and the incense never ceased.'

——Records of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Gu Kang

Funny enough, an era ended on the last day of a month.

Please, brothers, support me!

On the final day, help the author reach a round number for monthly votes? Just over a hundred away from a thousand.





(End of Chapter)