Chapter 81

On the land of Yizhou, the war flames did not subside with Zhao Chongguo's arrival; the imperial court's troops and the Southwest Barbarians' tribal forces formed a stalemate, each side having victories and losses.

Meanwhile, Dong Zhongshu, who had disappeared from everyone's sight, was now dressed as an old Confucian scholar, giving a meticulous lecture in a crude schoolroom of a tribe, facing an empty classroom.

When he received the two books sent by the Son of Heaven a few days earlier, he felt as if bathed in holy light, and the words of the Compendium of the Great Han Emperor's Theoretical Thoughts and the Record of Transmission and Practice kept echoing in his mind.

At that moment, Dong Zhongshu fell into deep self-contradiction, as the far‑ahead‑of‑its‑time theoretical thoughts plunged him into deep self‑denial.

At the same time, those startling, eye‑opening maxims made him feel as if he had stepped into an entirely new world.

His whole being underwent a qualitative change.

Just as when he, as a young man, first accepted the Confucian classics, and just as when he first grasped the idea of harmony between heaven and humanity.

This caused his life to advance once again.

It was time to do something for the Great Han, for the Son of Heaven, and for the subjects.

Therefore, Dong Zhongshu resolutely stepped onto his own path.

He came to a relatively peaceful tribe, bribed the tribal Yi chief Hai Lu, overcame many difficulties, opened a school beside Qiongchi Pond, and began lecturing in an empty classroom.

Outside, the court's and tribal troops' clashes continued unabated, while within the peaceful Qiongdu Yi tribe of Yuexi Commandery, many Qiong‑people civilians were filled with curiosity and wariness toward this outsider Han and the new school.

Especially when they saw Dong Zhongshu lecturing day and night in an empty classroom, they felt an inexplicable dread, and gradually some came to hold him in awe.

"This Han person is teaching the ghosts and gods!"

Such similar reports kept spreading, causing the entire Qiong tribe and even the distant Dian tribe to hold Dong Zhongshu in respectful distance.

Dong Zhongshu's school went from having a few curious onlookers peeking through the windows at first, to the point where no one dared approach within a hundred meters.

Even if the entire Qiong tribe was being invaded by the Dian tribe, people did not approach the schoolhouse a single step, and even the Dian tribe detoured around it.

This plunged Dong Zhongshu into deep self-doubt and confusion about Liu Ju's theoretical ideas.

Unity of knowledge and action?

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth?

Go to the masses?

Are these really useful?

As time progressed, Dong Zhongshu encountered an unprecedented predicament.

On a night of wind and rain, Dong Zhongshu sat alone in the schoolhouse, the pitch-black schoolhouse continually illuminated by lightning and thunder.

Dong Zhongshu's seated figure appeared unusually calm and eerie.

From not far away within the Qiong tribe, cries of killing and the Qiong people's pleas for mercy continually rang out.

Dong Zhongshu sat on the cold ground, tightly gripping the booklet recording Liu Ju's theories, flipping through it over and over, trying to find the answer to solve the problem.

The wind and rain outside, the Dian tribe's invasion, and the populace's life and death seemed to be disregarded by Dong Zhongshu.

"Unite all forces that can be united; development is the hard truth..."

Dong Zhongshu muttered as he flipped through, constantly recalling his interactions with the Southwest Barbarians' people and the tangled interests between the tribes.

He recalled his lofty ambitions when he first arrived in the Southwest Barbarians, and the efforts he had made to spread knowledge and culture, yet now he had fallen into such a predicament.

Unity of knowledge and action...

What exactly is the unity of knowledge and action?

What are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith?

What is the relationship between the two?

"Only practice is the sole criterion for testing truth!"

Dong Zhongshu recalled Liu Ju's words again; it seemed this was the unity of knowledge and action, not the Confucian Five Constants!

He began to doubt whether his previous actions were correct, whether he had been too eager to change the Southwest Barbarians, neglecting their own culture and traditions.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning sliced across the night sky, illuminating the entire cavern, as if also illuminating Dong Zhongshu's inner heart.

He sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing with excited light.

He realized that he had always overemphasized the transmission of knowledge, neglecting to start from the actual needs of the Southwest Barbarians' people to understand their culture and traditions.

And the unity of knowledge and action, preserving heavenly principle and eliminating human desire— isn't heavenly principle just the demands of the Son of Heaven and the people, and human desire just imposing one's own Confucian habitual thoughts on others?

By ridding oneself of human desire and selfishness, respecting the heavenly principle of other beings' survival, adapting to local conditions, and daring to practice— that is the unity of knowledge and action!

Only then did Dong Zhongshu suddenly realize that the Son of Heaven Liu Ju's theoretical ideas were not about rigidly imposing the Han model on the Southwest Barbarians, but about finding a way of integration and coexistence based on respect for them.

"Exactly!"

Dong Zhongshu shouted loudly: "The exchange and fusion of culture should be two-way; we want the Southwest Barbarians' people to feel that accepting Han knowledge and ideas is not about discarding their traditions, but to make their lives better. Only by truly starting from their interests can we win their trust and support."

At this moment, Dong Zhongshu suddenly became enlightened.

He understood that to achieve Liu Ju's hoped-for unity and development, he must lower his stance, deeply understand the Southwest Barbarians' customs, and combine Han wisdom with the Southwest Barbarians' characteristics.

He decided to change his teaching method, not only to impart Han knowledge but also to guide the children to discover and inherit their tribe's excellent culture, so that the two cultures would mutually promote each other through exchange and develop together.

Dong Zhongshu rose to his full height; outside, the lightning and thunder suddenly ceased, and the distant shouts of killing also stopped.

The rain stopped.

Dong Zhongshu pushed open the schoolhouse door and strode toward the Qiong tribe.

At that moment, several Dian tribesmen were surrounding the unarmed poor villagers in the village square, whipping and kicking the neighboring Qiong people.

From the square came waves of miserable cries and the wanton laughter of the Dian tribesmen.

Dong Zhongshu walked toward the square with firm steps; several Dian tribesmen halted their actions and looked at Dong Zhongshu.

The Qiong people looked at him, bewildered.

"It's Mister Ghost!"

At this time, a young child whispered.

The adult hastily covered his mouth, but was still noticed by a Dian tribesman nearby.

Then, the fierce-looking tribesman brandished his whip and lashed at the child.

Stop!

Dong Zhongshu suddenly shouted, his voice deep: "The Southwestern Barbarians are originally one family; why do you mistreat your kin so brutally?"

What did you say?

Want to die, Han?

The Dian tribe warriors all stopped what they were doing and gathered around Dong Zhongshu.

Han, don't think you can impose your ideas on us; the Southwestern Barbarians have our own customs and laws, not even the Great Han can interfere!

The Dian tribe warriors angrily rebuked Dong Zhongshu, then suddenly said, "Tie up this Han!"

Two Dian tribe warriors lunged at Dong Zhongshu like fierce beasts.

Bang bang!

But only two gunshots were heard; the two Dian tribe warriors fell wounded, screaming continually.

Dong Zhongshu showed mercy; otherwise, at such close range, they would certainly have died.

He wiped the white smoke from his short gun, calmly looked at the Dian tribe warriors, and said, "The people of the Southwestern Barbarians ought to be as close as one family, jointly protecting this land; why do you slaughter each other and bully the weak? Doing so will not only make innocent people suffer, but also bring shame upon your tribe."

Kill him!

The leader warrior shouted in fury, and the others raised their weapons to attack Dong Zhongshu.