Chapter 115: The Classics Carry the Dao, and Also Obscure It

Outside Wenhua Hall, the Hanlin officials filed in one by one.

Yet the formation they stood in was rather peculiar.

There should have been two columns, left and right, but the left column numbered nearly twenty while the right held only a little over ten — a glaring imbalance.

Wang Zuoyuan's brow was tightly furrowed, his expression impatient.

His eyes swept over the crowded left column, and he barked, "Those last few in the left column — to the right column! Quickly!"

The men singled out showed a flicker of indignation on their faces; they shuffled their feet grudgingly and moved to stand at the tail end of the right column.

The formation was at last restored to a surface orderliness.

Inside the hall, not a bird chirped, and one could hear a pin drop.

Yet beneath this silence surged an irrepressible undercurrent.

Nearly every Hanlin official's eyes were bloodshot, the rims dark — clearly they had been burning the midnight oil for days over the "problem" the Emperor had assigned.

Among the crowd, Ni Yuanlu cut the strangest figure.

He had caked on a thick layer of powder, so white it was almost startling, yet it still could not conceal a vivid black eye socket, as if someone had landed a solid punch on him.

And near the very entrance of the hall stood an inconspicuous figure.

Qi Xinxiao, wearing the mask specially bestowed by His Majesty, had most of his face covered.

But beneath that mask, a pair of eyes shone startlingly bright, glinting with barely contained eagerness and excitement.

He clenched his fists, his heart pounding, anticipating everything that was about to unfold.

"His Majesty arrives —!"

With the Embroidered Uniform Guard's distinctive drawn-out announcement, the three cracks of the ceremonial whip outside the hall rang out, crisp and clean.

Zhu Youjian, dressed in bright yellow informal court robes, entered Wenhua Hall surrounded by a retinue of palace attendants.

"Long live His Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Everyone in the hall dropped to their knees in unison, the mountain cry of "long live" resounding.

"My ministers, rise."

Zhu Youjian's voice was calm and even. He seated himself behind the imperial desk, his gaze slowly sweeping over the assembled officials below the dais.

The men gave thanks for the imperial grace and rose, each taking his place.

For a moment, the scene grew awkward.

Wang Zuoyuan, tablet in hand, was somewhat at a loss.

This was neither a Daily Lecture nor a Classics Colloquium; there was no established procedure to follow, and for a moment he did not know how to guide the proceedings.

Instinctively, he looked toward the left column, at Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji.

Huang Liji, however, merely shook his head, almost imperceptibly.

Today's "discourse on the Dao" had, from the very start, been the new sovereign's stage — how could it be for ministers like them to arrange?

As expected, Zhu Youjian behind the imperial desk gave a light cough.

"The booklets you all submitted — We have read every one."

Zhu Youjian spoke; his voice was not loud, yet it reached every man's ears clearly.

"Some booklets say that principle is the Dao of nature itself. Thus, Confucius chose benevolence, and the Old Text replaced the New Text — all brought about by principle. This is what is called 'preserving Heavenly principle and extinguishing human desire.' This is the correct path."

As his words fell, the officials in the left column nodded one after another, while some on the right curled their lips slightly.

"Other booklets say that the mind is principle, that principle resides within the mind — what is called 'the unity of knowledge and action.' Confucius's extension of benevolence arose from his original mind, and had nothing to do with external things."

Now it was the turn of the Hanlin officials in the right column to stroke their beards and nod, while the officials in the left column showed disdain on their faces.

"Of course, there were also some booklets that advocated embracing both, holding that principle and mind are originally one and should not be treated with partiality."

Zhu Youjian's gaze, carrying a hint of a knowing smile, swept over Ni Yuanlu.

In an instant, the eyes of both the School of Principle and School of Mind factions shot toward Ni Yuanlu like daggers, in perfect unison.

Ni Yuanlu stiffened his neck, yielding not an inch, and glared right back at each of them.

Zhu Youjian smiled, his tone mild: "These views, in truth, are nothing new. Over these several hundred years, the worthy sages and great Confucians of the past have debated them a thousand times over."

This one light remark left quite a few men in the hall stunned.

"However," Zhu Youjian shifted his tone, "there were a few booklets whose views were rather novel."

At the very back of the crowd, Qi Xinxiao's breath caught sharply; sweat seeped from his clenched fists.

—His Majesty is talking about me!

Qi Xinxiao could not help but roar inwardly.

"One said that the path of learning lies in 'practical accomplishment,' not in empty discourse on moral principles."

"'The Dao is inseparable from its vessels.' Moral principles, without practical benefit, are nothing but useless, empty words."

"Why did Confucius choose benevolence? Because 'benevolence' has its real, practical merit. When benevolent governance is practiced, the state is secure and the people prosperous — this is benefit, and it is also righteousness. Benefit and righteousness are originally one."

"Thus, the root of learning lies in ordering the world and putting knowledge to practical use, in enriching the state and strengthening its armies. Without such practical benefit, what use are a thousand words and ten thousand phrases to the state? What use to the people?"

Zhu Youjian's voice echoed through the hall.

Only a handful of men, those of somewhat broader learning, recognized this as the Southern Song Yongjia School.

Most, however, were hearing such a viewpoint for the first time, and a stir of murmurs immediately arose.

What school is this? How can it be so blunt and naked? Can righteousness and benefit really be such a thing?!

Qi Xinxiao was first stunned; the hot blood that had filled him instantly chilled by half. Loss and disbelief welled up in his heart.

Not me?

What is so remarkable about this doctrine of practical accomplishment, this doctrine of righteousness and benefit — how does it surpass mine!

Zhu Youjian paid no heed to the stirring below and continued:

"There was another, even more interesting. It said: law is the impartial instrument of all under Heaven; change is the impartial principle of all under Heaven. The path of learning, too, must change with the times. Confucius chose benevolence in response to the chaos of the Spring and Autumn period; the Old Text replaced the New to shatter false and empty discourse. If one remains rigid and unchanging, like the fool who marked the boat to find his dropped sword, then learning itself is in peril."

The hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a chorus of sharply indrawn breaths.

This speech, larded with classical allusions yet veiled and oblique — who could fail to see that its substance was unmistakably that of Wang Jinggong!

The Yuan came before the Ming, the Song before the Yuan, and any discussion of the Song invariably circles back to Wang Anshi.

And that Wang Anshi was a treacherous minister who brought ruin to the state — in the Ming dynasty, that had become all but settled judgment.

On the strength of his words alone — "Heaven's portents are not to be feared, the ancestors are not to be taken as law, men's talk is not to be heeded" — he deserved to be nailed to the pillar of shame for all eternity!

The sovereign's authority is such that nothing under Heaven can oppose it; if a minister wishes to check it, he must conceive of something greater still to grasp and hold it in check.

And now to teach him not to fear Heaven's portents, not to take the ancestors as law, not to heed men's talk — what deed would then be beyond him!

This is a doctrine that would bring calamity down through ten thousand ages!

The officials could contain themselves no longer; though still not daring to speak, they exchanged glances of shock and uncertainty.

Only Wang Zuoyuan, standing in the front rank, remained composed, his face untroubled as still water.

As the man responsible for collating all the booklets, he knew perfectly well whom His Majesty meant.

Wang Zuoyuan could not suppress a soft inward sigh.

The sovereign's overbearing impatience was written all over his face — how could this be the way to govern a realm?

The empire… would likely see no peace from this day forward.

And yet…

"Ha."

A faint, icy laugh drifted down from the throne, like a basin of freezing water that instantly doused every murmur in the hall.

Everyone started in alarm. Zhu Youjian's face had shed every trace of its smile.

"Have We not made it clear enough?"

His voice was not loud, but it carried an oppressive weight unlike anything before.

"Set aside right and wrong, and ask only: why!"

"Why is it that when you answer, you still argue right and wrong, instead of discussing why?"

"You are all the finest talents under Heaven, risen through examination upon examination. Do you truly not understand the question, or are you merely feigning ignorance before Us?"

Zhu Youjian rose slowly to his feet, his voice icy, each word deliberate.

"The classics carry the Dao, and they also obscure the Dao. Later generations follow the classics and see only their traces, never their source."

"Since none of you can answer this question, then let Us answer it Ourselves."

"And let every master here examine whether Our answer has any flaw."

The Hanlin academicians in the hall were momentarily bewildered — even Qi Xinxiao was utterly at sea.

Not even the Yongjia School, not even Wang Anshi — were none of these what Your Majesty wanted?

Only the three Grand Secretaries, who had truly witnessed this new sovereign's manner at close quarters, had long expected this scene.

As one, all three murmured inwardly:

— Here it comes.