Chapter 491: The Theory of People's Inherent Nature

"You..."

"Prefect Liu!"

"Why do you say that?"

"You yellow-mouthed child!"

The people were all enraged.

That's enough! Just now you spoke of wisdom, benevolence, and courage, the universal virtues of the world; that is correct, in this regard, the Academy is indeed lacking. But in terms of academic disciplines, who does not know that this Wangbei Academy controls the most powerful academics under heaven? Even the Hanling Garden of the Longyan cannot compare to the Academy in this respect!

However...

Coming from your mouth, it is trash again!

Trash again!

Damn it, is the Academy really that unbearable?

Wang Chao almost threw his teacup at Liu Zheng's face.

Liu Zheng became more spirited as he spoke, laughing heartily: "That's right, in my view, it is indeed all trash!"

His eyes burned: "The foundation of education lies in reading to live; we must read living books, not dead books; we want real books, not fake books; we want active books, not static books; we want useful books, not books just for reading. In summary, we must take life-centered teaching as our guide, not textbooks centered on text!"

"There should be a division of disciplines... but one must not be overly obsessed with the division of disciplines!"

"Disciplines should complement each other; that is the Great Dao of education! The true purpose of studying at an Academy is not the knowledge itself, but the method of creating new knowledge to meet needs!"

"Every discipline must establish its foundation. Today, Liu Zheng will teach you how to establish a discipline!"

The expressions of everyone in the venue changed drastically.

Establish a discipline?

The way this was said, the tone was truly too arrogant!

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Let's start with Literature..."

The crowd looked at each other in dismay.

This Literature discipline has existed since ancient times, what else is there to say? The Four Books and Five Classics have a long and deep history...

"Speaking of Literature, everyone here is trash..."

Damn it!

Will you ever stop!

Again?

If it weren't for the fact that this Prefect Liu was on the Cloud Platform, these people would likely have been unable to resist dragging him down and beating him severely!

"You, you, you..."

Wang Chao was truly thunderstruck by this Liu Zheng today, unable to utter even half a word.

Liu Zheng shook his head with a smile and said calmly: "Liu Zheng believes that literature is thought; what does the gentleman think?"

"Oh?"

Wang Chao was startled, his eyes then lighting up.

"Literature is thought. To liberate literature is to liberate thought. Today's Longyan is rotten and exhausted, and I believe there are three reasons!"

"First, for thousands of years, the ideology of revering Confucius has become rigid, social strata have solidified, power has constrained us, and the reverence for teachers and education has shackled human creativity and the power to liberate thought!"

"You, you, you..."

"Presumptuous!"

"Confucius is..."

"Audacious!"

Once these words were spoken, the whole room could no longer sit still.

Someone actually dared to be disrespectful to Confucius? Someone actually questioned the Four Books and Five Classics, and someone actually advocated such heresy?

An uproar.

The scene was no longer just an uproar.

This was already rebellion!

In a feudal dynasty, this argument was already treason!

Situ Kong was also shocked to the core at this moment. This Prefect Liu, you are clearly an Imperial Envoy, yet your courage is truly not small! In a feudal dynasty, who does not revere Confucius? If you do not revere Confucius, you do not revere the Emperor, the Imperial family, or the throne!

Liu Zheng had already stood up at this time. He gave a cold smile, looking at the group of people below who were spewing filth. To be honest, he was somewhat disappointed.

He had always believed that scholars and students in every era represented the advanced—advanced thought, advanced academics, and advanced creativity. Before coming to the Academy, he really thought this would be a different world. But after arriving, he discovered that this place was still full of people who only read dead books, a group of pedants!

He came here in pursuit of creativity!

Just this bunch of people?

Create my foot!

Everyone was enraged.

Because Liu Zheng's argument truly challenged their traditional concepts too much.

Liu Zheng looked around coldly.

"Traitorous and rebellious!"

"Prefect Liu, it is because of Confucianism that there is Longyan; without Confucianism, there is no Longyan!"

"Longyan people do not worship Heaven, nor do they worship Confucius; why keep these knees then!?"

Liu Zheng sneered: "Worship Heaven, worship Earth, worship parents, but do not worship Confucius, do not worship old systems, do not worship masters and slaves! This is the new direction for the development of literature!"

"What is a man of letters?"

"In my view, a man of letters should be the most aloof group of people in this world! Men of letters need not kneel to others, need not kneel to sages! When a man of letters has a country and a home, he naturally becomes a sage! Shackles and blind loyalty should be discarded entirely! The concept of country and home should lie in discussing politics, participating in politics, in change, rather than sticking to outdated rules, rather than submission!"

"Words concern the affairs of the time, and writings reveal the spirit of the nation!"

"Literati should represent the people's will and represent the truth, not the imperial will!"

"Heaven gives birth to the people; there are things and there are rules. The people possess the nature of Shun, loving this virtuous conduct! This means that when Heaven gives birth to the masses, there are physical vessels, and there must be metaphysical Dao. Dao is principle; the life of these people is based on this principle as their nature, moving toward Innate Goodness and resting there. Thus, I take this meaning and bestow the name People's Moral Standard to express my original intent!"

"In ancient times, the divine vessel of politics lay in the ancestral sacrificial vessels; today, the divine vessel of politics lies in the People's Moral Standard. Ancestral vessels can be stolen, but the People's Moral Standard cannot be stolen. Ancestral vessels can be moved, but the People's Moral Standard cannot be moved. Thus, the People's Moral Standard, when suspended in intellectual reflection, is the metaphysical Dao; when responding to affairs, it is the physical vessel; when emptied, it is the clarity of the mind; when filled, it is the application of logic!"

The theory of the People's Moral Standard has existed since ancient times!

However, today, Liu Zheng has endowed the two words "People's Moral Standard" with a new concept!

In his view, true literati should represent the People's Moral Standard, represent advancement, represent change, represent the liberation of thought, and represent social progress!

Politics, public opinion, freedom, breakthroughs!

The People's Moral Standard is a human instinct, and it should be an even more prominent instinct for literati!

"The exhaustion of the Longyan Dynasty lies in not valuing the People's Moral Standard; the decay of the Longyan Dynasty lies in literati not valuing the People's Moral Standard; the crisis of the Longyan Dynasty lies in ossified thought and a backward system!"

The entire audience listened, dumbfounded.

At this moment.

No one dared to make a sound.

Liu Zheng stood alone on the Cloud Platform.

Countless people looked up at him.

"The longer history has been experienced, the more the sages and philosophers have manifested! The more the sages and philosophers have manifested, the more deeply the People's Moral Standard has been obscured! The more deeply the People's Moral Standard has been obscured, the more profound the political corruption becomes!"

"By honoring and worshipping Confucius, unconsciously, everyone loses their sense of self, inevitably sacrificing the authority of the self and extinguishing ordinary human nature!"

"Once these habits have been followed for too long, the clarity of the people's inherent moral standard is entirely suppressed beneath the wisdom of the sages and the statutes of the classics, daring not to manifest itself, eventually becoming wasted in utility and stunted in ability!"

Silence.

The entire Academy.

Terrifyingly silent.

This is the theory of the People's Moral Standard from the revolutionary martyrs of later generations! To use it here is most appropriate! Admittedly, the current Longyan Dynasty is still a feudal dynasty. The system cannot be changed.

But Liu Zheng believes that the existence of Wangbei Academy should even less be like those Longyan literati—corrupt and regressive!

The literati here should set their sights on the world!

Their thinking should be more open!

Time waits for no one!

Nowadays, Western countries are about to begin the Industrial Revolution, and you are still here honoring Confucius and the Emperor; does Longyan still have hope? Does the Huaxia nation still have hope!

"Therefore..."

"We literati should all the more insist on our own freedom, break through the nets to stand tall, and shatter the constraints to achieve liberation! Take all the dead ashes and stale rot that obscure the People's Moral Standard, crush them, and clarify them!"

"Literature is the ancestor of all learning and the progenitor of all schools of thought!"

"Literati should be the pinnacle of the People's Moral Standard, and the People's Moral Standard should be the priority of the nation!"

"What do you all think?"

Liu Zheng stood with his hands behind his back and asked this final question.

The entire venue.

Was deathly silent.

Rainwater beat against their faces, but they were completely unaware.