Chapter 530: The Whole Audience Exploded

To those present, the theory Liu Zheng spoke of was something they had absolutely never heard of before.

Yet he was able to explain profound theories in simple language, citing classics and precedents!

Without defying the teachings of Confucius, he overturned their understanding!

As the saying goes, the layman watches the spectacle, while the expert watches the method. If these few words from the Prefect of Liangzhou had been heard by a half-baked scholar, they would naturally think he was spouting nonsense. But the scholars present all came from different Academies of the Longyan Dynasty, men of letters from various fields, and they were incomparably familiar with the Way of the Sages. How could they not hear that this theory of Liu Zheng's was not him talking nonsense or making excuses at will!

Even.

Those four Deans were all shaken to their cores.

Heart Learning?

Heart is Principle?

Although this doctrine sounded very novel, in truth, it did not contradict the Way of the Sages at all!

This...

Is this really a twenty-two-year-old young man?

Where did this theory come from?

The Dean of Yuelu Academy finally spoke: "If, as the Prefect of Liangzhou says, everyone's heart is Principle, then how are good and evil in the world to be distinguished?"

"Exactly!"

"How are good and evil distinguished?"

"Wouldn't that throw the world into chaos?"

This group of people began to shout along again.

Liu Zheng continued with a smile: "I believe that the substance of the heart is neither good nor evil, yet it can encompass both good and evil, which is why it is the Innate Goodness! The manifestations of the heart have good and evil, which is why one must do good and eliminate evil."

"To be silent and unmoving is the substance of the heart; to be neither good nor evil is precisely Innate Goodness!"

"To be moved and thus penetrate is the manifestation of the heart, which then has good and evil. Substance and function share one source; the substance of the heart of Innate Goodness must be sought from the function of the heart, and the heart of good and evil must take the substance of the heart as its destination!"

"Mencius said: 'What people are able to do without learning is their Innate Ability. What they know without deliberation is their Innate Knowledge!'"

"The substance of the heart is Innate Goodness, which is Heavenly Principle, and also Innate Knowledge! This Innate Knowledge is the nature endowed by Heaven, the substance of the heart, naturally luminous and aware."

"The substance of the heart is neither good nor evil; the movement of intent has good and evil; to know good and evil is Innate Knowledge; to do good and eliminate evil is the Investigation of Things!"

"Sir, what do you think?"

Silence!

The entire scene was deathly silent!

Another explanation of profound theories in simple language, another citation of classics and precedents! Another alternative analysis of the classics!

The Prefect of Liangzhou's theory left them with no way to refute it!

The Dean of Bailu Academy stood up and asked: "What the Prefect of Liangzhou just said, does that not mean that writing one's own books also counts as inheriting the Sage's Way? Is this not absurd enough! Could it be that you are like Wang Tong and his ilk, deceiving the world for fame?"

This time, it again drew support from the whole room.

A young man in his early twenties!

Actually thinking of writing his own books—is this not a pipe dream?

Wang Tong was a scholar in history who imitated the classics, and he could be considered notorious.

This Dean of Bailu Academy was using Wang Tong to address the Liu Zheng before him!

Liu Zheng laughed and said: "May I ask you, sir, what is the difference between the intention of later Confucian scholars writing books to explain the classics and the imitation of the classics?"

"One should naturally follow the method of Confucius with the Six Classics; Confucius deleted, edited, and revised the Six Classics precisely to clarify the Sage's Way!"

Liu Zheng said: "Does the sir think that clarifying the Sage's Way is to make Heavenly Principle return to simplicity and put it into practice? Or is it to use flowery language to pander to the crowd? The great chaos of the world is because empty literature prevails while actual practice declines! If the Way is made clear to the world, then the Six Classics need not be narrated! However, since the Longyan Dynasty became powerful, a trend of valuing the superficial has prevailed in Longyan. To completely eradicate this trend is impossible; one can only imitate Confucius, selecting those principles close to the Six Classics and promoting them. I do not know what Wang Tong's intention was when he imitated the classics back then, but I believe his approach had its merits."

"The reason the world is in constant turmoil is that a flashy but unsubstantial trend is becoming increasingly popular, confusing people's hearts! The spirit of pragmatism is constantly declining. Everyone expresses their own opinions, seeking to be novel, competing to be strange, and the result can only be to disturb people's hearts, confuse the public, and spread rumors, making everyone in the world scramble to worship empty literature, while no one knows how to cultivate character, establish virtue, practice diligently, and return to simplicity."

"These are all caused by those who interpret the classics!"

"You..."

"You, you, you..."

"Presumptuous!"

These words, using a strategy of both defense and offense, scolded quite a few people present.

However.

These words made the eyes of the Dean of Yingtang Academy light up. This person had always loathed the flamboyant literary style of Longyan, that pile of lewd and flowery language. He asked: "As the Prefect of Liangzhou says, the heart is Heavenly Principle, then does Heavenly Principle have an end?"

Liu Zheng replied: "Heavenly Principle has no fixed location, so naturally it has no end. Just like good and evil, they also have no end. Sages like Yao and Shun existed, yet above Yao and Shun, goodness is endless. Evil like Jie and Zhou existed, yet below Jie and Zhou, evil is endless! If Jie and Zhou had not died, would their evil have stopped there? If goodness had an end, how could Wen Wang 'look for the Way and yet not see it'?"

Someone else asked: "Then if it is neither good nor evil, how can one judge doing good and eliminating evil!"

Liu Zheng answered: "If a good thought resides in the heart, that is Heavenly Principle; this thought itself is the Great Good, so why consider anything else? Since this good thought is not evil, why would one need to eliminate any evil? This intent is like the sprout of a tree; one who is determined will forever fix this good intent. Confucius said, 'Follow one's heart's desire without overstepping the boundaries.' What does the sir think?"

"Does the Prefect of Liangzhou believe that one knows and then acts, or acts and then knows?"

"The learning of people today is only because they treat knowledge and action as two separate things, so when a thought arises, even if it is not good, they do not act, so they do not prohibit it. I now speak of the Unity of Knowledge and Action, precisely to let people know that the moment a thought arises, one has already acted. If there is something not good where it arises, one must overcome that evil thought; it must be done thoroughly, not allowing that evil thought to lurk in the heart!"

"Then according to what the Prefect of Liangzhou says, can we also become sages?"

"The sage is one body with Heaven, Earth, and all things; Confucianism, Buddhism, Laozi, and Zhuangzi are all my tools; this is what is called the Great Dao!"

Boom!

Thus.

The scholars present asked questions one after another, one question and one answer.

The atmosphere of the entire scene became heated.

If these scholars had come to Liangzhou Prefecture to find trouble with Liu Zheng, and were gathered here specifically to make things difficult for him, then now, they had completely forgotten their original intention for coming here!

Yes.

For scholars of any era, there is nothing more fascinating to them than the collision of ideas.

The key is...

At first, they did not believe that this Prefect Liu could produce any decent theory. However, they no longer thought so now.

This is a monster!

This is a genius!

He could earnestly analyze and then answer every person's question.

And he could always pinpoint the issue precisely, leaving people speechless!

Subversion and inheritance coexist!

Confucianism, in his hands, had seemingly become even more advanced!

"Innate Knowledge is merely a heart of right and wrong; right and wrong are merely likes and dislikes. If one only follows likes and dislikes, right and wrong are exhausted; if one only follows right and wrong, all things and all changes are exhausted."

"There is nothing outside the heart, no affairs outside the heart, no principles outside the heart, no righteousness outside the heart, no goodness outside the heart!"

"The superior man honors the worthy and is affectionate to his kin; the petty man enjoys his enjoyments and profits from his profits!"

"When seeing a worthy person, think of becoming equal to them; when seeing an unworthy person, look within and examine oneself. Then one will not be overly harsh on others, and self-governance will be strict!"

Boom, boom, boom!

Bang, bang, bang!

The more than one hundred thousand people present stood up at the same time.

They looked at Liu Zheng on the lecture platform in disbelief.

This person's teachings...

Are too shocking!

The entire venue was about to explode.