Chapter 145: Examine its substance, infer its constant changes

The notion of "keeping one's distance" from such things is still quite heavy.

Although Zhang Juzheng was not particularly moved by the studies of Mind and Principle, he was unwilling to see the Emperor become too unorthodox.

He immediately furrowed his brows: "And what is this 'Old Learning' you speak of?"

This statement was simply wild beyond measure.

"Old Learning," indeed? One who didn't know better might think the Emperor had founded his own sect.

He should at least have attained enlightenment at Longchang before saying such things.

Upon hearing this, Xu Jie, wishing to avoid trouble, immediately explained a thing or two, sticking to the Emperor's words.

"His Majesty mentioned that he now has a slight understanding of the three paths of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Although their philosophies differ, their general direction is extremely similar."

"What they seek as the ultimate state of man: first, the perfection of the inner heart—be it moral norms, the nature of Bodhi, or the original heart of Daoist essence; second, external conduct—be it ethical order, the Buddha-land of all sentient beings, or the unity of Heaven and Man."

"Mencius said, 'All things are complete within me'; the Buddha said, 'All phenomena arise from the mind, manifested by the mind; all causes and effects, the world and its dust, are formed by the mind'; Zhuangzi said, 'Without a master within, one does not stop; without righteousness without, one does not act.'"

Zhang Juzheng followed behind Xu Jie, listening silently to his words, his brows knitted, unable to grasp the path.

There was no flaw in these words; throughout history, all three schools of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism have emphasized the cultivation of the heart.

All three statements speak to the importance of self-awareness.

Internally, it is the cultivation of the heart; externally, it is influencing the world through the self.

For the Confucian school, internally it is clarifying the mind and seeing one's nature; externally, it is moral rules.

For the Buddhist school, internally it emphasizes the nature of Bodhi; externally, it is the Buddha-land of sentient beings.

The Daoist school is even more so: cultivate the heart internally, and proceed to the unity of Heaven and Man.

All advocate that by knowing oneself, one can understand all truth—this is also why seclusion and enlightenment are fashionable buzzwords in every era.

This is also why Zhang Juzheng has no interest in the study of Mind or the study of Principle.

They cannot govern the country!

That is why he devoted himself to the Legalist school.

Could it be that the Emperor is also...

As he was thinking this, Xu Jie, walking in front, suddenly asked: "Then what about cognition?"

Zhang Juzheng was startled: "Cognition?"

Xu Jie added: "These are all the Emperor's original words; you may listen to them as you please."

Only then did Zhang Juzheng realize he had interrupted his teacher's speech.

He hurriedly reached out his hand, signaling Xu Jie to continue.

Xu Jie nodded and continued: "Yes, cognition!"

"Since Mencius said the self is the center of the universe, the Buddha said the mind alone can know the world, and the Daoists often say the self and Heaven and Earth are one."

"Then, is it true that by cultivating one's character, one can understand the truth and know everything?"

Zhang Juzheng did not speak for a moment.

This is in the realm of metaphysics.

It is both easy and difficult to answer.

In the perspective of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, the answer is affirmative.

But the Chief Minister, who secretly adheres to the Legalist school and emphasizes practical action, chose silence, naturally giving a negative answer.

The philosophy of cultivating the heart cannot save the Great Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng was chatting privately with Xu Jie, so there was no need to be overly formal—the two were teacher and student in the official world, a relationship of patronage, not a master-disciple relationship of enlightenment; it was perfectly normal for their philosophies to differ.

Xu Jie was also not surprised by Zhang Juzheng's reaction.

He continued: "Is Heaven and Earth flat or round? What is the full appearance of the Nine Provinces?"

"Does the world have an end, and does Heaven and Earth have an end in time?"

"How does water change into ice? How are fireflies born?"

"His Majesty asked me, do these things truly require enlightenment?"

After Xu Jie finished speaking, he was also filled with emotion.

At the Emperor's age, it is indeed the time when curiosity is at its peak.

Had he not experienced that age and that mindset himself?

Xu Jie vaguely remembered that when he was five, his most ridiculous conjecture was that if one walked forward from Zhuangzi, one would reach the town, and walking further would lead to the county, the prefecture, the province, and finally the capital. And if one walked backward from Zhuangzi, besides another village, there was no more road; that was the end of the universe.

It was only when he grew older that he understood that the roads in the world are interconnected and spread out in layers.

And when he was ten, the thing he was most curious about was why fire could burn.

This was also why he loved playing with fire at that age.

Unfortunately, all curiosity was drowned in the passage of time.

He, Xu Jie, after all, did not have the Emperor's status—if he wanted to practice martial arts, he could; if he wanted to cultivate the Dao, he could. Now, this one loves to ask for the truth, and immediately there are tens of thousands of taels of silver thrown in every year, with plenty of people asking for the truth on his behalf.

Zhang Juzheng was not like Xu Jie, whose mind was full of jealousy; instead, he recalled the various words the Emperor had spoken over the past year and Xu Jie's retelling today.

He suddenly had some enlightenment about what the Emperor was thinking.

"The 'ought-to-be' belongs to the Sages; the 'is' belongs to the Emperor."

These words were spoken by the Emperor a year ago.

At that time, everyone thought the Emperor was expressing dissatisfaction with the Confucian scholars for speaking without substance and perfunctorily responding to the Classics Lectures.

Now, Zhang Juzheng inexplicably had a deeper understanding of this.

The Confucian school had fused Heaven and Earth and the self too well!

This obviously could not explain the ten-year-old Emperor's curiosity about the world at that time.

At that time, the Emperor asked, how could rotten grass turn into fireflies?

The Classics Lecturers all said, don't worry about why; since the Sages said so, just think about the principles of being a person.

The Emperor also asked, why can blue be derived from indigo? What is the essence of color?

The Classics Lecturers unanimously said, don't worry about color; let's talk about what "blue surpassing indigo" signifies.

The Emperor had asked many questions.

Why can ice be made from water? In the debate between the two children about the sun, who was right?

The answers received were without exception: don't worry about these things; think about the principles of being a person within them.

The mind is the universe.

The Classics Lecturers all said that by knowing the self, one knows the Heaven, Earth, and universe, using the cultivation of the self to replace the Emperor's doubts about the world—self-knowledge is the starting point of all knowledge, and it can also solve all doubts; this is called enlightenment.

The problem is, no matter how well it was said, no one answered the little Emperor's doubts for him.

Even the little Emperor's moral character was cultivated quite well; I am afraid he could no longer listen to these empty principles.

In such a situation, a child whose doubts were not answered, combined with an Emperor who held the highest power in the Great Ming Dynasty, the result can be imagined.

The little Emperor inevitably developed the personal hobbies that all Emperors of the Great Ming Dynasty have.

Zhang Juzheng was slow to realize!

He suddenly discovered that the lack of education had led the Emperor to develop strange little hobbies.

At this moment, his hair stood on end!

This was his dereliction of duty as the Emperor's teacher!

When the Emperor had doubts, he should have patiently discussed the matter and spoken with substance.

He also regretted it—since he did not believe in the Confucian set, he should not have spent his days using principles of being a person to perfunctorily dismiss the Emperor's full doubts just to raise a Holy Son of Heaven!

This led the Emperor to urgently want to separate his doubts from the principles of being a person that the Classics Lecturers spoke of!

No wonder the Emperor said those words last year!

The Emperor intentionally separated Heaven and Man, which is why he said those words last year, forcing the Classics Lecturers not to answer his doubts randomly without empirical evidence!

It was also since then that the Emperor never asked these doubts at the Classics Lectures.

So the Academy was not only established for measuring fields and calculation, but also had the Emperor's private intentions...

Seeking truth and asking for the Dao! Seeking truth and asking for the Dao!

The principles of being a person belong to the human world.

The laws of the world belong to Heaven and Earth.

Zhang Juzheng thought of this and suddenly sighed: "I understand."

He thought for a moment and waved his hand: "When the teacher enters the palace next time, why not let His Majesty change the two words 'Asking for the Dao' outside the door."

"Since he doesn't want to be associated with the three teachings, he should do it thoroughly."

The Emperor disliked the three teachings for not distinguishing between host and guest—the three teachings confined curiosity about Heaven and Earth to ethical governance.

Dissatisfied with this, he wanted to cut off the connection between Heaven and Earth and explore Heaven and Earth from a new stove.

But is it so easy to seek the truth of Heaven and Earth?

For now, it's just small play, studying fireflies, which is a small problem.

The fear is that one day, curious about the full appearance of the Nine Provinces and finding no results, he might not be able to help but learn from his Imperial Ancestor and want to undergo ascension to see the truth in the sky.

After all, things like water, fire, and the great sun are all things that tricksters are best at.

It is hard to guarantee that the Emperor, out of curiosity, won't be taken advantage of.

No!

The more Zhang Juzheng thought about it, the more he felt it was inappropriate.

He hurriedly grabbed Xu Jie, wanting to see what this so-called "physics" was fiddling with.

He only hoped it wasn't some Daoist priests playing tricks!

The classroom of the Physics Academy was in the innermost part of the academy, and it was also the largest indoor space.

It was a two-courtyard compound with six rooms in total.

Two couplets were carved on the gate of the courtyard.

One said: "Things have their causes; examine them thoroughly. From the great cycles of the universe to the smallest insects, categorize their properties and examine their substance; this is called: Properties."

One said: "Transformations of properties; clarify them through experiments. Water becomes ice, gas condenses into form; mutually transform and respond, infer their constant changes; this is called: Change."

The horizontal scroll read: "Physics—Experiment."

Zhang Juzheng stood outside the courtyard and watched for a long time.

After a long while, he shook his head and muttered to himself: "Physics, physics, so that's it."

He asked Xu Jie: "His Majesty wrote these words, right? What about the original?"

Whether it was carving or rubbing, there was an original.

Xu Jie coughed lightly: "Naturally, it was written by His Majesty himself."

He clearly ignored the second half of Zhang Juzheng's sentence.

Zhang Juzheng spoke again: "I wasn't asking the teacher for it; I just wanted the teacher to make a rubbing for me."

Xu Jie immediately beamed, smiled, and waved his hand: "Easy to say, easy to say."

The Emperor's calligraphy also had different values.

Like when the little Emperor usually wrote things like "Etiquette and Virtue" or "Great Virtue and Pillar," everyone would take them back and hang them in the ancestral hall, not taking them to heart.

But if it was calligraphy expressing emotions or showing talent, the value was extraordinary.

Even for a fallen monarch like Li Yu, his calligraphy was a treasure competed for by scholars and elegant people.

This couplet, although not profound in literary talent, was the Emperor's expression of the Dao, and it was also of great value.

The two walked into the courtyard one after the other.

There were not many people in the rooms, five or six in each.

There were no Daoist priests playing tricks, nor the sitting and listening of the other classrooms.

Replacing them was a group of students and scholars with innocent curiosity, even some who were idle, fiddling with a pile of strange things.

Seeing Xu Jie leading people in.

Students immediately came forward to salute.

"Junior Tutor, Chief Minister."

"Dean."

"Mountain Chief, Jiangling Gong."

Coming from different backgrounds, the titles they used were also quite different—those from poor backgrounds only knew Xu Jie was the Dean and didn't even recognize Zhang Juzheng.

Xu Jie did not mind.

He said to a teenager in his teens: "Deng Shao Yu, introduce yourself to the Chief Minister."

After speaking, he turned back to introduce to Zhang Juzheng: "This is the grandson of the Marquis of Dingyuan, Deng Shao Yu, who has been here since the end of last year..."

Just as he finished speaking, he turned back and found Zhang Juzheng standing in front of a table, hands behind his back, bending over to look at the things on the table.

Xu Jie patted Deng Shao Yu on the shoulder, and the latter reacted.

Deng Shao Yu walked to Zhang Juzheng and introduced cautiously: "Chief Minister, the topic of this lecture hall is 'What is Force'."

"The things on the table are all for experiments."

Zhang Juzheng did not look back, touched the table, and asked curiously: "Just now I saw several tables in the room, and why is this one covered with ice?"

Deng Shao Yu's face turned into a bitter melon shape upon hearing this, clearly remembering something unpleasant.

He pointed and introduced one by one: "This is a control experiment done according to the requirements set by Li Chengming and Scholar Cheng."

"One is rough wood, one is smooth wood, and one is a smooth ice surface."

Deng Shao Yu picked up the wooden block on the wooden table, placed it on the spring at the edge of the table, and pressed it to the bottom.

The other hand picked up the wooden block on the ice surface, just like before, against the spring.

Both hands were released gently at the same time.

"The experimental data of the two are different, which is just right for us to compare and study their properties."

"That is the reason, Chief Minister."

Zhang Juzheng looked as if he understood but didn't.

Seeing this, Deng Shao Yu was about to ask someone to bring their experimental report.

Zhang Juzheng stopped him hurriedly and said calmly: "Just have a rubbing sent to my mansion later."

Just kidding, watching this kind of thing on the spot should be avoided.

What if I don't understand it?

Deng Yizan hurriedly agreed.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and walked into another room.

Deng Yizan, being very observant, quickly presented a cylinder as thick as a wrist and as long as a forearm to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng took it with curiosity.

Only when it was in his hands did he see clearly that the cylinder was made of copper on the outside, with lenses embedded inside.

"What is this?"

Deng Yizan hurriedly stepped forward to explain: "Chief Minister, this object is called a 'serving tube,' and His Majesty has bestowed upon it the name 'telescope.' It is similar to spectacles; one can look through it, but it can only be used to view things in the distance."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng followed the suggestion, placed it before his eyes, and looked out toward the yard.

At just one glance, Zhang Juzheng could not help but let out an exclamation of surprise.

Since it was said to be the same as spectacles, he had thought it was something to treat eye ailments.

He did not expect that the moment he placed it before his eyes, the objects would suddenly appear several times larger!

He could see extremely far!

He could even see a table of people drinking at a restaurant in the distance! And it was exceptionally clear!

Deng Yizan introduced from the side: "Since the Yuan Dynasty, this object of spectacles has particularly piqued His Majesty's curiosity."

"Nowadays, the lens industry is most developed in Hangzhou, so the Academy sent people there half a year ago to learn, and we even poached two master craftsmen."

"Not only did we master the techniques of flat, concave, and convex lenses, but we also produced many objects such as the 'serving tube' and the 'insect-peeper'."

Although Deng Yizan was young, he knew what it meant to show off in front of others.

For things like the previous failed attempts, one must use a pile of impressive terminology so that outsiders do not understand, making it seem profound.

And for matters like lenses, where the process is simple but the results are significant, one must downplay the process and talk at length about the results.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng became even more curious: "Insect-peeper?"

He had seen the tube, and this "insect-peeper" was clearly something new.

Deng Yizan reached out toward a fixed cylinder on the table and introduced: "That was for long-distance viewing, while the 'insect-peeper' is for microscopy—er... His Majesty bestowed the name 'microscope'."

It was also quite annoying.

"Serving tube" and "insect-peeper" were such evocative names, yet the Emperor insisted on bestowing a pile of straightforward, unevocative titles.

It showed no respect for the inventor at all!

Zhang Juzheng bent over and looked at the full appearance of the microscope from top to bottom.

The structure was indeed more complex than the previous telescope.

A frame was placed on the table, a small lens as thin as a cicada's wing was embedded in the frame, and there was another lens below it; the two were separated by a distance, and their lines of sight happened to overlap.

At the very bottom, a glass slide was placed.

It seemed not to have been cleaned very well, as there was still quite a bit of dust on it.

Moved by curiosity, he immediately leaned forward and placed his eye on the microscope.

He wouldn't have looked if he hadn't, but at this look, he immediately exclaimed: "It's actually insect eggs!"

This was no dust at all! It was clearly insect eggs!

Incomparably clear, with every detail visible!

He hadn't seen it clearly at first.

Now, under the lens, it was actually magnified several times!

Deng Yizan said proudly: "When we first studied lenses, we discovered that overlapping two pieces could magnify things several times; if the structure is reasonable, it is even better than a telescope!"

"That is why we named it 'insect-peeper'; this object can magnify things nine times!"

This magnification was already enough to see the structure of the most minute insect eggs, which is why it was called an "insect-peeper."

Initially, someone even suggested calling it a "flea mirror," but after much persuasion, the Emperor finally bestowed the name "microscope."

Zhang Juzheng held the microscope and kept looking.

Only after a long while did he reluctantly let go.

He turned to look at Xu Jie and slowly said: "Are there any more of these two mirrors? Can one of each be sent to the Cabinet?"

When people see novel things, they inevitably have some interest.

Especially since Zhang Juzheng had just been thinking about keeping an eye on the Emperor's hobbies, he naturally had to lead by example now.

What's more... that telescope should be sent to Wang Chonggu to take a look!

The Ministry of War would certainly like it too!

If used well, this is a vital weapon for the state!

Good, good, good! Even if it is just a personal hobby of the little Emperor, it is still more beneficial to the country and the people than Emperor Shizong!

After Zhang Juzheng finished asking, before Xu Jie could speak, Deng Yizan immediately looked distressed: "Chief Minister, the telescope is fine, but the microscope will have to wait until we finish our experiments before we can spare the hands."

"This object is currently under the charge of Li Chengming, and a second one cannot be easily produced."

Don't look down on these little gadgets.

They were all handmade and not yet mass-produced.

The telescope was fine; it had been made for a long time, and the experiments had been completed according to requirements.

But the experiments for the microscope were not yet finished, and the structure was a flash of inspiration the Emperor had by chance; everyone had not yet understood the principles, and there were still experiments to be done later. Only after those were finished would there be time for mass production—especially since the Emperor said it was not clear enough yet and asked them to optimize it by precision-grinding the lenses.

The Emperor's tasks were not yet finished, so how could they have time to curry favor with the Cabinet?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng felt a bit regretful and had to settle for taking one telescope.

He urged Xu Jie repeatedly: "Teacher, if the research is finished, please send some to the Cabinet."

Xu Jie nodded with a smile.

Afterward, the group toured other rooms.

Similarly, it was in the form of the Emperor having doubts and then sending people to assign tasks and issue research topics.

Including all sorts of strange and peculiar things.

"Force and Speed: Organize and summarize, design proofs."

"The Nature of Light: Based on reasonable guesses, design experiments."

"The Nature of Qi: Based on guesses about form, manifestation, and properties, design experiments."

And so on.

Whenever the students had results, they would go to the West Garden to report to the Emperor in person—periodic results were also acceptable.

For instance, Li Chengming was specially granted the title of Scholar because he had results.

Or Deng Yizan, who was also specially granted the title of Scholar because of his lens results.

Only then did Zhang Juzheng hear with surprise that above the Scholars of the Four Seas, the highest honor was called Grand Secretary!

This title of Grand Secretary made Zhang Juzheng think a lot.

Nowadays, those with the title of Grand Secretary were only in the Hanlin Academy, the Household Administration of the Heir Apparent, and the Left and Right Spring Offices!

At the very least, they started as court officials!

But because there were many people and eyes around, it was not convenient for Zhang Juzheng to ask Xu Jie in detail.

After touring enough, Zhang Juzheng patted Deng Yizan on the shoulder: "Your ancestor was a Duke personally enfeoffed by the Founding Emperor; although it has now been demoted to a Marquisate, it is not impossible for you to restore its glory in your hands. Work hard."

Deng Yizan was flattered and pleasantly surprised.

He bowed to see him off.

Only after Zhang Juzheng left did he stand up.

Deng Yizan looked at their retreating figures, revealing a look of envy: "A real man should be like this."

(End of chapter)