The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Chapter 2220 The Prototype of the Four Books

Fang Yun held his own "New Commentary on the Analects of Confucius" and read it in a gentle tone. He first read the main text of Confucius' "The Analects", then gradually explained each word, then literal translation, and finally free translation, and most of the free translation contained extended meanings.

Fang Yun has the words of heaven in his mouth. Anyone who hears his voice will completely understand the meaning of the words and it is difficult to forget. He also has the power to teach the edge of the holy way, which is even more convincing and makes the two great demon kings become Be pious and humble.

Mouthing the words of heaven only allows those who listen to the lectures to passively accept it, but the power of the holy way of enlightenment allows people to actively change while listening to the lectures. Over time, all changes will become habits and they will become a brand new person.

"New Commentary on the Analects", like "The Analects of Confucius", has twenty chapters in total. After Fang Yun read five chapters, he looked at the two demon kings.

The two great demon kings were so mesmerized that they were still recalling this human classic.

Fang Yun ignored the two demons and made slight corrections in the first five chapters, because he gained new insights during the reading process.

After an hour, the two demon kings regained their composure, and their eyes were softer than usual.

Fang Yun's original plan was to go to the Ancient Emperor's Forest first, and then go to Chishan to wait for the mountains and seas given by the gods. However, because the harvest from robbing the monsters far exceeded expectations, and it might take too much time to enter the Ancient Emperor's Forest, he decided to robbing all the way. To Chishan.

One person and two demons went straight to Chishan, traveling for a day and then staying for several hours. Four days later, Fang Yun finished his lecture on "New Notes on the Analects of Confucius".

The two demon kings also showed obvious changes, their eyes were clearer and their minds were smarter.

King Shu Tai even made some insinuations and wanted to take Fang Yun as his disciple, but he was declined.

On the fifth day, Fang Yun was writing "New Notes on the University" while teaching the two demon kings.

"The Great Learning" is a chapter in the "Book of Rites", with only a thousand words, but it is an outline of Confucianism. It puts forward the eight principles of "investigating things, seeking knowledge, sincerity, upright mind, self-cultivation, ordering the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world." Head.

In ancient China, Er Cheng first attached great importance to "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" in the "Book of Rites", and called them "Xiao Jing" together with "The Analects" and "Mencius". Later, Zhu Xi first singled out "The Great Learning" Together with "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", it is extracted and commented, and together with "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" are called the Four Books.

In Shengyuan Continent, no one before Fang Yun had independently extracted "The Great Learning" and made separate annotations.

With his previous experience, Fang Yun did not finish writing "New Notes on the University" immediately, but left the last punctuation mark. If the last sentence cannot be read, the whole book will not be completed.

On the sixth day, Fang Yun began to write "New Notes on the Doctrine of the Mean".

"The Doctrine of the Mean" does not have many words, only more than 3,000 words. If "The Great Learning" emphasizes self-cultivation, then "The Doctrine of the Mean" places more emphasis on cultivating the nature.

Starting on the seventh day, Fang started working on "New Notes on Mencius".

Among the four books, "The Great Learning" has more than 1,000 words, "The Doctrine of the Mean" has more than 3,000 words, "The Analects" has more than 13,000 words, and "Mencius" has more than 34,000 words.

Compared with "The Analects", the thoughts in "Mencius" are more complex and more radical.

Mencius was lucky because in his time, the power of Confucianism was far greater than that of Confucius, and the treatment he received was far better than that of Confucius.

Mencius was also unfortunate. The Warring States period was far more chaotic than the Spring and Autumn Period. In addition to Confucianism, various forces took advantage of the situation.

The Analects of Confucius mainly contains Confucius's exchanges with his disciples. Although he talked with princes, such as Lu Aigong, Lu Dinggong, Qi Jinggong, Wei Linggong, etc., the content is not much and the space occupied is limited.

In "Mencius", there are quite a few chapters where kings and princes asked Mencius for advice on how to govern the country, such as Duke Ping of Lu, King Xuan of Qi, Duke Wen of Teng, etc. The first sentence of "Mencius" is "Mencius met King Hui of Liang", The book even contains many face-to-face criticisms and refutations of the princes, which is rare in the Analects.

Although this shows that Confucianism was more respected by the princes at that time and that Confucius and Mencius had different personalities, it also shows that Mencius had a stronger desire to promote his political opinions. He gave up only after repeated failures and began to concentrate on teaching and educating people.

Confucius once rose from a young official to an important position in the state of Lu step by step. Therefore, although he talked about benevolence and righteousness and talked about political affairs, he was very restrained. He treated himself as a minister in front of the princes and traveled around the countries to spread his ideas.

But Mencius was different. He did not have a rich political experience like Confucius. Although he talked about political affairs, he regarded himself as a teacher in front of the monarch. He also traveled around the country, but he was more like being an emperor's teacher to promote his ideas.

A communication and a promotion are naturally different.

When writing "New Commentary on Mencius", Fang Yun's attitude was different from writing "New Commentary on the Analects of Confucius".

When writing "New Commentary on the Analects of Confucius", Fang Yun devoted almost everything he had to it, telling everything he knew.

But when it came time to write "New Notes on Mencius", Fang Yun had some reservations, especially when it came to political content.

Fang Yun praised Mencius's political thoughts greatly, especially on people-centered thoughts. Fang Yun's paraphrasing and extensions were often long and lengthy, and his inscriptions were far more important than those of the other three books. As long as it involves specific methods of governance, Fang Yun will mostly brush it off, neither affirming nor denying it. Even the two demon kings can see that Fang Yun is deliberately avoiding it.

King Shu Tai once asked why, and Fang Yun answered with a smile.

"For political matters, Meng Sheng's words are reasonable, but if the actions are unclear, it is better to stay away from the miscellaneous family."

King Shutai and King Langyuan nodded slightly. The origin of the Za family was Lu Buwei. In terms of political methods, ten Mencius put together are not as good as one Lu Buwei.

However, King Shu Tai keenly discovered that "the words are reasonable, but the actions are unclear." In ugly words, Mencius's idea is right, but it is difficult to implement it. In other words, Mencius failed to find the correct answer for his thoughts. However, if it is more serious, it can be said that Fang Yun is criticizing the ways of government mentioned by Mencius as wrong.

The writing styles of "New Annotations on the Analects" and "New Annotations on Mencius" are very different. After a long exchange between King Shu Tai and King Lang Yuan, there was no result. If you ask Fang Yun for the reason.

"We'll see what happens after we leave the Holy Valley of Burial." Fang Yun said.

The two demons were very disappointed, but also full of expectations for the future.

King Shu Tai asked again: "I don't know why Sir extracted the Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean from the Book of Rites and treated them with such solemnity. This is unprecedented."

Fang Yun said: "The Book of Rites is complicated, and beauties and beauties coexist. The Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean are like gold hidden in the sand. They are also the works of Zengzi and Zisizi respectively. They are the same as Meng Sheng and are minor saints. They should not be covered with dust."

"In that case, should students learn the "Great Learning Doctrine" or "Etiquette"?" King Shu Tai asked sincerely.

"Below Jinshi, you should study "Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", and above, you can choose one of the Five Classics to specialize in." Fang Yun said.

King Shu Tai suddenly realized and said: "My Confucian disciples are scattered, and their talents are uneven. The Poems, Books, Rites, Yi, and Spring and Autumn are too profound, and they often gain something only by reading the classics." "University" "The Doctrine of the Mean" "Mencius" "The Analects of Confucius" is the personal teachings of the saints. Compared with the Five Classics, it is easier to understand. If you study it carefully, you can achieve success in a few years. In this way, I, a Confucian disciple, can grow quickly in the early stage and avoid wasting that time. Wenquxingguang.”

"Good." Fang Yun nodded in praise.

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