Kenninji Temple was founded by Minamoto no Yoriie, the second generation shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. Its architectural style is more like that of the Tang Dynasty. It is one of the oldest temples in Kyoto.
As we all know, the island country has many earthquakes and its buildings are mainly made of wood, so the buildings have been burned down again and again. Even they themselves cannot count how many disasters they have suffered.
Although they are called ancient buildings, most of them are actually renovated, but the islanders like to count them from the foundation and do not recognize renovations as new buildings.
When Master Rong Xi, the founder of Jianren Temple, returned from studying in China, she was deeply influenced by the Southern School of Zen. She also incorporated the charm of Jiangsu and Zhejiang into Jianren Temple, forming the current landscape.
Yoshigan looked at the ancient Zen room in front of the corridor and said to Akechi Mitsuhide.
"I've come this far, so don't give me any more dumbfounding.
Tell me, who is it that has such great dignity that he deserves my condescension to come here?"
Akechi Mitsuhide couldn't bear Yoshigan's words, so he immediately stopped and bowed and said.
"I am afraid, where does the word condescension come from? Your status is so noble that no one in the world can match it, and no one is worthy of your condescension.
I only occasionally visit Jianren Temple with my friends, and I met a young girl who was even interesting, so I thought of inviting you to come and have a look."
Yoshigan just wanted to scare Akechi Mitsuhide and make a joke with her, but Akechi Mitsuhide really couldn't bear it and quickly spoke clearly.
She is ruthless in what she does and has enemies all over the place. Even the people from the Hamo clan next to you hate her with all their heart. If your joke reaches other people's ears, it may not be a joke.
Yoshigami shook his head, and found it boring to see Mitsuhide Akechi being so cautious. It seemed that he had really become a high-ranking person who talks about heaven and earth, and he couldn't even make a joke.
He continued walking forward and asked.
"What a funny little girl?"
Akechi Mitsuhide calmed down and said with a smile.
"There is a young girl in this temple named Lin Xinsheng. She is talented and intelligent. She entered the temple as a young girl at the age of thirteen. In five or six years she mastered Buddhism and Confucianism.
The abbot of Jianren Temple cherished her talent and advised her to become a monk so that she could inherit the Taoist tradition and achieve Buddhahood in the future.
But guess what Lin Xinsheng said?"
"What did she say?"
"Lin Xinsheng said that the body, hair and skin should not be damaged, which is filial piety. It is unfilial to have no descendants.
These words made the abbot of Jianren Temple angry, and he no longer wanted to pay attention to her.
If we had come a little later, she might have been kicked out by the nuns. If you don’t want to be a nun, why did you come to the monastery to learn Buddhist teachings?"
Yiyin laughed loudly.
"This girl is really interesting."
There are many branches of Japanese Buddhism, including Zen and Tantric Buddhism, each with its own laws.
The localized practices of Xiangzong are the most down-to-earth. There are no taboos about drinking, eating meat, marrying a husband and having children.
The Linji Sect belongs to the Zen sect and is a sect with strict precepts. The most basic requirement is to be ordained and not to get married.
Lin Xinsheng was pointing at the bald head and scolding the bald donkey. No wonder the abbot of Jianren Temple was angry. He really didn't give him any face, and he really couldn't get off the stage.
After finishing laughing, Yiyin asked.
"Looking at Lin Xinsheng's words of filial piety, she is an accomplished Confucian scholar."
Akechi Mitsuhide nodded.
"Hey, she read the Anthology of the Four Books and studied Zhu Xi."
Yiyin didn't understand Confucianism and didn't know what the Four Books Annotation was, but the word Zhu Xi was widely circulated in later generations, so he naturally knew who it was.
The character Zi has a sacred status in Confucianism. The Confucian scholars who have been honored as Zi throughout the ages include Confucius, Yan, Zeng, Mencius and Xun. The most famous one is Zhu Zi, also known as Zhu Xi.
Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is famous and dominated the orthodox Confucianism in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with great influence.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, and Confucianism established a line of serving the emperor. However, after the Han and Tang Dynasties, the rise of Taoism and Buddhism gradually divided the attention of Confucianism.
The most terrible thing is that the emperor seems to have believed in Taoism and Buddhism.
The king of Chu had such a slim waist that many people died of starvation in the palace. As long as the emperor liked it, he could starve to death, let alone learn a new route?
If you learn literary and martial arts, you must sell it to the emperor's family. Otherwise, what is the point of studying hard in a cold window?
The biggest hidden danger of Confucianism is that intellectuals have other choices, and their own doctrine gradually cannot attract intellectuals who pursue advancement.
Confucianism sought changes, but it could not compete with the dialectical Taoism and Buddhism. Finally, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism emerged, completing the philosophization and systematization of Confucianism, reversing its decline, and establishing the status of Confucianism.
Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism combined the moral ethics of Confucianism's three cardinal principles and five constant principles with the principles of nature to better serve the emperor and the ruling class, so it was favored and supported by the mainstream feudal society.
Intellectuals who want to be officials must believe in this doctrine and shout this slogan. Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism unified the educational world, carried forward the past and opened up the future for Confucianism, and made unprecedented achievements.
From now on, regardless of whether people who study Confucianism believe in the Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules, when you are an official, you must study Confucianism. If you want to be promoted and make a fortune, you must first sing its praises together.
Books about Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism have flowed into the island country since the Southern Song Dynasty. As the island country’s cultural repository, temples naturally contain Zhu Xi’s works.
Lin Xinsheng came to the monastery to study Buddhism but failed to learn it. Instead, she was obsessed with Zhu Xi's teachings. No wonder the nuns were so angry and felt that she did not know how to praise her.
While they were joking, Yoshigan and Akechi Mitsuhide had already walked outside the door of the Zen room. Yoshigan smiled at Akechi Mitsuhide.
"Let's go, let's meet this young girl who is obsessed with studying Confucianism."
Akechi Mitsuhide has nothing to gain, and Yiyin will not think that she deliberately made friends with Lin Xinsheng just because she found it interesting.
———
In the meditation room, Lin Xinsheng had been reading for a day. She didn't want to read at this time, just to calm down.
Speaking of which, the world of Confucianism is very miserable in the island country.
After the fall of the Emperor's court, the Wu family advocated speaking with swords and valued etiquette over righteousness. Confucianism could not find a secular foundation in the island country.
Shintoism disappeared, Buddhism occupied the cultural high ground of the island country, and it paid no attention to Confucianism.
Zhu Zixue, who was a prominent scholar in the Chinese dynasty, was not acclimated to the island country and could only engage in small-circle culture, which was also aggrieved.
Confucian scholars in the island country are always looking forward to an opportunity to spread Confucian teachings to those in power, just like the Celestial Empire, which made Confucianism the mainstream doctrine of the upper class.
Akechi Mitsuhide's handover was regarded as a good opportunity by Lin Xinsheng.
In fact, Lin Xinsheng's current situation is not good.
She was adopted by her uncle and showed intelligence since childhood, so she was sent to Jianren Temple to study Buddhism. The family hoped that she would become a high-ranking nun and help the family business in the future.
However, Lin Xinsheng believed in Confucianism and sternly refused Jianren Temple's request for ordination, and was about to be forced to leave the temple.
Once he left, his future was uncertain, and Lin Xinsheng didn't know how to explain it to his family.
Just last night, Akechi Mitsuhide suddenly sent someone to tell Lin Xinsheng that a noble person would be coming to Jianren Temple today and asked her to prepare well.
Lin Xinsheng was still a little calm at first, but when she heard the chaos of war outside and the hurried shouting of all the nuns in Jianren Temple, they all went to the atrium to wait, she also panicked.
The noble person Akechi Mitsuhide was talking about was Spazintaden who had just defeated Oda Nobunaga and was praised by the people as Bishamon, the world's greatest saint?
At this moment, Lin Xinsheng couldn't think of reading a book. Her hands shaking when turning the pages were shaking. But besides reading, what else could she do?
As the door of the Zen room was opened and he saw Akechi Mitsuhide respectfully inviting a man into the room, Lin Xinsheng's heartbeat accelerated instantly.
What a handsome man this is, like a banished immortal descended from heaven, every carving is made by nature, perfect.
After being stunned for a moment, Lin Xinsheng secretly said, "Don't look at any incest." He hurriedly stood up, walked around the desk he was reading, and kowtowed to Yiyin.
"Lin Xinsheng, a grass-roots citizen, has seen Tsudo-den and Lord Akechi."
Lin Xinsheng's calmness further strengthened Yiyin's idea. This was the recommendation arranged by Akechi Mitsuhide.
Yi Gin rolled his eyes at Akechi Mitsuhide and said.
"You get up."
"Thank you Jindo-don."
Yiyin walked to her desk and picked up the book she was reading just now. Sure enough, it was
Annotations on the Four Books.
"I heard from Ji Mingzhi that you studied Zhu Xi Xue?"
Lin Xinsheng glanced at Mitsuhide Akechi, who was sitting silently by the side. Knowing that this would be the most important moment in her life, she suppressed the excitement in her heart and bowed.
"Yes."
Yiyin put down the book, came to Lin Xinsheng, and looked at her condescendingly.
"Your family sent you to the monastery as a child in the hope that you would succeed in your studies and become a great nun.
You wholeheartedly imitate Zhu Zi and refuse to be tonsured, are you worthy of your family’s ardent expectations?”
Lin Xinsheng said solemnly.
"Your Majesty is kind to you."
"you say."
"I entered Jianren Temple when I was thirteen years old and read all the books in the temple. I treated the works of Buddhism and Confucianism equally. But as people grow up and understand the truth, they become more and more fond of Confucianism and dislike Buddhism."
"Oh why?"
"Buddhists study hard for the afterlife, but Confucianism thinks about the family and the world, governing the country and bringing peace to the country.
The world has been in chaos for hundreds of years, and the world is in dire straits. Buddha only teaches people to be patient, suffer in this life, and enjoy blessings in the next.
I cannot agree with this kind of world-weariness and abandonment."
Yiyin agrees with Lin Xinsheng's statement.
The nuns in the island country are just a bunch of parasites, who fail to accomplish anything but fail more than they do. Those in power only tolerate them because the world is unfair and they need to use their faith to paralyze the low-level cows and horses, so as not to rise up and resist.
Yiyin sat cross-legged in front of Lin Xinsheng and asked.
"Then according to your opinion, learning from Zhu Xi and practicing Confucianism can save this troubled world?"
Lin Xinsheng shook his head and said.
"Hang the pot to save the world and pacify the world. There is a savior like you. This is the reincarnation of heaven. How dare we Confucian scholars covet the merits of heaven."
It's just that it's easy to conquer the world, but it's difficult to dominate the world.
The Kamakura shogunate and the Ashikaga shogunate failed to prosper for three generations and then became weak and declined. This is a lesson learned from the past. I beg you to be wise."
Yiyin smiled.
"The cultivated land of the island country is scattered, the mountains are high and the roads are far away, and the people are divided. If we imitate the Chinese dynasty to centralize power, I am afraid that it will not be able to sustain prosperity for three generations. It may not be as durable as the two shogunates of Kamakura and Ashikaga."
Given the unlucky geographical environment of the island country, if we use the centralization methods of the Chinese dynasty, we will die faster. The economic foundation determines the superstructure. This foundation is too bad, and it is impossible to forcibly copy the Chinese dynasty.
Lin Xinsheng said.
"Your Majesty, the Wu family system is flawed, and we need to find ways to improve it. Even if we cannot copy the laws of the Celestial Empire, we can still adapt to local conditions. It is better than just watching."
Yiyin's eyes lit up, local transformation? Lin Xinsheng could think of this, and he was indeed not a corrupt scholar.
"Then you can tell me how to change it?"
Lin Xinsheng said seriously.
"The king, the king, the minister, the mother, the daughter, are the laws of nature."
The common people dare to speak nonsense, and the foundation of the samurai family is unstable. The root cause lies in the massacre of the emperor's court by the third generation general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu."
Yiyin nodded, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is indeed a set of principles of heaven.
"I forgive you, just tell me."
Yiyin's tolerance gave Lin Xinsheng courage, she said.
"Since ancient times, the Taoist tradition can be continued and cannot be abolished. The lineage of emperors has lasted for thousands of years.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Sima Yi pledged his oath to Luoshui, but later broke his promise. From then on, there was no bottom line in politics, and there was no way out for powerful officials.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu slaughtered the emperor and his ministers for his own selfish interests, destroyed Shintoism, and thought he could change the world. He couldn't be said to be wise.
She thought that by annihilating her body, she would be able to avoid future troubles forever. But she forgot that the one who caused the disaster would have no consequences.
After the third generation of the Ashikaga Shogunate, the shogun no longer had the power to rule the world, and was struggling between his own vassals and foreign vassals, which is clear evidence of this.
If the ruler is unruly, the world will be in chaos, and this is a divine punishment."
Yoshigan was also speechless. He allowed Lin Xinsheng to speak freely, but he did not expect that Lin Xinsheng would seize Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and do crazy things.
What does it mean to be the originator? He has no descendants.
, this is a curse to the Ashikaga family to cut off their descendants, Lin Xinsheng really dared to say it.
Yoshigami sighed helplessly and pretended not to hear. Anyway, it was Ashikaga Yoshiaki who cut off his descendants and had nothing to do with him.
"Stop talking about the past, talk about something practical and useful."
Lin Xinsheng bowed to apologize and then said.
"The Ashikaga family's lack of morality has cut off the orthodox tradition of our island country for thousands of years, which is why the people of the island country have fallen into troubled times and are struggling to survive.
Your Majesty, you are a saint today, and you should continue the legacy of the emperor of the island country and create peace for all generations."
Yiyin was sweating behind his back when he heard this. Lin Xinsheng was really a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers. I don't know if it was because the Confucian scholars lived too hard in the island country and they dared to say anything. They were simply killing people.
Yoshigami couldn't help but look back at Akechi Mitsuhide. He finally understood why Akechi Mitsuhide admired Lin Nobukatsu so much. Because Lin Nobukatsu's theory was to dig into the roots of Ashikaga Shogun.
From the perspective of Confucianism, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was a treasonous and unethical person who committed rebellion and broke the orthodoxy. Therefore, the law of heaven became angry and caused great chaos in the world. The chaos lasted with no end in sight.
If you want to end the troubled times, you have to put things right out of chaos. Lin Xinsheng is completely denying the justice of Ashikaga Shoguns after Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in ruling the island country.
If the shoguns after Ashikaga Yoshimitsu were all immoral and immoral, then in order to find the orthodoxy, we must go back further.
What a coincidence, the Shiba ancestor was the orthodox heir who was forced to be deposed by the Ashikaga family governor, in order to please the former Hojo family, by marrying the Hojo son.
From a Confucian perspective, the behavior of the Ashikaga family governor of that generation was to abolish the direct descendants and establish concubines, which was also wrong. Therefore, if we want to correct the chaos, we must start with the ancestors of the Ashikaga family.
The orthodoxy of the Ashikaga family needs to be recalculated. Starting from the ancestors of Shiba, the true orthodox descendants of the Ashikaga family are the Shiba clan.
Now that the Shiba clan has been exterminated, there is only one single branch, Yoshigan Shiba. Therefore, Ashikaga orthodoxy lies in Yoshigan Shiba.
Lin Xinsheng's deliberate approach to please the emperor is a bit like what Dong Zhongshu said about Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
