"What do you think? Why did they do that?" Wang Yangming asked.
Wang Yuan had long seen that Wang Yangming had something to say to him. He didn't bother to think about it at that time, and just did his job of flattering and letting the teacher teach with peace of mind. He casually said: "I heard that the winter on the grassland is very cold, and it often
There was a snowstorm and it was difficult for the herdsmen to survive the winter, so they went out to plunder in order to survive. The four bandits in Centipede Ridge were also persecuted by the officers, so they chose to fall into the grass in order to survive."
"Otherwise," Wang Yangming shook his head and explained, "the herdsmen were exploited by their nobles. Whether the tribes would attack each other or gather together to invade the border areas of the Ming Dynasty. The playgrounds and looted wealth were all divided up by the Mongolian nobles. The herdsmen
You can only get a little bit, and that little gain is worse than being a bandit in the Ming Dynasty."
Wang Yuan thought to himself: Looking at the problem from the perspective of the grassroots herdsmen, this statement is relatively new.
Wang Yangming added: "Although the four bandits at Centipede Ridge were forced to flee by the officers of the guard station, they became bandits out of desperation. But after robbing property several times, they had enough money to buy farm tools and seeds, and they could hide in the mountains to open up wasteland.
Farming. Why continue to be a bandit?"
"You just like to relax and hate hard work," Wang Yuan said with a smile, "Being a bandit is much easier than farming."
"It's not just a desire for leisure and indolence," Wang Yangming sighed, "this person's desires are also greedy, lazy, and cruel... The Mongolian nobles have this desire, so they attack year after year; the Mongolian herdsmen have this desire, so they help the tiger;
The Guizhou bandits have this desire, so they are willing to fall."
Well, Wang Yangming also advocated "preserving heaven's principles and destroying human desires", but his version was "to promote conscience".
Wang Yuan asked: "Sir, by telling me this, do you want me to destroy people's desires?"
"No." Wang Yangming shook his head.
Wang Yuan suddenly asked: "I wonder how Sir influenced those bandits?"
Wang Yangming did not hide anything, and said with a smile: "I pretended to be panicked, handed the money to them, took the opportunity to seize his weapon, put the knife on the bandit leader's neck, and then slowly reasoned with them."
"You can really convince people with reason." Wang Yuan was convinced.
Wang Yangming explained: "If you were reasonable from the beginning, they would definitely not listen. But if you put a knife to their necks and talk about the disadvantages of being a bandit, it would be much more effective."
Wang Yuan asked again: "Sir, why are you telling me this?"
"People are not saints, they all have desires," Wang Yangming suddenly asked, "What are your desires? I have observed for a long time that you do not value money, you do not covet food and wine, and you do not seem to covet power."
Wang Yuan asked back: "How do you know, sir, that I don't covet power?"
Wang Yangming said: "You appointed yourself an inspector and gave orders to everyone. I thought you were greedy for power. But I soon discovered that you only gave orders when you were doing business and never gave orders to others because of selfish desires. So,
What do you want? What do you want to do?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "I have just turned thirteen. It seems too early for sir to ask these questions."
"You are a precocious person, just like me. You must know what you want," Wang Yangming said. "Everyone who studies under me has their own desires. Boyuan and Zonglu want to be officials and be glorious.
Li Sanlang and Chen Erlang also want to be officials, but they plan to make achievements on the battlefield."
Wang Yuan scratched his head: "I really haven't thought about what I want or what I should do. Let me tell you, maybe I want to leave Guizhou as soon as possible and see the outside world."
Wang Yangming suddenly laughed: "I thought you wanted to be a sage."
"Why do you say that?" Wang Yuan asked.
Wang Yangming smiled and said: "Because I have wanted to be a sage since I was a child and have no desire for other things, so I think you are very similar to me."
Wang Yuan said happily: "I disappoint you sir. I really don't want to be a sage."
"I'm not disappointed," Wang Yangming shook his head and said, "You have a pure heart. Human nature will always be deceived, but your nature is not deceived. This is good, so how can it be disappointing?"
Does Wang Yuan have a pure heart?
Damn it, Uncle Wang has made a mistake. His apprentice just has too high a vision and looks down upon everything in Guizhou, so he behaves like he has no desires or desires.
Two years ago, Wang Yuan was so poor that he would sneak away even a stack of toilet paper.
"Sit down and talk." Wang Yangming sat cross-legged on the bed.
Wang Yuan was not polite and sat down on the edge of the bed.
This is Uncle Wang's bedroom.
Why Wang Yangming favors Wang Yuan can be seen from these small things. Other students are respectful in front of him, and they are very careful even when they sit and speak, for fear of leaving a bad impression on the teacher. Only Wang Yuan behaves naturally
random.
"I heard, what kind of person are you?" Wang Yangming asked.
Wang Yuan nodded and said: "My father is Han and my mother is Miao."
"No wonder you can communicate easily with the Miao people," Wang Yangming asked curiously, "Then do you consider yourself a Han or a Miao? I don't mean to look down on the Miao, I just want to investigate."
Wang Yuan thought about it carefully and said: "I have not considered this issue. Even, I don't think there is any difference between Han and Miao people, but I agree more with the language and culture of Han people. But in Guizhou, the chieftains despise the Miao people (
Generally refers to ethnic minorities), Han officials despised the chieftains as Miao people. I think this is inappropriate. If I wipe out Mongolia one day, I will try my best to assimilate the Mongols instead of despising them from the bottom of my heart. Born in the Ming Dynasty
, are all citizens of the country, no matter which tribe they belong to, they should be treated as equal people."
"It's very difficult," Wang Yangming said.
"Of course it's difficult," Wang Yuan said with a smile. "Thunder methods must be used against those who are stubborn. But in general, the so-called barbarians are also human beings. If the court can feed and clothe them, who will give birth to them for no reason?"
What about the rebellious heart? As far as Guizhou is concerned, there are two types of barbarian rebellion. One is the lower-level barbarians who cannot bear the exploitation of the chieftains and Han officials and rebel in order to survive; the other is the chief chieftains who cannot bear the oppression of the Han officials and
And because he is strong, he has a disobedient heart."
The chieftains are indeed ambitious, but they really will not rebel without reason, because they know in their hearts that rebellion will never succeed. Their biggest pursuit is to ignore the court, and the court ignores them, so that they can live their best lives.
The chieftains chose to rebel, either because the Han officials oppressed them too much, or they committed a capital crime and risked their lives.
Wang Yangming asked again: "How do you think the problem in Guizhou should be solved?"
"Reforming the native land and returning to the local people has been a method since the Taizu Dynasty. It cannot be accomplished overnight," Wang Yuan said. "Now the situation is getting worse. The health system is weakened and the people's livelihood and education are not good. Forcibly changing the native land and returning to the current situation can not be achieved overnight."
It can only be superficial. For example, if Guizhusi is changed to Guizhu County, what's the use of sending a few temporary officials here? The assistant officials and subordinate officials are all locals, and most of them are former chieftains. They just change the soup without changing the medicine.
If all Han people are employed, it may be difficult to collect taxes and levies."
Wang Yangming nodded and said: "That's true. Officials don't go down to the county."
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "It's useless to say all this. I'm not a court master. By the way, I think your teacher's teaching should be changed. Don't directly quarrel with Zhu Zi. This will only scare away more students."
"I was too hasty." Wang Yangming actually admitted it himself.
Perhaps because he was in a barbarian land and suddenly understood the truth, Wang Yangming no longer had so many taboos and could not wait to spread his own theories.
Historically, after Wang Yangming returned to Beijing, two students quarreled over academic issues. One believed in Lu Jiuyuan's philosophy of mind, and the other believed in Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism. The quarrel was so intense that they almost got into a fight, and Wang Yangming was asked to comment.
How cautious was Wang Yangming?
He said that Zhu Xi was definitely correct, and this had been concluded for a long time. Even if Lu Jiuyuan's philosophy of mind could be explained, would it be possible to promote it in the world?
This sentence has three meanings:
First, Wang Yangming did not agree with Lu Jiuyuan’s philosophy of mind.
Second, Wang Yangming did not dare to criticize Zhu Xi.
Third, Wang Yangming did not really agree with Zhu Xi.
Wang Yangming's Mind Science and Lu Jiuyuan's Mind Science are both two different sets of knowledge, although they are very similar. They were collectively called "Lu Wang's Mind Science" by later generations.
Lu Jiuyuan's philosophy of mind originated from Cheng Hao.
Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind was derived from Neo-Confucianism and originated from Cheng Yi.
Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi are brothers, and they are both descendants of the ancestor Chen Tuan.
You heard it right, it’s the sleeping fairy Chen Tuan.
This is quite funny. The founder of Confucian psychology and Neo-Confucianism was actually a descendant of Taoism, and Chen Tuan followed Huang Lao’s teachings.
Wang Yangming's lectures in Guizhou should be said to be the most wild. Although he gradually took the initiative to restrain himself, he did not have too many scruples. Therefore, the Qianzhong School (Xin Xue) was also very wild.
How wild is Guizhou Middle School?
Historically, after Jiajing ascended the throne, Xinxue was once regarded as pseudo-study by the imperial court, and its dissemination was banned nationwide.
All other schools of mind-studies in other places have gone dormant, but only the Qianzhong school publicly proclaimed that Yangming’s mind-study was a genuine school. Tang Xin, Ye Wu, Chen Wenxu and other mind-study disciples resigned resolutely and returned to their hometowns, specializing in spreading the mind-study in Guizhou.
He studied thought and ignored the imperial decree and openly built the first Yangming Academy in the country.
I just want to ask if you are wild or not, go directly against the emperor and the chief minister!
Unfortunately, the early materials of the Xinxue were lost, and Guizhou has high mountains and long roads. When Huang Zongxi compiled "The Case of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty", he included all other schools of the Xinxue, except the Qianzhong School. And the disciples of the Xinxue a few generations later
, it is not even close to the Guizhou Middle School School, because Guizhou Xinxue is the early thought of Wang Yangming.
We can only talk about the early thoughts, because the early thoughts of Wang Yangming recognized by the academic community were spread after he left Guizhou.
The older he got, the more Wang Yangming respected Zhu Xi. In his later years, he even took Zhu Xi's correspondence in his later years and sorted them out of context, saying that these were Zhu Xi's true thoughts and were consistent with his own thoughts.
Wang Yangming reflected on himself and said: "The students in Guizhou cannot understand things that are too profound for them to understand. From now on, we should focus on simple and easy-to-understand things. You are right. The top priority in Guizhou is to educate the people and educate them.
More people can read and read, and know the basic principles, which will lay the foundation for reform. I was too eager, which would be a bad thing. Those hundreds of scholars who were scared away by me were supposed to be the seeds of spreading enlightenment."
Wang Yuan cupped his hands and said, "Sir, you are a sensible person."
"You must have noticed my omission a long time ago, but you just kept it in your stomach and didn't say it." Wang Yangming shook his head and laughed, "You should be so diplomatic when dealing with certain people. But I can accept dissent, so don't hide it.
Don’t worry. Did you not agree with my theory from the beginning? If you have any doubts, you can tell me directly. It’s just that teachers and students learn from each other.”
Well, after talking for a long time, the last sentence is what Wang Yangming really wanted to say today.
Wang Yuan said: "I think Sir is right, but I am sure there is something wrong. But with my knowledge and knowledge, I can't find out what is wrong yet. Therefore, I keep your knowledge and Zhu Xi's knowledge in mind.
Let’s think about it in our hearts, and maybe one day we can figure it out clearly.”
"This is a feasible method." Wang Yangming was not angry. Many of his later disciples also had various beliefs. Some believed in Zhu Xi, some believed in Lu Jiuyuan, and some even believed in Buddhism and Taoism.
Wang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that Wang Yangming could not tolerate dissident thoughts.
Wang Yangming said: "How about I give you a cousin name?"
Wang Yuan cupped his hands and said: "The elders gave me this gift, but I dare not refuse it."
"You are very upright in your actions and like to use your strength to break the situation. Although you have small wisdom, you lack great wisdom," Wang Yangming said. "Yuan is the backwater of a deep pool, and the word 'Ruoshui' is the most appropriate. But my best friend is
It's called Zhan Ruoshui. Let's avoid it and use the word 'Ruoxu'. If a great success is lacking, its use will not be harmful. If a great gain is strong, its use will be endless."
"Ruoxu" is greater than "Ruoshui", which is what Laozi used to describe the great road!
This shows that Wang Yangming has high expectations for Wang Yuan.