Chapter 205: Wang Shouren’s Enlightenment

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and another small half-month had passed.

During this brief half-month, the Western Hills remained exceptionally busy, actively recruiting Refugees all around. Many people’s enthusiasm seemed even greater than before.

The Capital Gazette had stirred up quite a storm. Because it was personally ordered by the Emperor, the content of Fang Jifan’s lecture was delivered to all officials at lightning speed.

Whenever the Gazette carried unusual content, it was clearly an unusual signal emanating from the Imperial Palace, enough to make countless people ponder the hidden meaning behind the report.

Fang Jifan…

These three characters were clearly beginning to surface prominently. Of course, he was no longer just known as a scoundrel or a wicked young master.

He had a Brain Illness, yet he could expound such profound principles?

Many found this deeply depressing and utterly perplexing.

Meanwhile, during this period, the promotion of Sweet Potato finally began to progress smoothly. Thousands of acres belonging to the Fang Family, combined with the thousands of acres granted upon Fang Jifan’s promotion to the Newly Established Count, along with large tracts of land at the Longquan Taoist Temple and the Western Hills, were now sprouting new seedlings. Everywhere was filled with the vibrant signs of life.

Zhang Xin was incredibly busy, bustling about with great enthusiasm. Every day, he rode his horse back and forth between the Longquan Taoist Temple and the Western Hills.

He grew darker, thinner, and, shockingly, learned some bad habits – he started cursing.

Seeing farmers mishandle the seedlings due to their inexperience in cultivation, he would stomp his feet in frustration and unleash a torrent of angry words. This originally refined Commandery Consort now carried an air of fierceness.

The new seedlings were his lifeline – he had nurtured them himself. He had even written an entire book on cultivation techniques, filled with practical experiences and insights gleaned from planting.

…

The day for official appointments was fast approaching.

The newly promoted Metropolitan Graduates were all rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

Only Wang Shouren felt no joy whatsoever.

He had locked himself in his study once again, where he had stayed for half a month.

Wang Hua entered the study and saw his son sitting blankly, unkempt with a scraggly beard, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the desk. On the desk was another scroll of calligraphy. Yet… this scroll no longer bore the phrase “Unity of Knowledge and Action,” but rather “The Great Way is Simple, Unity of Knowledge and Action.”

Wang Hua sighed and sat down beside his son, looking at him with eyes full of strain. After all, as a Hanlin Academician and the Junior Supervisor of the Household of the Crown Prince, Wang Hua possessed a considerable level of theoretical expertise. He resolved to guide and enlighten this stubborn child!

So, clearing his throat, he began: “Hmm… ‘The Great Way is Simple, Unity of Knowledge and Action.’ These eight characters carry quite a Zen-like flavor. Bo’an, what Taoist texts have you been reading lately?”

Wang Hua smiled, mentally prepared to communicate seriously with his son and pull him out of this abyss.

Teaching the unruly Crown Prince at the Hanlin Academy was practically effortless. How much more manageable should his own son be, even if stubborn? He just needed patience.

Suddenly, a sharp light gleamed in Wang Shouren’s eyes. “Wrong. It’s all wrong!”

“What?” Wang Hua was dumbfounded. Wrong? Was he sick?

Wang Shouren sprang to his feet, shouting, “They were all wrong!”

“……” Wang Hua clenched his teeth, suppressing his worry, forcing his smile. “W-who? Who was wrong?”

“All the Confucian Scholars under heaven! They were all dreadfully, thoroughly wrong!”

“……” Wang Hua’s heart lurched, a sense of foreboding washing over him. “All Confucian Scholars?”

Wang Shouren’s gaze fixed on his father, a look of near-manic elation spreading across his face. He inhaled deeply and began speaking slowly, deliberately. “Xunzi!”

“Xunzi?!” Wang Hua felt as if struck by lightning!

Xunzi was a Sage, the leading Confucian scholar after Confucius and Mencius.

Wang Shouren continued, “Dong Zhongshu!”

“…”

Trembling with excitement, Wang Shouren pressed on joyfully, “Cheng Yi…

“Ch-Cheng Yi… Master Cheng… W-what do you mean?” Wang Hua’s feeling of dread intensified.

Just then, Wang Shouren lifted his head, clasping his hands behind his back. His elation seemed to recede slightly, his gaze deepening. Gradually, confidence seemed to settle upon him. He continued, “Zhu Xi!”

“Zhu Xi?!” Wang Hua’s face went deathly pale.

“Lu Jiuyuan!”

Another one. Every name uttered by Wang Shouren belonged to an ancient Sage or Great Scholar of the past.

A sharpness, like an awl piercing through its bag, filled Wang Shouren’s eyes as he stared intently at his father. “They were all wrong. Dreadfully wrong. The various schools of Confucianism achieved renown and endure to this day by interpreting Confucius and Mencius. But what was the original essence of the teachings of Confucius and Mencius? In truth, no one knows. Over the millennia, countless commentaries and interpretations have transformed a concise text like the Analects into an immeasurably vast and complex body of knowledge. Countless Confucian Scholars pursue it for a lifetime, yet still find no path to grasp the Truth itself.”

Wang Hua clutched his chest, seemingly unsteady on his feet, his lips trembling. “You… you are not my son…!”

Such heresy! This was utter blasphemy!

Criticizing Han Dynasty Confucians might be passable. Criticizing scholars like Lu Jiuyuan could perhaps be justified. But to criticize Cheng-Zhu? The Wang family owed its present standing entirely to studying the Cheng-Zhu School!

Wang Shouren, however, was consumed by fervor, his face unnaturally solemn. “Then where does the true Great Way lie? The Great Way is Simple! Confucius preached benevolence (‘ren’). There is no need for countless Great Scholars to endlessly explicate what constitutes benevolence. Benevolence is benevolence—nothing more. Confucius preached benevolent governance (‘renzheng’). Why must countless people dissect these two words to define it? Benevolence, benevolent governance—these are the knowledge (‘zhi’). Once we know them, we need not endlessly ponder the principles of knowing them! Therefore, Confucius said: ‘A Noble Person is quick in action.’ (‘The Noble Person is quick in deeds.’ – Analects). Once we know, we must act! This is Unity of Knowledge and Action!”

“Nonsense! Utter nonsense!” Wang Hua roared, pale in the face, leaping to his feet without realizing it, stamping in fury. Tears soaked his collar. “You are not my son! How dare you utter such things?! You have lost your mind!”

Wang Shouren stood firm, gazing intently at his father. “It is not nonsense! When Liu Bang entered Guanzhong, he established the Three Basic Laws, stabilizing the region instantly ([Note: Reference to the first common code of law instituted by Liu Bang (Gao Zu), founder of the Han dynasty, upon capturing the Qin heartland]). Just these three laws allowed officials and commoners alike to know clearly what they could and could not do. But after that? How many statutes and laws clutter The World? Consider our Great Ming’s Great Ming Code and “Grand Pronouncements” (Dàgào)! Countless tens of thousands of articles! So immensely complex! And the result? Officials don’t know the law. The people certainly don’t know the law. No one truly knows what is permissible and what is not. In the end, confused officials arbitrarily cite obscure provisions to decide matters of life and death! The ordinary people, utterly ignorant of these labyrinthine laws, become entirely powerless, at the mercy of others!”

“The essence of law lies in Simplicity! It should be plain and clear. Let the judge see at a glance what crime has been committed. Simpler laws mean the people can readily understand whether they have broken them! When all under heaven can understand the laws, then they can question them if they seem unjust! Only through this can we strive for true justice across the land. But if the statutes swell into a vast ocean? Then it leads to a situation where the people don’t know the law, and officials barely grasp the law themselves! Ultimately, these towering mountains of statutes become instruments against the people!”

“The Great Way… the Way (‘Dao’) is the same! The teachings of Confucius and Mencius run consistently through one principle: nothing more than diligence in learning and practicing benevolence! But now… Tell me, Father! After studying books for so many years, do you dare claim you truly understand the Sage’s Great Way?”

“……”

This question left Wang Hua stunned.

He was a Zhuangyuan, the top Imperial Examination Scholar. He was the Junior Supervisor of the Household at the Hanlin Academy. He was, arguably, one of the Great Ming’s few individuals with the highest theoretical mastery of Confucian doctrine.

Yet, faced with his son’s question, he was speechless.

Had his son asked, “How do you interpret the first chapter of the Analects?” He could have discoursed eloquently for ten days or half a month.

Had his son asked, “‘Confucius ascended the Eastern Mountain’”, he naturally could have expounded proudly and at length, using the phrase as a theme for grand dissertation.

But… What is the Sage’s Great Way?…

He fell silent. He had studied too much, too many principles of the Sages. Ten years of arduous study for the exams, another decade compiling scholarly works within the Hanlin Academy… The books he had read, the treatises he had written, could likely fill their entire Wang Family Residence. Yet…

After a long while, he finally spoke: “Master Cheng’s works already clearly articulate the Sage’s Great Way. Why ask me?”

It was sophistry.

Only Master Cheng had the authority to interpret the Sage.

Wang Shouren laughed heartily. “Wrong! Why should the words of Confucius require Master Cheng to interpret them? Confucius spoke of achieving benevolence. Mencius spoke of embracing righteousness. That is all! Do the concepts of benevolence and righteousness themselves need someone else to interpret them?”

“Y-you… You are mad!” Wang Hua wept. Turbid tears, genuinely clear, streamed down his face.

He couldn’t bear his son like this.

The Wang Family should not produce such a person.

Which member of the Wang family children wasn’t moderate, disciplined, and praised by others?

But now, son, how could you be like this?

This was his flesh and blood, his dearest kin! Yet now his son was challenging the principles he had deeply believed in for decades!

A brilliant, almost peculiar light shone fiercely in Wang Shouren’s eyes. “The Analects were originally so simple and clear! Great Scholars of later generations made them impossibly complex! Reading the words of the Sage, people ended up missing the Sage’s meaning! It’s exactly like the Three Basic Laws evolving into today’s Grand Pronouncements and the Great Ming Code. Instead of obsessively dissecting ‘What is Benevolence?’ or ‘What is Benevolent Governance?,’ we should learn from Fang Jifan! Hold in your heart the principles of Heaven-and-Earth, possess a conscience, harbor a yearning for benevolence and righteousness—and then put them into practice! The books preach loving the people every day! They say ‘the people are the foundation.’ Where are the people? Are they in the books? The people are not in books! They are right here, within the walls of the Wang Family Residence, and outside its gates! They are mere steps away from us, father and son! Yet we neither see them clearly, nor do we acknowledge them! We lock ourselves inside libraries, muttering mantras about ‘finding gold houses in books’ and ‘finding beauties in books,’ chasing the people within the pages, learning the supposed art of governance from the texts. Bringing peace and order to The World doesn’t require Pedantic Scholars to teach us! Having the Sage’s intent in your heart, and then bending down to actually do it—that’s what matters! Even if it’s just settling a single Refugee! Even if it enables just one person, one family, one clan to eat their fill, to live and work contentedly! That is benevolence! That is Benevolent Governance! That is the virtue of the Sage!”

Wang Hua was now beside himself, pounding his chest and stamping his feet uncontrollably, his voice becoming hysterical: “Where did you learn this blasphemy?! Where?!”

Wang Shouren paused briefly, then answered: “From my teacher… Fang Jifan.”

“……”

Wang Hua fell utterly silent.

His cries cut off abruptly.

“Teacher… Fang Jifan…”

These five words pierced Wang Hua’s heart like needles.

Then…

Wang Hua… clearly… wept again!