Chapter 13 A New Interpretation of the Analects
Unfolding the bamboo slips, Ying Chengjiao lowered his head, pointed at a sentence on it, and said aloud: "When a man is about to die, his words are good. What do you think of this?"
Chunyu Yue's heart moved, and he suddenly felt that perhaps Ying Chengjiao had other intentions.
I might be executed soon. Ying Chengjiao asked Fusheng to translate this sentence. Was he hinting that I should say whatever I want to say quickly?
The ministers also glanced deeply at Ying Chengjiao.
I was deceived! This guy also knew about the secret communication? What did he want Chunyu Yue to say before he died?
Before Chunyu Yue and his ministers could figure it out.
Fu Sheng, who only studies and does not care about external affairs, has already given his answer.
"When a person is about to die, the words he speaks are bound to be kind."
"You see, this is not right, right? This logic doesn't make sense."
"Why not?"
Fusheng frowned. He suspected that Ying Chengjiao was being unreasonable, but since the matter involved Confucianism, he had to argue his case.
"Mencius said that man is good at birth. When a person is about to die, at the boundary between life and death, he is just like when he first came into this world, so his nature will eventually become good."
"So, you Confucian scholars have read so much that your brains have become stupid. Lord Tingwei, do you agree with what Dr. Fu said?"
Ying Chengjiao called out his name, and Li Si observed Ying Zheng's reaction and found that Ying Zheng did not respond.
Without further hesitation, he immediately said, "I disagree."
If we discuss other Confucian concepts, Li Si might resonate with Fu Sheng. But when it comes to human nature, Li Si would never agree with Mencius' theory of human nature being good!
"Human nature is evil, and those who are good are fake. People are born evil, and those who behave good are all fake. Confucius said to restrain oneself and return to propriety, which means to restrain one's desires and behave in accordance with propriety. If human nature is good, then what is there to restrain? Just indulge yourself."
Li Si's teacher was Xunzi.
Xunzi was a Confucian scholar who was not recognized by mainstream Confucian scholars.
The fundamental reason for this lack of recognition is that Xunzi proposed a theory of human nature being evil, which is completely opposite to the theory of human nature being good proposed by Mencius, the second sage of Confucianism. This is an irreconcilable contradiction between the two.
Of course, Xunzi didn't care about this matter because he didn't really agree with mainstream Confucian scholars.
As a disciple of Xunzi, Li Si learned the true teachings of Xunzi. When it comes to human nature, he always holds the view that human nature is evil.
The person who answered the question became Li Si, and Fusheng was extremely alert.
Just now, Li Si was debating with Chunyu Yue based on traditional Confucianism, and Chunyu Yue was the first to say that there was nothing more to say between them.
Whoever says this first in a debate has already lost.
You know, Li Si was actually a Legalist!
He used traditional Confucianism, which he was not best at, to debate Chunyu Yue, who based his argument on traditional Confucianism.
Fu Sheng saw it with his eyes and heard it with his ears.
This is a tough enemy.
Fu Sheng was preparing his words to refute, but Ying Chengjiao waved his hand.
"You can't finish arguing about theories for three days and three nights. There's no need for that."
Ying Chengjiao didn't want to start a debate. He called Li Si because he was afraid that Fu Sheng would be speechless.
He wanted Li Si to make Fusheng think twice before speaking, so that his goal would be achieved.
Now that Fu Sheng is restrained, he can speak and guide, letting things fall into his rhythm.
"I always speak with facts. Meng Tian, when you attacked the State of Chu and fought against the Chu soldiers, what did the Chu soldiers say before they died?"
Meng Tian also observed Ying Zheng's reaction and found that Ying Zheng did not react, so he stood up helplessly.
He really doesn't want to get involved in these things.
"Qin dog."
Pah pah pah
Ying Chengjiao held the bamboo slips in his left hand and tapped his right hand three times, smiling and saying, "Dr. Fu, did you hear that? The words 'Qin Gou' are not kind words, are they?"
Ying Chengjiao gave examples from both theoretical and factual aspects to refute Fu Sheng's understanding of the sentence "When a man is about to die, his words are good."
But it is impossible to get Fu Sheng to agree with this alone.
Fu Sheng’s knowledge is not false. Let him think for a moment and he will definitely be able to come up with a way to answer.
But will Ying Chengjiao give Fusheng this time?
Of course not!
Do you really think that since Li Si is his retainer, he can always endorse him and refute Fu Sheng?
Why did he choose "When a man is about to die, his words are good" as the first sentence he discussed with Fusheng?
It was to introduce the theory of human nature being good, and thus bring in Li Si, who advocated the theory of human nature being evil.
This involved the most basic concepts that Li Si had learned throughout his life, and Li Si had to endorse him in order for him to obtain the precious right to lead.
The next person was called upon to break the deadlock with facts and guide Fusheng to continue thinking.
Otherwise, once Fu Sheng opened his mouth, he would have no confidence at all in what he could say.
Next, Ying Chengjiao will keep Fusheng thinking!
"So, Fu Sheng's understanding is wrong. The annotations on this passage in the Analects are consistent with Fu Sheng's understanding, which is also wrong. The real meaning of this sentence is: Beat someone to death, and the words you say will sound good!"
"oh?"
Li Xin, Marquis of Longxi, sneered.
"Then how do you explain the words 'Qin dogs' that the Chu army cursed before dying?"
Li Xin is not like Fusheng. He says whatever he thinks.
Use the example that Ying Chengjiao just gave to counterattack Ying Chengjiao.
"Please listen carefully. I said that he was about to die. I mean that he would die if he continued to be beaten. I don't mean that he was really beaten to death!"
Ying Chengjiao looked at Li Xin as if he were a fool, which made Li Xin very uncomfortable.
"You really beat someone to death, but he didn't scold you and even said nice things about you. How despicable is this kind of person!"
Ying Chengjiao put emphasis on the word "despicable" and said it while staring into Li Xin's eyes.
This made Li Xin feel furious!
This guy is just calling me a cheap person!
"you!"
A colleague pulled Li Xin over and stopped him from continuing.
"He's just a brat! Why do you always mess with him?"
Li Xin sat there with a gloomy face and said nothing more.
"Fusheng is silent now. He must be digesting the lessons I taught him. He is really studious!"
Ying Chengjiao shook his head.
Ministers: I really want to beat this guy up! Have you given Fu Sheng time to speak? How can a man be so shameless!
Ying Zheng: I don’t understand. What’s the point of this guy’s distorted interpretation of the Analects?
Fu Sheng: Qin attacked Chu, and the Chu people fought back. Before they died, they said the words "Qin dogs". Although these two words are not elegant, from the perspective of the Chu people, they are angry at the invaders. Their original intention is to defend their homeland, which is also a kind word. Yes, that's it.
Fu Sheng turned the words over in his mind again, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Ying Chengjiao continue, "I will be a good person to the end, and continue to teach you, for free."
Crash~
The bamboo slips were spread out again.
"The Master does not speak of strange things, force, disorder, or spirits. What does this mean?"
Confucius did not talk about weirdness, bravery, rebellion, ghosts and gods.
As soon as Ying Chengjiao said this, the meaning of the sentence suddenly emerged in Fusheng's mind.
"It means: Confucius didn't speak, and used his extraordinary strength to beat people unconscious."
Fu Sheng: ???
Li Si: ???
Meng Tian: ???
Li Xin: ???
Ying Zheng: ???
Ministers: ???
What on earth are you talking about?
As for the previous sentence "When a man is about to die, his words are good", Ying Chengjiao also came up with some arguments and evidence, which seemed to make sense.
This sentence is pure fabrication!
Confucius is a highly respected saint, but you insist on describing him as a crude and tyrannical person who fought violence with violence. Can you really live with your conscience?
What does Ying Chengjiao care about?
His reputation is already so bad, there isn't much room for it to get any worse, so why would he feel guilty about it?
He continued his explanation with great interest.
"A gentleman loves money, but he takes it in a proper way. This sentence means: I like your money, so it is reasonable for me to take it."
"Since you are here, you should be buried here." This sentence means: since you are here, you should be buried here!
"If I know the way to your house in the morning, I can go and beat you to death in the evening."
The officials: We are so blind to believe that this idiot has any deep meaning! He is just ignorant and speaks nonsense!
Only Chunyu Yue remained silent and thought carefully.
This is a sleight of hand. Chang'an Jun is covering up his first sentence to avoid suspicion among the ministers and Your Majesty. What exactly does he want me to say?
"What nonsense!"
Fu Sheng couldn't bear it any longer. This good-tempered Confucian scholar roared, his eyes as big as copper bells!
" You have misinterpreted my Confucian Analects so distortedly. You know this is a matter of great importance that will be passed down through the generations!"
Right here in the court, under the gaze of the First Emperor.
Fu Sheng, a Confucian doctor who only cared about academic studies and not politics, rushed to Ying Chengjiao in two steps and snatched the bamboo slips from Ying Chengjiao's hand.
“No!”
Chunyu Yue shouted anxiously.
Changan Jun was reminding me, how could there be any annotations on the bamboo slips? These are just Changan Jun's improvisations! Don't mess things up!
Chunyu Yue wanted to stop Fu Sheng, but he was lost in thought and was a beat slow to react.
Fu Sheng rushed out so suddenly that Chunyu Yue certainly did not stop him.
When he called out those two words, Fusheng snatched the bamboo slips from Ying Chengjiao's hand.
Fu Sheng looked intently at the bamboo slips.
I saw that to the right of each column of sentences, there were also columns of small notes.
