Chapter 275: Hundreds of Debates In the early morning, as the first ray of sunlight shone on the square in front of the Jixia Academy, wise men from various schools of thought in the world looked up and looked at the figure on the podium. Lu Zhi straightened his clothes solemnly, looked at the rising sun in the distance, and said in a clear voice, "Gentlemen, today all the wise men and women from all schools of thought have gathered at the Jixia Academy. This is indeed a grand event." "The learning of hundreds of schools of thought, each with its own uniqueness, is like a hundred flowers competing for beauty, filling the world with fragrance. Today, the world is in chaos, but chaotic times are also like a melting pot. The hundreds of schools of thought have risen again, each presenting their wisdom, hoping to benefit the people and find a way to govern the chaotic world." "This is the flourishing of thought and the splendor of culture. It is truly a blessing for China." “The hundreds of schools of thought have their own merits and there is no distinction between superior and inferior. However, the more you debate, the clearer the truth becomes, just like the collision of metal and stone, which can produce dazzling sparks.” "Today's debate is not about winning or losing, but about seeking truth. I hope you will speak freely, express your own opinions, and convince others with reason. Perhaps you can find a way to seek eternal peace and leave precious wealth for our time and for future generations." "I declare that the Hundred Schools of Thought Debate has officially begun!" With the end of Lu Zhi's opening remarks, the debate among hundreds of schools of thought that had captured the hearts of countless scholars across the world finally began. Lu Zhi divided the debate into verbal debate, behavioral debate and momentum debate, and nine senior scholars who were respected by scholars all over the world and had upright conduct, including Lu Zhi, Cai Yong and Sima Hui, scored the debate, and the final assessment was made based on the comprehensive results. The so-called verbal debate has always been the most common debate among the Hundred Schools of Thought.
Each school expressed its own views in turn and then debated with each other. Over the past few years, after countless debates, the various schools of thought have integrated and improved their respective theories. After all, it has been hundreds of years since Emperor Wu abolished hundreds of schools of thought, and many traditions have been broken or even eliminated. Even those that still exist have been interpreted by the inheritors based on their own thinking due to changes in the times. The heritage of the past has become difficult to find, and the various schools of thought also need internal integration. Under such tremendous pressure from the competition among hundreds of schools of thought, the hundreds of schools of thought were constantly improving their own ideas while integrating. The kind of wild growth that occurred during the Warring States Period was no longer possible. After all, there were many small countries at that time, the national system was not sound, and all the princes were crossing the river by feeling the stones. Now, there are several relatively clear paths and relatively reasonable assessment standards. It is difficult to survive if you try to fool people with theories that are full of loopholes and bizarre. Among the ancient Hundred Schools of Thought, there were 189 schools of thought that could be named in the "Book of Han·Yiwenzhi", but today, the Hundred Schools of Thought only add up to only 86, which is more than half less. However, since these theories have survived to this day, their value is relatively high. Today, there are at least sixty schools that can rank among the best in the Jixia Academy. The theories of these schools have become self-contained and have no obvious flaws, and the debates between them are extremely interesting. Zheng Xuan was the first Confucian elder and the master of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty. He had a thin figure, wore a simple and neat robe, a tall crown on his head, and his every move showed his elegance. Just by standing there, his aura of a great scholar made countless scholars admire him. "We Confucians believe that the key to good governance is benevolent government. We should educate the people with benevolence, lighten taxes and levies, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment." "If we promote the teaching of schools and teach them the principles of filial piety and brotherhood, then the elderly will have a place to live, the strong will have a place to work, the young will have a place to grow, and the widowed, the orphaned, the lonely, the disabled and the sick will all be taken care of. This is the Confucian way to govern the world..." He tells the essence of Confucianism in a leisurely manner, citing classics and making every word count. Tian Ze, who was disguised as an ordinary scholar and listening in secret, couldn't help but nod secretly. The Confucianism of this era was not the Confucianism that was later tampered with and castrated. Over the past few hundred years, it has absorbed the essence of hundreds of schools of thought and is absolutely the undisputed way to govern the world.
Many of Zheng Xuan's words coincided with Tian Ze's ideas, and he even cited many examples of Tian Ze's rule in the process of narration. He summarized and improved many of Tian Ze's methods of governing the world and added them to Confucianism. These were things that Tian Ze himself had not expected. Because he only knew the results but not the reasons, he only wanted the results. Many of his methods were just copied from later generations to improve and perfect them, but he did not know the core meaning. Jia Xu and others were able to sense the hidden meaning, but they were busy dealing with government affairs and had no time to sort these out. Only this group of scholars who are devoted to reading the books of sages and studying theories have such energy and ability. Their summary, although seemingly just the words of scholars, is crucial to governing the country. Tian Ze has always attached equal importance to Taoism and magic, but as the number of people under his rule increases and management becomes increasingly difficult, it is no longer sustainable to continue to patch things up as before. He must rely on Taoism to sort out the magic and improve it from a holistic perspective. "Zi Bu, be sure to remember and keep these words. They will be of great use in the future!" Tian Ze said to Zhang Zhao. "Don't worry, my lord. I'll take care of it." Zhang Zhao said with a gleam in his eyes. How could he not see the great significance of these academic disciplines? A little organization and extension of them would lead to the general strategy for governing the country. Not only him, but also the civil officials and scholars under the command of other princes, all had people taking special notes at this time. Especially when the other hundreds of schools of thought took turns attacking the Confucian theoretical system and looking for flaws, and Zheng Xuan refuted them one by one, his subtlety made everyone present admire him. The more Tian Ze listened, the more he felt that many of the ideas were almost identical to his own. Many of them were even his visions of the future and experiences from later generations, which surprised him greatly. It seems that these people from hundreds of schools of thought should not be underestimated. I just opened a window, but they have already started looking at the scenery outside the window. Confucianism is indeed a good solution for governing the world, and it is almost impossible to find any flaws in it, but it is still somewhat weak in pacifying troubled times. Although Zheng Xuan repeatedly refuted the criticisms led by the Legalists, he eventually exposed some shortcomings. After all, although Zheng Xuan was a great scholar, there were few people present who were more famous than him, but there were many who could match him in theoretical quality. Especially since Confucianism flourished for too long, many of the other schools of thought wanted to replace it when it was in decline and dormancy, and they studied its shortcomings too thoroughly. After Confucianism stated its views, the other schools of thought came to the fore according to their previous rankings. This time is different from the past. With such a huge temptation of fame and fortune, the various schools of thought no longer hide anything. They all turned out their most valuable things, almost without reservation. Tian Ze was shocked by all the new theories and sophisticated systems. Moreover, all the schools of thought almost unanimously cited many examples from Tian Ze's rule, and sorted out and improved Tian Ze's way of governing the country from different angles. Many of the theories were refreshing to Tian Ze, and he had new ideas for the next reform, so he kept writing. After all, there is a time limit for debates, and those who expounded on academic ideas and refuted the arguments all spoke of practical matters, which was a great inspiration to Tian Ze. Many theories even made reasonable improvements and perfections to the governance under Tian Ze's rule, which made Chen Gong and others' eyes sparkle with amazement. Almost all of Tian Ze's important ministers have now been brought here, and each of them is concentrating on their homework like a primary school student. (End of this chapter)