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Green ants brewing new wine, a small red stove. White snow drifting in front of the eaves, red plum blossoms blooming under the window. A curtain keeps the world away, and the room is filled with music and books.
Qin Mu, wearing a black embroidered uniform, sat around the stove with Sima An, Fu Qingzhu and Gu Yanwu. The air was filled with the aroma of wine and there were a few side dishes beside the stove, which looked simple and casual.
The oldest of the four people sitting there, Sima An, was only about 40 years old, Fu Qingzhu was 40, and Gu Yanwu was 33. On this winter evening, several people sat together casually and chatted.
Fu Qingzhu had profound attainments in philosophy, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, poetry, calligraphy, painting, epigraphy, and textual research, but Qin Mu was more interested in his research on martial arts.
Qin Mu had never seen Fu Qingzhu's martial arts, but he knew that he practiced Taoist Qigong. When he first saw him, he was wearing a Taoist robe, and his demeanor of being detached from the world and content with the natural world was truly unforgettable.
Fu Shan's real name was Fu Dingchen, a name given to him by his parents that was full of feudal political ideals and traditional ethics. Later, he changed his name to Fu Shan, with the courtesy name Qingzhu.
This change is full of the spirit of mountains and forests. He himself has a poem saying: "Since the mountains cannot be leveled, I will add a green peak to you." From this poem, it is not difficult to feel that there is a kind of detached contentment in his thoughts.
Qin Mu asked casually, "Master Fu, at my age, can you still practice Qi?"
Fu Qingzhu, Sima An, and Gu Yanwu all focused their attention on Qin Mu. Qin Mu had always worn a sword, even when he went to court. He had the style of a nobleman from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
"Shuo Yuan. Shan Shuo" records that on the day when the king of Chu, Xiang Chengjun, was first enthroned, he wore emerald jade, a jade belt, a sword, and white shoes, and stood on the flowing water.
This shows that swords and jade were indispensable items in the ceremony of enfeoffment of nobles during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Sword and jade have special meanings.
A gentleman is like jade. Wearing jade is to remind oneself from time to time. Moral cultivation and character should be like jade, warm on the outside and tough on the inside; be lenient to others and strict with oneself; be restrained and not show off.
If jade represents the qualities of a gentleman, then the sword represents the ambition of a gentleman.
In ancient times, all gentlemen wore swords. The sword is a gentleman's weapon, tied to the waist. When in use, it is used. When not in use, it is hidden. By nurturing the sword with the body, it becomes a spirit, which may be mighty, benevolent, upright, clever, simple and unpretentious, or fierce and aggressive. All of them can inspire the ambition of a gentleman!
What the superior likes, the subordinates will like even more.
Qin Mu's love of wearing a sword is not only in line with the style of an ancient gentleman, but is also slowly influencing the entire Qin State. Now in Jinling City, scholars no longer hold a folding fan in their hands, waving it around to show off their elegance. Many people have already abandoned their folding fans and worn swords around their waists.
Sima An and others could ignore these behaviors, but Qin Mu's sudden question about the art of Qi training made Sima An alert. He must not become like Emperor Jiajing, who was obsessed with Taoism and ignored state affairs.
Sima An immediately advised: "As the ruler of a country, the King of Qin should focus on military and political affairs. This matter of practicing Qi and finding the elixir is not something a wise ruler should ask about..."
"Huh?" Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Mr. Sima, you're overthinking. I'm asking about the Qi training technique, not to become an immortal, but just to keep fit."
Sima An looked into his eyes without hesitation to confirm the credibility of his words.
Qin Mu was too lazy to explain, so he simply changed the subject and said, "Before the Song Dynasty, no matter how weak China was, it had never been completely conquered by foreign races. After the Song Dynasty, the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, and now the Qing dynasty, were all aggressive, leaving China with almost no power to fight back. Do you think this was accidental or inevitable, or is there something wrong with our political system that has repeatedly put us in danger of extinction?"
Qin Mu's change of topic was a bit abrupt, but everyone was used to his wild ideas.
Liu Rushi was standing by the door of the hall as a maid. She was free of all makeup and looked beautiful as if she had returned to her true self. Her exquisite figure was as slender as that of a young girl, yet exuded a mature charm.
After hearing Qin Mu's question, she couldn't help but glance at Qin Mu secretly and listened carefully.
Sima An thought for a while and said, "In my opinion, it is better to say that China was defeated by its own culture than by foreign races. Before the Song Dynasty, powerful nations like the Xiongnu and the Turks had no concept of a country. Since the Liao Dynasty occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, they have absorbed a lot of our Han culture and have a concept of a country. They are no longer like the original nomadic tribes, rising and falling suddenly. In addition, they were born in a bitter and cold place and still retain the bravery of the nomadic people. Therefore, they have the strength to destroy our Han country."
Qin Mu said calmly: "This means that the nomadic peoples are constantly making progress, while the Han people are stagnant and have lost the advancement of their culture, so we are repeatedly facing the danger of losing the world."
Fu Qingzhu disagreed with this. He argued: "The King of Qin is exaggerating. What the foreign races can learn is just some superficial knowledge of our Han culture. It is a bit exaggerated to say that we have lost our cultural advancement."
Qin Mu raised his cup and took a sip before saying, "In my opinion, whether they have learned the essence of our Han culture and discarded the petty and mean things in our culture, or just learned the superficial things as Mr. Fu said, one thing is unquestionable, they have been making progress, and they are making rapid progress, while our Han people are stagnant.
Compared with the Tang and Song dynasties, how much has the Ming Dynasty changed in terms of academics, technology, and the most basic people's lives? Don't tell me that our artillery is better than that of the Tang and Song dynasties. The Ming Dynasty's bird guns were copied from the Japanese, and the Portuguese cannons and red cannons were learned from the foreigners.
On the cultural level, the grandeur of the Han and Tang dynasties is gone, and what remains is the smelly foot bindings of women. From the aesthetic tastes of the literati and scholars, we can see how distorted our thoughts have become. Do you think this is progress? "
Qin Mu's words shocked the three people present. Although they were not corrupt scholars, Qin Mu's words seemed to compare Confucian culture to women's foot binding, which shocked them greatly.
Qin Mu continued, "Nowadays, not only the nomadic peoples in the north are making progress, but the whole world is making progress. What about us? Today, Confucianism and Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism have reached a point where they cannot be challenged. Anyone who says something bad about them is considered a heretic.
No matter what kind of doctrine it is, once it is placed on the altar, it loses the possibility of progress. Confucianism is becoming more and more closed, more and more arrogant, and it does not allow for challenge. It is the only one that is respected. This is actually a waste of Confucianism.
The sea embraces all rivers and is vast because of its tolerance. If Confucianism cannot absorb other doctrines, constantly improve itself and surpass itself, it will sooner or later be surpassed by others and abandoned.
Confucianism gradually became closed, which led to the overall rigidity of the Han people's thinking. Therefore, after the Han and Tang Dynasties, we made less and less progress, and even our living space was greatly threatened.
As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is like traveling ten thousand miles. Look at the scholars nowadays, they just spend their days enjoying the beauty of the Qinhuai River, composing two poems without any reason, and then they are very proud of themselves. How many scholars really travel ten thousand miles
Open your eyes and see that the barbarians from thousands of miles away have come to our doorstep. How many of us Han people have ever left the country? How many of us know what the world outside of China is like
During the Qin and Qiu Dynasties, Sun Tzu left behind the famous saying: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles." But now, we Han people are arrogant and self-centered behind closed doors. If we continue like this, China will perish tomorrow if it doesn't perish today.
Think about it, everyone. Do you know the fundamental reason why China faced the fall of the whole country again and again after the Han and Tang Dynasties? Master Fu and Master Gu are both academic elites. This king hopes that you can take this responsibility and guide the Chinese people to look at the world and stop always focusing on women's feet. "
It was originally a peaceful conversation. Sima An and the other two never expected that Qin Mu would say such words in the end. The shock to them could only be described as earth-shattering.
Before, everyone blamed China's fall on natural disasters, incompetent rulers, incompetent ministers, land annexation, corrupt bureaucracy, and cruel exploitation by the gentry.
No one has ever blamed the fall of the world on the conservatism, closed-mindedness and rigidity of Confucianism.
Qin Mu's words shocked them so much that the three of them remained silent for a long time.
Liu Rushi subconsciously looked down at her feet. She had a pair of three-inch golden lotus feet, and she walked as softly as a willow in the wind. She used to be quite proud of this.
However, Qin Mu's words just now suddenly defined women's bound feet as a product of the distorted aesthetic tastes of literati and scholars.
She had read thousands of books and had her own ability to discern. She felt that Qin Mu's words made a lot of sense. No matter what, she made up her mind not to bind her feet again.
When he raised his head, he saw Sima An, Fu Qingzhu and Gu Yanwu standing up and bowing to Qin Mu respectfully.
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ps: These days are too quiet, I feel uncomfortable. In addition, my mother has a headache and fever these two days, I have to take her to drip and serve her medicine every day. As a result, I dare not write about the war scenes that are supposed to come, and I always feel that there is a lack of passion.
Ask my brothers for some monthly tickets to encourage and boost morale.
Hao Yuan bows his head and kowtows again!
.(To be continued..)
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