The Master of the Emperor Yu Shenxing - (6) Yu Shenxing's Literary Writings (Click on the link to learn about the previous chapter)
In the Ming Dynasty, Yu Shenxing, a famous minister of the Ming Dynasty, was born in the 24th year of Jiajing (1545) and died in the 35th year of the Wanli Calendar (1607), a dong'a person (now part of Dong'a Town, Pingyin County, Shandong Province). Yu Shenxing was a scholar, poet, and politician of the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
Yu Shenxing's erudition and knowledge in the fields of literature, historiography, and canon etiquette have made him a "literature for a timely crown", a person with profound historical attainments, and a "clear study of the canon system, and many judgments of the great gifts", and is also a rare teacher of three generations of emperors in history. Feng Qi, who was praised by Wang Shizhen as one of the "Four Fengs of Linqu", could not help but write in the inscription of Shenxing's important work "Gushan Pen Dust": "Yu listens to his words, if he is shocked by the river Han, he will know his knowledge, just like Zhi Taidai and look at Wumen." Yu Shenxing's "Guchengshanguan Poetry Collection", "Guchengshanguan Anthology", "Reading History", "Gushan Pen Dust" and other works represent his important achievements in various fields.
Although Yu Shenxing was a relatively early scholar, but for various reasons home for many years, it can be said that Yu Shenxing spent most of his life on the land of Qilu, his ideological theory and treatment of the world reflect the strong characteristics of Qilu traditional culture, it can even be said that Yu Shenxing is a specimen of Qilu traditional culture, Yu Shenxing's cultural personality is formed under the influence of Qilu traditional culture dominated by Confucian culture. He "revered benevolence", "Shangde", and "Shou Zhi", showing a sincere and simple ethics and feelings; he was a knowledgeable university scholar, a standard feudal official who strictly adhered to etiquette and decency; he was concerned about the imperial court, "aspiring to the Tao", and had a strong sense of responsibility, for which he endured the tragedy of fate...
"Shangren", "Chongde", "Shouzhi"
Yu Shenxing's cultural personality was largely influenced by traditional Confucian culture. Confucius said: "Aspiration to the Tao, according to virtue, according to benevolence, swimming in art." This sentence roughly summarizes Confucius's ideological system, and "Tao", "benevolence", and "morality" have also become important concepts in Confucian traditional culture. These characteristics are very clearly reflected in the words and deeds of prudent behavior.
"Ren" is an important concept in Confucian thought, and this idea has since been internalized as an important part of the psychological structure of Qilu culture and even the entire Chinese culture. Confucius spoke of "benevolence loves others", giving "benevolence" a strong moral attribute and developing it into an ethical doctrine of adult-to-human relations. It can be said that the concept of "benevolence" and the endowment of connotation are an innovation of Confucius, embodying the original humanism and also embodying a moral requirement. Yu Shenxing is "Shangren".
Yu Shenxing's "Shang ren" is expressed as tolerance and benevolence to people. Yu Shen was a strict official and a man of integrity, and he criticized and impeached Zhang Juzheng's flying and arrogant behavior and the "seizure of affection" by "disrespecting etiquette", which made his relationship with Zhang Juzheng tense. And Yu Shenxing's "benevolence" lies in the fact that he can be right about things and not people, strictly abide by the rules and regulations, but be tolerant and benevolent to people: after Zhang Juzheng's illness and death, Yushi Lizhi and others impeached Zhang Juzheng and his henchmen, and Emperor Shenzong issued an edict to deprive Zhang Juzheng of his titles as pillar states and taishi, and then took away his title, and the end was extremely tragic. At this time, Yu Shenxing did not consider the previous suspicions, and together with Shen Shixing and other colleagues, he neglected to give advice. Later, Emperor Shenzong ordered him to keep a mansion and Tian Shi to support his parents. After this incident, the prudent action of benevolence made Ju Chao look at him with astonishment.
What is even more valuable is that he opposes the formalism of "benevolence" and sells fame and reputation, pays attention to practical actions, and truly bases himself on the principle of "loving others", which truly embodies the essence of "benevolence": people-oriented and humanitarian. According to the "Gushan Pen Dust", in response to the increasing number of poor people and beggars begging along the streets, candles and flag poles were adopted by two monasteries, and the gongqing doctor also had many "carrying money to accompany themselves" and "cars and horses passed by, scattered to give them (beggars - quoted note)", and the attitude of ordinary people to this was "rumored to be beautiful talk". However, Yu Shenxing was dismissive of such an "act of benevolence": regarding the practice of adopting the poor at the Candle Temple and the Hatagan Temple, he analyzed: "The poor people raised are less than two in ten thousand, and the call for frost is full of heavenly streets, as for the unheard of, what is the establishment of the second temple?" The implication is that for so many poor people, this practice is either a drop in the bucket or an "image project" of the imperial court. He despised the officials who regarded small favors as "benevolent righteousness": "And those who beg for a sum of money for personal favors, the women of Ruoli Lane are the ones who do it." However, Yu Shenxing did not give up his thinking and concern for the fate of the poor people: "As a secretary of state, Haiyu Yifu, Xian Lingsuo, under the Que Pavilion, exile and shouting, who caused it?" On this question, Yu Shenxing concluded that "(Gong Qing - Quoted Note) Hui and do not know the government also"! Is the displacement and impoverishment of the people not the result of the unfavorable government of officials? It can be seen from this that Yu Shenxing's talk of "benevolence" is not only limited to paper and oral Taoism, nor is it only a mysterious and mysterious truth, and his attempt to translate the ideal of "benevolence" into reality was quite rare at that time, and compared with the politician's Shi Xiaohui to gain fame and the pale lamentations of weak intellectuals, this vision and thinking were more far-sighted and far-sighted by politicians, and closer to the essence of humanitarianism.
"Chongde" is also an important feature of Confucian traditional culture. Lu Zhikong, Meng, and Mr. Qi Zhiji almost all yearn for the social ideal of "rule by virtue". "Reverence" is to believe in the goodness of people, and constantly use morality to restrain and restrict people's behavior. "Reverence for virtue" first requires individuals to strengthen self-cultivation and self-discipline and cultivate good virtues; in the national sense, "reverence for virtue" requires those in power to govern the country with moral norms, so that the entire country attaches importance to morality and respects morality and discipline. This is a good wish, and this kind of thinking has a far-reaching impact on the land of Qilu.
Yu Shenxing especially admired "morality". In the volume "Courtesans" of Taniyama Pen Dust, he highlights "virtue". He first said: "Gu Haojie uses things, seeks his talents, and can be reached, for courage and hope can not be strong." What is "hope"? He said: "There are three hopes for people: there is moral hope, there is talent hope, and there is clear hope. Yu Shenxing placed "morality" at the forefront of several important qualities of the minister, which shows his importance of "morality". He also gave the example of Ge Duansu, the imperial master, to reinforce the explanation: Ge Gong never ignored Ji Gong for life, when his wife "begged For a Ji Fengzhi", "Gong Gu refused", when he saw "Ji Zhi Serving Inside", "Gong Shu came out of his clothes and did not go back"; he went to the forbidden drama, and when his friends married relatives and sang dramas, he also had to "swing the prostitute to play"... Ge Duansu's "Chongde" now seems dull and cute, but in the eyes of Shen Xing, he is extremely sincere and serious, and he has to set him as a model in his own book. Yu Shenxing's admiration for "morality" can be seen, and at the same time, we can also see that he also has an inevitable feudal and conservative side on the issue of "morality.".
"Shouzhi" is also part of Qilu's traditional culture. From Kong Rong, who was killed by Cao Cao for his outspoken advice, to the heroes of the Water Margin in literary and artistic works, to Shi Kefa, the minister of bone fish who preferred to die unyieldingly, "straight" has always been considered an important part of Qilu's traditional culture, and even today's Shandong people are still stained with the light of their ancestors and are famous for their straightforward personality.
Yu Shenxing is also a straight son. To the emperor, he repeatedly and three times asked for "building the Eastern Palace as soon as possible, and going out of the cabinet to read", even if he annoyed the Son of Heaven, he still seriously believed that the problem of the rise and fall of the Jiangshan Society was his own responsibility, even if "the emperor was angry, and then sternly rebuked", he still "had no worries about the chapter, more than ten on the top". Such a straight character also eventually caused the tragedy that Yu Shenxing, although weak and crowned the dynasty, had to succumb to the countryside in the good old age. To the hot power minister Zhang Juzheng, Yu Shenxing was equally upright. Yushi Liutai impeached Zhang Juzheng and went to prison, and his colleagues were intimidated by Zhang Juzheng's obscenity, feared and avoided suspicion, and "cautiously acted alone and looked at him"; when Zhang Juzheng used the excuse of "seizing affection" and refused to give up power, Yu Shenxing was so upright and so unsophisticated, so bad and smooth, and so "bumping into the southern wall and not turning back" character, which can be described as a model of "keeping straight" by "keeping straight" in his personality.
Of course, Yu Shenxing is not ignorant of the officialdom, not unaware of the importance of the sleek world for the official, in the book "Gushan Pen Dust", he once used the screen and the wheel as a metaphor to argue the necessity of sleekness in the world: "The zhang of the screen is also straight, it is not standing, it will also be curved; the rotation of the wheel is also not feasible, it will also be kneaded and rounded." The same is true of the world. Although he knew in his heart that only sleekness could be left and right, Yu Shen was still unwilling to deviate from his integrity and unwilling to give up his upright disposition, he wrote: "Although, the screen must have a width, and the wheel must have an axis." Although the screen wants to bend, it must not be uneven, and although the wheel wants to be round, it must not be wrong. The same is true of gentlemen. It can be seen that Yu Shenxing is very aware of the situation in the official field and has thought deeply, but in this inevitable contradiction, he resolutely and resolutely chose to stick to the straight road, which made him repeatedly hit the wall and broke his head, and also caused him to have great talent and great virtue but could not be reused for a long time. A few years later, his arrogance of "straight" knowing that it could not be done, and abandoning "smoothness" knowing that it was beneficial is still awe-inspiring.
Erudite and knowledgeable, we abide by etiquette
Yu Shenxing's idea of "obeying etiquette" was very strong, and it was precisely because of his proficiency in "etiquette" that he became a pillar of the feudal imperial court. If Yu Shenxing, who at that time enjoyed a high prestige as a courtier of the pavilion, still has the value of being remembered and studied today, his erudition of traditional Chinese rituals and the pious rigor of the implementation of rituals can be said to be very important factors.
"Ritual" is a core concept of traditional Chinese culture. The "Zuo Chuan" said: "Zhou Li is all in LuYi" ("Zuo Chuan, Zhao Gong 2nd Year"), the land of Qilu is called "the state of etiquette" in later generations, and there is also a master of etiquette in the land of Qilu: Shusun Tong, Gongsun Hong, Zheng Xuan... According to historians, the reason why the Zhou Dynasty was enfeoffed with the Zhou Dynasty was that the State of Lu could uphold the Zhou Rites in order to influence and educate the original Yin Shang Land, and this historical background determined the relationship between lu di and the Li culture, and the Lu State also became the most complete preserved country of the Zhou Dynasty Li Le, and the princes to Lu, "so guan li" ("Zuo Chuan Xiang Gong Ten Years"). Although later generations of Zhou Li and Lu Li experienced "ritual collapse and happiness", the ideas of reverence, Ming li, and "obedience to etiquette" ("Zuo Chuan, Thirty-three Years of Gong Gong") took root in the land of Qilu and were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Yu Shenxing is a liturgical scholar who grows up in such soil.
Yu Shenxing extensively collected the canonical etiquette of various dynasties and generations, studied in depth, compared the advantages and disadvantages, and finally became a knowledgeable master in the field of etiquette, forming a complete set of canonical etiquette ideas and knowledge systems, so he enjoyed a lofty prestige at that time, and became an unshakable authority in etiquette, so that the official to the ceremonial department Shangshu, "the great gifts are many rulings", and the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu "obeys his knowledge of etiquette". His system of etiquette involved temples, official titles, titles, titles, ceremonial music, harems, dowries, deliberations, election of officials, horses, official uniforms, rewards, titles, and so on. In feudal society, "etiquette" is an important guarantee for maintaining order, successive generations of feudal rulers have attached great importance to the role of etiquette, the respect and respect for etiquette is an important phenomenon in feudal society, many people even use etiquette to be polite, and to be proficient in etiquette and become a cabinet minister. In a sense, the erudite feudal scholars and doctors such as Yu Shenxing are also an important carrier and medium for the inheritance and continuation of many contents in traditional Chinese culture, and it is from this perspective that it is still necessary to do research on them.
Yu Shenxing reverently observed the etiquette of the imperial court, rigorously studied and adhered to various ritual systems, and he was the most loyal guardian and defender of the ceremony. He was meticulous in his treatment of etiquette: "The state canonical system is in charge of the past, and the people who keep it are unwilling to take deep examinations and references, and there are many mistakes." In response to these fallacies, he did a lot of research, and finally found out the reason for the error, which was the end. He was very strict about the number of ceremonies, and when talking about the order of the pilgrimage that was practiced in the dynasty, he said: "This is the way to accommodate, and it is not a proper etiquette. When he saw that the number of ceremonies he guarded was disturbed by other factors, he was full of sorrow and regret: "If the minister does not love the official, that is, self-respect is not resisted, and the Taiwan counsel is not afraid of the strong, that is, the etiquette is not afraid of praise." Why not? He faithfully guarded the etiquette of the imperial court and did not allow anyone to destroy it, when the courtier Zhang Juzheng wanted to use the excuse of "seizing affection" to seize power and not go home to guard his father's funeral, Yu Shenxing also had to "accompany the official tools to neglect advice"; even if the emperor's family sacrifice was improper, he had to stand up and say "indecent"! It is precisely because of such a defense of etiquette that he will show real pity and deep disappointment when there are violations of etiquette in society, and he criticizes "the customs of this world are very bad, and people's hearts are not ancient", and he helplessly lamented: "People's hearts are the way of the world, this is enough to see." Yu Shenxing's complex of ritual numbers is quite similar to Confucius's lamentation of the Spring and Autumn Period of the Collapse of Rituals: "Is it tolerable, but what is intolerable?" I believe that this lament and cry is not a sick groan or bluff, but a heart-wrenching disappointment and anguish issued by a defender of etiquette in the face of a harsh reality. Strictly following the scope stipulated and allowed by the number of etiquette to see problems and do things, but also let Yu Shenxing and other feudal bureaucrats appear conservative and rigid, will not be flexible, and often stand against it when the reform comes, which is a limitation. However, these acts of being able to use etiquette as the standard to criticize and restrict violations of law and discipline are undoubtedly of positive significance.
With the vision and thinking of scholars, Yu Shenxing studied and examined the etiquette of the canon as a science, and examined the development and evolution of the canonical etiquette of various dynasties, excavated and sorted out a series of canonical systems, and also compared between various canonical systems, this in-depth study of the canonical etiquette greatly deepened the understanding of the canonical etiquette at that time. It can be said that this is an important contribution of Yu Shenxing as a scholar of etiquette. In his "Gushan Pen Dust", many chapters on the ritual system will mention the "Han system", "Tang system", "Song system", etc., and compare with the current dynasty system to find out the advantages and disadvantages. He had the idea of respecting the ancients, and paid attention to absorbing the advantages of the ancient etiquette system: when talking about harem concubines and "ministers of kinship", he thought that "the goodness of the ancestral ritual law is a cloud"; when talking about the system of edicts, calligraphy and painting, he thought that "the system of the Song Dynasty is perfect"; when talking about the etiquette of the Zhishi Dynasty, he thought that the Tang Dynasty system was "very elegant". While honoring him as an official of the imperial court, he also examined the various generational systems with the eyes of a scholar, and examined the "many errors" of the state canonical system, and it was precisely this scholar's vision that made Yu Shenxing stand out from other feudal bureaucrats. While examining and learning from many sources, he made outstanding contributions to the perfection of the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty, which even he himself was very proud of. Regarding the Ming Dynasty temple system, he declared that "it is better than the Tang system." Referring to the system of feudal titles, he said: "This Tang and Song dynasties are not as good as it is." Speaking of gifts to parents, he said, "The code of filial piety is a great preparation. ”
Yu Shenxing's influence on etiquette is so great that he attaches importance to "etiquette" and "etiquette", but also that he attaches importance to "etiquette". In the traditional culture of Qilu, the "etiquette" includes both the forms and external things of etiquette and etiquette, and more importantly, the connotation of "etiquette"; etiquette and etiquette are specific etiquette and practices, and etiquette is the deeper meaning, etiquette and etiquette are subordinate to etiquette, but in the process of the development of etiquette, there is a phenomenon of "etiquette exists in its ritual and loses its righteousness", and the "righteousness" of ritual music is lost and the "ritual" is becoming more and more complicated. This also happens to fulfill the kind of concern in the Book of Rites and Fortunes: "For the sake of etiquette is not based on righteousness, but for the sake of cultivation and the cultivation of the people." However, in the increasingly pursuit of cumbersome etiquette in the social environment, Yu Shenxing showed a different kind of enlightenment, not paying much attention to some insignificant etiquette, but obsessing over the "righteousness" of the ceremony that is gradually being forgotten by people: In the system of the temple number, there is a phenomenon of respecting the number of words, and even "the number of temples in this dynasty is as many as sixteen characters". It can be seen that he does not necessarily care about "Mi Wen's complicated name", but he must demand "respect to the extreme", which also reflects the "righteousness" side of prudent and heavy etiquette.
Heart to the imperial court "aspire to the Tao"
The spirit of self-appointment with the Tao is very strong in the thinking of the ancient Chinese traditional scholars, Confucius said "aspiration to the Tao", he compared the "Tao" to the door to an ideal life, he believed that the pursuit of the realization of the "Tao" is not only higher than the value of survival: "Gentlemen seek the Tao without food" "Analects, Wei Linggong"), and even higher than the value of life: "Morning and Hearing the Tao, Death can be done at night" (Analects of Liren). Later Mencius also shouted: "A poor man does not lose his righteousness, and a soldier does not lose his way", "There is a way under the heavens, martyred by the way; there is no way under the world, martyred with the body". (Mencius, Dedication to the Heart) The controversy of the hundred schools of the Qi state's gentlemen embodies the character of the soldiers who "do not argue about the importance of respecting the lowly and the rich, but contending for the Tao" ("Warring States Policy , Qi Ce"). Later, this pursuit of the "Tao" became to a large extent the pursuit of idealism and ethics by the scholars, and was often combined with loyalty and patriotism, becoming their unswerving belief in loyalty, and even "knowing that they could not do it", and even "killing themselves to become benevolent". In the process of the soldiers' successive defense and martyrdom, "Tao" has also transcended the original narrow connotation and become a synonym for spirit and faith.
Yu Shenxing was a traditional scholar, and he was also "determined to be in the Tao", focusing on the rise and fall of the Jiangshan Sheji, and taking it as his responsibility to be responsible for the imperial court. When he was not understood by the court and his colleagues, he "tasted himself and sighed: 'Where is this blood spilled?' But after complaining, he still said without hesitation: "If I do my best, why should I not sprinkle it?" "A piece of sincere loyalty to the national court is also the sincere protection of the "Tao" by the scholars. In ancient times, there were two kinds of people in the bureaucracy, one was an intellectual, and the other was a politician. The biggest difference between intellectuals and politicians is that intellectuals are "determined to be in the Tao", while politicians are interested in officials and power. There is no doubt that Yu Shenxing belongs to the latter. The intellectuals of ancient China regarded the "Tao" as something more important than life, and tried their best to protect it, in fact, they were waiting for an ideal, defending a dignity, and shouldering a responsibility, which is also the value of intellectuals and the most admirable place. However, precisely because of the intellectuals' absolute belief and loyal defense of the "Tao", they often violated the power, and because of the intellectuals' insistence on faith and intransigence, there were tragedies in history: Kong Rong was killed by Cao Cao for his blunt words, and Ji Kang was jealous and fierce, and he was also killed; Yu Shenxing also aspired to the "Tao", and because of his pursuit and defense of the "Tao", he was always hit, which made his career bumpy, resulting in the tragedy that although he was loyal to the imperial court, he was abandoned by the imperial court for a long time.
In Yu Shenxing's view, the responsibility for the imperial court is the adherence to the "Tao". In the matter of Li Chu, Yu Shenxing's performance is an excellent embodiment of "ambition in the Tao". Emperor Shenzong was the eldest son of Emperor Changluo in the 10th year of the Wanli Calendar, and there were successive princes such as Chang Xun, Chang Zhi, Chang Hao, and Chang Run, and by the 18th year of the Wanli Calendar, there was still no crown prince, and there was a lot of discussion inside and outside the government and the public, and Emperor Shenzong was deeply disgusted with it. The "History of Ming" records: "In the first month of the eighteenth year, please build the Eastern Palace as early as possible, and go out of the cabinet to talk about reading. And winter, and please. The emperor was angry, and then he rebuked him severely. Cautiously, he did not deter, and tomorrow he repeated: "The ministers are in charge, the ministers do not speak, the sins are returned, fortunately, the plan is decided quickly, and they are returned to the fields." 'The emperor was displeased, and he rebuked the king for being suspicious and confusing the country, but all his subordinates were robbed. In this way, Yu Shen acted to insist on this responsibility, desperately advised each other, and finally ended up with a slash of the official. If Yu Shenxing's neglect of the construction of the Eastern Palace during his reign was still within his duties, then his return to the field is still concerned about state affairs, which is even more indicative of his devotion to this responsibility and the adherence to the "Tao". In the 29th year of the Wanli Calendar, Emperor Shenzong made Emperor Changluo the crown prince, and Emperor Guangzong, who heard the news and gave him "Gongwen Donggong Li Chengzhixi", expressing his heartfelt happiness and satisfaction. This can't help but remind people of Du Fu's famous article "Wen Guanjun Collects Henan and Hebei", the same from the heart, the same "aspiration to the Tao". And the "Tao" that Yu Shenxing defended at such a huge price had long since gone beyond the scope of the Li Chu incident and had become a kind of faith and a responsibility.
Please pay attention to the next chapter: The Master of the Emperor Yu Shenxing - (8) A Review of Yu Shenxing's Talent Management Thought
(Photo and text arrangement: Yu Ruiguo, thank you for the original author, if there are any mistakes and omissions, please understand)