Wang Mang hung up, and Liu Xiu came out.
This Liu Xiu, luck is good enough to explode. In the Battle of Kunyang, Wang Mang's main force of 420,000 was destroyed with 17,000 troops. What is this concept? But this person, not only is he lucky, he is also very impressive. He entered taixue when he was young, and in his early days he was extremely low-key, only concentrating on farming at home, unlike his brother Liu Yan, who was chivalrous and strong. Let's compare with Wang Mang, this is not the same. In the later period, he portrayed himself as a spiritual leader, and the Confucian theocratic unity began with him. Of course, from the perspective of Confucianism, it may not be called a great Confucian. But in resolving the subordinate relationship between the scholar and the imperial power, he did that word, beautiful.
The Western Han Dynasty had no foreign enemies, no peasant uprisings, and the country was strong, so how could it suddenly perish? The scholar class is not respected and requires political reform. This point, the First Emperor did not see, the Red Brow Army did not see, but Liu Xiu saw. Therefore, after he became emperor, although he was still constantly pacifying the world, he was very eager to rebuild Taixue and find back all those great Confucians who had avoided the mountains and forests. A friend said: "People think of people.". However, the people's hearts were not toward Liu Xiu, but towards the More First Emperor supported by the Green Forest Army. However, emperor Gengshi killed his brother, he pretended to be okay, went back to work honestly as usual, handed over the military power, did not mention kunyang victory, and took the opportunity to marry Yin Lihua. So tolerable, like Wang Mang playing the king to kill the son?
He discovered the problem of the demise of the Western Han Dynasty, and the Western Han emperors after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were purely a "use" word for Confucianism. The connection between imperial power and the scholar class is nothing more than fame and fortune. Liu Xiu was different, he himself entered the Taixue, and after becoming emperor, he rebuilt the Taixue and established the Fei Yi and Zuo Shi Chunqiu doctors, and he participated in the whole process of scriptural research. Note that this time is no longer Dong Zhongshu's ram spring and autumn. Moreover, he passed on this method, and the later emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty all participated in the study of Confucian scriptures with great enthusiasm. They all portrayed themselves as a scholar, a scholar leader. You can't always oppose your leader, can you?
That's one aspect. We are now from God's point of view, so we can see more clearly. When the whole country was unified, all the places were stable, and the government was stable, and the emperor did not even go to Taixue. And Emperor Ming of Han even had plans to abolish Taixue, because Before Liu Xiu died, he repaired the Lingtai and Peiyong (a place where noble teenagers were taught), which directly replaced the function of Taixue. Later, he was advised to abolish it, but the imperial power's attitude toward Confucianism changed.
Liu Xiu also did something before he died, declaring that the map was in the world, so that the study of Wei Wei reached its peak. At that time, it was called internal learning, which was different from scripture. Through the divine revelation of The Confucian, coupled with his own power and identity as a teacher of scripture, he determined that he was the absolute authority of the scholar-doctor class and the absolute leader of the world. In this way, Liu Xiu achieved the unity of the church and state, and the scholar class could not oppose the imperial power of its own class leaders.
On the other hand, Liu Xiu is also very powerful. He found that since qin shang martingale, it was all about military merit in the world, so above the court, it was always a domineering spirit, and Confucianism was relatively weak. However, those who had military merit could not govern the country, so after the country was pacified, the Eastern Han regime began to fully retire from the country. Well, give you fame and fortune, you go home and play. However, after fighting down so many places, it is absolutely impossible to take the original old road to seal the king. Sealing the king and cutting the domain is the emperor's biggest headache. Then it was the turn of the second hand--- into the clerk.
Where did the scribes come from? Confucian, scholar class. By sending confucian students from the scholar-doctor class to various posts across the country, and then letting them work overtime and then overtime, and constantly conducting assessments, who still has the heart to talk about the imperial power and Zen concessions? Therefore, the Eastern Han Dynasty was also a cool official system, and the mean people were mainly themselves and the Confucian students who were officials. Liu Xiu has very high requirements for himself, similar to Jiao Yulu. The following officials are also very strictly managed, and they are subdivided and evaluated. In the eastern Han Dynasty, most of the Confucians could only be said to be civilian officials, not like the Western Han Dynasty, although Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty did not bird you, but he could sit with you and discuss, and when you were needed, you could participate in the decision-making of major state affairs. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was not easy for confucians to do a good job in the matters at hand, and the scholar-doctor class had basically lost the right to participate in the decision-making of major state affairs.
The Eastern Han Dynasty lasted for nearly 200 years on these two hands.
Then Cao Pi usurped Han, Sima Yan usurped Wei, or the scholar class awakened.
From the perspective of Confucianism, the Eastern Han Dynasty did not grow much except to end the dispute between modern and ancient texts. But Confucianism dominated the world and reached its peak.
Then it entered the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
As the saying goes, things must be reversed. Confucianism flourished, followed by the prohibition of Confucianism; Confucianism Dachang, followed by the decline of scripture.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, who knows how many times Zen concessions occurred? Han Zen Wei Wei Zen Jin Jin Song Zen Song Zen Qi Qi Qi Liang Chan Chen Zhou Chan Sui, which is already the opposite of the divine right of the monarch and the junwei subject. Can you understand why it is said that sutra studies have failed? No one believes it anymore! In fact, this situation had already begun to take shape at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Chen Xuan, the great Confucian who unified the struggle between ancient and modern texts in the study of scriptures, said this when talking about this phenomenon: "The thin and chaotic head of the faithfulness of the husband and the ceremonial..." Note that this sentence is from the Tao Te Ching! Even Chen Xuan began to use Lao Tzu's words to doubt and criticize the etiquette of Confucianism, not to mention the following young people who regarded Confucianism purely as an official science to seek success.
Another point is that learning is too wasted. Originally, there were still places to give lectures everywhere, and now everyone has picked up guys and gone out to rebel, who still listens to you talk about benevolence and morality? The abandonment of too much learning is not only a phenomenon, but also a reason. It's a vicious circle.
These are the two reasons for Confucianism itself. The third problem is even more serious, stemming from a dream of Emperor Hanming. This old man relied on the method passed down by Liu Xiu to govern Confucianism and the country well, but he had a dream, dreaming that a Golden Man flew west...
This is the "Eternal Peace Seeking Law".
When you have a dream, you have to ask the reason, and the person below says that he heard that there are gods and immortals in the West, and sent some people to see it? This sight brought Buddhism back, because it was the White Horse who dragged the scriptures, and the White Horse Temple was built. Buddhism is a reasoned religion. Emperor Hanming was a reasonable emperor. It became the largest religious invasion in China in thousands of years. The invasion may be excessive, but on a cultural level, it is.
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the development of Buddhism can be said to be rapid. It was even designated as the state religion by Southern Liang. After the introduction of Buddhism to cater to Middle-earth, Confucianism was introduced and greatly improved. Then as soon as the cultivators look so mixed, let's also set up a religion to unify polytheism. It was also at this time that Taoism took shape, with the same reference to Confucianism. Moreover, in order to counter Buddhism, a large number of high-level intellectuals participated in the founding of Taoism and built a complete System of Taoist Immortals. During the period of great development of Buddhism and Taoism, their philosophical thinking was integrated with Confucianism, and they also infiltrated and borrowed from each other, and quickly seized the market.
What is the attitude of Confucianism? Evil Devil's Outer Path! Fusion was refused, so Confucianism declined. Note that this refers to internal learning. As an official Confucianism, or a compulsory course for teenagers, you can't always learn the Buddhist scriptures and Taoist scriptures at the beginning of your literacy, and it is not Tang Sanzang. Ordinary people still have to learn Confucian learning and eat as officials. But the ordinary people here are not ordinary, and the Nine Pin Officials and People Law of the Wei and Jin Dynasties determined that basically those who can become officials are all big households.
The fourth reason for the decline of Confucianism, without Confucianism, is that there are no thinkers. Therefore, the development of Confucianism in this period was lackluster.
At the same time, this period appeared in the history of China's idiot emperors, the most child emperors in a situation. Why? Because the door valve politics of the scholar class did not require promising emperors, they basically grasped the government. The change of GaoPingling of the Sima family killed most of the Cao Wei family and the famous men of Luoyang. Gatekeeper politicians do not need power, dictatorship, centralization, unified imperial power.
Just said a few points. The fall of Confucianism, the rise of Buddhism, Taoism. But Confucianism was still very common, and although there was no real philosophical leap in these years, there was a branch. That is Fu Fan He Lang, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest, who are far from the center of power, studying the --- metaphysics of Lao Tzu combined with Confucian theology.
Metaphysics is not a very good thing to talk about. In fact, some people in the scholar-doctor class at that time were unwilling to come out as officials, such as Tao Yuanming and the like, of course, Tao Yuanming was a poet. Or there are some people who wander around the center of power, He Yan, Ji Kang, and Ruan Yuan, all of whom were born in Confucianism, but were seriously influenced by Lao Zhuang's thought. However, because Lao Zhuang's philosophical speculation is stronger than secular Confucianism, it is said that there is still a little progress in spirit. The most important thing is still reflected in the dispute between famous religions and nature, famous religions are the set that Dong Zhongshu engaged in, what is what is what, the monarch and the subject, the name is very important; nature is to let everything go with nature, give you what the name is, don't get tangled. In the end, nature wins. But this school has been surviving in Confucianism, after all, it can't be an official school, except for the Qing talker, who is really interested in him? However, it is better than the study of Wei Wei, and it should be until the science of the Song Dynasty that it really replaces metaphysics.
The Wei and Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties were like this. By the way, I told you about Sui and Tang. Because although these two dynasties were strong, Confucianism did not develop greatly, and it was passed in one fell swoop.
The Sui Dynasty seems to have had a man named Wang Tong who proposed to restore pre-Qin Confucianism. And then...... There is no then. Times have developed, who still believes?
Confucianism in the Tang Dynasty has already ranked second. The first is Taoism. Because Li Yuan's surname is Li. At that time, the door valve politics was still very powerful, and the biggest was still the Wang family, the Xie family. You are a small plum from the countryside, you sit in the world, but you want to find a rich man to intermarry, and people ignore you. There was no way, first lean on the Long Ximen Valve, and then lean on Laozi. Lao Tzu is also surnamed Li... Taoism is not the first, is it the first that makes your surname Kong first? Does it make you Jorda Mo Hidado first? But! Examination or Confucianism! Because it is an official study, you have to be an official, and you have to test these skills. However, there are also aisle examinations in the middle. The Tang Dynasty wrote a Theory of Taoism on a Han Yu.
Confucianism, in addition to the Weixue, which flourished for a while in the Wu Zetian period for the sake of indiscriminate killing, can be said to have basically withdrawn from the stage in history. That is to say, you basically do not feel its attributes as a religion, which is why some friends say that Confucianism is not Confucianism, it is official.
But history will always be there.