The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 432 - 357, if you do not see this flower, it fades with your heart into silence. When you see this flower, its colors suddenly become clear.
How does one debate scholarly matters with a Great Scholar whose fame spans the entire world?
Before stepping into Bailu Academy, Zhao Douan pondered a lot. He did not understand the ways of those scholars, nor did he need to.
After all, it was a private meeting between a few individuals, not a public speech where one has to consider the "audience's" needs. So it's better to frankly express one's thoughts.
This short poem was also something he came across in his past life while reading about the stories from the E Lake Conference.
The original second line was "Ancient Saints pass down only this heart," suggesting that the "heart" of Heart Learning has been passed down from ancient Saints, like scholarly inquiry, generation after generation to this day.
However, this interpretation is not quite accurate because, in the theory of Heart Learning, everyone possesses the heart of a Saint.
The so-called original heart or nature, according to Zhao Douan's understanding, is more akin to "innate nature" in modern vernacular.
Therefore, the heart of a Saint is no different from that of ordinary people; the only difference is that common people's hearts are clouded by desire, covered by dust.
Thus, he took the liberty to change the second line to "Ancient Saints and modern people share this heart," which more accurately aligns with the true meaning.
The overall message of the poem translates roughly to:
From childhood, we know kindness and reverence. From ancient to modern times, whether saints or commoners, all possess the same "heart." It is only with the foundation of this "heart" that we can build the high-rise of ethics; never have we heard of high mountains forming without a base. If one only "reserves affection for annotation," "strives for meticulous details," immersing oneself in piles of paper, pondering over the annotations of this word or the interpretation of that phrase, one will cause the original heart to become "choked," and life will sink. Today, we must treasure this exchange between us, that alone is the true delight.
Hmm...
This poem not only directly expounds the true meaning of heart as principle, but it also criticizes the past orthodox study of the Great Yu Dynasty, the habit of delving into the details of classic texts...
To Mr. Zhengyang's ears, it undoubtedly carries a strong provocative tone.
Lu Cheng's face subtly showed anger, and the Scholar Song dared not make a sound.
As for Zhao Pan, as expected, her youthful face revealed a confused look.
With her knowledge, she can read and understand characters without a problem, but anything deeper is completely beyond her comprehension.
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She had an impression of something profound without understanding it...
However, what happened next was even more astonishing to Zhao Pan.
After her elder brother recited a peculiar poem, the Great Scholar, whose name is known throughout the world, actually engaged in serious discussion with Zhao Douan.
Yes.
Discussion! A scholarly exchange!
Not a one-sided lecture, but a back-and-forth exchange between both parties, a question and answer probing... or perhaps...
Debate.
Debate? Her own brother debating scholarly matters with a contemporary Great Scholar?
It sounded like a fantastical tale.
Zhao Panqiu's eyes showed amazement. She tried her best to listen but could only grasp incomprehensible sentences like "disjointed," "basic proficiency," "abandoning superficial words, striving for the root," and so on.
As for what these specifically meant, she really couldn't understand.
She raised her head to look at the two scholars standing on the opposite side as spectators, only to see that Lu Cheng and Scholar Song had gone from initial displeasure and confusion to sinking into the intense counterarguments, falling silent.
At first, they would occasionally interject a few words, but later, as if bewitched, they were left with nothing but listen.
Zhao Pan opened her mouth; to her, the debaters seemed to be playing an unseen game of Go with their words.
Even if she, who was utterly unfamiliar with such matters, couldn't fathom the subtleties, the fact that her brother's words were seriously regarded by the world's number one "chess player" showed that they were indeed profound scholarly principles.
But... why?
Zhao Pan couldn't make sense of it, and by the time the girl came back to her senses, she had no idea how much time had passed.
"Preposterous! Lord Zhao, your view on the investigation of things is too biased. As you say, the so-called investigation of things is just about applying a grid called 'heart' to frame the things you see and judge right from wrong, good from evil? Such an interpretation is, to put it mildly, too different from what the Saints have said!"
Mr. Zhengyang, who wore a formal hat and had a beard hanging below his chin, garbed in a Confucian robe with a cloak draped over, slapped the table and stood up in a heightened emotion.
At that moment, he was thoroughly dragged into the deep pit of debate by Zhao Douan, getting worked up.
And furthermore, after several rounds of back-and-forth in the debate, Zhengyang had already realized that the phrases like "the heart is the principle, knowledge and action are one," were probably truly coming from the young man before him.
At the very least, the possibility that it was Dong Xuan sending messages through him was almost zero.
Whether one truly understands a discipline, comprehending it thoroughly... based on Zhengyang's discernment, just a few words exchanged would naturally reveal the truth.
He was certain, without even considering whether this so-called "Heart Learning" was established by Zhao Douan or not.
But at least, Zhao Douan truly understood it and could thus engage in a meaningful exchange with him.
Rather than being a simple messenger or human loudspeaker.
What was even more astonishing to him was that as the debate deepened, the opposing side's theory was comprehensive, consistent, and well-integrated into a system.
If it were only this, it still wouldn't be enough to unsettle him.
The most critical point was that Zhengyang, who had been studying in seclusion at Yunfu for ten years, had already sensed something wrong with the old teachings of the Great Yu Dynasty.
Deep down, he had already begun to develop ideas similar to Heart Learning, just not yet clear.
This was also why Zhao Douan, when reading his works in Xiuwen Pavilion, felt that "among the study of Principle Leaning, there was a hint of the budding of Heart Learning."
Therefore, the more they debated, the more terrified he was to discover parallels between the young man's words and his own insights over the years!
Even...
During the debate, some of Zhao Douan's words enlightened him profoundly!
In other words, Zhengyang, at this moment, was akin to a Great Scholar rooted in Principle Learning, gradually rebelling, developing a bit of a foundation in Heart Learning, but still seeing it as if through a fog.
