Chapter 92

When Xia Hongsheng said this, it immediately caused a stir among the pavilion's surroundings. The students present either frowned in deep thought or whispered to each other. Li Ke, after a moment of surprise, thought for a moment and then said to Xia Hongsheng, "Oh? Then according to your interpretation, how should this sentence be understood?"

"Since Confucius taught without discrimination, the meaning of this sentence certainly cannot be this. Why have later generations misunderstood it? The reason is that there were no punctuation marks to indicate sentence breaks, leading to incorrect recording. As later generations were not present, it was difficult for them to know how Confucius actually broke the sentences. Thus, they made their own guesses, leading to incorrect sentence breaks and, consequently, a misinterpretation of the meaning, which is far from what Confucius intended to express." Perhaps deep down, Xia Hongsheng was a person who enjoyed being the center of attention. At this moment, he found the feeling of teaching again, so he walked out of the pavilion, picked up a stone, and wrote the sentence on the ground. Then he said to the others, "Look, if we break the sentence here, '民可使由之/不可使知之' (If the people can be guided, let them be; if they cannot, let them know why they cannot), this is the meaning Mr. Xie taught, and it has been the traditional interpretation. However, we have already analyzed Confucius's thoughts and determined that he would not express this meaning. So, how should we break the sentence to align with Confucius's consistent stance? Gentlemen, look, I will break it here—'民可/使由之，不可/使知之' (If the people can, let them be; if they cannot, let them know). In this way, the sentence means: If the people can, let them be; if they cannot, let them know where they fall short. That is, when the ruler believes that the people's morals and behavior meet the requirements of '道' (the Way) and '礼' (ritual propriety), they should be left alone; if the people's morals and behavior do not meet these requirements, they should be informed, guided, and educated to meet these requirements. This interpretation aligns with Confucius's consistent stance and embodies the Confucian ideas of moral governance, harmonizing with the people, and enlightening the people. Therefore, this is the true meaning Confucius intended to express!"

Upon hearing Xia Hongsheng's words, there was another stir around the pavilion. The students stared wide-eyed at the sentence Xia Hongsheng had written on the ground, muttering to themselves, "民可，使由之；不可，使知之!... If the people know and can follow the Way and ritual propriety, let them be; if they do not know, let them know what the Way and ritual propriety are and follow them... The idea of educating the people is indeed like this! Indeed like this!"

Seeing their almost frenzied expressions, Xia Hongsheng felt a great sense of satisfaction. It was truly fulfilling to share his knowledge and see others learn from it. The sense of inner richness was incomparable.

The students all looked at Xia Hongsheng with shock, and Li Ke squinted and frowned for a long time before finally taking a deep breath, walking up to Xia Hongsheng, and bowing. He said, "Brother Jingshi, your words today have enlightened me, like a cloud parting to reveal the sun. If not for you, I might have made a grave mistake, treating erroneous words as truth. Brother Jingshi, you deserve my respect."

As a prince, Xia Hongsheng did not dare to accept his bow, so he bowed in return and said, "Brother Weide, you flatter me. The truth becomes clearer through debate. As classmates, we should discuss and debate together to seek the truth and progress together."

Li Ke pulled Xia Hongsheng and laughed heartily, and the others, who had finally understood, joined in the laughter.

"Brother Xia, this... Your interpretation is profound, but our interpretations are all taught by our teacher. How can we dare to defy the teacher's teachings and disrespect the teacher?" A young man walked over and said to Xia Hongsheng. His words caused the other students to pause and nod in agreement.

Xia Hongsheng did not expect that the respect for teachers in ancient times had reached such a level. Even when the interpretation was clearly wrong, they would not accept the correct interpretation because it would mean defying their teacher. This reminded Xia Hongsheng of a famous passage from later times that described exactly this situation. Although he could not say, "I love my teacher, but I love truth more," a Chinese literary figure had expressed a similar view.

"Scholars of old must have a teacher. A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and resolves doubts... " Xia Hongsheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze slowly sweeping over the students, and then he recited aloud. The "Teacher's Discourse" had been passed down for thousands of years. Han Yu's writing of this discourse was a new summary of the teacher-student relationship, breaking the artificial fixed boundaries between teacher and student and challenging the traditional "teacher's dignity." The idea that "where there is truth, there is a teacher" was extremely progressive. Throughout history, the blue has surpassed the indigo, and if one rigidly adheres to the teacher's words, thoughts will become increasingly constrained, conservative, and lose the ability to innovate and create, leading to the decline of a nation.

"... The sage has no fixed teacher. Confucius learned from Tanzi, Changhong, Shixiang, and Lao Dan. Tanzi and his peers were not as virtuous as Confucius. Confucius said, 'When three people walk together, one of them must be my teacher.' Therefore, a student does not necessarily have to be inferior to the teacher, and a teacher does not necessarily have to be more virtuous than the student. Knowledge is acquired at different times, and skills are specialized in different areas, and that is all!" Xia Hongsheng recited slowly, then looked at the students, who were now as if struck by lightning, standing still and motionless.

The pavilion was silent. The students were first stunned by Xia Hongsheng's "heretical" words, but then they began to think deeply. Is everything the teacher says necessarily correct? No, the sentence "民可使由之不可使知之" (If the people can be guided, let them be; if they cannot, let them know) proves that the teacher can also be wrong. Must we always follow the teacher's words? But if the teacher's words are wrong, is our obedience still meaningful?

Seeing the students' conflicted expressions, Xia Hongsheng decided to push them further. He said loudly, "Teachers impart knowledge, enhance our wisdom, and teach us how to be good people, so we respect them and follow their words without defiance. This is a timeless principle that we must and should not violate. However, we must also retain our own views and understanding of things and not rigidly adhere to the teacher. Gentlemen, Confucius once learned from Laozi. If he had rigidly adhered to Laozi's teachings, would there have been Confucianism later? Han Feizi learned from Xunzi, who was a Confucian. If Han Feizi had rigidly adhered to Xunzi's teachings, would there have been Legalism later? Gentlemen, we respect our teachers, but if they have incorrect or wrong ideas, and we know but do not point them out or correct them, leaving the teacher in error, we would be truly unrighteous and unfilial. If we blindly follow even the wrong ideas without principle, how is that different from calling a deer a horse?!"

Xia Hongsheng's words were like a thunderclap, shocking the students. They all trembled, their faces changing rapidly.

Xia Hongsheng did not speak further. After the shock, it was time for them to think and understand on their own.

After a long while, a deep sigh was heard, and Wei Shuyu stepped out from among the students, looking at Xia Hongsheng with a complex expression. Xia Hongsheng remained calm, smiling faintly, and returned his gaze. After a long time, Wei Shuyu sighed again, took a step back, and deeply bowed to Xia Hongsheng, saying, "The ancients said, 'Hearing the truth in the morning, one can die in the evening!' Listening to Brother Xia's words, I feel as if I have been enlightened. I now realize that there is a world beyond the world and people beyond people. Based on Brother Xia's words, you could be my teacher!"

Xia Hongsheng returned the bow and said, "Brother Shuyu, you flatter me. You are well-versed in the classics, and Lord Zheng is a renowned scholar and loyal minister. Your praise is too high. My words are just idle talk and sophistry. If you have gained something from them, I am truly honored!"

"Ha ha, if this is just idle talk, then what are the scholars of the world... Ha ha..." Li Yexu also drew a breath and shook his head in amazement.

For a moment, no one spoke. Perhaps they were thinking about Xia Hongsheng's words, or perhaps they were feeling the gap between themselves and Xia Hongsheng, but the pavilion was no longer as lively as before, and everyone was lost in thought.

Unbeknownst to them, on the other side of the pavilion, two old men were standing side by side, looking at them intently. They exchanged glances and then smiled, shaking their heads.

"We have spent our lives in the Confucian world as teachers, yet we are not as clear-sighted as a young man. Ha ha, if others knew, it would be a real joke," the older of the two said, shaking his head and laughing.

The other old man also nodded, stroking his beard and said, "I did not believe it at first, but seeing this, I am truly amazed. Could there really be a hermit in the mountains? Otherwise, how could this young man have changed so much, as if he were a different person? I thought he was young and his character not yet formed, but now I see that I was wrong. If this young man devotes himself to literature, his achievements in the Confucian world will surpass ours. Unfortunately, his interests lie in the study of things. I believe he will become a great master in that field, but he will have no connection with the Confucian world."

"These are matters for the future," the older man said, stroking his beard and smiling. "I do not know if I will live to see them, nor do I want to speculate. What I am curious about now is the 'punctuation marks for sentence breaks' that this young man mentioned. Since he is your student, Shigu, could you ask him for me?"

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