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In the Cai residence, Cai Yong seemed lost in reminiscence. His friendship with Lu Zhi was much like that between Hu Guang and Chen Qiu—though they had never formed a faction, they deeply admired one another.
Cai Yong and Lu Zhi had come to respect each other's literary prowess during the compilation of the Xiping Stone Classics...
At the time, those involved in the project included Cai Yong, Lu Zhi, Ma Midi, Yang Biao, Han Shuo, and others—all of them scholars from esteemed academic lineages.
However, the compilation process had also sparked numerous scholarly disputes...
Cai Yong glanced at Fei Qian, feeling that since the young man was about to step into the turbulent political whirlpool of Luoyang, it was necessary to give him some guidance. He asked, "Are you aware that beyond the East-West conflict in the court, there is also a struggle between the ancient and the modern?"
East-West conflict?
Fei Qian assumed this referred to the rivalry between the Guandong (east of Hangu Pass) and Guanxi (west of Hangu Pass) factions—essentially the struggle between Dong Zhuo's faction and the Yuan-Yang coalition.
But what was this ancient vs. modern debate?
After a moment's thought, a possibility occurred to him. Tentatively, he ventured, "Could it be the dispute between the Ancient Script Classics and the Modern Script Classics?"
Cai Yong smiled faintly. "Indeed. The conflict between ancient and modern has existed for a long time. After the book burnings of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty, many classics were lost or damaged. Later, great Confucian scholars from Qi, Lu, Yan, and Zhao reconstructed them through oral transmission, but errors in meaning inevitably crept in..."
Fei Qian nodded. Since arriving in the Han Dynasty, he had learned a bit about this, especially during his time in Jingxiang, where he had briefly discussed it with Pang Tong...
The root of this issue lay in the philosophical disputes of the Warring States period. Ever since the Yellow Emperor established the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, rulers had sought ways to legitimize their governance—ensuring that the shepherds could forever retain their right to herd the sheep. They continuously searched for suitable ideological tools...
From the Xia to the Shang, and from the Shang to the Zhou, imperial authority gradually shed the form of tribal alliances and instead cloaked itself in divine legitimacy. But while this facade served to deceive the ignorant masses, the educated elite—the shi dafu—knew the truth. Thus, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were numerous instances of lower-ranking officials challenging their lords, even assassinating rulers.
This led later rulers, especially those of great ambition, to seek ways to both perpetuate their dynasties and prevent future threats to their thrones. They urgently needed a tool to constrain the thoughts of the people, including the aristocracy. Thus, by the late Spring and Autumn period, the Hundred Schools of Thought emerged...
At the time, the Zhou royal house had weakened, the feudal lords grew powerful, and the Rites of Zhou—the system meant to uphold the feudal hierarchy—collapsed. Society was in turmoil. Intellectuals representing various class interests became exceptionally active, stepping onto the historical stage to propose solutions to social problems. This gave rise to the flourishing contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
The most prominent among them were Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, and Mohism.
Each school designed its own blueprint for unifying the fractured states, laying the foundation for the governing philosophies of the Qin and Han dynasties.
The conflict between these schools reached its peak in the late Warring States period. In the end, it was the Legalist-aligned state of Qin that unified the Central Plains through blood and iron. However, after unification, despite standardizing writing and measurements, the Qin rulers discovered that whispers of dissent still lingered amid the ruins of the old world. Thus, they launched a campaign of intellectual suppression...
Many Confucian classics were lost or destroyed during that time.
But the Legalists of the Qin Dynasty were the first school of thought to hold political power, lacking any precedent to follow. In the end, Legalism exited the stage alongside the Qin Dynasty in tragic fashion.
In the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang initially adopted the Daoist Huang-Lao philosophy for governance. However, he soon found its emphasis on non-contention and withdrawal from worldly affairs unsuitable for ruling. He began searching for alternatives, and it was in this context that Confucianism ascended to prominence...
Yet by then, too many classics had been damaged during the Qin Dynasty. To reconstruct a coherent system, great Confucian scholars emerged, contributing their own versions of the texts. However, these reconstructed classics differed from the surviving pre-Qin texts in one crucial aspect: the role of Confucius.
The Modern Script Classics, seeking to elevate Confucianism, deliberately deified Confucius, portraying him as the Uncrowned King—a sage of divine stature. The Ancient Script Classics, however, still regarded Confucius merely as an educator and historian, reserving their reverence for King Wen of Zhou...
Cai Yong said, "In the current court, many have turned against one another over the ancient-modern debate. You must be cautious. If someone speaks of the subtle meanings of the classics, they likely follow the Modern Script. Listen, but do not argue."
Fei Qian nodded in acknowledgment while thinking to himself—So Master Cai Yong is a moderate adherent of the Ancient Script school. He's even worried I might get into unnecessary disputes over differing interpretations.
A wave of warmth rose in Fei Qian's heart. Master Cai truly treats me like his own child, caring for me so tenderly! He remembered when he had first graduated from university and was about to enter the workforce—his parents had given him similar advice: If there are conflicts in the company, just listen. Don't get involved...
How nostalgic...
Ancient knowledge, constrained by the limitations of writing and its medium, was often recorded in concise and cryptic forms. Thus, interpretations of the same classic—even the same passage—could vary widely, leading to disputes between schools. This was especially true in the Han Dynasty, before the standardization of punctuation...
A question suddenly occurred to Fei Qian. If Cai Yong is a defender of the Ancient Script school, who in the current court supports the Modern Script?
Unexpectedly, Cai Yong shook his head regretfully. "The Modern Script faction is vast, while few study the Ancient Script. Lu Zhi was also a great master of the Ancient Script, but alas..." He only mentioned Lu Zhi, who had already left the court, and avoided naming others as belonging to either faction. On one hand, he feared Fei Qian might develop biases—either favoring or opposing certain figures—which would be unwise for someone newly entering the political arena and contrary to Cai Yong's principle of a gentleman avoids factionalism. On the other hand, Cai Yong had encountered former Ancient Script scholars who had later defected to the Modern Script camp for various reasons, so he hesitated to speak further...
This time, Cai Yong had readily agreed to move his family's book collection partly because he was moved by Fei Qian's sincerity, and partly because the Ancient Script school had far fewer texts than the Modern Script school, which could freely produce new interpretations. He could not bear to see these precious works suffer further loss.
Fei Qian suddenly asked, "Does Minister Wang Yun study the Modern Script?" At the time, after Yang Biao resigned as Minister over the Massacre, Wang Yun had reassumed the position of Minister of the Masses while retaining his role as Imperial Secretary.
Cai Yong looked at Fei Qian, seemingly puzzled as to why he would single out Wang Yun. But since the question had been asked, he thought for a moment and finally answered truthfully, "Minister Wang does indeed follow the Modern Script."
So that's how it is...