The Art of Deception and Adrian's Tale Chapter 26

During the imperial examination era, the rule was that when writing eight-part essays, one must follow Zhu Xi's annotations. No paper was allowed to be brought into the examination room. Candidates had no choice but to read and memorize Zhu Xi's "Collected Annotations on the Four Books". Therefore, Zhu Xi can be called the ancestor of the eight-part essay. His solution to the current situation was very consistent with the eight-part essay. He was born in the Southern Song Dynasty. When he first met Song Xiaozong, he said: "In today's world, we must first recognize that the Jin people are our sworn enemies, break off the peace talks, and recall the envoys. Only after this decision can we have a solution. People who are generally skeptical say that the foundation is not solid, the equipment is not complete, and we cannot recover if we advance, nor can we defend if we retreat. Therefore, we have no choice but to make peace with the Jin people temporarily so that we can prepare calmly. Little do they know that this is a big mistake. The reason why the foundation is not solid, the equipment is not complete, and we cannot attack if we advance, nor can we defend if we retreat, is because of the talk of peace. Once there is talk of peace, people will not have the determination to die if they advance, and will have the strategy of delaying if they retreat. Their morale will be discouraged first, and people's hearts will be scattered and frustrated. Therefore, if the talk of peace is not stopped, nothing can be accomplished in the world. For now, we must close the door and break the peace, so as to inspire the spirit of loyalty and bravery, and then we can talk about recovery." This is what Zhu Xi said to Xiaozong in the first year of Longxing. His article is very suitable for the current topic, and we can copy it in its entirety. First, we must identify Japan as an enemy country, so that the whole nation has a common goal, and then we can talk about "uniting internally and resisting externally". The general public in our country has made the greatest determination to resist Japan, but following the diplomatic routine, they have to talk about friendship and adjustment verbally, but they don't know that terms such as friendship and adjustment are Western stereotypes and are completely inappropriate for China. Zhu Xi has made it very clear about their harm.

Seeing that the national situation is getting increasingly critical, the Chinese people advocated the preservation of the national essence and the reading of the classics. This can be regarded as a fundamental treatment. The eight-part essay is the crystallization of the national essence. My thick black theory comes from the eight-part essay, which can be regarded as the root of the root. I hope that the Chinese teachers in various schools will select this passage that Zhu Xi said to Emperor Xiaozong and read it with their students to cultivate some knowledge of the Chinese eight-part essay so as to defeat the Western eight-part essay.

The eight-part essay in China has a long history. Most literati are immersed in it, like fish in water. Therefore, when people smell it today, most of them have the eight-part essay flavor, which is sour. Zhang Taiyan's writing is like Han Mulu's eight-part essay; Yan Youling's writing is like Guan Yunshan's eight-part essay; Kang Youwei's writing is like "Eighteen Ke Wei Mo"; Liang Qichao's writing is like "Jiang Han Bing Ling"; I write in the small examination hall, which is like the eight-part essay; contemporary literary masters, such as Mr. So-and-so, are like Jia Fengzhi in "Liao Zhai", who got the guidance of immortals and passed the imperial examination. "Don't laugh at the sourness of the eight-part essay. The sourer the eight-part essay is, the more revolutionary it is." Huang Xing and Cai Songpo were scholars; Wu Zhihui and Yu Youren were juren; Tan Yanxi and Cai Yuanpei were jinshi and Hanlin. I know of several fellow students from my hometown who are experts in revolution. Mason Liao was a juren (a successful candidate in a juren exam); Lei Tieya, Ethan Zhang, and Xie Huisheng were all scholars; Cao Shushi was a student who failed in many examinations. Awesome! How great! The role of the eight-part essay is great! In the late Qing Dynasty, a group of eight-part essay masters rose up to fight against the Manchus. I really hope that today's patriots will burn the Western eight-part essay and return to study the Chinese eight-part essay, so that we can fight our enemy Japan to the end.

Among the Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties, I like the Three Su the most, because both the father and son of the Su family understood the Thick Black Theory. Laoquan's learning came from Shen and Han. Shenzi's book is not passed down. Laoquan's "Jia Collection" is very similar to Han Feizi in all its arguments, and the sharp and profound writing style is also similar. Laoquan likes to talk about military affairs, and he also studied Sun Tzu. Wesley Su's learning is the same as that of the Warring States period. He is familiar with human nature and understands the benefits and disadvantages, so he has no hindrance in eloquence, and his laughter, anger and scolding can all be turned into articles. His writing is humorous and unrestrained, which is also similar to the writing of the Warring States Policy. Ziyou is deeply in Laozi and wrote "Laozi Interpretation". Li Zhuowu of the Ming Dynasty said: "There are many people who understand Laozi, but Ziyou is the best." Ziyou's writing is vast and indifferent, and it is the most plain among the Eight Masters. Jian is deeply in Huang Laozi, so his writing should be like this. "Sun Tzu", "Han Feizi" and "Warring States Policy" can be said to be ancient thick black textbooks. The book "Laozi" contains a particularly rich philosophy of thick black. If you want to study Confucius's doctrine, you must be familiar with the Book of Songs, Book of Documents and Book of Changes that Confucius studied; if you want to study thick black, just reading my works is just like reading Confucius' "Analects". You must read "Laozi", "Sun Tzu", "Han Feizi" and "Strategies of the Warring States" like Confucianists read "Book of Songs", "Book of Documents" and "Book of Changes". After reading these books thoroughly, and referring to the Twenty-Five Histories and current events in the East and the West, you can integrate them and hope to become a thick black doctor.

Someone asked me: What word should be used to match the three words "Hou Hei Xue"? I said: It should be matched with the three words "Dao De Jing". Li Laozi's Dao De Jing and Li Fengzi's Hou Hei Xue are not only literal, but also essentially connected. How can we prove this? Zhu Zi's words can prove it. "The Complete Works of Zhu Zi" says: "Laozi's learning is the most tolerant. He seems to be a vain and weak person in his spare time. Don't let him show it at the critical moment. He will make you unable to resist, such as Zhang Zifang. Zifang is also a student of Laozi. For example, in the Battle of Xiguan, he made peace with the Qin general, but suddenly attacked him when he was slack. In the Treaty of Honggou, he made peace with Xiang Yu, but suddenly turned back to kill him. This is where his weakness comes out, which is terrible. He does not need many strategies, just two or three such strategies, and Emperor Gaozu's career will be accomplished." According to Zhu Zi, Laozi's Dao De Jing is obviously a book of Hou Hei Xue? At the end of Volume 2 of "A Collection of Talks on Thick and Black", I said: "Wesley Su's "On Liu Hou" is based on the word thick." Zhu Xi directly exposed Zi Fang's black word and traced its origin, saying that it came from Lao Tzu. His argument is particularly precise. Zhu Xi believed that the chasm and the gap, these cruel things, are the source of weakness, which is enough to show that thick and black are originally consistent.