I am afraid that many people have heard of the name "Wang Yangming". He was a famous scholar in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and his father's knowledge was also outstanding. Wang Yangming's father, Wang Hua, took the palace examination when he was 17 years old. Faced with the emperor's question "Who is more important, morality or law?", Wang Hua calmly wrote four words and won the first prize. Do you know what's going on? I'm here to reveal the secret to you.
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Wang Yangming This is the nickname of Wang Shouren. He became a Jinshi in high school in the twelfth year of Hongzhi, and later served as director of the Ministry of Punishment, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and in his later years served as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing and Yushi of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He made great contributions during his tenure and was very successful. Loved by the emperor. Moreover, Wang Shouren also had military talents. He put down the Chenhao Rebellion and other military deployments, and made great contributions to the stability of the emperor's country. Not only that, in terms of literary achievements, Wang Shouren is even more outstanding. He is the master of the Ming Dynasty's psychology. His thoughts and philosophical theories influenced thousands of students in the Ming Dynasty, and some people introduced Wang Yangming's psychology to Japan, Korea and other countries. Even today, Wang Yangming's psychology still has high research value. He is worthy of being a famous thinker, philosopher, calligrapher, military strategist, and educator in the Ming Dynasty.
Why is Wang Yangming both civilized and military, and also has a very high ideological level? This may be traced back to his family education - Wang Yangming's father Wang Hua. Because Wang Hua was also a gentleman of good conduct, the story of "Wang Hua returning the gold" recorded in history books has been passed down. It is said that when Wang Hua was six years old, he was playing with his friends and happened to meet a group of people having a drink. One of them happened to have gold in his body. Several people were so drunk that they disappeared without a trace. A bag of gold also leaked out. , if an ordinary person is afraid of getting rich, what does a six-year-old child know? Even if Wang Hua takes away the gold at this time, no one will hold him accountable.
Unexpectedly, Wang Hua was very upright. He wanted to wait for the owner of the gold to come back. However, it was very dangerous for a six-year-old child to guard a bag of gold. Unfortunately, although Wang Hua was six years old, he also thought of this, so he threw a heavy bag of gold into the river. When the owner of the gold sobered up and hurried back, Wang Hua calmed down with a finger. of the lake—right in that river. The owner was excited and surprised, and hurriedly took out a piece of silver and gave it to him. Wang Hua waved his hand and refused the thanks, and went home. Although this incident is small, it happened to a six-year-old child, which makes many adults feel ashamed. Wang Hua is really upright and smart.
Such a gentleman of good conduct, in the 16th year of Chenghua, won the Zhejiang Provincial Examination with second place. There is also an interesting episode here. Wang Hua originally had a high level of literature and was praised by his teachers many times. In this provincial examination, his article also won the first place. Unfortunately, he wore white clothes when thanking the examiner. , the examiner at that time was a very traditional old-fashioned man, and thought that Wang Hua was "improperly dressed, it is simply unseemly!" So he demoted his score to second place.
As the saying goes, "True gold is not afraid of fire." Although Wang Hua only got second place in the provincial examination, when he was interviewed by the emperor in the palace examination, he made a splash and won the emperor's attention with only four words. Take the top spot.
According to historical records, during Wang Hua’s palace examination, the emperor asked the question “Which is more important, morality or law?” This question was very difficult to answer, because both morality and law had emphases, and no one could answer it. Who should open it? This question is like asking: who is more important, steamed buns or rice.
As soon as this question came out, everyone took a breath of cold air and was secretly frightened. Young Wang Hua looked confident and picked up his pen again without any panic. He thought carefully for a while and then answered on the test paper: "The law is suitable for the time, so the integrity depends on the Tao. If the Tao is established but the law is not prepared, the people's livelihood will not be fulfilled and the people's troubles will not be eliminated. It is not enough." rule.
If the Dharma tools are not established and the Tao is not established, then the outline will often fall into disrepair and the customs will become decadent. Is writing and ridicule enough to cure it? Therefore, those who are good at governing do not just rely on the law to control the people of the world, but must be based on Tao; and those who are good at governing the law do not just rely on names to slander the people of the world, but must seek the truth..." This means , Law is as important as morality. After all, without law, there will be no morality, and without morality, the law will not be observed.
Of course, articles with only opinions and no themes. The most surprising thing is Wang Hua’s final conclusion: When Zhu Xi, a Confucian in the Song Dynasty, came into a relationship, he was warned not to enter with a correct heart and sincerity. Xi said: “What I have learned in my life is here. How dare you keep silent and deceive me. "I have recited this as a warning to myself. This is the imperial edict of the Ming Dynasty, so at the end of the article, I directly present what I have gained to the scholars as a tribute." This points out the theme of this article - integrity and sincerity.
These four clever words "with sincerity and sincerity" are very important. On the surface, they require us to sincerely implement morality and promote the rule of law. Morality and law are the emperor's right and left hands, and neither can be biased. , they are all important. The deep meaning behind it is to implement it from top to bottom in the court, and truly drive morality and law into everyone's heart. Although Wang Hua's writing was simple, he captured the key points without causing anger. It can be said that his answer satisfied many people. It is indeed a generous work. Just like that, Long Yan was delighted, and the emperor finally accepted his "sincere" answer and voted him the top pick on the spot. It is precisely because of the education of his father who was a "student tyrant" that Wang Yangming became a great scholar and became famous all over the world.