Was Journey to the West not about the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism?
How did it become an exposition of all worldly evils?
For the next few days, the three of them wandered around the Anlu region. Xu Wei had already read the manuscript several times, while Zhu Mo was reading the original version of Journey to the West for the first time, staying up late every night.
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One noon,
The three of them sat down at the Riverside Pavilion and started talking about the manuscript again.
Zhu Mo recalled what he had said about "expounding all worldly evils." Looking at the original manuscript, he found it to be more than ten times darker than later versions, and apart from a sliver of compassion, it was entirely devoid of a sense of right and wrong. He remembered the chapter on Lion Camel Ridge, which had a very popular online analysis. He immediately said:
"Old Wu, you said that this book expounds all worldly evils. I've finished reading it, and I have the same feeling. Uh, for example, this chapter on Lion Camel Ridge."
He picked up the manuscript, flipped to the back, and read:
"Alas... Skulls like a ridge, bones like a forest. Human hair woven into felt, human flesh and skin rotted into mud. Human sinews entwined on trees, dry and glistening like silver. Truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, truly a stench unbearable. In the east, minor demons took living people and carved their flesh; to the west, ferocious fiends boiled and roasted human flesh fresh...
...
Not long after, they entered the second gate and looked inside. Alas! It was different from the outside: clear, elegant, beautiful, and spacious; with spirit herbs and immortal flowers on the left and side, and tall pines and green bamboos in front and back. After traveling another seven or eight li, they reached the third gate. Peeking through a gap, they saw three old demons sitting high above, looking exceedingly fierce."
Zhu Mo read two passages and then said:
"Eight hundred li of corpse plains, and that great roc ate all the citizens of a city... This is simply inconceivable... The Green Lion and the White Elephant are the mounts of Bodhisattvas, and the Great Roc is related to the Buddha. How could they be like this? Is this the evil of divine indulgence?"
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Wu Cheng'en nodded and said calmly:
"When I wrote this book, I seemed to truly see this hellish scene... But if you say it is merely the evil of divine indulgence, then it is too shallow..."
Zhu Mo and Xu Wei exchanged glances, looking at him with anticipation.
Wu Cheng'en said:
"In this chapter, the evil lies in the fact that the Buddha has already spoken of eighty-one tribulations, each more perilous than the last... With the golden words, if there is no hell, wouldn't that be letting down the Buddha and Bodhisattvas? This evil, in its essence, is what the hearts of all beings inevitably create... Gods and Buddhas are merely going with the flow... To be honest with you two, when I wrote this chapter eight years ago, my whole body turned cold, as if I were dead!"
He suddenly sighed leisurely and said:
"Why are there gods and Buddhas? Why are there people? What is good? What is evil? I know nothing... Are gods and Buddhas to people as people are to beasts? Are good and evil comparable to fish and meat that can speak? Therefore, when I say that I expound all worldly evils, it is originally because good and evil are not for mortals to judge, and the affairs of gods and Buddhas are not for mortals to know... Thus, in a single thought, ten thousand evils are created, evils begetting evils, endlessly..."
Xu Wei, who had read it many times before, had only found the monkey interesting at the time. Listening to them discuss these matters, he immediately reread Lion Camel Ridge and suddenly seemed to understand, sighing:
"Indeed, this pilgrim's actions cannot be called good... If there were no pilgrimage, there would be no Lion Camel Ridge..."
Mmm, mmm, mmm,
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Wu Cheng'en suddenly nodded heavily and said, "Wenchang, you have finally understood my great book... Everyone says that the pilgrimage is an act of goodness. If I only wrote these things, what would be the point?"
Zhu Mo heartily agreed and admired:
"Indeed. If there were no pilgrimage, there would be no great evils..."
As he mumbled, a flash of inspiration struck him—
Then,
Is my reform like the pilgrimage?
To stop me, wouldn't they have to create greater evils?
Take the battles of Huating and Shunning, and the near-disastrous and even more tragic siege of Datong, aren't they all like Lion Camel Ridge? If I hadn't reformed, wouldn't Dayou Zonglin, Mang Yinglong, and Anda not have launched such great wars?
So, was what I did right? Or, should I not have done it at all?
At this thought,
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He suddenly felt despair, closed the book, and sighed:
"Old Wu, if that's the case, then the monkey was originally ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth? His protection of Tang Monk all the way was also an act where good and evil are indistinguishable? In the end, it was all meaningless, and instead increased countless causes of sin?"
Mmm,
Wu Cheng'en suddenly burst into laughter and said,
"Zixuan, you are truly interesting! Wenchang wrote a lot in his letters, but I didn't believe it. Now it seems, you are the true benevolent one..."
Zhu Mo stared at him for a long time, then said:
"Then what about the eventual attainment of fruit? Is it true or false? Is there really no righteousness in this pilgrimage?"
Xu Wei also agreed at this time and urged:
"Ruzhong, I want to see how you'll round this off!"
Wu Cheng'en suddenly became solemn and said:
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"The pilgrimage naturally has righteousness, which is to subdue demons and eliminate monsters..."
This?
Isn't that saying nothing?
Xu Wei, knowing this person to be incredibly eccentric, did not want to delve deeper and merely smiled.
Zhu Mo, however, seemed to have an epiphany—
Does he mean the process?
Regardless of the reasons, the process is correct?
It seems,
Since this reform has begun, only the process is righteous?
The reform is indeed very much like the pilgrimage. To those with great backgrounds, one can only yield, like the three in Lion Camel Ridge. To those with smaller backgrounds, one can fight and kill.
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These two matters are indeed very similar...
But if my reform eventually becomes merely a pilgrimage to the West, then there is no point. It would be better not to do it at all...
At this thought,
For the first time, he felt that everything he had done was an illusion!
So, should he still proceed?
Or just leave?
Gazing at the slow-flowing Han River, he suddenly felt at a loss.
...
Several days later,
The capital.
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Prince Yu issued an imperial decree that shocked the entire capital—
"The Regent's Decree states:
The Crown Prince, by the way of the sages, shall govern the state, which is to manage the affairs of the Middle Way. The way of the sages, though it cannot be abolished for ten thousand generations, was trod by Yao and Shun before Confucius and Mencius, and has continued to this day after the sages. However, as times change, and human affairs may fall short, the ruler shall adapt and adjust, so as to maintain the Middle Way. This is what is called reforming the laws in accordance with the Way.
Now the Crown Prince wishes to expand the framework of the reforms, to restore the way of the sages. As the matter arises from expediency, we select the most outstanding of the assisting ministers and cabinet ministers to form the Privy Council of the Grand Secretariat. Following the precedents of the Yongle era, you shall draft proposals and outlines, summon ministers for audiences, and discuss their implementation, so that all matters may return to the system of the sages. To honor the former teachers, it is hereby ordered that Chen Yiqin lead all officials to perform the ancestral sacrifice for the Crown Prince to the former sagely and ultimate teacher.
This is the decree."
Upon the issuance of this decree, Prince Yu's framework was solidified. Although Chen Yiqin was a Third Rank official, he was the head of the so-called Privy Council of the Grand Secretariat. After drafting the strategies, they were submitted to the cabinet ministers for discussion and implementation. This indicated that the Grand Secretariat had, to a large extent, changed, and the chief grand secretary had actually been replaced by Chen Yiqin.
But on the other hand,
The officials could not object, as they had no reason to do so. After all, the Crown Prince was talking about returning to the system of the sages. The Grand Secretariat had a Privy Council, and the Grand Secretariat itself had not been abolished. Moreover, the Grand Secretariat of the Yongle era was originally a Privy Council. By invoking this precedent, the officials had no grounds for rebuttal.
That night,
In the Liángshān Study.
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Yan Song had a smile on his face all night, holding a large brush, writing and rewriting stroke by stroke. The others sat around in confusion, already pouring out curses.
Zhang Yu said:
"Chen Yiqin, upon his return to the capital, has made such a huge move? Isn't this making things difficult for all the officials in the empire? What Yongle precedents? Can Prince Yu compare to King Yan?"
Yan Maoqing also said:
"Chen Yiqin, a mere Third Rank official, has not only risen to prominence in one go but is also ahead of everyone else? And he's establishing a Privy Council? Is there still a Grand Secretariat in the Great Ming? How will governance be carried out in the future? I think the cause of the great chaos in the empire is Chen Yiqin!"
Heh heh,
Yan Shifan sneered:
"Chen Yiqin, a mere teacher, is now more important than the chief grand secretary? And he's talking about the way of the sages? Is this also called the way of the sages? No! If this continues, the Great Ming Dynasty will surely fall into chaos! Old Luo, go down and tell them that in a few days, we will all argue!"
Yes, yes, yes!
We must argue!
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Amidst the clamor of the crowd,
Yan Song snorted, put down his brush, and said:
"What is wrong with this? Have you read the Veritable Records of Yongle? The Grand Secretariat was originally established as a Privy Council during the Yongle era... Have you all read it?
Chen Yiqin is renowned for his talent and virtue. How can he not be this Privy Councilor? Is the Crown Prince not exercising his right to govern? What basis do you have to argue? Where have they abolished the chief grand secretary? Is the Grand Secretariat of the Great Ming not still in place?"