On the morning of November 16, the second debate, the East Palace issued a decree, the crown prince will not come to the country today to monitor the debate, and will come to listen to the summary statements of both sides in the last session on the 18th, which is more free for Zhang Yuan and others, sitting, standing, and pacing during the debate, and there is no need to kneel to the crown prince so restrained, but the eunuch of the East Palace who passed the decree has not left, and there are tiger guards escorting the arrival of the emperor's eldest grandson, and the emperor's grandson Zhu Youxiao loves to listen to Zhang Yuan's debate, in fact, Zhu Youxiao doesn't understand much, I just like to see Zhang Yuan refute others speechless-

At the beginning of the debate on this day, Liu Zongzhou criticized the Western calendar, believing that the calendar is the largest in China's Outline and Maintenance, and Xu Guangqi and Zhang Yuan wanted to lead the Westerners to change the great unified calendar set by the ancestors and the sages and sages, but they were actually sinners of the famous religion, Liu Zongzhou's wording was very harsh, and Zhang Yuan introduced Westerners firearms, but it was difficult for him to accept the change of the calendar, the calendar is related to the discipline, about the Shuntian carrier, the imperial calendar, not the firearms that can be compared with the trivial way, so we must resolutely oppose -

The current debate has become a situation in which Zhang Yuan and Liu Zongzhou are the main debate, and others interject from time to time to supplement, Zhang Yuan asked: "Does Mr. Qidong have any research on the astronomical calendar?" ”

Liu Zongzhou said coldly: "What do you want to say, is it because I am not proficient in the calendar to refute me, the Great Unification Calendar is the beginning of the country's sincerity Bo Liu Bowen and proficient in the calendar sages revised by order, how can you, a junior and a Westerner, question it!" ”

Liu Zongzhou's attitude made Zhang Yuan very unhappy, where is the spirit of studying and seeking the truth, this is a rigid and paranoid self-righteous scholar, a generation of Confucianism is just like this, so he said unceremoniously: "Confucius has a 'shameless question' saying, Mr. Qidong is not good at the calendar, why does he not allow others to question the calendar?" And the predecessor of the Great Unification Calendar is the Yuan Dynasty Guo Shoujing deduced the time calendar, by the sincerity of Bo Liu Bowen slightly modified into the Taizu Emperor Gao Emperor as the new calendar of the Emperor Ming, but there are quite a few mistakes and inconsistencies, Hongwu 17 years, Emperor Gao ordered to build an observatory in Nanjing Jiming Mountain, and rebuild the Great Unification Calendar. Refer to the Western Regions Hijri calendar to make corrections, this is the unification calendar that has been used to this day, but since Wanli, the error of the unification calendar has become larger and larger, speculating that the solar eclipse and lunar eclipse have repeatedly made mistakes, and Zhou Ziyu, deputy superintendent of Qintian, also asked to revise the calendar - I want to ask Mr. Qidong, Shen Shilang, and Xu Langzhong, why can the Hijri calendar be used to modify my Datong calendar, but the Western calendar cannot be used to correct my Datong calendar? It is my Taizu Emperor Gaoli's magnificence and pioneering spirit. Or are you gentlemen resting on their laurels and rigidity? ”

It's a sharp statement. Liu Zongzhou felt that his cheeks were hot, and it was difficult to argue for a while, Zhang Yuan used "Spring and Autumn" yesterday to make subtle changes to Huayi's identification. The xenophobic foundation that bound Liu Zongzhou and others-

Shen Yu said: "Guo Shoujing is my Han Chinese, and of course it can be used after the revision of the calendar, and the Hijri calendar also has a deep relationship with my Chinese calendar. And the Westerners have ill intentions, and the Franciscans once massacred our overseas people in Luzon—"

Xiong Sanba argued: "That is the evil deeds of the Spaniards, and we are the Jesuit priests sent to China by Portugal, and the Portuguese in Macao are also keeping to themselves under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that the missionaries have always opposed killing, and the fifth commandment of God's Ten Commandments is not to kill people and not to harm others, and Shen Shilang should not plant the evil deeds of other countries on the heads of innocent people such as us." ”

Shen Yu didn't care about Spain and Portugal, and said loudly: "You and other Jesuits tried to use the Francophone and the Japanese to subvert our Ming Dynasty, and this has been circulating for a long time. ”

That's too slanderous. Xiong Sanba was simply sad and indignant: "The Japanese shogunate banned the Holy Religion of God last year, killed missionaries and congregants, and was as cruel as the devil, and the rumor actually said that we and other Jesuits were going to unite with the Japanese to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, where does this start!" ”

This rumor originated in Guangdong, and the reason why the Japanese and Western missionaries were involved was mainly to take advantage of the people's hatred of the Japanese and the Jesuits. Of course, it was ill-intentioned, but I didn't expect Tokugawa Ieyasu to strictly ban Catholicism, so this rumor is untenable-

Shen Yu corrected: "If it is not with the help of the Japanese people, then with the help of the Franc machine people, there is no doubt." ”

Zhang Yuan motioned to Xiong Sanba not to argue with Shen Yu about this, and said to the pillow: "Lord Shen has no grace in his speech. Fang said that the Jesuits wanted to subvert the Ming Dynasty with the help of the Japanese and the Buddhas, and they changed their minds in a blink of an eye. Is this kind of capriciousness the proper attitude of debate? Also, Lord Shen said that Guo Shoujing, who deduced the calendar, is a Han person, so it can be used, has Lord Shen forgotten that Guo Shoujing is the Taishi Ling of the Yuan Dynasty, according to Lord Shen's high opinion, Meng Yuan is Yidi, and countless Han people have been slaughtered, so of course being an official of the Yuan Dynasty is helping to abuse, so the people of the Central Plains who did not die in the cliffs and mountains in the late Southern Song Dynasty but returned to the Yuan Dynasty are all sinners, so dare to ask where did Lord Shen's ancestors come from? ”

Shen Yu was furious: "How could I have said such a thing! ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Okay, then Lord Shen denied that the Yuan Dynasty was Yidi?" ”

Shen Yu said: "Meng Yuan is Yidi. ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Since it is Yidi, then why do I want to follow Yidi's calendar?" ”

Shen Yu argued: "The geography is the same, of course the calendar can be used, and it has also been revised, but the West and our Middle Earth are tens of thousands of miles away, how can their calendar be introduced." ”

In the pre-Qin period, there was a school of famous scholars, which was regarded as ancient Chinese logic, but it was full of sophistry, and the theoretical system was far less rigorous than the logic of the West starting from Aristotle, and the famous school was not taken seriously until later, so traditional scholars like Shen Yu often debated with loopholes-

Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "Lord Shen resolutely did not believe that these Jesuits came from tens of thousands of miles away from the West yesterday, but today he opposes the introduction of the Western calendar on the grounds that they are tens of thousands of miles away in different geographical areas. ”

A few of the officials who were listening laughed, thinking that Shen Yu was forced into a mess by Zhang Yuan, and Shen Yu was far from being Zhang Yuan's opponent-

Xu Ruke, Langzhong of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, saw that Shen Yuli was short of words, so he stepped forward and said: "Even if there is a mistake in the Great Unification Calendar, it is absolutely impossible to appoint Westerners to repair the calendar. ”

Zhang Yuan said: "If Lord Xu has a better way to modify the Great Unification Calendar, it would be great." ”

Xu Ruke obviously did not have the ability to repair the calendar, and said: "Is Zhang Xiushu so convinced that the Western calendar is better than the unified calendar? ”

Zhang Yuan slowed down and said: "The unification calendar has been used for more than three hundred years, and the Hijri calendar used to make up for it has gone through thousands of years. It can be used differently at any time, as evidenced by the fact that Qin Tianjian made several mistakes in predicting the eclipse of the sun and the moon, and that he did not predict it in the Western calendar. ”

Shen Yu relieved himself and said: "The Great Unification Calendar has gone through hundreds of years, and it is reasonable to make occasional mistakes, and it is not uncommon for the Western calendar to be correctly calculated once or twice. ”

Zhang Yuan stared at Shen Yu and said slowly: "The imperial calendar sets the twenty-four solar terms. Guide the four people to recuperate and rest. Repeated mistakes are detrimental to the dignity of the royal family and the imperial court, and it is something that Lord Shen can ignore with an understatement. It takes courage to stick to your own point of view, and Lord Shen has the courage to make a pact with me: if the prediction of the solar and lunar eclipses according to the Western calendar is wrong in the next three years, then I will resign and return to Shaoxing; If the prediction is correct according to the Western calendar, the Qin Tianjian is very wrong. Then Lord Shen doesn't have to have a vegetarian meal at the corpse seat of the Ministry of Rites, how about it? ”

The atmosphere in Yilun Hall suddenly became tense, and Guo Shu, a bachelor, shook his head again and again, but Zhu Youxiao, the emperor who was on the throne, was overjoyed, isn't this a bet, and couldn't help but say loudly: "Great, great, just bet like this." ”

Eunuch Zhong on the side tugged at Zhu Youxiao's sleeve and signaled Zhu Youxiao not to speak.

Shen Yu knew in his heart that the Western calendar might be more accurate. But now it is not a question of whether it is accurate or not, but the distinction of Huayi, as long as it is Western, no matter whether it is good or bad, it will not be accepted, so Shen Yu will not make this bet with Zhang Yuan, and he said solemnly: "My official position is ordered by the emperor." Assessed by the officials, how can it be equated with the people of the market, clamoring for gambling, which is disrespectful to the famous weapons of the imperial court. ”

At this moment, Shen Yu took advantage of it, and Zhang Yuan smiled contemptuously. said: "Gewu Zhizhi, Qiankun Langlang." Don't you dare to insist on what you see, come all the way to Beijing to argue about something, just want to sell your reputation and reputation? ”

Shen Yu was extremely angry, and when he looked left and right, the eldest grandson of the emperor in Yilun Hall was the most noble, so he saluted the eldest grandson of the emperor and said, "Hanlin official Zhang Yuan insulted the minister——"

Zhu Youxiao decisively presided over justice: "Then you will bet with Mr. Zhang." ”

Shen Yu was speechless, and the eldest grandson of the emperor glanced at Shen Yu, and said: "You don't dare to bet with Mr. Zhang, and you can't come up with a better way to change the calendar than Mr. Zhang, so what do you want to do?" ”

The emperor's eldest grandson summed it up sharply, there was silence in Yilun Hall, and Shen Yu and the others were greatly frustrated, this debate has been completely out of their control, and now it seems that not only is it difficult to enforce the ban on teaching, but these Westerners are very likely to participate in the cultivation of the calendar!

Zhang Yuan said: "Mount Tai does not let the soil become its big, the river and the sea do not choose a trickle so it can become its deep, the king is not only the common people can understand its virtues, how can I not tolerate the Western ministers?" The unification calendar is old, the greater the error in the calculation of solar terms, the more important the calendar, why can't it be changed if there is a mistake? ”

Shen Yu and the others were silent.

Zhang Yuan said: "Please Siduo Xiong for His Royal Highness and the adults to demonstrate Jian Pingyi, you can understand some basic knowledge of the astronomical calendar, Jian Pingyi is actually an astrolabe, compared with Zhang Heng's armillary sphere in the Han Dynasty, this kind of astrolabe is mentioned in the Hijri calendar." ”

Xiong Sanba took out a circular copper disk with a copper ring, the front of the copper disk is engraved with the horizon coordinate network, the equatorial projection and other scales, and is equipped with a rotatable mesh ring and a watch mark, and the back of the astrolabe is painted with a scale for determining the position of the sun on the ecliptic and a peep watch——

Xiong Sanba said to the emperor's eldest grandson: "Your Highness, the demonstration astrolabe needs to be under the sky, and it must be facing the sun, moon and stars. ”

Zhu Youxiao said: "Then go to the open space outside the hall to demonstrate." ”

Xiong Sanba walked out of Yilun Hall with a plate, the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Youxiao followed out with great interest, and the other officials saw that the emperor's eldest grandson went to watch, wouldn't it be rude for them not to go, so they all followed out, only the old monk lotus pond was the most calm, sitting and chanting Buddha, and did not move.

On the side of the terrace outside Yilun Hall, Xiong Sanba first hangs the astrolabe vertically, and aims at the sun through the peep watch on the astrolabe, generally sunny days after the snow, and the sun is very bright today, Xiong Sanba shows everyone how to calculate the height of the sun from the earth, and then moves the net ring and the watch mark through certain rules, you can calculate the accurate moment at the moment......

Xiong Sanba explained and demonstrated for half an hour, these Hanlin officials were originally smart and talented people, as long as they were not as stubborn as Shen Yu, they all had a lot of understanding of astronomical knowledge, and the most interested in this was the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Youxiao, he asked Xiong Sanba to give him this astrolabe, he wanted to take it to the palace to play, Xiong Sanba naturally couldn't ask for it, and hurriedly presented it.

It was already early at noon, the emperor's eldest grandson returned to the palace, and the officials were waiting for their respective dispersal, when Master Lotus Pond, who had not spoken, suddenly asked the waiter to stop Xu Guangqi and Zhang Yuan, and Zhang Yuan went over and respectfully asked Master Lotus Pond what instructions he had?

The old monk Lianchi looked at Xu Guangqi and Zhang Yuandao: "Shen Tanyue invited the old man to Beijing, it is really unwise, Buddhism comes from Tianzhu, Catholicism comes from the West, Shen Tanyue wants to state Huayi's distinction, he should only use Confucianism and Catholicism to refute it, and he should not call the old monk, so the old monk had to say nothing." ”

Shen Yu on the side also felt ashamed, this was indeed his lack of consideration, and if he wanted to argue, he should argue separately, Confucianism and Catholicism, Buddhism and Catholicism, now they are mixed together like this, only to hinder each other-

The old monk Lianchi said: "The old man listened to these two debates, this Zhang Hanlin advocates inclusiveness, which is very good, but the old man wants to ask, since we want to be inclusive, then why do Catholic priests repeatedly destroy my Buddha, and even destroy Buddha statues?" When the Taixi missionaries entered the Ming Dynasty, they first disguised themselves as monks, known as Western monks, and the Buddhist monks along the way were also very friendly to these Western monks. ”

Uncle Xu echoed: "It's just a speculative camper." ”

Zhang Yuan knew that what Master Lianchi said was the truth, and bowed down and said, "Master has taught me that there is indeed something wrong with Catholicism. He said to Xu Guangqi: "Xu Zanshan, please reply to Master Lianchi, if Catholicism wants to spread in the Ming Dynasty, it must respect the traditions of the Ming Dynasty, and the Jesuits can preach doctrines to make people believe, but they cannot force others to believe in religion, and what religion to believe is everyone's freedom, and Buddhism cannot be used as a target to attack." ”

Xu Guangqi was silent, and said for a while: "Wait for me to discuss with Priest Long and the others, and reply to Master Lianchi tomorrow, how about it?" ”

The old monk Lianchi nodded, turned to look at Zhang Yuan, his dry and thin face showed a smile, and he said: "Sure enough, it is the person who Senior Brother Tiantong has bumped into, and this kind of bearing is a great person who is beneficial to the common people." "After that, he held the waiter's shoulders and went out of the country to the Great Longfu Temple.

Shen Yu and the others couldn't understand what Master Lotus Pond said, they only knew that Master Lotus Pond was very satisfied with Zhang Yuan's answer.

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This chapter is well written, as long as the calendar can be modified, Zhang Yuan's resistance to change in the future will be much smaller, please ask Zhang for encouragement.