NOVPUBThe aristocratic families of the Three Kingdoms period were mostly nobles from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, as for the marquis aristocracy that was enfeoffed during the Chu-Han contention, they were essentially all "harmonized" by Emperor Jing and Emperor Wu, and similarly, few of the household generals who followed Guangwu remained, it should be said that these families from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods had learned how to preserve themselves amid the chaotic struggles of the Warring States...
The inheritance of these nobles from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods was essentially the same set of teachings from the Hundred Schools of Thought, either descendants of a certain master from among these schools or the direct disciples of one, or simply absorbed the essence of one of these schools.
Chen Xi had already confirmed this in the Chen Family’s collection of books; although the Hundred Schools of Thought were no more, their legacy had, for the most part, survived. Most of it had been turned into family teachings by the aristocratic families, including the Confucian School...
However, due to Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s burning of books and burying of Confucian scholars, the exchanges between the different schools decreased, and by the time of the Chu-Han chaos, each became even more cautious. Later, in the early Han Dynasty, the ideology of Huang Lao was somewhat revived, but before the Hundred Schools could fully rise again, Dong Zhongshu flattered Emperor Wu of Han and dismissed all the Schools.
Naturally, the collective Schools wrapped themselves in a layer of Confucian skin and secretly hid away, becoming the family teachings of the aristocratic families, no longer exchanging ideas with others. Whether out of self-admiration or clinging to remnants, the ideas of the Hundred Schools were deeply delved into by the families without external discourse.
It is worth mentioning the prowess of the Pre-Qin masters, as throughout four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, the various families kept delving deeper, and despite producing numerous gifted individuals, it still took until the late Eastern Han Dynasty to exhaust the wisdom handed down from the masters of the Schools.
In other words, these families spent four hundred years developing their family teachings to the extreme, and having nowhere else to go, internal confusion about their ideologies began to arise.
Normally, a person educated in a family’s teachings, if nothing else, would mostly have a consistent ideology. However, now, looking at the Chen and Xun families, it’s clear there’s more than just placing bets—it’s outright a split in the family due to ideological conflicts.
This is also why, even though popular education is akin to undermining the foundations of the aristocratic families and threatening their very existence, some of these families are doing it themselves and doing it quite happily.
For example, Yingchuan Academy in Yuzhou is essentially founded by the Xun and Chen families. They welcome not only members of aristocratic families but anyone they find agreeable. Likewise, Lumen Academy in Jingzhou is established by an aristocratic family, and they don’t have strict requirements for students either, as can be seen from the case of Xu Shu, who was of humble origins and yet was able to enroll.
At the core of it, the families of this period did not know which direction to take, whether to solidify their social strata or to disperse their family teachings to restore the ancient glory, to revive the contention among the Hundred Schools, or to integrate diverse ideas, achieve enlightenment, and innovate to create new schools of thought. All of these measures were being taken, as they had run out of roads to walk and, in desperation, sought change.
It is worth noting that even within the Sima family, staunch supporters of solidifying the social strata, there were direct descendants vociferously proposing to thoroughly disperse the family teachings and restore the glory of the Hundred Schools, showing just how fraught with contradictions the internal thoughts of the aristocratic families had become.
This was what left Chen Xi most speechless: the internal thoughts of the aristocratic families had started to descend into chaos, and much like trying out new commerce laws as Chen Xi did before, no one would know right from wrong without attempting it first.
"To speak frankly, although the millennia-old families have uniformly acknowledged the solidification of social strata, it is simply because there are ancient techniques to follow. Whether these rigid social strata will prevail in the end still depends on who has the greater might. It is possible that those who have spread their family knowledge far and wide might emerge victorious, for no one can clearly foresee the future. This is what Chen Qun confided to Chen Xi,"
"In any case, the prestigious families are now fearless. Even if they face an abyss with no way forward, they would still venture to try. Should the diffusion of family knowledge ignite a collision of thoughts and reach the apex of development, ushering in a golden age of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the great families would not mind, like during the late Warring States period, reaping the harvest once more, gathering the cultural jewels back into their embrace, and then relishing a thousand years of blessings,"
To tell you the truth, nearly all the sages of these families believe that reaping the thoughts of the Hundred Schools of Thought again and extending the blessings for hundreds of years is far more reliable than solidifying social strata. This was personally conveyed by Chen Qun to Chen Xi.
Furthermore, Chen Qun confidently assured Chen Xi that as long as the spirited sparks of this flourishing variety could be revived, his Chen Family would surely be able to capture a segment of its essence, as they did hundreds of years ago. With this essence, the Chen Family could prosper for hundreds more years, not relying on the lingering shade of their ancestors, but on their family learning, producing prodigies generation after generation without end.
Chen Xi believed these words, for all these families had lived through that era. Should such a grand era reemerge, their preparations would surely far exceed those of the ignorant local tyrants. Chen Xi was even more convinced that families who have embraced new cultures would surely experience what Chen Qun had described.
This is also one reason why families with similar ideas sent their kin to Liu Bei; they too wanted to create a new golden age, and then absorb the essence of that prosperity to flourish once again.
Unfortunately, such endeavors are impossible for any single family alone. And if all the great families joined forces, do you think the Chen Family could trust the Xun Family?
Even these two local families, which have a good relationship, would be at odds if you consider all the families across the entire Great Han State. With grievances and grudges that simply cannot be reconciled, we’re talking about family knowledge that concerns the life and death of the family here. Even institutions like the Lumen Academy and Yingchuan Academy would not outright expose the most fundamental aspects of their family knowledge, for it’s a matter of life or death...
In other words, the current state of affairs among the great families is rather amusing. In this turbulent age, every person who has been itching to make a move, particularly the younger generation suppressed by their clans, is gearing up for a big fight.
It’s undeniable that within some families, an absolutely domineering ruling faction has emerged, powerful enough to subdue all the splinter factions within the entire family. Take for example Chen Qun of the Chen Family—if it weren’t for the emergence of Chen Xi, the Chen Family would be a unified entity.
As for the Xun Family, while Xun Yu’s strength cannot be denied, the splinter factions within are also considerably powerful. The ideologies of the last generation’s ’Eight Dragons of the Xun Clan’ could not unify, and the next generation is even more of a mess. Had it not been for this generation producing a number of exceptional individuals, the Xun Family would have surely crumbled in the chaos.
Even so, Xun Yu can only just barely suppress the other splinter groups within the Xun Family. Furthermore, his own ideology is different from that of solidifying social strata and reaching the zenith of development. On one hand, he compromises with the likes of Xun Yue, continuing to run private schools; on the other hand, he contemplates restoring ancient rituals to govern the world once more. He then clashes with the theory of the Imperial Family and Han Dynasty advocated by Xun Yan. Turning around, he finds Xun Shen’s authority to be convincing, with logical reasons to quickly quell turmoil and grant the people peace, but the ideology of the Royalist Faction is at odds with it.
Speaking the truth, when Chen Qun shared all this with Chen Xi, even he was bewildered. It’s a marvel that Xun Yu can manage so well; anyone else would have been driven mad by such a bunch of brothers. To continue to maintain the Xun Family’s status while suppressing this group is no easier than serving as the Imperial Secretary under Cao Cao. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
