The Scholars, Chapter 41, Chapter 43
The Scholars was a novel set in the Ming Dynasty. The author was from the Qing Dynasty. The novel has a total of forty-two chapters. It tells the story of Wang Yangming, a writer, politician, and ideologist at the end of the Ming Dynasty, as well as his disciples, classmates, colleagues, enemies, and other characters. The 42nd to 43rd chapters mainly told the story of Wang Yangming's disciple and official Yan Song. In this chapter, Wang Yangming's thought was further developed. He proposed the idea of "conscience" and believed that people should achieve moral perfection by cultivating their own hearts. This thought had a profound influence on the political struggle in the late Ming Dynasty. Wang Yangming also predicted Yan Song's future and thought that he would be punished for his mistakes. Yan Song was deeply disturbed by Wang Yangming's prediction and began to reflect on his mistakes. This time, it also described the interactions between Wang Yangming and other characters, showing his depth of thought and talent. At the same time, the novel also described the fate of some characters, including the fate of Yan Song, the fate of officials, the fate of generals, etc., showing the political turmoil and the fate of the characters in the late Ming Dynasty.