The Battle of Arts and Sciences

Preface to Literary and Scientific Rivalry

Philosophy awakens our wisdom, while mathematics reveals the laws of nature. From these two fields, the great principles of the world unfold. How many mysteries lie within them?

Even the ancient sage Suigu, who passed down the Way, could not express a fraction of its wonders. In modern times, a group of Western scholars forcibly divided it in two, naming one side the humanities and the other the sciences.

Those who study the humanities understand themselves and connect with the universe. They can seize the stars and the moon, and shake Kunlun with a single gesture.

Those who study the sciences observe the universe and perfect themselves. Their skills approach the Way, and with a snap of their fingers, they can call upon the might of Heaven.

There are also those who place their faith in momentum, following the tide of history and defying Heaven’s will with the people’s support. The founding emperor of Huaxia called this “ability.”

Perhaps the world is still the same world. But when the grace and grandeur of the humanities are no longer just monotonous words on a page, and the wonders and breadth of the sciences are no longer dry formulas, how vast will this world seem to us?