Great Ming: I Am the Teacher of All Under Heaven

Open a history book from the early Ming dynasty, and the blazing sun named Zhu Yuanzhang hangs high above its pages, so dazzling that no one can look directly at it. Yet a name called Xu Liang shines even brighter, a new star in broad daylight whose light fills every corner of the age, dimming even the sun itself. You could fill several pages with Xu Liang’s titles. Founder of a new age, gravedigger of old Confucianism, pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, teacher of scientific thought, idol of generations of young people, the last sage of Huaxia... In those days, Xu Liang had only to point, and countless Confucian scholars and students would set aside the books of the sages and plunge into the fervent work of building a new age. As they watched the Ming dynasty race off in an unknown direction, many great Confucian scholars and sages beat their chests in anguish: “The Great Way is found only in the books of the sages! You must not put your faith in science!”