The entire "Examining the Present" expounded a very simple principle: people could not imitate ancient laws too rigidly, because the laws of the former kings of antiquity had constantly changed. The famous story of "carving a mark on a boat to find a sword" appeared in this text, teaching people that things were forever changing, and that the perspective and standards by which one viewed them should change as well. One could not cling too stubbornly to the laws of old.
The core view of this article was "Following the Present Kings"—emulating present-day laws. In other words, different laws should be formulated for different eras. This clearly supported the Legalist School's views while opposing the Confucian School's "Following the Former Kings," which advocated emulating the laws of ancient times.
Xunzi had also proposed "Following the Later Kings." Since Xunzi had never personally annotated the phrase, "later kings" had always been greatly disputed. However, most believed it meant that Xunzi advocated following laws from eras closer to one's own, rather than pursuing still more ancient laws, placing him between the Confucian School and the Legalist School.
Fang Yun realized that Saint Zong had used this as a test with a deeper meaning behind it.
For all the reforms Fang Yun had carried out over the years were, in truth, "Following the Present Kings." Even his discussions with Kong Changxun had touched upon "examining the present to know the past."
Saint Zong's deeper meaning was that Fang Yun's so-called Political Way and the reforms he had enacted had never escaped the Miscellaneous School Sacred Way of The Lüshi Chunqiu. What Fang Yun practiced was nothing more than the Miscellaneous School Sacred Way!
If Fang Yun could overturn this "Examining the Present," it would be equivalent to overturning his own Sacred Way.
This