Tantai Doubles Down in Face of Peer Censure, Distances Self From Political MovementIn a conference with regards to recent attacks by Classical Jienists on his tracts, Tantai Wang expressed consternation at the sudden prevalence of the works in political life, though nonetheless lambasted rigid, absolutist textural interpretations:
"I am, perhaps, unaccustomed to this degree of political scrutiny but I feel compelled to defend myself. We live undoubtedly in a complex time, one which has necessitated looking very long and hard at what the Mandate really means and for whom. The classics are clear on these points: Jienshi himself said that ritual not only should be changed but must be changed if it uplifts some to the detriment of others, if the ritual calls for silk and the supplicant cannot afford silk then a lesser fabric should be used. Morality is not fixed, we are not governed by some patronistic Western deity, the classics are again clear on this point: morality, the will of heaven, can be ascertained by the observation of nature; this does not merely unfold as more artistic writers are fond of fabricating with apocalyptic natural disasters in the face of poor governance leading to human suffering, but things are in harmony when they are undertaken in accordance to nature. We know the nature of humans, that is to say, 仁, and facilitating that is the objective of our ritual. Jienism rejects the notion of revolution as the act of a lesser man but we should take social upheavals such as these as a sign that the natural relationships of mankind among one another are improperly ordered. The government is eager to embrace Western theories of market which clearly and brazenly contradict our understanding of humanity for the mere enrichment of their puissance and yet they cry foul when ideas which embrace the Jienist idea of the decency of humanity emerge and demonstrate to the people that all is not well under heaven."
The reformist wing of the Meirentianxiadang, which consists of many of Tantai Wang's like minded colleagues and orthodox Kaoists praised the rebuttal and urged the conservative intellectuals to take signs that reform is needed to heart. Criticisms from more classical Metzists and revolutionary elements linked to labor and human-dignity protests were unexpectedly muted with some organizers praising 'battling the oppressor classes over their own ideological ground' and praising the rebuttal as 'an effective materialist critique of a Jienism intent on ignoring its own signs'.
State of Meritocracy in Indrala in QuestionStudent researchers in Tian'an released a white paper studying the system of Jienist education in Indrala, and while portions of the study surrounding access to resources and overall levels of funding produced positive results a more disturbing section of the study found a marked class-bias with regards to the transmission of Jeinist principles. The study surveyed students at 15 separate secondary schools: 5 in poor and working class neighborhoods, 5 in peasant neighborhoods, and 5 in affluent neighborhoods. When questioned about their Jienist education nine out of ten of poor and working class students and three quarters of peasant students focused on the classic of filial piety and lessons regarding respect of authority, whereas, practically all the students at the affluent schools had fuller understanding and more immediate interest in the Qamching, poems, rites, or histories. This has led many to conclude that Jienist education is not nearly as meritocratic as it often holds and, along with increasing censures of more critical educators, has begun to fuel unease among student groups. Even some moderate educators have quietly expressed fears that a witch hunt against any non-purist Classical Jienist strains may be in the offing if tensions over state rituals continue to mount.
Nascent Party Goes to ConferenceMa Anming, addressing the first conference of the MeirentianxiadangAn internal coalition between the Third-Wave Jienists, Kaoists, and Social-Democratic wings of the Meirentianxiadang have purportedly emerged from the first party conference in Jiaozhi in internal coalition leaving the more classical Cheng Socialist strains, Kaminskiists, Ruanists and other Western ideological tendencies present in the movement without much of a place at the table with regards to the drafting of the party manifesto and model legislation. The party also released information with regards to its organizational structure revealing just over 40,000 members in chapters throughout all the Indralan states. One surprising turn was the large number of mid-level bureaucrats, absent from the protest movement, who stepped down from their jobs to join the reformist party, citing disgust over the Jienist ignorance over conditions among the people particularly with regards to work environments of those they served, and corruption and cronyism between the aristocracy and private sectors. Ma Anming, the party's founder was officially elected to chair the leadership and seemed confident. despite her mentor's troubles in the House of Exemplary Persons that the broader movement would find vindication and even refinement through dialogue.