The person who visited Su Ze was a middle-aged man wearing a Confucian scholar's uniform. Lin Qingcai also saw that he had an extraordinary bearing, so he immediately informed Su Ze.
Calmness is very important at all times and in all countries. Its function is similar to Su Ze's charm attribute. People with good temperament are more likely to attract attention and be taken seriously.
Since "The Surprise" became popular, people often come to the editorial office to ask to see Su Ze.
Su Ze will also take time to meet with them because he knows the importance of reputation.
In ancient times, transportation was underdeveloped, so if you wanted to rebel, you naturally had to have charisma. Throughout the ages, those who could initiate rebellion were famous local people.
Meeting these visitors once a day and chatting with them doesn't take much time, but it can maintain Su Ze's good reputation, so why not do it.
Although Su Ze rushed back to the county town after a long journey, he still met with the visiting middle-aged man.
"Mr. Su."
The other party held up his hand as a courtesy, and Su Ze quickly said: "I don't dare to call you an elder. If you don't give up, just call me Rulin."
Wang Daokun was even more satisfied with Su Ze. Su Ze was not proud of his reputation. This is what a scholar should look like!
As a provincial inspector, Wang Daokun had naturally seen many arrogant scholars, but he was really happy that the truly talented Su Ze was so low-key.
"My surname is Wang and my courtesy name is Boyu. I have been doing business here and read Rulin's article on the way, so I came here to pay my respects."
Wang Daokun added: "How about we talk about friendship as equals?"
Su Ze saw that the other person was in his early thirties, but he looked a bit mature with his serious look, so he also said: "Brother Boyu."
"Brother Rulin, my family is from Huizhou Prefecture in Nanzhili. Our family also has a book printing business. I would like to buy the complete volume of "The Peony Pavilion" from you and take it back for printing."
Wang Daokun is indeed not lying. He comes from a prominent family in She County, Huizhou Prefecture. The big families in Huizhou Prefecture are engaged in business, and his family does have a printing shop.
It turns out I was buying books.
Since The Peony Pavilion became popular, there were indeed businessmen from other places offering to buy the complete set of plays. Su Ze always accepted the order, asking for five hundred taels of silver, and sold "The Peony Pavilion" in one lump sum.
The reason is very simple. There is no copyright law these days. If businessmen from other places really want to print it, can Su Ze still go out of Nanping to litigate with them?
The awareness of copyright in the Ming Dynasty was quite weak, and there was nothing that could be done when it came to plagiarism. Not to mention an ordinary scholar like Su Ze, even the collected works of Ge Lao at that time were pirated and printed. Even Ge Lao could not do anything. What could Su Ze do? .
This kind of people who come to ask for articles are just looking at "The Peony Pavilion" that is on the market and it has not yet been serialized, and asking for a copy of the full text. This can be regarded as a conscientious publisher.
An unscrupulous publisher collects the Peony Pavilion dramas on the market, then goes back to find someone to write them randomly, and compiles them into a book and publishes them to make money.
Su Ze acted like a businessman negotiating the price, which surprised Wang Daokun.
"Brother Rulin is not opposed to selling books, right?"
Su Ze said: "There is nothing to contradict. Buying and selling is a voluntary process by both parties. If Brother Boyu is willing to buy, I am naturally willing to sell."
Su Ze added: "Brother Boyu is willing to pay for it because he appreciates my plays. Since we are close friends, why are we ashamed to talk about money?"
Wang Daokun laughed, but he thought Su Ze was a wonderful person.
These days, the commercial atmosphere in the Huizhou area of South Zhili is very strong, and Huizhou businessmen are also famous all over the world.
Wang Daokun has been exposed to it since he was a child and has no objection to business matters. Su Ze's words suit him.
When Su Ze saw the fat sheep coming to his door, he immediately said: "The asking price is five hundred taels, but before the serialization of "The Surprise" is completed, it is not allowed to be sold to Fujian. How about it?"
On the contrary, Wang Daokun felt that Su Ze's offer was too low.
I remember when he was a Jinshi in the imperial examination, a bookseller from Fujian came to ask for an article. At that time, the price offered was fifty taels of silver for an article.
Su Ze's 52% off "Peony Pavilion" set has a buyout price of only 500 taels of silver, which can be said to be quite cheap.
Wang Daokun immediately asked the book boy outside the door to pay. Su Ze saw that he could take out five hundred taels of silver in one go, and felt that he was a rich man.
Since someone else paid, Su Ze was more willing to chat with him.
Su Ze handed the copied full text of "The Peony Pavilion" to Wang Daokun, only to see him read it eagerly.
Wang Daokun is known as the most productive and erudite scholar of the Ming Dynasty. He could read Tang poetry at the age of three, recite it at the age of five, and was awarded the Jinshi at the age of 23. He was a typical top question writer in the Ming Dynasty.
In his lifetime, he wrote hundreds of essays and thousands of poems. He also composed dramas based on music and rhythm. Five of his dramas have been passed down to later generations. It can be said that he has a very wide range of interests.
Wang Daokun's reading speed was very fast, and he quickly finished the entire set of plays. He said with unfinished meaning:
"With this delicacy, I'm afraid I won't be able to read dramas anymore!"
Su Ze thought to himself, "It's not that bad." He counted the days and found that Tang Xianzu was already nine years old. If he didn't continue to copy, when Tang Xianzu grew up, you should be alive to see his plays.
Wang Daokun closed the book and said: "When I was young, I also wanted to delve into folk art, but my father and ancestors stopped me, so I never embarked on this path. Alas."
When Wang Daokun was young, he read miscellaneous books for a while and also tried to compose music. Naturally, he was beaten by his grandfather and father.
At a young age, he was admitted as a scholar in Nanzhili, where the imperial examination competition was fierce. It was the hope of his family, so it was naturally impossible for him to study for leisure.
Although he has been admitted as a Jinshi and has been an official for several years, this matter is still a regret in Wang Daokun's heart, and he couldn't help but express it when he met Su Ze today.
Su Ze immediately said: "What's the matter? It's never too late for Brother Boyu to pick up his pen."
Wang Daokun looked at Su Ze and asked, "Isn't it too late?"
Su Ze said with a smile: "It's not too late. Since ancient times, there are people who are precocious and people who are late bloomers. It's never too late to write books."
Wang Daokun suddenly sensed the sound and said, "What do you think Brother Rulin should write?"
Su Ze said almost without hesitation: "."
"Why?"
Su Ze said: "The art of poetry has been completed in the Tang and Song Dynasties! The prose of this family has been the most shining among writers since the pre-Qin Dynasty! Even in the art of folk music, there are pearls of Yuan opera at the forefront."
"People of a certain period should have their own articles. The only one in the Ming Dynasty that can be different from its predecessors and be passed down to future generations is this!"
What Su Ze said was sincere. It was the dominant field for literati in the Ming Dynasty. Writing was definitely more advantageous than writing poetry.
Wang Daokun even felt that Su Ze was his confidant and that he only had some vague ideas. Su Ze pointed out Shi Wen's direction to the point.
Wang Daokun thought of the beginning of what he had just written, and said worriedly: "The way of poetry, especially in the Tang and Song Dynasties, was the right path of the imperial examination. Only when the imperial examination was banned in the Yuan Dynasty did literati compose music to express their feelings. Is this writing?"
Su Ze immediately said: "What's the difference between styles? There are country slang songs in the Book of Songs, and Yuefu poems are sung by the people."
"Even the Qin Wen and Han Fu, which people at that time considered noble, were just articles written by people at that time. What is the difference between them and the eight-legged essay we write now?"
“Poets of the Tang and Song Dynasties were not ashamed of writing poetry, so why should we, the Ming Dynasty, be ashamed of writing?”
"Articles are used to convey the Tao. The subject matter of the article is only different in the tools used to convey the Tao. Poetry is a cart, folk art is a horse, and it is a boat. How can the evaluation of future generations be divided into high and low?"
Hearing Su Ze's words, Wang Daokun felt like he was about to cry. What is a confidant? This is called a confidant!
With Su Ze's encouragement, Wang Daokun decided to go back and write a few more chapters!
Yes, although I wrote Fengyue’s book, I also came from a critical education!
After establishing his own creative path, Wang Daokun felt that Su Ze was more pleasing to his eyes. He added:
"I heard that Brother Rulin also compiled a book called "Guwen Guanzhi", but I went to all the bookstores in Nanping and couldn't buy it."
Su Ze waved his hand and said: "We just printed an additional 100 sets. If Brother Boyu wants it, I'll give you one set as a gift."
The other party paid five hundred taels of silver for the copyright fee, so Su Ze would not be stingy with a book. Just as a new batch of Gu Wen Guan Zhi was printed, he took out a book from the side room where the books were piled up and handed it to Wang Daokun.
Looking at "Guanwen Guanzhi" with the scent of ink still floating around, Wang Daokun opened the catalog and found several ancient articles that he had never read.
Huizhou has a prosperous cultural heritage, and there are many families with book collections. Even the Wang family has a library that collects many unique and rare books from the Song Dynasty.
But even a well-born scholar like Wang Daokun has not read many famous works by famous writers.
However, reading prose cannot be as casual as reading dramas. The information content of these ancient texts is extremely high, and you need to sit down and read slowly.
However, Wang Daokun first opened the table of contents and found an article he had read called "The Master's Guide". The article was the same as what he remembered. Su Ze and Hai Rui even made notes on some of the contents in the "Master's Table" and included some of the things mentioned in the article. The historical events are listed in detail, allowing people who have not read the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms to have a better understanding of the contents of the list.
Wang Daokun was even more surprised. He originally thought that "Guwen Guanzhi" was just an ordinary collection of essays. This kind of thing actually existed in the Song Dynasty. As long as you read enough, you can naturally compile it. To put it bluntly, this is a matter of money.
In terms of the number of articles included, can you compare to "Yongle Dadian"? This book is still hidden in the Hanlin Academy. Wang Daokun did a lot of reading when he was in the Hanlin Academy.
But being able to write annotations for ancient texts is different. This means that Su Ze has reached a comprehensive understanding of the various historical events in Chu Shi Biao and the historical background of the article. When it is very difficult to acquire knowledge, a set of general guides for governance is common. With a few years of income, it can be said that there are very few people who can do this.
"Are these annotations written by Ru Lin?"
Su Ze nodded and said, "This is an annotation jointly made by my teacher and the county professor, Hai Rui. Some of the annotations were added by me after research."
Wang Daokun asked a few more comments in the teacher's list, and was even more surprised to see Su Ze's fluent answers.
Although Fujian has a prosperous literary style, it is still not as good as Southern Zhili. Wang Daokun is already well-read, but his understanding of "Chu Shi Biao" is not as thorough as Su Ze's.
This is not because Wang Daokun's literary level is not good, but because his understanding of the history of the Three Kingdoms is not as good as Su Ze's, and he is not as knowledgeable as Su Ze about the situation of the Shu Han at that time, so his understanding of the article is biased.
Su Ze was able to make such an accurate annotation only by relying on Level 6 history and Level 6 literature. You must know that in the history of Su Ze's plane, the two generations of the Wu family who compiled ancient texts took almost a lifetime. This completed the compilation of this book.
What can be compared with this book is the "Selected Works of Zhaoming" compiled by Prince Zhaoming of the Southern Liang Dynasty. You must know that this was compiled by the official power of the Southern Dynasty and took many years to compile, and it only covers the period from the former Qin Dynasty to the Southern Liang Dynasty. Centenary articles.
However, "Selected Works of Zhaoming" is a collection of poems and songs, while Guwen Guanzhi is only prose. However, after the Southern Liang Dynasty, there were also the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. These were all periods when famous prose writers emerged in large numbers. The difficulty of compiling "Selected Works of Guwenzhi" was no less than that of "Selected Works of Zhaoming".
The uncles and nephews of the Wu family also made annotations for Guanwen Guanzhi, and Su Ze only perfected part of the annotations.
Wang Daokun continued to read, and next was the comment written by Su Ze.
"Is this comment made by Brother Rulin?"
"Brother Boyu please correct the family's opinions."
In order to pass on his private goods, Su Ze used the passive skill of "Six Classics Notes on Me", focusing on the short commentary on each ancient article.
In order to make it easier to spread, Su Ze used a repartee method to comment on the article based on the conversation between the "wise old man" and the "foolish old man".
The comments written by Su Ze are naturally carefully selected personal items. For example, in this article "The Master's Guide", Su Ze used a dialogue.
Foolish Old Man: In my opinion, Zhuge Wuhou's government is similar to that of King Anshi of the Song Dynasty. They both followed the methods of Shang and Shen. How can they be ignored in future generations?
Zhisou: There is no other way. Zhuge Liang had no intention of promoting Shang Dynasty but used his skills. Wang Anshi used the actual intention of promoting Shang Dynasty but concealed his name.
Yusou: They all use Shen Shang’s method, so what’s the difference?
Zhisou: Zhuge Liang used Legalist methods because the Shu Han Dynasty was in troubled times and could only use the knowledge of Shen Shang to govern Shu. But he himself has no selfish motives, can express his policy outline openly, insists on punishing those who make mistakes, and rewards those who have made merit regardless of their origins, so Shu can be governed well.
Wang Anshi also knew the knowledge of Shen Shang, and his reforms also followed the methods of the Legalists. However, although Wang Anshi also had the same ambition as Zhuge Wuhou to help the world, there were also many people who opposed him, so he could only rely on Zhou Li to carry out it. political reform.
In order to promote the reform, Wang Anshi could not be as public-minded as Zhuge Liang. He had to use some talented but unscrupulous villains and give them benefits to promote the new law. Therefore, although the new law was completed, it soon degenerated into a vicious law that exploited the people. .
Yusou: So Wang Anshi's talent is not as good as Zhuge Liang's, so this happened?
Zhisou: That's not the case. Wang Anshi's talent is not necessarily worse than Zhuge Liang's, it's just because Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty, could completely trust Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei only had a public intention to revive the Han Dynasty and had no personal selfishness.
Shenzong of the Song Dynasty was not firm in appointing Wang Anshi to reform, while the later emperors of the Zhao and Song Dynasties appointed the New Party for the purpose of enriching themselves and enjoying themselves, so they had completely different results.
Finally, Zhisou said: If all the emperors in the world put state affairs as high priority as Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty, the new law would be a powerful weapon to enrich the country and strengthen the army. If all the emperors in the world are like the emperors of Zhao and Song, then the new law will be a means for the court to exploit the people. The more complete the new law is, the more miserable the people will be.
No matter how wealthy a country is, it will be hollowed out by the selfish desires of emperors and corrupt officials.
After Wang Daokun finished reading, he couldn't calm down for a long time.
He raised his hands to Su Ze and said, "Rulin, you are a great talent!"
This paragraph took four hours to write. . .
Don't talk about water, this is so difficult to write. . .
(End of chapter)
