The plan for the year begins with spring. In late spring, not only the flowers and willows of the princes and grandsons are blooming, but also the farmers' skin is warm and the merchants are dining and sleeping in the open air, which interweaves the prosperity of Yongzhou.
Wei Zong of Fancheng came from a poor family and lived on his family's hundred acres of farmland. His wife, Wang, took care of the family business, allowing him to study peacefully.
A few years ago, Governor Yang promoted Confucianism in the territory and built schools. Fancheng also recruited teachers with a monthly salary of six dan.
Wei Zong went to apply for the job happily. With a salary of six stones, his wife did not have to work day and night, and his children could have more food and clothing on weekdays.
The teachers recruited were not restricted to their origins, but the small amount of money and food would not be taken seriously by the disciples of the family. Wei Zong thought that no one would go.
When I arrived at the Fancheng County Yamen at the same time, I discovered that there were actually as many as eighteen people who had come to apply. Some of them were old acquaintances. They had been together at poetry gatherings in the past, and they were all children from poor families like myself.
The person who came to preside over the recruitment was the literary scholar Kong Xian. Each person was asked three questions, selected from "The Analects" and "The Book of Rites". In addition to filling in the blanks, he also had to explain the meaning of the scriptures. Wei Zong was very lucky. He read more on weekdays. These two scriptures were chosen among the applicants and became one of the three teachers.
The school was run by the government and admitted literate children between the ages of eight and twelve, regardless of their origins. All children of scholars, farmers, industry and merchants could enroll.
There are forty-three students in Fancheng Academy. Wei Zong stood on the podium, facing a pair of eager eyes. He recalled the time when his father taught him how to read when he was a child. He felt lucky for those students. Thanks to Governor Yang, these students had the ability to recognize Opportunity for literacy rituals.
Wei Zong was deeply aware of the great responsibility and did not dare to neglect his teachings. Two years later, he was recruited by the county government to serve as a councilor. Although he was only a ninth-rank official, he officially became an official.
After receiving the imperial edict from the government, Wei Zong got drunk and was full of gratitude to Governor Yang. If it hadn't been for Hongnong Gong, he would have had the opportunity to become an official.
He is a member of the government, and is a loose official with no fixed position. He consults and responds to the affairs of the county government and has an annual salary of one hundred and twenty dan. Although the salary increase is not much, there are intangible benefits brought by joining the officialdom. According to the "ranking official occupying land and yinke system", the ninth-ranking official can occupy ten hectares of land, with one yinke, which greatly improves the situation of the family.
On May 16, it was Wei Zong's turn to take a rest. Wei Zong took his family across the river to Xiangyang. He had long heard that Xiangyang City was prosperous in the west market. Now he had some spare money, so he took his wife and children to the market, bought some household things, and stopped by Goulan to listen to music.
They made an appointment to meet in the north of Jinshi half an hour later. His wife Wang took his daughter to Bushi, while Wei Zong took his son Wei Xin to the book store. Wei Xin is eight years old this year and has learned to read on his own two years ago. Wei Xin plans to send him to school this year to buy some pens, ink and paper.
After buying pen and paper, it was still early. Wei Zong took his son to visit the book store. With spare money in hand, he also wanted to buy some calligraphy and paintings to decorate the store.
There was a book shop in front of him with a huge crowd. Wei Zong came forward to look at it out of curiosity. There was a plaque "Zhiyuan Zhai" hanging above the book shop, and it was signed by Guo Gao.
The scribes Wei Zong saw all had books in their hands. This kind of bound books came from Runan and was said to have been invented by Governor Yang. But now that books are sold in various bookstores, why rush to grab them here? Could it be that they are on sale at a huge price?
Wei Zong bowed to a scribe who had just come out of the study with a smile on his face and said, "Brother, what is for sale in this study that attracts everyone to grab it?"
The scribe saw that Wei Zong was wearing a green shirt and a turban, and he seemed to be a scholar. He returned the favor and said, "Zhiyuanzhai sells books. A three-volume copy of The Analects of Confucius only costs 600 yuan."
Wei Zong was stunned. There were occasionally copied scriptures for sale in bookstores. The price of "The Analects of Confucius" was usually about 800 to 1,000 yuan. In the past, Wei Zong's family was poor, so he borrowed a friend's "The Analects" to copy it, but copying it by hand was time-consuming. It’s time-consuming, it’s easy to make mistakes and omissions when you’re in a hurry, and the quantity is small.
Six hundred yuan for three volumes, the price is really cheap. No wonder so many people are vying for it. It's just that the number of copied books is at most ten or twenty, which is not enough for so many people to compete for. If the handwriting is neat and the transcription is correct, I might as well buy it for the new son for six hundred dollars to save him the trouble of transcribing it.
Wei Zong looked at the book in the scribe's hand and said with a smile, "Brother, can you let me take a look at it?"
The scribe hesitated for a moment, then handed the book to Wei Zong and warned: "My dear friend, be careful. This book was edited by the Holy Tinghou. It is really precious."
What, Wei Zong felt that the book in his hand weighed a thousand pounds. Fengsheng Tinghou was a descendant of Confucius, and the Analects of Confucius he edited must be the most standard.
What kind of book is this? Why does it have a portrait of Confucius on the cover? Next to the words "The Analects of Confucius" there are four small characters written by Kong Yi.
Opening the book, the words inside were three-thirds in size and clearly written. What surprised Wei Zong most was the addition of a sentence, which made it particularly eye-catching when read.
"Good book", Wei Zongli couldn't put it down. He flipped through a few pages and realized that the words didn't look like they were copied. Looking up at the scribe, Wei Zong asked: "Brother, who copied this Analects of Confucius?"
The scribe smiled and said, "Brother, I don't know. This Analects of Confucius is not a copy, but a rubbing made after listening to the clerk's lecture."
Wei Zong was a little surprised and said: "Why is the rubbing in Yangwen? It's weird."
The scribe wanted to return the book from Wei Zong and said: "It is said that the bookstore has printed five hundred books this time. If my brother wants to rush in and buy them, I'm afraid they will be gone if it's too late."
After thanking the scribe, Wei Zong took his son and squeezed into the bookstore. The bookstore was very large, with a length and width of more than ten feet. It was different from other bookstores. The books for sale were placed on wooden shelves and arranged in several rows. , for people to choose from.
Seeing that there were many books on the wooden shelves, Wei Zong felt relieved and took his son to browse slowly with the flow of people. The first thing he saw was the combined edition of the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra and the Mahaprajnaparamita Great Ming Mantra Sutra. It was a thin volume and cost a hundred dollars. Then Wei Zong saw the Analects of Confucius that he wanted to buy, which was three volumes thick. A thick stack.
Wei Zong took the book and looked through it. He found that the handwriting was exactly the same as the scribe's hand. He also added sentences to read. Sure enough, it was not a copy but a rubbing. Seeing the strong and powerful handwriting, Wei Zong couldn't help but stretch out his hand to draw.
Wei Xin urged: "Sir, it's getting late, and my mother and sister have to wait impatiently."
Wei Zong then quickened his pace and turned around, and found that in addition to "The Analects of Confucius", there were also "Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", which were edited by the great scholars Guo Gao and Wang Zhi respectively.
It was all written by everyone. Wei Zong happily paid the nine hundred yuan, held a few books in his arms, and kept saying that the trip was well worth it.
News of the sale of rubbings of books in Zhiyuan Zhai, a book shop in the West City, spread quickly. Literati from nearby counties came one after another. In just three days, all the books in the Zhiyuan Zhai were sold out. After more than 200 of the thousand Buddhist scriptures were sold, The Qin merchants who came after hearing the news packed up and bought them all.
A notice was posted in front of Zhiyuan Zhai that printing was being stepped up, and new books would not arrive until five days later. Many people simply stayed in Xiangyang City and visited Zhiyuanzhai every day to see if it was on sale.
Ran excitedly took a bullock cart to look for Kong Miao. Thousands of Buddhist scriptures were printed in advance for the new book, and each copy of "The Analects of Confucius" was worth 100,000 yuan. Five hundred copies of "The Analects" were worth 300,000 yuan. Thousands of copies of "The Great Learning" were worth 100,000 yuan each. Money, one hundred thousand yuan; 200 yuan for each thousand copies of "The Doctrine of the Mean", two hundred thousand yuan, and a total gross profit of 700,000 yuan.
"Excluding the cost, the craftsman's salary can be at least 300,000 yuan," Ran said with a smile: "The engraving has been made, and then we just need to step up the printing. I estimate that if this continues, the net profit for a month will be at least 80 yuan." More than 10,000 yuan.”
Kong Miao didn't expect to earn so much. He recalled Yang Anxuan's explanation last night and said: "Xuanlang said that he would ask the masters to revise the books and add sentences to read. If there is no shortage of polishing fees, they will be paid at the rate of one thousand words per thousand words."
Ran smiled and said: "Your Excellency, you have made more than 10,000 yuan by editing the Analects of Confucius."
Kong Miao added: "Xuanlang also said that if the profit is great, he might as well lower the price of Confucian classics so that more people can buy the books, which can be considered as a contribution to the promotion of Confucianism."
Ran nodded and discussed: "Then the Analects of Confucius will be reduced by another hundred yuan, the Great Learning will be reduced by twenty yuan, and the Doctrine of the Mean will be reduced by fifty yuan. Is that appropriate?"
Kong Miao smiled and said, "Xuanlang asked eldest brother to take care of this matter. You and your wife can go home and discuss it. As for the Buddhist scriptures, there is no need to reduce the price."
Ran returned home and told Kong Yi and Kong Xian about the matter at dinner.
Knowing that all the books in the study were sold out in three days, Kong Yi sighed: "An Xuan's invention of engraving and printing is of immeasurable merit. Scholars all over the world benefit from him."
Kong Xian was very attentive to engraving and printing, which earned him both fame and profit. In addition to his father's editing of "The Analects", he also went to ask for help from Guo Fuzi who edited "The Great Learning" and Wang Fuzi who edited "The Doctrine of the Mean". The plaque of Zhiyuanzhai He also asked for it. When the two masters learned about the engraving, they readily agreed. They just asked for the books to be printed and gave them a few sets as gifts.
Kong Xianze and several fellow apprentices did the copying in person. Yang Anxuan, the woodblock and craftsman used for carving, came forward to explain to Xin He, so there was no problem.
Yang Anxuan was aware of Su Tiedao's leak, so he gathered the engraving craftsmen and their families in a farm outside the city. He also hired the craftsmen's families for rubbing and binding, and assigned work officers to take charge of them to delay the leakage as much as possible.
When Kong Xian learned that Yang Anxuan proposed to lower the price of Confucian classics, he greatly appreciated it and said: "Anxuan told his servant that he could engrave Buddhist scriptures to support the promotion of Confucianism. At that time, he didn't take it seriously. Now it seems that Anxuan has thought carefully. The price of Confucian classics is not bad." If we reduce it further, half of the dividends will be used to buy books and donate them to the school, so that all those who are interested in studying will have books to read."
Kong Yi glanced at his son with relief and said, "My father is very pleased that Xian'er can not be moved by profit. He has been successful in studying in the past few years."
It was rare for his father to praise him, and Kong Xian was a little surprised. Kong Yi asked, "What do you think of what Xian'er said about An Xuan asking the masters to edit the books and polish the pens?"
Mr. Ran smiled and said: "My lords and ladies are so upright and upright, how can they take the retouching fee to heart? An Xuan is worried too much."
Kong Xian thought for a while and said: "Otherwise, masters would not take it seriously, but An Xuan's move had a profound meaning. I remember that when the scripture transmission ceremony was held in Xiangyang, An Xuan once said that the scriptures should not be taught lightly. Ancestors He once reprimanded Zigong for redeeming Lu people without taking their gold, and no one would be willing to redeem people anymore. An Xuan's move was to set rules for the benefit of scholars."
Kong Yi stroked his beard and smiled and said: "You can teach me, boy." Then he said to Ran: "You can use my polished pen to buy books and give them to the students."
Some people died, but not completely...
