It was August 14th, the fifty-third year of Qianlong's reign, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was one day away.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jiao Xun walked out of Nanjing's Jiangnan Gongyuan in despair after experiencing three nine-day tortures starting from August 8. He no longer had any confidence in this provincial examination. If nothing else goes wrong, 80% of the time this subject will fail!
Jiao Xun was from Yangzhou. He could see typos on Spring Festival couplets at the age of three. He entered a private school to study "Mao Shi" at the age of six. He took the boy's examination at the age of seventeen. He was a scholar at the age of twenty-two and became a Linshan student. However, he did not start from the age of twenty-three. The bad luck begins at the age of 10.
That year, Jiao Xun's parents died of illness one after another, and he was forced to stay at home for three years. He had no time to think about his studies and spent his time studying "The Book of Changes" at home every day.
Unexpectedly, this dear friend has a wide range of interests. When Ding You finished last year, he did not mention picking up the Four Books to review, but began to study the "Book of Songs"; first he revised "The Poems on Birds, Beasts, Plants, Trees, Insects and Fish", and then started "The Book of Songs". "An Interpretation of Mao's Poetry and Geography". In his spare time, he also began to study arithmetic, but he did not read serious books related to the imperial examination. So if he doesn’t fail in this subject, who will?
Jiao Xun's mentality is very good. In short, he will be defeated if he doesn't succeed. Let's talk about it next time. Anyway, my family has land, I don’t have to worry about food and drink, and I can still have enough money to collect ancient books. This man was so obsessed with collecting books that he even sold his land. He even sold his wife's hairpin just to raise money to buy a 1,800-volume "Tongzhitang Jingjie".
Tomorrow is August 15th. Jiao Xun missed his wife and children at home, so he declined all the social activities of the same year. He hurriedly settled the bill at the inn, found a boat from Yanziji to Yangzhou, and took the boat home.
Even if there is an accident, if I win, it will be almost a month before the results are released, so there is plenty of time.
The Qing Dynasty introduced regulations on the time for releasing the results from the 50th year of Kangxi, requiring large provinces to release the results within September 15th, middle provinces within September 10th, and small provinces within September 5th. However, the imperial court only stipulated the time limit for the release of the results, but each province still determined the specific date and time for the release of the results. Because Yin belongs to the tiger and Chen belongs to the dragon, both are auspicious days, so each province has an unwritten rule. Multiple selections are made on the Yin and Chen days to release the list. This is the origin of the "Dragon and Tiger List".
Jiao Xun returned home early the next morning and first lit incense on his parents' memorial tablets. After washing and eating breakfast, his wife Ruan said: "A man came to the door the day before yesterday and delivered a letter. I have asked someone to Accept it. Who do you think the letter is from?"
Jiao Xun said casually: "Who is it?"
Ruan said: "This is Mr. Rong Fu. Did your husband have any relationship with him before?"
"Huh?" Jiao Xun was stunned. Everyone in Jiangnan knew Wang Zhong's famous name. Although the two were in the same city before, Jiao Xun was just a junior and had never been able to make friends. There was suddenly no news about Wang Zhong in the past two years. One year later, even his wife and children suddenly disappeared, leaving only an old servant in the house to look after the house. Many people in Yangzhou speculated that Wang Zhong must have offended someone, and even moved his family to avoid trouble.
This is mainly because Wang Zhong has been depressed for a long time, and his personality has become more and more like Mi Heng. He talks wildly and has a bad mouth. He scolds anyone he catches who doesn't like him, which makes many people unhappy.
Jiao Xun felt very surprised. He had never made friends with Wang Zhong, so how could he suddenly write to him. So he hurriedly said: "Where is the letter? Take it to me quickly."
Ruan said: "It's on the desk in the study. I see you're in a hurry."
Jiao Xun hurried to the study and took a look. He saw that the envelope was sealed with wax. Looking at the handwriting again, it was indeed Wang Zhong's. Jiao Xun became more and more strange, so he hurriedly opened the letter and started reading it. Unexpectedly, Jiao Xun was completely confused after reading it halfway. By the time he finished reading all the pages of the letter, he was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
At about the same time, Hong Liangji, who was celebrating the holidays at his home in Changzhou, also received a letter from Wang Zhong. This guy was a good friend with Wang Zhong, but he was even more confused than Jiao Xun. He thought to himself that this guy had been missing for two years, why did he suddenly write to me? And he even delivers the goods accurately. He actually knows that I am at home. Isn’t this guy keeping an eye on me?
Hong Liangji is two years younger than Wang Zhong, and is forty-three this year. He studied poetry and books diligently since he was a child, and was good at textual research on words and chapters. He was highly appreciated by Yuan Mei and Jiang Shiquan. However, this man, like Wang Zhong, is in trouble, and he has failed to succeed after repeated attempts, and has been wasting his time so far.
However, unlike Wang Zhong who prefers to stay at home, Hong Liangji has a bold personality and likes to travel to famous mountains and rivers. He has traveled to Wu, Yue, Chu, Guizhou, Qin, Jin, Qi, Henan and other places. He often has ten Not at home for months.
Starting from the fifty-second year of Qianlong's reign, Hong Liangji took one year to write the fifty-volume "Qianlong Mansion, Prefectures and Counties Map", which recorded in detail the number of people in each province and prefecture, the prefectures and counties under its jurisdiction, products, and counties. Geographic overview, with maps of rivers and prefectures and counties in each province.
When Hong Liangji finished reading the letter, he was so frightened that he was covered in white hair and sweat. In particular, Wang Zhong mentioned at the end of the letter: "If you are interested, dear brother, please go to Xuzhuang, Sheyang Lake, northern Jiangsu to meet you before September 15th."
Hong Liangji slammed the table and said in his heart, "You Wang Rongfu!" He disappeared suddenly and silently for two years, and even his family members did not know his whereabouts. It turns out that your kid is actually a thief, and he is also a northern pirate who has repeatedly defeated the imperial army!
Thinking of this, Hong Liangji couldn't help but murmured: "Hey! See if I don't write a good reply and humiliate you to repay you for pushing me off the ship."
For someone as good-tempered as Hong Liangji to be able to remember him so much, it shows that Wang Zhong offended him quite a lot.
The incident began a few years ago when Hong Liangji went to Yangzhou to visit Wang Zhong. During the period, the two of them took a boat together and talked about articles and classics, which became more and more intense. The problem is that although Wang Zhongxin is a tough talker, his eloquence is average. Faced with Hong Liangji, who had a tough mouth and brass teeth, Wang Zhong couldn't argue at all. So he was so angry that he tried his best to push Hong Liangji out of the boat. Fortunately, the boatman was good at water and rescued him. Hong Liangji, who was in his early forties, choked and foamed at the white of his mouth. When he woke up, he cursed Wang Zhong for his lack of self-respect.
Hong Liangji did what he said. He did not pretend to be a servant, he personally polished the ink, uttered a thousand words, quoted scriptures, and scolded Wang Zhong bloody, which really relieved the pent-up anger in his chest. However, after he finished writing it and read it twice himself, and felt satisfied, he remembered that the person who sent the letter did not leave an address at all.
Ouch!
Hong Liangji shook his head and smiled bitterly, then tore the letter into pieces and threw it into the brazier to burn it to ashes. He thought I'd better go over and scold him in person.
Just a few days before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, from Yangzhou to Changzhou, more than a dozen scholars who had repeatedly failed or had no intention of taking the imperial examinations received personal letters from Wang Zhong delivered by others.
Some of these people are Wang Zhong's old friends, and some are young scholars who have always admired his name but have never met him. After reading the letter, some of them burned it and pretended they had never received it; others quietly packed their bags and prepared to leave for the north in late August.
The reason why Wang Zhonghui suddenly came here after two years of silence was mainly because he was stimulated. To be precise, he was stimulated by Lin Ziping.
In late July of the 54th year of Qianlong's reign, that is, in July 1789, a large number of orchid scholars from the island countries, led by the "Beihai Enforcement" of the shogunate, arrived in Beihai Town on the Benzai ship of the Beihai Company.
The most famous among them is Genpaku Sugita, who is 66 years old. Others include Goudachi Asada, Gensui Udagawa, Yoshitoki Takahashi, Pantao Yamakata, Ehan Shima, Ryonaga Motoki, Ryuuhashi Kuchiki, Hokushu Katsurawa, and Go There are more than 150 scholars including Haru Fujirishi, Yoshimune Hashimoto, Tadao Shizuki, their students and their families. Among them, Gensuke Udagawa, a famous orchid medicine scholar, was Sato Shinbubuchi’s orchid medicine teacher.
The attitude of the shogunate is out of sight, out of mind. Since Beihai Town wants them, they should just pack them up and send them away, so that these people will not gather in Osaka or Edo to make trouble, which will make Edo and Osaka live in fear all day long. .
With so many natural science enthusiasts from the island countries visiting collectively, almost all the upper-level managers of Beihai Town rushed to Whale Harbor to express a warm welcome.
Gu Jing but Wang Zhong had no interest in this at all, and even declined the invitation to go to Whale Bay with Zhao Xin.
joke! Jiangnan, a land of cultural excellence, what kind of talent does it not need? Lin Ziping brought a group of guys from Japan to learn Western things. King Zhao actually treated him like a guest. What does that mean? !
In terms of knowledge, Wang Zhongna was the person who reviewed and revised the "Sikuquanshu" in history. He was well-versed in hundreds of schools of classics and history. He read every book and was admired by countless scholars. He was definitely a top figure in the inheritance of Chinese Sinology in the eighteenth century. How could he look down on the island country?
Wang Zhong's parallel prose was praised as having the highest style among parallel prose in the Qing Dynasty. It is said to be "thrilling and thrilling, and every word is worth a thousand dollars". The memorial article that Zhao Xin wrote in Heilongjiang City last year was later criticized by Wang Zhong when he saw it. He cursed it as a "bullshit article" and dismissed it as worthless. Fortunately, Zhao Xin didn't hear it, otherwise he would have been embarrassed to get under the table, dig a hole and bury his head in it.
In fact, Wang Zhong was still worried about Zhao Xin's face and did not dare to hurt him face to face. It is said that when he was a student, he was not even looked down upon by the school inspector. One time, a school inspector surnamed Meng was presiding over the examination and walked over to Wang Zhong's examination table. In order to show off his talent, Wang Zhong finished the paper in three strokes, five and two. Then he was about to hand in the paper. He slammed the table and shouted: "I will scare Xiao Meng to death today!" He called the examiner "Xiao Meng". It is said that since the beginning of the imperial examination, no matter how talented and learned the person is, who can achieve such a feat?
In fact, Wang Zhong is also aware of the flaws in his character. There is a handwritten calligraphy hanging in his office: "Severe, severe and anxious, do not collect blessings." It is intended to warn himself to avoid being anxious, be loving and tolerant, and be relaxed and relaxed. Only in this way can one maintain his mind, cultivate his righteousness, and reach the realm of benevolent people. In learning, one must be docile and follow the crowd, only then can one progress in his studies. Only in this way can we have a broad mind and avoid disasters.
Speaking of which, Wang Zhong did not go to the welcome ceremony, but a group of teachers from the primary school did. Even Wang Zhenyi followed Lao You after hearing about it. After a group of teachers came back, they started chatting. I really didn't expect that there are so many people in the island country who are obsessed with natural sciences, and their level is unexpectedly good. They actually know Kepler's third law. ． ． ． ． ．
He does not mean that. The more Wang Zhong listened, the more irritated he became. Finally he couldn't help but burst out and said: "What is Lanxue! I, the Great China, have followed the Han and Tang dynasties, the Gu Ning family of Kunshan, the Ming family of Hu Fei of Deqing, The Meidingjiu family in Xuancheng, the Baishi family in Taiyuange, the Yuan family in Huiding in Yuanhe, and the Daidongyuan family in Xiuning. The so-called rise of ancient learning began with the Gu family; He and Luo practiced witchcraft, but it faded away to the Hu family (Same place of pronunciation); push forward the steps from the Chinese and Western countries, and master the Mei family; those who attack ancient Chinese literature vigorously, the Ge family; those who specialize in the "Yi" of the Han Dynasty, the Hui family. All these unique skills that have not been passed down for more than a thousand years, and the Dai family came out And put it all together."
The teachers present here were all stunned after hearing this. The lively and lively conversation between you and me suddenly ended in silence. Everyone has known for a long time that Wang Zhong is cynical, often makes shocking remarks, and is afraid of revealing his true identity, so they are usually very careful about what they say in front of him. Moreover, after the other party's big talk, everyone who heard it was in a fog, and it took several minutes to think about it.
However, Wang Zhenyi, who was present, understood it. She quickly took Lao You out and murmured for a while. Only then did Lao You suddenly realize it and was amazed. Xin Shuo is indeed a well-deserved scholar. This time he has learned what it means to curse without using curse words, and what it means to leave the meaning behind.
To understand what Wang Zhong said, we must first understand what "Confucian classics" is. Strictly speaking, classics refers to the knowledge of annotating classics, and classics are the main body of ancient Chinese scholarship. It generally refers to the knowledge of the essentials of various schools of thought in the pre-Qin period, and specifically refers to the Thirteen Classics.
It shows that the drastic social changes in the late Qing Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty prompted scholars to reflect on the academic shortcomings since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Scholars led by Gu Yanwu hated the superficial and empty academic style of the Ming Dynasty and strived to apply it to the world. With the purpose of "saving the world", we advocate a truth-seeking academic spirit and emphasize the academic philosophy of "reading the Nine Classics begins with textual examination, and textual examination begins with knowing the music. Even the books of hundreds of schools of thought are no different." The academic philosophy of the early Qing Dynasty The end of learning.
The so-called Kunshan Gu Ning family is Gu Yanwu. The greatest influence on Wang Zhong was that he always upheld Gu Yanwu's academic spirit.
"Deqing Hu Feoming Clan" and "Taiyuan Pavilion Bai Shi Clan" refer to Hu Wei and Yan Ruochu respectively. These two people's identification of "He Tu", "Luo Shu" and "Pseudo Ancient Wen Shangshu" have impacted the traditional Confucian classics. Sticking to the old theory, seeking truth from facts and being well-founded has opened the way for a new generation of academics.
As for "Xuancheng Mei Dingjiu Clan" and "Yuanhe Huiding Yu Clan" refer to Mei Wending and Huidong. These two people are sophisticated and professional, which represents the basic characteristics of Qing Dynasty Pu Xue and marks the Qing Dynasty academic initial establishment.
"Dai Dongyuan of Xiuning" is the great scholar Dai Zhen. The book "Pythagorean Cutting Circle" that Zhao Xin discussed when he met Wang Zhenyi in Guangzhou was written by this person. Dai Zhen gathered the great achievements of his predecessors. He was proficient in textual research, phonology, calculations, classics and other textual research. He paid attention to the ancient teachings to make the meaning clear. He took this as a way to understand the classics and understand the Tao. He also paid attention to the necessity of "clearing the Tao". In his later years, he devoted himself to the exploration of principles and principles, which continuously contributed to the prosperity of Qianjia Pu Xue.
The Chinese studies that later generations of Chinese people often talked about were actually only a very small part of Sinology, and specifically dating back to the Qing Dynasty, they were called “Plain Studies.”
Wang Zhong's implication is that Lan Xue is nothing! Those so-called "scholars" of the Japanese country are not even comparable to fireflies in front of the Confucian classics. Any one of the above six people can destroy them. Only by adhering to the correct academic spirit and using Confucian classics as a means of understanding the truth can all principles be understood.
In fact, Wang Zhong had no personal opinion on Lin Ziping, and even admired him a little. However, the situation in Beihai Town was booming, the territory was getting bigger and bigger, and the martial arts was getting stronger, but the martial arts was really not that good.
In Wang Zhong's view, if King Zhao allowed the island nation's scholars headed by Lin Ziping to grow, wouldn't Beihai Town's right to speak in the future fall into the hands of the Japanese? What is the status of Chinese philosophy? This is what he cannot tolerate.
So Wang Zhong didn't even eat dinner after returning home, thinking about things, and finally went straight to Zhao Xin's house in the middle of the night, saying that he would write letters to his friends and juniors in Jiangnan to recruit them to work in Beihai Town.
Wang Zhong said, aren't you the one who wants to do the survey? I know him! I also know someone who loves arithmetic!
When Zhao Xin heard that there were such figures in Daiqing in the 18th century, he quickly asked who they were. As soon as Wang Zhong said something cracklingly, Zhao Xin's heart suddenly went cold.
In fact, Zhao Xin roughly understands the principle of "theory of justice". But the problem is that Chinese culture pays too much attention to the "metaphysical" feeling. The artistic conception is enough, but the words are all between the lines, but it is not easy to say.
However, whether natural science and classics run counter to each other or reach the same goal by different paths, the meaning must be implemented in the text, and no ambiguity is tolerated. In the eyes of the Confucian scholars, this was regarded as inferior and became something only needed for daily use; people who mastered this knowledge were reduced to "craftsmen" and were looked down upon by the scholar class, which eventually led to the loss of knowledge from generation to generation.
The ancients said that the Lushan Waterfall is "flying down three thousand feet". The artistic conception is enough, but the problem is that natural science cannot allow this. The Xiufeng Waterfall is actually only 105 meters high.
How many turns does it take to tighten a key screw in place? You can't tell your apprentice that you can just rely on your feelings, right?
Each of the cannon components made by the North Navy must be accurate to millimeters or even finer. This is not something that can be made by feel at all, and every detail cannot be wrong. If the craftsman is talking about artistic conception, Zhao Xinyi points to the jade on the ancient shelf in the house, that thing is fine.
After hearing what Zhao Xin said, Wang Zhong was silent for a long time and said that this is not a problem, you just need to tell me whether this can be done.
Zhao Xin's answer is of course. He said that I was originally worried that these people would not come, so I didn't invite them. If you, Mr. Rongfu, can come and stay, it will be a treasure for me. And I definitely don’t know as many people as you, Mr. Rong Fu.
After some compliments, Wang Zhong left with satisfaction. Zhao Xin said that his mouth was dry and his head was as big as a bucket.
Wang Zhong did what he said and was extremely efficient. In just one day, he wrote more than 20 letters. After Zhao Xin had finished speaking, he had no choice but to ask Beihai No. 1 to take him there when delivering goods to Sheyang Lake, and arranged for Wang Changsheng and a few of his men to deliver the letters to each recipient's house.
Wang Zhong was satisfied, and he even planned to go to Sheyang Lake in person to interview the people he invited.
Thus, a literary conference spread across half of the south of the Yangtze River began, and in the end even the Manchu Qing court was alarmed.
