It's July, and it's sweltering heat. The wind stopped the cicadas from chirping, and the trees were still and annoying.
Zhu Yijun felt drowsy after listening to today's class. Mr. Xu Guo seemed to know that reading in this weather was really strenuous, so he taught very little today. It was Chapter 10 of "The Doctrine of the Mean", only a few paragraphs in total.
It stands to reason that it is easy to memorize. For example, Gao Pragmatic, Zhu Yijun knew that he must be able to recite it fluently - because at this moment, Gao Pragmatic was already sitting aside practicing calligraphy. Zhu Yijun even took a peek and saw a poem written on it. :
The cicadas sing in the western continent, and the guests in the southern crown think of invasion.
That shadow with mysterious temples comes to sing to Bai Tou.
It is difficult to fly in due to heavy dew, and it is easy to sink due to the strong wind.
No one believes in Gao Jie, who can express his sincerity?
Zhu Yijun has also read this poem, which is "Song of Cicada in Prison" by King Luo Bin. It is known as one of the "Three Wonders of Chanting Cicada" in the past dynasties. If Zhu Yijun hadn't finished his homework yet, he would really have had a good discussion with Gao Pragmatism - even if you heard the cicada chirping outside the palace, you shouldn't have thought of the song "Cicada in Prison", right?
It is said that the cicadas of Yu Shinan, "It is loud and distant, not because of the autumn wind" are the sayings of Tsinghua University; the cicadas of Luo Binwang, "It is difficult to fly in due to heavy dew, and it is easy to sink when the wind is loud", which is the sayings of people in need; Li Shangyin's Cicada, "It's hard to get enough because of its high status, but it's all in vain and hates the sound" is a complaint.
Even if you are very pragmatic and hear cicadas chirping and think of cicadas, shouldn't you first think of Yu Shinan's song? You are a little Sanyuan who is under ten years old. You have a new star in Mongolian studies, "Long Wen Whip Shadow", and not long ago, you have a musical masterpiece "Xin Zheng Dui Yun" (Note: Gao pragmatic version of "Li Weng Dui Yun"), not to mention you are well-known in the literary world. , at least it is also the focus of scholars. What trouble are you in?
Talking about the official career, it is even more miraculous. In the past two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the first prince's companion who was not a real Hanlin scholar was admitted to the Hanlin Academy and the Zhanshi Mansion, two places where the elite gathered, even though he was not on the imperial list. Your third uncle is the Yuanfu of the dynasty. What troubles are you having?
Just when Zhu Yijun thought of this, he saw Gao Pingshi looking towards him at some point. After winking for a while, he nuzzled at the hourglass next to him.
Zhu Yijun glanced at it subconsciously and couldn't help but secretly complain. Why can't he always remember these few sentences well today? If this continues, lunch will be late. Being hungry is a trivial matter, but lunch will be late. The mother and concubine must know about it, and they will definitely be asked about it in the afternoon, and something will inevitably be wrong at that time.
Zhu Yijun coughed dryly, winked at Gao Qingshi, and then said loudly: "It's very hot. You guys, go get some ice cubes... It doesn't take much, just enough to last here for half an hour."
Several young eunuchs did not dare to neglect and went quickly. As the prince's eldest companion, Feng Baoben was reading a book. At this time, he raised his head and glanced at the hourglass, then glanced at Zhu Yijun and Gao pragmatically. He said nothing and lowered his head, seeming to continue reading.
Speaking of which, it was really hard for him. He held the important positions of Chief Bingbi, Supervisor of Ceremonies and Supervisor of the East Factory, and he had to come from time to time to supervise the prince's studies. However, Feng Bao didn't seem to find it hard at all, and even often reduced his duties as Supervisor of Ceremonies and Supervisor of the East Factory. Dongchang's time was wasted by coming to the prince's side.
Of course, not many people think that he is wasting time. For example, Gao Gong, Gao Pragmatic Nephew, Li Guifei, Zhang Juzheng and others do not think so, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince feels that Feng Bao is wasting time, and even feels a little bit because of it. Guilt.
But the master's guilt towards the slave was basically negligible, so at this moment Zhu Yijun only felt that Feng Bao's presence here was a hindrance because he wanted to find Gao Pragmatic to "cheat".
In fact, Zhu Yijun's so-called "cheating" is fundamentally different from what later generations understood. He did not ask Gao Pragmatic to help him "take the exam" because that was impossible. The endorsement was recited in front of the Japanese lecturer, so there was no way to cheat.
His so-called cheating was actually asking Gao Pragmatic to explain to him the lessons he learned today - don't be surprised, the ancients would most likely memorize the text first, that is, memorize it by rote, without you knowing what it means. . What is important is that "read it a hundred times and its meaning will be apparent to you." (Wufeng’s note: I remember I mentioned the differences between Eastern and Western education methods before, so I won’t repeat them.)
But doing this actually depends on talent. For some reason, if you are pragmatic, you are very good at memorizing. You can basically memorize it after reading it once, but Zhu Yijun is not good at it. Sometimes he can memorize it after reading it many times, but then forget it in the blink of an eye.
Later, Gao pragmatically began to "cheat" for him, quietly telling him the meaning of those "texts", and even often giving him examples to analyze. Not to mention, although Zhu Yijun's recitation ability is average, his understanding ability is excellent. Whenever there is a highly pragmatic explanation and analysis, he will immediately understand, and in turn, he can recite it quickly.
Gao Pragmatic seemed to have some thoughts today. After reading it a few times before, he put the book aside and sat at his desk to practice calligraphy without explaining it to Zhu Yijun.
Sure enough, without Zhu Yijun's pragmatic explanation, the recitation efficiency dropped greatly. Seeing that lunch was about to be late, he couldn't help it. He sent the young eunuchs away first, and then tried to find a way to get rid of Feng Bao so that Gao pragmatic hurriedly came to talk to him.
However, it was easy to drive away the young eunuch, but it was a bit troublesome to drive away Feng Bao. Zhu Yijun was thinking about a reason to come out when he heard Chen Hong's voice from outside.
Feng Bao, who seemed to be concentrating on reading just now, immediately stood up and walked out the door.
Way to go! Zhu Yijun was overjoyed and immediately looked towards Gao Jingshi, only to see Gao Jingshi squinting at Feng Bao's back.
But what surprised Zhu Yijun was that he always felt that there seemed to be a hint of sarcasm on Gao Pragmatic's lips.
"Cough!" Zhu Yijun was worried about being "accused" by Concubine Li later, and was too lazy to care about Gao Jingshi's expression. He coughed dryly and said, "Pragmatic, come here."
Gao Pingshi smiled, and Shi Shiran stood up and walked over. There was no politeness in his mouth, and he asked directly: "What sentence don't you understand?"
Obviously, this kind of thing has happened enough, and there is already a tacit understanding between the two, so there is no need to talk nonsense.
Zhu Yijun really didn't talk nonsense, and said directly: "Therefore, a gentleman is harmonious but not sloppy; strong means corrective. Neutral but not dependent; strong means corrective. If the country has a way, it will not change; if it is strong, it will be corrected. If the country has no way, it will not change until death. "It's too strong to be corrected."
Gao Pragmatic smiled slightly and explained: "From the literal meaning of this passage, Confucius means: A person with high moral character is really strong if he is docile and does not follow the crowd. Remain neutral and unbiased, Only those who are truly strong are truly strong. Only those who do not change their aspirations when the country's politics are peaceful are truly strong. Only those who persist in integrity and would rather die than change when the country's politics are dark are truly strong."
"Oh..." Zhu Yijun nodded, thought for a while, and then asked: "You said this is just a literal meaning, does it have any deeper meaning?"
Gao Pragmatic said "hmm" and said softly: "Zilu was reckless, brave and aggressive, so Confucius taught him: there is a difference between being strong. There is physical strength and spiritual strength, but real strength is not physical strength. The strength is the strength of the spirit. The strength of the spirit is reflected in being gentle but not fluid, being soft but firm; being embodied in the golden mean; being embodied in persisting in one's beliefs and never wavering, and would rather die than change one's ambitions and integrity. This is actually Confucius's consistent view. For example, in "The Analects of Confucius: Zihan" it is said, 'Three armies can seize the commander, but a single man cannot seize the will.' This is the strength that Confucius admires."
"Oh...I understand." Zhu Yijun became happy, stood up and patted Gao Pragmatic on the shoulder, and said with emotion: "Without pragmatism, learning in isolation would have done twice the result with twice the result. Now that pragmatism is a solitary companion, it will get twice the result with half the effort. Pragmatism, your knowledge is really good. You must take the provincial examination and the general examination well next year and get on the gold list as soon as possible. You and I will always have monarchs and ministers to work together to revive the Ming Dynasty!"
Gao Pingshi's expression changed slightly, he glanced around and whispered: "Thank you, Prince Qingyan, but His Majesty is ill... Prince, please be careful what you say."
Zhu Yijun's expression also changed, he looked around subconsciously, and said: "I don't mean anything else, just..."
At this moment, Chen Ju's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Your Royal Highness, Eunuch Chen Hong, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, has something to see Gao Yude. Do you think it's convenient now?"