Meet the Gentleman

Chapter 1179: The Way to Rule People: Don’t Be Hasty about Etiquette

March fifteenth.

The sky had just turned white, and the rows of bamboo houses along the river had lit up one after another. At this moment, all the students were busy washing up or eating breakfast...

"Master, it's dawn, get up."

"I'll sleep a little longer."

"Master, today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, which is the day for Mr. An's morning reading and lectures. If you go too late, there will be no seats left."

"fifteen?"

The student suddenly jumped out of bed.

Mr. An’s morning reading and lectures are only twice a month. Who would miss it?

Over the past three years, countless students have made breakthroughs simply by listening to Mr. An’s morning reading and lectures.

Some people even broke through several realms in a row.

Even the would-be great scholars came from far away.

After every morning reading and lecture by Mr. An, countless students would achieve breakthroughs, which shocked the whole Song Dynasty and eclipsed the entire literary world of the Song Dynasty. Now, every time Mr. An reads in the morning and lectures, countless people will flock to him, and the county town dozens of miles away has almost become an empty city...

There were tens of thousands of scholars coming from all over the country.

There are also tens of thousands of students.

If we include the common people who came to join in the fun, the number would have already exceeded 100,000, and at its peak it might have reached 200,000.

On the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, the banks of the Wei River are extremely lively.

Just like a street market.

Although the place where Mr. An read in the morning and gave lectures was still the same place, it had changed a lot and became more upscale and elegant. Moreover, the flowers, plants and trees in these places were flourishing and full of vitality even in winter.

Not only do the plants grow fast and in unique shapes, but even the flowers bloom brightly and beautifully.

At this moment, there were already some students occupying seats on the lawn at the foot of the hill.

There were also some servants who had started to occupy seats here yesterday evening. After all, the space at the foot of the hill was limited, and it was located in the center of the inner circle. Moreover, the lawn at the foot of the hill was only so big, and could only accommodate a thousand people at most.

But how many students come to attend the class?

Tens of thousands!

Including the common people, there were more than 100,000 people.

Fortunately, Mr. An's voice can be heard tens of thousands of miles away, and even in Shuyuan Town, one can clearly hear Mr. An's lectures.

But the center is always the center.

It is generally accepted that only scholars who have opened up the world in their minds are qualified to enter the lawn.

The front position at the bottom of the hill requires the Bachelor's level.

The hillside requires a quasi-great scholar.

Others can only stay outside the lawn or at a farther place such as the opposite bank.

In these places, there are flowers, trees and other buildings, making it difficult to see the hillside, and even more difficult to see Mr. An.

"Young Master, today is the fifteenth day, which is the day for Mr. An's morning reading and lectures."

In a bamboo building, a servant called Ji Lun.

"roll!"

Ji Lun shouted angrily.

The servant looked embarrassed, because Ji Lun had told him last night to wake him up. But now...

"Little Lord……"

The servant had no choice but to continue shouting.

"What does Mr. An's lecture have to do with me, Ji Lun? I'm not one of those nerds..."

"But young master..."

"roll!"

"Little Lord……"

However, at this time, the surrounding bamboo buildings were very noisy. Ji Lun, who had been woken up, could not fall asleep again and his face was full of anger.

The sky was getting brighter.

Students kept hurrying down from the bamboo buildings around and heading towards the hillside.

"My dear brother, this is my first time at the academy. I wonder what rules I need to follow when listening to Mr. An's lectures?"

Some students were quite excited and expectant, while others were nervous and asked questions to their companions.

"Rules? There aren't really any rules for listening to Mr. An's lectures." The companion thought for a moment and said, "Oh, by the way, generally only scholars can enter the lawn..."

"How long does Mr. An spend in the morning reading and lecturing?"

"Mr. An's morning reading usually takes less than half an hour, and his lectures take one to two hours."

"How is Mr. An's lecture? What will he be talking about this time?"

"How about the lecture?"

The companion seemed stunned for a moment, then said, "Every time Mr. An finishes his lecture, dozens of people will break through directly, and hundreds of people will break through within three months..."

“Are there really so many people who have broken through?”

The student couldn't help but be shocked. Although he had heard of this more than once or twice, he still couldn't believe it. "Is Mr. An really so good at teaching?"

"Oh, when you listen to Mr. An's lecture, you will know what is deafening and what is enlightening." The companion said with some pride, and then said, "Mr. An never tells you what he will talk about in advance. However, Mr. An only reads the Book of Songs every morning..."

At this moment, he looked back at the students and couldn't help but exclaimed: "As long as you listen to Mr. An reading the Book of Songs once, you will be immersed in the world of the Book of Songs. Mr. An's voice is full of charm, just like a saint reciting, which makes your soul beat along..."

"So exaggerated?"

"Exaggeration? No, no, no, this is not an exaggeration. Mr. An's recitation is even more amazing than what I said. As long as you hear it once, you may never forget it..."

"You'll never forget it?"

"Correct!"

The young man nodded, closed his eyes, and said, "As long as I close my eyes and think carefully, Mr. An's reading voice will sound like it is ringing in my ears. Moreover, every time I think about it, I will understand something about the Book of Songs..."

It's getting brighter and brighter.

In front and behind the young man were scholars rushing to the hillside.

When they arrived, the lawn was already full of people and there was almost no place to stand, but after all, they had opened up the world in their hearts and were qualified to enter the lawn.

We can only squeeze together.

On the other side of the river, people kept standing on tiptoe to look out, and there were also many vendors pushing carts and carrying loads to sell their wares...

On the hillside.

The Seventh Princess, Ning Song and others had already been waiting there.

"Meet Mr. An."

"Meet Mr. An."

When Feng Qingyan appeared, the scholars sitting cross-legged around him stood up to greet him. Feng Qingyan nodded and began his morning reading...

Or the Book of Songs.

When his voice rang out, a righteous spirit rose between heaven and earth.

The righteous energy was overwhelming, like a heavy fog, covering the area within a radius of ten miles, which was extremely shocking.

After about half an hour, he stopped.

At this moment, he sat down with his eyes closed to rest, and many students who had woken up hurried to solve their personal problems. After all, Mr. An would give lectures for one to two hours...

but.

The students who listened to the morning reading for the first time were stunned and extremely shocked.

It seemed as if my soul was resonating and my body was shaking uncontrollably.

First, Mr. An's reading voice was like the morning bell and evening drum, which made people deaf and gave them goose bumps; second, there were students who really made breakthroughs on the spot, and there were more than one person...

Even the proud Ji Lun was stunned and stood there, and he actually had an impulse in his heart to give up the piano and follow literature from now on. Fortunately, he resisted and came to his senses in time, otherwise he might have really given up the piano and followed literature.

If he did so, it might cause his piano mind to become unstable.

About two quarters later.

Many students had already returned to their seats, but the noise was still there. After all, several students had achieved breakthroughs, and it was hard for them to calm down due to the excitement.

"quiet!"

At this moment, the seventh princess stood up and shouted.

The scene quickly quieted down. Feng Qingyan opened his eyes, looked around and said, "What we are talking about today is etiquette. Confucius said: 'Etiquette, etiquette, is it jade and silk? Music, music, is it bells and drums?'"

"But before we discuss etiquette, let me ask you, how many officials are there in total, from Chunguan Zongbo to Da Zongbo and below?"

The students at the foot of the hill were stunned for a moment, and then they answered one after another.

"Seventy officers."

"Seventy officers."

"Seventy officers."

"What are the Ten Laws of the Heavenly Official?"

Feng Qingyan asked again, and then looked at a student. The student was quite excited, and immediately stood up and saluted, saying respectfully: "Six Codes, Eight Laws, Eight Principles, Eight Handles, Eight Systems, Nine Positions, Nine Taxes, Nine Styles, Nine Tributes, and Nine Taels. These are the Ten Laws of the Heavenly Officials."

Feng Qingyan nodded. This was just a very simple question. He looked at another student and asked, "What are the six strategies for corrupting officials?"

"One is honesty and kindness, two is honesty and ability, three is honesty and respect, four is honesty and justice, five is honesty and law-abiding, and six is ​​honesty and discernment." The student was quite nervous, after all, he was in front of countless scholars.

"How many times does the word '宜' appear in the Zhou Li?"

Feng Qingyan looked at everyone and asked.

Everyone was obviously stunned and looked a little surprised. Who would count how many times the word "Xuan" appeared?

For a moment, no one answered.

"No one has an answer?"

Feng Qingyan Road.

In fact, Ning Song and several others knew how many times it had appeared, but they knew that Mr. An was not asking them.

So there was no answer.

"Forty-nine times."

A woman's voice sounded, immediately attracting countless eyes. It was Tu Ning.

At this moment, even the Seventh Princess was a little surprised, as if she didn't expect Tu Ning to know the answer. This was just a little fox who had studied for a few years. How could she not even be as good as a little fox? The fact that Tu Ning could answer right away showed that she had already read the Zhou Li by heart...

Feng Qingyan smiled and nodded, saying, "It is indeed forty-nine times. How many times did the word 'time' appear?"

Everyone was stunned again.

"The word 'time' seems to have appeared one hundred and thirty-one times."

Tu Ning thought hard about it, but was not quite sure.

At this time, Ning Song and other prospective great scholars looked at Tu Ning in surprise. They naturally knew that she was a vixen.

but.

This little fox actually defeated 100,000 people.

"Good, study hard."

Feng Qingyan nodded, looking quite satisfied.

"yeah!"

Tu Lu couldn't help but secretly shouted, feeling happy for Tu Ning, and shouted: Sister Ning, my Tushan family depends on you.

"Do you know Liule?"

Feng Qingyan asked again.

Everyone was stunned again when they heard this, and some people looked a little confused.

This may not be a question of whether or not, but it is possible that one does not know what the Six Joys are, or only knows a few of them...

"What is Six Joys?"

A student on the lawn asked in a low voice.

"do not know."

"It seems that there is a kind of music and dance mentioned in Zhouli, the name is, is..."

In fact, half of the scholars present here may not be able to name the six musics, but most of them have heard of them. However, almost no one knows how to play the six musics...

Even would-be great scholars like Ning Song were like this.

At this moment, they looked at each other, as if asking, "Can you?" However, the answer they got was a slight shake of the head.

will not!

"The six Confucian musics are Yunmen Dajuan, Daxian, Dashao, Daxia, Dafu and Dawu."

Feng Qingyan said after a moment of hesitation.

However, the students at the foot of the hill were a little confused. Wasn't it said that they were going to talk about etiquette today? Why did they talk about music?

And, keep asking questions.

"Among the six kinds of music, which one is for offering sacrifice to the gods of heaven? Which one is for offering sacrifice to the gods of earth? Which one is for offering sacrifice to the four directions? Which one is for offering sacrifice to the mountains and rivers?"

Feng Qingyan asked again.

"The Yunmen Dajuan is a sacrifice to the gods of heaven, the Daxian is a sacrifice to the gods of earth, the Dashao is a sacrifice to the four directions, and the Daxia is a sacrifice to the mountains and rivers."

Tu Ning answered at this moment, attracting everyone's attention again.

"What is Lede?"

Feng Qingyan asked.

"Moderation, harmony, respect, moderation, filial piety, and friendship are the six virtues of music."

The seventh princess answered loudly.

Feng Qingyan nodded and asked again: "What is Leyu?"

The Seventh Princess frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Xing, Dao, Feng, Song, Yan, Yu, these are the six words of music."

"What is the rhythm of music?"

"Huang Zhong, Tai Chu, Gu Xi, Rui Bin, Yize and Wu She are the six Yang notes; Dalü, Jia Zhong, Zhong Lü, Lin Zhong, Nan Lü and Ying Zhong are the six Yin notes." The Seventh Princess said it all in one breath, feeling fortunate in her heart.

Because she founded the Fengming Qin Society, she looked up a lot of information and happened to see it.

Many students on the hillside had their faces slightly changed, because they didn't know this. Even Ji Lun felt the same...

"What is the music?"

When Feng Qingyan said this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

I understand this!

"Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu are the five notes of music."

Many people spoke up to show that they knew.

“What are the eight sounds of music?”

When Feng Qingyan asked again, many students were stumped.

However, Ji Lun blurted out: "Gold, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, soil, leather, wood."

Feng Qingyan nodded and said, "Six virtues, six languages, six rhythms, six similarities, five sounds, eight pitches, and six dances are the great harmony of music, which can attract ghosts and gods, harmonize the nations, reconcile the people, comfort guests, persuade distant people, and make animals. This is etiquette..."

"… to bring the ghosts and gods to peace among the nations and the people…"

Ning Song muttered to himself, always feeling that he was about to grasp something, but still just a little bit short.

The old teacher muttered to himself, as if he had grasped something.

At this moment, Feng Qingyan asked again: "If we say that to maintain peace and order in the country, nothing is better than etiquette, then what about the way to govern people?"

Everyone started thinking about it, but the more they thought, the more anxious they became, and the less they could think of anything.

Feng Qingyan did not rush to continue speaking, letting them continue to think. Even Ning Song and other prospective great scholars were thinking seriously.

Today, Mr. An not only lectures, but also tests their knowledge...

"In governing people, do not rush to be polite."

After a moment, Tu Ning hesitated and said, not quite sure.

"good!"

Feng Qingyan smiled and nodded.

At this moment, everyone looked at Tu Ning in shock. Tu Lu couldn't help but clench her fists, looking quite excited.

"What are the three books of etiquette?"

Feng Qingyan asked again, and seeing no one answering, he said, "Heaven and earth are the origin of life; ancestors are the origin of species; monarchs and teachers are the origin of governance. Without heaven and earth, how can we be born? Without ancestors, how can we be born? Without monarchs and teachers, how can we be governed? If these three are lost, how can we be at peace? Therefore, according to etiquette, we should serve heaven above and earth below, respect ancestors and honor monarchs and teachers. These are the three origins of etiquette."

"What are the similarities and differences between ritualization and music ritual?"

Feng Qingyan continued.

"Music comes from within, and etiquette comes from without. Music comes from within, so it is quiet; etiquette comes from without, so it is elegant. Great music must be simple, and great etiquette must be simple. When music comes, there is no resentment, and when etiquette comes, there is no dispute."

Tu Ning answered again.

"anything else?"

"Music is for unity, etiquette is for difference. If we are the same, we will love each other; if we are different, we will respect each other."

"And?"

"Music is the harmony of heaven and earth; ritual is the order of heaven and earth. With harmony, all things are transformed; with order, all things are differentiated."

"Great joy is in harmony with heaven and earth."

"The great ceremony is in harmony with the heaven and earth."

"Music is created by heaven, and ritual is regulated by earth. If it is over-regulated, there will be chaos; if it is over-produced, there will be violence. Only when you understand heaven and earth can you promote ritual and music."

"Rites regulate the people's hearts, music harmonizes the people's voices, politics implements it, punishment prevents it. If rites, music, punishment and politics are all spread out without conflict, then the kingly way is complete."

……

……

(End of this chapter)