Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 103: The Initiation Ceremony of the "One Heart Society" (Part )
"This clearly contains the principles of the School of Mind! No wonder Mr. Cui recommended it. I was too abrupt yesterday and mistakenly thought it was a simple novel."

Like Yan Shifan, Xu Jie gained enlightenment after seeing Wukong learning from Patriarch Bodhi.

But it wasn't like he was shirking responsibility. He just felt that the student from yesterday didn't seem like a good person...

Xu Jie thought of this and felt secretly ashamed. He had judged people by appearance and had a preconceived notion. Looking at Zhao Shichun who was excitedly narrating the plot, he was a little speechless: "Jingren, I haven't seen the rest yet..."

"Ah? Ah! Great then! Let me tell you what's written at the back?"

Zhao Shichun obviously didn't know what spoilers meant. He was excitedly about to show off to him the progress he had made after staying up all night last night, but was chased out by Xu Jie.

Xu Jie picked up the book and started reading. Soon he even forgot about his son Xu Fan's crying. After all, he had a servant, so the boy would not starve to death.

What he read was not the fantasy story, but the thoughts of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism contained in it.

He soon made a judgment.

It cannot be called a masterpiece of the School of Mind. It contains more Buddhist and Taoist words. Or we can say that it is a map of wisdom woven with Buddhism as the warp and Taoism and Confucianism as the weft.

The work itself is truly breathtaking.

"Is this what Mr. Cui did?"

"No! Mr. Cui has been teaching at the Imperial College for many years, but he doesn't have the ability to blend elegance and vulgarity..."

Xu Jie spent a whole day reading the book carefully. In fact, he had only read a small part of it, but he was already deeply immersed in it.

He had never imagined that a novel could be so accomplished. Looking back at Yan Shifan's invitation, he couldn't help but be tempted: "To discuss the School of Mind... No! To discuss the Monkey King's 'One Heart Society'? Interesting!"

Xu Jie was not only obsessed with the School of Mind, but also took the unity of knowledge and action as the foundation of his life. He certainly hoped that the School of Mind would flourish, but His Majesty obviously had no interest in the School of Mind and maintained Yang Tinghe's ban policy. He could only hope that more great scholars of the School of Mind would emerge among the people to change the atmosphere in the literati circle.

Even though he was the third place in the imperial examination, he was not qualified to participate in such matters.

But now, a company relying on the Imperial College has emerged.

The reason is quite legitimate. We all like the new version of Journey to the West and we share the same interests.

Not to mention that the other party invites me now, even if they don’t invite me, I will definitely want to join as soon as I hear the news.

He carefully put the book into his arms, ignored his son's crying again, stood up and walked out.

Without further ado, let’s go to the Imperial College today to see what kind of academic society the Yi Xin Hui is!
However, just as he walked out of his own courtyard, he saw someone waiting in front of him. It was Zhao Shichun, who seemed to be smiling. "Brother Zisheng, where are you going?"

They understood each other, and Xu Jie didn't hide the truth from him: "I want to meet the author of this new version of Journey to the West. Would Jingren like to come with me?"

"Of course we'll go together!"

After smiling at each other, Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun walked out side by side and headed towards the Imperial College.

What the two were most curious about was actually the author of this new version of Journey to the West.

In their opinion, this person is truly a great talent.

It takes mythological imagination to construct such a fantastical world; it requires humanistic insight to integrate religion and critical reality; it requires strong narrative control to balance rhythm and character creation; and finally, it requires linguistic creativity to write all kinds of scenes that are appreciated by both the elite and the masses and that are sublime.

It is surprising that such a talented person is so unknown that no one talks about him in the bookstores in the capital.

In fact, let alone the capital, even outside Hainan, the New Journey to the West did not cause any waves.

The publication of the first thirty chapters was limited to Qiongzhou. Later, it was discontinued and nothing came of it. The booksellers were heartbroken, but since Haiyue was a descendant of the Hai family in Qiongshan and not a poor scholar who made a living by selling writings, they could do nothing about it.

However, because Qiongzhou is isolated overseas, news spread extremely slowly, and only a handful of people outside have actually seen it.

Until now, there had only been five people: Hai Rui, Li Yuying, Lin Daqin, Lu Bing, and Yan Shifan. Now Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun had joined the group. They had been wondering why they had never heard anyone mention it before, but when they entered the Imperial College, Yan Shifan happened to be urinating and they bumped into him. After a short conversation, they were flattered: "Oh? We're the first readers?"

Yan Shifan praised him to the utmost: "Of course! How could Shisanlang write this work to make a profit for the bookstore? It is just a gift between relatives and friends for discussion!"

This made Hai Yue blush, but it turned out that the literati were just as impressed by this. Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun were in awe, and their admiration for him grew even stronger. "May I know who Hai Shisanlang is?"

"That's the one! The one sitting by the window!"

"Ah? So young?"

"Seventeen years old, a year younger than me!"

Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun were slightly surprised by each other's age, but they didn't care much. After all, they were all child prodigies, so it wasn't surprising. They mainly explained their purpose: "We are very interested in the 'One Heart Society'. I wonder why this society is named this? What is its purpose?" Yan Shifan smiled brightly: "The purpose of our One Heart Society is 'Cultivate the One Heart to become a person, cultivate the One Heart to respond to the world.' Two great Hanlin scholars wish to join the society, and we welcome them with open arms!"

Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun pondered for a moment, then, considering the contents of the new chapter of Journey to the West, nodded in agreement and said, "That's a very good idea!"

Yan Shifan was ecstatic.

A famous scholar who won the imperial examination and a young editor in the Hanlin Academy were both top-notch figures among the younger generation. He had never been able to make friends with such talented people before, but now they appeared in front of him casually, chatting and laughing.

Isn’t the expansion of your social circle now a hundred times better than following Gui Zai as a little follower?
Such an opportunity must be seized firmly.

After the teaching assistant finished his lecture, Hai Yue, Hai Rui and Lin Daqin also came out. The two sides greeted each other and had a pleasant conversation.

Since the other party had come to the Imperial College specifically, he must join the club. Haiyue said without pretense, her tone was very relaxed: "Our 'Yi Xin Club' doesn't talk about anything else, just discussing Journey to the West. You can also think of it as a 'book club'."

Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun might be full of enthusiasm, but they were officials after all, so how could they not know the limits? They smiled and said, "Book friends are good. What book friends say is very appropriate!"

Having said this, they returned to the dormitory. Yan Shifan took out the application documents that had just been completed, and everyone signed their names in a casual manner.

The Yi Xin Society was established with the support of the Imperial College, and its documents were also issued by the Imperial College. They do have a certain legal effect, but the Imperial College is generally unwilling to endorse them.

But ever since the case of Gui Zai and Zhao Chen, not to mention that the students of the Imperial College regarded them as heroes, all the doctors, teaching assistants, and academicians had a very good impression of them. Even the chief academic officer Xu Gao would stroke his beard and smile every time he saw them.

It shows my prestige and boosts morale!

In other words, the Imperial College does not need to worry about enrollment issues at all. If any private academy could achieve such a feat, countless students would come to apply!
Of course, the Imperial College didn’t pay much attention to the academy established by several people.

Academic societies in various institutions of higher learning and private societies are being born all the time. Not to mention that the "Yi Xin Society" is very small in scale, just look at its earliest members, Hai Yue, Hai Rui, Lin Daqin, Yan Shifan, Xu Jie, and Zhao Shichun, which are just four students and two Hanlin scholars. They seem good, but in the capital, they can't even make a wave.

Among the six people, except Hai Yue and Yan Shifan who had high expectations in their hearts, the other four basically just stayed at the level of sharing the same ideals and interests. Even Xu Jie was just an experiment.

After the simple initiation formalities were completed, Haiyue rolled her eyes. She felt that she couldn't simply accept members like this. She had to at least go through a formality to give the initiating members a sense of ceremony. "I'd like to ask a painter to paint a picture for us. Is that acceptable to you?"

Zhao Shichun laughed and said, "But are you going to imitate the story of the Nine Elders?"

During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty, the poet Bai Juyi gathered with eight elders in his hometown in his later years. An admirer of Bai Juyi painted the "Nine Elders Picture", which became a famous story through the ages and was imitated by many later generations.

Xu Jie was a little embarrassed: "We are just newcomers with little experience. We really don't deserve this honor."

Yan Shifan thought this was a good idea: "Why should you all belittle yourselves? Besides, portrait painting is quite popular recently. Let's keep the work today and see it again in the future. It will also be a good story!"

By the Ming Dynasty, the fashion of portraits had indeed become popular in the literati circle. For example, the "Portraits of Ten People in the Jiashen Year" collected by the Palace Museum in later generations depicts a group portrait of ten important court officials during the Hongzhi period. Another example is the late Ming painter Zeng Jing, who was famous for his "ink bone method" and painted portraits of celebrities such as Wang Shizhen and Dong Qichang. Not to mention the literati circle, even military generals and businessmen could customize portraits to show off their elegance.

"All right!"

Everyone nodded, and they were all eager to try.

Not to mention Hai Rui and Lin Daqin, even Xu Jie and Zhao Shichun did not leave any portraits, so everyone was a little curious for a while.

"I'm going to Qipan Street to find a painter!"

Yan Shifan volunteered and soon actually invited a painter.

According to his introduction, there are about a hundred painters in Beijing today, including less than thirty court painters, about sixty folk painters, and the last few are religious and ritual painters who serve specific scenes.

The painter invited by Yan Shifan this time originally served in the palace, but later left the palace for unknown reasons and painted among the people. His skills were absolutely top-notch.

After listening to Haiyue's general requirements, the painter chose a place in the courtyard, moved in six chairs, and lined them up in a row.

Haiyue sat in the middle.

On the left is Hai Rui, holding the chair with his right hand, sitting upright with shoulders straight;
On the left is Lin Daqin, holding a book in his right hand and sitting with a smile on his face;

On the right sat Yan Shifan, his hands on his knees, a broad smile on his face;
On the right is Xu Jie, sitting upright with his hands in his sleeves and shoulders straight.

On the far right is Zhao Shichun, holding a scroll in his right hand and sitting slightly to the left.

The painter picked up his brush.

……

On September 28, the ninth year of the Jiajing reign, the Yi Xin Society was established, and painters were specially invited to draw a group portrait to commemorate the membership.

(End of this chapter)