Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Although they had just arrived, Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, Chu Liang, and the others could already sense that this place was indeed different.

The children's states in the classroom are different.

At first, I didn't know, but later I found out that it wasn't just Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang who were teaching; there were also two of the direct descendants' little princesses in the class.

The two little princesses blended in very well; if you didn't see their clothes and appearance, you would think they were just ordinary people from the village.

Have a great time.

Princess Yuzhang spoke with Zhang Jinhe about arranging accommodations for the group in the village.

Upon hearing that he was a great Confucian scholar, Zhang Mingde and Zhang Jinhe naturally could not afford to be negligent.

Scholars of this era held an extraordinary status, and such great Confucian scholars were even more remarkable.

Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi accompanied the group to their lodgings.

"Young Master's 'On Teachers' is truly a rare masterpiece," Yu Shinan said with a smile.

"Sir, you've misunderstood, you've misunderstood." Xiao Ran quickly waved his hand. "It wasn't me. I only memorized it because I heard about it in the Western Regions and thought it was good. I was just copying it."

This kind of thing can't be hidden, there's no need to take the blame upon yourself.

Even if the people of the Tang Dynasty didn't know Xiao Ran's past, they could still tell how good Xiao Ran's literary skills were after getting to know him.

It is obvious that he was not the kind of person who could have written "The Humble Abode Inscription" and "On Teachers".

However, because of what happened before, everyone is willing to believe that it was written by Xiao Ran.

"Haha, young friend, you're too modest. Such an astonishing article is something I've never heard of before!" Kong Yingda said with a smile. "Young master, there's no need for such modesty."

Xiao Ran was speechless for a while.

I know my own limitations.

It's easy to tell whether someone has that talent or not.

Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, and others wouldn't stay long; they would have to return to Chang'an every few days.

They have their own things to do.

Wang Ji and Li Lizhi will prepare the course arrangements.

No need to worry.

The arrival of Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, and others made things easier for Wang Ji, Li Lizhi, and the others.

These people are more than qualified to teach.

The children in the school didn't seem to mind.

Few people slack off or drift through life; they all want to learn more.

Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, and others had heard about Kaolao Village and Xiao Ran before.

I didn't pay much attention at first.

It was only after the establishment of schools and the invention of printing that these great scholars began to pay attention to Xiao Ran.

In the evening, a meal was prepared as a way of welcoming these great scholars.

Li Yuan and Sun Simiao were also present.

The presence of these companions at Xiao Ran's home was something Yu Shinan and the others hadn't expected.

I had guessed before that Xiao Ran was extraordinary, but I never expected him to be this terrifying.

The mountain behind is a bit scary.

The dinner that evening surprised them quite a bit.

Its deliciousness is comparable to that of the imperial cuisine served at the Imperial Kitchen.

"Wow, this cooking skill is absolutely superb!" Chu Liang nodded approvingly.

"Haha, of course, everyone who came said it was great," Wang Ji said with a smile.

Considering the advanced age of Yu Shinan, Kong Yingda, and others, the meals were prepared in a way that was more suitable for the elderly.

The several Confucian scholars were very satisfied with the meal.

I'm not used to the individual servings.

Everyone else is fine, but it just doesn't feel right with Li Yuan, the retired emperor, around.

Li Yuan could see through this, and said with a smile, "Young master, it's more comfortable to eat separately here. It'll be more lively if everyone eats together."

Others could also see it; at the next table, Empress Xiao was with several princesses and female relatives.

The other table was occupied by young people like Li Ke and Li Tai.

The next day, several renowned scholars were given lessons, with Yu Shinan's lesson being calligraphy.

Wang Ji and Li Lizhi were not bad, but they were naturally no match for Yu Shinan.

Yu Shinan arrived at the school early, with several calligraphy brushes with their handles shortened on his desk.

He specifically asked Zhang Jinhe to find a craftsman to modify it, because children's hands are small, and a shorter penholder makes it easier for them to hold.

He also mixed the ink in the inkstone in advance, ensuring it was just the right consistency—neither too thick nor too thin to make the ink too faint to read.

As soon as the school bell rang, the children sat up straight, and even the two little princesses quietly rolled up their sleeves and, like the other children in the village, placed their hands on their knees.

Yu Shinan walked to the desk, but did not rush to start the lesson. He first picked up a short brush and slowly demonstrated how to hold it: "Come on, let's learn how to hold the brush first. Your fingers should be like holding a sapling, with the index and middle fingers in front and the ring and little fingers supporting it from behind. Leave a little space in your palm, enough to put a small pebble in it - so that your wrist can turn freely when you write."

These were all mentioned by Wang Ji, Li Lizhi, and Princess Yuzhang before, but most people don't know them correctly.

Yu Shinan could tell that the two little princesses and Zhang Jinnian were the most standard, while the others were almost speechless.

Some children do whatever makes them comfortable.

At first, Wang Ji and Li Lizhi specifically instructed him to change his habits, but later they felt it was unnecessary.

As long as they can read, that's fine; the requirements aren't that high.

Yu Shinan was unaware of these things and wanted to be strict with his students.

Yu Shinan walked to the chubby boy in the front row and saw that the boy's fingers were clenched so tightly that the pen tip was bent. He gently pried open the boy's fingers and adjusted his posture little by little, his tone as soft as a spring breeze:

"Don't grip too tightly, it'll get tiring. See, isn't it much more relaxed now?"

The chubby boy tried writing a horizontal line, and it was indeed straighter than before. His eyes lit up immediately. Yu Shinan smiled and nodded, then walked to the next child.

When it was the turn of the two little princesses, Yu Shinan paused, his gaze falling on the papers on their desks.

Several lines of "人之初" (the beginning of life) have already been written on it. Although the strokes are immature, they are straight and neat, much more so than those of children of the same age.

He bent down and gently touched the left-falling stroke of the character "初" with his fingertip: "Mingda wrote this left-falling stroke well. The beginning is light and the end is steady, like the newly sprouted bud on the willow tree in the corner of the yard. It is strong but not prickly."

"Hehe~ Mmm-hmm~" The little princess was very happy to hear herself being praised.

Yu Shinan then took a piece of scrap paper, held her hand, and slowly wrote: "Look, the stroke should be like the ridges of the fields outside our village. Walk slowly at first, and then pause gently at the end, and it will be steady."

After finishing writing, he let the little princess try it again. He stood by and waited patiently. Seeing that she wrote more smoothly than before, he smiled and said, "That's right, just like that. You'll get used to it after writing it a couple more times." The classroom was quiet, with only the "shush" sound of the brush gliding across the rice paper.

A little girl with pigtails spilled too much ink on her paper, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. Yu Shinan quickly went over, took a clean, fine cloth from his sleeve, and gently wiped the corner of the paper for her.
"Don't worry, the ink dots look like little plum blossoms. Let's keep writing. When we write better later, we'll cover them up."

After hearing this, the little girl picked up her pen again and slowly began to write.

Wang Ji and Li Lizhi stood outside the window, watching Yu Shinan bend down to teach the child how to hold a pen, and couldn't help but smile at each other.

In the past, when Yu Shinan taught the princes in Chang'an, he was always quite solemn. But now, when he was teaching the children in the village, he was gentler than the warm spring sun, and even his tone of voice was soft, as if he was afraid of frightening them.

Li Lizhi said softly, "With a teacher like this, the children's handwriting will probably be much better than what we taught them."

Wang Ji nodded, his gaze falling on Yu Shinan's hands as he helped the little princess straighten the Xuan paper. He smiled and sighed, "This is true 'passing on the knowledge,' regardless of social status or rank, simply teaching skills to children slowly."

Meanwhile, Kong Yingda and Xiao Ran started chatting.

It was also discovered that Xiao Ran did not seem like the kind of person who could write "The Master's Discourse".

However, Kong Yingda also sensed that Xiao Ran was different from others.

Kong Yingda couldn't say exactly what was different.

“I am currently in charge of compiling the Five Classics and I am short of manpower. I wonder if you would be interested in participating?” Kong Yingda asked Xiao Ran.

The core of "The Correct Meaning of the Five Classics" is to integrate the commentaries on the Five Classics from the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty and unify the interpretation of the classics.

To provide standard teaching materials for the imperial examinations.

However, the compilation process not only requires a profound foundation in classical studies, but also needs to solve practical problems such as "difficult to distinguish between numerous versions", "obscure and difficult to read commentaries" and "low dissemination efficiency".

Kong Yingda had previously witnessed Xiao Ran's qualities.

Although he was not familiar with Confucian classics, he was good at solving practical problems with pragmatic and innovative methods.

These are precisely the auxiliary abilities needed when compiling the "Correct Meaning of the Five Classics".

"You flatter me, sir!"

"To be honest, I know almost nothing about the annotations and differences between versions of the Five Classics."

“If I can’t even distinguish the core differences between Zheng Xuan’s commentary and Wang Bi’s commentary, I would only disrupt your pace and ruin the important task of compiling the Five Classics. This is something I would never dare to do.”

Upon hearing this, Kong Yingda first laughed heartily, his tone full of gentle sincerity, and he even brought up the topic of "On Teachers":

"Young friend, why be so modest! Have you forgotten the saying in 'On Teachers': 'There is a sequence to learning the Way, and each profession has its own expertise'?"

"I understand the commentaries on the Five Classics, but I don't know how to organize the complicated versions clearly."

"You may not understand classical studies, but you understand other things; this is your 'Way'!"

Kong Yingda took a half step forward, his eyes becoming more serious, making sure to speak clearly so that Xiao Ran might still have reservations:
"Why would I let you get involved in the core annotations? You just need to help think about the 'miscellaneous matters'."

“For example, you previously mentioned using bamboo tags to categorize and remember tips. Nowadays, the commentaries on the Five Classics are very messy, with commentaries by Zheng Xuan, Wang Bi, and Kong Anguo all mixed together. You have to flip through more than a dozen books to find the right one.”

"Could you teach my disciples how to organize these commentaries by chapter and school of thought using your method?"

"For example, this book is meant to be read by students all over the world, especially ordinary people like those from Kaolao Village. Could you help me see how to change the overly obscure words in the annotations into terms that ordinary people can understand?"

When discussing the importance of the *Wujing Zhengyi* (Correct Meanings of the Five Classics), Kong Yingda's tone became more subdued, carrying a weighty expectation:

"This book is not for the high-ranking scholars in the imperial court, but to set a standard for all scholars in the world—from now on, children from farming families who want to take the imperial examinations will no longer have to worry about 'which commentary to believe'."

“The village teachers also have a standard textbook for teaching. You run a school so that more children can study and have a future. This ‘Correct Meaning of the Five Classics’ is paving the way for them!”

Finally, he softened his tone and said with a hint of encouragement, "If you're worried that you won't be able to learn it, my disciples can slowly explain the general version to you."

"If you feel tired, you can rest whenever you want, I will never force you. But I sincerely hope you can come."

"Without your ingenuity, this book will lack a certain 'down-to-earth' vitality, and it will be less convenient for ordinary people to read in the future!"

Although he hadn't spent much time with Xiao Ran, Kong Yingda trusted his judgment.

Xiao Ran's participation is definitely something special.

"Sir, I'll try my best!" Xiao Ran was happy to help in any way he could and offer some advice.

The "Correct Meaning of the Five Classics" is an authoritative work on Confucian classics compiled under the official guidance of the early Tang Dynasty and led by Kong Yingda.

Its positive significance and influence far exceed the scope of "an academic classic".

It is more like the "cornerstone" laid by the early Tang Dynasty for "cultural unification, popularization of education, and standardization of the imperial examination system".

It profoundly shaped the inheritance of Confucian culture and the logic of social governance for the next several hundred years.

If "On Teachers" instilled the concept of "seeking the Way equally" into early Tang education, then "The Correct Meaning of the Five Classics" was the "physical project" that put this concept into practice.

It solves the core questions of "what to learn, how to learn, and what standards to use for learning".

It not only provided ideological and educational support for the "Prosperous Reign of Zhenguan" in the early Tang Dynasty, but also laid the foundation for cultural inheritance and social stability for hundreds of years to come.

Its essence is a model of "the official unification of thought, education, and politics through academic unification".

It was a crucial step in the early Tang Dynasty's transition from "territorial unification" to "cultural unification," and a "milestone classic" in cultural history.

Kong Yingda was pleased to hear Xiao Ran's answer.

"Once the book is completed, we'll need your printing skills to help more people know about it."

When the class ended, Yu Shinan felt a little unsatisfied.

"Master Yu, is there any hope for my handwriting?" Xiao Ran's handwriting was poor, but he still wanted to hear the advice of a master calligrapher.

Yu Shinan took the paper Xiao Ran handed him, his fingertips lightly brushing over the crooked handwriting. Without the slightest disgust, he laughed first, "How can it be hopeless? Your handwriting is just because you haven't figured out the 'nature' of the brush, just like when you first learned to farm you didn't understand the temperament of the soil. Just practice more and find the trick."

He pointed to the character "mountain" on the paper and slowly traced the crooked vertical stroke with his fingertip: "You see, it's not that you didn't write carefully, it's that your wrist wasn't steady when you held the pen. You have to let your wrist 'lead' the pen, not your fingers gripping it tightly."

Yu Shinan and Kong Yingda also saw Xiao Ran's handwriting and felt that it shouldn't be done this way.

Even if Xiao Ran didn't have Li Lizhi's talent, his erudition should have prevented him from writing such characters.

Xiao Ran's calligraphy is indeed hard to describe.

A scholar's handwriting should not be like this.

Apart from Zhang Jinhe, among those who were about the same age, Xiao Ran's handwriting was the worst.

In the eyes of great Confucian scholars like Yu Shinan and Kong Yingda, it was truly an eyesore.

Although they didn't understand, the two still gave Xiao Ran a lot of advice.

Xiao Ran wasn't very familiar with Chu Liang, this great Confucian scholar.

Compared to Chu Liang himself, his son Chu Suiliang is more well-known.

Not only in terms of political status, but also in calligraphy, he far surpassed Chu Liang, truly a case of the student surpassing the teacher, since Chu Suiliang's calligraphy was, after all, that of Yu Shinan.

One of the four great calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty!

Unfortunately, in this era of Zhenguan, there are so many talented people that Chu Suiliang is practically invisible and has no presence whatsoever. (End of Chapter)