White-robed Minister

Chapter 244 0242 [Causing a Sensation at the Imperial Academy]

At this time, the person in charge of the Imperial Academy was called Zhang Cao.

His elder brother, Zhang Gui, had once served as Xu Lai's superior in Yingtian Prefecture.

His other elder brother, Zhang Huan, was a close friend of Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi originally intended to give Zhang Huan an important position, but since Zhang Huan was old and in poor health, he instead promoted his younger brother Zhang Zao.

Zhang Zao passed the imperial examination at a young age and naturally possessed an air of arrogance. At least for the time being, he had a bottom line; even after becoming a censor, when Wang Anshi asked him to impeach his political enemies, Zhang Zao was not very obedient.

Only after becoming completely embroiled in factional strife and being sidelined by Wang Anshi did Zhang Zao choose to abandon his principles and become extremely reckless. He allied himself with Lü Huiqing, framed Feng Jing, leading to Feng Jing's dismissal as prime minister, and conspired with Li Ding to fabricate charges to put Su Shi to death.

"When examining the books of the Imperial College students, one must not read anything that is wicked or slanderous." These were the words Wang Pang said to him yesterday.

Zhang Zao, who is still sticking to his principles, doesn't even listen to Wang Anshi, so how could he possibly listen to Wang Pang's orders?

But he still had to make a show of it and walk around the various dining halls.

Zhang Zao first went to the dormitories of the Imperial Academy, where students were rarely seen. He selected two vacant dormitories, intending to allocate them to the Imperial Academy in the future, and requested the emperor to expand the enrollment scale of the Imperial Academy.

After selecting the dormitory, Zhang Zao first went to inspect the lecture hall.

The teacher giving the lecture at this time was Yan Fu, the 48th generation descendant of the sage Yan Hui.

The lecture hall was packed, with people even crowding the entrance. Yan Fu, holding the *Duo Sheng* (a book on the sound of bells), declared loudly, "Scholar Xu's words are absolutely correct. He said: 'Principles are not clear without debate, and the Way is not widely disseminated without transmission.' The principles of the world should be open to debate among all people, and only after the debate has clarified things should they be spread throughout the world!"

Zhang Zao's expression was somewhat unpleasant, because Yan Fu was known for opposing the reforms and had openly promoted his opposition at the Imperial Academy on multiple occasions.

However, Yan Fu's identity was quite special; he was a direct descendant of the sage Yan Hui, so it was inconvenient for Wang Anshi to punish him.

Zhang Zao continued to listen outside the door, and Yan Fu quickly read aloud: "Scholar Xu also said: 'What makes a scholar a scholar is not merely to obtain official positions and salaries.' This is truly a great saying. Nowadays, many scholars study only for the imperial examinations and to become officials, and once they become officials, they only seek high positions and generous salaries—"

Yan Fu suddenly raised his voice: "What should scholars truly pursue? I have often pondered this before, but none of my conclusions have been as clear as Scholar Xu's. The scholar's duty is: to establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations. These four things are what we should all strive for! What do you all think?"

"I am willing to follow you."

"Well said!"

"It is our inescapable responsibility!"

"I'm willing to die for you!"

,

The entire lecture hall became incredibly lively.

Those four lines were really too inflammatory, and the students were all young.

Zhang Zao watched for a while, then silently left.

He felt that the person who should be in charge was not the students, but Yan Fu, the lecturer at the Imperial Academy. If this man continued to stay at the Imperial Academy, he would continue to incite students against the reforms.

However, Zhang Zao was still full of enthusiasm at this time. He occasionally felt that there were problems with the new law and that officials and scholars should be allowed to discuss it. But such discussions must remain within the scope of identifying and correcting shortcomings.

After Yan Fu finished his lecture, the students began to ask questions.

A student stood up and said, "I've also read 'The Sound of the Bell,' and there's an article titled 'On the Selection of Officials by Ranking.' What are your thoughts on this article, sir?"

Yan Fu replied, "This essay is also very well written. In particular, it refutes the claim that the separate examination system is unfair. Some people say that the separate examination system is unfair to scholars from places known for their literary talent. Learned scholars from these places may fail, while scholars from other places with less knowledge may pass. But is this how fairness is judged?"

"In his article, Scholar Xu said that the scholars from the five northern circuits, the two Jinghu circuits, and the two Guangnan circuits were treated unfairly from the time they began their studies. This was because there were few schools, good teachers were hard to find, and they had little contact with the officials in charge of the imperial examinations. The reason these scholars were poorly learned was not because they were stupid."

"The state selects officials not to judge the quality of their scholarship, but to govern the country and ensure the well-being of the people. The court allocates more quotas to scholars from the five northern circuits and numerous acting official positions to scholars from the two southern circuits in order to stabilize the regions and win over the hearts of the people. Why not go a step further and select officials through separate examinations?"

A student from Kaifeng said, "Where does this leave the scholars of Kaifeng? After the results are announced, only 30% of the places will be allocated to Kaifeng and the Imperial Academy. Many learned scholars will surely have no chance of passing the exams!"

Yan Fu replied, "After the results are announced, no one will impersonate someone else. Scholars who are studying in Kaifeng will not seek recommendations to take the exam there. At that time, the number of scholars taking the provincial examination in Kaifeng will decrease sharply, and the competition will not be as fierce as you imagine."

Another student asked, "What is your opinion on Scholar Xu's 'Treatise on Taiji'?"

Yan Fusheng praised, "Scholar Xu's Taiji diagram has added the Yin-Yang double fish, and his explanation is even more exquisite. He is truly a scholar who has mastered both heaven and man!"

If Xu Lai wants to spread his own ideology, he must spread a complete set of theories, which must start with his cosmology, worldview, and values.

Molecules and atoms were too advanced for him, so he chose the "Tai Chi Yin Yang theory".

Taiji is a primordial state of chaos, containing Yin and Yang to give birth to all things. The intermediate state between Taiji and all things is "Qi", which contains "Li" (the laws of the universe).

When all things are born, the Qi and Li (vital energy and principle) change again, and different things manifest different Qi and Li.

The concept of "li" (理, principle) is not exclusive to the Neo-Confucian school, but rather a general principle of all Confucianism in the Song Dynasty.

Xu Lai also published Wang Anshi's "On the Unity of All Things," in which Wang Anshi said that reason is unified, and once you understand reason, you can understand everything.

However, Xu Lai said that while the ultimate principles are unified, the principles inherent in all things are different.

Xu Lai further divided reason into two categories: human beings and things, namely ethics and physics, namely social philosophy and natural philosophy.

Ethics and physics are not separate but rather mutually influential: throughout history, the more physics people have mastered, the more their ethics have changed. And these changes in ethics have also influenced people's discoveries in physics.

Xu Lai also cited the pre-Qin behavioral norms in the Book of Rites as an example, saying that at that time, the understanding of physics was very limited, so the production of goods was not much, and the food, clothing and daily necessities of the ruler, feudal lords and scholar-officials were all governed by ritual standards.

These standards of etiquette are outdated by today's standards. If we only consider food, even commoners in the Song Dynasty enjoyed the same treatment as rulers of the pre-Qin period. Was this a collapse of social order? Not at all. It was because people gained a greater understanding of the physical world, leading to more abundant resources, which in turn changed ethical norms.

Xu Lai then used the transition from feudalism to the prefecture-county system as an example, arguing that the widespread use of iron farm tools was the foundation for the emergence of the prefecture-county system. This illustrates how physical changes can alter ethics.

When Xu Lai discussed how Taiji and Yin-Yang give rise to all things, he also quoted the Later Heaven Bagua diagram and added a Yin-Yang fish pattern to it. Since this pattern could not be printed with movable type, Xu Lai specially asked craftsmen to carve woodblocks.

Whether it's the yin-yang symbol or the explanations of ethics and physics, all of these elements have a profound impact on the readers of this article.

To illustrate physics, Xu Lai also wrote three short essays on the subject: the lever principle, plant grafting, and water conservancy engineering. These correspond to industry, agriculture, and water conservancy, respectively.

In his article on water conservancy engineering, he explained how, when he was still a student, he observed mountains and rivers, discovered and summarized the landform of the plundering, and used this as a basis to solve Guangzhou's drinking water problem.

In other words, Xu Lai's so-called "physics" includes all knowledge of nature.

There is also an article that introduces mathematics.

Xu Lai commissioned craftsmen to make movable type and carved numbers and mathematical symbols. This was only the first episode; he only introduced numbers and symbols and demonstrated the four arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Many scholars read articles related to mathematics and physics with great interest, treating them as leisure reading material.

After the lecture, the students left in twos and threes.

Su Song's second son, Su Jia, held a copy of "Duo Sheng" in his hands and recited the "Inaugural Message" as he walked, drawing cheers from many classmates around him.

Su Song's nephew, Su Ye, had other ideas in mind.

Su Ye immediately saw through Xu Lai's ambition. He planned to go to Zeng Bu after school so that Zeng Bu could remind Prime Minister Wang to be careful.

Yes, Su Ye has already ingratiated himself with Zeng Bu and knows that the Three-Tier System might be implemented. If he gains favor because of this, he will certainly be able to graduate directly from the Imperial Academy and become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) through the Three-Tier System.

Xu Lai is nothing.

Historically, Su Ye even reported his teacher Yan Fu and cousin Su Jia for his own future!

Back in the dormitory, Su Jia suddenly jumped onto the desk: "To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations. These four lines have enlightened me; today I finally understand the responsibilities of a scholar. Would you gentlemen be willing to work with me to achieve this?"

About half of the scholars responded enthusiastically on the spot.

They were filled with excitement, as if they had found their life's purpose.

In the next issue of the magazine, Xu Lai will write an article about how to achieve his lifelong pursuit and how to gradually reach those four sentences.

After the students cheered and were excited, they began to discuss the other articles in "The Sound of the Bell".

Some of the students gathered around Su Jia, discussing physics. Su Song had participated in compiling the books "Mathematics" and "Geometry," so his son Su Jia naturally also came into contact with mathematics and physics.

Su Jia is now the most popular person in the dormitory; he's the only one in the class who understands natural sciences the best.

Several students also began discussing the yin-yang symbol.

Many more students discussed the poems and prose of Xu Lai, Su Shi, Ouyang Xiu, and others. Xu Lai published his own "Qing Yu An: Lantern Festival" and also selected a frontier poem for publication.

Only a very small number of people discuss the short story "The Tanka Woman".

A student who had just borrowed "The Sound of the Bell" seemed to have discovered something wonderful and laughed loudly: "Haha, Scholar Xu has actually written a ridiculous article— He first studied literature, but failed the imperial examinations for three years; then he practiced martial arts, and in the training ground, he fired an arrow that hit the drummer, who then chased him away; so he studied medicine and achieved some success. He wrote a good prescription, took it, and died."

"You just saw this? I'm dying of laughter."

"6

This article satirizes those who start things but never finish them.

"The Bell Sound magazine is inviting submissions from readers across the country, and has even provided a mailing address. Those whose work is selected will receive payment. Who among you wishes to submit a piece?"

"Payment is nothing to us; it's just a fee for writing. If our articles can be published in 'Duosheng,' we will surely become famous throughout the world."

""

"I'm already working on the article. I can't speak for other articles, but I'm confident that my poems will be selected."

"Haha, I'm going to write a novel."

'

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As the students discussed it, "The Sound of the Bell" also began to circulate among officials.

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