Fifty-Nine Lectures
The old man considers himself a refined and elegant gentleman, so he naturally has some literary temperament, stubborn bones, and a bad temper. Therefore, Yan Zhenqing's iron-blooded true Hanzi calligraphy is particularly in line with the old man's temperament. The old man also wants to make Su Ning into such an iron-blooded true Hanzi, daring to face the bloody reality, daring to face the bleak life, and daring to face the unreasonable, inhumane, and undemocratic old man. Therefore, a excellent calligraphy is a necessary product.
The old man's calligraphy is strong and powerful, with a majestic and grand momentum, the structure is wide and magnificent, the bone force is strong and the spirit is dignified. This is the result of countless additions and modifications to Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy by later generations, which can be called a culmination of great achievements. Therefore, Su Ning's calligraphy is far from the warm, elegant and strong style of the early Tang Dynasty. It seems that today's calligraphy is like a beautiful maiden dancing lightly, while Su Ning's calligraphy is like a true hero wielding his sword with valor.
Li Erbai, who grew up in the military, was instantly attracted to this iron-blooded true man's calligraphy, and forgot to read the main text, only looking at the calligraphy, while writing and drawing with his hand. For a time, Li Erbai and Kong Yingda seemed to have forgotten about their duties, and started slacking off. Kong Yingda took out a piece of Su Ning's handwriting and began to imitate it on the side, while Li Erbai picked up his pen and also started imitating...
"This calligraphy is bold and powerful, with a majestic momentum that ordinary people cannot match. Without the corresponding mental state and moral character, even if one can write it, it would be superficial without capturing its essence. The most important thing about this calligraphy is its spirit, while the characters on the paper are secondary. I, your humble minister, am far from being able to match it. Your Majesty, this Su Ning is no ordinary person! It's a pity that his master must have been an extraordinary individual, what a pity! What a pity!" After about half an hour, Kong Yingda put down his brush and gazed at the three sheets of Xuan paper filled with his writing, letting out a deep sigh.
Li Er lowered his pen, holding a piece of Xuan paper filled with writing, and compared it to the characters written by Su Ning. The result was not satisfactory, but he had to admit that calligraphy couldn't be mastered in a day. Hearing Kong Yingda's sigh, Li Er nodded thoughtfully: "I didn't know until now that this young man could write such bold and powerful calligraphy, which is completely different from the current calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty. This kind of regular script is something I've never seen before. Kong Ai Qing, this calligraphy has a higher level of artistic conception than yours and mine!"
Kong Yingda laughed and said: "Your Majesty, I thought of more than that. Today's lesson, this child actually gave me a lesson, no, two lessons. Counting the calligraphy lesson, it's three lessons. Each lesson made my heart tremble with shock, as if I had been enlightened. This student has given his teacher three lessons since he started school. Your Majesty, when the historian writes history, be sure to record this event and pass it down to future generations. Hahaha!"
Li Erbai's interest was piqued: "It's great that you have such refined tastes, but apart from calligraphy class, what are the other two classes? This is quite strange to me. Tell me quickly, and I'll count on my fingers those in the Great Tang who can teach you - and that young whippersnapper?"
As soon as he started talking about cultural matters and his own strengths, Kong Yingda automatically switched to the old-fashioned preaching mode. At this moment, except for the students, there was no one else, and his age and status were enough to be Li Er's teacher, and Li Er also showed great respect for him, so he didn't feel anything inappropriate.
"This is the first lesson, which is education. The old minister asked Sanming what he had learned from his teacher and how his teacher taught him, wanting to know what Sanming had actually learned and mastered. However, he heard that Sanming's teacher had never taught him to read books, and he hadn't even read any classic literature or introductory texts. The old man was very puzzled - how could a great master of the past generation do such a thing? If this is really true, wouldn't it be misleading his students?"
Sanming said that his master took him on a journey, teaching him along the way. What he said and taught were all based on what they saw and heard on their journey. For example, when they saw someone stealing and being caught, his master would first ask Sanming what this was about, why it happened, and how to solve it. When they saw people fighting, he would also ask why people quarreled, why they fought, where the problem lay, and how to solve it.
When it rains, people will ask why it's raining; when it snows, they'll ask why it's snowing; during a drought, they'll ask why there's a drought; and when the crops fail, they'll ask why the crops failed. Moreover, their teachers rarely give them clear answers because in this world, there are no standard answers to everything. All questions change as time passes, and so do the answers - nothing remains constant.
In this way, his master took him to see the various things of the world, explained various principles, and said that the greatest learning in the world is in the human world. Once you understand the human world, all principles will be clear. At that time, reading books is actually cultivating one's character and temperament, and has nothing to do with real learning. The knowledge in books is also what predecessors saw, heard, thought, and gained. The problems and solutions of thousands of years ago have long since changed beyond recognition. If you only read the principles in books, you will never be able to solve any practical problems.
Your Majesty, I am a senior minister of the Confucian school. Since childhood, I have been well-versed in various classics and thought myself to be erudite enough to teach others, impart knowledge, and dispel doubts. However, it is only today that I realize how greatly mistaken I was! All along, I have been bound by the footsteps of my predecessors, never daring to take a step forward on my own, nor adding any luster to their brilliant achievements. Instead, I considered making even slight changes to be disrespectful to our ancestors, an act of great disrespect, and thus fell into self-enclosure.
Sanming is right, this is the greatest confusion I have had in reading books for decades. After hearing these words, I suddenly felt enlightened, and almost at that moment, my years of trouble disappeared! The ancients said, "Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will appear." I have read dozens of books, not just a hundred times, but I was unable to understand the reasoning in the books. However, this young man has not read any books, yet he understands these principles.
Your Majesty, as the Three Sages have said, the question lies in change and the answer also lies in change. Nothing remains constant. The greatest lesson is not found in books but in the world between heaven and earth, among human beings. Once one has seen through the ways of the world, they will have grasped the greatest principle. This is enough for this lifetime. Your humble servant understands this principle, and this is the first lesson.
After Kong Yingda finished his lengthy speech, Li Er also felt deeply shocked and moved. He was not surprised by Su Ning's learning because he himself grew up in the midst of war and battlefields. If it weren't for the chaos at the end of the Sui dynasty, there wouldn't be today's Emperor Taizong of Tang. The world would have lost a great emperor and gained another spoiled rich kid instead. There would be no glorious Tang Dynasty, only countless romantic heroes.
From this perspective, Emperor Li suddenly realized that Suning had followed his master to travel the world, and he himself had led a million-strong army to gallop across the world, fighting for life and death with countless enemies, growing up in the fire of war, and several times on the brink of death. This educational approach is extremely hard and highly risky, but the effect is very obvious; two people, one became emperor, and the other will be what in the future?
What Li Erbai was even more concerned about was that sentence, nothing is constant, the times are changing, and the problems are also changing. Using the words of the ancients to explain today's events, isn't that a mistake? All the previous actions, aren't they all mistakes? And this principle, was actually accepted by Kongmen Xuanchuang and Kong Yingda. Kong Yingda's position in the hearts of scholars under heaven, Li Erbai knew about it. So, Li Erbai had a slight stir in his heart, and began to feel uneasy. An idea that had been sprouting for a long time broke through the soil of his mind, emitting a strange and wondrous glow...
"I deeply agree with what you said, Su Ning is indeed a disciple of a great master, such a profound truth, even if a child is talented, it's impossible to comprehend without the accumulation of knowledge from generations; although I couldn't meet that great master, Su Ning has already learned many things and will be useful for our Great Tang Empire, this is enough. So, what are your thoughts on how to guide Su Ning?" Li Er thought to himself, now focusing on Su Ning, which was the most important thing.
Kong Yingda said: "This is also related to the second lesson, Your Majesty. What Suning has learned compared to what our great Tang Dynasty teaches is vastly different. What we teach are the relics of our ancestors, the thoughts and ideas of sages from a thousand years ago. Although they may still be useful today, simply imitating them without change is not good. Suning has already broken free from this imitation, I don't need to pull him back, that would harm him and harm the great Tang Dynasty."
"I, your old minister, think that all he needs is some guidance on how to conduct himself as a person. After all, he is still young, and although his temperament is more mature than his peers, he still has the nature of an adolescent. This is the only area where I can offer him guidance. Apart from this, Your Majesty, I am powerless. Perhaps you and the Empress have something to teach him, but I have nothing left to teach. However, I also thought that perhaps we could try using this method on other students, setting a good example for the world, just like our ancestors who were revered as teachers for generations to come. Of course, I am far from being able to match their brilliance, but I do hope that I can revive some of their glory."
Li Er bowed his head: "You are a learned scholar, I naturally believe what you say. If all scholars of the Tang Dynasty can break free from convention, haha, you will be credited with the merit of being a model teacher for ten thousand generations. This is a task that I must entrust to you."
Kong Yingda bowed again: "I will never betray Your Majesty's high expectations!"
Li Er smiled and slightly supported himself: "Love, you don't have to be so polite. So, love, what is this second lesson?"
Kong Yingda said: "Please also ask your majesty to carefully read the content written by Sanming. Only then did your majesty and I, an old minister, get attracted by this child's calligraphy, and I forgot what I came here for. Sanming presented his master's phonetic reading method, which was created after decades of hard work, and that is the specific content."
"What's this 'Phonetic Character Reading Method'?" Li Er didn't really notice what was written on the ten sheets of Xuan paper, so he picked them up and started reading.
The Chinese language of the Sui and Tang dynasties evolved from Ancient Chinese, known as Middle Chinese. Its pronunciation differed significantly from that of Modern Chinese. Since ancient times there was no phonetic notation like pinyin to aid in reading characters, and recognizing characters was based on recognizing words. The method of reading two characters together is also like this. The most important basis for studying Middle Chinese is the "Qieyun" compiled by Lu Fayan, followed by the "Guangyun" of the Song Dynasty.
The difference between Middle Chinese and Modern Chinese is very large. Because there were no recording devices in the Middle Ages, and Chinese characters are not alphabetic, it is impossible to strictly record the pronunciation. Many characteristics of modern Chinese have already been established in Middle Chinese, such as one character corresponding to one syllable, without consonant clusters that may have existed in Old Chinese, and tones with distinguishing meanings, etc.
Suning also considered these issues, so he was very cautious and searched on Baidu for a long time before finding the answers. In doing so, he discovered the most important rhymes in Middle Chinese, such as dental initials, tongue initials, labial initials, alveolar initials, laryngeal initials, semi-tongue initials, and semi-alveolar initials. These are the foundation of Tang poetry and Song lyrics. Suning wondered if promoting modern Chinese pinyin to ancient times would affect the emergence of Tang poetry and Song lyrics, especially before the birth of great poets. Would Chinese pinyin collide with Middle Chinese rhymes and cause these national treasures to disappear?
This is also the worry that Su Ning wrote on the last two pages, of course, Su Ning would not talk about future things, and would not mention Li Bai Du Fu at this time, but instead took out the existing poems to compare, and explained his worries to Emperor Li Er. If we lose the 36 rhymes of ancient Chinese, will there still be Tang poetry and Song lyrics? Just like in modern times, how many people can create perfect poetic formats?
After a long while, Emperor Li lifted his head, rubbed his sore eyes and smiled at Kong Yingda who was still continuously copying beside him: "Not to mention the benefits of this phonetic reading method for the country and its people, but also this calligraphy alone makes me reluctant to move my gaze away. If every minister had such a handwriting style, I wouldn't feel tired when handling memorials either. Every time I review memorials would be an appreciation of calligraphy, how delightful!"
"My dear, I've basically understood this pinyin reading method. Compared to the two-character cutting method we used in the past, it seems to be much more accurate. As long as one learns this pinyin, even a three-year-old child can read books! And what about the pronunciation? My dear, what do you think? According to this pinyin reading method, the pronunciation is different from what we use now, but isn't it good that as long as one knows how to read with pinyin, this kind of pronunciation will naturally follow?"
Kong Yingda nodded and said: "Your Majesty's words are extremely correct, just like Sanming said. This problem of pronunciation has been troubling people from different regions for a long time. The Guanzhong dialect is not understood by the Shu people, the Shandong dialect is not understood by the Guanzhong people, and the Hebei dialect is not understood by the Shandong people either. Therefore, I think Sanming's suggestion is very necessary, and I have also experienced it myself; a good friend from Guanzhong went to Shu, and after more than 20 years without seeing each other, when we met again, neither of us could understand what the other was saying."
Moreover, the pronunciation suggested by Sanming is closely related to this phonetic reading method. Once you master the phonetic reading method, this pronunciation will naturally follow, without needing deliberate practice. It's pleasant to listen to and easy to understand. People from different regions no longer need to worry about not being able to understand each other's speech, although it may take decades for this to be achieved. However, this is a contribution that will last forever.
Li Er nodded and said, "I think so too. Indeed, the problem of pronunciation is a big trouble. If this can be solved, even if all children can read and write, what a great virtue it would be! My heart is moved, but, Ai Chen, Su Ning's intention should not be to let you tell me about this phonetic reading method at this time, right?"
Kong Yingda was taken aback, and then asked: "Is this true? Sanming indeed told me that we should conduct experiments within the Hongwen Academy for now, see how things go, accumulate some experience, prove that the phonetic method is indeed better than the two-character juxtaposition method. At that time, report to Your Majesty to inspect the results, produce convincing achievements, and then promote it. This matter must be fully prepared before implementation, otherwise, people all over the world will laugh at the imperial court; this is indeed my fault for being too hasty, but how does Your Majesty know about it?"
Li Er handed over two sheets of Xuan paper to Kong Yingda with a smile: "Take a look, among these ten sheets of Xuan paper, eight are about the phonetic reading method, and the last two specifically warn me not to be too hasty, not to promulgate it immediately, but to first test and prove that this method is indeed better than others before promoting it. When doing things, one should also do so, thinking thrice before acting, and testing beforehand is even more important."
This kid also expressed his concerns, the pinyin reading method is indeed very easy to learn, as long as you recognize it, you can read it out and develop a unified pronunciation. However, when it comes to rhymes, there are thousands of differences, and over-simplification may have an impact on cultural rhyming issues that are difficult to shape. Nowadays, we can still be familiar with rhymes, and writing poetry won't feel difficult, but if everyone learns the pinyin reading method in the future, who will know about rhymes? Won't the art of rhyming be lost? Think far ahead, my dear, this point must be taken seriously! The pinyin reading method is simple, but this problem cannot be ignored!
He also said that Mr. Kong is concerned about the people of the world, and it is his duty to educate and enlighten them. This method will bring great benefits to the country and its people. If Mr. Kong finds out, he will definitely tell me immediately and list a series of advantages, strongly supporting this method. However, I absolutely cannot agree now, but need to see the results first. The court's policy is a matter that affects the entire body when one hair is pulled, and it is also the expectation of the people of the world, so we must be cautious. My dear, you say young people are impulsive, but this young person seems even more calm and composed than you!
Li Er's joke made Kong Yingda stunned at first, after reading what Su Ning wrote, he shook his head and sighed: "This old minister is guilty, this old minister is wrong, foolishly living for over 50 years, today in one day let a young child teach four lessons! He said it very well, Your Majesty, this matter is a big deal, absolutely cannot be rushed or advanced recklessly, otherwise not only will the people of the world laugh at the imperial court, but those with ulterior motives will also take advantage of the situation to cause trouble and create unimaginable problems.
I request Your Majesty to authorize me, an old minister, to take charge of the research and promotion of this phonetic reading method. I will proceed step by step, slowly and steadily, without giving any opportunity for those with ulterior motives to take advantage of it. As Su Ning said, this matter is crucial to cultural heritage and must be carefully considered before taking action; experimentation should come first.
The Emperor nodded: "This is also good, Kong Ai, you go back first. Starting tomorrow, summon the scholars of the Imperial Academy to conduct research and annotation on the phonetic reading method, as well as a comparison of the 206 rhymes. After completing the compilation, in the shortest time possible, teach my children and meritorious officials as the first batch of students, so that they can understand this pronunciation and recognize characters through phonetics. Do not neglect the 206 rhymes, and meticulously record all key points to accumulate experience. Ai, this is a major matter, absolutely do not be negligent."
Kong Yingda bowed down to the ground: "Your Majesty is wise! Your old minister obeys your orders!"
Seeing Kong Yingda leave, Li Erbai's gaze fell back on the rice paper in his hand, looking at the elegant strokes of the brushwork, a hint of a pleased smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He didn't know how many surprises this young man would bring him yet, but for now, one was following another. This young man also deeply understood the way of advancing and retreating, and seemed to grasp the principle of "when full, then empty". Good kid, I'd like to see just how far you can go.
I do not consider myself senile, and I have a wealth of talent. The court is filled with talented individuals, the army has brave generals, and now there's this young man - why not explore where that dream lies? If it can be achieved, I will surely occupy the position of emperor for all eternity, surpassing even Qin Shi Huang and Han Wu Di! I, Li Shimin, will forever be ranked among the sage rulers! Who can shake me?!
Li Er's hands clenched into fists, making a solemn vow!
PS: Suddenly 9,000 words, the task is so heavy...... There's another update tonight, all of which are very long chapters ~ By the way, I'd like to ask for collection and recommendation ~
