Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"Why is mother so happy?" Old Bai couldn't help but ask.

Mrs. Bai handed over the straw paper: "The Zhu family father and son who came from other places wrote poems to wish me a birthday. They wrote really well!"

Old Bai took it with both hands. After reading it, he felt good about it.

Even if it’s not good, if my mother likes it, it must be good!

The papyrus was then passed to the county magistrate Xiang Bi, who smiled with a bit of disdain. Today is someone else's birthday party. Although he despises this poem, he can't belittle it in person. He only said: "The fourth line is acceptable."

Bai Chongyan, Li Hanzhang, and Zheng Hong also watched it one after another.

They thought it was okay, especially the last sentence, which simply turned decay into magic.

This is about the current situation. People who are good at poetry and those who are not good at poetry do not have strict requirements for flat format. It just so happened that people like Xiang Zhixian, who was born as a Jinshi and was relatively proficient in poetry, couldn't help but feel that this poem was unpalatable.

Don't take Li Qingzhao as an example. She said that Su Shi's lyrics were inconsistent with the rhythm, purely out of personal grudges and had nothing to do with literature itself.

And the resentment is not small. The father-in-law died due to political struggle, and the husband was arrested and interrogated. My father was exiled to Guangxi and died in depression after being allowed to return to his hometown. Li Qingzhao himself was prohibited from living in Kaifeng and returned to his hometown to live in seclusion alone. Her husband's family and her natal family were completely at odds with each other, and they never had any contact with each other.

Even Li Qingzhao's marriage was a political product from the beginning.

All because her father was Su Shi's student, and her father-in-law was Su Shi's mortal enemy. Song Huizong wanted to reconcile the old and new party struggles, and the Shu Party was the most suitable lubricant, so he let the two families get married. When the party struggle resumed, it was an instant tragedy.

"How well written is the pity for the hearts of parents in the world," Mrs. Bai asked Xiang Bi, "Can the county magistrate allow the Zhu family father and son to sit at the main table?"

Although Xiang Bi was reluctant, he smiled and said, "The guest does as he pleases."

Erlang of the Bai family went to invite them in person, and soon found the father and son. He said with a smile on his face: "Please sit inside, you two."

"Thank you." Zhu Guoxiang said, clasping his fists.

Not only did the father and son pass, but they also brought the child with them, which made Bai Erlang somewhat speechless.

Arriving at the main table, Zhu Guoxiang cupped his hands and said, "I wish the old lady a happy birthday!"

Mrs. Bai said happily: "Not only is he good at writing poems, but he also looks like a talented person. No wonder my daughter is looking for a wife."

The daughter of the king is recruiting a wife?

The county magistrate Xiang Bi was confused and couldn't figure out where there was a daughter country.

The insiders present were all suppressing laughter.

They didn't expose it, anyway, as long as the old lady was happy, ninety years old in ancient times could barely be considered auspicious, and auspicious people could say anything.

Zhu Guoxiang explained: "The idea of ​​a daughter's country is just a joke made by dogs. The old lady should not take it seriously."

Ju Ming chuckled and said, "I just told you nonsense."

Perhaps it was the birthday poem that was written in the heart of the old lady. No matter how much Mrs. Bai liked them, the smile on her face never faded: "Even if you tell nonsense, the story is also wonderful. Has Xiao Zhu Xiucai ever been married?" ? The old lady will help you find a good woman."

"Young man is determined to take the imperial examination. After he passes the examination, we can talk about marriage." Zhu Ming excused himself and refused.

Mrs. Bai said: "It's good to take the imperial examination. There is beauty in the book."

When it comes to the imperial examination, Xiang Zhixian finally has a topic: "If you want to take the imperial examination, how can you govern?"

Ju Ming replied: "Yi".

Xiang Bi asked again: "Where did the master come from?"

Ju Ming said: "I traveled to various places to study and listen here and there, but I did not become a disciple."

Xiang Bi did not study the "Book of Changes" deeply and deliberately bypassed this book: "The major classics must be cured, and the minor classics must not be slacked off. Let me test you, what is the meaning of being shameless and unworthy?"

This is a test of "The Analects of Confucius".

Zhu Ming smiled and replied: "Ge is the best. If you follow the example of your words and deeds, then the people will have their own perceptions and feelings. If they are shallow, deep, and thin, and if they are polite, then the people will be ashamed of bad deeds, and there will be So that it is good.”

Xiang Zhixian... fell silent.

Not only Xiang Bi, but also the entire table, everyone who had studied the Analects of Confucius seriously, all looked at Ju Ming without saying a word.

For a moment, the whole place was silent.

It was Li Hanzhang who was the first to break the atmosphere. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed straightly: "I have learned a lesson!"

Bai Chongyan also reacted, stood up and bowed: "I have learned a lesson!"

"Don't take it seriously." Zhu Ming stood up and returned the greeting.

Zheng Hong, the little fat man, looked confused. Although he had studied "The Analects of Confucius", when he asked the magistrate just now, he only intercepted four words. He didn't even understand the source.

Zhu Guoxiang didn't need to observe carefully. With such a big reaction on the scene, his son must be showing off again.

Xiang Zhixian mused: "Ge, Zhiye... is indeed a wonderful explanation and thought-provoking."

In the late Northern Song Dynasty, the mainstream interpretation of the word "ge" was "zheng". Being shameless and moral means correcting people's ideological and moral concepts and guiding them in the direction of good.

Zhu Xi's explanation for this is to let the common people have a sense of right and wrong, and actively pursue and do good - which instantly elevated this sentence to a new level.

Member Lao Bai has been silent. His level of "The Analects" is only slightly better than Zheng Hong's, and he is too old to remember it. Observing everyone's reaction at this moment, I still couldn't understand anything, so I immediately praised: "Young Master is so knowledgeable!"

Xiang Zhixian was still a little unconvinced. How could a young man without the guidance of a famous teacher come up with such a wonderful theory?

Xiang Bi thought about it carefully and asked again: "The Master said: If you don't think about it yet, how far away can you be?"

Ju Ming quickly replied: "The sage has never said that it is easy to make others proud, nor has he ever said that it is difficult to stop others from advancing."

Xiang Bi clapped his hands fiercely: "You are a disciple of Luo School!"

Luo School is the school of thought of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi.

Ju Ming said: "I have admired Mr. Ercheng's name for a long time, but it's a pity that I never got the chance to meet him."

Li Hanzhang suddenly said: "Xiang Zhixian, 'A gentleman cherishes virtue, and a villain cherishes soil. A gentleman cherishes punishment, and a villain cherishes benefits.' Zhu Dalang interpreted this sentence as 'public and private'. I also went to Luoyang to study, but there is no Luoyang school. This is the solution."

"Public and private, public and private..." Xiang Bi thought carefully and suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha, a child can be taught. Would you like to study under me?"

What the hell?

Everyone at the table was dumbfounded. They had never seen such a shameless person before.

Zhu Dalang was a talented scholar, and every time he explained the Analects, he was unique and thought-provoking. He somehow wanted to accept others as his students. Have you learned anything? Just trying to take advantage of others!

But the magistrate took the initiative to recruit disciples, and Ju Ming really didn't know how to refuse.

Seeing Zhu Ming in trouble, Li Hanzhang said: "I think Zhu Dalang is very talented and I am about to introduce him to my father!"

Hearing this, Xiang Bi smiled awkwardly, how dare he compete with the state magistrate to steal his apprentice?

The fat man Zheng Hong came out to smooth things over: "I've known for a long time that Zhu Dalang is very knowledgeable. Not only is he knowledgeable, he also tells stories well. Every time I listen to his stories, I can't sleep at night."

Liang Xuexue, the private school teacher of the Bai family, was sitting next to the main table.

This old gentleman is usually blind and deaf, and he doesn't pay attention to the students' fights. At this moment, he suddenly stood up and approached tremblingly: "Mencius said: 'A wise man uses his enlightenment to make others enlighten; now he uses his faintness to make others enlighten'. Can Xiaolangjun have a new interpretation of this sentence?"

"I don't know if it's new or not, and I've never been a teacher," Zhu Ming said. "I think we can quote the words of the Book of Rites to explain that the way of a university is to show one's own virtue and apply it to the world. It has Those who are disobedient are few and far between.”

There was dead silence again at the main table.

Even Xiang Zhixian was not calm anymore and sat there looking at Ju Ming stupidly.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, "The Great Learning" had not yet been written into a separate book. It was only a part of the "Book of Rites", but it was already highly praised by many great Confucian scholars.

The people here seemed to have encountered a ghost. They never dreamed that this sentence from Mencius could be explained by quoting Chapter 42 of the Book of Rites.

If this sentence is tested during the imperial examination, the answer given by Zhu Ming, as long as the article is not too poorly written, will definitely shock the marking officials!

Liang Xuexiu opened his mouth, hesitated to speak, thought about it carefully, cupped his hands and said, "I have learned a lesson!"

The old white man couldn't help but want to roll his eyes, and he started to curse in his heart: I paid you a salary to teach in my house, but you pretend to be deaf and mute, you can fucking hear me.

No matter how shameless Xiang Zhixian is, he is still a Jinshi. This time he was really convinced and said with emotion: "Xiao Langjun is really a genius in Confucian classics who has not been seen in a century. He can have such knowledge without being a famous teacher!"

It’s okay not to accept it.

If we say the previous answers, it may be that young people have active minds. In the end, using the "Book of Rites" to explain "Mencius" is definitely not a fluke, but Zhu Ming had thoroughly read the "Book of Rites" and "Mencius".

What's more, Ju Ming said that his original classic is "Yi", so "Book of Rites" is only an elective course.

If you can get through the elective courses, how can you pass the major courses?

Zhu Guoxiang has been observing the words and expressions, and he feels a little bad at this moment. His son seems to be overdoing his pretense.