From the textbooks he collected, Sun Yuanqi can roughly get a glimpse of the teaching level of various schools in Xi'an. For example, the physics textbooks of Shaanxi Middle School, Shaanxi First Normal School, and Shaanxi Agricultural School are the same as those used in the primary high school affiliated to Jingshi University: Shaanxi Higher School is better, and it uses the textbooks of the higher school affiliated to Jingshi University, and the last knowledge of atomic physics, whether for teaching or for students, is as good as a book, no one can understand, and there is no way to learn.

Other natural science courses have more or less this problem: a serious disconnect from the latest scientific developments in the world.

In desperation, Sun Yuanqi gathered the natural science teaching of several schools, as well as the students who were willing to listen to the lecture, and taught this part of the content to them.

He also held talks with several schools to introduce the basic situation of Jingshi University, and allowed students from various schools in the western region to apply for Jingshi University and its affiliated schools, and provided a certain number of places for exemption and exemption.

This can be regarded as a disguised support for the backward education in the western region. After five or six days, the students had already returned, rested for a while, and continued westward.

After passing through Lanzhou, I rested for another three or four days. In Lanzhou, there is only one higher education hall, that is, the Gansu Literature Higher School, formerly known as the Gansu University Hall founded by Wei Fan, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and Yang Zengxin, the governor of Lanzhou, in 1903.

According to the head teacher of the school, Liu Guang, the school has 100 students, most of whom are from Xiucai.

The curriculum includes classics, history, geography, foreign languages, physics and chemistry, naturalism, educational psychology, mathematics, gymnastics, legal system, military science, drawing, international public law, self-cultivation and other subjects.

Japanese faculty members such as Umemura Jishu, Takahashi Yoshizo, and Okashima Kishi were hired to teach naturalism, physics and chemistry, and educational psychology respectively.

The school also has a teacher's hall and a preparatory department. There are dozens of students in the Normal Hall, all of whom are Juren and Gongsheng. Although the students are either talented, or they are raised and tributed, the teaching level is worse than that of Shaanxi Higher School.

In fact, the back of the school is now Lanzhou Middle School, and the rest can be imagined. Just when all the officials thought that Lord Qincha should turn back to Beijing, Sun Yuanqi and his party got up again and headed west.

Because of the rebellion in the Tongzhi period, the entire land in Longxi was barren and sparsely populated.1 There are many white bones on the roadside, which are said to be the corpses left by Bai Yanhu's massacre of the Han people.

Touching the thick Zuo Gong Liu, the teachers and students revered Zuo Wen Xianggong who carried the coffin to the west, and couldn't help but read a poem: "The general has not yet returned the border, and the disciples of Huxiang are full of Tianshan." The new willow is 3,000 miles, attracting the spring breeze to the jade pass. "Walk through the Hexi Corridor and reach Anzai State.

The final destination of the trip is Dunhuang, which is a county below the state. According to records, in the 24th year of Qianlong, Anxi Mansion was placed: in the 39th year, Anxi Mansion was reduced to Zhili Prefecture.

This one

The word "descending" reflects the officialdom culture of the Qing Dynasty. According to convention, the prefect is from the fourth grade, and of course, sometimes it is also high to the fourth grade.

It is said that in the Guangxu period, there was a prefect who was a three-grade one, which was relatively rare. And Zhili Prefecture Zhizhou is the fifth product.

It shows that the difference between the fourth grade and the fifth grade is one level, but this level is heaven and earth. Because that is a hurdle that many people can't overcome, just like the current department and deputy department, deputy department and main department.

Accompanying Sun Yuanqi and his entourage to Anxi was Gansu Governor Xuezheng Ye Changchi. Politics, it sounds like a big man, but in fact, there is no certain rank.

According to the regulations, each provincial school administration is used by officials and scholars such as Shilang, Jingtang, Han, Zhan, Branch, Dao, and subordinates, and each has its original title and grade.

Ye Changchi became a scholar in Gansu in June 1903 as an editor of the Hanlin Academy. The editing of the Hanlin Academy is just the seventh grade, compared to Sun Yuanqi, who is a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy from the fourth grade, there are three levels of waiting, speaking, and revision.1 So Ye Changchi is enthusiastic about Sun Yuanqi.

Chang Chi had just completed the first draft of "The Stone of Words" before coming to Gansu, and as soon as he arrived in Lanzhou, he began to visit the Helong stone carving materials as a supplement.

This time I accompanied Sun Yuanqi to come, and I also wanted to visit the inscription rubbing in Longxi by the way. Picking up the grass and hitting the rabbit is not delayed.

This coincides with the purpose of Sun Yuanqi and his party. Sun Yuanqi didn't know anything about gold and stone, but it didn't matter, the teachers and students of the history department who accompanied him happened to ask Ye Changchi for benefits. "Being a good teacher" is an inevitable hobby that everyone has, and suddenly there are so many of them, Ye Changchi, who was scratched to the itch, was very happy, and he didn't hide it.

Soon the teachers and students mingled. When I arrived in Anxi 1, Zhizhou, Tongzhi and other officials naturally warmly entertained. I heard that this is to collect books and inscriptions, and these people are very good at Taoism, and they have already presented all kinds of materials.

In this pile of materials, more than a dozen volumes of Dunhuang documents were found. Sun Yuanqi was shocked: Could it be that this Dunhuang document has been dispersed?

However, it is not good to ask these officials directly, for fear that if they ask, the officials know that it is a good thing, and it is inevitable that they will rub oil when they handle it.

And Ye Changchi next to him is an expert, and it will be more troublesome for him to see the clues. Not to mention it at the moment, only a few henchmen were sent to the Anxi Bazaar to inquire about the news in the name of acquiring books.

The news is not bad. It turned out that this Wang Taoist priest was a little clever, and he knew that this Dunhuang document was quite precious, and he also knew it

Although the total number of volumes is tens of thousands, it is said that there are only a few hundred volumes of scriptures in the cave, and they have been divided.

Most of these scriptures were sent by Daoist Wang to the local officials of Gansu. When Sun Yuanqi was full of ambition and was about to go to Dunhuang to collect the suicide note, he found that things were a little tricky.

Leaving aside Ye Changchi, who accompanied him, just knowing the state and knowing the same knowledge every day, you don't want to make any small moves.

Even when the students came and went, there were several soldiers around, for fear that they would find out what kind of sinister things in the place, they went up to heaven and took off their bird yarn hats.

The students went out to investigate, and they were very busy. Sun Yuanqi either accompanied Guan Shen to drink and eat every day, or chatted and chatted, and he couldn't get out for a while.

Seeing that he stayed in Anxi for four or five days, and stayed there and didn't leave, he was afraid that others would become suspicious. On the morning of this day, when Sun Yuanqi was weighing whether to go straight to the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, he suddenly heard someone ask: "Sir, do you have anything to worry about?" When I looked closely, I followed Cheng Ziyin, my entourage who came to Gansu, and saw that he had been pacing back and forth, so he stepped forward to ask.

The entourage that came with this time are all the remnants of the Boxer Rebellion back then, and they are now all settled near Jingshi University.

I think that back then, when the oracle bones were dug from Anyang, "it was this group of people who went to do it............ Thinking of this, his heart moved: "Ziyin, there is something I want you to do, but I don't know if you can do it." The twenty-three-four-year-old young man, unable to withstand the agitation, patted his chest: "Sir, you are right!" Your lives were saved by you, and our family is now well fed and clothed, thanks to Mr. 's great kindness. What to say now is okay? Don't talk about doing things, it's just going up the knife mountain and going down to the sea of fire, we don't frown! "If you can't take it, then take it by force!

Sun Yuanqi gritted his teeth, asked him to find more than ten or twenty trustworthy and tight-mouthed strong men from his companions, took them to the wing, and told them the general situation: In the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, there was a royal Taoist priest who guarded a temple, and by chance he found tens of thousands of volumes of scriptures in a cave.

These scriptures, just like the oracle bones before, are worthless in the eyes of ordinary people, but in the eyes of readers, they are incredible treasures.

You are going to bring back the scrolls. Most of those people had gone to Anyang, Henan Province to buy oracle bones, so they naturally knew what to do.

Sun Yuanqi told again: "This matter must be kept secret and cannot leak the news, and it is best not to let others know that we bought it." You can buy a hundred and ten empty boxes and wagons in Anthy first. After the scroll was in hand, it was quickly packed and detoured back to Beijing. Don't be afraid to spend money, even if you hire an extra chariot and horse driver, you must ensure safety. After a pause, he added: "In short, no matter what method you use or how much money you spend, you must get the scriptures back in their entirety." After handing them a wad of silver tickets, it was 20,000 taels.

Sun Yuanqi continued to negotiate with the group of officials, without mentioning it, and said that the young man of fifteen or sixteen years hid in the house and discussed for a long time.

Wait for the second half of the day, pretend to buy local products, walk out of the compound, and wander around the Anxi market.

I took the opportunity to buy a carriage and a big box, and took advantage of the dusk to make a few pairs out of Anxi City, along the main road, and went straight to Dunhuang.

Dunhuang is 270 miles southwest of Anxi Prefecture. This group of young men grew up in the countryside, and they could withstand the toss and see the county seat of Dunhuang in just two days.

The team was divided into two parts: some people had few people and many cars, and they went directly into the city to pretend to be merchants who purchased local products, and rested in the city: the other part had more people and fewer cars, brought enough boxes, bypassed the county seat, changed to the southeast, and went to the Mogao Grottoes.

Mogao Grottoes are at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, forty or fifty miles southeast of Dunhuang County, and you can arrive in half a day with more effort.

When he arrived at the Mogao Grottoes, even Cheng Ziyin, who had no literary cells, had to be grunched

"It's so beautiful"! It is a rare oasis in the desert, because of the moisture of the spring, the willows and ancient acacia are verdant, and the surrounding yellow sand forms a clear contrast, like a piece of exquisite jade in the gravel pile.

It's just that the oasis is too small, only one or twenty acres of land, so there are few households, and people rarely stay here.

The group drove the carriage into the oasis. It's just the height of summer, and there's no business travel on the road.

The innkeeper saw it and greeted him early: "Guest officer, do you want to stay in the hotel?" "There are also one or two hotels down the road, so there's no rush.

In the team, someone replied with a Tianjin accent: "Let's take a look." "Settle down. The next morning, a dozen or so young men gathered around the dinner table, eating dry buns over tea, and discussing something in a low voice.

Suddenly, one of them asked in a Tianjin dialect: "Xiao Er, is there any temple near here that is more spiritual?" Eryi shook off Mao Xun and ran over quickly: "The guest officer asked if there is a temple near here that is more spiritual, there is nothing near us, there is a Taoist temple, and the king Taoist in it has some magical powers." There is also a Thousand Buddha Cave nearby, which contains all kinds of Bodhisattvas, and the guest officer may wish to go and see it. "I rewarded the younger two with a few big bucks.

These people ate the buns in their hands in a few bites and went out to worship the Buddha. It is said to worship the Buddha, but in fact

"See" Wang Daochang. This royal chief is not difficult to find, and when he sees Mogao Grottoes, he can be regarded as seeing a royal chief.

It is said that this royal road chief, named Wang Yuanzhen, is from Macheng, Hubei. He himself was born in Shaanxi, and because of the famine in his hometown for many years, he was forced by life to go out to make a living and live in Jiuquan.

During this period, he entered the Taoist practice, and people called him Wang Taoist. After traveling to Dunhuang, climbing Sanwei Mountain, and discovering the Mogao Holy Realm, he was full of emotion and exclaimed

"The Western Elysium is in Sihu

“。 He stayed here for a long time and dedicated the rest of his life. The time when Wang Daoshi entered the Mogao Grottoes was around 1892. At that time, he was close to the age of confusion, and when he saw that the sacred treasure cave was unattended, dilapidated, and severely damaged by nature and man-made, a strong sense of mission made him consciously and voluntarily take on it

The responsibility of the "patron saint". He traveled from place to place, persuaded and saved money to clean up the sand in the cave, and it took nearly two years to clean up the silt in Cave 16 alone.

On May 26, the 26th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (June 22, 1900), Wang Yuance uncovered the secret of the Tibetan scripture cave.

The epitaph of Wang Taoist priest is written like this: "The sand is out of the wall and cracks a hole, as if there is light, and when the wall is broken, there is a small hole, suddenly it is open, there are ten thousand volumes of the Tang Dynasty Sutra inside, there are many antiquities, the people who see it are many wonders, and those who hear it are said to be divine objects." "Wang Yuance is an authentic Taoist priest, but the Mogao Grottoes are a sacred place for Buddhism, and they have always been a place where Buddhists operate.

However, this is how things play tricks on people, and it is really strange and bizarre to arrange a Taoist priest in the Buddha cave and let the disciples of Taishang Laojun serve Shakyamuni as a dog and horse.

What's even more puzzling is that I don't know whether it was Wang Yuance's Taoist behavior that moved the Buddha, or whether it was an unintentional arrangement, but the secret in the Buddha cave was discovered by a Taoist priest, and strange people encountered strange things, and there were dramatic results.

After the discovery of the Hidden Scripture Cave, Daoist Wang did his best and did everything he was supposed to do. First of all, he walked 50 miles on foot, rushed to the county seat to find Yan Ze, the commander of Dunhuang County, and presented two volumes of scriptures taken from the Tibetan scripture cave.

Daoist Wang's purpose is very clear, that is, to attract the attention of this official master. It's a pity that this magistrate surnamed Yan doesn't know how to learn, and just treats these two volumes of scriptures as two yellowed pieces of waste paper.

In the year, Dunhuang came to another Xinzhi County Wang Zonghan. Wang Zhixian is a native of the soil, and he is also very good at studying gold and stone.

Wang Daoist reported the situation of the Tibetan Scripture Cave to Wang Zhixian. Wang Zhixian immediately took a group of people to inspect the Mogao Grottoes in person, and picked up a few volumes of scriptures to take away.

Leave a word, let the Taoist priest Wang save it on the spot, and look forward to the Tibetan scripture cave. Twice to find the county to no avail, Wang Yuance is still unwilling.

So, he picked up two boxes of scriptures from the cave and drove the donkey to Suzhou (Jiuquan).

He slept in the open air, single-handedly, risking wolves to eat and rob, traveling more than 800 miles before arriving at his destination and finding Daotai Tingdong, who was then the Ansu soldier.

The Lord Tingdong looked through it and finally came to the conclusion that the words on the scrolls were not as good as his calligraphy.

That's it. When the group found Wang Daochang, the old Taoist priest, who was nearly sixty years old, was cleaning up the silt in the cave.

A young man pretended to be fierce and vicious, and asked viciously, "Daoist Wang, where did you put the scriptures?" When the dozen or so young men stood in front of him, the old man narrowed his eyes and asked, "You were sent by Lord Chincha, right?" This question frightened this group of young men: the shopkeeper said that the Taoist priest had some magical powers, and it seemed to be true!

(To be continued.)