More than 200 teachers and students in the school, and even some school workers, all came to the square to listen to Chen Yuan's lectures.

The rules here are very strict, and when the students arrived at the square, they spontaneously set up their benches. And according to the upper house, the inner upper house, the inner lower level, the outer upper and the outer lower, it is divided into five grades and sits well.

There are about 100 people in the dormitory.

The fewest number of students is twenty or thirty.

As an off-campus observer, Zhu Ming can only sit with the inferior students in the outer house.

Min Ziran, the son of the Min family, didn't care about the contradiction between the principal and Zhu Ming. He sat next to him with a big grin, only across a bench from Zhu Ming, and from time to time he turned his head to talk and laugh.

After a while, the number of people on the side of the upper house began to increase one after another.

"These students don't usually study in school," Zheng said, "they were promoted to the upper dormitory several years ago, and they have finished all their studies, and they only have a name in the academy, and they don't even have to take the quarterly exams." It is estimated that I heard that there was a famous Confucian who gave lectures, and returned to the academy one by one. ”

"Who's that man?" When Zhu Ming saw a student, he seemed to be very prestigious, and the students stood up to greet him.

Min Ziran smiled and said: "That's my brother Min Zishun, who was the first to solve the exam at the age of seventeen." I have been raised four times in a row, and each time I have been Xie Yuan, but unfortunately I have not been able to get into the Jinshi. ”

The first place in Yangzhou solution four times, but he couldn't get into the Jinshi.

Zhu Ming said curiously: "How many years has Yangzhou not been in and out of Jinshi?" ”

Min Ziran said: "More than 20 years. Not only Yangzhou, but the entire Lizhou Road has not been in and out of the taxi for more than 20 years. ”

The context is sluggish, and he has served as a student envoy of Lizhou Luti, so I'm afraid I'm very depressed about it.

Zheng Hong said with a smile: "That's why I'm too lazy to study, and I have failed the list four times in the first solution, can we still be admitted to these?" ”

Zhu Ming smiled silently.

Min Wenwei has been in charge of the academy for more than 20 years, that is to say, in the hands of this mountain chief, not a single jinshi has been cultivated.

After waiting for a long time, Min Wenwei and Chen Yuan came together, and the teachers and students present immediately closed their mouths.

Min Wenwei was the first to speak: "Today, I am honored to invite Mr. Chen, a famous Confucian in Nanjian, to explain the study of sages in our Yangzhou Academy. Mr. Chen is Mr. Kameyama's first apprentice, and Mr. Kameyama studied under Ercheng, which can be said to be the authentic Luo's ancestry. Although Yangzhou is a place of literary excellence, how can it be that in recent years, the cultural context has not flourished, and Mr. Chen's lecture here will surely bring a new atmosphere...... Stand up and worship your disciples! ”

The students of the whole school stood up one after another and collectively saluted Chen Yuan.

is so formal and grand, Chen Yuan has lectured in various places, and it is the first time he has met him. At first, I was inevitably a little happy, and then I sighed secretly, the rules of Yangzhou Academy are too strict, and the students have been trained to be wooden people.

Chen Yuan stood tall, faced more than 200 teachers and students, and began to tell his knowledge: "Excuse me, why do you study? ”

The audience was silent, and no one answered.

The rules of Yangzhou Academy are that when the teacher is lecturing, he cannot just interject and speak.

Chen Yuan could only draw one student at random: "You come and say." ”

The student immediately gave the standard answer: "Self-cultivation and Qi family rule the country and level the world." ”

"Very good," Chen Yuan said with a smile, "Those who can cultivate themselves and rule the country and level the world can be called holy." To study is to be a saint and to learn to be holy. It is very difficult to be a saint, just like learning archery, you have to set an arrow target in the field, which is called targeted. To be a saint is the target of our reading. ”

"If you don't shoot at the beginning, don't be discouraged, just practice diligently. One day, if you can hit the edge of the target, you can already call yourself a gentleman. If you hit the bull's-eye every time, you will be called a saint. My generation of scholars, if you can hit the bull's-eye once, this life is enough to praise. ”

Min Zishun, a top student, couldn't help but ask: "Sir, can Ercheng be called a saint?" ”

Chen Yuan shook his head: "No, the two Mr. Cheng only hit the bullseye once or twice." But they can not miss the target again and again, and they are the gentlemen of gentlemen. Those who hit the bull's-eye again and again have become one of nature and man, and have won the road of moderation, which has not been seen for more than 1,000 years. ”

Most of the teachers and students in the school belong to Luo's students.

At this time, I heard that even Ercheng could only occasionally hit the bull's-eye, and it was in an uproar in an instant.

Chen Yuan continued: "How to practice archery? One word, sincerity. One more word, benevolence. Whether it is to be a scholar or a person, we must seek benevolence with sincerity. The way of benevolence is the way of man. There is a gentleman in the world who can't read a word or a book, but he has benevolence in his heart, and he can also be called a university scholar. There is such a villain in the world, who is rich in learning and reading through the scriptures and history, if he has no benevolence in his heart, he has no knowledge at all. ”

As he spoke, Chen Yuan glanced at the sentient beings: "Do you have benevolence in your heart?" ”

Everyone was silent.

Chen Yuan's words subverted their cognition.

Isn't studying a lot of books and understanding the way of the saints?

How to distinguish whether there is knowledge by benevolence?

Chen Yuan said again: "How to seek benevolence? What is Ren? This requires clarity. The method of knowing goodness lies in learning from things. Extreme physics, this is outward-looking; Reflexively with sincerity, this is inward-looking. A gentleman is cautious, knowledgeable, and doing a good deed every day is the way to do learning. Therefore, the study should be divided into three steps, namely, enlightenment, benevolence, and sanctification. Reading and literacy and understanding the meaning of the scriptures are only a means of seeking benevolence, not the real purpose of learning. ”

When the beings were still confused, the top student Min Zishun seemed to suddenly realize something.

He got up and walked out of the queue and waved towards Chen Yuan: "The younger generation has passed the age of standing, and he is conceited to read all the articles of the sage, and today Fang Xiaozhi is learning the right way." The younger generation is willing to follow Mr. around, be kind and benevolent, and within ten years, no longer take the imperial examination. ”

This sentence made Min Wenwei unable to hold her face.

Min Zishun is his nephew, who has studied with him for more than 20 years, but was abducted by Chen Yuan's words. What else do you say, "Today, Fang Xiaozhi learns the right way", isn't what he taught the right way before?

Chen Yuan smiled and asked Min Zishun to go back and sit down first, and then began to talk about how to learn from things.

Zhu Ming listened for a while and found that this person's knowledge was between science and mind.

It not only explores the heart inward, but also has the taste of heart and reason. He also studies all things outwardly, which is similar to Zhu Xi's Gewu Zhizhi, but it is only similar, because Zhu Xi's Gewu and Zhizhi are separated.

Chen Yuan also preached there: "To be good and benevolent, we must not only understand the truth, but also practice benevolence and righteousness." Anyone who thinks about it will think about it, and anyone who says it will say it, but if you don't put it into practice, it will be a waste in the end. Four words, put into practice! If you can't apply it to the world, your knowledge will be in vain. ”

"If you want to apply it to the world, you can't study hard, you have to learn some real skills."

"In ancient times, there were six arts of gentlemen, and my teacher Mr. Kameyama added three things in addition to the six arts. The first is water conservancy, the second is shipbuilding, and the third is military strategy. ”

"Agriculture is the foundation of all industries and the foundation of the country. My teacher, Mr. Kameyama, every time I go to be an official, I must build water conservancy. In Liuyang, our division built a dam to protect the people from the floods. In Xiaoshan, our division impounds water for the lake, drains water during floods, irrigates during droughts, and can also catch fish, shrimp and lettuce in the lake. So far, it has become a lake of 37,000 acres, which can irrigate more than 146,000 acres of farmland. ”

"Why do you want to build ships? Grain transportation is preferably waterways. After the dredging of the canal, when more shipping was developed, not only money and grain could be transported, but also salt could be transported. In this way, food and salt can be quickly transported to various places through ships, which will stabilize local prices and give the victims a chance to breathe. Today's government-owned shipyards have negligent management and withholding materials, and at least half of the ten official ships are unqualified! ”

"And military strategy. Since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, there have been troubles on the border, and the soldiers must not know the soldiers. Civilian officials may not know how to go into battle and fight, but they must be familiar with military strategy, know how to transfer money and food, and know how to train troops and select generals. Otherwise, how can we unite the army and defeat the enemy? ”

The more Min Wenwei listened, the more wrong he became, he, the head of the academy, usually let students concentrate on their studies and not be disturbed by the world's mundane affairs.

But the famous Confucian he invited let the students learn the six arts of a gentleman, and what water conservancy, shipbuilding, and military strategy should be learned.

What's the use of learning this?

I delayed my studies, I couldn't get into the Jinshi, and I couldn't show my skills no matter how much I could.

Min Wenwei's face was gloomy, he didn't want Chen Yuan to talk about it anymore, otherwise he would inevitably lead the students to the wrong path.

But it's not good to drive people away directly, after all, he is the second disciple of Ercheng, and in terms of status, Chen Yuan belongs to the authentic lineage, and he Min Wenwei is not even a branch.

The more Zhu Ming listened, the more he liked it, and his understanding of Cheng Zhu Lixue mainly came from Zhu Xi's lineage.

But Yang Shi and Chen Yuan earlier, Zhu Ming knew very little, and when he heard it at this time, it was Yang Shi and Chen Yuan who were more in line with his heart.

As she spoke, Min Wenwei couldn't help it, and interrupted: "Mr. Chen, let's talk about how to do learning." ”

Chen Yuan was puzzled: "I'm talking about the way of learning." ”

Min Wenwei said: "Mr. is well versed in the scriptures and meanings, so he can talk about these things in detail. ”

"The scriptures are there, and the scriptures are there, don't the academy teachers understand them?" Chen Yuan said, "The meaning of the scriptures can be taught by the teachings, but I only talk about how to comprehend the meaning of the scriptures and how to use the meaning of the scriptures." I'm here to preach, not to preach. Lectures are also acceptable, but before you can do them, you must first give lectures! ”

Min Wenwei said: "To lecture is to lecture, and to lecture is to lecture on the scriptures. ”

At this moment, Chen Yuan was stupid, and he didn't know how to respond.

Taking a deep breath and carefully sorting out the wording, Chen Yuan said patiently: "Let's take the analogy of archery hitting the target, the scriptures are just bows and arrows, and the scriptures are the horns, tendons, wood, and feathers used to make bows and arrows. The real learning is how to shoot arrows and how to make them shoot more accurately. If you don't study the scriptures, you can't even have a bow and arrows. But if you only study the scriptures, you will become a craftsman who makes bows and arrows. This is really the end of the book! ”

Min Wenwei said: "Only when you are admitted to the Jinshi can you shoot arrows, and the top priority is to make a good bow and arrow." ”

Chen Yuan was about to go crazy when he heard this, what a mess, he didn't believe that a mountain chief was stupid to such an extent. Not only ignorant, but also arrogant, there is true learning and does not seek, but seeks the meaning of the scriptures with only a few words.

"Can't you become an official in the imperial examination, and Confucianism won't be a scholar? Stupid! Chen Yuan finally got angry.

Min Wenwei said: "Of course you have to do knowledge, and the avenue is in the book." ”

"I won't talk about this anymore, and the money collected will be refunded to you!" Chen Yuan brushed his sleeves and left, already trembling with anger.

The teachers and students looked dumbfounded, and the scene seemed familiar, it had already happened once last year.

At that time, Lu Tixue returned from Xixiang County and was invited by Min Wenwei to give a lecture at the academy. is also like this, halfway through the talk, they broke up unhappily, and Lu Tixue had a big quarrel with Min Wenwei.

Zhu Ming hurriedly caught up and smiled: "Why should Mr. be angry, the way is different, don't conspire with each other, just don't talk about it." ”

Chen Yuan said: "My anger is not for myself, and I am angry that it misleads people's children!" ”

Zhu Ming suggested: "In this case, it is better to go to the mountain to give a lecture." It can also be in the middle of the city, or by the Han River. The scholars can come and listen, and the people can come and listen, and even the officials can come and listen. Isn't this better than lecturing in the mountains? ”

Chen Yuan thought for a moment, nodded and said, "This method is feasible. But those foolish men and foolish women, who can't read a few big characters, can they really understand it? ”

"Didn't Mr. just say that as long as you have sincerity and benevolence, you will be ignorant and a university scholar," Zhu Ming said, "As long as Mr. explains the truth plainly and uses more metaphors of everyday things, the foolish man and the foolish woman will naturally open up." ”

Although the style of lecturing was prevalent in the Song Dynasty, and academic works became more and more colloquial, there was really no such thing as going to the streets.

It was not until the middle of the Ming Dynasty that the lectures were directly aimed at the people at the bottom, and even beggars could listen to the avenue.

Chen Yuan was a little unsure: "You can try." ”

Zhu Ming also said: "As Mr. said, as long as there is sincerity and benevolence, everyone can be holy. Where, then, is the way of the people who ascend to the Dou? ”

This stopped Chen Yuan, and he said that everyone can be holy, it is just a theory, and it is mainly for the scholar class. But the common people are also human beings, humanity is benevolence, where is the way of the common people? How should the benevolence of the common people be reflected?

"Success is quite rare to have this question, and I should think about it." Chen Yuan discovered a new way of thinking, he wanted to find out where the Tao of the common people was.

Zhu Ming said: "My father once said that the daily use of the people is the way. The younger generation is only shallow in learning, and I don't know if my father is right. ”

This was like Hong Zhong Dalu, Chen Yuan was dumbfounded when he heard it, and he was stunned on the spot for a long time. The more he thought about it, the more he felt reasonable, and muttered repeatedly: "The people's daily use is the Tao, and the people's daily use is the Tao......"

Zhu Ming stood silent, waiting for Chen Yuan to digest it slowly.

Chen Yuan began to pace back and forth, and in just seven words, it opened a new door for him to academics.

Zhu Ming did not throw out this point of view randomly, but combined it with the content of Chen Yuan's lecture. He found that Chen Yuan's academic thought was in the middle of science and psychology, and there was also a little merit thought, which could completely absorb the Taizhou school of Xinxue's "the people's daily use is the Tao".

The more Chen Yuan thought about it, the more excited he became, these seven words were in line with the meaning of the sage's scriptures, and they were an expansion of the avenue of sainthood.

At this time, Chen Yuan's academic ideas all came from Yang Shi, and he didn't have many new things.

If he starts with "the people's daily use is the way", he can create a new school.

Chen Yuan grabbed Zhu Ming's hands violently and said excitedly, "Where is Ling Zun now?" I should have consulted in person. ”

Zhu Ming said: "My father farmed in the countryside, and my father's knowledge has been passed on to the younger generations. ”

"Let's go and let's find a place to talk about it." Chen Yuan pulled Zhu Ming and ran, just like a womanizer meeting a peerless beauty, he was already impatient at this time.

Zhu Ming smiled proudly, his idea was very simple, that is, to use Chen Yuan to make a name for himself, so that the scholars who paid attention to the application of the world would recognize him.

(End of chapter)