Lan Ruochan

Chapter 3 Genting Star Gazing and Tuxingye Go North

Qingyun ran all the way to the hut where he lived, and saw Uncle Chen's son Wen Zan cleaning the yard from a distance, so he couldn't wait to shout,

"Brother Wen Zan, is Uncle Chen in the house?"

Chen Wenzan looked up and saw that it was Qingyun, and smiled honestly,
"Brother Yun, you're late. A little girl came to see Dad just now. Dad hastily packed up some things and went out."

Qingyun still didn't believe it, and rushed into the house in one breath.

Seeing that Uncle Chen was really not there, he had no choice but to turn around and go out and said angrily, "Could it be that Uncle Chen didn't leave any words for me?"

"This...should be some instructions, you can ask that little girl. She, she seems to be looking for you. Oops~" Chen Wenzan was talking to Qing Yun at the door of the house, when someone patted him on the shoulder unexpectedly , couldn't help screaming.

I saw a pair of beautiful eyes looking at him with a smile on his back, "Who are you calling little girl?"

Chen Wenzan pointed at Hu Caiting with a silly smile, and looked at Qingyun, "That's right, that's her."

Hu Caiting sized Chen Wenzan up and down, his expression was quite surprised, "You don't know martial arts?"

"I have a strong body, and my father said that I don't need to punch and kick to strengthen my body. Instead, I invited a gentleman, who said he wanted to improve my brain." Chen Wenzan said lightly, as if he didn't care about not learning martial arts.

Such an optimistic disposition is mostly blessed by God, but it often makes others quite speechless.

Hu Caiting shook his head helplessly, "If you haven't learned swordsmanship from Uncle Chen, don't go to Luojing with us."

"Luo Jing? Are you going to take Brother Yun to Luo Jing?"

Qingyun walked to Chen Wenzan's side and shook his shoulder vigorously, "Yes, I will go to Luojing to find Uncle Chen, and I will trouble you here."

"But didn't dad say he won't go back to the north..."

Hu Caiting sighed, and interrupted angrily, "Master Chen really never told you about the source of his apprenticeship?"

Chen Wenzan shook his head like a rattle.

Qingyun also had an innocent face, "Uncle Chen never mentioned his parentage, he only briefly introduced the reason why he passed on my swordsmanship. He said that the ancestor of our Qing family was Qingke, the number one assassin in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Inheritance. I don’t know anything else.”

Hu Caiting shook his head, "That's fine, that's fine. Let me do the talking."

After saying this, she suddenly turned serious, and the playful look she had when she played a prank with Chen Wenzan just now melted into a serious face,

"There are five sword sects in the world, one of which is the Tan sect, whose successive masters were named Tangun.

The previous Tangun was Junior Brother Qing's father, Qing Yihan.

18 years ago, Master Uncle Qing failed to assassinate the young Emperor Tuoba Hong of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the regent Empress Dowager Feng in Pingcheng.

At that time, the one who captured him was the number one expert in the inner court of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and his fellow apprentice Uncle Gai Kun.

In order to protect the other accomplices, Uncle Qing fought to the death.

Because of this case, our family was implicated and almost wiped out.

Fortunately, my master has been hiding beside Emperor Wei for many years, and secretly protected Master Chen Daoju from fleeing to Southern Qi, but also warned him not to pass on martial arts and not to return to Wei.

This is probably the reason why Uncle Chen never told you the past.

Because of this, my family of Tanzong has disappeared in Jianghu for more than ten years, and Tangun has never been established again.

But in recent years, those disciples who have been secretly sheltered have gradually become wings.

A country cannot be without a king for a day, a family cannot be without an owner for a day, and there is also a wish to establish a new head in the family.

This time Master specially asked Uncle Chen to preside over the overall situation quickly.

The agreement not to return to Wei soil naturally no longer counts.

Since Junior Brother Qing is learning swordsmanship from his uncle, he can naturally go with him.

Although Junior Brother Qing and I only exchanged one move today, we found that Junior Brother didn't seem to have practiced our own moves.

But among them, the sword intent is lingering, the charm is extraordinary, and he has achieved a small amount of success in the way of swordsmanship.

If I can learn more from my disciples this time, my future is boundless. "

After hearing this, Qingyun was overjoyed, and patted Chen Wenzan's shoulder heavily with his right hand, "Great, I can finally go out for a walk. Uncle Chen has never mentioned my father before. People, please have a good chat. Sister, since this is a grand event in our sect, it shouldn’t be a problem for Brother Wen Zan to walk with us, right?"

Chen Wenzan shook his head like a rattle. He took out a volume and said with a bitter face, "Before I left, my father asked me to listen to Mr. Zu. The questions in this almanac have not been finished and have been reviewed by Mr. Zu. You must never leave home. You know your father's temper, so rebellious, are you afraid that he will break your leg?"

Qingyun curled his lips, reluctantly agreeing, picked up the almanac and flipped through a few pages, only to see that his hair stood on end, "What, what kind of ghost questions are these?" So he picked up the volume and dragged Chen Wenzan away.

"Brother Yun, what is the meaning of this?"

"Find someone to solve the problem for you! Otherwise, what should I do? Let you spend the rest of your life here?" Amidst Qing Yun's loud laughter, Chen Wenzan and Hu Caiting also reluctantly followed.

Beyond Hangou is the West Peak, which is only a dozen miles westward, and the height of the mountain is no more than a hundred feet.

But if you walk straight up to the peak from here, you don't feel much about martial arts practitioners like Qingyun and Hu Caiting, but it's pity that Chen Wenzan suffers along with him.

When they arrived in the middle of the mountain, the two saw the embarrassing appearance of the latter and smiled at each other.

So one person lifted Chen Wenzan up with one arm, let him shout all the way, and finally reached the top of the mountain before sunset.

There are strange rocks and strange trees, and a red lacquered two-story pavilion stands among them.

Qingyun didn't even knock on the door, and shouted loudly, "Qizhi, I'm here!"

I saw a sword shadow jumping out from the top floor, the silver light melted into the twilight rays, perfectly hiding the sword dragon's veins.

Seeing this, Qingyun turned his back suddenly, not being disturbed by the sun's rays, he listened to the wind to identify his position, and threw out a sword casually, a cold light rose from the ground.

Hu Caiting praised secretly, this junior brother seems to have done it at will, but it coincides with the sword intent of "Xunlan Wuqi" of our sect, it is extremely refined and pure, without the slightest distraction.

When people don't move their minds, the sword wind is self-generated, and the sword watches me to advance and retreat without losing the way, which is the heart formula of "Wind and Earth View".

The flying sword shadow seemed to be a self-projecting light curtain, and the advantage of the sword that had taken advantage of the right time and place had been completely eliminated.

The flying sword's swooping momentum was originally like an arrow leaving the string, but when the cold light rose, it suddenly circled.

The person who came seemed to have borrowed Qing Yun's sword power, the momentum of his descent suddenly slowed down, he floated up like a cloud, and then fell slowly.

I saw several thunderbolts flashed out of the cloud shadow, the silver light went out several times, and five swords were shot in one breath.

Qingyun twisted his body and swung the sword, the sword was like a spring breeze, and it swept across the ground, although it seemed that it was effortless, the five cold lights were swept away with a sweep.

The remaining sword intent was still stirring like the wind, as if it wanted to blow away the cloud floating in the sky.

The dragon hides in the clouds, and suddenly I hear the dragon chant.

The incoming sword qi condensed in a line, and spit it out again, the momentum soared, and the sword qi floating from the sky was exhausted at this time.

Qingyun's spring breeze at the bottom of the sword was shaken by the dragon's chant, and had to scatter in all directions, unable to form a threat again.

This tactic changed three times, Hu Caiting frowned as he watched, secretly sweating for Qingyun.

Qingyun also knew the sharpness of this sword, so he didn't dare to take it head-on, he retreated a few steps to avoid its sharpness, then turned around, and the horizontal sword fell straight down.

Although the silver dragon's aura was strong, but the sword intent was exhausted, at this time it was suppressed by Qi Xiang, and the figure in the cloud also sank, knowing that the sword move had been broken and could no longer do it, so he raised the long sword and swung his body. The shape is settled.

"I haven't seen you for a few days, and I've grown a lot! In your hands, I still can't take advantage of half a cent." I saw that the visitor was dressed in white, neatly groomed, with a tall figure and fair skin. Qinghong swayed, but she looked like a scholar.

Hu Caiting clapped his palms aside and praised his junior brother, "This move 'Lei Tian Da Zhuang' is used wonderfully! Master has always told me that Lei Tian Da Zhuang is a killer in his own sect, and he should not be taken lightly. I never thought that he could use it as he pleases." Did Uncle Chen teach you this change?"

Qingyun smirked slightly, "Uncle Chen only taught me that with Fanjian, meaning comes first.

There are no moves in the ancient swordsmanship, and the "rising and falling method" of our sect has been perfected in the ancestor Qingke's time.

Later generations attached the image of "Yi" to produce so many changes.

These changes are for the practitioners to practice and make perfect, so that they can naturally use the moves in actual combat, but if they don't know the principles of swordsmanship, it will be a useless flower stand. "

He obviously didn't want to get entangled with this, so he stretched out his hand and pulled the man in white forward, "By the way, let me introduce you to a friend, Zu Dizhi, Brother Wen Zan's classmate."

"classmate?"

Chen Wenzan grinned, "My teacher is Di Zhi's father, Mr. Zu Chongzhi."

Qingyun pointed to the Hucai Pavilion again and said, "Yuzhi, this is mine...uh, senior sister, Hucai Pavilion."

Hearing this, Ji Zhi made an imperceptible small movement with his eyebrows, but he still clasped his fists at Hu Caiting, "This heroine, I don't know what Lingshi's name is?"

Before Hu Caiting could answer, Qingyun had already rushed in, "Senior Sister Hu's master is lurking in Wei Ting, so I don't want to go into details. We are here this time mainly because we are afraid that you will be bored watching the stars alone, so we can join in the fun together. Your Majesty Pavilion Master Guan Xing, you won’t be meeting guests here, will you?”

Zu Tingzhi gave him a blank look, "Whenever you come here, don't you make a fuss here and leave after a fight? When are you in the mood to watch the stars with me? If you have something to say, just say it, go, go and sit first, don't you?" Said I neglected the guest."

This Star Watching Pavilion was originally built by Zu Chongzhi's father, Zu Chongzhi.

Zichong served as the captain of Changshui, governed the defense of Dantu and Guangling, and guarded Jinling, so he rarely had leisure time.

These observations of the sky and the stars, and the supplementary "Zhushu" basically fell on the shoulders of Yuzhi.

Although the attic is not big, it is full of oddities and ingenuity, and there are many rare objects in the world. Of course, they are all created by Zu's father and son.

Among the few people, only Hu Caiting was a newcomer, and when he entered the door, he was shocked by the huge bell facing the door.

The clock is embedded in a niche at the far end, with a chicken head protruding from the center, a large "元" character is exposed on the wooden grid on the left, and a dial on the right rotates slowly with the passage of time.

Seeing that the hour hand was about to turn back to zero, a small bucket on the right wall suddenly overturned, and the water poured down like a waterfall, pouring on the stone platform below.

There is obviously a heat source under the stone platform, and the steam rises instantly, carrying a strong fragrance of flowers.

The rooster made a few golden cries, then retracted into the niche, but a dog's head slowly poked it out, and the character "尤" in the wooden grid on the left was also changed to the character "Xu" at this time.

Seeing that she was fascinated, Zu Tingzhi explained with a smile, "The core of this clock is two receptacles, which are buckets like this.

As long as the amount of water injected is stable, the bucket will be tilted periodically to empty the water in it.

And the different weights of the buckets will move the dial on the wall.

The dimmer in the room is used to control the scale change within an hour.

Its water source is taken from the water dragon rollover outside the house. There is a leak balance to ensure a stable flow, and there are spices in the balance.

The covered water will be poured on this bluestone hearth to heat and humidify the room and provide a source of fragrance.

The bucket outside is relatively large, and it is turned over once a day to drive the dial of the hour.

The water source of the large pot is mixed with some, er, natural fertilizers, which can be used to irrigate the vegetable field behind the attic when the water is released. "

Hu Caiting was already dumbfounded at this time, and suddenly saw four bowls of tea placed on a bamboo arm, which were firmly placed on the tea table in the main place, and was even more curious, "What, what's going on here? I haven't seen it yet." What are you doing, how did you make four bowls of hot tea?"

Zu Tingzhi chuckled, "Look, the hinge will return by itself. When we came in just now, everyone pushed it. Every time you push, a cup of tea will be squeezed out from the water storage tank of the stone furnace. Tea The weight of the bamboo arm will press the mechanism of this bamboo arm. As long as the hinge is stable and no one comes in or out, it will bring up the saucer."

Qingyun patted Hucaiting's stiff body, and blinked at Minzhi, "Brother Zu, why don't you take the guests to the second floor to see the treasure?"

"This..." Zu Tingzhi suddenly showed embarrassment.

Seeing this, Hu Caiting smiled obediently and said, "Brother Yu, take the little girl up to open your eyes. The things here are precious, so I dare not touch them casually. If there is any damage, the little girl can't afford it." Woolen cloth."

Ji Zhi sighed, waved his hands and said, "There are indeed some untouchable things on it. Who told me to make friends with you foxes and dogs? Then go up and have a look."

Jizhi led the people to a small compartment in the corner, and when he pulled the mechanism, the ropes were gathered, and the entire compartment was pulled up.

Hu Caiting was startled at first, seeing the three people around him smiling at him, he could only force himself to remain calm.But I thought to myself, if I want to see the jokes of this heroine, there is no way!

The lifting mechanism stopped on the second floor, and Hu Caiting was afraid of being weird again, so he hid behind Qingyun and poked his head slyly.

I saw an armillary sphere in the middle of the main pavilion.

The manufacturing process of the armillary sphere is complicated, and it is really rare to see it in other places except for the Southern Qi and Northern Wei dynasties.

Although Hu Caiting is a layman in astrology, he can still recognize at a glance that the rarest treasure on this floor is not the armillary sphere, and the huge device on the stage may be called unparalleled in the world.

So she raised her jade finger lightly, "What is that?"

Zu Tingzhi said with a wry smile, "You know what to do.

This Emperor Shun Yuheng is also known as the Peeping Sky Mirror. Because the materials are hard to find, the real thing has been lost for a long time.

But its principles are recorded in the "Mo Jing", and its regulations are collected in Dongguan.

Although Mozi understands the principle of magnifying, viewing from a distance, and showing an image with a speculum, he can't find a transparent ore that can be carved to make a speculum.

When Mr. Huayang, the master teacher, was looking for the raw material of alchemy, he accidentally discovered a huge transparent gypsum crystal.

Gypsum, unlike quartz, can be ground into shape.

It took my father and me more than ten years to polish a few qualified lenses, and then seal the glaze with wax.

According to the ancient method recorded by Cai Yong of Dongguan Academy, the bracket is used to fix the lens at the far end, and the sheepskin is blinded.

As long as the lenses we use for observation are properly adjusted, we can see thousands of miles away.It is used to watch the moon, and the mountains and the sea are just like it. "

Hu Caiting caught a glimpse of the large mirror plate at the far end protruding into the night sky, several feet in diameter, and couldn't help but secretly startled.

Just such a large gypsum crystal can be regarded as a treasure in the world, not to mention being made into such a magical device.

Of course, she couldn't help pestering Tinzhi to help her adjust the lens distance.

When the uneven surface of the moon appeared in front of her eyes, surprises flickered under the playful eyelashes, and the amorous feelings instantly overshadowed the starlight in the sky.

"My God, the moon is so big! I don't know where the Guanghan Palace is?"

Jizhi shook his head, "It is said that the moon is made of seven kinds of ores, and there may be people living on it. It is said that Tiancha regularly travels from Mount Song to the earth and the moon. But it is hard to tell whether it is true or not. If there is a chance, I would like to go there too. have a look."

"Do you want to look at the stars here every day?"

"Yeah, if the weather is good," Jizhi walked to an astrolabe next to Yuheng, stared at the sky, and after a long while, began to adjust the positions of some marks on the astrolabe.

"I have to record the positions of the stars and the phases of the moon every day, and every mark on this astrolabe is linked to a movable carving board.

Not only here, but the wind strength collected by Fengxin on the stage, and the date recorded by the self-propelled clock below are all linked to the letterpress module.

When I'm done with the horoscope, I just turn the wheel, like this.

A chart of the day with the date and weather will be printed. "

As the roulette turned, a long scroll with fresh ink was spat out from under the astrolabe. "This type of letterpressing was improved by my father based on the engraving blocks used by the master printing scriptures. With these daily records, we can proofread and deduce "Zishu"."

Qingyun couldn't help interjecting at this time, "What exactly is "Zhushu"? I've been hearing it from you and Uncle Zu, but I never understood it."

Zu Tingzhi frowned, "It's really hard to explain.

For example, if we want to perceive something accurately, we need to measure it.

Generally, we will measure its length, width, and height to measure its size, that is, modify and describe it with these three prefixes.

But if this thing is not in front of our eyes and thrown into the vast starry sky, we can't use simple modifiers to describe them.

You need to know more, such as rotation, trajectory, and change laws, not only to measure its space, but also its relationship with time.

These ever-changing quantities are suffixes, and they are used to recognize the stars and the universe. "

Qingyun shrugged, and Wen Zanhu Caiting looked at each other, spread their hands and said, "I don't understand!"

"I don't understand either." Wen Zan also responded with a silly smile.

Zu Dizhi sighed, "Yes, my father also said that no one will understand. So even if this book is written, it may be lost in the near future."

Hu Caiting blinked her eyelashes, with a timid expression, "Then why do you spend so much effort to finish it?"

"What if someone can understand it and continue to study it?" Mentioning this, Ji Zhi's face was full of expectation and piety, "Then our world may not be the same."

He suddenly patted Qingyun on the shoulder, "Maybe I will go to Wei State soon."

Hearing the word Wei Guo, Qingyun's heart moved, but his face didn't show any change. He asked in a deep voice, "Wei Guo? What are you going to Wei Guo for?"

"My father said that our ancestral family raised a good seedling in the north, called Zu Ying. He loves books like a devil, and his insight and understanding are far superior to those of his age. My father specially asked me to take a look. If there is talent, I will focus on cultivating it."

Qingyun raised his eyebrows and asked, "How about we go with you?"

Zu Tingzhi was very surprised when he heard the words, and looked at Qingyun vigilantly, "You? I remember Uncle Chen said..."

"Oh, some previous agreements have changed. Uncle Chen has already gone north before us."

Ji Zhi glanced at Hu Caiting, and saw that Wang Qiuhong flickered rhythmically in the latter, covering up all mood swings.

He could only let out a long breath, and said to Qingyun, "Uncle Chen asked you to go together?"

Qingyun shrugged, and suddenly looked to the north, his eyes filled with anticipation, "There is an important event in the master's sect, how can I be absent? Besides, my father is the former head of the sect, maybe this trip can let me know more about my father's past."

Junzhi snorted, and said seriously, "If your father's matter was that simple, Uncle Chen would have told you a long time ago. Since he didn't tell you directly, it means he's not ready for you to intervene in Tanzong's affairs."

"So you know the origin of Uncle Chen's sect, but you kept it from me?" Qing Yun said in an annoyed tone.

He has been living a secluded life with the Chen family, and Zu Dizhi can be regarded as the best friend besides Chen Wenzan.Unexpectedly, he concealed so much important information from himself.

Zu Dianzhi shook his head, and looked at Qingyun sincerely, "Actually, I really don't know much more than you. Because of this, I dare not speak nonsense. It's just that Tanzong was wiped out in the Northern Wei Dynasty. What kind of secret, I heard a little from the master. Brother Qing has never been out and about, so I don’t know. I can also understand your curiosity about your father and the sect at this time. I don’t want to stop you from going north, but I think it is necessary to remind you , I am afraid that there will be many unexpected side effects."

Qingyun's heart was churning, ever since Hu Caiting inspired the idea of ​​going north, he was ready to face any danger.

But he is not a reckless person. Since he has never traveled far, it is of course beneficial for him to take care of multiple acquaintances.

So not only did he not refute, but he even laughed apologetically, "So, I have to ask Brother Ji for guidance along the way."

Knowing that he had no choice but to nod his head reluctantly, Tie Zhi said, "Brother Wen Zan is going with us."

Seeing his agreement, Qingyun laughed loudly, "Naturally! It's just that Brother Wen Zan still has a little trouble right now..."

"""""Knock on the blackboard time"""""

Did ancient China really have astronomical telescopes?

According to historical records, the answer is yes.

"Shangshu Shundian": In Xuanji Yuheng, Qi Qizheng is used.Kong Shu: Ji, Heng, the king is the instrument of astronomy.

This record shows that Xuanji and Yuheng are both astronomical observation equipment.

"East View of Han Ji" edited by Cai Yong, a great Confucian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, is one of the best-reviewed letter histories outside the official history. Look at the stars.Bingxian (Tongxuan, Xuan) looks like the sky, and looks at it with balance.Turn to see the balance to know the stars.It is eight feet in diameter, two feet and five inches in circle and strong.

According to this description, Yuheng is a standard long barrel telescope.Turning Xuanji to locate the stars, and then use the Yuheng to observe, is the scientific method of stargazing by the ancients.We all know that the basic optical principles used by telescopes, even astronomical telescopes, are actually very simple.Even as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, the Mohists had related research.But when theory is transformed into practice, the most critical thing is often not the design, but the material.At that time, there were very few materials suitable for grinding into convex and concave lenses.Crystals are not only precious, but also more difficult to process.The issue of glass will be mentioned later, in short, glass was even rarer than jade in the Central Plains at that time.Transparent gypsum was probably the most suitable material for grinding into lenses at that time, but large pieces of transparent gypsum were rare, which was the main reason why telescopes could not be industrialized.

The same goes for movable type printing.The commercialization of movable type appeared in the Song Dynasty, but woodblock printing had already existed widely in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.From engraving to letterpress, the difference is not the theory, nor the invention and improvement, but the movable type supplier.Therefore, as long as there is woodblock printing, replaceable letterpress is a feasible technology, but before there is no professional supplier, it can only be the private skill of some craftsmen.

Closer to home, in this chapter, the author mentioned the ancients’ cognition of the rocky moon surface. Is this consistent with the historical facts?The answer is also yes, but it is not widely spread.The ancient great Confucians studied the classics, and those who pondered these strange skills belonged to miscellaneous studies, which not only had limited influence, but were even difficult to find inheritance.

There are folk tales about moon rocks.It was first seen in Zhang Heng's "Ling Xian".But the most accurate and detailed statement is in the Tang Dynasty Miscellaneous Notes "Youyang Miscellaneous Zu" section of the Moon Palace Visitors, that person said: You know that the moon is a combination of seven treasures?The moon is like a pill, its shadow, and the sun shines on its convex place.

This person said that the moon is composed of seven kinds of ores and is a spherical shape.The moon shadow we see is formed by the sun shining on the uneven surface. This view is almost infinitely close to reality.It is hard to say that such a detailed explanation is based on imagination.

As for the Tiansuo that travels between the earth and the moon in Songshan Mountain, it also comes from this book.Real geometry, full of joy.Although Zazu was written in the Tang Dynasty, the subject matter is a collection of stories, not all of which are contemporary.This is only used to explain the ancients' cognition of the rocky moon surface.

(End of this chapter)