The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 3 The Scholars
Wang Wenlong looked at the human novels left behind and felt that this was natural.

Human romance novels are the most accomplished genre among Chinese classical novels. Excellent works have been published frequently since the originator "Jin Ping Mei".

Human romance novels further developed in the Qing Dynasty, and the ancient novel "Dream of Red Mansions" appeared. From human romance novels, satirical novels were derived: "The Scholars", "Official Currents", "The Strange Current Situation Witnessed in 20 Years", "The Lamp on the Cross Road", "Nie Haihua" and so on - each of them can be called a classic.

Wang Wenlong wrote the names of all these novels on the manuscript paper, and finally drew a big circle on "The Scholars".

Although "The Scholars" did not reach the height of "A Dream of Red Mansions", the story of this novel is also widely circulated. Who in future generations does not know that Fan Jin won the imperial examination?
Such high dissemination power is enough to illustrate the influence of this novel among the people.

What's more important is that Wang Wenlong considered the political risks behind these novels.

Writing "Dream of Red Mansions" must have caused a sensation, but it was a Rongqiang and a Zhuloushui country. As the Jurchens rise step by step, many of the metaphors in it will definitely be seen. Writing this thing now will undoubtedly give people Looking for trouble yourself.

As for "Official Affairs Revealed", the satire was too harsh, and Wang Wenlong was really afraid of having his water meter checked.

Only the book "The Scholars" ridiculed many of the absurdities of Confucianism in the world at this time. At the same time, it satirized those who were selfless, pretentious, and seeking fame.

There are absolute stains on the moral character of these people. Even old scholars will only admit that the behavior of these Confucian scholars is indeed outrageous and criticize the characters in the book.It is impossible to defend them.

After selecting the books, Wang Wenlong began to prepare to copy them.

In order to let Wang Wenlong copy the board with peace of mind, Wang Jingui got him a large amount of oil fume ink, which was just used to write the book.

It took more than ten minutes to grind the ink, but Wang Wenlong's wrists were already sore. He thought that if he didn't build an ink grinder when he got rich, he would at least hire a few people to help him grind the ink and copy, so that he wouldn't have to suffer this pain anymore. .

He ground a sea of ​​ink at one time. This kind of hand-ground ink can make more. Even if the ink dries, just dip the brush in water and smear it in the inkstone for a while before it can be used.

Wang Wenlong dipped the wolf hair into the ink and began to write.

Just as he began to recall the content of the novel, Wang Wenlong suddenly felt that an extremely real scene appeared in front of him. In the school library, he held a book with yellowed pages in "The Scholars" and was reading it carefully.

The scenes I experienced in my previous life unfolded before my eyes as if they were replayed.

Do you have such a strong impression of things from your previous life?Could this be the golden finger brought by time travel!
"Life has many different paths from north to south. Generals and ministers must be made by mortals as well as gods. Hundreds of generations have risen and fallen, dynasties and twilight have come and gone, and the river wind blows down the trees in front of them. There is no evidence for fame and wealth. After all the effort, the time is always wrong. Let's get drunk with three cups of turbid wine. When the water flows and the flowers fade, you know where you are..."

Wang Wenlong found that page after page of the novel appeared clearly in front of his eyes, and even the broken sentences were divided for him.

Wang Wenlong found that he could directly copy the text, and only needed to convert simplified characters into traditional Chinese. As a graduate majoring in ancient literature, he naturally had this skill.

Wang Wenlong's writing was like flying, and he didn't add any details. By the time Wang Jingui called for Wang Wenlong after finishing work in the evening, Wang Wenlong had already copied out the manuscript of Chapter 1 of "The Scholars".

He spread the rice paper on the table and waited for it to dry, then spread it all over the table.

Wang Jingui was a kind man. Although he felt a little distressed when he saw the manuscripts on the table, he didn't say anything in the end and just asked him to come for dinner.

Wang Jingui's son is also a book engraver. He was invited to Nanjing six months ago to do business, and his daughter-in-law also went to take care of him.

At this time, Wang Jingui's family consisted of only him, his wife Zhang and a young grandson.

Although women and children were not allowed to eat at the table in ancient people's homes, there were only three people in Wang Jingui's family, and it was impossible for him to sit at the table and let his wife and grandson eat at the small table in the kitchen, so he always sat at the table. After Wang Wenlong stayed at Wang Jingui's house, he naturally invited Zhang to eat together.Mr. Zhang, who is in his 50s and has been called "aunt" these days, is very fond of his well-behaved nephew.

During the meal, Wang Wenlong asked Wang Jingui: "I wonder if my uncle knows the shopkeeper in the study. Can you help me ask if they accept novels?"

Wang Jingui asked: "Why do you want to write a novel?"

Wang Wenlong nodded and said: "I also have some writing skills. I want to write a novel to see if I can sell it."

Wang Jingui was quite surprised that his nephew had such ability.

After a few days of contact, he also knew that Wang Wenlong was not a boastful person, and he took this very seriously.

Wang Jingui thought for a while and suggested: "Don't go to your boss about this matter. I'll find a master tomorrow and let him read your book first."

Wang Wenlong naturally nodded in agreement.

The next day, Wang Wenlong spent money to buy wine and meat, and gave it to Mrs. Zhang to help him take care of himself.

When shopping for food, Wang Wenlong deliberately bought three kilograms more meat. When Mrs. Zhang saw the lots of wine and meat, she said, "It's just a meal, why buy so many things?"

Wang Wenlong smiled and said: "I have never cooked before, so I don't know how much I should buy. If I buy too much, I will ask my aunt to stay at home and eat slowly."

Mrs. Zhang said how could a grown man like Wang Wenlong know these things, and next time she would go out to buy with him so as not to waste money, but she was happy that her family could eat meat in the next few days.

As for the hard work of helping Wang Wenlong cook, Zhang naturally didn't care about it.

In the evening, when Wang Jingui went to see off the stereotype, he took a fat man in his 40s home with him.

Wang Jingui and Wang Wenlong introduced: "This is the famous Mr. Deng in Yujia Bookshop, who is from Zhimo."

The name Deng Zhimo and Wang Wenlong sound very familiar, but I can't recall the specific information at the moment, but as long as I have memories, it means that this person must be a number one figure in the history of ancient literature.

Wang Wenlong knew that people with scholarly status these days were called masters, and their status was much higher than ordinary people like them.

He quickly stood up, cupped his hands with admiration and said: "Student Wang Wenlong has met Deng's friend. He has admired his name for a long time and it is like thunder in his ears. However, he has no chance to meet him."

In the past, Wang Jingui only thought that Wang Wenlong's calligraphy was beautiful, but after all, he grew up in the West and probably didn't know the ethics of saints. At this time, he suddenly heard that Wang Wenlong's four or sixty-eight sentences were very smooth, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

Deng Zhimo, on the other hand, was beaming.

Scholars often call themselves students, and those who are admitted as scholars are called friends, while children who are not admitted as scholars are called little friends no matter how old they are.

When Deng Zhimo heard Wang Wenlong speak like this, he immediately regarded him as a child who had not yet received the title of scholar, and could be regarded as a member of the Confucian sect. After being praised like this, he instantly felt close to Wang Wenlong.

He and Wang Wenlong hurriedly bowed their hands to each other, and then Wang Wenlong enthusiastically pulled him into the house.

(End of this chapter)