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

While Zhou Rudeng was writing the article, Chen Yuanzao was not idle either.

Chen Yuanzao came from a poor family, but he was a real celebrity and a good official who could be mentioned in history books. According to the original history, he would be able to pass the Jinshi examination in five years, and he would practice his original intention throughout his life:
When he was participating in politics in Jiangxi, there happened to be a local flood, but the imperial court was asking him to levy grain from the south. Chen Yuanzao saw that the local people were unable to collect food due to the disaster, so in order to help the people delay, he resigned directly.

But he was not blindly weak. Later he was transferred to Tianjin, where he faced the powerful local households. He was upright and unyielding. He did not impose grain taxes on the poor like other officials, but acted with a strict face and directly dealt with the big households. Two years of military reserves were squeezed out of him.

During the Chongzhen period, he had already been appointed as the inspector in Guangdong, but after serving as an official for decades, the most precious property in his family was a set of Qiu Jun's collected works given by a friend in Qiongzhou. In his later years, Chen Yuanzao resigned and returned to his hometown in Fujian, and the money he gained from the official pocket was only in There are just a few thatched houses built in my hometown.

Historically, this man was still producing calligraphy and painting until he was more than ninety years old. It was not that he had such high artistic pursuits, but that he had to sell paintings and calligraphy to make a living.

Chen Yuanzao has his own views on the world. He does not like to participate in party struggles, but he also feels that the current situation should be reformed, and believes that something practical should be done to this end.

He and Zhou Rudeng discussed "Methodology of Exegesis" several times, and he understood more and more Wang Wenlong's idea of ​​publishing a book to reform Confucianism, and he wholeheartedly agreed.

At this time, Chen Yuanzao had no money and could not reach Shaanxi.

Zhou Ruden was willing to pay to help Chen Yuanzao, but he was unwilling to accept it and was determined to earn travel expenses by his own ability.

But his reputation still has some effect in Fujian, but not many people have heard of it in Jiangnan. Selling calligraphy and paintings in Nanjing may not take him a month or two to raise the money.

After spending a few days reading "Methodology of Exegesis", Chen Yuanzao already admired Wang Wenlong's thoughts very much. At this time, he saw the article published by Zhou Rudeng. He slapped his head and decided to write a related article to earn some royalties.

However, Chen Yuanzao's status in the literary world was not high, and his knowledge of Confucian classics was far less profound than Zhou Rudeng's. If he wrote an article, newspapers might not necessarily publish it.

Chen Yuanzao could only think about it and find an angle. After writing it, he tentatively sent it to the newspaper. Unexpectedly, the newspaper actually adopted it and gave him one tael of silver in royalties.

There are many articles discussing "Methodology of Exegesis". The reason why the newspaper society adopts his writing is because his writing direction is so surprising:

Just looking at the name he gave to this article, you can tell that this guy’s brain circuit is different from others - "Learning Exegesis Methodology is of Great Benefit for Job Hunting"

"Recently, the author read Wang Jianyang's new book "Methodology of Exegetical Studies". Looking at it from a future perspective, I think it is indeed a very useful text.

Reading this book carefully, it feels like Wang Jianyang is giving you step-by-step guidance. You don’t need to go far to learn how to do exegetical research in a study. I think the effect is no worse than studying under a famous teacher for two or three years...

After reading the book, the author used the method of "seeking meaning from form" in the book to interpret the Chu Ci. I found that one or two difficult words in it could be solved using the method of form and meaning. The current solution method is as follows...

The author reported this research conclusion to Mr. Haimen, Zhou Gong Rudeng, who was highly praised and invited to meet him at Yangming Temple in Nanjing. The author failed in one fell swoop and failed after repeated attempts. It is a great honor to have this opportunity. Without "Exegesis" Without help, it is almost impossible...

In summary, it can be seen that "Methodology of Exegesis" is a shortcut for research by those who are unable to learn. By studying this book, even those with mediocre qualifications can get started in the study of textual criticism, and even make some discoveries that will leave their names in history, which is unknown! "

Chen Yuanzao is a scholar who has suffered hardships and suffered a lot, and he understands the thoughts of poor scholars very well. The ideological struggles between Confucian schools mentioned by Zhou Rudeng are indeed profound, but they are too far away from the scholars who most candidates have difficulty with, and these scholars are the real foundation of Neo-Confucianism.

No matter how much Zhou Rudeng wanted to reform Confucianism, as long as the Four Books and Five Classics remained the required model for the imperial examination, then Neo-Confucianism would not fail. If you want to spread Wang Wenlong's thoughts into the hearts of these people, it is impossible to use missionary methods. You can only rely on taking advantage of the situation.

To get more people to read "Methodology of Exegesis", instead of discussing academic theories, it is better to tell them directly that this book is a reference book and they can find a job after reading it! You can make money by reading!

After seeing Chen Yuanzao's article, many lower-level literati actually bought "Methodology of Exegesis" to study it.

Their purpose is not to attack Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, but for scholars with a good foundation in exegesis, many high-ranking people will be willing to hire them as their advisers. If this book can teach them how to do exegesis, it can really solve their work problems. .

The newspaper that published Chen Yuanzao's article was also a tabloid for poor literati, and its price was ten cents cheaper than other newspapers. Chen Yuanzao's article fit their tone very well, and the response was really good after it was published.

Chen Yuanzao also received royalties as a result, and Wang Wenlong even sold nearly a hundred more books because of this. Everyone was happy.

What gave greater impetus to the dissemination of Wang Wenlong's "Methodology of Exegesis" was the comment of Donglin boss Ding Yuanjian: "This book truly breaks the concept that primary schools are tributary to Confucian classics, and exegesis has truly become a family. Wang Jianyang This book is earth-shattering, and this path is a towering figure. This man is also very courageous and insightful. The name of the founder of the sect will not be passed down today, but will be passed down through the ages!”

As a researcher of textual criticism, Ding Yuanjian saw "Explanation of Ancient Texts in Shangshu" and "Lecture Notes on Text Dating" a year ago and recommended them everywhere. However, those two books only talked about one aspect of textual criticism, and even Some of the theories used in it have become quite outdated in later generations.

The "Methodology of Exegesis" is directly a textbook that is used in universities in later generations. This book suddenly appeared in front of Ding Yuanjian, which is almost equivalent to placing a smart phone in front of the ancients. Ding Yuanjian read it. I read this book for three whole days and nights, I didn't sleep, my mind was buzzing, and I was full of energy.

As a leader of the Donglin Party, Ding Yuanjian's influence in the Jiangnan literary world at this time was very terrifying.

At this time, the Donglin Party was in the stage of its best reputation: Donglin Academy had just been established, and the Donglin Party members were gradually gaining control of public opinion in the court. At the same time, they had not yet mastered the central government, so they had no chance to make any abstract operations.

At this time, not to mention literati, even ordinary people thought that the Donglin Party members were the saviors of the world. Ding Yuanjian and others went to Donglin Academy to hold a meeting and the number of people attending the lectures was often one or two thousand. Donglin Academy No one can stand outside.

At this time, Ding Yuanjian recommended "Methodology of Exegesis" so much that the book instantly sold out in Jiangnan.

Nowadays, whenever there is a gathering of scholars, the content of this book will always be discussed. Even if the majority of students just want to keep up with the trend, they have to buy a set to take home to save face. If the family is really poor, they will pool their money together to buy one. Take turns to watch.

Originally Dunguzhai thought that Wang Wenlong's book had a difficult subject matter and it would be great if it could sell a thousand copies. However, considering Wang Wenlong's reputation, he increased the print run of the first edition to two thousand copies because the print run was not enough. High, and it uses color printing and inserts a large number of oracle bone pictures, so the cost is actually not low. The ex-factory price of a set of mimeographed books is two to five yuan.

Unexpectedly, the first edition of this book was sold out in more than a month after it spread to Jiangnan. Authors of this era who were famous in Jiangnan would occupy the consumer market for books, which would make them much more profitable than just being famous in Fujian. Dun Guzhai hurriedly worked overtime to produce the book.

The second edition of "Methodology of Exegesis" was printed in 2,000 copies and sold out in half a month. It was not until the third edition that sales finally slowed down, and the total sales volume finally stabilized at around 5,000 copies.

No other book by scholars has achieved such sales volume. "Methodology of Exegetical Studies" even caused a craze for exegetical studies in Jiangnan.

However, exegesis is a very difficult subject. Without sufficient foundation in philology and phonology, just reading the textbooks and then starting the job is almost the same as reading the middle school textbooks and then directly entering the Mathematical Olympiad competition.

However, scholars in this era have too limited access to outside information. After reading one or two medical books, there are many people who think that their medical skills are magical and dare to prescribe the same medicine to themselves, let alone give some painless exegesis. Learned and researched.

Many readers who read this book felt that they had learned the research methods of exegesis, and then began to pick up ancient books for textual research.

After that, various "exegetical studies" were circulated on the market. Some people claimed that they had reinterpreted the Book of Songs and Chu Ci through exegesis, some claimed that they had solved all the oracle bone inscriptions using exegetical methods, and some even claimed that they had cracked the Hetuluo script after studying exegesis. The book... Hetuluo didn't even have a word in the book, and I don't know how he was going to teach it.

However, the emergence of the exegesis boom also represents that the ideological circles in the late Ming Dynasty really began to pay attention to the school of textual criticism. Amidst the chaos, some scholars actually obtained the training and enlightenment of textual criticism through Wang Wenlong's books. began to appear, and some reliable textual research studies were gradually published on the market.

Many of these enthusiasts have grown into the backbone of textual criticism through study and practice.

In this series of studies, Wang Wenlong's "Methodology of Exegesis" undoubtedly plays a decisive role.

Ding Yuanjian's younger brother "Mr. Jishan" Liu Zongzhou said bluntly in his "Ancient Notes of Zhouyi":

"The "Methodology of Exegetical Studies" is sincerely the guide for today's textual criticism, like an oasis in the sea of ​​sand, guiding students on the way forward. Anyone who studies exegesis and etymology in later generations will be the disciples of Mr. Jing Guan. His works are unique. , go ahead of the public, will be recorded in history, and will be passed down for generations.”

Being praised so highly by Ding Yuanjian, the founders of textual criticism, Wang Wenlong's status as the founder of textual criticism in future history was completely confirmed.

And because of the popularity of his works, Wang Wenlong's reputation is also growing rapidly. In the past, Wang Wenlong was just a researcher, but after this book, many people claimed to be his disciples. The disciples of textual criticism were even more generous in praising Wang Wenlong, and some even directly called him "another great master after Yangming."

This is definitely an exaggeration. Wang Yangming was a man who could build temples in this era, and he has gradually entered the level of a saint. Such praise is almost flattering to Wang Wenlong. Fortunately, not many people say this, and this title does not exist. recognized by most people.

Wang Wenlong's reputation became even more widespread due to the praise of these people, and this trend of exegesis gradually spread out of the south of the Yangtze River and spread all the way to the capital. (End of chapter)