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

Chapter 68: Scholars take wealth lightly
Hearing that the temple that Ye Chengxue wanted to build was not sectarian, Wang Wenlong took up his pen and wrote a couplet on the paper in beautiful Ou regular script:
Who is in charge of the surrounding clouds and mountains?
I am confused and don’t know the sect.

The middle and late Ming Dynasty was already the last golden age of thought in ancient China. Great minds like Wang Yangming and Li Zhi emerged one after another until the end of the Ming Dynasty, when Huang Zongxi and others were survivors. Many brilliant ideas were born amidst the chaos.

After the Manchus entered the customs, literary inquisition gradually emerged. Literati really did not dare to write anything indiscriminately, nor did they dare to elaborate on Confucianism too much, so they turned to the study of searching for chapters and excerpts.It was not until the Europeans opened the country and the influx of new ideas that Chinese thought entered a stage of active thinking again.

Therefore, if we ask the Qing Dynasty before the Opium War and the late Ming literati to discuss Neo-Confucianism, they will probably not be able to overcome each other.

But when it comes to the ability to interpret couplets, the Qing Dynasty people have been studying it for hundreds of years on their basis. The literati during the Wanli period were still opposed to Wenbi's prosperity in the Tang Dynasty, and they were really no match for the literati in the Qing Dynasty.

And this couplet written by Wang Wenlong is a masterpiece.

This is a ruthless pairing. The first couplet is excerpted from the Tang Dynasty poem "Who is in charge of the mountains surrounded by clouds? Several houses of fireworks are neighbors." However, the second couplet uses another sentence, "I am confused and don't know the sect." The pairing is extremely neat and full of Zen. meaning.

Writing such couplets requires the writer to have long-term training on couplets and develop a keen thinking about couplets, which is really not something that ordinary people can do.

Ye Chengxue thought about it carefully for a while, and then he admired it greatly:

"Absolutely! The translation of Tang poetry is so neat and neat, as if it were written by comparison. The words are simple and Zen-like. Mr.'s literary thinking is really quick!"

"The Scholars" is a vernacular novel. Although it is well written, only the introduction at the beginning is an excellent poem. Other than that, it does not show much poetic talent.

Ye Chengxue originally thought that Wang Wenlong was not good at reciting poems and composing poems. He originally thought that Wang Wenlong would just randomly compose a pair and he would applaud him, but after seeing this ruthless pair, he couldn't help but admire Wang Wenlong's ability.

He tasted it over and over again, and the more he looked at it, the better he got. He said to Wang Wenlong: "Sir, the couplets written are very good. Now my father and his colleagues are planning to build an academy in Nanzhi. Can you, sir, try to write another couplet for the academy?"

Wang Wenlong knew as soon as he heard that Ye Chengxue was talking about Donglin Academy. The couplets in such a place cannot be hung just by who writes them well, but only if the writer is famous.

Wang Wenlong knew that Ye Chengxue just wanted to be right when he got interested, and he would not really use it if he wrote it. However, seeing Ye Chengxue's eager expression, Wang Wenlong suddenly had an idea.

If people don't use it, it doesn't stop him from making a name for himself.

Wang Wenlong decisively waved again:
The sound of wind, rain and reading reached my ears;
Family affairs, state affairs, world affairs, and care about everything.

Seeing this pairing, Ye Chengxue was even more amazed than before, and couldn't help but murmured: "The voice is touching, and he cares about everything... These two sentences really describe the purpose of Donglin Academy! Sir, you are really talented!"

Wang Wenlong really wanted to laugh in his heart. This was originally the couplet that Gu Xiancheng proposed to Donglin Academy a few years later. Now that he has written it, he doesn't know if two new couplets will appear at the door of Donglin Academy.

Ye Chengxue read for a long time, and suddenly said to Wang Wenlong excitedly:

"If you can write this couplet, you must be someone who knows the situation of the country well. When I return to Nanjing, I will invite you to give a lecture at Donglin Academy!"

Wang Wenlong was stunned when he heard this, and he quickly shied away:
"This is just a couplet, my dear brother, I really don't praise it... I really don't know much about Confucian knowledge, not to mention that the student is still Xu Fantai's staff, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient."

Ye Chengxue, however, was full of excitement and shook his head and said: "Sir, there is no need to be modest. Your spirit of helping the world has been revealed in your couplets. What's more, you still have a masterpiece called "History of Portugal" in the world. Just by relying on this book, "History of Portugal" is already in the world. Donglin’s qualifications to give lectures.”

"The gentlemen of Donglin Academy are all honorable men. They take it as their own duty to help the country. They don't have such arrogance. Even if you are attending Xu Fantai's residence, what's wrong with just going to Donglin Academy to communicate with each other?"

Seeing the enthusiasm on Ye Chengxue's face, Wang Wenlong really wanted to slap his right hand holding the pen. Don't say that he is a magnanimous and a gentleman. I'm afraid you don't know what it is like when these Donglin Party gentlemen are in power. …

He could not reject Ye Chengxue's enthusiasm at all, so he could only comfort himself that he would act according to the situation in Nanzhili and not get too close to the Donglin Party.

Seeing that Wang Wenlong finally agreed, Ye Chengxue looked delighted. He folded the two pairs carefully: "As soon as I return to Nanzhili, I will help you contact him. I will know what I mean when I see Mr. Qunxian from Donglin Academy. "Then Ye Chengxue called the bookboy again, and soon took out a bag of 50 taels of silver.

Ye Chengxue: "Mr. Quan Zuo polished his writing."

Wang Wenlong sighed in his heart, in this era, he made a lot of money by writing and inscribing epitaphs for people. No wonder the literati in the Ming Dynasty could make a living by writing epitaphs and inscriptions for people.

Li Dongyang, who was an official in the capital of the cabinet, retired and returned home to earn extra money by writing poems and essays for people. There was an endless stream of people coming to ask for words. One day, as soon as his wife brought the pen and ink, Li Dongyang showed a tired look on his face.

His wife smiled directly and said: "If we have a guest today, will there be nothing left to do in the case?" Hearing this, Mr. Li Ge could only pick up his pen and continue working.

Just write two pairs for 50 taels. How easy is it to earn this money?Even the first assistant will be tempted.

Being disrespectful, Wang Wenlong hurriedly accepted the money.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Wang Wenlong asked Mrs. Ma to take a few workers from the workshop to go out to buy vegetables quickly and treat Ye Chengxue to a good meal at noon.

At this time, literati's interactions were all about ostentation, and the poorer county officials would even borrow money and grain from the county to entertain the scholars.

Ye Chengxue went to Wang Wenlong's house for dinner. Although Wang Wenlong could not be said to be extravagant, he still had to make a sumptuous lunch.

He took out a few taels of silver and asked Mrs. Ma to buy live shrimps and hammer them into shrimp balls. He also went to the hotel in front of the hotel to borrow a waiter and a stove to steam fish and cut bacon, and asked Wang Pingbao to leave the shop quickly to sell wine.

After half an hour of busy work, a full table was set. Wang Wenlong and Ye Chengxue came to the table, accompanied by Deng Zhimo.

After eating and drinking, Ye Chengxue hurried from Fuqing to Fuzhou Prefecture. He was also tired at this time.

Seeing him covering his mouth and yawning, Wang Wenlong invited him, "Why don't we just stay at home."

Ye Chengxue happily agreed, "That's it, Brother Laoxian is here."

"Where is it."

After asking Mrs. Ma to take Ye Chengxue to the guest room to rest, Wang Wenlong returned to the flower hall and saw that half of the table of wine and food was left.

Before, he asked Ye Chengxue what he liked to eat. Ye Chengxue mentioned a few dishes and said he wanted to eat seafood stewed chicken, so Wang Wenlong specially asked to go to the hotel in front of the hotel to borrow a strong fire stove to cook a cup of abalone fish maw chicken.

He and Deng Zhimo had eaten as much as they could, but Ye Chengxue had no appetite after ordering. He only took two bites of a large piece of chicken leg and spat half of the chicken leg with the meat and bones into the bone plate.

Wang Wenlong looked at it reluctantly, and he also knew that Ye Chengxue was not deliberately wasting money. During the dinner just now, Ye Chengxue had a sad face when talking about the people's plight.

It’s just that his father is a high-ranking official, and his family is rich in gold and silver. Ye Chengxue was only in his early twenties this year when he entered the Imperial College. He will naturally become an official in the future. He cannot truly understand the suffering of the people from the bottom of his heart. As for abalone and fat chicken, he is just ordinary in his eyes. Just eating.

Thinking that the people in Fuzhou were still suffering from the disaster at this time, Wang Wenlong still felt a little uncomfortable.

He called Wang Pingbao back and said, "Pick some clean vegetables on the table to give the workshop workers extra meals. Depending on which workers are in need, be sure to pack a few bowls of vegetables for them in the evening. I guess there will be some leftovers for dinner."

Back in the study, Wang Wenlong spread out the manuscript paper and continued writing.

(End of this chapter)