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

Chapter 83 Finalization of Shuzhongtang

Ye Chengxue said: "Since Jianyang has no scientific examination, has it ever been given a name?"

Scholars in Qijin in this era generally regarded themselves as mountain people, and it was a normal operation to pick up a number, and everyone present had a number.

Wang Wenlong laughed and said: "I grew up overseas. I didn't even have the characters when I was a child. When I wrote The Scholars, I had to give a pen name. I casually wrote Wang Jianyang. From then on, people thought my pen name was Jianyang."

Everyone laughed, and Yuan Wuya suggested: "Why don't you let the prince give you a number?"

In this era, you can have any title as a scholar. If you don't like it, don't use it. Of course, Wang Wenlong gave this honor, so he cupped his hands and said to Wang Jide: "In this case, Mr. Lao."

Wang Jide ate a piece of food with chopsticks and said with a smile: "I'm not used to giving names. If you ask me, I would say that Jianyang understands ancient and modern times, learns things, and has the feeling of watching with a quiet eye, so let's call him Mr. Jingguan." "

This is really similar to Wang Jide's naming style. Because Wang Jide is the name of Zhusheng, the most commonly used name when writing is "Fang Zhusheng".

When Wang Wenlong heard this, he thought it was a surprise, "Look at the past and present...Okay! Thank you Mr. Boliang for the number!"

If he really had to be given the title of Yunshan Mist Cover, he would still be a little ashamed. The name Mr. Jingguan is just right for him.

After talking about the name, Chen Jiru finally brought the topic to "History of Portugal".

"I have read "History of Portugal" written by Jianyang more than ten times. The narrative method of this book is unprecedented in ancient times. I think I have never read it before."

It was not for nothing that Chen Jiru became a famous scholar in Wuzhong after giving up his turban. He had a profound family background, and his research on the classics and history was among the best in the world.

"The History of Portugal contains a vast collection of foreign customs and figures spanning hundreds of years. I also wanted to use this style to imitate a history of Wuzhong, but only after I started writing did I find it extremely difficult. I changed the draft several times, but in the end I couldn't even finish it. I can’t even write Chapter 1. Jianyang, tell me how you wrote this book?”

Everyone present was surprised when they heard what Chen Jiru said.

They all knew Chen Jiru's academic level, but they never expected that even if Chen Jiru wanted to write a history book imitating the "History of Portugal", he would not even be able to write it.

Wang Wenlong said with a smile: "I have been fond of history since I was a child. I grew up in the West, surrounded by people from all over the world. When I met traders, servants, officials and priests from Europe, without exception, I would ask them about it. I have accumulated more than ten years of experience. That’s why the content of “History of Portugal” exists.”

"In fact, it is not just European history. After the Europeans discovered the new sea route, the West has become a gathering place for people from all over the world. Local native princes, sailors of the Ming Dynasty, noble merchants from Persia and India, and even religious slave laborers from Japan and Korea are all mixed together. It is all-encompassing, and each school has different ideological and scientific understandings. How can one write a "History of Portugal" in that place?"

This was the reason Wang Wenlong had already thought of to endorse the new ideas he would come up with in the future, and everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Wang Jide traveled all over the world and was fascinated by the West described by Wang Wenlong. He sighed: "If I am lucky enough, I should visit the West in this life!"

Dong Qichang smiled at Wang Jide and said: "This is a humble statement from Jianyang. If we didn't collect it carefully, how could we get such complete information? Jianyang said it lightly, but in fact, the hard work behind it will take at least more than ten years."

After listening to Dong Qichang's words, everyone thought about it and nodded one after another.

Everyone couldn't help but respect Wang Wenlong even more.

Yuan Wuya smiled and said: "This book in Jianyang is so rare, but it is difficult to find the authentic copy in Sanwu. It is interesting to print it in Sanwu."

As soon as he said this, everyone present laughed except Wang Wenlong.

Feng Menglong pointed at Yuan Wuya and said: "I'm just telling you why Brother Yuan is so talkless today. It turns out that the plot is here, but today's cocktail party is for you to solicit business!"

Only then did Wang Wenlong realize that Yuan Wuya had a reputation as a scholar, but he was also a big bookseller in Suzhou.

Yuan Wuya's bookstore is called Shuzhongtang. Many of Feng Menglong's books and the collected works of the three brothers Yuan Hongdao were published in Yuan Wuya's bookstore.

Yuan Wuya didn't blush at all when his thoughts were pointed out

Yuan Wuya raised his glass and said: "I am also a member of the Wushan Club. Members of the club here should not think that I am a stinky person."

He turned to Wang Wenlong and said: "Jianyang, I have read the "History of Portugal" several times. If you are willing to engrave the book in my book hall, I will give you a long preface."

Wang Wenlong couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

It was quite convincing that Yuan Wuya used this preface to attract him, because Yuan Wuya's writing power was quite strong.

When Yu Xiangdou was engraving books, he could only excerpt text from other novels. The reviews he wrote were also vulgar and incompetent. Yuan Wuya also had similar behavior, but he directly used Li Zhi's name when reviewing novels because of his outstanding literary talent. , but many people can’t see it.

The 120-chapter version of "Water Margin" printed by Yuan Wuya is the first complete version of Water Margin in later history. It contains more details about the conquest of Tianhu and the conquest of Wangqing than other versions of Water Margin.

Yuan Wuya claimed that he obtained the complete version of "Water Margin" by asking an expert, but many people in later generations suspected that Yuan Wuya wrote these two parts of "Water Margin" himself.

This guy can really do this kind of thing. As long as he can sell the book more expensively, he doesn't care at all about writing the book himself to make up for it.

Yuan Wuya did not come from a scholarly family. He came from an ordinary family and just wanted to live a good life relying on his skills.

He joined Wushan Society not only because he liked poetry, but also because of practical considerations.Being able to make friends with so many famous literati was of great help to his publishing.

Yuan Wuya's two self-deprecating sentences made everyone laugh, but Wang Wenlong liked his straightforwardness.

He finally understood why Yuan Wuya was able to have close friendships with Feng Menglong, Yuan Hongdao and others. This man had a very strong personality.

He nodded with a smile and said, "In that case, I have to hand over the manuscript to Brother Yuan just for this preface."

Yuan Wuya's bookstore was ranked among the top in Suzhou, and it was in Wang Wenlong's interest to publish "History of Portugal" in Shuzhongtang.

After he finished speaking, Dong Qichang and Chen Jiru also took the initiative to say: "I have a feeling after reading "History of Portugal", and there are some words in it."

"I also wrote a preface to "History of Portugal"."

After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other, and then Wang Wenlong looked at Feng Menglong, who was hesitant to speak, and Ye Zhouze, who was laughing beside him.

Wang Wenlong reacted instantly and everyone co-authored a preface to his "History of Portugal".

Then Wang Wenlong was overjoyed. Everyone present had considerable appeal. With so many celebrities from Wushan Society recommending the preface, his "History of Portugal" must be a hot seller.

Ye Chengxue asked Yuan Wuya directly: "Everyone has written here. When will Brother Yuan be able to sort out the manuscript?"

Yuan Wuya was also overjoyed. He nodded repeatedly and said, "I will do the typesetting after I finish printing the book on hand."

Xu Shupi immediately said reluctantly: "The roommates are so urgent, what other big books do you have to print?"

"It's Lu Tiancheng's masterpiece..."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone couldn't help laughing.

Lu Tiancheng is a junior member of the Wushan Poetry Society and comes from a very good family. He was so inspired by "The Plum in the Golden Lotus" after reading it the year before last that he imitated it and wrote his own debut novel.

The book is called "The Unknown History of the Embroidered Couch", and the content is not suitable for children. It really makes people wonder what Lu Xiucai went through at the age of 17 to write such a masterpiece.

Wang Wenlong has read this book, and to be honest, the writing is quite poor. There are only action descriptions, the plot is too weak, and the sense of substitution is not strong.

However, we must also consider the limitations of the times. "The Wild History of the Embroidered Couch" is an earlier erotic novel in the Ming Dynasty. It would take more than ten years to write "The Story of the Madam". Lu Tiancheng can be regarded as the pioneer of a generation. .

So don’t think that there is anything great about copying pornography in this era. The stuff written by Lu Tiancheng is much better than pornography.

After the success of the first novel, Lu Tiancheng seemed to be encouraged, and he also wrote the second novel in full swing, called "The Legend of Leisure". It is said that the plot has been greatly enhanced.

As soon as Lu Tiancheng wrote a new book, he handed it over to Yuan Wuya to help him publish it.

This kind of book is easy to sell, but it is too damaging to the reputation. If you are not careful, the government will come to you. Yuan Wuya would not be willing to take this job if it were not for the sake of their relationship.

He did not dare to use the name of Shuzhongtang for printing, but he still had to use the engravers and printers in his own bookshop.

They are all friends of Wushan Society. Although everyone laughs at Lu Tiancheng's taste, they don't want to steal other people's carving work.

The quality of Wang Wenlong's wax-printed books was too poor to be used in a large book like "History of Portugal".

Therefore, we could only make an appointment to wait for Lu Tiancheng's masterpiece to be printed, and then immediately start typesetting and printing Wang Wenlong's book.

Everyone talked about Lu Tiancheng's novels and mentioned that Lu Tiancheng's real talent was still writing scripts, so the topic naturally turned to opera.

Wang Jide was a famous opera master at this time, and his musical works survived. He suddenly asked Wang Wenlong: "When you were growing up in the West, have you ever listened to European music?"

After reading "History of Portugal" and knowing that Europeans were also civilized, he became curious about what kind of opera Europeans listened to.

"European music..."

Wang Wenlong just wanted to introduce the situation of classical music in Europe, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it is only [-], and the golden age of European classical music has not yet come. Bach, who first started the pre-classical music era, was more than [-] years ago. He will be born later.

Wait a moment, Wang Wenlong's eyes couldn't help but froze, and he suddenly looked at Wang Jide: "Sir, have you ever heard of the Twelve Laws of Equals?"

Wang Jide wondered, "Is it a new legal system?"

Wang Wenlong took a deep breath.

That's right, it was six years later that Zhu Zaiyu's "Complete Book of Musical Temperament" wrote out the twelve equal temperaments for the first time in the world.

Not only has Bach not yet written the "Well-Tempered Piano Collection" that ushered in the era of European classical music, but even Zhu Zaiyu's Twelve-Tempered Clavier has not yet been made public to the world!
(End of this chapter)