Datang Nongsheng

Chapter 96 Pen, Ink, Paper and Inkstone
After returning home, Sun Xiangfu interacted with his wife after writing the poem, so the couple did not get up early the next day. When they arrived at Yu Mansion, there were already many guests who came to pay New Year's greetings, and, Without exception, they played the game of couplets.

"Father-in-law, Happy New Year!"

When Sun Xiangfu entered the door, he first paid New Year greetings to his elders, and was soon led to sit behind a desk in the house. On the desk, there were many written couplets.

"My son-in-law's couplet was launched in the Wangjiang Tower, but it brought me a lot of fun for the literati. Today, these disciples of my father brought their own masterpieces to the house. Is my son-in-law prepared?" Yu Chang sat down next to Sun Xiangfu and said in a low voice.

"Hehe, I wasn't very prepared. Last night, Xiu'er forced me to write a few couplets, and she took them to the study as a gift to Grandpa." Sun Xiangfu smiled helplessly, recalling the evocative scene where Yu Xiu'er forced himself to write.

"Well, Xiu'er's literary talent is not weak, and it must be a good couplet if she can bring it back to present the treasure. However, many students of Hong Wenguan have come to the house today. They know that you are the inventor of this couplet game. Come to teach."

Sure enough, before Yu Chang finished speaking, he saw a young scholar of about [-] years a year come forward to salute Yu Chang first, and then said to Sun Xiangfu, "Student Shangguanyi, pay homage to Mr. Sun."

"Shangguanyi?"

Sun Xiangfu only felt that the name was very familiar. He must have seen it in a certain film and television drama in later generations, but he couldn't remember who this person was at the moment, so he bowed politely to this person. Since he said goodbye, it was As an ordinary student who has not yet become an official, Sun Xiangfu also had to be careful about his status, and said, "What does this Mr. Shangguan have to teach you!"

"I don't dare to see the teacher. I was just recommended by a few classmates. I came to ask Mr. Sun if there is a second couplet for the couplet 'Yan Suo Pond Willow' in Wangjiang Tower on New Year's Eve. In the past two days, my classmates have had a lot of trouble." It doesn't smell good, and those who can't sleep will be so worried about this couplet."

As she said that, Shangguanyi bowed her body a little lower again, appearing very polite.

"Hehe, it's just a word game. Why are you great talents in the Hongwen Museum so persistent? Naturally, there are second couplets in this couplet, and there are quite a few of them. It's just that I feel that the artistic conception is a little bit worse, so I use this couplet as a gimmick. I want to find a second couplet that is completely correct for the first couplet." Sun Xiangfu pretended lightly.

Hearing that this couplet really has a second couplet, Shangguanyi seemed a little excited. Many literati in Chang'an City wanted to tell the truth about this couplet, but the one who was really obsessed with it the most was Shangguanyi. What Sun Xiangfu didn't know was that, Shangguanyi later became the imperial literati of the Tang Dynasty, who specially wrote imperial edicts to the emperor.

"My lord, please tell me the next couplet, otherwise..."

Sun Xiangfu smiled and said nothing, took a pen and wrote a few words on a piece of white paper in front of the case, and said, "You can see it for yourself, don't spread it to outsiders."

Shangguanyi heard the words and leaned her head a little closer, and saw five large characters written in black and white in square squares on the top of the paper, "Tao Burning Jinjiang Embankment".

"My lord is really talented!" Shangguanyi said these five words silently in her heart, her eyes full of enthusiasm.

"The words are small, it's not worth mentioning." Sun Xiangfu continued to pretend.

However, Yu Chang, the father-in-law sitting next to him, quit. How can writing be said to be a small way!So, he grabbed the white paper written by Sun Xiangfu and ran to the study in the backyard. The second couplet of this couplet, the Yu family father and son also wanted to break their heads.

After entering Yu Shinan's study, he saw Yu Xiu'er directing two servants to hang two long couplets on the wall. Looking carefully, he saw that the couplets read;

There are roads and diligence in the mountain of books, and there is no end to learn to work hard.

"This couplet is wonderful, very wonderful!" Yu Chang pointed at the couplet on the wall in a daze.

"Hehe, Daddy doesn't even look at who wrote this." Yu Xiu'er said with a smug expression on her face.She sacrificed a lot for this couplet last night, how can she comfort her injured body if she doesn't show off today.

"Father knows that your husband is talented, my lord, this is the second couplet that my son-in-law came out with." Yu Chang smiled and pointed at Yu Xiu'er, then gave the second couplet that Sun Xiangfu just wrote to the same face as if offering a treasure. The smiling Yu Shinan looked at it.

"Well, that's right, it's really neat, and it's a bit more beautiful than the artistic conception of the second line that the old man thought of."

Yu Shinan was delighted to see the writing, so he picked up the pen and ink on the table, and began to write these couplets with his own calligraphy. Yu Chang knew that he could not disturb his father at this time, so he dragged Yu Xiu'er out of the study.

"Xiu'er! As a father, will you have a grandson to hug you this year?"

"Father~"

Yu Xiu'er's tired voice made Yu Chang retreat, so she stopped asking her daughter this embarrassing question, and hurried to the front yard to greet the guests, and after a while, Yu Xiu'er arrived at her mother's courtyard.

"My daughter greets my mother, and wishes my mother a happy new year."

"Okay, okay, my good daughter, I have a happy event to tell my mother today."

All right!In this short period of time, Yu Xiuer was asked twice about her pregnancy. She stomped her feet in embarrassment. When designing the plot, she planned a pregnancy for Bai Suzhen. After the play started, everyone thought she was pregnant. But the fact is that she wasn't pregnant, and when she went on to perform, she had to tie a fake belly around her waist.

I didn’t mention the backyard. When Yu Chang returned to the front hall again, Sun Xiangfu had already been surrounded by a group of Hongwenguan’s students. Naturally, some people asked for advice on poetry and couplets, but most of them asked the students behind the White Snake. The plot, and whether Sun Chong, the head of the Shangyuan Ye, can be Liu Ruyan's guest of honor.

It seems that literati in any era have the spirit of entertainment first. Sun Xiangfu's introduction of this couplet skit is a good move, and he has successfully attracted the attention of the literati group to Wangjiang Tower. Then, next, he will Use this to achieve some of your own goals.

Regarding these students' questions, as long as Sun Xiangfu knew, he almost answered all the questions. He lowered his attitude and deliberately made friends. He knew that these students who could go to Hongwenguan to study generally had good family conditions, and they should not be seven or five surname, because the literati who came from the seven clans and five surnames in this period basically went directly to the senior officials of their own clan for examinations. They almost monopolized many classics and classics, and they simply looked down on the few academies of the imperial court. Education, moreover, you have to obey them, the students from several universities in the imperial court are not as good as them.This means that since the founding of Li Tang, the imperial examination has not been resumed, otherwise, the power of the aristocratic family in the court will be greatly increased.

If Sun Xiangfu wants to dig out the cancer of the aristocratic family, he must use all the people who can be used. These students are the people who can carry out his will in the future. Now, it is just a rainy day.

Just when the Yu Mansion was full of harmony and festivities, a scholar named Liu Yong came late. After paying homage to Yu Chang for a year, he apologized to everyone, "Just now I passed by the Xinxiang Building in Dongshi. The bachelor and many college students were in the antithetical couplet, so I went in to watch it on a whim, and I missed the time agreed with my classmates, I am really sorry."

"That's right! Not only Xinxiang Building, Deyue Building, Chunman Building, etc., they all held a New Year literary meeting today. They played the game of couplets, and they also opened the lottery. When I went out earlier, several big restaurants They are all full." In the living room, a student from the Hongwen Museum named Yu Hui answered the conversation.

Sun Xiangfu frowned when he heard the words, he didn't expect that the things he made would be picked up by others. It's clear after thinking about it. There are many famous scholars with seven clans and five surnames. In the literary world of this period, they just can't move. It's just a pity that Wangjianglou has to earn a lot less money for the literati's meals these days. After all, these literati are the richest in this period.

With this incident, Sun Xiangfu's interest in bragging and pretending has diminished a lot, and he began to think about how to break the foundation of aristocratic families. In history, these aristocratic families were defeated by a woman, that is, years ago. The daughter of Ying Guogong's warrior Xun who was demoted from Chang'an, and later Empress Wu Zetian, she used simple and rude methods, only killing.

However, this method is definitely not feasible at the moment. Datang in 70 and [-] will no longer lack scholars as much as it is now. If you kill a group, you can find a group immediately. Now!If you dare to move them, no one will come out to be an official.

In the end, Sun Xiangfu came to a conclusion that if he wanted to shake the foundation of the aristocratic family, he still had to increase the number of people who studied. Otherwise, even if they went too far, Li Shimin could only endure it, and he had no choice but to endure it. However, thinking about the scene when he went to Dongshi to buy stationery when he came to Yu Mansion for the first time, he suddenly felt dizzy. The price of studying in this era is really not usually high. The Four Treasures of the Study are often too expensive, let alone ordinary people.

Yellow paper, which is not considered good, costs 4 Wen per bundle, how much is a bundle?Thirty sheets, not as large as a box of A[-] paper in later generations, how many brush characters can be written?Better hemp paper costs tens of pennies a piece, and a bundle costs two pieces. Even officials and eunuchs with low incomes dare not use it blindly.

Brushes, inks, and inkstones are equally expensive. Books are even more expensive. A set of Four Books and Five Classics, none of which are more than ten or twenty, you simply can’t afford them. money?
It seems that we must first find a way to reduce the cost of studying.

Sun Xiangfu thought so in his heart, but someone patted his shoulder. It turned out to be Yu Chang.

"Son-in-law, what are you thinking!"

"Oh, it's just something about pens, inks, papers and inkstones. I'll talk to you later." Sun Xiangfu returned to God.

"Pen, ink, paper and inkstone? There are quite a few at home. If you like it, you can take some."

The Yu family is a calligraphy family, so naturally there is no shortage of such things, but since it was mentioned, Sun Xiangfu asked by the way, "Father-in-law, does my Tang Dynasty know where these things are abundant?"

"Is there even a question? Ink comes from Hebei, paper comes from Shuzhong, inkstone comes from Lingnan, and brushes can be made everywhere, but Guanzhong produces the most." Yu Chang said naturally.

No wonder they are expensive. Except for the pens, the ink, paper and inkstone almost come from four different directions in the Tang Dynasty. Given the high transportation costs in this period, it is no wonder that they are cheap.

Then, Sun Xiangfu asked Yu Chang about these things in depth. The reason why these things are produced in a few places is because of technical reasons. , paper, and inkstone are almost difficult to mass-produce in other places.

The first is the mining of ink pills. So far, a large-scale natural open-air ink mining field in Shanggu County, Hebei has been discovered.The second is the issue of paper. The paper currently made is mainly hemp paper, which is used for painting and printing books. In the Tang Dynasty, only Shuzhong had the largest hemp production. Therefore, large-scale papermaking can only be carried out in Shuzhong.

Then there is inkstone, which is very demanding. It is made of ordinary stone. When it is ground by ink pellets, crushed lime will be mixed into the ink. Or the bamboo slips fall off, and the characters cannot be read at all. Therefore, scholars want to get a good inkstone. Most of these good inkstones come from Ruizhou in the south of Lingnan. Not to mention the production, the journey from Lingnan to Chang'an is thousands of miles away. It was scary.

(End of this chapter)