Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The emergence of Dunhuang suicide notes can cause great disturbances in Buddhism and Taoism.

Especially the "Laozi Hua Hu Jing"!

On the Confucian side, the movement may not be small.

A few days later, even the cabinet minister Huan Guo was alarmed and went to the Hanlin Academy in person to copy the Confucian classics that had been basically lost for a long time.

Among them, "Li Gu Ding Shangshu" could not even be copied. Scholars who have not studied Chinese characters deeply cannot even identify those characters completely accurately.

Because it is neither ancient script (pre-Qin script) nor completely modern script (script since the Qin and Han Dynasties), but is written using modern script strokes and according to the style and structure of ancient script.

Huan Guo skimmed through a few paragraphs and asked, "Do you have any clues?"

Xue Shanggong, director of the Hanlin Academy of Literature and History, said: "It should be the ancient official manuscript of the lost Meiben Guwenshangshu."

"It's okay." Hu Guo breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that Kong's version of "Gu Wen Shangshu" and Fu Sheng's version of "Jin Wen Shangshu" would see the light of day again. Once these two versions came out, the Ming Dynasty would start a dispute over modern and ancient texts.

It doesn't matter about "Meiben Guwen Shangshu". Although this thing is a fake book that appeared in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it is the only surviving version of "Shangshu".

Confucian scholars in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all studied Shangshu in the Mei version of the Apocrypha.

However, the Mei version of "Guwen Shangshu" actually includes Fu Sheng's "Jinwen Shangshu" and continues to divide chapters on its basis. As for whether private goods were included, this cannot be verified at all.

Xue Shanggong continued: "Based on the book unearthed in Shazhou, we can conclude that Guo Zhongshu's "Gu Wen Shangshu" in the later Zhou Dynasty, "Old Wen Shangshu" written by Chen'e in the former Song Dynasty, and "Old Wen Shangshu" carved in stone by Chao Gongwu in the former Song Dynasty are all forgeries. Li Gudingshangshu."

Huan Guo smiled sincerely and said: "As long as the content of the article remains unchanged, it's easy to explain. If the glyphs are different, I'll leave it to your epigraphy experts to study."

The "Book of Documents" studied by Ming Dynasty scholars at this time was the official regular script edition of Li Longji's Tianbao reign. The "Shang Shu" discovered in the Mogao Grottoes is the Liguding text version after the Eastern Jin Dynasty and before Li Longji.

The content is the same, but the text form is different. It will not cause any academic controversy and can completely stay within the scope of glyphology research. That is to study how Chinese characters gradually evolved.

If the version discovered this time is the Han Dynasty version, the content must be different, and the entire academic community will explode.

In addition, the "Book of Documents" discovered in Mogao Grottoes also eliminates the possibility of anyone forging or tampering with scriptures in the future.

For example, Xue Jixuan, the founder of the Yongjia School in the Southern Song Dynasty, continued to forge and tamper with the contents of "Shang Shu" through the Song Dynasty fake version to support his own theory. Once the Dunhuang suicide note came out, it would be impossible for this kind of thing to happen again.

Huan Guo read it carefully again, but he did not study the glyphs of Li Gu Ding deeply, so he asked: "Are you sure this is the real "Li Gu Ding Shangshu"?"

Xue Shanggong said: "Compared with the "Classic Interpretation·Shangshu Sound and Meaning", the book in front of me should be authentic. At least no errors or omissions have been found so far."

The author of "Classic Interpretations·Shangshu Sound and Meaning" is Lu Deming of Chen Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. The original text used in this book is "Ligu Dingshangshu". Although it is not possible to get a full view of the original book, it can be used to verify the authenticity of the Dunhuang posthumous documents.

Huan Guo was completely reassured and asked again: "Are Zheng Xuan's "Analects of Confucius", Huang Kan's "Analects of Confucius", Liu Xiang's "Shuo Yuan" and other books also authenticated?"

Xue Shanggong said: "It should all be true, but further research is needed."

Huan Guo sighed: "This strange thing can only happen when the Holy Emperor is still alive!"

Zheng Xuan's Commentary on the Analects of Confucius in the Song Dynasty is no longer complete, and can only be pieced together from Zheng Xuan's Commentary cited by other scholars since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Its complete form was lost during the wars of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.

There are also Huang Kan's "Lun Yu Shu" and Liu Xiang's "Shuo Yuan", which are also in similar situations.

Now, these lost books have actually appeared.

In Huan Guo's view, there is God's will in the dark, which is a manifestation of Ming's destiny. Otherwise, why was it lost during the Song Dynasty and then reappeared twenty years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty?

Destiny!

It must be destiny!

Destiny is in the Ming Dynasty, not only to rediscover the lost Confucian scriptures, but also to rediscover the lost Buddhist scriptures and Taoist scriptures.

The sages and gods of the three religions all identify with the Ming Dynasty.

Huan Guo returned to the cabinet and explained the specific situation to other cabinet ministers. Everyone was extremely surprised and planned to go to the Hanlin Academy to have a look.

Huan Guo said: "This matter should be made public through the Daming Moon Newspaper, so that people all over the world know that I, the Ming Dynasty, are the true destiny!"

Everyone thinks it makes sense.

So Li Hanzhang took the lead in drafting a congratulatory form praising the emperor and the Supreme Emperor for their civil and military achievements. This congratulatory note was not only for the emperor to see, but also published in the "Da Mingyue News" for the world to see.

The word auspiciousness is not mentioned throughout the article, but every sentence implies that the Dunhuang suicide note is auspicious.

Ju Ming read this congratulatory form the next day, and he happily commented: "Yes."

Because the congratulatory form drafted by Li Hanzhang and polished by Huan Guo was so cleverly written. They abandoned the theory of auspiciousness and the connection between heaven and man. In the first half, they only talked about the civil and military achievements of the two emperors, and in the second half, they talked about the importance of the Dunhuang suicide note.

If this article is published, individuals can understand its meaning, and the legal system of the Ming Dynasty will become more stable.

This issue of "Da Ming Yue Bao" has been finalized and there is no need to adjust the layout. Just add an addendum, which, in addition to the cabinet's congratulatory list, also includes a catalog of rare Dunhuang posthumous books.

Before the new issue of "Da Ming Monthly" was released, the documents of the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism that had been republished had already spread among the officials of the capital and the monks and Taoist groups.

All of them were handwritten copies.

When they spread to the people of Luoyang, the scholars were more concerned about "Shuo Yuan".

So what if Zheng Xuan's "Annotations to the Analects" was academic? It was not tested. The Ming Dynasty had its own legal annotated version of "Analects", so it could only cause a sensation in the top academic circles.

Ordinary scholars were not interested in other annotated versions of "Analects", but wanted to know what the original "Shuo Yuan" was like.

Because "Shuo Yuan" was more interesting, it was a collection of miscellaneous historical novels.

Lu You compared the fragments copied by his father with the revised version by Zeng Gong at home, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Zeng Wendinggong (Zeng Gong) is worthy of being a master!"

"Shuo Yuan" originally had 20 volumes, but only five volumes were left when it was passed on to the Northern Song Dynasty. Zeng Gong somehow completed it, leaving only one "Anti-Zhi Pian" missing. Then the Zhao Song court sent people to Japan and Goryeo to search, and finally found the "Anti-Zhi Pian" from Goryeo to complete "Shuo Yuan".

Coincidentally, the fragments of "Shuo Yuan" unearthed in Mogao Grottoes were exactly the "Anti-Zhi Pian" that Zeng Gong couldn't find.

The Mogao Grottoes version is more ancient and authentic, and does not avoid the names of Li Shimin and Li Zhi. The Goryeo version not only avoided revisions, but also had a few errors and omissions in the copying.

Lu You began to write letters to his friends and asked his book boy to copy the treasures in the Dunhuang manuscripts.

He wanted to send them to his friends.

Of the six second-generation officials who went on an adventure together, two have passed the imperial examination and been sent out, one has gone to the army for training, and one has entered the Hanlin Academy of Painting. The elder brother surnamed Li is the most unlucky. His father was involved in the Huainan corruption case. Although he was not involved in the case deeply, his descendants for three generations were not allowed to take the imperial examination. He was depressed and went abroad again.

Lu You himself was the most talented among the six, but he always failed the exam.

His father was the former Minister of Rites!

No hurry, anyway, he is only in his early twenties, and he has plenty of opportunities at such a young age.

He took a carriage to the eastern suburbs of Luoyang. There was a literary meeting today, and the theme was to discuss the Dunhuang manuscripts.

As soon as Lu You arrived, he heard scholars arguing.

"The Laozi Huahu Sutra is actually a fake sutra. Buddhism and Taoism are very different. How can they have the same origin?"

"Why can't they have the same origin? Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are one family. Moreover, why is the Laozi Huahu Sutra hidden in the Buddhist caves in Shazhou? Obviously, the eminent monks in Shazhou also agree with this."

"That's because the monks in Shazhou are not proficient in Buddhism."

"You are proficient in Buddhism? Then tell me, who is older, Sakyamuni or Laozi?"

"How can you say that? What does this have to do with Buddhism?"

"You can't say anything, why are you sure that the Laozi Huahu Sutra is fake?"

"..."

The two naturally couldn't argue to a conclusion, but the scholars who were watching the fun laughed and ate melons.

The Laozi Huahu Sutra has a total of ten volumes. This time, Volumes 1, 2, 8, and 10 were discovered from Mogao Grottoes. There are also several volumes handed down from the pre-Song Dynasty. Now combined with the Dunhuang manuscripts, only two volumes are still lost.

While Buddhism and Taoism were still studying their newly acquired scriptures, the Confucian scholars in Luoyang actually quarreled over the Laozi Huahu Sutra.

Lu You arrived at the literary gathering and stood by to listen with joy.

When the two argued until their faces turned red and their throats became dry and they could not speak, the organizer of the literary gathering came out to mediate.

He took out a handwritten poem and said, "All the people gathered today are Confucian scholars. Why bother with the Buddhist and Taoist affairs? Let's not talk about academics. Let's appreciate "The Song of the Qin Woman"."

"Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, only two sentences of this poem have been passed down. Fortunately, God has blessed us and found the whole poem from the Shazhou Buddhist Cave. This poem is longer than we expected. The whole poem has 238 sentences and 1,666 words, which is twice as long as "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow"!"

"I will recite it for you: In the third month of the spring of the year of Guimao in Zhonghe, the flowers outside Luoyang are like snow. There are no people on the road in the east, west, south and north, and the green willows are quietly extinguished... Blood is flowing in every family like a spring, and the sound of injustice is shaking the earth everywhere. The dancers and singers are all secretly abandoned, and the babies and girls are all abandoned..."

Including Lu You, many children of high-ranking officials have copied this poem long ago.

But some scholars, who were appreciating the full picture of "Song of Qin Women" for the first time, were horrified by the tragic situation described in the poem.

Some scholars also sighed: "No wonder this poem caused controversy and the author had to ban it himself."

The controversy was not caused by the hellish scene after the war.

It was that the poem clearly stated that half of the food and property owned by the common people still remained after the Huang Chao Rebellion. But the soldiers came and took away the money and food of the common people!

It also described in detail how the government exploited the people before Huang Chao came.

It's politically incorrect.

All the sins should be blamed on Huang Chao, why did the soldiers kill the people?

Lu You first commented: "From the poem "Song of a Qin Woman", we can see that the court in the late Tang Dynasty was incompetent and the real problem was that the government was not benevolent. How could the two emperors of the Ming Dynasty rise up and conquer the world? And govern the country well, reappearing the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties? It's nothing but the two words of benevolence and righteousness..."

"Song of a Qin Woman" is politically incorrect, but it happens to be politically correct in the Ming Dynasty.

(I was so excited to read the novels of the time by the young woman Bai that I started writing in the middle of the night. Sorry.)