Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

On the second day after arriving at the mountain stronghold, Chen Yuan summoned the scholars who followed him.

In addition to Li Hanzhang, Ling Guxu and Min Zishun, there are two others named Wang Chang and Wang Wei.

The peak moment of the Wang family in Yangzhou was in the early years of Jiayou's reign, when a pair of uncles and nephews passed the Jinshi examination at the same time. It has been no longer possible since then. The Wang family has not had a Jinshi for sixty years.

Brothers Wang Chang and Wang Wei knew that there was no hope for the imperial examination, so they simply came to hang out with Chen Yuan, hoping to increase their reputation through the new school of thought. Their ideas were not simple, mixed with some speculative elements, and they wanted to lay an academic foundation for the next generation of the Wang family.

Everyone gathered in the open space and moved benches to wait for Chen Yuan to lecture.

Not long after, Chen Yuan, Zhu Ming, and Zhu Guoxiang came together.

Chen Yuan stood still and said: "The exam is about to be solved. Since you are following me here, I can't delay your important imperial examination. No matter which scripture, if you have any doubts, you can come and ask me."

Hearing this, everyone was happy.

Ju Ming was also secretly stunned. He could only master "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "Book of Changes" with his golden finger.

The Mr. Chen in front of me really knows the Six Classics and can give guidance to any student.

Such an academic level has already defeated most Jinshi scholars, and can even crush Lu Tixue.

This is the result of Chen Yuan's nearly thirty years of abstaining from the imperial examination and devoting himself to his studies!

Chen Yuan also said: "From today on, every morning, I will answer your doubts about the scriptures. In the afternoon, there will be two questions on the meaning of the scriptures, one on the classics ("The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius"), and you will each choose one of the several scriptures. Question. After writing the article, correct it before dinner in the evening. Every three days, take one day to study mathematics with me."

"I sincerely follow Mr.'s teachings!" The students stood up and bowed.

Meng Zhao, a poor scholar who came to the village last year, was also listening and boldly asked: "Sir, can I learn?"

"Okay." Chen Yuan nodded.

Meng Zhao was overjoyed. He was forced to work in a poor mountain valley. He didn't expect to be able to worship a famous Confucian as his teacher, so he immediately bowed in the disciple's ceremony.

The course schedule is finalized.

Chen Yuan: Lectures on scriptures and answers questions in the morning, assigns scripture meaning questions and studies mathematics in the afternoon, and corrects articles for students in the evening.

Students: Study in the morning and practice questions in the afternoon.

Ju Ming: Practice martial arts in the early morning, study in the morning, and practice questions in the afternoon.

Everyone's time is fully scheduled, and although it is hard work, it is very fulfilling.

A few days later, Bai Chongyan came unexpectedly.

As soon as he came, he said: "All my friends are here, but I am alone in the academy. My mind is restless all day long, and I really can't read."

"Hahaha," Li Hanzhang laughed, "It's good if you come, let's work hard together!"

With the addition of Bai Chongyan, the village became more lively.

Yangzhou Academy has strict management and good students work very hard, but burnout is inevitable.

But no one here cares whether you like to study or not. Ke's autonomy and enthusiasm for learning have been greatly improved. Even after dark, they would sit together and debate, and Chen Yuan would be invited to preside over the Bible debate.

No matter how outrageous their views are, no one criticizes them. Instead, they engage in in-depth discussions around their outrageous views.

My thinking suddenly became divergent and open, not as rigid and conservative as before.

At the same time, Chen Yuan was also consulting Zhu Guoxiang.

"Brother Yuanzhang said that people have a way of daily life, so where is the way of the big cart at the foot of the mountain?" Chen Yuan expressed doubts.

Under Ju Ming's deception, Tao and use are clearly distinguished. The water wheel used for watering is "use", and the principle of the water wheel is "Tao".

Zhu Guoxiang picked up the stone and threw it casually: "Why did the stone fly out?"

Chen Yuan said: "Throw it hard."

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "If I throw it forward, why does the stone fall to the ground?"

Chen Yuan took it for granted: "The light ones rise, the turbid ones fall, everything is the same."

Zhu Guoxiang shook his head and said, "Power."

So, Dean Zhu started to teach mechanics.

Chen Yuan listened for half an hour and was greatly shocked. He decided to go to the toilet to calm down.

But all he could think about was force. As he watched the urine fall into the toilet, he was actually analyzing its force. He also thought about various phenomena in life and found that they can all be explained by force. Even a boat floating on the water has force. Chen Yuan believed that it was the lifting force of the water.

While he was still practicing hard in mathematics, Chen Yuan plunged into physics again.

…

Life in the cottage is extremely fulfilling, but things are happening all over the country.

First, the imperial court was saving grain for the war, and this year's summer grain had to be taxed more heavily, making the people miserable.

Second, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty ordered that all prefectures must recommend Taoist priests. The quota for each state is ten, and the government pays to send ten Taoist priests to the capital. More than 2,000 Taoist priests from across the country gathered in the capital to take exams like imperial examinations to become Taoist officials.

The local officials were speechless and could only send out officers to visit famous roads within their jurisdiction.

Over in Wenzhou, a Taoist priest named Lin Lingsu was ridiculed by many fellow Taoists. Because he really didn’t have any real material, he couldn’t read the Taoist scriptures very well, and he often added dirty jokes into his sermons.

After being ridiculed again, Lin Lingsu was furious, pointed at other Taoist priests and said: "I studied Buddhism when I was young. As a young man, I traveled to Shu and became a disciple of Mr. Zhao Sheng, a Taoist from Shushan. Since then, I have learned the "Five Thunder Jade Book" and can To practice the Five Thunder Dharma, who among you can master the Thunder Dharma?"

A Taoist priest said: "Since you know how to use thunder, come and try to chop me down."

Lin Lingsu said: "What I learn is the Five Thunder Dharma, not the Five Thunder Evil Dharma. I should kill demons and eliminate demons. You are a member of the Taoist sect. If I hurt you, I will harm my fellow Taoists. Unless you think you are the evil one." Disciple!"

The Taoist priests made a fuss, and Wenzhou Zhizhou finally made the final decision: "Since Mr. Lin knows the thunder method, let's go to the capital together."

By summer, thousands of Taoist priests had gathered in Tokyo.

There are also true Taoists, but most of them are "demons and monsters". After reading a few Taoist books, they claimed that they had learned the secret method. There were even some divine men who pretended to be Taoist priests, just to compete for wealth in front of the emperor.

"Journey to the West" has been sent to the capital, mixed with countless Taoist scriptures.

There are still very few Taoist officials at this time, and it is necessary to wait until autumn before conducting large-scale Taoist official examinations.

Therefore, there were only a few people responsible for sorting out the mountains of Taoist scriptures.

Wang Qizhi is a Taoist priest from Tianqingguan in Kaifeng. He belongs to a living person with little pursuit, but he was recommended by his senior brother to organize the Taoist scriptures.

His immediate boss is a civil servant named Huang Shang, who is sitting there sighing.

Huang Shang is just sixty years old this year. Looking at the Taoist scriptures in the room, he wants to rush into the palace with a knife and hack to death that foolish emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty.

Because not only was he a Jinshi, he was also the number one scholar in Yuanfeng's fifth year!

The dignified Zhuang Yuan Gong was actually sent to sort out the Taoist scriptures. Only Song Huizong could do this.

More than an insult?

He simply kicked people to the ground and stepped on their faces!

In addition to lamenting and resenting, Huang Shang still had to work and read the Taoist scriptures calmly.

While reading, Huang Shang began to doze off.

It’s true that he used to like to practice Taoism, but it was a hobby, and now it has become a heavy job.

There are so many Taoist scriptures collected that I not only have to read them all, but also sort them out and compile them. His career as the number one scholar has been ruined, and he will have to deal with Taoism for the rest of his life.

If Huang Shang really understood the "Nine Yin Manual", his first revenge target would be Song Huizong.

Huang Shang was dozing off, and the other Taoist priests were doing the same thing.

Wang Qizhi had already woken up and opened the "Tao Jing" to continue reading. Annotate while reading, and then attach a note to indicate the type and content of this Taoist scripture.

There was a big pile next to it. He yawned and reached for it, accidentally knocking over most of the scriptures.

Among the piles of scriptures, manuscripts appeared, bound casually with hemp rope.

Codex?

Wang Qizhi suddenly became energetic. Most of the manuscripts were precious Taoist scriptures, and the local Taoist temples retained the originals.

When he took it out and took a look, Wang Qi looked confused.

What the hell is "Journey to the West"?

There were no long novels in the Song Dynasty, so Wang Qizhi was fascinated by it instantly. He had no idea that it was a book about Buddhist scriptures, because the opening chapter had a strong Taoist flavor, followed by a cool story about monkeys.

For several days in a row, Wang Qizhi was doing nothing but swimming at work and reading novels.

It wasn't until Tang Monk appeared that Wang Qizhi realized something was wrong. Why did he become a monk and go to the West to learn Buddhist scriptures?

The further I read, the more confused I became. Is this novel a Buddhist book or a Taoist book?

There are obviously a lot of Taoist terms, but the protagonist is a monk, and Zhu Bajie and Monk Sha seem to be Taoist gods descended to earth. The identity of Sun Wukong is even more ambiguous, including Taoism and Buddhism, as well as the water-controlling needle of the Confucian sage King Dayu.

After reading the entire novel, Wang Qizhi seemed to have some enlightenment.

So I read it again, copied all the poems in it, and compared the plot of the novel to understand the Taoist poems.

Some Taoist poems can be understood as soon as they are understood.

Some Taoist poems sounded like Buddhist verses, and he couldn't understand them no matter how hard he understood them.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt a headache. Taking advantage of a day off, Wang Qizhi went out for a walk with copied Taoist poems.

Looking at the bustling scene on the street, Wang Qizhi's mind became clearer, so he thought of those Taoist poems again and couldn't help but take them out and read them while walking.

"Buddha is the heart. The heart is the Buddha. The heart Buddha has always been an illusion. If you know that there is no Buddha and no mind, then it is really like the Dharmakaya Buddha. The Dharmakaya Buddha has no appearance, but a round light containing all things..."

Wang Qizhi muttered: "This is obviously a Buddhist verse, but it doesn't look like a Taoist poem at all."

Wang Qizhi was tired from walking all the way, so he sat in front of his Tongpen store and read the poem again seriously.

This barrel shop has a front shop and a back shop, and only one cooper is employed.

There was no one other than the boss, so the cooper had to carry out the barrels himself.

After arranging the new wooden barrels, the barrel maker listened to Wang Qizhi reciting the poem repeatedly and couldn't help but said: "This is about Taoist inner alchemy. Of course you, a Taoist priest of outer alchemy, don't understand."

Wang Qizhi turned his head curiously: "How do you, a cooper, know?"

The cooper was too lazy to explain and continued to cooperate in the backyard.

Wang Qizhi hurriedly caught up and grabbed the barrel maker's sleeve: "How do you know it's inner alchemy?"

The cooper still ignored him.

Wang Qizhi continued to pursue him into the inner courtyard and continued to struggle until evening.

The cooper was very patient, worked seriously, and did not take this kind of interruption to heart at all.

In the next few days, Wang Qizhi came every day after get off work.

Gradually, the cooper began to chat with him and even explained the Taoist poems to him.

Finally one day, Wang Qizhi asked: "How come you understand these Taoist poems so thoroughly?"

The cooper couldn't help but said: "Those poems were written by my master Ziyang Zhenren, and somehow they were incorporated into the story! I heard you tell me that "Journey to the West" is a book on inner alchemy practice."

Wang Qizhi bowed respectfully and asked, "Dare you ask for your Taoist name?"

The cooper said: "My name is Xue Daoguang. I live in seclusion in the bustling city of Tokyo, just to cultivate my Taoist heart with the light. You are not allowed to reveal it, otherwise I will have to leave here."

The entire "Journey to the West" quotes six Taoist poems by Zhang Boduan.

And this Xue Daoguang is the disciple of Ziyang Zhenren Zhang Boduan, and one of the founders of the Southern Taoist sect.

Wang Qizhi did not dare to neglect and went back to report Huang Shang.

The next day, Huang Shang came to visit in person, but there was no sign of Xue Daoguang. The Taoist priest had run away overnight.

Although Xue Daoguang did not find it, the Taoist priests responsible for sorting out the Taoist scriptures began to rush to circulate "Journey to the West".

Well, a group of official Taoist priests watched with gusto as Tang Monk obtained scriptures.