Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 41 Wang Can
In midsummer, the sun shines through the branches and leaves of the dense forest and dapples on the tree-lined trails.

Xiangyang is backed by Xianshan Mountain, but the city is still some distance away from the mountain. There are countless fields on both sides of the road, and there are villages inhabited. Walking south along the path into the mountain, you can vaguely see a wooden archway standing on the mountain road ahead. It says Xianshan Academy.

Since the year before last, Liu Biao has opened an academy in Jingzhou, recruiting famous scholars, great Confucian scholars, and Confucian scholars. Now there are more than [-] people in the academy, and many talented people have gathered.

The donkey cart drove slowly into Xianshan Mountain and came to the foot of the mountain gate. The guide sent by Liu Biao led them up the steps.

After passing through hundreds of steps, a huge house appeared in front of it. The house looked like a manor, surrounded by walls, with the gate open, and people could vaguely be seen walking inside.

Deng Hong and Shen Chen stepped into the academy. When they first saw a huge courtyard, the cicadas sang in summer, and the courtyard was covered with greenery. The surrounding buildings had cornices, brackets, corridors and pavilions. There was a centuries-old banyan tree standing in the courtyard. In the yard, the trees are lush and the branches are drooping.

After waiting through the courtyard, there is a classroom in front.While passing by, I could see the crowds of people inside. The students inside ranged from teens to 30 years old, shaking their heads and reciting scriptures in a catchy manner.

Going further inside, you can see several other classrooms.But overall, there are not many students. There are only a few to a dozen people in each classroom. There seems to be a gap between the more than [-] people described by Liu Biao.

However, Shen Chen knew that the schools in the Han Dynasty were not compulsory to attend classes, and there was no roll call system. Students came to study on a voluntary basis, and they came and left whenever they wanted.

Even many aristocratic families with relatively solid backgrounds would not send their children to the academy at all.

Because they have their own family education.

For example, Zhuge Xuan did not send Zhuge Liang here to study, but let him stay at home all day, and Zhuge Xuan himself taught him after get off work.

There are also Pang Degong's children Pang Tong Pang Shanmin and others, all follow Pang Degong.

Disciples of other aristocratic families also have collections.

The books in these collections are very precious, because many of them were watched by great Confucian scholars in the Western Han Dynasty, such as "Meng Shiyi" and "Ouyang Shangshu", and many of them are even handed down treasures rather than manuscripts.

Therefore, most of the children from aristocratic families will not come to this kind of academy, and those who come are basically common people or poor families and powerful children without family education.

of course.

The common people here do not refer to those who have no money at home.

It refers to people who have money but no access to learning.

For example, small wealthy merchants, rich peasants, and small landlords in Xiangyang City.

It is almost impossible for the real poor children to come to the academy to study even if they are ambitious.

It's not that Liu Biao doesn't accept it, but that the majority of the poor are already struggling to make a living.

Children as young as four or five years old have to herd cattle and sheep, chop pigweed, dig weeds, fish and shrimp in rivers, and do housework.

When I grow older, I have to work in the fields with my parents, not to mention studying, and I can't even have a moment of leisure.

Shen Chen was able to study because his family was a rich peasant and had a certain amount of land.

The second is because the clan has some books and several elders to lead the way.

Otherwise, unless one majored in Chinese studies specializing in Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty, even if one traveled to the Han Dynasty, it would be almost impossible to learn any useful knowledge with only a smattering of knowledge.

Pass through the front courtyards and you will arrive at the atrium. The courtyard in the atrium is very large, almost the size of two basketball courts, and it is densely packed with bamboo slips.

Bamboo slips are prone to insects after being left for a long time, so they must be taken out to dry in the sun from time to time.

Standing at the gate of the yard, the floor made of bamboo slips is still very magnificent, like a sea of ​​knowledge.

But who knows, so many bamboo slips may add up to hundreds of thousands of kilograms in weight, and the text carried may not be as much as a dozen books.

This is because it was so difficult for ordinary people in the Han Dynasty to acquire knowledge.

There are two people around the letter.

A middle-aged man who looked about forty was sitting kneeling on a mat in the yard, checking every bamboo slip over and over again.

There was also a very short young man in his 20s laying the bamboo slips checked by the middle-aged man neatly on the ground.

The guide was a servant of the State Shepherd's Mansion sent by Liu Biao, who cupped his hands and shouted to the middle-aged man in the courtyard through the sea of ​​bamboo slips: "Mr. Zhongzi."

Song Zhong raised his head, squinting his eyes slightly, he was a little short-sighted due to years of reading, and asked, "Who is it?"

"I am Cheng Zhi, a servant of Liu Shijun's residence."

"Oh, what's the matter?"

"The envoy sent a young man to the academy to study, and said that he told the gentleman about it last year."

"Is that right?"

Song Zhong turned his head to look at the young man beside him.

Although he was only in his forties, Song Zhong's memory was much worse.

The young man thought for a while and said: "There is such a thing. At that time, he was said to be a very smart child, and Mr. Xiang accepted him as a student."

Song Zhong said: "Okay, let him in."

Deng Hong pushed Shen Chen, and Shen Chen looked helplessly at the sea of ​​books, and could only barely find a gap to move over.

Song Zhong and the young man in front stared at him intently, as if they were afraid that he would step on the bamboo slips.

Fortunately, although the sea of ​​bamboo slips is dense, Shen Chen has just turned nine years old this year, and his body is relatively short. He almost caressed about his toes and slowly passed through the various bamboo slips to the opposite side.

When he came to Song Zhong, he cupped his hands and said, "Xiang Ben Shen Chen, I met Mr. Zhong Zi."

Song Zhong looked him up and down, and before he said anything, the young man next to him smiled and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Zhongzi, I will be free from now on."

"What do children know, they have to be taught."

Song Zhong shook his head: "We still have to work hard for Zhongxuan for a few days, and it will be all right after he gets to know him well."

The young man named Zhongxuan smiled wryly, his eyes seemed to be a little helpless at Song Zhong's words, but there was no way, who made him the shortest in stature?

What's more, these bamboo slips, which are regarded as treasures, are indeed treasures in their eyes, so they must be taken care of carefully, and they can't mess around.

Thinking of this, the young man waved to Shen Chen and asked, "Have you ever read?"

Shen Chen seriously replied: "I have read a few books."

"What?"

"The Analects of Confucius, The Book of Changes, and some of the incomplete Zuo Zhuan and Spring and Autumn Annals."

"Know the words?"

"know."

"Okay then, go and get that book."

The young man pointed to the ground not far away.

Shen Chen walked over, carefully rolled up the book, and walked to the young man.

"Can you read?"

asked the young man?

Shen Chen opened it to look.

The official script is the official script in the Han Dynasty.

However, many ancient books are written in the big and small seal scripts of the Qin Dynasty, which are difficult to read.

The book Shen Chen took was an ancient book written in Xiaozhuan, which looked like oracle bone inscriptions. He could only shake his head and say, "I don't understand, I can understand regular script and official script."

The young man looked at Song Zhong even more helplessly.

Song Zhong smiled and said: "You just entered school today, and you have to start with basic education. First go to the backyard to find a place to live. Wen Ze, Wen Ze."

Amid the shouting, another Confucian scholar in his thirties came out from the back room and asked, "What's the matter, Mr. Zhongzi?"

"Take this child to the backyard to settle down."

"it is good."

The one named Wen Ze waved to Shen Chen: "Come here."

Shen Chen looked back at Deng Hong, and Deng Hong also waved to him, motioning for him to follow, then turned and walked towards the house.

After he left, Deng Hong saluted Song Zhong and left.

Song Zhong put down the bamboo slips in his hand, and asked the young man, "Zhongxuan, what do you think of this kid?"

The young man smiled and said, "It's strange. It's normal to understand official script, but there are no classics in regular script. Why would he know?"

Regular script did exist at the end of the Han Dynasty, but it was popular during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. That is to say, it will take several decades before the writing format of books becomes popular in regular script.

In the current time period, AD 195, most of the books that have been handed down are written in popular Qin and Han scripts such as Dazhuan, Xiaozhuan, and Lishu, and there are also a small number of classics left over from the six languages.

Therefore, although the writing of regular script is simpler and more comfortable than official script, there is no regular script in the books on the market.It's like everyone in later generations knows block letters, but you know the oracle bone inscriptions that no one wrote. It's as strange.

Song Zhong thought for a while and said: "Liu Shijun said that this child is very smart, he is a genius child prodigy, regular script is easier to recognize than official script, I must have seen it somewhere."

"Maybe."

The young man nodded: "However, I'm only nine years old and said that he is familiar with "The Analects of Confucius" and "Book of Changes". Why don't I believe it?"

Song Zhong said with a smile: "Believe it or not, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Let's finish drying these books today."

The young man said bitterly, "Okay."

After talking, he started to work hard again. These books are treasures, and they are looted by countless people outside. If they are eaten by insects, let alone Master Song, he will be so angry that even he will feel distressed for several nights.

Over there, Shen Chen followed the man named Wen Ze into the backyard, passed through several corridor arches along the way, passed through the back hall, and entered a long corridor.

On the way, he was curious about the name Wen Ze, and asked, "My name is Shen Chen. Are you Mr. Wen?"

Yu Jin seems to be the rule of words.

The man replied: "My surname is not Wen. My name is Pan Fan. I am named Wen Ze. You can call me Mr. Pan."

"Mr. Pan."

Shen Chen responded, and asked again: "One of the two gentlemen in the yard just now is Mr. Zhong Zi, where is the other?"

Pan Fan laughed and said, "He's Wang Can, have you heard of Shanyang Wang?"

Is he Wang Can, one of the Seven Sons of Jian'an?
Shen Chen was quite surprised.

The seven sons of Jian'an refer to literary achievements, among which Wang Can's poems are unique.

In "Wen Xin Diao Long", Liu Xie believed that Wang Can was the crown of poetry and prose among the seven sons of Jian'an, which shows his knowledge.

Although they were not like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, who were the most dazzling stars at that time.

But their accomplishments in literature are recognized as strong.

So it would be a very good thing for Shen Chen to be able to enter the Xianshan Academy today and learn culture from celebrities such as Wang Can and Song Zhong.

(End of this chapter)