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

Henan, Zhangde Prefecture.

Dong Qichang rode a carriage to the excavation site early in the morning. As soon as he left the north gate of Fucheng, he encountered a large number of literati gathering in front of the Hanwang Temple.

This Hanwang Temple is a temple to commemorate Han Qi, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty. It was built during the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty and rebuilt during the Dade period of the Yuan Dynasty. It has been more than 300 years since it was rebuilt.

Anyang has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It was called Yindu during the Shang Dynasty, Yecheng during the Three Kingdoms, and Xiangzhou after the Northern Wei Dynasty. All of them are involved in a lot of historical events. Therefore, there are a lot of cultural relics surrounding the oracle bone excavation site: Hanwang Temple, Tianning Temple, Wenfeng Pagoda, Changdeokfu Chenghuang Temple. If placed hundreds of years later, Cao Cao's tomb Gaoling discovered in the new century will be added here. and Yuan Lin, the tomb of Yuan Shikai, are rich in cultural and tourism resources.

The literati gathered in front of Hanwang Temple today are naturally from the Oracle Bone Society. They are gathering outside Zhangde Mansion, clamoring for some new regulations, either to be sent to the capital or to Kaifeng.

Dong Qichang was the first to dig up oracle bones in Zhangde Prefecture, and he was also the person in charge of the Oracle Bone Society. He was respected by all the literati in the society.

Seeing Dong Qichang's carriage, many people gathered together and invited Dong Qichang to go to the Hanwang Temple for a gathering.

Dong Qichang was confused when he heard this and waved his hands repeatedly.

He has mobilized all the resources he can use, hoping that the oracle bone excavation can get the support of the court, but the scene is still like this. What is the use of such a gathering in the Hanwang Temple?
Dong Qichang only felt that these things were noisy.

Dong Qichang took a car to the village outside Anyang City and entered the farmyard he rented. He first asked Fan Yunlin about the excavations in the past two days, and then shook his head and said: "I have written to the prince to request, but I can't help even if I want to." It’s huge.”

Fan Yunlin asked in confusion: "Didn't Hou Hou just raise a sum of money from Nanjing?"

Dong Qichang couldn't help but smile bitterly: "That money can last for a month at most."

Fan Yunlin was a leisurely character. After he married Xu Yuan, he spent all day singing, playing, and studying gold, stone, and antiques with his wife. After he was admitted to the Jinshi, he only served as an official for eight years. He felt that being an official was too tiring. Last year, he was promoted to the right counselor of Fujian. , this gentleman went home directly instead of taking office. He planned to go home to repair a house, raise a singing prostitute, and live a happy life.

Invited by Dong Qichang to Anyang to be responsible for on-site work, he only focused on spending money and not counting money. Although he knew that using money was tight, he had no idea how far the Oracle Bone Society's operations had reached.

The oracle bone inscriptions in Anyang really touched the hearts of scholars all over the world. Jiao Hong sold part of the books in his Zhuangyuan Building and raised a few hundred taels of silver to send to Anyang. However, compared with the huge investment in the excavation of oracle bones, the money was really small. It can only be considered a drop in the bucket.

Dong Qichang, who actually controls the Oracle Bone Society, has long been anxious to death.

Don't think that after Dong Qichang resigned from office, he devoted himself to landscape and was just an artist. In fact, Dong Qichang was a very experienced politician.

In the past, he had always been able to handle political affairs with ease. He not only maintained his reputation as a celebrity, but also flourished in the political arena. It was not until the emergence of Oracle that his life was thrown into chaos.

Historically, Dong Qichang passed the Jinshi examination in the 17th year of Wanli's reign, and became Zhu Changluo's lecturer within a few years of serving in the Imperial Academy. You must know that the struggle for the country had not yet broken out at that time, and Zhu Changluo, as the eldest son of the emperor, was basically considered the ironclad crown prince. Dong Qichang was so A new scholar became the crown prince's official within a few years, and his promotion speed was as fast as a rocket.

Shortly after Dong Qichang became a lecturer, he fell ill and returned to Songjiang. He used his dual identity as a Beijing official and a calligrapher and painter to create a famous character in the local area, and he lived a good life. Moreover, he did not completely stay away from the court. He came back several times and served as deputy envoy to Huguang, deputy envoy to Fujian, and finally participated in politics in Henan.

You must know that participation in politics in Henan starts from a third-grade official position. For ordinary Jinshi to jump to this level from Hanlin, it will take several years for everything to go smoothly.

Dong Qichang, on the other hand, spent most of his time at home recuperating from illness, and spent his spare time getting promoted step by step.

He only participated in politics in Henan for a year before he returned home again on the pretext of recuperating from illness. This was when Wang Wenlong saw him for the first time.

Dong Qichang's resignation this time was not without purpose. After his resignation, he happened to escape the most intense period of party struggle during the Wanli period, such as the "Struggle for the National Foundation", "The Demon Book Case" and the "Fake King of Chu Case".

If you still don't believe that Dong Qichang is a political genius, you can look at his subsequent operations in original history: after the death of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Changluo, whom Dong Qichang had taught, came to the throne. Dong Qichang immediately came out again and became Taichang Shaoqing and Guozi Siye. Then during the Tianqi period, he rose to the rank of Minister of Rites in Nanjing. After serving for one year, he resigned again and retired. This is already a high-ranking official at the level of minister.

In the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign, he was born again and directly took charge of James Mansion. When the party struggle resumed, he immediately resigned.

Historically, this man spent more time living at home than serving as an official, and his artistic achievements were greater than his political achievements. However, he was able to become a second-rank minister of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing, a powerful prince Zhan Shi, and even received a posthumous title: " Wen Min" and became one of the people with the highest artistic achievements in the Ming Dynasty.

Dong Qichang could not only make friends with the Donglin Party, but also cherish each other's anti-Dongli Party members throughout his life. He was definitely a divine man who used the political wisdom of being wise and self-preserving to the extreme.

But all this is Dong Qichang in the original history, and in this time and space, Dong Qichang encountered the oracle bone inscriptions.

As an epigrapher and a great calligrapher, Dong Qichang's love for oracle bones was genuine, and he really did his best to protect the oracle bones. For this purpose, he not only spent his family's wealth, but also used all his political connections and connections.

People who would have been hard-pressed to ask for help have already asked for help, and there is no place left to protect one's self. Until now, more and more oracle bones have been dug up. I don't know when the end will be, but the family's funds have been nearly exhausted, and there is no room for political activities. It's not big, but no policies have been changed.

He, a political actuary who was originally prudent and self-protective, has almost become exhausted.

Dong Qichang wanted to throw away this mess several times and return to Songjiang to continue living his life as a celebrity. However, every time he saw the baskets of oracle bone inscriptions, he could not let go of his sense of mission to inherit culture, so he could only continue to grit his teeth. Invest.

This is also true that Dong Qichang is still an artist at heart. If it were anyone else, he would have collapsed.

Dong Qichang explained the current operating situation of the Oracle Bone Society and said helplessly: "In the Oracle Bone Society, relying on the scholars' spontaneous support is already a living. It costs money to buy land to discover oracle bones, money to protect oracle bones, and even more money to study oracle bones. All of them are just money." It is impossible to maintain such a life with no investment and no output. I estimate that in another year at most, not only will my family assets be emptied, but the Oracle Bone Society will also fall apart."

(End of this chapter)