History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 195 Giving a Lesson to Yuan Ru

When the three brothers, Wei Mao and Wei Zhe, returned to Yinianli, they encountered the procession of the two princes. The three brothers bowed and gave way, and Wei Mao asked, "Is that the Prince of Qinghe?"

Wei Bao: "Yes, I've never seen the one next to him before either. I wonder which royal prince he is."

Wei Jin guessed, "It might be Yuan Ye, who hasn't been granted a title yet. Everyone says Yuan Ye is weak and prone to illness. If you encounter him in the future, Third Brother, be sure not to get into a conflict with this Seventh Prince."

"Yes."

It wasn't that Wei Mao had become more obedient; it was because he got into a fight outside the city, which resulted in both of his elder brothers being injured. That's why he agreed to whatever his brothers said.

Upon entering the mansion, Wei Bao asked the gatekeeper, "Has my father returned home these past few days?"

"The Vice Minister did not return to his residence, but sent someone to deliver a message to the mistress."

Wei Bao smiled at his third brother. He knew without a doubt that the letter was full of instructions for his third brother to hunt more and read more books. The brothers entered the inner courtyard, where Lu Luo was instructing the servants to arrange the bonsai in the yard. When Wei Mao saw that all the bonsai had been replaced with his favorite pomegranate trees, he finally smiled and snatched a watering can from a servant to water the trees.

Lu Luo exclaimed "Ouch!" and asked, "Did you fight?"

Wei Bao and Wei Jin both laughed. One said, "Mother, don't worry, we won." The other said, "It's so good to go out with my third brother. We finally had a good fight."

Lu Luo said, "Minor skirmishes are fine, but you should know the situation in the capital. Don't provoke those you shouldn't, and don't bully ordinary people, understand? Wei Mao—"

"I understand, Mother, don't worry." Wei Mao turned around and agreed, then continued watering the pomegranate tree.

Lu Luo instructed her eldest son: "Go to Songlin Villa and ask Steward Lu which disciples you need to see this month. Your father won't be back for the time being, so it's a good opportunity for you to learn how to do things."

Wei Bao left happily.

Then Lu Luo asked her second son, Wei Jin, "Tell me, where did the fight take place, and why did it start?"

"This morning we left the parade ground, intending to take my third brother to visit Mangshan. On the way, we met a group of warriors who were going to Mangshan to hunt. They took the initiative to talk to us. Their surname was He, and they lived in Wenyi Lane in the north of the city. According to them, they had only moved to Luoyang not long ago and originally lived in Wuchuan Town."

"The He family also watched the Imperial Guards practice throwing halberds and swords at the parade ground, and they boasted that in Wuchuan Town, the town's soldiers knew real kung fu for life and never used such fancy sword-throwing techniques."

"Third brother couldn't stand it and rebuked them... Well, the garrison soldiers should be proud of their skills! Have you ever been on the battlefield? Have you ever fought the enemy to the death? You haven't done anything yet, but you shamelessly belittle the Imperial Guards. At first glance, it seems like you're standing up for the garrison soldiers, but in reality, you're just bringing trouble upon them!"

"Then a fight broke out."

“Mother, I know that my third brother has not only been to Wuchuan Town, but also to the even more distant Junji Mountain. He has even participated in a real military exercise, and he almost lost his life in it! One thrilling experience is better than years of growing up in a comfortable environment. Mother, I want to travel. I want to see how the people outside of Sizhou and the big cities live!”

"I want to know just how hard life is! Please grant my wish, Mother! If things continue to be comfortable, I fear I will lose even the last bit of courage I have left."

Wei Mao came over and patted his second brother on the shoulder encouragingly: "A young man should dare to venture out!"

Lu Luo kicked Wei Mao, sending him staggering, and cursed, "You lads, you lads, you lads, as if having more spouts would pierce the sky! Without me giving birth to you, you brothers would still be nothing but three strands of farts!"

Wei Bao was eager to learn how to do things, so he hurried to the Pine Forest Villa and left in a hurry. Not long after he left, Wei Yao and her family returned. They were short on time today and hadn't chosen a house yet, so they arranged with the broker to go see a house the day after tomorrow.

The following afternoon, Wei Yao remembered the little boy she had met that day, and suggested to her parents that they go for a stroll in the orchard. The birdsong and fragrant flowers were truly refreshing. After spreading out a felt mat, Wei Yin and his wife, feeling childlike, picked up fallen fruit nearby, while Wei Yao slowly began to recite aloud.

Yuan Yu arrived, and upon seeing Wei Yao from afar, he instructed the warriors to stop where they were and not to follow him any further.

"You're studying too?" Yuan Heng showed Wei Yao the poem in his hand and asked, "Have you studied this poem before?"

Wei Yao recognized the poem as "Drumming" from the "Bei Feng" section of the Book of Songs and said, "I have learned it."

Yuan Heng: "The explanation of the preface to this poem is so complicated. My teacher explained it twice yesterday. I pretended to understand, but I didn't. Could you explain it to me? Speak slowly, very slowly, and maybe I will be able to understand."

Wei Yao smiled and nodded, saying, "The preface recounts events that occurred during the reign of Duke Shang of Song. This explanation mentions a record in an ancient book. Do you know what that ancient book is called?"

Yuan Heng: "I know this one. It's called 'Spring and Autumn Annals Commentary,' which is an ancient work that supplements and extends the 'Spring and Autumn Annals.'"

"Did the Master tell you which version of the Spring and Autumn Annals this account comes from?"

"No."

"This comes from the Zuo Zhuan, also known as the Zuo Shi Chunqiu. I will now tell you this story in plain language."

"Great! Great!" Yuan Ru clapped his hands happily; he loved listening to stories.

Wei Yao first drew several circles on the ground, and wrote the names of the vassal states such as "Lu, Wei, Song, and Zheng" in the circles. He then used a stick to point out the circle representing "Lu" and began to tell the story: "In the spring of the fourth year of Duke Yin of Lu, which was also the sixteenth year of Duke Huan of Wei, in the second month of that year, Duke Huan of Wei's younger brother, Zhou Yu, murdered Duke Huan of Wei and became the ruler himself. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too. From then on, the evil habit of murdering the ruler and seizing power began in the state of Wei."

“Look at the first sentence of the preface, ‘The Drumming is a lament for Zhou Yu.’ Why did the people lament for Zhou Yu? First, they lamented that Zhou Yu murdered the ruler; second, they lamented that Zhou Yu ruled with tyranny. Let’s go back to the records in the Spring and Autumn Annals. Originally, Duke Yin of Lu and Duke Shang of Song…”

An hour passed as Wei Yao vividly recounted her story. Yuan Heng finally grasped the analysis and hidden meaning of the poem's preface. Once one understanding dawned, everything else clicked. Rereading the poem "Drumming," the emotions he hadn't understood before suddenly became clear, like a mountain path leading to a serendipitous conclusion!
"My dear student, you really are very good at your studies! You are even better than our teacher!"

Wei Yao quickly waved her hand: "No, no, I just happened to find a way to teach you."

She drew a water jug ​​and a watering can on the ground, with the jug's belly twice as round and large as the can's belly, and then drew a seedling in the lower middle of the jug and the can.

Wei Yao explained to the child: "I'll use the jar as a metaphor for your teacher, the seedlings as a metaphor for you, and the flowerpot as a metaphor for me. You see, your teacher possesses far more knowledge than I do, but when he teaches you, it's like a torrent, overwhelming you. You can't absorb all of it at once, and you're swept away, unable to distinguish the key points, so of course you can't remember them. But when I teach you, little by little, even though I only explain this much in an hour, you remember it all."

"If you write a little down today and a little down tomorrow, it adds up to quite a lot over a month!"

Yuan Heng was thrilled: "Yes, and what you said was very interesting. I didn't get sleepy while listening."

“Isn’t the purpose of lecturing to make the listeners understand and willing to continue listening?” Wei Yao smiled broadly.

After returning to his residence, Yuan Yu wrote down what he had learned that afternoon in his notes, and attached a large water jug, a small flower pot, and a small seedling, which he then handed to a warrior to deliver to the palace.

(End of this chapter)