Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 42 Zhang Fangping's Gift
Of course Lu Beigu knew that, let alone "I want them all", he couldn't choose any of the contents here.

Li Pan said promptly, "Mr. Zhang, Lu Beigu is good at policy essays, but not so good at calligraphy and poetry. He mentioned this on the way here. He heard that Mr. Zhang is particularly good at studying the classics, and he is eager to listen to your teachings."

It doesn’t really matter whether Lu Beigu said this or not.

Zhang Fangping did not show any obvious emotion after hearing this, but he was actually quite happy deep down in his heart. After all, he was famous for his extensive knowledge and strong memory when he was young, and he had a deep understanding of classics.

But even so, it was not realistic for Zhang Fangping to take a few days to explain the scriptures to Lu Beigu.

On the one hand, as the prefect of Chengdu, he was almost the busiest official in the whole of Sichuan; on the other hand, preaching was different from writing letters of recommendation, as he had to bear the greater causal relationship of "teacher and student".

Zhang Fangping recognized Lu Beigu's talent and was willing to help the younger generation, but the political situation was changing suddenly. In fact, deep down, he didn't want Lu Beigu to have any direct involvement with him, so as not to delay his future.

At this moment, Zhao Yan saw Zhang Fangping's concerns and suddenly took the initiative to say, "This boy is sincere. If Mr. Zhang is really busy, I have nothing to do recently and would be willing to teach him poetry for a few days."

The Transport Commissioner's Office is usually particularly busy in the autumn when taxes are collected and accounts are audited.

Zhao Yan had already carried out drastic reforms to the Yizhou Road Transport Commissioner's Office, including simplifying the tax collection process, severely punishing corrupt officials, rectifying the tea policy, etc. Everything had already been systematized.

So although the people were busy during normal times, Zhao Yan, as the transport envoy, had very little time to spare in early summer.

What's more, Zhao Yan is different from Zhang Fangping, he doesn't have those concerns.

"In that case, why don't you stay in Chengdu for a few days? Do you have a place to stay?"

Li Pan quickly said, "I've told the Taoist priest at Qingyang Palace that I'll be staying there for a few days."

Zhang Fangping nodded. Li Pan's arrangement was very much to his liking. He didn't like people who were too high-profile.

Looking at Lu Beigu, Zhang Fangping probably felt a little guilty at this time, so he stood up and rummaged behind him, and brought out a camphorwood book box.

"This set of 'Spring and Autumn Annals: A Brief History of the Emperor' was given to me by Mr. Taishan when I was in Kaifeng. It also contains some of Mr. Taishan's notes, which should be of great help to you in the imperial examinations. So, I'll give it to you."

Mr. Taishan refers to Sun Fu, one of the "Three Masters of the Early Song Dynasty". This great scholar taught in Mount Tai for more than 20 years and founded the Taishan School together with his disciple Shi Jie, who was also one of the "Three Masters of the Early Song Dynasty".

The Taishan School was one of the important schools of thought in the Confucian academic community of the Song Dynasty. Sun Fu and Shi Jie organized the thoughts of Confucian classics and promoted the theories of "respecting the king" and "orthodoxy". They were the most powerful supporters of the Qingli New Deal in the Confucian academic community.

Among them, Sun Fu advocated studying the classics with the method of "not being confused by the commentaries and annotations, and abandoning the commentaries to seek the classics", which directly inspired the Neo-Confucian thinking mode of "distinguishing between righteousness and reason". Shi Jie's explanation of important concepts such as "reason", "qi" and "Taotong" had a great influence on people like Cheng Yi and Cheng Yi, and can be said to have opened the precedent for Neo-Confucianism.

Moreover, as Sun Fu and Shi Jie taught at the Imperial College, the ideas of the Taishan School quickly spread throughout the Confucian academic community of the Song Dynasty, and have now become an important basis for formulating answers to the imperial examinations.

Now that Shi Jie has passed away young and Sun Fu is very old and no longer serves as a lecturer at the Imperial College, this unique set of "Spring and Autumn Annals: Respecting the King" is extremely precious. It not only contains more Sun Fu's own notes than those sold on the market, but is also of great collection value.

Before, Lu Beigu had no money to buy this set of Mo Yi reference books, but now he actually got Sun Fu's handwritten version of "Spring and Autumn Respect for the King".

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang!"

Lu Beigu bowed and quickly took the camphorwood bookcase, which felt very heavy in his hand.

Camphor wood has natural insect-proof and moisture-proof properties, which can effectively protect books from environmental damage. It is second only to nanmu among book box materials. It can be said that this not-so-small book box is already very valuable.

"Open it and take a look." Zhang Fangping said.

Lu Beigu opened the camphorwood bookcase in front of several people. This book storage device has a "five-sided box with a removable lid" structure, which is easy to store and retrieve and has good sealing. It contains twelve volumes of "Spring and Autumn Annals: Respecting Kings" and the edges are reinforced with thin bamboo strips and fastened with belts and tags.

He opened it and flipped through it. The pages were already yellowing, clearly showing its age. The notes were quite profound, and with his current level of knowledge, many of the contents were completely incomprehensible. "It's normal to have some things you don't understand. Just remember one sentence."

Seeing his confusion, Zhang Fangping casually recited, "No one knows the Spring and Autumn Annals better than Mencius. He simply said, 'The completion of the Spring and Autumn Annals made traitors and rebels afraid.' If everyone in the past 242 years had been a traitor and rebel, why would the Emperor, the princes, and the ministers have punished every single person and every single act? Those who delve too deeply into the Spring and Autumn Annals and lose sight of its true purpose are truly returning to the beginning."

Lu Beigu thought about it carefully, and then he understood.

——Where is the Spring and Autumn Period? It's just the Five Dynasties period.

It was precisely because the Song Dynasty was so afraid of the emergence of a world full of traitors and rebels that it attached importance to the Taishan School, which advocated "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians" by Sun Fu and Shi Jie. This is also the reason why the Taishan School's theory of "Spring and Autumn Annals" is used as the standard answer for the imperial examinations today.

"My dear, your suggestion is very insightful. I am grateful for your guidance."

Seeing that he understood, Zhang Fangping waved his hand and said, "Take it back and read it carefully. I have something to discuss with Magistrate Li."

Zhao Yan looked at Lu Beigu. Since Lu Beigu was not an official, his identity did not apply to the "牒" similar to official letters, nor could he use the "犄子" similar to reports.

Therefore, he wrote a Zhang Gong Ping① to Lu Beigu. Compared with the one-time temporary instruction note, this thing has a longer validity period.

Zhao Yan wrote Lu Beigu's name on it, then filled in the reason of "asking for advice", and finally stamped it with his small seal.

"Here," Zhao Yan said, "Take this with you these days. When you have time, come to the South City Transport Commissioner's Office to find me. Don't come today. It's been a while since I've lectured on poetry. I need to find a couple of books to prepare."

Lu Beigu was startled and said with a smile, "Yes."

Carrying a camphorwood bookcase containing the twelve volumes of "Spring and Autumn Annals: Respecting Kings", Lu Beigu walked out of the courtyard on the island in the middle of the lake.

A boatman was already waiting for him at the small pier.

The lake surface is like a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds. Willows sway gently on the shore, and occasionally a bird flies by.

As the boatman rowed the boat, tiny ripples appeared on the lake, spreading out seemingly imperceptibly.

It is very quiet and full of life.

On this small boat that was floating and sinking, Lu Beigu's heart gradually calmed down.

Lu Beigu knew very well that with a very important letter of recommendation and a set of Mr. Taishan's handwritten edition of "Spring and Autumn Annals: Respecting the King", Zhang Fangping had cleared all ties with him.

However, Zhao Yan, the "Iron-faced Censor", was an upright gentleman who only taught him poetry and would not seek any personal gain for him.

Besides, it is hard to say whether this relationship can be considered as teacher-student.

Therefore, Lu Beigu did not become complacent or even arrogant because of his visit to Chengdu with Li Pan and his acquaintance with two high-ranking officials.

Although he has always been in an ivory tower, he is very clear about the rules of how this world works.

What matters in this world is not who he knows, but who he is.

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① Gongpi was a common pass or identity document in the Song Dynasty. It was issued by an official and stated the identity, reason and scope of permission of the holder. Non-official personnel had to carry this document when entering or leaving the government office, otherwise they would be charged with "trespassing".

(End of this chapter)