White-robed Minister

Chapter 115 0113 [Make the biggest splash with the least amount of money]

Xu Lai was busy for the next few days.

He first contacted officials from the Ministry of Rites to hold a ceremony at Taiping Xingguo Temple, setting up an incense table, placing yellow banners, and reminiscing about the students who had passed the imperial examinations. The official in charge of the ceremony presided over the event, and Xu Lai led all the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) to pay homage to the yellow banners and to pay their respects towards the imperial city (looking towards the palace gates).

You invited the official in charge of etiquette, so you can't let him come for nothing. His trouble fee should be drawn from the collected funds.

Taiping Xingguo Temple waived the venue fee and provided incense tables and incense for free, but it is still necessary to donate a few coins for incense.

Next, Xu Lai was responsible for contacting the abbot of Taiping Xingguo Temple to have the names and hometowns of the fellow Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) engraved on the stele. This stele will be erected in the temple's stele forest.

They also needed to compile a "Collection of Fellow Graduates," similar to a yearbook for those who passed the imperial examinations that year. It would record in detail the name, place of origin, and other information of each graduate.

Information such as third generation and grade A.

Each person made a copy of the "College Record," which was an extremely important personal file and proof of relationships. Even if they didn't see each other for decades and had forgotten each other, they could still reminisce about being classmates by simply taking out this book.

Even descendants can use it to foster friendship.

Since there will be no celebratory banquet this year, Xu Lai has to come up with something special to create a collective memory for the fellow graduates.

If you can't worship a king, then worship a teacher!

Therefore, Xu Lai decided to reinstate the vegetable offering ceremony.

What is the "Shicai Li" (释菜礼) ceremony?

In the pre-Qin period, scholars had to present meat as a gift when they met the king, but they could present vegetables as a gift when they paid homage to their former teacher (not necessarily Confucius).

Vegetables are cheap.

Wild vegetables like "ping" and "cai" are actually just wormwood and white wormwood; you can gather a lot of them in the wild.

Using vegetables as sacrificial offerings signifies that our pursuit of education and officialdom is not for personal enjoyment, but for the sake of our country and its people.

For example, "eating apples" is a metaphor for scholars who uphold high ideals and do not covet official rank or wealth.

The ritual of offering vegetables to the hungry ghosts was discontinued in the Han Dynasty and was not revived until the Tang Dynasty, when it was mixed with the ritual of offering sacrifices to the gods.

From the late Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, the ritual of offering sacrifices to Buddha was no longer mentioned.

This ritual had been abandoned for so long that even the officials in charge of rites in the Song Dynasty were confused about it.

At another banquet for the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), the students who had gone to consult materials and ask scholars gathered together to summarize the information they had learned from each other.

The Book of Songs, in the poem "Pan Shui" from the Lu section, says: "I think of the joy of Pan Shui, and lightly gather its celery." Water celery is a must, as it symbolizes diligent students.

"Yes, Zheng Xuan's commentary on the 'Record of Learning' in the Book of Rites also says: 'Offering vegetables is a way to pay homage to the former sages and teachers. Vegetables refer to celery and algae. It's not just water celery, but also algae.'"

"Algae are the genus *Amaranthus*, which are now various kinds of wild wormwood. These kinds of wild vegetables are used as a metaphor for noble character."

"Dates and chestnuts are also needed, symbolizing setting one's goals early. I found this by asking a friend to check the Confucian section of the New Book of Tang. Tang Dynasty sacrifices included dates and chestnuts."

"I think we should also use turnips. Although it's not mentioned in classical texts, 'turnip' means elite."

'

The newly appointed scholars were all very enthusiastic about this matter, each offering their own opinion.

There was no other way; since the court didn't value us, we had to stand up for ourselves. If we couldn't pay homage to the emperor at the Wenxi Banquet, then we would resume the practice of offering sacrifices to the ancestors.

Moreover, Xu Sanlang was particularly good at deceiving people, saying that this was an ancient ritual from the pre-Qin period, and that it was also used in the Tang Dynasty.

The restoration of the vegetable offering ceremony carries two major spiritual sustenances.

First, we remember the ancient sages; second, we admire the glorious Tang Dynasty.

Even middle-aged people like Zhang, who are almost 40 and have been officials for many years, were completely convinced by Xu Lai's words and became very enthusiastic about promoting the restoration of the vegetable offering ceremony.

The offerings are easy to decide, but what about the music?

Zhang Shunmin raised a crucial question: "What music should we use? What deity should we worship? Confucius is now the Supreme Sage and King of Literature."

The scholars frowned and remained silent.

If you are only worshipping your ancestors, you can certainly use only vegetables for the sacrifice.

But Confucius is no longer a poor, penniless teacher. He's a prince now, and he needs to be worshipped with meat!

If meat is used to sacrifice to Confucius, can it still be called the ritual of offering vegetables?

Xu Lai said, "We only worship our former teacher Confucius, not the King Wenxuan Confucius."

17

"I'm afraid we'll have to consult His Majesty and the Ministry of Rites about this," Liao Zhenggu reminded him.

"I've come to request permission!" Xu said.

With the Ministry of Personnel delaying the appointments, Xu Lai was bored and spent his days planning various events for the imperial examinations. He had plenty of time to mess around.

"What is he up to now?" Han Qi asked, her face displeased, already regarding Xu Lai as a troublemaker.

Normally things are fine, but now there's the threat from the Western Xia border.

Shen Kuo has been busy lately, overseeing the production of improved telescopes and hot air balloons. Every mid- to high-ranking military officer in the Northwest Frontier Army must be equipped with a telescope, and key cities, fortresses, and troops must be equipped with hot air balloons.

Ouyang Xiu handed over the memorial, saying, "You can see for yourself; I can't refute it anyway."

The contents of the memorial were quite explosive.

He first said that he and his group of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) intended to revive the Shicai ritual of the pre-Qin and Tang dynasties, and then said that this Shicai ritual could not be used to worship Confucius, the King of Literature.

The text then discusses how Confucius's claim to the throne constituted usurpation.

Confucius revered the Zhou royal family throughout his life, and wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals to instill fear in rebellious ministers and traitors. Whenever a feudal lord dared to usurp the title of king, Confucius would punish him in the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Isn't it an insult to Confucius that later generations bestowed upon him the title of king? It turns Confucius into the very thing they hated most!

Then Xu Lai added that all the statues of Confucius should be destroyed and replaced with wooden memorial tablets. Statues are a bad habit brought from Buddhism, and Taoism has followed suit blindly, somehow polluting Confucianism.

Does anyone know what Confucius looked like?

Portraits are all painted by later generations; turning them into statues only exacerbates the discrepancy. If the statue doesn't resemble Confucius at all, then it's not Confucius at all, and we've been worshipping the wrong person.

The text is rich in classical allusions and its arguments are rigorous; Han Qi was left speechless after reading it.

Such matters involved etiquette and law, and even if Han Qi were arrogant, he wouldn't dare handle them privately. He had no choice but to take them to the emperor.

After reading Xu Lai's memorial, Zhao Shu felt that it made a lot of sense.

The problem is that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang already bestowed the title of king upon Confucius, and Emperor Zhenzong of Song added the prefix "Supreme Sage." Now, stripping Confucius of his royal title would be a slap in the face to Emperor Zhenzong.

"This Xu Lai—" Zhao Shu hesitated for a moment before saying, "This Xu Lai is quite knowledgeable about the Book of Rites. What does Mr. Han think?"

Han Qi suggested, "We can put this matter aside for now and allow them to worship only Confucius. During the sacrifices, they don't need to worship the spirit tablet of the Sage King Wenxuan."

Han Xianggong is trying to smooth things over again.

"That's the only way," Zhao Shu said, adopting the suggestion.

It's tough being an emperor and his ministers too.

To acknowledge Confucius as the Sage and King of Literature is to insult Confucius.

To deny that Confucius was the Supreme Sage and King of Literature is to deny Emperor Zhenzong of Song.

Let's just leave it at that and not discuss it further.

The newly appointed scholars, who received a swift reply from the imperial court, felt as if they had won a great victory.

They actually convinced the emperor to only pay homage to Confucius during the ritual of offering vegetables.

This is an honor for all the Jinshi graduates of the same cohort!

They did not pay thanksgiving money, nor did they contribute money themselves. They restored the ritual of offering vegetables, and they only needed to worship their former teacher, not King Wenxuan.

They were unlike any other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

So what if they don't take the palace examination or hold a celebratory banquet? Those missing things only make them stand out from the crowd.

Plates of vegetables, dates, chestnuts, beans, and soybeans were served to the shrine of Confucius. This was the most meager offering in over a thousand years since the founding of the Western Han Dynasty. It was even more meager than the offerings of the Tang Dynasty, which also used meat.

But the more shabby their attire, the more proud the newly appointed scholars became.

Because that's how true ancient rituals are!

All the successful candidates present were orthodox scholars who respected ancient rites.

Among the Jinshi graduates of the same cohort, Zhang was the oldest and most experienced. As he joined the others in the worship ceremony, watching Xu Lai leading the prayers, a complex mix of emotions welled up within him.

Zhang Tai knew exactly what Xu Lai was up to.

This top scholar is vying for the right to speak on the worship of Confucius.

Furthermore, by restoring the ritual of releasing vegetables, he solidified his position among the officials of the Song Dynasty and, incidentally, united all the fellow graduates.

It saves you money!

Zhang had never seen such a cost-effective sacrificial ceremony.

There was no wine, no meat.

Just a bunch of wild vegetables, dates, chestnuts, and beans. Oh, and some water.

The music is also extremely simple.

Even more strangely, this meager sacrificial ceremony was actually the most in line with ancient rites and the most fitting to Confucius's life. Therefore, the scholars were not ashamed, but rather took pride in it.

Zhang recalled Xu Lai's audacious move of requesting the cancellation of Xie Enyin's request, which was strikingly similar to the current situation with Shi Caili.

The goal is to achieve the objective at the lowest possible cost, while also uniting everyone in the process.

Several days later, the Ministry of Personnel was finally going to appoint officials.

The banquet and outing activities for the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) thus came to an end.

Of the two thousand strings of cash (省陌) bestowed by the emperor, several dozen strings (足陌) remained. The remaining money was used to buy calligraphy brushes, which were then distributed to everyone as souvenirs.

Two banquets, one food offering ceremony, one Yellow Armor worship ceremony, plus an outing and poetry gathering, all cost less than nine strings of cash per person on average.

This also included payment for the hard work of the officials in charge of ceremonies and musicians, as well as donations for incense offerings to temples.

Oh, and there's also the inscription and the erection of a monument.

Many scholars from wealthy families could hardly imagine how they could still have money left over.

How did you save the money?

Only Yang Shu and a few others knew that Xu Lai was constantly haggling, and Yu Shanyuan was also secretly helping him, hoping for a discount no matter what he bought.

To save money, Xu Lai even left a piece of calligraphy for Taiping Xingguo Temple.

But no matter how meager this gathering was, everyone will remember it vividly. Even decades from now, everyone will surely remember the ceremony of releasing vegetables for the successful candidates in the imperial examinations of the second year of the Zhiping era.

Not only that, they also alarmed bystanders.

During this period, teachers and students at the Imperial Academy and the Kaifeng Prefectural School frequently discussed the ritual of offering sacrifices to the gods. Some advocated that schools should also perform this ritual, as it would not waste money, would respect ancient rites, and would also reflect the nobility of scholars.

The problem is that Xu Lai and his group had the emperor's approval, and the Imperial Academy and Kaifeng Prefectural School couldn't act recklessly either.

If you want to perform the Sacrifice Ceremony, you must only worship the Former Teacher, not the Holy King Wenxuan!

Therefore, the focus of discussion among teachers and students quickly shifted from the ritual of releasing vegetables to the bestowal of titles upon Confucius. Almost every day, teachers and students would argue heatedly.

The debate at the school gradually spread to Shilin.

Officials were also discussing privately whether or not Confucius should be stripped of his title of king.

This kind of topic couldn't yield any results, so the discussion became very heated. Neither side could convince the other.

The more controversy there was, the more renowned Xu Lai became.

In the spring of the second year of the Zhiping era, Xu Lai was undoubtedly a prominent figure in Tokyo. No top scholar had ever stirred up so much trouble.

As he emerged from the Ministry of Personnel, Xu Lai asked, "What official position are you?"

"I'm on trial as a county lieutenant, but I haven't been given any actual duties yet," Yang Shu said.

Yang Shu was a fourth-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), so he did not need to wait a full year before being given an official position.

However, it is difficult to obtain a real position immediately; it may take three to five months, or even seven to eight months.

"And yours? The top scholar was supposed to be granted an official post immediately, right?" Yang Shu asked.

Xu Lai looked up at the sky: "I've been transferred out."