Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

Grandma glanced at Fu Guojin worriedly. Fu Guojin shook his head slightly. After Fu Yuan finished his meal and returned to his room, he whispered, "I'm afraid Erxiao is missing his parents and sister."

Grandma Tian Yicai sighed and said, "Baogui and his wife are the same. They only come back once a year, and Xiaorong hasn't been home for three years... Xiaorong is ten years old this year, right? I wonder if she still remembers us two old people, or even her own brother..."

Fu Guojin lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and said, "I'll call tomorrow and ask Baogui to bring Xiaorong back for the New Year no matter what!"

"Alright."

……

On the other side, Fu Yuan returned to the room, lit the kerosene lamp, picked up an old book and spread it out in front of him.

My grandmother worked as a boiler in a paper mill. The mill had a warehouse dedicated to storing old books, scrap paper, and cardboard boxes. It was filled with waste paper waiting to be soaked and crushed into pulp, but for children, it was a treasure trove.

Many children like to look for treasures in it. If they occasionally find a nice comic book, they can be happy for the whole day. Even if they find a blank notebook or notepad, they will happily put it away.

Fu Yuan is no exception, he likes to find books.

There was no TV at home, so these books became his only way to kill time. A Xinhua Dictionary he picked up explained very well how he, a six-year-old child, learned to read.

Fortunately, the Fu Guojins had been farmers their entire lives, and had only attended literacy classes for a few days when they were young. They thought it was normal for a six-year-old to learn to read on his own, holding a Xinhua Dictionary. They simply boasted to others that their grandson was well-behaved and smart...

For some reason, Fu Yuan was particularly sensitive to the word "qi" tonight.

When he saw the word "gutiment", he couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with "qi"?

Old man Liu said that everyone is born with Qi. Is "gutiness" one of them?

What about arrogance?

Integrity? Arrogance? Dominance?

Joyful and cheerful, what kind of Qi is “joyful and cheerful”?

Heroes are short of breath. Could this "qi" be "heart qi"? Is heart qi also a kind of qi?

Is discouragement a loss of Qi? If a person is "discouraged," it can indeed be seen from their appearance. Does this count as a loss of Qi? Is it a form of Qi movement?

Every time he saw a word with "qi", Fu Yuan couldn't help but associate it with Qi and think about the relationship between the word and Qi.

But he still couldn't sense any Qi in his body... He did feel "discouraged".

After an unknown amount of time, Fu Yuan simply closed the book, blew out the oil lamp, covered his forehead, and fell headfirst onto the bed.

If you say "air", the first thing that comes to Fu Yuan's mind is a mixture of atmosphere, the main components of which are helium, oxygen, nitrogen dioxide, rare gases, water vapor, etc.

In addition, Fu Yuan has a concrete impression of natural gas, coal gas, etc. Even if he doesn't know the composition, he knows that these gases are real, observable, and testable.

But when it comes to words like "arrogance", "momentum", "spirit", "joy", and "magnificent", Fu Yuan can clearly understand the meaning, but he can't form an intuitive impression in his mind... These things cannot be described at all!

For example, what is "joy"? What is it made of? Does it exist? If so, what is its molecular structure? What does it smell like?

Even if it doesn't exist, "joyful" is a word every Chinese person knows, and it's a state of mind that everyone who understands it is aware of...

That's where the conflict lies!

In his previous life, Fu Yuan had never thought about this kind of question, but now, after careful consideration, he found that many ancient Chinese poems with the word "qi" are things that cannot be described specifically.

On the contrary, the translated words that came after the rise of science, which contain "qi", can all describe specific molecular structures...

So the ancient culture's understanding of the world is actually a different system from science?

Putting aside other questions, what is the world made of?

From a scientific point of view, the world is made up of various substances, and the smallest units of matter are molecules and atoms... In the future, neutrons, protons, quarks... It seems that there will never be an end.

But according to ancient culture, "Heaven and earth were created by primordial qi, and all things were created by heaven and earth", or "All things are born from primordial qi"...

Compared with the endless science, the "Qi Theory" can explain things more clearly.

Fu Yuan spread out his hands, lay on the mat, and stared at the roof. He seemed to understand why he could not sense the existence of Qi!

It all stems from a clash of ideas.

In Fu Yuan's opinion, as long as it is matter, it can be continuously divided, even if it is divided to the atomic level, it can still be divided!

What is divided into matter is still matter, no matter how small, even quarks, it is still matter and can still be divided further...

As long as it exists, it is matter. For example, oxygen is composed of oxygen atoms. This is a scientific concept.

But does "vital energy" really exist? It cannot be observed, it cannot be verified...

To put it bluntly, Fu Yuan couldn't believe it!

If you believe it, there is it; if you don’t believe it, there is none!

This thing is not something you can get by just saying you believe it, but it is a worldview that is cultivated bit by bit through the concepts and realities you have received since childhood, which have been proven time and time again.

Can I really change the fixed ideas I have held for forty or fifty years in my previous life?

Fu Yuan sighed and had a premonition that he would not be able to make any progress in his practice in the next seven days.

Even if you practice for seven years, don't think about changing your inherent ideas... This is not stubbornness, nor is it obstinacy, but for Fu Junyuan, this is the fact!

Unless I could personally feel the existence of "Qi"... But because of my inherent ideas, I couldn't believe in Qi, I couldn't feel Qi...

Well, it’s a vicious cycle!

Fu Yuan let out a long breath, sighed and closed his eyes.

Anyway, we’ll know after practicing tomorrow.

At worst, I’ll put it in the furnace later!

Chapter 3 Unable to Get Started

The next morning, Fu Yuan had breakfast and went to Old Man Liu's house.

Old Man Liu was strolling around the yard. When he saw Fu Yuan, he took two mulberry branches from the corner of the wall and handed them to Fu Yuan, saying, "Take them and practice with me. Pay attention to your breathing!"

As he spoke, he held one end of the mulberry branch and took a stance. His decisive and efficient actions prevented Fu Yuan from even saying hello.

You can only follow suit.

Old Man Liu was teaching a set of sword techniques, with the mulberry stick acting as the sword in his hand. His movements were slow and leisurely, as he continued to say, "Hu... stop, press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, inhale... stop, flatten your tongue, hu... pay attention, breathe from your lungs, use your lungs to generate power..."

The breathing is coordinated with the movements, which is very rhythmic.

After completing a set of sword techniques, Old Man Liu stood aside, staring at Fu Yuan and said, "Practice it yourself and see how much you remember. I'll be there to give you some pointers."

Fu Yuan didn't say much, he just coordinated his breathing and started practicing.

After finishing the sword technique, Fu Yuan looked at Old Man Liu and saw that he was full of surprise. He asked, "You memorized it after just one try?"

Fu Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll make a note of it."

"You have a good understanding." Old Man Liu couldn't help but praise him and asked, "Did you feel anything?"

The tone seemed a little urgent.

Fu Yuan felt it carefully and said, "My body seems to be a little hot..."

Old Man Liu's cheeks twitched, and he said unhappily, "You just run a few steps and not only do you get hot, you also sweat... I'm asking if you can sense the Qi in your body?"

Fu Yuan shook his head. He really didn't know what Qi felt like.

"Ugh……"

Old Man Liu sighed, dropped the mulberry stick, and sat down to the side. He said, "I've taught you everything. Go back and practice. If you can achieve something within seven days and sense the Qi, come back."

Fu Yuan didn't leave in a hurry. Instead, he practiced twice more. After consolidating his skills, he approached Old Man Liu and asked, "Grandpa Liu, what's the name of this sword technique?"

"There's no name for something that's introductory."

Old Man Liu's tone was no longer urgent, but rather disappointing. He said, "What kind of swordsmanship is this? Some sects coordinate their breathing while forging iron. Could it be the movements of forging iron or some kind of hammering technique? Some sects meditate and coordinate their breathing. Does meditation even have a name?"

Whether it is movement or breathing method, the purpose is to make the Qi flow around the body. People can more easily perceive flowing Qi than static Qi.

It's just that the set of movements I taught you, combined with this breathing method, is the most efficient way to circulate Qi within our sect. If you can't even sense the existence of Qi, then you truly have no aptitude at all!"

Fu Yuan asked curiously, "Grandpa Liu, what kind of door is this?"

Old Man Liu said bluntly, "If you haven't entered the sect yet, you have no right to know! Although your sister took a day to learn this set of movements and breathing methods, she also sensed her own Qi within the same day.

Even though you learned it in one go and are smarter than your sister, it's all in vain if you can't sense the Qi. You can't master what we teach."

Even though Fu Yuan was older in his heart, he had predicted this last night and couldn't help showing a look of disappointment at this moment.

Seeing the disappointment on Fu Yuan's face, Old Man Liu didn't know where the anger came from. He waved his hand to drive him away, and his tone became much more harsh: "Get out of here quickly and don't bother me here."

Fu Yuan took a deep breath, bowed to Old Man Liu, and left silently.

After he left, Old Man Liu revealed a complicated expression on his face: "What a shame! What a shame! He can circulate Qi on his own and has such a good understanding...how come he can't sense Qi?

What went wrong? Logically speaking, if one can actively circulate Qi, then one should be able to sense it... Could it be that this guy is lying to me and can actually sense Qi?

No, his Qi is scattered. I can see it clearly. He really can't sense Qi...

That shouldn’t be the case… Let’s wait and see. If I can enter within seven days, it means there is still hope…”

……

When he got home, grandma had already gone to the paper mill and grandpa was waiting for him.

It was such a hot summer and he had to burn the boiler in the paper mill. It was really a torture. Grandma naturally didn't want Fu Yuan to go with her, so in the summer Fu Yuan was taken to the sand and gravel factory by his grandfather Fu Guojin.

Seeing Fu Yuan coming back, Fu Guojin smiled and said, "Let's go to the factory with grandpa."

Fu Yuan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Grandpa, I won't go out today. I'll just stay home, okay?"

Fu Guojin was stunned: "You stay home alone? No way!"

Fu Yuan said earnestly, "I won't run around, I'll just stay at home... I was scared yesterday and don't want to go to the river again."

Fu Guojin was embarrassed and hesitated for a while, but finally agreed. Not only did he repeatedly remind the neighbor, he also went to the next door to ask for help from the mountain lady, and only then did he feel at ease to go out.

As soon as the others left, Fu Yuan found a suitable stick at home and started practicing.

When practicing this set of movements, you need to keep your eyes fixed on the tip of the stick, or the tip of the sword, so you cannot perform it with your bare hands.

……

The sun gradually rose and the temperature rose with it.

Fu Yuan had no idea how many times he had practiced and was sitting at the door to rest, sweating profusely.

This set of movements was slow and not strenuous exercise at all, and the body could handle it, but Fu Yuan felt extremely tired mentally.