Chapter 163 Is the Scripture Difficult?

After another half an hour of hard work, Yin Siqi followed suit and selected the other class leaders: Fu Wenhan as study committee member, Zhang Sheng as life committee member, and Su Yichen as sports committee member.

After the class leaders are selected, the leadership of the class is basically formed.

"That's right. I hope you can help me manage the class in the future so that we can study and live better."

The students quickly stood up, bent down and said yes.

Gu Jiayue didn't waste any time, took out the textbook and started the first class.

"Okay, let's start the class. As for the test papers, you can go back and discuss them with each other first, and we'll discuss them another day. I'll mainly be responsible for teaching you the sutras. These are the books we need to study for the next six months. Class monitor, organize the people to distribute them."

The entrance examination mainly tests the understanding and mastery of Confucian classics. The Confucian classics include the Four Books (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and Mencius) and the Five Classics (The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals).

Candidates need to have an in-depth understanding of the original texts and annotations of these classics, and be able to analyze, explain and argue according to the requirements of the questions.

For example, the question setter may select a sentence or a point of view from a classic and ask the candidate to discuss it to test the candidate's familiarity with and understanding of the classic.

This is actually similar to the argumentative essays in modern exams. It can also be considered a subjective question.

Before crossing over, Gu Jiayue was a senior Chinese language teacher, and his writing had won several awards. Every year, many of his students graduated with excellent essays. Among them, several had begun writing novels in high school; all were excellent students.

So among the four subjects, Gu Jiayue chose the "Scripture Meaning" which she was most confident in teaching.

Seeing that everyone had received the new textbooks, Gu Jiayue clapped her hands and said loudly, "Okay, in the first class today, we will learn "How to write a good question on the meaning of the scriptures."

"Do you think the sutra interpretation questions are difficult?"

Everyone nodded in unison: "Difficult."

Gu Jiayue nodded. "It's difficult, very difficult. If you find it difficult, then everyone else will find it difficult too. So you're no different from everyone else. But now you have me, and that's the biggest difference."

She made a little joke, and her confidence successfully made everyone laugh.

The classroom atmosphere is very good, which is of great help to her teaching work.

"Let's first examine what makes the interpretation of the sutra difficult. Is it the language barrier? The cultural background knowledge? The differences between the various annotations? The grasp of official standards? Or the depth and innovation of the concept?"

Gu Jiayue used five consecutive questions, successfully getting the students into deep thinking.

"Let's talk about the language barrier first. After listening, think about whether you have the same problem."

The Confucian classics involved in the imperial examinations were written a long time ago. The text in these classics is ancient and difficult to understand, and contains a large number of classical Chinese nouns, function words, and special sentence structures.

For example, many chapters in the Book of Documents are written in a simple and elegant language, and some of the words and phrases are rarely used in our university. Candidates will need to spend considerable time understanding the precise meanings of these words and phrases in order to accurately grasp the meaning of the original text.

The students nodded in agreement.

Yes, absolutely. Every time they learned new material, they were truly overwhelmed by those unfamiliar characters. Furthermore, each teacher had their own interpretation of different rare characters. For aristocratic children like them, who studied in academies and had private tutors at home, it was even more confusing because the two teachers taught them differently.

"Okay, let's talk about cultural background knowledge next.

The content of the classics contains the complex cultural background and historical allusions of the time. Take the Spring and Autumn Annals, for example. It is not just a simple chronicle, but also reflects the ritual system, patriarchal clan concepts, and the complex relationships between various vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty.

In order to understand the profound meaning behind the text, candidates must be familiar with the political structure of the Spring and Autumn Period, the customs and culture of various countries, and the inheritance of the patriarchal system.

Let's look at the record of "Duke Zheng defeats Duke Duan in Yan." If students don't understand Zheng's system of succession and the ethical values ​​of the time, it will be difficult to appreciate the description of the complex emotions and political struggle between Duke Zhuang of Zheng and his brother Gong Shuduan.

Gu Jiayue had just said two points when the students nodded their heads like chicks pecking at rice.

Yes, yes, yes, absolutely right.

This group of people basically started studying at the age of six or seven, and have been studying for more than ten years now. Although they can't say that they can recite the Four Books and Five Classics by heart, they are familiar with them. Some students can even recite most of the content.

However, being able to read and recite is one thing, and understanding it is another. Often a sentence contains several allusions and stories, and it is really difficult to understand them all.

.........

Gu Jiayue continued to explain the remaining difficulties, and all the students in the classroom regarded her as a close friend with red eyes.

A word can wake people up from their dreams. That’s what they are like!

It’s not that they are stupid, but the contents of the Four Books and Five Classics are too complicated. I wonder if they can really understand them all.

Gu Jiayue smiled and calmed the excited students. "Okay, now that we've discussed the difficulties and pain points, do you want to know how to solve them?"

"think!"

Gu Jiayue slapped the table. "Type the word 'want' on the public channel... No, shout it out loud~~~"

Sorry, I said splits.

Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs. "Think!"

Suddenly everyone yelled, which scared Gu Yuhe and Zhang Chuyan who were sitting next to each other.

Gu Yuhe poked Zhang Chuyan's arm. "What's Second Sister doing next door? One person is crying and the next is laughing?"

Zhang Chuyan first glanced at Jiang Luli on the podium, then shook his head cautiously.

Seeing that Zhang Chuyan didn't want to pay attention to him, Gu Yuhe lay on the table in pain. Studying is so tiring, it's not fun at all.

Especially since there are only him and Zhang Chuyan in his class, he can't even be lazy.

The teacher knows what he does down there.

"Gu Yuhe!"

You see, he only lay there for three seconds and Jiang Shanchang discovered him.

Jiang Luli raised his eyebrows and said, "Stand at the back."

Born from the same parents, how could Gu Yuhe be so dumb? He couldn't even compare to a finger of Gu Jiayue's. It was really embarrassing for Gu Jiayue.

No, he had to be even stricter with Gu Yuhe. He couldn't expect him to be as good as Gu Jiayue from Great Wall, but at least he couldn't be too bad, right? Otherwise, how would people look at Gu Jiayue in the future? They would say that she, a headmaster at such a great age, couldn't even educate her own brother?

Gu Yuhe didn't know that his future would be filled with misery. Instead, he stretched his neck to listen to what was happening next door.

What's next door? Class, of course.

"Okay, let's open the first page of the textbook. To answer a question on the meaning of the sutra well, we need to pay attention to the following key elements. First, clarify the argument, second, choose appropriate evidence, third, arrange the argument structure reasonably, and fourth, pay attention to the language expression."

“How do we clarify our argument? Before that, we must understand the importance of the argument.

The thesis is the core of a Confucian essay, serving as a guiding principle for the entire essay. A clear, precise, and meaningful thesis allows the examiner to quickly grasp the candidate's position and intentions. For example, "To learn and practice it from time to time, is it not a joy?" What is the thesis? Is it the joy that comes from reviewing what you have learned? Or is it the multifaceted meaning of "learning" in Confucianism and the multifaceted meaning of "practicing" that encompasses practice and rehearsal? And what values ​​underlie this joy?

Gu Jiayue spoke very slowly. She was used to giving many examples when explaining a knowledge point to help students understand.

The textbook only gives a rough outline of the content, more like an outline, and is different from ordinary textbooks in modern and ancient times.

This was also something Gu Jiayue had considered carefully.

The twenty-nine students she taught were not mere idiots; she couldn't simply chew up rice and feed it to them. More importantly, she guided and inspired them, allowing them to learn to think for themselves.

She wanted to teach them skills, not restrict their imagination and thinking. The ancient imperial examinations were not like modern exam-oriented education. They valued the examinees' thinking and pragmatism.

But as long as it is an exam, there are rules.

“Now that we know what an argument is, how do we make one?

First, we must carefully study the title text. Carefully analyze the key words within the title. For example, if the title is "A Gentleman is Broadly Learned in Literature and Contains Etiquette," the key words here are "gentleman," "Broadly Learned," "Literature," "Contains Etiquette," and "Etiquette." We then need to deeply consider the meaning of each key word. For example, "Broadly Learned" refers not only to a broad range of knowledge but also to the scope, depth, and purpose of learning; "Etiquette" encompasses ancient rituals, ethical norms, and other aspects. By analyzing these key words, we can refine our argument from the perspective of how a gentleman cultivates his or her moral character through the acquisition of knowledge and adherence to etiquette.

We also need to understand sentence structure and logical relationships. When taking exams, pay attention to the structure of the sentences in the questions, whether they are causal, parallel, or progressive. For example, if the question is "Learning without thinking is confusing; thinking without learning is dangerous," this is a parallel and contrasting relationship. This can be used to extract the argument: learning and thinking complement each other, neither of which can be achieved without the other. Properly managing the relationship between the two is crucial for effectively acquiring knowledge and avoiding confusion or doubt.

..........

At this moment, everyone forgot that the person standing on the stage and talking was a girl of only sixteen years old.

They were already impressed by her knowledge, and now they had only one thought in their mind: they hated that they only had two hands and that their writing speed could not keep up with Gu Jiayue's lecturing speed.

Sometimes they would raise their hands to ask questions when they didn't understand something, but no matter what questions they asked, Director Gu would always give meaningful answers and provide examples that would make them easier to understand.

This is a remarkable woman!

“Ding ding ding…”

Gu Jiayue was talking until her mouth was dry when a bell rang.

She breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over. Teaching them was much more tiring than teaching the introductory class. Fortunately, she hadn't let herself get carried away and hadn't stopped studying during this time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to answer their questions.

These students are not simple.

I have to study harder and prepare lessons when I get back, and I must not embarrass myself.

"Okay, that's all for this morning's class. I'll give you a problem now. Go back and write it and give it to the study committee member tomorrow. The study committee member will then hand it in to me during class tomorrow."

Please write an essay of no less than 1,000 words on the topic "Why should the king talk about profit? There is also benevolence and righteousness." from the "Mencius: Liang Hui Wang Shang" section. Do you understand?"

"I heard it."

Gu Jiayue nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, let's go home from school then."

"Farewell, Master!"

This time, everyone sincerely paid their respects to Gu Jiayue as a disciple.