Today, the tutor has been replaced by Cao Jinghong, a gentle young man.
He went on to talk about a part of the Analects, and then about the Book of Poetry.
The poem we studied in the Book of Songs was the particularly famous and widely circulated love poem, "The Papaya in the Wei Feng section".
"You gave me a papaya, I returned a beautiful jade. It wasn't just a repayment, but a token of our lasting friendship!"
You gave me a peach, I returned a precious jade. It wasn't just a repayment, but a token of our enduring friendship!
You gave me a plum, I returned a precious jade. It wasn't just a repayment, but a token of our enduring friendship!
Although most people in modern times regard "Papaya" as a tender love poem, its true meaning is that "material things have a price, but affection is priceless."
This affection doesn't just refer to romantic love.
You give me fruit, I give you jade in return. This is different from the traditional Chinese custom of "returning a favor." The value of the gift is far greater than that of the gift itself. Therefore, the gift is not just a simple return, but a way of telling the recipient that the friendship between us is more precious than jade.
Many scholars of this era read the books of Confucius and Mencius, respected the rites of Zhou, valued loyalty and righteousness, and regarded money as dirt.
Cao Jinghong highly praised the sentiments expressed in this poem and gave it a very high rating.
Wu Zemin and Gu Beichen listened very attentively, nodding from time to time, their little faces showing longing.
Yun Shu looked thoughtful, sometimes frowning and sometimes puffing out her cheeks. Her mind was probably quite active, but not in terms of her studies.
As for Xie Chang'an, he was positioned directly behind Ye Jingchen, so unless Ye Jingchen turned around, he wouldn't be able to see Xie Chang'an at all.
But if he turns around, wouldn't that be the same as telling Xie Chang'an that he's watching him?
Therefore, turning back is impossible.
Ye Jingchen thought about asking Fangfei to find someone to grind a palm-sized bronze mirror for him, so that he could observe Xie Chang'an without alerting him.
"Your Highness, what are your thoughts on this poem, 'Papaya'?" Cao Jinghong asked Ye Jingchen after analyzing the poem word by word.
"I believe that although affection is priceless, it needs to be expressed through material things. Otherwise, how can anyone know the value of your affection?" Ye Jingchen said calmly.
Cao Jinghong heard Qin Feng say that His Highness the Crown Prince was very different from before, and that one should look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation. That's when he suddenly felt like testing him.
Unexpectedly, this exam stumped me.
"Since affection is priceless, why is it necessary to have a priceless material to represent it?" He hesitated for a long time before asking in confusion.
"Isn't the protagonist of this poem using beautiful jade to express his affection? If he had reciprocated with something more common, like a sweet potato, would this poem have been sung for thousands of years? And who would have thought his affection was priceless?"
Cao Jinghong was dumbfounded.
"Your Highness makes perfect sense!" Behind him, Yun Shu shouted out Cao Jinghong's thoughts.
"Mr. Cao, do you think what I said makes sense?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile.
That makes sense.
However, this principle contradicted Cao Jinghong's long-held belief that the gentleman's virtues and righteousness were priceless, so he couldn't agree.
"If Your Highness were the protagonist in the poem and received a papaya from a friend, what would you choose to give in return?" After a long pause, Cao Jinghong asked with some difficulty.
Ye Jingchen calmly began, "First, I need to see what kind of friend he is. Is he just a casual acquaintance, or is there a deep bond? Has he done me a favor, or have I done him a favor?"
"Secondly, he gave me a papaya, and I need to know what the papaya means to him. Is it a precious staple food for his family, or just an ornamental fruit that can be hung under the eaves?"
This answer made Cao Jinghong feel even worse.
It's not that Ye Jingchen's answer was bad; as the crown prince, his answer couldn't be better.
but--
If there are so many concerns, how much of this affection is genuine?
"I think we should be wary if we really have friends like those in the poems. How much are papayas, peaches, and plums worth? If he really considers you a friend, why would he give you peaches and plums after you reciprocated with jade? Isn't he obviously trying to swindle you out of two more pieces of jade with these worthless fruits? He's just trying to fleece you!" Ye Jingchen saw Cao Jinghong's hesitant expression and decided to tease him.
"That makes sense!" Yun Shu chimed in again.
Cao Jinghong: ...
"Your Highness! This is just a style of writing in ancient poetry, a literary device. It doesn't mean that the friend actually tricked the protagonist out of the three pieces of jade with papaya, peach, and plum!" Cao Jinghong said helplessly.
"I know, I'm just saying that if you encounter such people in real life, you should stay away from them. After all, friendships last longer if the effort is mutual and equal."
“Your Highness, what you’re talking about isn’t friendship, but an exchange of interests,” Cao Jinghong said.
"Whether it's friendship or an exchange of interests, it's all the same," Ye Jingchen said indifferently.
Seeing the thoughtful expressions on the other children's faces, Cao Jinghong felt a headache coming on.
He shouldn't have asked that unnecessary question.
As expected, Qin Feng was too optimistic.
Even if His Highness the Crown Prince changes, his nature is hard to change; he is unruly and will corrupt other people's children with just a few words.
Cao Jinghong dared not continue teaching "The Papaya" anymore. In order to prevent these children from being led astray by the Crown Prince, he began to teach "The Book of Rites".
Originally, we were supposed to talk about the Book of Rites today, but Cao Jinghong changed the subject at the last minute, replacing the "Doctrine of the Mean" with the "Quli Shang" chapter of the Book of Rites.
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