Chapter 3289 Mingxue
The Crown Princess named the girls' school Mingxue. When Zhou Man got out of the car, he looked up at the plaque and praised it, "This calligraphy is very good."
"It was written by Kong Jijiu," Mingda said. "In fact, the word 'Ming' was also suggested by Kong Jijiu."
Zhou Man enviously said, "That's great! The plaque of our Imperial Medical Bureau was written by His Majesty."
Mingda pursed his lips and smiled, "Kong Jijiu's calligraphy is indeed better than father's."
"It's a good name, and the meaning is great," Zhou Man said. "Ming means to shine, and to shine upon all directions is called Ming. The Book of Rites also says that the great way of learning is to manifest the bright virtue. I remember Confucius saying, 'From the subtle to the obvious, from the obvious to the ultimate, the light spreads to all directions. This is called manifesting the bright virtue throughout the world.' Confucius gave this name to the girl student, so it seems he had high hopes for her."
Mingda nodded proudly.
If aristocratic families are the trend of scholars in the world, then Kong Jijiu is the ray of light in the trend. Being able to receive a word from him, Mingda felt that no matter what the future of the female school would be, her efforts would not be in vain.
"Let's go in and take a look."
The gate opened, Bai Jingxing and Bai Ruoyu ran in first, followed by the adults. After entering the gate, there were several winding paths. There were flourishing flowers and trees inside. It was spring, and not only were there peonies, peaches and plums in full bloom, but there were also unknown wild flowers blooming in the grass, all of which were well-maintained.
It is worthy of being a girls' school. It is much more beautiful than the Imperial Medical Bureau where the smell of medicine is prevalent and the flower beds are used to grow medicine.
"There are fewer students now, so the space is less used, so only part of it is open for the time being," Mingda showed her. "This is the piano room, where students are taught to play the piano."
Zhou Man looked in from the window and asked in surprise, "Did you buy all these pianos?"
Mingda nodded. "Yes, it's very expensive. We haven't even started the horseback archery lessons yet, and we'll have to buy more horses and bows and arrows later."
These expenses are not small.
Zhou Man gave her a thumbs up and asked, "Do you need my help?"
Mingda winked at her and said meaningfully, "If you're interested, I won't stop you. There will be many other places where you'll need to spend money for the girls' school in the future."
"Oh~~" Zhou Man understood, "You are trying to collect donations from us."
Mingda said: "It's too early to talk about this now. Let's wait until it grows stronger."
Zhou Man said to her seriously, "It will definitely grow bigger!"
Mingda also thought so. "My mother and my eldest sister-in-law both trust the court ladies in the palace. Even concubines who are not favored have volunteered to serve as court ladies. So I think women will have great achievements in the future, and naturally women's education will also have great achievements."
"Wow, which lady is so powerful?"
Mingda laughed and said, "He's just a talented person. His courage is commendable, but he's not that powerful, at least not as powerful as you."
Mingda took her to the next room and said, "This is the tea room. Two yards further on is the dormitory supervisor's room. They all live in the school while they go to school. Just like your Imperial Medical Office, they have two days off every ten days."
"It's like a day off for the imperial court."
"yes."
"Where did you get it from, sir?"
"I was just about to tell you," Mingda said, "Teachers are invited from all over, but there are few famous ones. Years ago, I asked Confucius to help me invite famous teachers, but..."
"They don't want to come?"
Mingda nodded, looked at Zhou Man and said, "I would like to invite you to be my teacher."
Zhou Man: "...Do you think I'm free now?"
She counted on her fingers and said, "The Imperial Medical Bureau has a lot of work to do. I also need to see patients at the Imperial Hospital, and I need to study medicine. From time to time, I have to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to take some classes. If you want to find more work for me, why not split me in half and use me equally?"
Mingda smiled and said, "I'm not asking you to attend classes every day, like you're doing now at the Imperial Medical Bureau. What's that called... Yes, special courses, one topic, one principle at a time. No matter when you come, just come and talk whenever you're free, how about that?"
Zhou Man: "Since it's not a fixed course, then my lectures might be repeated by other teachers. Why bother?"
Mingda said, "Everyone has a different opinion on the same sentence. I want them to hear yours."
"Of course, there's another reason," she said. "You're the only female official at the grand court meeting right now. If you come, I'll have a famous teacher at Mingxue. Maybe I can use your name to attract more famous teachers."
Zhou Man looked skeptical. "Me? How is that possible? I'm not teaching medicine, so how can I be famous?"
"Yes, yes," Mingda said with a smile, "People outside have always said that you grew up reading the classics, history, and miscellaneous books. You were taught like a man from a young age. You know everything Bai Zhishan knows."
Zhou Man stroked his chin in thought, "So I'm just borrowing Bai Shan's help?"
Bai Erlang, who had been playing with the two children, immediately looked up and said, "And mine."
He shook his head and said proudly, "You are now immersed in the court, you must not know the changes in the outside world, right?"
"What's going on? It's clearly just rumors," Zhou Man, who knew him best, asked, "Tell me, what rumors are going on in the teahouse and tavern?"
Bai Erlang chuckled and said, "It is said that our teacher is amazing. He only accepted three disciples in his lifetime, and each of them is extraordinary."
"Bai Shan and I passed the imperial examinations at a young age, and you, Zhou Man, are even more famous. As a direct descendant of a scholar, you must have studied the classics, history, and miscellaneous texts, and are no worse than others."
Mingda: "Don't listen to him. People outside praise you highly. They think that since you are Bai Shan and his senior sister, your literary skills should be no less than theirs. So you are really famous among the scholars. How about it? Come on."
Zhou Man rolled his eyes and said, "If I can come, can other ladies come too?"
She said, "As for teaching, you have so many classes here, covering everything from music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. For example, my mother-in-law is very good at painting and playing the piano, so she can come and give them a lesson occasionally. Mrs. Tang is very good at law, and Mrs. Yang's handwriting is very elegant and is no less than that of Brother Yang. Well, if Brother Yang can come to teach a class, the female students he will attract..."
Zhou Man looked at Mingda.
Mingda's eyes lit up, "It may not attract students, but it will definitely attract teachers."
"There are also the concubines in the palace," Zhou Man said, "They can also come out from time to time to give students special lessons. Even if those who can serve as concubines in the palace do not have any special skills, they must have their own insights into the classics, history, and literature. Why not invite them?"
Mingda didn't expect Zhou Man to be so bold as to even invite the concubines. "I'm really ashamed of myself. You even dare to invite the concubines in the palace?"
"Actually, I'd like to suggest you invite Old Master Tang, Minister Cui, and the others," Zhou Man said. "In terms of knowledge and experience, who can compare to them? If you can invite them to give a lecture or two, the students will definitely benefit greatly."
Sure enough, there is no such thing as the bravest, only bigger.
But... Mingda still seriously considered the possibility.
Good night
(End of this chapter)
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