Chapter 596 Shangshu
Manbao took out the newly bought "Book of Documents" and read the first chapter haltingly. Then he spread out paper and pen and tried to break the sentences.
As she picked up the pen, the cook said outside the study, "Sir, it's time for lunch."
Manbao felt that the Book of Documents was too difficult. After lunch, she held the book and read it again before trying to decipher the first sentence.
Bai Erlang had already cleared the table and went for a nap. Zhou Silang had disappeared somewhere, and Zhou Lijun had also gone out.
Mr. Zhuang walked behind Manbao, looked at her and paused for a few seconds, nodding slightly.
He didn't disturb Manbao, but turned back to his room for a nap.
Manbao only leaned on the table for more than a quarter of an hour at noon, then went to the yard to get a basin of cold water to wash his face, and then returned to the study in high spirits.
Mr. Zhuang did not let her study alone, so he brought his own copy of "Shangshu" to the study in the afternoon. After assigning homework to Bai Erlang and asking him to preview it, he began to teach Manbao the correct punctuation.
Most of the sentences she punctuated were correct, but there were always some that were wrong.
Mr. Zhuang read the first lesson aloud, and Manbao took a pen and marked the punctuation marks directly on the book.
Mr. Zhuang glanced down. He had already discovered that the symbols used by Manbao for punctuation were much richer than the existing ones.
In addition to the commonly used ".", "", and "?", there are also "," and "：" which he has never seen in other books. When she was younger, perhaps because her brain was not enough, she did not have time to use these punctuation marks when he read, and her favorite way was to use slashes to separate them.
Mr. Zhuang has become accustomed to her punctuation marks. He did not object because he himself has his own unique symbols to distinguish punctuation. However, after watching for a long time, perhaps because Bai Shan and Bai Er also learned such punctuation marks from her, he also felt that her punctuation marks were more suitable.
Mr. Zhuang waited until she had finished breaking up the sentences before he said, "The Book of Shang is somewhat different from other books."
Manbao looked up at him.
Mr. Zhuang paused and said, "Actually, the Shangshu is also considered a historical book. Some people often say that the current Shangshu is fake."
"Ah?" Manbao widened his eyes.
Mr. Zhuang smiled when he saw her and reached out to pat her on the head, but thinking of his disciple's advanced age, he withdrew his hand and said with a smile, "Legend has it that the Book of Documents is a remnant of the Three Tombs and Five Classics, passed down by Fu Sheng during the Han Dynasty. However, later, when King Gong of Lu was demolishing a section of the wall in Confucius' former residence, he discovered another copy of the Book of Documents."
Not only was Manbao stunned, but even Bai Erlang, who was writing nearby, couldn't help but look up.
When Mr. Zhuang saw this, a smile flashed in his eyes. He said with a smile, "That's why people call the former the 'Modern Text Book of Shangshu' and the latter the 'Ancient Text Book of Shangshu'."
The smile in Mr. Zhuang's eyes slowly faded, and he sighed, "It's a pity that due to the wars that followed, after the Wei Dynasty, all the ancient and modern versions of the Shangshu were lost."
Manbao couldn't help but look down at the Book of Shang in his hand, "Then this..."
Mr. Zhuang was silent for a moment before saying, "This was compiled by later generations after collecting scattered articles."
Manbao looked at the gentleman's face, blinked doubtfully, and asked, "Sir, don't you believe it?"
Mr. Zhuang was silent for a long time, so long that Manbao's neck was almost stiff. He finally sighed and said quietly, "I have searched many ancient books and found that some historians suspect that this Shangshu was fabricated by later generations. The real Shangshu has been completely lost. However, I am a weak person with limited reading, so it is not difficult to make a conclusion."
Manbao looked down at the book in his hand and asked, "Then is it still necessary for us to study Shangshu?"
"Of course," Mr. Zhuang said with a smile, "Historical materials cannot be judged solely on their authenticity, because..."
Mr. Zhuang frowned, finding it difficult to teach. He paused for a moment before coming up with a relevant example and motioned for her to take note. "Today, if you write down something like 'Eat three flat eggs for breakfast,' and then seal the paper, and if someone takes it out centuries later, will it be considered authentic?"
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "Well, this isn't a forgery. It was indeed written by an ancient man like me."
Mr. Zhuang nodded. "So, you ate three eggs today, and they were all flat?"
Manbao shook his head.
"So you see, is this historical material true or false?"
Manbao couldn't decide whether to shake his head or nod.
Mr. Zhuang laughed and said, "These ancient books are the same. When they are circulated, they will be revised and expanded by later generations. For example, "Shui Jing Zhu" was a very successful expansion and revision. They will also be changed in wording, and exist in name only..."
"As for the Book of Documents, due to our limited abilities, we have learned very little, and no one knows what it is like. But the fact that it has been studied by people shows that it is worth learning." Mr. Zhuang said, "The Book of Documents contains a lot of information, and the most important of these sixteen characters."
Mr. Zhuang recited each word with pause, "The human heart is perilous, the heart of Tao is subtle; only by being precise and single-minded, and adhering to the middle, can one be a ruler."
Bai Erlang read it twice and found it difficult to understand, so he shouted, "Sir, this is a little different from what you said before about the way of being a king."
Manbao was just savoring the thought. Upon hearing this, he slapped him on the head and said, "How foolish! This gentleman is not that gentleman. This is about being an emperor."
Bai Jilang glared and instantly lowered his voice. After looking around, he asked in a low voice, "Sir, is it okay for us to learn this?"
Mr. Zhuang's emotion faded away in an instant. He looked at his third disciple speechlessly and said, "What's the problem? Does studying the Shangshu mean you're going to become emperor?"
Manbao chuckled and said, "I asked you to study the Book of Shangshu so that you can admonish the emperor and be a good minister."
Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, but after thinking about it, he felt something was wrong. He looked down at Manbao and asked, "Do you really think so?"
"Yes, and reading it can teach you a lot. Sir, please start teaching me."
Mr. Zhuang said, "I haven't studied the Book of Documents very much, so I can only give you a brief introduction. When Shanbao returns from the provincial school, you can ask him who taught him the Book of Documents, and you two can learn from each other."
Manbao agreed.
Mr. Zhuang explained the meaning of the first lesson to Manbao, and then let her study on her own. He went out to make tea and have some snacks.
Bai Erlang peeked outside, poked Manbao with his book, and asked, "Is Shanbao being bullied in the prefectural school?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
Bai Erlang curled his lips and said, "Yesterday morning you were still saying you wanted to focus on your medical skills in the afternoons, but today you're just burying your head in a copy of the Shangshu."
He said, "If you're being bullied, what's the point of just reading? Let's take Zhou Sige and Daji and put sacks on those guys and beat them up."
"That's not good, after all, they haven't made a move yet." Manbao said, "At least we should wait for them to make a move first."
"Why do you have to wait for others to make the first move? Don't you know the saying that the first to strike is the strongest?"
"I know, but we still have the government above us. What if you hit someone and get caught? So there's a difference between striking first and striking last, you know?"
The next chapter will be around 6 p.m.
(End of this chapter)
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