Princess Enlightenment
On the morning of Taiping's first birthday, Wu Zetian placed a specially made copy of the "Three Character Classic" by her daughter's pillow.
The pages are made of thick Taiping paper, with silk cloth wrapped around the corners, and each page is decorated with vivid illustrations.
(Inner monologue: Early childhood education should start from a very young age!)
When Emperor Li Zhi returned from court, he saw his daughter pointing at the pictures in a book, babbling as she learned to speak. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Is Taiping trying to become a child prodigy?"
"Your Majesty, please don't laugh," Wu Meiniang said earnestly, "early childhood education is the most crucial."
She turned to a page with an illustration of a grain transport boat. "Look," she said, "this is a grain transport boat carrying grain to feed the people."
Taiping opened her eyes wide, gently stroking the picture with her little hands, and suddenly said clearly, "Grain...full..."
The emperor and empress looked at each other in surprise.
Li Zhi excitedly picked up his daughter and asked, "Say it again?"
"I'm full of food..." Taiping repeated, patting his little belly.
(Inner monologue: This kid's language talent is amazing!)
In the afternoon, Wu Zetian summoned the Hanlin scholars to discuss compiling primers for young children.
She proposed compiling a new set of elementary education books, incorporating practical knowledge such as mathematics, agriculture, and canal transport.
"Your Majesty," an elderly scholar hesitated, "should the Thousand Character Classic be the first text for early childhood education?"
"We must learn the Thousand Character Classic," Wu Zetian insisted, "but we should also learn some practical things. For example, this page..."
She showed off her newly drawn sketch, explaining, "To teach children about rice and how hard it is to produce food."
At this moment, Taiping, who was playing with building blocks, suddenly picked up a piece of wood and said indistinctly, "Boat..." The shape of the wood really did look a bit like a boat.
Three days later, Wu Zetian took Princess Taiping to visit the newly established elementary school.
Watching the three- or four-year-old children learning to read and write with their teacher, she said softly, "Taiping, when you're older, would you like to come here to study too?"
The little princess seemed to understand, but nodded earnestly.
She struggled to get down and staggered to a crying child, handing him her rag doll.
The child immediately stopped crying and started laughing.
The tutor exclaimed in amazement, "Her Highness is naturally benevolent!"
During dinner, Li Zhi, having heard about the day's events, said thoughtfully, "Mei Niang, I intend to promote these elementary schools throughout the country."
"That's exactly right." Wu Meiniang tied an apron around Taiping's neck. "Education must start from the basics. When these children grow up, they will surely be a completely different person."
At night, Wu Zetian revised the illustrations of "A New Compilation of Elementary Education" under the lamp.
Taiping lay on her lap, her little hands holding a special charcoal pencil, drawing crooked lines on the paper.
"Our Taiping is painting." Wu Meiniang gently held her daughter's little hand, and together they drew a canal boat on the paper.
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the intimate figures of the mother and daughter.
Looking at her daughter's focused profile, Wu Zetian suddenly realized that the educational reform she had spearheaded would finally bear fruit in her daughter's generation.
——
[Mini-Theater: New Regulations for Elementary Education]
(Anecdotes from the Hanlin Academy)
Today, Her Majesty the Empress, accompanied by Princess Taiping, has come to inspect the progress of the newly compiled elementary school curriculum.
When the little princess saw an illustration on a certain page, she suddenly shook her head and babbled. The queen understood and immediately ordered someone to redraw it.
(I later learned that the canal boat depicted on that page was missing a mast.)
The most wonderful thing is that the manuscript, which was personally "reviewed" by the princess, was sent to the Imperial Workshop, where the craftsmen put extra care into its production.
The whole of Chang'an is now saying: if you want to make good elementary school textbooks, you have to get past Princess Taiping first.
The second prince, however, got jealous and insisted on participating in the book compilation as well.
As a result, his farming drawing was rejected by his sister.
(It seems that Her Highness has a strong sense of aesthetics.)
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