Chapter 135 Literary Master

The next day, Guan Suyi handed over the revised household registration documents to her father for safekeeping.

Guan Father took a look and raised his eyebrows, “How did you get this document?”

“When I left the Zhao Mansion, Mu Mu was placed under your and mother’s name, and is your adopted son. As long as the clansmen agree to put him in the family tree, he will be the true heir of our family. Well, Guan Mu Mu, doesn’t it sound good?” Guan Suyi nodded at the three words at the end of the page.

“If you had already registered the household registration, you wouldn’t have let him call your mother all this time. I won’t ask you how you get this document. I’ll just let you think about it, with your temperament, how many days you can live in the palace? The brutality of the harem’s battle is no less than political struggle and war. Each has its own faction and its own interests. If you stand in someone’s way, it will be full of sword and shadow*describing the environment full of dangerous atmosphere. Women in the harem can kill without blood. You have followed your maternal grandmother to revise history books, you must know all kinds of chaos in the harem of the previous dynasty. And the emperor sits there holding three thousand beauties, today favoring this one, tomorrow adoring that one, and he can forget the old affection in a blink of an eye. Your character is straightforward, your method is crude, and you can’t hold back your words, just like your grandfather. Look at how many people he has offended until now, he even has reprimanded the emperor several times in person. The monarch is suspicious and the heavenly family is ruthless. Now he can tolerate your grandfather because of political needs, but next year when the country is more stable it may not be so clear. I’m here trying to find a way out for your grandfather, so that he can retire from office smoothly and can enjoy his old age. But you are good, you actually eager to jump in. I fished up this and fished up that, and if I couldn’t stand firm, the whole family would have to fall into the water.”

Guan Father put away the document and sighed deeply, “On the surface you look more docile than anyone else, but in fact, you have a rebellious nature. When you were a child, I only reprimanded you for carelessly write one sentence, and you secretly replace the sand in the cloth bag with iron, in a short while keep increasing the weight until several pounds, and almost waste your wrist. If you were falling behind your senior brothers at any exam, you would read books all night without sleep. Your greatest strength is being competitive, but your biggest weakness is also being competitive. The more I stop you, the more you like to fight against me. So now I neither advise you nor stop you, I just want you to think clearly about the severity of it, and whether it’s worth gambling with your own life, or even with the life of your whole family. Originally Guan family could have been a detached pure minister, rather than a relative of the imperial family. Once we get involved in the whirlpool of power, it will be difficult to get out.”

Guan Suyi was silent for a moment, then bowed and said, “Father, I have taken everything you said to my heart. How to choose, I will think about it clearly.”

“That’s good, your seventh cousin is coming to ask for lessons, you should go back first. Mu Mu’s household registration has been completed, so we don’t have to worry. When he grows up and has a future, the clan will naturally not dare to compete with him.”

“Yes, daughter must teach brother well.” Guan Suyi bowed again and again, went out of the room, and saw Mu Mu standing under the wall with a paper kite, her solemn expression then eased slightly.

Mu Mu was very smart, he knew he had to change his way of addressing, but he also knew that he couldn’t let outsiders hear him, so he simply didn’t call anyone in public, just waved or ran over to hug her thighs. When he saw his sister coming, he wanted to call her, but when he saw the maids standing not far away, he quickly covered his mouth and narrowed his eyes with a smile.

Guan Suyi also laughed and walked over to help him pull the string, making paper kite flew higher. The two siblings were playing around for a while, when they heard footsteps behind them they turned their heads to see that it was the seventh cousin who arrived as expected. He was handsome in appearance, gentle in temperament, outstanding in talent, and regarded as the best among the Guan clan’s juniors. Although the Guan family belonged to a Confucian family, the only one who really studied Confucianism was the old master, and the rest of the di branch and side branch had long abandoned their pens to plow the field due to frequent wars.

The great-grandfather of this seventh cousin was the current clan leader, and if he wanted to compete for the Emperor Teacher’s family property, the others were naturally not opponents. Therefore, he had now regarded himself as the future master of the Emperor Teacher Mansion, and said, “Cousin, you are a reconcile woman, how can you stay at home for so long? Better hurry up and find someone to marry. How will you place your adopted son? Fostered in the Emperor Teacher Mansion or take it away together?”

“I’ll take it away together.” Guan Suyi smiled lightly, as if she didn’t notice the chasing out meaning in his words.

“You’re right to think like this. After all, it’s a mother and child, how can you abandon him and marry alone? However, if you marry with a child, it’s not easy to find a suitable husband. I have a classmate who is thirty-three years old this year. Although he is a little old, has been married once, and has two sons and a daughter under his knee, but his character is very reliable, and he doesn’t mind if you bring your children to enter the door. I’ll tell my aunt and let her look at it for you.”

He even dared to introduce his cousin to a thirty-three years old widower, and even put on airs with the other person, did he consider himself the head of the family? Guan Suyi sneered in her heart, but her face was very kind, “My parents are in charge of my marriage, cousin doesn’t need to worry about it.”

Guan Wenhai ate a soft nail*means a tactful retort or rejection, but he was not annoyed, instead laughed helplessly, as if the victory was already within his grasp and didn’t care to haggle with others.

Guan Suyi’s eyes became darker and darker, and then she pointed to the manuscript in his hand and said, “This is cousin’s masterpiece? Can you lend me a look? I heard that the imperial examination this time put emphasis on policy theory, and the topics will be randomly extracted from the Confucian classics. Now all the students in Wei Kingdom are probably writing policy theories, it just depends on who has the luck to bet on the exam questions. My cousin is here, afraid also want to ask my father to speculate on the questions, right?”

Guan Wenhai handed over the manuscript and said frankly, “The fifth uncle is a close minister of the emperor, and he should have some understanding of the person on top. It would be more appropriate to ask him to speculate the question. I don’t dare to disturb the old master, I am worried that my level is limited and will provoke the old man to reprimand.”

Guan Suyi smiled without saying a word, took the manuscript and read ten lines in one glance, and said slowly, “I advise my cousin to go home and rewrite it. Gewu Zhizhi*it comes from Book of Rites: Great Learning, an important concept in Confucianism. The text sets up a number of controversies that have underlain Chinese philosophy and political thinking, one of them is how to define exactly the 'examining things’ (examining things and gaining knowledge), you’re already wrong at the beginning of the topic, and it is even more wrong when you break the question, and the argument is simply wrong. It’s fine to show it to father, if you take it outside to discuss it with others, it will definitely be laughed at.”

“Does cousin really understand? Don’t feel unhappy just because your cousin urged you to marry.” Guan Wenhai’s complacent expression finally showed a crack.

Guan Suyi pointed to the first vertical line of the first page and said, “If I remember correctly, your Gewu Zhizhi should be derived from Xu Guangzhi’s “Subset Commentary” – including the pattern and also the substance. Exhausting the truth of things, to know is to bring knowledge to the extremeGewu Zhizhi interpreted differently by many people, one of the mainstream view is by Zhu Xi in Southern Song Dynasty, this sentence was implied by him. But have you ever thought about it? The book “Great Learning” (attributed to Zengzi (Confucius’s disciple) that had come from a chapter in the Book of Rites. It consists of a short main text of the teachings of Confucius by Zengzi and then ten commentary chapters supposedly written by Zengzi) is to expound the basic purpose of outstanding education for the children of nobles for three generations at that time. These students are between the age of fifteen and twenty, still in the early stage of exploring learning, and walking at the starting point of the academic path. And among the eight items listed in the “Great Learning”, they are examining things (Gewu), gaining knowledge (Zhizhi), sincerity, righteousness, self-cultivation, family order, governance of the country, and peace in the world. Examining things and gaining knowledge occupies the first two place. That is to say, if you want to explore the secrets of learning, you must first do these two points. However, from Xu Guangzhi’s point of view, examining things and gaining knowledge has become the principle of everything in the world. Even the Sage did not dare to make such a bold statement, so how could a student who just entered the learning path be able to do so? A very simple sentence, but when explained by Xu Guangzhi, has become mysterious and unrecognizable. The so-called Gewu Zhizhi is nothing more than distinguishing between human affairs and thus distinguishing between good and evil. This is the basic principle that a student must uphold when embarking on their learning journey.”

She shook the manuscript and said bluntly, “It’s ridiculous that a simple sentence has been thoroughly misinterpreted by you, and making it thoroughly complicated, and still brings out all the general principle of the thousands changes in the world.”

Guan Wenhai blushed at her criticism, and said angrily, “Cousin, how much older Master Xu compare to you? How much higher his knowledge compared to you? If you don’t understand, don’t make outrageous words.”

“There is progression in wisdom, and there are high and low in learning, but when did the Sage ever say that the academic level must be related to age? Gan Luo*A statesman during Warring States Period, at the age of twelve he was sent to the State of Zhao as an envoy, using tricks he helped Qin to obtain more that a dozen cities is twelve when he became minister, how should you explain that? According to my cousin, Master Xu is far younger than all the great Confucian scholars, under the circumstances, what qualifications does he have to make comments on Confucian classics? Why do you students have to participate in the imperial examinations diligently? Directly rank the age, the oldest is the top of the list, the second oldest is the second, and the third oldest is the third.” Guan Suyi returned the manuscript, then an article idea started rolling in her mind, and it could not be stopped. She immediately picked up Mu Mu and bent down her knees to say goodbye.

She wanted to write a book to refute Xu Guangzhi’s “Subset Commentary” from beginning to end, telling the students all over the world that power and prestige were not absolute.

Guan Father was standing at the door at some point, when he saw Guan Wenhai coming over angrily, he waved his hand and said, “Go back. As Yiyi said, even the opening topic of this article is wrong, and there is no need to correct it. After going back, think more, study more, read more, and come back when you have your own opinions.”

Guan Wenhai was not convinced, but because he hadn’t been adopted yet, he didn’t want to offend Guan Father too much, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and retreat. After thinking about it on the road, he found it even more difficult to accept. He walked to the tea house where the students usually gathered around and passed the article for everyone to take a look. His literary talent was originally brilliant and knowledgeable, and because the principle of “Gewu Zhizhi” put forward by Xu Guangzhi was too profound, he expounded it with metaphorical meaning and sharp rhythm, which aroused a voice of admiration.

The current style of writing was like this, the more profound and mysterious, the more incomprehensible, the more it was touted by the scholars. It seemed that only by complicating simple truths can they show their level.

Guan Wenhai got everyone’s affirmation, so he told his cousin’s statement as a joke, which caused everyone to ridicule constantly. Ji Chengyue and Xu Yayan happened to be in the next private room, and when they heard this, they couldn’t help but ask to look at the manuscript and read it.

“Good article!” Ji Chengyue praised, and then tried to excuse Guan Suyi, “However Miss Guan, as a woman, can give her own thoughts is already very rare. The road to study is difficult, and we should have the courage to raise objections, otherwise wrong will always be wrong and nothing will be gained.”

“It still fine for her to make outrageous remarks when she knows one and understand half*have superficial knowledge, but why does Chief of Ceremonies also agree? The Guan family’s literary style is probably not as rigorous as the rumors outside says. I heard that Guan Wenhai is about to become the heir of the Emperor Teacher Mansion, and there may also be suspicions of deliberate targeting.” Xu Yayan said casually.

Ji Chengyue was stunned for a while, looked left and right then said to her, “It’s not good for others to criticize Guan’s family affairs. I almost forgot to congratulate Second Miss Xu, I heard that Master Xu’s “Subset Commentary” has been submitted to the imperial court, if the emperor approves it, it will become one of the required reading list for the imperial examination in the coming year? With this, Master Xu can also get the position of a chief examiner.”

Only then did Xu Yayan rejoice and thank him with a smile.

At the same time, Guan Suyi was spreading out a piece of rice paper, and slowly wrote, “The Sage’s words are very subtle with profound meaning, and when people follow it, they learn from it, but it is still difficult to understand the whole picture. Just like building a house on top a house, stacking a bed on top a bed, it will getting smaller and weaker. That’s why later people have the saying reduced teacher and half virtues. When interpreting the words of the Sage, we should interpret the scriptures according to the scriptures, rather than interpreting the meaning of the scriptures with one’s own opinions…”

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TN: Translating this chapter remind me of something. I took one course of philosophy in college, I don’t like it. Philosophy is something that if you understand a little bit, it feels like you’re the smartest people in the world, but if you don’t understand it, it just lots and lots and lots of words.