Chapter 410 Talents from all over the world gather in Chang'an
Gongsun Hong is lucky.
Gongsun Hong's trip to Chang'an was made more confident thanks to his experience as a doctor to Emperor Taizong and the connections provided by his master.
But lucky people like Gongsun Hong are still a minority after all.
Most of them are "common people" who have no political experience and no connections in Chang'an - they even don't know where to live or eat when they arrive in Chang'an.
Compared with the real common people, that is, the lower-class farmers who make up the vast majority of this era, they may still be lucky.
They may not have a rich family background, but at least they can concentrate on their studies or take some time out from their busy schedule to acquire knowledge.
In their hometown, they may be the handsome young men dreamed of by the people, or the "young heroes" of civilized counties;
Generally speaking, the officials in the county government offices respect them, and the local tyrants and wealthy people flatter them. Although they don't have to sit back and wait for food and clothing to be provided for them, at least they don't have to worry about their livelihood.
To put it simply, helping villagers write or read letters, or helping merchants with accounts, or even organizing documents for nobles - it is always much more respectable than being a farmer who digs for food in the soil.
But after coming to Chang'an, everything was different.
——People in later generations often said that in a capital city, if you randomly smashed a brick, you would hit three or five officials.
If you walk from one end of the street to the other, you might come across half of the court!
Although this is a somewhat exaggerated statement, in fact, the population density and talent quality of Chang'an are indeed far beyond the reach of local counties, especially the Guandong counties.
For example, in Qi, apart from the royal relatives and princes in the palace and a few wealthy families in the city, there is basically no one that cannot be offended.
If you get bumped into by someone on the road in Linzi City, you only need to look him up and down to make sure he is not wearing anything particularly fancy and that he is not followed by a hundred servants.
Then, you can have a good argument with the other party to determine who is fully responsible for this "traffic incident".
But in Chang'an, everything seemed to be turned upside down - completely upside down!
On the streets of Chang'an, among every five pedestrians, you may not be able to pick out three ordinary people!
In most cases, among every five pedestrians on the streets of Chang'an, there would be an official of varying degrees of rank, a noble relative/servant of varying degrees of status, and a local tyrant with a wealthy family and extensive network of contacts.
Even if there are two 'ordinary people' left, who look like old farmers, if you mess with them, you will know what it means to be at the feet of the emperor and what it means to be in the imperial capital.
What about the descendants of founding fathers and heroes?
What kind of downtrodden nobles and declining royal families?
Or there may be a mysterious old man who is now an old farmer but actually possesses power no less than that of officials and nobles, and whose connections can directly reach the government - they may all appear on the streets of Chang'an.
Therefore, in the imperial capital Chang'an, if you have an argument with someone, the most cost-effective option is to apologize immediately.
Because you don’t know whether the person standing in front of you is a young man cosplaying as an old farmer, or a nobleman who took to the streets to experience life on a whim.
On the contrary, your background can be seen secretly by the other party just from your obviously foreign accent...
Therefore, when time gradually came to August of autumn, the situation that Liu Rong expected, "Chang'an's public security situation faced challenges", unexpectedly did not happen.
In just over a month, all the candidates from the Guanzhong area had basically arrived in Chang'an.
Even in Guandong, candidates from areas slightly closer, such as Liangdi, Huaisi area, Hanzhong, Bashu, and even Beidi and Longyou, all arrived in Chang'an one after another.
Then, they dutifully found the place where they should stay.
——Those who have relatives seek shelter from their relatives, and those who have old friends seek out old friends to visit;
It was really their first time in Chang'an, and they didn't have any connections at all. They all found temporary places to stay according to their respective financial situations.
Those who are more affluent can rent or even buy a house in Chang'an;
For those who are worse off, they can either rent a small courtyard together or go directly to an inn and ask for a large bunk bed that can only accommodate one person at a low price.
However, the streets of Chang'an city became bustling even before the autumn harvest.
The wealthy young men walked on the streets, strolled here and there, and when they were tired, they had a few drinks with friends in the taverns;
The poor people who were short of money did not lock themselves in their rooms to read books. Those who were under financial pressure found a job, such as copying books, doing accounts, or carrying goods for others.
Even those who are not under financial pressure still adhere to the principle of "reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles" and make friends with like-minded peers everywhere in order to learn from each other and improve their academics.
Of course, there were inevitably some people with ulterior motives who, with just a dozen days left before the imperial examination, would stuff so-called "articles" that were full of flowery words but empty of substance into the doors of important officials, dukes and nobles in the court.
Expecting to be recommended is obviously an unrealistic fantasy;
More importantly, he hoped that he could be appreciated by some important figure, so that he could go further in the imperial examination, or after the imperial examination, he could stay in Chang'an and do something.
In a word, in short, everyone is working hard for his or her present and future.
In this unprecedented gathering of young intellectuals and the collision of hundreds of schools of thought, some unexpected sparks naturally emerged...
"A certain family, Zheng Dangshi!"
In the northern part of Chang'an, in a tavern outside the East Market, young scholars gathered.
Although no one invited the banquet, the scholars still gathered together spontaneously so that they could meet each other and get to know each other.
Seeing that everyone was shy and only talked to the people next to them but ignored others, Zheng stood up immediately and briefly introduced himself.
"Our ancestor, Mr. Zheng, was once a general of Chu!"
"After King Xiang was defeated, my ancestor surrendered to the Han Dynasty. Because he did not follow the order of Emperor Taizu Gao to 'call King Xiang by his name', he was demoted and sent back to his hometown."
After saying these two words, Zheng turned his tall and strong body, bowed to the scholars in the tavern, and then sat down.
When Zheng pretended to be calm, took the reward and sipped the wine, a burst of exclamations began to be heard in the tavern.
"Sigh~"
"Zheng was at that time..."
"Zheng Dangshi, the hero of Liangchu!"
...
"Thinking back to the Wu-Chu Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, the Zhang brothers - the Chu Prime Minister Zhang Shang fought to the death, and the Liang general Zhang Yu fought to the death!"
"Lieutenant Liang Zhang Yu had received favors from Zheng at that time, and he followed his advice to save the situation!"
The two exclamations in succession made everyone straighten their backs, and their eyes were all fixed on Zheng's arrogant face, which seemed calm but was actually secretly proud of himself.
——If it was just an identity of a "Liang Chu hero" and a family history of "ancestors were once generals of Chu", then most people present would still not know who Zheng was at that time. Even if they knew him, they would only despise him and disdain to associate with him;
Instead of looking at Zheng Dang with admiration, jealousy, and a little doubt like he was doing now.
Although not all the people present had prominent family backgrounds, at least they all had a good reputation.
At least they are elite intellectuals who have some knowledge and skills and have been aiming to serve the Han people for many years.
For these people, the most dazzling identity of Zheng Dangshi was that he was once the prince's attendant of the current Liu Rong!
That’s right;
Zheng Dangshi, whose ancestor had followed Xiang Yu and was unwilling to call Xiang Yu's real name "Xiang Ji" after the establishment of the Han Dynasty, was also a "knight-errant" who was not presentable. During the reign of the previous emperor, he was appointed as the prince's attendant to the then regent prince Liu Rong.
The so-called Prince's Sheren is the most common position among the officials in the Prince's Palace and the crown prince's team.
Except for the Prince's Chancellor (Housekeeper), the Prince's Commander (the next generation of eunuchs' commander), and the Prince's Shield Guard (the commander of the personal guards), most of the Prince's team originally served as the Prince's Sheren.
Logically speaking, the former prince regent is now the emperor. Zheng Dangshi, the former prince's attendant, should also become a trusted confidant of the current Liu Rong like countless predecessors, such as the previous emperor's prince's attendants Zhang Ou and Zhou Ren.
But now, Zheng was here at that time;
He appeared in this tavern which, except for the servants, was almost entirely filled with scholars taking imperial examinations.
This means that the former Liang and Chu heroes, and the wings of the team during the reign of the current Crown Prince Liu Rong, also plan to take part in this year's imperial examination.
No one knows why.
No one knew at that time whether Zheng had lost his mind, or had lost favor with the current Emperor Liu Rong, or had been eliminated in the fierce competition in the Crown Prince's Palace.
But what everyone can confirm immediately is that in this imperial examination, there is a person who once served beside the current Emperor Liu Rong, has a considerable understanding of the current Emperor Liu Rong, and once served as an official in Chang'an!
Regardless of how this person is doing now, or how he ended up in the situation where he has to take the imperial examination - this person's background alone is enough to make everyone be on their toes!
"Zheng was at that time..."
"Zheng was at that time..."
In the crowd, several people immediately lowered their heads inconspicuously and remembered this name firmly in their hearts.
——Zheng Dangshi, the hero of Liang and Chu and the former prince’s attendant!
The most popular candidate, or the focus person, of this scientific expedition also surfaced.
"I am Lord Father Yan, from Linzi, Qi County..."
After Zheng Dangshi, a thin man with a slightly sinister look stood up.
But after considering it again and again, Lord Father Yan finally gave up the idea of introducing his teacher and doctrine.
——The art of long and short vertical and horizontal operations!
Lord Yan has experienced countless times from childhood to adulthood how alien and unpopular this doctrine is in this era.
With a simple name and place of origin, and the fact that Zhufu Yan himself was not well-known and had no decent resume, no one paid much attention to him.
He just smiled politely and immediately turned his gaze to the third person.
"My name is Ni Kuan, and I am from Qiancheng County in Qi."
"He studied the Five Classics when he was young, and later received the Book of Shangshu from Ouyang Sheng, Ouyang Hebo."
This third person's self-introduction attracted more attention than the previous Zhufu Yan's.
First of all, Ni Kuan's self-introduction was a tactful revelation of his own school of thought - Confucianism.
Secondly, Ni Kuanzhi's "Shangshu" is relatively rare and of high value among Confucian studies.
——Back then, Chao Cuo was able to rise to prominence and enter the palace of the late Emperor Xiaojing during the reign of Emperor Taizong, all thanks to his status as a Doctor of the Book of Shang.
It can be said that among the six Confucian classics: "Book of Songs", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes", "Book of Music" and "Spring and Autumn Annals", "Book of Music" has been lost, and the Book of Songs has the lowest value among the remaining five.
It is not that the Book of Songs is not worth learning, or that it is "empty in content" and has no value in learning;
But nowadays there are too many people studying "Book of Songs" in the world, and even different schools such as Qi poetry and Chu poetry have been divided according to regions.
This led to a situation where almost everyone in the world, whether Confucian scholars or Huang-Lao, Legalist, Mohist, or other schools within Confucianism, studied the Book of Songs.
This is like in later generations, where college students have thousands of majors, but ideological and political education and Marxism-Leninism are required subjects that everyone must take by default.
"Poetry" is a compulsory ideological and political course for all scholars and literati of this era.
The book with slightly higher value than the Book of Songs is the Book of Rites, which is still monopolized by the Confucian scholars of Lu.
The low status of "Li" is mainly due to the fact that its content is lofty and not practical enough, as well as the negative points of the Lu Confucian group, and the fact that the full name of "Li" in this era is not "Li Ji" which is more familiar to later generations, but "Zhou Li".
The rites and laws of Zhou.
Now that it's the Han Dynasty, how could the Zhou's etiquette and laws be taken seriously?
Especially now that the Han Dynasty has been recognized by the world since the time of Emperor Taizu Gao - even Emperor Taizu Liu Bang himself admitted that it was an era of "the collapse of rituals and the decline of music."
Since all rituals and music have collapsed, the Zhou rituals will naturally be brought out when they are useful, and thrown aside when they are not useful.
Considering that the orthodoxy of "Li", or the right to interpret it, is still monopolized by the disgusting Lu Confucianism, it has led to the decline of "Li" studies.
"The Book of Songs" is the most popular, "The Book of Rites" is the least popular, and next up is "The Book of Changes".
To be precise, it is the "Book of Changes".
Although it has the word "Zhou" in its name just like "Zhou Li", the academic status of "Yi" is actually the highest among the six Confucian classics!
As for the ranking of comprehensive value, the reason why the Yi is ranked after the Shangshu and the Chunqiu is not because the Yi is inferior to the latter.
But compared with "Shangshu" and "Spring and Autumn Annals", "Yi" is really too obscure and difficult to understand. There are too few people willing to learn it, and even fewer people who can teach it clearly.
Therefore, in most cases, among the scholars of Confucian origin, whether in the contempt chain within Confucianism or in the external "food chain", those who study "Shangshu" and "Spring and Autumn Annals" are regarded as the most valuable.
As for the Book of Changes?
Anyone who can explain one, two, three, four is a great person in the world!
It is a pity that such people have never exceeded five in number since the Han Dynasty, and there have never been two people who are at the peak of their academic career at the same time.
(End of this chapter)
Gongsun Hong is lucky.
Gongsun Hong's trip to Chang'an was made more confident thanks to his experience as a doctor to Emperor Taizong and the connections provided by his master.
But lucky people like Gongsun Hong are still a minority after all.
Most of them are "common people" who have no political experience and no connections in Chang'an - they even don't know where to live or eat when they arrive in Chang'an.
Compared with the real common people, that is, the lower-class farmers who make up the vast majority of this era, they may still be lucky.
They may not have a rich family background, but at least they can concentrate on their studies or take some time out from their busy schedule to acquire knowledge.
In their hometown, they may be the handsome young men dreamed of by the people, or the "young heroes" of civilized counties;
Generally speaking, the officials in the county government offices respect them, and the local tyrants and wealthy people flatter them. Although they don't have to sit back and wait for food and clothing to be provided for them, at least they don't have to worry about their livelihood.
To put it simply, helping villagers write or read letters, or helping merchants with accounts, or even organizing documents for nobles - it is always much more respectable than being a farmer who digs for food in the soil.
But after coming to Chang'an, everything was different.
——People in later generations often said that in a capital city, if you randomly smashed a brick, you would hit three or five officials.
If you walk from one end of the street to the other, you might come across half of the court!
Although this is a somewhat exaggerated statement, in fact, the population density and talent quality of Chang'an are indeed far beyond the reach of local counties, especially the Guandong counties.
For example, in Qi, apart from the royal relatives and princes in the palace and a few wealthy families in the city, there is basically no one that cannot be offended.
If you get bumped into by someone on the road in Linzi City, you only need to look him up and down to make sure he is not wearing anything particularly fancy and that he is not followed by a hundred servants.
Then, you can have a good argument with the other party to determine who is fully responsible for this "traffic incident".
But in Chang'an, everything seemed to be turned upside down - completely upside down!
On the streets of Chang'an, among every five pedestrians, you may not be able to pick out three ordinary people!
In most cases, among every five pedestrians on the streets of Chang'an, there would be an official of varying degrees of rank, a noble relative/servant of varying degrees of status, and a local tyrant with a wealthy family and extensive network of contacts.
Even if there are two 'ordinary people' left, who look like old farmers, if you mess with them, you will know what it means to be at the feet of the emperor and what it means to be in the imperial capital.
What about the descendants of founding fathers and heroes?
What kind of downtrodden nobles and declining royal families?
Or there may be a mysterious old man who is now an old farmer but actually possesses power no less than that of officials and nobles, and whose connections can directly reach the government - they may all appear on the streets of Chang'an.
Therefore, in the imperial capital Chang'an, if you have an argument with someone, the most cost-effective option is to apologize immediately.
Because you don’t know whether the person standing in front of you is a young man cosplaying as an old farmer, or a nobleman who took to the streets to experience life on a whim.
On the contrary, your background can be seen secretly by the other party just from your obviously foreign accent...
Therefore, when time gradually came to August of autumn, the situation that Liu Rong expected, "Chang'an's public security situation faced challenges", unexpectedly did not happen.
In just over a month, all the candidates from the Guanzhong area had basically arrived in Chang'an.
Even in Guandong, candidates from areas slightly closer, such as Liangdi, Huaisi area, Hanzhong, Bashu, and even Beidi and Longyou, all arrived in Chang'an one after another.
Then, they dutifully found the place where they should stay.
——Those who have relatives seek shelter from their relatives, and those who have old friends seek out old friends to visit;
It was really their first time in Chang'an, and they didn't have any connections at all. They all found temporary places to stay according to their respective financial situations.
Those who are more affluent can rent or even buy a house in Chang'an;
For those who are worse off, they can either rent a small courtyard together or go directly to an inn and ask for a large bunk bed that can only accommodate one person at a low price.
However, the streets of Chang'an city became bustling even before the autumn harvest.
The wealthy young men walked on the streets, strolled here and there, and when they were tired, they had a few drinks with friends in the taverns;
The poor people who were short of money did not lock themselves in their rooms to read books. Those who were under financial pressure found a job, such as copying books, doing accounts, or carrying goods for others.
Even those who are not under financial pressure still adhere to the principle of "reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles" and make friends with like-minded peers everywhere in order to learn from each other and improve their academics.
Of course, there were inevitably some people with ulterior motives who, with just a dozen days left before the imperial examination, would stuff so-called "articles" that were full of flowery words but empty of substance into the doors of important officials, dukes and nobles in the court.
Expecting to be recommended is obviously an unrealistic fantasy;
More importantly, he hoped that he could be appreciated by some important figure, so that he could go further in the imperial examination, or after the imperial examination, he could stay in Chang'an and do something.
In a word, in short, everyone is working hard for his or her present and future.
In this unprecedented gathering of young intellectuals and the collision of hundreds of schools of thought, some unexpected sparks naturally emerged...
"A certain family, Zheng Dangshi!"
In the northern part of Chang'an, in a tavern outside the East Market, young scholars gathered.
Although no one invited the banquet, the scholars still gathered together spontaneously so that they could meet each other and get to know each other.
Seeing that everyone was shy and only talked to the people next to them but ignored others, Zheng stood up immediately and briefly introduced himself.
"Our ancestor, Mr. Zheng, was once a general of Chu!"
"After King Xiang was defeated, my ancestor surrendered to the Han Dynasty. Because he did not follow the order of Emperor Taizu Gao to 'call King Xiang by his name', he was demoted and sent back to his hometown."
After saying these two words, Zheng turned his tall and strong body, bowed to the scholars in the tavern, and then sat down.
When Zheng pretended to be calm, took the reward and sipped the wine, a burst of exclamations began to be heard in the tavern.
"Sigh~"
"Zheng was at that time..."
"Zheng Dangshi, the hero of Liangchu!"
...
"Thinking back to the Wu-Chu Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, the Zhang brothers - the Chu Prime Minister Zhang Shang fought to the death, and the Liang general Zhang Yu fought to the death!"
"Lieutenant Liang Zhang Yu had received favors from Zheng at that time, and he followed his advice to save the situation!"
The two exclamations in succession made everyone straighten their backs, and their eyes were all fixed on Zheng's arrogant face, which seemed calm but was actually secretly proud of himself.
——If it was just an identity of a "Liang Chu hero" and a family history of "ancestors were once generals of Chu", then most people present would still not know who Zheng was at that time. Even if they knew him, they would only despise him and disdain to associate with him;
Instead of looking at Zheng Dang with admiration, jealousy, and a little doubt like he was doing now.
Although not all the people present had prominent family backgrounds, at least they all had a good reputation.
At least they are elite intellectuals who have some knowledge and skills and have been aiming to serve the Han people for many years.
For these people, the most dazzling identity of Zheng Dangshi was that he was once the prince's attendant of the current Liu Rong!
That’s right;
Zheng Dangshi, whose ancestor had followed Xiang Yu and was unwilling to call Xiang Yu's real name "Xiang Ji" after the establishment of the Han Dynasty, was also a "knight-errant" who was not presentable. During the reign of the previous emperor, he was appointed as the prince's attendant to the then regent prince Liu Rong.
The so-called Prince's Sheren is the most common position among the officials in the Prince's Palace and the crown prince's team.
Except for the Prince's Chancellor (Housekeeper), the Prince's Commander (the next generation of eunuchs' commander), and the Prince's Shield Guard (the commander of the personal guards), most of the Prince's team originally served as the Prince's Sheren.
Logically speaking, the former prince regent is now the emperor. Zheng Dangshi, the former prince's attendant, should also become a trusted confidant of the current Liu Rong like countless predecessors, such as the previous emperor's prince's attendants Zhang Ou and Zhou Ren.
But now, Zheng was here at that time;
He appeared in this tavern which, except for the servants, was almost entirely filled with scholars taking imperial examinations.
This means that the former Liang and Chu heroes, and the wings of the team during the reign of the current Crown Prince Liu Rong, also plan to take part in this year's imperial examination.
No one knows why.
No one knew at that time whether Zheng had lost his mind, or had lost favor with the current Emperor Liu Rong, or had been eliminated in the fierce competition in the Crown Prince's Palace.
But what everyone can confirm immediately is that in this imperial examination, there is a person who once served beside the current Emperor Liu Rong, has a considerable understanding of the current Emperor Liu Rong, and once served as an official in Chang'an!
Regardless of how this person is doing now, or how he ended up in the situation where he has to take the imperial examination - this person's background alone is enough to make everyone be on their toes!
"Zheng was at that time..."
"Zheng was at that time..."
In the crowd, several people immediately lowered their heads inconspicuously and remembered this name firmly in their hearts.
——Zheng Dangshi, the hero of Liang and Chu and the former prince’s attendant!
The most popular candidate, or the focus person, of this scientific expedition also surfaced.
"I am Lord Father Yan, from Linzi, Qi County..."
After Zheng Dangshi, a thin man with a slightly sinister look stood up.
But after considering it again and again, Lord Father Yan finally gave up the idea of introducing his teacher and doctrine.
——The art of long and short vertical and horizontal operations!
Lord Yan has experienced countless times from childhood to adulthood how alien and unpopular this doctrine is in this era.
With a simple name and place of origin, and the fact that Zhufu Yan himself was not well-known and had no decent resume, no one paid much attention to him.
He just smiled politely and immediately turned his gaze to the third person.
"My name is Ni Kuan, and I am from Qiancheng County in Qi."
"He studied the Five Classics when he was young, and later received the Book of Shangshu from Ouyang Sheng, Ouyang Hebo."
This third person's self-introduction attracted more attention than the previous Zhufu Yan's.
First of all, Ni Kuan's self-introduction was a tactful revelation of his own school of thought - Confucianism.
Secondly, Ni Kuanzhi's "Shangshu" is relatively rare and of high value among Confucian studies.
——Back then, Chao Cuo was able to rise to prominence and enter the palace of the late Emperor Xiaojing during the reign of Emperor Taizong, all thanks to his status as a Doctor of the Book of Shang.
It can be said that among the six Confucian classics: "Book of Songs", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes", "Book of Music" and "Spring and Autumn Annals", "Book of Music" has been lost, and the Book of Songs has the lowest value among the remaining five.
It is not that the Book of Songs is not worth learning, or that it is "empty in content" and has no value in learning;
But nowadays there are too many people studying "Book of Songs" in the world, and even different schools such as Qi poetry and Chu poetry have been divided according to regions.
This led to a situation where almost everyone in the world, whether Confucian scholars or Huang-Lao, Legalist, Mohist, or other schools within Confucianism, studied the Book of Songs.
This is like in later generations, where college students have thousands of majors, but ideological and political education and Marxism-Leninism are required subjects that everyone must take by default.
"Poetry" is a compulsory ideological and political course for all scholars and literati of this era.
The book with slightly higher value than the Book of Songs is the Book of Rites, which is still monopolized by the Confucian scholars of Lu.
The low status of "Li" is mainly due to the fact that its content is lofty and not practical enough, as well as the negative points of the Lu Confucian group, and the fact that the full name of "Li" in this era is not "Li Ji" which is more familiar to later generations, but "Zhou Li".
The rites and laws of Zhou.
Now that it's the Han Dynasty, how could the Zhou's etiquette and laws be taken seriously?
Especially now that the Han Dynasty has been recognized by the world since the time of Emperor Taizu Gao - even Emperor Taizu Liu Bang himself admitted that it was an era of "the collapse of rituals and the decline of music."
Since all rituals and music have collapsed, the Zhou rituals will naturally be brought out when they are useful, and thrown aside when they are not useful.
Considering that the orthodoxy of "Li", or the right to interpret it, is still monopolized by the disgusting Lu Confucianism, it has led to the decline of "Li" studies.
"The Book of Songs" is the most popular, "The Book of Rites" is the least popular, and next up is "The Book of Changes".
To be precise, it is the "Book of Changes".
Although it has the word "Zhou" in its name just like "Zhou Li", the academic status of "Yi" is actually the highest among the six Confucian classics!
As for the ranking of comprehensive value, the reason why the Yi is ranked after the Shangshu and the Chunqiu is not because the Yi is inferior to the latter.
But compared with "Shangshu" and "Spring and Autumn Annals", "Yi" is really too obscure and difficult to understand. There are too few people willing to learn it, and even fewer people who can teach it clearly.
Therefore, in most cases, among the scholars of Confucian origin, whether in the contempt chain within Confucianism or in the external "food chain", those who study "Shangshu" and "Spring and Autumn Annals" are regarded as the most valuable.
As for the Book of Changes?
Anyone who can explain one, two, three, four is a great person in the world!
It is a pity that such people have never exceeded five in number since the Han Dynasty, and there have never been two people who are at the peak of their academic career at the same time.
(End of this chapter)
