Chapter 381: The Book of Changes
As the days passed, my favorite thing about coming to Yuelu Academy was attending lectures, both large and small. No matter whether the lectures were given by the president or by temporarily invited retired officials or great scholars, they were all very exciting.
In particular, Sun Shan benefited greatly from everyone's in-depth interpretation of the Four Books and Five Classics.
It turns out that students need good teachers.
The master leads you to the door, but the practice is up to you.
What is needed first is the teacher, and only then the student’s personal potential.
As the saying goes, a thousand-mile horse always exists, but a bole does not always exist.
After being here for so long, the only regret is that none of the teachers in the academy or the people who came to give lectures thought highly of Sun Shan or extended an olive branch to him.
At first, Sun Shan dreamed of finding a master in the academy, becoming his disciple, and studying hard.
After all, there is a huge difference between direct disciples and passing disciples.
Direct disciples can receive the true teachings from the master, while passing disciples are only given a few pointers and cannot go any further.
Sun Shan's initial goal was to teach the professor of "The Book of Changes" and become his disciple.
It's a pity that the professor of "The Book of Changes" had no feelings for Sun Shan. He taught everything that should be taught and did not teach what should not be taught. When Sun Shan asked questions, he answered them. If Sun Shan did not ask, he did not remind Sun Shan to ask. He did not have the same appreciative attitude that Hong Xiucai had towards Sun Shan.
Sun Shan had been enthusiastic for a month, but his thoughts had long been seen through by Professor Zhou Yi, who also reminded Sun Shan inadvertently and deliberately not to waste his time, saying that he already had a disciple and would not accept any more.
Although Sun Shan was thick-skinned for the sake of his knowledge, he still knew when to advance and retreat despite the professor's obvious metaphor.
I still ask the questions I want to ask, but I won’t pester them anymore.
But a month later, Sun Shan learned from the hometown association that the professor of "The Book of Changes" had accepted another native disciple, and he was so angry that he vomited blood.
The professor initially said that he already had a disciple and would not accept any more.
Sun Shan just felt that he and the professor were not destined to be together.
"When you were born, I was not yet born. When I was born, you were already old. You hate that I was born late, and I hate that you were born early."
When Sun Shan heard that the professor was accepting another disciple, he instantly suffered a critical hit of 10,000 points.
It wasn't that they were not destined to be together, but that he was disliked by the professor.
Gui Ge'er comforted him and said, "Brother Shan, don't be sad. The master doesn't know how precious you are. He thinks you are a weed. Brother Shan, you have always been a treasure in my heart."
Sun Shan looked expressionlessly at Gui Ge'er who was carefully comforting him. At this moment, he overturned the conclusion of appointing people based on merit and insisted on the path of appointing people based on personal connections.
The reason why Sun Shan chose to teach "The Book of Changes" was because he chose "The Book of Changes" as his original scripture.
The so-called "main classic" means that each candidate must choose one of the Five Classics, namely "The Book of Songs", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn Annals" as his or her specialization when registering. During the provincial examination, he or she must write an essay on the meaning of the classics using sentences extracted from this classic as the title.
The provincial examinations will include questions on the Five Classics. In addition to requiring students to complete questions on the meaning of the classics, each student will also be required to choose a topic from the classics and write an essay. When applying for the exam, they must also indicate what they have chosen as their specialty.
The provincial examinations in Daqian had many similarities and many differences from the provincial examinations we knew in previous lives.
For example, in my previous life, I knew that in the provincial examination, the top five in each subject must be the "king of all classics" in one of the classics.
That is to say, the top five candidates from each of the Five Classics would be selected to take part in the provincial examination.
Daqian does not have such a requirement. It does not matter whether you are in the top five or the top ten in the provincial examination, as long as you answer the paper well, it does not matter what scripture you are studying.
For example, the top five candidates in the provincial examination can all be students whose main classic is the Book of Songs.
The reason why students are required to choose a sutra to specialize in is because when you write the last question, you can choose to write about the sutra you are good at, without any rigid rules.
If this sutra is well written, it is equivalent to a bonus question.
The reason why Sun Shan specialized in the Book of Changes was simply because he liked fortune-telling.
But after reading it in depth, I found that the book "The Book of Changes" is not just a book of divination, but a book of self-cultivation through divination.
Each hexagram represents a fork in the road of spiritual practice. If a person is not upright, then his conduct in the world will also be unrighteous.
If a person is sick, his career will be ruined.
Rather than predicting human affairs, the Book of Changes is more about recording various diseases in the human body.
The existence of the Book of Changes supplements the human meridian diseases described in the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine.
If the meridians in the human body do not function properly, there will be disasters and misfortunes.
It’s a pity that the professor he liked who was good at "The Book of Changes" didn't like him, so he had to be sad alone.
Sun Shan was only sad for three days, but then he was full of energy again, thinking that he was a piece of gold that would shine sooner or later.
But the light is dim now and has not yet come out.
I thought that one day I would blind everyone’s eyes.
Gui Ge'er thought the same and comforted Sun Shan again: "Brother Shan, don't be sad. If this teacher doesn't see your goodness, we can find another one. There are so many teachers in the academy, there will always be one who sees your goodness. Brother Shan, I believe your goodness will definitely be discovered by the teacher."
Sun Shan rolled his eyes at Gui Ge'er again. He didn't know where he learned this from. He always spoke some nonsense and literary words that made no sense, and he kept repeating the same old stuff over and over again.
Sun Shan knew how good he was without Gui Ge'er telling him.
Sun Shan pointed to the chamber pot under the bed and ordered, "Gui'er, go empty the chamber pot. You have to empty it every day to keep the room clean, understand?"
Gui Ge'er frowned and said in confusion: "Brother Shan, I arrived early in the morning, why do I have to come back in the afternoon?"
Sun Shan took advantage of the situation and said angrily, "Gui, you ate in the morning, and you still have to eat at noon and in the evening. What's wrong? Do you have any objection to being asked to go to the chamber pot?"
Gui Ge'er finally felt Sun Shan's anger, and immediately stopped talking and hurried to empty the chamber pot.
I thought to myself: Brother Shan is so pitiful. He didn't have a chance to play Cuju, was rejected when he wanted to learn from a master, and couldn't learn horse riding and archery no matter how hard he tried. It's normal for him to be in a bad mood.
Gui Ge'er thought it was better to give way to Sun Shan. After all, he could eat and drink enough with Sun Shan. While Sun Shan was in class, he could also chat with the servant boy in the dormitory and read storybooks from time to time. His life was very happy.
When Sun Shan was in a bad mood, he should have talked back less to avoid making him angry.
Gui Ge'er comforted himself and went to empty the chamber pot happily. When he came back, he sneaked to "Fragrant Lotus in the Wind" one of the eight scenic spots in the academy and secretly picked a few lotus flowers.
Once you enter the dormitory, close the door immediately.
Sun Shan just felt better after detoxifying himself. Seeing Gui Ge'er acting strangely, he asked curiously, "Gui Ge'er, what are you doing?"
Gui Ge'er put down the chamber pot, rolled his eyes around, and seeing that there was no one outside the window, he carefully took out three gorgeous lotus flowers from his arms.
She said happily, "Brother Shan, I picked these lotus flowers for you. I know you like flowers and plants the most. Do you feel better after seeing the lotus flowers?"
Gui Ge'er looked at Sun Shan expectantly, hoping that he would answer yes.
Sun Shan's heart was moved, and he felt an indescribable emotion. He said with a sour nose, "Gui Ge'er, I like it very much!"
Gui Ge'er's dark little face instantly broke into a smile, and he said happily: "Brother Shan, I knew you liked it. I'll put the flowers in a vase and keep them for a long time. When the flowers wither, I'll pick them again."
After saying that, he searched around the room but couldn't find the vase. He only found a jar of pickles.
Gui Ge'er didn't mind. He quickly washed the jar, put water in it, and put the lotus into the jar.
Sun Shan looked at the lotus steadily and smiled.