Chapter 552 A white horse is not a horse
The grass grows and the warbler flies in February, and the willows are drunk in the spring.
February has passed and March is here.
Sun Shan went to Chongzheng Academy to study according to the procedures.
The Juren class and the Xiucai class are completely different.
The Juren class emphasizes self-awareness. The teacher no longer teaches the Four Books and Five Classics again, because those who pass the Juren exam are assumed to be familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics.
The professor is like a university lecturer, giving a topic and conducting an in-depth and easy-to-understand study, as if he is conveying his own ideas.
Whether you agree or not is entirely up to the individual.
Of course, there are more debates in class.
A debater does not consider victory or defeat as a merit or demerit, but rather victory or defeat is determined by reason.
There is never a winner or loser in a debate. What is more important is to use the theme of the debate to help students think about the topic during the competition and be good at considering issues from multiple perspectives.
Ultimately, in the long river of life, use debate to light a bright lamp for yourself.
No matter what point of view you support, base it on facts and discern the truth.
The professors at Chongzheng Academy were all knowledgeable scholars, and Sun Shan learned a lot from them.
In particular, I have a deeper understanding of "Confucianism".
Today, let the students write an essay on the debate of "a white horse is not a horse".
“A white horse is not a horse” comes from Gongsun Longzi's "On the White Horse".
Gongsun Long is a famous representative of sophistry.
The professor asked the students to use this as a topic and write an argument in support of or against Gongsun Long.
What are the bases for support and opposition and what theories are drawn from them.
During class, the professor would express his opinions first, and the rest would be left to students like Sun Shan to write their essays.
Sun Shan held an opposing opinion on the question "A white horse is not a horse".
The proposition that "a white horse is not a horse" fundamentally sever the relationship between the general and the individual, the commonality and the individuality, and is the result of subjective and arbitrary confusion and manipulation of concepts.
Sun Shan needs to write a lot of examples to prove his point of view and convince the professor who is marking his article.
Sun Shan thought about it and thought that starting from a topic and moving from theory to examples might be a better way to move towards practice.
After finishing the professor's class in the morning, the afternoon is usually free.
The study and life there are similar to those in Yuelu Academy.
In the afternoon, you can take activity classes, interest classes, or go to the library to read books or complete homework.
It is already March, and the results of this joint examination are out, and we are preparing to enter the palace examination stage.
As for the results, the academy has not received the official bulletin yet, and the final ranking should be announced in mid-March.
Sun Shan stared into the distance, wondering whether his fellow villagers who were taking the exam with him had made it onto the list.
A few days ago, Sun Shan received a letter from the capital.
This letter was written by my eldest cousin, and it was written years ago.
Due to the freezing period, it was not received until after the New Year.
He Shujin first showed concern for Sun Shan's health, then comforted him not to think too much, and told him not to miss the examination as he was still young and had many opportunities. Finally, he asked him if he needed anything and whether he wanted someone to come over.
If necessary, he can arrange for someone to come over.
He Shujin asked Sun Shan whether he would return home or go to the capital after he recovered from his illness.
Sun Shan looked at the last few lines of words. His cousin mentioned vaguely that the capital was unstable.
It was suggested that he should not go to the capital but return home first.
Wait three years before going to Beijing to take the exam.
Sun Shan paused and frowned. What did his eldest cousin mean when he said that the capital was unstable?
Is it about the body of the current Saint?
In fact, when reading the official bulletin at Yuelu Academy, Sun Shan guessed that the emperor was in poor health. After all, he was old and he had no choice but to admit his age.
Accepting old age means being closer to death.
Could it be that my cousin is worried that the emperor's death will cause chaos in the capital, which could easily lead to trouble?
Especially when the new emperor takes over the throne, trouble is likely to arise.
Sun Shan was also afraid that he would be implicated.
Especially in the capital city, which is too close to the emperor, accidents are most likely to happen.
During the several times that Sun Shan met with Manager Xu, he vaguely felt that Manager Xu always took the attitude of making a big deal out of the problem.
Duke Xu and the emperor are brothers in distress and have been through thick and thin together.
The person who knows the emperor's situation best now is Duke Xu.
Could it be that Duke Xu had anticipated something, and so told the young men who stayed in Yingtian Prefecture not to cause trouble, and to resolve the situation if possible?
Sun Shan thought that if the current emperor really passed away, he wondered whether the prince would be able to take over smoothly.
If not, the consequences will be disastrous.
The prerequisite for Sun Shan to live a peaceful life is a peaceful world.
If it were a time of war, his peace would be a luxury.
Sun Shan thought about it and decided that no matter what, he would not go to the capital and would wait three years later.
He should stay in Jinling and study hard.
Of course, if something happened in Jinling, Sun Shan would run away and hide back in Sunjia Village without hesitation.
I think that the ancestors of the Sun family found a remote mountain place like Sunjia Village because of the war, just to ensure safety.
When Sun Shan walked out of the academy, Gui Ge'er was already waiting for him.
Gui Geer smiled and said, "Brother Shan, we found a batch of orchid seedlings today. I think they are good, at least three years old. The price is not very expensive, so I bought them back.
Sun Shan was busy studying, so the flower-growing business was handed over to Gui Ge'er, Sun Dali and Sun Dingnan.
They rented 2 acres of land at the foot of Qingliang Mountain specifically for growing orchids.
Sun Shan was delighted when he heard this and said anxiously, "Let's go and take a look now."
Gui Ge'er led Sun Shan down the mountain, and after another half an hour's walk they arrived at the rented land.
There was a simple little shed there, which had been there when the land was rented.
Sun Dali volunteered to stand guard here at night, as he was afraid that his orchid seedlings would be stolen.
Come here to sleep at night.
Sun Shan thought about it and agreed. This place was not too remote. There was a tea garden next to it that specialized in growing Yuhua tea. There were also tea farmers looking after the garden.
It’s not dangerous for Sun Dali to come and live here, at least there is someone around.
If something really big happens, just shout and the nearby tea farmers will be able to hear it.
Sun Shan examined this batch of orchid seedlings for a long time.
It turned out to be Dafengsu, also known as Riyuechui, a famous variety among Jianlan.
Dafengsu is a leader among orchids, loved by both novices and veteran orchid lovers, and is known as the "king of flower quantity".
It is common to see flowers but no leaves, and it blooms four to five times a year, with the flowering period now occurring in June.
The batch of seedlings selected by Gui Ge'er is indeed a good choice for cultivation now.
Sun Shan said approvingly: "Gui Ge'er, this batch of Jianlan is good. If we cultivate it carefully, it will bloom in June."
When Gui Geer heard this, he smiled so hard that his teeth showed and said cheerfully, "Brother Shan, when I go back to Sunjia Village, I often learn how to grow flowers from the old man, so I know a little bit about it."
Sun Shan was amused and said with a smile, "That's right. My father is the best at growing flowers in Sunjia Village. If you follow him, you will learn a lot of flower-growing techniques."
After Sun Shan said this, Gui Ge'er became even happier.
Sun Shan added, "How much did you spend on the flowers? You can ask Brother Nan for money. Haha, he is the manager of the family now."
Sun Shan originally wanted Gui Ge'er to be the general manager and help with the accounting.
But I found that he was not very good at doing these careful tasks and was very careless.
So Sun Dingnan became the general manager of the Sun family, in charge of finance and accounting.
Sun Dingnan has been trained by the village chief since he was a child. He has been influenced by the village chief and once compared with Gui Ge'er, he is completely superior.
As for Sun Dali, he was illiterate and could only do hard labor.