BSI Chapter 92 0090 [How to investigate things and acquire knowledge?]
Chapter 92 0090 [How to investigate things and acquire knowledge?]
Chapter 92 0090 [How to investigate things and acquire knowledge?]
Perhaps shocked by Xu Lai's rapid "deciphering" of the sixty-four hexagrams square and circle diagram, Yu Shuying actually developed an interest in mathematics and insisted on having Xu Lai teach him "New Methods of Mathematics".
Yu Shuying would study for two or three days at a time, demonstrating her rapid learning speed.
This guy is actually very smart. He was just playful and lacked perseverance before, and he wasn't very interested in classics and history.
"If we act accordingly, we will be accepted with respect; we are here!"
Early in the morning, Lu Zhiyuan and Xu Anshi came to visit each other.
These two were regulars, so the old gatekeeper let them in without even having to announce their arrival.
Seeing Yu Shuying actually reading a book, Lu Zhiyuan was quite surprised: "Brother Zehan, you've become so diligent during the holidays?"
"I am studying Xingzhi's 'New Method of Mathematics'."
Yu Shuying excitedly said, "You don't know, Xingzhi has never studied the I Ching, yet he can understand the square and circle diagram of the sixty-four hexagrams at once. He said it's a number game, and you can understand it by learning his 'New Method of Arithmetic'."
Lu Zhiyuan had always enjoyed reading a wide variety of books, but his knowledge was broad but not deep. After hearing what Yu Shuying said, he became interested in learning from him.
Fatty Xu, however, was planning to take the imperial examination and wouldn't be spending his time studying miscellaneous subjects for the time being. He leaned back in his chair and asked, "Zehan, Chengjing, could I move into your house?"
"Aren't you staying at your great-uncle's house?" Yu Sigong asked.
"well!
"n stations"
Xu Anshi sighed, "You all know what my uncles are like. It's been snowing heavily for days, and it's not fun outside. A bunch of their cronies come over every day, making a huge fuss at my great-uncle's house."
Yu Shuying asked, "Doesn't your great-uncle care?"
"He's getting senile; he always does whatever his son wants," Xu Anshi said, speechless.
Song Xiang and Song Qi are typical examples of those who failed to properly educate their children.
Although Song Xiang lost his position as prime minister due to political struggles, the triggering event was extremely absurd: his own son and his brother Song Qi's son conspired with thugs to forge imperial edicts!
His nephews and nieces had caused such a huge mess that Song Xiang could no longer serve as prime minister, but Song Xiang did not learn his lesson at all.
Song Xiang had fifteen sons in total. Except for his eldest son, who successfully passed the imperial examination, all the other sons were good-for-nothings. Moreover, as he got older, he spoiled his sons more and more.
Xu Anshi lives at his great-uncle's house, where he faces fourteen uncles, a large group of cousins, and their cronies every day. He's almost driven crazy this winter break.
"Do you know what they were doing yesterday?"
Xu Anshi found it difficult to speak: "They actually brought prostitutes into their homes, lit braziers to fill the rooms with warmth, and then made the prostitutes wrestle for entertainment. And they were only wearing tube tops and underpants!"
"Hahahaha," Yu Sigong laughed loudly upon hearing this, "That's really going too far. If I did that at home, my grandfather and father would definitely break my legs if they found out."
Xu Anshi couldn't bring himself to talk about what happened next.
Those guys not only entertained themselves in their rooms, but they also banged drums and gongs to cheer on the prostitutes, getting drunk and shouting.
Xu Anshi was so disturbed by the noise that he couldn't read, so he went to remind them to be quieter. But as soon as he opened the door, he saw two prostitutes wrestling, and one of them had her bra ripped off.
He ran to his uncle with a red face to complain. Song Xiang was also very angry and chased away all the outsiders while leaning on his cane.
As a result, the two younger uncles begged and pleaded with the old man, and quickly made him happy.
There was no punishment whatsoever!
"I'll pay the rent and bring my page here too." Xu Anshi patted out a few gold leaves.
Yu Shuying did not refuse, but just kept laughing.
This is outrageous! Openly inviting a group of prostitutes home, where they play sumo wrestling while wearing only tube tops and underwear.
As everyone was joking about the Song family, Shen Kuo, who had disappeared a few days earlier, suddenly returned.
"Everything is done."
Shen Kuo took out a small beam gauge, a quill pen, a balance scale, an improved reed force gauge, and so on from the sack.
The compass beam is an ancient Chinese compass, somewhat resembling a vernier caliper. The crossbeam of the compass is marked with graduations, and the tip can slide freely along the crossbeam.
Shen Kuo said, "I've been staying at Secretary Su's (Su Song's) house these past few days, and together we've worked on making the tool."
"How did you make this quill pen?"
Xu Lai had never seen a quill pen before; he just mentioned it casually and left the rest of the research and development work to Shen Kuo.
Shen Kuo said, "Craftsmen have always used reed pens and bamboo pens, and I made goose feather pens based on these two types of pens. There were many problems, but they have all been solved."
As the name suggests, reed pens and bamboo pens are hard pens made from reed tubes and bamboo tubes. Moreover, the principle of their nibs is exactly the same as that of modern fountain pens.
The disadvantages are that the nib is too hard, the feel is not good, it is easy to break, and the ink storage capacity is extremely poor.
Shen Kuo, holding the finished goose quill pen, said, "At first, I only sharpened the tip. But the goose quill contains grease, which doesn't attract ink. Sometimes it doesn't write anything, and sometimes it produces a large blot of ink. Moreover, the goose quill is brittle and hard, easily broken when cut, and has very poor toughness."
"So how did you solve it?" Xu Lai asked curiously.
Shen Kuo said, "Steaming it in a steamer will solve all the above problems. But a new problem will arise: after steaming, the nib will be too soft and will collapse as soon as you write. If it is allowed to air dry naturally, the nib will wear out very easily and become dull after writing only a few characters. It will also become soft after absorbing water and will collapse when it comes into contact with ink, resulting in characters that are sometimes thick and sometimes thin."
"And then?" Xu Lai pressed.
Shen Kuo laughed and said, "I stir-fried sand in an iron pot and then put the goose quills into the sand to harden them. This not only solved the above problems, but also hardened the oils and gums inside the quills. The nib is more durable, the quill holds more ink, and it writes more smoothly."
Xu Lai couldn't help but marvel at Lao Shen's truly impressive research and development capabilities.
Xu Lai immediately poured water, ground ink, dipped his quill brush in it, and soon beautiful calligraphy appeared on the paper. The characters were clear and the writing was smooth.
It's much better than the reed and bamboo pens used by craftsmen.
In fact, the traditional European quill pen was an improvement on the reed pen.
Shen Kuo had replaced the wooden nib of the traditional compass with a goose feather nib. Xu Lai dipped his brush in ink and used the compass to draw several circles in succession.
"The quill pen is wonderful, much better than the brush!" Lu Zhiyuan exclaimed with delight.
The jiebi is an ancient Chinese drawing brush specifically used for drafting. It was also frequently used in meticulous brushwork paintings, such as depicting the straight lines of pavilions and towers.
Shen Kuo said confidently, "To do a good job, one must first have the right tools. With the quill pen, the balance scale, and the improved force gauge, the book 'Geometry' will be completed soon. And Xingzhi's 'Physics' will be studied immediately!"
"Then let's verify the principle of leverage first," Xu said.
Yu Shuying, Yu Sigong, Lu Zhiyuan, and Xu Anshi all gathered around to watch Xu Lai and Shen Kuo conduct their lever experiment.
A moment later, a gasp of surprise rang out.
"The products are actually equal!"
"Let's do another set, this time with the fulcrum and weight changed."
"Haha, they're still equal."
"How wondrous are the creations of this world! Even a small lever can subtly embody the principles of mathematics."
"6
A group of scholars cheered and jumped for joy, much like children who had received a new toy.
When the Imperial Academy gave out its holiday, it was already close to the Lunar New Year.
The Lunar New Year is just around the corner.
Unable to bear the presence of so many uncles, Xu Anshi moved into the Yu family home with his page, only returning home for a few days during the Lunar New Year.
Shen Kuo also stayed at the Yu family's house, studying physics every day. Occasionally, he would go out with Xu Lai to discuss mathematics and geometry with Su Song and Lin Yi.
The writing of the two books is progressing rapidly.
Both "Mathematics" and "Geometry" utilize Xu Lai's method to reorganize various mathematical classics since the Qin and Han dynasties, and add new concepts such as decimals from Xu Lai's work.
Meanwhile, in another residence in the capital, Zhao Xu's three teachers were arguing incessantly.
The three of them wanted to use the Three Cardinal Guides and Eight Virtues to educate the princes, but they could not reach a consensus when "organizing the curriculum".
"Although it is written as 'close to the people,' it should be read as 'new people,'" Han Wei said, pointing to a copy of "The Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites." "This chapter has already written it very clearly: 'If you can improve yourself one day, improve yourself every day, and keep improving yourself. Be a new person. Although Zhou is an old state, its mandate is ever new!'"
Wang Tao said irritably, "How can you misinterpret the meaning of the classics? The righteous interpretation is very clear: the soup pan is a bathing pan. It represents fasting and bathing with sincerity, and here it is about making oneself morally renewed. As for the new people, that is to make the old people of Yin Shang grateful to the new dynasty."
"Did I misinterpret the scriptures?"
Han Wei was furious: "It's that Kong Yingda who's misinterpreting the scriptures!"
Wang Tao was also furious: "Kong Yingda was the 32nd generation descendant of Confucius and a great scholar of Confucian classics in the early Tang Dynasty. From the Tang Dynasty to the present, scholars have all studied his commentaries. How could he possibly misinterpret the meaning of the classics? If he misinterpreted the meaning of the classics, then wouldn't scholars of the past hundreds of years have all misunderstood the 'Great Learning'?"
"So what if he was a great Confucian scholar in the early Tang Dynasty? Does that mean he was always right?"
Han Wei pointed to the book and said, "Look at it yourself. The first few sentences are still explaining 'manifesting virtue.' The following sentences must be expounding on 'loving the people.' The 'Great Learning' chapter of the 'Book of Rites' itself has already written it clearly. Kong Yingda insisted on adding unnecessary details and giving a nonsensical interpretation! Does he think the original text of the classic is wrong, and that Kong Yingda's annotations are correct?"
"I—I—"
Wang Tao, his face flushed with embarrassment at the rebuttal, turned to Sun Sigong and said, "Sun Jixian, you be the judge. From the early Tang Dynasty to the present, all scholars have followed Kong Yingda's interpretation. If the interpretation is wrong, then hasn't everything been wrong for hundreds of years?"
Sun Sigong yawned.
Of the three, Sun Sigong is the oldest and has the most laid-back personality.
He preferred studying astronomy and mathematics, as well as natural phenomena. For example, he believed that rainbows were produced by the sun shining on rainwater.
Repairing the armillary sphere and compiling a calendar were Sun Sigong's strengths.
Sigh, they insisted on making him the prince's teacher.
"Say something!" Wang Tao said urgently.
Sun Sigong finally spoke: "Whether to read the original text or the new text, forgive my lack of knowledge, I really cannot judge. But Kong Yingda must have been talking nonsense when he wrote his commentaries. The same character in the text is given several different interpretations by Kong Yingda. When I was a young student, I felt that Kong Yingda's commentaries were wrong."
Wang Tao said angrily, "Then what should we do? If we use the Three Cardinal Guides and Eight Virtues to teach His Highness, we must teach the entire *Great Learning* together. Now you say that the commentary on the *Book of Rites* is wrong? Does that mean we three are just randomly teaching the prince without following Kong Yingda's commentary? Who can bear the responsibility if we teach him wrongly?"
"Even setting aside the Three Cardinal Guides and Eight Virtues, does the existence of disagreements mean that His Highness should never be taught to read the Book of Rites?" Han Wei questioned.
Wang Tao was speechless and looked at Sun Sigong again.
Sun Sigong yawned again.
Han Wei said, "If you don't dare, let me teach you. I'll take responsibility for anything!"
Han Wei's temper is just as tough as his father's.
Back when his father was the vice prime minister, all four of Han Wei's brothers passed the Ministry of Rites examination. However, rumors spread, and Han Wei's father directly petitioned the emperor to revoke his four sons' qualifications for the palace examination.
It really was canceled.
Han Wei was extremely displeased and never took the exams again, not even accepting the hereditary official position. More than twenty years later, he accepted Fu Bi's invitation to serve as his advisor, thus entering the officialdom.
"You—can you bear this responsibility? Sigh!" Wang Tao stormed off in anger.
Sun Sigong yawned again; he hadn't slept well last night while studying mathematics.
Han Wei said to Sun Sigong, "Is the text of 'The Great Learning' missing the part about investigating things and extending knowledge? The text elaborates on the other parts of the Three Cardinal Guides and Eight Principles, but it omits the part about investigating things and extending knowledge. The text does not clearly explain how to investigate things and how to extend knowledge."
"I don't know," Sun Sigong replied honestly.
Since the scriptures don't mention it, let's find a way to fill in the gaps.
Zhu Xi supplemented the epistemology of "investigating things to acquire knowledge" by quoting the interpretations of the Cheng brothers.
Xu Lai strongly disagreed, because the Cheng brothers were constantly spouting correct but meaningless platitudes, while Zhu Xi was misleading his students with a flawed worldview. They were even misled by Wang Yangming into investigating bamboo.
Xu Lai had his own method for supplementing the study of things and acquiring knowledge.
The scripture happened to be missing this part, and Xu Lai felt uncomfortable if he didn't supplement it.