BSI Chapter 83 0081 [The Ouyang Family's Little Fanboy]
Chapter 83 0081 [The Ouyang Family's Little Fanboy]
Chapter 83 0081 [The Ouyang Family's Little Fanboy]
Was Ouyang Xiu very poor?
His family had a collection of 10,000 books, including more than 1,000 volumes of inscriptions on bronze and stone.
Selling all these books would be more than enough to buy a large house in Kaifeng.
But is he very rich?
The whole family is still renting a house, and the location isn't very good.
A few years ago, Kaifeng was flooded, so my family had to stay at a friend's house while I moved into my office. After a while, I was ordered to move out.
It can only be said that Ouyang Xiu used all the salary and rewards given by the imperial court to buy books.
Xu Lai walked through a narrow alley and searched for a while but couldn't find the side door, so he simply ran to knock on the front door of Ouyang Xiu's house.
At the Prime Minister's gate, a seventh-rank official was present; Xu Lai had already prepared to bribe the gatekeeper.
For high-ranking officials, this might also be a screening method. After all, many people come to pay their respects, and it's impossible to announce the arrival of just anyone; receiving guests all day would be incredibly annoying.
The doorman, an old man, looked at Xu Lai's business card, then at the cover of Yu Jing's letter, and asked, "Are you a student of Master Yu?"
"Exactly." Xu Lai took out a string of copper coins.
The doorman smiled and said, "I am a student of Master Yu, and I dare not accept gifts. Please come inside and wait a moment. Master Yu is off today and happens to be staying home."
Xu Lai was invited inside and sat down. After a short wait, a servant came to invite him in.
He discreetly observed the surroundings and discovered that the house Ouyang Xiu was renting was much larger than Yu Jing's house.
After all, with several sons living together, along with their wives and grandchildren, the space is too small to accommodate everyone.
The servant took Xu Lai directly to the study, where Ouyang Xiu was teaching the younger generation how to write poetry.
Even the chubby Xu Anshi was there.
Relying on the connections of his two maternal uncles, this fellow sought out teachers everywhere after arriving in the capital. Besides Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, Wang Gui, and others were also his teachers.
No wonder he looked down on Feng Jing's literary skills!
"Haha, Xingzhi is here too." The chubby boy sat in the study, laughing heartily.
Xu Lai smiled slightly at him, then bowed to the white-haired old man and said, "This junior, Xu Lai, greets Mr. Ouyang!"
Ouyang Xiu carefully examined him, nodded approvingly, and said, "A handsome man."
His eldest and second sons were not home; they probably took advantage of the holiday and went out to meet friends early in the morning.
The third son, Ouyang Fei, and the fourth son, Ouyang Bian, were sitting obediently in the study, listening to Ouyang Xiu's lecture with Xu Anshi.
Ouyang Fei and Xu Lai are the same age.
Ouyang Bian was two years younger than Xu Lai.
After Xu Lai stepped forward to greet them, they all stood up to return the greeting.
"These are the letter from the gentleman, and a gift for Ouyang Gong." Xu Lai took out a folding fan, a pair of mulberry scissors, a stack of manuscripts, and a letter.
The folding fans were not the batch ordered by Xu Lai, but were made by people sent by Yu Jing, and the paper used was of higher quality.
When Ouyang Xiu unfolded the fan, he saw that the text on the fan was Yu Jing's handwritten poem "Lang Tao Sha: Raising a Cup to the East Wind".
"Your teacher is very thoughtful." Ouyang Xiu was delighted with the folding fan, holding it and looking at it again and again.
Immediately afterwards, Ouyang Xiu picked up the mulberry shears: "What's so special about these shears?"
Xu Lai replied, "It can be used to prune flower branches, mulberry branches, fruit branches, and tea branches. It is elegant for scholars and convenient for farmers."
Ouyang Xiu asked, "What about the farming tools from Lingnan?"
Xu Lai cupped his hands and said, "Seeing my father and brothers working so hard cutting mulberry leaves, I tried to invent this thing."
"You created this?" Ouyang Xiu was quite surprised. "I only know that your poems and essays, and your profound insights, are excellent."
Yu Jing's last letter to Ouyang Xiu was sent in early May of the lunar calendar. Later, the flood season arrived, and it was inconvenient to sail upstream through Feilai Gorge, so neither official documents nor private letters were sent for the time being.
Ouyang Xiu simply opened and read the letter.
In his letter, Yu Jing briefly described the political situation in Guangdong and complained about Cai Xiang sending Shi Xun to Guangzhou to serve as an official. He then boasted about his newly accepted disciple, Xu Lai, recounting his various achievements and deeds, and asked Ouyang Xiu to help take care of him.
After reading the letter, Ouyang Xiu picked up the manuscripts, namely Xu Lai's "A Preliminary Discussion of Mencius" and "A New Method of Mathematics".
Ouyang Xiu sometimes frowned and sometimes pondered when reading "A Brief Discussion of Mencius".
He had read Xu Lai's "Preliminary Discussions on the Analects" before and had the same feeling. Some parts he greatly admired, while others he found hard to accept.
Ouyang Xiu had no intention of disseminating these two preliminary discussions, because they were too controversial.
As for the Three Cardinal Guides and Eight Virtues, Ouyang Xiu discussed them with his friends, including Han Qi, who all strongly agreed with them.
Immediately afterwards, Ouyang Xiu put down "A Preliminary Discussion of Mencius" and picked up Xu Lai's "A New Method of Mathematics".
His math skills are quite good. Whether it's compiling historical records or studying the numerology of the I Ching, it would be difficult to do so without a solid foundation in mathematics.
After reading the manuscript for a while, Ouyang Xiu looked up and said, "You all get to know each other better, and let me finish reading this manuscript first."
Ouyang Fei, Ouyang Bian, and Xu Anshi were unaware that it was Xu Lai's manuscript; they thought it was Yu Jing's latest work.
Xu Anshi dared not disturb Ouyang Xiu, and silently smiled and waved to Xu Lai.
Xu Lai walked over and sat down.
Xu Anshi said in a low voice, "We were just talking about you."
"Are you going to talk about anecdotes from Guangzhou?" Xu Lai asked with a smile.
Ouyang Fei joined the group chat: "There are also foreigners in Kaifeng. I wonder if they look the same as the foreigners in Guangzhou."
"That depends on which country they are from," Xu said. "The foreigners in Guangzhou come from Southeast Asia, India, and the Abbasid Caliphate. Their hometowns are thousands of miles apart, so they naturally look different."
Ouyang Bian was only fifteen years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning) and was extremely curious about everything: "Are there barbarians who look like ghosts?"
Xu Lai countered, "What should a ghost look like?"
"Well----"
Ouyang Bian found it difficult to answer.
Xu Lai said, "However, there are indeed Kunlun slaves in Guangzhou. Their skin is as black as charcoal, and at first glance they really do look like ghosts. They are excellent swimmers, and if a merchant ship's cabin leaks, they will send a Kunlun slave to sneak up and repair it."
"I know that!"
Ouyang Bei said, "I've read Tang Dynasty novels where Tao Xian loved to throw his precious sword and jade ring into the water and have his servant Kunlun dive to retrieve them. He would do this to show off to others. Once, Kunlun returned empty-handed and begged Tao Xian for forgiveness. Tao Xian, however, ordered him to go back into the water, and Kunlun eventually drowned."
Ouyang Bian said angrily, "Although Kunlun slave is of a different race, he is still Tao Xian's servant. If the sword accidentally falls into the water, it is understandable to let the servant retrieve it. But to deliberately throw the sword into the water and not stop there when he can't retrieve it, forcing the servant to his death—Tao Xian is truly a cold-hearted and vicious person!"
Xu Anshi quickly echoed.
After chatting about Kunlun slaves for a while, the topic shifted to literature.
Xu Anshi said, "I came here today to study poetry, and we talked about you and Lu Zhiyuan. I just learned that your poem 'New Thunder' is truly refreshing."
"I wrote it in a hurry and just wrote it down randomly," Xu said.
Ouyang Bian said, "Brother, you are too modest. My father received a letter a few months ago, read the poem 'New Thunder,' and even explained it to us brothers."
Ouyang Fei turned around and ran to the bookshelf, took out a stack of poems and said, "These are my humble works. Please feel free to offer your guidance."
Xu read a few of the poems and praised them highly, saying, "They are extremely well written."
What does "excellent" mean?
His writing style and allusions are excellent; he could sit at the same table as Feng Jing and would be very suitable for the imperial examinations.
No wonder Ouyang Fei was able to pass the imperial examination later, while his two older brothers, who wrote better poetry, failed.
Ouyang Bian asked, "Besides 'New Thunder,' what other poems does Brother Xingzhi have written?"
Having arrived in the capital, one must make a name for oneself.
Xu Lai immediately picked up his pen and wrote down two "old works", and also noted the background of their creation.
Upon seeing the lines "I consider myself the best among men" and "I stand at the summit of the mountain," Ouyang Bei, Ouyang Bian, and Xu Anshi were all amazed.
"I am ashamed to admit that I am not as talented as Xingzhi in poetry!" Xu Anshi sighed, leaning on the table.
Ouyang Bian's eyes lit up: "It's more than just poetic talent. These two poems are full of lofty aspirations and broad-mindedness, making one's blood boil after reading them. They are incomparable to ordinary people."
Xiao Bian is particularly fond of poetry and later became a big fan of Su Shi. Now, he is not familiar with Su Shi, but instead admires Xu Lai greatly.
Ouyang Bian added, "I often attend poetry gatherings, and recently I met a scholar who failed the imperial examinations. His poetry is exceptionally good. If Brother Xingzhi were to exchange ideas with him, you would surely feel like old friends!"
"What's the name of that failed scholar?" Xu Lai asked curiously.
Ouyang Bian said, "His surname is Huang, his given name is Tingjian, and his courtesy name is Luzhi. After failing the imperial examination this year, he has been staying in the capital, visiting famous teachers everywhere, and occasionally participating in poetry gatherings."
Huang Tingjian ranked first in the prefectural examination last year and went to the capital this year full of confidence, but unexpectedly failed the exam.
Xu Lai asked curiously, "Who usually initiates poetry gatherings in Kaifeng?"
Ouyang Fei explained, "There are two kinds. One is initiated by literary masters, with many younger generations vying to participate. The other is initiated by young scholars, who invite friends to write poems in response. When my father had free time, he would sometimes organize poetry gatherings."
Ouyang Xiu had already carefully read one-third of "New Methods of Mathematics".
In his letter, Yu Jing stated that he had written to Cai Xiang, hoping that Cai Xiang could promote this method within the Three Departments. Cai Xiang was the Commissioner of the Three Departments.
Perhaps Cai Xiang was too busy repairing the late emperor's tomb to promote Xu Lai's mathematics, so Ouyang Xiu planned to find time to talk to Cai Xiang.
Setting down his mathematics manuscript, Ouyang Xiu became increasingly curious about Xu Lai: "Before you entered the state school, you always eavesdropped on the village school teachers' lectures?"
Xu Lai hurriedly walked back to Ouyang Xiu: "My family lives in the mountains, and there isn't a single fourth-class household in the whole village. Therefore, I couldn't afford to go to school. Every time I went down the mountain with my father and brothers, I would find an opportunity to eavesdrop at the village school outside the mountains. I've been doing this on and off for ten years."
Ouyang Xiu sighed, "You spent ten years eavesdropping and still managed to get first place in the prefectural school's entrance exam. I'm no match for you."
Xu Lai embellished the story more and more: "I once heard someone say that Mr. Ouyang was poor when he was young and could only practice calligraphy in the sand with reeds. Mr. Ouyang is my role model. I practice calligraphy on the smooth stone wall in the mountains with chicken feathers as brushes and stream water as ink."
"Hahaha!"
Ouyang Xiu laughed heartily, finding Xu Lai even more pleasing to the eye.
After laughing, Ouyang Xiu said to his two sons and one nephew, "You have pen and paper, so cherish what you have and work even harder."
"I will heed your (Uncle's) teachings!"
Ouyang Fei, Ouyang Bian, and Xu Anshi quickly stood up.
At this moment, Xu Lai has become "someone else's child," and is used by Ouyang Xiu to encourage his nephews and nieces.
Ouyang Xiu continued, "It's not enough to just study; one must also learn to apply knowledge to practical use. Do you know that the people of Guangzhou are facing a water shortage? Xingzhi, along with twenty or thirty classmates, went to the mountains to investigate water conservancy and discovered the reason for the declining water levels in rivers and lakes. They also formulated a water conservancy strategy, which has been adopted by the Guangzhou government, and construction will begin this winter!"
The three little ones were astonished by these words.
Ouyang Bian looked at Xu Lai, his eyes sparkling again. He thought his elder brother was incredibly talented. Not only was he a good poet, but he also had the ability to govern the world and benefit the people.
Ding!
I've gained a little fanboy.