Chapter 107: General History of Literature (1)
In the year 7007 of the Interstellar Calendar, at Yong’an Academy.
Unlike other institutions in the Qi State, Yong’an Academy was hidden behind a vast nebula, occupying a small isolated planet. Its architectural style was red walls with glazed tiles from thousands of years ago, and from a distance, it resembled the legendary celestial palace of ancient myths.
In the morning, small crane-shaped flying devices arrived at the academy gate in groups of two or three. Students jumped off, greeted familiar faces, and walked into the academy.
These crane-shaped flying devices were modified centuries ago by a senior student and had since become popular in the academy.
Inside one of the palace halls, an elderly professor sat at the podium. He pushed up his glasses and addressed the students who had arrived: “Students who are here, please come to the podium to collect today’s teaching materials.”
On the podium were neatly stacked silk scrolls—not originals, but miniature reproductions.
The old professor carefully reviewed the paper lesson plan, going over today’s lecture once more.
Then, a grand chime echoed throughout the academy. The professor stood, and the students stood and bowed.
The professor nodded slightly, opened his lesson plan, and spoke in a calm tone: “Alright, today we continue from where we left off.”
“Last time, we discussed several literary figures before Ding Yuan, mainly during the reign of De Zong: the great scholar Gongsun Lun of the Song State, the founding academic officer of Yong’an Academy, Liu Yingliu, and Han Yun, the chief civil officer.”
“Finally, we discussed a character dictionary they compiled in their later years along with a few close friends, called Emergency Response Book, which means that even someone who originally couldn’t read could open it and find the characters they needed. It was written in a very accessible style, so it was also a literacy book for ordinary people. Han Yun passed away halfway through writing it, and the rest was completed by Liu Yingliu and friends.”
“In fact, the book was completed during the Ding Yuan era, during Emperor Ding Zong’s reign. The character ‘Ding’ was particularly favored by Ding Zong, which we will talk about later. However, these elders’ activities mainly took place during the De Zong era, so we include this book in the previous lecture.”
“Today’s content is a bit extensive, and very important.”
The light-screen was retracted; the old professor never used it for teaching. He picked up a piece of chalk, broke it in half, and wrote a line of large characters on the board:
— The Seven Sons of Ding Yuan and the Literary Overview on the Eve of the Flourishing Age.
He marked a “1” below, then wrote the four characters for “Seven Sons of Ding Yuan.”
He adjusted his glasses. “Looks like a lot of people today, but it’s not difficult to remember. Each has unique characteristics. According to reconstructed images, they were all very handsome, which you all like.”
The students laughed at this.
“Alright, to remember the Seven Sons of Ding Yuan, there is a mnemonic. I’ll explain them one by one according to this mnemonic.”
The first mnemonic phrase was: “Jiang Ying Liu.”
“The ‘Jiang’ refers to Jiang Huan. In the diagram I gave you, that is Winter Night Entertainment Painting. Six of the Seven Sons of Ding Yuan are in it; the one closest to the painter is him.”
“Jiang Huan, courtesy name Shibing. His name is interesting—it means ‘dissolved like ice.’ He came from a prestigious family; his father served as chancellor. He studied under Liu Ying, the academic officer.”
“Later, as you learned in general history class, during the struggle for the throne among the three princes, his father sided with the Duke of Gong, Fu Quan. Jiang Huan appeared to follow his father, but in fact, he worked for Emperor Ding. Eventually, he removed his father from power and became chancellor himself. He was ruthless but strong-willed.”
“When the Duke of Guangning of Song tried to usurp power, Jiang Huan escorted the coffin to the court with officials. Many later praised this in writing, and Jiang Huan’s coffin-escort became a historical anecdote. He never considered himself a scholar, so few writings remain—mainly a few memorials on new laws. According to history, his writings ‘moved hearts and lungs; all court officials wiped tears from their sleeves.’”
The professor nodded at the character “Liu.”
“The ‘Liu’ here is ‘double Liu,’ as in ‘Jiang faces Liu,’ hence the double Liu.”
“First, Liu Ting. Liu Ting, courtesy name Xizhou. He is Liu Ying’s eldest grandson, same age as Jiang Huan. They studied together at the academy and remained lifelong friends.”
“By Liu family rules, he was not supposed to enter officialdom. Liu Ying himself never held office, academic officer aside. Liu Ting was young and idealistic, like you all. How he persuaded Liu Ying, we do not know.”
“He was a rare polymath among the Seven Sons: skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting. The painter in The Pleasure Trip Painting is him, painting the scene itself. He was also skilled in archery; the records say he ‘has a gentle temperament, red-marked eyebrows, resembling Guanyin.’ Imagine walking down the street, and a white-robed young man approaches. When he releases his spiritual power, he could pilot an S-class mech.”
The students laughed, and even the professor chuckled.
He cleared his throat. “Liu Ting’s writings are mostly examination compositions, as he was an academic officer. Later, he promoted education development and wrote academic papers. He is a typical theoretician.”
“The other ‘Liu’ is Liu Yu, Liu Ting’s younger sister. She is not in the painting, as she was a little girl. The painting takes place at night, and at that time, such matters were taken seriously.”
“Liu Yu never married, remaining pure and dedicating her life to educating women for official positions. Female civil service was difficult to promote back then, opposed by many. Only when she was forty-five did the court overcome obstacles and hold the first female exam, and established a female academy. Any female student here today owes her a debt of gratitude, truly.”
“Her early works were somewhat naive, but after traveling widely and meeting more people, they matured.”
The professor turned, adding to the mnemonic: “Warm meets Cold.”
“Having covered the first three, now for the fourth.”
“The ‘Warm’ refers to Wen Yan. Wen Yan, courtesy name Bianzhang. The figure sitting in the chair, appearing a bit shy, is him.”
“Compared with ‘Jiang Ying Liu,’ Wen Yan’s background wasn’t particularly prestigious. He was a son of the Wenyuan Marquis household, but the family declined early. He once served as an advisor to Emperor Ding and later severed ties with his father, becoming Wenyuan Marquis himself due to contributions to new laws.”
“Perhaps due to family reasons, he was rather cold; history says, ‘cold by nature, few words.’ So in the painting, he’s not shy—he just dislikes being included.”
“His writings are miscellaneous; collected works are available for reference. Though taciturn, some of his writings are only one sentence—serving as both title and content. When asked to write more, he would say, ‘Words should be precise, not numerous.’”
“Though cold and terse, he once said to one person: ‘Meeting you today, I finally find my kindred spirit.’ Records show he said this 306 times, and that’s only documented instances; privately, who knows?”
“It shows that Wen Yan may have been fiery inside. ‘Meeting you today…’ is truly sincere. Only you understand me; the others don’t. So I’m taciturn and speak only to you.”
“To whom did he always say this? This person also said Wen Yan once cried in their arms, though others didn’t believe it, claiming it was made up. Speaking of this person, we come to…”
The professor wrote “Han” under the character “Cold.” At that moment, the academy bell rang again.
He put down the chalk. “Time’s up. Let’s take a short break and continue later.”
The professor sat, seeing the students’ expressions, and asked with a smile: “Why are you laughing? You all know who this ‘Han’ is? How do you know? Oh, the Pine Smoke Ink Guest writer of The Emperor and the Chancellor: Two or Three Stories? You still read old literature from thousands of years ago? Who do you like?”
A student whispered: “The Imperial Record Officer.”
He sipped his tea, smiling. “Don’t always focus on that. This is general literature history. His achievements in literature are also significant.”
Author’s Note:
The cold-by-nature Bianzhang secretly thinks: Min Min is my true kindred spirit (eyes red).
The favorite part of recording one’s name in history will continue in the evening. I have to go to class, so stopping here~~
