"However, in the eyes of most of us scholars, you are harming them and our future generations. If one day women can take the imperial examinations, a large number of men will fail. In the process of exploring the way forward, you have hurt them." Zeng Yuan said seriously.
Fang Yun gradually raised his voice and said, "The barbarians are moving south, and Jingguo is on the verge of collapse; the Five Demon Mountains are in turmoil, and Shengyuan Continent is in danger; the Four Seas Dragon Palace and the human race are alienated, and hidden dangers are lurking; the demon world is about to launch the second war between the two worlds, and the human race is in danger. I know, you think I will say that you don’t talk about the harm to the human race caused by so many foreign enemies, but only talk about the harm of a mere girls’ school. No, I won’t say that. Even if the human race is surrounded by hundreds of millions of foreign enemies, everyone can point out my mistakes. What I really want to say is, with the current level of progress of my human race, when the Great Sage of the demon world returns, is it possible to defend the two worlds mountain?"
"The possibility is very small." Zeng Yuan said.
"Therefore, the human race needs great changes, great innovations that will impact everyone's concepts, before there will be a glimmer of hope! All I have done is to use my blood and flesh to find a way out of the myriad of illusory roads that can greatly enhance the power of the human race. Therefore, I never care about the accusations of those people, but I also hope that you will not stop me. I have been exhausted in exploring this path, and I don't have the time and energy to explain and prove it to you. The only thing I can do is to let the ending prove right from wrong." Fang Yun said.
Zeng Yuan stared into Fang Yun's eyes and saw in them a look more resolute than the mountains and a gaze deeper than the night sky.
Zeng Yuan nodded and said, "I am just your executor, not your opponent. Since you insist on building a girls' school, I will not object, but I want you to think carefully about the consequences. In my opinion, it won't be long before someone will use the girls' school to attack you, whether it is the Zong and Lei families, or some scholars. Once they fail in the imperial examination, they will definitely think that if the energy and money used on women are used on themselves, they will definitely pass the exam."
“When encountering obstacles and failures, if one cannot first look for the reasons in oneself and recognize one’s own shortcomings, and then look for reasons in others or the outside world, then such a person will never achieve great things, so there is no need to worry about him or her,” Fang Yun said.
Zeng Yuan smiled and said, "Since there is no need to care about such people, then I advise you that the direction of the human race is always controlled by the Holy Academy and the Holy Families. Even you should understand that if there were no support from some of the Holy Families over the years, you would have been strangled by Liu Shan long ago. Am I right?"
"What you said makes sense." Fang Yun answered skillfully.
"According to the current situation, as long as the Min Bao continues to be published, there will be a large number of people buying it, regardless of whether it uses popular characters or vernacular. As long as the Holy Academy lifts the ban, the Min Bao will surely sweep across the Shengyuan Continent. So, since you have angered some conservative scholars who favor boys over girls in the girls' school, there is no need to offend those conservative scholars who insist on traditional characters in order to please ordinary people. Although there are many people in the world, they cannot influence you in the slightest." Zeng Yuan said.
Fang Yun smiled calmly and said, "It seems that you have misunderstood the positioning of Minbao. For scholars, there are Shengdao and Wenbao, and for officials, there are court reports from various countries. I founded Minbao for the common people to read, and it has nothing to do with whether they influence me. As for those conservative scholars who insist on traditional Chinese characters, I recommend them to buy Wenbao and Shengdao. Minbao may not be suitable for them."
"Min Bao is for the common people to read, but your every move must be seen by the Holy Court and scholars. Just like you cannot always do whatever you want, the same is true for running Min Bao." Zeng Yuan said.
"You're right. No one can always do whatever they want. However, many times when we do things, we can't ignore other people's reactions, but we can't care too much about their attitudes. For example, the Women's College involves a conflict of interests. I can get the reasons for their opposition from those who oppose me, that is, I can get certain information. But those who oppose the vernacularization and popularization of the Min Bao can only convey whether they are willing or unwilling, like or dislike. I don't need to care too much about it." Fang Yun said.
"Listening to your talk is worth ten years of reading. What you said makes a lot of sense, and I will definitely remember it. However, even those who oppose vernacular characters have good reasons," Zeng Yuan said.
"Then tell me about it." Fang Yun said.
"First of all, everyone knows that the same wheel gauge and the same writing system are important to human beings. Back then, the six kingdoms had multiple scripts and it was extremely chaotic. Even Confucius pointed it out, and it was not until the Qin Emperor that it was solved. Secondly, the main purpose of the Minbao is to convey... to use the words you often say, it is to convey information. A unified writing system can ensure that the information is correct and avoid ambiguity. As for other benefits, there are many more. I won't go into details. I'm sure you know them." Zeng Yuan said.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "You are right. I just want to ask you, do you hope that the world will be united, that people will be equal, and that common people and noble families will be equal, or do you think that people should be divided into high and low, and that children of noble families should enjoy special privileges? Speak your mind, and don't hide anything."
Zeng Yuan was stunned for a few breaths, and said helplessly: "The saintly way of the human race has inherent contradictions. Some people say that Confucius's world peace refers to the restoration of Zhou rituals and order in the world. Xunzi also said that the human race should be divided into high and low. However, some people say that Confucius' restoration of Zhou rituals was just an ideal before canonization. After canonization, Confucius looked at the long river of history and believed that the so-called world peace naturally meant that everyone had their own duties, but people were equal. Reading the books of saints, learning benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, as the children of China, it is natural that people are equal in their bones, but in fact, most people have to admit that people are divided into high and low. We are children of aristocratic families, and we are protected by our predecessors, so it is okay to enjoy some privileges."
"So, you are against vulgar characters and vernacular writing. Of course, the word 'against' may not be accurate. At least, you think that traditional characters and written language are better and more suitable for the current human race." Fang Yun said.
Zeng Yuan was stunned. He vaguely understood what Fang Yun meant, but couldn't figure it out.
Fang Yun said, "I am from a poor family, and you are from a rich family. We both know each other to a certain extent. Let me ask you a few simple questions. The popular characters I write usually have fewer strokes than the traditional characters. So, is the traditional character easier to remember or is the popular character easier to learn?"
"Of course, the colloquial characters are easier to learn."
"Very good. I am from a poor family, and you are from a rich family. If you and I are similar in intelligence and are equally smart, and we study for a hundred days and only learn traditional Chinese characters, who will learn and remember more characters?" Fang Yun asked.
"There shouldn't be much difference." Zeng Yuan said tentatively.
"When you were studying, you got up early every day, opened your mouth for food and stretched out your hand for clothes. There were servants taking care of you and sending you to the family school. You studied until noon, and then had a well-balanced meal. After a nap, you continued to study and went home in the evening. You hardly had to worry about other things. Am I right?" Fang Yun asked.
"Yes, this is how most of us children from aristocratic families go to school and study." Zeng Yuan somewhat understood what Fang Yun meant.
.(To be continued.)