When lecturing to the prince, this group of lecturers must enter the hall and wait. After entering, they will be divided into two groups to stand in the south of the hall: the east class teaches the four books, and the west class teaches the five classics, and the rules are very strict. Cui Xie, who came in through the back door, did not take up the time of other people's direct talk, but added a short paragraph after the lecturer's lecture on "Book of Documents".
Later, we will enter the ancestral systems such as "Huangming Zuxun" and "Taizu's Imperial System", as well as "Tongjian", "Zhenguan Zhengguang" and historical books such as "Records" and "Bao Xun" of the past dynasties; Shishu, that is, to teach the prince to write a few pages of calligraphy; sometimes he also teaches miscellaneous homework such as poetry, music, painting, arithmetic, etc., and the work is also very heavy.
But there is also the benefit of having a good work meal. Although it is not as good as the legendary "Eating Sutras", it is also much better than the canteens of the Hanlin Academy and Guozijian. Mr. Li pointed out the main points when entering the poem, and especially persuaded: "You should eat more lunch, the meals in the palace are much better than your Chinese studies. There are still more than two years before Ding Weihui's test. Without the divine calling, it would be difficult for you to eat these again."
Cui Xie was very moved - the boss is so down-to-earth! Don't forget to remind him to eat more when eating and drinking public funds! He nodded solemnly and said with his hands over his shoulder, "Thank you for the suggestion, the student, the student took it down."
Seeing that he looked at him with reverence, and listened to a casual gossip as a business, Li Dongyang couldn't help shaking his head and smiled: "What's there to thank, you student is too serious."
However, he was only unhappy in the officialdom. He was also a progenitor and a literary leader after leaving the Hanlin Academy. I don't know how many young scholars regarded him as the suzerain, and Cui Xie's attitude was not abrupt. He didn't notice that the other party looked at Xie Qian and Liu Jian with the same enthusiasm, but when he was his follower, he took special care of him and told him to follow him when he was on duty.
Soon the prince ascended to the pavilion and personally called everyone in. Cui Xie entered the hall behind the attendants, and went to the hall to bow down to the prince.
The future Emperor Hongzhi was still a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, with a thin body and pale complexion, but his eyes were exceptionally clear and firm. After the lecturers saluted, he immediately said "please get up, gentlemen", and asked everyone to stand up gently and politely.
A row of Tsing Yi lecturers got up one by one. The prince's eyes swept across the lecturers' team, and when he saw the end of the team, he saw a man wearing a green straight jacket and a square scarf abruptly mixed in with the official robes. He immediately realized his identity and glanced at him curiously. .
Cui Xie is about the same age as the prince, but he is taller and healthier. Standing there, with a straight back and a straight back, his skin is moist, and even though his eyelids are drooping, he can see that his eyes are clear and his divine light is hidden, and he is a lovable young man.
Zhu Youji, the prince, was not very popular with the saints, and was timid. He grew up in the Queen Mother Zhou's palace since he was a child, and he rarely saw men of the same age. It's rare to see such a spirited young man as Cui Xie this time, and I can't help but feel a little envious. It's just that on a solemn occasion like a feast, it's not easy to talk to foreign ministers casually.
Today is the day of the lecture feast. The lectures are very political. Two desks were set up in the hall. After the lecturers got up, they stood in two groups behind the desks and put their lectures on the table.
Cui Xie followed Li Dongyang and the others to Xiban. Everyone stood still. First, the reading officer walked to the book desk to show the book for the prince, held it down with a ruler, wrote with his finger, and led the prince to read the "University" and "Shangshu" ten times. The lecturers take turns explaining.
Today is Xu Pu's lecture on "Yanyi of the Great Learning" and Li Dongyang's lecture on "Hong Fan Jiu Chou".
Thanks to the emperor's blessing, Cui Xie was able to listen to the entire lecture of the entire Hanlin lineup, a rare opportunity for ordinary officials. The only pity is that you can't copy notes here, and the bookcase where the outline is placed is far away. He is afraid of bad manners, so he doesn't dare to squint to look at it, so he can only memorize it. There were a few things that I didn't remember, so I had to comfort myself, and I could find two lecturers to read the outline.
After Li Dongyang talked about "Nine Chows", it was Cui Xie's turn to talk about poetry.
He was specially appointed by the emperor of Chenghua, and the rules of teaching books are not the same as those of formal lecturers. They have to start with reading. Cui Xie took a sigh of relief, walked to the desk and saluted according to the etiquette of the exercises these days. After getting up, he stood in front of the desk, turned to the page of "Cao Feng · Dove", and personally led the prince to read it.
"The owl dove is in the mulberry, and its son is seven. A gentleman, a gentleman, his ritual is one. His ritual is one, and his heart is like a knot."
His voice also had the clarity of a young man, his articulation was clear, and his tones were standard.
The prince's breath was weak and his voice was not as strong, but he could read with equal clarity and accuracy, word for word. There are several words in the poem that have different pronunciations between the ancient times and the current ones—for example, the "knot" in the third sentence is not pronounced as the upper-sound "Jie" sound that everyone is accustomed to, but rather as "Ye Huan Lifan". He did not lag in the slightest when reciting it, which shows how many times he has recited this "Poem".
Cui Xie recited the whole poem ten times in a row, looked down at the outline of the lecture, and started with the commentary, first explaining the "bird dove" for the prince.
The bird-dove is a cuckoo, because when it raises its offspring, it is "up and down in the morning, and up and down in the evening, and the average is the same." The poet rises from the dove, and praises the gentleman for being the same inside and outside, acting as a world model, and following the ritual system in his appearance and clothing, which is enough to set an example for the Quartet.
Emperor Chenghua specifically pointed out that he narrated this poem for the prince, hoping that the prince could understand his painstaking efforts and become a gentleman who was one with the inside and the outside and had a constant mind. Even if he becomes a high-ranking person in the future, he will not change his humility and prudence due to his status change.
Cui Xieguang had said this poem many times in front of Qiu Jijiu, and when he got home, he corrected his demeanor, expression, and pronunciation in front of the mirror. He had prepared everything he could.
Now standing in the Wenhua Hall to teach the prince a book, so many lecturers and servants stared at him, he was actually a little nervous. It's just that his acting skills are well practiced, his expression and demeanor have been deliberately adjusted to the state of speech, and he is too familiar with the syllabus. People who listen to him only think that he explains it with ease and that the words are not easy, and no one notices his slightly tense back. legs.
The prince listened carefully to this passage in the book, nodded at him, and said, "This is a gentleman. I understand what Cui Jiansheng said in general, but there is one thing I don't understand."
Cui Xie bowed and said, "Your Highness, please ask."
"You just said, 'A gentleman has a constant attitude and has his own mind', so what should be the attitude?"
The prince had nothing to ask about this poem, and talking to him was just to express that he understood the meaning of the emperor and had the embrace of being a "gentleman".
Cui Xie replied: "Always benevolence and forgiveness. Zi Gong asked: 'Is there a word that can be done for a lifetime?' "The text" cloud 'forgiveness, benevolence'; "Book of Rites" cloud: up and down blind date is called benevolence. A gentleman's heart is benevolent, forgiving, loving father, son and brother, so 'it is the law of father, son and brother, and then civil law'. "
He glanced at the prince subconsciously, only to realize that the prince was also looking at him, with a sad expression.
He hurriedly lowered his head and waited quietly for the prince to continue asking questions.
Prince Jomo has a lower degree of shame than him, and after expressing his loyalty, he doesn't want to listen to this kind of words anymore. But it was rare for a boy of the same age to enter the palace, but he was reluctant to call him down, so he picked up the paper and asked, "You came up with these questions? What should you do? After you finish the questions, you can learn the poem. ?"
Cui Xie said: "Don't dare to hide from Your Highness, these questions are all conjectured by the Imperial College and the Hanlin adults. Students are not enough academically, so they can only ask questions that are better than those of Confucian children. The questions above are indeed comprehensive, and they are all in the What the students said today. If your Highness can answer the above questions within two hours, you will have learned this poem thoroughly."
The prince said in surprise: "In such a short time? Have you answered it? Did you finish it?"
Of course Cui Xie answered the question, Qiu Jijiu and the others finished the question, Cui Xie was one of the first to answer the question, and the difficulty should be adjusted according to his score.
The corners of his mouth picked up unconsciously, and he replied, "Students have tried it, and they can do it, but there are mistakes. If there is a sentence below a multiple-choice question to explain a poetic topic, the student will miss the choice. "One heart can serve a hundred kings, but a hundred hearts cannot serve one king." There is also a question about the current affairs that is viewed with this poem, and the students' answers are not very comprehensive."
It was also the first time that the Crown Prince talked about reading with his peers. Seeing that he was not as serious as the gentlemen, he could also do wrong questions, and he could say it so honestly, he couldn't help feeling a little close, and smiled slightly: "Lonely If you have free time, I will take it as your topic.”
Because the time and content of the feast were customized, the inner servant made a slight gesture, and the prince nodded and said: "Cui Jiansheng was ordered by the father and emperor to teach the book alone, and he should be rewarded, with ten taels of silver and two taels of treasure. ingot."
Cui Xie knelt down and thanked him, and immediately a small servant came up with a plate and handed him 10 taels of silver and two fluffy Daming treasured banknotes.
Cui Xie put away the money, returned to the class, and continued to listen to the lecturers' lectures on historical books such as "Ancestor's Instructions" and "Zhenguan Political Important". When teaching history to the prince, he didn't talk about political affairs or current affairs, but only advised the prince to study hard, respectfully and filially to the emperor, the empress dowager and the queen.
The history books have been taught, and there are also orthographic officials serving the Prince Linshu, so there is no need to lecture officials.
The prince sat upright in the chair and said gently, "Sir, have a drink and dinner", and the lecturers saluted and retired. Although Cui Xie couldn't raise his eyes to look at him, he could still picture a lonely left-behind child watching them saluting, turning around, and walking out into the sunlight, but he still had to be locked up in the hall as a pitiful figure of Linshu.
It's not easy either.
He looked at the clear sky outside, sighed silently for the prince, turned around and went to the banquet behind the officials.
The author has something to say: I didn't find the information about the prince's feast, so I mixed it with the emperor's feast. I didn’t check enough information when I wrote the poem, and the writing was very poor. Please forgive me. If I can find suitable information later, I may change it.
refer to
Jin Minzhi, "Research on the System of Classics and Feasts in the Ming Dynasty"
"A Discussion on the System of Lectures on Classics and Feasts in the Ming Dynasty" by Meng Rong
"Compendium of Poetry"
"Shiyihuitong" by Wu Kaisheng