"Ode to the Eastern Capital" says: Throughout the four seas, schools are like forests, and academies are filled to the brim.
This sentence refers to the prosperity of education in Yuanshuo Kingdom.
Since Emperor Yuan, the Yuanshuo Kingdom has established official schools throughout the country. The official schools in the countryside are called "Xiaoxu", the official schools in counties, roads, towns, and marquises are called "Xiao", the official schools in prefectures and kingdoms are called "Xue", and the official school in the Eastern Capital is called "Taixue".
Qiu Shuijing came to Tianshiyuan from Shuofang City, but what he saw on the way was a completely different scene, which was different from the record in "Dongdu Fu".
The schools in the towns and villages along the way were not only empty of students, but could even be said to be deserted. Some schools had already closed down, and they were overgrown with weeds, filled with wild foxes, and full of monsters.
In the past thirty years, people from the countryside have all fled to the cities, leaving only women, children, the elderly and the young in the countryside, who have to make a living by tending to the few pieces of land, which has given rise to many problems.
The countryside in Qiu Shuijing's mind carries the beauty of his childhood. In his impression, the countryside is picturesque with green hills and clear waters, and has outstanding people and beautiful scenery. However, what he saw along the way this time was a scene of the collapse of rituals, music, and morality.
Let alone other things, there are big problems with the teaching in schools alone.
The young and strong people in the towns and villages have all gone to the city, leaving behind some elderly and children. Couples with some money often bring their children to the city and send them to government schools. The rest are all poor. Their parents work away from home, so how can their grandparents take care of those children
Children left behind in rural areas have no parental supervision and instead of going to school, they gather their friends, form gangs and factions, and bully their neighbors.
In the past, the country schools were packed with students, but now it is considered good if there are three or five young people studying in them.
"Without scholars, rural schools will not be able to operate. Without schools, rural children will have nowhere to go to school, and there will be more and more ignorant people, and the countryside will be in chaos."
After arriving at the no-man's land, Qiu Shuijing shook his head repeatedly.
However, his purpose of coming to Tianshiyuan this time was not to go to the countryside to understand the people's sentiments, but he had other plans.
"Mr. Shuijing, it's getting late. Why don't we stay here for a while, eat something, and then make plans when the Heavenly Gate appears." A scholar behind Qiu Shuijing said.
Qiu Shuijing looked at the setting sun, nodded, and walked into a dilapidated school with a group of scholars. They saw thorns everywhere, and it must have been abandoned for some years.
A few scholars had tidied up and were about to light a fire to cook when they suddenly heard the faint sound of reading coming from the inner hall of the school.
Qiu Shuijing's expression changed slightly. He raised his hand to make a gesture of silence, stood up quietly, and followed the sound of reading to the inner hall of the school.
Several scholars followed him on tiptoe, and the sound of reading gradually became clearer. Everyone was puzzled: "This school has been abandoned for some time, and there is no one living in the surrounding area. How can there still be a teacher teaching here?"
"The people who teach in the school may not be human beings." Qiu Shuijing seemed to guess what they were thinking and sneered in a low voice.
The scholars were awed and looked into the inner hall, where they saw an old yellow-skinned fox-like figure half a human's height standing up, holding a teaching stick in his left hand and a scroll in his right hand, pacing back and forth in the hall.
And in the hall there were more than a dozen foxes, yellow, white, red, and colorful, each sitting upright, shaking their heads and reciting scriptures!
"Evil spirits are causing trouble, but they will become wise, understand the truth, and start reading the writings of saints. In the future, they will definitely transform into humans, bring disaster to the world, and even compete with others for the world!"
Qiu Shuijing was filled with murderous intent and was about to take action, but suddenly his eyes paused and the murderous intent in his heart gradually faded.
There were fox demons everywhere in the classroom, and among them, there was a young man in yellow shirt who was sitting upright, nodding his head and reciting articles with the foxes.
The boy was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with delicate features, red lips and white teeth, and he studied very hard.
In this classroom, apart from this young man, no one else is a human!
"The people of Tianshiyuan are in poverty, and the schools in the countryside are in ruins. People no longer teach children, and children no longer go to school. Instead, fox demons teach people to read and write."
Qiu Shuijing was filled with emotion: "Besides, it's rare to find someone who is eager to learn. Never mind, let them go. This young man is actually studying with a group of fox demons in an uninhabited area, and he is not afraid at all. It's really strange..."
He turned and left.
The scholars were surprised and hurriedly followed him quietly into the courtyard of the school.
Qiu Shuijing said nothing, and the scholars did not dare to ask.
After a while, the bell rang, and the children in the classroom shouted and clamored. Many fox demons rushed out and made a lot of noise. When they saw the people in the courtyard, more than a dozen fox demons stood there on their two legs, staring with their eyes and mouths open, at a loss.
The scholars all looked at Qiu Shuijing, who smiled slightly and didn't care.
Footsteps were heard in the school, and a slightly childish voice said, "Second Brother Hua, Third Brother Li, don't run too fast, wait for me!"
The scholars looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the human boy was a step behind and had just walked out of the classroom.
A lady saw the boy's movements clearly, exclaimed, and said to the scholar next to her: "He is a blind man..."
The other scholars looked at it carefully and suddenly understood.
The young man's eyes were snow-white, without pupils, and he could not see. He was indeed blind.
"No wonder he's taking classes with the fox demon."
Everyone thought to themselves, "He can't see, he can only hear voices, he mistakenly thought that everyone around him was human, but he didn't expect that those who studied with him were all demons!"
Although the young man couldn't see, his ears were very sensitive. He smiled and said, "Sir, sir, there are guests in the school!"
Tap, tap.
The sound of a cane hitting the ground was heard, and the yellow-skinned old fox who taught walked out of the classroom with his cane, and an old voice came out of his mouth: "Your distinguished guest has come from afar, and I am sorry for not welcoming you."
After that, the old fox's face darkened and he said to the little foxes, "The get out of class is over and it's getting late. You should go home quickly."
The little foxes quickly scattered.
Qiu Shuijing looked at the blind boy, and found that although the boy was blind, he seemed to be able to see his surroundings clearly. He bowed slightly to him and the scholars, and left the dilapidated school with the foxes.
Qiu Shuijing was slightly surprised. He turned his head to look at the young man's back, as if thinking about something.
"His name is Su Yun."
The yellow-skinned old fox coughed, raised his hand, led Qiu Shuijing to the inner hall, and said, "He is from Tianmen Town, Tianshiyuan, and he is thirteen years old this year. When Su Yun was seven years old, something happened in his family, and he became blind for some reason. It was quite pitiful. But he is a studious child. One day when he came to my place, he couldn't walk when he heard the sound of reading, and insisted on listening. I saw that he was studious, so I let him stay."
Qiu Shuijing said with a sigh, "He is from Tianmen Town? As far as I know, there are no living people in Tianmen Town, Tianshiyuan. Not only is there no one in Tianmen Town, but the area within a hundred miles of Tianmen Town is also uninhabited."
The yellow-skinned old fox stopped and looked sideways at him. The fox smiled, and his whiskers trembled slightly: "Most of what you heard, sir, was a rumor."
Qiu Shuijing looked around the inner hall and saw a painting hanging in the main hall. It was a painting of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, corresponding to the Four Gentlemen. There was an inscription on it, which read "Be a role model for others", but there was no signature, so it was unknown who painted it.
The yellow-skinned old fox came to the painting, sat upright facing Qiu Shuijing, placed his cane across his knees, and said solemnly: "Sir from the city, please leave your body intact."
Qiu Shuijing withdrew his gaze from the painting and asked, "What is your name?"
The old fox said, "They call me Mr. Wild Fox. What do you call the gentlemen from the city?"
"Qiu Shuijing."
Qiu Shuijing bowed slightly and said, "Shuijing is leading his students through this precious place. We are tired from the journey. I would like to borrow your precious place to stay. Please be accommodating."
The old fox raised his head and looked at him in surprise: "You won't kill me to exorcise the demon?"
"Confucius said that there is no distinction between classes in education. Isn't that what Mr. Yehu did?"
Qiu Shuijing said solemnly: "The teacher is a demon, Su Yun is a human, and the teacher did not refuse to teach him just because he is not of the same species. This is exactly what a teacher should do. Nowadays, the countryside is out of order and education is difficult to carry out. Even humans may not be able to teach without discrimination, let alone demons? Therefore, Mr. Yehu's deeds are extremely precious."
The old fox breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiu Shuijing changed the subject and said, "But I just listened to Mr. Yehu's lecture, and he talked about the classics of the old saints, the old classics from thousands of years ago. Although the classics of the old saints are good, they are no longer relevant and cannot keep up with the current era."
The old fox was surprised: "Mr. Shuijing, why do you say that? Aren't these the books that were taught in the old days? These are what we have been learning for thousands of years..."
"It was like this before, hundreds of years ago, even thirty-five years ago. But now..."
Qiu Shuijing showed a hint of bitterness, paused, and said: "Sir, times have changed."
He repeated, "Times have changed. Hehe, if you stick to the old ways, you will only get beaten. Things are no longer the same as they were before..."
He shook his head and didn't continue.
The old fox stood up tremblingly, and said in confusion: "May I ask Mr. Shuijing, if we don't teach the classics of the old saints, then what should we teach? Sir, you said the old saints, is there a new saint now?"
Qiu Shuijing shook his head, revealing a sarcastic expression: "New Saint? There is no new saint in the world today... Maybe there is, but it is not in Yuanshuo Country..."
He calmed himself down and was in no mood to continue. He said, "The rural schools cannot keep up with the times. If you want to learn useful things, you have to go to the city. Learning by relying on the old Bible will only get you beaten, and what you learn is only things from thousands of years ago. Mr. Yehu, although you teach everyone, you will only mislead the students if you continue to teach. The old holy things cannot survive in the city."
The old fox was dumbfounded.
Misleading young people
Where did this come from
Has the knowledge of the old saints declined to this level
After a while, the old fox bowed to Qiu Shuijing, turned into a burst of evil spirit, and disappeared.
Qiu Shuijing stepped out of the hall.
At three o'clock in the morning, Qiu Shuijing was dozing off in meditation when he suddenly perked up, opened his eyes and whispered, "Wake up! The gate of heaven has opened!"
In the school, all the scholars were sleeping on the ground. Upon hearing the words, they stood up and looked excited.
"Put out the bonfire!"
Qiu Shuijing gave an order and immediately a scholar put out the bonfire.
call-
Qiu Shuijing jumped up and landed on the roof of the school. Several scholars quickly jumped up and landed beside him.
There are no lights in the villages of Tianshiyuan at night, which is completely different from the bright lights and nightlife in the city. Only the stars and the crescent moon in the sky decorate the night sky.
The wind is cold and bleak.
Qiu Shuijing whispered: "Open your Sky Eye, otherwise you won't be able to see the Heavenly Gate!"
The scholars behind him took out a piece of jade leaf, which was in the shape of an eye. They stuck it between their eyebrows like a vertical eye.
"Open!" a group of scholars shouted in a low voice.
The jade leaves between their eyebrows gradually sank under their skin and disappeared.
Something rolled under the skin between the eyebrows of a scholar, and then the skin split to the sides, revealing an eyeball that was rolling around.
The other scholars also opened their eyes and looked around. They couldn't help but tremble and exclaimed: "The gate of heaven has really opened! The ghost market, the ghost market has appeared too!"