Chapter 688: 500 Years Ago

Chapter 688: Chapter 688: 500 Years Ago

This didn’t need Qin Yuan to explain further, and those around him burst into laughter and boos filled the air.

Someone mocked, "You’re really something. If there’s a lame person in our Da Xing Dynasty, does it mean we can’t say the Daxing people run as fast as the wind?"

The person hesitated and said, "I just think Young Master Nantang’s way of distinguishing between Wu and Chu is somewhat inappropriate. There are always exceptions. To discuss the differences in literature and customs between Wu and Chu, how can one do it so casually?"

"You’re just being unreasonable. I reckon you’re a scholar, so let me ask: did you happen to know only this set of essays when you took the exam? If you were given a different set, could you have made it?"

Someone else chimed in stubbornly.

Qin Siyuan declared loudly, "There’s no need to argue, everyone. This is nothing more than the debate over whether a white horse is a horse. In this gentleman’s eyes, a white horse is not a horse."

The crowd nodded in sudden realization, "Indeed, that’s the case."

The person next to Wang Zichuan asked, "What’s this ’white horse is not a horse’ thing? I can’t understand it. If a white horse isn’t a horse, is it a mule? Isn’t this nonsense?"

Wang Zichuan shook his head and quietly explained, "Long ago, there was a horse plague in Zhao State, and Qin State feared it might spread, so they banned Zhao’s horses from entering at Hangu Pass. Gongsun Long was stopped while riding a white horse and argued that ’horse’ referred to the shape, while ’white’ referred to the color, so what he was riding was a white horse, not a horse. The guard got so confused that they let him through."

"Is that even possible?" The person next to him widened his eyes.

Wang Zichuan said, "Gongsun Long was a well-known scholar of that time, the master of the ’Separation of Hardness and Whiteness’ school, and one of the world’s top debaters. How could he not persuade a lowly gatekeeper? You know Confucius, right? Even his sixth-generation descendant Kong Chuan couldn’t out-argue Gongsun Long."

The person beside said, "Scholars are truly formidable, even managing to argue this convincingly."

Wang Zichuan said, "You always think that fighting and killing is impressive. As the saying goes, ’Superior thinkers kill with the tip of a brush, mid-level thinkers with the tip of the tongue, and inferior thinkers by holding a stone slab.’ You’re the kind that holds the stone slab to kill! While the scholars can, with words and writings, destroy families or entire nations. Su Qin’s unchanged tongue is stronger than a million troops; how many people do you think you, a strong man, can kill?"

The person beside him glanced apprehensively at the frail man on the upstairs balcony and fell silent.

Such figures as Su Qin and the superior thinkers seemed a far-off notion.

If it were about committing crimes, one might accomplish something in the Capital City and escape the Five Cities Military Department’s pursuit, but against a million soldiers... forget it.

These scholars were not to be messed with.

That stubborn scholar continued to stammer, "Absurd, how could I think a white horse isn’t a horse?"

Qin Siyuan suddenly laughed and said, "Young Master Nantang mentioned that Jiangnan is full of talented scholars, and one out of every seven advanced scholars in our dynasty is from Jiangnan. Just now, he cited Jinling as an example, which this gentleman didn’t accept. It must be because although Jinling is in Wu, it was built by the Chu Kingdom. Since the migration of officials and scholars during the Eastern Jin, it has lost its Wu characteristics. Now let’s take Wuxi, the birthplace of the Wu Kingdom, as an example."

The crowd quieted down.

Wuxi is indeed the birthplace of the Ju Wu Kingdom, a very fitting example. Although everyone was annoyed by the stubborn scholar’s unreasonable arguments, they also hoped Young Master Nantang would speak more, as his words were full of substance and quite interesting.

Wang Zichuan was taken aback: "He knows Wuxi well too?"

The person beside him said, "Wuxi is in Jiangnan, and it’s one of the Four Wharves, so it’s quite normal for him to have been there."

The Wuxi people said, "If Young Master Nantang is willing to talk about our Wuxi, nothing could be better."

Qin Siyuan cupped his hands and said, "Tai Bo saw that his father, King of Zhou, wanted to pass the throne to his third brother’s son, so he, along with his second brother, traveled south to Meili, present-day Wuxi, where they established the Ju Wu Kingdom. From then on, they adopted the local custom of cutting their hair short and tattooing their bodies to differentiate themselves from the Central Plains’ practice of tying hair and wearing caps, thus severing the path to inheritance and renouncing the throne. Confucius often praised Tai Bo wholeheartedly for his intention to renounce the throne, considering it the highest virtue.

Tai Bo and others educated the local Baiyue people and founded the kingdom. This is all recorded in history books, and everyone understands, so I won’t elaborate."

Wang Zichuan nodded.

The person beside him asked, "What is the scholar saying? Cutting hair and tattooing breaks the line of succession? Isn’t Tai Bo the eldest son? Why did he leave home with his brother?"

Unable to hold back, Wang Zichuan chuckled and said, "This is common knowledge among scholars. Wuxi is the founding place by Tai Bo. At that time, it was a wilderness of water, and the local inhabitants were Baiyue people. Because they lived on the water for long periods, long hair was inconvenient, so they cut it short. Baiyue people worshiped dragons and during their coming of age ceremony, they would endure the pain to tattoo dragon scales and such on their bodies to avoid harm from water snakes and dragons. So, cutting hair short and tattooing was a symbol of being a barbarian."

The person beside said, "They cut their hair and tattooed themselves to fit in, but why does that sever inheritance?"

Wang Zichuan sighed, "This was the brilliance of Tai Bo, not for nothing did Confucius praise him as being supremely filial and virtuous. His third brother’s son, King Wen of Zhou, was considered to have the demeanor of a wise ruler, but as the legitimate eldest son, he should have inherited according to the rituals. So he and his second brother left under the pretense of seeking medicine for their father and founded a kingdom in Wuxi. Zhou, located in the Central Plains, adhered to the belief that one’s hair and skin should be cherished as they were given by one’s parents. By cutting his hair and tattooing his body, Tai Bo effectively declared himself a barbarian and unfilial, thereby losing all rights of inheritance."

The person beside said, "He was probably worried about losing his life if he didn’t leave?"

Wang Zichuan sneered, "They were ancient people, do you think the world now is as corrupt and people as morally undeveloped as today? Tai Bo sincerely wanted to fulfill his father’s wishes. However, his father left a dying wish for him to inherit. Tai Bo and his second brother rushed back for the funeral, and the third brother presented the letter from their father asking him to inherit, which he declined. Cutting his hair and tattooing was equivalent to becoming a barbarian; how could he then possibly be king in the cap-wearing, hair-binding Central Plains?"

The person beside him was stunned for a moment and sighed, "There are indeed such individuals in the world, unlike anyone today..."

The rest of his words disappeared under Wang Zichuan’s cold stare.

Wang Zichuan quickly glanced around and then continued, "Do you think this is like an ordinary family’s property division, where siblings fight over a rope or a tree?"

The person beside him forced a smile and said, "They’re all ordinary people, how can they be compared to the ancients? Didn’t Tai Bo eventually build his own Wu Kingdom? Any ambitious man can succeed anywhere."

At this moment, on the podium Qin Siyuan said, "Wuxi isn’t an affiliated county of Changzhou Prefecture, but its advantageous location with beautiful hills and rivers, rich culture, often gives rise to tales of ’one exam producing nine advanced scholars, six exams yielding three top scholars.’"

The people of Wuxi nodded pridefully.

Qin Siyuan continued, "Many Wuxi advanced scholars come from prominent families, the Wuxi Qin Family had four generations of advanced scholars, the He Family and Qi Family each had three generations, and there are countless uncles, nephews, and brothers who were also advanced scholars. Isn’t that right?"

A Wuxi person laughed, "Indeed, the Wuxi Qin Family alone produced dozens of advanced scholars, making it the crown of Jiangnan noble families. I wonder if Mr. Qin comes from the Wuxi Qin Family?"

Qin Siyuan also smiled and said, "The Wuxi Qin Family are descendants of Mr. Huaihai, and Su Men Four Scholars Qin Shao You’s descendants, a famous literary family. If one were to trace back, maybe my Qin Family and theirs were one five hundred years ago. After all, you can’t write the word Qin twice with one stroke."