Chapter 7: The Half-Branch of Green Jade, Straight and Resolute

The shapes of these few pieces of furniture were very simple, just a few poplar wood pieces joined together horizontally and vertically. They were not polished, looking very rough. Not a single nail was used, only mortise and tenon joints. Especially the bookshelf, the tenons were somewhat loose, and it would sway and creak when touched. On the bookshelf, several dozen scrolls were stacked, mostly copied by Han Gang himself, and he had painstakingly carried them back from his place of study. They included the Nine Classics, the Three Commentaries, and some annotations of the classics, as well as more than a dozen volumes of excerpts from the Records of the Grand Historian.

The other twenty-odd volumes were genuine Song editions, but they were all from Fujian, not from the Imperial Academy or Hangzhou, nor were they privately printed. In terms of the number of books printed and their wide circulation, Fujian editions ranked first, while private editions were the least. However, in terms of quality, the books printed in Fujian were the worst. Han Gang could only afford books from Fujian.

The four treasures of the study on the table also exuded a sense of poverty. Two pieces of ink, each ground down to half their original length, an unpolished stone inkstone, a stack of slightly rough yellow paper, and a pen rack holding four or five brushes. Next to it was a bamboo pen holder about half a foot tall, containing seven or eight brushes, some new and some old. This was all the stationery Han Gang owned.

"Truly a penniless scholar."

Over half a month, He Fang gradually integrated the memories of his new body's former owner, now able to use the vocabulary of this era and understand the few lines of running script on the only somewhat distinguished bamboo pen holder.

"Half-branch of green jade, straight and resolute. Suitable for recording the heart, suitable for embodying the spirit. Given to Yu Kun."

He Fang held the bamboo pen holder in his hand and read it softly. The calligraphy was very beautiful, flowing like clouds and water, yet dignified and grand, far superior to the work of an ordinary hand. Below the inscription on the left side, in smaller characters, were the words "Daliang Zhang Zai." This was the name of the giver, and also the teacher of the body's original owner.

The name Zhang Zai sounded familiar to He Fang, as if he had heard it somewhere, but he couldn't remember. He knew very little about Song dynasty history, often sleeping through history classes. The few Song figures whose names he vaguely recognized were likely famous in this era. In the memories of the body's original owner, this teacher was respectfully known as Mr. Hengqu and was highly esteemed in the scholarly circles of Guanzhong.

Thinking of Han Gang's teacher, a scene flashed through He Fang's mind. A middle-aged man in his forties, of average height, with an ordinary appearance, but his demeanor was extraordinary, exuding a sense of righteousness and sternness. He was lecturing to a group of about twenty students in a relatively spacious earthen house: "If there is something unknown, then there is knowledge; if there is nothing unknown, then there is no knowledge. Therefore, it is said: The sage has never had knowledge, but by asking, he gains knowledge. Confucius asked the Way from Lao Dan, and asked about music from Shi Kuang..."

The teacher explained Confucian classics, while the students below wrote furiously. If one ignored the structure of the classroom and the attire of the teacher and students, this scene was actually quite familiar to He Fang.

"No, they can't be called bookworms..."

He Fang shook his head. Han Gang followed Zhang Zai not only to study Confucian classics but also military strategy, hydraulics, astronomy, geography, archery, and music. Zhang Zai was not a teacher who only taught students to read books mechanically, and studying Confucian classics was not just about explaining abstract principles; it involved a lot of common knowledge in astronomy and geography, and archery was a skill that even the ancient sages encouraged their students to practice.

Just like the three-foot-long recurve bow hanging on the wall in Han Gang's room, made of yellow birch with a hemp string, not very finely crafted but with a rugged beauty. He Fang took the bow down and tried to pull the string, but it didn't budge. It felt very stiff, and his arms, still weak from his recent illness, couldn't draw it.

According to the data in his memory, this was a strong bow with a draw weight of 130 pounds, a gift from his second brother when he went out to study. It was much stronger than the ordinary hunting bows with a draw weight of 50 to 60 pounds. Han Gang, with this bow, often placed in the top five in archery competitions among over a hundred students. His archery skills were certainly not weak, as evidenced by the calluses on his fingertips that had not yet faded.

Looking at his own large hands with prominent knuckles, He Fang thought that once his body was a bit better, he would need to intensify his archery practice. The abilities of the original body, after a half-year of inactivity and the change of ownership, had become somewhat blurred. He Fang was a thrifty person and would not let these skills go to waste. Not only reading but also archery needed to be relearned. Skills do not burden the body, and having more skills means more choices in the future, a lesson he remembered well from his father in his previous life.

Archery is one of the six arts of a gentleman. In ancient times, scholars were both literate and martial, holding a book in one hand and a bow in the other. Han Gang's teacher, Zhang Zai, also emphasized the six arts as the foundation. In Han Gang's memory, he had accompanied his teacher and met many famous scholars, including the legendary founders of Neo-Confucianism, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, who were Zhang Zai's cousins.

Cheng Hao and Zhang Zai were both Confucian masters, and when they gathered, they would discuss issues like "the universe has no mind, but humans give it a mind"...

"The universe has no mind?"

He Fang suddenly froze, almost exclaiming aloud. How could he have forgotten who Zhang Zai was? The famous lines of Zhang Zai, the Master of Hengqu, were hung on the walls of middle school classrooms, which he had seen for three years. Before his穿越, he had also seen them multiple times on TV and in newspapers: "To establish the mind for the universe! To secure the destiny of the people! To continue the lost learning of the ancient sages! To open up peace for all future generations!"

This is the demeanor a Confucian scholar should have!

Although in Han Gang's memory, the Hengqu Academy had not yet been established, and the four famous lines had not yet appeared, recalling the deep impression left in Han Gang's memory, only Zhang Zai, who was both literate and martial, with a broad vision and a heart for the world, could have such a grand spirit!

"To establish the mind for the universe!

To secure the destiny of the people!

To continue the lost learning of the ancient sages!

To open up peace for all future generations!"

He Fang recited each word, a surge of heroic spirit rising in his heart. After his穿越, this was the first time he felt a direct connection to history. In a daze, his consciousness seemed to merge with Han Gang, "So this is my teacher..."