23. Book Burning

Burning these anti-books without anyone noticing is the best outcome. read

"Brother Zhou, I'll help you burn this reverse book. You keep watch outside the concierge and don't let anyone in. Otherwise, if the news of burning the book gets out, sir, you will definitely blame us..."

Bai Gui took the poetry collection and whispered.

The ancients cherished books!

From the first day that scholars enter school, the teacher will teach them what it means to respect writing paper. Papers on which words have been written are not dared to be thrown away casually; they must be burned in a pagoda.

The opening poem of the first volume of "Erqi Paiben" says: "The writing paper in the world is the same as the scriptures. Anyone who sees it must throw it into the fire. Or place it in a place with long flowing water and purity, and your natural blessings will be endless." The father of Wang Yigong in the Song Dynasty cherished the writing paper. Whenever he saw any discarded paper on the ground, he would try to pick it up and burn it. Even if it fell in a filthy place, he would take it out and wash it with water. After so many years, there was a dream. Sage Kong said that he cherished paper, so he sent his disciple Zeng Shen to be born in their home. After the dream, he really gave birth to a son. Because of the words in the dream, he named him Wang Zeng. Later, Wang Zeng won three yuan in a row and was named the Duke of Yi.

In the eyes of the ancients, disrespecting the calligraphy paper was a serious crime. You would not be expelled if you got into fights, etc. But if you disrespected the calligraphy paper and publicized it, you would definitely be expelled from the school.

"Thank you, Brother Bai!"

Zhou Yuan was instantly moved.

In his opinion, Bai Gui respects his teachers in everything, unites his relatives and friends, and has excellent character. It is not difficult for children from rich families to pay the tuition fees, but it is extremely difficult for children from poor families.

Now that Bai Gui can burn books for him, he immediately regards Bai Gui as a close friend.

What is a friend in need?

Today he understood.

Bai Gui didn't know why. Although he had integrated into the living atmosphere of the ancients, he still had the disconnect of modern people. Looking at Zhou Yuan, he looked a little strange. He didn't think much about it. This collection of poems was anti-script to the late Qing Dynasty, but in later generations it was It was a treasure. He was afraid that Zhou Yuan would see something, so he said casually: "When I burn the book later, I will also take a look at your other books to see if there are any taboos..."

He felt that this was an excellent reason for him to burn books and keep Zhou Yuan on the lookout.

It has just been proven that his knowledge is better than Zhou Yuan's, and he can tell whether there are taboo points in some books.

Otherwise, if he were to catch the wind and Zhou Yuan burned the book, he would miss out on this collection of poems.

"Okay, let's go out and look out..."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and suppressed the emotion in his heart. He was a scholar and could not reveal his emotions at will. He always kept in mind the behavior of a gentleman.

Lean less.

After seeing Zhou Yuan walking outside the door, seemingly eating.

Bai Gui no longer hesitated and immediately stored the collection of poems in the mirror. A moment later, Kunlun Mirror also sold the ancient book, adding another 200,000 yuan to his property.

"It seems that this book is not the original work, but just a printed copy. It's a pity."

He sighed, also feeling that he was having some wishful thinking.

In his previous life, he had seductive calligraphy works. In his time, one word cost hundreds of thousands. One item, with three words "Runde Hall", was auctioned for a high price of 1.26 million.

If this "Half-Crying-Half-Laughing House Poems" is authentic, it is estimated to be sold for tens of millions, not to mention hundreds of millions.

I exchanged another printed book from the mirror for more than ten yuan.

Bai Gui threw it into the stove fire and let it burn.

Whether any books were burned or not, one or two suspicious things can still be seen in the ashes after burning.

Taking advantage of this gap, he carefully browsed other books.

Not a single spot was missed.

If the counter-written letter is really discovered, it will be a disaster not only for Zhou Yuan and the Zhou family in Pangjia Village in Nanyuan, but also for the school in Bailu Village. Even Xu Xiucai, who taught Zhou Yuan, will be questioned.

This is something Bai Gui can't imagine.

Soon, he found some anti-Qing articles in these books, which were so deeply hidden that ordinary people could hardly detect them. However, after a little thought and contact with current affairs, he would discover the "ulterior motives".

Tear these pages out and burn them too.

"The Poems of Half-Crying and Half-Laughing Lou were published in Miyuan in 1903. They were quickly seized by the government, so the circulation was very small. Naturally, there are not many surviving copies that have been passed down to later generations. It is an only copy, so its value is higher... "

"As for ordinary books collected in the late Qing Dynasty, they are not worth much."

Bai Gui closed the book he was looking through again.

The money he keeps in the Kunlun Ancient Mirror is equivalent to black money, and he occasionally spends one or two taels. With his status, others will be suspicious for a while at most, thinking that he is saving money, and will not pay much attention to it.

But if you spend too much, it will make people miss you.

Money laundering is also related to status. The higher the status, the easier it is to launder money.

It takes a long time to burn a book.

Half an hour passed.

Bai Gui coughed twice. Zhou Yuan, who was pacing outside the concierge, came in and asked in a low voice: "Brother Bai, are you okay?"

"Look!"

Bai Gui pointed to the ashes that looked like books in the earthen stove.

"It's finally healed, but I was so scared." Zhou Yuan patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up a piece of hard wood, stuffed it into the earthen stove, and smashed the ashes of the burned books away. Original appearance.

Since this incident, Zhou Yuan and Bai Gui have become good buddies who talk about everything. Of course, generally speaking, it was Zhou Yuan who was speaking and Bai Gui was listening. Bai Gui also belatedly realized how much kindness he had to Zhou Yuan. However, he did not take advantage of his kindness, but paid timely tribute to Zhou Yuan. Please ask.

Although Zhou Yuan's knowledge was far inferior to that of Bai Gui, a later generation, his attainments in the classics were far ahead of Bai Gui. He had read the Four Books and Five Classics, but he only broke the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Confucius said: "When you enter a country, you can know its education. If the people are gentle and honest, it is the education of poetry; if they are knowledgeable and far-sighted, it is the education of books; if they are broad-minded and easy-going, it is the education of music; if they are quiet and meticulous, it is the education of Yi; if they are respectful and solemn, it is the education of etiquette; if they are good at words and narration, it is the education of Spring and Autumn Annals."

The general meaning is that when you go to a country, you can know the education of that country by looking at the customs there. If they are gentle, docile, loyal and simple, it is the result of the education of "Poetry"; if they are knowledgeable about ancient things, it is the result of the education of "Book"; if they are broad-minded and open-minded, it is the result of the education of "Music"; if they are clean and calm, insightful and subtle, it is the result of the education of "Yi"; if they are dignified and respectful, it is the result of the education of "Rites"; if they are good at words and narration, it is the result of the education of "Spring and Autumn Annals".

After knowing that Xu Xiucai and Zhou Yuan both studied the Spring and Autumn Annals, Bai Gui naturally would not give up the near and seek the far. After studying the Four Books, he also chose the Spring and Autumn Annals as his main book.

Studying the Book of Shang or other main books is a bit useless for the Republic of China in the future.

If you are good at the Spring and Autumn Annals, at least you can learn from Dr. Hu and write a book "Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy" Volume 1, and then you will be famous throughout the country.

After knowing that Bai Gui chose to study the Spring and Autumn Annals, Zhou Yuan was also overjoyed.

After they became friends, Bai Gui asked him for knowledge, and he would not refuse anything.