Reading The Analects, Raising Cultivation

"Zhang Yunji, tell your teacher: Confucius said, 'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unperturbed when others do not recognize one's merits?'" Ma Feifei opened the annotation book and asked.

Zhang Yunji stood up, and all three thousand students turned their attention to him.

Zhang Yunji hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "It means that Confucius told us that it's good to review what we've learned regularly."

Ma Feifei glanced at the document, nodded, and said, "What's next?"

"It makes me very happy to have like-minded colleagues come from afar." Zhang Yunji became less and less confident as he spoke, and even though everyone present was a cultivator, they all had to listen attentively.

After Zhang Yunji finished speaking, Ma Feifei glanced at him in surprise. "Zhang Yunji Young man, you've put your heart into this!"

"Anything else?" Ma Feifei asked expectantly.

Zhang Yunji glanced at Ma Feifei and saw that he was looking at him with encouraging eyes. Zhang Yunji inexplicably felt a little more confident and continued, "If others don't understand my talents, and I don't complain, that's not the mark of a gentleman."

"?"

Ma Feifei looked at Zhang Yunji and nodded, saying, "You're right. Not only should we complain, but we should also kill him with a sword."

"Pfft~"

Laughter suddenly broke the silence of the Green Grassland.

Ma Feifei glanced over and saw Liu Ying kneeling not far away, her head bowed and her hands clasped together. Perhaps knowing she had made a mistake, Liu Ying's exposed ears gradually turned red, and soon they were completely red...

Actually, Liu Ying wasn't the only one who wanted to laugh. Looking around, at least half of the three thousand people had their heads down and their shoulders were shaking, clearly holding back their laughter.

Some people were confused and looked bewildered.

A small number of people smiled wryly.

Only our Master Chang Kong knelt on the table and sighed softly.

"Liu Ying!" Ma Feifei called out.

"Here!" Liu Ying quickly got up, head down.

"Look up at the teacher," Ma Feifei said.

Liu Ying hesitated for a moment, then raised her head.

Her whole face was tense, her eyes were full of laughter, and her little mouth was trying hard to hold it in; she was clearly struggling to suppress it.

"You must have been holding it in for a long time, right?" Ma Feifei asked.

The Liu Ying shook its little head like a rattle-drum, but it didn't say a word.

"Just laugh if you want to, it's so uncomfortable to hold it in!" Ma Feifei said quietly.

"Pfft~ Hahaha..."

"..."

Five minutes later.

"I'm sorry, teacher." Liu Ying sincerely saluted and apologized to Ma Feifei.

"Come on, you're smiling so happily. Tell me, did Zhang Yunji say something wrong just now?" Ma Feifei asked expressionlessly.

Seeing Ma Feifei's serious attitude, Liu Ying dared not be presumptuous any longer and said respectfully, "Teacher, just now, brother... Zhang Yunji misunderstood the last sentence."

Ma Feifei nodded and continued, "Then tell me where you went wrong."

Liu Ying glanced at Zhang Yunji and found him staring at her with a blank expression. Liu Ying wanted to laugh but forced it back and said, "The last line, 'Is it not a gentleman who is not resentful when others do not know his talents?' should mean: 'If others do not know my talents, but I do not complain, then I am a gentleman.'"

Ma Feifei nodded, turned to look at Zhang Yunji, and said, "Now do you know where you went wrong?"

Zhang Yunji bowed with his hands clasped and said, "This student understands."

"Please sit down," Ma Feifei gestured for Zhang Yunji to sit, then turned to look at Liu Ying and said, "Teacher asks you: Confucius said, 'A gentleman who is not dignified will not command respect; learning will not be solid. Uphold loyalty and trustworthiness, and do not befriend those who are not as good as yourself. If you make a mistake, do not hesitate to correct it.' What is the meaning of these words?"

Liu Ying lowered her head and pondered for a while, then looked up at Ma Feifei and said, "A gentleman, if he is not dignified, will lack authority; even if he studies, what he learns will not be solidified; he should prioritize loyalty and trustworthiness, and not make friends with those who are not his confidants; if he makes a mistake, he should not be afraid to correct it."

"The teacher is asking you... about the state of a thousand chariots..."

"Teacher, this sentence means to govern a..."

One by one, Ma Feifei had Liu Ying explain the entire opening the Learning Chapter of the Analects, "Xue Er," and discovered that Liu Ying had actually explained it all!

This really surprised Ma Feifei.

Although Ma Feifei translated all the classical Chinese texts from the Learning Chapter yesterday and told them to take notes, the "The Analects" is different from other books. The brain capacity, wisdom, and memory enhancements that cultivation had given them were completely ineffective here. Everyone was like a child in the beginning of enlightenment, with a blank slate.

In this situation, it would be very difficult to memorize all the classical Chinese texts in the Learning Chapter with modern Chinese annotations.

Even Ma Feifei can't memorize it now; he has to look up the answer in the annotation book when asked a question.

It's incredible that Liu Ying was able to memorize all the classical Chinese annotations for the first chapter of the Learning Chapter in just one day; she's practically a genius!

Even the other students who remained seated were staring at Liu Ying in shock.

They couldn't remember everything either.

Of course, a small number of people did not show any shock on their faces, such as Gongsun Qiong and Zhou Zhuling.

"Teacher, am I right?" Liu Ying couldn't help but ask when she saw that Ma Feifei hadn't spoken.

Ma Feifei then snapped out of her daze, glanced at Liu Ying, and asked meaningfully, "Then, teacher would like to ask you one last question."

Liu Ying replied, "Please speak, teacher."

"In the Learning Chapter, Confucius said: 'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unperturbed when others do not recognize one's merits?' Each of these three sentences contains a philosophical principle. Do you know what they are?" Ma Feifei asked expectantly.

The so-called philosophy is the meaning of sentences, and helping three thousand students understand the meaning of classical Chinese texts in the Analects is also part of the task.

Ma Feifei's question seemed to stump Liu Ying, who stood there pondering.

The three thousand students around them also fell into deep thought because of Ma Feifei's question, and one by one they began to ponder the philosophy behind it.

Ma Feifei stood there quietly, not in a hurry, looking at Liu Ying with expectant eyes.

Five minutes later, Liu Ying seemed to have figured it out and glanced at Ma Feifei.

"Speak boldly, it's okay if you're wrong," Ma Feifei said softly.

They've only just started reading the Analects; they haven't even memorized the text yet. Asking them to understand its meaning is already a bit much.

Encouraged by Ma Feifei, Liu Ying nodded and said crisply, "I believe the philosophies contained in these three sentences are: learning, making friends, and self-cultivation!"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a roaring sound came from the Green Grassland.

Just as everyone was wondering, a beam of mixed white light shot out from the eyes of the Confucius statue and struck the Liu Ying.

"Bang~"

Liu Ying instantly unleashed a powerful aura, and Dafeng swept across the entire Green Grassland.