Knowledge and Action Transmitted, Captivating Between the Lines

Great Rui's tradition of lecturing had existed since ancient times and was an important part of teaching and nurturing people. Its founders could even be traced back to the sages of the medieval era.

In those days, the Central Lands were filled with rival states, and the Hundred Schools contended in debate. To pass down their doctrines, the various schools needed all manner of methods to expand their influence. Aside from those who took the upper route through the feudal lords, the most common approach was to establish private schools.

The teaching philosophies of those private schools each had their own strengths, and in the years that followed, they influenced dynasty after dynasty. Because the schools that established private academies followed different sages, they developed different customs and variations. Even an unconscious gesture by a lecturer could be endowed with all sorts of meanings, some eventually evolving into rules akin to rituals.

The most representative among them was the Most Sacred First Teacher, who proposed education without distinction.

That later generations honored him with the title of "Teacher" itself demonstrated his contributions to education. The four stages proposed by the Most Sacred First Teacher—"learning, thinking, practicing, acting"—continued to exert a profound influence on every school and academy to this day.

Beyond that, sages such as the Lesser Sage and Sage Sun each had their own views on teaching and nurturing people. Some emphasized inspiration, some self-examination, and others training; all left far-reaching influence.

The method of lecturing was precisely one part of "inspiration," and it too was a tradition inherited from medieval times. Many writings praised it, leaving behind countless anecdotes. Some lecturers were simply deified.

Carrying the thoughts entrusted to him by the students, Qiu Yan slowly advanced. With every step came a sense of rising higher. This was