Knowledge and Action in the Heart, Fortune Becomes Thunder

"This woodblock printing is part of the teachings of the sages; it must contain some hidden principle!"

Thinking about it this way, Hua She's frustration eased slightly, and he cheered up again. Following this line of thought, he slowly recalled the hardships he had endured when carving books in the past, and the experiences of using different woodblocks.

Most of the woodblocks popular in the world today are made of wood, because wood is easy to inscribe. In addition, there are also metal blocks, mostly copper and tin blocks, because they are not easy to inscribe and require higher quality inks, which increases the cost.

However, this also reflects the development of printing technology.

Correspondingly, the development of printing technology has also led to the emergence of many new things, one of which is paper money.

The paper money "Jiaozi," which originated in Jiannan Central Passes, was printed using metal plates, making it beautiful and neat.

This is a natural occurrence. Merchants traveling abroad would find it inconvenient to carry too much currency. When technology matures, more convenient things will naturally emerge. Moreover, there is the inspiration from the "Flying Money" of the previous dynasty.

However, the Book-Printing Hall run by the Meng Residence would not print paper money, so metal engravings were quite rare in the bookstore. Most of them were still wooden engravings, but this did not prevent them from absorbing the technology derived from metal engravings— Color Woodblock Printing.

Using red and black overprinting to display two colors on a single sheet of paper was a very simple thing in the eyes of Qiu Yan's previous incarnation. It was so simple that few people regarded it as a technology or innovation, but rather as something taken for granted. However, in the process of its development, it went through a long process.

For a lowly laborer like Hua She to master such skills, the difficulty is unimaginable, but of course, it leaves a deep impression, as it is something he is most familiar with.

Human Path development is actually like this; without anyone deliberately promoting, guiding, or directing it, it takes a long time to accumulate. During this period, it is also easy to go astray.

Hua She, who was well-versed in woodblock printing, had long been aware of these matters.

He may seem dull and slow-witted, but there's one thing that Meng Wei and Meng Ting deeply admire about him: once he sets his mind to something, he becomes completely absorbed in it and won't give up until he achieves his goal. He keeps researching and perfecting things.

For example, with woodblock printing, ordinary craftsmen would simply carve out the text from the book, but Hua She insisted on understanding the principles and processes involved, not even letting go of related anecdotes and strange stories, let alone the origins and history. Whenever he had free time, he would pester several master craftsmen to tell him what he knew.

"Carving woodblocks is no easy task; it requires the combined efforts of all parties to make it happen. There are also rules and regulations, as well as the Book-Carving Standard promulgated by the imperial court..." Looking at the woodblocks in his hand, Hua She felt his Literary Thought like a spring, and his ideas became increasingly clear.

"The Book-Carving Standard" is a set of standards promulgated by the government.

With the development of Printing Technique, privately-run Book-Printing Hall emerged one after another, spreading throughout the country. While this certainly promoted the technology, it also brought many problems, such as inconsistent formats and rampant piracy. This prompted the government to introduce countermeasures and promulgate written laws.

"Isn't written law simply a set of regulations that the imperial court summarized after continuous changes by the Book-Printing Hall? From this perspective, isn't it also a form of learning through practice?"

Gradually, Hua She became more and more adept at it. He felt that his mind had never been so clear in his entire life.

Although he was studious in the past, he was held back by his aptitude. No matter what book or article he read, he found it difficult to understand and his thinking was not clear. He had to repeatedly ponder and draw on other sources to gain anything. This is why he would immediately write down any problems he encountered or insights he had.

After writing it down, he would repeatedly ponder it and then take advantage of the convenience of the Book-Printing Hall to consult books for answers. Often, it would take him ten days to half a month to solve a problem, which was really slow progress. It was nothing like his current Literary Thought mind, where he could draw inferences from a few points taught by Qiu Yan and, while clarifying the logic, he could also vaguely deduce the subsequent developments and summarize a set of rules from it.

"... So, the idea that copies cannot be reproduced is like treating each book as an academy, each with its own doctrine, and they cannot easily cross the line. But is this a divide-and-rule strategy, or is it the government's attempt to 'unify'?" Thinking of this, Hua She's gaze swept over several boxes in the corner of the room.

Those boxes also contained several printing plates, but they were all privately printed and sold in violation of imperial edicts. They were all registered with the court and stated that "applications have been submitted to superiors and are not permitted to be reproduced."

To paraphrase Qiu Yan's words from his previous life, it means prohibiting piracy; everything is copyrighted.

As Hua She looked and thought, he became increasingly delighted. It wasn't that he had found a principle in his own life, but rather that he had discovered that he too could think smoothly and had found a knack for it.

However, later on, he became dissatisfied with this and his worries and sense of urgency resurfaced.

"Mr. Qiu said that the purpose of acquiring knowledge and putting it into practice, besides cultivating oneself, should also be to promote Human Path. What use is this insignificant thing I've discovered to Human Path? At most, it can only comfort myself."

With this in mind, Hua She's initial joy quickly subsided, and he began to think about how to "promote Human Path."

But how could he possibly come up with something like this all at once? Human Path development is not something that can be achieved overnight; without accumulation, it is difficult for any transformation to occur out of thin air.

After listening to Qiu Yan's lecture for a day, Hua She understood this principle perfectly. However, he also knew that Qiu Yan's lecture period was only two days long. One day had already passed, and after tomorrow's lecture, Qiu Yan would leave Dai Prefecture to continue westward. It was hard to say when they would meet again.

"Mr. Qiu is very approachable. At the end of today, he even said that if I had any questions, I could ask him directly tomorrow. Other Grand Confucian might not be so easy to talk to. Besides, I gained this knowledge from what he taught me. Asking others might not yield the same results. So it would be best to find some explanation so that I can seize this last opportunity to ask him in person tomorrow!"

Thinking this way, Hua She gradually calmed down, took out a small booklet from his pocket, opened it, and laid it open on the table. The pages were filled with densely packed tiny characters, all of which were questions he had encountered while reading. The last few pages contained his doubts and insights after listening to Qiu Yan's lecture one day.

Hua She read through the text word by word, trying to recall what Qiu Yan had said and grasp the key points...

Time passed slowly, and the night deepened. The Book-Printing Hall was quiet inside and out, except for the room where Hua She was located and the gatehouse, which were still lit. The old gatekeeper, however, was already used to this.

"... Human Path always finds its rhythm in complexity and moves towards simplicity; it gains experience from hardship and gradually benefits the world..."

As Hua She looked around, his eyes were drawn to one particular sentence. It was a simple sentence, yet it explained a concept very clearly.

"The difference between cumbersome and simple is easy to understand. In the beginning, everything is complicated, just like when I first learned engraving and printing. I had no experience or skills, and I was all over the place. But as I got more familiar with it and found the patterns, I gradually became proficient, and then I could do the work with ease!"

Originally, woodblock engraving was a craft that could be passed down through generations. If Hua She hadn't followed the Meng Residence's path, he wouldn't have been able to learn it, so of course he had a deep understanding of it.

Looking at the woodblock print and recalling his experiences, a series of thoughts welled up in his mind, yet they were not scattered; they were connected by a single thread, clearly layered.

"As for the difficulties and benefits, Mr. Qiu cited paper as an example. Papermaking is complex and the techniques are secret. In the beginning, ordinary people could hardly know about it, and the output was very limited. As a rare commodity, it was expensive. Ordinary people could not afford it at all in the early days. It was only after the techniques were spread that it entered ordinary people's homes."

Thinking of this, he then applied this principle to the things around him, following the method of "Knowledge and Action".

"In this respect, the art of woodblock printing is the same. At first, only wealthy families could afford it. As it gradually became more widespread, it entered ordinary households. But the woodblock-printed books that were once considered precious are now looked down upon by the powerful and wealthy. I don't know why."

These stories were either collected by him or learned from craftsmen, but through constant memorization, he had long since become intimately familiar with them.

As the line of thought became clearer, Hua She couldn't help but marvel once again at the brilliance of this "Knowledge and Action" method, which combined obscure texts and scriptures with everyday events, making them not only easy to understand but also deepening the comprehension of the texts.

"The method of thinking that the Master imparted is truly astonishing and invaluable. Most others would likely refuse to teach it. Yet, all those present have never met the Master, and he has taught them. Even someone like me can learn it. His magnanimity alone far surpasses that of ordinary people. No wonder he has achieved such success. Compared to him, those who judge the Master's thoughts by their own standards appear rather narrow-minded..."

Shaking his head to bring his thoughts back, Hua She's gaze fell on the woodblock again, but this time, his thoughts were different.

"The method of woodblock printing is incredibly complex. I've heard that the government once organized the printing of books into a comprehensive system, dividing it into several blocks and distributing them to the Imperial Palace and Book Pavilion in several cities. That 'Great Canon' alone used over 130,000 blocks. Hundreds, even thousands, of large trees were felled just to make the blocks. And once the printing was complete, it became useless. Although it was a grand undertaking, it consumed a great deal of manpower, and printing was inconvenient in normal times. If a single character was accidentally carved incorrectly, the entire block had to be discarded..."

He picked up the woodblock print beside him, examined it from top to bottom, and an idea popped into his head—

"If there were a way to prevent things from becoming like this, perhaps that would be the way to advance Human Path..."

Boom!

Before the thought had even settled, a thunderclap suddenly flashed across the night sky outside!

In an instant, lightning flashed everywhere, turning the earth as bright as day!

Amidst the flashing lightning, a faint Fortune of fortune appeared around him, extending into the unknown Void.

P. S.: Thanks to "lobo" for the monthly pass!