Seizing Literary Fame

Fang Yun had every student stand and introduce themselves, memorizing each child's name and appearance.

Afterward, Fang Yun began testing their literacy. He chose fifty characters from The Thousand Character Classic. He read one aloud, and the students wrote one down. Then he collected their papers for inspection.

Fang Yun finished reading through them swiftly. As expected of the top class in elementary education, all twenty students had answered correctly.

"Good. It seems your foundations are solid. If I taught you The Hundred Family Surnames or The Thousand Character Classic again, I would feel as though I were insulting you."

Many students smiled. As students of the top class, they had their own pride.

"Then what do you want to learn? Tell me."

One bold child said, "Teacher, your Appeal to the Sage's Words is amazing. Can you teach us how to explain Appeal to the Sage's Words?"

"I want to learn lyric poetry and fu from you! My elder sister says that if she marries, she wants to marry a talented scholar like you. I want to become a talented scholar too!"

The students eagerly voiced their opinions, and the classroom became extremely lively.

Outside the classroom, Lu Yingnian frowned. "Such clamor—what sort of decorum is that!"

"I think it is quite good. This is elementary education, not preparation to immediately become Licentiates. It is better for children to study happily," said one teacher.

"Though it differs from our ways, there is nothing seriously improper about it."

Lu Yingnian had no answer. Literary fame truly is too important. Even people familiar with me are unconsciously influenced by Fang Yun's reputation, believing that whatever Fang Yun does must be good.

Before long, Fang Yun gestured for the students to quiet down. "I can teach you Appeal to the Sage's Words or poetry, but before learning those things, you must first learn something else. I have compiled a work called Three Character Classic. In the days ahead, I will teach it to you. All right, take out your paper and brushes. I will speak, and you will write. Whoever writes every character correctly, I will treat you to something delicious during the midday break."

A rustling sound arose as the students laid out their paper, dipped their brushes in ink, and looked at Fang Yun with bright, intent eyes.

Fang Yun nodded in satisfaction. These children might not necessarily be smarter than those in other classes, but their initiative and self-discipline far exceeded those of ordinary children.

"At the beginning of life, people are naturally good. Their natures are alike, but their habits lead them far apart. If they are not taught, their natures will change. The way of teaching values dedicated focus."

Fang Yun recited the first four lines of Three Character Classic at a very slow pace.

After finishing, Fang Yun walked around the classroom and discovered that five of the twenty students had written every character correctly.

Fang Yun passed the five students' work around for the others to copy once, then began his explanation.

"At the beginning of life, people are naturally good. Their natures are alike, but their habits lead them far apart. The first six characters can be understood literally: when people are first born, they are all good. The latter six characters mean that because people grow up differently and learn in different environments, their dispositions come to differ between good and bad."

"If they are not taught..." Fang Yun continued explaining Three Character Classic in careful detail.

Most of the teachers outside had taught for many years, and every one of them was deeply astonished. They had never expected that Fang Yun was not only capable of composing poetry and Appeal to the Sage's Words, but that his understanding of life and education also surpassed everyone else's.

"These lines are concise and rhyme. One explanation is enough to understand them. They truly are suited for elementary education. How have I never heard of this?"

"Did he not just say so? He compiled it himself."

"He is still so young. How could he possibly write something so profound? Even if I lived another ten years, I could not write it."

"That is why he is the number one Licentiate of the Ten Kingdoms, and you are not."

Lu Yingnian felt extremely uncomfortable. He himself was an Academy Student and understood very well that Three Character Classic was excellent. Even if it did not reach the State-Ringing level, it was at least Prefecture-Reaching. After thinking for a while, Lu Yingnian quietly left.

Not long afterward, Lu Yingnian arrived at the Fang Household estate and met the Second Madam.

"Aunt, I have important information concerning Fang Yun."

"What information?"

"He compiled a Three Character Classic himself to enlighten children. In my years of experience, this Three Character Classic is extremely good. I suspect that within a few days, the clan school will add it to elementary education and have every teacher teach it."

"Is that true? This Fang Yun really knows how to stir up trouble."

"Aunt, I think we should let it go. That Fang Yun is very clever, and his literary fame is great. Offending him would bring more loss than gain. It would be better to think of another way to contend with the main branch."

"Do you think I am doing this for myself? While the old master is still alive and favors your uncle, I can still wrestle with the main branch. Once the old master dies, the main branch will immediately sweep our entire family out the door. If I do not fight now, I will have even less of a chance later. Fang Jingtang is old. Before long, he will leave the clan school. You must become its headmaster and grip the clan school firmly in your own hands."

"But my seniority cannot compare to those who came before me, and my Literary Qi cannot compare to Fang Yun's. How can I compete?"

"Silly child, how could you possibly fail to compete with Fang Yun? Does this Three Character Classic become his merely because he says he compiled it? The court only recognizes the first person to go to the Literary Academy and obtain the paperwork. You have never been among prominent families, so you do not know how things work here. There have been countless cases of people from great clans and noble houses stealing another's poetry and prose, rushing to the Literary Academy to register it first, then paying out a little silver afterward to send the victim away."

"Ah? Does the Literary Academy not claim to investigate such forgeries strictly? They say that if discovered, one's Literary Rank will be stripped and one will be barred from the Imperial Examination for life."

"Whoever dares do such a thing, which of their families has no connections in the Literary Academy? Your uncle has an excellent relationship with Qiu the Academician of the Literary Academy. I will take you to see him and have him help you obtain publication papers. From then on, Three Character Classic will be yours. With the literary fame of Three Character Classic, I will strongly support you as headmaster when the time comes."

"But Fang Yun earned Double-A Honor Before the Sages. No matter how foolish Qiu the Academician is, he could not possibly do this. If Fang Yun petitions the Holy Academy for Sacred Judgment, I will be finished."

"Of course, we cannot tell Qiu the Academician that Fang Yun wrote it. Once the publication papers are issued, then you can tell him the truth. At that point, give him a sum of silver, and he can only help us. Even if Fang Yun makes a scene at the Literary Academy, Qiu the Academician will have ways to suppress such a trivial matter and deny him the chance to Appeal for Sage Judgment. Fang Yun is merely a Cold Gate brat. If the Fang Household had not helped him, Liu Zicheng would have tied stones to him and sunk him in the Yangtze River long ago. Even if he has literary fame, at a crucial moment, who would be willing to offend an Academician of Subordinate Seventh Rank for him? Fang Yun has only just arrived in the prefectural city. How many officials could he possibly know?"

"But several teachers and some students at the clan school know that Fang Yun compiled it himself."

"When the time comes, I will speak for you. I refuse to believe they would dare turn the heavens upside down!"

"But what if Fang Yun rises straight up through the blue clouds and becomes a high official someday?"

"I heard a few days ago that the Liu Household is already preparing to move against Fang Yun. Even Liu Zizhi in the capital knows of it. Liu Zizhi's relationship with the Left Prime Minister is anything but ordinary. They say the Left Prime Minister is putting all his effort into cultivating Liu Zizhi, who is vaguely being treated as the successor to the Liu Party."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yingnian rejoiced. "So that is how it is. Then Fang Yun is as good as dead. I thought Aunt had become muddle-headed."

"No one from a prominent clan or noble house is muddle-headed. Even if Fang Yun ultimately succeeds in taking back Three Character Classic, so what? His surname is Fang. Elder Brother personally went to find him and treated him like a son. Would he expose the Fang Household's shame? If he insists on taking revenge against me, I will simply kneel before Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law. Those two are kindhearted and will never make things difficult for me. With me standing in front, not a single hair on your head will be harmed."

"No wonder. So Aunt had long anticipated that even failure would amount to nothing. Aunt, you are truly a heroine among women. If you had been born a man, the position of Left Prime Minister would surely have been yours."

Lu Yingnian flattered her extravagantly.

"You stinking brat!"

The gong marking the end of class rang out. Fang Yun concluded the lesson and said, "Those who wrote Three Character Classic correctly just now, tell me what you would like to eat. I will buy it for you during the midday break."

One student who had answered correctly stood up. "Teacher, could I exchange the food for a copy of Spring Dawn written in your own hand? My father loves that poem most. He talks about it so much that my ears have grown calluses."

"Is that so? Very well." Fang Yun nodded in agreement.

"I want a poem too!"

"Me too!"

All five students who had answered correctly chose Fang Yun's poems.

Fang Yun smiled. "Do not regret it. If Song Qiming had answered correctly, he would certainly choose food."

Song Qiming protested, "Am I that foolish? If I got them all right, of course I would choose Teacher's poem!"

The students burst into laughter.

Two chose Spring Dawn, two chose Year's End, and one chose "The rise and fall of the realm are the responsibility of every common man."

Fang Yun carefully wrote them in Liu Style.

One student muttered softly, "Who said Teacher's calligraphy was ugly? It is clearly no worse than the other teachers'."

"Maybe someone was deliberately making things difficult for Teacher."

"Mm, that is possible."

"The examiner was Magistrate Cai He, right?"

"He does not sound like a good person."

"Right!"

The students nodded their little heads. Fang Yun secretly laughed, but did not defend Cai He.

After class, Fang Yun returned to the instructors' room. Several teachers came over, wishing to copy the full text of Three Character Classic so they could teach it to students in the other classes.

Fang Yun let them copy it while he took out a copy of the Book of Documents and read silently. After all, this was his first day at the clan school. It would not be appropriate for him to leave as soon as class ended; at the very least, he had to wait until noon.

At midday, Fang Yun bid farewell to all the teachers and drove his carriage home. On the way, he bought three complete collections of the sages and stored them in Strange Book World.

Fang Yun stepped down from the carriage and pushed open the door, only to see a streak of white light swiftly pounce toward him. Little Fox Nunu gave a light leap and landed in his arms.

"Ying, ying..." Nunu cried happily in Fang Yun's arms like a mischievous little dog.

Fang Yun stroked Nunu's head, spoke to her with a smile, and carried her inside to eat.

The students and teachers had both responded well to Three Character Classic. After the meal, Fang Yun took Three Character Classic to see Registrar Zhou, intending to register it for publication. More importantly, he needed to ask someone of sufficiently high standing to annotate Three Character Classic.

But just after leaving the main gate, Fang Yun returned with Fang Daniu, placed his handwritten Three Character Classic on the table, and said, "Da Niu, copy this Three Character Classic once."

"You know my handwriting is ugly," Fang Daniu asked in surprise.

"It does not need to look good. Just make every stroke clear," Fang Yun said.

Fang Daniu looked at Fang Yun's original manuscript, suddenly understood, and laughed. "Right! Officials are already scrambling for your manuscripts. They will be worth even more in the future, so we absolutely cannot let others have them cheaply! I will copy it!"

Fang Daniu sat down and copied Three Character Classic stroke by stroke.

Once Fang Daniu finished, Fang Yun said, "Without my manuscript, Registrar Zhou will certainly be unhappy, so I will not go. Help me deliver it to him. I will also give him a brief letter. I will dictate, and you write."

"All right."

Fang Yun slowly dictated, "To Registrar Zhou. This student has recently been teaching at Fang Clan School and deeply feels the lack of elementary instructional texts. Therefore, I have compiled a rhyming and easily understood Three Character Classic, so that students may know benevolence and righteousness, understand ritual teachings, and comprehend history. The original text has been entrusted to my elder cousin for delivery. I hope you may find a person of great virtue and lofty prestige to annotate this work, so that students may bathe in the Sacred Way."