Chapter 162 There are three books of the four major classics
"I wonder if you have finished reading this gentleman?" Seeing Liu Yan's rapt attention, the old man in the bookstore came over and asked.
Only then did Liu Yan realize that he had been reading books in the bookstore for half an hour. He immediately took out his wallet and said, "Buy, buy, buy. How many books do I have in total?"
The old man said with a smile: "There are three volumes in the upper, middle and lower volumes. There are three volumes in total. This one costs ten cents."
Ten cents? So cheap?
Liu Yan looked at the old man in surprise. You must know that in the Central Plains, a thin Buddhist scripture costs one hundred coins, so ordinary scholars can rarely afford books.
The Liu family had been officials for generations and had a rich collection of books. However, Liu Yan did not have much money to buy books. When he saw a book he liked, he would either borrow it or copy it himself.
If he didn't really like this "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Yan would be reluctant to buy it.
Unexpectedly, such a thick book only cost ten cents. Liu Yan was afraid that he had heard wrongly.
The old man smiled and said: "The price is clearly marked, which is ten cents. Sir, you can look at the back of the book to see the price of the book."
Liu Yan turned over the book and saw "book price: ten cents" written in small regular script.
This is too high-quality and cheap. As a book lover, Liu Yan just read the first few chapters and knew that this was a novelist's words, not official history.
Liu Yan read the entire "Three Kingdoms" when he was a teenager, and even read Pei Songzhi's annotations for "Three Kingdoms".
Many of the plots in this book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are about showing off and taking action, and there are even some folklore stories that catch wind and shadow.
But that doesn’t stop it from being a good book!
Liu Yan took out thirty coins and stuffed it into the old man's hand, fearing that the other party would raise the price and stop selling.
Unexpectedly, the old man pulled Liu Yan and said, "Didn't Mr. Lang realize that the words in this book are different from the common ones?"
Liu Yan nodded and said, "It's been simplified. Is this a new font created by a calligrapher?"
The characters printed in this "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are indeed different from normal regular script, and many characters are simplified to a certain extent.
However, they were all understandable based on the context, so Liu Yan didn't think there was anything wrong.
The old man smiled and said: "This is the simplified Chinese characters promulgated by His Royal Highness King Jianning. Now the notices of the Bafu and the Three Prefectures Governor's Office must be written in this simplified Chinese characters. There is also a dictionary here. Do you want it, Mr. Lang? This dictionary is more
It’s cheap, only five cents.”
dictionary?
Liu Yan was surprised. Everything that could be called classics these days were all very important books.
Liu Yan opened it and saw that the thick little book was classified according to word sides and strokes. He only needed to use the search method used in the preface to find the word he was looking for.
The dictionary will provide a simple explanation of the word, as well as simple word combinations, and some complex words will also have sample sentences.
Liu Yan was shocked. This was much more detailed than "Shuowen Jiezi".
This thick dictionary contains thousands of commonly used Chinese characters, all of which provide concise and vivid explanations.
For this reason alone, this book can be called a "classic".
Liu Yan quickly paid for it, and Yang Yan had already picked out the book.
I only saw that Yang Yan selected three volumes of a book as thick as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and the title was "A Dream of Red Mansions". It seemed to be the kind of book about love between men and women.
The two of them left the city outside the city. Liu Yan, who was a book addict, was eager to settle down in the city so that he could have time to read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
While waiting to enter the city, the two started chatting again.
Yang Yan sighed and said, "King Jianning actually created simplified Chinese characters. What a great ambition!"
Liu Yan also nodded and said: "There is also this "Dictionary", which can really be called a dictionary. With these simplified Chinese characters and the dictionary, it will be much easier to enlighten."
Yang Yan also nodded. The so-called enlightenment means enlightenment in literacy. Scholars like them must be enlightened, either by being a teacher in Yanqing, or by going to the upper class to learn. It is quite difficult for ordinary people to learn and read.
Yang Yan and Liu Yan are both from families with generations of officials and gentry. Although their official positions are not high, they are also famous poetry and calligraphy families in the prefecture and county.
The Confucian scholars of the Tang Dynasty in this era were not as pedantic as the Confucian scholars of the Song and Ming dynasties in later generations. Instead, both of them praised King Jianning's simplified Chinese characters, believing that this was a kind of writing that could better educate the world.
Liu Yan also loved dictionaries very much. When he was eight years old, Liu Yan used the word "peng" to remonstrate with the emperor. Naturally, he loved words very much. This is a dictionary that is easy to understand, but full of depth. Naturally, Liu Yan was fascinated by it.
Like it very much.
Needless to say, these books were copied by players from the real world.
Nowadays, a small player union called "Wenzhao Gong's Home" is constantly transferring various classics to the situation of the Tang Dynasty.
It's just that compared to those players who have made a fortune by transporting advanced technology, this group of copycat players have worked hard to typeset and print masterpieces, but they have a backlog that cannot be sold.
This is not to say that these books are not good. On the contrary, the intellectuals in the three states are full of praise for "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "Water Margin".
The players were reluctant to sign their names. These three books all used "Anonymous" as the author's name. Some people actually thought that Anonymous was a great novelist in the world, and went to the bookstore every now and then to ask what new works "Anonymous" had.
What, why are you saying there is no "Journey to the West"?
That's not Master Xuanzang's apprentices, Master Bianji and Master Guiji. Both lived into the Kaiyuan period. Now Master Xuanzang's disciples and grandchildren are still alive. It is written that he took his three disciples to the West to study scriptures and was afraid that they would be destroyed by the monks.
That’s why players have temporarily let go of this masterpiece.
The books are all good, but it’s a pity that so few people can read them.
With today's literacy rate, it is still unable to support a mature book market. The great development of popular literature in the Song and Ming Dynasties only appeared after the citizen economy developed.
Even during the Song and Ming dynasties, only places with prosperous literary styles such as the capital and Jiangnan had a market for books.
Longyou was a culturally and educationally backward area in all dynasties, and printed books could not be sold.
Not long ago, King Jianning's palace issued an order prohibiting the private sale of Confucian classics, military books, agricultural studies, miscellaneous studies, legal texts and other books. This caused heavy losses to the players of the "Wen Chao Gong's House".
The only good thing is that many businessmen from the Western Regions are willing to buy some thick books back. It is said that such beautifully bound Chinese books are very popular in the Western Regions, and many big shots are willing to use these books to decorate their appearance.
Liu Yan and Yang Yan quickly found a hotel to stay in in Jucaifang. As soon as they settled down, they sat on the bed and read a book.
Liu Yan read very slowly, and would praise every part he liked when he came across it. After reading it, he had a photographic memory and recited it verbatim.
Yang Yan is the complete opposite. He reads very fast. He can read ten lines at a glance, but he also forgets things quickly.
When Yang Yan finished reading the 120 chapters of Dream of Red Mansions, Liu Yan just saw Cao Cao assassinating Dong.
However, it was already dark at this time, and the candlelight in the hotel hurt his eyes when reading. Liu Yan could only reluctantly close the book and wait for the sun to come out tomorrow to read again.
Yang Yan also closed the book and exclaimed: "This "Dream of Red Mansions" is really a wonderful article!"
Liu Yan touched "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and said: "The person who can write the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is definitely a literary sect of the generation!"
The plot of Dream of Red Mansions has many twists and turns, and you can taste a variety of flavors if you taste it carefully. However, Yang Yangang wanted to praise it, but he didn't know where to start.
On the contrary, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is about the history of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, and I can talk about it for a few sentences.
Yang Yan asked: "Liu Lang, what's so strange about this book "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"?"
Liu Yan immediately said: "Whether it is "Three Kingdoms" or "Three Kingdoms Notes", they are both obscure and profound to read, but although this "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has many places that violate historical facts, the characters are really vivid!"
Liu Yan immediately recited several plots, which made Yang Yan intoxicated. When he heard that Cao Cao killed Lu Boshe's family, Yang Yan also took a breath and said: "'I would rather betray others than others betray me!
'Emperor Wu of Wei actually said such words!"
Liu Yan said: "There is no biography of Lü Boxe in "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", but in Pei Songzhi's "Notes on the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", the story of Lü Boxhe is written, but this is 'I would rather betray others than others betray me',"
I’m afraid it’s also what a novelist says and cannot be taken seriously.”
"Although it cannot be taken seriously, this "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" actually denigrates Emperor Wu of Wei in such a way."
Liu Yan also nodded and said: "Emperor Taizong once praised Emperor Wu of Wei, saying, 'He is so heroic that he can handle difficult times and serve as a pillar.' I didn't expect that this book "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" would be so disparaging about Emperor Wu of Wei."
Yang Yan thought for a while and said: "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms respected Liu and demoted Cao. I'm afraid it was not the instruction of King Jianning."
"Why do you say that?"
Yang Yan thought for a while and said: "Isn't this world now a time of great struggle between dragons and snakes? Your Highness is of royal blood and has a reputation for kindness in Longyou. Isn't he comparing himself to Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty?"
Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty was naturally Liu Bei. Liu Yan thought about it for a while, and although he felt that Yang Yan had overinterpreted it, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
King Jianning was from a famous family like Emperor Zhaolie of Han Dynasty, but he had no foundation. In the book, Liu Bei managed to save some family property, and King Jianning also managed to save some family property outside the Great Wall.
Putting it this way, it seems to make sense to respect Liu and demote Cao.
Yang Yan added: "Liu Lang, in these troubled times, we still need good birds to choose trees to roost, and wise ministers to choose their masters to work."
Liu Yan nodded and said, "What Sanlang said is absolutely true. To be honest with Sanlang, Mr. Wuqi, the general envoy of the Jianghuai Salt and Iron Leaser, once wrote to me, inviting me to work with him to assist in the affairs of the Salt and Iron Institute. I originally wanted to go back and
Entering the palace of the fifth great lord of the shogunate."
"But now I hesitate. After the Shazhou Conference, if Jianning and I are really as kind and wise as Liu Bei, then I will stay in Shazhou."
Yang Yan pulled Liu Yan and said, "What Liu Lang said is exactly what I mean!"