Chapter 193: Father and Son

Summer night in the forbidden palace, the bright moon in the sky.

Outside the Shouchang Palace, the eunuchs were pacing back and forth in a panic, and the Imperial Guards were following suit, feeling uneasy. The Emperor had locked himself inside the palace and had not called for his evening meal; he had only ordered people to deliver two large jars of Jingkou wine. How could this not make people worry? It just so happened that the Emperor had also ordered that no one was to disturb him, so no one dared to offer remonstrance. As for reporting the news to any of the ladies in the various palaces, they dared even less. The Emperor was most disgusted by loose-lipped people.

Just when they were at a loss, a shout came from inside to serve the meal!

Everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly served the dishes at the fastest speed. As a result, as soon as the table was set, they were driven out by the Emperor again.

The Emperor ate and drank with the policy discussion, gulping down wine, sweeping away the dishes like a storm, and eating his fill. Then he threw away his chopsticks, sat with the policy discussion, looked around the hall, looked around, and was full of ambition.

He happened to see the document sent by Lü Wenxian earlier regarding the budget for building temporary granaries by the Ministry of Revenue. He picked it up, flipped through it casually, and saw the joint remonstrance of several officials of the Ministry of Revenue at the end, arguing that building granaries was too expensive and not worth the loss, and that the old laws should be followed to save expenses, citing the example of Emperor Wen of Han wanting to build a terrace, calling a craftsman to calculate the value of a hundred gold, and then abandoning it.

Seeing this, the Emperor snorted coldly, and with the drunkenness, he threw the document away.

The paper scattered and fell like snowflakes.

"I am not Emperor Wen of Han! Emperor Wen of Han couldn't even protect one Jia Yi; I won't be him!"

The Emperor was originally in high spirits, but not knowing what he thought of, his expression gradually became heavy.

He sat withered for a while, then suddenly got up to look for paper and brush, dipped in ink, and wrote on the letter paper:

"Recluse Longju again addresses the jade-like literary elegance of Cangming..."

The Emperor wrote two lines, then stopped his brush, put this paper aside, changed to new paper, thought for a moment, and wrote:

"The foundation of ultimate transformation, benevolence is essential.

In ancient times, the world was governed by symbols and laws;

Today, the law is trivial and harsh, yet evil is not cut off.

The government is annoying and the net is dense, which is not the way to consolidate literary virtue and promote education.

Former court attendant Du Qianguang, although his words are wild and arrogant, and his purpose is extreme,

but pushing to the beginning of his sprouting thoughts, it is also based on learning.

Respecting the classics and valuing learning is the foundation of royal education; being clear, broad, and knowledgeable should be in the Confucian forest.

Now pardon his crimes and supplement the position of National University Doctor..."

In the Tingwei Prison, an iron fence separated father and son.

The son was outside the prison, kneeling on the ground, crying bitterly; the father was inside the prison, sitting cross-legged, tearing at a fat chicken leg, eating with relish.

The father chewed the chicken meat and said: "What are you crying for! I'm not dead yet..."

As soon as the word "dead" was mentioned, the son cried even more violently.

The father said angrily, knocking on the iron fence: "There's not much time left, hurry up and talk about the business. Did you memorize what I told you to memorize?"

The son sobbed: "I... I memorized it."

The father was happy: "Recite it for me!"

The son endured his tears and recited: "At the winter solstice, the sun is in the ox, and the shadow is one zhang and three chi long. At the summer solstice, the sun is in the eastern well, and the shadow is one chi and five cun long. Lu Xigong... fifth year, first month... Renzi first day... was the winter solstice. The shadow of the sun is one chi and five cun, which is called the center of the earth, where heaven and earth meet, where the four seasons intersect, where wind and rain gather, and where yin and yang harmonize..."

The father listened, shaking his head, as if drinking fine wine.

The son gripped his clothes tightly, supporting himself with one breath, and continued to recite:

"Therefore, stand an eight-chi pole in the courtyard and measure the sun's shadow at noon. On the day of the winter solstice, the sun is at the beginning of the ox, and the shadow is one zhang, three chi, and three cun long..."

"It's three chi and five cun!" The father sat up straight instantly and knocked on the iron fence.

The son couldn't recite anymore and started crying again.

The father shook the prison fence anxiously:

"It's three chi and five cun! Three chi and five cun!!! If the shadow advances or retreats by one cun, the sun travels a thousand miles! On the day of the winter solstice, the sun is 135,000 miles north of Zhou Luo at noon! You said three chi and three, isn't that far off?!"

The son kowtowed to the ground and begged: "Father, please change it! Your child begs you!!!"

Two months ago, the father wrote a new book, *Introduction to the Explanation of Spring and Autumn*, and used this book to teach his disciples. In the book, he discussed the issue of "Duke Zhou measuring the shadow."

The so-called measuring shadow is to use the gnomon to measure the change in the length of the sun's shadow to determine the solar terms. After the old gentleman examined it, he pointed out that the current Taichang's measurement of the winter solstice was off by two degrees. This was actually nothing, just an academic dispute.

But he extensively examined lost books and deeply studied documents, actually proving clearly why Duke Zhou measured the shadow and established the capital in Luoyang! This meant that Duke Zhou measured the shadow, taking Luoyi as the center of the world, and thus built the royal kingdom. This was a bit sensitive. The Southern Dynasty established the country in the south of the Yangtze River and regarded itself as the orthodox, but the Emperor did not live in the center of the world, but in Jin Ling. Wasn't that an illegitimate legal system?

What's worse, he also listed many documents in the book, combing through a line of clues about the concept that "Luoyi is the center of the world" from the complex and vast historical materials. The duration of his tracing and the clarity of his examination made it simply impossible to argue. So soon, scholars came to the door, hoping he would delete this part. The old gentleman naturally refused, insisting that academic research is for the purpose of seeking truth. If you don't agree with what I say, you can refute it; how can there be a reason to delete it?

Then the Taichang also sent people to apply pressure, and the matter became bigger and bigger. Several government offices were involved, taking turns to negotiate. The old gentleman was stubborn and insisted on not changing. Finally, the Prince of Jingling came forward to mediate. All parties agreed to take a step back, only asking the old gentleman to delete the two-degree difference in measuring the shadow and three of the citations, and that would be the end of it. The Prince of Jingling also promised that after this matter, he would invite the old gentleman to join the West Mansion as a scholar.

Unexpectedly, the old gentleman didn't even give the Prince face, not only not deleting a single line but also scolding the Prince of Jingling for having the name of a virtuous prince but no sense of right and wrong. The Prince of Jingling retreated in shame, and the old gentleman stayed in prison. Originally, it was the Shangfang Prison, and as long as he changed the text, he could redeem his crime with money, but the old gentleman was determined and didn't change a single word!

After the authorities finalized the verdict, they stripped him of his position as a court attendant (honorary consultant of the Policy Research Office) and sent him to the Tingwei Prison, which meant they were going to handle it severely.

The son ran around and found out that today was the day for sentencing. If the crime was "fabricating non-existent things and slandering the national destiny," then it would be nine deaths and no life. That was why there was this scene of crying and begging his father to change the book.

The father heard the son's words and was furious:

"The facts are all there, what is there to change? Deceiving people? Deceiving heaven?

Deceiving oneself!

When Cui Zhu killed the monarch, the Qi Grand Historian recorded it and was killed. His brother wrote it again and was killed again. If the historian is not afraid of death, why should the classicist be afraid of death?!

My life's learning is in the two classics of *Classic of History* and *Spring and Autumn*. I wrote *Classic of History Phonetic Interpretation* for the *Classic of History*, and this book has already been circulated. Even if they ban and destroy it, it will not be buried.

I wrote *Introduction to the Explanation of Spring and Autumn* for *Spring and Autumn*, which is enough to be passed down to the world. It's just that I haven't had time to teach it all to the students before it was confiscated.

You are now the only successor to the full version of this book! You must firmly remember the key points! After I die, when the world allows my books to be published, you must help me write them out!

If you haven't waited for that day, then let your son recite it, passing it down from generation to generation. In any case, this problem must be explained clearly, so that later scholars will not be covered in a dark room."

The son lay on the ground, crying uncontrollably.

The father looked at the son, feeling some heartache, stretched his hand out of the iron fence, touched the son's head, and said gently:

"My child, don't cry. A person lives for a hundred years, and those who are seventy are rare. Even if I live ten more years, what can I do? It's just getting a name for longevity. What is longevity? Laozi said, 'Those who die but do not perish have longevity.' Learning has inheritance, which can be called dying but not perishing! So you must remember my books. As long as you remember, I am alive!"

The son nodded while sobbing, holding his father's hand tightly, unable to let go.

Just then, a voice came from the entrance of the corridor: "Where is Du Qianguang? Lead the way."

Footsteps approached.

The son knew the final moment had arrived, because if it wasn't a capital crime, they wouldn't come to take people so quickly, so he cried loudly.

The father was also terrified and shouted: "Child, remember, it's three chi and five cun! On the day of the winter solstice, the sun is at the beginning of the ox, and the shadow is one zhang, three chi, and five cun long! You must not remember it wrong!"

The son cried: "I remember! It's three chi and five cun! It's three chi and five cun!"

Several prison guards walked over and opened the prison door. The father pulled his hand out, straightened his clothes, and stood up: "Let's go."

The Tingwei Assistant was stunned: "Does Master Du already know?"

The father's hands were shaking, his heart was thumping, he tried to calm his expression, clenched his palms, and cheered himself up:

"Life is what I desire, but there is something I desire more than life, so I will not do it for the sake of survival! The *Lost Book of Zhou* says: 'Build the great city of Cheng Zhou in the center of the earth,' the *Classic of History* says: 'The King came to inherit the Supreme Emperor, and served himself in the center of the earth'; the *Annals of Zhou* says: 'Duke Zhou again divined and inspected, finally built and constructed, and resided in the Nine Tripods. He said: 'This is the center of the world, and the distance for the four directions to pay tribute is equal.' These are all common books, they cannot be erased! Even if you delete the few lost book documents I collected, can you change all the books in the world?! Luoyi measures the shadow, it is the center of the world, so Duke Zhou resided there! Even if I die, I will say this!"

The son cried loudly!

The Tingwei Assistant couldn't help but laugh: "Master Du, don't tell me these things, I don't understand this? Go to the National University and say it."

Father and son were both stunned.

"His Majesty has pardoned your crimes and personally appointed you as a National University Doctor, ranked fifth, and the Ministry of Personnel's document will arrive immediately. This subordinate congratulates you in advance!"

The Tingwei Assistant bowed and saluted.

Father and son didn't believe it, asked repeatedly, and got the repetition! Got the confirmation! Then they were stunned! Then they were ecstatic!

The father's name was Du Qianguang, and the son's name was Du Jian.

When this lineage reached the eighth generation, a very cute child was born, named "Fu." *Shuowen* says: "Fu, a beautiful name for a man." Because "name" and "style name" are generally related, he was styled "Zimei."

Surname Du, name Fu, style name Zimei.

——————

Note: ① *Xunzi, General Outline*: "If you want to be close to the four sides, nothing is better than the center, so the king must live in the center of the world, this is ritual."

② *Book of Sui, Bibliography*: "In the Liang Dynasty, there was *Introduction to the Explanation of Spring and Autumn* in one volume, written by Du Qianguang, a regular official of Qi, lost." So this book should have been lost. Someone saved a scholar and a work without knowing it. ===== CHAPTER 194 =====