Chapter 350: Rolling Up Sleeves and Glaring, Parting Ways and Severing Ties

Ai Nanying's words came out rapid and sharp — in this gathering of the various societies, he had essentially torn all pretense to shreds.

Reactions among the crowd varied.

Those who had come from Jiangxi naturally cheered him on.

Even Zhang Dai nodded repeatedly.

He had not yet grasped the deeper implications behind this storm; his mind was, in truth, rather simple.

Whoever denounced the current eight-legged essay was his friend.

But the men of the Jiangzuo societies on Zhang Pu's side all wore expressions of indignation.

In the end, it was Zhou Zhong, the league-master of the Jiangnan Ying Society, who stepped forward first.

He advanced a pace, brows tightly knit, and gave back as good as he got without the slightest courtesy.

"The great writings of the ages each have their own merits. In recovering the ancients, one may take the pre-Qin, Tang, and Song as models, or one may take the Seven Masters of ancient prose of our own dynasty — neither is impermissible. So long as the writing can comprehend the classics, the histories, and the masters, and benefit the state, it is good writing!"

"Master Ai, you speak with anguish of the nation's affairs going to ruin — but to save the nation, one must hold the reins of power! If one cannot pass the examinations, even if one possesses talent that reaches the heavens, how is one to put one's aspirations into practice?"

"Among the examiners who grade the papers, how many can truly comprehend the Qin, Han, Tang, and Song? Is it not still our Ming dynasty's Seven Masters of ancient prose that enjoy wider currency?"

"You pursue the Tang, Song, pre-Qin in everything — yet in the examination hall, what use is that? No one understands your prose or your allusions, and in the end, your name still fails to appear on the list of successful candidates." "If you cannot even gain entry into officialdom, how can you speak of serving the nation?!"

"Your words, sir, are truly those of a narrow pedant ignorant of the changing times! A wild scholar chasing empty fame in vain!"

Zhou Zhong's speech had quite captured the essence of debate.

To argue principle, one cannot merely argue principle; one must seize the opponent's weak point and attack it relentlessly.

Among the Jiangzuo men — Zhang Cai, Xu Qian, and others — many had passed the present examination, whereas the so-called Four Masters of Linchuan from Jiangxi, led by Ai Nanying, had reaped absolutely nothing. So long as they planted their feet on this ground, they could rotate in battle and remain in an invincible position.

This was what you would call a training-institution flame war — the contest was simply over whose side had more Zhuangyuan!

But with this said, the atmosphere instantly became drawn swords and cocked crossbows; the men on both sides began pointing fingers at each other, cursing furiously without cease.

Xia Yunyi, seeing that the matter was spiraling out of control, sighed mournfully and finally stepped forward to try to smooth things over.

"Gentlemen, calm your anger for a moment, and hear a word from me."

He smiled bitterly and said:

"Jiangzuo and Jiangyou alike are wellsprings of literary talent."

"Yuzhang (Ai Nanying and his associates) holds the authority to weigh the writing of all within the seas, and Tianru (Zhang Pu) and Jiesheng (Zhou Zhong) are likewise outstanding talents of the age."

"We have always drawn breath in mutual reliance — why injure the harmony between us?"

"In my humble view, we ought together to honor the pact of revering the classics and upholding antiquity, striving with all our strength to pursue the greater elegance, so as to reverse this decadent and enervated trend. I earnestly beg you all, do not create divisions among yourselves and damage your own reputations."

Xia Yunyi's intentions had been good — he had wanted to elevate both sides a little and give them a way to step down.

Who could have known that Ai Nanying would have none of it.

He shot Xia Yunyi a glance and gave a heavy, contemptuous snort.

"Our reputations have never been ruined by dispute and refutation — they are ruined precisely by those who blindly venerate!"

"It is like a man who, on meeting the Duke of Zhou or Confucius, knows to show reverence, but on meeting Robber Zhi, also bows to Robber Zhi as if he were the Duke of Zhou or Confucius. If it were truly so, what ground would the Duke of Zhou and Confucius have left to stand upon?!"

"The writings of men like Dashi, Dali, and Wenzhi — the sources of their learning are perfectly clear and plain."

"If you would lump them together with those pickled things soaking in vats of salt and vinegar, would they be willing?"

"Even if they were willing, I, Ai, will absolutely never consent to be classed together with such stuff!"

The Dashi, Dali, and Wenzhi mentioned here were none other than Zhang Shichun, Luo Wanzao, and Chen Jitai of Linchuan in Jiangxi — all key stalwarts of the Yuzhang Literary Society, that is, the other three of the Four Masters of Linchuan.

With these words, Ai Nanying was clearly and unmistakably drawing a dividing line between the two sides.

As soon as he spoke, the whole hall was indeed in an uproar.

Pickled goods soaking in vats of salt and vinegar! Robber Zhi! This was no longer scholarly discourse — this was trampling the entire Jiangzuo underfoot and grinding them into the dirt.

"Insolence!"

From among the seats, a young man slammed the table and shot to his feet.

This man was none other than Chen Zilong.

In the hot blood of youth, how could he endure such an insult?

Chen Zilong, face flushed and eyes blazing, glared at Ai Nanying: "How dare a wild scholar insult my Jiangzuo as having no men of worth!"

Ai Nanying did not even bother to lift his eyelids further; he looked Chen Zilong up and down a few times and gave a cold snort.

"So you are Chen Wozi?"

"Your honorable district has produced Lou Zirou (Lou Jian) and Chen Zhongchun (Chen Jiru). Though these two gentlemen have not attained the essential profundity of Ouyang Xiu's and Han Yu's ancient prose, they can at least manage to explain the root and branch with some clarity."

"If you truly wish to learn to write essays, you would do better to first prepare generous gifts and go ask these two to be your teachers. Obtain a word of guidance from them, and ponder it day and night — within ten years, your thoughts will not stray beyond the proper bounds."

"When you have studied with steadfast diligence for a full ten years, then come discuss literature with me — it will not be too late even then!"

"The ills of the age, the wellsprings of ancient prose — these are not matters upon which a young man like yourself is yet qualified to speak!"

Chen Zilong trembled with rage, pointing at Ai Nanying for a long moment without being able to utter a word, his chest heaving violently.

The scene was nearly out of control, each man glaring at the others in fury.

Just at that moment, Zhang Pu, who had been sitting as steady as a mountain all along, finally closed his folding fan with a snap.

He rose to his feet, blocked the enraged Chen Zilong, and looked toward Ai Nanying.

"Since you discuss the ills of the age, sir, then let us speak of the new policies of today."

"The Book of Changes says: When things reach an impasse, they change; when they change, they flow freely; when they flow freely, they endure!"

"His Majesty has now initiated new policies, and the court, from top to bottom, is in urgent need of talents capable of statecraft and practical application."

"Among these — the sciences, statecraft official documents, the debate on human geography — all are propositions that the ancients never expounded."

"If you cling one-sidedly to antiquity, sir, and rigidly defend ancient prose and rhetoric, is that not like carving a notch on the boat to find the sword?"

Zhang Pu smiled as he looked at Ai Nanying, and launched his killing stroke.

"Zhuangzi says: You cannot speak of ice with a summer insect, for it is bound by the season. The Yuzhang masters know only the beauty of ancient prose, but know nothing of the changes in the times — truly, they may be called frogs at the bottom of a well, confined by their narrow sphere!"

"I have a question of my own!"

"Since you, sir, seek antiquity in all things, then which antiquity does the 'Statecraft Public Document' promoted by the New Policies imitate?"

"Is it the antiquity of Qin? Of Han? Or the antiquity of Tang and Song that you yourself invoke?"

"Must such practical, substantive documents also be traced back to the Tang, Song, or pre-Qin?"

"What Your Majesty said — that sages of an age are called sages precisely because they solved the questions of their age — has none of it entered your heart at all?"

"Is what you are doing not exactly like climbing a tree to seek fish, or notching the boat to find a sword?"

A rapid volley of verbal thrust and parry, swift as a hare's leap and a falcon's strike.

Zhang Dai stood to one side in silence, listening with rapt intoxication.

The lake wind swept past, whirling up a few fallen leaves.

Zhang Dai quietly swallowed, lowered his voice, and said to Qi Biaojia beside him:

"In the past I had only heard that Ai Nanying of Jiangxi was an arrogant scholar, his words like blades, impossible to meet head-on."

"Now I see that Tianru of Jiangzuo is truly no less formidable!"

Qi Biaojia was whispering with someone nearby and had not yet had time to reply.

In the center, Ai Nanying, faced with Zhang Pu's pressing questions backed by the momentum of the New Policies, showed not the slightest guilt — instead he sneered.

"Tianru, oh Tianru, don't play word games with me here!" Ai Nanying stepped forward and declared with ringing force:

"When I speak always of Tang and Song, what I study is the spirit of Tang and Song ancient prose!"

"An essay must possess 'principle and method,' possess 'spirit and vitality,' possess 'refinement and purity,' and must strike to the heart of the time and the circumstance!"

"But those you revere — men like Nazhou and Yulin — appear to imitate antiquity, yet in truth they merely pluck phrases and pick out passages. It is like stitching together corpse parts, utterly devoid of spirit or vitality! For you to take my advocacy of a prose style and use it to slander me as single-mindedly chasing antiquity, as ossified and inflexible — that is an attack that stays on the surface, and it shows all the more that you have never truly glimpsed the real meaning of the ancient prose spirit!"

At this, Ai Nanying swept his great sleeve and pointed at the stacks of volumes on the long table, his voice and expression fierce.

"Since you bring up 'Statecraft Public Documents,' then I have a question for you! I have already read the latest examination-hall selections you have printed. The combined issue of the first-session eight-legged essays is one thing — it is merely an extension of your stale old views, nothing new at all."

"But! There is one thing you should never, ever have done — you should never have taken the many 'Statecraft Public Documents' from the third-session policy essays, printed them in a separate volume, and presumptuously appended your own commentary! If your commentary on everyone's public documents merely skimmed the surface, that would be one thing. But how dare you imitate the principles of the eight-legged essay and forcibly impose in your commentary so-called rigid frameworks like 'thesis,' 'corroboration,' 'strategy,' and 'contingency plan'?"

"Is this not replacing the old eight-legged essay with a new eight-legged essay?!"

"Is this not letting your present-day stale practices be reborn inside the shell of the 'Statecraft Public Document'?!"

"If this goes on, the Statecraft Public Document that His Majesty has promoted to reform abuses and seek out pragmatic talent will surely be ruined at your hands!"

This speech turned the opponent's own force against them.

Since Zhang Pu sought to press him with the New Policies, Ai Nanying countered by using the New Policies to interrogate him in return.

Zhang Pu's expression shifted slightly, but before he could speak,

Zhou Zhong had already leapt out to retort:

"Absurd! From ancient times, writing has always had its standards."

"Even the court's own standardized official documents must specify how many spaces to raise the heading, how many spaces to leave blank — any error in filling them out is severely punished by law."

"As long as a Statecraft Public Document has substance, what harm is there in having a regulated form? Without rules, would it not become mere capricious chatter?"

"Substance?"

Ai Nanying seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. He threw back his head and laughed.

"If you truly wish to speak of substance, then you should truly discuss the ills of each locality, truly discuss investigations into the conditions of the world!"

"I crossed the river to come debate the Dao with you for several days, and all we have talked about, over and over, are various formulaic platitudes."

"And as for the matter that is currently boiling over — the equalization of land and taxes in central Zhejiang! Over these many days, at this Jiangnan literary gathering, I have not heard a single word of it from any of you! In the end, the so-called 'ills of the age' and 'regulations' you speak of are nothing but pandering to the examiners, nothing but a means to become officials!"

"Once you become officials, what have the common people of the realm to do with you?!"

"Once you become officials, what have the ills of the dynasty to do with you?!"

"When the original heart is not upright, when the source is muddy and impure, what good thing could possibly come of studying it!"

A royal flush!

Ai Nanying's words had struck Zhang Pu squarely in his fatal weak point.

After returning home, he had only then learned that Wu Changshi had already started up the literary society.

This was naturally something he was willing to throw himself into advancing.

But he had not expected that around the fifth month, the Governor of Zhejiang would use the land equalization matter to throw the Wu Society into uproar, catching him quite off guard. This matter implicated the gentry of the Wu Society, and even more so implicated the vital interests of many scholars from the various societies of Jiangzuo.

If handled poorly, never mind unifying the various societies — the people here would split into two factions on the spot.

So for many days, he had carefully steered the direction of the discussions, deliberately avoiding this topic, never imagining that Ai Nanying would expose it to his face. Damn it!

Ai Nanying's family is in Jiangxi, far from the turmoil in central Zhejiang — of course he can spout such wild words.

That is standing and talking without back pain!

But he, Zhang Pu — all his friends, kin, old acquaintances, the very roots of his network, are all here in the Wu Society region. How could he recklessly stick his neck out?

And yet…

Just because Zhang Pu had such calculations in his heart did not mean that everyone had such calculations.

"Stop slandering people's good names!" A furious shout exploded like thunder. Chen Zilong, falsely maligned out of nowhere, could no longer contain the rage in his heart.

His eyes bloodshot, he let out a great cry and actually swung his fist, lunging straight at Ai Nanying.

"Wozi! No!"

"Quick, stop him!"

The scene instantly descended into chaos. Everyone rushed forward in alarm to break up the fight. In the scuffle, even Xia Yunyi was struck by a stray punch from Chen Zilong, stumbling backward clutching his arm.

When they finally managed to pull Chen Zilong away, the crowd in the pavilion had already split into two clearly distinct factions.

Ai Nanying straightened his rumpled collar and looked coldly at the indignant Jiangzuo scholars across from him.

"Fine! When words fail, you resort to fists, is that it?!"

"Hmph! Different paths, no shared plans."

Ai Nanying's voice was icy, and he spoke with absolute finality:

"Our Yuzhang Society, this very day, severs all ties with you. Henceforth, we of Yuzhang seek only the spirit of Tang and Song classical prose, and we shall personally investigate the ills of the present age!"

"Official rank and renown are indeed what we seek — but rectifying the ills of the times is the greater ambition in our hearts!"

"As for you lot, who claim to revere the classics and restore antiquity but in truth merely scheme after rank and renown — go play by yourselves!"

With that, he swept his sleeve fiercely. "We leave!"

As his words fell, his companions — Luo Wanzao, Chen Jitai, and the other men from Jiangxi — all rose to their feet and, without the slightest reluctance, turned and departed.

Stirred by the atmosphere, many other scholars from various regions at the banquet showed contemplative expressions. One after another, they too rose, cupped their hands toward Zhang Pu in salute, and left in silence.

Qi Biaojia pondered a moment, shook his head, and dragged Zhang Dai away from the gathering as well.

The Yinshan assembly, so bustling moments before, was now more than half empty — only a few dozen men remained.

Zhang Pu stood where he was, trembling with rage.

He gripped the folding fan in his hand so tightly that his knuckles whitened from the strain, yet he restrained himself with all his might, unwilling to erupt on the spot.

Only after a long while did he force a sentence through clenched teeth.

"Such fools — ignorant of expediency, blind to the ways of the world — in the end, they are nothing but pedants!"

His mind raced as he struggled to suppress the evil fire in his heart. He first turned his head toward the Daoist priestess who had stood quietly by throughout, his tone barely recovering its gentleness. "Master Xu Fo — those foul words just now have sullied the ear. I beg you, for our sake and for this Yinshan, to play a tune upon the qin and dispel this reeking stench." Whoever pays is the master.

Xu Fo had seen countless men in the pleasure quarters of Jiangnan and understood the situation perfectly.

She wasted not a single word. Her pale hand rose lightly and plucked the qin strings.

A string of clear, crystalline notes poured forth like flowing water, resounding across the heart of the lake.

The summer breeze swept across the surface of Yinshan Lake, rippling the water into shimmering scales.

Willow fronds swayed gently along the shore; the distant green hills were like strokes of indigo.

Amid this serene scenery and the melodious qin music, the restless crowd gradually calmed their anger.

Zhang Pu looked around. Every gaze he met belonged to his closest confidants and allies of former days.

It was precisely out of trust in him that, even after Ai Nanying's piercing words, they had still remained, waiting to see how he would respond. If he mishandled this matter, confidants could just as well sever ties, and allies could all the more readily turn their backs.

But...

If he handled this matter well, then it might just prove to be an excellent pretext — one that could win him a reputation a hundred, a thousand times greater than he had originally planned.

Zhang Pu's gaze was dark and brooding as it swept across every face.

Some men were genuinely indignant; some seemed lost in thought; still others huddled together, whispering — though what they discussed, he could not tell. In his heart, a plan swiftly took shape.

Ai Nanying, oh Ai Nanying.

Do you think this is enough to crush me?

Little do you know — by borrowing your wild words, I can now do precisely what I dared not do before!