Chapter 547: Putting Learning to Use

"Exactly — put learning to use!"

Before Heifu could begin teaching the Mohist Cheng Shang, Zhang Cang burst out laughing, reeking of alcohol, and cut in:

"Heifu, you're still a bit late. The Master gave me this lesson over twenty years ago."

Wagging his head, he recited: "The Master sat that day in Lanling and told the assembly: 'To know yet not act — though earnest, one will surely be stymied.' The meaning is this: knowing is not the goal; knowing is for the sake of using. To know and not use it, to be unable to turn it into action — then no matter how rich the knowledge, it is useless…"

Heifu slapped the low table. "Exactly! On this point, my view is even identical to Xunzi's. And moreover, truly useful learning must not only be used by yourself — it must also be usable by others! Not just usable by a small minority, but usable by everyone under heaven!"

"Usable by everyone under heaven?"

Cheng Shang was taken aback. Although the Mohist school was famed throughout the world for its mechanical ingenuity, they regarded that only as a means, not an end, and so had never thought in this direction.

Heifu held up Zhang Cang as an example: "Last year Zhang Cang finished the first volume of the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*. Among the first six chapters, 'Rectangular Fields' deals with the precise measurement of farmland; 'Millet and Rice' concerns the proportional exchange of grains and provisions; 'Distribution by Ranks' relates to the allocation of official salaries; 'Lesser Breadth' and 'Meritorious Works' are about calculating civil engineering quantities; 'Equitable Taxation' involves the apportioning of levies and taxes…"

"Ah, and there is also 'Bead Arithmetic,' which specifically explains the usage and techniques of the abacus. All of the above are supremely practical, with simple illustrative proofs. Was it written for his own eyes? Was it written for his sons and disciples to read?"

"No!"

Zhang Cang, now tipsy, slammed the table and declared loudly: "I wrote it for everyone under heaven to read! The gentleman has the Six Arts — rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Yet I want all under heaven, whether scholar, farmer, artisan, or merchant, to be able to transform the art of numbers and put it to use!"

This *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art* was Zhang Cang's finest fulfillment of Xun Qing's principle of "the unity of learning and action."

The fat man understood perfectly: if he indulged himself in abstruse mathematical problems and could not pull himself out, then this book would ultimately remain a niche self-amusement, unable to benefit the masses or bestow its blessings upon the world.

Thus, Zhang Cang placed the six practical chapters first, and the more theoretically oriented "Excess and Deficiency," "Right Triangles," and "Equations" at the back. Because for the majority of people, the first six chapters were already sufficient. If someone read the first half and still was not satisfied, they would naturally want to read the last three chapters, and thereby set foot on the path of delving into the mathematical arts…

"If I were to hoard and conceal these mathematical insights I have figured out, passing them only to my sons and disciples, sooner or later they would be lost."

Zhang Cang seemed to have sobered up, turning serious. He strongly agreed with Heifu's point: "Zi Yin, once a body of learning becomes so esoteric that no one uses it, it is not far from vanishing and being lost forever."

The lower foundation determines the upper structure — the same holds true for learning.

No matter how good the theory, it must be useful in a field of application before it can flourish and expand, using its vast base of users and tangible benefits to in turn drive theoretical development.

Moreover, crafts and technologies must be studied by a group of people together in order to progress further and further. One person working behind closed doors might well end up researching outdated techniques.

Ancient technical texts are scarce. Later generations believe this is because literati and poets did not value technology, but that may not be the case. It could also be that artisans hoarded their unique skills, refusing to let outsiders know, and in the end the skills died with them.

This malady is not unique to China; Japan and the West all had it, until patent systems developed that rewarded the public disclosure of techniques, and only then did artisans gradually offer up their unique skills.

Yet to truly shatter the artisans' complacent self-isolation, one must still rely on the development of science. Decades of experience groped for by an artisan cannot match results derived from science — this is what finally stripped ancient artisans of all their trump cards.

Heifu understood that a patent system was of course impossible, but the Qin dynasty could encourage military merit, could encourage diligent farming — it could also encourage some artisans to innovate and invent!

If the Mohists, who in this era truly grasped "science," were to join in and help the government train artisans, perhaps the process of science-led craftsmanship could be advanced a little earlier…

After Heifu and Zhang Cang's explanation, Cheng Shang finally had a sudden revelation.

"Mozi held that in the construction work of artisans, there must always be a standard to serve as measurement. A skilled craftsman can carve with complete precision; the unskilled, though unable to achieve total precision, will still achieve better results by following the standard than by relying solely on their own ability to explore."

He raised his head. "Commandery Governor, I understand now. What you want the Mohist school to provide is precisely that standard! To use the Mohists' reputation and ability to become the standard for all artisans under heaven!"

Heifu was gratified. "Exactly so! Are you willing to help me accomplish this?"

Cheng Shang nodded. "I shall return to Xianyang at once and do my utmost to persuade the Qin Mohists to agree!"

"No, it is not about begging them to accept."

Zhang Cang corrected him from the side: "Let me tell you plainly. In Linzi, because the crowd of Confucians used the past to satirize the present, Chancellor Li advised the throne, and His Majesty very nearly conceived the idea of burning the discourses of the Hundred Schools — the Mohists among them! Had Heifu not blocked it with all his might, I fear the flames would already have reached Xianyang."

Cheng Shang had heard rumors of this matter; hearing it now, he still felt lingering terror.

Heifu also added: "Indeed. Chancellor Li said it himself: the common people should devote themselves to farming and crafts, and the scholars should study the laws, ordinances, and prohibitions. In his view, only these three things are useful; all the rest are useless books, all fit for burning!"

"If the Mohist school does not wish to become a lost art, it must seize this moment before His Majesty changes his mind, accept this task, and take the lead in establishing a school of engineering in Xianyang. If the Mohists wish to survive in the Great Qin, they must prove, by all means, that theirs is a useful body of learning!"

With that, Heifu cupped his hands toward Cheng Shang. "This, too, is the only way I, Heifu — out of reverence for Mozi and admiration for the Mohists — can help the Mohist school!"

…

"Yesterday you had the Mohists apply the learning in their Mohist Canon to craft and technique — that was excellent. But then you also said you wanted me to apply the learning of Xun Qing's 'Discourse on Heaven' to practical farming, and I still don't quite understand…"

The next day, Zhang Cang, who the night before had drunkenly insisted on "sleeping foot-to-foot" with Heifu, woke to find that Heifu had not shared his bed at all.

Rubbing his throbbing temples, he came into the courtyard. After being attended to by the maidservants and washing up, he actually still remembered the previous day's debate.

Heifu had merely slept in his clothes in the adjacent room. The moment he heard Zhang Cang's words, he immediately perked up, wanting to continue tapping his little blackboard and lecturing Zhang Cang — only to discover that written on it were four simplified characters: "UNITE WORKERS AND PEASANTS"!

He had no idea what else he had boasted about yesterday in his drunken haze. Cold sweat instantly broke out; he reached out and swiftly wiped it away, then cleared his throat a few times and said:

"You, Zhang Cang, may be learned, but after all, you come from a wealthy household of local gentry — you cannot compare with me, a commoner's son who scrabbled for food in the dirt since childhood. So let me continue telling you about farming!"

Heifu first asked Zhang Cang three simple questions.

"What are the Five Grains?"

"What are the Five Vegetables?"

"What are the Six Domestic Animals?"

Zhang Cang felt insulted and flew into a rage. "Do you take me for someone who never lifts a limb and cannot tell the five grains apart?"

Heifu raised his eyes and sized up Old Zhang's two-hundred-jin bulk. If nothing else, the "never lifts a limb" part was certainly true.

But Zhang Cang was learned after all. The Five Grains — rice, broomcorn millet, panicled millet, wheat, and beans. The Five Vegetables — mallow, chives, scallion, shallot, and bean leaves. The Six Domestic Animals — pig, ox, sheep, horse, chicken, and dog… He could name every one without missing a single item. He could even rattle off, more or less, which commandery and county produced what, the relative merits of the Five Grains, the habits of the Six Domestic Animals, and the key points of raising them. After all, besides being a fat otaku techie, he was also a massive foodie.

Once Zhang Cang had finished his ramble, Heifu clapped and laughed. "Well said. But let me ask you one more question."

"Ask!" Zhang Cang lifted his short neck, putting on an air of accepting any challenge.

But Heifu's words once again left Zhang Cang dumbstruck.

"Do you suppose that people from the very beginning knew how to plant these Five Grains and Five Vegetables, and raise these Six Domestic Animals?"

…

PS: Busy heading out, no time to write more. This chapter's a bit short; nothing tonight, no need to wait.

(End of chapter)