Chapter 39: Teaching! Character Analysis
Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Teaching! Character Analysis
"The Martial Dao?"
"The Confucian Dao?"
The group exchanged glances, their eyes eventually settling on Yu the Scholar.
Yu the Scholar nodded in agreement. "Zhu Ge and I have discussed this. It is indeed a viable method. Besides, with Jingzhe approaching, we all need the strength to protect ourselves."
"However, you can’t practice the Cultivation Technique Zhu Ge uses. You’ll have to start with the most basic exercises."
The requirements for cultivating the Great Sun Glaze Body were incredibly demanding, requiring one to achieve soul projection during their Mortal Era.
Even for practitioners of the Immortal Dao or the Taoist Family, soul projection was only possible after reaching the First Realm.
But the Martial Dao, much like the Confucian Dao, wasn’t solely dependent on practicing a specific Cultivation Technique.
For the Confucian Dao, one could read extensively, day after day, to strengthen their mind and willpower.
And for the Martial Dao, one could regularly train their body, hone their martial skills, or practice with weapons like sabers, spears, and staffs.
Therefore, both of these paths were attainable.
Besides, Zhu Ge felt that the real reason many of the villagers had previously been unable to cultivate the Confucian Dao was that they had started learning too late, lacked proper nutrition, and didn’t have enough time.
When it came to the hard sciences, you might say that if someone doesn’t get math, they just don’t get it, and the same for physics.
But with the humanities, while reaching the very top still required talent and inspiration, most people didn’t need to.
Being average, above average, or even slightly below average was good enough.
Plus, there were always late bloomers.
In any case, the village’s current supplies were more than enough for the six of them for a long time.
Seizing this opportunity to strengthen themselves was the best course of action.
"The Confucian Dao? The Martial Dao?"
The others were a little dazed.
"Yes, cultivating these two paths will help us protect ourselves..." Zhu Ge patiently explained his ideas and plans, and everyone, including Yu the Scholar, listened intently.
After the recent incident, they all held Zhu Ge in high esteem.
After all, without Zhu Ge, Jianshan Village would have been completely wiped out.
He was their savior!
When Zhu Ge finished explaining his plan, everyone felt as if they had been enlightened.
Ji Fuhui’s eyes shone with deep admiration. "Practice with a single weapon until it’s like an extension of your own arm?"
Duan Lei sighed in amazement. "So that’s what ’read a book a hundred times and its meaning will become clear’ means. I’d heard the Scholar say it before, but I never understood it."
Yu the Scholar also seemed to have an epiphany. "Zhu Ge, your concept of uniting knowledge and action—learning while practicing and experiencing—it seems to contain the Great Dao itself!"
Sui Niang stroked her daughter’s head. "Did you hear that, Xianxian? You have to study hard."
Xianxian nodded obediently in response.
Seeing that they understood, Zhu Ge said, "There’s no time like the present. We’ll start our preparations today."
No matter what you cultivate, laziness is never an option.
If you want to slack off today and rest tomorrow, you’ll never accomplish anything.
"Body Refinement in the morning, reading in the afternoon, and review at night!"
Zhu Ge took a few quick bites of stir-fried vegetables, then stood up. "Right now, we will read and study the Scholar’s *Jianshan Terraces Notes*! We ask for guidance from Scholar Yu Wanqian!"
With that, he bowed deeply to Yu the Scholar.
The others also bowed, though their forms were less practiced.
Yu the Scholar nodded slightly. "Very well. I will certainly teach you everything I know."
...
Yu the Scholar’s *Jianshan Terraces Notes* was mostly a collection of diary-like entries, excerpts, and quotations.
For instance, he would record what he heard someone say or saw someone do on a given day, followed by his own reflections and thoughts.
In terms of prose and form, it naturally couldn’t compare to literary classics.
But its strength lay in its genuine emotion and its focus on the affairs of Jianshan Village, so the others could relate to it to some degree and understand parts of it.
However, it’s difficult for people to maintain a high level of concentration for long periods.
Therefore, Zhu Ge drew on a method from his past life, using a water dripper as a clock to time each lesson for about forty minutes.
Moreover, he intended to teach as well.
After listening to one lesson, Zhu Ge had a good idea of why Yu the Scholar hadn’t broken through for so many years.
’It’s too rigid!’
Yu the Scholar’s teaching method was mainly based on reading aloud. He taught everyone to recognize characters one by one, directly from the book, identifying whichever character they came across.
But this method was actually very difficult and tiring, lacking any systematic approach.
Zhu Ge’s language teacher in his previous life had actually been excellent, so he had a few teaching methods of his own.
"Our characters are typically formed from radicals and other components. We can approach each one from these two aspects."
"For instance, some components hint at the character’s meaning, like the ’hand’ radical, which often appears in characters related to actions. Others hint at its pronunciation..."
"...Some characters have pictographic origins. For example, the character for ’after’ or ’behind’ originally depicted a pregnant woman’s belly, which is how it came to be associated with descendants and posterity..."
"...And others are direct pictures of the thing they represent, like the character for ’horse’..."
The knowledge Zhu Ge shared wasn’t particularly profound, but it was enough to give the others a much deeper understanding of their own language.
What is language?
It is speech, discourse, usage, and tongue, as well as script, culture, literature, and civilization.
To understand a civilization, you must start with its written language.
You must see how they define "human," how they define "culture," how they define "spirit and will."
The saying that some cultures are vast and profound is not just empty words.
Even the simplest character carries a long and storied historical context.
As Zhu Ge spoke, it wasn’t just Duan Lei and the others who benefited greatly—even Yu the Scholar was deeply impressed.
"So there are such principles hidden within the written word." Yu the Scholar watched, utterly stunned, as Zhu Ge drew radicals and components on the ground.
His expression, which had been one of surprise before the lesson, was now one of pure shock. His heart was in turmoil.
"Zhu Ge, this is the Great Dao of language! Where did you learn of it?" Yu the Scholar asked, his face a mask of astonishment.
Zhu Ge offered his explanation:
"When I broke free from the Fungus God’s control, I was on the terraces, lost in thought. I watched the fish leap from the water, the snails crawl slowly, the shrimp sift through the sand, and I felt it was all quite similar to our written characters. That’s how I had my epiphany."
"I see," Yu the Scholar exclaimed. "There is great terror between life and death. Perhaps it was under the threat of death that your mind was opened. This is truly worthy of celebration."
Zhu Ge smiled, but inwardly, he felt a sense of pity.
’The Human Race has studied the Confucian Dao for so many years, with so many geniuses among them. How could they not have researched the etymology of their own characters?’
’The ancients were ancient, not stupid.’
’Yet a young Confucian Scholar like Yu the Scholar was hearing this kind of analysis for the first time, having previously spent countless hours on rote memorization.’
’This was enough to prove that there was a massive gap in modern education and transmission of knowledge.’
’Otherwise, if they were taught in a more easily understood way, people like Yu the Scholar could have dedicated much more time to studying other fields of knowledge.’
"By the way, Zhu Ge..." Yu the Scholar’s tone suddenly became hesitant.
The others looked on curiously. It was rare to see Yu the Scholar so tongue-tied.
Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow. "Scholar, if you have a question, feel free to ask."
"This isn’t a question I should be asking you. After all, it concerns your future Cultivation in the Confucian Dao, as well as our own understanding of it." Yu the Scholar slowly shook his head, then said hesitantly,
"If you don’t have an answer, there’s no need to rush an explanation. You can just tell me later if you think of something. This question has actually troubled me for a long time, but seeing how profoundly you grasp the Confucian Dao, I can’t help but ask."
"Go ahead and ask," Zhu Ge said, unconcerned. "All roads lead to... Shengjing. The Confucian Dao isn’t the only path to the summit. Don’t worry, I won’t be swayed."
"’All roads lead to Shengjing.’ That’s a wonderful phrase. You truly are a heaven-sent talent." Yu the Scholar slowly exhaled, his voice filled with a mixture of anticipation, curiosity, and even a hint of fear as he asked,
"Do you know..."
"...the origin of the character ’Rú’?"