That's right! Why do we have to write like this? They had never thought of this question before. Everyone couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
"Who knows why? Anyway, I've been writing like this since I was young!" Yuchi Baolin said frankly.
"It's because the top is the ruler, the parents; the bottom is the subject, the children. Right is big, left is small. If we write from right to left, we can also express that there is no right. This is the embodiment of Confucian etiquette. It's not like other schools that don't respect their elders and don't know how big or small, "Kong Huisuo said proudly and looked at Meton with disdain.
"Well said!" The other Imperial College students couldn't help but applaud.
Liu Yinian looked at Kong Huisuo with satisfaction and felt that he had gained a lot of face. Kong Yingda also nodded slightly. This junior was indeed worthy of being nurtured. He was talented and knowledgeable.
"Well said!" Meton clapped with a sneer. "However, I heard that the writing brush was invented by Meng Tian. The Meng family is a military school! Are you sure that Meng Tian thought of Confucian etiquette when he invented the writing brush? "
Meton mercilessly exposed the hypocrisy of the Confucian school, causing the Imperial College students to reveal awkward expressions.
Kong Huisuo's face immediately turned red. Although he only wanted to flatter the Confucian school, he forgot that the inventor of the writing brush, Meng Tian, was a military school.
Kong Yingda and Liu Yinian also had awkward expressions. This joke wasn't funny at all!
"We don't know, but you do!" Kong Huisuo's face turned red as he retorted at Meton.
"Of course I know." Meton smiled and took out a book from his desk. Meton already knew that using a hard pen to write would cause some criticism. He had already thought of a countermeasure and prepared a book in advance.
"A book!"
Everyone was confused. Only Kong Yingda and Liu Yinian seemed to be deep in thought.
"Everyone, please take a look. When opening a book, it is naturally held in the right hand. It is more convenient to open it with the left hand. Therefore, ancient writing was done from top to bottom, from right to left. " Meton held the first bamboo slip in his right hand and slowly opened the bamboo slip with his left hand. A blank bamboo slip appeared in front of everyone. He picked up Liu Yinian's expensive weasel hair brush and wrote a few big and ugly words.
Meton opened and closed the book to demonstrate to everyone.
"I see!" Everyone came to a sudden realization. At the same time, many people felt disappointed. They had originally thought that some of the high and mighty brush writing principles were actually formed to fit the bamboo tube.
"The calligraphy was written from top to bottom, from right to left, for the convenience of writing bamboo slips. Later, bamboo slips were gradually replaced by paper. Although bamboo slips disappeared, this writing method was passed down.
As for the quill pen, in order to support the hand on the table, it could write small and fast. However, in order to prevent ink from staining the clothes and messing up the words, it could only write from right to left, from top to bottom! This has nothing to do with etiquette or belief. It is just for the convenience of writing! "
As Meton spoke, he picked up the brush, bent over the table, and quickly wrote a line of words. He directly demonstrated it to everyone.
"I see! It is just for convenience! "
Everyone understood. It was as if they were in a dream. They were unwilling to believe that the sacred calligraphy actually came from such a source. However, the facts were right in front of them. They had no choice but to believe it.
Kong Huisuo's face was ashen. Meton had used facts to slap his face until it was red. His arrogant words from before were so laughable when he thought about it now.
"Even so, it has to be banned. Otherwise, there will be a lot of chaos when the two writing methods are mixed in the market." Liu Yinian was still stubborn. What was more frightening was that most of the Imperial College students nodded in agreement.
"What a joke!" Meton suddenly said angrily, "The quill pen is cheap, convenient and fast to write, and saves paper. It can save at least 90% of the cost for poor students every year. It can save half of the time to finish the homework and have more time to study. How many students in the entire Tang dynasty can't afford writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones? How many people study hard at night for fear that they don't have enough time? You actually want to ban it for your own selfish reasons. Do you know how many poor students you have blocked from studying?"
Meton's every word was as sharp as a sword. Every word cut into the hearts of everyone, making many people feel ashamed. Many poor students couldn't help but cry. They knew how much their families had paid for expensive writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
"But we can't destroy the inheritance!" Liu Yinian said stubbornly.
"Let's not talk about the quill pen first. It saves money, ink, and time. Let's talk about saving effort."
The quill pen is from left to right because people can support their palms on the table and write for a long time. However, writing with a writing brush requires the arm to hang in the air. Writing for a long time will double the fatigue. If you use it for a long time, I'm afraid it won't feel good! "
Meton patted Xiong Maocai's right shoulder hard, which directly made Xiong Maocai gasp.
"Lao Xiong! Periarthritis humerus is very serious! "Meton grimaced in pain and said heartlessly.
"How do you know?" Xiong Maocai opened his eyes wide in surprise. This disease had been troubling him for a long time and could not be cured.
"Among them, your calligraphy is the best. You must have practiced it the most. Of course, yours is the most serious!" Meton criticized in his heart.
Those who could enter the Imperial College were not fools. Xiong Maocai thought about it and immediately understood. He covered his shoulder and said, "You mean my periarthritis humerus is caused by practicing calligraphy for a long time?"
"Yes!" Meton also said a sentence in ancient Chinese.
When he said this, many people could not help but cover their right shoulder. Xiong Maocai was the only one who did not have periarthritis humerus. Other than Meton, Qin Huaiyu and the other two at the scene.
"Luckily I made it up to you. My shoes are not long for writing!" Qin Huaiyu and the other two thought with lingering fear.
Meton looked around and slowly said, "The quill pen is better than the writing brush. It saves time, energy, money, and ink. This is not something that can be done by banning it. It is just like how paper replaced bamboo slips. This is inevitable in history. It is not because of etiquette, but because it saves money and is convenient! You all want to ban the quill pen to protect the writing brush. But have you ever thought that after Cai Hou improved the paper making technique, there were no scholars who abolished paper to protect the bamboo slips? "
"Of course, we are not qualified to decide what kind of writing brush others use. Everything depends on our own choice. As for who has the upper hand, that will be a matter of a hundred years later. It is too early to debate now!"
The debate ended. No one talked about the writing brush and the quill pen anymore. The Imperial College had tacitly agreed that Meton used the quill pen. Meton was also tactful enough to not talk about the quill pen. It was as if this debate had never happened.
Xiong Maocai would avoid Meton every time he saw him. Meton had used the pioneering Song Style to prove that he was better than the Imperial College in all six subjects.
But after one of Meton's quill pens was taken away by Kong Yingda for research, Meton had three less quill pens.
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