Diqin Designer

Chapter 130: Paper Leads to Competition
Zhang Liang's death was unknown, far less sensational than the annihilation of the Xiang clan. Even the officials in the Qin court did not know that such a person had ever entered the Qin Palace.

The situation in the world will not change because of the death of Zhang Liang.

After arriving at the court today, the officials of the Great Qin discovered that on every table there were pens and ink, as well as a yellow...cloth that they had never seen before, and the cloth was held down by an inkstone tile.

What kind of cloth is this? The king wants them to write on it?

Some ministers have begun to frown.

Although cloth can be used for writing, it is too extravagant and wasteful. Nowadays, there are still many people in the world who have no clothes to wear, but they use cloth to write and record. If this is not extravagant and wasteful, what is it?
Moreover, if cloth was used, how much cloth would the Qin Dynasty use in a day?
One of the main reasons for using bamboo slips is that the material is easy to source and can be produced in large quantities.

Ying Zheng said: "Please take a seat, everyone!"

After the ministers thanked him and sat down, Ying Zheng said, "I'm sure you all have seen what's on the table. Maybe some of you thought it was some kind of cloth, but it's not cloth."

The ministers looked carefully at the thing on the table and found that it seemed to be different from cloth. Ying Zheng said, "This thing is called 'paper' and was also made by Li Nian."

It's that Li Nian again. This name has appeared too frequently in recent days, making it difficult for the ministers to forget it. It seems that everything is related to Li Nian.

Seeing that all the ministers were very curious about the paper, Ying Zheng said, "You can hold it in your hands and observe it, but don't damage it. Although the material is simple, it is not difficult to make, but there are not many of them in the Qin Dynasty now."

With Ying Zheng's permission, some ministers have picked up the paper and started to observe it. This paper is indeed not cloth. The feel of it is different from silk and other fabrics. It is a bit rough, but very soft.

It is lighter than silk and linen, but not as tough as silk or linen, and seems to be easily torn with a slight tear.

"The greatest benefit of this item is that it can be used for writing, replacing bamboo slips. You may wish to give it a try."

One of the ministers realized that if this thing could be used for writing, then given its lightness and thinness, the content that could be recorded would definitely far exceed that of bamboo slips of the same thickness and weight.

Immediately, a minister picked up a pen and tried to write on the paper. He was able to leave words, but he had to control the strength and speed. If the pen stayed on the paper for too long, the ink would spread on it.

But this small shortcoming is not worth mentioning compared to the huge advantages it brings.

Nowadays, when they handle government affairs or want to write something, they use bamboo slips. If the number of words is a bit large, the bamboo slips may weigh dozens of kilograms, which is not only heavy but also takes up a lot of space.

Therefore, they often had to have someone to help them carry the bamboo slips because there were too many of them and they were too heavy. But if they could be replaced with paper, it would be a big difference.

This piece of paper can record the contents of several volumes of bamboo slips. The original bamboo slips weighing dozens of kilograms only used a few pages of paper. Given the weight of this paper, I'm afraid even a one-year-old child can hold it.

And this paper seems to be foldable, which is even better. I can carry it with me when the time comes. Why would I need someone to hold it for me?

The same is true when looking up certain classics or files. The files are recorded on bamboo slips, and some things cannot be recorded on one roll of bamboo slips, so several rolls or even dozens of rolls are needed. Not only is it inconvenient for the person recording, it is also inconvenient to store and it is also inconvenient for them to look up.

However, after using this paper, things that originally had to be recorded on multiple rolls of bamboo slips now only require one or a few sheets of paper. This makes storage more convenient and it is also easier to check, as there is no need to rummage through a pile of bamboo slips.

When considering the convenience of paper over bamboo slips, some of the ministers thought of a problem: there are very few literate people in the world today, and one of the main reasons is that there are not enough books.

Books are all in the form of bamboo slips, which are inconvenient to carry and naturally cannot be widely circulated. But paper is easy to carry. Once it is released, it will surely be used by hundreds of schools of thought to spread the classics and knowledge of their own schools, thereby increasing the number of literate people in the world.

But is it a good thing or a bad thing that more people are literate? Seeing that all the ministers had stopped writing, Ying Zheng asked, "What do you think of this paper?"

When Ying Zheng finished speaking, Chunyu Yue happily stood up and congratulated him: "I congratulate the king. Great Qin has this thing. Education can flourish and the world can be stabilized."

Chunyu Yue was really happy. If this paper were spread throughout the world, Confucianism would definitely benefit from it.

By then, their Confucian classics will be spread to thousands of families, and everyone in the world will know Confucianism. Wouldn't that be a way to promote education?

If everyone knew Confucianism and followed rites and etiquette, wouldn't the world be stable?

However, there are still some problems that need to be solved in this process. Confucianism will benefit, and other schools of thought, such as Taoism and Mohism, will also benefit. We need to find a way to prevent these schools of thought from spreading their doctrines.

At this time, a minister stood up with a worried look on his face: "Doctor Chunyu is very wrong. This is not a cause for celebration, but a disaster. I ask you to ban this paper and not let it circulate in the world!"

Chunyu Yue looked at the minister and asked, "This paper is good for the king, for us, and for the world. How can you say it is a disaster?"

Ying Zheng also asked the minister: "Why do you want to ban paper?"

The minister earnestly stated his reasons: "Paper is easy to write on and easy to carry. Compared with bamboo slips, it is easier to spread. However, it is precisely because of this that it brings disaster."

"The first disaster is that it can be used by people with ill intentions. I am afraid that someone will use paper to spread rumors that are unfavorable to the Qin Dynasty. Since paper is easy to carry, it will be easier to spread rumors throughout the world than bamboo slips."

"The second disaster is that it will increase the number of people who can read and write in the world..."

Li Si nodded repeatedly after hearing the minister's words: Yes, that's right. If more people in the world can read and write, and understand the truth, how can the country be governed well?
The people can be governed only when they are ignorant. The more ignorant and stupid they are, the better. In that way, they will only know to obey the governance and will not have any other thoughts.

After Chunyu Yue heard what the minister said, he said to Ying Zheng: "Your Majesty, this man's words are all nonsense. Don't listen to them!"

"They said that if there is a disaster, they will spread rumors on paper. But if there is no paper, will they not spread rumors? If they can spread rumors on paper, we can also use paper to refute them!"

"The second disaster he mentioned is that if more people in the world can read and write, people's minds will change, and it will be difficult to govern. However, I think that it is precisely because more people can read and write that the world can be better governed."

“Let me ask you, are those who know etiquette and abide by the law more likely to break the law, or are those who are ignorant and muddleheaded more likely to break the law?”

"In my opinion, paper is far more useful than bamboo slips. How can we discard it just because of some flaws? If so, we should not wear clothes today, but should be like the ancients who did not wear clothes to cover their bodies."

It was interesting for Ying Zheng to see on the throne that, in Li Nian's words, the Confucians who had hindered China's progress would actually promote more advanced and better paper in the court.

At this time, Li Si said indifferently: "What Dr. Chunyu said is based on the fact that all the people in the world who can read and understand are your Confucian disciples, right? But in today's world, there are not only Confucianism, but also hundreds of other schools of thought. Dr. Chunyu wants the king to abolish the hundreds of schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone?"

Although he and Li Si were good friends, facing the sinister meaning in Li Si's words, Chun Yuyue asked back: "Court Justice, don't you want the king to respect the Legalists alone?"

Everyone thinks so. Don’t just talk about the second brother, as if only we Confucians think so.

(End of this chapter)