Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 106: What is Nature? The Origin of Fire [Please Read]

"... Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature. Teacher, the ancient sage Lao Tzu's words are very clear: man, earth, heaven, and the Tao are nature."

After reciting a passage from the Tao Te Ching, Zhu Tan couldn't help but reveal a hint of pride.

Because although the "Tao Te Ching" was one of the reading materials required by a teacher, he did not require them to memorize it. He only gave a brief introduction to it and asked them to read it outside of class.

He thought that this passage was very elegant and would be admired when spoken, so he spent a little time memorizing it.

I didn’t expect it would come in handy now.

Liu Kuan smiled and nodded. "That's a pretty good answer. While Lao Tzu's words don't fully explain the meaning of 'nature' in 'natural science,' they do mention it."

"For someone your age, being able to come up with this answer is quite impressive. I'll give you 3 points."

After saying that, Liu Kuan picked up the chalk and wrote on the side of the blackboard: Zhu Tan, 3 points.

Well, just write it horizontally and add Arabic numerals.

Zhu Tan frowned slightly and asked, "Teacher, what is the maximum score for this question?"

"10 points."

Zhu Tan's face became even more unhappy, but he didn't dare to say anything. He sat down at Liu Kuan's signal.

"Does anyone else want to answer?"

No one raised their hand for a moment, because no one thought they could answer better than Zhu Tan.

Just as Liu Kuan was about to end this segment, Li Jinglong rolled his eyes and raised his hand.

At Liu Kuan's signal, he stood up and said, "Teacher, nature is nature."

Liu Kuan was speechless after hearing this.

I thought, are you trying to be clever in a class like this? You are worthy of being the second war god of Ming Dynasty.

He said, "Your answer is not even close to the truth. I give you 0 points. Sit down."

Li Jinglong sat down angrily.

In order to publish the "Natural Science" magazine, Liu Kuan did indeed look up a lot of information and made a lot of preparations.

After glancing around at everyone, he glanced at the prepared lesson plan and said, "Actually, if we want to use the words of ancient sages and philosophers to explain the concept of 'nature' in science, a passage from the Yin Fu Jing would be more appropriate."

"The Way of Nature is tranquility, and therefore all things in Heaven and Earth are born. The Way of Heaven and Earth is immersion, and therefore shadow and yang prevail. Shadow and yang push each other, and changes proceed smoothly. Therefore, the sage knows that the Way of Nature cannot be violated, and therefore controls it."

If someone from later generations were here, they might ask: Why do you insist on using ancient Chinese classics to explain the "nature" of later generations?

It's very simple, because the "nature" in later natural sciences is a literal translation of a foreign language - most of our predecessors were very careful when translating foreign languages, so they found the word "nature" from ancient Chinese classics.

This is also why the "Tao Te Ching" and "Yin Fu Jing" both contain content that can slightly explain the meaning of this word.

Later, after hearing Liu Kuan's words, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao's eyes lit up and they seemed to be thinking about something.

The Yin Fu Jing was written by our ancestors in the name of Huangdi. Except for a small part of "cultivation" content, most of it is actually the method of enriching the country and ensuring the people's safety, and the technique of strengthening the army and winning battles. It is a classic of military strategy in Huang-Lao Taoism.

After Zhu Yuanzhang achieved success, he studied hard and read this imperial book many times, and so did Zhu Biao.

However, I didn't expect that it contained the ancient sages' explanation of "nature", which sounds very novel to me now.

"Liu Kuan, this so-called university student from later generations, although not well versed in Confucian classics, knows a little bit about everything and is definitely not an unlearned person."

When Old Zhu thought so, his evaluation of Liu Kuan became even higher.

Liu Kuan raised his voice again and said, "Of course, the nature that the teacher wants to talk about cannot be fully and accurately described using the words in the Tao Te Ching and the Yin Fu Jing."

“Nature in natural science refers to all natural phenomena we can see, including the universe and all things in it.”

"Natural science is a discipline that observes and describes natural phenomena, understands and studies the underlying principles, and makes predictions."

As he spoke, Liu Kuan picked up the chalk and started writing on the blackboard.

After writing, he turned around and saw that the princes were still staring at him blankly, so he knocked on the blackboard, "Take out paper and pen, preferably a special blank notebook for taking notes. Write down this sentence, I will test you later!"

The older princes immediately took out pen and paper to copy it.

At this time, Zhu Yunwen glanced at Zhu Xiongying who was taking notes quickly, and couldn't help but pouting. He raised his hand and said in a crying voice: "Teacher, I... I can't write many words."

I'm almost in tears after saying this.

The little boy looked so pitiful that Liu Kuan almost laughed.

Seeing that little Zhu Zhi also had a silly look on his face and didn't move, he suppressed his laughter and said, "Children under eight don't need to take notes in class. After class, just ask the study committee member or class monitor to help you copy some."

I sighed inwardly.

The students in the main hall have different ages and started school at different times, so they should not be taught in the same way.

Those old scholars mostly taught on a one-on-one basis.

Private schools do not have divided classes, mostly because there are insufficient teachers and it is impossible to do so.

Old Zhu doesn't divide the students into classes because he has no such concept.

But there are only a dozen students in the main hall, so it doesn't have much impact if they are not divided into classes.

Liu Kuan turned around again and said as he wrote, "Let me explain what technology is."

“Science and technology are the methods of applying the truths discovered by science—the science here includes not only natural science but also social science, thinking science, action science and interdisciplinary science.”

"To study the principles inherent in all things in the universe, apply them to one's own benefit, and in turn use them to transform the universe, benefit the people, strengthen and enrich the nation, and even pursue even deeper and better principles—this is the meaning of science and technology!"

After writing these two long paragraphs of chalk words, Liu Kuan's hands were sore and he couldn't help but miss the projectors of later generations.

Under the conditions in the early Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to make a projector, let alone a slide projector.

Before the next class, he could ask Qiuyue to copy the blackboard notes on large sheets of white paper in advance, and hang them directly on the blackboard when needed in class - this way he could be lazy and not have to write too much chalk.

After most students finished copying, Liu Kuan asked another question.

"Which student can tell me the difference between the nature described by the teacher and the nature described in the Tao Te Ching and the Yin Fu Jing?"

After a few moments, Zhu Xiongying and several others raised their hands one after another.

"Zhu Xiongying, you answer first."

Zhu Xiongying stood up and bowed, saying, "The Tao Te Ching that the Tenth Uncle just recited only briefly mentioned nature, and didn't even explain what nature is."

"Although the Yin Fu Jing briefly explains what nature is, it also says that 'the way of nature cannot be violated' and that it must be 'controlled accordingly.'"

"But the teacher said that we should not only apply the principles of natural science to our own benefit, but also use technology to transform the universe. The students thought that this was the biggest difference between them."

Although Zhu Xiongying spoke quite slowly and with occasional hesitation, Liu Kuan was still very surprised after hearing it.

Zhu Xiongying was only seven or eight years old, which would be around second grade in modern times. Yet, he hadn't only just memorized the gist of Zhu Tan's recitation of the Tao Te Ching, but had also delivered such insightful remarks – practically a child prodigy!
Bang bang bang...

Liu Kuan applauded and said with praise, "Student Zhu Xiongying's answer is excellent. He accurately grasped the key difference between the nature I just explained and the nature described in the Huang-Lao classics. Classmates, let's applaud him together!"

Although the other princes were not used to it, they still applauded under the leadership of Liu Kuan.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao who were standing behind him were smiling and applauding enthusiastically.

They were really happy that their eldest son Zhu Xiongying was so smart.

After the applause, Liu Kuan wrote on the side of the blackboard: Zhu Xiongying, 9 points!
Turning around, I saw that Zhu Xiongying, who always acted like a little adult, now had a red face with excitement.

"Thank you, teacher!"

"This is the reward you deserve. Sit down."

After Zhu Xiongying sat down, Liu Kuan said, "Through the descriptions of nature in the Tao Te Ching and the Yin Fu Jing, we can see that ancient philosophers have long known that all things in nature contain various wonderful principles."

"For example, the sun and moon rise in the east and set in the west, water flows to lower places, plants and animals grow and die, and even celestial phenomena such as wind, fire, light, fog, rain, snow, and thunder and lightning all have their own reasons."

“Natural science is the exploration of the underlying principles of these things, and technology is the application of those principles!”

"For example, fire—which student knows how fire came about?"

This question is simple.

When this thought came to mind, almost all the students raised their hands.

When Old Zhu saw this scene from behind, he realized that Liu Kuan had unknowingly made all the students focus on what he was saying.

This is so rare!
When he was tired of reviewing memorials, he would come to the main hall from time to time - not openly, but secretly.

So the princes who deserted were often caught.

Even if he caught them many times, there would still be children who would skip classes and daydream in the classroom.

The only time all the children can focus on one thing like this is when someone makes a mistake or takes a test and is not criticized by the old scholar.

Even a Confucian master like Song Lian, who could explain the Confucian classics in a simple and easy-to-understand way, could only make some children willing to listen.

"So it seems that Liu Kuan's teaching ability surpasses those old scholars, even surpassing Song Lian? What a pleasant surprise."

"Haha, it was a great move to have him teach part-time at the main hall."

Thinking of this, Lao Zhu almost laughed out loud with joy.

Seeing that all the students raised their hands, Liu Kuan called on the youngest one first.

"Zhu Yunwen, you answer first."

Zhu Yunwen was a little surprised. When he got up, his face flushed with excitement and nervousness. He stuttered a little and said, "We saw that the candles in the palace were lit by the palace servants using fire sticks."

Liu Kuan asked with a smile, "Where does the fire in the tinderbox come from?"

Zhu Yunwen was confused and was about to cry again.

Seeing this, Liu Kuan smiled secretly: He is so good at crying at such a young age, no wonder he was able to use his filial piety to make the old Zhu finally side with him.

He consoled her, "Don't cry. You paying attention to the palace maids lighting candles is also an act of observing nature. The teacher will give you 2 points."

Zhu Yunwen smiled immediately, "Thank you, teacher!"

After asking Zhu Yunwen to sit down, Liu Kuan called out Zhu Zhi's name.

After getting up, Xiao Zhuzhi blinked his big eyes and said, "Teacher, I think the same as my nephew Yunwen."

"Then you can only get 1 point."

"Hehe, 1 point is also good." Zhu Zhi grinned happily.

Liu Kuan then named Zhu Chun, the King of Shu.

Eleven-year-old Zhu Chun stood up and said, "Teacher, the fire in the tinderbox is lit from somewhere else. Besides, you can also use flint and steel to make fire."

Liu Kuan nodded. "Nowadays, most people use flint and steel to make fire. Flint is made of flint, tinder, and fire steel. It is much more convenient to use than flint, but in the final analysis, the key to making fire still lies in the flint."

"Then do you know where flint comes from?"

Zhu Chun said, "It was born and raised like this."

Liu Kuan nodded again and asked, "Then do you know how people made fire before they knew how to make fire with flint?"

Liu Kuan kept asking, but Zhu Chun only grew more confident. He smiled and said, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas, The Book of Rites, and Han Feizi all say that in ancient times there was a man named Suiren who drilled wood to make fire. He was one of the Three Sovereigns."

"So, before flint, people must have made fire by drilling wood."

Liu Kuan also laughed, "Then how did people make fire before Suiren mastered the skill of drilling wood to make fire?"

Zhu Chun was stunned.

I couldn't help but complain in my heart: Where are all the befores? Is this the end?
At this moment, Zhu Tan seemed to be unable to hold back any longer, and raised his hand and said, "Teacher, I know that before Suiren, people ate raw meat and drank blood, and could only eat raw food!"

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "You forgot the rules I told you to raise your hand first and then get permission or stand up to answer the question."

"Also, your answer is only partially correct—before people began to use fire drills, they would keep a fire going day and night for warmth and cooking. Only when there was no fire did they eat raw food, or eat some out of habit."

"As the labor committee member, it's pointless to punish you with labor for violating discipline, so I'll deduct 2 points. As for your previous answer, I'll still give you 3 points."

After saying that, Liu Kuan changed Zhu Tan’s credits on the side of the blackboard to 4 points.

Turning around, he said, "I'll give you another chance—do you know how people got fire before they rubbed two sticks together to make fire?"

To earn points, Zhu Tan's little head was filled with a brainstorming session. He thought frantically, and after about two breaths, a flash of inspiration came to his mind. He excitedly said, "Teacher, it's thunder and fire!"

　Second update.

　　To avoid misunderstandings among some readers, let me explain this here.

　　This book writes several detailed chapters at the beginning of each important plot, trying to present the specific process of the event and some interesting details.

　　But if there are similar plots later, I will not write them in such detail (that would definitely be criticized as a water plot), and I will briefly mention them and try not to take up too much space in the novel.

　　However, it is impossible for me to just roughly work on the novel according to the outline and then rush through the plot at a rapid pace with almost no details in it.

　　I don't like reading novels like that, so naturally I won't write one like that.

　　When an author writes a novel, he seeks common ground while reserving differences. Readers who agree with the novel will stay, while readers who have objections or even cannot accept the novel will leave.

　　But as an author, I certainly hope that the novel will be understood and accepted by more people, so I would like to make this clear.

　　(Finally, I hope that a few readers will have some faith in the author - if they find some seemingly unreasonable or difficult-to-understand plot points, they will read further or think more about them. Is it possible that they are foreshadowing by the author, with a deeper meaning?)
　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)