This person expressed the sentiments of the officials in one sentence. In their eyes, those poor people were untouchables and were not worthy of being associated with them. Naturally, they were not worthy of learning to write.
However, let those untouchables learn writing, but His Highness the Prince said, who is His Highness the Prince?
That was Marquis Diwu who saved the entire Ming Dynasty.
If he says yes, it means yes. Officials like them who say too much will only cause trouble.
"Haha! Untouchable?
You actually said those people are untouchables, so let me ask you, which of you is not untouchable in front of this prince?"
Lin Fan said with a sneer.
This official said this in public. Although Lin Fan was disgusted with him, he was not angry because of it.
Because he knows what these officials think better than anyone else. It would be better if he said it clearly at this time, which would save them from not taking their work seriously and slow down the progress of the people's learning of writing.
"This... His Majesty the Crown Prince, you are His Majesty's heir, the future ruler of this world, and of true dragon blood. Your nobility is naturally unparalleled."
The official said solemnly.
"Haha! So, in front of me, what's the difference between you and those untouchables?"
Lin Fan asked with a sneer.
"This... Your Highness the Crown Prince, we and other ministers have all studied hard for ten years before we are here today. Only then can we sacrifice our lives and shed blood for the Ming Dynasty. We are different from those untouchables!"
"Your Royal Highness, etiquette and respect have existed since ancient times. I, as a scholar, have been studying hard while living in poverty. This journey has not been easy!"
…
The officials said one after another.
Lin Fan said in a deep voice: "You have studied hard for ten years. If you had no food, would you be able to survive until now?
Who grew what we eat?
It’s those common people!”
"You said it was not easy for you along the way, so it was easy for the common people to work in the fields under the scorching sun and heat?
I think you are so used to being pampered that you have forgotten your roots!"
this……
Lin Fan's words made all the civil and military officials present speechless. It is undisputed that the food grown by the common people has fed officials like them.
"Your Highness, why don't you list the simplified Chinese characters as a script for common people to learn, and the traditional Chinese characters as a script for us officials and disciples of aristocratic families to learn!"
"In this way, the disciples of those aristocratic families will willingly help the imperial court and teach the common people to learn writing. Once the common people learn writing, the Ministry of Rites will print a batch of simplified Chinese books as quickly as possible for the common people to learn.
"
Xue Bingtian said in a deep voice.
This is the conclusion reached by their Ministry of Rites after deliberation. Only in this way can the requirements of both the common people and the nobles be met.
"Haha! Xue Bingtian, you are very smart. This can not only promote simplified Chinese characters, but also prevent those nobles from causing trouble."
"However, in this way, simplified Chinese characters will become inferior characters. Moreover, this will also make those disciples of noble families feel more superior!"
"This is not what I want. What I want is for the popularization of simplified Chinese characters. As the mainstream text, there is no need to care about this matter. As for the problem of no one teaching, I have already thought of a countermeasure!"
Lin Fan said with a sneer.
Think of a countermeasure!
No way!
Doesn’t His Highness the Crown Prince want the officials of the Ministry of Rites to go to the countryside one by one, or does it mean to set up a school and gather children as young as six or seven years old, and let the officials of the Ministry of Rites teach them writing regularly?
No matter which possibility it is, it is very unfair to the officials of the Ministry of Rites. This is equivalent to giving the Ministry of Rites a lot of extra work out of thin air.
"Your Highness, your strategy is to ask officials from the Ministry of Etiquette to organize children as young as six or seven to teach them writing, which is not appropriate!"
"The officials of the Ministry of Etiquette are in charge of etiquette, sacrifices, and other matters in the world. If they are all busy with literacy matters, no one will care about the etiquette of the court."
The Confucian scholar from Hanlin Academy said solemnly.
When he spoke, Xue Bingtian of the Ministry of Rites cast a grateful look at him, and the other bachelors of the Hanlin Academy secretly gave him a thumbs up.
Because all the bachelors of the Hanlin Academy have become Lin Fan's students, their right to speak in the court has been almost deprived of them. After all, it is treason for a student to refute the teacher's words!
"Master Confucius, you are right. The prince said yesterday that he wanted the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette to become illiterate. In fact, it was just to put a little pressure on them!"
"How could I really let officials from the Ministry of Etiquette go?
Therefore, I have a big treasure next, which can solve the current dilemma!"
After saying that, Lin Fan gave the eunuch beside him a look.
The eunuch hurriedly took out a stack of papers from behind, walked quickly to the officials, and each gave them a piece of paper.
What is recorded on these papers is the Chinese Pinyin.
kindness!
The officials looked at the various symbols drawn on the paper, and each of them looked shocked. Some of them even stroked their beards, thinking about the meaning of these symbols.
"What is this?"
“Is it also text this time?
However, I don’t recognize these words at all!”
"Hiss! Is this some kind of Taoist symbol?"
…
Lin Fan smiled and said: "My dear friends, what you are holding is called Hanyu Pinyin. It has twenty-six letters in total. Each letter has its own unique pronunciation."
"And these letters can be combined to spell out the pronunciation of Chinese characters. Think about it, if children first learn the twenty-six Pinyin letters, and then the books we print are all paired with Pinyin combinations on the Chinese characters, then
Can children use pinyin combinations to spell out the pronunciation of Chinese characters?"
kindness!
After hearing Lin Fan's explanation, all the officials were stunned. Are these twenty-six pinyin letters really so magical?
"Your Highness, the writing system of our Ming Dynasty is very complicated. Each character has its own unique pronunciation. Twenty-six Pinyin letters shouldn't be possible."
"Haha! It's absolutely impossible. Not to mention the twenty-six Pinyin letters, even a hundred Pinyin letters, it's impossible to include all the Chinese characters of our Ming Dynasty."
"Yes, if these pinyin letters can spell out the pronunciation of all the characters in our Ming Dynasty, I will die here on the spot!"
…
Officials expressed disbelief.
Lin Fan stood up and said: "My dear friends, you don't believe it!"
"Okay! I will now leave it to you to read these pinyin letters. Take that piece of paper. The first letter is ah! The second letter is me, and the third letter is uh!"
…
Lin Fan read out the twenty-six pinyin letters one by one, and in order to deepen the impression of these officials, he read it twice more.
Then, Lin Fan looked at the officials and said: "My dear friends, you can now say a certain word at will, and I will teach you how to spell it."