Please step back." Yunhe ordered Xie Jin to do a few more things and asked him to step back.
After seeing Xie Jin, Yunxi immediately summoned Lian Zining, the Minister of Rites. "Lian Qing, please let the officials of the Ministry of Rites give you some advice first. Once the simplified Chinese characters are simplified, the use of unsimplified characters will not be prohibited in the imperial examinations for the next ten years."
"Zigzag, but the more simplified characters are used in the test paper, the higher the score; ten years later, the imperial examination will prohibit candidates from using all non-simplified characters, and those who violate it will not be admitted."
"The formal edict will be issued after Xie Jin has simplified the text, but you need to let the officials of the Ministry of Rites spread the news first."
"Your Majesty, simplifying the text, even if it is only two or three thousand commonly used characters, can't be completed in a few years. Why do you need to order me to do this now?" Lian Zining was a little puzzled.
"How many years of effort is needed? In half a year, at least before the end of this year, the simplified characters must be completed. This year happens to be the year of the imperial examination, so starting from this year, the three provincial examinations, the imperial examination, and the palace examination are allowed to use unsimplified characters. After that,
It is not allowed to use unsimplified Chinese characters in the provincial examination, general examination, and palace examination."
"Your Majesty, how can we complete the simplification before the end of this year?" Lian Zining said in great surprise. This is simplified text, not a child's painting. Unless there is help from gods, it is absolutely impossible to complete it before the end of this year!
But a thought suddenly came to Lian Zining's mind and he said, "Could it be that His Majesty ordered Xie Jin to handle this matter a few years ago?"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his guess was right. Compiling the "Daming Dadian" was a very large project, and it was divided into many groups. What exactly each group was doing, apart from the people who actually did it, could only explain
Jin knew that he could do this without anyone knowing. Moreover, the emperor usually started preparing for something several years in advance. It would be impossible for such a big thing to be proposed suddenly without any preparation. 'Is it possible?
When Xie Jin started compiling the "Da Ming Dadian", His Majesty ordered him to start simplifying the text?' Lian Zining thought.
Not to mention, if Yunxi had forgotten all the simplified characters in his previous life, he might have actually ordered Xie Jin to secretly gather people to prepare simplified characters when he just started compiling the "Da Ming Dadian". Of course, simplified characters cannot be used externally.
The name "text" can be used to evaluate cursive fonts or for other reasons.
But Yunxi still remembered how to write the simplified characters for later generations, so it was not only useless to ask Xie Jin to do it, but also cost a lot of money, so he did it by himself.
However, Yunxi did not admit or object to Lian Zining's words. He just said: "My dear, you don't need to ask any more questions. Just follow my words and instruct the officials of the Ministry of Rites."
But when he did this, Lian Zining considered it as acquiescence. Later, when he was chatting with friends in private, he told his friends about his thoughts, who in turn told his friends, and many people recorded them in their diaries.
At the same time, Xie Jin also said to the learned people in the Simplified Chinese Characters Department: "Your Majesty spent several years in the palace convening the Zhongshushe people to decide this. But you, the Zhongshushe people around His Majesty,
Everyone knows that after all, he is younger and not as knowledgeable as his colleagues, so His Majesty asked you to review it again to see if there are any simplified and not very good words." This passage was also recorded in his notes by those present.
.
Hundreds of years later, when national historical researchers were studying the history of simplified characters, they got two completely different clues. Each of them sounded reasonable, but each lacked practical evidence to support it.
, and there is no record of this in the actual records of Emperor Jianye. Historical researchers can only write this: "According to the existing literature, it is impossible to determine how the simplified writing came into being. The only possible answer is that Emperor Jianye
Just like Wang Mang of the new dynasty, he traveled back from modern times, so he was able to invent simplified writing. However, Wang Mang carried out radical socialist reforms that were completely inconsistent with the times, while Emperor Jianye carefully used the slow development of the times to adapt to the times.
reform."
Of course, at this time, Lian Zining had no idea that future generations would write like this, and he didn't care what future generations thought about the birth process of simplified Chinese characters. He bowed and agreed, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Yunxi asked him a few more things. If he had nothing to say, he was about to leave. But Yunxi suddenly saw doubts in his eyes and asked, "Ai Qing, why don't you understand my instructions?"
Where? If so, tell me now and I will answer it for you."
"Your Majesty, there is nothing puzzling about your Majesty's instructions just now. But there is something else that I don't understand." Lian Zining said: "Why is Your Majesty promoting simplified Chinese characters at this time?"
Since the emperor had implicitly started preparing for this matter several years ago, why did he bring it up now? Because Xue Xiyang passed the Jinshi examination this year? Absolutely impossible.
"It turns out that Aiqing is very confused about this matter." Yunxi smiled and said: "The reason is simple. In the past few years, although I had been prepared, I always wanted to keep improving. After all, it is words, so I delayed
It’s this year. And the reason why I won’t put it off anymore is because I can’t put it off any longer.”
"Aiqing must want to ask, 'Why can't it be postponed any longer this year?'; I don't need to ask, I will tell you: because this year the "Da Ming Dadian" will be compiled soon."
"The "Da Ming Dadian" compiles all the books of the Ming Dynasty at this time, regardless of classics, histories, and collections, and includes all the books in China that have been handed down to this day. Changing the text will be implemented when there are fewer books and fewer people who can read.
The better, because it is easier to modify the characters recorded in books and popularize the characters. If everyone in the Ming Dynasty can read now, I can only put aside the idea of simplifying the characters, because it will make tens of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty abandon the unused language.
Simplified characters, it is too difficult to use simplified characters."
"The same goes for books. There are already so many books in the world. If there were more, how much time would it take to change all these books into simplified Chinese characters, and how much money would be wasted? I never dare to think about it. So I must
Promote simplified writing before the compilation of the Ming Dynasty Dadian is completed."
"After the simplification of the text is completed, I will immediately instruct the Da Neijing Factory to cast thousands of new movable type fonts and use movable type printing to print several copies of the "Da Ming Dadian". Even in order to preserve the "Da Ming Dadian" more intact,
It is also for the faster implementation of simplified characters."
Of course, in addition to the reasons he mentioned, he also had another reason to implement simplified Chinese characters at this time. The first few years after he took the throne were short, and his prestige in the court was not enough, so rash implementation may not be successful;
In the fourth and fifth years of Jianye's reign, when his prestige was high, he wanted to prepare for war against Annan and Timur again, and was unwilling to provoke the matter rashly, so he postponed it until this year, when it really could not be postponed any longer.
"Your Majesty, how many copies should be printed with movable type?" Lian Zining didn't know what Yunxi was thinking, so he shouted at his plan to let the Da Neijing Factory print books with movable type: "Your Majesty, casting thousands of copper movable type molds is too time-consuming.
, and the amount of paper needed to print the "Da Ming Dadian" is too much, and it is too expensive. Yi Chen thinks, three copies are enough."
This expense is beyond Lian Zining's imagination. According to the current situation, the "Da Ming Dadian" has contained more than 7,000 books, with a total word count of about 370 million words. Even using printed fonts, each page can have more words.
For some, the amount of paper consumed is also an astronomical figure. Coupled with the initial investment and wear and tear of the fonts, the cost is too high.
"I must print more copies!" Yunxi said categorically. There were only two copies of the "Yongle Dadian" compiled by Zhu Di later. They were gradually lost during the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, and many were burned when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded, resulting in
There are only 800 volumes left in later generations. When this classic was first compiled, there were more than 10,000 volumes! But in the end, less than one-tenth was left. Yunxi would rather spend more money now than
Print more copies and store them in more places, so that in the event of war, more "Da Ming Dian" can be passed down to later generations.
Lian Zining felt that Yunxi was too wasteful, but large-scale printing of classics such as the "Da Ming Dadian" was a good thing after all. He could not object and could only accept it.
After asking this question, Yunxi had nothing more to say to Lian Zining, and Lian Zining had nothing to ask, so he bowed and left.
Then Yunxi sat down on the Luohan bed, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of hot tea, unbuttoned one button on his collar and rested.
Seeing this, Lu Yi hurried over to add water and said, "Guan family, it's almost noon. Can you tell the imperial kitchen to prepare lunch?"
"Is it already this time?" Yunxi said in surprise, glanced sideways at Ke Lu, and said: "Time flies so fast when I'm giving orders to others. I didn't do anything this morning, and I didn't even comment on the memorial.
Just a few books and it's already noon."
"Send someone to the imperial dining room to tell me that my lunch will be served in Kunning Palace and will be cooked together with the queen's meal."
"By the way, tell the chef in the imperial dining room that I want to eat potatoes today and make one or two potato stir-fries."
"Yes, official." Lu Yi agreed, then stepped back and gave instructions.
"Slow down!" Yunxi suddenly remembered something and said to him: "Go to the factory in person and ask the craftsmen to make a few movable types like this." As he said that, he showed the punctuation paper to Xie Jin just now.
He showed it to Lu Yi again. The fonts for the simplified characters would have to wait until Jie Jin rechecked the simplified characters he had written, but the fonts for the punctuation marks could be made now.
Of course Lu Yi didn't know what it was, so Yunxi explained it in detail and rewritten the punctuation marks. In case he got it wrong, he asked him to trace it twice, and there was no mistake.
Then he was released to work in the factory.
Time soon reached noon, and General Yunxi asked the young eunuch to put back the memorials he had just approved and went to Kunning Palace for dinner. (To be continued)