Things always seemed simple in theory, but in actual operation, all sorts of troubles would emerge. Like now, for instance—things were going quite poorly. The ink wouldn’t adhere to the clay movable type, and what was printed came out pitch black and indistinguishable. The paper was also too brittle, falling apart after just a couple of shakes. The gap between the idea and reality was truly quite far.
After yet another failure, everyone felt somewhat dejected. Only Yan Zhitui remained enthusiastically examining the last sheet that had been printed, pointing gleefully at the two characters “zi yue” and saying, “Aren’t these printed? These two characters ‘zi yue’ are printed very clearly. This means even the Master hopes for our success. If the ink material isn’t suitable, then we’ll find something suitable. Since we can print two characters, we can certainly print thousands upon thousands of characters.”
Facts proved that scholars were not cut out for scientific research. Their abundant enthusiasm and lofty ambitions were gradually eroded to nothing in the face of repeated failures. The number of people in the room kept decreasing until only Yun Ye and the Yan father and son remained. Yan Shigu was in the distance discussing with Master Yuanzhang the knife techniques for carving seals—how many types there should be. Once they summarized them, it would form a practical system, and leaving their names in history would not be difficult. The two of them planned to start their exchange this very evening. As for Master Li Gang, he had a very important lesson to teach. Masters Lishi and Jinzhu righteously admonished Yun Ye, believing it necessary to reexamine the history of printing—perhaps they could find the reason from it. To find the cause, they had to go to the library to consult ancient texts.
This already fell into the category of shamelessness. Printing was just starting out, inspired by rubbing inscriptions from stone tablets. Everything was still in the exploration stage—where would historical documents come from for them to research?
After yet another failure, Yun Ye began to reflect on where exactly the problem lay. Bi Sheng of the Song Dynasty could make it work, so there was no reason he couldn’t. In a fit of determination, Yun Ye poured out a large block of seal paste and spread it evenly on the character plate. Very good—the print was extremely clear, with proper spacing and strokes, all without problems. Just as he was about to show off to the old man, he saw the father and son casting contemptuous looks at him.
“Boy, your seal paste is made of the finest agarwood powder, mixed with cinnabar, mineral powder, and even insect repellent. How many establishments in all of Chang’an can afford such materials at that price? You actually use it to print books—who could afford books printed this way? No wonder people call you a spendthrift.”
Yan Zhitui was very dissatisfied with Yun Ye’s wasteful behavior. In the old man’s view, only fast, cheap, and high-quality methods would allow him to distribute books all over the world. He had long since calculated how many primers he would print. As for other people’s works, the old man had postponed them indefinitely.
Only fanatics could succeed. Yun Ye resentfully threw away the ink block in his hand. After calming his agitated mind and seeing the old man’s dispirited expression, he felt somewhat guilty. Bringing a centenarian to do research—this was inhumane.
“Great ancestor, please be at ease. If clay movable type won’t work, wooden movable type will certainly do. It only requires the same ink material used for woodblock printing, which is sufficient. I’ve already asked—pine soot will work. You need not worry about this. Just list the books that need to be printed, and leave the rest to me. In another two months, it will be your great birthday celebration. I will use this as a congratulatory gift to honor you, great ancestor.”
Yan Zhitui wiped his face, nodded and said, “You’re quite right. This old man only gets in the way here and distracts you. Zishan, let’s go home. Leaving matters to those who understand will be much better than us giving blind directions here.”
Yan Zishan drove the ox cart to take his father home. After Yun Ye saw off the ox cart, he immediately turned around and ordered the steward to invite Gongshu Mu, Li Tai, and the group of research fanatics from the academy.
The approach was very simple. Students in the academy who enjoyed carving were not just one or two—gather them all to carve wood. Master Yuanshan, who had an excellent hand at flying white calligraphy, would write the character templates. Since they had to be written in reverse, Yun Ye was quite worried something would go wrong and prepared to caution Master Yuanshan. But his words had barely left his mouth when he was driven out.
It wasn’t just Master Yuanshan who drove him out—Gongshu Mu and Li Tai had the same attitude. As soon as he entered, he saw Gongshu Mu’s hand pointing toward the door. He slunk away in dejection. Once this master-disciple pair entered their working state, what they hated most was people like Yun Ye who knew a little about everything but wasn’t proficient in anything.
Fortunately, the other students didn’t have these few people’s foul temperament. While carving characters, they even brought Master Yun his beloved teapot. Several juniors from the Gongshu family kept whittling wood. The wood blocks were very uniform. After Yun Ye checked them with a square ruler at ninety degrees, he found there was almost no deviation, and even the dimensions were astonishingly consistent. They hadn’t used a ruler—just relying on a pair of eyes and a planer, they had quickly made the wood strips Yun Ye needed. The Yun family was not short of golden nanmu wood. If not for the Hall of Ten Thousand People still being in final renovations, Yun Ye would have had even more nanmu at his disposal.
Three times—just three times. After experimenting a mere three times, Li Tai brought Yun Ye the printed Analects to see. Having spent a whole day without producing results, Yun Ye was utterly despised by him.
Never mind that it was already the second night watch—he dispatched guards to ride through the night and deliver it to the Yan household. If it wasn’t sent over quickly, Yan Zhitui wouldn’t be able to sleep, and the old man couldn’t afford such strain.
For wooden movable type, even grabbing a dog could bite it out with its mouth—this was Gongshu Mu’s verdict. The implication was that Yun Ye and the other masters had no need for brains. The master and disciple pair arrogantly savored the Yun family’s freshly harvested tea leaves, nibbled on the thousand-layer pastries prepared for the old masters, eating and drinking while belittling Yun Ye. Li Tai’s foul mouth was especially venomous.
“These two great meritorious officials naturally deserve admiration. Tomorrow I’ll truthfully relay your evaluations of Master Yan Zhitui, Master Li Gang, Master Yuanzhang, Master Lishi, Master Jinzhu, including Master Yan Zishan, to them all. I’ll tell them that before the wisdom of you two great masters, we can only go eat shit. I wonder whether Master Gongshu will still be able to maintain such an air of superiority under the verbal and written denunciation of everyone under heaven. As for Xiao Tai, Master Yan will certainly send a letter to inquire with Empress Mother about her methods of raising sons.”
Li Tai solemnly put down the thousand-layer pastry in his hand and said to Gongshu Mu, “Clay movable type, once fired hard, will certainly produce better-looking characters than wooden movable type, and will be more durable. I’ve discovered that the speed of selecting and arranging characters still needs improvement. There should be corresponding tools that can increase efficiency. This disciple plans to go into seclusion for several days to study this properly. I’ll take my leave now.”
Watching Li Tai depart hurriedly with a worried expression, Gongshu Mu smiled bitterly and said to Yun Ye, “See that? Thinking three steps ahead with every move is this boy’s characteristic. We’ve just produced wooden movable type, and he’s already considering how to improve efficiency and maximize the effectiveness of wooden movable type. Having such a disciple is truly this old man’s fortune. But leaving the teacher alone to take the fall—what kind of logic is that?”
“Enough. Having such a disciple means you’ve burned high incense. When the wrong base material was used for the Hall of Ten Thousand People, such a major accident—he didn’t even ask about it and took the fall for you. Your family didn’t properly consult the Book of Rites. According to the Five Virtues theory of cycles, our Great Tang reveres the Virtue of Fire, yet you insisted on making it the Virtue of Earth. With any other craftsman, heads would have rolled long ago. Only your family had a disciple to take the blame, forcibly fabricating the strange theory that ‘earth is the foundation, water is the waist, fire is the sprout,’ arguing until those great scholars were left speechless. Other dynasties only had one virtue, but now Great Tang has three. You removed Metal which governs punishment and execution, and removed Wood which represents vigorous vitality. That His Majesty, who loves grand achievements, would actually believe it allowed your family to escape disaster. You suffering a bit on his behalf is only appropriate.”
Speaking of this matter, Gongshu Mu’s face filled with lingering fear. Originally, he thought as long as a beautiful palace that conformed to ritual standards appeared, all would be well. Who knew that when applying base coating to the corridor pillars, a large amount of yellow putty remained. Gongshu Jia used it without thinking—after all, no matter what color, it would ultimately be covered by lacquer. He didn’t think that much about it. But who knew that when a Vice Minister from the Ministry of Rites came to supervise the work, he inadvertently discovered this scene and erupted on the spot, ordering work stopped and Gongshu Jia imprisoned to await impeachment. At that time, Yun Ye was in Lingnan—distant waters couldn’t quench nearby fires—so they had no choice but to ask Li Tai to step in.
Prince Wei was broadly learned in both ancient and modern knowledge. As soon as he entered the court, he recited the Ministry of Rites’ canonical texts backward and forward, even organizing the threads of their evolution over many years. His final conclusion was that these were all unfounded nonsense. The Five Elements theory of mutual generation and conquest couldn’t stand up to scrutiny. As people’s understanding of things continuously deepened, these decayed ideas would be abandoned sooner or later. One shouldn’t use these old dogmas to view the new world.
Li Er sat above, watching his eloquently discoursing son with immense gratification. Though he didn’t accept his son’s theory, he didn’t punish Gongshu Jia either, merely ordering rework.
Several old officials who had once been Li Tai’s teachers grabbed him by the collar, demanding he explain clearly how the Five Virtues couldn’t mutually generate and conquer. Li Tai was quite straightforward, taking the officials back to the academy. After the group shut themselves in the laboratory for two hours, the officials departed in a daze, leaving only Li Tai with his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched, alone at the laboratory entrance watching servants clean up and clear the battlefield. When it came to the laboratory, Li Tai was never careless.
“Marquis Yun, those words—only he can say them. If anyone else said such things, they’d long ago be labeled as treasonous and beheaded at the West Market. In the end, Jia’er was careless. With the imperial family, there are no small matters—even the tiniest thing will be magnified into a major issue related to national fortune. This work is very difficult—there’s no profit, only reputation to be gained.”
“By the way, why did you exert yourself so wholeheartedly to accommodate Yan Zhitui this time? Your grandmother’s and daughter’s matters can’t yet be brought to the table. As for respecting the elderly, that’s even less applicable. Tian Xiangzi was also an old man, yet you sent him alive to the polar regions to die. I didn’t see you show a bit of compassion.”
Yun Ye squatted at the entrance, looking up at the brilliant star-filled river and said quietly, “The old man is a good person, a pure scholar who doesn’t understand power schemes or deceit. Even now, he maintains a heart as innocent as a child’s. Having lived nearly a hundred years, he just wants to see the grand prosperity of scholarship flourish. What’s wrong with fulfilling an old man’s final wish?”
“That’s right, very appropriate. Yan Zhitui has been upright his entire life and indeed deserves respect. But what I’m asking is what exactly are you trying to do? I’m not asking about these incidental things.”