A few days later, Zhaoyu Academy held its first public lecture by a scholar-president.
On the day of the lecture, Li Wanming reserved the entire second floor of Hongbin Tower and invited all the academy's students to attend.
When word spread that a scholar-president was going to give a public lecture, the whole capital city was in an uproar.
People rushed from all directions, vying to catch a glimpse of the scholar-president's elegance.
The excitement was even greater than that of the flower-throwing parade on the third day of the third lunar month.
Unfortunately, the second floor of Hongbin Tower was only open to the students of Zhaoyu Academy.
Others could only crowd in the lobby, on the stairs. Even the surrounding teahouses, restaurants, rooftops, and treetops were filled with people.
Everyone craned their necks, clung to the railings, and tried their best to peek at the second floor.
"Therefore, if you do not climb a high mountain, you do not know how high the sky is; if you do not approach a deep stream, you do not know how thick the earth is; if you do not hear the words left by the former kings, you do not know how vast learning is. The children of Gan, Yue, Yi, and Mo cry with the same voice at birth, but grow up with different customs. It is education that makes it so."
Pei Yanqi's clear and sonorous voice came from upstairs:
"What these words mean is that if you do not climb a high mountain, you will never know how high the sky is; if you do not come to a deep valley, you will never know how thick the earth is; if you do not understand the teachings left by the former emperors, you will never know how extensive learning is."
"For example, among different local tribes, the children born in Gan, Yue, Yi, and Mo cry with the same voice at birth, but their customs and habits are completely different when they grow up. This is the result of education."
For today's public lecture, Pei Yanqi chose "Exhortation to Learning" from Xunzi.
It was relatively easy to understand and not obscure.
He knew that today's lecture was different from the previous scripture debates in the palace.
His audience were not scholars with profound knowledge, but many poor commoners who might not even be able to write their own names.
So the content of today's explanation must be simple and easy to understand.
Of course, apart from this, the reason for choosing "Exhortation to Learning" from Xunzi was to get back at Li Wanming.
When he asked Li Wanming what to talk about yesterday, Li Wanming told him, "It's up to you."
She said, "What you talk about doesn't matter. What matters is to tell everyone how good our Zhaoyu Academy is."
"You must say that Zhaoyu Academy can enlighten people's wisdom, teach knowledge and skills, and provide people with a skill for their future livelihood. Encourage everyone to sign up!"
She was very serious.
Pei Yanqi was stunned for a moment and suddenly felt that he had been tricked.
"You... You invited me to be a teacher and even reserved an entire floor of Hongbin Tower for me. It turns out that you didn't value my talent, but wanted me to promote your academy!"
Li Wanming gave him a strange look. "Otherwise?"
...
Pei Yanqi was furious!
He was a scholar-president. It was fine that he couldn't be the dean or get a salary increase. But now he had to promote her academy and recruit students in public?
It was really... a disgrace to his scholarly reputation.
So, he decided to ignore all those "knowledge and skills" and "encourage everyone to sign up" that Li Wanming had mentioned!
He deliberately wanted to talk about etiquette, self-cultivation, the words of the sages, and the spirit of the gentlemen in today's lecture!
He wanted the people in the capital city to be well-educated in the "rites"!
"Exhortation to Learning" from Xunzi was very suitable.
"When a gentleman studies, the learning enters his ears, lodges in his heart, spreads through his four limbs, and manifests in his actions. Every word he utters and every movement he makes can serve as a model."
"What this sentence means is that when a gentleman studies, he listens with his ears, remembers in his heart, and shows it in his dignified behavior and actions that conform to etiquette. Every action, even the most subtle words and deeds, can become a model for others to follow."
"It also teaches us that we must pay attention to our words and deeds and have the spirit of a gentleman. Only in this way can we gain the respect of others and become an example to the public."
Pei Yanqi was dressed in a snow-white long robe and waved an ivory and goose-feather fan. He was elegant and spoke with confidence.
Li Wanming sat in the back, propping her chin with her hand and frowning as she looked ahead.
"What is he talking about..."
For the convenience of taking care of the situation, she specifically chose a seat closest to the door so that she could stand up at any time.
However, even after sitting and listening for such a short while, she couldn't help but feel sleepy.
Could others understand?
If people thought that what her Zhaoyu Academy taught were all these abstract and impractical things, who would want to sign up?
"He's so impractical. Does he think he's having a philosophical discussion in the palace?"
Li Wanming said angrily, "I clearly told him yesterday to talk about something practical. Why is he talking about the sages and gentlemen again? If he keeps talking like this, he'll put everyone to sleep!"
She now regretted holding this lecture today.
It didn't achieve the effect she wanted at all.
Moreover, she had spent so much money...
Li Wanming was really angry and heartbroken now.
Xiao Jingnan said with a soft smile, "Don't be angry, don't be angry."
He patted her arm and pointed ahead for her to look. "Look, everyone is listening attentively."
Li Wanming took a closer look and indeed found that everyone was staring intently at Pei Yanqi, listening very attentively. There was no sign of anyone falling asleep as she had imagined.
"Can they understand?"
Li Wanming was a little confused.
Although "Exhortation to Learning" from Xunzi was not difficult, just looking at the original text, it was still full of archaic words. Even she had some trouble understanding it, let alone these commoners who had not studied much.
Moreover, although Pei Yanqi added a vernacular explanation later, his explanation was very formal and there was no particularly interesting extension. Overall, it still sounded very plain and uninteresting.
So, why were they still listening so intently?
Xiao Jingnan chuckled softly and said, "My lady doesn't know. A public lecture by a scholar-president is a grand occasion that many commoners can't even dream of in their lifetime."
"Therefore, Brother Pei doesn't need to be very interesting. On the contrary, the more plain, difficult, and profound he sounds, the more knowledgeable he seems, and the more in line with the commoners' impression of a scholar-president."
"Moreover, our Brother Pei is so handsome and elegant. Even if they don't listen to the lecture, just sitting here and looking at him for two hours is worth the price."
He stretched and the smile in his eyes grew stronger. "So, Scholar-President Pei doesn't need to do anything. As long as he is here, he is the living signboard of our Zhaoyu Academy."
After hearing his words, Li Wanming looked around and indeed saw that everyone had an infatuated and intoxicated expression on their faces.
Some girls even had tears of excitement in their eyes.
They really didn't understand what the scholar-president was talking about, but they knew that the scholar-president was exhorting them to study. And his exhortation was sincere and kind.
That was enough!
Xiao Jingnan leaned over and whispered in Li Wanming's ear, "My lady, your academy is really going to be popular."
Xiao Jingnan's judgment was correct. After the lecture that day, more than a hundred people signed up on the spot.
Adding the number of people who had signed up in the previous few days, the number of students in Zhaoyu Academy had soared to three hundred in just five days, making it the largest academy in the capital city!
In terms of the number of students, it even exceeded the Imperial Academy...
Li Wanming was very happy.
She didn't expect that her first attempt at running an academy would be so successful.
She and Qinglan were busy arranging courses for the many students. At the same time, they also had to continue to renovate the academy to accommodate more people.
However, even so, Zhaoyu Academy still couldn't meet everyone's learning needs. They had to start "pre-selling" all the courses, dividing them into twelve lessons per session, and letting the students attend classes in batches.
However, amidst the bustling excitement, there were also some discordant voices.
Many men began to be dissatisfied.
They thought, "Why does Zhaoyu Academy only accept girls and not boys?
This is discrimination!
It is a privilege and oppression against men!"