Chapter 11 Literacy and Reading
Feng Yong has no experience in raising maggots, and has not even understood the complete process. He can only continue to experiment based on the fragments he has learned in his previous life and his own inferences.
As for raising earthworms, it is much simpler for Feng Yong. Earthworms like fertile land, or they can turn less fertile land into fertile land, which is a good thing.
People in the Three Kingdoms already have a vague concept of land fertility. They have already adopted the practice of rotating cultivation to rest the land and restore its fertility. They even have the practice of digging weeds into the ground to make fertilizer. However, the most direct way to restore land fertility is to spread farmyard manure on the land, but no one has thought of this yet.
For example, in the Feng family's Zhuangzi, people defecated everywhere and cow dung was everywhere on the road. There was never the concept of centralized treatment. This made Feng Yong feel disgusting at first, and now it feels like a waste.
Cow dung, leaves or straw are hoeed into pieces, then mixed with soil in a certain proportion and fermented. It is the best thing for raising earthworms and is also a good thing for fertilizing the land. From now on, we must instruct the housekeeper to pay attention to the farmyard manure. Feng Yong thought while writing down the idea of raising maggots and earthworms on the bamboo slips.
Looking up at Yaomei who was standing aside waiting to serve, she saw her **** eyes full of admiration. Even her breathing was much lighter than usual, for fear of disturbing Feng Yong who was writing.
“Are you literate?”
Shaking his head.
“Want to learn how to read?”
He hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
“Do you know what this is called?” Feng Yong shook the pen in his hand.
"Pen."
The voice is very soft.
“What about this?”
Shake the bamboo slip again.
“Bamboo pieces?”
Obviously doubtful.
“This is called bamboo slips. What is this called?”
"Paper. I have one at home, which Aweng brought back."
I go! It seems that Chou Er's statement about taking that piece of paper back as an offering was not nonsense.
Feng Yong thought to himself, and at the same time shook the pen in his hand, and asked again, "What is this called?"
"Pen."
"what about this?"
“Bamboo slips.”
"what about this?"
"Paper."
“Do you want to become literate?”
“Go to Uncle Zhao and ask for a sandbox and tree branches, and say it was my order.”
Reading and literacy have been the privilege of nobles since ancient times. Later, it gradually became popular among ordinary landowners. As for ordinary people, reading and literacy have never been included in the scope.
Those so-called children from poor families mentioned in later generations had at least one family name. A poor family was also a family, and they at least had the qualifications to study. As for ordinary people, they are called Qianshou, and they have never been regarded as complete people, at least not until the Three Kingdoms.
Having no qualifications to study and having no capital to study are one aspect. On the other hand, teaching Mongolian children to read was a big problem in ancient times. The only way is to let the child recite it repeatedly. Only when the child has mastered enough words can the rhyme be corrected. Finally, the "opening" is started, and the "opening" is to talk about the meaning of the article.
This method is extremely inefficient. It not only requires a lot of resources, but also requires a lot of time and energy. It is impossible for ordinary people to afford it.
Even for many families who have the means to study, when their children reach the age of ten, the most important thing is not literacy, but learning a life skill.
Whether it is the humblest business, a craft, or managing a farm, you can only learn a life skill so that when you get married at the age of fourteen or fifteen, you can have a skill to support yourself, your wife and children.
So in this era, literacy and reading are discussed separately. Children from wealthy families may be able to write a certain number of words, may recognize most of the words, and may even be able to write a letter home that is understandable, but when it comes to writing an article, most children People may not be able to do it. This is literacy, but they are already considered scholars.
Those who are truly qualified and capable of taking a further step may not be able to continue studying. Because some are not smart enough or have no talent for reading, they will be eliminated again.
The rest are the most elite type of people. So, this is why the ancients regarded reading as a sacred thing. Those who can read their own opinions through reading are indeed considered the smartest people. As for writing biographies and writing books, they are already famous for generations.
Before and after the founding of New China, the illiteracy rate was more than 80%. By 2000, it was only less than 7%. Among them, night school literacy played an important role. When Feng Yongqian was in elementary school, the classroom closest to the school gate still had a sign for night school literacy.
There is one factor that cannot be ignored in the success of literacy, and that is Hanyu Pinyin. This thing that was originally used to eliminate Chinese characters ended up becoming a major contributor to the popularization of Chinese. It cannot but be said to be a great irony.
However, we have to admit that Chinese Pinyin is a great improvement over the previous Chinese characters that could only be notated using straight characters or reverse-cut methods. And Feng Yong, now holds this big killer weapon. Although the pronunciation in ancient and modern times is not exactly the same, the usage of pinyin is the same.
Teaching Yaomei to read was just a sudden idea and a temporary interest. Feng Yong wanted to know whether using the Chinese Pinyin method to teach people to read and read would be faster than the methods of this era. As for Yaomei, can she learn it herself? How much depends on her own talent.
Knowing that Feng Yong wanted the sand table to teach Yaomei how to read, the housekeeper's eyes changed when he looked at Yaomei. He didn't know what this reminded him of, but he nodded and praised: "This Yaomei looks really good." We are so lucky to be able to be looked upon differently by our Lord. If there are really many literate people in the house, others will think highly of us. From then on, Feng Mansion has really become a heirloom of farming and reading, and it is not in vain that the old Lord has spent his life to gain this. everything."
Feng Yong couldn't answer this, but he couldn't directly deny what the housekeeper said, so he could only nod his head, "Uncle Zhao is here just in time. There is another thing about raising chickens that Uncle Zhao needs to worry about."
At the moment, we talked about the accumulation of cow manure, and specifically said that in the future, both humans and animals will be dealt with in this way.
After hearing this, Butler Zhao looked at Feng Yong with a very strange look. If it weren't for the cover-up of the saying "Zhu Ji Weng Zhi", he would have thought that Feng Yong was insane again.
If Jincheng exists as the only center of the Shu Han Dynasty, then there are two centers in Jincheng City, one is the nominal center, the imperial palace. One is the actual center, the Prime Minister's Mansion.
In the Prime Minister's Mansion, Zhuge Liang knelt down in front of the desk and meticulously reviewed the documents in his hand. The forty-two-year-old man has a thin and handsome face, and a calm and confident demeanor. After scanning the bamboo slips on the case with his sharp eyes, he directly wrote down his opinions with his right hand, then rolled them up and put them away. Go to one side, then pick up the bamboo slip on the other side...he glances ten lines at a time, his hand does not pause, and there is almost no hesitation.
Ma Di hurriedly came in holding a scroll of letters. He looked a little worried and said hurriedly to Zhuge Liang sitting on the seat: "Prime Minister, there is an urgent report from Nanzhong!"
Zhuge Liang said "Hmm" and pointed to the side. He lowered his head to review the bamboo slips and said, "Put it here. I will read it after I finish reviewing the document."
"Prime Minister, should you read the urgent report from Nanzhong first?" Although Ma Di put the bamboo slips away as instructed, he persuaded him, "Nanzhong has rebelled!"
"Nanzhong has been dissatisfied for a long time, and Soochow has newly acquired the land of Jingzhou, so it is bound to have a desire to spy on Shu. Now that the late emperor has passed away, and the master is young, if Soochow colludes with Nanzhong, Nanzhong will rebel. What's so strange about it? ?" Zhuge Liang said, putting the approved bamboo slips aside without stopping, then raised his head and said calmly.
Ma Su was startled. These words seemed familiar. Did someone seem to have said similar words a few days ago?
"But Prime Minister, if the rebellion in the south is related to Soochow, then Soochow will definitely take action. Cao Wei in the north is powerful, and they will seize the opportunity to invade. Shuzhong is surrounded by enemies on three sides. What should we do then?"
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang's movements stopped and he sighed softly, "Yes, since the death of the late emperor, I have been thinking about it, what should I do if I am surrounded by enemies on three sides?"
(End of this chapter)