A Short Story in the Scholars 'Unofficial History (Original)

The short story in The Scholars is as follows: There was a person called Wang Mian who was a famous scholar in the scholarly forest. He had a good friend called Zhang Tingyu, who was also a scholar. The two of them often drank and chatted together, recommending knowledge to each other. One day, Wang Mian and Zhang Tingyu went to visit an old Confucian master. The old Confucian master told them that there was a person called Zhao Zhongxiang who was a great Confucian in the Confucian Forest, but his thoughts were different from everyone else. Wang Mian and Zhang Tingyu were very curious to hear the old Confucian explain Zhao Zhongxiang's thoughts in detail. The old Confucian teacher told them that Zhao Zhongxiang advocated moral education instead of relying on the legal system. He believed that people should change their behavior through moral education and inner cultivation instead of punishing and restricting them through the legal system. Wang Mian and Zhang Tingyu were very shocked after hearing this. They realized that there were also different voices in the scholarly forest. They decided to follow the old Confucian master's ideas and learn Zhao Zhongxiang's theories to change the current situation of society. Thus, Wang Mian and Zhang Tingyu began to study Zhao Zhongxiang's theories and spread them among the scholars. Their ideas received the approval and support of the other scholars of the scholarly community, and gradually, the thinking of the scholars began to change.