Chapter Fifty-Two: Keeping Pace with the Times, Embracing Innovation

After all, the Mo Technique Exhibition was the centerpiece of Mo Dun’s campaign to promote the Mo School, and it certainly wasn’t as simple as handing out flyers on the street. In addition, every fresh fish shop in Mo Village had erected eight enormous banners at their entrances, and Mo Dun had even spent lavishly to rent spaces in prominent locations.

“Keep pace with the times, break new ground!” These eight characters could be seen in the most conspicuous places on every street in Chang’an, with a line beneath: “The Mo School’s Mo Technique Exhibition welcomes you.”

Liu Yinian walked through the streets of Chang’an, gazing up at the Mo Village banners before him, his heart stirred. It was the third such banner he’d seen along his way.

As a scholar at the Imperial Academy, Liu Yinian was not only accomplished in calligraphy but also possessed remarkable literary skill. Even without ever seeing these eight characters before, he could sense from their literal meaning the ambitious intent of the Mo School.

The Book of Changes, the hexagram of Decrease, says: “Decrease firmness to benefit softness in its time; increase and decrease, fullness and emptiness, all move with the times.”
The hexagram of Increase says: “Increase moves and yields, progress without bounds; heaven bestows, earth gives birth, increase knows no limits. The way of increase, always moves with the times.”

The Mo School went so far as to distill the essence of the Book of Changes, and on the foundation of “moving with the times,” they boldly proposed the doctrine of “keeping pace with the times.” It was a call to advance together with the era—this era, the age of the Great Tang.

“This must be Mo Dun’s idea?” Liu Yinian understood in his heart; among the Mo School, only Mo Dun possessed such talent.

Even more remarkable were the next four characters: “break new ground.” The Mo School was determined to forge an extraordinary path, a road no one else had traveled.

“Pinhole imaging, portable thousand-pound weights, intercity communication, and the secret technique for keeping fish alive—one by one, the Mo School’s secrets are now on display. What on earth is the Mo School planning?”

Liu Yinian stared at the flyer in his hand, deeply perplexed.

The saying goes, “Teach your apprentice and starve your master.” Did the Mo School not understand this? Was this their last gasp, or did they harbor grander ambitions? With his mind full of doubts, Liu Yinian hurried to the Imperial Academy.

To his surprise, many scholars were just like him, each holding a flyer, their faces full of confusion, clearly stunned by the Mo School’s audacious move.

Unlike the students of the Imperial Academy and the citizens of Chang’an, who viewed it as entertainment, the upper echelons of the Academy were all deeply concerned, each instinctively gathering at the office of the Academy’s chief, Kong Yingda.

“The Mo School’s disciple is no ordinary man!” Kong Yingda sighed deeply, took up his brush, and wrote the eight characters: “Keep pace with the times, break new ground,” leaving an indelible mark upon the paper.

“Just hearing those eight characters makes one’s blood surge!” said Shen Hongcai, the mathematics scholar, with a bitter smile.

Other scholars looked displeased, uncomfortable at heart. Even if they stood on different ground, they had to admit these eight characters were brilliant. Jealousy stirred—why was such an outstanding disciple not a Confucian?

“In my view, the Mo School disciple is simply bluffing. He’s revealed all the Mo School’s hidden treasures at once, and when the last secret is gone, what will their ancestors think of him?” Liu Yinian said sourly.

“Exactly. This is a desperate gamble. The Mo School’s last stronghold is all that remains. Rather than fade away, he’s chosen to take a risk. Changing tradition is just what one would expect,” an assistant commented.

“In adversity, one must change; change brings passage!” Kong Yingda nodded as he read Mo Dun’s memorial to Emperor Li Shimin. “This is certainly his style—bold and inventive. Whether this move can save the Mo School remains to be seen.”

Kong Yingda lamented. The Mo School and Confucianism had both been prominent schools before the Qin, but now the Mo School was nearly extinct. He could not help but feel a pang of regret.

“No matter what, this move by the Mo School disciple will surely affect our Academy negatively. What do we do? Let them flaunt themselves unchecked?” Liu Yinian complained.

“What would you have us do? The Mo School is revealing its own secrets on its own turf. Do you want to disrupt their event, or should the Academy host an exhibition too?” Kong Yingda slammed the flyer onto the table, admonishing him.

Liu Yinian’s face flushed red, unable to reply. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he stared wide-eyed. He snatched Kong Yingda’s flyer, gazing at it in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Everyone was baffled.

“So that’s it, so that’s it!” Liu Yinian ignored them, muttering frantically.

“Liu Yinian!” Kong Yingda bellowed.

Liu Yinian snapped out of his stupor and hurriedly apologized, “Chief, forgive me for my discourtesy.”

He spread Kong Yingda’s flyer on the table, then pulled another identical flyer from his own pocket, placing them side by side.

“Chief and colleagues, please look. What difference do you see between these two flyers?”

Kong Yingda and the other scholars examined both flyers, shaking their heads. “No difference—they’re exactly the same!”

“Exactly—the same!” Liu Yinian said through gritted teeth. “Not the slightest distinction!”

“No distinction at all?” Everyone was shocked, examining the flyers. Not only was the handwriting identical, but in one, the ink was slightly heavier—and in the other, the same spot was also inked more heavily.

“How could this be?” They all gasped. As men of learning, they knew it was impossible for two sheets of paper to be written exactly alike.

Shen Hongcai suddenly paused, then hastily took a flyer from his pocket and laid it alongside the others—still identical.

Soon a fourth, a fifth—until eight identical flyers lay neatly arranged on the table.

“What is going on here? How did the Mo School accomplish this?” Kong Yingda wondered, astonished.

“This is nothing. I’ve seen something even more remarkable,” Liu Yinian said with a wry smile, fetching three thick stacks of coursework from his desk and distributing them among the group.

“No brushstrokes—every sheet is identical?” Shen Hongcai was stunned.

The other scholars were equally dumbfounded.

“Qin Huaiyu, Cheng Chumo, and Yuchi Baolin are all friends of the Mo School disciple. Their coursework and the Mo School’s flyers are each identical, clearly produced by the same method,” Liu Yinian analyzed.

“As I see it, Mo Village is distributing flyers at every intersection in Chang’an, handing out thousands per day. This method can swiftly and in bulk reproduce identical content on paper,” Shen Hongcai said, his excitement growing. “If this technique were used to ‘write’ the Four Books and Five Classics, students everywhere wouldn’t need to copy texts anymore!”

Everyone’s eyes brightened. This Mo School secret was directly related to the duty of enlightening the people; it would surely be remembered in history.

“This technique must be secured by the Imperial Academy,” Kong Yingda and the others declared with firm resolve.