| Abstract |
There was one essay – “Begging for Vinegar”– written by Guei You-guang of the Ming Dynasty. The essay was compiled into an omnibus book – “Collection of Sir Jen-Chuan”. In the essay, Guei criticized Wei-sheng Kao’s improper behavior that was recorded in “Book V – Kung Ye Chang, Confucian Analects”. “Collection of Sir Jen-Chuan” was compiled by two scholars, Chian Chian-yi and Guei Chuang, who had rigid criteria for articles edited in their book. Interestingly, the essay of “Begging for Vinegar” was written by Guei at the age of ten. It could be a boy’s exercising homework! However, the two scholars selected the essay regardless of its fallacy and immature proof. Therefore, I try to explain the significance of this essay and the meaning to be selected in “Collection of Sir Jen-Chuan”. This article is divided into six parts: (1) Preface; (2) The logic of the essay on “Begging for Vinegar” and its argument for uprightness; (3) The conventional view on “pretending to uprightness”; (4) An essay rife with pseudo topics; (5) The frustrated life of a child prodigy – the meaning of this essay to be compiled into the collection; (6) Conclusion. |
