Su Shi, in "Another Reply to Wang Xiang Shu", asked his niece-in-law Wang Xiang about "asking about learning", and introduced a reading method he pioneered and practiced: "A young man is a scholar, and every book he writes is counted. The wealth of books is as great as the sea, and it is available in all kinds of stores. People cannot take everything they want, but they can only get what they want. Therefore, I hope that scholars will pursue it one at a time."
Du Fu's poem says: "Reading thousands of volumes, writing is like a spirit." Li Gongpu lamented: Although seeking knowledge is not limited to reading, reading is always an important part in the process of seeking knowledge. No matter which great thinker or scientist throughout the ages, there is no one who has not read many books. Zheng Zhenduo also warned readers: Reading more and reading often will always be beneficial. You don’t have to “hold the book with your hands”, but you can’t “hold the book with your eyes”. As the ancient saying goes: Read more and you will become a chant. Be determined to study.
Faced with a mountain of books and a sea of ??learning, how do you find the secret? The ancients advocated a down-to-earth style of study in their admonitions, that is, studying hard and studying hard. As the saying goes: Diligence makes the path, hard work makes the boat. The reading methods of many famous people in history are worth learning from.
Su Shi, in "Another Reply to Wang Xiang Shu", asked his niece-in-law Wang Xiang about "asking about learning" and introduced a reading method he pioneered and practiced:
"A young man is a scholar, and every day There are so many books that I can’t find them all. People’s energy cannot take them all, so I hope that scholars will do their best to find them.”
It means that when young people read every good book, they read it several times. A good book is rich in content and is like an ocean of knowledge. When reading, people's consciousness is directed to one aspect, which is like opening a window that cannot bring all aspects of knowledge into view. Reading the book once only obtains the information of the aspect pointed by the consciousness. . Therefore, I hope readers will read it with only one goal in mind every time they read it.
Chen Shan of the Song Dynasty records Chen Jin’s reading method in his "New Words on the Lice":
As long as you keep it in mind when reading, you will make progress day by day. Chen Jin only read one hundred and twenty words a day, so there was no book he could not read. It is said that the daily calculation is insufficient but the annual calculation is more than enough. Nowadays, whoever does not read will recite thousands of words a day. At first he is happy, but then he reads and forgets. Even if he does not reach a hundred and twenty words in one year, how about one day? When I was young, I had the habit of being greedy for too much. Even now, every time I think about it, I feel empty in my stomach, only then do I know that Chen Xianliang has obtained the Dharma.
The key to reading is to keep it in mind, so that you can make progress every day. Chen Jinzhi only read one hundred and twenty words a day, and there was no book he did not read for many years. This is what the so-called daily calculation seems to be insufficient, but when calculated in a year, it is a lot. Who doesn't read nowadays? Some people read thousands of words every day. They seem happy at first (very rewarding), but then they forget as they read. If this goes on, even if it lasts a year, they won't be able to remember a single word. One hundred and twenty words, let alone one day? When I was young, I actually had the problem of being greedy for reading too much. Now I always feel empty (I have not remembered anything). Only then did I realize that Chen Xianliang’s reading method is really the right one.
This is similar to what Zhu Xi advocated. Zhu Xi believes that reading should be "step-by-step and progressive":
"Ask for its instruction in each word, and seek its purpose in each sentence. If you don't get the previous one, you don't dare to seek the next; if you don't understand this, you don't dare to aim at the other. If you proceed step by step, your will will be clear and clear, and you will not suffer from the trouble of neglect." "When a scholar reads a book, he only has to move forward and refuses to retreat. The more he reads, the more confused he is. It must be judged."
That is to say, we must understand their meanings word by word and their principles sentence by sentence. If you don’t understand the front part, don’t rush to read the back part. This way there will be no omission errors. He also said: Studying should be done in a down-to-earth manner, from the shallower to the deeper, step by step, and sometimes you have to review frequently to gain solid knowledge through temporary advancement and regression.
Zheng Banqiao "admonishes people to master the essentials of reading." He said, "If you read tens of thousands of volumes, you will have no master in your mind; just like a man who suddenly got rich, he will have a hard time spending money." "Those who are good at reading say "attack" and "sweep". "To attack is to penetrate the encirclement. In this way, all problems can be solved at once, and other problems will be solved accordingly. Therefore, it is said to be "to sweep will eliminate everything." Zheng Banqiao believes that reading must "have opinions" and "have special knowledge", "come out of the eyes, build the spine", "build the flag by oneself", and must not be "bound by the ancients".
In this way, "the mind is empty and clear, and the reason is perfect."
According to the "Qing Bai Lei Chao" records, Zhang Jiruo, a man of the Qing Dynasty, had a method of memorizing and memorizing books. "Every time I read a book, if I hear something I like, I will record it in notes. After recording, I will recite it more than ten times and stick it to the wall. There will be more than thirty paragraphs every day, sometimes six or seven paragraphs. I will cover the scroll and stick it to the wall. It is normal to record the records three or five times a day. I am very proficient in the work and will not leave out every word. I will take what I pasted on the first day and put it into the paper. I will read it again and add it to the record. You can make up for it as you go, and within a year, you will get a thousand pieces, and after a few years, you will be rich." Xu Huayin felt the same way. He said: "When you read ancient humanities, just remember the most interesting points in their articles, and you will understand them after a long time." Zhu Yizun also appreciated it and said: "Hua Yinyan said, is there anyone in the world who can't forget every word of his review?"
That is to say, you should take more notes. When you see a clever sentence or a beautiful chapter, you should quickly write it down so that you can read it frequently and learn a thing or two.
In his later years, Yuan Mei was still able to talk about things in his childhood. This was because he made excerpts from every book he read and classified them into categories. He was also diligent in writing and recorded everything he saw and heard.
Xing Maoxun has a unique reading method, which is said to have come from his teacher, which is called the serial number method. "On the first day, recite one paper, and on the next day, recite another paper, plus what was recited on the first day. On the third day, plus what was recited on the first day. This gradually increases, until the eleventh day, excluding what was recited on the first day, and continue every day Recite No. 10 for a week, and then it becomes ten weeks. The talent is middle to lower, and everyone is already familiar with it. He also draws up a number of signs, writes them in a tube, and sticks ten signs on them after eating every day, and talks about his thoughts. , Make it coherent. When writing, you can spare no effort."
It can be seen that the purpose of reading more and reading diligently is to absorb knowledge, and absorbing knowledge requires memorizing knowledge, and this depends on it. It’s a matter of hard work accumulated over time, and there’s no room for trickery at all.