Should one ask who gives the finest lectures in Mohist City, every disciple would offer a different name. Yet,…
Should one ask who gives the finest lectures in Mohist City, every disciple would offer a different name. Yet, as to who renders the Mohist Canons most captivating, eight out of ten disciples would nominate Grand Artisan Gull.
When the Grand Artisan Gull expounds upon the texts, he not only draws from vast classics with effortless clarity but also weaves culinary metaphors into his teachings, whetting every appetite. From the meager rations of Mozi's travels to the grand banquets hosted by kings, Grand Artisan Gull meticulously chronicles every morsel. In his words, Mozi had fifteen disciples, and their spiritual progeny were many. Whether they dined on mountain potherbs or rich meats when they wrote "Heavenwill Declared" is, of course, a fundamental question of the Mohist soul.
Furthermore, the mechanical diagrams of old differ but little from those of today; true novelty is rare. Recipes, however, are a different matter entirely. The richness of ingredients, the diversity of pairings, and the complexity of flavors align far better with the Mohist principle of "Transformation from the Heart" than any mundane device. Beyond his duties, he upholds the Mohist path of empiricism, seeking out lost recipes. He tests the ingredients, the temper of the flames, the balance of spice...
Nor are the disciples idle; every three watches, they take turns seeking his counsel. Not out of tireless studiousness, but because the failure rate of his culinary experiments is truly tragic. Without oversight, he might well collapse amidst a heap of bizarre ingredients, babbling in a fever dream.
Gulltside, the mists disperse as the mountain fowl herald the dawn. In the courtyard, disciples steadfastly recite: "Universal Love, Mutual Benefit." They debate the latest mechanisms of Mohist City, or argue from dawn till dusk on mountain expansion or seclusion.
Grand Artisan Gull has entrusted this "cookbook" of the Mohist Canons to his disciples, letting them add their own bitterness of dawn vigils and the toil of earnest labor. They stir in the piquancy of fierce debate and the subtle sweetness of walking the same path as peers. Others prefer to cast in heavy handfuls of salt, or dilute it with the river waters of their vast wanderings...
"Take up the plane, or the ladle; what matters most is crafting a dish that is truly your own." With that, Grand Artisan Gull ducked back into his den, leaving his disciples to exchange glances over a pot of... highly dubious stew.
At such moments, the senior disciples couldn't help but pine for the days before Grand Artisan Gull strayed from the "Righteous Path." Why would a man so learned and steadfast abandon a lifetime of mechanical mastery to immerse himself in the esoteric world of ancient recipes?
To this day, it remains a mystery unsolved by his disciples.