Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 86: Lu Beigu, First Place in the County Examination!

"what happened?"

Inside the back hall of the county school, the school administrator, who was pacing back and forth, heard the school clerk's soft exclamation and asked curiously.

The student, holding the transcribed, unsigned poem, walked toward the academic director.

"Take a look at this poem."

Xuezheng took the test paper and began to read it.

As his gaze moved across the paper, after reading the first half, his expression gradually shifted from calm to intriguing.

When grading papers, examiners first focus on whether the topic is cleverly approached and whether the idea is profound, in order to judge the candidate's character and insight. Only later do they look at the wording and allusions.

"Red Hare, a divine steed, gallops across the moonlit cave, bathing in starlight, and drinks from Kunwu to temper its golden eyes. It first neighs on the surface of the shifting sands, its fiery shoals igniting the clouds; then it leaps atop the icy cliffs, its frosty hooves shattering the sky."

Once trapped before Dong Zhuo, he adorned himself with purple and gold necklaces, merely as a plaything for the treacherous minister; then he was presented to Lü Bu, who adorned him with black armor and frosty bridles, ultimately making him an accomplice of the fierce tiger.

Yet even a fine steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles. When it meets Guan Yu (Yun Qi), it will ride a thousand miles without fear of danger, and face the cauldron of boiling oil with a single sword. With its head held high, wicked men will flee; with its hooves pounding, the Han dynasty will be restored!

Seeing that Xuezheng had finished reading the first half, Xuelu also spoke up: "It's a very good article. The opening uses Red Hare as a starting point, and the phrases 'Cutting the Moon Cave' and 'Drinking from Kunwu' are extremely charming and natural. The wonderful part is the section after 'Trapped in Dong Zhuo's tent'."

"Using purple and gold necklaces and black armor to depict treacherous ministers and fierce generals."

Xuezheng said thoughtfully, "Actually, it uses the beauty of nature to highlight the evil of people, much like Du Fu's writing style of 'behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste.'"

"That's right, this part was handled exceptionally well." Xue Lu agreed with this view.

Looking at this county examination as a whole, the other candidates chose relatively conventional approaches to the topic of "Ode to a Thousand-Mile Horse," either starting with "Bole's ability to judge horses" or with Han Yu's "On Horses."

This candidate chose Red Hare as the starting point, first describing Red Hare's naturally handsome appearance, then describing its situation with Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, and finally describing its appearance after following Guan Yu.

The comparison of these three states naturally raises a question.

Why do the same horse exhibit such drastically different behaviors?
Thus, it is natural to start with Red Hare and then shift the focus to the relationship between "talent" and "encounter" in the second half.

Xuezheng continued reading.

Why is that? Is it because their natures are different? It's because they've chosen the wrong person! A fine steed that doesn't meet a discerning eye will die in its stall; a talented person who doesn't find a wise ruler will simply grow old and die in the weeds.

At the beginning of the Qingli era, the aim was to ensure that no talented individuals were overlooked. The new regulations for the imperial examinations were intended to open a path to the imperial court. However, the rigid rules of the schools meant that children were bound to their desks with their hair tied up, causing their spirits to wither like dry roots. How could such schools truly cultivate talent from afar?
In the past, Bo Le judged horses not by their sex or color, but by their temperament. Today, the selection of officials relies solely on classical texts to identify outstanding individuals.

The great cauldron spreads its bounty, transcending the boundaries of private domains; a wise and virtuous era seeks out talented individuals, not limiting itself to rigid constraints.

Alas! Patriots beat their chests in sorrow, lamenting that their vows of "worrying about the world's troubles before others" have been in vain; virtuous men wring their hands in frustration, sighing that their aspirations of "enjoying pleasures later" are difficult to fulfill!

After reading the entire poem, the scholar paced back and forth in the hall for a moment.

"What do you think?" Xue Lu asked.

Xue Zheng thought for a moment and commented: "The whole piece is vigorous and appropriate, using both metaphor and allegory, and one can still hear the echo of Mr. Han Yu's saying, 'When things are not in balance, they will make a sound.' If we talk about minor flaws, the phrase 'the spirit is fading like withered roots' is slightly noticeable, but the flaws do not detract from the overall merit, and it is still a righteous essay."

In terms of fu (a type of classical Chinese prose-poem), there are two main criteria for scoring high-scoring fu essays.

The first requirement is to stay closely connected to the topic, and to write with genuine emotion and lofty ideals, avoiding empty sentimentality.

Secondly, while ensuring perfect parallelism and appropriate use of allusions, the language should also be concise and exquisite, avoiding being verbose and tedious.

However, the "fu" style is different from "ce" and "lun". It tests the idea and the writing style. It is not necessary and not allowed to propose specific solutions, otherwise it would deviate from the requirements.

Therefore, it is correct that the latter half of this poem does not extend to how to select officials.

Without a doubt, this essay is good enough to get a grade starting from "B+", but whether it can get "A-low" depends on the collective opinion of the examiners.

Because the exam papers they received were all handwritten copies, they didn't know who wrote them.

The imperial court also had strict regulations that even for county-level examinations, the examiners could only see who wrote what after the papers had been graded and the scores recorded.

So even if I was curious, I could only grade the papers first.

"Should B be on top or A be on the bottom?"

Xuezheng intends to respect Xuelu's opinion.

"Let's go down, A."

The academic record also gave him a reason: "Just for this sentence, 'At the beginning of the Qingli era, the aim was to ensure that no worthy person was overlooked in the countryside,' he deserves to be ranked as a first-class student. Twelve years ago, if it weren't for Fan Zhongyan's 'Qingli Education Promotion,' how could you and I be here today reviewing papers?"

This is true. Just think about it. If each county needs to establish a county school with no less than two hundred students, it will need at least a dozen teachers to support it. How many white-haired scholars who originally had no hope of entering officialdom could be employed in county schools throughout the Song Dynasty?
Although most of the officials in the county school were not of official rank, they were still officials, and their families could benefit from it.

Therefore, no matter how much other groups opposed the Qingli Reforms, the local officials never forgot Fan Zhongyan's great kindness and virtue, and would mention him from time to time in their daily teaching and exam questions.

The fact that they borrowed the title of "Ode to Kim Jae-yong" from their previous poems also shows their high regard for Fan Zhongyan. "Alright, then let's proceed with the first one."

Xuezheng readily agreed and personally wrote down the grade "Grade A, Lower Level".

"Post the rating and then see who wrote it?"

After the scores were recorded, the academic record department checked the original exam papers.

"It's Lu Beigu." Xue Lu was somewhat surprised. "I didn't know his poems had become so good?"

Xue Zheng nodded without saying anything.

He had already reviewed the subjects for which results were being released: Lu Beigu's Calligraphy Classic (Grade A, Part 2), Calligraphy (Grade B, Part 1), Poetry (Grade B, Part 1), and Fu (Grade A, Part 2). Based on his experience in previous years' county examinations, this was basically a score that would put him in contention for first place.

Dusk.

Xue Zheng led all the county school teachers into the school, and Li Pan came along as well.

However, although Li Pan was the chief official in charge of the county school's theoretical affairs, he still tried to avoid the county examination. After all, he was about to be promoted to judge of Luzhou and did not want to cause trouble for himself before leaving office, so he handed over the county examination to the school director.

A minor official walked in carrying a vermilion tray, on which were neatly stacked long sheets of paper covered with names.

All the candidates stood up at the same time, and the air seemed to freeze.

Xuezheng picked up the long sheet of paper and cleared his throat: "Now, let's read out the rankings."

"Chen Fu ranked 220th in the county examination."

With the rankings announced, everyone whose names were called breathed a sigh of relief, regardless of how well they had done.

Many people shared the same thought: "It's finally over."

"Zhang Sheng ranked thirty-fifth in the county examination."

Lu Beigu remained seated without moving, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Zhang Sheng's clothes were trembling slightly.

There's still a long way to go before he can enter the state school, but Zhang Sheng's progress during this period is indeed visible to the naked eye.

As the rankings were read further up, the atmosphere in the classroom became tense.

Because each year, only four to six people can pass the county exam and enter the prefectural school.

Therefore, the further you go, the more crucial it becomes.

"He Cong ranked sixth in the county examination."

A murmur of discussion suddenly arose.

"How come He Cong is only sixth?"

"He probably answered an important question wrong."

"Sigh, we were number one for a whole year, and in the end, we were completely exposed."

Upon hearing the ranking, He Cong froze on the spot, still looking incredulous even after being patted on the shoulder by a friend.

However, the name that appeared after He Cong surprised many people.

"Lu Guangyu ranked fifth in the county examination."

Lu Beigu was taken aback.

Good lad! You've even mastered the tactical feint!

So, the unfinished "Don't mention it" was followed by "I finally performed exceptionally well this time," right?
However, this was not entirely unexpected. Lu Guangyu had already ranked twelfth in the last ten-day test. Although the ten-day test only tested calligraphy and ink theory, it was still an important reflection of his ability. His performance in other subjects was exceptional, which naturally led to his overall ranking.

As for the rankings at the front, they were very stable, basically no different from usual exams.

The students who made it into the top four cheered excitedly.

As the names were read aloud, the school fell completely silent.

All eyes slowly focused on the only person whose name had not been called.

Although Lu Beigu had a premonition, when he actually arrived at this moment, he still felt an uncontrollable tremor in his heart.

He could feel the countless envious or jealous gazes upon him, as if they were tangible, pressing down on him like thorns in his back.

"—Lu Beigu, the first place winner in the county examination!"

(End of this chapter)