Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 99 "Dragons and Snakes Within, Voices on Paper"

As the gathering progressed, several students composed poems. Some were able to improvise, while others struggled to come up with anything. Many of the poems they did write were also unrhymed.

It can only be said that not everyone has the talent to compose poetry on the spot.

Just as the atmosphere was getting lively, a rustling sound suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned around and saw three people emerge from the swaying bamboo shadows.

The old man, supported by the two men, leaned on a gnarled cane. He wore an indigo-blue robe, and his snow-white eyebrows and beard trembled slightly in the spring breeze, like two clumps of reeds covered in frost. He had a brown mole on his right cheek, and his face was covered with age spots.

"Mr. Baisha".

Jiang Zicheng quickly stood up, bowed, and gestured for him to sit in the empty first seat.

Li Tian waved his hand, his withered wrist protruding from his wide sleeve, and then sat down directly on a protruding rock in the stream.

“Continue with the same topic and rhyme scheme,” Li Tian said with a smile, pointing to the approaching wooden plate. “Whose turn is it?”

As luck would have it, the wooden disc from the first round of the second round actually stopped at the shallow bay under the plum tree.

Zhou Mingyuan stared at the wooden disc like a gambler spinning a wheel, his mind racing.

"Down, down, down! Stop! Stop!"

However, the wooden tray eventually stopped in front of Lu Beigu.

Lu Beigu and Zhou Mingyuan exchanged a glance and looked at each other blankly.

“This young man, don’t look at the people next to him, it’s you.”

Li Tian laughed heartily, the warmth emanating from his wrinkles reminiscent of a cotton quilt soaked through in the winter sun; he looked like a very gentle old man.

Lu Beigu reluctantly picked up the wine cup from the wooden tray. He couldn't use the poem he had revised for Zhou Mingyuan, so he could only organize his scattered thoughts from before.

After a moment's thought, Lu Beigu spoke:

"Floating flowers on the winding stream pass by clearly, and the gentle breeze still clarifies the words in my writing."

Do not begrudge the dripping ink; within it, the sounds of dragons and snakes resonate on the paper.

Upon hearing this poem, Su Zhe, standing beside the white stone, let out a soft "Eh."

If his works focus more on the imagery of a virtuous gentleman, then Lu Beigu's poem focuses more on a free and unrestrained spirit, representing two different paths.

Fang Wei did not sit at the table; he had been leaning against the pavilion pillar, but now he unconsciously straightened up.

A classmate from Rongzhou leaned over and whispered, "Who is this guy?"

Fang Wei stared at Lu Beigu, who was calm and composed under the plum tree: "The top scholar from Hejiang County, Luzhou, has finally come to my attention. Although it was written in the second round, which took much longer than my brainstorming, he is indeed a man of great talent."

Jiang Zicheng, who was at the top, was also somewhat surprised. He beckoned to the steward next to him and asked Lu Beigu for his name and place of origin.

Upon hearing the poem, Li Tian's cloudy eyes brightened slightly. He recited it softly once, and then spoke.

"Young man, your 'sound of dragons and snakes on paper' is an adaptation of 'all I see are dragons and snakes moving' from Li Bai's 'Song of Cursive Script,' isn't it? Well done! Using this to conclude, you blend everything you see, touch, and hear—floating flowers, gentle breeze, and intoxicated ink—within the flow. Where the sound of dragons and snakes moves, you seem to hear swords moving across the Xuan paper, quite reminiscent of Li Bai's drunken ink-splashing style. You're a promising talent!"

Everyone was quite surprised to hear this.

Many people did not expect that the top scholar in Hejiang County could actually write such a good poem.

I won't go into the strict rules of tone and rhyme, since many of the previous poems had acceptable tone and rhyme, but they were mostly just conventional works.

Apart from Su Zhe, few people have captured the essence and inspiration in their poems.

Lu Beigu felt a little ashamed upon hearing this. His poem was partly due to Zhou Mingyuan's accurate prediction of the question, so he had already thought about it beforehand, albeit fragmented ideas, and it couldn't really be considered impromptu. Furthermore, while it possessed a certain flair, it was indeed derived from Li Bai's "Song of Cursive Script." His classmates, however, were unaware of this, or rather, even if they knew, no one cared.

They felt that Lu Beigu's back view looked taller and more imposing.

"When you see someone virtuous, you should think of emulating them! I should learn more from Brother Lu in the future!" Zhu Zhen thought to himself.

Lu Beigu replied, "Thank you for your praise, Mr. Baisha. This poem is well written and has borrowed a bit of Li Bai's inspiration. I am unworthy of such praise."

"Ha, who says you can't use allusions in poetry? If you use them well, that's your own skill."

Li Tian waved his hand: "Moreover, looking at the line 'Floating flowers on a winding stream,' the writing is elegant yet vigorous, possessing the charm of 'clear streams and rushing rapids' in Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, achieving a natural and exquisite effect. And the phrase 'gentle breeze and poetic pen' is a wonderful double entendre, both corresponding to the season and alluding to the literary mind, showing the skill in refining words. Isn't this also a manifestation of the poet's skill?"

"Young man, don't be too modest. It's not too late to be modest when you reach my age."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but smile.

Mr. Baisha, who is known as a "famous teacher in Sichuan", does not seem like a stubborn and old-fashioned old man at all; on the contrary, he is quite interesting.

The flowing water continues.

After two more rounds with different topics and rhymes, the freshmen gradually became familiar with each other.

Seeing that everyone was getting to know each other and becoming more relaxed in their conversations, Lu Beigu understood the purpose of setting up this part of the welcoming gathering.

It must be said that although Luzhou Prefectural School adheres to the principle of survival of the fittest, it still puts a lot of effort into many things.

"The 'Floating Wine Cups on the Winding Stream' event ends here."

Jiang Zicheng clapped his hands, and the musicians stopped playing.

"The list of those who answered correctly has been written down and will be announced to everyone later. These people can read on the first to third floors of the library for one day. Students from this state have no time limit, but students from Mei, Rong, and Chiayi states must go there as soon as possible within three days. Otherwise, it will be invalid and they must not delay their return to their respective state schools."

"Next, Mr. Bai Sha will give you a question, and each new student from each state will answer it using the paper and pen on the table in front of them."

Because Mr. Baisha, Li Tian, ​​retired at the rank of Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he was highly experienced and had many disciples, so even the Prefect of Luzhou had to treat him with the respect due to a junior.

While Jiang Zicheng was nominally Li Tian's direct superior as a professor at the Luzhou State Academy, their positions were actually unequal, and Jiang Zicheng had to beg Li Tian to accept the teaching position.

Therefore, whether it's canceling the pre-test or setting questions at the welcome gathering, it's all up to Li Tian to do as he pleases, and Jiang Zicheng can only let this old rascal do whatever he wants.

"Oh, are you going to give me a question?"

Li Tian smiled and looked around at the freshmen who looked nervous.

"What kind of questions do you want to answer? Do you like composing poems?"

This sentence almost scared the souls out of many people; who enjoys composing poems?

However, it would be impossible to discuss the classics or the meaning of calligraphy in such an occasion, and the poem that was just recited was also composed. In this era, although lyrics were very popular, they were not suitable for such formal gatherings of official schools.

Therefore, it was either composing a poem or writing a policy essay.

"Looks like he doesn't like it." Li Tian stroked his white eyebrows and thought for a moment. "Then let's do historical theory. Isn't historical theory simpler?"

That's true. Among the "historical essays, classic essays, and current affairs essays" included in policy essays, historical essays are indeed the simplest.

"The topic is 'On the Six States,' write it."

Upon hearing the topic, while others remained silent, Lu Beigu paused for a moment.

If he remembered correctly, Su Zhe's father, Su Xun, wrote "On the Six States" this year.
(End of this chapter)