Top Scholar

Chapter 28 Written Examination
Upon reaching the academy's gate, Su Lu took the schoolbag from his second brother. The two brothers exchanged a smile, and Su Tai raised his calloused right hand, giving him a thumbs-up.

Su Lu gave his second brother a thumbs up, then slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and joined the line of students waiting for the exam, full of pride and high spirits.

After the bell rang three times, all four hundred candidates entered the academy, and the gatekeeper slowly closed the mountain gate.

"Open your bags and take off your hats!" A gruff voice rang out as the gate slammed shut, sending chills down the spines of the examinees. "Take off your clothes, shoes, and socks too, and line up for a body search!"

My elder brother had told Su Lu beforehand that he would be searched before the written exam in the afternoon to prevent him from bringing in cheat sheets. Although even the county and state exams didn't involve body searches, the academy was testing knowledge of classical texts and calligraphy, so we had to be careful.

Scholars value refinement and propriety above all else; they wouldn't tolerate even the slightest misalignment in their hats or shoes. But once inside the examination hall, everyone from the highest-ranking scholar to the lowest student had to obediently remove their shoes and socks, loosen their belts, and let the examiners judge them without question, let alone consider it an insult to their refinement.

The standards for scholars are so flexible; of course, those with inflexible standards wouldn't have survived to this day...

However, these teenagers, who had grown up under their parents' wings, were experiencing such a disheveled situation for the first time. Many of them were stunned and hesitated to take off their clothes. Some even clung tightly to their collars, refusing to let the inspectors touch them.

The body searches were conducted by the uncouth guards, and with time running out, they naturally weren't going to be polite to these brats, causing quite a commotion in the courtyard...

Fortunately, Su Lu lacked the shame of a scholar, and everyone around him was a man. If necessary, he wouldn't mind running around the field naked.

He cooperated fully throughout the process and completed the inspection smoothly. He then dressed neatly, packed his bag, and went into the examination room first.

The afternoon examinations were held in the academy's lecture hall, with a total of eight examination rooms, each with fifty examinees.

Because Su Lu arrived early, he was assigned to the Qian class. After all fifty candidates were seated, an old man and a young man, two proctors, walked in.

The solemn-looking old man, dressed in a colorful robe and wearing a scholar's cap, was probably a teacher at the academy, serving as the chief examiner.

The deputy proctor was still Chun Ge'er's classmate, Niu Ma. He held the exam paper that smelled of ink in his hands, stood solemnly behind the old man, and said loudly, "Stand up!"

The old man's stern gaze swept across the lecture hall, and only after the candidates rose to greet him did he speak in a deep voice:
"The written exam this afternoon will be proctored by the two of us. The first part will be on calligraphy, and the second part will be on the interpretation of calligraphy."

After saying that, he turned to the proctor and said, "Explain the examination rules to these younger people."

"Yes, sir." The assistant invigilator bowed in response, then straightened up and changed his expression, speaking sternly to the examinee:
"Place your nameplate in the upper left corner of your desk, with the characters facing the podium; do not look around or whisper to each other; do not get up at will or spy on others!"

"After the exam papers are distributed, you may begin to write only after hearing the sound of the clapperboard. When the clapperboard sounds again, you must stop writing! Those who violate this rule will be dismissed for being late!"

~~
After a long and agonizing prelude, the exam papers were finally handed out. The exam lasted for 45 minutes, or three-quarters of an hour.

Although writing was forbidden, Su Lu couldn't be idle. He quickly glanced at the exam paper, which contained forty questions, strictly limited to the Four Books.

Given the level of the candidates present, answering one question per minute wasn't particularly difficult. The challenge lay in avoiding mistakes. In such intense competition, a single mistake, or even a single misspelled word, could lead to failure.

During the pre-exam intensive training, his older brother instructed Su Lu to answer directly on the test paper first, and then transfer the answers to the answer sheet.

This effectively reduces errors and ensures a neat and tidy paper. When two papers receive the same score, the one with fewer erasure marks wins.

This, of course, puts even more speed to the test. Su Lu worriedly asked, "What if we don't have enough time?"

The elder brother, however, said confidently, "Don't worry, there's plenty of time."

After a pause, Chun Ge'er added quietly, "If you don't have enough time, it means you're not good enough. It doesn't matter whether you hand in the paper or not, you'll definitely be eliminated anyway..."

At this moment, the clapperboard in the courtyard was struck four times, and the old man said in a deep voice, "Begin writing."

As if hearing the sound of war drums, the candidates hurriedly dipped their pens and began to answer the questions.

Su Lu took a deep breath, picked up the white cloud pen, and began to write quickly on the answer sheet.

The first question was very simple: 'When Confucius heard the Shao music in Qi, _________'

Without hesitation, Su Lu wrote: 'For three months I have not tasted meat.'

Next, the second question: 'The saying "To govern a country, one must first regulate one's family" means _________.'

Su Lu replied, "There is no one whose family is incorrigible yet who can teach others."

Some versions replace the second sentence with the first: '_________, and saw his two sons there.'

Su Lu replied, "I'll let Zilu stay the night, kill a chicken, and cook millet for him."

'I will do it if I can't get it; if I can't, I'll follow my own inclinations.'

Su Lu replied, "Wealth can be obtained through effort, even by a lowly servant."

In the blink of an eye, he had finished answering more than a dozen questions on the classics. This is the advantage of answering on the exam paper first. You don't have to worry about making mistakes, so you don't feel pressured when you start writing, and you can naturally answer very quickly...

But the further you go, the more difficult it becomes, and the more pitfalls are created.

For example, in question 26, "The saying 'to regulate one's family begins with cultivating one's character' means _________." Many people, seeing that short vertical line, might instinctively answer with just one sentence: "People avoid those they love."

However, both his elder brother and father reminded Su Lu that the complete mark for answering a question about ink meaning is a period, not a comma. In other words, it signifies the end of a complete expression of meaning.

Therefore, just one "辟焉" is not enough; the following four lines must also be written together: "之其所贱恶而辟焉，之其所畏敬而辟焉，之其所哀矜而辟焉，之其所敖怠而辟焉."

The line is so short, but the answer is so long—isn't that ridiculous?!
But the academy also had something to say: Who told you to answer on the exam paper? The answer sheet was completely blank, wasn't that enough for you to write on?

~~
If you think this malice isn't severe enough, there's something even more unethical. The academy will deliberately choose a few easily confused questions to trick you—

For example: '仁者人也，_______' and '仁人也，_______'

The former comes from the *Doctrine of the Mean*, and the answer is 'Love for one's relatives is of paramount importance.'

The latter, however, comes from Mencius, and the answer is 'It cannot be lost.'

There are also phrases like "the superior man cherishes virtue" in the *Analects* (Li Ren chapter) and "the virtue of a superior man" in the *Analects* (Yan Yuan chapter)... These twin assassins are indeed lurking quite a few in the *Four Books*. After all, they are all classics of the Confucian school...

Moreover, these kinds of questions are often secretly planted in the latter half of the exam paper, and when test takers are already dizzy from answering, they may easily fall into the trap.

This highlights the advantage of having practiced past exam papers in advance. Since there are only so many easily confused questions, and Su Lu had already practiced them on the papers her older brother gave her, she would be more alert and wouldn't fall into any traps.

~~
After answering all forty questions in one go, Su Lu dipped his pen again and immediately began copying them down.

The answer sheet provided by the academy was a square piece of rough-edged paper, about 1.2 feet in size, pale yellow in color, soft and delicate, better than any paper Su Lu had ever used. Of course, he had never used any proper paper before...

After writing his name on the first line as required, Su Lu started a new line and began writing furiously from right to left!
After more than a hundred days of training, his small regular script had become quite neat. Moreover, the extensive copying of books over a long period had also honed his sketching skills.

The pen tip made a soft, rustling sound as it scribbled across the paper, like a silkworm nibbling on mulberry leaves. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the exam paper was covered with dense, small characters, the lines as neatly spaced as rows of sorghum fields. The structure of each character was like a sorghum stalk, possessing a lean yet firm strength; the strokes flowed like sorghum leaves, gently spreading out along the stalk's contours, with sharp, defined ends.

Although the strokes lack the fluidity of flying white ink, each character is steady and solid, revealing the earnestness and neatness of a beginner...

The most amazing thing was the white cloud brush. Even as it moved rapidly, the bristles remained perfectly still, no bigger than a needle tip. Su Lu wrote until the very end, and the bristles on the brush tip never scattered, a stark contrast to the worn-out brushes he had used before.

After putting down his pen, he quickly glanced through the answer sheet again.

It must be said that small handwriting is a good way to hide flaws; as long as it is written neatly and tidyly, it is pleasing to the eye at first glance. Although there are still many flaws upon closer inspection, the examiner does not have time to examine the strokes, so naturally, no points will be deducted for neatness.

Having just finished checking the last character, the clapper struck again, and Su Lu put down his pen, raised his head, and stretched his well-trained arms slightly.

The diverse scene in the examination hall also came into his view. Some candidates were still writing furiously, their speed so fast that they seemed to leave afterimages...

Some candidates had already finished checking their papers and looked utterly bored. Many others, though they had put down their pens, couldn't take their eyes off the papers, as if they could still read a few more words…

"Stop writing!" The elderly proctor was kind enough to warn him again.

But some candidates ignored the warnings and stubbornly insisted, "Sir, please allow me to answer one last question..."

The old man shook his head, and the deputy proctor, Niu Ma, skipped over those who were still unwilling to hand in their papers, collected all the other papers, and presented them to the old man.

The assistant invigilator also collected papers from those who wanted to hand them in later. But in front of them, he wrote "Overtime" at the beginning of the papers...

Several candidates stood frozen in place, and the entire room fell silent.

At this moment, the old man said to the group in a deep voice, "Please leave."

"I haven't taken the exam yet," the boy said, his voice trembling with tears.

"You won't have another round." The old man shook his head, refusing to budge any further.

After saying that, he and the cow-and-horse student took the exam papers and left.

The boys had no choice but to leave crying.

The candidates inside had no time to gloat; they had to wait for their fate to be decided.

Some were resting at their desks, some were whispering to each other, and many were making the most of their time to memorize the content for the next session...

Su Lu took out a rice ball from his schoolbag, unwrapped the outer lotus leaf, revealing cooked rice wrapped with a small amount of pickled vegetables, and ate it slowly and carefully.

This is to replenish energy and avoid dizziness and difficulty concentrating caused by low blood sugar.

Okay, those are all excuses. Actually, he was just craving it... These are rice balls made of white rice! Su Lu has never eaten white rice in his life!
While eating, he didn't think about anything else, but wholeheartedly savored every bite.

Look how much he's enjoying his food! Many test-takers were secretly swallowing, regretting not bringing some snacks with them…

(End of this chapter)