The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Master Wang sternly refused.

As a scholar, one cannot shut oneself in to study the classics. His three disciples were indeed intelligent, but they were too lazy to go out.

Too lazy to travel far.

This is not a good sign.

These past few days, aside from visiting Master Wang every morning, Zhuge Yunshu and the other two spent their days in a straight line between the library, the elegant dining room, and their bedroom, always engrossed in their books.

Even Wang Yi, due to the heavy workload, changed her bedtime from 9 PM to 11 PM.

As a result, Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao earned a resounding nickname in the town's school—'the three daredevils'.

At first, Zhang Hao was very dissatisfied with this title, thinking it sounded effeminate, and he felt awkward about it for a while.

However, after being brainwashed daily by Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi, they readily accepted it.

Master Wang also gave them a detailed overview of the three stages of the preliminary examination, and Zhuge Yunshu felt quite confident.

She felt that the Four Books and Five Classics and their commentaries were the most basic subjects, and most candidates who dared to take the exam were thoroughly familiar with them. Therefore, it was difficult to create a significant difference in these two subjects.

The real competition among candidates lies in the poems and policy questions, especially the policy questions which account for the highest score.

After studying for a period of time, Zhuge Yunshu discovered that the general approach to policy questions was basically the same, which was nothing more than asking for answers based on questions about classical texts or political affairs.

The respondent simply elaborates on their argument according to their intention, and then provides corresponding solutions to their questions.

Secondly, there are writing conventions, such as the use of classical Chinese, taboo words, and font size requirements.

Zhuge Yunshu had already overcome and mastered these small details one by one under the strict requirements of the system's famous teachers and Master Wang.

Zhuge Yunshu thought to herself that, including the daily policy question from Master Wang, she also had to complete the five daily policy questions assigned by the famous teachers within the system. Under this high-intensity practice, she found that she had become extremely proficient in quoting classics and using history appropriately.

Therefore, Zhuge Yunshu was confident that he could set himself apart from the other candidates in the policy question examination.

There was nothing they could do; the famous teachers in the system loved to punish students with sticks, and Master Wang would make them copy books whenever they made mistakes.

It's the kind of thing that's done fifty to a hundred times; it's absolutely horrific.

The saying "a strict teacher produces outstanding students" is not just a saying. During this period, Zhuge Yunshu's progress in strategy questions has been remarkable. Even Master Wang, who has Xie Yu as his prodigy disciple, often lamented to Headmaster Lin that the emergence of so many talented people is a blessing for the country.

Unfortunately, Zhuge Yunshu was unaware of this. All she knew was that she had to painfully log into the system every night and be scolded by the teacher who taught poetry.

"Full of craftsmanship, devoid of any inspiration." The female teacher who taught poetry was so annoyed by Zhuge Yunshu that her delicate eyebrows almost curled into a line.

Back then, she composed a poem at the age of three and became famous in literary circles at the age of twelve. Even though the people around her were all somewhat accomplished in poetry, they looked at her disciple and thought she was hopelessly hopeless.

It is said that a poem can reveal a person's character, and what she saw in this disciple's poem was impatience, that is, he was eager to deal with her and wrote a poem hastily.

There is no trace of appreciation for the poem itself in this.

The female teacher who taught poetry and prose became increasingly worried.

"Although famous poems throughout history are often written in one go, inspired by a feeling, there is actually a simpler way to write good poetry," the female scholar said softly after careful consideration and adjusting her mindset.

"I hope you can enlighten me, Master," Zhuge Yunshu said respectfully.

In truth, she was overjoyed. You see, when choosing a poetry tutor, she immediately took a liking to this gentle and charming female tutor.

That's right, the points are more expensive than other tutors.

But there are advantages to being expensive, aren't there? Even when this poetry master is at his angrier, his words are only stern, unlike those old men who would hit her hand at the drop of a hat.

Woo woo woo...

"To write a good poem, one must have profound ideas, ingenious ideas, beautiful imagery, genuine emotions, and lofty artistic conception. For example, when you see plum blossoms, you must genuinely love them from the bottom of your heart... Only in this way can a poem resonate with people."

"When writing about plum blossoms, besides describing their beauty, one should also indirectly express one's own similar life circumstances or character to the plum blossom..."

The female teacher glanced at the bewildered Zhuge Yunshu and sighed:

"Don't think of writing poetry as too difficult. It's really just about introduction, development, transition, and conclusion. The development and transition are actually two couplets: level tone with oblique tone, abstract with concrete, and concrete with abstract... If you suddenly have a good idea and come up with a good line, even if the level tone, oblique tone, abstract, and concrete don't match, it's still okay."

"In other words, the rules and conventions of poetry are the least important things. As long as the sentences you come up with are surprising enough, they can be considered good poems. Just like people, don't be too bound by conventions..."

"Master, may I ask what is the proper order for learning poetry, and which poet's poems should we begin with?" Zhuge Yunshu asked.

In fact, she understood everything the teacher had said, but she didn't know where to begin when it came to writing it down.

What I learned in the system before was just the tip of the iceberg. If I saw a poem that was good, I would copy it and write one. If I saw another poem that was good, I would imitate it and write another one.

In short, it's a hodgepodge of bits and pieces, so it's no wonder the poem is bad.

"This system contains books from all eras. You can read hundreds of Wang Wei's five-character regulated poems, study them carefully, and ponder them thoroughly. After you have fully mastered them, read hundreds of Du Fu's seven-character regulated poems... and finally, read hundreds of Li Bai's seven-character quatrains..."

"With the foundation of these three poets' works, one can then examine the poems of Wei-Jin poets such as Tao Yuanming and Xie Lingyun to further enhance one's 'poetic aspirations'..."

Zhuge Yunshu understood. He started learning poetry from Wang Wei's poems because Wang Wei mainly wrote simple five-character regulated poems, and his poems were characterized by the idea that there is painting in poetry and poetry in painting.

For example, "Autumn Evening in the Mountain Dwelling" is a very representative "five-character regulated verse with level tone and no rhyme", which is also the most suitable for beginners learning poetry.

In short, one should first lay a foundation by learning from Wang Wei's poems about flowers, birds, fish, and insects, then study Du Fu's broad intellectual horizons, and finally use Li Bai's poems to break free from all the inherent forms of poetry creation, not be shackled by the poetic systems of predecessors, and form one's own poetic style.

In summary, the learning process follows a step-by-step approach, progressing from easy to difficult and from simple to complex.

Zhuge Yunshu seemed to remember something and suddenly looked up at the female teacher: "Teacher, do you know Lin Daiyu?"

It's no wonder she thought that way; this method of teaching poetry is very similar to how Lin Daiyu taught Xiangling.

"No, Dream of the Red Chamber is just a novel, and reality is just reality."

After saying this, the female teacher turned around gracefully and disappeared from Zhuge Yunshu's sight.

That agility was indeed much stronger than that of the delicate and frail Daiyu.