The first session of the county examination is called the main session. The questions in this session are two essays on the Four Books, one essay on the meaning of the Five Classics, and one poem in five characters and six rhymes. These questions are relatively simple and basic, and much less difficult than the government and college examinations.
When Zhu Ping'an saw the questions on the board, a smile appeared on his lips. What a coincidence. He had already tried to solve the meaning questions of these three articles, four books and five scriptures.
The first question is from "The Analects of Confucius. Chapter on Policing": Policing with virtue is like Beichen, who lives in his place and all the stars share it.
The second question is taken from "The Doctrine of the Mean": The way of a gentleman is like climbing high.
The third question is that the meaning of the Five Classics comes from "Shangshu": quiet words are mediocre, and images are respectful and overwhelming.
The meanings of these three chapters, Four Books and Five Classics, can be said to be easily grasped by Zhu Ping'an because they have been discussed before. It would not take much time to write them down, so there is no rush. Zhu Pingan neatly copied these three questions on the draft paper in small regular script, and then started to look at the last question of this exam.
The last topic is the title of the test poem, which is a poem: The summer trees are overcast and the oriole sings.
The test poems in the imperial examination are like this. Most of the questions are excerpted from a poem or even an allusion by a poet of the previous dynasty, and then you start to write the test poem based on this poem.
Zhu Ping'an copied this poem on the draft paper and added the word "Fu De" in front of it. This was the format of the poem for the imperial examination.
This topic is also very simple. This poem is from Wang Wei's "Jiyu Wangchuanzhuang Zuo". The whole poem is: The rain is empty, the forest is late, the fireworks are late, the quinoa is cooked, and the millet is cooked. Egrets fly in the desert paddy fields, and orioles sing in the overcast summer trees. In the mountains, I learn to watch the hibiscus trees quietly, and under the pine tree, I fold the dew sunflowers in my clear house. The old man is fighting for a seat with others, but the seagull is even more suspicious of what happened.
The test poem does not require you to have anything thoughtful. The format meets the requirements. Just one word is enough, which is to praise virtues. Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty had already canceled poems and songs in the provincial examinations and conferences. Poems only appeared in the county examinations of the children's examination, and had almost no impact on the results of the children's examination. The children's examination mainly looked at eight-legged essays.
After reading all the test questions, Zhu Ping'an had a good idea. He placed the test paper, paper, etc. on the side of the table and pressed it down with a stone to prevent the north wind from blowing away. Then he took out the food from the basket and ate it with relish.
The cooked braised pork had been cut into pieces by the inspecting officer. Zhu Pingan took out a pair of chopsticks and started chewing it carefully.
I woke up so early in the morning and haven’t had breakfast yet. This exam will take one day, so it’s not too late to write after I’ve had breakfast.
Zhu Pingan thought it was normal to have breakfast by himself, but other candidates didn't think so. Especially the student scholar who lived in the same inn as Zhu Ping'an recognized that the man who was eating with gusto in the examination room was the famous man who was bitten by a snake and heard the decline of the singing bird who lived in the woodshed. One by one, they shook their heads slightly and looked sympathetically at Zhu Pingan. Their thoughts were roughly like this:
This stupid boy has given up on himself.
Sure enough, this fool only ate when he entered the examination room.
The one who makes up the number is the one who makes up the number, and his mission is completed when he enters the field.
...
Everyone basically gave Zhu Ping'an the verdict of losing his reputation.
After eating braised pork, some preserved fruits, and finally drinking a glass of water that he brought with him, Zhu Pingan burped, which made people around him roll their eyes and label Zhu Pingan a foodie and a fool.
Ignoring the looks of people around him, Zhu Ping'an ate and drank enough, took a piece of draft paper by himself, and began to draft...
"This foodie is also used to showing off. After eating, he wiped his mouth and started writing and drawing in a serious manner. He must be writing nonsense. Alas, what a pity. How could I end up with such an idiot foodie after waiting for ten years? Stepping into the examination room, even if I win three times in a row this time, it is still a pity."
"I'm ashamed to be in the same examination room as this person."
The people around him thought so, and once again ridiculed and despised Zhu Pingan in their hearts.
Time passed slowly, and at noon in the morning, people found that the foodie and idiot started eating again. This time he did not scribble after eating, but took out a rabbit fur blanket to cover himself and fell asleep on the table.
Rotten wood cannot be carved
A wall of dung and dirt cannot be leveled
Regarding Zhu Pingan's behavior of sleeping on the table, people unanimously silently applied Confucius's original words about his disciple Zaiyu sleeping during the day to Zhu Pingan.
At this time, the candidates feel that this guy is a tease sent by God. You can eat, drink, poop and sleep at home, and you are very comfortable, so why come to the examination room and suffer.
Of course, there are also well-meaning students who have completed two questions in the examination room and express deep sympathy for Zhu Pingan's self-destructive behavior: This person is so stupid, but he has the courage to take the exam. His courage is commendable, but it is a pity.
As for Zhu Ping'an's behavior of sitting upright and scribbling on the test paper from the scratch paper after sleeping for more than half an hour, it was regarded as a bluff by many candidates.
Zhu Pingan, who answered with peace of mind, had no idea that he had spent the day in contempt, ridicule, and sympathy...
As the time approached the evening, one after another people finished writing and handed in their papers and left under the guidance of the clerk. After a while, Zhu Pingan followed most of the people and handed in their papers and left.
The students who have not yet handed in the paper expressed deep contempt for Zhu Ping'an's behavior of handing in the paper early. They must have just handed it in because they couldn't sit still! It’s definitely not finished!
There are four county exams. After the first exam, the second exam will be taken two days later. For example, if the first exam is on the 9th, then the second exam will start on the 12th. The two days left in the middle are the time for the examiners to correct and grade the papers. The results will be released at about noon on the 11th. The names of those who passed the first test will be listed on the list. Those on the list can participate in the second test. If If you don't pass the first game, then you can go back and forth from where you started.
After returning to the inn, Zhu Pingan put away his things, washed up, changed into clean clothes, and went to the lobby to have dinner.
When he arrived at the lobby, Zhu Pingan ordered two dishes, one meat and one vegetarian, a bowl of beef soup, and a stack of two steamed buns. When he was about to eat, Zhu Pingan noticed that many people sitting in the lobby were pointing at him. He nodded, shook his head and whispered, and from time to time there was laughter.
What's going on?
When Zhu Pingan was confused, his uncle came over to help Zhu Pingan clear his doubts.
"Alas, son, why did my uncle say something to you? You actually fell asleep in the examination room during this test. Your behavior made people laugh. Everyone said that you are the best in the world!"
Uncle Zhu Shouren looked heartbroken.
"Dangshi Zaiyu?" Zhu Ping'an seemed to be busy eating and didn't hear what his uncle said before. When he heard Dangshi Zaiyu, he put down his chopsticks, his eyes lit up, and repeated it.
Uncle Zhu Shouren nodded vigorously.
"Thank you." Zhu Pingan received a positive answer from his uncle, but there was a shy smile on his honest face.
puff
There were people eating around, and when they heard Zhu Ping'an's answer, they were furious. Damn, this guy doesn't just know that Jaeyu is a student of Confucius, so he doesn't think we are praising him.
"You, alas..." The uncle shook his head and left sadly.
Zhu Pingan looked at the expressions of his uncle and everyone in the lobby, smiled lightly, lowered his head and continued to eat his meal.
No wonder the uncle has not passed the exam for more than 20 years, and no wonder so many people in the hall have not passed the exam.
Their reading was too one-sided and short-sighted. They only saw Jaeyu sleeping during the day, but they did not see that Jaeyu was a member of the "Ten Philosophers of Confucius" and was eloquent. Confucius listed Jaeyu as a genius in the language class, ranking higher than Zigong was still preparing for the exam. People like the uncle have never had a deep understanding of Zaiyu. Zaiyu is nineteen years younger than Confucius. He is very eloquent. He is one of the members who followed Confucius to travel around the world. During this period, he served as an envoy of the team and went to Qi State. , Chu and other countries have made great achievements. In the Tang Dynasty, Zaiyu was posthumously granted the title of "Marquis of Qi", in the Northern Song Dynasty he was granted the title of "Gong of Linzi", and in the Southern Song Dynasty he was also granted the title of "Gong of Qi".
Even this dynasty, well, Emperor Jiajing, who is now in power, had already changed the name of Zaiyu to "Xianxian Zaiyu" in the ninth year of Jiajing. The uncle and others still have the impression that Zaiyu slept in class and was dead wood.
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