It's as light as cicada wings and as white as snow, shaking like fine silk but making no sound.
The Provincial Examination cannot be compared with the Tongsheng Examination. Even the scratch paper is so excellent. Zhu Pingan flattened the scratch paper on which he had just recorded the test questions and was full of praise for the quality of the draft paper.
This three-day and two-night exam requires a total of seven eight-part essays, three eight-part essays on the Four Books, and four eight-part essays on the Five Classics. The amount of this kind of questions varies from person to person. Some candidates may finish it in less than two days, but some candidates may not be able to finish it in three days and two nights. After Zhu Ping'an read all the test questions, he felt that he could finish them in the evening.
Dip the brush in ink, spread out another piece of draft paper, and start working on the first line.
The first question is the meaning of the Four Books: "A gentleman is ill and has no reputation."
This is a very standard Eight-legged Doctrine of the Four Books, which comes from "The Analects of Confucius. Wei Linggong No. 15". The meaning of this sentence is that Confucius said: "The regret of a gentleman is to die without being praised by others."
This is what Confucius said from the bottom of his heart. In life, fame and wealth are nothing more than two words. The word "name" makes many young heads gray and sheds many heroic tears! The passing geese leave a sound, but the human suffering is nameless. Although Confucius himself repeatedly said that "people don't know what they don't know, they are not stunned", but he also lamented, "No one knows me!" ("Xian Wen") Not being known or understood by others is still the work of Confucius. "Spring and Autumn" is also to "see for ourselves in future generations." ("The Family of Confucius") To put it bluntly, it is precisely "a gentleman is ill and has no reputation."
Therefore, it is not that Confucianism does not attach importance to names, nor does it dislike "having wide reputations applied to one's body" (Mencius's words), but it is just opposed to hearing about one's feelings, using one's reputation to gain reputation, and deceiving the world and stealing one's reputation.
This sentence is easy to understand and easy to do.
Zhu Ping'an almost dipped his hands in ink and began to write, as if a god was helping him.
"It is the worry of saints to have no reputation in future generations."
This sentence is a broken question. It can be said to be a very standard broken question. The reputation cannot be spread in future generations. This is what the saints are worried about.
After solving the problem, Zhu Ping'an dipped the brush on the inkstone and continued writing:
"It is not necessary to have a name for a moment, but it is necessary to have a name for future generations. Therefore, a gentleman does not seek fame, but he has no choice but to do so.
Master Ruo said: A person with a good reputation is a person’s constant emotion. Therefore, people should not think it impetuous when a corporal seeks fame. However, I hate his temporary reputation, not his reputation for eternity. If you are a gentleman, you will know that this is where the judgment lies.
...
There are only those who are greater than this, and there are only those who are longer than this. If a man sets up his camp in the blink of an eye, he is seeking to finish his work as soon as possible. How can he do this if he has a good reputation? "
In less than one stick of incense, Zhu Pingan finished writing the first eight-part essay. After writing the first eight-part essay, Zhu Pingan let the written draft paper dry on the table for a while to prevent the ink from flowing and contaminating the test paper.
While drying the draft paper, Zhu Pingan continued to read the second question.
The second question is somewhat similar to the one in the re-examination of the last college examination, but it is not exactly the same. The topic is this: A gentleman will not be powerful if he is not serious, he will not be solid if he learns, he will be loyal and trustworthy, and if he has no friends who are inferior to himself, then he should not be afraid of correcting his mistakes.
In the last re-examination of the college examination, I only tested the last part of "Don't be afraid of correcting if you pass", but this time I tested a whole sentence.
Don't underestimate this difference. The ideas for answering the questions are completely different. Last time, I only focused on "Don't be afraid to correct if you make mistakes." This time, you will write an essay on this entire sentence. The meaning of this sentence is: if a gentleman's behavior is not dignified, he will have no majesty, and if his attitude is not dignified, the knowledge he has learned will not be consolidated. Being a man mainly focuses on loyalty and keeping promises. Don't make friends with people who are not as good as you. If you make a mistake, Just don't be afraid to make corrections.
Regarding this question, Zhu Ping'an solved the problem like this: "A gentleman must have his own quality in learning and must practice his way."
While thinking and splashing ink, Zhu Pingan completed the eight-part essay in one go.
After finishing these two eight-part essays, it was just noon. Zhu Pingan put away his pen, ink, paper and inkstone and held it down with a ruler to prevent it from blowing away in the north wind.
Then he put the cell into a resting state, preparing to take a short rest and take a lunch break.
However, this dormitory is too cramped. I am not fully tall yet, so I cannot stretch my legs, so I can only rest with my legs curled up. However, just when Zhu Pingan was about to close his eyes, he heard a miserable roar from next door, shocking the sleepiness that Zhu Pingan had just been brewing to disappear.
"Damn it, the old paper is full of pages!"
After this pitiful roar, there was a bang-dong-dong sound. If I guessed correctly, it should be this guy hitting the wall.
Then, another roar full of anger followed. It was the voice of another person, as if he had the same hatred as the owner of the first one for killing his father and taking away his wife.
"Dunlun, your mother, I was so frightened by you that my writing was stained, and the test paper was stained!"
Well, one of them wrote down the answers on several pages, and the other was frightened by his voice and his pen was stained with ink on the test paper. The one who wrote the serial page number was definitely going to fail, so he was so miserable after he found out; but the second guy deserved sympathy. The guy who wrote the serial page number was so frightened that the brush fell off and stained the test paper. A big ball of ink will definitely be treated as cheating to leave a mark, and it will also lead to failure.
Fortunately, I was resting, otherwise I might have been frightened by his sudden voice and contaminated the test paper.
Soon, an invigilator led four sergeants over and confiscated the test papers of the two people without saying a word. Then the four sergeants stuffed the two people's mouths with cloth balls and ordered them to leave. She dragged him out.
These two buddies have blown the test this time, and it is unclear whether they will be able to take the test in the future.
After this accident, Zhu Pingan was no longer sleepy and restored the dormitory to a table and chair. I grilled the dried meat over a charcoal brazier, then took a piece of snack from me and had a simple lunch with boiled water.
After the meal, I put away my things, put away my pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and continued to work on my draft.
The third eight-part essay was quite difficult. It took Zhu Ping'an more than an hour to conceive it before he started writing it. The writing was much slower than the first two essays. It took him just the afternoon to finish this eight-part essay.
The title of this article has only four words, "Yuan Yuan Qi Yuan", which comes from "The Doctrine of the Mean", which means that the saint's thoughts are as deep as a pool of water.
However, how to write stereotypes in this sentence!
The full text of this sentence is: Only sincerity in the world can be used to understand the great scriptures of the world, establish the foundation of the world, and understand the transformation and upbringing of heaven and earth. How can I rely on you? The benevolence of the gizzard, the abyss of the abyss, the vastness of the sky.
After thinking for more than an hour, Zhu Pingan remembered that someone in modern times once explained "The Doctrine of the Mean". At that time, that person said this sentence with the theme of "Heaven does not speak, the earth does not speak, and man establishes principles in the middle."
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Ping'an relaxed his frown and began to write. He continued to write while thinking, and it was not until the sun went down that he finished this eight-part essay.
I wrote three eight-part essays in one day, and I could finish the remaining four in two days with my eyes closed. Zhu Ping'an nodded with satisfaction, put away the draft paper he had written, and after dinner, he laid out a blanket and covered himself with it and fell asleep.
The rabbit skin blanket was very warm, blocking the wind and keeping warm. Zhu Pingan slept soundly all night. But some people were not so good. The north wind howled at night, and although it didn't snow, it was extremely cold. Many people, especially the candidates who once laughed at Zhu Pingan at the door, were shivering with cold at night and felt regretful in their intestines. All green. (To be continued.)
