"The imperial examination was supposed to select talented people who would become pillars of the country, but they used the eight-part essay as the selection criteria. What kind of people were they selecting based on the eight-part essay? Ridiculous, ridiculous... Ridiculous, ridiculous..."
After the embarrassment, the greasy fat man picked up the wine pot and poured himself a drink. He spoke excitedly and expressed his indignation at the eight-legged essay system for selecting scholars.
After listening to what the greasy fat man said, Zhu Ping'an nodded slightly. He agreed with what the fat man said.
The imperial examination was definitely a historical progress and was absolutely politically correct, but the eight-legged essay method of selecting scholars was a historical regression.
Eight-part essay is a kind of word game. Although it can select some people with quick thinking, it mostly selects nerds who are out of touch with reality. Modern analysis of the eight-part essay for selecting scholars is very thorough. The eight-part essay restricts people's thinking and fetters people's freedom of thought... I won't say more here.
"Ridiculous?! But you still want to take the exam and say you want to pass..." Liu Dadao sneered.
"Reality is so fucked up, I can only take off my pants..." said the greasy fat man, spitting heavily on the ground, then put one foot on the chair, tilted his head and stuck his chin out at Zhu Ping'an with a proud look, and asked with a drunken breath, "Hey, have you ever participated in the imperial examination?"
Zhu Pingan nodded.
"Since you have played it, you should know what it is like to be a scholar through the eight-legged essay, right?" the greasy fat man said to Zhu Ping'an.
Zhu Pingan nodded, "I know a little bit."
"I tell you, the eight-part essay is a piece of shit!" The greasy fat man was very excited when talking about the eight-part essay. After spitting on the eight-part essay, the greasy fat man said to Zhu Ping'an, "The first time I participated in the provincial examination, the topic was 'The original soil is barbaric, and the lack of party boys will be the fate'."
At this point, the greasy fat man paused, turned his head to look at Zhu Pingan, and asked, "Do you know what this question is?"
"This question is a pieced-together one. '原然夷俟' comes from the 12th chapter of The Analects of Confucius, '原然夷俟. Confucius said: 'When young, he is not respectful to his younger brothers. When he grows up, he does not pass on his teachings. When he is old, he does not die. This is a thief.' Hit his shin with a stick.'; '阙当童子将命' comes from the 44th chapter of The Analects of Confucius, '阙当童子将命. Someone asked him, 'Is it the one who benefits?' Confucius said, 'When I am in a position, I see that he is on par with the teacher. He is not seeking benefit, but wants to achieve success quickly.'" Zhu Ping'an responded.
The topics of the eight-part essays in the imperial examinations were all selected from the words and sentences in the "Four Books and Five Classics", but the Four Books and Five Classics only have tens of thousands of words. After so many years of imperial examinations, almost all the topics that can be tested have been asked before. In order to avoid repeated questions and affect fairness, this kind of topic that splits the scriptures and splices them together came into being. To write this kind of eight-part essay, you need to quickly find the source of the seemingly plausible sentence, and then break the topic and answer it.
After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ping'an put a lot of effort into the eight-part essay, a tool for entering the officialdom. He was very familiar with both the Four Books and Five Classics and the eight-part essay. This kind of patchwork is just child's play.
"Hmm? Well, you are qualified to listen to me continue." The greasy fat man was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the rich young man opposite him could solve the problem so quickly. He nodded with satisfaction.
"Oh, you are so arrogant!" Liu Dadao couldn't help but snorted after hearing what the greasy fat man said. You are a scholar, but you actually competed with the top scholar and told him that you are qualified to listen to me!
"As for you, that's like talking to a cow..." The greasy fat man glanced at Liu Dadao and raised his chin.
Liu Dadao responded with a chuckle.
"Do you know how I solved the essay?!" The greasy fat man's face lit up.
Zhu Pingan shook his head and said, “I really don’t know about that.”
"Yuan Rangyi Hou, the teacher knocked his head with a stick, Yuan Rang's three souls disappeared, his seven spirits were vast, and a gust of wind turned him into a Quedang boy." After the greasy fat man poured himself a glass of wine, he stood up from his seat and read aloud in a rhythmic manner.
"Wonderful, wonderful!" Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but clap his hands in praise after hearing this, "How could such a wonderful essay not be accepted?!"
“It would be great if the examiner’s eyes were the same as yours.” The greasy fat man slumped down in his chair.
"It shouldn't be possible. How could such a wonderful essay fail? Who was the examiner at that time?" Zhu Ping'an asked puzzledly.
"The chief examiner at that time was named Lin Moyu." The greasy fat man couldn't help gritting his teeth when he mentioned the examiner's name.
"Lin Moyu?! No way?!" Zhu Ping'an read the name silently and soon had an impression of him. However, he had the impression that Lin Moyu had a good reputation. He often encouraged young students to study and was not a reckless person.
"Of course not!" The greasy fat man was still very excited when he thought of the past. He reached out and tore off another leg from the table. He took a big bite, as if he was biting Lin Moyu's meat.
"Does Examiner Lin have any comments?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"This old scholar thought my article was too short and wrote, 'The article is too short and you are shameless, and your ranking is behind Sun Shan.'" The greasy fat man mentioned Lin Moyu's comments to him, and his fat face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Zhu Ping'an frowned slightly after listening to Examiner Lin's comments on the fat man.
The article is a little short, but it contains the essence. In addition, what does "thick-skinned" mean in Lin's comment? But how can you tell if someone is thick-skinned if you read the article? You can't say that someone is thick-skinned just because he is fat, right? Lin's comment is a bit ridiculous. It is not consistent with the public's perception of Lin. Zhu Ping'an couldn't figure it out for a while.
Things shouldn't be that simple, right
So Zhu Pingan looked up at the fat man and asked, "Brother Hu, why did examiner Lin comment that you are 'thick-skinned'? Is there any misunderstanding?"
"There is no misunderstanding. He is just blind and jealous of others' talents. He cannot appreciate my masterpieces and paintings..."
The greasy fat man gritted his teeth.
"I can't appreciate your masterpiece and... Wait, Brother Hu, what did you just say, paintings?!"
Zhu Pingan felt something was not right when he heard it. You call it a masterpiece, and that's fine, but what the hell is a painting? !
"Oh, the test questions were so easy and casual, I finished them in one go, and there was plenty of time left with nothing to do, so I drew a picture at the back of the test paper..." said the greasy fat man disapprovingly.
What?! You drew a picture after the test paper?!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an was stunned, his mouth twitched, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. Apart from "no, no die why you try", he really didn't know what to say.
This is an imperial examination, not a game. Can you be serious? You drew a picture on the back of the test paper. Aren't you courting death
You are marking the test paper! The paper with the markings is your test paper. Theoretically, you are cheating. If you do this, even the king of heaven will not dare to admit you. Cheating in the imperial examination shakes the foundation of the rule. It is a serious crime among serious crimes in any feudal dynasty. If the examiner dares to admit you, not only will his official career be ruined, but also his life will be in danger.