When the official who brought the good news finally walked to the right door, the new students in Mingyuan Building of Yingtian Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall finally waited for the official in charge of education.
The first time Zhu Ping'an saw the Supervisor of Education was when he entered the first examination room. He only took a quick glance and felt that he was a serious elder in his fifties. It was at this moment that Zhu Ping'an was able to observe the Supervisor of Education up close.
The education commissioner was probably over fifty years old, but he did not look old at all. He looked energetic and was considered handsome even among older men. He looked as serious as before. He did not joke or chat with the accompanying officials when he went upstairs. He still had a strong aura, which might have been a natural result of having been in a high position for so long.
The Inspector of Education was the provincial-level education administrator of the Ming Dynasty, appointed by the imperial court. Accompanying him were officials from the education sector of Southern Zhili.
"Good, good, there are so many talented people here." The educational officer went upstairs, looked around at everyone, and nodded with satisfaction.
"I have met the education commissioner."
Zhu Ping'an, along with the other new students, bowed respectfully to welcome the arrival of the educational official.
"No thanks, no thanks. You are the priority today, and I will give you a heads up." The superintendent of education pressed his hand down, signaling everyone not to be too polite.
Having said that, new students like Zhu Ping'an did not dare to be presumptuous. They remained respectful and polite, not daring to overstep the mark in the slightest.
"The great China, with its glorious history, owes much to the inheritance of the literati. The great poems, the Chuci and Hanfu, the Tang poems and Song lyrics, all the articles in the world are written by the literati. The hermits rose from the grass roots, the talented people emerged from the streets, the secluded flowers and bright pearls, although they wanted to follow the path of Zhongshan, they could not, so they entered the world to serve as officials and seek the welfare of the world. As a result, the upper class was virtuous and the lower class was kind, and the literature and poetry flourished, which was prosperous for a time. Today, the literati are lucky to welcome you; you are lucky to join our literati. I hope you will continue to work hard..."
After the school supervisor sat down, he began to instruct the new students, basically saying that our Shilin is great, and you are great. Keep up the good work...
This has always been the case. After the top leader finished speaking, other leaders would summarize. Today was no different. After the education official finished speaking, a gray-haired official stood up and gave a summary of this year's college entrance examination. It was basically the same as in modern times, saying that this was a successful college entrance examination, a united college entrance examination, a perfect college entrance examination, etc. Then there were some meaningless speeches.
After everyone who was supposed to speak had spoken, it was time for today's highlight --- the hairpin ceremony.
After the official nodded, the ceremony of wearing a flower on your head began. The so-called flower-wearing ceremony is not to wear a flower on your head, but to give you a red flower, which is a reward. The reward is not much, just two taels of silver and a red flower, but although the money is small, the symbolic meaning is great. This is the honor that many scholars dream of. This means that the scholars have opened their arms to you, from today on. You are no longer an individual, you have an organization.
After the hairpin ceremony, the new students should be led by the education officials such as the Supervisor of Education to the Confucius Temple to pay homage to Confucius, which is similar to paying homage to the founding master in martial arts, fairy tales and fantasy novels.
However, there was a small incident after the hairpin ceremony. The school supervisor asked the officials around him something. After getting the answer, the school supervisor looked at the new students and asked, "Who is Zhu Ping'an among you?"
Uh, could it be that what happened yesterday has been exposed
Although a little surprised, Zhu Pingan still stood up and bowed. "Greetings to the Superintendent of Education. I am Zhu Pingan."
"Come forward." The educational officer waved his hand.
What's going on? Why does he have to come forward
So, Zhu Ping'an walked up to the educational official under the curious gaze of everyone.
However, everyone's curiosity soon turned into envy.
The schoolmaster walked in front of Zhu Ping'an and stroked his long beard to encourage him, "You are the youngest, but you are good at writing, and you are good at reading and clapping. You should work hard in the future. You will achieve great success in the future. Don't be so self-righteous that you forget the reason. Don't be like Zhongyong in the past. You should take this as a warning."
So that's how it is. The education official has good intentions.
"Students should keep your teachings in mind." Zhu Ping'an pretended to be very excited and bowed deeply.
The educational official was very satisfied with this.
After the conversation, the official in charge of education gave a glass of wine as a reward.
Well
I originally wanted to quit drinking.
It seems that plans cannot keep up with changes. The Inspector of Education gave Zhu Ping'an a glass of wine, and he dared not refuse it, so he had to take it and drink it.
After the interlude, it was time for the Confucius worship ceremony.
The educational official led the way, followed by other officials from Nanzhili, and then the new students who lined up according to the orders from each prefecture went to the Confucius Temple in a mighty procession.
The road from Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall to the Confucius Temple was blocked by yamen runners, and only officials who came to pay homage to Confucius and new students were allowed to travel on the road. At this time, pedestrians were all in the shops on both sides, pointing and admiring the new students who came out one after another.
Paying homage to Confucius is equivalent to the opening ceremony of the school for new students to pay homage to their teacher, the so-called "entering the palace, leaving the provincial school, and embarking on the road to success."
"The beginning of etiquette and morality lies in straightening the body, adjusting the color, and speaking in a smooth manner." - "The Book of Rites: The Meaning of the Crown". The first step in paying respect to Confucius is to "correct the clothes and hats". The school officials and other officials stopped in front of the Confucius Temple and began to straighten their clothes and hats. Zhu Ping'an and other new students did the same. After standing respectfully for a while with "neat clothes and hats", they could enter the Confucius Temple under the guidance of the school officials and other officials.
After entering the Lingxing Gate of the Confucius Temple, you will see a semicircular Pan Pond. Pan means half water, so the pond is semicircular. There are several goldfish in the Pan Pond, and not far away, there is a plaque hanging above the Dacheng Hall. The plaque is engraved with four eye-catching characters: "Teacher of All Ages".
The next step is the Dacheng Hall, where there are five seated statues. The most eye-catching one is Confucius. On the left and right are Yan Hui, Confucius' most proud disciple; Zeng Shen, who was diligent and studious; Kong Ji, Confucius' grandson; and Mencius, a great ancient thinker. In front of the statue of Confucius are Tailao and Wusong, which are used for sacrifice. The previous sacrifices and other rituals were performed by officials such as the school inspector. After that, Zhu Ping'an and other new students lined up to kowtow to the tablet of Confucius, the great teacher, kneeling on their knees and kowtowed nine times. Everyone's expression was very solemn, but there was also a hint of excitement. From then on, their status was very different.
After paying homage to Confucius, Zhu Ping'an felt a dull pain in his knees and couldn't help but miss the modern times of equality and democracy where there was no need to kneel.
After paying respect to Confucius, the only thing left was the Hairpin Flower Banquet, which the Educational Officer held to entertain the new students. Zhu Pingan followed everyone to the banquet site, which was still held in the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall. The government office was very efficient, and when Zhu Pingan and others returned to the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall after paying respect to Confucius, the banquet had already been arranged.
Because of the large number of people, the Hairpin Flower Banquet was an open-air banquet held in an open space in the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall.
There is a wide variety of food and wine, which makes people salivate. (To be continued.)