The two bamboo poems written by Zhu Ping'an are both from Zheng Banqiao's poems. Zhu Ping'an slightly adapted the second poem to make it more suitable for himself. In fact, Zheng has dozens of other poems about bamboo, but these two are enough.
If I write them all, it will be too shocking! I don't like showing off! If I wasn't so depressed that I couldn't vent, and Guo Ziyu was eager to tease me, I wouldn't have written a single poem. I don't have much interest in becoming famous.
After writing two poems, Zhu Pingan put down his brush and said calmly:
"I'm sorry for making a fool of myself."
The three words "you made a fool of yourself" seemed to turn into a slap in Guo Ziyu's face again. Guo Ziyu looked at Zhu Ping'an speechlessly. Listening to his words "you made a fool of yourself", he felt bitter. What did you make a fool of yourself for? It was obviously me who made a fool of myself!
Soon, some curious people copied several copies of the two poems written by Zhu Ping'an and circulated them throughout the Lu Ming Banquet, drawing cheers and applause one after another.
The poem was soon passed to the first table, where the reaction to these two poems was stronger than that of all the other poems today.
Only about ten minutes after he finished writing the two poems, Zhu Pingan heard people around him stand up and respectfully call out, "Master Zhang."
When he looked up, he saw an old man with a white beard and dressed in official uniform standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile.
Before the Luming Feast began, this gentleman had spoken, so Zhu Ping'an recognized this examiner Zhang at a glance, and quickly stood up, bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Zhang."
Mr. Zhang looked at Zhu Ping'an, stroked his beard, and said to Zhu Ping'an directly with both relief and calmness:
"It was I who insisted on placing you at the bottom of the list."
It is I who insisted on putting you at the bottom of the list!
This sentence caused an uproar, this... ... people around were all stunned, how could the examiner deliberately put Zhu Ping at the bottom of the list
Any grudge
Did Zhu Ping'an offend the examiner
So what rank should Zhu Ping'an have originally been
For a moment, there was a lot of discussion all around.
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan looked up at the examiner Zhang, who had a frank expression on his face. Although he did not give any extra explanation, Zhu Pingan understood from his eyes.
This is the kind of treatment that Zhang Juzheng once received. Is this something I have witnessed?!
However, Zhu Pingan didn’t care at all whether he was at the top or the bottom of the list. How should I put it? It was just like the poem by Cangyang Gyatso:
Top or bottom
The level is there
No increase or decrease
My ability level will not increase or decrease because of being at the top or the bottom of the list. Moreover, when I saw that I was at the bottom of the list, I became more motivated to work harder. It can be said that I basically achieved the effect that Zhang, the chief examiner, had hoped.
Just when everyone thought that Zhu Ping'an, a 13-year-old boy, would definitely slam the table and become manic in a minute, Zhu Ping'an did not complain at all. Instead, he bowed his hands with gratitude and thanked him:
"Thank you for your love and care. Although Ping An is young, he understands your deep feelings."
Seeing Zhu Ping'an's pure mind and no complaints, Lord Zhang was very pleased to hear his words. "When I first saw your test paper, I sighed that you were a talent for the top prize. But when I opened the cover of the draft list, I found that you were only thirteen years old. I was worried that you were too ambitious and might force your growth. It would be a loss for our Ming Dynasty to have another romantic and literary young man in the officialdom. If you want to be sharp, you have to polish it more. But today, judging from your behavior and your work, 'every branch and leaf is full of emotion'. It is my fault to put you at the bottom of the list. However, I hope you have great ambitions, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and study hard step by step. Be like Yi Yin and Xiao He, not a scholar who became famous at a young age."
Yi Yin and Xiao He were both talented prime ministers whose names are remembered throughout the ages.
When everyone heard this, they were all a little surprised that Chief Examiner Zhang had such a high opinion of Zhu Ping'an.
Be modest and cautious, take solid steps...
These words were like a revelation, making Zhu Pingan feel relaxed all of a sudden.
I couldn't eat just now because of what I saw yesterday. Isn't that a misunderstanding? I wanted to get fat by eating a little, but ended up eating myself to death.
An angry young man, haha.
The requirement is to have ambition, but also to take it step by step! Do your best and have a clear conscience.
The worry on Zhu Ping'an's face disappeared, and he suddenly felt enlightened. He couldn't help but bow deeply to express his gratitude to the examiner Zhang:
"Thank you for your teachings, Ping An is grateful!"
Seeing Zhu Ping'an suddenly enlightened, Chief Examiner Zhang didn't know that Zhu Ping'an suddenly enlightened because of his anger at yesterday's scene. He thought that Zhu Ping'an understood his profound meaning deeply.
Therefore, Chief Examiner Zhang was even more pleased.
For a time, Zhang, the examiner who cared for the younger generation, and Zhu Ping'an, who understood the intentions of the elders, became a story of elders supporting and caring for the younger generation in the eyes of everyone. Perhaps in the near future, this story will spread further and may even become a literary story that is often mentioned by future generations.
"Then I feel relieved. Come, follow me to the front to share this banquet." Chief Examiner Zhang stroked his beard and invited Zhu Ping'an to go to the front table to enjoy the Luming Banquet.
Chief Examiner Zhang's invitation made everyone admire Zhu Ping'an even more. Just based on this action of Chief Examiner Zhang, they knew that the young man at the bottom of the list would definitely have very good test scores. If Chief Examiner Zhang was not so eager to take care of the younger generation, the top scorer would probably be named Zhu.
"We are at the same table today, but I will still have the advantage in the future. I am afraid that people of my rank will not be able to get in line in the future."
Examiner Zhang stroked his beard and said jokingly.
Although it was a joke, it was no less than thunder in everyone's heart. If even a person of Zhang's rank was not qualified to share a table with Zhu Ping'an, then how high must Zhu Ping'an be...
Why does Chief Examiner Zhang think so highly of a young man like Zhu Ping'an
Although everyone was puzzled, they still looked at Zhu Ping'an with a higher regard.
"Master Zhang, please don't make fun of me. Ping An is self-aware. If it weren't for Master Zhang's teachings, I'm afraid Ping An would have gone astray."
Zhu Pingan looked at the eyes of the crowd, smiled bitterly, and bowed to Lord Zhang. Lord Zhang's words might have put him in the spotlight again.
Just now you said you were worried about being too aggressive, why are you not afraid now? !
In fact, Zhu Ping'an's two "Bamboo" poems are the culprits. As the saying goes, a person is like his handwriting, and in fact, a poem is even more like his person. The first "Bamboo" uses bamboo to describe himself, and actually writes about bamboo, but praises people. It says that bamboo "holds on to the green mountains", "roots break rocks", and "wears thousands of blows", revealing his indomitable and tenacious image of standing tall, with sincere feelings and profound meaning. The other poem shows that he is not a romantic and literary boy, but comes from a poor family and understands the sufferings of the people.
In addition, Zhu Ping'an understood his deep meaning, and his original worries no longer existed, so Chief Examiner Zhang no longer concealed his high hopes for Zhu Ping'an! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
ps: The tigress wanted to go shopping, and I couldn't stop her. She threatened to either buy or sell! So I had to accompany her to buy.
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