Under Xu Jie's gaze, Zhu Ping'an respectfully unfolded the Qingci on the table with both hands and shifted his gaze to the Qingci. While shifting his gaze, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Xu Jie's gaze from the reflection of the teacup at hand.
Xu Jie looked amiable and appreciative, but Zhu Pingan read a trace of testing in his admiring eyes. This look was a bit like returning to the modern elementary school when the teacher called on students to answer questions.
Zhu Ping'an realized that this was a test concerning his future.
Zhang Juzheng was so highly regarded by Xu Jie that he must have been tested by Xu Jie, probably more than once. Of course, the content of the test must have been different from this time, and Zhang Juzheng must have performed very well in the test, which made Xu Jie very satisfied. When Xu Jie was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, he often talked with the new Hanlin scholars, which must have been a process of testing and selecting useful talents.
It is a test, but also an opportunity.
Everyone will encounter many opportunities in life, just like there is a guardian beast beside each rare elixir in fantasy fairy tales, there will also be many tests before opportunities, and only after passing the tests can you grasp the opportunities.
This time is no exception.
If I pass this test, I believe it will be of great benefit.
Xu Jie was the future chief minister of the cabinet, a great man who overthrew Yan Song, the forbearing Gou Jian of the Ming Dynasty, the successor of Wang Shouren, and the most powerful person in the future Ming Dynasty besides Emperor Jiajing. Moreover, the most important thing was that Xu Jie liked to promote talents he recognized. Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Hai Rui were all talents recognized by Xu Jie, especially the first two. The dream of every official in the Ming Dynasty was to enter the cabinet, so Xu Jie promoted Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng to the cabinet, and the two realized their life ideals in the cabinet.
Xu Jie's recognition was also a life-saving talisman. Hai Rui was recognized by Xu Jie. When Emperor Jiajing wanted to kill Hai Rui several times, it was Xu Jie who saved Hai Rui on the grounds of "killing himself to gain fame".
Zhu Ping'an is not a pedantic person. He believes that it is easy to be an official if you have someone in the court. If he can be appreciated and recognized by Xu Jie, it will be of great benefit to his future career.
Of course, Xu Jie's test was not so easy to pass. During the years that Xu Jie was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, only a few people, such as Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, passed Xu Jie's test and were truly recognized by Xu Jie.
Now is not the time to hide anything, you have to show your true abilities.
So, Zhu Ping'an became serious, his eyes focused on the poem on the table, and sparks seemed to be bursting in his eyes.
Xu Jie's Qingci, written with a swift and graceful brushstroke, is like a dragon that has awakened its wisdom and gained enlightenment, leaping and swimming on the rice paper:
"In the thirty-first year of the reign of Emperor Wei Jiajing, on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, the emperor and his subjects bow to the great saintly ancestor, the supreme great Dao, the Golden Palace Mysterious Origin Heavenly Emperor.
I have come to offer sacrifices to the year, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, I have ordered the Taoist priests and the patriotic scholars to perform rituals and hold a ceremony in the Taoist temple. The tiger has returned to heaven after his longevity. I write this letter to the heavens: I pray that the heavens will show mercy and give me the protection of the Tao. I hope that I will be able to follow the restoration and be safe forever. All the wars will cease in the four seas and nine continents, and all the crops will be plentiful. I hope that I can share the blessings with millions of people. I sincerely say this.
This is a Qingci with standard format and style, gorgeous rhetoric and profound language. It is one of the best Qingci works.
If we just look at the content and genre, with Zhu Ping'an's current attainments in Qingci, there isn't much fault to be found.
But these are just superficial, Qingci also needs to look at the inner side. Even if I put a lot of thought into it and just work hard on the choice of words and sentences, I guess it won't satisfy Xu Jie.
Fortunately, I have studied "Zhaijiao Qingci Jing" carefully. There is a very important sentence in the text, which is similar to Bai Juyi's famous sentence "Articles are written for the times, and poems are written for events". Zhu Ping'an believes that the main theme of "Zhaijiao Qingci Jing" is actually just two words "Your Majesty's Will".
Is Qingci written for the gods? Yes and no.
The Qingci itself is a memorial dedicated to heaven, and of course it is for the gods to read. But in reality, the one who actually reads the Qingci is the person, Emperor Jiajing. There is only one criterion for judging Xu Jie's Qingci, and that is whether it can satisfy Emperor Jiajing!
It is impossible to judge Qingci simply by looking at its surface.
You need to understand the background and purpose of the creation of this Qingci in order to better appreciate it.
"The mighty tiger's life span is over, and he returns to heaven." From this profound Qingci, we can roughly tell that it is a Qingci of the nature of a sacrificial text. The mighty tiger's life span is over, and he returns to heaven. In short, the mighty tiger is dead.
Mighty Tiger
Is he the mighty tiger general of our dynasty? I have only heard of the mighty tiger general, but I have never heard of the mighty tiger general of the Ming dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, Ma Chao was named the mighty tiger general. Could it be that there was another mighty tiger general in the Ming dynasty
While Zhu Ping'an was appreciating the Qingci, Xu Jie was also looking at Zhu Ping'an, observing his performance and giving a score to the youngest top scholar in the Ming Dynasty.
"Teacher's work is magnificent, elegant and popular..." Zhu Ping'an said after reading the poem carefully.
Class C!
Listening to Zhu Ping'an's words, Xu Jie smiled kindly, but in his heart he gave Zhu Ping'an an unsatisfactory grade of C.
The talent of the top scholar, is this all? ! Zhu Ping'an's performance today somewhat disappointed Xu Jie. Although Xu Jie still smiled amiably, he was disappointed in his heart. There were many people who flattered others in the court, and there was no shortage of Zhu Zihou...
"However, articles are written for the times, and poems are written for events. I don't know why the teacher wrote this piece?" Zhu Ping'an raised his head, looked at Xu Jie and asked softly.
Hearing
Xu Jie's eyes lit up, he smiled amiably and nodded. His originally disappointed mood suddenly became excited again, as if he heard a military drum.
Great good!
The question hits the point.
Just based on this question, it is enough to be ranked A. Zhu Zihou, I have noted this name and I can observe him carefully in the future.
"Your Majesty's beloved cat, Weihu, passed away at noon..." Xu Jie replied.
Damn it! It turned out that the tiger that I had spent so much time thinking about was actually a cat! Zhu Pingan pulled the corner of his mouth helplessly.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to Zhu Ping'an's mind, and a famous historical anecdote illuminated Zhu Ping'an's mind like lightning.
According to historical records, his current colleague, Yuan Wei, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, once wrote a eulogy for Emperor Jiajing's beloved cat. The eulogy included a line "transforming a lion into a dragon", which won the favor of Emperor Jiajing. Soon after, Yuan Wei was promoted to the position of Shaozai.
Emperor Jiajing was a famous poop-shoveler in history. In addition to cultivating immortals and refining elixirs, he also had a special liking for cats. When he was a child, his mother gave him a cat. In the deep palace, this cat who loved to play with hydrangeas filled Emperor Jiajing's childhood, so Emperor Jiajing had a deep relationship with cats. In history, after Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, two cats were recorded in history. The first one was called Xuemei, and Emperor Jiajing loved it deeply. He held a ceremony to confer the title of "Qiulong" in his capacity as an emperor. The second cat was called Shimao, which was a very spiritual lion cat. After Shimao died, Emperor Jiajing buried it in a golden coffin in Wansui Mountain and ordered his ministers to write Qingci sacrificial texts. It was at this time that Yuan Wei wrote the famous "Transform Lion into Dragon" sacrificial text, which made him rise to prominence.
The lion-cat incident was recorded in history around the 33rd year of Jiajing's reign. Now it is the 31st year of Jiajing's reign, so the lion-cat had not yet been favored, and Yuan Wei's Qingci had not yet appeared.
Of course, to be on the safe side, Zhu Pingan decided to confirm again, "Teacher, I wonder what breed your Majesty's cat named Huwei is?"
"It's a tabby cat, also called a tiger-skin cat. Your Majesty, this Tiger Power was selected by the Cat Room. It has yellow and white stripes and looks like tiger skin. Your Majesty has named it General Tiger Power." Xu Jie replied.
Hearing this, Zhu Ping'an nodded and looked as if he was thinking deeply, but he already had the answer in his mind.
After a while
Zhu Pingan raised his head and looked at Xu Jie, pointing to a place in the Qingci, and said in a thoughtful tone, "Teacher, if this place'The tiger's might ends' is changed to'The tiger turns into a dragon', would it be safer?"
"Turning a tiger into a dragon?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Jie was shocked and repeated the sentence involuntarily. Even someone as skilled in cultivating his energy could not help but blush with excitement, and he even pulled out one of his beards in excitement.
Originally, I just regarded this Qingci as a test, but I didn't expect that this boy would give me such a huge surprise.