The first session of the county examination was called the main session, which consisted of two essays from the Four Books, one essay from the Five Classics, and one five-character six-rhyme test poem. These questions were relatively simple and basic, and much less difficult than the prefectural and academy examinations.
When Zhu Ping'an saw the questions on the wooden board, a smile appeared on his lips. What a coincidence! He had tried to solve these three questions on the meaning of the Four Books and Five Classics before.
The first question is from "The Analects of Confucius. On Government": Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which stays in its place and is surrounded by other stars.
The second question is an excerpt from The Doctrine of the Mean: The way of a gentleman is like climbing a high place.
The third question is about the meaning of the Five Classics from the Book of Documents: Quiet words are often contrary to the norm, and respectful and respectful words are overwhelming.
Zhu Ping'an had solved the three articles of the Four Books and Five Classics before, so he could easily come up with them. It would not take any time to write them down, so he was not in a hurry. Zhu Ping'an copied the three questions neatly in small regular script on the draft paper and began to look at the last question of this exam.
The last topic is the title of the test poem, which is a line of poetry: Orioles are singing in the shady summer trees.
This is how the test poems in the imperial examinations were. Most of the topics were excerpted from a line of poetry by a poet from the previous dynasty or even an allusion, and then you started to write the test poem based on this line of poetry.
Zhu Ping'an also copied this line of poetry on the draft paper and added the word "fu de" in front of it. This was the format of the examination poem for the imperial examination.
This question is also very simple. This poem is from Wang Wei's "Wangchuan Village Works after Accumulated Rain". The full poem is: The accumulated rain makes the smoke from the empty forest slow, and I steam quinoa and cook millet to feed the eastern fields. Egrets fly over the vast paddy fields, and orioles sing in the shady summer trees. In the mountains, I practice tranquility and watch the morning hibiscus, and under the pines, I pick sunflowers in the dew. The old man in the wild has stopped fighting for a seat with others, and why are the seagulls still suspicious of each other
The test poem does not require you to have any ideas. The format meets the requirements and one word is enough, that is, praising merits and eulogies. Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, had already abolished poetry and songs in the provincial examinations and imperial examinations. The test poem only appeared in the county examinations of the children's examinations, and it almost had no impact on the results of the children's examinations. The children's examinations were mainly based on eight-part essays.
After reading all the test questions, Zhu Ping'an had an idea in mind. He placed the test papers and straw papers on one side of the table, pressed them down with a stone to prevent them from being blown away by the north wind, then took out the food from the basket and began to eat with relish.
The cooked braised meat had been cut into pieces by the inspecting officials. Zhu Ping'an took out a pair of chopsticks, picked up the meat and chewed it slowly.
I got up so early in the morning and haven’t had breakfast yet. The exam will last for a whole day, so it won’t be too late to write after breakfast.
Zhu Pingan thought it was normal for him to have breakfast, but other candidates did not think so. Especially the students who lived in the same inn with Zhu Pingan, they recognized that the one who ate with relish in the examination room was the famous young man who was bitten by a snake and heard the birds cry in the woodshed, so they shook their heads slightly and looked at Zhu Pingan with sympathy. Their thoughts were roughly like this:
This silly boy has given up on himself.
Sure enough, this idiot only knew how to eat after entering the examination room.
Those who make up the numbers are there to make up the numbers, and their mission is accomplished once they enter the venue.
... ...
Basically everyone concluded that Zhu Ping'an failed the exam.
After eating the braised meat and some preserved fruits, and finally drinking a glass of water he brought with him, Zhu Ping'an burped, causing countless people around him to roll their eyes and label him a foodie and a fool in their minds.
Ignoring the gazes of the people around him, Zhu Pingan ate and drank his fill, took a piece of draft paper and began to draft...
"This foodie is also good at making a fuss. After eating, he wiped his mouth and started writing and drawing seriously. It must be nonsense. Oh, what a pity. How could I, after ten years of studying, share the exam with such a stupid foodie? Even if I pass the top three exams this time, it's still a pity."
"I am ashamed to be in the same examination room with this person."
The people around him all thought so and once again laughed at and despised Zhu Ping'an in their hearts.
Time passed slowly, and when the sun was at noon, people found that the glutton and idiot had started eating again. This time, he did not write or draw after eating, but took out a rabbit fur blanket, covered himself with it, and fell asleep on the table.
A rotten tree cannot be carved
A wall of dung cannot be plastered
Regarding Zhu Ping'an's behavior of sleeping on the table, people unanimously applied Confucius' original words about his disciple Zai Yu sleeping during the day to Zhu Ping'an.
At this point, the candidates felt that this guy was a funny guy sent by God. You can eat, drink, defecate, urinate and sleep at home, and it will be very comfortable. Why bother coming to the examination room to suffer
Of course, there were also kind-hearted students who had just finished two questions in the examination room and expressed deep sympathy for Zhu Ping'an's self-destructive behavior: This guy is so stupid, but he has the courage to take the exam. His courage is commendable, what a pity.
As for Zhu Ping'an's behavior of sitting up straight and writing on the test paper from the draft paper after sleeping for more than half an hour, it was regarded by the candidates as bluffing.
Zhu Pingan answered calmly without knowing that he had spent the day in contempt, ridicule and sympathy...
As it was almost evening, some people finished their papers one after another and handed in their papers and left under the guidance of the clerks. After a while, Zhu Ping'an also handed in his paper and left with the majority of people.
The students who had not yet handed in their papers expressed deep contempt for Zhu Ping'an's early handing in of his papers. They thought he must have handed it in because he couldn't sit still! He must not have finished writing!
There are four sessions in the county exam. The second session will be held two days after the first session. For example, if the first session is held on the 9th, the second session will be held on the 12th. The two days in between are for the examiners to mark the papers. The results will be announced at noon on the 11th. The names of those who passed the first session will be listed on the list. Those on the list can take part in the second session. If you did not pass the first session, you will go back to where you came from.
After returning to the inn, Zhu Ping'an put his things away, washed up, changed into clean clothes, and went to the lobby for dinner.
When he arrived at the lobby, Zhu Ping'an ordered two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, a bowl of beef soup, and a stack of two steamed buns. When he was about to eat, Zhu Ping'an found that many people sitting in the lobby were pointing at him, shaking their heads and whispering, and there were occasional sneers.
What's going on
When Zhu Ping'an was confused, his uncle came over and explained it to him.
"Alas, my son, what can your uncle say about you? You fell asleep in the examination room during this test. Your behavior has made you a laughing stock. Everyone says that you are the best of the world!"
Uncle Zhu Shouren looked very distressed.
"Zai Yu of the time?" Zhu Ping'an seemed to be so busy eating that he didn't hear what his uncle said before, and when he heard the name Zai Yu of the time, he put down his chopsticks, his eyes lit up, and repeated it.
Uncle Zhu Shouren nodded vigorously.
"Thank you for the compliment." Zhu Ping'an received an affirmative answer from his uncle, but a shy smile appeared on his honest face.
puff
There were people eating nearby who burst into laughter when they heard Zhu Ping'an's answer. Damn, this guy couldn't just know that Zai Yu was Confucius' student and thought we were praising him.
"You, alas..." Uncle shook his head and left with great sorrow.
Zhu Ping'an looked at the expressions of his uncle and everyone in the hall, smiled faintly, lowered his head and continued to eat his meal.
No wonder my uncle failed the exam after taking it for more than 20 years, and no wonder so many people in the hall failed the exam either.
They read books too one-sidedly, with short-sightedness. They only saw Zai Yu taking a nap during the day, but did not see that Zai Yu was one of the "Ten Philosophers of Confucius". He was eloquent and Confucius listed Zai Yu as a genius in the language class, ranking higher than Zigong. Uncle and others did not have a deep understanding of Zai Yu. Zai Yu was 19 years younger than Confucius, had excellent eloquence, and was one of the members who followed Confucius to travel around the countries. During this period, he served as an envoy of the team and went to Qi, Chu and other countries, making great achievements. In the Tang Dynasty, Zai Yu was posthumously named "Marquis of Qi", in the Northern Song Dynasty he was given the title of "Duke of Linzi", and in the Southern Song Dynasty he was given the title of "Duke of Qi".
Even in this dynasty, that is, the Emperor Jiajing who is in power now, changed the name of Zai Yu to "the sage Zai Yu" in the ninth year of Jiajing. People like my uncle still have the impression that Zai Yu is a rotten wood who sleeps in class.