Many people at the literary gathering watched this scene silently, and almost everyone understood that this literary gathering was mainly aimed at Zhang Longxiang.
Both Lumen Hou and Gou Bao had very high status and it was impossible for them to argue with Fang Yun in public. However, it was different for the Guangzhou prefect. His literary rank and official position were lower than Zhang Longxiang's. No matter what he said, people would not feel that he was suppressing Zhang Longxiang.
Fang Yun looked at the Guangzhou prefect, and he already understood the strategy of these people. From the beginning, the Guangzhou prefect was irritating him and constantly asking him to speak. After all, Zhang Longxiang had done some ridiculous things in the past, and he smashed the Qishan Marquis's mansion a few days ago and almost killed Gou Bao's son. These people didn't need to defeat him completely, they just needed to find a little mistake of his, and then exaggerate it, and then combine it with the suspicion of treason, so that there would be a reason for Gou Bao or Lumen Marquis to take action, and then take back the flag of the Qishan Army, making him infamous.
"Unfortunately, I am not that Zhang Longxiang..."
Fang Yun thought to himself, smiled slightly, and said: "Sir, I think we should not embarrass this young man. Please read the next poem."
The Guangzhou prefect smiled and said, "My Lord, you haven't answered my previous question. I am the host of this literary gathering. You cannot use the title of Marquis of Zhujiang to suppress me. Let me ask you again, do you think this one-word poem can become the champion of this literary gathering?"
Fang Yun tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said, "Since the prefect is pressing me, I will speak frankly. As a scholar, you need to have many abilities, such as the ability to read, the ability to remember, the ability to understand, the ability to extrapolate, the ability to create, etc. At the same time, you should also have the ability to judge. What is considered a judgment? After writing a poem or article, before getting comments from others, you can know the level of the article and know who will like it and who will not like it. This is only a low-level judgment. A higher level of judgment is that before writing a poem or article, you can judge whether you have the ability to write it and what level you can write. Lord Jie Yuan, do you understand?"
Fang Yun turned his head and looked at the Guangzhou champion.
The young man hurriedly stood up and bowed to Fang Yun, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Long Xiang, for your teachings. I have vaguely understood a lot."
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Judgment is not only about judging one's own poems and articles, but also about the level and other abilities of others. The prefect's mind is full of twists and turns, but I am different. I dare to speak frankly about poems. I have my own judgment. This strange poem is good, but it will never be the champion of this banquet. However, don't be discouraged, little champion. I will give you a poem to encourage you."
The young champion was filled with joy, bowed and said, "I am all ears."
Zhang Longxiang looked towards the north, his eyes full of disappointment, and said slowly: "I have been in prison for ten years. I often look back on the past. Those vague memories often suddenly come to mind, making me feel like I am back in the past. Seeing the young talent in front of me, I can't help but think of the scenery I saw when I was stationed by the Yangtze River. I will take the scenery of that year and send it to you today."
Fang Yun paused for a while and recited the poem slowly.
"The sun sets over the mountains. The Yellow River flows into the sea..."
After hearing the first two sentences, most people thought they were mediocre, but a few people who were proficient in poetry either paid close attention or nodded slightly. These two sentences are indeed straightforward and fluent. At first glance, there are no exquisite sentences, but they have a good momentum and the meaning is also very simple. It is nothing more than the sun slowly setting against the mountain and the turbulent Yellow River flowing continuously to the ocean.
However, these mere ten words almost completely capture the scene of sunset in the Yellow River region.
This scene is obtained by one person, but it spans thousands of miles; it is taken at one moment, but it lasts for hundreds of generations.
All the famous poets present sighed inwardly, saying that just based on these two points, one was already close to reaching the city and approaching the territory of Mingzhou.
They were more serious and listened carefully to the following sentences.
However, Xun Tianling's eyes moved, and he thought that once this cross appeared, the momentum and scenery were exhausted. If he tried to describe the scenery again, he would probably lack the momentum to continue.
“… If you want to see further, you must climb to a higher level!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the famous poets present changed, and Lu Menhou, Gou Bao and Xun Tianling were all moved.
Xun Tianling said happily: "There is a great trend in a few words, and a thousand miles can be discussed in a few feet. Wonderful! The scenery is integrated into the rationale, and the rationale increases the scenery of thousands of miles. It is even more wonderful!"
After hearing Xun Tianling's praise, many people suddenly realized that the subtlety of the first two lines of the poem lies in its meaning, not in its words.
An old scholar then said, "Everyone, there is a big difference between reading two lines and reading the whole poem. 'The sun sets over the mountains, and the Yellow River flows into the sea' is what the poet saw from the first floor. But then, the poet has to go up another floor, and the view is thousands of miles away. What a vast scene that is?"
The scholars present were immediately attracted by the old scholar's words, and couldn't help but imagine, what would they see if they could reach a higher level
Many people feel itchy in their hearts, as if they are itching for something, and they want to use poetry to express it, but they also know very well that the poem is finished.
“Like the blank space left in a good painting, this is another wonderful aspect of this poem.”
"This poem has the illusion of splitting time and space. The first two lines are about scenery, while the last two lines make people feel as if they are traveling through time and seeing the majestic beauty from a higher place."
"There is another wonderful thing about this poem, that is the two antithetical couplets in the four lines! 'The sun sets behind the mountains' is matched with 'The Yellow River flows into the sea', 'If you want to see a thousand miles away' is matched with 'Climb to a higher floor', which is very neat."
"This poem is a model of five-character quatrain, with excellent rhythm and is easy to read."
"It's a pity that this is a poetry gathering. If it were any other gathering, I would have won the first prize with this poem!"
"If nothing unexpected happens, this poem will definitely top the list of Hanlin Literature!"
"Doesn't this mean that next month's issue of Holy Dao will publish many of Zhujiang Hou's poems?"
"Great! Great! Great!"
The literary gathering was in full swing and the Guangzhou prefect wanted to stop it, but after thinking it over, he finally shut up.
Fang Yun smiled and looked at the young champion, and asked, "Can you understand this poem?"
The young champion bowed again and said respectfully, "I can probably only understand a little bit."
"But it's okay."
"You are warning students that we should not be blinded by what we see. No matter how beautiful or magnificent it is, it is only a temporary sight. Only by practicing diligently and reaching a higher level can we see a more vast and beautiful scenery. Similarly, if the scenery in front of us is not good, we don't need to be discouraged. We can continue to practice and reach a higher level, and we will definitely see a more magnificent world."
Fang Yun showed a little surprise, and his eyes showed admiration, and said: "Well, you can see the opposite with the right view, and you have lived up to the poem I gave you."
Many of the scholars present nodded. Many of them were not particularly convinced of the new champion at first, but now he was able to draw inferences about other situations in such a short period of time, which proved that he indeed had the talent of a champion.
.(To be continued.)