The news that Zhang Longxiang wrote poetry swept across the Shengyuan Continent like a gust of wind.
Since only scholars who have passed the Juren examination or higher could be included in the list, the rest of the people could only wait in busy areas for the Juren examination to announce it.
There were several juren from other places in Wenyouju who had not gone to see the list of candidates because they were discussing their seats in the literary gathering. When they heard someone shouting, they immediately took out their official seals. Everyone nearby shut up and looked at these juren quietly.
After a few breaths, a scholar opened his eyes, nodded, and said, "Zhang Longxiang has indeed composed a poem, titled "Viewing Dongting Lake and Presenting it to Lord Qing"."
The restaurant owner immediately shouted, "Quick! Bring out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone!"
The waiter at the side immediately picked up the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone and rushed towards the scholar.
The scholar nodded, picked up his pen and started writing, reciting as he wrote.
In August, the lake is calm and the water is clear.
The mist rises from Yunmeng Lake, and the waves shake Yueyang City.
If you want to help but have no boat, it is shameful to stay idle.
Sitting and watching the fisherman, I can only envy the fish.
After the scholar finished reciting the first and second couplets, everyone nodded, but after listening to the whole poem, many people showed surprise.
"It's a good poem, but... it shouldn't be like this..." Zhang Zongshi and several other scholars murmured to themselves.
"Is there anything special about this poem? Could you explain it a little, Mr. Wang?" a young scholar asked the old scholar beside him.
The old scholar smiled and said, "I am not talented enough to talk about the last couplet and the last couplet. I will only talk about the first and second couplets. The first four sentences are really good. The first sentence, 'the lake is level in August', is a straightforward description, but it accurately describes the characteristics of Dongting Lake in August, that is, the lake water has risen to the same level as the shore. The word 'level' makes people feel as if the water of Dongting Lake is almost overflowing. The clever use of words is rare. Fang Xusheng once wrote a poem called 'The bright moon rises from the sea, and the world shares this moment'. In it, he used 'rise' instead of 'rise', which shocked the world. It was also at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Of course, the word 'level' is slightly inferior to 'rise'."
The scholars nearby nodded slightly, not expecting that this old scholar had such extraordinary knowledge. They all listened quietly, and even the candidates put down their official seals.
"In the second sentence, 'Hanxu mixed with Taiqing', 'Hanxu' refers to the reflection of the sky on the water surface, and Taiqing refers to the sky. The water reflects the sky and is mixed with the sky. The previous sentence describes the state of Dongting Lake, and this sentence describes the appearance of Dongting Lake. The word selection is very accurate, which is really excellent. This can't help but remind people of Zhang Mingzhou's poem 'The sun sets behind the mountains, and the Yellow River flows into the sea'. The scenes in the two sentences are both beautiful as paintings."
"That's right, sir." The young scholar nodded repeatedly.
"Yunmengze is another name for Dongting Lake, and Yueyang is another name for Baling City. Water vapor rises from Dongting Lake, and when the wind blows, the waves roll. The wind and waves are so strong that they seem to shake Baling City. Do you know the beauty of the phrase 'The waves shake Yueyang City'?"
"Student... I don't know." The boy blushed slightly.
"The first two lines describe the lake being full and the lake surface blending with the sky. One line describes the abundance of water and the other describes the breadth of the water surface. However, no matter how it is written, it is just a big lake. Now it is written that the waves of Dongting Lake seem to be able to shake Baling City, which echoes the previous lines and makes Dongting Lake look like an ocean. It is said that Zhang Mingzhou is an extraordinary person. After seeing this poem with my own eyes, I have to admire his talent."
"Sir, why don't you tell me the last four sentences?"
The old scholar smiled and said, "I am not well-educated and cannot understand the last four sentences." After that, the old scholar stopped talking.
Many scholars understood what the old scholar said, but some people also pondered carefully and vaguely understood some things.
The restaurant owner was a shrewd man. Seeing that the old scholar did not talk about the last four sentences, he knew that there was something taboo, so he smiled and said, "Come here, give this old gentleman a bottle of twelve-year-old Baling Laojiao! Who can continue to interpret the first four sentences? If you are approved, our restaurant will also give you a pot of twelve-year-old Baling Laojiao!"
The eyes of many scholars who came to the wedding lit up. Baling Laojiao is one of the three famous wines in Xiangzhou. Wines over ten years old are extremely expensive. I didn't expect that a twelve-year-old wine could be given away here.
Then a middle-aged boy who loved drinking said, "I have read the whole poem and thought of more. As everyone knows, although the wind and waves in Dongting Lake are strong in autumn, it is too exaggerated to say that 'the waves shake Yueyang City'. So why did Zhang Longxiang write like this? In my opinion, there are two possibilities. The first possibility is that Zhang Longxiang was full of ambition and thought that he could attack Baling City with the power of heaven and earth, seize the position of the top of the four great talents, and surpass Fang Yun with his writing! As for the second possibility, it is just that Zhang Longxiang's thoughts were fluctuating and his talent was shaking. He wanted to show his prowess and echo the wind and waves of Dongting Lake, so as to form 'waves shaking Yueyang City'."
"That's right!" Many scholars nodded slightly. If they spent time, everyone present could make this interpretation, but the fact that he was able to interpret the poem so quickly as soon as it appeared showed that this person was quite talented.
"Okay, I'll give this guest a bottle of twelve-year-old Baling Laojiao!"
So, everyone started discussing the first four lines of the poem. They all felt that the words "flat", "mixed", "steamed" and "shake" were used very accurately. They were clearly words, but they made Dongting Lake move. It was indeed a rare good poem, at least a poem of Dafu, and possibly even a poem of Mingzhou.
However, many people keep talking about these four sentences and avoid the last four.
After discussing for a long time, a scholar said with a smile: "Brother Zongshi, I see that no one mentioned the last four sentences. You should stand up and tell the truth."
Many scholars looked at Zhang Zongshi with a smile. He was the only one present who was most suitable to take on this dirty job.
Zhang Zongshi knew someone would say that, so he smiled helplessly and said, "I don't think the last four sentences are anything special. They are just saying that Zhang Longxiang felt ashamed to be idle during the reign of a wise monarch, and wanted to cross Dongting Lake, but he had no oars. He sat on the shore and watched those fishermen, feeling envious but not catching any fish. The last four sentences are simple and easy to understand, and there is no truth or falsehood in them."
"Zongshi, you have changed and are no longer honest!"
"Yes, Brother Zhang, you are avoiding the important issues. This is not good, very bad!"
"As the owner of the Void Saint Blood Poetry Wall, if you don't take action, who will? Tell me, I am a juren and have an official seal. I can post your words on the discussion board." A juren said with a smile.
Everyone asked Zhang Zongshi to tell the truth, and Zhang Zongshi could not refuse, so he had to speak.
"In that case, I don't care about bearing the infamy. Even if Zhang Mingzhou is a hero of Liangjie Mountain, he still needs to be judged! The first four lines of this poem are good poems, but the last four lines can only be said to be fake poems! The last four lines can be summed up in one word, asking for an official position. In my opinion, the last four lines are nothing more than saying one thing. Zhang Longxiang wants to leave the literary world. He compares breaking through the barriers between the two worlds to crossing Dongting Lake, but he can't find a suitable place to settle down. After all, Shengyuan Continent is unfamiliar to him. So, he said against his conscience that Qing Jun is a wise monarch and he feels ashamed in front of him. He doesn't envy those people who fish, but envies the officials who are valued by Qing Jun. He wants to hold an important position in Qing State! The sentence 'waves shake Yueyang City' actually implies that he can act as Qing State's vanguard to attack Fang Yun and Jing State!"
.(To be continued.)