binnovel Chapter 19 A First Try: "Exhortation to Learning"
Chapter 19 A First Try: "Exhortation to Learning"
Chapter Nineteen: A First Try - "Exhortation to Learning"
After nearly three thousand candidates entered the examination rooms, the teachers of Wenxing Private School began their inspection. Meanwhile, on the Wenqu Terrace in Qingyun County, an old man dressed in the robes of a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) sat cross-legged, using his talent to survey the entire private school.
Generally speaking, in the Confucian and Taoist continent, the three things that must be done when taking the imperial examination are to burn incense for the saints, perform divination, and worship the examination god.
Since it was a minor imperial examination, the participants did not pay homage to the sages but went directly into the examination room.
The examination room consisted of rows of tables, with each table spaced one meter apart.
Although the house wasn't too small, it was still a bit inconvenient to move around freely. This imperial examination lasted three days, and leaving one's seat midway through was considered as submitting the paper and ending the exam.
Ye Ru's seat was in room number five of the T-shaped building.
"I want to see just how amazing this imperial examination is!"
Ye Ru clenched his fist. Sunlight shone on the sundial, and at the hour of Si (9-11 AM), the bell rang out again.
As the bell rang, the teacher who had previously inspected Ye Ru's book box handed out a stack of exam papers covered in ink stains, one by one.
Holding the exam paper, still fragrant with ink, Ye Ru used his experience from his previous life taking the college entrance exam to quickly scan it. The exam paper was divided into four parts.
The first is the "Tiejing" test. "Tiejing" refers to the examiner randomly selecting a passage from the Five Classics, covering a few words or sentences with a piece of paper, and requiring the examinee to write it down from memory, similar to a fill-in-the-blank question in the college entrance examination.
Secondly, there is the "Mo Yi" (墨义), which is a chapter on the interpretation of the classics. It is a speech written on behalf of the sages. However, the "Mo Yi" in the examination for students here is just a question based on Chinese sentences in the classics. The examinee writes an essay to explain the meaning of the classics, but the wording must imitate the tone of the ancients, similar to today's short answer questions in politics.
Then comes the test on poetry and prose. Given a scene or mood, you are asked to either create your own or recite from memory the best classical poems or prose written by predecessors.
Secondly, one should examine the glorious deeds of various great Confucian scholars.
"Thank goodness there weren't any of those awful math problems, otherwise, even ten heads wouldn't be enough."
Ye Ru gave a wry smile, thinking to himself that in his previous life, he had only scored in the teens in math since elementary school, and even now he had to count on his fingers to do arithmetic.
If there were questions from "The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" and not from the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, he would probably have to give up and surrender.
After reviewing the exam paper, Ye Ru laid out all the writing implements on the table, placed the paperweight on top of the paper, and after reading the first question on the classic text, began to grind the ink and ponder.
The first task requires memorizing the entire text of Xunzi's "Exhortation to Learning." Ye Ru knew that this was the first chapter of the classic book "Xunzi," also known as "Exhortation to Learning."
"Encouraging Learning" means encouraging learning. Ye Ru knew that this article systematically discussed the theory and methods of learning. The first paragraph discussed the importance of learning, and the second and third paragraphs discussed the steps, content, and approaches of learning.
The central ideas of the entire text of "Exhortation to Learning" are: 1. Learning should never cease; 2. One should focus one's mind on one thing; 3. Learning is about learning one thing at a time.
After grinding the ink, Ye Ru picked up his brush and wrote: "A gentleman said: Learning should never cease."
"Indigo dye is extracted from the indigo plant, yet it is bluer than the plant itself; ice is made from water, yet it is colder than water..."
"...Heaven sees its brightness, earth sees its light, and the virtuous man values its wholeness."
It took Ye Ru fifteen minutes to memorize and write down the text of "Exhortation to Learning".
This sutra has fifty questions, except for the first one which requires memorizing the entire text.
The second question was about the fourteenth chapter of the Heart Sutra, the section on detachment from appearances and the extinction of suffering.
However, this part stumped Ye Ru. He thought about it for half an hour but had no clue whatsoever.
Moreover, this is a Buddhist classic, and it was even tested in this continent where Confucianism and Taoism are the orthodox traditions. Although it was only a small question, it proves that the Confucian and Taoist continent should also be a place where a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend, and ideas are liberated, and there is no literary inquisition.
After grinding the ink, Ye Ru glanced at the Heart Sutra with reluctance, and then wanted to give up.
However, at that moment, a page suddenly appeared in his mind from the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries).
The Heart Sutra.
After the Heart Sutra appeared, the pages flipped rapidly, finally settling on a golden page.
Ye Ru was taken aback, looking at the paragraph marked with red lines on the golden-yellow page, then overjoyed, he picked up his pen and wrote:
"When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajnaparamita, he perceived that the five aggregates are all empty, and thus transcended all suffering and distress..."
"
"The imperial examinations here are completely different from those in ancient times; they are really difficult."
After finishing writing, Ye Ru wiped the sweat from his forehead and complained.
Although Dong Zhongshu dismissed all other schools of thought and exclusively promoted Confucianism in this Confucian and Taoist continent, thus achieving unification, he still gave other schools of thought the opportunity to develop.
Therefore, the imperial court here was not as extreme as it was in ancient China.
He then gathered his thoughts and continued writing. With the help of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), he found it much easier to solve problems.
Ye Ru's writing flowed like a divine hand. Apart from "Exhortation to Learning" and "Heart Sutra", the remaining questions included "Han Feizi", "Guoyu", "Book of Rites", "Book of Poetry", "Mencius", "Guanzi", and most importantly, "Free and Easy Wandering" by Zhuangzi. It can be said that he tested all the classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
The Analects appears most frequently, which reflects the dominant position of Confucianism.
After spending half a day answering the questions in the sutra, Ye Ru began to write the interpretation of the sutra.
The text consists of three chapters, all from the Mencius.
"The people are the most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the least important."
After a moment's thought, Ye Ru began to write:
"I believe that the people are the foundation of the country. As Xunzi said: 'The ruler is the boat, and the common people are the water. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it. If the ruler is dissolute and indulges in wickedness and trusts sycophants and petty men, there is a risk of losing the country. Therefore, the ruler should care for the people, so that the old have something to rely on, the strong have something to use, and the young have something to grow up in."
Ye Ruxian emphasized the importance of the people, borrowing Xunzi's words to compare the people to water and the state and ruler to a boat, writing that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. He used this to tell the rulers that they should let the people live in peace and prosperity, exempt them from exorbitant taxes, and let everyone fulfill their duties.
The second and third interpretations of the classics were both selected from excerpts in the Analects. Ye Ru drew inferences from one instance and wrote down the interpretations in an hour and a half.
After finishing writing these interpretations of the classics, Ye Ru discovered that he only had one-third of his talent left, which was just enough to finish writing the next question.
Then his talent and ideas were exhausted.
Taking a deep breath of the slightly humid air, Ye Ru looked up at the sundial and noticed that everyone around him was still pondering the questions from the first part of the sutra.
Just as Ye Ru was about to start writing the exam paper again, a sharp voice rang out, causing Ye Ru's face to suddenly darken.
"Ye Ru, you actually copied someone else's exam paper! You're a pest in the examination hall! A disgrace to the county!"