Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 46 Entering the Book Tower

Chapter Forty-Six: Entering the Book Tower

The Book Tower is an important place for enshrining the Book Heart. The county magistrate can only open the Book Tower with the approval of the Holy Temple, so that people can understand the Book Heart.

Once someone understands it, it will be of great benefit to everyone in the county.

However, while there are many benefits, the difficulty is also extremely high; one must pass four stages to qualify.

At this moment, the area around the Book Tower was packed with people, all of whom were scholars from Qingyun County, there to see if Ye Ru could pass the Book Tower's challenges.

"Have you heard? A mere student has actually qualified to enter the Book Tower. Do you think he can pass all four trials?"

"For a student to pass all four tests is as difficult as climbing to heaven, and even a scholar who has passed the county-level tests cannot pass the third test."

"Mr. Fang Zifeng failed in the third round back then, and I'm afraid he'll have to waste this spot again this year."

Countless people whispered among themselves, their tone tinged with disdain.

"Look, they're here. It's Ye Tongsheng!"

At this moment, someone exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.

Then, a passage was automatically opened up.

When competing with Ningfeng County, Ye Ru's actions deserve their respect.

Magistrate Zhang led Ye Ru through the crowd to the very center of the Four Platforms and Three Famous Pavilions, where a tall tower stood.

"This is where the inferior book heart is enshrined, the book heart that was written in one stroke."

"If you can grasp the essence of this book, you can reduce the speed at which you write poetry or articles by one-third."

"As for whether you can obtain the heart of this book, that depends on your fate."

Magistrate Zhang pointed to the magnificent book tower and spoke slowly.

"However, this Book Tower has four levels, and each level has a test. If you can pass them, you can obtain the low-grade Book Heart."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ru nodded, a fiery glint in his eyes. If he had this book, he could make up for the lack of time he spent writing poetry.

Immediately afterwards, Ye Ru pushed open the heavy stone door of the book tower and stepped inside.

"Father, do you think Ye Ru can pass these four tests?"

Zhang Wenying frowned and said.

"I don't know. Whether he can pass or not depends on his fate. After all, in all these years, no one has ever been able to pass all four trials and obtain that low-grade book heart."

Magistrate Zhang shook his head and said.

"Yes, I visited this book tower when I first came here to take up my post. At that time, I was a scholar, and I failed the second round."

Fang Zifeng said with a solemn expression.

This book is of great benefit to scholars, but it requires talent and learning to acquire.

“Ye Tongsheng is currently riding high. This trip to the Book Tower might temper his arrogance so that he can better study the classics in the future.”

County Magistrate Song nodded in agreement.

Almost everyone believed that Ye Ru would not be able to pass the four trials and obtain the Book Heart at this moment.

"Such abundant talent! Studying here would probably make my thoughts even more agile."

Upon entering the tower of books, an ancient and rustic atmosphere immediately struck Ye Ru, leaving him in awe.

The walls are covered with murals by ancient sages.

Suirenshi invented artificial fire, ending the era of ancient humans eating raw meat and drinking blood...

The ancient people of Da Chao built nests of wood to avoid harm to their flocks, providing them with shelter from the wind and rain...

Fuxi established the hexagrams to observe the heavens and the myriad things, teaching people how to fish, enabling them to live and work in peace and contentment, and to engage in production...

A descendant, for the sake of the people's well-being, angrily shot down the sun, and from then on the climate stabilized, allowing all things to grow...

The water god Gonggong, unafraid of power, angrily rammed into Mount Buzhou, causing the pillar of heaven to collapse and the earth's axis to break. He sacrificed his life to achieve justice...

One mural after another rapidly moved across Ye Ru's desk, cleansing his study and solidifying his artistic spirit.

"Who has come here? Are you here to participate in the trial and gain insights into the Book of Hearts?"

An old man appeared as Ye Ru was stunned, and said sternly.

"Yes, student Ye Ru has come here to participate in the trial in order to compete for the title of 'Book Heart'."

Ye Ru bowed respectfully.

"Throughout history, no fewer than a hundred people have come here to try and write the heart of the book, but none have succeeded. If you are willing, you may give it a try."

The old man nodded, and then said again:

"This tower has four levels, each with different questions. Only those who answer all four questions correctly can comprehend the essence of the book; if they miss even one, they will be excluded. Are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Let me ask you your first question: During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Seven Scholars of Jian'an were famous literary figures and Confucian scholars. So, where did the Seven Scholars of Jian'an originate?"

The old man with the light and shadow asked.

Upon hearing this, Ye Ru frowned. This question would be easier if it only involved the given name, but it became more difficult when it included the ancestral home.

Outside the tower of books, the exam question also appeared as light and shadow, for everyone to study and ponder.

"At first glance, this question does not seem difficult, but with the addition of ancestral origin, anyone who has missed some points in their memorization will definitely not be able to answer it."

After a moment's thought, he quickly flipped through the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), and only after a minute did he recite it aloud:

"Kong Rong of Lu, Chen Lin of Guangling, Wang Can of Shanyang, Xu Gan of Beihai, Ruan Yu of Chenliu, Ying Yang of Runan, and Liu Zhen of Dongping are the Seven Scholars of Jian'an."

"good."

The old man in the radiant light nodded, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before disappearing.

At the same time, a beam of light as thick as an arm descended upon Ye Ru's head, eventually enveloping him completely.

Upon discovering this talent, Ye Ru was astonished to find that his study was gradually developing into a stone house, as if it were under construction.

The transformation from a room to a house marks the evolution of the library palace.

"He passed the first level."

Magistrate Zhang and his entourage were outside the Book Tower when they discovered that the first floor was already lit up, and they exclaimed in surprise.

"If we can pass the fourth level, the success rate of the children's examination in Qingyun County will increase greatly."

Fang Zifeng nodded, his eyes wide with shock.

"Now we can only hope that Ye Ru can pass the fourth level with his talent."

Xu Qingyuan and the others thought to themselves.

After answering the first question correctly, Ye Ru stepped towards the second level of the book tower.

Here, the original murals of the early inhabitants are gone, replaced by depictions of the history of the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, including those of King Wen and King Wu of Zhou.

After Yu the Great controlled the floods and established the Xia Dynasty, the abdication system was changed to a hereditary system.

There was the Shang Dynasty, led by Tang, who revived the dynasty. He started his rebellion at Hao, and his spearheads pointed directly at the Xia capital, eventually overthrowing Xia Jie.

King Wen of Zhou was imprisoned and wrote the Book of Changes. King Wu of Zhou issued a proclamation to punish King Zhou of Shang and exterminate demons.

In the second level, the old man of light and shadow reappeared and then got straight to the point:

"There is a poem written by Fu Yun, a great Confucian scholar of the Jin Dynasty. The poem is: 'At midday, all shadows are straight; at dusk, all shadows are slanted.' Why are the shadows straight at noon and slanted at dusk? What kind of pattern is hidden in this?"

Ye Ru was stunned for a moment, then looked curiously at the sun in the sky, and then looked down at his own shadow.

This is clearly an astronomy test question from junior high school.

However, at this time, the civilization of the Confucian and Taoist continent had not yet reached that stage, and there were some terms they did not yet know.