Xu Yan couldn't help but be overjoyed after hearing this.
If he were to be tested on contemporary Chinese literature, he might be a little nervous, but as a time traveler, writing poetry was no problem for him.
The young man immediately bowed and said, "I'm sorry for being so late."
He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then paced back with one hand behind his back.
After pacing for more than ten steps, he slowly chanted:
"There are three rooms on the lake where books are stored, with pines reflecting on the windows and bamboos reflecting on the gate.
Lead the cranes across the bridge to watch the snow, and send the monks back to the temple with the clouds.
The light red lychees are thousands of miles away from home, and the sparse shadows of plum blossoms are in a bay of water.
The noble character of Hejing is now gone, but future generations can still live on Solitary Mountain."
Qian Dehong listened attentively, and continued to mutter to himself after Xu Yan finished reciting the poem.
After a long pause, he sighed with regret, "What a wonderful line! The noble character of Hejing is now gone, but future generations can still live on Solitary Mountain! I never thought you could write a poem with such artistic conception at such a young age. It's truly rare and precious."
Xu Yan's poem really touched his heart.
After being dismissed from office, Qian Dehong lectured in various places in Jiangnan. He eventually lived in seclusion in Gushan because he admired Lin Hejing and wanted to live such a leisurely life.
In one poem, Xu Yan encompasses all the images that represent Lin Hejing, including pine, bamboo, crane, and plum, and expresses his deep remembrance of Lin Hejing in the final line. To be able to write such a perfect poem on a given theme in such a short time is, if not a peerless talent, then certainly a gifted individual.
Qian Dehong was a Jinshi, so he was naturally extremely proud.
In addition, he was Wang Yangming's direct disciple. In order to ensure the inheritance of the School of Mind, he set a very high threshold for accepting disciples.
Therefore, although Gushan Academy had been established for more than a year, he had only accepted five students in total.
At this moment, he was moved by Xu Yan's talent and had the idea of taking him as his disciple.
"If you really want to study with me, it's not impossible. But there's one thing I want to say first."
"Mr. Oyama, please speak."
Xu Yan suppressed the joy in his heart and said respectfully.
"My teaching is not as rigid as the official schools. Are you willing to accept it?"
Qian Dehong looked at Xu Yan quietly, waiting for his reply.
He had made this very clear. Young people generally studied for the imperial examinations, often with the goal of achieving fame and status, and their primary focus was the Four Books and Five Classics. He would, of course, teach these things, but not just for the sake of teaching. In other words, he was waiting for Xu Yan's choice. If he was simply pursuing a degree, then studying the Confucian classics through official education would be more appropriate. However, if he became his disciple, he might achieve a significant breakthrough in a particular field.
To Qian Dehong's surprise, Xu Yan paid his respects to him without any hesitation.
"Student Xu Yan pays his respects to his mentor."
Before Qian Dehong could react, Xu Yan offered him the apprenticeship tea with both hands: "Master, please have some tea."
This kid simply doesn't give him a chance to regret!
Qian Dehong nodded slightly, took the teacup from Xu Yan and drank it all.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Master."
Xu Yan was certainly no fool. Having such a great scholar as his teacher was better than having ten or eight ordinary teachers. Even if Professor Qian Dehong's methods might be a little more personalized, he could accept that. What he needed more right now was to expand his thinking.
This was naturally the scene that Old Master Chen was most happy to see. He stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Hongfu, in that case, I'll leave my grandson in your care."
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After his grandfather and uncle left, Xu Yan officially followed Qian Dehong to study.
Before Xu Yan, Qian Dehong had already accepted five students.
The age span is huge, from a child in his early ten years old who has just started to learn to an old scholar in his forties who has failed in the imperial examinations many times.
Xu Yan discovered that Professor Qian Dehong and his colleagues had different approaches, and that teaching students in accordance with their aptitude was the most appropriate description.
Of course, what Xu Yan needed to improve most right now was his writing skills. After all, his previous writing skills were only average at best. If he wanted to achieve a breakthrough in the short term, he could only work on his problem-solving ideas and writing logic.
This, of course, requires guidance from an expert.
After Xu Yan's hint, Qian Dehong finally understood what this new student meant.
So he asked a question to test Xu Yan's ability.
The title is very classic: If the people are well-fed, who will be lacking?
This question comes from the Analects of Confucius. It is considered a classic because the famous officials Wang Ao and Wang Jizhi wrote a model eight-part essay.
Any complete collection of contemporary essays would include this article. Qian Dehong naturally assumed that Xu Yan had read it as well.
Although this is just copying someone else's work, the resulting article won't be too bad. Qian Dehong's goal was to see Xu Yan's basic skills.
What a pity...Xu Yan really hasn’t read this article!
He later became a professor of Ming history. While literature and history are inseparable, there are still differences. Although Xu Yan had read some eight-part essays, he had never seen Wang Ao's article. As for his soul host, Xu Xiaolangjun, he naturally hadn't read it either, which also fits his image as the landlord's foolish son.
But now that the teacher has already given out the questions, I have to go on even if I have to bite the bullet.
So, after a brief review of the topic, Xu Xiaolangjun began to write the first eight-part essay in his life.
As for how it turned out...you can imagine.
When Xu Yan handed the article he had worked so hard to write to the teacher, Qian Dehong's face instantly turned dark.
It’s not because of anything else, Xu Yan’s handwriting is just too ugly!
Regardless of how the article was written, Qian Dehong was furious just by the ugly handwriting.
Writing is the face of a scholar!
Even if we talk about it from a utilitarian perspective, writing is a plus.
To prevent favoritism and fraud, the imperial examination system of this dynasty continued to implement the "covering names and changing the writing" system, but this was only done in examinations at the provincial, metropolitan, and palace levels. Smaller examinations like the county, prefectural, and imperial examinations were not covered.
In Qian Dehong's opinion, Xu Yan would have been eliminated in the third round of examinations just because of his poor handwriting, and would not have been able to make it to the provincial examinations at all.
Seeing the teacher's face turning blue and purple, Xu Yan was confused and had no idea what the problem was.
This can't be entirely blamed on him. After all, he didn't practice calligraphy well in his previous life, so it's already pretty good that he can write like this.
But Qian Dehong took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
After a long time, when he felt that his emotions had almost stabilized, he dared to bite the bullet and read the article written by Xu Yan.
Seeing this makes me even more angry...
How can this article be so... so terrible!
Qian Dehong really didn't expect that such a talented young man would have such poor writing skills.
This is a serious imbalance in subjects!
Qian Dehong felt both amused and helpless when he thought about how he had accepted such a student despite having such a great reputation.
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P.S. Sincerely asking for a wave of recommendation votes. Lao Kun is still waiting to use the recommendation votes to buy calligraphy copybooks for Xu Yan to practice calligraphy.
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