But after saying goodbye to Xu Wei, Xu Yan returned to Chen's house. After meeting his grandfather, he went back to Gushan Academy to look for Mr. Qian.
Qian Dehong was obviously surprised that Xu Yan came back so quickly. But since the student had already returned, there was absolutely no reason to chase him away.
Since he brought back another jar of liquor, Qian Dehong was ready to tell him something important.
"My dear disciple, tomorrow I will establish a poetry club at Gushan Academy. I've even thought of a name for it: Gushan Poetry Club."
Qian Dehong took a sip of wine and spoke leisurely.
Create a poetry club?
Xu Yan thought to himself that Mr. Qian was addicted to literature and art. Building an academy was not enough, he also wanted to establish a poetry society.
"Master, so you are the president of the Lonely Mountain Poetry Society?"
Xu Yan flattered him.
"Of course. In this Lonely Mountain, who else besides my master deserves the title of president?"
After a short pause, Qian Dehong continued, "All of my friends will be here tomorrow to show their support. My dear disciple, why don't you come and join in the fun if you have nothing to do?"
Xu Yan thought to himself that Mr. Qian was truly hypocritical. He clearly loved him the most, yet he acted as if it didn't matter to him. It was clear that Mr. Qian was trying to promote him, relying on his own reputation to create opportunities for him to shine.
"Student obeys."
Xu Yan saw through it but didn't say anything, just smiled faintly.
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The Ming Dynasty was awash with poetry societies. Since the Xuande and Zhengtong eras, many famous societies have emerged over the past century. The Jiajing era was one of the most populous periods, as scholars, rather than seeking official positions, naturally sought fame.
As the saying goes, there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Hangzhou has an especially large number of poetry societies, large and small, scattered around the West Lake.
However, Xu Yan got up early in the morning to wash up, and then, under the instructions of Mr. Qian, he and other students of the academy set up the venue for the poetry club.
To be honest, this was his first time working with his fellow students. After all, Mr. Qian had been giving him special training for a while, and he had almost no chance to interact with other students in the academy individually.
This allowed Xu Yan to observe these students closely.
Among them were children in their teens as well as “old scholars” in their thirties and forties. The age range was quite wide.
But they all have one thing in common: calmness.
Not being happy with things or sad with yourself, perhaps this is the highest state of life.
The environment of Gushan Academy is very good, so I don’t feel annoyed when working.
After the concerted efforts of more than a dozen academy students, the venue for the poetry society gathering was finally arranged.
Although Xu Yan was tired and sweating, he was also very happy.
Mr. Qian was still fishing, as if he would not show up until the last moment.
One after another, some guests were invited, and Xu Yan and his fellow disciples invited them in one by one.
Seeing that Mr. Qian still had no intention of moving, Xu Yan approached him and whispered, "Master, would you like to go out and take a look too?"
Qian Dehong shook his head: "The ones coming now are just some young people. Call me when everyone else is here."
Xu Yan thought to himself that you are clearly trying to act like a big shot.
Are the younger generations so shameless?
If you think about it carefully, it seems to be true.
Helplessly, Xu Yan had to go back to the entrance of the academy and start the reception work again.
"Ah, it's Mr. Lu. Please come in."
"Master Shen, my master has always told you that your poetry is excellent."
"Master Han, why are you coming if you want to? You're being too polite."
Xu Yan was so busy that he felt like a receptionist.
Hey, what's going on?
My dear teacher, you shouldn’t use child labor like this!
Although he had some complaints in his heart, Xu Yan still did his reception work very carefully.
In addition, he is handsome and has a great appearance, which has won him a lot of praise.
Putting these aside for now, Qian Dehong, as a descendant of the School of Mind, has a very high status in the literary world.
When he appeared, everyone saluted him.
Some younger generations even performed a long bow.
Qian Dehong naturally felt very pleased and waved his hand for everyone to take their seats.
Today is the day when the Gushan Poetry Society was founded. As the founder, Qian Dehong naturally expressed his views.
However, this speech was quite long, starting from when he entered officialdom, to when he was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown to devote himself to teaching. It could be said that it was a long recount of his life journey.
Many of Qian Dehong’s friends were present at the banquet, and some even shed tears.
Mr. Qian had a rough life! But without such ups and downs, how could he have such a profound understanding of life and such great achievements in literature?
A blessing in disguise.
After a few words of emotion, Qian Dehong raised his glass and said in a clear voice: "On this beautiful day in late autumn, I have invited you all here to announce that the Gushan Poetry Society will be established from now on!"
Finally getting to the point!
Xu Yan was very excited.
This was probably the first poetry society he joined, right? In the Ming Dynasty literary world, not joining a poetry society was as disparaging as not having attended a private academy.
It may be said that those who are close to the water get the moon first, or it may be said that good things should be kept within the family.
After all, this was a poetry society founded by his teacher, so as a student, why wouldn't he join it?
As the president of Gushan Poetry Society, Qian Dehong should be the first to initiate the topic.
He stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Lotus is a popular flower in Jiangnan, so let's use lotus as our theme."
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in a tall hat and wide belt stood up.
He bowed to Qian Dehong and then said in a gentle voice, "I apologize for my poor performance in front of Mr. Xushan."
After saying this, he began to pace with one hand behind his back, chanting as he paced:
"Lotus leaves and branches are level with the water surface; I return home from picking flowers as the sun sets.
A green meadow divides the north and the south, and the sound of singing still echoes around the levee."
After the poem was recited, the whole room applauded.
"What a wonderful poem! He is indeed the most talented person in Ningbo."
"Shen Mingchen's reputation is truly well-deserved!"
"They say Shaoxing is full of talented people, but I think Ningbo's are not bad either."
Shen Mingchen remained calm despite being praised so highly, and bowed to everyone.
Xu Yan was surprised. He didn't expect Shen Mingchen to come today.
This guy is the uncle of the cabinet's chief minister, Shen Yikuan. Of course, Shen Yikuan is still just a child of the same age as Xu Yan.
Shen Mingchen became famous not only because he had a nephew who was the prime minister, but also because of his poetry.
Although he had no official title, he wrote more than 7,000 poems in his lifetime, and was known as one of the "Three Great Commoner Poets of the Wanli Period" along with Wang Zhideng and Wang Shucheng.
Xu Yan also admires Shen Mingchen and thinks he lives a free and easy life.
At this time, Qian Dehong winked at Xu Yan, and Xu Yan thought to himself that this is the teacher asking me to continue the poem.
This poetry reading was originally organized by Qian Dehong to make Xu Yan famous, so naturally there would be opportunities for Xu Yan to show off.
No one knows a student better than his teacher. Qian Dehong knew that Xu Yan was extremely talented in poetry, so he wanted to use his influence in the literary world to create as much momentum for Xu Yan as possible.
In this way, you can gain a reputation as a talented person, which will make it easier for you to get along in the future, whether in the literary world or in official circles.
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