Chapter 8 008 First Show of Talent
At the gate of Qingyuan Academy, a tall and handsome man in a green robe stood tall.
There were two people behind him, each holding a tray with wooden slips about two inches long neatly stacked on the tray.
"Please enter the academy in an orderly manner. You must collect your number plate here before entering. The examination results will be announced according to the number on the plate."
“Please keep your number plate safe and register and return it after the results are announced.”
Everyone said yes.
Two young men holding number plates stood on the left and right sides of the gate respectively. The candidates lined up in a long queue and moved forward slowly. After receiving the number plates, they were led to the examination room by children.
The numbers on the license plates are unique and are issued randomly.
The number plate that Du Qingtang received was engraved with "Eighteen". She put the plate close to her body. The boy who had taken shelter with her looked at her. Their eyes met briefly, and she followed the boy to the examination room.
Due to the large number of candidates, the examination room was divided into three rooms: A, B and C, and Du Qingtang was in examination room B.
The pens, ink, paper and inkstone required for the examination were provided by the academy. Du Qingtang arranged them according to his custom and began to grind the ink.
After grinding the ink, the gaunt teacher with gray hair and beard walked into the examination room carrying a thick stack of rice paper.
He said bluntly, "After the exam begins, you are not allowed to look around. Anyone caught looking around will be treated as cheating."
He paused, then added, "But everyone's exam questions are different, so it's useless for you to just look at them."
Candidates: “…”
Du Qingtang: “…”
There are more than one hundred people, and each person has two questions, which means there are two or three hundred exam questions with different contents. It is worthy of being a nationally renowned academy.
There was an awkward silence in the examination room, but the instructor was completely unaware and distributed the examination papers calmly.
Du Qingtang got the test paper, and there were two questions on the Four Books and the Five Classics.
She first took a quick glance to roughly judge the difficulty, and then she started writing on the draft paper.
......
“The way to govern a country of a thousand chariots is to be respectful and trustworthy, to be frugal and loving, and to lead the people in accordance with the times.”[1]
From the "Learning" chapter of the Analects, it means that the principle of governing a large country is to handle state affairs rigorously and conscientiously while keeping one's word, be honest and trustworthy, save on financial expenditures while caring for officials, and make sure that the people are employed in a way that does not delay the farming season. [2]
How to lead a big country should start from the above three aspects.
The so-called self-cultivation, family management, governance of the country, and peace in the world, one must first be down-to-earth, cultivate oneself and family management, before one can become the leader of a country with thousands of chariots.
The first question that comes up is about the philosophy of governing the country. If it were someone else, they would probably panic and lose their composure.
But who is Du Qingtang?
She has been influenced by the theories of Mao Zedong Thought, Mao Zedong Thought, and Marxist philosophy for many years. She has taken three imperial examinations, from the county examination to the palace examination. She has done thousands of similar examination questions, so this kind of question from the Four Books is not difficult for her.
Du Qingtang picked up his pen and began to draft, and soon finished a 400-word essay on the Four Books.
Next is the second question on the Five Classics.
“Confucians do not treasure gold and jade, but loyalty and trustworthiness; they do not pray for land, but uphold righteousness; they do not pray for wealth, but cultivate culture.”[3]
This question is even simpler, starting directly from the aspects of loyalty, morality and knowledge.
Du Qingtang quickly finished writing a 350-word essay on the Five Classics, and after a few minor revisions, he copied it onto the exam paper.
After finishing transcribing, she looked at the hourglass in front of her and saw that most of the time had passed.
The teacher said: "When you have finished answering the questions, you can hand in your paper and leave."
Du Qingtang checked it again and after confirming that it was correct, he chose to hand in the paper early.
It was also a coincidence that just as I walked out of the examination room, the boy who had a brief encounter with me came out from next door.
Meeting Du Qingtang's eyes, the young man smiled, revealing two not-so-obvious dimples: "What a coincidence, you handed in your paper too."
Du Qingtang nodded, took out his number plate and held it in his hand: "It's still early, why don't you and I go to the announcement place and wait together?"
The young man readily agreed: "Good!"
The two of them walked together to the place where the results were announced on the right side of the academy gate, found a sheltered place to stand, and waited patiently.
About an incense stick later, the candidates handed in their papers one after another and came to the results announcement area in groups of three or five.
"My exam questions are policy essays and test poems. The test poems are okay, but the policy essays are quite difficult."
"I had originally planned to get into the top five and be exempted from next year's tuition, but it seems that won't work."
"It's okay, as long as we can pass. The academy has a small test every month and a big test every two months. As long as we get in the top five three times a year, we can be exempted from the tuition for the following year. We still have a chance."
"It's over, it's over. I think I wrote the Pentateuch question wrong!"
"I think so too."
Du Qingtang stood behind the notice wall, taking in the expressions of the examinees, some confident of victory, some discouraged and listless. He then recalled his own two essays and silently assessed them in his heart.
Du Qingtang looked at the young man next to him and guessed that he was also aiming for the top five.
After all, people who come from wealthy families are a minority these days, and most scholars come from ordinary or even poor families.
If one could study in Qingyuan Academy where many talented people gather, and be exempted from a whole year's tuition, thus reducing the burden on the family, I think no one would refuse.
......
On the other side, after all the candidates handed in their papers and left, the teachers sorted out the papers and immediately began to mark them intensively.
Most of the dozen or so teachers here are over fifty years old, have rich knowledge and experience, and can tell the quality of articles at a glance.
"The poem is good, but the policy essay is too flashy and superficial."
"This person answered both questions on the 26th very well, very thoroughly from the details to the whole."
"Let me see... Yeah, it's really good."
"Wrong! All wrong!"
"I don't know what kind of books they're reading or what kind of questions they're answering. It really makes me angry!"
When Principal Yao Xuan and Professor Wen Boqing walked into the classroom, they saw the teachers looking so angry that they were fuming. The two of them looked at each other calmly and stepped forward.
The teachers heard the footsteps, looked up to see who was coming, and quickly put down their brushes and stood up to greet him.
"Headmaster."
"professor."
Yao Xuan waved his hand: "You guys continue, don't worry about me."
The teachers had worked with Yao Xuan for many years and were familiar with his character, so they sat back and began to write quickly with their pens.
There were a total of 140 test papers, and they were all marked in less than half an hour.
During this time, Yao Xuan and Wen Boqing silently looked through the marked test papers. The teachers tried to read something from their faces, but unfortunately, they all failed.
They looked calm throughout the whole process, without any change of emotion.
Finally, the teacher came forward with a stack of test papers and said, "Headmaster, the test papers of the 140 candidates are all here. Please have a look..."
Yao Xuan turned his head and looked at Wen Boqing: "Okay, what do you think?"
Wen Boqing pondered for a moment, then took out five examination papers and asked, "Zi Jing, what do you think?"
Yao Xuan glanced over and showed satisfaction: "My assessment coincides with Xing Rang's."
Wen Boqing smiled and pointed at one of the papers. "Especially candidate number 18. Not only does she have beautiful handwriting, but the ideas she used in her essay on the Four Books are very original and bold. It really caught my eye."
Yao Xuan remained noncommittal, but then changed the subject: "Judging from the writing, he seems promising, but his writing is too sharp and needs more polish."
Wen Boqing twirled his beard and said, "Zi Jing is absolutely right."
After a brief exchange of whispers, Yao Xuan looked at the instructors and said, "These five candidates are included in the top five. Do you have any objections?"
Everyone had full faith in the dean and professor's judgment, but they still went forward to take a look.
"These five people truly deserve the title."
“Although there are flaws, the merits outweigh the flaws.”
In this way, the top five in this assessment were determined.
"Please post the assessment results on the notice board as soon as possible."
"Yes, Principal, Professor, take care."
......
Du Qingtang waited for nearly an hour and finally the young man in green robe arrived.
“Here it comes!”
"I'm so nervous. What if I don't pass the test?"
"Don't worry, Brother Zhang. You came prepared and you won't return empty-handed."
The young man pasted a piece of red paper on the notice wall. All the candidates' eyes were fixed on the red paper, their gazes were so scorching that they almost burned a hole in the paper.
Of course Du Qingtang was watching too.
This body of hers was only twelve years old. Because her family was in financial difficulty, she could not afford to study late into the night by lamplight, but she could clearly see the numbers on the red paper from a distance.
First place, number 18
Second place, number one hundred and fifty-three.
Third place, number 26.
Du Qingtang took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. The number "Eighteen" on the license plate sparkled in the sunlight.
Obviously, she passed the assessment with the first place, and she won't have to worry about tuition fees next year.
"Congratulations." The young man's voice was soft and gentle, and he smiled warmly. Seeing Du Qingtang's eyebrows slightly raised, he explained, "I just accidentally saw your number plate. Congratulations on passing the test."
Du Qingtang didn't take it to heart: "Thank you, how about you?"
The boy's smile faded slightly, but soon returned to his face as he showed her his license plate: "Me too."
Seventy-two.
The fifth place is number 72.
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
After a brief silence, the young man took the lead in showing goodwill and bowed to Du Qingtang: "My name is Fu Wen."
Du Qingtang's eyes flickered slightly, and he returned the greeting with a normal expression: "I am Du Qingtang."
In front of the notice wall, the young man announced, "Candidates who have passed the examination, please bring your number badges to the next door to register your name and ancestral home, and receive two sets of academy uniforms."
"In addition, you will receive a set of four treasures of the study and two taels of silver as a reward for passing the assessment."
There was cheering from the crowd.
The young man continued, "Classes will officially begin in three days. Please don't be late."
"yes!"
The forty candidates who passed the examination showed their number badges, registered, received the academy uniforms, four treasures of the study and two taels of silver, and left with happy faces.
"Classmate Du, see you in three days."
"See you in three days."
Du Qingtang waved goodbye to Fu Wen and walked back home in the midday sun.
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