Chapter 67 County School County School
On the ox cart heading to Hushan County, Su Lanzhang was reciting the text from the previous day. Since Su Fengzhang came back, his days of herding sheep were finally over.
Su Fengzhang was also busy with his own schoolwork, but this did not prevent him from listening to his younger brother reciting his lessons on the way back and forth every day. He felt happy when he saw his younger brother's sad face.
At this time he was wearing a straight robe, which was a kind of crown and clothing worn only by students and was not allowed to be worn by ordinary people.
The Great Zhou Dynasty had a strict hierarchy, and the system of hats and clothing for people of all classes was also relatively strict. Students like them who were still scholars usually wore zhisan, which looked like a straight robe. Because it was blue, it was often called a blue robe. The so-called blue-robed scholar was a student.
The blue robe has a loose body and wide sleeves, a horizontal banner below the knees, wide edges around the edges, and two belts tied in the front. This style of clothing is loose and stretchy, and has a sense of scholarly elegance.
Su Fengzhang also liked this kind of clothes because it was convenient and comfortable to wear. The only disadvantage was that the sleeves were too big, which made it inconvenient to work. Of course, most scholars did not need to worry about working, and he was one of them.
After Su Lanzhang finished reciting, Su Fengzhang nodded and praised, "You recited very fluently today. It's obvious that you put in the effort."
Su Lanzhang said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, I was memorizing my lessons until very late last night."
Su Fengzhang couldn't stand his arrogance and knocked his forehead: "You still have the nerve to say that? What were you doing when I was away? Your progress in memorizing the lessons was less than half of Huihui's."
Su Fengzhang felt that it was a pity that his brother and sister were born of the wrong gender. Su Huihui was studious and had a strong desire to study, but unfortunately, she was a girl and could not go to school, so he could only take care of her more on weekdays.
Su Lanzhang, however, was a lively person, especially when he returned to the village and envied other children who could go up the mountains and down the river. Even though Aunt Bai kept nagging him about it, he didn't change. He was only a little scared when he saw Su Fengzhang.
Su Lanzhang finally felt a little ashamed when this matter was mentioned, and said gloomily: "Huihui is as smart as the eldest and second brothers, but I am not so smart, I am more like my aunt."
Su Fengzhang knocked him again and said, "What nonsense! The key to studying is persistence. As long as you can show Huihui's enthusiasm, you won't have to worry about being surpassed by her."
Su Arong, who was driving in the front, also turned around and smiled, "Isn't it true? Look at me, Sanlang. I'm not as smart as you, but whatever Erlang taught me, I read it over and over again, and wrote it down over and over again, and in the end I still remembered it."
Su Lanzhang looked at Su Arong with a speechless look, and she felt embarrassed to criticize him. This brother could only remember one word every day, and he had forgotten it after a month. He was not a student at all.
It's a pity that Su Arong didn't understand the sympathy in his eyes. He was very happy. He had no chance to study before, but now he can write his own name.
After entering Hushan County, Su Fengzhang first sent his younger brother to a private school, and then went to the county school.
The county school in Hushan County is not big, but there are many students in it. After all, this is the best "school" in Hushan County.
Except for a small number of students whose homes are far away, all the students here are day students. There is no other way. The county school cannot accommodate so many people. I heard that the students who were deregistered have to live in a small room with four people and sleep on a large bunk bed.
As soon as he reached the door, Su Fengzhang saw an acquaintance: "Brother Liu?"
The student surnamed Liu was a student who had not yet passed the imperial examination. When he turned around and saw him, he smiled and said, "It's Brother Su. What a coincidence. Let's go in together."
Su Fengzhang nodded, told Su Arong to go home and pick him up in the evening, and then followed him into the house.
"Brother Su, good morning."
"Brother Su, I still don't understand what the lecture said yesterday. Can I come and ask you for advice later?"
"Brother Su, let's have dinner together later?"
"Brother Su, can you help me see how this poem is done?"
“Brother Su…Brother Su…Brother Su…”
There were many students along the way, and they all greeted him, and Su Fengzhang always had a smile on his face.
The students in the county school were not complicated. Most of them were students who passed the provincial examination but failed the academy examination. A small number of them were scholars, and naturally there was not a single juren.
When Su Fengzhang first entered the school, there were a few people who were not convinced. The main reason was that he immediately took the first place in the county school and directly occupied a place for a government stipend student. Naturally, these people who arrived earlier were dissatisfied.
Those who would be dissatisfied with him were usually scholars, who felt that they were no worse than him. After learning that his father had been an official and had a close relationship with the county magistrate, they would privately mutter about the county magistrate being partial to him.
They had been in the county school for a long time and had made many connections. When they worked together to exclude Su Fengzhang, it made his life difficult.
But within three months, the attitude of this group of people took a sharp turn.
Su Fengzhang is good-looking and knowledgeable. What's more rare is that he is quite graceful in his dealings with others. The teachers in the county school like him and take good care of him. After spending a long time with his classmates, they inevitably develop some affection for him.
Especially after a literary gathering, Su Fengzhang faced the siege of more than a dozen people without being defeated, and he knew how to give them a way out. Slowly, he conquered this group of people. If he had not been so focused on studying and had no intention of forming cliques, he would probably have become the boss.
When they got to the classroom, Liu Xiong couldn't help but turn around and said, "There's also a horseback archery class this afternoon, Brother Su, you have to teach me then."
Su Fengzhang naturally agreed: "Just don't blame me for not teaching well."
Liu Xiong said, "If you're still not good enough, the rest of us will just be ridden by horses. Oh, God is so unfair. Look at you, Brother Su. You're well-educated, good at the six arts, and better looking than most people. And then look at me..."
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Brother Liu, that's not right. If you don't have enough knowledge, how can you enter the county school?"
Liu Xiong was even happier after hearing this, and the two of them had a lot of fun praising each other's business.
Don't think that people in ancient times only knew how to study rotely. In fact, the traditional Confucian curriculum in ancient places, in addition to the Four Books and Five Classics, also included the Six Arts. What are the Six Arts? They are rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.
In other words, in addition to teaching students classics and history and letting them know filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, faith, propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame, county school education also has to teach them the skills of the Six Arts and promote their all-round development in morality, intelligence and physical fitness.
Among the Six Arts, rites, calligraphy and mathematics are actually inseparable, and are also the subjects that are more valued in county schools.
Music, archery and defense are more like interest courses. There is a set time for learning every day, but the county school does not care how well you learn or whether you have talent in this area.
During the annual examinations, the scores of these three subjects are not actually taken into account. It is good if you do well, but if you do poorly it will not affect the final examinations, and many students do not take this seriously.
Su Fengzhang liked it very much. He was very interested in both music and horse riding and archery. Now he could even drive a carriage steadily. His skills were definitely better than Su Arong's.
Compared with serious courses, Su Fengzhang was most interested in the county school's collection of books.
The county seat of Hushan is not big, and the teaching staff here are also limited in talent and knowledge, but the library in the county school is indeed quite old.
It was filled with various classics and histories, and there were even ten sets of the Four Books and Five Classics available for students to borrow. There were also books related to the imperial examinations, such as "The Complete Works of Ethics and Principles", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Memorials of Famous Ministers of Two Dynasties", and "Jinsi Lu".
What is even more rare is that there are some rare books in the library, which are things that cannot be bought with money. No one knows where these books came from in such a small Hushan County.
Su Fengzhang once asked the teacher out of curiosity, but the teacher remained silent and only said that it was donated by someone.
Su Fengzhang just thought that someone donated them many years ago, otherwise, someone would take out so many books at once, and it would be impossible for them to not hear any news and know nothing about it.
Students can use the books in the library as they wish, but they must read them in the county school and are absolutely not allowed to take them out. They can only borrow one book at a time and can only read the next one after returning it after reading it.
Su Fengzhang borrowed a book. If it was not available at home, he would just copy it down. This would not only help him remember it better, but also allow him to bind it later and have one more book in his collection.
There were many students doing the same thing as him, and this was not prohibited. However, it was rare for someone to copy thirty books in three months like him.
After the horse riding and archery class, Liu Xiong felt only back pain and leg cramps. He just wanted to lie down and keep quiet. When he looked up, he saw that Su Fengzhang had already sat up straight and started copying the book.
He copied the book very carefully. The characters on it were square and dense, with strong strokes and rich and majestic style. They were better than those written by professional copyists outside, and he wrote quickly and accurately.
Liu Xiong couldn't help but say, "Brother Su, how on earth did you manage to copy books so well? We both have twelve hours a day, but I'm lucky if I can copy a book in a month, but you can copy one in three days."
Su Fengzhang smiled and said without raising his head, "Nothing special, just practice."
Liu Xiong was also helpless. Isn't it because he is so skilled at copying? This guy spent almost all his time in school copying books except for attending classes.
He had to admit that comparison is the thief of joy. Su Fengzhang read fast, copied books fast, and was even praised frequently by his instructors during riding, archery and music classes.
Doesn't this person have any flaws? Liu Xiong couldn't help but think so.
What he didn't know was that Su Fengzhang's daily schedule was clearly planned, and his efficiency was actually higher after fragmenting his time.
Other classmates thought that he was copying books all day in the county school. That was because copying books could only be done in the county school, and he couldn't do anything else if he didn't copy books.
But after leaving the county school, Su Fengzhang was completely different from other students who buried his head in study. He got up early for a morning run, played the piano before going to bed, and even drove a horse-drawn carriage around. He had both leisure time and academic diligence.
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The author has something to say: I changed the name, but I don’t know if it has been updated. Anyway, I can see that it has been updated.
I want to tell the harmony master that before naming something, I really didn’t do a Baidu search, and then search for 17 or 18 pages to see if there is anything sensitive.
Depressed, sighing
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