When Xie Shu heard this, his eyes lit up slightly. So that's it.
I am so lucky that my teacher has the same views on the theory of fu as I do and can understand my ideas.
Jiang Hong looked at Xie Shu, and said meaningfully: "So, I have always believed that selecting scholars based on their literary skills is a problem, and that selecting scholars based on their practical knowledge is the right way."
However, Jiang Hong's expression was solemn at this time, and he changed the subject and said, "But Rongzhan, you must know that the exam room is changing rapidly, and any mistake may lead to the loss of several years of time! Have you ever thought about what would happen if I was not the examiner of the exam that day, or if I did not check every test paper one by one?"
Xie Shu was shocked when he heard this: "Teacher, what you mean is..."
At this time, Xie Shu had already understood what Jiang Hong said. If there had not been such a coincidence that day, Zhang Sheng would have failed without a doubt...
But Xie Shu's doubts were not dispelled. If the teacher's intention was just to remind him of this, there was no need to tell him what he thought was the way to recruit talents.
At this time, Jiang Hong pondered and said, "Rongzhan, are you curious now? Since I appreciate judging talents by their practical knowledge, why didn't I continue this approach in the imperial examinations?"
Xie Shu heard this and said carefully: "I do have this question in my mind, but I also know that since it has always been like this, if you want to clear the morale and change the course of the world with a well-crafted article, you will inevitably encounter countless difficulties and obstacles. I believe that the teacher has encountered the same difficulties."
These words seemed to evoke a trace of unspeakable emotions in Jiang Hong. He sighed and said, "It seems easy to reform the decadent style of poetry and prose, but it is an extremely difficult task. As long as you participate in the imperial examination, no matter what style of writing it is, its carrier is first of all literary words. Let's not talk about strategies and classics. Poetry and prose have been famous for their beautiful words and strict rhythm since ancient times.
But beautiful words do not mean elaborate literary works, and strict rhythm does not mean rigid writing. Unfortunately, most people do not understand this truth, and finally, due to the utilitarianism of the imperial examination, poetry and prose become complicated and meaningless. "
After Jiang Hong finished speaking, he calmed down and said, "Rongzhan, I told you this today so that you know that you can have your own ideas about academic writing, and I encourage you to have these ideas because it is not wrong. However, the imperial examination is an exam that only cares about the results, not the process. Before you pass the exam, no matter how many ideas you have, it is useless."
After hearing Jiang Hong's words, Xie Shu's previous doubts all disappeared, and he also had a deep understanding.
It's not that he has never taken exams before. Xie Shu was one of the best in many exams. However, just like the imperial examination, all exams have their drawbacks.
For example, their criteria for selecting talents are based on the ability to take exams, memorize and solve problems, but this does not mean that this is undesirable.
But under the limitations of social development and productivity levels in ancient times, this was already a good solution, but... not the best solution.
Xie Shu saw the remaining melancholy on the teacher's face and said softly, "Teacher, I understand your good intentions. You want to tell students that they should be extremely cautious when facing the imperial examination. Even if they know the drawbacks, they should not act recklessly. They should focus on taking the exam and not make any mistakes. Students will keep your teachings in mind.
But sir, I still think this Ode to Origin is well written. I personally think that Senior Brother Zhang Sheng is a man of great talent who can write such an Ode to Origin. He may not be unaware of this. But he still thinks so, perhaps because of you... He understands that you can know it. "
Xie Shu changed his address to "senior brother" to address Zhang Sheng because he remembered that the chief examiner of the imperial examination had another title called "Zhi Gongju", a position that only very prestigious ministers could hold.
In addition to the relationship between examinee and chief examiner, there is actually a teacher-student friendship between the examiner and the successful examiner. Finally, the students who pass the examination will specially prepare gifts to pay a visit to the chief examiner, who is called "the host".
For the disciples, the master’s kindness is as heavy as a mountain.
Because only the chief examiner holds the real power of selection and rejection, even if the other deputy examiners disagree, as long as the chief examiner believes that the person can pass the examination, he can let him pass the imperial examination and decide his ranking.
For a student, the preferences of his teacher are of utmost importance, so Xie Shu guessed that Zhang Sheng must have chosen to write such an essay after knowing that the examiner was his teacher.
Jiang Hong was slightly stunned. He didn't expect Xie Shu to say such a thing.
However, Jiang Hong recalled that after he selected Zhang Sheng's article from the candidates, he looked at his answers to the next two exams and found that he did well in both. So Jiang Hong selected him as the first member of the examination.
After the exam, Zhang Sheng, like other successful candidates that year, submitted a visiting card and gifts to his house.
But for Jiang Hong, he never cared about it, nor did he need others to be grateful to him for it. Besides, the custom between the master and the disciples would often lead to conflicts of interest and collusion between cliques, and Jiang Hong had never seen any of them back then.
However, later, after Zhang Sheng entered the Hanlin Academy, he was still treated with great courtesy. When he left the capital this time, he also came to see him off in person.
Jiang Hong collected his thoughts and looked at Xie Shu with a smile in his eyes: "Maybe so, but this method is not advisable. The way of poetry is still to follow the rules of rhetoric."
Xie Shu smiled faintly and said, "Sir, I want to try both styles. Please teach me."
In Xie Shu's view, if you want to do something, you have to do it to perfection, and he also applies the same to modern examinations.
It is not enough to only know one way of solving a problem. It is better to know every way. Only then can you be considered prepared.
Jiang Hong's eyes flashed with surprise when he heard this, but he did not refuse. Instead, he nodded and said, "Okay. How about this, I will give you another essay today. This essay was also written on the day of the imperial examination. Although the words are gorgeous, they are not impetuous. It is rare to have some freshness. You take it and study it carefully. I will teach you tomorrow."
At this time, Jiang Hong thought of something and said, "Oh, by the way, Brother Zuo Ran is coming to my house. You can go with me to meet him. He said that he accepted a beloved disciple a few years ago. I don't know how he is."
Jiang Hong left Jinling for the capital when he was thirty years old. Naturally, he got to know Zuo Ran, the great scholar from Jinling. However, the relationship between the two was just a casual acquaintance. After all, when Jiang Hong was in Jinling, he was not famous and his family was very poor. He had to live in Qixia Temple and study hard. That's how he got to know Xuan Zhen.
Xie Shu was a little embarrassed when he heard this and said, "Sir, his student is called Wang Jing. He won the first place in the provincial examination last year. I am far inferior to him."
Jiang Hong glared at him nonchalantly and said, "So what if I'm the top scorer? The provincial examination is just a local examination. The officials who preside over the examinations are of varying quality. Besides, can the student I choose be worse than others?"
Xie Shu showed a somewhat helpless smile. Although he knew that the teacher said this out of a protective mentality, this provincial examination was also a provincial examination. How could it be so simple?
But he understood the teacher's good intentions.
Xie Shu said seriously: "I will work hard and will not let you down."
After Xie Shu received the second essay on fu from Jiang Hong, he began to study it.
This fu is naturally also called "Origin Fu". The person who wrote this fu is called Jiang Anhui, who also entered the official career. Now he is an attendant in the Secretariat, following the emperor's side. At the same time, he also intends to write poems and fu in accordance with the emperor's order. It can be seen that this person's literary talent is very good.
Xie Shu read it from beginning to end. This fu talks about the origin of all things, including the rise and fall of the world. It mainly describes the scenery and finally expresses the emotions. This is the most orthodox way of writing that expresses the emotions through the scenery.
From the perspective of language form and rhetoric, the language is gorgeous and mostly uses parallelism. As a result, it is easy to fall into the drawbacks mentioned above, but the teacher can still give a clear evaluation. This is because although this person used the technique of arrangement, he did not concentrate it in large quantities, avoiding redundancy and affectation, and the emotions are sincere and the article is full of ups and downs, retaining the gorgeous and dignified characteristics of the fu style.
Seeing that the time set by the teacher was over, Xie Shu returned home.
The so-called Weishi is from 13:00 to 15:00 in the afternoon. It is early summer now, so there is still a long time before sunset.
However, after arriving home, Xie Shu discovered that her husband was not at home. He asked the maid and learned that her husband had gone out at noon, but he didn't know if something had held him up and he hadn't come back since.
Xie Shu simply read a book on the first floor of Tingyu Garden while waiting for her lover until the setting sun lingered in the sky and Yu Chuxi appeared in the sunset.
Yu Chuxi had been talking to Feng He before he entered the room. His brows were slightly frowned, and there was a rare trace of sadness on his face.
But after seeing Xie Shu, Yu Chuxi couldn't help but slightly curl up the corners of his lips, revealing a faint smile: "You came back so early today?"
Xie Shu nodded, he closed the book and handed it to Ximo beside him, but his eyes were fixed on the picturesque features of his lover. Today, his lover was dressed rather solemnly, wearing gorgeous clothes and a crown and belt with bright colors, which made his black hair, snow-white skin, and features look even more elegant.
But Xie Shu also noticed that her husband's expression was shrouded in a hint of sadness. That sadness was so worrying, like a few wisps of rain on the top of a green mountain, the floating clouds blocking the view.
But now, there was a cheerful smile on the man's face, as if the sunset glow in the sky had been gathered together. His eyes were looking at him so clearly, and his thick eyelashes were slightly curled, as if there were dancing stars.
Xie Shu couldn't take her eyes off her husband's face. Yu Chuxi couldn't help but let her gaze wander when he looked at her like this. Why was he looking at her so straight today?
Xie Shu came back to his senses at this time. He coughed lightly and did not ask Langjun immediately. Instead, he waited until he and Langjun entered the deputy hall. He looked at Yu Chuxi deeply and said, "Langjun, what happened today? Can you tell me?"
When asked this, Yu Chuxi couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly and shook his head subconsciously, but he looked at the man in front of him.
His eyes were as gentle as water and his voice was as soft as the wind, making it hard to refuse.
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