Xie Shu also knew a little about the format. Just like modern argumentative essays, it is best to consist of three parts: thesis, argumentation, and conclusion. There are always some techniques involved, such as connecting the previous and the next, or echoing the beginning and the end, etc.
Before this, Xie Shu had also studied some ancient essays. Although he had read many of them, he had never viewed them from the perspective of an examination.
Xie Shu humbly said: "Please teach me, teacher."
Jiang Hong said calmly: "Generally speaking, poems and fu have a maximum of 800 words, but essays often have thousands of words, because essays are good at reasoning and can reflect people's thinking ability. The so-called exhausting the finite and pursuing the invisible is exactly this principle.
Therefore, the most important thing in writing an essay is to have clear ideas. In the imperial examination, in order to make it clear at a glance, one usually starts with "The essay says..." and ends with "...I will discuss this carefully." For example, in the question I just mentioned, a candidate answered the essay like this: "The essay says: The rise of the Han Dynasty was based on respect and frugality, and the end of the reform of corruption..." and ended with "...The good intentions of the firm are not much different from the praise and criticism of the Spring and Autumn Annals. I will discuss this carefully."①
Xie Shu understood when he heard this. This essay has fixed phrases at the beginning and end, a bit like the format of solving a math problem...
However, since the teacher listed this article, he didn't just want to tell him this.
Although the teacher only talked about the beginning and the end, Xie Shu had already noticed the uniqueness of this article.
Not only is the beginning of this article very fascinating, first pointing out Jia Yi's political views and his talents, but at the end it actually refutes the test question from the "Book of Han".
Because the last sentence is clearly sarcastic, the translation means that Ban Gu is really good at writing history, but the Spring and Autumn style of writing he used to praise or criticize people is not even one-tenth of that in the Spring and Autumn Annals.
Xie Shu couldn't help but say, "Teacher, the essay you listed is really refreshing. Can you lend it to me for a look?"
Seeing that he only listened to the first and last two sentences, Jiang Hong understood the key point and showed some approval. Then he took out the article "On Jia Yi's Failure to Become an Official" and gave it to Xie Shu.
When Xie Shu received the article, he could not wait to read it from beginning to end. He sometimes nodded silently and sometimes recited a few sentences.
Not until he finished reading the essay did Xie Shu calm down his surging emotions. When he raised his head, his eyes were shining as he looked at Jiang Hong.
Jiang Hong couldn't help but feel emotional. In fact, when he first saw Xie Shu, he just saw that his identity just met his requirements and his mind, ambition and demeanor were all top-notch, so he decided to take him in as his apprentice. Before that, Jiang Hong had no idea about Xie Shu's talent and ability.
After all, Jiang Hong had enough confidence that even if a mediocre person fell into his hands, it would be no problem for him to pass the imperial examination. Moreover, he had taught a one-in-a-million genius like Lu Shuo before. And how many people could compare with Lu Shuo?
So Jiang Hong stopped considering it, but Jiang Hong did not expect that this student he accepted in such a hurry would give him such a big surprise. Not only was he so talented, but his interest in literature was also very rare.
Jiang Hong suddenly had a vague idea that his student's future achievements were limitless, even beyond...
Jiang Hong came back to his senses after this thought. He remained calm and continued to test Xie Shu, "Rongzhan, what do you think of this article?"
Xie Shu did not hesitate and spoke directly: "This article has sufficient and detailed arguments, eloquent and penetrating arguments, and powerful refutations. It is a rare masterpiece."
Jiang Hong pondered and said, “Since you have seen the advantages of it, today I will tell you how to write this essay.
Since the previous dynasty first opened the imperial examination, essays have become a fixed topic. However, essays in previous dynasties were creative and unconventional, and were easily arbitrary and deviated from the main point. Therefore, if you want to write a good essay, you must pay attention to the writing structure. Nowadays, the most common structure of essays is the "head, neck, heart, abdomen, waist and tail style", that is, there is an introduction, an argument, and an ending. In this way, the writing is naturally clear and coherent.
In my opinion, the essay can be divided into four parts: introduction, original topic, explanation and conclusion. Isn't this more exquisite? "
Jiang Hong took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and continued: "For an essay, the introduction is the most important thing. First of all, after seeing the test question, the essayist needs to understand the meaning of the question. The introduction is the sentence in which the candidate points out the core of the question, and it is also the first sentence of the essay.
The introduction of the essay cannot directly state the content of the topic, but it needs to be related to the topic, or hint at or explain it. Therefore, the introduction should be concise and concise. It is best to be concise without revealing it. One or two sentences are good, and three or four sentences are bad. If the introduction is not good, even if there is an outstanding article later, it will not be used. Rongzhan, do you understand?"
Xie Shu nodded deeply: "Teacher means that the opening is the beginning of the essay, the meaning of the essay..."
If the essay does not have a good beginning, the examiner will not read on. This sounds a bit cruel, but Xie Shu can understand it.
Just like the college entrance examination essay, if you deviate from the main point of the topic at the beginning, then no matter how well you write, you will not get a high score. And the candidates have so many test papers, and the manpower in ancient times was limited, there was no time or energy to check them carefully, so this method is crude, but it is also a helpless move.
Seeing that he understood it immediately, Jiang Hong continued, "After the introduction, it is the original question. The original question is also called a small talk, which means that it continues to diverge from the introduction. There are many ways to explain the original question, which can explain the origin of the question and the main content of the question. If the introduction is the idea of the whole article and determines the perspective of the entire essay, then the original question deeply reveals the inner core of the question from this perspective."
Worried that Xie Shu would not understand what he meant, Jiang Hong used the previous topic as an example to explain: "I chose this passage from the Book of the Former Han Dynasty, which is a narration of Jia Yi's life. This article 'On Jia Yi Not Being a High Minister' starts with Ban Gu's evaluation of Jia Yi, "Yi died young, and although he did not become a high minister, he was not unappreciated." It then goes on to explain that this person had the talent to assist the king, and his political views were often able to address the current ills. However, he was slandered and excluded by old officials. In the end, Jia Yi was demoted, and the talented person died young.
The original topic plays a role in connecting the previous and the following. If the original topic is clear, then the following topic will also be clear. The topic is the main body of an essay. In the entire essay, the topic is the longest and the content is the most detailed. The topic requires an in-depth discussion of the topic, so it not only requires a theoretical basis, but also requires examples to prove it.
For example, in this article, the commentator first established his argument around whether Jia Yi was really as Ban Gu said. According to Ban Gu's point of view, Jia Yi was slandered, so he was not appreciated for his talent and died in depression, but the commentator raised doubts.
Then the commentator gave an example to illustrate that Jia Yi was famous in Luoyang at the age of 18 and became a doctor at the age of 21. In response to the reform of the ritual system, he wrote "On Establishing the System to Promote Rites and Music" and in response to the phenomenon of "turning away from the root and pursuing the end" at that time, he wrote "On Accumulation of Storage", but Emperor Xiaowen listened to the slander and discarded it. It is not difficult to see why Jia Yi's tragedy was here, which laid the theoretical foundation for the later refutation of Ban Gu's views.
The article then goes on to explain that Jia Yi's talent can be compared with Yi Yin and Guan Zhong, and the political propositions he put forward even remind people of the prosperous era of King Kang, but they did not achieve the same results. Here, there are extensive citations, sharp contrasts, repeated emphasis on the topic, and in-depth discussion of the topic, which is the essence of the topic. "
Jiang Hong suddenly said, "Rongzhan, do you know that the conclusion of the essay is generally a summary of the previous article and an expansion of the topic? Why did this essay stand out?"
Xie Shu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Teacher, the author shows that Jia Yi's tragic ending was because Emperor Xiaowen was good at talking but could not put his ideas into practice. This directly refutes Ban Gu's point of view in the title, and finally elevates the theme. This implies that we should... learn from history."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Hong's eyes flashed with surprise, and he laughed and said, "Rongzhan, you used the word 'sublimation' very well. Yes, generally speaking, the ending of this essay can be divided into several categories, some are short but long, some are first praise and then criticism, some are first criticism and then praise, and some end with sentences from the Four Books and Five Classics.
The purpose of this article taking allusions is to learn from history and warn the present, so this is the best ending. "
Hearing this, Xie Shu suddenly realized that when answering an essay, one should first guess the original intention of the questioner.
Often the historical facts picked up by the question setter are related to reality... Once you understand this, the theme will not be a problem, and the subsequent discussion will be a natural outcome. As for the final ending, it is self-evident.
At this time, Jiang Hong changed the subject and said, "There are many more key points in this test paper. You have only gained a rough understanding of the basics. Don't be arrogant or impatient. Study this article carefully in the next few days."
After the teacher's admonition, Xie Shu immediately said respectfully: "The student will remember the teacher's teachings."
Jiang Hong nodded with satisfaction, and then she remembered something and said, "Rongzhan, His Majesty will be arriving in Jinling soon. How is the palace that your husband is responsible for building now?"
Hearing the teacher mention Yu Chuxi, Xie Shu couldn't help but smile and said, "My wife said that all the construction of the palace will be completed tomorrow. By then, I wonder if I can invite you to check it together. If there is anything wrong, we can make timely modifications."
Jiang Hong was just casually expressing his concern, but he didn't expect Xie Shu to take this opportunity to make such a request. However, Jiang Hong did not refuse, as he could certainly see how much his student cared about her husband.
When Xie Shu returned home, Yu Chuxi had not come back yet, so Xie Shu waited for him as usual. He held the trial paper that he had been fond of just now in his hand, but his mind quickly drifted away.
For the past three months, Yu Chuxi has been so busy, running back and forth between Xiyuan and home. It is now the hottest time of the summer, and the sun is so hot that people can hardly breathe. After a day of tossing and turning, even if Langjun consumes a lot of physical strength, he still has no appetite when he comes back. I don't know how much weight he has lost in the past few days...
What should we do if this continues?
Thinking of this, Xie Shu couldn't help but frowned.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Shu suddenly felt a movement behind him. Then, a familiar breath gently pressed on his back, and covered his eyes with a slightly cool hand.
Xie Shu's whole body froze. Of course he knew that this was his lover's hand. Once he held it, he would never forget it.
Seeing that he had no reaction, Yu Chuxi couldn't help but whisper in his ear in a somewhat unhappy tone: "Why aren't you surprised at all when I suddenly covered your eyes?"
When Yu Chuxi came in just now, he saw Xie Shu frowning and wondering what he was thinking. He wanted to play a trick on him, but who knew Xie Shu would react like this?
Did he find himself coming in?
Xie Shu heard the hidden meaning of Yu Chuxi's words. He gently held Yu Chuxi's fingertips and put them down, pulling him closer with his fingers crossed. At the same time, he smiled softly and said, "My dear, don't you know? There is a fragrance on you, I can smell it..."
At this point, Xie Shu's throat suddenly tightened and the root of his tongue froze.
Because at this moment, Xie Shu discovered that the man in his arms had slightly wet hair and was sweating profusely, and his skin, which was whiter than snow, was vaguely visible under his thin silk shirt.
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① From Ouyang Xiu
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