Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Time passed in a flash.
The final exam at the end of February has been completed.
Today’s exams are different from the past. Each exam ranking means a place in the county school.
Master Zhao was not the type to hide things, and he announced the test results that afternoon.
The first place is still Jiyuan.
You should know that the major exam is not like the minor exams in the past.
Not only do they test dictation and recitation, but they also take passages from "The Great Learning" and "The Analects of Confucius" and use the scriptures to form questions, asking students to analyze the meaning.
As a major question in the February exam, it accounts for a relatively high score.
This is not just the content of elementary education, but is closer to the orthodox imperial examination.
The Great Learning and the Analects of Confucius are both two of the "must-examination books" among the Four Books and Five Classics.
Such test questions are generally called "Four Books Meaning Questions", which are basically reading comprehension plus composition based on the materials.
Apparently, Master Zhao was also preparing for the county school examination in October.
Let students adapt in advance.
To the surprise of others, the second place in this exam was not An Xiaohe, but An Dahai.
"Although his understanding of the meaning is somewhat lacking, he is still the best among his classmates," Master Zhao commented.
An Dahai couldn't believe it, he actually did well in the exam?
Although there were some gaps in my memorization, I still got points in the final big question?
An Dahai was shocked and said, "I just listened to Ji Yuan's words and understood the meaning when I recited the text. Is it correct to write down what I think during the exam?"
Master Zhao replied, "Of course it is correct. A hundred people read the scriptures, and a hundred people have different opinions. As long as you write down what you feel in your heart, it is correct."
Except for these two, everyone else's answers were a mess.
This was especially true for An Xiaohe. It was the first time he encountered such a topic. He only wrote a sentence from the Four Books and asked them to write down their understanding based on the topic, with a minimum of 300 words.
This, how do I write this.
How could Ji Yuan, who was two or three years younger than him, write such a work? And what he wrote satisfied Master Zhao.
The topic this time is a sentence from "The Great Learning".
The Great Learning is a philosophical book based on the idea of governing by virtue. It is known as the "learning of sage kings" and also as the "learning of great men."
University is also known as the backbone of learning and is the foundation of studying.
Zhu Xi believed that not going to university does not count as studying.
The university in ancient times meant "Taixue", which in modern times means elementary school.
What Ji Yuan understands is that this book is a must-read subject for primary school students!
So before the exam, he not only memorized the entire text, but also explained its general meaning to An Dahai while feeding the cows.
It is both a fulfillment of a promise and a review for myself.
I didn’t expect that I actually bet right.
In fact, the questions asked by Mr. Zhao are quite difficult for primary school students.
"If you want to straighten your heart, you must first be sincere in your intentions; if you want to be sincere in your intentions, you must first acquire knowledge; acquiring knowledge lies in investigating things."
This sentence means that if you want to correct your thoughts, you must make your thoughts sincere.
If you want to become sincere and have a clear understanding, how can you get the correct way to understand things?
We must learn and study the principles behind things.
Based on this content, write an argumentative essay of no less than 300 words.
And this sentence should be written in conjunction with the context.
Of course, Master Zhao would not deliberately make things difficult for everyone. As long as you write out the meaning and a certain implication, he would give you a good result.
An Dahai understood his meaning and wrote down his own experience of raising livestock.
When he was raising goslings, he didn't understand why the goslings ate so little and grew so slowly, so he studied the reasons and discussed the quality of food with their mother, and discovered the problem.
This can also be considered as the pursuit of knowledge through the investigation of things, right?
Although the wording is not rigorous and the writing is not very literary, the meaning is correct and it also has its own insights.
Therefore, Master Zhao gave him the second place.
Compared to An Xiaohe, who just repeated this point of view without much evidence and no ideas of his own, he was inferior.
However, it was already very good as it was the first time to answer the "Four Books Questions", and An Xiaohe became the third.
After Master Zhao finished commenting on the second and third test papers, he looked at Ji Yuan outside the window.
It’s not that Master Zhao didn’t want to say more, but Ji Yuan’s answer was too brilliant.
After studying for less than a month, when I answered questions on the Four Books for the first time, I was able to combine the context and give my own reasons, combining them with the principles I had learned in my daily life.
When we talk about studying an article, we should study its meaning. Only if we read it correctly and accurately can we truly gain something.
The books of sages talk about self-cultivation. We should cultivate ourselves from the books, study the world from the books, and then combine them with our daily behavior. Only then can we truly study the world.
Although there is no real prose, the wording is too plain and the characters are ridiculously poor.
But the meaning behind it is something that many scholars cannot fully understand even in their entire lives.
Although this book is second to none, its meaning far surpasses others.
Master Zhao said it briefly, and looked at Ji Yuan and couldn't help but nod.
If such a student had gone to school earlier, perhaps Anji Village could have produced an eight-year-old scholar.
When he first returned to Anji Village, Ji Yuan's parents were still alive and had asked him about going to school. Three years passed in a flash. If it weren't for that incident, Ji Yuan would definitely have been in the county school and become the "closed disciple" of his old friends.
Although the students did not understand what he meant, they could see that Master Zhao admired Ji Yuan.
An Dahai couldn't help but follow suit in flattery, but An Xiaohe lowered his head, becoming more and more resentful.
Forget about Ji Yuan, why is An Dahai always ahead of him?
As soon as school started, many classmates gathered around Ji Yuan. They were basically all of the same age, and they all chattered, "Ji Yuan, how did you learn this?"
"How did you teach An Dahai? Can you teach me?"
"Yeah, teach me."
"You will definitely be able to get into the county school."
Ji Yuan answered them one by one.
Another group of people in the private school were indignant towards them.
How can a cowherd who studies for free be so arrogant?
Especially An Changsun and Ji Li, who were the most complacent before.
Ji Li is the oldest student in the private school. He is thirteen this year and everyone likes to hang around him.
Needless to say, An Changsun's grandfather is the village chief and he is usually the center of attention.
Now they all go to support Ji Yuan!
There were conflicts among several people before, and now the rift is even bigger.
As usual, Ji Yuan went to An Dahu's house to return the cow, and then went back to his own yard to study. When he had finished studying, he went back to his third uncle's house to cook dinner.
But today, before he even stepped into Mr. An's house, he was stopped by Mrs. An.
"Yuan Ge'er is here!" Madam An quickly took the rope and said excitedly, "Come here, Auntie will treat you to chicken legs."
As she spoke, Madam An stuffed an oil-paper bag into Ji Yuan's hands: "Dahai's father bought this in the county town. He said it was the most delicious chicken drumstick."
An Dahai was drooling with envy: "What about me?!"
"What are you eating? If it weren't for Yuan Ge'er, would you have been able to get second place? You're even better than An Xiaohe!"
This is their first time since entering school.
Mrs. An was so happy that Ji Yuan had beaten An Xiaohe in the last test.
In this exam, even his own Dahai is better than An Xiaohe!
Her parents-in-law also praised her for her good teaching.
So she asked Dahai's father to buy chicken legs just for Jiyuan.
Ji Yuan was not polite either.
He really needed to replenish his nutrition, so he smiled and took Xiao Huang back to study.
He ate the chicken legs and ground the bones into powder for Xiao Huang to eat, so there was no waste at all.
The chicken legs are really delicious.
Ji Yuan felt like he hadn't eaten chicken legs in several lifetimes.
Reading is not only useful, but you can also eat chicken legs, which is a good thing.
After the February exam, we immediately enter March.
The weather is getting warmer in March, and the days in Ji Yuan are becoming more relaxed.
But Aunt Ji became more and more anxious.
Sometimes when Ji Yuan looked at her, he felt that she was in a very bad mood.
The matter is still related to the results of the February exam.
That day, Ji Li went back and said angrily, "What kind of vision does Master Zhao have? He actually praised Ji Yuan for so long."
"What else can you say? Ji Yuan, study hard and you will pass the exam to become a scholar sooner or later. It's not impossible to become a juren."
Although she said it unintentionally, Aunt Ji took it to heart and kept it in mind.
These past few days I have been repeating this sentence over and over again.
Uncle Ji couldn't help but say, "It's just kid's nonsense. How can the imperial examination be that simple?"
"When Master Zhao was young, some people said he could pass the imperial examination. But what about now? He is still teaching in Anji Village. He is extremely poor, even worse than our family."
"There is no one in our Ji family who is destined to study, don't worry."
"What if?" Aunt Ji San asked, "Have you forgotten how we treated Ji Yuan?"
"If he becomes an official, he will definitely take revenge on us."
Uncle Ji hesitated: "No way, I am his uncle after all."
Aunt Ji glared at him, which made Uncle Ji start to feel uneasy.
Yes, they knew very well how their family treated Ji Yuan. They were all just ordinary people on the platform, but if he really became an official, would he take revenge?
"When you have time, go see Master Zhao and Village Chief An and ask about Ji Yuan's situation to see if he can really pass the exam and become a scholar or a juren." Aunt Ji had felt something was wrong before.
So they kept obstructing Ji Yuan from studying and even got other parents to report him for eavesdropping.
Then they cut off Ji Yuan’s food supply, forcing him to bow his head.
Nothing worked out.
Now I feel more and more that it is not possible.
He couldn't be allowed to read any further.
Uncle Ji didn't dare to go find Master Zhao, so he turned around and went to the vicinity of Village Chief An's house.
By the time he came back with the news, he felt a chill in his heart.
Even the people in Village Chief An’s family thought that Ji Yuan would definitely pass the exam.
Because Master Zhao told the village chief An that if Ji Yuan failed to pass the examination to become a scholar, no one in the entire Anji village would be able to pass.
Not to mention being a juren, even if you became a scholar, that wouldn’t be enough!
Thinking of what he had done in the past, and what he had done to Ji Yuan's family, Uncle Ji couldn't help but say, "It's over, it's over. He actually grew up to be a wolf cub!"
Ji Yuan looked at his uncle and aunt with strange eyes these days. It seemed that they wanted to please him, but he felt uncomfortable.
An Dahai said that they must have come to curry favor with Yuan Ge'er because he was a good student.
Ji Yuan was too lazy to care.
The small test on March 10th is coming again.
Mr. Zhao's teaching progress has accelerated, the difficulty of the exams has gradually increased, and even the homework has increased.
He really didn't have time to care about what his uncle and aunt thought.
Today's homework topic is still the content of "The Great Learning", "Knowing what comes first and what comes later is the closest to the truth."
Taking this as an example, write an argumentative essay of no more than 300 words.
Now that the days are long, I can check the Epoch Times again after writing it once.
"Jiyuan! Go catch fish!" An Dahai shouted holding a harpoon.
Ji Yuan didn't participate much in other things, but he did go to catch fish.
He needs to supplement some protein as he is growing up.
So when An Dahai asked him to go fishing, he always went.
After catching them, you can take them to your own kitchen and roast them. You also have salt, so the taste won’t be too bad.
"Okay, I'll check it again." Ji Yuan replied, and finally put the homework in the basket. After thinking about it, he decided not to take it with him.
I carry money with me.
"Let's go catch some fish!"
Ji Yuan picked up his homemade fishing rod and decided to catch a fish today.
As soon as Ji Yuan left, An Changsun and Ji Li came out from the dark and sneaked out.
"Are you sure? Can he have money?" An Changsun asked.
"Yes, he herds cattle for my family and gets two cents a day! He also goes to dig herbs in the morning. He is so stingy at other times, he must be rich." Ji Li was both envious and jealous.
The two of them searched everywhere but only found the basket for homework.
Ji Li was so jealous that his eyes turned red.
Master Zhao praised Ji Yuan's homework again and again.
Even his parents at home have been discussing Ji Yuan recently and arguing about his good grades.
He even said that since he had good grades, he might as well use his connections to get him a job as an accountant in the county town.
He wants to go to the county town! His parents won't let him! Why can Ji Yuan?
The accounting job was originally given to him to inquire about.
Now to Epoch!
It's almost the same for An Changsun. His grandfather once said privately that if Ji Yuan was his grandson, then their An family would definitely be honored.
"Tear it up for him!" An Changsun gritted his teeth.
Ji Li was older, and his eyes turned: "Don't tear it! Give him something! Anyway, it will be night when he comes back, and he can't see clearly. There will be a good show when he hands it in tomorrow!"
right!
Doesn’t Master Zhao particularly like Ji Yuan?
This makes Ji Yuan’s homework particularly ugly.
“Draw a turtle.”
"Write Master Zhao's name on it!"
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