This is a Tang-style building surrounded by tall bamboos. There is no fashionable seating furniture inside. The floor is wooden, and everyone is sitting on futons, with low tables in front of them.
Wang Fang, the headmaster of Zhongyan Academy, was a Confucian scholar with a profound education in Eguan, an ancient face, and a long beard. He sat facing south and looked at the twenty newly arrived young scholars. The scholars all knelt down.
Sit, lean forward slightly, and look at the mountain in Tang salute.
"You are the people specially recommended by the examiners, in line with Master Ti's teaching of 'teaching students in accordance with their aptitude.'" Wang Fang's words had an elegant ancient rhyme: "I am taking the test today. If you are really extraordinary, there is no need to follow the steps and go straight to the test."
The 'Wisdom and Faith' Hall will be taught by me personally."
After saying that, he nodded, and then the teaching assistant distributed the test papers. When each test paper was placed on the small machine, the teaching assistant lit the incense and announced the start of the exam.
The students then leaned forward and looked at the questions on the test paper. They saw that there were ten questions on it. They were two questions on classics and meanings, two questions on poems, two poems, two questions on history, two questions on mathematics...
Not to mention the effort of burning an incense stick, I would not be able to finish the answer even after dark.
Obviously he had to choose what he was best at. Chen Ke took a general look and started to do two math questions without hesitation. The first question was, 'The original bamboo is one foot high, and the bottom is folded to the ground. If it is three feet high, how high will the bamboo be?
?', doesn't it mean that Pythagorean Theorem understands a right triangle? This is not difficult for people who have studied geometry. Chen Ke calculated the answer in a blink of an eye: 'four feet five inches five'.
The second question made Chen Ke laugh as soon as he saw it. It was the famous chicken and rabbit problem. He knew eight solutions and could calculate the number of chickens and rabbits.
After completing these two questions, the incense stick has just been burned. Let's look at the two test poems again. The questions have been given, and you only need to arrange the rhymes for the test. Due to the limitations of the subject matter and meter, this kind of poem is rarely seen.
Can produce truly masterpieces. But this is what Chen Ke is good at... After mastering the rhyme and exegesis, he became comfortable with rhymes and allusions, and soon wrote two five-character and six-rhyme poems.
At this time, the incense stick was half burned.
Chen Ke worked hard and completed two more historical treatises... On historical issues, Chen Ke was afraid that his views were too shocking, so he used a tricky method - copying the views in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian". Think of Sima
Since Gong was able to obtain the posthumous title of 'Wenzheng', he was naturally a popular and professional model in this era, and he was absolutely unmistakable.
Soon, the two historical essays were answered, and one-third of the incense sticks were left.
Chen Ke immediately went to do two interpretations of the scriptures... In the morning, he was tested on the oral meaning. The oral meaning is a kind of Mohist meaning, which requires the interpretation of the scriptures using the annotations of predecessors, and the requirements of the classic meaning are more
At a higher level, it not only requires the use of commentaries to explain, but also requires elaboration of the subtle meaning... This is not a problem at all for Chen Ke, who has an adult mind.
When the incense burnt out, he was able to finish one dish.
One stick of incense, seven questions. Chen Ke sighed lightly, thinking he could finish eight questions.
After ordering everyone to put down their pens and blow dry the test papers, the teaching assistant put the papers away and Wang Fang marked them in the hall.
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A stick of incense takes about a quarter of an hour. It is simply impossible to complete ten difficult and time-consuming test questions in such a short period of time.
The reason why Wang Fang set the question like this is that it can test the strengths of these children and teach them in accordance with their aptitude... When time is tight, people will definitely start from what they are best at. The second is to test the psychological quality of these children... First
The various levels of imperial examinations can turn people into ghosts. Without strong ability to withstand pressure, it is impossible to persevere to the end.
In his opinion, as long as he answers two questions in a satisfactory manner, he is considered to be fairly intelligent. He has no extravagant expectations that anyone can give him any surprises.
However, after browsing through the test paper, the old man's jaw almost dropped in shock. He thought in his heart that it was incredible, incredible... What kind of monsters came this year?
Twenty candidates all answered more than two questions, of which fifteen people answered more than three questions, five people answered more than four questions, three people answered more than five questions, and one person answered seven questions...
The old master was a little dizzy. After calming down, he thought to himself, could it be that some prodigal men came here and answered the questions randomly to make up the numbers? He read them one by one, and the more he looked at them, the expression on his face became more and more erratic. He was tugging on his beard and tutting his tongue.
With sound, the sophisticated image created through hard work is destroyed in one day.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the old gentleman had just finished reading the last test paper. He looked at the students who were about to collapse, said nothing, stood up and went out.
Deacon Yuan also followed him out.
The two of them went to the hut and happily filled the water. They saw the old man's eyebrows were dancing with joy and the water was splashing. Deacon Yuan asked out of curiosity: "How are these students doing?"
"I have a reputation that will last forever, and Zhongyan Academy ranks among the top four," the old man said with a smile that made his beard tremble: "It all depends on them!"
"Such a high evaluation?" Deacon Yuan exclaimed. He knew that Wang Fang was a very strict person in teaching. It is difficult for you to hear a few words of praise from such a person.
"I'm afraid the evaluation is too low." Wang Fang shook his head and said: "It seems that this is the right move. Only by turning it into a government school can we recruit talents from all over the state." In fact, in terms of level alone, the teenagers
Children cannot impress this well-educated scholar. What he sees is hope, seedlings, and jade! A group of horses with a bright future!
"Chief, don't let them be too proud." Deacon Yuan saw that Wang Fang had peed on his pants, and he couldn't help but worry and reminded: "If it's full, it will overflow..."
"Yes." Wang Fang nodded, tied up his belt, and after Deacon Yuan scooped a spoonful of water to clean his hands with a ladle, he straightened his face and wanted to look like a master again. But he still couldn't help but grinned and said: "
What a blessing..."
"..." Deacon Yuan was completely speechless.
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Hearing the sound of footsteps, the soldiers took the opportunity to stretch their sore legs and quickly sat down again.
Wang Fang returned to the futon and sat down, his face already as sinking as water, but a water stain on his lower lapel ruined his image as a master.
"Everyone's performance in this exam was very bad." Wang Fang's words shocked all the scholars: "They were all impetuous, shallow, and childish. They were blindly pursuing speed and being unconventional. It's really disappointing.
.”
"..." In front of the academic authority, even Chen Ke thought that he was really wrong. Not to mention the other students, they all became eggplants beaten by frost.
"Yeah." Wang Fang felt that he had said a bit too much, so he changed the topic and said: "But there are still some merits. Now I will choose the generals from the dwarfs and name a few stronger ones." As he said that, he picked up a few generals.
The second test paper asked: "Which one is called Chen Ke?"
"The students are here." Chen Ke quickly straightened up.
"Well, I can answer seven questions in one stick of incense. I can see that you have learned a lot and are quite talented." Wang Fang said slowly: "What I am most pleased with is your historical theory. Your views are old-fashioned and upright, which is quite good.
If you have the style of everyone, you can come out on top..." After a pause, he said: "But they must be tied, because although your two examination poems are both quite skilled in meter and allusion, there is still a big gap compared to the other one."
"The other one's name is..." He picked up the second test paper and said, "Which one is Su Shi?"
"The students are here." Su Shi straightened up quickly.
"Poetry expresses aspirations. If you do a good job and practice diligently, you will become a famous poet." Wang Fang smiled and said: "But that's not the reason why you are tied for first place. What I appreciate most is also your historical theory.
.Although ideologically inferior to Chen Ke, his language is plain but his literary talent is high. His power can be seen in just a few words! So you are number one in writing," then turned to Chen Ke and said: "You are number one in theory, don't you feel aggrieved?
?”
"No grievance, no grievance." Chen Ke simply burst into laughter. Oh my god, he tied for first place with Su Shi in the first exam, so proud of his ancestors...
"Well, you have a broad mind." Wang Fang twisted his beard in approval and said, "Only in this way can we become a great person." After saying that, he picked up the third paper and said, "Third place, Su Che."
"The students are here." Su Zhe quickly straightened up.
"It's very rare that you answered five questions and all of them were in compliance with the regulations. Keep up your efforts and try to catch up with two of them." The old gentleman is indeed a famous educator. From the very beginning, he created competition among the students.
"Fourth place, Chen Yan." Wang Fang looked at Chen Silang and said, "Although he only answered three questions, his answers were solid and quite ancient, so he was ranked fourth."
Then he mentioned the fifth, sixth, and seventh places, Song Duanping was the eighth, and he kept talking about the tenth place, but Cheng Zhicai's name was not there.
Cheng Zhicai's handsome face is almost full of tears. In the seventeen years since he was born, he has never been so humiliated...Cheng Zhicai is extremely talented. Even his father, who was a Jinshi, also praised that this son must be born among the elite.
Better than Lan. From elementary school to Shouchang Academy, he was always the first in every exam and never came second.
This time, because of the reform of the examination system, he had to come to Zhongyan Academy. He thought he would definitely be at the top, but he was knocked down to outside the tenth place... This made him extremely angry, and finally couldn't help but whisper.
Said: "Excuse me, the mountain leader, why did you knock me down from the tenth place? I answered five questions!"
"Your name is Cheng Zhicai, right?" Wang Fang said with a smile: "You are quite talented in literature, and you are also very solid in classics and history. You are considered the best among twenty people; but your poems are in Xikun style and your writing is in Taixue style.
It's just disgust..." He originally wanted to say that if he changed it later, his ranking would naturally rise.
"It turns out to be the teacher's personal preference." Unexpectedly, Cheng Zhicai said with an angry look: "But students have studied the imperial examination papers for nearly twenty years, using Xikun for poetry and Taixue for literature. This is the trend. If you don't use it, you won't be able to go to high school.
!”
"Poetry expresses aspirations, not blindly piling up allusions and pursuing magnificence. That will only make poetry a tool for you to show off your rhetoric. There is no point in doing ten thousand poems. As for the Taixue style, it is more about pursuing novelty and not knowing.
So..." Wang Fang sighed and said: "For example, there is a sentence in your historical treatise...'Zhou Gong's picture, Yu's work on the bed, Fu said that the negative version was built to build the foundation of peace'. There is no need to be so difficult to pronounce, you
This is all intentional! The article is written for people to understand. On this basis, we should pursue the beauty of the text. Rather than discarding the basics and ignoring the last, just to make people unable to understand!"
