Thirty-seven, as small as a dove and as big as a Kunpeng
Thirty-seven, as small as a dove and as big as a Kunpeng
Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao plan to leave Qiantang and return to their hometowns after the beginning of winter on the second day of October. They will meet again in the spring of next year to go to Jingzhou together. Because they are about to leave, Liu Shangzhi has been staying here in Chenjiawu these days, and Ding Chunqiu has also been here every day.
Come, my classmates are young and in their prime, and there are always endless topics to talk about. The mountains and rivers near Chenjiawu are very pleasing to the eye and are enough for fun.
On September 27th, because Xu Miao wanted to visit Chutang Taoist Temple in Baoshi Mountain, Xu Miao's late grandfather Xu Chengzhi had a close relationship with Ge Hong. Although Ge Hong has traveled to Luofu Mountain and has not returned, Xu Miao still wants to
Go and pay homage to the place where Senior Ge practiced Taoism.
Chen Caozhi accompanied Xu Miao, Gu Kaizhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu to Baoshi Mountain. Laide drove an ox cart with several large food boxes. Because there were so many people going, it would take a long time to go back and forth forty miles.
For a long time, it was difficult for the two Taoists left behind at Chuyang Taoist Temple to provide food for everyone.
Gu Kaizhi knew that Chen Caozhi used to go to Chuyang Taoist Temple to borrow books from Ge Hong, copy them, and ask for advice on problems. So this time he, Xu Miao, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu also walked, saying that it was because of Zizhong.
Role model.
Chen Caozhi smiled and said, "You guys, don't complain about foot pain later."
Gu Kaizhi said: "I have been in Chenjiawu for almost a month. I have climbed mountains and played every day. I have developed my foot strength. I should be able to walk forty miles."
The weather was bright and clear that day, and it was warmer than the previous few days. The sun was shining warmly, and it was very comfortable. To the left of everyone, there were rolling mountains. The mountains here are not high, but the trees are green, and in early winter, fallen leaves are flying.
The leaves of the locust trees, sycamores, privet trees, and Gongsun trees have almost fallen off, making the mountain look thinner. To the right of everyone, the waves of Mingsheng Lake are swaying and shining in the sun, as if there are huge gems at the bottom of the lake.
Radiate brilliance.
Gu Kaizhi said: "This lake is really big. If I really want to travel around this lake and the mountains around it, I'm afraid it will take half a year. According to my ambition, I just want to wander among the green mountains and clear waters, recite poems and paint with close friends, and my husband will be reunited."
What do you want!" He immediately chanted Mao's poem loudly and said:
"The test of the rock is in the stream, and the magnanimity of a great man is wide. If you sit alone and talk in sleep, you will never be able to stop.
Kao Pan is here, the stubble of a great man. I sleep alone and sing, and the arrow will never pass.
Kao Pan is on the mainland, the axis of a great man. He sleeps alone and sleeps, and he will never tell you."
…
Chen Cao's way: "The world is not peaceful, how can we travel freely!"
Fifteen-year-old Gu Kaizhi said: "It is not our generation's responsibility to guard the territory and recover from the Northern Expedition. There are passionate warriors who are good at conquering and fighting, and there should also be elegant scholars who inherit literature and art. There are also some who live in seclusion like Mr. Dai Andao.
An expert in officialdom, the mountains are steep and the rivers are mighty, this is the way of nature."
Everyone laughed and praised Gu Kai's broad-minded and witty words. Even Ran Sheng also praised it.
Gu Kaizhi felt very cordial to the words "wonderful". He looked at the majestic Ran Sheng and said, "Xiao Sheng will let him join the army in the future. It would be a pity not to go to Huaibei to kill Hu with such a body."
Liu Shangzhi said: "Xiao Sheng is only thirteen years old. He is taller than us and is still growing. Now he is over seven feet five inches. I am seven feet three inches. Xiao Sheng is afraid that he will grow to eight feet in the future.
You all will wait and see. When Chen Caozhi, the 'Jiangzuo Wei Jie', comes to Jiankang with his eight-foot giant man, the streets will definitely be deserted. Zi Zhong needs to be careful not to be 'seen and killed' like Wei Jie."
Xu Miao said: "No wonder Zizhong had to run around the lake and climb mountains for fitness when he was in Wujun. It turned out that he was worried that he would be killed if he was weak. Mao's poem said, 'It is not raining in the sky, and the mulberry soil is clearing, and the house is in preparation.'" Zizhong
That’s what is called preparing for a rainy day.”
Xu Miao was a dignified man and rarely joked, but he occasionally showed his humorous talents and impressed everyone.
Gu Kaizhi couldn't stop laughing wildly and couldn't walk anymore. The two Gu family members helped Gu Kaizhi to sit on the shaft of the car.
Gu Kaizhi finally stopped laughing, and Liu Shangzhi added: "Jiankang has hundreds of thousands of people, which is much larger than Wujun City. Zizhong will have to prepare two ox carts to carry the women. The girl gave them to
Sachet." Gu Kaizhi laughed again.
Xu Miao said: "It's a pity that Brother Yingtai and Brother Youdu are not here, otherwise today would be considered a grand gathering, so why not each have their own ambitions?"
Gu Kaizhi said: "I have already said that I am passionate about landscapes and amuse myself with calligraphy and painting."
Ding Chunqiu said it very truthfully: "It is my ambition to benefit my hometown and not lose the family tradition."
Liu Shangzhi said: "I would like to govern a large county, restrain the powerful, encourage farmers to cultivate mulberry trees, make laws clear, and make the people of a county live and work in peace and contentment. Of course, it would be even better if I could govern a county, but that is impossible."
It is unimaginable for a high-ranking scholar from a poor family to become the governor of a fifth-rank county. Not to mention the governor of a state or county, even the county magistrate with eight hundred stones has been firmly occupied by the inferior nobles. The remaining
Those who get down are some eighth- and ninth-grade petty officials.
Gu Kaizhi asked Xu Miao: "What are your ambitions, brother Xianmin?"
Xu Miao said with emotion: "I want to be the emperor's teacher, explain the meaning of literature, indicate the meaning, promote Confucianism, express the way of a saint inside and a king outside, so that benevolent government and kingly way can be implemented."
When Xu Miao said this, Chen Caozhi vaguely remembered that Xu Miao did become the emperor's teacher in the future. It seemed that he was recommended to the emperor as a learned scholar who was appreciated by Xie An. He gave lectures on "The Classic of Filial Piety" in the palace, which was well received by the emperor.
Reliance, but that seems to have happened after Xu Miao turned forty years old——
Xu Miao's ambition won a round of applause, and then Xu Miao, Gu Kaizhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu said in unison: "Dare you ask Zizhong about his ambition?"
Chen Caozhi said with a smile: "Everyone has his own ambition, and I have to say that my ambition is just six words - 'to be in one's position and to pursue one's political affairs'. I don't know how far I can achieve it."
, just work hard.”
Gu Kaizhi smiled and said: "Zizhong is fooling people, which means he didn't say anything."
Xu Miao said: "Otherwise, Zizhong is the meaning of Zhuangzi's leisurely wandering. It can be big or small, and can bend or stretch. Its small one is like a dove, which can fly through the trees to the eaves; its big one is like a Kunpeng, whose wings are like hanging down from the sky.
The clouds and water hit three thousand miles, and soared up to ninety thousand miles - this is the son's great ambition."
Everyone praised Xu Miao's wonderful explanation, saying that a talented person should have the aura to surpass the clouds, carry the blue sky, and cross the sky to the north and the south to the south.
Near noon, a group of people came to the mountain on the left side of Baoshi Mountain. The Chuyang Taoist Temple, shaded by green pines and ancient cypresses, was simple and quiet. The two Taoists welcomed each other happily. Chen Caozhi asked Master Ge if there was any news? He replied
:"none."
Ge Hong left Chuyang Taoist Temple for Luofu Mountain in September last year. At that time, Chen Caozhi asked Master Ge when he would return. Ge Hong said: "As little as one year, as many as three years." It has been more than a year now, and it is too late.
No news.
Chen Caozhi was half the master of Chuyang Taoist Temple. After leading Gu Kaizhi and others to pay homage to the Three Qing Dynasties, he asked the Taoists to open the library and view Ge Hong's collection of books. Gu Kaizhi's house also had a very rich collection of books.
I was surprised when I saw Ge Hong's collection of tens of thousands of books. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties when books were extremely rare, it was rare even for high-ranking nobles to have a collection of tens of thousands of books.
Chen Cao said: "Most of these books were copied by Master Ge himself over the past sixty years. It took me more than a year to copy two hundred volumes of them. Some books can be read once, and some books must be copied.
"
Xu Miao thought that he studied very hard, but compared with Ge Hong and Chen Caozhi, he still felt inferior.
After lunch, Chen Cao and his entourage visited the scenic spots in the mountains, and soon left the Chu balcony to return to Chenjiawu. The two Taoists walked Yin Yin to the foot of the mountain and said goodbye sadly.
It was already dusk when the group returned to Chenjiawu. Jackdaws were in the forest, smoke was curling up from the cooking pots, and the one-armed Jingnu was looking in front of the gate. When he saw Chen Cao and his entourage, he hurried up to greet him and said, "Young Master Cao,
The patriarch is back."
"Fourth uncle is back!" Chen Caozhi was very happy. I wonder what happened to Qian Tang and Chen family becoming a scholar?
Chen Caozhi went up to the second floor to see his mother first. Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, said: "Your fourth uncle has just come to visit me and has just returned to the south building not long ago. Go and see him quickly. Your fourth uncle has been away from Jiankang for five months."
, there must be something big going on in the clan."
Chen Caozhi then went to Nanlou, along with Xu Miao, Gu Kaizhi, Liu Shangzhi and Ding Chunqiu to meet with Chen Xian, the leader of the Chen clan in Qiantang.
Chen Xian, who was nearly sixty years old, was a little thinner than during the Dragon Boat Festival, but he was in good spirits. He was very happy to see Gu Kaizhi and others. He invited everyone to sit down in the hall. He first said to Chen Caozhi: "Caozhi
, My uncle just visited your mother. She is really much older than she was in May. I was in Jiankang, and Chen Shang came to report that you would not come to Jiankang to participate in the Eighteen States Dazhong Authentic Evaluation. I was still a little angry at that time.
and complained, but now that I have seen your mother, I understand Cao Zhi’s filial piety and helplessness."
Chen Caozhi sighed and asked, "Fourth uncle, is there any news about becoming a scholar?"
There is nothing to hide now. Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao both know about it, and people from Qiantang must have also heard about it.
Chen Xiandao: "Chen Shang stayed in the capital to wait for the news. I was worried about the cold, rainy and snowy weather, so I came back first. The official review of the Eighteen Prefectures Dazhong will be held on the fifth day of October. The branches of the Mei family in Runan, the Sun family in Langya, and the Zheng family in Xingyang,
The branches of the Liu family in Zhucheng and the Lu family in Fanyang selected the best and outstanding sons of their clans to come to Jiankang to participate in the evaluation. The Grand Situ Mansion ordered Chen Shang to represent the Chen family in Qiantang. Chen Shang discussed with Jia Lingshi, and Jia Lingshi
Asked how Chen Shang's talent and appearance compared with his younger brother Chen Caozhi? Chen Shangdao was in trouble. Jia Lingshi said that he should simply give up the criticism and give up the opportunity to become a scholar on the grounds that Chen Cao's mother was ill and could not come.
, this is called retreating to advance——"
Gu Kaizhi said: "Clan Chief Chen, why don't you ask to postpone the criticism until Zi Zhong's mother is in better health before going to Jiankang."
Chen Xian glanced at Chen Cao, his worry flashed over, and said: "Mei, Sun, Liu, Zheng, and Lu families don't agree, and I don't know how long it will be delayed. These five major families are eager to become scholars."
, how can I be willing to wait." He also said: "However, after reading Cao Zhi's "The Theory of Heaven's Way without Worry", "The Theory of Natural Success" and "The Theory of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism", he admired Cao Zhi very much and said that he looked forward to it.
If Cao Zhi enters Jiankang as soon as possible, you can go directly to see him then——"
Gu Kaizhi said optimistically: "As long as the great Situ appreciates Zi Zhong, it is very likely that the Chen family of Qiantang will be registered as a noble family."
In the afternoon of the next day, Ding Chunqiu returned to Ding's villa and told his father Ding Yi about the Qiantang Chen family becoming a scholar. Ding Yi said: "I have also heard about this. If the Qiantang Chen family can become a scholar, Chen
Cao Zhi can be said to be even more powerful than a tiger. With his talents and reputation, and the respect of Xi Guest, his future is indeed unlimited. For the eight major noble families of Qian and Tang Dynasties, I, the Ding family, are the most happy to see his success. After all, the Ding family and the Chen family are
In-laws, if the Chen family really becomes a noble family, it would be no harm to let her return to Chenjiawu according to her young aspirations. It is a pity that Chen Caozhi gave up this once-in-a-century opportunity because of her maternal illness. "
Ding Chunqiu said: "It is said that the great Situ Sima Yu and the great Sima Huanwen both know the name of Chen Caozhi. Zizhong did not go to Jiankang this time, and he has not been naturalized, so there is no hope."
Ding Yi shook his head and said: "How can you convince the public if you can become a scholar without participating in the Eighteen Provinces High School Zhongzhong? It is extremely difficult for a poor family to become a scholar. There are more opponents than supporters. I expect the Chen family of Qiantang
I won’t be able to join the gentry this time.”
After Ding Chunqiu came out of his father's study, he went to see his cousin Ding Youwei again. Every time he came back from Chenjiawu, he would tell his cousin what he had learned. However, this time he did not tell Ding Youwei about Chen's naturalization, only that
Friends of the Taoist Temple in Chuchu Terrace each expressed their ambitions——
Ding Youwei listened to Ding Chunqiu's retelling of Chen Cao's aspirations and couldn't help but smile.
…
On the second day of October, the beginning of winter, the water begins to freeze, the ground begins to freeze, everything is frozen, and the cold winter has arrived. In the evening, Chen Xian, the head of the Chen clan in Qiantang, entertained Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao at a banquet in the South Tower. Chen Caozhi naturally wanted to meet him.
Accompany, tomorrow, Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao will leave Chenjiawu and return home.
While they were having a banquet, Xiao Chan's cry suddenly came from the courtyard: "Young Master, please, my dear Mistress, the old mistress suddenly fainted!"
Chen Cao's heart was so frightened that he stood up and ran downstairs without even putting on his shoes. He put on his socks and ran downstairs. He saw Xiao Chan's face turned pale with anxiety and her lips were trembling. She said: "Little Master, go quickly, hurry up."
Go, at the stairs on the second floor—" She also turned around and started running after Chen Caozhi.
Chen Caozhi took a few long steps and stepped onto the turning point of the stairs between the first and second floors. He heard his mother's voice saying: "I'm fine. Please help me back to my room." The voice was extremely weak.
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, was sitting at the top of the stairs, with the old maid Yinggu half-hugging her. Zeng Yuhuan was pinching Chen's mother, Mrs. Li. Lai Gui's wife, Mrs. Zhao, was beside her and turned pale with shock. Zongzhi and Run'er were at this moment.
Being led down from the third floor by Qingzhi——
"Mother--" Chen Caozhi squatted and half-knelt beside his mother, holding his mother's shoulders with both hands, and said anxiously: "Mother, what's wrong with you? You scared your son to death."
Yinggu was also frightened to death, and then she calmed down and said: "The lady said she wanted to go for a walk in the courtyard, so Xiaochan and I helped her downstairs. When we got here, the lady suddenly felt weak and sat down on the stairs.
, at first glance, the lady clenched her teeth, her face was ashen, and she fainted——"
The old maid Yinggu was brought by Chen's mother Li from her natal family, and she always called Chen's mother Li her wife.
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, forced a smile and said, "It's okay, I just felt a little dizzy suddenly. I'll get over it now, right?"
"Mom, I will carry you back to your room." Chen Cao put one hand around his mother's shoulders and the other hand under her knees, and picked her up. Her mother was really thin. She was not much heavier than the nine-year-old Zong Zhi.
Withered white hair fluttered to Chen Caozhi's cheeks, and Chen Caozhi held back tears.
Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao both came to visit, and his fourth uncle Chen Xian also came. He called Chen Caozhi aside for questioning. Hearing that Zhi Mindu and Yang Quan, a famous doctor in Yangzhou, had both come to treat Chen's mother Li, he said: "Cao Zhi
In conclusion, it seems that your mother's illness cannot be cured by medicine and stones. When you were born, your mother also fainted and needed Du Dao Shou Talisman Water to wake up. Now since human medicine and stones cannot cure it, you should pray to the ghosts and gods tomorrow.
Go and invite Du Daoshou to come and have a look. Du Daoshou came back to Qiantang from Jiankang with me."
