In the monthly exam in October, Zhao Ran got the first-class examination paper. Most of the examination papers were questions about various Zhaijiao rituals. Although Zhao Ran had never participated in Zhaijiao in practice, it did not prevent him from writing the answers perfectly—
-Being able to recite the entire scripture, for Zhao Ran, who was a top student in liberal arts before time travel, it would be a piece of cake for him to successfully answer the questions.
After handing the answer sheet to Liu Jingzhu, Liu Jingzhu nodded slightly to show his appreciation, and then motioned Zhao Ran to go to the east wing to be interviewed by Jiang Gaogong. As soon as Zhao Ran stepped out of the examination room, he saw that Zhu Meng had also handed in his paper, and his pace slowed down.
a little.
Seeing Zhu Meng catching up, Zhao Ran was filled with a sense of accomplishment and said with a smile: "Junior brothers, are you able to answer the questions smoothly? It has been nine months since you and I have been ranked first and equal. During these days, senior brothers
I really have a lot of feelings. Senior brother, I have learned a lot from you... In the future, if you have any questions, you can come to me for more exchanges. Knowledge is about exchanges, and you can't do things behind closed doors."
Zhao Ran's words were condescending and full of concluding remarks, which meant that there was no winner or loser in the first nine months, but it changed from the tenth month on. You and I are in the same position.
Different starting lines, everything in the past is in the past...
Zhu Meng laughed, with a bit of weirdness in his smile: "Junior Brother Zhao is right, I will definitely ask Junior Brother for advice more in the future!"
The interview in the east wing was still hosted by Jiang Gaogong. When it was their turn, one signaled, "Junior brothers, please come first," and the other humbly said, "Junior brother Zhao, please come first. Senior brothers, please wait." The final result was that Zhu Meng came first.
After accepting the interview, Zhao Ran was waiting outside very relaxed and proud.
When Zhu Meng came out, he didn't look very good. Zhao Ran wanted to come up and tease him a few words, but he had already walked away. Zhao Ran didn't take it seriously, he was very generous and understanding - Jiang Gaogong must have passed his first-level exam.
I told him about the test papers and it was normal to be jealous.
As soon as Zhao Ran entered, Jiang Gaogong threw him a question with a straight face, asking him to answer the Qing Ci practice in "Supreme Yellow Urn Dazhai Altar". Zhao Ran was shocked, and he didn't know where he had offended this Gao Ran.
achievement.
Qingci, also known as green seals, are memorials and congratulations written to God during the fasting ceremony. They are also articles that flatter the ancestors of gods and Taoists - only when they feel comfortable will their spirits appear and come to the world.
Qing Ci has strict format requirements, and there are special writings in "Supreme Huang Lu Dazhai Yi". Zhao Ran immediately started to recite: "...You must use high-quality green paper, and do not let it be stained or worn.
If the paper is thin, you will need to memorize two pieces, one foot and two inches high. Only one piece is allowed. There are no more than seventeen lines in the front and back. There is no harm in keeping it dense, and half of the paper should be left empty at the end...the upper part is eight points, and the lower part is used for ants.
, the number of words is not limited to each line, but it is best to use small regular script. For example, the following text after enlightenment should not exceed sixteen sentences. It should point directly to the matter, be simple but not flashy, and be practical but not cluttered. It must not be ostentatious or decorative.
rhetoric……"
Seeing Zhao Ran's eloquent reciting posture, Jiang Gaogong's face turned slightly, and he interrupted: "Let's talk about "Jiao Shuo"." "Jiao Shuo" is an important explanatory text, talking about "Jiao".
The matters that need to be prepared for each step, as well as the items needed to pay tribute to which gods, are very detailed. They are the basic knowledge in the fasting rituals of Taoist priests.
Zhao Ran immediately recited: "...Jiao Zhe, another name for sacrifice, Hetu Sutra, among the three caves, there are forty-two classes, Xian Yi Tai Shang is the main one, and Beidou is the second one... Jie Er,
The ritual master, after the Wei Ling mantra, then proceeds to make a furnace to appease the gods, offer incense once, read the words and then offer them, play money to burn the words, and offer the gods three times to return to the furnace... Whenever a Jiao is set up, the food, cakes and fruits used are the same as those used in fasting.
Law, if it is necessary to buy it on the market, there should be no debate..."
Jiang Gaogong interrupted and asked: "Three Pure Taoists, what should I offer as tribute?"
"Fragrant tea, ginseng and poria soup, etc..."
"Where's the land?"
"To offer in money..."
"Tell me about the levels of tribute offered by the various divine ancestors."
“The Three Pure Taoist Patriarchs and the Great Sages of the Ten Directions are the first class;
Next, there are the six emperors, the five elders of the five directions;
Third-class immortals of heaven and earth, great sages of the heavens, emperors of the sun and moon, and real gods;
Once again, the seven elements of the Big Dipper, the six stars of the Southern Dipper, the twenty-eight constellations, the divisions of the week and the sky, the true kings of all tribes...
Following are the three officials and three yuan, the three palaces and nine palaces, the one hundred and twenty cao, the five true gods, the emperor of the four seas, the immortal king of the source of the twelve rivers, the real person of the nine palaces, the commander of the nine heavens, the nine angels, the deputy chiefs, and the great god who serves the orders...
Sixth-level true official of the Sutra Sutra, Immortal Duke, Immortal Bo, Immortal Qing Dafu, Jiutian Yushi, Immortal Attendant General, Xuanshi Celestial Master, Three Treasures Officials...
The seventh-grade Liujia officers and generals, the immortal prison officials, the generals of the society and the generals of all spiritual departments...
The envoy of the eighth-level meritorious service, the golden boy and the beautiful girl, the straight talisman and the fragrant official, the envoy of law enforcement and enlightenment of yin and yang, the dispeller of disasters and the relief of misfortune to the officials, the general overseeing the work of the twenty-four solar terms, the direct envoy of the immortal spirit who supervises the merits of the four departments...
Nine-level flying dragons and immortals, envoys from the capital, wolves and tigers, strong men from heaven, horses and soldiers from heaven, the land of mountain gods..."
This part is the most solid content that Zhao Ran recited, because judging from the order of offerings during Zhaijiao, it actually reflects the Taoist order of the immortals and true gods, so Zhao Ran is very interested.
By searching for records in classics, combined with his knowledge of traveling through that life, Zhao Ran had almost figured out the pedigree of official positions in the heavens from the level of this tribute.
The biggest and most powerful ones are of course the first-class Taoist Sanqing and the Great Sage of the Ten Directions. Needless to say, the three great gods Yuanshi, Lingbao and Daode are top existences. The ones with similar status to them are the Great Sage of the Ten Directions.
That is, the Jade Emperor Heavenly Lord in the east, the Xuanzhen Wanfu Heavenly Lord in the south, the Wonderful Supreme Heavenly Lord in the west, the Xuanshang Yuchen Heavenly Lord in the north, the Holy Heavenly Lord Duxian in the northeast, the Good Life-saving Heavenly Lord in the southeast, the Tailingxu Emperor Heavenly Lord in the southwest, and the Heavenly Lord Tailingxu in the northwest.
There are ten masters: Wuliang Taihua Tianzun, Yuxu Minghuang Tianzun at the top, and Zhenhuang Cave God Tianzun at the bottom.
Zhao Ran was not very familiar with the name of the Great Sage of the Ten Directions, but since he held such a high position in the Taoist sect, there must be a reason for it.
Next are the six emperors and the five elders of the five directions. The six emperors are the Jade Emperor in the center, the Ziwei emperor in the north, the Changsheng emperor in the south, the Qinghua emperor in the east, the Taiji emperor in the west, and the emperor Chengtian. The five elders are the guide direction.
Taoist Cihang, Holy Emperor Chong'en of the East, Yuanjun Doumu of the North, Great Immortal Huangjiao of the Central Government, Emperor Donghua. These names are all very familiar to Zhao Ran, so it is not difficult to remember them.
From now on, Zhao Ran couldn't memorize them one by one, so he needed to consult other classics. The "Supreme Huanglu Dazhai Establishment Ceremony" did not introduce them one by one. However, Zhao Ran also made some calculations and planned to travel through that place.
Several gods who are familiar to me in this life have taken their seats, such as Erlang Zhenjun Yang Jian, who is ranked among the third-class "real-life gods" and has a very high status; Nezha, the great god of the Santanhaihui, is ranked among the fifth-class "great gods who support life".
Even though the Dragon King of the East China Sea was bullied by Nezha, his status was actually the same as Nezha. They both belonged to the fifth rank and were ranked before Nezha. And the naughty Bima Wen was in the seventh rank and belonged to the "immortal prison".
The category of "real officials" is not the low-ranking petty officials in "Journey to the West".
Zhao Ran recited it very well, and Jiang Gaogong's expression became more and more gentle. He raised his hand to stop Zhao Ran and said: "I thought you were too impatient and wanted to fight with Zhu Zhimeng for some reason. Now it seems that you are really a piece of cake."
It’s a good material for studying. The Bible reading has indeed reached this stage, and you are qualified to take the A-level examination paper. I also wronged you."
After listening to Jiang Gaogong's praise, Zhao Ran finally realized that he had previously thought that he had applied for the first-class examination paper just to fight against Zhu Meng. He seemed a little unreliable, so he got angry at him.
Jiang Gaogong paused and continued: "Forget it, today's interview is over, let's take a look at your test paper - I think it's not bad. If you are still good, I will go with Zhu Zhimeng to find Master Liu Jing tomorrow afternoon
, learn the rituals for an additional hour every day, and if you learn well, you can follow me down the mountain and practice Dharma for others."
Now we can go down the mountain to decorate the altar? Zhao Ran couldn't help but feel happy, but then he thought something was wrong and asked doubtfully: "Brother Gao Gong, you mean, together with Zhu Meng?"
Jiang Gaogong smiled brightly: "I don't know what happened to you and Zhu Zhimeng. When he heard that you also passed the first-class examination paper, he was very depressed..."
Zhao Ran's expression froze and he asked: "Also...?"
Jiang Gaogong nodded and said: "Yes, just like you, this month's monthly exam is a first-class paper. He is the result of talent, but you are the result of hard work. From this point of view, I appreciate you very much. You enter the Sutra Hall by yourself."
Since then, I have seen with my own eyes the hard work of reading scriptures in the Sutra Library, and I am very happy for you. However, you still have to pay attention to your body and bones. When entering Taoism, you should pay attention to health preservation, have peace of mind and body, and be consistent with the way of heaven. This is the long-term way...
"
Zhao Ran had a slumped face and had no energy to listen to Jiang Gaogong's lesson. He lamented in his heart that "God is unfair", and his good mood had already reached its lowest point.
Thanks to yangzhigang, Listen to the Song of the Sea, and Nine Lives Black Cat for the reward!