Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 200 Zhang Liucaijie, is he not human?
The Book of Songs consists of three parts: Feng, Ya, and Song. Among them, "Song" refers to the songs and dances used in ancestral temple sacrifices to praise ancestors and report to the ancestors.

To put it more bluntly, "ode" is to praise or commend a person, thing, or phenomenon. As a genre, odes are usually written in four-character lines and rhyme.

Of course, as the subject matter evolved in later generations, some eulogies were not bound by this style of writing, but their purpose remained unchanged.

Although eulogies were not frequently used in daily life, they were used very often in the imperial edict system of the Tang Dynasty. To put it simply, any minister who wanted to be in charge of drafting imperial edicts had to be proficient in writing eulogies.

During the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Cen Wenben served as a secretary and submitted "Ode to the Imperial Fields" and "Ode to the Three Primal Elements" to the emperor. His talent and fame grew due to the beauty of his writing, and he was recommended by Li Jing to become a drafter in the Secretariat, where he began to take charge of important matters.

Yan Tingzhi explained this proposition very clearly: the candidates were to praise the fact that the Jade Palace was filled with sweet dew in a eulogy, and whoever praised it best and most elegantly would rank higher.

When heaven and earth unite, sweet dew descends. In ancient political circles, sweet dew was a highly auspicious object, symbolizing a peaceful and prosperous era. It has been celebrated in countless poems, songs, and odes throughout history, so this exam question is not particularly novel.

Furthermore, eulogies are a highly formulaic form of applied writing, which limits the talent that can be displayed compared to examination poems, and mainly reflects the ability to control language.

It's quite difficult to continue praising something that has been praised for hundreds or thousands of years, and to praise it even more brilliantly.

Zhang Dai first picked up his brush and wrote down several words on the paper, such as "Hetu, Luoshu, Jingxing, Qingyun, Ganlu, and Gaoyu". These words usually refer to auspicious omens that signify harmony between heaven and man and a peaceful and prosperous world. Since Cuiwei Palace is located in Luoyang, using them together would undoubtedly create a layered and escalating momentum.

However, after some thought, Zhang Dai crossed out all the other words. While parallelism was impressive, it didn't effectively highlight the image of "sweet dew." After all, the Hetu and Luoshu were auspicious omens of an immense level; anything placed next to them would pale in comparison.
"The sky is clear and the earth is peaceful, the seasons are favorable and the year is bountiful, and now sweet dew descends upon the Xuan Palace..."

After pondering for a while, he picked up his pen again and wrote an opening. Although it flowed relatively smoothly, he felt that the opening was a bit bland and lacked momentum. So after considering it again, he wrote: "Divine martial prowess reigns supreme, the Taijie Qi is peaceful, the Zhitai receives the mandate, auspicious liquid is born naturally, the five materials are used together, the six directions condense the essence, crystal clear and splendid, auspicious jade is exquisite..."

He hasn't been wasting his time catching up on his studies. Even though he can't write eloquent essays immediately, he can still write on the topic, with both literary and scientific merit, after much stumbling and deliberation.

The examination hall was not as lively as it had been during the previous exam. Everyone was focused on composing their essays. Some sat hunched over their desks, not uttering a single word for a long time, while others picked up their pens and wrote furiously, but after a short pause, they abandoned the entire piece.

Even a genius like Li Bai would find it difficult to write such a highly topical and applied essay in a short time.

Wang Changling, who had traveled to the border regions and produced many famous works, was now stroking his beard, frowning, and scratching his head. He thought for a long time but still didn't know how to approach the question. So he simply walked out of the examination hall and strolled around to look at other people's writing.

Such behavior is permissible because, unlike other articles, there is no clear answer as to whether an article is good or bad.

Some people may indeed encounter a temporary block in their thinking and be unable to write a coherent piece. Taking a look at someone else's answer sheet may provide some inspiration. Occasionally borrowing from others' work but being able to integrate it into one's own writing is not a big deal, as long as it is not a complete copy.

When Wang Changling strolled over to Zhang Dai, his eyes lit up after seeing Zhang Dai's two sentences on the topic. After pondering for a moment, he leaned close to Zhang Dai and whispered, "Zhang Liu is resentful..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was taken aback. He turned his gaze back to his own opening paragraph, pondered for a moment, and then waved his hand at Wang Changling, saying, "Go away, go away, don't let these fabricated words disturb my thoughts!"

The Taijie refers to the ancient Three Platforms constellation, with two stars each in the upper, middle, and lower platforms, resembling a staircase. The upper platform represents the emperor, the middle platform the prime minister, and the lower platform the common people. When the Taijie is level, the world is at peace.

Wang Changling came over and made a sarcastic remark, implying that Zhang Dai was speaking out in defense of his grandfather, Zhang Yue, who was dismissed from his post after the Fengshan ceremony, a situation that brought peace but ultimately led to his downfall. Of course, Zhang Dai didn't mean it that way; Wang Changling's interpretation was completely off. If he truly was complaining about his grandfather's dismissal, why would he have praised the sweet dew and jade rain?

After taking a stroll around, Wang Changling had an idea in mind, so he hurriedly returned to his test shop and began to write.

Du Mengyin, who was in the next stall, saw that Wang Changling was greatly inspired after only glancing at Zhang Dai's answer sheet. Intrigued, he deliberately bypassed Zhang Dai's stall when he got up to fetch water, peeking inside. His expression changed slightly. He pretended to go to get water, but instead carried the empty water jug ​​straight back to his own desk.

Zhang Dai was also experiencing a creative block at the moment. Seeing the young man like this, he got up and went to his desk to see how the young man would solve the problem.

Seeing this, Du Mengyin hurriedly tried to cover it up, but Zhang Dai, with his sharp eyes, still noticed that the first line was "The universe is tranquil, the moon is bright and the sun is clear." He chuckled, shook his head with feigned sigh, and tried to dampen the young man's confidence. He walked out of Du Mengyin's examination booth and looked north, finding Yan Tingzhi standing at the head of the examination booths in the east corridor, where Li Yi, the top candidate in the Eastern Supervisor's examination, was also present. Intrigued, Zhang Dai went over to see what was so captivating about Li Yi that drew the examiners' attention.

"Blessed by Heaven's grace and virtuous rule, the great creation bestows its blessings, and all things are nourished..."

Zhang Dai walked over and looked at Li Yi's opening lines. He compared them to his own in his mind and couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this guy knew how to flatter. Indeed, his own writing was a tiny bit better.

"No complete works yet?"

Yan Tingzhi looked at Li Yi's answer sheet with admiration, and when Zhang Dai came over, he casually asked him a question.

"Only half a piece has been written; my thoughts are exhausted, and I still need to refine it."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai immediately bowed and said no more. He then turned and returned to his test shop.

Yan Tingzhi walked around and looked at things, especially lingering for a long time in front of the desks of several scholars who were quite talented. When he came to Zhang Dai's desk, he did the same. In addition to the one he was writing, he picked up all the other discarded manuscripts and looked at them one by one. After pausing, he asked, "How old is Zhang Dai?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, I was born in the first year of the Kaiyuan era and am now sixteen years old."

Upon hearing this question, Zhang Dai quickly replied.

Upon hearing this, Yan Tingzhi nodded without saying anything more and turned to go down to the next shop.

It took Zhang Dai several hours to write a eulogy. By the time he finished, it was already afternoon, and as soon as he put down his pen, he felt extremely hungry.

Smoke was already rising from the examination hall, as many candidates had stopped answering questions and started cooking.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Dai also began cooking. His charcoal fire had never gone out, but after the sun rose, he moved it out of the test area because it was too hot. Now, with the addition of some fine charcoal, the fire burned brightly again.

There was still a lot of food in his examination box, which could be eaten after being simply heated on the stove. While he was still arranging it, Wang Changling and the others came over and each brought some food. So Zhang Dai simply pulled out a mat and spread it on the ground, and the group sat down on the ground to have a meal.

However, the meal didn't last long, as there was still a challenging essay to write in the afternoon. After quickly filling their stomachs and washing their hands, they returned to their study rooms. The kitchen waste outside was collected by the patrolling soldiers driving oxcarts.

Overall, the rules and regulations of the Tang Dynasty's imperial examinations were incredibly lenient compared to the inhumane and harsh regulations of later dynasties like the Ming and Qing. After meals, candidates could even stroll around the examination hall and discuss the rhyming and composition of their essays with their fellow examinees.

After returning to his post, Zhang Dai began to compose a poem. The title of the poem seemed somewhat familiar to him: "He who can find a teacher will become king," a phrase from the Book of Documents, which speaks of the importance of seeking out and appointing virtuous and capable people.

The requirement for regulated fu (a type of classical Chinese prose-poem) is to use the eight characters "能得师者，王道成矣" (meaning "He who can obtain a teacher will achieve the kingly way") as rhyme within a specified length, which is indeed quite difficult. Some topics even specify that the rhymes should be used in the order of the eight characters, making it even more difficult.

The previous eulogy had already exhausted Zhang Dai's energy, and he was feeling a bit sleepy after lunch, but he still forced himself to think about the topic. He couldn't possibly stay up all night answering questions like his grandfather had suggested.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he remembered why the question looked so familiar—he had done it before! No, strictly speaking, he had copied it.

He had previously copied and organized all the ancient poems and rhymes that he still remembered, in case of need, including a poem by Wen Yanbo of the Northern Song Dynasty, "The King Who Can Obtain a Teacher"!
Yan Tingzhi's given topic was "Ode to the King's Respect for the Worthy," but the allusion used was still "He who can find a teacher becomes king." Although the topics were different, they rhymed. Therefore, Zhang Dai didn't need to bother writing anything further; he only needed to copy this ode!
Having found this clever trick, Zhang Dai was naturally delighted. He immediately searched his memory, mentally reviewing the entire essay before beginning to write it down. In just over an hour, he finished copying the essay, thus completing both of his miscellaneous essays.

There was still a long time before dark. Zhang Dai turned around and saw that the other candidates were still deep in thought and writing furiously. Not wanting to stand out too much, he simply took out a brocade quilt from his exam box and lay down on the exam bed to sleep.

He slept until almost dark in the evening, when he was awakened by a murmur of whispers. When he opened his eyes, he saw many candidates standing outside the examination hall, passing around their essays. Li Yi, who had been writing with great enthusiasm that morning, exclaimed repeatedly when he saw him awake, "Zhang Liucai is so quick-witted, he's not human!"

(End of this chapter)