Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 243 Pre-exam Intensive Training
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. As for the so-called 'Imperial Academy style' of writing, what exactly it is and where it comes from, I will take you to the library to take a look, and you will know."

The library stands deep within the Imperial College complex. It is a large three-story wooden building with double eaves, and its wood has turned a deep color over the years.

The building was quiet, with no one else present except for the two clerks who were on duty and cleaning the area.

Led by Song Tang, they successfully entered.

Rows of bookshelves are neatly arranged, and sunlight shines obliquely through the grilles of the high windows, forming bright beams of light in the dusty air, with countless dust particles silently dancing in the beams of light.

Song Tang deftly carried several stacks of books from different bookshelves and piled them on the desk, then handed them a few volumes individually.

"This is the collection of Shi Zulai's works. His writing style is like a swift wind and thunder, unrestrained and bold, with lofty and fierce intentions. He took it upon himself to defend the Way, vehemently criticizing Buddhism and Taoism, and attacking the ills of the time. He truly possessed an overwhelming and irresistible spirit. Back then, in order to correct the weak and decadent style of Xikun literature since the late Tang and Five Dynasties, Shi Zulai used this 'dangerous, strange and rugged' appearance as a weapon to awaken the deaf and enlighten the blind."

Lu Beigu opened a scroll, and the words that met his eyes were indeed imposing. They used many strange and archaic words, and the sentences were short and powerful, like knives and halberds, full of angry denunciation of heresies and firm defense of Confucian orthodoxy.

He seemed to see a passionate Confucian scholar standing on the ruins of the era, wielding the sword of thought to cut down everything harmful to the "Dao." This pure and ardent spiritual power was extremely impactful.

Cheng Hao picked up another volume of Shi Jie's collected works, quickly glanced at it, and said.

"Shi Zulai's writings are like ancient swords, their sharpness revealed to slay demons and protect the righteous path. Their foundation is firmly rooted in the great principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals, namely, 'honoring the king and repelling the barbarians' and 'clarifying the distinction between Chinese and barbarians.' Their 'dangerous and strange' nature is a thunderous means that was necessary in a chaotic world, a warning bell to awaken the world from its decline."

"good."

Cheng Yi always looked down on the "Imperial Academy style," saying, "Look at Liu Ji, he has the form but not the soul! He only learns the superficial aspects of Shi Zulai's use of obscure allusions, creation of dangerous sentences, and pursuit of startling words, but he has thrown his sincere heart of 'defending the orthodoxy and protecting the tradition' to the back of his mind."

However, Song Tang only let them have a slight understanding of the "Imperial Academy Style" writing style used by their opponents, so as not to be completely ignorant, and did not intend to study it in depth.

"As for Shi Zulai's writing, it's enough to understand the basics; there's no need to get bogged down in it. What's important right now is this—"

He pointed to the books.

"These are the questions on 'writing the classics' and 'interpreting the classics' from the Ministry of Rites' provincial examinations over the past twenty years. If you want to have a better chance in the competition, you need to go through all of these in the next three days as extra training."

None of the three had any objections; they figured it was just preparation for the Ministry of Rites' provincial examination next year.

Moreover, apart from the Imperial College, it is really difficult to find such a complete set of questions elsewhere. The past exam questions in the preparation booklets published on the market are all written from memory by the candidates after they passed the exam, which inevitably leads to some errors, omissions, and even contradictions. The Imperial College, on the other hand, obtained the original questions directly from the Ministry of Rites.

Lu Beigu eagerly asked, "Shall we begin now?"

It's rare to encounter so many original questions, so I'd better practice them to my heart's content.

"Let's answer the one from twenty years ago, the third year of the Jingyou reign," Song Tang said, pulling out the question.

Without any unnecessary words, the three of them immediately got to work, sat in a row, and then took turns reading and answering the questions.

For a moment, only the sound of breathing and the occasional soft rustling of turning pages could be heard inside the library.

Time slipped away quietly as I focused on answering the questions.

About an hour later, the three of them put down their pens one after another. Song Tang was the "Assistant Instructor of the Four Gates of the Imperial Academy," and the four gates were actually the four subjects of the imperial examination: copying classics, writing essays, composing poems, and writing policy essays. In other words, Song Tang could teach everything.

Therefore, Song Tang's judgment of the case was naturally not a problem.

All three were successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and their abilities were quite high, so writing the classics would definitely not be difficult for them.

After all, no matter how creative the reverse-question puzzles are, they still come from the Analects of Confucius. The Analects only has a little over 10,000 characters, and if you can recite them fluently, dealing with them won't be a problem.

As for Mo Yi, all three of them had some problems, more or less.

"Cheng Hao, this question is from the Spring and Autumn Annals, Duke Xi, Year 16: 'In the spring, the first month of the king, on the first day of the month, a meteorite fell on Song. In that month, six birds flew backward and passed over the capital of Song.' Examine how the Gongyang Commentary interprets this celestial anomaly. In fact, the examiner's purpose in setting this question is to explain the core principle of 'recording anomalies,' and it is necessary to cite He Xiu's key annotations in 'Explanations.'"

"You wrote in the Gongyang Commentary: 'Why mention meteorites before stones? Meteorites are recorded as heard; one hears a crashing sound, looks at them as stones, and upon closer inspection, there are five... Why mention six birds before egrets? Six egrets flying backwards are recorded as seen; one sees six, upon closer inspection, they are egrets, and upon closer inspection, they fly backwards.' That's correct, but the core principle of 'recording anomalies' should be 'A gentleman, in his words, is not careless,' emphasizing that the recording of celestial anomalies must be in the order in which they are perceived, in order to seek truth and not falsehood. Your answer on this is not good."

Seeing that Cheng Hao was quite alarmed by his mistake, Song Tang continued to offer guidance.

"Moreover, He Xiu's commentary on 'Records of Strange Things' states: 'Strange things are extraordinary and bizarre, and they arrive before the event.' This is the key to understanding the theory of calamities and anomalies in the Gongyang Commentary, which you did not write down."

As for Cheng Yi.

“You answered this question incorrectly. The Book of Rites, “Sacrifice to the Suburbs” states, “There are prayers, reports, and reasons for offering sacrifices.” The question is asking what the meaning of “reasons for offering sacrifices” is, and how Zheng Xuan’s commentary and Kong Yingda’s explanation are different. But in fact, it is more important to clarify its position in the “sacrifice system” and how it differs from the “reporting” sacrifice.

“Youpi” is an extremely obscure sacrificial category, involving subtle differences in the classification of ancient sacrifices.

This question was very difficult. Lu Beigu thought about it carefully for a moment when answering it. If Mr. Baisha hadn't specifically mentioned it before, he probably would have failed.

"You wrote about Zheng Xuan's commentary, '由 means to use. 辟 is read as 弭, meaning to quell disasters and wars, and to avert crimes and diseases.' Kong Yingda's commentary states, 'There is a 由辟, meaning to use this sacrifice to quell disasters, wars, crimes and diseases.' This part is all correct. The part about 'in the sacrificial system, it is listed alongside '祈' and '报' is also correct. However, your final analysis of the difference between '由辟' and '报' sacrifices is unclear."

"The correct answer should be that 'Youpi' refers specifically to the sacrifice held to eliminate disasters that have occurred or will occur, such as war and epidemics, with the emphasis on 'eliminating the disaster'; while the 'Bao' sacrifice is to give thanks for the blessings that the gods have bestowed, with the emphasis on 'repaying kindness'."

As for Lu Beigu.

Finally, Song Tang's gaze fell on Lu Beigu's answer sheet. He looked at it silently for a moment, then pointed to a sentence: "Here, in the passage 'When the Great Way is hidden, the world becomes a family, and propriety and righteousness are the guiding principles,' you quoted Zheng Xuan's commentary that 'the guiding principles are the fundamental principles,' which is correct. However, later in the text you wrote 'to rectify the relationship between ruler and subject, and to strengthen the bond between father and son,' saying that 'although it is a system of moderate prosperity, it does not lose the foundation of human relations.' This argument is not very sound. After 'not losing the foundation,' you should add another sentence: 'However, compared to the Great Harmony, where 'people do not only love their own parents, and do not only cherish their own children,' there are still differences and barriers. Only in this way can you point out its limitations and be thorough, so as not to let the examiners find any mistakes."

The three accepted the instruction with utmost respect and without complaint, immediately picking up their pens to rewrite, supplement, or deepen their understanding in the margins of their respective scrolls.

There was no more conversation in the library. Song Tang took the exam questions for the following year.

"Keep answering, and you'll succeed if you answer without any mistakes!"

They continued to bury themselves in their books.

In the blink of an eye, three days of preparation time had passed.

(End of this chapter)