Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 244 The Struggle for Literary Tradition
During these three days, Lu Beigu, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi studied very hard, and Song Tang also did his best to help them.

He not only provided past provincial exam questions, but also used his extensive experience to correct the mistakes made by the three individuals.

Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, who already had a solid foundation, focused on improving their knowledge of calligraphy over the past three days, making up for minor oversights in their test-taking skills, and thus appeared even more composed and confident.

Lu Beigu also demonstrated astonishing efficiency. Like a dried-up sponge, he quickly absorbed the accumulated knowledge of the Imperial Academy over the past hundred years, especially those books containing obscure commentaries and annotations, many of which were simply unavailable elsewhere.

Therefore, Lu Beigu's strength, especially his strength in the Mo Yi aspect, has shown a trend of breakthrough.

The day of the competition.

The Imperial College, which is usually deserted, was unusually crowded with a long line of horse-drawn carriages and mule carts parked on East Street in front of it today.

Besides a small number of students from the Imperial Academy, there were also many scholars from the capital who had rushed over upon hearing the news, as well as many students from the Imperial Academy waiting at the gate. However, all of them were stopped outside by the officials of the Imperial Academy and were not allowed to enter.

Only Lu Beigu and his two companions were allowed inside.

Clearly, the dispute between Hu Yuan and Yang Anguo at the imperial lecture had, after three days of fermentation, become a major news story in Kaifeng's literary circles.

This scenario was completely unexpected by Cheng Hao and the others.

They were engrossed in their studies and had no idea that things would escalate to such a huge extent.

However, it's understandable when you think about it. When Yang Anguo, a Hanlin Academician and the Director of the Imperial Academy, and Hu Yuan, a lecturer of the Tianzhang Pavilion and the Director of the Imperial Academy, challenged each other, they were betting on the last remaining dignity of the Imperial Academy. How could this not attract attention?

The hall where the competition was held.

Yang Anguo, dressed in a purple robe and wearing a turban with right angles, sat upright on one side of the main seat early in the morning, his back straight, trying his best to maintain the dignity of a close minister of the emperor.

However, his tightly pursed lips betrayed his inner anxiety.

His gaze kept sweeping towards the entrance below the hall. When he saw Lu Beigu and the other two enter, his tense expression relaxed slightly, and hope appeared in his eyes.

Lu Beigu and his two companions only realized upon entering that there was someone they knew in the hall.

It was none other than Ouyang Xiu.

"Lord Ouyang".

The three of them saluted together.

Now it was Yang Anguo's turn to be surprised. He turned his head and asked, "Uncle Yong, do you know these three young talents?"

"Of course, I am here today for them. If it were your students from the Imperial Academy who were to take on the challenge, I wouldn't have come."

Yang Anguo's joy faltered slightly, then turned into a hint of embarrassment. He had invited Ouyang Xiu to watch the match yesterday, assuming that Ouyang Xiu had agreed entirely out of respect for him.

At this moment, Ouyang Xiu gave him a look, and Lu Beigu, who was at the back, understood and closed the door behind him.

"Long story short."

Then, Ouyang Xiu called them over and said in a deep voice.

"As you all know, I have always advocated classical prose and opposed the Imperial Academy style. After all, the Imperial Academy style was originally a powerful tool created by Shi Zulai to correct the decadent style of the Xikun School. Its original intention was to awaken the deaf and awaken the blind, and to defend the orthodoxy. But now, it has been regarded as the gold standard by people like Liu Ji, and has become even more extreme, turning into a stepping stone for piling up obscure and obscure language and sensationalism. If this trend continues, not only will the literary world decline, but the habits of scholars will also become pretentious and exaggerated, leaving endless harm!"

Ouyang Xiu was truly heartbroken.

He repeatedly emphasized this matter on various occasions, so his attitude has always been met with overt or covert hostility from the Imperial Academy, but they are reluctant to openly challenge him due to his status as the leader of the literary world.

However, Ouyang Xiu opposed the Imperial Academy style of writing, which, frankly, was tantamount to cutting off someone's path to officialdom. This was no less hateful than cutting off someone's livelihood, and therefore the Imperial Academy had always been looking for an opportunity to retaliate. Ouyang Xiu continued, "How could the students of the Imperial Academy, especially those who prided themselves on the 'Imperial Academy style' and saw it as a stepping stone to advancement, willingly sit idly by and watch its foundation crumble? They needed to prove that their literary style was not only correct, but rather a symbol of profound scholarship and overflowing talent, proving that they represented the orthodoxy and future of the literary world."

"So, that's why the Imperial Academy chose the National Academy?"

Yang Anguo seemed to understand something. He and Hu Yuan had always had disagreements, so he didn't think about this matter from any other perspective.

“That’s exactly right.” Ouyang Xiu stated bluntly, “In the past, before the rise of the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Academy was a gathering place for the nation’s most talented people. Although it has declined in strength, it still holds the title of the nation’s highest institution of learning. Defeating the Imperial Academy would be the best way to demonstrate the correctness of their Imperial Academy system. It would also prove to the court and to scholars across the country that the Imperial Academy has no more talent, and only the Imperial Academy is the true continuation of the literary tradition.”

His words were like a thunderclap, completely revealing the reasons hidden behind this competition.

Lu Beigu understood instantly.

No wonder!
In this way, everything makes sense. It turns out that this seemingly ordinary academic competition actually influenced the future literary style of the entire Song Dynasty, and was an outright struggle for literary lineage!

Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi exchanged a glance, and then a stronger sense of responsibility welled up within them.

It turns out that they were not only defending the Imperial Academy and Mr. Lianxi, but also directly standing at the forefront of the "orthodox path of classical Chinese literature" advocated by Ouyang Xiu, resisting the backlash of the "Imperial Academy style"!

“The Imperial Academy is the ‘whetstone’ they’ve chosen.” Ouyang Xiu looked at Lu Beigu and the other two. “Fortunately, this whetstone is hard enough, and today it will probably backfire on their blades.”

"Haha, Uncle Yong's words are brilliant!"

Yang Anguo burst into laughter, the embarrassment from before vanishing and replaced by a feeling of exhilaration.

"Since Uncle Yong thinks so highly of these three talented young men, then I am relieved."

"Don't be too quick to relax." Ouyang Xiu shook his head slightly.

Just then, footsteps sounded again in the courtyard, and the group stopped talking.

The door was opened after the clerk who led the way knocked, and the students from the Imperial Academy arrived.

At the entrance, an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in a simple scholar's robe, walked in slowly, surrounded by several scholars in uniform.

This old man is none other than Hu Yuan, Hu Anding, the only one of the "Three Gentlemen of the Early Song Dynasty" who is still making public appearances.

Behind Hu Yuan was a young man in his early twenties, tall and slender, with an undeniable air of aloofness between his brows.

Hu Yuan nodded slightly to Yang Anguo as a greeting, her expression calm and indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Yang Anguo had no choice but to reluctantly return the greeting.

Afterwards, Ouyang Xiu and Hu Yuan exchanged greetings.

The two sides took their seats, clearly separated.

The Imperial Academy side was led by Liu Ji, and included several other students of similarly distinguished bearing. They were clearly the best students in the Imperial Academy, forming a formidable force.

In contrast, the Imperial Academy only had Lu Beigu, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi, which made them seem rather weak and outnumbered.

After a while, all the famous scholars and learned men from the capital who were allowed to come and watch today arrived.

The chief judge, a highly respected Confucian scholar, cleared his throat and announced in a loud voice: "Today, the students of the Imperial Academy and the National Academy will exchange ideas and discuss scholarship, aiming to hone their knowledge and share insights. The competition, as agreed, consists of three parts: copying classics, interpreting meanings in calligraphy, and writing essays on current affairs. There will be fifty questions on copying classics, fifty questions on interpreting meanings in calligraphy, and twenty questions on current affairs. The questions will be jointly drawn and prepared by myself, several scholars from the Hanlin Academy, doctors from the National Academy, and doctors from the Imperial Academy. They will be written on the spot, and the time limit for answering each question is one hour. If the time limit is exceeded, the competition will end. The results will be judged on the spot before continuing. Does anyone have any objections?"

Both sides agreed that there were no objections, and the competition then officially began.

(End of this chapter)