Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 27 Ten-day Test
In the following days, Lu Beigu got up early every day and read outside the school yard in the morning.

Before the morning dew dried, his low recitation, accompanied by the singing of birds, echoed in the courtyard.

Gradually, word of his diligence spread, attracting several students to join in the morning reading. It became a common sight in the county school, and even the principal of the county school had heard of it.

"The Master said to Yan Yuan, 'If it is of use, then it will be carried out; if it is not, then it will be hidden. Only you and I possess such qualities!' Zilu said, 'If you were to lead the army, who would accompany you?' The Master replied, 'I will not follow those who brave a tiger or cross a river, and who would die without regret. I must follow those who are apprehensive when faced with danger, and who are keen on planning and achieving success.'"

Xue Zheng, who was on his way to the meeting place for breakfast, stopped on the road and listened carefully. He found that it was Lu Beigu's voice. Although the tone was low, every word was sonorous, as if he was reading out the sound of metal and stone.

He remembered this student, who had performed brilliantly in the policy essay examination before the Cold Food Festival, but had performed poorly in other subjects. However, when he heard his recitation now, he found it quite methodical. If he had not been familiar enough with it, he would not have been able to recite it so smoothly and without any stumbling blocks.

Xue Zheng stroked his beard and pondered, then turned and walked inside.

In the morning light, Lu Beigu was pacing with a book in his hands. He was so focused on reading that he didn't even notice that his sleeve was caught on a bamboo branch.

It was not until I heard the sound of clearing a throat that I realized Xue Zheng was standing three steps away. The old man's blue cloth clothes were slightly fluttering in the wind.

"The student has met the principal."

Xue Zheng took the book from Lu Beigu's hand and glanced at the dense marks on the edge of the bamboo paper. It was probably used for practicing calligraphy.

He calmly opened the chapter "On Government" and suddenly asked, "What does the chapter 'Observe the Reasons' mean?"

Lu Beigu thought for a moment and replied, "The Master teaches us to observe people, to see what they do, to understand their reasons, and to be content with what they enjoy. Then, people's hearts will have nothing to hide."

Xue Zheng nodded. It was not all rote memorization. He was completely different from the young man who could only recite from a book a month ago.

Then he asked a few more questions.

It is not only the content in "The Analects of Confucius" that needs to be memorized, but also the understanding of the classics in "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of Rites". However, it is obvious that although Lu Beigu has become more and more proficient in memorizing "The Analects of Confucius" and has a better understanding of the relevant content of "Spring and Autumn Annals", he is still very unfamiliar with "Book of Rites".

"What annotations have you read recently?" Xue Zheng suddenly asked.

Lu Beigu truthfully told the other party about several books he had read.

"Just reading the Book of Rites is not enough. Even if it's orthodox, it still has quite a few differences from the current exam content."

Xue Zheng reached out and pressed his shoulder. The old man felt the bony shoulder bones beneath the sackcloth and said, "I'm afraid you won't have time to read Fang Que's 'The Essence of the Book of Rites' in detail. So, come to me later and get the three volumes of 'Examples of the Book of Rites'. If you have some free time, you can also go to the bookstore and buy 'A Summary of the Book of Rites'."

"Yes, thank you Xuezheng."

The old man waved his hand and walked away.

As for the "Essence of the Book of Rites" mentioned just now, it is a large exam preparation book with a total of fifty volumes. The content is mainly excerpts from the "Book of Rites", with the essence of annotations from past dynasties, and "Mo Yi Explanations", which is roughly the meaning of a complete collection of mock exam question types. It can be completely understood as a similar existence to "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation".

This massive book has been reprinted many times during the reign of Emperor Renzong, and has been listed as a key recommended reading for examinations by the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy. It would be impossible to finish it without devoting yourself to it for several months, so Lu Beigu, who is currently short on time, doesn't need to consider it.

"Examples of the Book of Rites" is a simplified version of the book, which contains excerpts of key and frequently tested chapters, and provides corresponding Moyi answer templates. It is a quick way to grasp the key points and is very suitable for improving grades intensively.

Of course, this kind of good stuff is extremely expensive in the market.

As for the so-called "Essentials of the Meaning of the Book of Rites", its content is more advanced and it is sold at a higher price. In fact, it is a collection of real questions and annotations from provincial examinations over the years. Generally, only candidates who go to Beijing to take the imperial examinations will buy it for the purpose of taking the Jinshi examination. He can't use it now.

Lu Beigu reopened the "Analects of Confucius" and the page stopped at the "Shu Er" chapter.

"He is a man who, in his eagerness, forgets to eat, and in his joy, forgets his worries."

He shook his head. It was not that he had forgotten to eat. He had to prepare to go to the dining hall for breakfast to review the "Analects of Confucius" used in the calligraphy. Apart from the morning reading, he only squeezed out time to read it during meals. The rest of the time was mostly used to review the complicated "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of Rites", which required a lot of effort to review Mo Yi's theory.

As for poetry, to be honest, he hadn't had time to prepare it yet. He hoped to have some time to read relevant books while resting on the way to Chengdu Prefecture. After breakfast, the morning passed.

When the dazzling sunlight penetrated the window paper, Lu Beigu had been sitting at the desk for two full hours.

The pages of "Li Ji Ju Yu" borrowed from Xue Zheng were a little frayed from being flipped by him. With a "snap", he gently closed the volume and rubbed his sore temples.

He heard the noise of students outside the window, and then he realized that it was time to go to the study hall.

Today is the day of the ten-day test, and the desk has been set up for a single seat.

Not long after Lu Beigu, who had just arrived, sat down, Xuezheng came in with a few teachers holding test papers.

"Forty articles on the Sutra, twenty questions on the meaning of the Mo."

The principal distributed jute paper rolls to the students in the front row and said, "The papers will be collected at the beginning of noon. You can hand them in early."

The ten-day test is a small test, and its main purpose is to let students understand their own level. Therefore, students do not attach much importance to it. After taking it too many times, they feel numb and think it is a routine.

Lu Beigu unfolded the test paper, and the scent of ink filled his face.

The first question is to fill in the blanks in "The Analects of Confucius: Eight Trigrams".

"The Master said: 'The _____ _____, mourn without _____'."

This is a random question. He reads the Analects every morning. Although he can't recite it by heart, he can't even be tested on the obscure chapter "Xiangdang" now. This is just a random answer.

After answering forty questions, there were indeed two or three that were quite tricky. Lu Beigu, who had not yet had time to memorize the Analects, was unsure whether his answers were completely correct.

However, overall, an accuracy rate of over 90% can be guaranteed, which is definitely a huge difference compared to the previous level.

Of course, although both are exams on calligraphy, the difficulty of the county exam is not comparable to that of the state exam, and this part usually does not make much difference in scores for top candidates.

When it came to the meaning of ink, the opening title of "Spring and Autumn" made Lu Beigu's pen pause.

"In the twenty-fourth year of Duke Xi, the Heavenly King left for Zheng. How is his calligraphy?"

Lu Beigu thought for a moment and wrote down the answer, "The emperor did not speak out, and those who spoke out were criticizing the king for being immoral." Then he changed his tone and added another explanation, "Although he has lost his position, he is still within the territory."

Although the twenty questions on Mo Yi didn't make me sweat profusely, it was definitely more of a headache than the test on filling in the blanks in the Analects of Confucius.

"call"

After handing in the paper, Lu Beigu also breathed a sigh of relief.

Next it is time to test the results of his study over the past ten days.

Because there were standard answers and there were several teachers present to mark the papers, the marking was very fast and the papers were basically marked shortly after they were submitted.

It didn’t take long before the rankings and results were announced.

In fact, everyone already knew what level each person was at, so no one was surprised to hear that He Cong and others were still among the top.

But when a name suddenly squeezed into the top ten, there was a burst of surprise in the study hall.

"——Lu Beigu, Tiejing B, upper part, Mo Yi B, lower part, ranked ninth!"

(End of this chapter)