Top Scholar

Chapter 130 Expression
The Book of Rites, in its section on the Book of Rites, states: "A man is given a courtesy name at the age of twenty."

This means that a man officially comes of age at the age of twenty. From then on, he must tie his hair up and wear a cap, and at the same time, an elder will bestow upon him a courtesy name, after which he can no longer be addressed by his given name.

For two thousand years, people have generally followed ancient customs. However, as times have changed, they are no longer completely bound by them. For example, when Su Lu and his classmates first entered the academy, they were required to tie their hair up and wear headscarves, combing their hair like adults to show respect.

Similarly, upon graduation, the academy would bestow upon the students a courtesy name by their teachers. Of course, this was voluntary, and if students insisted on following ancient customs and refused to do so in advance, the teachers would not interfere.

But who would refuse to receive a courtesy name ahead of time? It's something they've been looking forward to since they were little.

For example, Chun Ge'er received the courtesy name 'Yingzhi' last year.

Moreover, requesting a calligraphy piece from the master is a sign of respect. It means that no matter where you go or how high an official position you hold in your life, you will never forget the master.

Mr. Zhang was naturally very pleased, but he shook his head and declined, saying, "You should go to Heshan Academy and ask the teachers there to bestow calligraphy upon you. It will be more useful for them to do so."

A name, especially a courtesy name bestowed upon someone, is just as important as the given name itself, naturally becoming an emotional bond between the two. This opportunity to build a relationship is both respectable and reliable, so it's highly likely that a scholar, even a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), will bestow a courtesy name upon the person, and this opportunity is limited to a single instance…

“No, I would like to ask you to bestow a name upon me, sir,” Su Lu said firmly. Although he was a pragmatic person, he was not so petty as to scheme and plot over even his own name.

"Oh, no, no..." Mr. Zhang declined repeatedly, but finally couldn't resist Su Lu's insistence. He pulled a piece of gold-flecked paper from the table and handed it to him, saying:

What do you think of this?

“Hongzhi?” Su Lu read out the two characters whose ink had long since dried.

“That’s right!” Mr. Zhang nodded emphatically, his face beaming with excitement.

"The given name should be derived from the given name; the two are inseparable, much like the title and the solution to a problem. Naturally, there are many ways to choose a given name, but there are three main ones—"

Mr. Zhang's penchant for teaching had kicked in again, and he wanted to start telling Su Lu's story from the very beginning of time. Su Lu listened patiently, treating it as Mr. Zhang's last lesson.

"The most common type is 'synonymous echo,' where the courtesy name and given name have similar meanings, thus reinforcing the connotation of the given name. For example, Zhuge Liang's courtesy name was Kongming; Cao Cao's courtesy name was Mengde; and Zhou Yu's courtesy name was Gongjin. These are all examples of this type."

"Antonyms complement each other, with the courtesy name and given name having opposite meanings, thus neutralizing the slightly extreme connotations in the given name. For example, Han Yu's courtesy name was Tuizhi, because 'Yu' means to surpass or win; Zhao Mengfu's courtesy name was Zi'ang, because 'Fu' is the same as 'Fu'."

"Thirdly, it is about 'extending and elevating' the meaning of the character. The character is derived from the original meaning of the given name and extended to a higher meaning. For example, Lu You's character was Wu Guan. The saying 'He was busy with external travels but did not know how to observe his inner self' is a reminder that he should not only observe the changes in external things but also pay more attention to introspection."

As he spoke, Mr. Zhang glanced at Su Lu and said, "And there's your ancestor, Mr. Dongpo, whose given name was 'Shi,' meaning the crossbar in front of a carriage for people to hold onto. His courtesy name was 'Zizhan,' which, from the function of 'Shi,' is to allow people to hold onto it and look into the distance, implying a far-sighted vision."

"In the spirit of revering Heaven and honoring ancestors, I have given you this character in the same way—'Lu' means 'to record,' but the purpose of recording is not only to preserve it, but also to 'propagate it'!" Mr. Zhang then explained the character to Su Lu, shaking his head as he did so.
"You are currently in the stage of learning, a time for recording and memorizing. I hope that in the future you will achieve great things and not waste your knowledge on empty shelves, only to make a living. Instead, I hope you will carry forward what you have learned. Even if you cannot 'establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, continue the lost learning of the past sages, and bring peace to all generations,' you should at least 'establish a destiny for the people' and promote the right path in the world!

"Yes, disciple Hongzhi will remember your teachings!" Su Lu bowed deeply and respectfully accepted the instruction.

"Alright, Hongzhi, from now on, Su Lu, Su Hongzhi, that will be your name!" Mr. Zhang, with a 'you're not going to stop praising me' expression, asked Su Lu, "Are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied, of course I'm satisfied." Su Lu nodded hurriedly, but couldn't help asking in a low voice, "But isn't this word taboo?"

"What taboo?" Mr. Zhang asked, puzzled.

“The current reign title,” Su Lu said softly, “Hongzhi, Hongzhi, isn’t it a bit…”

"Hahaha, you're being too meticulous, aren't you?" Mr. Zhang laughed loudly. "Isn't the reign title just something to be called? It's not like it's an imperial taboo, so why should we avoid it? Besides, even if it were an imperial taboo, our dynasty only pays a little attention to it when writing it. For example, the scripture teacher you're going to worship, the headmaster's third brother, guess what his name is?"

The clue was quite clear, so Su Lu pondered, "It must be two characters, with the 'king' radical, and it's related to the emperor's taboo name... Could it be the character '璋'?"

"That's right, Hongzhi is indeed clever!" Mr. Zhang laughed loudly. "His name is Zhu Zhang, and he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, didn't he? No one dragged him out and beheaded him!"

Su Lu chuckled awkwardly and said, "This disciple hasn't learned about taboos, has he?"

"Don't worry, the taboo rules in this dynasty are very lenient, and there are very few taboo characters for public names. You only need to remember two principles and you will be fine. First, the second character of the emperor's name must be avoided, and second, 'the two characters of the emperor's name are not mutually exclusive,' meaning that when the two characters of the emperor's name are not used together, there is no need to avoid them."

"So when 'Yuanzhang' is used together, the character 'zhang' should be missing a stroke. There's no need to avoid using either 'Yuan' or 'zhang' alone." Mr. Zhang then casually taught him another knowledge point for the exam.

Su Lu suddenly realized, "No wonder he dared to call himself Zhu Zhang. Then my name 'Hongzhi' is even less of a problem."

"Of course, would your teacher possibly trick you?!" Mr. Zhang laughed loudly. "Don't worry, Yang Pu, one of the Three Yangs, had the courtesy name Hongji; Shang Lu, the top scholar in the imperial examination, had the courtesy name Hongzai; the last top scholar in the Chenghua era was named Fei Hong; and there was a Vice Censor-in-Chief in Nanjing named Wang Hong! It's not too late for you to change your courtesy name after these important figures change their names." "Yes." Su Lu was finally completely relieved.

~~
After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhang, Su Lu went to Hongyunlou Restaurant to have a farewell dinner with his classmates. It was a bittersweet farewell to their youthful friendship, which needs no further explanation.

After lunch, all the teachers gathered at Daonan Hall to prepare for the last grading of papers this year.

Once everyone had arrived, Qian Shanchang walked out from behind the screen with steady steps.

"Headmaster..." All the gentlemen clasped their hands in greeting.

"Very well, I'm sorry to trouble you all again." Qian Huai-ren's voice became even deeper. After settling into his seat, he took a sip of the fragrant tea served by the servant and said slowly, "Let's begin."

"Yes," the gentlemen replied, then sat down and began grading the papers.

A bunch of sour grapes couldn't help but secretly grumble, "What's with this bird-haired acting headmaster putting on airs?"

Mr. Zhu distributed the exam papers to the examiners, but each person only received a few before the papers were gone.

"So few papers?" Mr. Niu felt unsatisfied when he saw the five papers he had been given.

"That's normal. Half of them were eliminated by Headmaster Zhu within a year," the gentleman beside him said irritably. Naturally, he changed his address for Zhu Liu to Headmaster Zhu.

The gentlemen already disliked Zhu Liu, and now that he had run away to take the imperial examination, they became even more disrespectful to him.

However, it's no wonder the teachers were annoyed. After rigorous screening, they recruited sixty students, but after a year, only thirty-one remained. Sixteen of them were from Shengshenzhai, and after Mingzhizhai and Duxingzhai were merged, only fifteen remained!
Not only will tuition fees be halved next year, but many teachers will also be out of work...

"Damn it, there are only thirty-one children left. If he continues to cause trouble for another year, there will be more teachers than students!" Mr. Zheng, who teaches the Book of Rites, is so frustrated that he curses because he will only have Ma Qianli as his student next year.

"What thirty-one? It's twenty-nine!" Mr. Niu, who was in even worse shape than him, said angrily, "He even took away the two best students in our academy! He's such a troublemaker..."

"Alright, you two, stop spouting nonsense." Headmaster Qian let them vent their anger for a few moments before stopping them, saying, "We're not shortchanging you on a single penny for tuition, what's all the fuss about?"

"Is it about money? We're here to teach and nurture students!" The two teachers together only had one student, so their resentment was understandable.

"Who would willingly not teach students and just freeload?" Mr. Niu said.

“That’s true, then will you halve your tuition?” Headmaster Qian nodded.

"I don't think that's necessary," Mr. Niu said with an embarrassed smile. "We still need to save up for our daughter's dowry."

"However, Headmaster, let's not do this again next year." The other teachers couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow and advised Qian Huai-ren to set things right.

"No, school rules are not child's play; they cannot be changed overnight!" Fortunately, Qian Huai-ren had experience in government offices and knew what was important. He could let them criticize the headmaster behind his back, but he would never let them lead him astray.

A bunch of clueless bookworms. Don't they realize that if the headmaster goes to the capital for the imperial examination and fails, he might come back to find that he has changed all the policies. How will he ever face anyone then?
If you pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, you'll be too busy fawning over him to even consider changing his rules? Have you lost your mind?
Therefore, Headmaster Qian had repeatedly assured Headmaster Zhu that he would adhere to his policies without wavering. Of course, in order to appease the teachers, he added, "At most, we can be a little more lenient when setting and grading exam questions in the future."

"Well, that's all we can do..." The other scholars were satisfied with his solution, so they stopped complaining and focused on grading the papers.

"Gentlemen, listen to our prodigy's final essay in this academy!" Mr. Zhu deliberately kept Su Lu's exam paper in his own hands, and only announced it loudly after everyone else had failed to find it.

"So you kept it. Read it quickly!" the gentlemen urged. "The greatest pleasure of grading papers is over."

"Yes, the next time we hear his writing will probably be when he takes the imperial examination to become a scholar." Mr. Niu sighed, "Alas, what a fine young man, it's a pity I can't be his father-in-law."

"Listen carefully!" Mr. Zhu coughed, and the Daonan Hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone listened attentively as he read:
"All things are rooted in the origin, and both inner and outer aspects are important; all affairs are conducted in order, and both beginning and end are essential!"

"Things rely on their foundation to be secure; without a foundation, they will scatter. Affairs follow a proper order to proceed smoothly; without order, chaos ensues. There should be no disparity between internal and external, nor between beginning and end—this is the way!"

"This Way is the constant order of Heaven and Earth, and the essential principle of sages and worthies. The constant order of Heaven and Earth is that all things have a foundation, and this foundation, once solidified, awaits external manifestation; all things proceed in an orderly manner, and this order relies on the final outcome. The essential principle of sages and worthies is that cultivating virtue and renewing the people are equally important; in governing the country and managing state affairs, both initial plans and results must be carefully considered. To focus on the foundation while neglecting the external is like abandoning branches and leaves, leaving the roots withered; to adhere to order while neglecting the end is like forgetting one's destination and getting lost on a long journey. Therefore, those who understand this Way know that the inner and outer are one, and that the beginning and the end are interconnected; only by following this can one conform to the principles of Heaven!"

P.S. I haven't finished checking the next chapter yet.

(End of this chapter)