Top Scholar

Chapter 181 Hanlin's Lectures
Heshan Hall, the abbot's study.

Pang Shanzhang looked at Su Lu and the other person with a smile. Although he had the same expression yesterday, his smile today was noticeably more enthusiastic.

"I have read both of your articles." At the level of Headmaster Pang, one naturally speaks one's mind and does not hide anything like Headmaster Zhou.

"Dejia teaches very well! It seems he has learned a great deal from visiting many renowned teachers!"

Zhu Zihe was about to say that famous teachers were useless and that they were just learning from Qi Ji when Su Lu nudged him with his elbow, so he didn't say it.

"Since he has entrusted his prized student to me, I must take on the responsibility of teaching you," the fat headmaster said.

"The old headmaster is going to teach you personally, so why don't you hurry up and thank him?!" Headmaster Zhou said to the two bewildered students.

"Really? Thank you so much, Headmaster!" Zhu Zihe was overjoyed, and Su Lu was also very happy, quickly bowing deeply in thanks.

"The students will definitely study hard and never give up the headmaster's teachings!"

"Hehe, good. I believe you are all very hardworking and talented children, very good, very good." Pang Shanchang stroked his pure white beard and asked with a kind smile.

"But your writing hasn't improved for a while, has it?"

"Yes!" The two nodded in unison. Their writing had indeed hit a bottleneck; no matter how they wrote, there was little improvement, and they no longer had the feeling of making rapid progress every day.

This is also why Zhu Liu sent them to Luzhou, hoping to get some guidance from the old scholar so they could advance to the next level.

"I have seen your writings and you are quite skilled in terms of technique," Pang Shanzhang said with a smile. "Especially Hongzhi's, his reasoning is strong, his writing is excellent, and he can even use his spirit to guide his writing. He can be considered a master in this field, but he cannot be considered a writer yet. He might even be a candidate for the imperial examination. It depends on the examiner's preferences and mood."

"Yes." Su Lu nodded hurriedly in agreement.

"Don't think this is belittling you. Most scholars spend their entire lives at your level. Passing the provincial examination and becoming a Jinshi depends entirely on guesswork. If you guess right, you pass; if not, you try again next time," Pang Shanzhang said with a smile.

"Many people who pass the imperial examination do so by luck."

“It’s not that you can’t guess. As long as you can guess, you’re considered skilled. But if you’re unlucky and fail five, six, seven, or eight times, you’ll go crazy. Even if you eventually pass, you’ll have wasted most of your life in the imperial examinations, exhausting your energy and spirit. How many days can you serve as an official, how many years can you do anything? What use are you to the country, what benefit are you to the people?” Headmaster Pang said slowly.

Zhou Shanzhang, who was standing to the side, turned red in the ears. Wasn't this talking about him?

He's been brainwashed by Master Pang like this all the time, and he's too embarrassed to take the exam anymore...

"But if you elevate your writing to another level, the situation changes. When your level is far superior to others, as long as you're not too unlucky, you'll be selected." The old headmaster laughed, "That's why many people are predicted to pass the exam before it even starts, and they do indeed pass. That's what ability makes all the difference."

He paused for a moment, then predicted again: "For example, Deja's essay is ready. I dare say that this time, as long as he doesn't encounter a blind examiner, he will definitely pass the exam."

"That's great..." the three of them said together.

Su Lu and Zhu Zihe looked at Headmaster Zhou, wondering what he was so excited about.

“Dejia and I were on the list of successful candidates in the same year, and we took the imperial examinations together four times,” said Zhou Shanzhang calmly.

"Qingheng is a good man, but he's too proud to admit it," the old headmaster chuckled. He then asked Su Lu and the other man, "Which path do you want to take, the first or the second?"

"Of course, the latter!" the two said decisively. Zhu Zihe said, "I don't have Uncle Jiu's indomitable tenacity..."

"The students are the same," Su Lu said with a wry smile.

Zhou Shanzhang thought to himself, "I don't have any either..."

"Good." Headmaster Pang nodded in satisfaction.
"Do you know why you can't write any masterpieces? It's because those great writers 'use literature to express their aspirations,' while you 'write for the sake of exams'! You're not writing what you truly want to express, so how can you possibly write truly good articles?"

"The old headmaster is right," Su Lu said respectfully, then asked softly, "But isn't the eight-legged essay just an exam essay?"

“Yes, speaking on behalf of the sages, every sentence is inseparable from Zhu Xi’s commentary. How can this be considered a way to express the sages’ sentiments?” Zhu Xi asked, puzzled.

"This is what I'm going to teach you," said Headmaster Pang in a deep voice.
"I now ask you to forget about the imperial examinations, even the rigid eight-legged essay, and return to the original intention of writing."

"Our original aspirations?" the two whispered.

"Yes. It's because you first had this 'can't help it' feeling in your heart..." Headmaster Pang nodded slowly.
"It is neither a feigned lament, nor a forced expression of sorrow, nor a commissioned essay, nor a pretense of sainthood for the sake of fame and fortune. Rather, it is the indignation of Confucius when he passed Mount Tai, saying, 'My young ones, remember this: oppressive government is more ferocious than a tiger!'"

"It was Mencius's furious roar when he saw 'fat meat in the kitchen, fat horses in the stable, hungry faces among the people, and starving corpses in the fields,' that 'this is leading beasts to devour men!'"

"It is the ambition and worry of Zhuge Liang when he wrote, 'Now I must depart, tears streaming down my face as I write this memorial!'" "It is the immense release of Meng Jiao when he wrote, 'Riding a swift horse in the spring breeze, I see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day!'"

"These original intentions are the 'soul' of words—you're not trying to please or flatter anyone, but simply because of that 'must-speak-out' feeling in your heart... It's the joy of wanting to share with others, the pain of wanting to cry to someone, the injustice of wanting to shout out, and the enlightenment of wanting to speak out!"

"Once you have this 'unable to hold your tongue' in your heart, then you can use the rigid framework of classical writing to put it on. That framework won't be empty; it will contain your own spirit, your own passion, and your own sincerity. Only then will what you write be a true 'article,' with flesh and blood, with soul..."

~~
Inside the ceremonial gate, the students had already returned to their classrooms for morning reading. Only Liu Jiang and Liu Dachuan stood under the notice board, staring blankly at the two model essays by Su Lu and Zhu Zihe.

"It's so well written, even better than mine..." Although he had read it yesterday, he still couldn't help but exclaim today. Then, as usual, he began to doubt himself:

"Are these the students I can teach? What can I possibly teach them? Wouldn't they go blind if they fell into my hands?"

"Sigh... I was just worrying unnecessarily. They'll definitely be snatched up by Chengxinzhai. How could such students end up at Zhengyizhai?" Mr. Liu shook his head, dejectedly leaving, muttering to himself:

"Actually, my students aren't bad either. It's just that I'm not good enough anymore, which has dragged them down..."

"I can't drag them down anymore, I can't..."

~~
Heshan Hall, the abbot's study.

The old man took a sip of tea, then said to the two students who were still in shock:
"So children, forget about techniques like breaking down the topic and using parallelism, and write what you most want to express! Even if others think it's childish or absurd, it's sincere and beautiful to you—because that's your original intention, your true heart, and your childlike innocence!"

The old abbot touched his heart and said to the two children with great expectation, "Then use this warm heart to feel the words of the sages again... Only then can you understand what Confucius was thinking when he said in the Analects, 'At fifteen, I set my heart on learning'? And what kind of spirit the Second Sage had when he read Mencius's 'Sacrifice life for righteousness'! When you read 'The elderly are at peace, friends are trusted, and the young are cherished,' if your heart is not stirred, how can your writing produce a resounding sound?"

Just then, the sound of the clapperboard signaling the start of class rang out, and the old headmaster said in surprise, "Did time fly by so fast?"

"The headmaster has been teaching for half an hour straight," Headmaster Zhou said softly.

"Really? You're getting senile." The old headmaster gave a wry smile, then smiled at Su Lu and the other man, "I'm getting old, my mind is failing me day by day, and I'm talking incoherently. Can you still make anything useful out of my words?"

"Yes!" The two nodded emphatically. Su Lu said, "The headmaster's teachings have enlightened me!"

“Although the students haven’t quite figured it out yet, they strongly feel the direction of their efforts!” Zhu Zihe also said.

"That's good. If you don't mind, come early every morning and listen to this old man's ramblings." Headmaster Pang said with a kind smile.

"Being able to hear the headmaster's 'nagging' is truly a great blessing!" Su Lu hurriedly said sincerely, "But won't it disturb your rest, sir?"

"No, I'm just getting old and I don't feel it anymore. I'm the kind of person who looks up at the stars and waits for the sunrise..." Pang Shan sighed, then chuckled, "Look at me, I'm rambling on again. Go on, don't be late for class."

"Yes, students take their leave." The two bowed and withdrew.

After leaving the study, they saw that Headmaster Zhou had followed them out. The two of them quickly stopped and stood by the roadside.

“According to regulations, classes are adjusted once a quarter. You can start by attending classes with Zhengyi Zhai.” Headmaster Zhou coughed and said, “If you are really not satisfied, I can adjust your schedule now.”

"No need for the headmaster to trouble himself," Su Lu shook his head and said, "I think Zhengyi Zhai is quite good."

“Yeah, it feels more human.” Zhu Zihe nodded and said, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter which class we’re in, so let’s choose a place that makes us feel comfortable.”

"Zihe, don't generalize," Headmaster Zhou said awkwardly. "Every class has bad students, but most students are good."

“The headmaster is right, most of the students are definitely good…” Su Lu suddenly chimed in:
"The students initially thought that Taiping Academy's 'Three-Stage Ranking System' was very cruel, but later they found that Headmaster Zhu's original intention was gentle; the 'Three-Stage Promotion and Demotion System' here, although much gentler on the surface, is very cruel at its core."

He paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Moreover, dividing students into different classes seems to contradict the sage's principle of 'education for all'!"

“That’s right! If only half the students are considered human beings by the academy,” Zhu Zihe immediately chimed in, “the other half can simply go home earlier; there’s no need to humiliate them with a slower class!”

"You, you shouldn't be so..." The slaps were so hard that Zhou Shanchang's nose was crooked with anger.

"I apologize, Headmaster. The former headmaster just told us to be sincere, and I misspoke." Su Lu clasped his hands and said, "I'm going back to class now."

"Go on." Headmaster Zhou waved his hand helplessly, watching the two troublemakers turn and leave.

Although he was a powerful dean in front of other teachers and students, he was just a weak waiter in front of these two top students who were favored by the old dean...

(End of this chapter)