Top Scholar

Chapter 279 Questioning Jalu, Understanding Jalu, Becoming Jalu
"Hehe, bring it to our academy for a look. What kind of article could excite Mr. Yun Jian so much?" Xiao Tixue said with interest, but in his heart he was quite skeptical, thinking that the old gentleman was exaggerating.

Although he is now well-versed in the Five Classics, he studied the Book of Rites during the imperial examinations, which is how he passed the exams and became a Hanlin scholar.

As a master of this field, Xiao Tixue knew all too well that without more than ten years of diligent study, any writing on the *Book of Rites* would be utterly unreadable. This had nothing to do with talent; it was simply a matter of insufficient learning and ability…

The essay on "rites" written by a child scholar is only worth looking at for its highlights and potential.

"Please take a look, sir!" The white-bearded man unfolded the folded booklet on the large table.

Familiar handwriting came into view, with a style that was both elegant and distinctive. Xiao Tixue frowned slightly, but said nothing, and simply stroked his beard as he read on.

After reading only a few lines, his hand stroking his beard unconsciously stopped. He looked at this essay, "On Drinking Wine in the Countryside," with astonishment. It was completely original and refreshing.

Instead of directly quoting the Book of Rites at the outset, it first compares the "Three Rites of the Zhou Dynasty's Village Drinking Ceremony" with the "Ceremony of the Present Dynasty":
The Zhou dynasty system stipulated that the party leader would drink wine to determine the order of seniority, the governor would examine the virtues of the people, and the village elders would entertain the virtuous and capable.

The current system—only the ritual of seniority remains, while the meanings of examining virtue and honoring the worthy have been completely lost.

The original text of the "Da Ming Hui Dian Li Bu" is cited again as evidence. It is not just empty talk about doctrines, but a real examination of the origins and development. This method of "using scriptures to verify scriptures" has transcended the ordinary boundaries of scriptural meaning.

Another thing that shocked Xiao, the Provincial Education Commissioner, was that the *Da Ming Hui Dian* (Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty) was only compiled in the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign and was not yet widely circulated. If he hadn't been still in the Hanlin Academy at the time and participated in part of the compilation work, he might not have been able to judge whether Su Lu's citations were correct…

Absolutely correct, word for word.

This shows that this person's academic level is extremely high, and that he has close ties with the capital... Xiao, the supervisor, naturally thought of Zhu Chuanlu again. It seems that this child has an extraordinary relationship with the Zhu family.

As he read on, Xiao, the scholar, couldn't help but marvel. He saw that the student had actually connected the principle of "clarifying seniority" in the *Book of Rites* with the "clan teacher in charge of precepts" in the *Rites of Zhou* and the "traditional teachings" in the *Book of Documents*, stating:

"The village drinking ceremony was not merely a distinction between the noble and the lowly; it was the key to the Zhou people's governance of their clans through ritual—extending from filial piety and brotherly love within the clan to the order of the village community, and finally to the peace and order of the state." This layered approach, peeling back the layers, elucidates the principle of "managing the greater through the lesser" within the context of the systems of the Three Dynasties, offering a far deeper understanding than those who merely adhere to the commentaries on the original texts.

Upon reaching the second half, Xiao Tixue could no longer sit still. He stood up, supporting himself on the table with both hands, his brows furrowed and his eyes fixed on the table.

The examinee, unconventional and unorthodox, outlined three shortcomings of contemporary rites: simplified procedures that distorted classical meaning, officials' lack of sincerity in implementation, and a scholarly emphasis on rigid rules over proper etiquette. He concluded with three strategies for restoring rites, citing classical texts and directly addressing current issues. Each strategy cited the *Zhou Li Da Zong Bo* and Qiu Jun's *Da Xue Yan Yi Bu* as evidence, transforming classical texts into sound policies for governing the world!

After reading it, he was deeply moved and sighed, "I have been writing about the Book of Rites for twenty years, but I never imagined that it could be written like this!"

He wasn't impressed by the student's understanding of the classics, but rather by the sheer strength of the essay's internal structure, something he had never seen before...

"Indeed, the competition in the past for the Five Classics exams was merely about 'appropriate citations and neat, formulaic writing,' but this paper elevates the art of the exam directly to the practical learning of 'understanding the classics and applying them in practice'!" The white-bearded old gentleman agreed wholeheartedly, his eyes shining as he said.
"With such articles, who would dare to say that the eight-legged essay is all show and no substance, and that it's lucky to even paste it on a wall? It can't even serve as a stronghold for a city or a fortress, let alone be used to launch an arrow or a cannon?"

"Such classical studies can indeed serve as a long-term strategy for governing the world!" The Grand Master nodded, and without hesitation picked up his vermilion brush and wrote the two large characters '案首' at the top of the scroll.

“Old Master, you’ve only looked at this one exam paper…” the white-bearded old man gently reminded him.

“Uh…” Xiao Tixue’s pen hovered in mid-air for a while before he put it down and said, “This court understands Prefect Jia and Magistrate Lu.”

As he spoke, he exclaimed with heartfelt admiration, "This is an article that will change the writing of the Book of Rites, and even the Five Classics. Just as Sima Xiangru created the 'Han Dynasty Rhapsody,' Cao Mengde created the 'Jian'an Rhapsody,' and Yuan Jiu created the 'Yuanhe Rhapsody,' if we do not make it the first of our collections, our academy will be nailed to the pillar of shame."

The Grandmaster has finally completed his mental journey of 'questioning Jialu, understanding Jialu, and becoming Jialu'...

~~
Hearing the Grandmaster and Senior Yun Jian speak so exaggeratedly, the gentlemen all got up and came to see what was going on.

Although they did not study the Book of Rites, they were all highly learned and well-versed in the Five Classics, so understanding this passage from the Book of Rites was a piece of cake for them.

After reading it, everyone was impressed and full of admiration. The bespectacled man helped Ai-Dai up and sighed, "He raised questions, analyzed questions, solved questions, and finally rigorously verified his conclusions, making them irrefutable. It has so much more to it than ordinary texts on scriptures."

"I wonder which learned scholar actually reconstructed the classical texts within the framework of the eight-legged essay. Amazing, truly amazing!"

"We'll ask this top scholar who his teacher is; we'll definitely pay him a visit to learn from him," the fat man and the others said.

Although they couldn't quite articulate exactly what made this entirely new literary style so remarkable, they could see that it wasn't just applicable to the texts of the *Book of Rites*, but could very well elevate the writing of all the texts of the Five Classics to a new level.

"Master, now that the top scholar has been chosen, can we see his name?" The bespectacled man looked expectantly at Xiao, the provincial education commissioner.

“Okay.” Xiao Tixue nodded.

The gentlemen watched as the bespectacled man carefully uncovered the paper with the anonymous signature—

The two characters 'Su Lu' immediately caught the eyes of the five gentlemen.

"Quickly check his exam number for the first round!" the white-bearded man urged. "His number for this round is 'Xiang'!"

"Good!" The fat man flipped open the list of candidates for the second round of examinations on the large table, quickly found the character "相" (Xiang), and swiped his finger vertically downwards. His eyes lit up immediately, and he exclaimed happily, "It's the character '摄' (She)! Both '相' and '摄' belong to him!"

"Haha, first place in both games, this time it's well-deserved!" The gentlemen were all very excited.

With his excellent essay in the first round and a completely new writing style in the second, this candidate surprised them time and time again, and the examiners were all very fond of him.

"..." The Grandmaster was not surprised at all, and waved his hand, saying, "Now that you've finished watching the show, go and grade your papers."

"Yes." The gentlemen quickly returned to their seats and continued to nervously review the papers. They were not as relaxed as the white-bearded gentleman, especially the fat gentleman who was annotating the Book of Songs, who would have to stay up all night.

Xiao, the provincial education commissioner, sat behind his large desk, staring blankly at the dark sky outside the Minglun Hall...

He had already seen the list of candidates for the first round of examinations last night and knew that Prefect Jia was absolutely right; Su Lu was the first place winner in the first round.

Of course, he couldn't admit it, because that would be against the rules—according to the examination rules, the chief examiner was not allowed to look at any of the students' previous handwriting before grading their papers, let alone reveal their seat number and name.

Despite the regulations, since the provincial education commissioner was also the chief examiner and supervisor, no one could truly restrain him, so many provincial education commissioners did not follow them.

Xiao Tixue had always been dismissive of this, believing that his colleagues were too poor at "being cautious when alone" and that he wouldn't make the same mistake. However, he couldn't resist the urge either...

It seems that relying solely on 'prevention with a guarded mind' is far from enough.

What left him speechless was that even though he already knew that Su Lu was the winner of the first round, he still chose him as the top scorer.

This time, he not only lost to Prefect Jia, but even Governor Du would laugh at him.

Moreover, a double yolk was produced, preventing my junior brother from dominating the Sichuan region...

What was the point of all this trouble again?

But this was Xiao Tixue's most rational choice.

After all, from the beginning until now, he has been ostensibly following the rules, and no one knows his ulterior motives. It is only natural for the provincial education commissioner to strictly enforce examination discipline, and the final selection of officials is fair and impeccable.

Even Governor Du and Prefect Jia could only laugh at him behind his back for shooting himself in the foot, while to his face they had to praise him, saying, "The Grand Master is indeed just!"

To put it bluntly, he will only do some harmless little things as long as it doesn't harm himself.

For example, he also reviewed the case of the student who ranked first in the county-level examination and second in the prefectural examination yesterday; that student also studied the *Book of Rites*. It's perfectly reasonable to designate him as the top scholar in the *Book of Rites* section, and no one can object to that.

In this way, no matter how good Su Lu's essay was in the first round, he could only rank sixth. This way, it wouldn't affect his future prospects, and he could also please his teacher who was about to enter the cabinet. When he visited the old Hanlin scholar, he could also give a satisfactory explanation.

It was undeniably ingenious, and indeed, no one could say anything about it.

Unexpectedly, Su Lu quietly produced such a groundbreaking article, causing things to deviate from the planned trajectory!
Because all the examination papers for the provincial examinations were to be made public for candidates to review, in order to ensure fair selection of officials and withstand scrutiny.

If such a leading article with such a significant gap were ranked second, it would definitely cause a huge uproar!

The greatest advantage of the eight-legged essay style is its relative objectivity, especially the texts in the Book of Rites. Good is good, and bad is bad. Among the good, which is better is immediately apparent to an expert!
He can't lie through his teeth; that would damage his reputation...

If things escalate and anger the old scholar, it might even affect his official career.

Therefore, he had no choice but to reluctantly appoint Su Lu as the top candidate, so that he could preserve his image of impartiality and selflessness and avoid offending this rising star.

As for my junior brother, he's already achieved the "Triple Crown" and is enjoying unparalleled success. Oh, now he's enjoying a double crown.

'That's glorious enough, there's no need to add anything more...' the Grandmaster comforted himself honestly.

This result is actually quite good; it didn't cause any negative impact, and we might even gain another gifted student.

Why do I feel so suffocated inside? It's like I've lost a battle that no one knows about...

It's true that I didn't lose face, but the pain was still the same!

"Alas..." The Grandmaster sighed deeply, his mouth full of bitterness as he muttered to himself:

"Be cautious when alone, do not deceive yourself in the dark. Do not let what is hidden be seen, nor what is minute be revealed..."

(End of this chapter)