Top Scholar

Chapter 361, the Jiangsu Provincial Examination Records, is here.

At dusk on August 17th, in examination room number 2 of the Sichuan Provincial Examination Hall.

Su Lu had finished all the answers, packed up his exam materials, and sat quietly in his cell waiting for the bell to ring for the papers to be handed in.

Watching the light and shadow slowly shift eastward on the wall, he silently reflected on the exam.

To be honest, of all the exams he'd taken, this was the one where he felt the least confident...

Because the opponent was Yang Shen.

Although Su Lu said he didn't care, he actually really, really wanted to beat Yang Shen.

Moreover, Governor Du had almost explicitly stated that his teacher was being targeted by Liu Jin, and he was also very likely to be implicated. Therefore, Governor Du advised him to do his best to achieve the highest rank in the provincial examination, so that others wouldn't act with impunity when targeting him…

So this time his goal is to become the top scholar in the provincial examination. And becoming the top scholar is simple: just defeat Yang Shen...

Okay, it's not simple at all!
Su Lu had studied Yang Shen's articles and could only say that they each had their own strengths, and that Yang Shen's scholarship was extremely solid, with a level of understanding far surpassing his peers.

Isn't that obvious? What kind of environment did Yang Shen grow up in? What kind of teachers taught him? His father was Yang Tinghe, his teacher was Li Dongyang, and he studied with Hanlin scholars. Add to that a genius brain, and when he went back to Sichuan to take the exam, he was a complete dimensional crusher!

Su Lu knew very well that it would be difficult to surpass Yang Shen with the four words "pure, true, elegant and upright". At most, each of them could have two words. In this case, Yang Shen would definitely be the top scholar.

Leaving aside the Yang family's formidable influence in Sichuan, Yang Shen's own talent alone was enough to surpass him; Su Lu's nickname speaks volumes...

Although the authorities have recently shown a tendency to force the two to be considered equals, in public opinion, Su Lu is still not on par with Yang Shen.

So this time, a steady approach won't win. To achieve victory against all odds, we must make the most of our strengths and use every trick in the book!

However, Su Lu always had some reservations, because the current understanding of the Book of Rites was like the vast difference in skill levels between people learning physics in later generations. Some people remained at the high school level their entire lives, while experts mastered university-level physics, and masters were already exploring the world of quantum mechanics and wave functions.

Although everyone studies physics, it's difficult to have a common language, and even their understanding may be completely different.

The reason for this difference is that the Book of Rites is essentially a textual research discipline, which requires solid historical materials and scientific methods to support it in order to delve into it.

However, in that era, knowledge monopoly was extremely serious. The vast majority of scholars, apart from studying the Book of Rites, only learned the discussions of Zhu Xi and his disciples, and at most studied the popular Zheng Xuan commentary and Kong Yingda commentary.

They were exposed to what was equivalent to a high school physics textbook, which could only be used for rote memorization and literal understanding, and they had no way to conduct in-depth research.

Only scholars from families with a strong academic tradition and a rich collection of books could access rare and unique editions, as well as commentaries from various schools of thought.

What they learn is similar to university physics; they can use basic tools such as philology and phonology to explore the deeper meaning of texts.

Only master-level scholars of the Hanlin Academy had access to the imperial collection of books and ancient bamboo and wooden slips historical materials.

This is equivalent to entering the realm of quantum mechanics. It allows for the integration of interdisciplinary methods from history, sociology, archaeology, and other fields to conduct disruptive research and revolutionary studies.

The difference between the three levels is immeasurable. Thanks to renowned teachers like Mr. Gangshan and Mr. Yangming, Su Lu has already progressed from the second level to the third level.

He worried that the examiners he encountered would be at the first level, and if his essay exceeded their comprehension, it would be rejected.

Because the examiners for the provincial examinations were mostly local instructors, not many who had passed the imperial examinations themselves. Whether it was the county school, the prefectural school, or the provincial school, the instructors were almost all graduates of the provincial examinations, and often long-serving graduates with no hope of passing the imperial examinations, which is why they chose teaching positions…

Considering the level of Shui Xuezheng's abilities, it's clear that Su Lu's worries were not unfounded.

Therefore, Su Lu had seriously considered whether he should tone down his efforts and write something that the instructors could understand, so that he would be sure to pass the imperial examination.

But losing to Yang Shen is a certainty...

While he was still undecided, he learned from Governor Du that the chief examiner was Liu Bing, who had served as a probationary official and had been the provincial education commissioner for two terms, so he stopped hesitating.

The other party is far more learned than him and is also a senior in etiquette. Even if he uses all his skills, he will definitely be able to handle it!
Furthermore, according to the marking process, even if the examiner rejects a paper, there is still a 'search for rejected papers'... The chief examiner will review the rejected papers again and pick out a few outstanding ones to show that the selection of candidates is done carefully.

If you miss a paper during the search, you can appeal after the results are released to prove that the grading was wrong and you can still get a chance to improve your chances... Of course, you can forget about becoming the top scholar.

But without taking the risk, there's no hope of becoming a top scholar.

To Su Lu, there was no difference between Ya Yuan and Sun Shan...

After much deliberation, he decided to take the plunge!

After reflecting on his actions, Su Lu realized that he would do the same thing again if given the chance. So he let go of his inner conflict, prepared to accept whatever the outcome might be, and had no regrets.

As the shadows on the wall were swallowed by the twilight, the final bell tolled from Mingyuan Tower.

The candidates got up and went to the alley entrance to hand in their papers, then went back to their exam rooms to pack up and prepare to leave.

In the alley, sighs of relief rose and fell, and some people even hummed tunes.

"Horses gallop along the imperial street, their fragrant dust swirling; palace flowers adorning their hats reflect the vermilion gates. Everyone praises Pan An's handsome looks, but who knows that a gauze hat conceals Diao Chan?"

Regardless of how well or poorly they did, the grueling nine-day exam was finally over, and everyone relaxed. Su Lu was no exception; looking at his cell where he had fought for nine days, he felt a pang of reluctance.

He then took out a pen and ink from his exam basket and wrote a farewell poem on a blank space on the wall.

"I bid farewell to the treacherous path of life and let my heroic spirit guide me."

Do not laugh at those who inscribe their names on the wall today; in years to come, they will see their names inscribed on the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Finally, I'll leave my name—

'The Jiangsu provincial examinations are here!'

After writing the question, he laughed loudly and left.

In addition, impromptu poetry expresses the feelings of that moment; changing even a single word would distort the feeling, so strict rhyme is not necessary...

~~
The outer curtain's exams have ended, but the inner curtain's grading continues in full swing...

When faced with Liu Bing's questioning, Mr. Zhengde, the examiner of the Imperial Examination Room, was first speechless, then completely broke down, and then claimed to be ill and refused to leave the room, resolutely refusing to review any more papers.

This also reflects how difficult the Book of Rites is to learn. It is essentially a study of textual research. Without historical support and scientific methods of verification, one can study it for a lifetime and still be easily defeated.

Liu Bing didn't try to persuade Mr. Zhengde. He had already been very lenient by not holding him accountable for such a huge mess.

He addressed the group of examiners, saying:
"When you encounter something you're unsure about or haven't seen before, don't rush to conclusions. Bring it up to us for discussion. Remember, life is finite, but learning is infinite. What you don't know isn't necessarily wrong!"

“Yes, the candidates’ future is far more important than your personal pride,” Zhang Yan said seriously. “Besides, if you grade someone’s paper wrong, they will definitely appeal, and you’ll be incredibly embarrassed!”

"Yes." The examiners hurriedly responded in unison, and continued to grade the papers with utmost care.

As for the examination papers from the rites department, they were already the fewest, so there was only one examiner, Mr. Zhengde. Since there was no way to change the examiner, Liu Bing decided to review them personally, even re-reviewing the ones he had already reviewed.

Being given extra responsibilities at the last minute is naturally unpleasant, even if it's something you added to yourself, but Liu Bing quickly cheered up.

“Not bad, not bad. In the past six or seven years, the study of the Book of Rites in Sichuan has made great progress, and the overall quality of the writings has improved.”

"That's because Xiao Tixue was promoting Su Hongzhi's 'hypothetical-deductive method' in Sichuan," Zhang Yan said softly.

“At present, students in Sichuan who study the Book of Rites have broken out of the old ways of empty moral discussions and have started to use this method to study.”

"No wonder," Liu Bing said with a sudden realization. "I was wondering why your writing had improved so much. In the past, that would have been enough to pass the imperial examination."

Seeing that Liu Bing didn't ask who 'Su Hongzhi' was, Zhang Yan asked softly, "Has the chief examiner also heard of Su Hongzhi's great name?"

“Of course.” Liu Bing nodded and said, “The Wang Su-sou School, which he co-founded with his teacher Yangming, is a prominent school of thought in Guizhou.”

He then said solemnly, "There was originally no learning in Guizhou. It was Mr. Yangming who started the literary style in Guizhou."

"Huh? So-hakyo was co-founded by Su Hongzhi?" Zhang Yan was stunned.

“Yes,” Liu Bing said. “Master Yangming himself admitted that his philosophy was developed through discussions with Su Hongzhi, and that many key aspects were inspired by him.”

"Impressive..." Zhang Yan exclaimed in amazement, "It seems that a great Confucian scholar will surely emerge from our Sichuan region in the future."

"Yes." Liu Bing nodded in agreement.

~~
Liu Bing took the marking process very seriously. He not only strictly required the examiners to follow his example, but also set a good example by providing detailed comments on all the exam papers in the ceremonial department and personally reviewing each and every paper to ensure that the previous situation would not happen again.

Under the guidance of the chief examiner, the other examiners carefully reviewed the exam papers from the second and third sessions. Based on the combined results of the three sessions, they selected seventy papers for the main list and twenty papers for the supplementary list.

It was already August 27th, and now it was time to decide the rankings.

The ranking in the provincial examination, apart from the top scholar, was relatively unimportant. Even the top scholar wouldn't talk about it all the time and would still refer to himself as a licentiate.

Therefore, the ranking process was relatively easy. It wasn't until the top five scholars were determined and the top scholar in the provincial examination was decided that the atmosphere in Hengjian Hall became tense...

The title of "Jieyuan" in a province is even more prestigious than that of an ordinary Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). It is also much more valuable in the local area than that of a regular third-class Jinshi.
It is no exaggeration to say that all the glory of scholars in the province rests on the shoulders of the top scholar!
“According to custom, the top scholar should come from among the five classics scholars,” Liu Bing said in a deep voice, looking at the five examination papers laid out side by side on the large table, each marked with the words 'Classics Scholar' in blue ink.
"Which scholar do you all prefer to be the top scholar?"

The examiners hesitated, as if they wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Speak freely," Liu Bing said with a smile. "In the end, it's Zhang and I who will be responsible."

"Yes." Only then did the examiners express their opinions.

In my humble opinion, it seems that the chief of rites is slightly better.

"This humble official dares to recommend the poetry champion as the top scholar in the provincial examination..."

(End of this chapter)