Top Scholar

Chapter 65 The Secret Manual Will Be Burned After Reading
Seeing that he didn't speak, Ma Zhaizhang took out a small silver ingot from his purse and quickly stuffed it into Su Lu's sleeve, saying, "Of course I won't let our brother work for nothing... Is one tael of silver enough? If not, I'll have the servants send some more."

"I need to ask my brother about this," Su Lu said, handing the money back to Ma Zhaizhang. "Why are you in such a hurry to give me the money?"

"Take it! Once I've paid, there's no going back!" Ma Zhaizhang waved his hand generously and said, "If your brother is busy, he can call it for me when he's free. Consider this a deposit!"

Unexpectedly, the head of the academy was a generous older brother. Su Lu found his thick eyebrows and big eyes much more pleasing to the eye and could only accept it with a smile: "Don't worry, I'll give you a definite answer tomorrow."

As they spoke, the two entered Qingxin Gate and arrived at Daonan Hall. Su Lu then saw a couplet hanging on the pillars of the hall's double-eaved, upturned-corner hall:
'Concentrate your mind and body to ascend to the sacred realm; let no matter how skillful or clumsy the writing may be;'

'Let us inherit the teachings of our predecessors and work diligently together.'

Ma Qianli led Su Lu into the hall, where they ran into Vice Headmaster Qian coming out.

"This is Su Lu?" Qian Huai Ren was very familiar with Ma Qian Li.

"Yes," Ma Qianli replied respectfully.

"Alright, you can go back now." Qian Huai-ren waved to Ma Qianli and then said to Su Lu, "You come with me to see the headmaster."

"Yes." The two responded at the same time, both quite surprised. It was just giving out prizes, why would it need to alarm the headmaster?

~~
Su Lu followed Qian Huai Ren into the headmaster's office.

Although it's called the headmaster's room, it's not spacious, and the books piled up everywhere make it feel even more cramped.

When the two entered, Zhu Liu was engrossed in writing something at his desk.

Qian Huai-ren didn't disturb him, waiting until he raised his head before softly saying, "Headmaster, Su Lu has arrived."

"You've arrived." Zhu Liu greeted Su Lu with a smile, "Please make yourself at home. I'll wait until I finish my homework for today."

"Yes." Su Lu and Qian Huai Ren then sat down on a row of official hat chairs against the wall.

Vice Headmaster Qian whispered, "You didn't expect that, did you? Even as the headmaster, you still have to practice every day. How can you juniors slack off?"

"Yes." Su Lu quickly stood at attention, showing respect. Putting everything else aside, the academy's academic atmosphere was truly impeccable; the headmaster even led the way in opening books…

"Don't listen to Lao Qian's nonsense. I'm not trying to set an example for you." Zhu Liu said with a wry smile, "I really haven't finished my studies, so there's nothing I can do."

"Yes." Su Lu heard that after the headmaster passed the provincial examination at the age of nineteen, he had been unsuccessful in the imperial examinations and had failed the spring examinations four times in a row...

"Don't keep saying 'yes' and 'yes,' don't be so reserved. This isn't a classroom." Zhu Liu said casually, "I asked you to come here to thank you."

Su Lu asked, puzzled, "I haven't done anything."

"That article you wrote?" Zhu Liu said frankly, "It was quite inspiring for me in terms of structure. Today's writing felt much more rigorous in terms of planning and layout than usual."

"Really?" Qian Huai-ren was quite surprised. His writing skills were already so advanced that it was difficult to make any further progress, let alone those of the headmaster who had participated in the imperial examinations four times.

“Yes, this is the meaning of ‘Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me.’” Zhu Liu said happily, “From now on, Su, you must show me all your articles.”

"I would be more than happy to do this, but I'm afraid it would offend the headmaster's eyes." Su Lu quickly stood up and clasped his hands in greeting. He was naturally more than happy to have a scholar willing to help him review his essays.

"It's alright, I'll just treat it as plain language." Zhu Liu spoke bluntly, then said in a deep voice:

"However, you need to improve your writing skills as soon as possible. Although we all admire your talent, rules are rules. If your writing doesn't meet the standards, we can't give you any points."

"Yes, student understands." Su Lu nodded. Far from feeling resentful, he felt happy. All he ever asked for was proper conduct, even if it was only relative conduct...

"Mr. Zhang has already taught the students to start with parallelism, and in the evenings the students also study phonetics and prosody with my father to improve their writing skills little by little."

“Mr. Zhang’s method is the best way, but it’s too slow.” Zhu Liu said meaningfully, “If you follow his approach, you’ll still get a zero on the test in a month, and you’ll be kicked out in another month.”

"Please teach me, Headmaster." Su Lu sensed that there was something more to the other person's words.

"This set of 'The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons' is your prize," Zhu Liu said, pushing a blue satin-covered book box in front of Su Lu.
"This book is invaluable for improving writing skills; you must study it page by page and ponder it carefully."

"Really?" Su Lu was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"Yes. This is a comprehensive work on the study of literature." Qian Huai-ren nodded and said, "It has rigorous discussions on the phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse of various literary styles. Even I, an old man, gain new insights every time I read it."

"You can first carefully study the three essays 'On the Origin of the Way,' 'On the Classics,' and 'On Poetry,' and master the theories in them. Then, use these theories to study classics, such as exploring the 'hidden beauty' of Du Fu's poetry or the 'essential structure' of the eight-legged essay. Finally, try to transform the theories into creative abilities," the headmaster advised.

Su Lu nodded in agreement, feeling extremely grateful. However, she couldn't help but wonder, "This seems to be a slow process of building a foundation. How fast can it be?"
~~
The answer to this question came in the evening...

That evening, after finishing all his homework, Su Lu took out the copy of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" given to him by the headmaster, ready to read it.

He always skimmed through a book first to get a general idea. The book was divided into two parts, and the first part, which he had, had twenty-five chapters. The first part consisted of five general discussions, including "On the Origin of the Way," which discussed the fundamentals of writing.

Then comes the treatise on literary styles, comprising twenty chapters. Ten of these chapters, including those on "Ming Poetry" and "Yuefu," discuss rhymed prose; while ten chapters, including those on "Historical Biographies" and "The Philosophers," discuss unrhymed writing. It systematically discusses the nature, historical development, and key points of writing various literary styles.

Moreover, the entire book is written in parallel prose, making it an excellent literary work in itself.

As Su Lugang followed the headmaster's instructions and turned to the "Original Path" chapter, preparing to examine it closely, he noticed a page tucked inside the book. He initially assumed the bookseller had placed it there, but curiously unfolded it anyway, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets—

The paper began with six characters: 'Read the secret manual and burn it!' Following this was densely packed, tiny characters that read:
"Writing truly requires painstaking effort, but essays prepared for exams can be crafted with clever techniques that yield immediate results. While contrived writing may not produce masterpieces, it can certainly avoid being simplistic. The following details are for your perusal, but please do not divulge them."

Su Lu was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. The usually serious and tough Headmaster Zhu actually used this method to secretly pass on his craft secrets, and even asked him to keep it a secret because the method was not respectable enough.

The world is indeed full of ordinary people, just disguised in different identities, making them appear different...

Su Youcai, who was standing nearby, said in surprise, "Brother Qiu, your jaw is about to drop onto the table."

"Oh." Su Lu casually rested his chin on his hand, eagerly beginning to read the 'secret manual' bestowed upon him by Headmaster Zhu—

The First Technique: The Secret to Optimizing Prosody
Even-numbered sentences end with oblique tones followed by level tones, and the rhyme scheme of "纲光昌" (gang guang chang) is self-evident.

The beginning and middle sentences should be strictly regulated, and the ending should be even and natural.

The long sentences are divided into 'four-six pairs', and the couplets complement each other perfectly, creating a natural and harmonious rhythm.

The recitation is clear and melodious, with even rhythm and pauses that make the meaning self-evident.

Su Lu no longer needed anyone to explain it to him; he knew the poem meant—to ensure that the last character of even-numbered lines rhymes with a level tone, such as '纲', '光', and '昌', and that the last character of the key lines in the first and middle sections begins with an oblique tone and ends with a level tone. Long lines were broken down into parallel four- or six-character lines to enhance the rhythm of recitation.

Then comes "The Second Technique: The Art of Varying Sentence Lengths":
Three characters adorn seven sections of a banner, short and long phrases intertwine to create a natural rhythm.

Short phrases often use dynamic elements to convey a sense of strength, such as "cultivate oneself uprightly and govern the country wisely."

Long passages follow the names and objects to conclude the poem clearly, while short passages rely on function words to establish rhyme.

The natural pauses and cadences do not require annotation, thus preventing the writing from becoming rambling and disjointed.

This means alternating between short three-character phrases and long seven-character phrases to create rhythm. Short phrases end with verbs, and long phrases end with nouns. The varied sentence lengths naturally create a sense of pause, preventing the writing from becoming rambling and obscure.

The Third Method: Filling in the Blanks with Function Words
The subtle sounds and rhythms of the brushstrokes are naturally harmonious, and the connections between them are skillfully made.

The transitions and connections add a touch of elegance, and the beginning, ending, and conclusion continue the refined verse.

A single word connects the lines, and half a phrase carries the meaning and runs through the entire text.

Do not say that empty words have no weight; only skillful use can create a lasting and lingering charm.

This refers to the clever use of empty words like "之乎者也" to create rhymes...

He then turned to the chapters "Zongjing" and "Mingshi" and found a "secret manual" in each of them. Each manual contained three secret techniques, such as "Fourth Technique: Elegant Word Substitution Technique" and "Fifth Technique: Antithesis Strengthening Method"... Adding the three techniques on the first manual, they made up a complete set of "Dugu Nine Swords"!
Holding the three pages of the secret manual, Su Lu was extremely excited and also understood why the headmaster had been so secretive.

Because, like himself, he was the kind of test-taker that the test setters hated the most...

The test creators naturally hope that all test takers will answer the questions honestly and in accordance with the testing logic, so as to achieve the purpose of 'selecting talent through testing'.

However, test-takers who are proficient in question-setting patterns and test-taking skills have negated this function, which also deals a double blow to test-takers who do not understand the skills.

Firstly, when both parties have similar talent and effort, those who are skilled in the techniques tend to achieve higher results, thus eliminating those who are not skilled.

Secondly, in order to counter the techniques of test-takers, test creators are forced to increase the complexity of questions and set up unusual test points, causing the exam to deviate further from its original purpose and making it even more difficult for those who do not have the skills to stand out.

Of course, Su Lu never considered himself a rule-breaker; on the contrary, he saw himself as a defender of fairness—by teaching more people skills and making all test takers into test-takers, fairness could be restored!

~~
The night in Wumeng Mountain is warm and sunny, with a full moon hanging on the treetops and the evening breeze carrying the fragrance of orchids.

Zhu Liu and Qian Huai-ren sat leisurely in the courtyard of the mountain chief's small house, sipping tea.

"Why does the headmaster value that boy so much?" Qian Huai-ren asked softly. He didn't even know that Zhu Liu had secretly given him the secret manual, yet he could already clearly sense the headmaster's high regard for Su Lu.

Zhu Liu leaned back comfortably in the bamboo chair, holding a thin celadon cup between three fingers, and said lightly, "Like the 'Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng' for Wang Zian, one article is enough."

"Pfft..." Qian Huai-ren almost spat out his tea, and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, saying, "A zero-score essay, does it even deserve to be compared with 'Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng'?"

“Your cultivation level isn’t high enough, that’s why you can’t see through it.” Zhu Liu stopped joking and said with a complicated expression:
"At the age of nineteen, I ranked fifth in the province, but failed the imperial examination four times afterward. During the twelve years of painful reflection, I visited famous teachers everywhere, and also went to the Imperial Academy and the Southern Academy. I also visited the Qian and Wang families. Although my writing still did not improve, I knew exactly what kind of person would become a master of the eight-legged essay."

"Does the headmaster mean that kid will definitely become a master of the eight-legged essay in the future?" Qian Huai-ren raised an eyebrow.

“Who dares to say for sure? But it’s very possible.” Zhu Liu took a sip of fragrant tea, put down his teacup, and said, “I see a level of vision in him that is completely different from others. Reading his articles is like standing on a high roof and pouring a bottle of water down from it.”

"Is it a high-level strategic view?" Qian Huai-ren said softly.

“That’s right.” Zhu Liu nodded and said, “It’s the same feeling I got when I read Wang Bo’s ‘Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng’.”

“Especially the first four lines—” he continued softly: “Yuzhang, the old prefecture, Hongdu, the new capital. Stars divide the constellations of Wing and Chariot, the land connects to Heng and Lu!”

"The nature of the people is constant; if guided, it will be correct. It is difficult to force people to understand the principles; if they follow them, they will be at peace!" He then recited Su Lu's four lines that broke the theme and exclaimed in admiration, "Look how similar this feels! The only difference is that Wang Bo stood on the Tengwang Pavilion gazing at the magnificent mountains and rivers, while Su Lu stood on the Analects looking back at the sages of the past."

"..." Vice Headmaster Qian nodded, still feeling that the Headmaster had gone a bit too far. Even someone as obedient as him felt embarrassed to agree.

"The level of his writing and his control over the articles already show the style of a master. He has only been studying for two months, so what will it be like in two years?" Zhu Liu couldn't help but imagine.

(End of this chapter)