Taipingchun

"Yes, just give a little strength here."

Lu Shen stood behind Xu Xiu in a very ambiguous posture, holding hands and leaning against his body, teaching him to practice calligraphy bit by bit, but Xu Xiu didn't think it was so strange, maybe Lu Shen had grown him up. Because I was ten years old, it may also be that when I first learned calligraphy, the teacher taught me hand in hand, so I didn't think much about it.

After Xu Xiu finished writing an article, she said discouragedly: "It is impossible for me to write at your level, Brother Lu." Ever since reading Lu Shen's handwriting, Xu Xiu felt deeply inferior. The words are not something ordinary people can write.

I also recalled deep in my memory that this person's calligraphy works have been evaluated as "immortal". Although there are very few calligraphy and painting works handed down to future generations, the evaluation received is not high, tending to be second-rate. Deny, there is nothing wrong with saying that he is a relatively good calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty.

Lu Shen let him go gently, patted the back of his hand and said warmly: "Don't worry about it, the junior is still young."

Xu Xiu smiled, and said seriously: "Yes, I must work hard to practice calligraphy."

Tao Ji walked in, looked at Xu Xiu's handwriting, and said, "Isn't it pretty good? Don't compare yourself with him, junior. You are already much better than most of your peers." Then he hooked his neck Said: "It's sunny today, junior, shall we go to Chui Wan?" The so-called Chui Wan can be understood as ancient golf.

Xu Xiu frowned, and said helplessly, "Tao Er, let go first, the county test is coming soon, let's play." Tao Ji shrugged and let him go, "That's it, just leave it to fate, and still play." Yes, all I have left is to try."

Xu Xiu laughed and said, "You have to resign yourself to the fate of being a scholar. What about the provincial and general examinations?"

Tao Ji patted his cheeks, rolled his eyes and said, "Country Examination, General Examination? Don't think too much about it. I'd rather have fun in time." He continued: "Then what do you want to do even if you have won Jinshi?"

Xu Xiu said naturally: "Being an official, no matter what, fame is always necessary, and there are many benefits." Indeed, in ancient times, having fame and fame naturally had many benefits. From this point, it can be seen that people with fame and fame are not in the same class as ordinary people.

Lu Shen patted Xu Xiu's head and said inexplicably, "Utility."

He said again: "It doesn't matter whether there is anything other than fame itself. Do you know Mr. Shen Zhou, a great talent in Wuzhong, Mr. Shitian?"

Tao Ji hooked Xu Xiu's neck and said with a smile: "Mr. Shitian should not take the imperial examination all his life, but now at his seventy-year-old age, anyone who sees him will have to call him senior, he is still very prestigious."

Lu Shendao said thoughtfully: "Mr. Shitian's calligraphy and painting are considered to be the best in the world, but they still don't have fame. My apprentice must not be burdened by fame and fortune."

Xu Xiu broke free from Tao Ji's arm again, and said helplessly, "Of course I know old man Shi Tian, ​​but I don't agree with what the two seniors said."

He knew that old man Shen Zhou was one of the four Ming families, but why didn't he talk about his family background?With a scholarly family, he can live a chic life without working hard all his life.

It is impossible for the vast majority of scholars to read books without seeking fame. In ancient times, reading was a very expensive task, and it required full-time study.

It is often extremely difficult for an ordinary family to support a scholar. Maybe it takes a family to support a scholar. The books, paper, and stationery that are spent are not a small sum of money.

Even if you have a reputation as a scholar, you may not be able to improve your family. There are countless poor scholars. You can only continue to study, but you will face a huge fee. Otherwise, I will be poor for a lifetime, and I can only live by being a private tutor for others, setting up a word stand or something.

Only then did the saying that studying is for being an official, and being an official for thousands of miles is only for money.

It also led to the opening of the imperial examinations for merchants' children in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, resulting in the serious consequences of the integration of officials and businessmen. The Donglin Party, Shanxi merchants, and Huizhou merchants flooded the court, completely ignoring the country for their own interests.

Just because studying is an extremely expensive investment, it is very difficult for ordinary people, and businessmen are rich, so the integration of officials and businessmen in the middle and late Ming Dynasty became inevitable. The death of the country is really an anecdote through the ages.

So Xu Xiu said earnestly: "You two elder brothers, do you know how much pen, ink, paper and inkstone cost, how much books cost, how much it cost to do nothing for a year, and how much a common man's family could earn from a year's work? Jiangnan is rich and ordinary villages You can set up ethnology to invite a teacher to teach. If it is a border province, how much will it cost to hire a teacher? If you enter the imperial society, how much will you spend? How many people? I hope the two seniors will think about it carefully. Please forgive me for being rude."

The expenses listed are actually far more than these. The most annoying thing for literati from poor families is the various so-called literary societies.

If you don't go, you will lose your connections. If you go, you have to grit your teeth and see if there is anything that can be pawned. Are there any coffins left by the parents at home? There are so many examples.

Although you don’t necessarily have to treat guests, but you can’t give a reward when you’re looking for an artist, you also have to give a reward to your comfortable servants who serve you. If you don’t have a penny, you will be laughed at.

To put it more directly, since ancient times, there have been about [-] champions in the world of Wenkui, and less than one tenth of them are from poor families. Isn't that enough to explain the problem?

Tao Ji opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth wide, looking at the doll in disbelief, but he didn't know what to say.

Lu Shen slightly bent down, looked straight into his eyes and said, "Everyone in the world is tired of fame. Why bother to be famous. Isn't this mentality bad?"

Yes, but who knows that reading in ancient times is a process of continuous capital densification. Anyone who knows a little bit of economics should know that if reading is also compared to a project, when there is continuous capital densification in a project, then any time the capital is withdrawn , or cancel the project, it is equal to zero, and all previous efforts are wasted.

How many readers can accept it?When you embark on this road, it will be difficult to stop. The initial investment, the expectations of your parents, the eyes of your classmates, etc., when you get old, if you fail to achieve anything, you will be depressed and poor every day, and the first love of the poor Isn't dream just to change destiny?

Perhaps it is self-deprecating to say that everyone in the world is tired of fame and is useless, which is a joke like a scholar, but it also depends on the actual situation, and we cannot just say that this epigram to remind the world is useless.

The road to imperial examinations was extremely brutal. Based on the materials Xu Xiu came into contact with back then, it was far more affluent than South Zhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, where there are many talents. Let’s not talk about it. In the 12th year of Hongzhi’s reign, there were 24 schools in Guizhou Province with [-] students. Remain.

This is still just to register the number of people who are eligible to take the exam, and the imperial court will open another "remaining talent" exam, that is, you can refer to it without registering in the county school.

In the fourth year of Longqing, there were [-] accurate figures of "remaining talents" in the province alone.

This is in the south of the Yangtze River, and the number of people doubled is about the same. It just so happens that the number of registrations in Jiaoyu is also in line with Xu Xiu's guess. There are 800 people in the county examination in Huating County. According to the conventional 10% acceptance rate, there are only 80 people. Qualified to take the state examination.

Not to mention looking down on scholars, the gold content of scholars in ancient times was also great. Although they were poor, the vast majority of scholars stopped here.

After passing the hurdle of being a scholar, the frightening rural examination came. According to the scale of the Yingtianfu rural examination in previous years, the number of people was [-] to [-] to more than [-], and how many people passed the exam? [-]%.

This is the average number of Yingtianfu. It is not a problem to be intimidated like this. Yingtianfu is still high. The two capitals and thirteen provinces can be ranked in the top three. How terrible. The terrible Sichuan has only [-]% of the candidates Two point eight.

Of course, due to the existence of repeated examinations, the admission rate will actually be higher than this, but it is enough to show that the imperial examination is not easy.

According to textual research by well-known scholars of the Ming Dynasty, the average number of Zhongju is about 4%, and Ying Tianfu is still above the standard.Only after the first year of Longqing officially set the admission rate of 1:30 did it improve.

To be honest, it is more difficult to get a candidate than to get a title on the Jinshi Gold List, so those Xie Yuan who are the first in the provincial examination are so popular and sought after by others. Examinations, and the Ming Dynasty, at most, there were no more than 1 people for reference.

If you look at the data purely, according to the "Ming History Election Records" and other statistics, there were 10 township examinations in the Ming Dynasty, a total of 89 candidates, 590 meetings and 20.00 Jinshi. , [-]% of the four candidates can pass the examination.

If we break down each subject, according to the 12th year of Hongzhi last year, there were 500 candidates for the general examination and [-] candidates for the examination, which is [-]%, which is also much higher than the admission rate for the Zhongju.

All in all, the ancients read and passed the imperial examination, and thousands of troops and horses crossed the single-plank bridge may not be an accurate description of the word, but the pass of juren is like the road of Shu, it is difficult to go to the blue sky. The old scholar Fan Jin passed the exam for decades. It is understandable to go crazy once the imperial examination is held.

Although Xu Xiu came here with the goal of becoming an official through the imperial examination, she was also confident to face it, but she also thought of the saying that a hero is not judged by success or failure. How can modern people pass the examination casually in ancient times? Show Kunlun's hand.

Adhering to the original memory is a very interesting trick. Ancient child prodigies are not uncommon. What you learn, everyone else learns. You can’t. Others not only know, but are also proficient. Why can you be successful?

No matter how you look at those mediocre and corrupt officials with Jinshi fame, just one point, these people can be regarded as Neo-Confucianists in the aspect of traditional Chinese Neo-Confucianism and are proficient in contemporary writing. The problem of judging people by their appearance can't be changed. In ancient times, officials didn't have good looks, so it was difficult for you to get along.

Lu Shen stroked Xu Xiu's refined short hair and said, "Student, you are very honest, but you need to be sensitive, so don't reveal some things to others lightly."

Tao Ji withdrew his cynical expression, took Xu Xiu's little hand, and advised, "Whether you study for fame and fortune, or to learn from the past saints, you need to be cautious in your words and deeds."

Xu Xiu also understands that these two people are doing it for her own benefit, and many people actually understand some things, but for the sake of that false name, she insists on pretending not to know, and uses the words of a saint as a footnote for herself.

"Well, my brother understands."

Do you really know, some things are deep in the bones, and it is difficult to change. Since this cute student sees the problem so thoroughly, he dares to speak and think, and his position is not wavered by others. Maybe it will be interesting in the future Well, after Lu Shen and Tao Ji looked at each other, they thought so.