Chapter 278 It's Raining

The material is chilly and cold in spring, with a drop of icy rain.

Zhu Ping'an finished writing the second stereotyped essay, just in time to see a drop of icy rain hitting the ground outside, and the soldiers outside shrank their necks.

It's raining!

Zhu Pingan looked up and took a closer look at his house. Well, yes, although it is a stinky house, the structure of the house is good, especially the top floor has just been repaired, and the rain-proof layer is also well arranged. Case of rain leakage.

So, Zhu Pingan took out his umbrella from his luggage, stretched it outside, pointed to his umbrella to the shrinking soldiers outside, and then placed it on the wall outside the dormitory.

Use it or not, you can figure it out yourself.

After putting down the umbrella, Zhu Pingan didn't bother, and continued to work on the questions.

This is the last topic of the Four Books, and the topic is quite satisfactory. It comes from a sentence in "Mencius": "Confucius climbed Dongshan and became a small Lu".

This sentence is very simple. It means that when Confucius climbed Dongshan Mountain and looked down, he felt that the state of Lu was small. Simple is simple, but it is not so simple to write a stereotyped essay with smooth meaning according to this sentence. If you really want to write according to the superficial meaning of this sentence, you can't write a travelogue of Confucius climbing Dongshan.

This topic should be understood in the full text. The full text of this sentence is as follows. Mencius said: "Confucius climbed Dongshan and became a small Lu, and climbed Taishan and made a small world. Therefore, it is difficult for those who look at the sea to be water, and it is difficult for those who swim in the gate of sages to speak. If you have the skills to observe water, you must observe its waves. The sun and the moon have light, and the light must shine on it. Flowing water is a thing, and it can't be done if it is not full of science; a gentleman's ambition is in the way, and if it is not organized, it will not be achieved.

Seeing this sentence, Zhu Ping'an thought of Zhu Xi.

When Mr. Zhu Xi and Mr. Zhu read this chapter of Mencius, he made a note in the corner: "This chapter says that the way of a sage is profound and has its roots. Those who learn it must learn it gradually." The interpretation version of the official definition of the Ming Dynasty imperial examination "Mencius" is the old man Zhu Xi. Mr. Zhu said this: the Confucianism established by the sage is broad and profound, and it has been inherited in one continuous line. Those who study must follow the laws of Confucianism and follow the steps step by step, so as to reach the profound state of the sage.

Don't worry about why Mr. Zhu's version is the official version. That's how Daming stipulated. If you want to take the imperial examination, you have to follow Mr. Zhu's opinion. After Zhu Ping'an pondered for a while, he came up with an idea, so let's start the discussion according to Zhu Xi's words as the words to break the topic.

The rain outside is gradually getting tighter. Looking out from the house, I can see that there is a rain curtain hanging on the sky, and there are large splashes of water on the Mingyuan Building not far away. At first glance, I thought the Mingyuan Building was blooming. There was no rain, but the chill brought by the spring rain still poured into the dormitory, making the candidates sitting in the dormitory feel cool.

The invigilator soldier outside was holding the umbrella Zhu Pingan gave him at the moment, watching his colleagues nearby shivering in the wind and rain, feeling very grateful. In my heart, I was extremely grateful to Zhu Pingan who was sitting in the stinking hall, and looked at Zhu Pingan with gratitude.

However, Zhu Ping'an was completely immersed in his ink-stained world, which made the soldier waste his grateful eyes.

Picking up the brush and dipping it in the ink, Zhu Pingan wrote down the breaking point of this stereotyped essay:

"The holy way is big and has its roots, and scholars must gradually arrive at it."

After solving the problem, Zhu Ping'an didn't add points. Finish this stereotype in one go, and proceed to discuss it according to Zhu Xi's words. Didn't Mr. Zhu say that Confucianism is broad and profound, so I will advocate Confucianism all over the place and praise it greatly. Comparing Confucianism to a mountain of ten thousand feet, to an endless sea, to the source of light, you are the source of all things. Then I wrote down according to the meaning of Mr. Zhu. Those who study must start from the beginning and proceed step by step. This is roughly the case, and I wrote this stereotyped essay.

At this point, the three questions, four books, righteousness, and stereotyped essays for this exam have been written, and the remaining four questions should be all five classics, righteousness, and stereotyped essays. The stereotyped essays of the Five Classics are relatively simple. This is Zhu Pingan's experience in writing stereotyped essays. This is entirely a matter of personal preference.

Zhu Ping'an opened the test paper and continued to read.

There is no unexpected situation, and the remaining four questions are all questions from the Five Classics, and they are not difficult. Zhu Pingan read the four questions in one breath, and his thoughts flowed like a cold wind galloping in the rain.

Thinking smoothly, Zhu Ping'an continued to do it.

Just like that, in the rain, a teenager wearing a mask splashed ink tirelessly.

On rainy days, the smell in the toilet is stronger, and there are several stinky names like Zhu Ping'an in Gongyuan. Most of the people were fumigated and vomited. Another person couldn't hold on, and was sent to Mingjing Building by the invigilator. The rest who are still persisting are also pale and crumbling.

But Zhu Ping'an was wearing a mask, and he seemed not to be affected by the stinking number next door at all. He splashed ink very smoothly, as if he was in the midst of the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Every candidate who goes to the toilet, passing by Zhu Ping'an's place, is always shocked by the figure of Zhu Ping'an splashing ink in the stinking account.

"Swing an ax under the bed, and make a dojo in the screw shell."

This sentence is the ancients' description of stereotyped composition in the imperial examination. It is about how to use the wheel ax under the bed if you can't use it. You can cook a pot of soup with a snail shell. Stereotyped essays are just like this. They set a lot of restrictions for you, and each sentence has requirements, just like restricting the bottom of the bed. Most people find it difficult to use it.

However, at this moment, Zhu Ping'an felt that he was more than capable, and his intentions and pens were in full compliance with the various requirements of stereotyped writing. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

In one breath, Zhu Pingan finished writing two five classics and stereotyped essays before he stopped writing, and his stomach was churning again.

So, Zhu Ping'an reached out his hand to signal, took the "Gong Gong card", and hung a piece of linoleum cloth in front of his dormitory as a door curtain to prevent the wind and rain from blowing into his dormitory and wet the test papers when he went to the toilet, and put his test papers on straw paper. After putting everything into the test paper bag and hanging it on the wall, I left the dormitory and went to the toilet next door.

Although there is a mask, the smell is unavoidable when entering the toilet.

Of course, without a mask, it stinks. The toilet is also very unclean, unlike our modern toilets, which have flush toilets or something, it is a squatting tunnel, and it cannot be flushed, anyway, it is hard to look directly into it.

There is also toilet paper inside, which is the kind of rough straw paper.

Zhu Ping'an almost solved the problem at the fastest speed in his life, and then returned to his dormitory.

At this time, it was about four or five o'clock in the afternoon. It was getting darker and darker outside, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier. A water curtain almost formed outside the house, and the house was almost like a water curtain hole.

Just then, a shrill howl was heard outside.

"Cao, there's a water leak! My test paper!"

Then I saw an examinee screaming wildly outside the hall, jumping and screaming, and three or five buglers couldn't hold it down. Finally, six or seven buglers controlled him and escorted him to Mingjing. Building awaits disposal.

The unlucky child should have wet the test paper due to the rain in the dormitory. If the test paper is wet, there will be traces, and then the test paper will be invalid, and the exam will be invalid. Therefore, it is inevitable that this kid is like this.

Looking at it this way, the stinking number doesn't seem to be so unlucky. Zhu Pingan wore a mask and smiled self-deprecatingly.

(end of this chapter)