Bianliang is the junction of inner and outer cities.
On the day when the results are released, it is reasonable that many students will gather under the city wall to watch their results in the imperial examination. The difference between this time and the previous results is that the city wall where Zhao Zhen chose to release the results is in the inner and outer city.
In Lu Yao's view, his efforts have narrowed the gap between the inner and outer cities. Now because of the new Cuju competition, there are more students living in the outer cities than in the inner cities.
On the one hand, it is to reduce their own costs. After all, many students are lucky with their imperial examination results and think that they may still enter the imperial examination. However, once they fail, they are destined to leave Bianliang.
, so it is safer to live in the outer city.
On the other hand, it was naturally because of the start of the new Cuju competition. Lu Yao had observed before when watching the competition that many of the spectators who attended the competition were scholars, but this Cuju might not appear to them in their eyes.
It's not an elegant sport.
And there is another reason why there are so many students staying in Bianliang now, and that is the loan business of Lu's Bank.
So, when Lu Yao and Su Shi and Su Che arrived at the junction of the inner city and the outer city, they saw a huge crowd of students. According to modern time, it was only about eight o'clock at this time, and everyone was gathered under the city wall.
People. Officials from the government should not be here for at least half an hour to release the results, but everyone seems to be very impatient to know their results.
On the way the three of them walked over, Su Shi and Su Che were very mysterious. They said that a student who was taking the imperial examination also wanted to meet Lu Yao, saying that he had admired Lu Yao for a long time. Lu Yao was a little puzzled. How could he be recognized by Su Shi and Su Che?
, who is it?
Fortunately, the man stood in a more conspicuous position, and Su Shi found him instantly, and then several people gathered together.
Lu Yao looked at the person in front of him. He was not too tall, and was older than the two brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe, as well as himself. Although his appearance was unattractive, Lu Yao's aura was very strong. Lu Yao just looked at it.
You can tell at a glance that this person must be the kind of person who is very confident in himself.
"Is this Master Xiao Lu?" When the man saw Lu Yao, without waiting for introductions from Su Shi and Su Che, he bowed to Lu Yao and said, "I am Zeng Gong, whose courtesy name is Zi Gu."
Lu Yao slapped his forehead hard in his heart, how could he forget about this guy? She was one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and she was also a student in this imperial examination.
Zeng Gong's grandfather, Zeng Zhiyao, and his father, Zeng Yizhan, were both famous officials in the Northern Song Dynasty. Zeng Gong was gifted with intelligence and excellent memory. He read poems and books when he was young, and could recite them. He became a literary scholar at the age of twelve. In the second year of Jiayou (1057), he became a Jinshi
At the same time, he served as a judicial officer in Taiping Prefecture and joined the army. He was famous for his clear practice of laws and regulations and appropriate sentencing. In the second year of Xining (1069), he served as a reviewer of "Song Yingzong's Records" and was soon sent to Yuezhou for general sentencing. In the fifth year of Xining (1072)
), he successively served as the magistrate of Qizhou, Xiangzhou, Hongzhou, Fuzhou, Mingzhou, Bozhou, Cangzhou and other prefectures. In the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081), he was appointed as a historian to compile, supervise and compile the academy, and was sentenced to Taichang
Temple and ceremonial affairs. In the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), he died in Jiangning Prefecture (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), and his posthumous title was "Wen Ding".
When Zeng Gong was 18 years old, he went to Beijing with his father. He met Wang Anshi through literature and became a close friend. After joining Ouyang Xiu, he recommended Wang Anshi to Ouyang Xiu. At the age of 20, he entered Taixue and wrote to Ouyang Xiu and presented "Current Affairs Policy". After that, he Not only did he get to know Ouyang Xiu and make friends with Wang Anshi, but he also exchanged letters with Du Yan, Fan Zhongyan, etc., contributed articles, discussed current affairs, and stated his attitude towards life. He has become famous all over the world since then. However, because he is good at policy and argumentation, he is not considered to be a candidate. The time is right, so I failed after repeated attempts.
In the seventh year of Qingli (1047), his father died, so he had to drop out of school and return to his hometown to serve his stepmother. Zeng Gong was filial to his parents and friendly with his brothers. After his father's death, he served his stepmother meticulously, but his family was in decline and he raised four younger brothers and nine younger sisters. .
In this imperial examination, Ouyang Xiu presided over the examination, insisting on focusing on ancient prose and policy theory, with poetry as a supplement. Zeng Gongcai, his younger brother Zeng Mou, Zeng Bu and his cousin Zeng Fu were promoted to Jinshi.
"My Healing Game"
In the fourth year of Jiayou's reign (1059), he served as a judicial officer in Taiping Prefecture (now Dangtu County, Anhui Province) and joined the army. He was famous for his understanding of laws and regulations and appropriate sentencing.
A year later, he was recommended by Ouyang Xiu to the capital as a collation of pavilions and pavilions. He gathered talents to be the editors, and the editors published "Warring States Policy", "Shuo Yuan", "New Preface", "Liang Shu", "Chen Shu", "Tang Ling" and "Li Taibai Collection". "Bao Rong's Collected Poems" and "Lienv Biography" and other ancient books. He has done a lot of organizing work on the books of the past dynasties and written a large number of prefaces.
In the second year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty (1069), he was appointed to review the "Records of Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty" and was soon sent to Yuezhou for sentencing. A famine occurred that year, and Zeng Gong posted notices in all counties to persuade the rich to report truthfully. The grain they had stored totaled 150,000 shi, and they were asked to sell the grain to the people at a slightly higher price than the usual closing price. The people could buy food nearby and conveniently without leaving their hometown, and they had more than enough food. Zeng Gong He also asked the government to lend seeds to farmers and let them repay them together with the autumn taxes, so that there would be no delay in farming.
Five years after Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty, he successively served as magistrate of Qizhou, Xiangzhou, Hongzhou, Fuzhou, Mingzhou (Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province), Bozhou and other prefectures.
Zeng Gong was honest and dedicated to the government, diligent in political affairs, and concerned about people's livelihood and suffering. He implemented Wang Anshi's new law in accordance with the actual situation. He devoted himself to redressing injustice, maintaining public order, cracking down on powerful men, providing disaster relief and epidemic prevention, building bridges across rivers, setting up posthouses, and repairing The city was built, schools were built, official documents were reduced, official administration was rectified, and exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes were abolished, which won the support of the people.
Zeng Gong was an important backbone of the new ancient prose movement in the Song Dynasty. In terms of ancient prose theory, he advocated the combination of literature and Taoism. His writing style originated from the Six Classics and combined the strengths of Sima Qian and Han Yu. It was plain, simple, gentle and elegant, and was a man of the time. Wang Anshi said: "Zengzi's articles are unparalleled, just like the struggle between Jiang and Han stars in the water." Su Shi believed: "Zengzi is unique in his anecdotes, but he is solitary and humble in beauty." Zhu Xi also praised him, "I have read Zeng's books, and I have never tasted them." If you don't sigh at the waste of books, how can you know the public in this world?" His poems and essays have been selected and translated into English and published abroad.
Zeng Gong also attached great importance to promoting education, encouraging learning, and cultivating talents. He built the "Xinglu Academy" next to his residence in Fuzhou, and personally set the academic rules and teaching seats to promote the academic style of Fuzhou. In the "Zigu Park" in Nanfeng, there was a museum where Zeng Gong lived when he was a child. Reading place - Reading Rock, Zeng Wendiggong Temple, Yangfeng Pavilion, Sixian Hall, and the county museum are also built in it. There is a Zigu Road in Nanchang City, which was also named by later generations in memory of this sage.
Zeng Gong made many achievements in his life, especially in literary creation. He actively participated in Ouyang Xiu's poetry and reform movement. His prose has extensive content, profound meaning, slow rhythm, mellow emotion, and underlying temperament; the theme is clear and reasoning
Methodical; good at refining sentences, and his language is clean, especially good at using parallel sentences and couplets. "History of the Song Dynasty·Zeng Gong's Biography" calls him "the article runs up and down, and the more he writes, the more he works." The original "Six Classics" is considered in
Sima Qian and Han Yu were few writers who could excel in their work at the time. They also said that their prose was "easy but not annoying, simple but not regretful, and outstanding and unique in its own way". "History of the Song Dynasty: Zeng Gong's Biography" also called him "a filial piety friend.
After the death of his father, his stepmother came to take care of his four younger brothers and his nine younger sisters were destitute and weak. He was a filial son who respected his parents and took care of his younger siblings in difficult times.
A good brother.
The characteristics of Zeng Gong's articles lie in several different aspects. First, the essays on matters are written in a concise and tortuous manner. Secondly, although Zeng Gong's articles are simple and sparse, they sometimes sway, opening and closing vertically and horizontally.
The preface is particularly distinctive. Furthermore, those who are good at narration are characterized by clear organization and clear meaning. There are also those who are good at narration and do not describe many scenes, such as "Xingxin Pavilion", "Traveling to the Mountains", etc.
But there are also works of great characterization, such as "Daoshan Pavilion", "Mochi" and "Yuezhou Zhao Gong's Disaster Relief", which combine notes, discussions and expressions, which are profound, powerful and reasonable. His books, prefaces and
Inscriptions are also very good prose. When Xikun style became popular, the prose written by him, Ouyang Xiu and others followed the style of carving and piling up, focusing on simplicity and naturalness.
The characteristics of his argumentative prose are: analyzing micro-statements, clarifying doubts, being outstanding and self-reliant, analyzing and arguing difficulties, and not showing off his edge. "Tang Lun" is one of his representative works. "Preface to the Catalog of Warring States Ce" discusses human principles, majestic and extremely
Respected by people of the time.
The characteristics of his narrative prose are: detailed and emotional descriptions, and vivid and pertinent reasoning. "A Letter to Ouyang Sheren" and "A Letter to the Governor of Fuzhou" have always been praised as model letter essays. The narrative is euphemistic and deep, the language is concise and concise, and the structure is
Very rigorous.
As one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, Zeng Gong has "Yuanfeng Leikuo" and "Longping Collection" handed down to the world. Judging from his handed down collections of essays, his main interests lie in historical biographies and practical essays such as policy theory. In particular, he is engaged in
He has been compiling history books for many years, and has done a lot of research on the writing of historical biographies and inscriptions. Studying and summarizing his theory on practical writing has guiding significance for the development of modern practical writing.
Among Zeng Gong's prose works, most of his famous pieces are narrative prose, such as "The Story of Mochi", "The Story of the School", etc. When later generations compiled and selected prose collections, Zeng Gong's narrative prose has always been at the top of the list.
For example, Mao Kun's "Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasty's Texts" states in "Nanfeng Texts and Notes": "I have recorded six of his notes, fifteen of his writings, thirty-one prefaces, and two of his biographies.
Eighteen poems, seven of which are mixed with discussions and lamentations. Wow! Zeng's preface is recorded the most, and his annals are slightly inferior. However, in the literary garden, it is regarded as the ancient "Three Lao Sacrificial Wine" as the Han Dynasty called it. Scholars must not know this.
.”
Of course, Zeng Gong also made many achievements in poetry.
Zeng Gong's main achievements were in literature and poetry. There are more than 400 poems in existence. The characteristics of his poems are relatively simple, powerful and elegant, and profound in meaning. They are slightly similar to his prose, with elegant style and fresh words. However, some of them also have the literary logic of Song poetry.
It is a common problem, but it is covered up by literature and not taken seriously. He is not only good at writing style, but also good at poetry, with vivid images and quite the charm of the Tang Dynasty. Among all his poems in various styles, Qijue has the highest achievement, which is profound, dense and quite popular.
He has elegant style, such as "West Tower", "South of the City", "Ode to the Willows" and other masterpieces that depict scenes and express emotions. As far as the "Eight Great Masters" are concerned, his poems are not as good as those of Han, Liu, Ou, Wang and Su Shi, but better than Su Xun and Su Shi.
There is only one poem by Zhe, "Appreciating the Southern Branches". His poems have been translated into English and published abroad.
Zeng Gong's documentary poems inherited and carried forward the literary tradition of Du Fu's realist poetry in the Tang Dynasty. Their main content was to reflect social reality, pay attention to the sufferings of the people, expose political malpractices, and comment on national affairs. They showed his Confucian thoughts of paying attention to people's livelihood and helping the world and rejuvenating the country.
In addition to the frequent natural disasters that Gong lived in, the people's lives were miserable. Zeng Gong truly described the suffering of the people's livelihood in poetry. In the poem "Rent Chasing", the sentence "poor and exploited at the foot of the mountain" describes the famine.
In the 1980s, farmers were still in a miserable situation of being exploited at all levels, so he criticized local officials for "violent officials should be eliminated" and put forward the policy proposition that "excessive expenses can be cut off". This poem does not have the traditional lyrical description of scenes in ancient Chinese poetry.
, but nakedly criticizes the current ills, which reflects Zeng Gong's consistent concern for people's livelihood problems. Similar to the theme of "Rent Chasing" are: "Border General" and "Bian Jiang", which describe the ravages of insect disasters and expose the officials' worries about the country and the people.
"Hu Envoy", "Sigh", etc. Zeng Gong's documentary poems, in addition to being unabashedly realistic about the people's livelihood sufferings, also provided advice and suggestions on the political situation of the poor and weak Northern Song Dynasty, which effectively enhanced the role of literature in the political development of ancient China.
status and role.
Ancient Chinese literati preferred to chant history to satirize the present and express their feelings. Zeng Gong's poems often expressed their feelings by remembering historical figures and evaluating historical events. Zeng Gong could always reflect on the past with a sympathetic attitude and mentality.
The spiritual world of those who are similar to his ideals and aspirations, so as to remember the ancestors, comfort himself, relieve worries, and strengthen determination. For example, in the poem "Yang Yan", Zeng Gong admired Yang Xiong's immortality and Yan Hui's
They established immortal virtues and inspired themselves to pursue their careers and cultivate virtues with their persistent pursuit of truth. Another example is Zeng Gong's "Reading the History of the Five Dynasties". The poem uses history to satirize the reality and uses history to admonish the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty. Ge relied on the friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya to admire
"Lun Jiao", which is about integrity and morality; "Longzhong", which expresses the desire for a wise master and implies the unrequited ambition; "Gaixia", which advises on the selection of talented people and opposes the rejection of good ministers, etc. Zeng Gong's epic poem or
Whether he expresses his aspirations euphemistically or speaks outright about reforms, his writing style of describing things and people is derived from reality and has lofty aspirations, which highlights his Confucian benevolence and righteousness of benefiting the world and saving the people.
The sadness of parting is the most common emotion expressed by ancient poets in poems. There are more than 100 poems in "Zeng Gong Collection" that contain the feeling of parting. For example, the collection of poems "Nine Odes of Fenghe and Chuzhou" shows that,
When Zeng Gong returned from visiting Ouyang Xiu in Chuzhou, he suddenly felt sad about leaving, and he greatly praised Ouyang Xiu's talents and character. Another example is what is said in "Shang Du Xianggong", Zeng Gong went to visit the prime minister whom he had admired for a long time and had just resigned.
Du Yan, when leaving, Zeng Gong expressed his cherishment of the friendship between the two and his admiration for Du Yan. Zeng Gong's other poems of this kind include: "Poetry to Jie Fu" and "Huai Jie Fu on the River" in memory of his friend Wang Anshi.
"Farewell to Bachelor Chen Shang" which expresses farewell to friends; "Farewell to Master Chen" which expresses sentiments about the departure of talented people and exhorts students to send money to students; "Farewell to Wu Zhongshu Long Tu's Feelings of Late Spring" and "Farewell to Sun Yingxian" which expresses farewell and comforts the frustrated people; "Farewell to Sun Yingxian" which expresses nostalgia and farewell to relatives.
Blending. In addition, the farewell poem is also a true record of Zeng Gong’s various important life stages and state of mind.
In the Song Dynasty, the drafting of edicts was divided into internal and external systems. The internal system of white hemp was drafted by Hanlin scholars, and the external system of jute was drafted by Zhongshu Sheren. Zeng Gong promoted Zhongshusheren in his later years. At that time, Song Shenzong was engaged in reforms and new systems.
, officials from the three provinces were re-selected and appointed, and sometimes dozens of appointment edicts were drafted every day. He kept writing and training every day. In addition to expressing the basic meaning of these official documents, there was also a little room for his own literary talents to be used.
The 236 imperial edicts left by Zeng Gong can be roughly determined to be between May and August of the fifth year of Yuanfeng (1082). According to statistics, there are 232 imperial edicts with 29,866 words and 4 imperial edicts.
1461 words, 31327 words in total.
Wang Zhen, who was a contemporary of Zeng Gong and held the same position, recorded in black and white in the "Preface to Mr. Nanfeng's Collected Works" that Zeng Gong wrote all 236 edicts within 3 months, with an average of nearly 80 edicts per month. This is a literary talent.
The reason why things were important in ancient times is because in the world of etiquette, they were really useful and had the property of controlling the situation.
Zeng Gong was a peaceful man. Wang Anshi had great ups and downs. When he was in power, he did not rely on or cater to him. When there were differences, he thought the reform was too hasty and advised him to be cautious and fulfill his responsibilities. However, after feeling a little disappointed, he took the initiative to ask to leave Beijing.
From then on, he moved around various places for 12 years.
When Wang Anshi fell, he did not stand idly by and added insult to injury. His evaluation in front of the emperor was that he was "brave in making mistakes and stingy in correcting his mistakes."
of persistence.
Zeng Gong not only had a good relationship with the radical Wang Anshi, but also had a good relationship with the conservative "Three Soviets". It can even be said that the name of the "Three Soviets" has been passed down through the ages, and it is also due to Zeng Gong's contribution.
He said that Su Xun "worked hard on mechanics, and together with his son Shi, Zhe became famous all over the world for literature and was the sect of scholars." He also called Su Xun "a grandson of three at the same time. He was good at famous articles and shocked the world."
The name of "Three Sus" has been passed down through the ages, and Zeng Gong's reputation is not in vain. He wrote the epitaph for Su Xu and Su Shi's grandfather, but it is full of full understanding and affirmation of "Three Sus". In the minds of Chinese men
In life, oneself and one's heirs are equally important. Therefore, this is the highest praise.
When Zeng Gong refused to cling to Wang Anshi for a political future, his younger brother Zeng Bu took advantage of Wang Anshi's close relationship with Zeng Gong and took the initiative to make friends with Wang Anshi. The biography of "History of the Song Dynasty" records that Zeng Bu actively supported the new law. In just a few years,
He was promoted from a junior official to the third envoy, and together with Lu Huiqing, he became Wang Anshi's most effective assistant. During the Zhezong period, Zeng Bu took the opportunity to rely on Prime Minister Zhang Dun, and from the Huizong period, he became the prime minister. Su Shi always followed Zeng Gong.
The relationship between the Zeng Bu brothers has always been very good. It is very rare for Zeng Bu to be able to comfort Su Dongpo without being afraid of being hurt when he was in crisis. Among the thirteen letters from Su Dongpo to Zeng Bu, eight were to thank Zeng Bu for his letter.
And make.
It was during the Yuanyou period that Su Shi and Zeng Bu established a deep friendship. Therefore, after Shao Shengchu and Zeng Bu returned to the court, although they would help Zhang Dun persecute the Yuanyou party members, they did not treat Su Shi, who was demoted to the south,
Su Che tried his best to protect him. Su Shi was finally able to return from Hainan to the north, and it is said that Zeng Bu also contributed to it.
Lu Yao looked at Zeng Gong, who was slightly older than him, and felt a sense of admiration in his heart. Zeng Gong's first half of life was not very smooth, but he had always been very upright and did not make trouble for others. This
At some point, many people can’t do it.
As the saying goes, many friends have many paths, Lu Yao knew in his heart that people like Zeng Gong can become friends with him as long as he treats each other with sincerity. What's more, Zeng Gong and Su Shi have always had a good relationship, and they can communicate with each other.
There shouldn't be many barriers.
"I have heard about Mr. Zeng for a long time, and today I finally get to meet him," Lu Yao returned the gift to Zeng Gong. In fact, he didn't want to do this, but the rules of the ancients were very troublesome, and Zeng Gong was like this
People must pay great attention to etiquette and rules, so naturally they cannot have the same attitude as team leader Su Shi.
"Master Xiao Lu is so young that he can hold such a large-scale new Cuju competition. Zeng Gong feels ashamed." Zeng Gong said modestly.
Then, a few people found a quieter place and chatted while waiting for the officials to release the results.
After some communication, Lu Yao felt that compared to Su Shi and Su Che, Zeng Gong was more bookish and more rigid than the Song Dynasty literati. Of course, these had a lot to do with Zeng Gong's age and family environment.
.
"I heard that Mr. Xiao Lu and Brother Jiefu have a very good relationship. In the letter I received a while ago, he even told me about the affairs between the two of you."
Hearing what Zeng Gong said, Lu Yao was stunned at first. He went over in his mind who this person named Jie Fu was, and then he realized that it was Wang Anshi.
Lu Yao smiled and said: "Brother Anshi is so talented that he will be reused by the court sooner or later. I am just trying to push the boat along. What's more, Prime Minister Yan Shu also contributed to this."
Lu Yao still wants to attribute the credit for Wang Anshi's reuse to Yan Shu as much as possible, so that no more people will have doubts about how he knew Wang Anshi.
A few people chatted for a while, and finally waited for a group of people to walk towards the city wall. Lu Yao thought he would see everyone scrambling to surround which group of people under the city wall, but it did not appear. On the contrary, everyone watched.
After arriving at that group of people, he immediately stepped back consciously, and then made way for the pair of people.
Lu Yao and the other four also followed the crowd to the city wall.
There was not much delay in releasing the results. After all, what was announced today was only the list of those who entered the palace examination. There were no results, only names. After passing the examination, the ranking was determined based on the performance in the palace examination, which is this year's top pick.
So, in modern terms, the rankings are in no particular order.
As soon as the imperial list came out, everyone was looking for their name on the list. Lu Yao was not in a hurry, but he still found his name on it as expected.