Lin Xuan stood up and first bowed his hands to Li Shimin, then looked at the representatives of the various academies opposite and said, "You have submitted a letter of challenge to me, Boyuan Academy, how are you going to compete?"
A person stood up from the opposite side and said: "Master Hou is joking. We just want to communicate with Boyuan Academy. Talking about competition is a bit serious."
This person is Meng Yuan, the representative of Weishui Academy, the largest academy in Guanzhong.
Weishui Academy and Boyuan Academy are both located in Guanzhong. Boyuan Academy is called the First Academy of the Tang Dynasty by the people. Although it seems to be a joke and has little impact on other academies, it has a great influence on Weishui Academy.
Therefore, Weishui Academy was also the most active in this competition.
Meng Yuan is about fifty years old, not tall, but has a hint of elegance unique to a scholar.
Although Meng Yuan was not a great Confucian, he had considerable reputation among scholars.
After Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, he was given a warning to join the court as an official, but he refused.
Lin Xuan was noncommittal and said, "I wonder how you guys want to communicate?"
"Literary and Taoist exchanges are nothing more than articles, poems, and words, but the exchange alone is a bit monotonous. We discussed it and added debates and pairs. I wonder what the Lord Hou wants?" Meng Yuan said.
Lin Xuan nodded and said, "What should we communicate first?"
"The pair is relatively simple, how about we start with the pair?" Meng Yuan said.
Lin Xuan smiled confidently and asked: "How to compare?"
"One of us will write the first couplet and the other will write the second couplet. After answering the correct answer, we will reverse it until one of us can't answer it. All of you sitting here, including your majesty and all the ministers, are people who have read poetry and books. Who wins and who loses will make their own decisions.
"Meng Yuan said.
"Okay, we are guests, so you can go out first." Lin Xuan said.
Speaking of pairs, it has been the favorite "entertainment project" of literati since ancient times. Especially during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, this activity was pushed to a new level. Not only did the emperor "discuss" with the ministers, but also
So even ordinary civilians can always "explain the truth".
Many people have no clear idea of when the couplet was formed.
The earliest couplets recorded in history appeared in the Three Kingdoms era. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1399), a large iron cross was unearthed in Luling, Jiangxi (now Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province), on which was cast the Chiwu Year of Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms era.
No. (238-250). On the iron cross, there is also an artistically exquisite couplet that reads: "The whole world celebrates Anlan, the iron pillars leave a cross with precious light; all the people cherish the great benefits, and the golden furnace incense and seals are kind to each other for thousands of years."
It can be seen that during the Three Kingdoms period, the writing method of couplets already existed.
Couplets, also known as antithetical couplets, door pairs, spring stickers, spring couplets, antithetical couplets, couplets, etc., are antithetical couplets written on paper, cloth or carved on bamboo, wood, or pillars.
A unique art form of Chinese with one tone.
During the New Year celebrations in the early Tang Dynasty, the peach symbols still had "Shen Tu" and "Yu Lei" painted on them, but they did not form the form of Spring Festival couplets. Therefore, although the couplets existed, they were still relatively niche in the early Tang Dynasty.
They proposed to compare pairs. One of them loved pairs and had been studying pairs, so they were very confident.
Lin Xuan naturally understood that since they dared to propose a pair, they must have some trump cards, but was Lin Xuan afraid?
He has seen too many online pairs in later generations. In the early Tang Dynasty, pairs were not popular at all, and he still doesn’t believe them. After being influenced by the Internet, he will lose.
Fang Xuanling in the stands frowned when he heard Lin Xuan asked the other party to ask the question first.
Although Cheng Yaojin was not as illiterate as written in the novel, it is true that he had no interest in reading or anything like that.
Therefore, after Cheng Yaojin sat down, his head was wandering around. Fang Xuanling's frowning expression was caught in his eyes, and he couldn't help but ask: "Old Fang, why are you frowning?"
Cheng Yaojin's voice was already loud. Although he deliberately lowered his voice, everyone around him heard it and looked at Fang Xuanling.
Fang Xuanling said: "I saw Lu Qian. This man is not well-known. Many of you may have never heard of him, but he and I are from the same hometown. In the early years when I was still in my hometown, this man was very popular with me.
Pairs are well-known in the local area. I also played against this person and lost to him. If the prince-in-law raises the question first, there is still a possibility of winning. Let the other party raise the question first, I'm afraid..."
Comparing pairs is different from writing articles. It pays great attention to inspiration. If inspiration comes, even ordinary people can make eternal absolutes.
Lu Qian has been studying couplets all year round, and there must be some couplets that he himself cannot match. If he mentioned them, he would hardly be able to match them in a short time.
When Li Shimin heard Fang Xuanling's words, he frowned unconsciously.
Although the couplet is a niche team, if they lose in the first game, it will not only look bad on the face, but it will also dampen the morale of Lin Xuan's side.
Meng Yuan did not refuse, turned around and said to the person behind him: "Excuse me, Mr. Lu."
Lu Qian stood up and cupped his hands in the direction of Li Shimin, then cupped his hands in Lin Xuan's direction, and said, "Master Marquis, why don't I make a couplet for one stick of incense? If anyone can match it, I will admit defeat directly."
Lu Qian's words caused an uproar. Originally, it was good, but if they were matched, the other party would ask questions until one of them couldn't match.
However, Lu Qian said that he only played one pair, and if someone on the other side matched him, he would admit defeat, which showed that he was very confident in his top pair.
"good."
Since the other party's proposal was obviously beneficial to him, he naturally had no reason to reject it.
"I need pen and ink." Lu Qian said.
Lin Xuan didn't need to worry about it, Xu Geng immediately asked people to give him pen and ink.
At the same time, the boy also lit a stick of incense, and when the incense burned out, the winner would be decided.
Lu Qian didn't mean to delay time on purpose. He picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and started writing.
Not long after, Lu Qian put down his pen, and the two boys picked up the couplets on the table and pulled them up for everyone to see.
All I saw was written on the paper: The sea water is falling.
Many people looked at the first couplet and frowned as they thought about the second couplet.
Even Li Shimin also thought of the second line in his mind.
However, when Lin Xuan saw this first couplet, his expression was very exciting.
He had seen this couplet on the Internet in his previous life. It was definitely not worthy of being called a couplet, but it could still be regarded as a strange couplet.
"Bi Mo." Lin Xuan said lightly.
He was previously worried about what he would do if the other party came out with some couplets that he had never seen before.
After all, he doesn't even understand the coordination of oblique and oblique couplets. If the other party comes up with something that he has never heard of, he will be blinded.
Seeing this couplet, Lin Xuan's hanging heart finally dropped.
Everyone present was thinking about the second couplet, and it was very quiet. Lin Xuan's words were like throwing a stone on the calm lake, causing ripples.
Everyone looked at Lin Xuan, a mixture of surprise and suspicion.
The boy carried a table with pens, ink, paper and inkstones and placed it in front of Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan picked up the pen and started writing without any hesitation.
After putting down the pen, he signaled to the boy, and they quickly picked up the second couplet, unfolded it and faced the crowd.