Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 25 was eagerly read, and Yun Shi left the county!
Outside the county school, people carrying lanterns were bustling with noise and excitement.

The academy remained completely silent.

The night, like ink spreading in an inkstone, permeated the tense atmosphere of Jiangyin County College.

Dozens of candlesticks were lit one after another, illuminating the hall as brightly as day.

"Please, Lord Cai, take a look!"

Instructor Zheng Shuqian, his crimson robe rolled up, held Jiang Xingzhou's "Leaving the County" poem scroll in both hands and respectfully placed the scroll on the chief examiner Cai Chao's sandalwood desk.

Five bailiffs in black boots filed in, carrying ninety-nine sealed examination bags with anonymous names on sandalwood trays, and distributed them to the five chief and deputy examiners for grading.

One hundred students stood respectfully outside the ten-step blue steps of the county school, anxiously awaiting the examiners to grade their papers and announce the results of the county examination.

Each of them had a cloud floating in front of them—these were colorful clouds released by the students using the "Cloud Poetry" technique, which they could use as mounts to fly.

"Grade the papers!"

Cai Chao pressed Jiang Xingzhou's answer sheet under the paperweight, then quickly evaluated the other students' answers with a flourish of his vermilion brush.

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea

The ninety-nine poems had been quickly judged by the five chief and deputy examiners, who selected the thirty most outstanding ones to be admitted as this year's candidates for the Jiangyin County Scholars Examination.

Each of the deputy examiners then selected one of the candidates and ranked it as one of the top five in the first rank of the student examination.

They are Han Yugui's "Yunhe", Cao An's "Yunti", Li Yunxiao's "Yunxiao", and Lu Ming's "Yunze".

As for Jiang Xingzhou's "Deep in the Clouds: Seeking the Hermit in Vain," it is impossible to make a judgment.

The Confucian Temple had already decreed that the candidate should be the top scholar in the examination.

"Jiang Xingzhou's poem on clouds was officially designated by the Confucian Temple as a 'leaving the county' poem!"

This is the first time in thirty years that I have witnessed the divine intervention of the Confucian Temple, which selected the top student in the examination.

But what is the content of this poem?

Let this old man observe closely!

After Cai Chao finished reviewing the case files, he eagerly picked up Jiang Xingzhou's answer sheet and smiled.

The officials present all leaned forward, craning their necks to see, eagerly anticipating reading Jiang Xingzhou's article about leaving the county.

"In the Depths of the Clouds: Seeking the Hermit in Vain":
Matsushita asked the boy,
The herbalist went to gather herbs.

Only in this mountain,
"The clouds are so deep, I know not where."

Cai Chao shook his head and read it aloud.

But soon, the four deputy examiners looked at each other in bewilderment.

They didn't quite understand.

"Uh, why is this poem so simple?"

"In Han Yugui's essay 'Cloud Crane,' there is a beautiful line, 'Hanging still is history,' which compares cloud crane to history, and is so grand that it is amazing."

Li Yunxiao's poem "Yunxiao" contains the beautiful line "The boat falls into the sky like a mirror," which has a wonderful artistic conception!

Cao An's poem "The Cloud Ladder" contains the line, "The Heavenly Weaver left behind a white silk ribbon, hanging in the air at twelve towers." Its ingenious conception evokes endless imagination!

However, Jiang Xingzhou's poem "Deep in the Clouds: Seeking a Hermit in Vain" is surprisingly simple, with only four lines and not a single one that is particularly good.

The last line, "Where the clouds are deep and the path is unknown," is the finishing touch, but its momentum seems weaker than the other pieces!
Why is that?

They had some doubts, but dared not question them.

This is a decree from the Confucian Temple, an article of the "exiting the county" level personally selected by the sage.

They have no right to question it.

"This poem is extremely simple, and at first glance it seems unremarkable! It has nothing special about it, but it is easy to read and understand."

"Why could it alarm the sages of the Confucian Temple?!" "We still need to ponder carefully. How can the meaning of this last line, 'Where the clouds are deep and the path is unknown,' be fully grasped by mortal eyes?"

The twenty-seven local gentry, scholars, and successful candidates gathered to the side were also surprised and began to discuss among themselves.

They couldn't understand it at first.

Since we dare not question the divine judgment of the Confucian Temple, we can only rack our brains to find out its extraordinary aspects.

"Lord Pei, please forgive my poor eyesight. I don't understand the mystery of this poem, 'Deep in the Clouds: Seeking the Hermit in Vain'!"

Cai Chao humbly sought instruction.

"Ah!"

Pei Jingyi smiled and pondered, "There isn't a single good line in the whole piece, yet the whole piece is a masterpiece! Just like the last line, 'Where the clouds are deep and unknown,' the most wonderful state of clouds is that they leave no trace."

In contrast, the other phrases written by Han, Cao, Li, and Lu, such as "cloud crane, cloud sky, cloud ladder, cloud marsh," seem to be beautiful lines, but they are all clouds that can be traced back to their origins, thus falling short of excellence.

Among them, Han Yugui's "Cloud Crane" is slightly inferior, reaching the level of a "top-ranking" article.

The other three articles were even less impressive, falling into the category of "common knowledge of the village."

Master Pei also felt somewhat sorry for Han Yugui and the others.

In the county examination of an ordinary small county, writing a poem that is "visiting the town" or even "hearing the news of the village" would be enough to win the position of "top student".

However, Jiangyin was a major county for the imperial examinations during the Great Zhou Dynasty, teeming with talented individuals, and then Jiang Xingzhou wrote a piece titled "Leaving the County".

The fact that they published one article every ten years completely stunned and suppressed Meng Sheng, one of the top aristocratic families.

"I see! Xingzhou's understanding of the character 'cloud' is so profound!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Chao suddenly realized what was happening and his expression changed.

Somewhat unbelievable.

Pei Jingyi meant that, when taken individually, not a single line in "Deep in the Clouds" is a good line. However, as a whole, the poem is a masterpiece.

This is precisely the mystery of "clouds"—their ethereal and intangible nature.

The officials in the hall were then surprised to realize the brilliance of the situation.

"This poem, 'Deep in the Clouds: Seeking the Hermit in Vain,' is meticulously crafted and conceived. Though it may lack brilliant lines, it is a fine piece of writing!"
wonderful!
That's great!
This level of literary and artistic attainment has already transformed the tangible into the intangible, leaving no trace and no limit to be found. This is precisely the mystery of clouds!

Tangible clouds, on the contrary, are of inferior quality!
No wonder, according to the Confucian Temple's decree, "The Deep in the Clouds" was "exited from the county".

The other pieces, though containing beautiful lines, did not receive this treatment.

"What a wonderful 'where the clouds are deep and the people are unknown'! This kind of 'leaving the county' essay, with such a high level of skill, was it really written by Meng Sheng?"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Li Mo fell silent, then looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.

He recalled that snowy night thirty years ago when he knelt before the Chen family's gate in Yingchuan, desperately seeking and studying classical texts, his knees frozen stiff.

No matter how many years I have worked hard and diligently pursued the Way of Literature, I could not write such an article!

Ultimately, they were attached to appearances, too obsessed with power, fame, and fortune, and failed to grasp the profound meaning of literature and the Way.

Chief examiner Cai Chao, holding a list of successful candidates in the county examination, came to the steps and announced the final results of the Jiangyin county examination to the hundred students.

"All beings, hear my judgment!"
In this year's county examination, among all the students, five excellent poems were created: one on "Leaving the County," one on "Visiting the Town," and three on "Hearing of the Hometown."

The chief examiner hereby announces: Jiang Xingzhou is the top candidate in the preliminary examination, and Han Yugui, Cao An, Li Yunxiao, and Lu Ming are the top five candidates in the first rank!

In addition, thirty students who performed exceptionally well in the examinations were admitted as students of Jiangyin County.

The remaining seventy students were dismissed!

I won't read out the specific list. It will be immediately posted on the notice board outside the county academy gate, written in red ink, and announced for three days. All students can view it themselves.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(End of this chapter)