A perfect score on the college entrance exam? The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng has astonis

Xu Mingyuan.

Professor at the Provincial Normal University School of Liberal Arts.

Doctoral supervisor.

An authority in the field of classical Chinese literature studies.

His edited work, "A History of Ancient Chinese Literature," is a commonly used textbook in universities.

The quantity and quality of his papers published in core journals are unmatched by his peers.

Every year, the college entrance examination (Gaokao) grading committee invites him to serve as the chief consultant for the entire Chinese language grading area.

He was nominally an advisor.

In reality, he is the highest decision-maker in the marking team.

He made the final decision on all cases involving disputed papers, papers with perfect scores, and papers with zero scores.

in other words.

He held the power of life and death over every single essay.

When Xu Mingyuan walked in, he was carrying a thermos.

The cup is printed with the four characters "A Model Teacher", but most of the paint has already peeled off.

He glanced at Sun Jianguo and Chen Fang's expressions.

He couldn't help but frown.

"Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over a student's essay?"

He walked up to Sun Jianguo's workstation, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"I've been reading papers for twenty years. What storms haven't I weathered? You young people just can't keep your composure."

Sun Jianguo stood up and offered his chair.

He opened his mouth as if to say something.

But in the end, he just stood to the side.

He made a "please" gesture.

Xu Mingyuan sat down and placed the thermos on the corner of the table.

Without even wearing reading glasses, I leaned right up to the screen to look at it.

His gaze fell on the screen—specifically, the latter half of the article.

Where is the prince who once resided in the pavilion? The Yangtze River flows emptily beyond the railing.

Xu Mingyuan's fingers stopped above the keyboard.

His body leaned forward slightly by five centimeters.

Then he flipped through the pages and started reading from the beginning.

[Yuzhang, the old prefecture; Hongdu, the new capital. Its stars align with the constellations of Wing and Chariot; its land borders Heng and Lu.]

His brow furrowed slightly.

It wasn't because of dissatisfaction, but because of focus.

His eyebrows furrowed.

Her eyelids drooped slightly, and her breathing became shallow and slow, as if she had been sucked into the screen.

[The land is rich in natural resources, its dragon light shining upon the ruins of the Ox and the Dipper constellations; its people are outstanding, its spirit is exceptional, as evidenced by Xu Ru's visit to Chen Fan's couch.]

He extended a finger and unconsciously wrote a word on the table.

Sun Jianguo glanced at it and recognized the character "榻" (ta) – Professor Xu was probably confirming the origin of this allusion.

[The majestic prefecture stands like a forest amidst a sea of ​​clouds, its talented individuals shining like stars.]

Xu Mingyuan's hands began to tremble slightly.

The setting sun and a lone wild goose fly together; the autumn waters blend seamlessly with the vast sky.

He took off his glasses.

They weren't reading glasses, they were his nearsighted glasses.

He didn't put on his reading glasses after taking them off.

Instead, he brought his face right up to the screen, his nose almost touching the LCD screen.

He read it word by word.

His lips moved slightly.

It's like reading silently, or like chewing.

The sky is high and the earth is vast, revealing the infinity of the universe; joy turns to sorrow, showing the cyclical nature of fortune.

Xu Mingyuan's breathing became heavy.

He has been teaching for over thirty years.

I have been studying classical literature for over thirty years.

I have edited textbooks.

He has written monographs and supervised doctoral students.

He thought he had thoroughly mastered classical Chinese literature in his lifetime.

Those are the best sentences.

The most ingenious idea.

The deepest meaning.

He has seen them all, studied them all, and knows them by heart.

But what he was reading at that moment was not in any ancient book.

It is not in "Guan Zhi of Ancient Prose", not in "Zhaoming Anthology", and not in any of the textbooks he edited.

This is an ancient text that does not exist in this world.

Its quality is enough to put 99% of classical literature researchers of this era to shame.

The mountains and passes are difficult to cross; who will mourn the lost traveler? We meet by chance, strangers in a foreign land.

Xu Mingyuan slammed his hand on the table.

With a loud "bang," the quiet examination hall erupted.

All the examiners around were startled.

They all turned their heads in unison.

Chen Fang was so startled by this that she took half a step back.

Sun Jianguo, however, did not resign.

But the expression on his face was as if he had seen something unbelievable.

He has known Xu Mingyuan for over ten years.

I've never seen this old professor lose his composure while grading papers.

Xu Mingyuan is the kind of person who remains calm even if Mount Tai collapses before him.

Even if I see a zero-score essay, I won't even frown.

But now, Xu Mingyuan's eyes were red.

His lips were trembling.

My fingers were trembling, and my whole body was shaking.

He stared at the two lines of text on the screen.

It was like something he had been searching for for half his life suddenly appearing in the most unexpected place.

"Professor Xu?"

Chen Fang asked cautiously.

"Are you... alright?"

Xu Mingyuan did not answer.

He took a deep breath.

With slightly trembling fingers, slide the mouse to continue reading.

Though old, one should not lose heart; though poor, one should not abandon lofty ambitions.

He closed his eyes.

He leaned back in his chair, head tilted back.

He remained motionless and silent for about ten seconds.

Then he opened his eyes and said something.

His voice was hoarse, with a tremor that even he hadn't anticipated.

"The literary scene in China... is about to change."

When he uttered those eight words...

Everyone in the marking hall who heard this was stunned.

It is not an exaggeration, not a rhetoric, and not a professor's deliberately sensational statement.

Xu Mingyuan never uses exaggerated rhetoric when he speaks.

He is a scholar who is so rigorous that he is almost rigid.

The kind of person who checks fifty footnotes when publishing a 3,000-word paper.

When he says "the world is about to change," it really is true—the world is about to change.

Chen Fang and Sun Jianguo exchanged a glance.

They both saw the same thing in each other's eyes.

That was shock.

And a kind of indescribable excitement.

"Professor Xu,"

Sun Jianguo took a step forward, his voice tinged with a hint of probing.

What's your opinion on this article?

Xu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.

He put his glasses back on and read the article from beginning to end again—this was the sixth time.

After watching it.

He picked up his thermos and took a sip of water, which had already gone cold, but he was completely unaware of it.

He put down his thermos and cleared his throat.

Then his expression changed.

The old scholar whose voice had been trembling had disappeared.

Instead, Xu Mingyuan appeared with his eyes narrowed like a fox.

He leaned back in his chair.

With hands crossed in front of the chest and chin slightly raised, slowly open your mouth:

"Boasting and talking nonsense."

Chen Fang thought she had misheard.

"This kind of article is all show and no substance."

Xu Mingyuan's voice turned cold and stern.

It's like criticizing a student in class for going off-topic.

"It's full of allusions, flowery language, and empty words. College entrance exam essays should focus on genuine feelings and experiences, not this kind of pretentious and showy writing."

Chen Fang's eyes widened.

"This kind of test paper,"

Xu Mingyuan stretched out his finger and tapped the screen heavily.

"Only a zero score is possible."

Zero points?

Chen Fang felt a buzzing in her head.

She opened her mouth.

What do you want to say? — Do you want to say, Professor Xu, are you crazy? This article gets zero points?

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