Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

At the same time, in the thousands of examination cells of the Imperial Examination Hall in the capital, the same examination questions were delivered to the candidates by the runners.

East District, Building 7, Section C.

Zhang Huaiyu opened the envelope and took out the test questions for the essay.

He glanced at the title of the article and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"What?"

"It's him again?"

……

He stared blankly at the page, his face showing deep envy and jealousy.

The Zhang family of Fengzhou was a prominent family in Daning for centuries. He was known as a child prodigy from a young age. He passed the provincial examination at the age of fifteen and was a top candidate for the first rank in the provincial examination at the age of eighteen. He was enjoying great success.

I originally planned to make a good impression by sending students off to the exam today.

Unexpectedly, his limelight was overshadowed by this guy and the top ten courtesans of the capital.

Even more unexpectedly, this person's name appeared in the imperial examination questions, and his deeds were selected as material for the examination essays.

What a show-off this would be! If Zhang Huaiyu's name could appear on the imperial examination papers, he could boast about it for decades to come...

Soon, Zhang Huaiyu put away his envious thoughts.

Having your name appear on the exam questions doesn't mean anything.

To achieve the highest rank in the exam, that truly demonstrates skill.

He was aiming for the top scholar title in this imperial examination.

If you can be the top scholar, you can ride a horse through the streets, ahead of all the other scholars, enjoying the admiration of the people of the capital. This is much more prestigious than having a courtesan escort you to the exam.

He took a deep breath, cleared his mind of all distractions, and began to compose his article.

The imperial examination lasted for three days, giving him a full day to conceive and write the essay. There was no need to rush; he planned to conceive it today and then transcribe it onto the exam paper tomorrow morning.

West District, Building 96 (Class A).

As Qian Baiwan opened the exam questions, he was still thinking about the scene at the entrance of the examination hall. He felt extremely regretful. Why didn't he think of having a courtesan escort him to the exam?

When he finally turned his attention to the question and read it word by word, his mouth opened wider and wider.

"The Yan envoy declared in the palace that he would wager the entire city outside Yanmen Pass... The talented scholar Chen Chang'an composed three couplets outside the palace gates... Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, the Yan envoy struck his head against a pillar and died..."

Qian Baiwan rubbed his eyes and read it again.

Chen Chang'an?

Isn't that the guy who just had the top ten courtesans escort him to the exam?

The person mentioned in the imperial examination question was actually him?

He stood there stunned for a long time, then suddenly slapped his thigh hard and exclaimed, "This is fucking life!"

At the age of nineteen, he realized for the first time that money wasn't everything.

No matter how much money he has, he can't buy the chance to have his name written in the imperial examination questions.

And this Chen Chang'an, with the ten most beautiful courtesans in the capital escorting him to the imperial examinations, and the court using his deeds as the subject of the exam questions—that's the grandest display of power. What more could one ask for in life?

Some discordant sounds could be heard from the cells.

"Do mere merchants and courtesan poets even deserve to be included in the imperial examination questions?"

"I don't know what the person who set the question was thinking; it's utterly ridiculous!"

"The imperial court actually uses someone who rose to fame through brothels as a role model. What kind of encouragement is this? Is it encouraging all scholars to write lewd poems and songs and curry favor with courtesans?"

"joke!"

……

Regardless of how the candidates felt about Chen Chang'an's deeds being used as material for their examination essays, they were all compelled to write this essay.

After calming down, the candidates sat at their desks, some scratching their heads, some biting their pens, racking their brains to come up with ideas...

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous cell, Chen Chang'an had already put down his pen and placed his first exam paper, which was filled with writing, aside to dry.

For him, whose mind was filled with the essence of ancient Chinese literature, the imperial examination in Da Ning was an open-book exam.

For the imperial examination essay, Chen Chang'an chose Xunzi's "Exhortation to Learning".

This article was written by Xunzi, a thinker and educator from the Warring States period more than two thousand years ago. Xunzi was a representative figure of the Confucian school and the greatest synthesizer of the Hundred Schools of Thought in the pre-Qin era.

The entire text of "Exhortation to Learning" is only a little over a thousand words, yet every word is precious and has been regarded as a motto by countless students for thousands of years.

This article has spanned countless dynastic changes and nurtured generations of scholars. Even in another world, it remains a classic text that must be read in Chinese language textbooks.

A wise man said: Learning should never cease.

Blue is extracted from indigo but is bluer than indigo; ice is made from water but is colder than water.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; a great river is formed from countless small streams. Even a fine steed cannot leap ten steps in a single bound; but a slow horse, through perseverance, can cover the distance...

Let alone the fact that he has a doctorate in Chinese language and literature, anyone who has received nine years of compulsory education in later generations can recite these sentences.

When discussing the theme of "Exhortation to Learning," Xunzi's article is undoubtedly the pioneering work and the pinnacle of his work. All subsequent articles on exhortation to learning cannot avoid this classic.

Of course, Chen Chang'an did not copy the entire text verbatim.

The original text of "Exhortation to Learning" contains many allusions and metaphors that do not exist in this world. Before writing it down, Chen Chang'an spent some time deleting or replacing these contents, retaining the most essential part of "Exhortation to Learning".

The masterpiece of Xunzi, the "Later Sage," is truly a case of being outclassed by these examinees.

Chen Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief and slowly picked up the second set of test questions.

The examination method for poetry in the imperial examinations in Daning was extremely flexible, giving candidates a great deal of freedom.

The examiners did not set a fixed topic, but instead provided ten common poetic images, allowing candidates to choose one or more to create their own works.

Candidates are free to express themselves, regardless of genre, whether it is poetry or lyrics. If they choose multiple images and create multiple works, the examiners will select the best one for their score.

Most test takers will choose several images to give themselves more opportunities.

If you happen to write a poem that resonates with the examiner, you'll have a huge advantage.

Because the imagery in poetry is common, test takers can prepare in advance by creating a piece for each common image, giving them ample time to refine their work.

If you can accurately predict the imagery of the exam questions, you can not only save a lot of time, but also get a very high score.

Chen Chang'an stared at the list of images on the paper.

Chrysanthemum, moon, snow, willow, sword.

Desert, spring breeze, long pavilion, peach blossoms, clear spring.

Ten different images were presented. After reading them, Chen Chang'an didn't hesitate and immediately picked up his brush and dipped it in ink.

His mind contained a treasure trove of Chinese poetry spanning thousands of years; he could easily fill ten poems for each of these ten images, let alone just one.

There has always been a saying: "In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second."

The questions in the imperial examinations did not have fixed answers; to a large extent, they depended on the examiners' preferences.

If he only writes one or two poems, and the examiner happens to dislike them, then he would be in a terrible predicament.

Therefore, Chen Chang'an decided to write a poem for each image, giving the examiners ample choice: Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Su Shi, Li Yu, Fan Zhongyan...

There must be a style that the examiners like, right?