[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty":3,"chapter-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-23":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Literary Genius in the Song Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336406,4568,"Chapter 23: Solo Bamboo Drifting","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>Yan Zhenqing wrote a poem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the third watch, lamps burn; at the fifth, roosters crow—this is when a true man must study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dark hair knows not the value of diligent learning; by white hair, one regrets the delay in reading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Hanshi Festival, Lu Beigu rested only half a day; after buying wooden flying knives and clay figurines for his nephew and niece in the morning, he prepared to resume his studies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With over two months until the county examination, the time seemed long, but it must account for the round-trip journey to Chengdu with Li Pan—so in truth, it was extremely tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Pan would not monitor his progress, and the backlog of studies was immense; nearly every subject was blank, leaving him no choice but to rely on his own diligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, after the Qingming Festival, when he returned to the county school, a minor ten-day test on Classic Texts and Ink Meanings awaited him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carrying annotated copies of The Correct Meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals and The Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites, along with The Collected Explanations of the Spring and Autumn Annals, Lu Beigu set out to find Lu Guangyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sought a study partner precisely because Lu Beigu was not omniscient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Lu Beigu possessed deep knowledge of ancient Chinese literature, philosophy, and history, modern academic research was fundamentally unrelated to imperial examinations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a professional scholar of ancient Chinese philosophy would not memorize the entire Analects to the point of being able to recite any passage with missing lines and fill in the blanks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Five Classics Commentaries, modern scholars typically studied only fragments of them, and their purpose was never to pass imperial exams—indeed, their motivations were often the opposite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, while a modern scholar might manage to compose a classical-style policy essay or memorial, achieving the level required to score highly on Classic Texts and Ink Meanings immediately was unrealistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything needed to be learned from scratch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu’s current performance in Ink Meanings was poor, and much of the understanding left by his predecessor was incorrect; even with two sets of senior notes, some matters still required consultation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could not afford a tutor, but he did know Lu Guangyu as a friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Lu Guangyu’s overall performance was not outstanding, his Ink Meanings score ranked among the top in the county school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this stage, he was far stronger than Lu Beigu, who was starting from zero—so when they studied together, Lu Beigu could ask him questions when stuck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erlangtan was not far from Gulin Town; by boat down the Anle Creek, Lu Beigu reached his destination in less than half an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before reaching Erlangtan, the boat stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fellow passengers murmured in awe; Lu Beigu also looked out curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thin mist still clung to Erlangtan, yet the river was already lively: over a dozen green bamboos drifted downstream, each over a zhang long, polished to a glossy sheen, gliding effortlessly across the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Men stood barefoot atop them, red cloth belts tied at their waists, holding bamboo poles a zhang long; they lightly tapped the surface or casually pushed off, making the bamboo twist like a fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the river’s center, a lean man rode his bamboo into the rapids, suddenly crouched low, hooked one foot around a node, and hung diagonally above the water, his bamboo pole stabbing a rock like a spear to anchor against the current.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bamboo trembled under the torrent but never overturned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grinned, twisted his waist, pushed off with the pole, and leapt into the air, flipping a somersault before landing squarely back on the now-moving bamboo, continuing downstream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd on shore erupted in cheers, mingling with the sounds of lusheng flutes, bronze gongs, and shouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Solo bamboo drifting—have you never seen it before? We use this method frequently on the creek,” the boatman asked with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never seen it,” Lu Beigu replied honestly. “Now that I have, it is indeed dazzling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paying eight copper coins for the fare, Lu Beigu stepped onto the stony riverbank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the middle stretch of the Anle Creek, towering mountains rose like city walls, and the valley’s elevation varied sharply; thus, relatively gentle stone shoals like Erlangtan naturally became local settlement points due to their transport convenience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even calling it a settlement was generous—Erlangtan Village at this time held only a few hundred people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking uphill from the bank, terraced fields with poor soil were planted with the region’s unique red glutinous sorghum; Lu Beigu observed closely: though recently sown, the stalks and grains were noticeably smaller than common sorghum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu’s home was easy to find: halfway up the hill, a relatively grand stone courtyard, his father serving as local household head under Song Suitang’s system. In cities, the basic unit was the fang; in villages, it was the xiang and li—some xiang contained multiple li, others only one. Originally, the Great Song had xiangzhang and Lizheng, but after the abolition of xiang in Kaibao Seventh Year and li in Renzong’s reign, these positions vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, household heads and elder heads became the Great Song Court’s most grassroots extension, wielding considerable local authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lu Brother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Lu Beigu could knock, Lu Guangyu stepped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu stared at him in surprise: “Not resting today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu had previously invited Lu Beigu to his home at the literary banquet, so he was not surprised by the visit—only by his diligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I want to study.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu’s face was serious: “Lu Brother, are you busy? If not, let’s study together to prepare for the ten-day test.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu tucked the object in his hand behind his back, scratched his head, and said: “I’m free. I was just thinking of going out—then let’s study together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu led Lu Beigu into the study at the back of his courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was small but immaculately tidy: two low tables stood by the window, each equipped with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone; outside, a few green bamboo stalks leaned in, casting dappled shadows on the blue stone floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lu Brother, please sit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sat facing each other; Lu Beigu laid out his books and paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lu Guangyu rose to pour himself water, he found Lu Beigu already deeply absorbed in study, and sat back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu read quickly; though he lacked photographic memory, he had his own memorization methods, and with focused concentration, his learning efficiency was high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, far higher than Lu Guangyu, who kept glancing out the window at birds and scratching his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu wasn’t unwilling to study—he simply couldn’t concentrate after finally getting a holiday; even staring at the text, his mind wandered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two hours passed in silent monotony; Lu Guangyu rubbed his gritty eyes and could no longer endure it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up and saw Lu Beigu still sitting upright, pen steadily noting key points, as if utterly tireless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lu Brother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu lifted his head, eyes still thoughtful: “Oh? Lu Brother is taking a break?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu nodded vigorously—he meant it was nearly time for lunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s perfect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu picked up his freshly written notes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1205,"2026-06-20T21:44:14.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0cd796e33e249324c20d0e72a329bb5a61bf7ddfc606f00153ed3601814d1027","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-24","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-22",56,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-cover.jpg"]