Chapter 45: 044 The Decline of Letters Is Dire Indeed

It was still far from noon, and the food box he had brought into the exam hall had gone unused, so Zhao Han carried it back out exactly as it was.

Fei Chun was waiting just outside the exam grounds and immediately came up to ask, "Brother, you've finished the exam?"

"Finished," Zhao Han said, opening the food box and handing him a flatbread. "You've been waiting a long time — you must be hungry. Take this and fill your stomach."

Fei Chun ate as he consoled him: "Brother, don't fret. If you don't pass this year, just come back next year."

Zhao Han laughed. "I passed."

Fei Chun went on, "The young master will probably need two or three tries too. Next year we'll all come together again."

"I passed the exam," Zhao Han repeated.

"I know Brother has taken the exam... uh," Fei Chun suddenly froze. "Brother, you were selected?"

"Selected," Zhao Han nodded.

Fei Chun held the flatbread in one hand and took Zhao Han's book box with the other. "Brother, you must be joking, teasing me for fun. It's only been this short while — the eldest young master probably hasn't even gotten out of bed yet."

"Then let's go back to the inn and find the eldest young master," Zhao Han said, not bothering to explain further.

Fei Chun said, "I still have to wait for the little young master."

At that very moment, Fei Ruhe had also handed in his paper and was undergoing an interview with County Magistrate Feng.

County Magistrate Feng's expression was peculiar as he looked at the two essays in his hand.

The opening line of the first essay was: "Zhi, hu, zhe, ye — the words of the sages: one cannot not listen, and one must not fail to listen."

Well, that was barely passable — the county exam did not set high standards for essays.

The opening line of the second essay was: "In eating, one must not have too much; too much leads surely to fatness."

What in the world was this nonsense?

Feng Xun held back his laughter and asked, "You are also a son of the Ehu Fei clan?"

Fei Ruhe nodded. "Yes."

Feng Xun asked again, "Fei Dazhao is also your father?"

Fei Ruhe nodded. "Yes."

"Hahahahaha!"

Feng Xun could hold it in no longer. He sat there clutching his belly and laughing uproariously, while many examinees stole curious glances their way.

Seeing that the County Magistrate seemed very pleased, Fei Ruhe grew smug at once. "Your Honour, did I do very well?"

"Very well, absolutely exquisite," Feng Xun said, nearly breathless from laughter. He bit his lip to stop himself and waved a hand. "Off you go now."

Fei Ruhe departed in high spirits. As he passed one of the exam sheds in the front row, an examinee murmured, "The County Magistrate esteems you so highly — your essay must be excellent. May I ask, how did you open on 'Eat Not Too Much'?"

Fei Ruhe was of a bold and open nature, happy to share the secrets of his success with all. He declared in a ringing voice, "In eating, one must not have too much; too much leads surely to fatness."

"Leave the grounds at once! No noise!"

The proctoring runner hastily shouted to stop him.

Hearing Fei Ruhe's answer, some examinees covered their mouths to stifle laughter, while others received it as though it were celestial music.

By noon, examinees were handing in their papers one after another, many of them on topics related to eating, and County Magistrate Feng had laughed until his jaw muscles went stiff.

At that moment, the private secretary came to take over his shift. Feng Xun did not leave immediately but instead took out Zhao Han's paper. "My worthy brother, take a look — here is a piece of powerful writing."

The private secretary glanced at it, his expression turning somewhat odd, and said only, "Indeed, a fine essay."

Feng Xun said excitedly, "This essay can serve as a model. It should be posted publicly for all the young students to study."

The private secretary stifled a laugh and said, "It must be done exactly so."

Today's exam topic had been set by this very private secretary — the night before, County Magistrate Feng had been out drinking with courtesans.

Watching Feng Xun hurry off to his lunch, the private secretary's flattering expression vanished entirely, replaced by a look of utter contempt.

Let us return to Fei Ruhe. As soon as he left the exam grounds, he called out, "Let's go, back to the inn. Father surely hasn't left yet."

Fei Chun took the book box and asked, "Young master, how did the exam go?"

Fei Ruhe said gleefully, "Though I wrote it all at random, this young master has quick wits. The County Magistrate burst into hearty laughter when he saw it and praised me lavishly on the spot."

Fei Chun was both startled and overjoyed. He said at once, "Congratulations, young master, felicitations! Let us hurry back to the inn and tell the eldest young master this good news."

"Then hurry up," Fei Ruhe said, already unable to wait.

The three returned to the inn. As expected, Fei Yinghuan had not yet risen, and Wei Jianxiong had long since gone to the riverside to ready the boat.

Qinxin, Jiandan, and Jiupo had not woken either — they had all been up the night before playing mahjong with Fei Yinghuan.

Fei Ruhe rushed over excitedly and pounded on the door. "Father, Father, your son has come to announce good news!"

Fei Yinghuan climbed up groggily, opened the door with a yawn, and said with the irritation of one just roused from bed, "What time is it? How have you already handed in your paper?"

Fei Chun jumped in to announce the good news. "Father, the young master did very well on the exam and received praise from His Honour the County Magistrate."

Fei Yinghuan dressed as he asked, "What sort of essay did you write?"

"The first topic was passable," Fei Ruhe said smugly. "When His Honour saw the second topic, he burst into laughter at once. The topic was 'Eat Not Too Much,' and your son opened with 'In eating, one must not have too much; too much leads surely to fatness.' I imagine it struck His Honour exactly right... Father, what are you doing with that stool?"

"Wham!"

A stool came flying at him.

Fei Ruhe dodged hastily and cried out in alarm, "Father, why are you hitting me? Your son did very well on this exam."

Fei Yinghuan closed his eyes to steady his emotions, seemingly unable to bear looking at his foolish son any longer. He ordered Zhao Han, "Help me teach this little brat a lesson!"

"Right away!" Zhao Han kicked out with one foot.

Fei Ruhe was completely off guard. The kick landed on his backside and sent him sprawling face-first onto the floor of the room. He scrambled up, turned, and glared furiously at Zhao Han. "You dare ambush me!"

Zhao Han pointed at Fei Yinghuan, indicating he was merely following orders.

Fei Ruhe sat down in a huff, apparently having figured out the situation. He muttered, "I've lost face this time. The County Magistrate was surely laughing at me."

Fei Yinghuan had finally finished dressing. He asked Zhao Han, "Why did you hand in your paper too?"

Zhao Han replied, "I scribbled out two essays, and His Honour the County Magistrate told me to go home and prepare for the prefectural exam."

"He passed you on the spot?" Fei Yinghuan was somewhat surprised.

"He did," Zhao Han nodded.

Master and servant, Fei Ruhe and Fei Chun, exchanged glances at once, both thinking Zhao Han was truly damn impressive.

Fei Yinghuan asked, "How did you manage it?"

Zhao Han explained, "For the first topic, your child copied a prose piece by Su Dongpo. Who would have guessed His Honour the Magistrate would pound the table and cry out in admiration."

"So he's an ignoramus too," Fei Yinghuan could not resist a sneer — though it was unclear whether he was mocking Zhao Han or mocking Magistrate Feng. He asked, "Which piece did you copy?"

Zhao Han replied, "I didn't finish copying it either; I couldn't remember the rest, so I could only pad the word count at random. The topic was 'The Master said,' and your child broke the topic with 'A common man who serves as teacher for a hundred generations, a single saying that sets the standard for all under Heaven.'"

"That line is actually Su Dongpo's…" Fei Yinghuan suddenly paused, then changed his tone. "A fine piece of copying!"

Zhao Han:????

No way. No way.

Fei Yinghuan, who prided himself on his literary talent, was actually just like Magistrate Feng — he hadn't read Su Dongpo's prose either?

He really hadn't read it!

In the Ming dynasty, shackled by the thought of the School of Principle, the early period produced nothing but moralistic essays. Even poems mourning a wife were forbidden to express romantic love between man and woman; one could only write of how virtuous the wife had been.

During the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns, Wang Yangming and Zhan Ruoshui began reforming the School of Mind, a large group of classical scholars were also reforming the School of Principle, and the Former Seven Masters launched the Revivalist Movement — allowing Ming scholarly thought and literary fashion to break through.

Gradually, the School of Mind lost its vitality, and practical learning arose in response.

The Latter Seven Masters continued the Revivalist Movement, but by the late Ming it had gone completely astray: prose must be Qin-Han, poetry must be High Tang!

Late Ming essays imitated Qin and Han ancient prose in every way, even going so far as to study the pre-Qin philosophers. They might have read the Mozi or the Hanfeizi, yet never read the prose of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song — a most bizarre literary fashion.

At present, Qian Qianyi was promoting a "New Culture Movement," holding the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song in the highest esteem and calling for poetry and prose alike to return to their essence — he could be called the standard-bearer of the late Ming literary revival.

Take Fei Yinghuan, for example: he of course knew Su Shi, and had thoroughly read Su Dongpo's poetry, but he simply never read Su Dongpo's prose.

A common man who serves as teacher for a hundred generations, a single saying that sets the standard for all under Heaven.

These two lines, Fei Yinghuan had memorized in his youth from model eight-legged essays.

Fei Yinghuan wore a smile, feigning calm. "So you have studied Su Dongpo's prose?"

"I've skimmed through some," Zhao Han answered.

"Have you read the prose of all the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song?" Fei Yinghuan asked again.

In the Revivalist Movement of the mid-to-late Ming, Tang Shunzhi and Mao Kun belonged to the Tang-Song school and compiled the Compendium of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song — hence the term "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song."

This book had enormous influence during the Jiajing reign, but after Wanli it fell out of favor; many scholars knew it only by name and could not be bothered to spend time leafing through it.

Zhao Han said, "I've only read a few pieces."

Fei Yinghuan tested him: "Which is your favorite?"

Zhao Han answered, "'Record of Yueyang Tower.' It's not by one of the Eight Great Masters."

"Can you recite it?" Fei Yinghuan asked.

"I may have forgotten some lines," Zhao Han began to recite. "In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was demoted to govern Baling Commandery. By the following year, governance was harmonious, the people at peace, and all neglected affairs were revived…"

The more Fei Yinghuan listened, the more alarmed he grew. This piece was superb — and he had never read it, knowing only a few of its famous lines.

"Good, excellent!" Fei Yinghuan praised repeatedly.

Zhao Han, for his part, grew more alarmed the further he recited, carefully observing Fei Yinghuan's expression. This fellow actually did not know "Record of Yueyang Tower"?

Late Ming juren were way too watered down!

Though one could not quite put it that way — Fei Yinghuan had thoroughly read the Hundred Schools of Thought, and his home held a collection of many Qin and Han essays.

"Let's go, let's go," Fei Yinghuan masked his embarrassment and urged the children to board the boat for the outing. Halfway there, he quietly said to Qinxin, "Go buy a copy of the Compendium of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song. Go quickly and return quickly; I'll wait for you on the boat."

Long after everyone had boarded, Qinxin finally returned with the book.

"Father, I ran to several bookshops before I finally managed to buy a copy." Qinxin's hands were covered in dust — who knew how many years this book had lain unwanted.

The boat cast off and set sail for Shitang Town.

Fei Yinghuan sat alone in the cabin, reading through several magnificent essays in succession. Suddenly, tears streamed down his face: "Only today do I understand the true essence of prose. I have wasted half my life!"

In truth, it was not too late. Qian Qianyi, standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement, also did not read the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song until after he turned forty.

Zhao Han sat at the bow, gazing at the scenery on both banks, his mood exceedingly complicated.

This Great Ming — it not only needed to provide grain for the common people, but also spiritual nourishment for all the scholars under Heaven.

A juren of considerable literary reputation actually did not know "Record of Yueyang Tower"!

(End of chapter)