Chapter 689: January 26th: The scholar in the ruined temple

January 26th: The scholar in the ruined temple.

January 26th: The scholar in the ruined temple.

Jia Yucun is the character I dislike most in Dream of the Red Chamber. I dislike him: he does not repay kindness, he repays kindness with enmity, and he is habitually greedy.

, he does not repay kindness

Before achieving success, Yucun was a penniless scholar. He lived alone in the ruined temple, reviewing his lessons to prepare for the exams while making a living by writing and selling calligraphy. Writing and selling calligraphy is a means of survival for scholars, beyond reproach throughout history.

Speaking of which, there was a wealthy family next to the ruined temple, someone who could be called a boss—Zhen Yinshi. This Zhen Yinshi is kind-hearted, loving, righteous, generous, and he greatly cherishes talent. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhen Yinshi invited Yucun to his home to enjoy the moon and chat, composing poetry and prose to dispel his loneliness. At the banquet, Yucun poured out his feelings to Boss Zhen: "I, the junior, after drinking, utter wild words; speaking of contemporary learning, I could also go to fill a nominal position, but I have no means for travel expenses; the road to the Divine Capital is far, and I cannot earn that by selling my writing and composing essays."——

Yucun's words meant: "I am full of strategies and knowledge; if I go to the capital to take the exams, I will surely pass, but I have not yet saved enough for travel expenses—could you help me?"

Before Yucun could finish, Zhen Yinshi said, "Hey, buddy, you lack travel funds—why didn't you say so earlier? I've wanted to help you, to support you, but I was afraid of being abrupt, offending you, looking down on you. Today, since you've said this, I'll cover all your travel expenses."

Zhen Yinshi said this and immediately had someone bring fifty taels of silver to give to Yucun.

Yucun took the silver, only gave a brief thanks, and didn't care about it.

"Only a perfunctory thanks, and he doesn't care," shows that Yucun is a thankless, ungrateful scoundrel. Once he receives help, he immediately forgets the benefactor; he can't even be bothered to say 'thank you' to those who helped him in difficulty.

Yucun received the fifty taels of silver from Zhen Yinshi, returned to the ruined temple, and got up in the middle of the night to leave—without even saying a word of farewell to Zhen Yinshi.

Someone like this, even if he becomes an official, is a corrupt official who preys on the people. Not only does he fail to repay kindness, he lacks even a shred of propriety toward others.

Propriety is regarded as the identity, symbol, and essence of a civilized person in a civilized society. The Classic of Poetry says, 'The rat has skin, but a man without propriety? If a man lacks propriety, why should he not die?' Even a rat has a body; as a human, how can one lack propriety? This shows how highly the ancients valued courtesy toward others.

Yucun, who calls himself a man full of contemporary culture, does not fail to understand—he simply treats others as nothing, viewing them as mere weeds.

Because he is: "A wolf from Zhongshan, once successful, he becomes arrogant."

A man like a wolf—how could he possibly repay kindness?