The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 82 The meeting of all beings
While Wang Wenlong and Ye Chengxue were playing in the East Garden, Xu Shupi had already set up a banquet outside Ruiyun Peak.

Wang Wenlong didn't feel much about Taihu stones at first, but under the introduction of Ye Chengxue and Xu Shupi, he and the two of them admired the strange stones and had wine. Gradually, he realized how to appreciate Taihu stones. The more he looked at them, the more he discovered the beauty of Ruiyunfeng. Qi Jun, it was only when he was half drunk that he looked at the stone. Although it was just a five-meter-high Taihu stone, from different angles it looked like a mountain with overlapping peaks.

After drinking until dark, Wang Wenlong and Ye Chengxue were sent to the guest rooms to rest. When they got up the next morning, Wang Wenlong took a shower and strolled to the garden. After a while, he saw Xu Shupi walking towards him with a smile.

"Jianyang, let me introduce you to some friends in the club."

Wang Wenlong saw six men dressed as scholars walking towards Ye Chengxue, talking and laughing.

Xu Shupi introduced the people to Wang Wenlong one by one, namely: Dong Qichang, Chen Jiru, Wang Jide, Feng Menglong, Yuan Wuya, and Ye Zhouze.

At this time, Shen Jing, the leader of the music scene, and his apprentice Lu Tiancheng were also in Suzhou. Unfortunately, they went to Zhejiang a few days ago and did not wait for Wang Wenlong to go north, otherwise they would have come to attend the appointment at this time.

This lineup alone has surprised Wang Wenlong.

When Wang Wenlong looked at them, everyone also looked at Wang Wenlong curiously.

Dong Qichang's status in the cultural circles of the late Ming Dynasty was absolutely top-notch, and his writing and calligraphy were almost the best in the world. He once passed the Jinshi examination and served as a lecturer at Zhu Changluo's banquet. However, he resigned ten years ago on the grounds of recovering from illness. The officer goes home.

Dong Qichang looked Wang Wenlong up and down, nodded and praised: "Jianyang has extraordinary character, he is indeed a member of my Wushan Society!"

Then he praised Ye Chengxue: "You have added another general to our Wushan Poetry Society. You should be credited with your contribution!"

Wang Jide also came up and took Wang Wenlong's hand and said: "I almost rotted the "History of Portugal" in Wu Zhongjiang, and today I finally met the author."

Wang Wenlong even said he didn't dare.

Among these six people, Dong Qichang and Wang Jide are both almost 50 years old, and the others are in their 30s and [-]s, all juniors. They don't want to steal the limelight on such occasions, so they don't say much.

Today, almost all the members of the Wushan Club in Suzhou have arrived. Xu Shupi has already prepared wine and food, and everyone went to a pavilion in the middle of the lake in the East Garden to have a feast, and arranged for the singers at home to sing.

The first lunar month has not yet passed, and the weather in Wuzhong this year has been cold. When a few people slowly arrived at the Huxin Pavilion, it happened to be snowing outside.

Ye Chengxue asked his servants to bring up the screen and set up several heaters in the pavilion. Everyone did not feel cold and drank and chatted while watching the snow scene.

After drinking two glasses of wine, Xu Shupi took the initiative to ask Feng Menglong: "Is Youlong confident about entering the competition this year?"

Since just now, Wang Wenlong has been following Feng Menglong, the most famous novelist in the late Ming Dynasty.

The three novels written by Feng Menglong, "Essays to Awaken the World", "Everlasting Words to Awaken the World" and "Words to Warn the World" are basically the best representatives of the vernacular short stories of the late Ming Dynasty.

But when Feng Menglong heard Xu Shupi's question, a wry smile appeared on his face.

Feng Menglong drank sullenly and replied: "Most likely there is still no hope in the examination room."

Feng Menglong was born in a Neo-Confucian family in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. He received a good education from an early age and loved Confucian classics.

The three brothers were well-known under Wu for their mastery of the Spring and Autumn Annals. They were all dedicated to studying this serious book, and they were all awarded the title of Scholar at a young age. Originally, they thought that it would only be a matter of time before they were admitted, and at least one of the three of them would be able to produce a Jinshi.

But who would have thought that after the three brothers passed the scholar examination for more than ten years, they would no longer make progress.

Dong Qichang, who had won the Jinshi title and served as a lecturer at the Sutra Banquet, advised Feng Menglong: "Your article needs to be more moderate, don't take risks, rely on your talent to learn this way, and if you are sincere in this way, how can you fail?"

From the perspective of a bystander, Wang Wenlong felt that Dong Qichang's words had been made very clear.

Feng Menglong is very knowledgeable about Neo-Confucianism and wants to fully achieve the level of passing the examination.

But the problem with the Feng brothers is that they are too knowledgeable about Confucianism.

Feng Menglong ideologically respected Wang Shouren and Li Zhi, emphasized sincerity of emotions in Confucian culture, opposed hypocritical ethics, and advocated replacing "religion" with "emotional education".Moreover, he is well-established in this field, and even the examiner's level is not as good as his.

At this time, the Eight-part Writing Examination was conducted by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. He wrote about Wang Shouren and Li Zhi. It would be surprising if he passed the examination.

Feng Menglong nodded: "I will have a drink with Jianyang for the next few days. When I get back, I will study the scriptures and its meanings hard. I still have to write a few good articles when I enter. If you don't believe me, you can't enroll in Taiyuan."

Well, Wang Wenlong didn't even need to look at other people's expressions to know that Feng Menglong was still stubborn. There was probably no hope for him in the imperial examination this time.

As expected, Dong Qichang's face showed embarrassment. He stopped talking and just smiled and drank.He felt that Feng Menglong's idea of ​​taking the imperial examination was very problematic. As long as Feng Menglong was determined to find two Cheng Wen ink scrolls and study them carefully, and follow the old-fashioned style above to take the examination, his chances of passing the examination would be greatly improved. However, as a celebrity, Dong Qichang did not want to be in the imperial examination. If you use utilitarian words in this kind of situation, you won’t want to persuade me anymore.

Wang Wenlong on the side could clearly see that Feng Menglong had such a stubborn character based on history.

At this time, Feng Menglong was already 25 years old. He had been a scholar for ten years. He was still studying hard and dreaming of one day achieving success in the imperial examinations. All three brothers of the Feng family had this idea.

In the history in Wang Wenlong's mind, the last of the three brothers, Feng Mengxiong, donated a imperial student. Feng Menglong was not promoted to a tribute student until he was over 50 years old. It was probably because the examiner pitied him for his old age that he was promoted to a tribute student. These two titles were also He still has the reputation of being a scholar, but he is nothing more than a high-level scholar.

Later, Feng Menglong spent money to get a minor official in Dangtu County. After struggling for a long time in his later years, he was finally promoted to the county magistrate. As a scholar, it was impossible to become a larger official.

After hearing several people talking, Wang Jide and Chen Jiru on the side smiled.

Ye Zhou saw the expressions of the two people and said to Dong Qichang with a smile: "Dong Gong mentioned this matter, which should make Chen Zhongchun and Wang Boliang feel tacky!"

Dong Qichang was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Ye Zhouze and said, "Zi Ze has such a sharp mouth!"

Ye Zhou was a famous composer at this time, but he did not have many works of his own, and he mainly appeared as a critic.

The Four Books and Five Classics and the Water Margin of the Three Kingdoms reviewed by Ye Zhouze were quite praised by people at this time. He did not rely on this to make money. His family was very rich and did not want to make money or become an official. He did not even have the reputation of being a scholar. In order to maintain the reputation of the family, he still associates with the princes, princes and grandsons equally.

He didn't have to care about Dong Qichang's feelings when he spoke. Anyway, he didn't want to be an official at all.

Even Ye Zhouze's desire to become famous is very weak. For example, many of Ye Zhouze's comments are in the name of Li Zhi.

The reason was not to make money, but because Li Zhi was the most popular cultural celebrity at that time, and the books he reviewed were very popular. Ye Zhou was willing to print more of his review books in the name of Li Zhi Bookshop. In order to spread his ideas, he even He doesn't care about authorship.

However, Ye Zhou brought the topic to this point, and Chen Jiru on the side took the initiative to ask: "Jianyang, I heard that you have no intention of taking the scientific examination after you have obtained the title of supervising students?"

Wang Wenlong defended: "I am a returnee from overseas. I haven't read many serious books since I was a child, so I don't have the ability to enter the market at all."

Yuan Wuya said: "Sir, he is a great talent. Even if he doesn't attend, he is still a famous person in the world."

Chen Jiru was a top celebrity at this time. He was only in his early thirties. His literature, painting skills, and calligraphy were all unparalleled in the world. A few years ago, he publicly abandoned his turban because he failed in the imperial examination. He held a meeting, burned his turban, and declared that he would be a lifelong scholar. Instead of entering the examination room, he would hide in the Sheshan villa and become a "mountain man" in full view of the public.

Wang Jide was no exception. He was born in a Kuaiji family, and his grandfather and father were all famous literati. After he was admitted as a scholar, he concentrated on learning folk art. When he was young, he studied under Xu Wei, Xu Wenchang, the most talented man in Jiangnan, and learned the art of folk art. After that, the book and sword disappeared, and his whereabouts were uncertain. He often went to officials' homes as a guest and worked as an aide, doing nothing more than hosting banquets and talking about art.

The main income of these people is from giving lectures, writing operas, and writing inscriptions and paintings.

Not to mention them, Xu Wei, the most talented person in Jiangnan, was famous all over the world when he assisted Hu Zongxian, but he was just a scholar until his death.

A few decades ago, Xu Wei was ashamed of this, but by the end of Wanli, the custom of Shilin had already changed.The group of literati who abandoned the scarf was very large. At this time, it was normal for them to become famous people despite having only the title of scholar.

For example, among the group of celebrities from Wushan Society present, except for Dong Qichang, who has the title of Jinshi, all others are only at the scholar level, and even Ye Zhouze is not even a scholar.

All because the imperial examination is too complicated.

In the middle and early Ming Dynasty, the number of scholars was not too large due to economic and social reasons. After studying and passing the scholar examination, there was still a chance to pass the imperial examination. However, by the Wanli period, in the important places of scientific examination such as Sanwu, Fujian, and Jiangxi, with the socio-economic With the development, there are already many people who can read and write.

For example, many of the businessmen Wang Wenlong met at Xianxia Pass could read "History of Portugal". Thousands of vernacular novels could be sold out in a few months. Looking at these figures, you can see how impressive the literacy rate among the people was at this time. .

Just to be admitted as a scholar requires fierce competition, and it is even more difficult to be admitted to the examination.

Let alone ordinary scholars like Wang Wenlong who did not come from aristocratic families, take Shen Defu, who also wrote "Wanli Yehuobian" in Wushan Society, as an example.

His grandfather and father both passed Jinshi, and his father served as a reviewer for the Hanlin Academy. Shen Defu entered the Imperial College in Beijing before he was ten years old. His father personally took care of his studies, and he was definitely the strongest imperial examination family.

Unfortunately, his father died of illness when he was 12 years old, so he had to return to his hometown with his mother to participate in the imperial examination in Zhejiang.

After Shen Defu returned to his hometown, his grandfather who also passed the Jinshi exam personally taught him to take the exam. However, for such a good seedling, Shen Defu took the exam for 28 years in Zhejiang before he passed the exam.

This guy wrote eight books during the exam period and earned a fortune, all while still being known as a scholar.

It can be seen that in this era, it is normal to fail to pass the examination. It is not funny that Fan Jin went crazy after passing the examination. It would be a similar situation for other poor families.

(End of this chapter)