12dz Chapter 1525 Sun Shan's Commentary
Chapter 1525 Sun Shan's Commentary
Once all the students had arrived, Sun Shan gave the order, and everyone proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Because Sun Shan had previously said he would help review the articles.
Sure enough, the students racked their brains to write what they considered their best articles and submitted them one by one.
Fatty, no, now he's Skinny Scholar Bai.
He stepped forward with a fawning smile and said, "Sir, this is the article I wrote. Thank you for your help."
Sun Shan didn't read the article immediately, but asked with concern, "Scholar Bai, why are you getting thinner and thinner?"
She looked much thinner when we last met, and even thinner again when we met again. Could she be sick?
Scholar Bai said with distress, "Sir, I am studying at the prefectural school and eat the prefectural school meals every day. Life is so hard. How can I not lose weight?"
He paused, then continued to complain, "Eating the school's meals is bad enough, but we're still not full. It's so uncomfortable. Adults, students go to sleep every night with their stomachs growling."
Sometimes I'm so hungry I have to get up in the middle of the night to drink water. Adults, students suffer so much from hunger!
He glanced at the essay he had just submitted and said in a cheeky tone, "Sir, if a student's essay is not well written, it's all because of hunger. Being weak and listless all day long, how can one write an essay of extraordinary talent?"
Sun Shan looked at the skinny Bai Xiucai with amusement.
He asked with a smile, "Did you overeat again, which is why Father restricted your monthly allowance?"
Scholar Bai scratched his head.
He said embarrassedly, "Adults really understand me, hehe. Once I let myself go, I eat too much, and then I get diarrhea."
Hehe, my dad's cut my monthly allowance again. He only gives me a pitiful amount for food each month. Sigh, sir, if you see my dad next time, please plead for me.
Sun Shan readily agreed: "Okay, if I see Master Bai, I'll put in a good word for you. You're so thin, you don't look like the person I first met."
Bai Xiucai said embarrassedly, "Then I'll trouble you, sir."
Fatty Bai, a scholar, almost missed the provincial examination because of his excessive eating and drinking. When his father saw this, he was furious and sent Fatty Bai to the prefectural school, where he strictly limited his food expenses.
Fat Scholar would go hungry whenever he had extra expenses, and gradually he lost weight. When Old Man Bai saw this, he felt very sorry for him, so he increased the food allowance.
Who knew that with the increased expenses, Fatty Scholar would start indulging in excessive eating and drinking again, and even fell ill from it, which infuriated Old Man Bai.
Sure enough, with the food allowance being restricted again, the chubby scholar has become a skinny scholar once more.
Before leaving, Scholar Bai asked, "Sir, has Uncle Dali not returned yet? Oh dear, I miss him so much. Last time he came to the prefectural city, we even arranged to meet up. It's almost the New Year, when will he be back?"
Sun Shan thought for a moment and said, "They should be back in eight or ten days."
Scholar Bai said cheerfully, "Sir, please tell Uncle Dali that if he comes back, he should come and have a get-together with me."
Although Bai Xiucai and Sun Dali were quite different in age, they were bound together by a "life-saving grace".
The two developed a close friendship, which grew stronger over time.
Then, Zhong, the scholar from Widow Li's family, came to submit his essay.
Sun Shan saw that Zhong Xiucai, after getting married, was wearing a set of fine clothes, and his material conditions were much better than before.
After careful consideration, Widow Li chose a wealthy landowner as her son's in-law. After the marriage, the mother and son's standard of living improved rapidly, and Scholar Zhong was able to continue his studies at the prefectural school.
Scholar Zhong said respectfully, "Sir, this is my essay. Please give me your guidance."
Sun Shan nodded calmly: "Okay. If you have any further questions, you can ask on the way."
Scholar Zhong said gratefully, "Thank you, sir."
Afterwards, one after another, the scholars who had traveled with him came to talk to Sun Shan, bringing up all the problems that had been unresolved in the past few days.
Thinking to himself: "Why not take advantage of a free imperial examination? If I miss this opportunity, I'll never get another chance like it."
Sun Shan didn't mind at all; even if some of the scholars asked a bit outrageous questions, he would point them out one by one.
Of course, those who understand will say they understand, and those who don't will say they don't understand.
This is a quality inherited from Hong Xiucai; he never engages in deception.
As night fell, the group stayed at a guesthouse set up in a farmhouse courtyard.
Sun Shan and the students gathered together; the cold wind howled outside, but the atmosphere inside was filled with passion.
Sun Shan simply commented on the students' so-called masterpieces in front of everyone.
The student being critiqued blushed and looked at Sun Shan hopefully, hoping for affirmation.
Wang Jiaxing's eyes sparkled as he said, "Sir, please take a look at my essay. Isn't it well-written? This is my proudest work this year. I spent more than half a month thinking about it. What do you think, sir?"
Honestly, it's not very good. It's mediocre at best, and most importantly, the formatting is wrong.
Eight-legged essay, an extremely strict template for assigned essay topics.
The core purpose is not to express personal feelings or showcase whimsical ideas, but to have a relatively unified and quantifiable scoring standard when selecting officials.
Sun Shan was of higher status than everyone present, so there was no need for him to be polite or insincere.
To be frank: "Scholar Wang, you know your writing better than I do. Putting aside the content, just look at the format. You have to write according to the requirements. If it doesn't meet the requirements, don't bother reading further, just mark it with an X."
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, making the atmosphere even more lively.
Wang Jiaxing asked indignantly, "Sir, where is the format of my article wrong?"
Sun Shan pointed to the first sentence and said bluntly, "In the imperial examination, you must address the topic at the beginning, get straight to the point, and state the essence of the topic in two sentences. But you went and directly expressed your feelings, which is an unforgivable mistake. The examiners don't even need to read the rest; they'll just reject you outright."
These words made Wang Jiaxing's face turn pale and then green, and he felt utterly ashamed.
Wang Jiaxing certainly knew about the craft; the first step was to break down the problem.
This is just a way to express my feelings briefly, in order to be different.
This article is for Lord Sun's eyes, and it's deliberately written differently.
But Lord Sun pointed it out mercilessly, giving him no chance whatsoever.
Skinny Bai Xiucai patted Wang Jiaxing on the shoulder.
He said with a smile, "Brother Wang, you can't write like this. You have to follow the rules. Haha, if you were to enter the venue, writing like this would be disastrous."
The other scholars followed suit, mocking Wang Jiaxing, making him even more ashamed.
Sun Shan shook his head. Such an unconventional way of doing things wouldn't work. If one wanted to take the imperial examination route, one had to follow the rules.
If you really feel uncomfortable, you have to endure it. If all else fails, get ashore first and deal with it later.
Sun Shan commented on each article one by one, but few of them were truly excellent.
However, Sun Shan has always liked to praise, accurately finding and praising the highlights.
We need to give both the stick and the carrot; I'm really afraid that the students will be provoked and become discouraged.
After discussing the article, many students asked about Sun Shan's journey to Beijing for the imperial examination.
Every student present dreamed of becoming a top scorer in high school in Beijing.
When it comes to going to Beijing for the imperial examinations, Gui-ge'er has a lot to say.
In short, "Dear scholars, you must take care of yourselves. If you want to go to the capital to take the imperial examination, you need to be physically strong. Whether you pass the exam or not is one thing, but the worst thing is to give up halfway and never make it to the capital."
As he said this, he glanced furtively at Sun Shan.
Poor Shan Ge, he failed on his first attempt, otherwise he would have passed the imperial examination long ago.