Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 37: Handwriting Reflects One's Character

Thanks to Ouyang Xiu's promotion, the four lines of Hengqu were highly sought after by scholars.

The Song Dynasty was a time of great literary flourishing, and this atmosphere was even more pronounced in Bianjing, the capital.

The Emperor had also heard about this. Ouyang Xiu concealed Wang You's identity from others, but dared not conceal it from the Emperor.

The emperor was very excited to learn that such profound words were uttered by a nine-year-old boy.

Although these four sentences alone are not enough to honor a saint or call him a son, they are enough to make him a name for himself in history.

A scholar can achieve immortality in three ways: by establishing virtue, by establishing merit, and by establishing words.

The so-called "establishing words" does not refer to having any thought-provoking words, but rather to writing books and establishing theories, putting forward insightful views, and being recognized by many people.

Wang You's four sentences can hardly be considered a statement, but how old was Wang You?

When his knowledge grows more and more extensive in the future, he will write a book around the four core sentences, and he may even have a place in the Temple of Literature.

For an emperor, both civil administration and military achievements are of utmost importance.

Civil governance refers not only to governing local areas, but also to the flourishing of culture.

How is cultural prosperity manifested?

Doesn't it depend on learned people to leave behind their valuable thoughts and make a significant mark on history books?

Although six of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties were from the Song Dynasty.

However, this was a characterization by later generations, and it took a long time for it to be gradually accepted by the people.

Let's leave aside the two from the Tang Dynasty and talk about the ones from the Song Dynasty.

Zeng Gong was a student of Ouyang Xiu, and he is only somewhat famous today.

Even Ouyang Xiu himself was not considered a great literary figure.

Su Xun and his two sons were still in Shu (Sichuan), and Wang Anshi had not yet distinguished himself.

At this time, the Song Dynasty was indeed a flourishing center of literature, but it did not produce any scholars who could be recognized by people of that time and leave a significant mark on history.

From the official's perspective, Wang You, though still young, has a promising future.

If Wang You can achieve his goals in the future, it will also be a testament to his own civil administration.

Therefore, after learning from the eunuch which one was Wang You, the emperor secretly observed him.

In the past, once the government stepped in and announced the questions, they could simply leave.

With the emperor so busy with state affairs, it's impossible for him to personally supervise the exam.

However, the emperor stayed behind to observe Wang You.

Unlike others who either frowned or looked troubled after learning the exam questions, Wang You remained calm after learning them.

However, he pondered for the longest time, and when he started writing, he did so in one go without any pause.

Unlike others, who would stop writing halfway through and then continue writing after a while.

Confident and well-prepared!

Although this idiom originated from Su Shi's evaluation of Wen Yu Ke's paintings, it has not yet appeared today.

However, this did not prevent the officials from having similar feelings.

When you value someone, many of their shortcomings are overlooked, while their strengths are magnified infinitely.

This is subjective consciousness.

Most people are like this, and even officials are not immune.

Compared to others, the emperor always felt that Wang You's behavior was measured and extraordinary.

However, the emperor did not stay long. After seeing Wang You begin writing, he left the hall without a word.

……

Wang You was unaware of all this. He wrote seven or eight hundred words according to his own ideas, which could barely be considered an article.

After finishing writing, I carefully checked it and also thought about the omissions.

Then, I made some changes in my mind regarding the wording and omissions, and copied it again.

After he finished writing, he wanted to stretch, but then he realized that he was taking the imperial examination and quickly stopped.

Seeing that the others were still answering questions, Wang You could only sit quietly.

There was no concept of submitting exam papers early in ancient times, and even if there were, no one would do it.

Confidence and arrogance are only one word apart.

Whether one is arrogant or confident depends not on oneself, but on others.

If you pass the exam, you'll naturally feel confident. But if you fail, you'll become arrogant.

Wang You wasn't actually sure if he could pass the exam.

His article seems to make some sense at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it's as if he hasn't said anything at all.

It was written entirely based on his understanding of the emperor's thoughts.

The emperor did not actually want to implement reforms, but the deep-seated problems within the court did exist, causing him great distress.

He then praised the Emperor for retaining some of the policies of the Qingli New Deal.

Then they said that the reform had too great an impact, and that the court did indeed have many problems, which could be solved gradually using similar methods, and so on.

As for how to do it, nothing was mentioned.

To put it bluntly, it was just to give the officials some psychological comfort.

Is the government really conflicted about the reform itself?

Wang You thought it was highly unlikely, or to put it bluntly, he was afraid of being criticized.

After all, the reform was proposed by the emperor, and it was he who first wavered.

It's as if he tricked Master Fan and others.

How will future historical records document this event?

Wang You praised the emperor for retaining some good policies, saying that the emperor would realize that there was nothing wrong with stopping the reform, since the reform itself had some problems.

It was not wrong of him to cancel the reforms himself but retain some good policies.

Whether the emperor actually thought that way is unknown.

If I bet right, I should have no problem being granted the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Because the authorities will inevitably show his article to others so that more people will recognize its validity.

If the reward given to him is too low, how could the officials dare to show his writings to others?

Sitting still for long periods can be very boring and tedious; time flies by when you're lost in thought.

After an unknown amount of time, the palace eunuch shouted, "Stop writing!"

Upon hearing this, all the candidates immediately put down their pens, regardless of whether they had finished answering or not.

If you continue writing after being asked to stop, your score will be automatically cancelled.

Several eunuchs stepped forward and began to lead the candidates out of the hall.

…………

Longtu Pavilion

The emperor was handling state affairs when a eunuch entered carrying a scroll of answers.

Eunuch Li stepped forward to take the papers, then carried them behind the Emperor and whispered, "Your Majesty, the prodigies' answer sheets have arrived."

"Um."

The official responded softly, and then said nothing more.

Only after finishing the task at hand and taking a couple of sips of tea did he say, "Pick out Wang You's answer sheet."

"Yes."

Eunuch Li dared not delay and quickly began to select a name, which he kept in mind.

There were only fifty answer sheets in total, and Wang You's was found in no time and handed over to the official.

The emperor frowned slightly when he saw the answer sheet, not because of its contents, but because of Wang You's handwriting.

The Song Dynasty valued literature, and officials throughout history were all quite talented in writing, as evidenced by this beautiful calligraphy.

In ancient times, the imperial examinations had certain requirements regarding appearance; in modern terms, one had to have at least regular facial features.

The fact that the imperial examination had a "third-place scholar" (探花) in the top rank (一甲) shows how much importance the court placed on it.

The third-ranking scholar (探花郎) doesn't necessarily have the best literary talent, but he must be outstanding in appearance.

The third-place winner in each imperial examination was actually the most handsome candidate in that examination.

This requirement was not unique to the Song Dynasty; it existed in every dynasty throughout history.

Huang Chao was eliminated from the military examination because he was too ugly.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were even cases where people missed out on becoming the top scholar because of their ugly appearance.

Your handwriting reflects your personality; bad handwriting can negatively impact your overall impression.

Wang You's handwriting wasn't bad, but it was only average; many of his peers were better at it.

However, the emperor's brows soon relaxed.

Even geniuses are human, and their energy is limited.

Wang Youcai was good at his studies, so he spent less time on other things, and he could understand even if his handwriting was a little worse.