Wang Erlie (1727-1801), also known as Zhongfang, also named Junwu and Yaofeng. His ancestral home is Henan. He was born in Fengshuigou Village, Jiajiabaozi, Liaoyang County (now Fengshuigou Village, Lanjiajia Village) during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing Dynasty. Known for his poetry, calligraphy, and clever eloquence, he was a "talented scholar of Guandong" during the Qianjia and Qianlong periods. "Liaoyang County Chronicle" said that "Cihan is a famous calligrapher in the world and the first person in the Qing Dynasty".
At the age of 16, his poetry and calligraphy were already famous. At the age of 26, he took part in the Quanzhou Children's Examination and got the title of Bagongsheng (Scholar). At the age of 39, he accompanied his friend Chang Ji to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination, but failed. At the age of 44, he climbed to the Toad Palace again, and confidently participated in the Enke Examination hosted by the Ministry of Etiquette of the Capital, and passed the exam as a tribute. After passing the palace examination, he won the second grade of Jinshi. So far, my long-cherished wish has been fulfilled. The Qing government appointed him as editor and attendant of the Hanlin Academy.
Smart as a child
According to the staff of Wang Erlie Memorial Hall in Liaoyang, there is a legend in Liaoyang that when Wang Erlie's great-grandfather was building Kuixing Tower, he deliberately pointed the tip of Kuixing's pen at the Fengshui ditch in his hometown. direction, trying to identify a champion among the tribe. As expected, Wang Erlie's grandfather Wang Tianlu and his three uncles were all officials in the imperial court.
In the fifth year of Yongzheng (1727) of the Qing Dynasty, the ancient city of Liaoyang experienced a peaceful and prosperous age. Just after the 15th day of the first lunar month, on the eighth day, the good news of the birth of his precious son came from the home of Wang Jin, who was then Xuezheng of Shenzhou, Zhili Province.
Wang Erlie's father, Wang Jin, was knowledgeable. Wang Erlie began his enlightenment education under the influence of his father when he was young. Deeply influenced by his father (Wang Jin, Shenzhou Xuezheng), he received strict tutoring since childhood and had a pure and quiet nature. He loved reading and studying calligraphy since he was a child, and he was diligent in reading. The Wang family had a simple family tradition and strict upbringing. Although Wang Jin was away from home all year round, he accumulated two rooms of books for his son. Therefore, Wang Erlie is proficient in writing and loves poetry even more. According to historical records, Wang Jin had a close personal relationship with Cao Yin, the grandfather of Cao Xueqin, the author of "A Dream of Red Mansions". The Cao family had a rich collection of ancient books, which also provided Wang Erlie with a rich source of knowledge. Cui Can, Wang Erlie's childhood teacher, was born in Bagong and was well-educated, which laid a solid foundation for Wang Erlie's early education.
It is said that Cui Can once made a couplet during his teaching: "The stars on the chessboard are made of heaven. Who dares to play in this bright universe?" After the couplet was written, no one among the students dared to confront it. Only the young Wang Erlie stood up and responded loudly: "The earth is the pipa road and the strings, who can play it in the brilliant world!" The teacher casually added another couplet: "The yellow flowers in the wild are like golden nails on the ground." Wang Erlie pondered for a moment, and suddenly saw Liaoyang outside the window. The White Pagoda in the city suddenly became full of thoughts, and he replied: "The White Pagoda in the city is like a jade diamond shining in the sky." After hearing this, everyone was impressed by Wang Erlie's extraordinary talent. As a result, Wang Erlie was hailed as the "Liaoyang Prodigy".
It is said that Wang Erlie wore a straw hat and played in the yard in winter. A businessman laughed at him for "wearing winter clothes and a summer hat to spend the Spring and Autumn Period." Wang Erlie responded by saying, "You are a bastard who traveled south and north."
When Wang Erlie was young, he became a disciple of Liu Guangtao, a tribute from Haicheng. Because of his intelligence and diligence, he was appreciated by Liu and his knowledge became increasingly profound.
In the 18th year of Qianlong's reign (1753), Wang Erlie took part in the children's examination in Liaoyang City and passed the examination as a Gongsheng (a scholar) in Liaoyang Prefecture. In the 30th year of Qianlong's reign (1765), he took part in the rural examination in the provincial capital of Fengtian, and ranked 181st in the Fengtian provincial examination.
Sleeping on fuel and tasting courage
According to records, in history, the Wang Erlie family has produced more than 30 Jinshi. Influenced by his family, in the 14th year of Qianlong's reign (1749), Wang Erlie studied at the West Pavilion School of Longquan Temple in Qianshan Mountain and became his teacher under Master Yuankong of Longquan Temple. From then on, Wang Erlie had a lifelong relationship with Longquan Temple, and began a life of "fame and fame".
The West Pavilion School of Qianshan Longquan Temple is located on the man-made platform in the north of Jingping Peak of Longquan Temple. It is a folk-style building with three tiled roofs and a corridor. A pointed pavilion with a unique courtyard in the middle. Gao Liping, who takes care of Wang Erlie's study, said that the West Pavilion was built in the fifth year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1571). Historically, it was originally three thatched houses and was turned into a brick and wood structure. After many expansions, its scale grew and it became one of the two academies in Qianshan in the Qing Dynasty. When we arrived, we saw the bottle peaks facing each other in front of the pavilion, with the peaks and the tops of the pavilion rising up at the same time; thousands of pines were clustered behind the pavilion, with the sound of wind and waves, and it was extremely quiet.
In ancient times, the West Pavilion was the place where celebrities studied calligraphy and ink, and where dignitaries stayed. Every night, people are quiet, the lights are far away, and the shadows of the trees are dancing. The "West Pavilion Guest Lantern" has been recorded in history for its unique charm and has become one of the famous sixteen sceneries of Longquan. No wonder Wang Erlie moved around several times to study, and finally chose this pavilion to study and study on and off for 22 years. Because of his love for the scenic spot of Lingshan Mountain, Wang Erlie was so intoxicated that he often stayed up all night reading, laying a solid foundation for his future fame in China. The West Pavilion is located on a cliff, and its room is as long and narrow as a boat. Every morning, when the sea of ??fog is vast, the narrow room is like a solitary boat cruising in the sea of ??fog, or like an island standing in the sea of ??fog. In the 42nd year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1777), when Wang Erlie lived in the West Pavilion of Longquan Temple, he named it "Qiongdao Xuzhou" after identifying it as "West Pavilion Guest Lamp".
Longquan Temple is also the place where Wang Erlie wrote the most inscriptions in his life. There are two plaques and six couplets. When reading them today, you can still feel the author's rich reward for the place where he studied so hard after becoming famous. Love! What he wrote for Qiongdao Xuzhou is: "The room is as narrow as a boat's canopy window, surrounded by four peaks; the mountains are as deep as the island's pines, and the sea generates tides."
Examining Jiangnan
It is said that he could have won the first place in the exam, but because Qianlong took the exam in private, he ranked fourth. The examiner exchanged his rankings with Qianlong. Later, when Qianlong saw that Wang's manuscripts were very good, he worshiped the king as his "attendant reader" and stayed in the palace to teach Prince Yong Yan, so there is a saying that "the old master is with the young master". Wang Erlie came from a well-known family and was known far and wide. He was known as the "Sanjiang Talented Scholar" and his brothers were also famous. Many of his poems and stories are legendary throughout the Northeast.
In April of the thirty-sixth year of Qianlong's reign, Wang Erlie participated in the palace examination as the 102nd placer in the joint examination. As expected, he won the second and first place in the imperial examination, ranking behind the number one, second and third prize. The legend. From then on, Wang Erlie began to embark on an official career in a real sense, until he became the fourth rank minister of Dali Temple.
Wang Erlie accompanied Emperor Qianlong on several tours to the south of the Yangtze River and the north of the Great Wall, leaving behind countless famous poems and couplets. There is also a legendary story, that is, the story of when he presided over the Sanjiang (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi) examinations—"the Jiangnan Examination". At that time, Sanjiang was the most culturally developed area in the country, and there were many Jiangnan talents who were domineering and often embarrassed the examiners. After Wang Erlie arrived in the Sanjiang area, he ordered all the candidates to write three essays in the form of eight-legged essays with the theme of "Learn and practice from time to time". All the candidates were in trouble and barely passed the exam. The first one was enough to make a chapter, and the second one was enough. In the third session, all the candidates lamented that their talents were exhausted, and looked at each other in disbelief, unable to write any ink. After the exam, all the candidates were unconvinced and asked Wang Erlie to write three difficult essays by himself. Unexpectedly, Wang Erlie wrote it in a single stroke without adding any points. His words were as precious as the morning stars, and his ideas were novel. Everyone was fascinated by them and asked Hanlin in surprise. Why is his talent so high? It can be said that he is rich in knowledge and talented. Wang Erlie wrote another poem: "The most talented people in the world are Sanjiang, but Sanjiang is not as good as my hometown. The most talented people in my hometown are my younger brother, and I am correcting articles for my younger brother."
There was a talented man from the south of the Yangtze River who believed that Wang Erlie's article must have been prepared in advance and was not enough to prove his talent, so he wrote a couplet and posted it on the pillar of Wang Erlie's residence, intending to use it as a surprise. To test Wang Hanlin's talent and adaptability, the couplet said: "Thousands of mountains and rivers in the south of the Yangtze River, thousands of talents." When Wang Erlie went out and saw him, he ordered someone to take a pen and write the next couplet: "Bebei, one day, one place, one saint." This couplet refers to one day. The emperor refers to the queen, and the sage refers to Confucius. Upon seeing this, the talented man blurted out and chanted: "The air flow from the black gauze in the south of the Yangtze River is warm." Wang Erlie responded and said, "The wind in the brocade robe in the north of the country is not cold." One day, several talented people from the south of the Yangtze River invited Wang Erlie to a field trip in the countryside and wanted to test him. In front of a temple, a couplet said: "Ten thousand tiles and thousands of bricks will take a hundred days to build a cross temple." At this time, a small boat was swinging under the bridge in the river in front of the temple. Seeing this, Wang Erlie said to him: "One boat, two oars, and three people are crossing the four-hole bridge." Another person came out and said: "Ice cold wine, one, two, three." Wang Erlie turned to look at a clump of lilac flowers blooming beside the bridge. He blurted out: "There are hundreds of lilac flowers." At this point, all the talented people were impressed by Wang Erlie's intelligence and agility. Wang Erlie's name also spread throughout China along with the story of "overwhelming the three rivers" candidates.
Later life
In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, he was appointed as the editor of Sikuquanshu and the editor of Santongguan to engage in the compilation of Sikuquanshu. Two years later, the Qing government appointed him as a co-examiner for the Beijing Normal University Examination.
In the forty-second year of Qianlong's reign, Wang Erlie, who was already fifty years old, invited more than ten poetry friends from his hometown to revisit Qianshan. He wrote in "A Thousand Mountains Tour" that "a plate of meals is only for filling the stomach. What's the matter with delicacies?" Because of such a simple tone, the Qianshan Poetry Society was particularly successful. Not only did Wang Erlie himself get the poem "The mountains and the sky are the imperial state, and Changbai is the only place where you can't help it", he also compiled more than 60 poems from fellow poets into a collection of poems. A volume of "Poems on Traveling to Thousand Mountains" was painstakingly collected by the famous scholar Jin Yufu and handed down to the world. "Yao Feng Collection" was specially compiled by Mr. Jin for Wang Erlie and was included in the "Liaohai Series".
At the age of 54, he was sent to Shaanxi Province to supervise the censor, responsible for inspecting the coinage of the Manchu and Qing dynasties there, and handling some criminal cases in Shaanxi.
In the fifty-third year of Qianlong's reign, when he was 61 years old, the Qing government considered that he had passed the age of hearing, so he was transferred back to the capital and served as the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture (today's Beijing).
In 1796 AD, Emperor Qianlong abdicated the throne to the fifteenth prince, Prince Jia Yongyan, and appointed Wang Erlie as the bachelor of cabinet. Ruyi Jiuzhi and so on. When Wang Erlie was 72 years old in the fourth year of Jiaqing reign in the Yongyan period of the Qing Dynasty, he was promoted to Shaoqing of Dali Temple. Because he was an old man, he resigned and returned to Liaodong to teach Shenyang Academy in Shengjing. He died of illness at the age of 74 (1801, the sixth year of Jiaqing) and was buried at the foot of Nanshan Mountain in Fengshuigou Village, Liaoyang County, his hometown.
A beautiful marriage
Beautiful scenery nourishes beauties, and beautiful water nurtures talented people. Qianshan not only cultivated Wang Erlie's talents, but also created a beautiful marriage for Wang Erlie. This marriage is also confirmed in the Wang Erlie Memorial Hall in Liaoyang.
Wang Erlie had been childhood sweethearts with a girl named Chen Yueqin since childhood. Later, they separated because of their mother's interference. When Wang Erlie was studying in the West Pavilion School of Longquan Temple in Qianshan, he met Chen Yueqin, the man in his dream.
It turned out that after the marriage between the two failed, Chen Yueqin was hurt by love and lost all hope. It happened that her aunt, Zen Master Shi Xuanzi, was the abbot of Muyu Temple in Qianshan, so she saw through the world of mortals and became a nun, so she cut off her hair and came to Muyu Temple to become a monk.
Perhaps it was because the two people's red rope had not been broken, but they met again in Qianshan. They were filled with sorrow and joy at first, and then burst into tears and laughed. They cuddled together and never separated from each other. After a long time, Master Yuankong and Zen Master Shi Xuanzi saw the clues and asked respected local celebrities to mediate. Finally, the parents of both parties were able to put an end to their past feud. Chen Yueqin returned to secular life. The two formed a good relationship between Qin and Jin, and their marriage finally had a happy ending. Chen Yueqin’s grandfather was Chen Menglei, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty.
As one of the leading talents in Guandong, Wang Erlie made many friends throughout his life. Whether it was his mother's 90th birthday or his own 70th birthday, it can be seen from the two birthday screens donated by Wang Erlie's descendants. , many senior officials of the Qing Dynasty had close contacts with him. Ji Yun commented that Wang Erlie stood tall in the frost forest, with his divine bones towering... He looked at things leisurely and looked at him like a fairy. For this colleague who has carefully edited 165 volumes and 367 volumes of the "Sikuquanshu", in these few brief comments, one can see the indifference and admiration of a gentleman.
The poem Liu Yong gave to Wang Erlie, "The character is as old as Songge, and the reputation must be as old as the ancients" is just right. In fact, in the process of our field research, Wang Erlie's "overwhelming three rivers" is somewhat exaggerated, but most people would rather believe those fabricated plots. Today, Wang Erlie is no longer just a person or a name, but a cultural symbol. This symbol may include his personal, academic, and official aspects. The process of interpreting a generation of talented Wang Erlie is also a time for our descendants to reflect on themselves and give answers.