The older generation often says that the prosperity of a family must be the prosperity of subsequent generations. From the moment a person is born, his destiny is determined by heaven, and the most emblematic point is his origin. If you are born into a wealthy family, you will win at the starting line from the beginning. But if you are born into a poor family, you will have to work hard on your own for the rest of your life, which is undoubtedly painful. And when the glory of the past gradually fades into nothing, life is no longer luxurious, and status plummets, how should you face such ups and downs?
The old man we are going to talk about today is named Niu Shijing. His ancestor was once a prominent number one scholar in the Qing Dynasty. Because of the achievements of several ancestors during the Qing Dynasty, the Niu family was once prominent and unparalleled among the locals. Everyone knows about the famous family of Number One Scholar. Niu Fengshan once won the first place in the first-level examination, and later won the first place in martial arts, and his official position soared. Niu Fengshan was a celebrity among the neighbors at that time. They said that he was knowledgeable but never showed off. He was very friendly to his neighbors. After returning home, he would lead his horse and walk in the countryside. The neighbors liked Niu Fengshan very much.
Although Niu Fengshan was friendly to his neighbors, he was very strict both as an official and at home. His son Niu Xuan was closely guarded by Niu Fengshan from birth, and Niu Fengshan gave his son a high standard. Therefore, Niu Xuan had high achievements in calligraphy since he was a child, and people a few kilometers around knew that there was a young son who was knowledgeable and could write well. Later, Niu Xuan also won the provincial examination and became a Jinshi. Both father and son were placed in important positions by the court.
Niu Fengshan and Niu Xuan are the first and second outstanding talents of the Niu family. After they achieved excellent academic results, they both worked hard on the construction of their ancestral home. Under the construction of Niu Fengshan and Niu Xuan, Niu Fengshan's Zhuangyuan Mansion was decorated in a very grand manner. It covers an area of ??2,400 square meters, has multiple rooms and multiple cave dwellings, and is gorgeous and elegant. The Grand View Garden in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is comparable to it. Of course, the most outstanding thing is the construction of the gate of the mansion. The word "imperial edict" on the gate clearly shows the status of the Niu family.
Niu Shijing, as a descendant of Niu Fengshan and Niu Xuan, may continue the glory of his ancestors and carry forward the family, but the reality is completely different. With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the power of the Niu family was also completely wiped out. The Niu family, which used to be a prosperous family, is now destitute. The cave dwelling has not been renovated for a long time, the door is dilapidated, the former flowers and plants have all turned into dead branches, the birds have stopped coming, and the ground is full of bird droppings that cannot be cleaned.
This dilapidated scene hardly reminds people of its former prosperity, and what is even more unimaginable is the descendant of the number one scholar of the Qing Dynasty. In the past, Niu Fengshan was a man of great appearance and elegant conversation, but now the old man in this family is in rags and smells bad. Not to mention his temperament, people can only see in his eyes ignorance and enthusiasm that has been wiped out by life. The old man Niu Shijing lives alone in the Zhuangyuan Mansion in the mountains and guards his ancestral home. With no income, he can only make a living by begging on the streets. In a house without water or electricity, he had no bridge to communicate with the outside world. Of course, he didn't even know how to communicate with the outside world. Looking at the old man Niu Shijing today, this can't help but make us feel a little cold.
It is said that if the ancestors of a family are prosperous, even if there are low periods in the middle, they will still be able to prosper in the end. As for Niu Shijing, it seems that he can no longer have his illusions, because he has been poor all his life, let alone marrying a wife and having children, even food and clothing are a problem, so the bloodline of the Niu family is completely cut off with him.
However, perhaps when people see Niu Shijing’s situation, they will also wonder why he did not make some money based on his own abilities in his life. But in fact, the old man has not never thought about it. He was a good writer when he was young. He was admitted to a key university, but in the end he did not read or write any words. Some neighbors said that the old man had been stimulated, but no one knew what he had experienced. But the old man didn't complain about anything. He just carefully guarded his ancestral home and was content with his life. The story of the old man Niu Shijing also tells us that if we follow the cycle of heaven and start again and again, there will be prosperity and decline. This is a historical necessity.