Cao Hongxun (1846- 19 10), whose real name is Zhu Ming and Zhong Ming, was born in the southwest of Wei County. Because his grandfather was a Daoguang juren, he served as the magistrate of Heshan County, Guangdong Province (see Wei County Records), and Cao Hongxun was also considered as a "scholarly family". However, there is a "generation gap": Cao Hongxun's father, Cao Tang, had an average grade and missed the imperial examination. He had to do some small businesses (warming fire, cooking sweet potatoes, selling them in the market, and once opened a clothing store) to support his family. However, Cao Fucheng is cautious, "a gentleman is poor and does not study" and is charitable, so he has good beer in Southwest Nanguan District. When Cao Hongxun was born, his grandfather had been ill for twelve years, and his knowledge was not directly influenced by his grandfather. Therefore, Cao Shi was born in a poor family, not a "scholarly family". However, the poor family made Cao Hongxun develop a tough character of diligence, simplicity, being good at asking questions, self-denial and self-improvement from an early age. In food and clothing, he compares with children from poor families, and in study and labor, he compares with diligent people. His parents like him, and so do hundreds of neighbors.
Perhaps because of his poor family, Cao Hongxun had a strong desire to change his predicament when he was young. At that time, in Wei County, where Confucianism was prevalent and scientific research was strong, the elders instilled in their children the main idea of "learning to be excellent and being an official", and Cao Jia was no exception: someone won a prize for ten years; So-and-so's "Four Books" and "Five Classics" recite backwards like a stream, and he is the top scholar in high school; Guo, Chen, Zhang and Ding are talented people, including many scholars. Chen and his son in the city are both scholars; Chen used to be an official in the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Ritual and the Ministry of Official Affairs, and was a teacher of Daoguang Emperor and Daoguang's eldest son, Yiwei. Chen Jieqi entered imperial academy at the age of 33 and was awarded editor by imperial academy. Because of his "emperor-like kindness", he was awarded a flower feather and a bachelor's degree, which is extremely outstanding and admired by all ... These enlightening sermons left a deep impression on Cao Hongxun when he was young: he should study hard and be determined to take the road of imperial examination.
When he was a child, Cao Hongxun had a dream. In the dim light, he seemed to see wide streets, magnificent halls, gongs and drums, and eight sedan chairs that crossed the street majestically. Moreover, it seems that he took a "bus" and walked into the examination room. No matter how vigilant the invigilator was about radiation, he didn't feel nervous, so he wrote it anyway. Once again, he seemed to see the golden list hanging high, and the name "Cao Hongxun" was impressively in it. People cast envious eyes on him ... My hometown has also changed, and the shabby hut has become a spacious tile house. On the open street door, there are big lanterns, and the word "Cao" on the lanterns is particularly eye-catching. The plaque of "Jinshi and Ji" shines brightly! Parents put on fresh clothes and greeted the people who came to congratulate with a smile; "Congratulations!" "Happy, happy! Ding, Guo, Chen and Zhang, the leading figures of the four families in Beijing, have all come ... Everything has changed, and my father no longer has to sell scones and sweet potatoes.
In order to find this dream, Cao Hongxun began his tireless pursuit.
The way of learning
Cao Hongxun is talented, which was discovered by the first teacher Lilac Ting when she first started school. Cao Shi always recites the Holy Amethyst and Hundred Family Names faster than other students. Sometimes the teacher just sets it up, and he recites it right away. When the teacher checked, most of the students were still "studying hard", but Cao Hongxun could recite it word for word in a clear children's voice. Lilac Ting marveled: I have never seen such a student since I taught for many years. Wei Xian is really a "child prodigy"! Cao Hongxun's calligraphy is also very elegant, which is beyond the reach of other students in the same school. Because of the great difference in learning progress, Mr. Ding had to "teach at different levels" and cook for Cao Shi alone. In class, call Cao Hongxun first; I know this lesson better than other students, so I draw inferences from others.
However, it is difficult to feed and clothe the whole family by selling on the father's shoulder. Sometimes, as for cooking, Cao Hongxun is often hungry, and reading has become a "good prescription" for him to forget hunger. This situation was finally discovered by Mr. Ding. Out of "love for life" and out of sympathy, Mr. Ding kept Cao Hongxun for lunch from time to time. Cao Shi has always been grateful for this.
In order not to drop out of school, Cao Hongxun found an opportunity to work and study. At that time, Zhang Jiezhi, the county magistrate of wei county, was directing the gentry and the people to build the wall of Dongguan (the "East City") to strengthen the city defense, which was mainly used to prevent the people from rebelling, especially the "Long Hair (Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army)" and "insurrection" Nian Army. The East Kansai Great Wall can also prevent floods and prevent the invasion of the White Wolf River. Those who build cities can "work for relief" and exchange soil for rice. Cao Hongxun joined the ranks of "work for relief" in his teens. Change rice in the city during the day, chat to make up for the shortage of rice at home, and study and study at night. In order to protect his clothes, he is always naked and everyone sighs. Similarly, in order to study, Cao Hongxun worked as a "bandu" for the children of a large family and almost became an excellent boy. At that time, there was a big family in Dongguan, wei county, who wanted his son to get ahead and devoted himself to cultivating imperial examination talents who supported the portal. It happened that sons and nephews were corrupt, or playful or stupid, or playful and stupid. Some people say that Cao Hongxun is a "prodigy" in reading, so Tan Shi asked Cao Hongxun to work for his children. Cao Hongxun, at home in Tan Jia, on the one hand drives children in Tan Jia to learn, and on the other hand pays close attention to self-study. Influenced by Cao Shi, Tan's children played moderately and made progress in their studies. At this time, Cao Shi's calligraphy was no less than that of Tan Jia's teacher, and children in Tan Shi scrambled to imitate it. Master Tan Shi liked Cao Hongxun's calligraphy very much, so he asked Cao Shi to write a 60-fold screen for him, but unfortunately he didn't sign it himself. Cao Shi worked as a class capital for a while, but he continued his studies.
Cao Hongxun has a strong ability of self-study and careful guidance from his teacher, so he has made great progress in his studies, and all his classmates are ashamed. However, ordinary teachers have been unable to satisfy Cao Shi's thirst for knowledge. Just then, someone introduced another teacher, Chen Ende (his name is Fu). In Wei County, Chen Ende is a knowledgeable teacher. Many people want to worship him as a teacher, but Cao Hongxun's marriage is a kind of fate. On the other hand, Chen has long heard of Cao Hongxun.
Chen Ende is a teacher by example, and the word "strict" takes the lead. If a student can't finish his study task, he will never let go easily. Under the guidance of this strict teacher, Cao Hongxun has made great progress in his studies: he has read the Four Books, Five Classics and Collected Notes in three years, and has also extensively dabbled in other books related to scientific research, such as Zhu's Da Yi. His reading, memory and understanding exceeded Chen Ende's expectations. This phenomenon of shortening the educational system, increasing the classroom capacity and widely arranging exhibitions is unheard of in wei county. It is no wonder that whenever Chen Ende talks about this, he often admires from the heart: "I have been a teacher for many years and have taught many disciples. Cao Hongxun is the only one who is smart and studies well! "
By chance, Cao Hongxun met the famous scholar Chen Jieqi. Chen Jieqi (18 13— 1884), a native of Weixian, was a famous epigraphist, cultural relic collector and calligrapher in Qing Dynasty. His father, Chen, was a scholar between Jiaqing and Jiaqing. He used to be an official minister and co-sponsored a university student. Chen Jieqi studied in Beijing with his father when he was a child, and became a famous poet at the age of 19. In the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang (1845), he was a scholar and was awarded editing by the Hanlin Academy. Chen Jieqi extensively dabbled in various cultural classics, and made in-depth research on classics, theories, exegesis, poetry, phonology and so on. At that time, the Qing court was corrupt, and Chen didn't want to associate with speculators, so he didn't care about high officials and high salaries. In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), he returned to his hometown through his mother's funeral and never became an official again.
After returning to Weifang, Chen Jieqi carefully studied and collected epigraphy, and eventually became a master of epigraphy. He has collected nearly 10,000 square meters of ancient seals, and the bronze wares of the Western Zhou Dynasty are still the most important weapons handed down from generation to generation in China, and the world respects them as "national treasures". Chen is the earliest discoverer, collector and researcher of cultural relics. He has a pioneering research on sealing mud, and his co-authored Textual Research on Sealing Mud is the earliest monograph on sealing mud in China. According to the Qing History Draft, Chen's stone collection is the "crown of modern times". His textual research and research on stone and stone cultural relics are mostly integrated in his more than 50 works. Chen Jieqi's ink painting extension method was praised as "the first extension method in ancient and modern times" by later generations. His epigraphy is unique and enriches China's calligraphy art.
After studying, Cao Hongxun once wrote Spring Festival couplets for Wenchang Pavilion in the southeast corner of Wei County, with neat handwriting and vigorous brushwork. I don't want Chen Jieqi to find this couplet and attract it. When people in the pavilion asked, they realized that the Spring Festival couplets were written by Cao Hongxun, a teenage student. Chen Aicai soon made an appointment with Cao Hongxun, who was in his thirties. Seeing that Cao Shi was elegant in speech and handsome in appearance, he accepted him as a disciple and later as an adopted son. Since then, Cao Shi has been studying in Chen Jieqi's library. For a long time, Cao Hongxun studied under scholars and Academician Wang. Chen Jia's excellent learning conditions and rich academic atmosphere have created a good learning environment for Cao Hongxun. Chen's collection opened Cao Shi's eyes; Cao Shi is also qualified to borrow Chen Jiashu. Under the guidance of Wang, Cao Shi "supernormally played" and achieved perfection in his studies. Even so, Cao Hongxun is still studying hard and self-disciplined. On one occasion, according to Chen Jieqi's instructions, he was busy receiving Chen Jialai's guests during the day and had a few drinks at noon. The guests didn't come back until dusk. After seeing the guests off, I hurried to finish my dinner. In the evening, Cao Hongxun sat at his desk and read a book-he wanted to make up for the loss during the day. However, I was so tired that I dozed off unconsciously and didn't want to touch the oil lamp. Candle burns the hair. Cao Hongxun suddenly woke up and his hair was burnt. He was so angry that he stamped his chest and blamed himself until he knelt down as a punishment. He couldn't help it for a long time. Afterwards, when I heard about it, I said to Wang with emotion, "Be eager to learn, and you will achieve something in the future, no less than you and me!" People seem to think that this is a rare subject.
Talents will be vividly portrayed from Chen Jiaguan.
Picking osmanthus trees in the Moon Palace-becoming a great man
On the way to the imperial examination, Cao Hongxun had a pleasant journey. Tongzhi for two years (1863), took the county exam at the age of 18, ranking first (the first name of the county exam was "case head"), making great contributions; At the age of twenty, he is a scholar, and at the age of twenty-three, he makes up for it. In the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), he went to Beijing as a "tribute" to take the exam, won the first place, was able to enter the punishments department, became a seven-product official, and officially entered the official career, at the age of 28. Chen Jieqi and Guo Yuqin's brother and magistrate of a county donated most of Sichuan's funds to Beijing to take the exam today. As a "first-class one", Cao Shi has become a minor celebrity in Beijing. Two years later (in the first year of Guangxu, 1875), Cao Hongxun took an examination of Cohen in Shuntianfu and got in. In the second year of Guangxu (1876), in order to celebrate the emperor Guangxu's succession, the imperial capital held the Cohen University Examination, among which 224 Gong Sheng took part in palace examination, and Cao Hongxun was deeply impressed. As a result, he won his childhood dream with the results of one class and one high school!
Cao Hongxun won the first prize and caused a sensation in Beijing. Besides his excellent articles, his good handwriting alone is enough to make the public stunned! Cao Shi's examination paper calligraphy attracted the attention of examiners, and even Empress Dowager Cixi, who listened to politics, applauded. As a result, people kept asking him for words, and Cao graphite was left in many places in the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. The good news that Cao Hongxun won the first prize reached Wei County, and the city of Wei County was full of joy. As mentioned earlier, there was no champion in the history of Wei County, and Cao Hongxun broke the "natural deficiency" of Wei County. How could wei ren not like it? Isn't it strange? People told each other that the new alley flew out of golden phoenix! The joy of Cao Cao's parents is the joy of flesh and blood, while the joy of Chen Jieqi is the joy of "Bole". Their hard-working high school in love figure makes the Chen family courtyard with fragrant calligraphy more brilliant! "Chen Jieqi knows a thousand miles (horses)" has become a much-told story in academic circles.