Four Great Talents in the South of the Yangtze River: Why did Wen Zhiming, with the worst qualification, become a "generalist"?

The four gifted scholars in Jiangnan refer to Tang Yin (Tang Bohu), Zhu Yunming (Zhu Zhishan), Wen Zhiming and Xu Zhenqing. Wuzhong four gifted scholars? . Of the four gifted scholars, Wen Zhiming is the worst. Why do you say that?

Needless to say, Tang Bohu is very talented. At the age of 65,438+06, he won the top prize, then took the provincial examination and won the top prize (Xie Yuan). Zhu Zhishan can write big characters at the age of 4 and poems at the age of 9. What is this called? A prodigy? . Xu Zhenqing didn't even have a library at home when he was a child, but he could do anything.

Look at Wen Zhiming again. At the age of two, he couldn't talk or walk. At the age of six, he is still stumbling. At the age of 9, he still had a lisp. Through hard work, the article was affirmed by the teacher, but the word was rated as third class by the teacher. Relatives at home don't think highly of him. Only Father Lin Wen thinks that his son can be a late bloomer.

But many years later, Tang Bohu became a famous painter, and Zhu Zhishan was called? The first person in the Ming Dynasty? Xu Zhenqing is called? Wuzhong poetry crown? , but Wen Zhiming, was praised as? All-rounder . So-called? Four musts? It means that poetry, writing, books and paintings are all good.

As far as qualification is concerned, Wen Zhiming is the worst of the four gifted scholars, but his final achievement is the highest. What about this? Stupid kid? Why did you become? All-rounder What about yours?

Stupid person? Wen Zhiming

Wen Zhiming and Tang Bohu were born in the same year. Tang Bohu is romantic and informal, and pays attention to drinking today and getting drunk tomorrow. Wen Zhiming is honest and takes everything seriously. Although their personalities are completely different, they have become close friends, which is also a much-told story.

In the eleventh year of Hongzhi, Wen Zhiming and Tang Bohu took the provincial examination together, Tang Bohu got a solution in the examination, and Wen Zhiming failed again (he had participated once before and Tang Bohu participated for the first time). However, Wen Zhiming did not lose heart. He knows that there are many talented people in Jiangnan, and failure once or twice is nothing to him.

As soon as this result came out, Tang Bohu, who achieved good results in the exam, was very happy. He wrote a poem praising himself and made an appointment with his friends to play together. Wen Zhiming's father, Lin Wen, saw this scene and comforted his son, saying that Tang Bohu's frivolous career will get narrower and narrower, while his son is steady and will have a successful career in the future.

As a result, Lin Wen was right. The following year, Tang Bohu took the exam, was framed for bribing the examiner, and was dismissed from office. Lin Wen, whose prophecy came true, died this year, and he could not see the day when his son became a late bloomer.

Traditionally, when Lin Wen died during his tenure, the court would pay funeral expenses and local officials and gentry would send silks and gold, which added up to a lot. After the money is used to bury his father, it can also guarantee Wen Zhiming's food, clothing, housing and transportation for some time to come. However, Wen Zhiming refused to receive income.

Everyone thinks Wen Zhiming's action is stupid, but they all admire him as a man. But what about his? Stupid? , far more than that.

Zhu, the king of Ning, took a fancy to the talent of Harmony and sent someone to attract them. Wen Zhiming refused from the beginning, but Tang Bohu expressed his willingness to go, and Wen Zhiming also advised him not to go. Others think it is a great blessing to be taken a fancy to by Wang Ning, but Wen Zhiming just doesn't cherish it. I don't know what he thinks, he is really stupid.

As a result, it turns out that his decision is correct. Tang Bohu has just arrived in Ning, and he has indeed received preferential treatment. However, he gradually discovered that Wang Ning was rebellious, and Tang Bohu knew that he was on a fake ship. In this case, Wang Ning won't let him go, so Tang Bohu pretended to be crazy, and managed to fool Wang Ning and let him go home.

Later, Ning Wang Zhu rebelled, but was captured by Wang Yangming only 43 days later. Tang Bohu escaped with his wit, but many years later, people will praise Wen Zhiming for his foresight.

In the second year of Jiajing, Tang Bohu died in a bad environment, but Wen Zhiming ushered in a turning point in his life. He was recommended by Li Chongsi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to get to Beijing for a letter and was appointed as imperial academy, so he couldn't even attend his friend's funeral.

It takes years to build a big ship-great ideas mature late.

Wen Zhiming was 54 years old when he was appointed as a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences. During this period, he took nine imperial examinations, all of which were in Sun Shan. If it weren't for Li Chongsi's recommendation, he couldn't even do this small official. Also because of this, let Wen Zhiming completely lost the heart of the officer.

During his three years in office, he kept submitting his resignation, but the court refused. Three years later, Wen Zhiming got the chance to become a new official, but he made up his mind to be an official again. This time, he finally got his wish. He returned to his hometown as an official, and he is the only one of the four great talents in Jiangnan who is still alive.

Only then did he gradually gain fame and achievements. At that time, Jiangnan was economically developed, and rich people liked to collect calligraphy and painting, while Wen Zhiming's calligraphy and painting gradually became a sought-after treasure. But he was never stingy. As long as someone comes to draw, he is willing to write.

However, after painting, Wen Zhiming often doesn't accept money. He will be very happy if the other party brings some small local products. Some princes and nobles sent precious jewels to paint, but Wen Zhiming sent them back one by one, and made a rule for himself that he would never paint for prisoners, dignitaries and foreign envoys.

Refusing to accept money leads to no income. His income from writing and painting for others is only enough for daily expenses, and he even often borrows rice and grain from his friends. Many people say, what about Wen Zhiming's share? Stupid? Here we go again, but actually, that? Stupid kid? Never changed.

Character priority

Wen Zhiming's paintings and calligraphy are very popular, so there are many fakes in the market. Someone brought a fake painting to him for verification. He always said it was genuine and signed and sealed it on his own initiative.

This is because he thinks that it must be the poor at home who counterfeit his paintings and calligraphy, and the rich who buy his paintings and calligraphy. If he reveals that it is a fake painting, the buyer will be disappointed, and the seller may even have no money to eat.

At the beginning, when Tang Bohu was in Xie Yuan, he ignored his image and wandered around all day, wandering in the wild waves. Wen Zhiming and Zhu Zhishan both wrote to persuade him, but Tang Bohu not only refused to listen, but also wrote back saying that he would break up with Wen Zhiming. Later, when he was dismissed from office, Wen Zhiming took the initiative to write a letter to comfort them before making up.

It is precisely because Wen Zhiming always abides by his duties and knows what to do and what not to do that he gradually gains so many good reputations. No wonder someone will evaluate him:

Character comes first, followed by calligraphy and painting. ?

Wen Zhiming is not as talented as Tang Bohu and Zhu Zhishan, nor as lucky as Xu Zhenqing. At the age of 26, he was admitted to Jinshi. He even has a dull talent, with a feeling of stupidity and tenacity. It is because of this stupidity and tenacity that he believes that diligence can make up for it.

At the beginning, his calligraphy was rated as third class by the teacher. Wen Zhiming insisted on writing "thousands of words" ten times a day, and finally wrote a good hand. Wen Zhiming's regular script is even called? The first in Ming dynasty? .

Tang Bohu is good at painting, while Zhu Zhishan's calligraphy is called? The first weed in Ming Dynasty? Xu Zhenqing is the best poet in the world, but Wen Zhiming is the only one who is proficient in poetry, literature, books and painting, and is known as? All-rounder . Professor Kruger of Oxford University even said that Wen Zhiming's influence in China was equivalent to Michelangelo's in the European Renaissance.

On February 20th, the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, after writing an epitaph for others, Wen Zhiming quietly sat in a chair, thus quietly ending his 89-year-old life.