In the second year of Qingli (1042), Zeng Gong, one of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, failed the Jinshi examination for the first time. That year, he was 25 years old.
Hearing the news, he was not the one who was shocked. It was Ouyang Xiu, the great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty.
It turns out that when Zeng Gong was eighteen years old, he was appreciated by Ouyang Xiu for his literary talent and became his disciple. At the age of twenty, he wrote to Ouyang Xiu and presented "Current Affairs Policy". From then on, Zeng Gong became famous all over the world, and Zeng Gong had correspondence with Fan Zhongyan, an important minister at the time, and others. Before he became an official, he was already involved in current affairs discussions.
Therefore, Zeng Gong's defeat this time was beyond Ouyang Xiu's expectation.
However, in terms of the atmosphere at the time, it was reasonable for Zeng Gong not to win the Jinshi. The popular writing style for examinations at that time was gorgeous four- or six-character parallel prose, and Zeng Gong was good at policy arguments.
Due to his poor family background, Zeng Gong was not allowed to stay in the capital after he was defeated. Before leaving, Ouyang Xiu wrote an article to see him off.
The article comforted him and said:
"There is a group of talents who gather together, use the standard, and generalize it to one method... Although there are talents that can be pulled out from the top... If they don't meet the standard, they will be abandoned. Don't dare to take it... There are good laws and evil practices practiced by the Secretary... The big one is already strong, and the small one can also be measured, but it is strange that the Secretary abandons it!" - "Preface to the Scholar Zeng Gong" < /p>
Ouyang Xiu said, our current exams are too rigid and must be based on standards. For those outstanding talents, once they do not meet the standards, no matter how outstanding they are, they will be dismissed.
But are our standards necessarily correct? Can’t we challenge it and carry out reforms? What's more, Zeng Gong is outstanding in his studies and his articles have reached a very high level. Even ordinary articles meet the examination standards (just without using the popular examination writing style). However, the examiner eliminated him. This is terrible. How strange.
After talented people fail to succeed in many trials, they often vent their dissatisfaction through poems and letters. For example, Han Yu, who was a colleague of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, became very irritable when he failed to pass the exam. He would either complain that other exam papers were not as good as his own, or write letters to the prime minister. He wrote three letters to the prime minister in succession.
However, Zeng Gong did not complain a single bit. He neither attacked those candidates for being inferior to him, nor complained about the examiners for being unfair. Instead, he humbly said that the reason why he did not pass the exam was because he might not have met the examiner's requirements. After returning to his hometown, he would "think more about what he has learned and stick to it" and continue to stick to his own morals to learn. Prepare to fight again next year.
Seeing Zeng Gong’s great ambition, Ouyang Xiu continued to sigh in the article: “I was shocked at first by his writing, but also strengthened his ambition...How could I dare to survive, and be humiliated to take care of me...Let me know how to live. You can express your gratitude to Si and congratulate Yuzhi for his success.”
At first I was amazed by his articles, but later, what impressed me even more was his character. He has wronged himself by coming to visit me, so how dare I ask him to read the article to me. Now that he has lost the election, I feel regretful and happy that I can identify talents on my own.
What is the reason why the great writer Ouyang Xiu admires this failed scholar so much? There are the following points.
1. The most kind, pure and persevering personality
To talk about Zeng Gong’s character, we must first start with his life experience.
When Zeng Gong later passed the exam, he was already thirty-nine years old. He was the last among the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties to pass the Jinshi (except Su Xun, who did not take the exam).
This age would be fine for others, but it would be different for Zeng Gong. His family is very poor.
Although his father was still alive when he was taking the scientific examination. But when he was eighteen years old, his father was dismissed from office for offending someone. From then until his death, he stayed at home and had no ability to support the family. Zeng Gong also has a ninety-year-old grandmother, four younger brothers and nine younger sisters.
Later, his father died, and Zeng Gong had to drop out of school and return to his hometown to serve his stepmother. Zeng Gong had a pure and filial character. Even when his family was in decline, he served his stepmother meticulously.
The burden of supporting the family fell on Zeng Gong alone. Not only do we need to provide food and clothing for the whole family, but we also need to solve the problems of younger brothers studying and younger sisters getting married.
Under the pressure of life, the young and bright Zeng Gong had no choice but to postpone his dream of studying and work everywhere. Zeng Gong didn't get married until he was in his thirties. This age seems to be considered a late marriage now, let alone the ancient times nearly a thousand years ago.
However, he never forgot to study, nor did he forget to provide universal education to his brothers and cousins.
When he was thirty-nine years old and passed the Jinshi exam, six brothers in his family had already passed the Jinshi exam.
So what’s the problem? Zeng Gong was so poor and busy, how could he have time and money to study.
Not only did he have time to study and educate his brothers to study, but he became famous for his knowledge while sitting in his hometown. He was far away from the political center, but people mistakenly thought that he was in the court.
"The public's reputation has been in the world for more than 20 years. Although he is a poor and extremely poor man, if he can copy his writings and recite them orally, he is afraid that he will not be able to do so. It is said that the public has been in the court for a long time.
" ——"Zeng Gong's Epitaph"
How did he do it?
First of all, he had set his goal as early as when he was young, that is, to Follow the example of the saints. Plan for the people of the world and cultivate their own morality.
Secondly, although Zeng Gong lived in poverty, it is said that Ouyang Xiu used it to buy books. There are more than 10,000 volumes of books in his family, and Zeng Gong's collection of books is 20,000 volumes.
Moreover, he read a wide range of books, including Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery. In the process, he traveled to almost all parts of the country, not only gaining knowledge from books but also practicing his own methods of reading. He once said in an article: "I am a scholar. Although he is knowledgeable, what he keeps can be described as simple. "——"Nanxuan Ji"
That is to say, the more books I read, the principles I adhere to are still simple. For example, the two principles mentioned above are to plan and make a plan for the world. Gentleman.
In addition, during his more than 20 years in his hometown, he has always maintained communication with front-line politicians and thinkers, and has unique insights into current affairs.
Therefore, he is a unique person. Whether he has weight or not does not depend on his position, but on his ability and talent.
2. Outstanding articles
The second point why Ouyang Xiu admires Zeng Gong is this. His outstanding articles.
Su Shi once wrote a poem for Zeng Gong: "It is difficult for a corporal from a drunken family to become a virtuous person. Zengzi was alone in his beauty, but he was solitary and fragrant. "
This poem is easy to understand. There are many high-level disciples under Ouyang Xiu, but I think Zeng Gong is the highest. When he appears, everyone else looks ugly.
This is strange to us. If we modern people were asked to recite the names of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the only one we would miss is Zeng Gong. Many people even cannot remember that Zeng Gong’s articles have ever appeared in middle school textbooks. .
Even if you read his articles, you will feel that they are far less enjoyable to read than "Ode to the Red Cliff" and "The Drunkard Pavilion". There are several reasons why his articles are so highly praised:
He adheres to the truth, is logically rigorous, and is practical.
And Zeng Gong. As a person, Zeng Gong's articles also adhere to the truth of Confucianism. Although he is well-read, he does not mix anything other than Confucianism into his articles.
In every article, he adheres to one principle, that is, an article must have a strict logical chain. In other words, it is enough for an article to clearly demonstrate a point of view and a truth. Not anymore.
It can be seen from a letter he wrote to Ouyang Xiu that his father passed away at that time. Ouyang Xiu wrote an epitaph for his father. Reply.
The first sentence at the beginning: "When I returned in autumn, I was given a book and an inscription on my late father's tomb. "Just simply write down the cause of this incident.
Next: "Recited and recited repeatedly, feeling mixed with shame. "Although there are only eight words, the emotion is not diminished. It expresses the memory of my father, the author's gratitude, and the study of the work.
In the next paragraph, the pen changes and discusses The significance and development of the epitaph: "As for the general knowledge, the righteous martyrs, the good words and the good deeds, they are all found in this chapter, which is enough to be followed. The way of warning and persuasion is not to be close to history, but to be close to history? ”
Epitaphs actually have the same meaning as history books. They both teach good and evil. Good people can be passed down to future generations, and bad people will serve as a warning to future generations. And the gentlemen in epitaphs can also become role models for future generations. .
However, in order to praise their relatives, even evil people can be praised by future generations, so that for thousands of years, few epitaphs have been handed down to the world. . It’s because the person who wrote the inscription was unfair.
How to solve this problem? His articles are both outstanding. "
First of all, we must find a person with fair character, but just being fair is not enough. If his writing is not good, the inscription will still not be passed down to future generations.
What should we do? "Fei There is nothing wrong with those who can write articles because of their animal morality! "Then you need to find a person with noble morals and outstanding writing skills.
However, "it only appears in decades or even one or two hundred years." Such a person will only appear in ten years or even one or two hundred years. Once.
Later, Zeng Gong said, "Mr. Ruo's moral articles are said to have existed for hundreds of years." "Sir, you are just such a person.
The entire logical chain is seamlessly connected:
Epitaphs and history books have the same meaning → The reason why epitaphs cannot be circulated is because of the author Bad character → Only authors with good character and good writing can meet the standards of writing a good epitaph → Such a person only appears once every few hundred years → And you are just such a person, and you are mine when I meet you Lucky.
At the end, Zeng Gong continued to sublimate Ouyang Xiu's personality charm.
"Among the heroes who have never been born in the world, who among them would not want to enter the family? ... How dare you not follow the instructions and go beyond the teachings of the world?"
People like me have little talent and little knowledge. Everyone can benefit from you. Is there anyone in the world who wouldn’t want to be your disciple?
Ask several rhetorical questions in a row to summarize and sublimate.
Zeng Gong did not come up to express his gratitude to Ouyang Xiu. Instead, he first explained what kind of person is a virtuous and literary person, and then said that Ouyang Xiu is such a person. Finally, he expressed his gratitude to his poor status. I am grateful to have received such favor from Ouyang Xiu.
Not only did he praise and thank Ouyang Xiu, he also proved the legitimacy of his praise and maintained Confucian etiquette.
Zeng Gong’s article is like a stone thrown into the center of a lake, splashing layers of waves that slowly spread toward the lake shore.
And concise language, simple truth, and practical methodology are exactly what Ouyang Xiu urgently needs for his reform of ancient prose.
Later, Zeng Gong's political policies were as simple and simple as his articles and character. He also achieved his original goal and brought peace to the people who he could help.
Among the eight great families of the Tang and Song dynasties, Zeng Gong was perhaps the dimmer star, with billions of dust covering his eyes. But he never gave up or complained. He just used his own strength to tear apart the dust barrier bit by bit. Every gleam we can see is the light he projects after working hard.
In April of the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), Zeng Gong passed away in Nanjing at the age of 65.
Other episodes
In fact, Zeng Gong’s articles have always been highly praised in history. In the Yuan Dynasty, Zeng Gong was once promoted to a person who followed Mencius at the top and Zhu Neo-Confucianism at the bottom.
Until the Jiajing to Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the essayist Mao Kun compiled "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties" and named Zeng Gong together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi and others. This has been passed down to later generations for hundreds of years. Never fade.