Chapter Fifty-Nine: Presenting Books

  Chen Jianchen stretched out his hand and supported Zhuge Wulou, smiling: "Sir, be careful with your feet!"

  Zhuge Liang, however, said with a nonchalant tone: "I've fallen countless times in my life, I'm no longer concerned about it."

  "Even so, but falling is never a good thing."

  Zhuge Wò Lóng burst out laughing and, with some effort, steadied himself. "You young fellow have some spirit," he said. "Why don't you come in and keep an old man company for a cup of wine?"

  Chen Jianchen made a bow and said: "Obedience is better than respect."

  Zhuge Wòlóng pulled Chen Jianchen into the house, with Wang Fu closely following behind.

  Inside, the smell of wine filled the air, and the surroundings were empty, with only a bed, a table, and two chairs, which were very simple. Two chairs, Zhuge Liang and Chen Jian sat on one each, Wang Fu had to stand, under Zhuge Liang's command, busy pouring wine and serving, in high spirits.

  Normally, Wang Fu would never have lifted a finger for such rough work, but now, in order to please Mr. X, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and fetch the manuscript of "The Dream of the Red Chamber".

  Chen Jianchen's capacity for wine was shallow, and he would often take a small sip after Mr. Zhuge had taken a big gulp, just to show his intention.

  Mr. Zhuge didn't care at all, drinking and drinking, his crazy attitude emerged, and he started scolding while slapping the table, scolding thoroughly, not like an old man in his seventies at all:

  "I have lived a life of integrity, never owing anything to anyone, nor to any gods or spirits. Why does this thieving Heaven always make things difficult for me? Either it's wind or rain, I can't even get a moment's peace. In my opinion, what kind of divine justice is there in the heavens? Where are the eyes of Heaven?"

  Having scolded Heaven, he stood up, let out a deep sigh and clapped his hands, chanting: "Life's troubles arise from learning to read and write, as one's talents gradually dull and are wasted; with thousands of characters, horizontal, vertical, dotting and stroking, there is little ink but many tears... I, an old man, have no hope in the imperial examination, so I turned to writing, but being a nobody, my words carry little weight. With several volumes of books, I am too poor to eat or wear warm clothes, so I must resort to making strange and absurd statements just to attract attention from the crowd. How pitiful! How lamentable!"

  As she spoke, tears fell down.

  Chen Jianchen heard this and felt a pang in his heart, deeply sympathizing with the old man's plight - in the Tian Tong dynasty, how many scholars had spent their entire lives studying the classics, yet only a tiny fraction of them had ever succeeded in passing the imperial examinations. How many talented but unsuccessful scholars like Zhuge Liang, who had read all the classics and yet failed to pass the exams after a lifetime of trying, were there? They just didn't have Zhuge's talent for writing beautiful prose, so they all silently became dust in the annals of history.

  The eight-legged essay is by no means easy to tackle.

  Memorizing the Four Books is only a basic skill for beginners; from breaking down questions to completing an essay, long-term writing practice is the process of mastering it; and the last step, grasping the structure and word count, and guessing the examiner's intention is also extremely important.

  The world's articles, the benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom, there is no standard answer after all. You can write out a flower, but if it doesn't conform to the examiner's intention and isn't in harmony, it will easily be brushed down, with no hope of being selected.

  It is said that "Confucianism is revered as the only honor", but this Confucianism is not a monolithic entity, after thousands of years of development, it has already branched out and evolved into many schools of thought.

  The main ideological differences between these schools of thought are often minute, but the errors are enormous. In the imperial court, there were also various schools of thought, mutually conflicting and vying for power to preside over various state affairs.

  In this way, candidates need to grasp the "degree" when facing questions, and examine the situation. The same question can often express different central ideas to cater to the examiner's taste.

  It's extremely difficult to grasp such subtlety, so there have been countless talented individuals throughout history who were unable to make a name for themselves. Many people spend their entire lives dealing with sacred and virtuous books, their thinking long since rigidified and deadened - how can they possibly turn this corner?

  Listening to Mr. Zhuge's endless complaints, Wang Fu became somewhat impatient. He had come to ask for a novel to read, not to listen to complaints. Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation, he interjected: "Sir, I've heard that you're currently writing a remarkable book called 'The Dream of the Red Chamber'. May I borrow it from you?"

  "Absolutely not, and that's final!" Zhuge Liang thundered.

  He picked up the wine and water and splashed it onto Wang Fu's body.

  He suddenly turned his face, faster than turning a page, Wang Fu was shocked and ran away, but it was too late, a large piece of his clothes had already been splashed wet.

  This robe was very valuable, and when wine was spilled on it, a large area was stained. Wang Fu felt a pang of sorrow and anger in his heart, but he couldn't vent his emotions, so he had to turn around and run out to find water to clean it with.

  After he left, Zhuge Wohu suddenly smiled and said to Chen Jianchen: "This kid is different, it's interesting. Well, since you're willing to drink with me, this book will be given to you, and after you ponder it, you'll definitely benefit from it."

  As he spoke, he pulled out a book with a blue cover from under the seat, and the title on the cover was striking: "The Dream of the Stone".

  Chen Jianchen was shocked, took it over, flipped through it, and what kind of ghost book was this? It was clearly a notebook, with each article recording the insights and essentials summarized by Zhuge Liang during his life's imperial examinations, written in clear and elegant regular script, with incisive analysis, at a glance.

  It's simply a model work of learning the eight shares.

  The book cover page has a sentence written in elegant font: The eight-part essay selects scholars, just like farting; but if you don't fart, how can you know the smell!

  Chen Jianchen smiled silently, and suddenly a gleam of inspiration flashed through his mind, as if lightning had struck, and he felt enlightened, thinking that he had previously walked into a misunderstanding.

  Or, because of his foreigner identity, when his own ideas collided and rejected the ideas of a different time and space, he unconsciously closed his heart door, shutting out everything that was not recognized.

  Thus, while it can preserve the purity of one's mind, at the same time, one's mind also loses a great opportunity for refinement.

  Just like autism!

  Having understood this layer of subtlety, Chen Jianchen suddenly enlightened, finally understanding the root cause of his recent feelings of doubt and annoyance - in the process of ideological conflict, going with the flow is inferior, closing the door to create a cart is mediocre, but taking something as it is is the best approach.

  A single-minded rejection, has unknowingly locked itself in a cage, becoming an isolated existence, independent of the world.

  The Master said: At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I came to be free from perplexities; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth; at seventy I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.

  It's a process of continuous learning and constantly improving one's understanding. Learning has no bounds, if you're satisfied with the status quo and resist change, how can you learn new things?

  The Taoist emphasizes carefree non-action, but also transcends the world, experiences the mundane, and tempers his mind; The Buddhist says that all four elements are empty, yet can also travel to transform karma, taste all human emotions and worldly affairs... Both say the same principle.

  If we say that the eight shares are a big dye vat, it is a pair of shackles. Only by jumping in and then rushing out, wearing them on and breaking them open, can we truly achieve perfection.

  When you see a mountain, it is a mountain; when you don't see a mountain, it isn't a mountain; but when you really see a mountain, it is still a mountain.

  Change is actually just a thought away.

  At this moment, Chen Jianchen's mind was clear and bright, not that the dust on the glass had been wiped away and cleaned, but the entire piece of glass had disappeared, and there was no longer such a layer of obstruction.

  Hehehe, on the "Three Stances True Scripture", a brilliant light burst forth, and five words were instantly illuminated. In a row, they read: The Ten Righteous Energies Have Been Activated.

  Chen Jianchen carefully put away "The Dream of the Stone", bowed his head and saluted Zhuge Wohulong with a respectful bow: "Thank you, sir, for giving me this book!"