BSI Chapter 85, 0083: [Inscription on the Wall of Xiangguo Temple]
Chapter 85, 0083: [Inscription on the Wall of Xiangguo Temple]
Chapter 85, 0083: [Inscription on the Wall of Xiangguo Temple]
The poetry gathering was held at the Daxiangguo Temple.
This place is very lively; it not only sells roast pork but also has a bathhouse and hosts various banquets.
Sometimes, when the imperial court entertained foreign guests, such as the Liao Dynasty delegation, they would directly book banquets at the Daxiangguo Temple.
Xu Lai had passed by this place several times before, but had never gone in to take a look. He discovered that the entire temple was divided into several areas, and there was even a dedicated commercial area with all sorts of shops.
This is even the largest used book market in Tokyo!
Ouyang Bei said to Xu, "If Xingzhi wants to buy used books, he can often visit the book market at Daxiangguo Temple. Especially during festivals, the book stalls are set up in that open space in front."
Ouyang Bian said, "Books can also be exchanged. I have seen people copying each other's books. At first, they agreed to exchange them, but neither of them wanted to part with the other, so in the end they simply took turns copying each other's books."
"Haha, quite interesting," Xu Lai laughed.
The four arrived at a building that looked like a restaurant. Not far away was a bathhouse courtyard, where bathhouse services were available and meditation rooms were rented out long-term.
Ouyang Fei was most familiar with this place and introduced friends to Xu Lai and Xu Anshi.
This is the son of a certain official.
That person is the grandson of a certain official.
All the scholars who participated in the poetry gathering were people of considerable status. Only Xu Lai belonged to the lowest rank, possessing only the title of Yu Jing's disciple.
The group sat down and chatted, with people occasionally coming over to exchange ideas, and the scholars were constantly moving around.
There are probably twenty or thirty people in total.
A moment later, Huang Tingjian arrived, accompanied by Sun Jue and Lu Dian.
Sun Jue was Huang Tingjian's future father-in-law. They had been engaged two years ago and planned to get married this year after Huang Tingjian finished his exams. However, Huang Tingjian unexpectedly failed the exams, so the wedding was postponed.
Huang Tingjian's father-in-law and uncle were both good friends of Wang Anshi at this time.
In the early stages of the reform, they supported Wang Anshi. However, once the Green Sprouts Act was introduced, the two immediately switched sides and became mortal enemies of Wang Anshi.
As for Lu You's grandfather, Lu Dian, he was always Sun Jue's student, and even followed him from the countryside to the capital.
Today is not only a farewell banquet for Huang Tingjian, but also for Lu Dian.
Both of them were about to leave the capital. Huang Tingjian was going to stay with his uncle, while Lu Dian was going to stay with Wang Anshi, who was in mourning in Jiangning and had begun teaching.
Lu Dian later became a staunch reformist, even going so far as to fall out with Sun Jue, who was both his teacher and father figure.
"Greetings, Mr. Sun!"
The scholars, including Xu Lai, all rose to pay their respects.
Because Huang Tingjian's father-in-law, Sun Jue, not only served as an official in the Censorate but also as a teacher at the Imperial Academy, Xu Lai had also attended his classes.
The farewell banquet officially began.
Unlike the casual farewell party for Xu Lai held by the teachers and students of Guangzhou State School in the canteen, this time a proper ancestral rite was actually performed.
They would set up an altar and offer simple sacrifices to the road god, praying for a safe journey for travelers.
As the elder of the travelers, Sun Jue led everyone in offering wine and burning incense in the direction of leaving the capital, and also invited the band from Daxiangguo Temple to accompany them.
Next, we should present a willow branch as a gift, but since it's the dead of winter, we'll skip that part.
Then Sun Jue gave a speech and offered a toast, which Huang Tingjian and Lu Dian returned. The others then went to offer toasts and blessings in turn.
When it was Xu Lai's turn to offer a toast, Sun Jue introduced him, saying, "This new friend is Xu Lai, courtesy name Xingzhi. He is a distinguished student of Minister Yu of the Ministry of Works and is now studying at the Imperial Academy. Let us also offer a toast to our new friend!"
Everyone raised their glasses in a toast.
At this time, the six ministers, although they were officials in charge of administrative duties, did not have any actual responsibilities and were only used as a stepping stone for officials to transfer to higher positions.
The rank of Minister of Works was equivalent to that of Grand Master of the Palace after the Yuanfeng reforms.
The six ministries of the Northern Song Dynasty were ranked as follows: Personnel, War, Revenue, Justice, Rites, and Works.
Yu Jing's title of Minister of Works was only awarded after Emperor Renzong's death. Moreover, it was a rather high-ranking position, as Ouyang Xiu, who was the prime minister at the time, was only the Vice Minister of Revenue—but Ouyang Xiu's official rank was even higher.
After the toasts and blessings were finished, the seating arrangement began.
Regardless of official rank or social status, they were ranked only by age.
Xu Lai, who was seventeen years old (by Chinese reckoning), was seated very far back in the table. Next to him were Ouyang Bei and Lu Zhiyuan, and further back was Ouyang Bian.
Sun Jue began to explain the rules, which were roughly that one could not force others to drink, and the wine pots were passed around according to seating order.
Xu Lai ate his pastries with great boredom. There was no wine in front of him, and the wine pot hadn't been passed around yet. He had only met two famous people today: Huang Tingjian and Lu Dian. He had never heard of the others.
Just then, Sun Jue's servant brought over paper and pen: "Please write a rhyming poem, young master."
Xu Lai didn't deliberately make things difficult for anyone, and casually wrote the character "冬" (winter).
Xiao Shi folded the paper and put it into the wooden box.
After everyone had finished writing, Xiao Shi carried the box over and asked Huang Tingjian and Lu Dian to each draw a character.
Huang Tingjian drew the character "餚" and couldn't help but ask, "I wonder who wrote this?"
When he showed the words, the whole room burst into laughter.
This word is not easy to use in poetry, especially since this poem must be appropriate for the occasion.
Lu Zhiyuan, always eager for drama, shouted, "Brother Lu Zhi, why don't you just punish them with a drink!"
Huang Tingjian pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote—
"A Farewell Banquet at Daxiangguo Temple in Winter, Rhyming with the Character '餚'"
The ancient temple bell tolls coldly from the treetops, a gourd overflows with wine as guests depart from the Zen gate. Let us not dwell on tomorrow's sorrows, but instead feast on the frosty branches.
When the poem was taken to Sun Jue, he nodded and smiled, saying, "This poem can be the original; please, gentlemen, compose a matching verse according to the rhyme."
Following the rhyme scheme is the simplest; it simply requires rhyming with Huang Tingjian's poem.
The advanced version is called "using rhyme," which requires using the rhyming words from Huang Tingjian's poem, but allows for scrambling the order of the rhyming words.
The ultimate version is called "following the rhyme," which requires not only using the rhyming words from the original poem but also maintaining the correct order.
The wine jug was passed around, and whoever received the jug had to compose a poem in response.
If you can't make it, punish yourself with a cup of wine.
Once it's done, clink glasses with Huang Tingjian. It doesn't matter how much or how little you drink; just a small sip is fine.
Sun Jue's assistant was responsible for recording everyone's poems.
The wine jug hadn't been passed around yet, but everyone had already started brainstorming ideas, and some were even discussing them with the people at the next table.
Lu Zhiyuan leaned in with a sly grin: "I wrote the character for 'that dish'."
Xu Lai laughed and said, "If others knew, they would all want to beat you to death."
That guy Lu Zhiyuan tricked everyone; I bet more than just one or two people will be forced to drink as punishment.
Those who were seated at the front of the table, being "elderly," were soon forced to drink as punishment because they didn't have enough time to come up with a plan.
Whenever someone was forced to drink a penalty shot, Lu Zhiyuan would lower his head and chuckle to himself.
The wine pot was gradually passed to Xu Lai, who, along with Ouyang Fei, Ouyang Bian, Lu Zhiyuan, and Xu Anshi, were prepared. Because they were seated towards the back, they had enough time to think and easily passed the test, each clinking a cup with Huang Tingjian.
Xu Lai took a small sip: "I wish you a safe journey."
"Thank you for your kind words," Huang Tingjian replied.
Next, Lu Dian demonstrated the rhyming words and composed a poem as the original, which the others then composed in response.
After two rounds, we'll move on to more advanced games.
Everyone started composing poems together.
That is, the person before you writes two lines, and the person after you must add two more lines, and these four lines must form a poem. This continues until the next person writes two lines, and each pair must form a poem. Whoever cannot complete the poem must drink a penalty shot.
Actually, we drank even after connecting.
Xu Lai had been eating and was already very thirsty. The alcohol content of this drink wasn't high, and he gulped down half a cup while reciting a poem.
Fueled by the alcohol, everyone gradually let loose completely.
If it weren't for the fact that it's the dead of winter, I bet some people would already be stripping down to their chests, bragging and laughing wildly.
Sun Jue, as the host and judge, has been selecting the best poems for today.
At the end of each round, he would select two or three outstanding works and ask the authors to write their poems on a screen. These poems would then be preserved by the Daxiangguo Temple and displayed to future guests at any time.
All of today's works will be compiled into an elegant collection and presented to Huang Tingjian and Lu Dian.
Gradually, people stopped composing poems and began to freely leave their seats to offer toasts.
Some played the zither, others the flute, to bid farewell to the two friends.
Some people brought their own famous paintings to share with everyone, making the atmosphere particularly lively.
Xu Lai, who was originally quite bored, also joined in to look at the paintings and listen to the experts' comments on what made them so amazing and what techniques were used in certain parts.
Ouyang Bian ran up to Xu Lai and said, "Brother Xingzhi, your poems today are all mediocre."
"Haha, you're just telling the truth," Xu Lai couldn't help but laugh.
Ouyang Bian pointed to the wall and said, "If it's an excellent poem, it can be inscribed on the wall. There are literary gatherings here every month, and whenever a new poem is displayed on the wall, everyone will appreciate it."
Xu Lai was somewhat tempted.
Ouyang Bian continued to urge, "Brother Xingzhi, your poetic talent is outstanding. If you were to produce a masterpiece and have it inscribed on the wall, you would surely become famous throughout the capital."
Xu Lai didn't reply; he wanted to fill his stomach first.
The banquet was drawing to a close, and the poems were finally compiled. Everyone went to offer their parting words.
This means writing at the back of the poetry collection; you can write in plain language or in classical Chinese poetry.
When it was Xu Lai's turn, he wrote: "My two elder brothers, Lu Zhi and Nong Shi, are about to travel south. Friends have composed poems to bid them farewell—I am but a humble man, fortunate to sit at the end of the table, and have managed to compose a few simple verses to follow in their footsteps—now that we are parting again, the mountains and rivers are far apart, but the direction of our aspirations will not be changed by poverty or success. I wish my two brothers good health, to ride the wind and waves, and to soon reach important positions—"
"I've composed a poem before parting, to encourage you all —"
Seeing that Xu Lai was going to write another poem, those who had already left comments and those who were about to leave comments all gathered around, waiting to appreciate it.
Ouyang Bian greatly admired Xu Lai's poetry and had long hoped for his rise to fame, which is why he made those encouraging remarks. At this moment, for every line Xu Lai wrote, Ouyang Bian would recite it aloud.
"The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu are recited by countless people."
This sentence, when written, didn't seem like anything special to most people; it was just a plain, everyday statement.
"It no longer feels fresh."
The second line was written, and some people were already laughing because it looked like a limerick.
"Talented people emerge in every generation."
The third sentence was so-so, and some people started to turn and leave.
"Each has reigned supreme for hundreds of years."
As soon as this sentence was written, someone cheered.
The scholars who had already walked a few steps away stopped in their tracks when they heard Ouyang Bian reciting.
Lu Dian looked at the poem, then looked up at Xu Lai, and finally showed a look of astonishment.
Xu Lai thought to himself: What are you looking at? I'll definitely be copying your grandson's poems from now on. We've traveled through time, do you think I'd let your grandson suffer for the rest of his life, writing poems all day to express his grief and indignation? Your grandson probably won't be able to write those poems anymore.
Huang Tingjian stared at the poem and savored it repeatedly. This poem was so simple that it resembled a doggerel, but the more he read it, the more flavorful it became.
Moreover, it was written as a farewell gift, and "talented people" refers to everyone present today, which made everyone even more excited.
Xu Anshi laughed and shouted, "Gentlemen, if you all work hard, we will surely lead the way for centuries to come!"
Let's encourage each other!
Everyone echoed this sentiment.
Sun Jue, who had been sitting, stood up and said, "Please inscribe a poem on the wall."
Hearing that someone wanted to inscribe a poem on the wall, several monks from Daxiangguo Temple also came.
In fact, anyone who comes here to drink and eat, even the most insignificant cat or dog, can write poems on the walls. But if they don't write well, they'll be ridiculed by later patrons, and it's a public humiliation, one after another.
After being ridiculed countless times, if there wasn't enough space on the wall, the monks would even paint it white, leaving room for truly good poems to be inscribed.
"Please, sir, wield your brush."
After reading the poem, an old monk presented Xu Lai with a writing brush and led him to the most conspicuous wall.
If he writes the poem there, Xu Lai will become famous throughout the capital within a month.
(Note: Some readers have raised questions about Li Qingzhao's birth mother.)
(Li Qingzhao was born in 1084. Wang Gui's eldest daughter died before 1085, the exact year of which is unknown. However, 1085 is recorded as an early death. Wang Gongchen's eldest granddaughter remarried before 1093, the exact year of which is also unknown. Interpretations are open; it's impossible to determine who is right and who is wrong.)
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