Chapter 7: Seeking a Teacher
Li Shikuan exited the Ancestral Hall and, passing by his nephew Li Wenhua’s house, stood at the Courtyard Gate and called out, “Where is Ye Ni’er?”
“Coming!” Li Wenhua’s eldest daughter, Cui Ye, responded and came out.
“Go and tell your father to come find me, right now.” Li Shikuan instructed, then turned to walk back.
Not long after Li Shikuan returned home, Li Wenhua, with his trouser legs rolled up high and wearing a pair of mud-covered wooden clogs, entered the Courtyard. He first went to the well, scooped a few buckets of water to rinse himself off, and then sat beside Li Shikuan, taking a Palm-leaf Fan to fan himself.
“It’s getting hot so early. What’s the matter? I’m very busy in the fields.”
“Here are three Silver Coins. Go back, change your Clothes, and make a trip to Gao Village Market. Use two Silver Coins to buy a Four-color Gift for Mr. Gao, and tell him on my behalf: ‘Teacher, you’ve worked hard.’
“One more Silver Coin, buy Eggs with it, and also deliver them to Mr. Gao’s house. Tell Mr. Gao that two a day, and please trouble Mrs. Gao to help boil them for Xuedong to build up his strength. Also, tell him that when the Eggs are finished, we will send more.” Li Shikuan lowered his voice and instructed carefully.
“I have plenty of Eggs at home, why buy them with Silver Coins, it’s so expensive!” He didn’t dare to say the last part aloud, that his uncle was truly not a wasteful person.
“Do as I tell you!” Li Shikuan glared at Li Wenhua.
“I understand.” Li Wenhua shrunk his neck.
“Just like the last two times, avoid people!” Li Shikuan added.
“Don’t worry, Uncle. Shall I go now?”
“Go, go.”
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Although Mr. Gao had only taken the Prefectural Examination a few times, he had studied at the Prefectural School for several years when he was young. He had a general understanding of the process and key points of taking examinations.
In the County Examination, Investigation of Things was barely tested. In the Prefectural Examination, if one was not proficient in Investigation of Things, they would be at a disadvantage. By the Courtyard Examination, if one was completely ignorant of Investigation of Things, they would certainly be disqualified.
As for the later Autumn Imperial Examination and Spring Imperial Examination, those who passed were all proficient in Investigation of Things.
After all, passing the Autumn Imperial Examination offered the opportunity to become an official. It was impossible for someone in charge of governance to not understand economics and administration.
Mr. Gao was the only Teacher at the Gao Family School. If he was not proficient in Investigation of Things, the Gao Family School naturally would not teach it. In any case, for the past twenty-odd years, their Gao Family School had not even entered the Inner Circle of the County Examination, so the subject of Investigation of Things was not needed at all!
Li Xuedong ranked third in the County Examination. On the way home from the County Town, Mr. Gao was already considering what to do about Li Xuedong’s Investigation of Things.
However, at that time, Mr. Gao had only thought about it briefly. He felt that with Li Xuedong’s Talent, his third place in the County Examination was due to luck, not knowledge. The possibility of passing the subsequent Prefectural Examination was extremely slim, so the matter of Investigation of Things could be planned slowly and considered at length.
When Li Xuedong ranked eighteenth in the Prefectural Examination, Mr. Gao’s surprise had not yet subsided when he broke out in a sweat of anxiety.
Xuedong was truly blessed with good fortune. He absolutely had to take the Courtyard Examination in the autumn. Perhaps he could truly pass through sheer luck. However, his Xuedong was still completely ignorant of Investigation of Things!
He, as his Teacher, had failed in his duty!
Mr. Gao was so anxious that he couldn’t sleep all night.
The next morning, Mr. Gao took Li Xuedong and headed straight for Kunshan County Town.
Having not slept all night, after considering and weighing the matter back and forth seven or eight times, Mr. Gao had roughly planned out Li Xuedong’s path to learning Investigation of Things.
Firstly, Xuedong needed a Good Teacher who was skilled in Investigation of Things.
Xuedong’s strength was his extreme diligence, but his Talent was truly average. For the subject of Investigation of Things, self-study would yield twice the effort for half the result, and there was no time.
A Good Teacher skilled in Investigation of Things, who was willing to teach Xuedong, the only one he could think of was the County School Instructor.
Although Kunshan was a small county, this Instructor must at least be a Recommended Scholar, capable of passing the Autumn Imperial Examination, so his knowledge of Investigation of Things could not be lacking.
Mr. Gao and the County Instructor were not acquainted. He decided to take Xuedong to plead with County Magistrate Huang. He clearly saw County Magistrate Huang’s affection and admiration for Xuedong.
Mr. Gao, leading Li Xuedong, went straight to the Kunshan County Office. Just as they reached the County Office entrance, they saw Mr. Yao, a Staff Member of County Magistrate Huang, coming towards them.
Mr. Yao did not recognize Mr. Gao, but he recognized Li Xuedong. Seeing that they were clearly heading for the County Office, he stepped forward and asked with a smile, “Are you Li Xuedong? Is something the matter?”
“Yes, I am here with Teacher to see County Magistrate Huang.” Li Xuedong quickly replied with a Cupped Hand Salute.
“What happened?” Mr. Yao looked at Mr. Gao with concern.
“Nothing much, it’s about this child’s Courtyard Examination.” Mr. Gao replied with a smile.
“That’s good if it’s nothing. The County Magistrate is inside, follow me.” Mr. Yao said with a smile.
Mr. Gao pushed Li Xuedong, and they followed Mr. Yao into the Signing Room.
“Esteemed Master, I met this child at the entrance, and he said he came specifically to see you.” Mr. Yao turned to look at Mr. Gao. “Is it about this child’s Courtyard Examination?”
“Yes, Esteemed Master, I hope you are well.” Mr. Gao bowed respectfully with a long bow.
Li Xuedong followed Mr. Gao’s example and bowed with a long bow.
“No need to be so formal, sit down. What difficulties are you facing?” County Magistrate Huang asked Mr. Gao with a smile.
“Yes.” Mr. Gao glanced at the two tall piles of Archives on the Table and said directly, “I am completely ignorant of the subject of Investigation of Things, and Xuedong has never studied it. In the Courtyard Examination in July, I fear he will be at a great disadvantage. Therefore, I have brought this child to ask the County Magistrate if Xuedong can attend a few days of classes at the County School? I heard that Instructor Wu at the County School is skilled in Investigation of Things.”
County Magistrate Huang let out a soft “Oh.” “No wonder in the County Examination, he didn’t write a single word on the Investigation of Things paper. Hmm, in the Courtyard Examination, if one doesn’t write a single word on the Investigation of Things paper, it is indeed extremely difficult to pass.”
County Magistrate Huang looked at Mr. Yao. “How is Instructor Wu’s Investigation of Things? Have you spoken with him?”
“He loves Poetry, and dislikes Investigation of Things. However, Mr. Shao from the Hong Family is skilled in Investigation of Things.” Mr. Yao said with a smile.
“Old Master Hong greatly enjoys sponsoring talented poor scholars. Have Xuedong write a letter to Hong Zhenye, the young man from the Hong Family who ranked first in the examination, and ask for his help. It will surely be effective.” County Magistrate Huang said to Mr. Gao with a smile.
“I understand. Thank you, County Magistrate, thank you, Teacher, for your guidance.” Mr. Gao stood up and bowed with a long bow to express his gratitude.
Li Xuedong followed closely behind Mr. Gao and bowed with a long bow to express his gratitude.
After bidding farewell to County Magistrate Huang, Mr. Gao directly bought paper and brush, found a teahouse, and instructed Li Xuedong to write a letter to Hong Zhenye, which was then handed over to the courier station in the County Town.
The next morning, the Second Young Master Hong, Hong Zhenye, arrived outside the Gao Family School with an Attendant, a Servant, and three fine horses.
The Servant was not tall but had a loud voice. Riding on his horse, he shouted, “Is this the Gao Family School? Is Master Li here?”
“What are you shouting for! They’re in class inside!” Old Huang Ma, the old Maidservant of the Gao Family, rushed out and waved a fire poker at the Servant.
The Servant was startled and quickly pulled his horse back to the side.
The middle-aged Attendant hurriedly dismounted, cupped his hands, and stepped forward, smiling apologetically. “Please forgive us, we are from the County Town. This is our Second Young Master, surnamed Hong. He is looking for Master Li, Li Xuedong. Please inform him.”
“Inform who? Wait until class is over!” Old Huang Ma held her fire poker, her brows furrowed angrily.
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The County Instructor is roughly equivalent to the County Director of Education.
Regarding the Book of Changes: When speaking of the Book of Changes, people might first think of fortune-telling. Fortune-telling is the lowest-level application of the Book of Changes. The greatest use of the Book of Changes is to observe heaven and earth, which can be broadly understood as a combination of meteorology, geography, and astronomy.
The sixty-four hexagrams of the Book of Changes correspond to solar terms, constellations （, astronomy ）, geography, etc. Mastering the Book of Changes allows one to determine directions and infer climatic changes from subtle shifts in their surroundings. Generals who led armies in the past were all masters of the Book of Changes.
Scholars of the past did not only know how to write essays. Among the Four Books and Five Classics, which were foundational subjects, the Book of Changes was the foremost of the Five Classics. The Book of Changes can actually be compared to the current comprehensive science subjects, and I believe it is much more difficult than comprehensive science.
In addition, there is Propriety. This Propriety encompasses a great deal, including Propriety and legal regulations, such as elder care, which is also present in modern law; it includes Etiquette, from small matters like how to arrange a funeral to the intricacies of interactions between nations; furthermore, there is Propriety and Music, which is music, and one must be quite proficient in it, as it is all within the scope of examination questions.
For Recommended Scholars and Jinshi Scholars of the past, writing essays was merely a skill; true merit came from their knowledge.
Modern scientists also write excellent essays. The author of the lesson we studied, “Zhaozhou Bridge,” was a famous architect and bridge engineer.
