Chapter 106: A Manifesto Against the Rat

Su Lu listened, dumbfounded. "If I fail the exam after this, I’ll be doing a disservice to the name my father gave me."

"Hahaha, of course!" Su Youcai laughed heartily. "But my son will surely pass exam after exam and sweep away all the bad luck that has plagued your father!"

Su Lu noticed that as their prospects grew brighter, Comrade Youcai became increasingly fond of laughing, and his laughter grew louder and more frequent.

"Alright, let's begin our lesson." After his laughter subsided, Su Youcai cleared his throat and said, "From the first lesson on phonology to now, I have been teaching you for half a year."

"Time flies," Su Lu couldn't help but remark. From starting in February until now, it had indeed been exactly half a year. Over these six months, his father had taught him to master rhyme books, understand level and oblique tones, practice antithesis, learn the refinement of words, and compose verses according to tonal patterns... He had truly learned a great deal.

Being able to overcome his weakness in parallel prose and rank first this time was, in no small part, due to his father's efforts.

"The rules of prosody and phonology have all been taught to you, but if you want to write decent poetry, you must 'apply dead rules to living contexts' and put in a lifetime of effort." Having said this, his father looked at Su Lu with great anticipation. "Well? Has your impression of poetry improved?"

"It has." Su Lu nodded in admission. "It is indeed quite fun."

"Then shall I teach you regulated verse and quatrains, both ancient and modern styles, so we can study them in depth?" Su Youcai looked at him with longing.

Su Lu still shook his head, saying, "It’s not the time yet. Let me ask for your guidance once I have made further progress in my studies."

"You’re just putting me off." Su Youcai pouted, then changed his approach. "Actually, it’s not that I insist you learn to write poetry, but writing poems and filling lyrics in your spare time can not only cultivate your character and relieve inner tension, but also engrave the rules of rhythm into your very bones. In the future, when you write prose, your thoughts will flow naturally, and the rhythm of poetry will form of its own accord."

"In that case, it is worth learning." With this explanation, Su Lu agreed.

"Hehe." Su Youcai finally got his way and said happily, "Then next, I will teach you advanced rhythm."

"There are beginner and intermediate levels for this?" Su Lu asked, surprised.

"Of course. Learning has no bounds. Keep studying, kid!" Su Youcai said triumphantly, though he soon became troubled. "Since you’ll be living at the academy from now on, I can only teach you once every ten days. It will take forever to finish."

"That’s simple," Su Lu replied with a smile. "The academy opens its gates for two hours after class each day so students and teachers can return home. That time is enough for me to go to Godmother’s shop and study with you."

"That’s a solution." Su Youcai was quite moved, though he soon looked troubled again. "But if I’m delayed like that, what time will I get home? It’s not good to make the whole family wait for me."

Besides, he was a little afraid of walking home alone at night...

"If it’s too late, just stay over." Su Lu suggested with complete sincerity. "Godmother always wants me to stay for company; she’s probably scared at night too. Father staying over would be just the thing to give them some courage."

"Hiss..." Su Youcai was even more tempted. His old face reddened as he said, "Let’s discuss it later, later. Let’s start the lesson first."

***

Su Youcai was not deceiving Su Lu; what he taught today was indeed advanced material.

"As you can see, the metrical rules of poetry are not actually complex. So why is the experience poetry provides so rich and varied?" When talking about his beloved poetry, he became radiant, his whole being seemingly aglow.

"Beyond the choice of words and sentence structure, many factors work together to create these diverse experiences. Take level and oblique tones, for example—the soothing quality of level tones and the vigorous intensity of oblique tones can be used to create different atmospheres."

"Let’s start with level tones. Level tones can create a sense of vastness." Su Youcai gave an example: "Take Wang Wei's lines, 'The lone smoke in the vast desert rises straight, the long river reflects the round setting sun.' In 'lone smoke rises straight,' the level tones 'flat-flat-oblique' perfectly match the image of the lone smoke rising in the vast desert, while the 'long river reflects the round sun' with its 'oblique-oblique-flat' cadence perfectly complements the sun sinking, instantly sketching the quiet and majestic grandeur of the desert."

Su Lu nodded, stunned. He had always felt that these two lines by Wang Wei had a visual quality that transcended the text. Today, he finally understood why; there were indeed forces beyond the words themselves at play.

"Furthermore, level tones can create a sense of calm. Let’s use another of Wang Wei's poems: 'After the fresh rain in the empty mountain, the weather feels like late autumn.' The phonology resonates perfectly with the fresh, quiet atmosphere of an autumn mountain."

"The first three characters of the first line are all level tones, which play a vital role. 'Empty' is like the vastness of the valley, 'mountain' is like the rolling ranges, and 'fresh' is like the crisp air after the rain. The long, drawn-out pronunciation of the three consecutive level tones presents the reader with a panoramic view of the quiet, expansive mountains..."

Su Lu listened in amazement. His first reaction was that Youcai was just spouting nonsense, but upon closer reflection, it made sense. For instance, the pronunciation of "empty" involves nasal resonance, which truly can give one the feeling of being in a valley; and the retroflex sound of "mountain" indeed gives a sense of continuity...

Su Youcai continued, "And the last two characters of the second line, 'come' and 'autumn,' are both level tones. The former’s lingering tail sound is like the gradual approach of autumn, while the latter, with lips gently closing, is like an autumn breeze brushing past. The final trailing tone gives the poem a long, lingering resonance." He looked at Su Lu triumphantly. "Well? Isn't this an eye-opener?"

"Indeed." Su Lu nodded. He hadn't expected that the Tang poetry he had memorized since childhood held so many secrets. No wonder it seemed simple yet remained an insurmountable peak.

"Try changing these four lines into oblique tones and see what happens," Su Youcai instructed. "First, change 'The lone smoke in the vast desert rises straight, the long river reflects the round setting sun.'"

"Yes." Su Lu attempted to rewrite the lines. Sure enough, whether it was:

'The vast desert's cold smoke is desolate, the long river's setting sun is chilling.'

Or:

'The desert is wide, the lone smoke is distant, the long river's setting sun is near.'

Once there were more oblique tones, the mood shifted to one of bleakness and desolation.

"See? Now change 'After the fresh rain in the empty mountain, the weather feels like late autumn.'"

Su Lu nodded, pondered for a moment, and changed it to:

'The precipitous peaks after the sudden rain, the cold woods are thick with twilight.'

The original calm tone was instantly destroyed, replaced by the sharp, desolate chill of an autumn mountain forest.

"Do you understand now that the purpose of level and oblique tones isn't just to make it sound catchy? The same applies to prose. If you want to argue passionately, naturally you should use more oblique tones. If you want to articulate balanced and impartial principles, you should use more level tones." Su Youcai smiled. "Why don't you try? Write a short essay denouncing mice using only oblique tones."

With Su Lu's current level, a playful piece required little effort. After a moment's thought, a "Denunciation of Mice" was written:

"Mice! Spawn of shadows, demons of the night! Grinding teeth and sharpening claws, you disturb the quiet hours; stealing fat and gnawing tallow, you spoil the year's harvest. Ripping paper and piercing chests, nothing is spared; biting cotton and shredding silk, you infiltrate every crevice. I hate your stubborn insolence, I rage at your fierce cunning! You steal grain in the dark, you raid granaries in the void. I raise a club to strike your burrows, I light a torch to burn your nests! I vow to sever your roots, to leave no trace, to sweep away the demonic vapor and cleanse the hearth!"

Su Youcai stood by, initially holding a playful attitude toward teasing his son. But as he read the piece, he was struck dumb halfway through! He never expected that his son could write such a sharp, forceful, and spirited essay without even a draft!

When he reached the end, his jaw hit the floor. He realized that out of ninety characters, every single one was an oblique tone; not a single level tone was used.

In the *Hongwu Zheng Yun* (Official Rhymes of the Hongwu Era), characters like "of," "shadow," "clear," "proud," and "void" were all classified as oblique tones—their pronunciations differed from later eras...

By leveraging the short, forceful nature of the oblique tones, the entire piece was clanging and resonant, like a rushing tide, venting his hatred for the mice with absolute clarity!

"No, is this really your current level?" Although the night was no longer hot, Su Youcai wiped sweat from his brow.

"It’s just a makeshift, playful piece. What level can you see in that?" Su Lu showed no pride; this was much simpler than the academic essays at the academy. After half a year of rigorous training, this was truly no challenge for him.

"Did you really memorize the entire *Hongwu Zheng Yun*?" Su Youcai's voice was faint.

"I memorized it months ago," Su Lu said. "It’s very useful to have it memorized. Once you have the book in your mind, your level/oblique tones and rhymes basically never go wrong."

"..." Su Youcai closed his eyes and tilted his head back for a long time. Is this really the student he is capable of teaching?

After a while, he opened his eyes and studied his son as if he were a stranger. "In half a year, how did you make such progress?"

"Just by studying every single day," Su Lu replied. "Gathering fur to make a coat, piling earth to form a mountain."

"Maybe you should be the one teaching me instead." Su Youcai gave a bitter laugh.

"What would you like to learn, Father?" Su Lu asked.

"I was just joking." Su Youcai lacked the virtue of "not being ashamed to ask questions of his inferiors," as Zhang Yanqiu had; he still couldn't put down his pride as a father. He coughed to brush it off and ordered, "Write another short essay with the title 'A Quiet Heart Is Naturally Cool,' using only level tones..."

After his warm-up, Su Lu's state was even more intense. Before long, he had written:

'In the secluded study by the window, the light breeze has stilled. Burning incense, sitting in silence, worldly thoughts fade away. Banana leaves catch the dew, paulownia shadows cover the eaves. Bamboo sways with emerald shadows, lotus flowers pass on the song of cicadas. The heart has no external distractions, the body is naturally comfortable and calm. Books on the desk are quiet, the tea in the cup is clear. Though the sun's heat is fierce, the summer swelter cannot linger. With spirit concentrated and mind focused, coolness arises of its own.'

After finishing, he compared the two articles. Sure enough, one was like a roaring wave, and the other like a gentle breeze. The different functions of level and oblique tones were presented to him in the most extreme way, seeping into his very blood.

Su Lu sincerely bowed to Su Youcai. "Thank you for your instruction, Father. I have gained a great deal today."

"Hehe, that's good..." Su Youcai was still wiping sweat profusely. He finally realized the true reason why he could never pass the scholar's exam.

"It seems there isn't much left that I can teach you," he said with a bitter smile after a long silence. "In the future, you will have to rely more on the guidance of famous masters."

"Father gave me my initiation and taught me phonology; you are the first teacher of my life, and that can never change," Su Lu said solemnly.

"Haha, of course." Su Youcai finally adjusted his mood, wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder, and said with pride, "Your writing will certainly surpass mine, but so what? You’ll still have to call me Father, won't you?"

"I never planned to call anyone else that," Su Lu replied, speechless.

"Hahahaha!" Su Youcai laughed loudly.

"What are you howling for in the middle of the night? Are you not going to sleep?!" Naturally, this drew an angry rebuke from his sister-in-law.

PS: The *Denunciation of Mice* was assisted by DeepSeek. After I finished writing it, I had it help me identify the level-tone characters in the *Hongwu Zheng Yun*, which I replaced one by one.

There is one more chapter left, which I haven't checked yet...