Chapter Fifty: The First Lesson

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Su Lu didn’t know what others thought, but as he listened, he felt that the Principal’s words made a great deal of sense. There was no such thing as suddenly becoming enlightened in the examination halls; all progress was the result of accumulated effort and steadfast diligence. So if it was proven that someone truly wasn’t suited for it, it would be best to let go early and find a job instead.

Just as the Principal said at the end, if you don’t want to be eliminated, strive to excel, and treat every exam as a matter of life and death!

After the Principal finished his admonitions, the instructors responsible for daily teaching in the three dormitories, along with the teachers specializing in various subjects, introduced themselves to the students.

Then the three dormitory instructors led their students back to their respective halls.

The instructor for the Self-reflection Dormitory was the stern invigilator from Su Lu’s entrance exam. He wore a robe faded from many washings, his beard and hair peppered with gray, and his name was Zhang Yanqiu.

After a brief self-introduction, Mr. Zhang handed each student a sheet of white bamboo paper, about a foot long, and asked them to transcribe the school regulations from memory.

Su Lu quickly opened his stationery box, took out his inkstone and White Cloud brush, and arranged them neatly. There wasn’t time to grind ink, so he pulled out a ready-made ink box from the bottom drawer of his book chest, dipped his brush, and began writing.

A few days ago, he had discovered that, despite being busy over the New Year and not writing for more than ten days, his calligraphy had improved when he picked up the brush again, as if he had suddenly gained insight. Previously, he was always obsessed with the length of a stroke or the placement of a radical, neglecting the overall energy and structural balance. For example, the horizontal and vertical lines of regular script weren’t strictly straight, but relied on subtle slants for visual harmony—a nuance he struggled with during his focused practice.

Yet after stepping away for a while and returning, he found himself no longer trapped in seeing only the trees and not the forest, and suddenly understood how to adjust his writing from an overall perspective, finally capturing a bit of the essence of calligraphy.

After finishing the transcription of the school regulations, Su Lu blew the ink dry and examined his work with satisfaction.

Suddenly, he realized Mr. Zhang was standing behind him. He hurried to his feet and softly greeted, “Sir.”

Mr. Zhang pressed his shoulder, signaling him to remain seated, and said in a low voice, “Your transcription is accurate, but your calligraphy still needs much practice.”

“Yes, sir.” Su Lu’s face flushed with embarrassment; he was too ashamed to mention that this was his most satisfying attempt yet.

Mr. Zhang then walked around the classroom with his hands behind his back, checking the students’ transcriptions. Once he was certain there were no issues, he instructed them to paste the regulations above their beds, to reflect daily, and to never break the rules.

“The academy’s rules are stricter than heaven’s. If you violate them, the lightest punishment is flogging, the severest is expulsion, and no one can save you,” he admonished earnestly.

“Yes, we will remember your teachings, sir!” the students replied in unison.

Next, Mr. Zhang explained the academic arrangements for the year.

“This year, you will all study the Four Books and the Eight-legged Essay. Barring unexpected events, there will be four lectures on the classics every morning and essay instruction in the afternoons. Homework will be assigned and must be taken seriously.” Zhang Yanqiu sighed and continued:

“The Principal said it, and it’s written in the regulations. In two months, on the fifteenth of March, we’ll have the first monthly exam. If you can’t score well, the rest will be very difficult. Not a single day can be taken lightly—you must devote yourself to diligent study from this moment.”

“Yes, we will remember, sir!” the students replied together.

“Now, we need to select a dorm leader from among you.” Zhang Yanqiu said, “Normally you would elect one yourselves, but since you’re all new and unfamiliar with each other, I’ll appoint someone for now—”

He looked at a youth with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a square face, whose expression radiated integrity. “Ma Qianli, would you be willing to temporarily serve as dorm leader?”

The young man stood and replied solemnly, “Sir, I am deeply honored and would gladly do my utmost for the dormitory.”

“Very well,” Mr. Zhang said, “Take two classmates with you and come with me to collect the books.”

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“Yes, sir.” The youth glanced around the classroom and selected two sturdy-looking classmates to follow the teacher.

Su Lu watched Ma Qianli, feeling he looked familiar, as if he’d seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t recall exactly.

“He’s the eldest grandson of Ma the Hundred-household Commander,” whispered Li Qiyu, who sat in front of him. “It’s best if we don’t oppose him in the future.”

“Really?!” Su Lu suddenly remembered—the dorm leader was practically a small Ma Commander himself. “How do you know?”

“Because my father is the Hundred-household Commander of Tucheng,” Li Qiyu replied. “We just visited his family for New Year. The kid’s decent, even treated me to kumquat honey.”

“So you’re all official families—my apologies!” Su Dan, seated further ahead, turned and smiled.

“I’m hardly an official’s child, but he certainly counts, at least here in Taiping Town.” Li Qiyu shrugged.

Soon, Ma Qianli and his two classmates returned, carrying stacks of book boxes, and distributed them with Mr. Zhang.

Su Lu examined his set—a collection of the Huayang edition of the Four Books with Collected Commentaries from Shu Province. Clearly, his elder brother’s set came from the same source.

“These books are issued by the academy. For the next three years, this is your only set. If you damage or lose them, you’ll have to buy replacements from the library yourself,” Mr. Zhang cautioned, then added,

“Open the ‘Great Learning with Commentaries’. There’s still time this morning for me to explain two passages.”

Su Lu hurriedly took out the brand-new volume, flipping to the first page.

“The way of Great Learning lies in manifesting bright virtue...” Zhang Yanqiu lectured swiftly, covering several days’ worth of elementary lessons in just one hour.

Naturally, the students had already memorized the entire Four Books and the commentaries. The teacher’s detailed explanation was necessary, first because the standards of elementary tutors varied widely, so it was important to unify instruction according to the academy’s methods. Second, the focus was different: elementary education required students to understand each word and passage, emphasizing the basics.

The academy took a broader view. Mr. Zhang analyzed how the sages spoke, helping students grasp the tone of Confucius’s admonitions and Mencius’s debates, so that in their essays, they might write as if they were Confucius or Mencius, avoiding a personal perspective.

For the Eight-legged Essay, from the opening section, the ‘tone of entry’ was required—speaking in the voice of the sages like Confucius, Mencius, Zhu Xi, and others, known as ‘speaking for the sages’.

Take the first line of ‘Great Learning’ as an example—Mr. Zhang explained, “This line sets forth the three guiding principles of our Confucian school. It not only outlines the whole text but also leads the Four Books as a whole.”

“Therefore, the core of ‘tone of entry’ here is to focus on ‘principle, education, and gravity’, to reveal the essence of ‘the way of Great Learning’ from the height of sage discourse, displaying Confucian sage teachings rather than personal opinion. Let others understand ‘why to learn’ and ‘what to learn’—thus, the sage tone of ‘Great Learning’ is matched, achieving ‘tone is principle, principle is tone’.”

After just one brief morning lesson, Su Lu understood why his older brother said you couldn’t pass the provincial exam without studying at Taiping Academy...

The intricacies and depths were too many; without a wise teacher’s guidance, you’d never comprehend them in a lifetime, let alone master them.

~~

With little time left in the morning, Mr. Zhang covered two thousand characters before the academy’s dismissal bell sounded.

The academy’s rules were paramount, even for teachers, so Mr. Zhang didn’t linger—he closed his book and announced in a deep voice, “Class dismissed.”

The students, led by Dorm Leader Ma, rose to respectfully send off the teacher: “Thank you for your instruction, sir!”

“Go to lunch. Walk with composure—no running or leaping. Do not fight over food, and keep silent during meals,” instructed Mr. Zhang, remaining behind. “Lunch break is six quarters. No napping; when you hear the bell, return to the classroom and take your seat.”

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“Yes, sir.” The students could only suppress their urge to rush for food, walking step by step toward the dining hall.

The boys, half-grown and ravenous after a morning’s hunger, had to move as if half-paralyzed, which was a torment.

But Su Lu and Su Dan didn’t have to endure it, as the dining hall didn’t serve them...

However, the academy forbade eating inside the dormitory, so the two carried their water bottles and food bags, looking for a place on campus to eat.

Suddenly, Mr. Zhang appeared, his face dark, ruler in hand.

“Sir,” the two felt nervous and quickly saluted.

Mr. Zhang addressed Su Dan calmly, “You go eat your meal first.”

“Yes...” Su Dan wasn’t sure what Su Lu had done wrong, nor dared to ask, so he left.

“May I ask, sir, what guidance you have?” Su Lu was equally baffled, not knowing what had provoked the teacher to attend to him even before lunch.

“I see you don’t eat at the dining hall. Your family must not be well-off?” Mr. Zhang questioned coldly.

“Yes, sir. With both my brother and me in school, the burden at home is heavy,” Su Lu nodded, answering honestly.

“Yet you don’t pay proper attention in class!” Mr. Zhang’s restrained anger burst forth; he slapped the ruler onto Su Lu’s desk with a loud crack.

“It’s the first day of term, and you dare behave like this? Who knows what you’ll do in the future! Already the lowest-ranked, and still so careless. You might as well drop out and ease your family’s burden!”

“I haven’t been inattentive, sir.” Su Lu was bewildered and hurried to explain, “My foundation is weak, so I don’t dare miss a single word of your lecture.”

“Still arguing? I saw it with my own eyes!” Mr. Zhang picked up Su Lu’s homemade notebook, opened it, and pressed it in front of him, demanding, “What are these scribbles? Would you draw these if you were paying attention?”

The notebook was full of messy handwriting, arrows, boxes, branching lines, and many symbols no one else recognized.

No wonder Mr. Zhang was angry—anyone would think Su Lu wasn’t paying attention.

“Sir, you misunderstand,” Su Lu explained quickly. “These are my class notes.”

“Still arguing—what kind of notes are these?” Zhang Yanqiu clearly didn’t believe him.

“I wouldn’t dare utter a single false word,” Su Lu smiled wryly. “As I said, my foundation is weak. Your lectures are hard for me; many parts I only half understand, so I jot things down roughly, then review them carefully after class.”

“Nonsense. How could you possibly record what I taught?” Zhang Yanqiu knew his teaching pace was fast, but he had to cater to most students.

“Yes, so I have to write faster, which makes my handwriting sloppy. And I must simplify my notes, using the fewest characters possible,” Su Lu explained earnestly. “Class notes are for my own reference; at noon I’ll reorganize them, then show them to you for review.”

“No tricks,” Mr. Zhang snorted, “If it’s as you say, then explain your so-called notes to me now. If you can, and prove you weren’t distracted, I’ll apologize. If you can’t...”

He tapped the ruler on the desk, “Prepare for punishment!”