Chapter Eighty-Four: A Miracle in the Making

At the Southern Hall, the monthly grading had begun once more.

"This one is rather hard."

The teachers, having received the examination papers, all came to the same conclusion.

"Twice is happenstance; there won't be a third. The rector has finally lost patience."

Everyone knew the old master could not possibly keep showing mercy forever.

"They all assumed the questions would come from the Classic of Mencius. Who would have thought they would still come from the Analects, and be this difficult besides?"

"Indeed. The passage is ostensibly a travel piece, but in truth it is a meditation on the Way. If one cannot grasp the 'Zeng Dian learning' behind these lines - 'When human desire is fully exhausted, heavenly principle flows on. It fills every place, leaving not the least lack or deficiency. Thus, in movement and stillness alike, it is so composed' - then there is no hope of opening the essay correctly."

Teacher Zhu stroked his beard and said, "This question has real merit, but for the children, it is truly no easy thing."

"Still, they ought to be given a little more difficulty. Only then will the promising seedlings stand out."

Qian Huairen promptly added some cover for the rector. "Besides, we've already let them off twice before, and their scores are high enough as it is. This time, giving them a little trouble - er, putting them on the spot - hardly matters."

"True." One had to admit Old Qian had a point. The teachers nodded and began to grade in earnest.

Teacher Niu Ziru from the Cultivating Self Hall, having learned from the last time, knew that Su Lu would likely be asked about, so he first pulled out Su Lu's paper. At a glance, his face lit up, and he cleared his throat.

"Let me begin with one to wake everyone up. The opening formula is only eight characters: 'The Way is not far from man; man can enlarge the Way!'"

"Excellent - crisp and direct, right on the mark!"

The teachers were indeed stirred at once, praising it in chorus. "Those eight characters summarize the learning of Zeng Dian with perfect clarity!"

"To strike so subtly and yet so decisively is truly masterful!"

Qian Huairen, stroking his beard, also praised it. "It seems the students have made great progress over these four months."

"Guess who wrote this?" Niu Ziru asked again.

"In the Cultivating Self Residence, there are at most three with this power of opening an essay."

From the last two grading sessions, the teachers had already formed a fairly clear understanding of the students in the lower residence.

"Since you ask it that way, it can't be Lin Zhihong or that young fellow surnamed Qiao."

The teachers smiled. "Then it can only be Su Lu."

"Haha, correct!" Niu Ziru said, looking at Su Lu's paper as though he could not bear to put it down. "Listen to the next part - 'The Way belongs to daily life, not something hard to reach by nearness or distance; when a person bears the heart to enlarge it, how could he refuse empty pretension? By the waters of the River Yi one bathes and makes the Way manifest; on the Wind and Rain Terrace the Way is shown; in singing one's return, the Way is duly transmitted!'"

"Well said - 'The Way belongs to daily life'!"

The hall erupted in praise. The teachers set aside their work and began savoring these thunderous eight characters.

"The Way is in daily life, yet in daily life it goes unnoticed. The Book of Changes says, 'The common people use it every day and know it not; the Way of the noble is rare indeed.'"

Qian Huairen praised it. "I had not expected this boy to already be dabbling in the Book of Changes."

"He has probably not studied the Book of Changes yet. This comes from the Collected Commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean: 'The Way refers to the principles by which one acts in the things of daily life; these are all the virtues of human nature, complete in the heart. Nothing is without them, no moment is not so, and therefore one cannot be parted from them for even an instant.'"

One teacher corrected him bluntly.

"That should be it."

The others agreed as well. "It is precisely from this that Zhu Xi's learning of investigating things arises."

"Hah..." Qian Huairen awkwardly scraped the sole of his shoe with his toes, and hurriedly laughed at himself. "I'm old; I've mixed up the books."

"Heh..."

The others gave perfunctory smiles. In the academy, it was always like this: no matter your rank, if your scholarship was lacking, you would be looked down upon.

"So high, too high! Just for these four characters, this round must at least secure half a point!"

Teacher Zhu set the tone, and no one objected.

Under everyone's urging, Niu Ziru read on to the opening exposition:

"Within heaven and earth, the Way leaves no trace yet is nowhere absent; the commonest man and woman alike may embody the Way and act upon it. In the order of donning the spring garments, the River Yi flows broad and clear, benefiting all beings without contention; beside the altar of the Wind and Rain Terrace, the gentle breeze stirs softly, nurturing the myriad forms without display. This is what is meant by the Way not being far from man, but being found in what the eyes and ears encounter and what body and mind feel!"

The atmosphere broke into applause once more.

"Excellent, excellent! Student Su has thoroughly understood what the Way is. Not only are the principles explained clearly, but every line is steeped in the breath of the Way - calm, balanced, neither hasty nor偏. One reads it and feels at once that the Way is not far from man, but lies within what the eyes and ears encounter and what body and mind feel."

"Yes. That boy, only two months ago, could barely write something half classical and half vernacular - not even worthy of being called a proper eight-legged essay."

This time the teachers were deeply convinced, praising it without restraint.

"In just two months, to be able to shape his writing as needed and produce this most apt style, one that adds luster to the underlying principles - this talent is frighteningly strong."

"There is no second like him in the academy..."

One teacher blurted it out.

"Ahem!"

Though Qian Huairen shared the sentiment, he still had to keep the ship on course. "Don't always exaggerate. At the very least, Zihe's talent should be above his."

"Heh..."

The others gave another perfunctory laugh, clearly unconvinced.

Niu Ziru said gravely, "Leaving talent aside, just this essay alone, considering only the opening section, I believe there is none to surpass it."

"This boy's opening is always strong, but since it is called an eight-legged essay, the paired prose is the key."

Qian Huairen said, "Go on."

So Niu Ziru read the eight-legged portion aloud with rhythm and cadence. When he finished, the teachers praised it: "Though not as dazzling as the opening, it is still excellent."

"Yes - the parallels are neat, the meter is rigorous, the literary breath full and continuous. He already has the bearing of a true expert."

Teacher Zhu said with a hint of regret, "If only he had more time and could polish it carefully, I think even the paired prose could be as brilliant as the opening."

"There's nothing to regret."

Qian Huairen, however, let out a breath of relief and smiled. "That boy has only studied the eight-legged essay for four months, and to write at this level is already unheard of."

"Indeed. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it."

The others agreed wholeheartedly. "He is already far beyond many students who have studied for three or four years."

"This child's progress is too fast - truly like a sudden and unstoppable charge!"

Teacher Niu sighed. "I wonder how long such terrifying progress can continue?"

"The longer the better, of course..."

The teachers were full of hope. "Give him another year, and perhaps our academy can produce another licentiate!"

"Three years of progress, and Yongning might even produce its first doctorate!" The teachers drifted into dreams.

"You're getting more and more ridiculous. Keep your feet on the ground!"

Qian Huairen barked a warning, reminding the delighted teachers. "The reason that boy is improving so dramatically is simply because his foundation was too poor, leaving room for rapid growth. But who knows how high his ceiling is? Better not praise him to death."

"Yes."

Only then did the teachers wipe away their drool and end the fantasy.

"As for how many years Su Lu can keep improving, it's hard to say."

Only Teacher Zhu said calmly, "But I think in just a few months, the whole lower residence will no longer be able to compare with him."

"Indeed..."

This time Qian Huairen had nothing to say. With a wry smile, he said, "Hurry and finish grading."

The next morning, before the early lessons began, the announcement board inside the academy's ceremonial gate once again displayed the results and rankings for the third monthly exam.

The students arrived as scheduled, though this time their expressions were much heavier. First, none of them had much confidence in this exam; second, there might be a classmate who would be eliminated this time...

They had only glanced at the top ten before all of them drew sharp breaths.

The first nine places were still familiar enough: first was Zhu Zihe, second Lin Zhihong, third Qiao Feng, followed by the old faces of Hu Qiyang, Hu Kaiyang, and so on.

But the name in tenth place had unmistakably changed to Su Lu!

"Where did Student Su rank last time?" the students asked in shock.

"Forty-second!" Li Qiyu said proudly and loudly. He remembered best, because last time he had placed forty-first, the two of them right next to each other.

"Hiss... that's terrifying. He overtook more than half his peers in one go!"

Everyone was even more astonished.

One must know that the farther forward the ranking, the stronger the competitors; even surpassing one or two places is difficult. To overtake seven or eight is already a tremendous leap forward.

Su Lu had jumped from forty-second to tenth in one go, surpassing thirty-two classmates. Such progress was beyond imagination. The others could not even bring themselves to feel envy or jealousy; all that remained was utter admiration.

"Impressive, truly impressive! Congratulations to Student Su for catching up from behind!"

It had been four months since school began, and the others now knew the Su student whose mastery of principles was second to none.

"Just luck," Su Lu said quickly, waving his hand modestly. "Maybe next time I'll show my true form."

As he was speaking, a small, lean figure suddenly darted in front of him, bowed deeply, and cried out, "Grandfather, you're amazing!"

Then, with lightning speed, the figure shot back into the crowd. Su Lu never even saw what his grandson looked like.

The classmates in the Cultivating Self Residence were quietly indignant, thinking that the others in the outer residence were shameless enough to compete even in seniority...

This time Su Lu's rise was dazzling, and everyone had already grown used to Zhu Zihe's three consecutive championships, so even less attention was paid to who had taken first place.

Zhu Zihe's classmates looked at him anxiously, but to their surprise he too wore a face of shock, staring fixedly at that model essay ranked first in principles, looking utterly dazed.

The others followed his gaze and curiously looked at the essay. As expected, it was indeed written by Su Lu.

Someone read aloud: "The Way is not far from man; man can enlarge the Way! The Way belongs to daily life, not something hard to reach by nearness or distance..."

After hearing it, the students all understood why Zhu Zihe's expression was so ugly.

Reading a peer's essay had actually produced a feeling of looking up at an unattainable mountain...

If the eight-legged portion had not yet been especially brilliant, this was almost on par with the level of the famous texts they had memorized.

But all of them knew what Su Lu's eight-legged essays had been like before. So even judging only that part, his progress was astonishing...

The students could not imagine how far Su Lu would advance next month. Yet in that moment, many felt a sudden clarity in their hearts: Zhu's first place was probably about to change hands.

They had originally thought that the proud and combative Zhu Zihe would refuse to accept this again. Who would have thought that after taking his eyes from the notice board, he would turn to Su Lu, clasp his hands with a dark face, and say,

"Very well, I admit it - you truly are a fine steed!"

The others all nodded, thinking that was right. Student Su really was an undeniable miracle.

"But I will not let you surpass me! We'll see about that!"

With that, Zhu Zihe swept his sleeves and left.

He left behind a baffled Su Lu, who could not understand why the other kept calling him a miracle.

A miracle is a miracle, but why count one by the head?