Modern students have the opportunity to receive higher education, so they can naturally deeply understand what "everything is inferior but reading is high" and "knowledge changes destiny". In ancient times, many poor sons changed their destiny through reading.
Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a poor farmhouse since childhood. He went to a private school for a while when he was a child, and then fell in love with studying. After joining the army, he had more opportunities to read, and he learned a lot of great principles from books, so that he would not become a rude man with no brains.
The thing that literati and poets like the most is the right couple, and the same is true for Zhu Yuanzhang. After becoming emperor, he often discussed couplets with his ministers. Once he published a first couplet, and a minister shared a peerless couplet, but Zhu Yuanzhang killed him. What's going on?
Zhu Yuanzhang Reading
According to the records in " Records of the Ming Taizu ", Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely smart when he was a child, and he could remember everything he had learned. When he was a child, his family was poor and he couldn't always provide him with education in a private school, so many times he had to learn by himself.
After the plague broke out in his hometown, Zhu Yuanzhang went to the temple to become a monk, but he still did not forget to study. There is a library in the temple, which is his usual leisure place, and sometimes he stays all day.
Later, there was a famine in the local area, and Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to go outside to beg for alms to fill his stomach. This kind of life lasted for more than two months. He returned to the temple and then plunged into the pile of books.
Zhu Yuanzhang studied not only because of his hobbies, but during the days he traveled abroad, he gradually realized that reading was the only way to change his destiny. knowledge can make him stand at a new height in life, and what he sees and hears will be different.
When in the temple, Zhu Yuanzhang often read Buddhist scriptures, and he went to the old monk to explain without shame. He also recognized a lot of words during the reading of Buddhist scriptures, which laid a good foundation for his career after joining the army.
In the Guo Zixing team, Zhu Yuanzhang was promoted and reused because he had a little ink in his belly. Later, Guo Zixing also married his adopted daughter, Ma Xiuying, to Zhu Yuanzhang, who was also a well-educated person, and her knowledge was much more profound than Zhu Yuanzhang.
After marriage, Zhu Yuanzhang read more books. After receiving education, it had a great impact on his temperament. Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts were more open-minded and his pattern was opened.
Ma Xiuying loves to read history books, and Zhu Yuanzhang also read it subtly. From history, he learned many typical cases, which provided guidance for his future governance policies. When the Ming Dynasty gradually stabilized, Zhu Yuanzhang's habit of studying could not be changed.
He also changed from a farmer who could not read a big word to a cultural person. Therefore, in daily life, he also likes to discuss poetry, songs and essays with some civil officials.
Sometimes I feel excited and I like to issue a first couplet to the ministers to copy the second couplet. However, many of the first couplets that Zhu Yuanzhang can produce are strange, and sometimes ministers can't answer even if they rack their brains.
wonderful couplets
Zhu Yuanzhang likes to make some inexplicable couplets to make things difficult for the ministers. He feels very happy when he sees them all over their heads. Once in the court, he suddenly came up with a first couplet: I am the best in the world.
This has stumped the ministers. Good couplets are very particular, such as the level and tone and neat parallelism, and at the same time they have connotations. There are many types of couplets, such as homophone couplets, backdrop couplets, digital couplets, duplicate couplets, overlapping couplets, embedded couplets, riddle couplets, etc.
The first couplet of Zhu Yuanzhang has both numbers and homophones. If this is right, it is probably a big reward. If it is not right, it may be a punishment. Couplets are a kind of elegant thing in themselves, but they have a huge sense of oppression for Zhu Yuanzhang's couplets.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang has a bad temper. Maybe he would take off the minister's black hat when he was unhappy. As the saying goes, "Accompanying the king is like a tiger." This is the truth. However, the emperor's first couplet has been released, and the ministers are not able to shirk their gratitude.
After all, those who can stand in the court are all cultural people. If such a simple couplet doesn’t match, wouldn’t it be a slap in the face of Zhu Yuanzhang and say that he has brought a bunch of wine bags? So the ministers racked their brains to treat this second couplet, and the court suddenly became silent.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon throne and looked down at the group of people below, feeling superiority arose in his heart. He thought that the seemingly simple first couplet was not accurate, and he thought that these people's talents were not very good.
Just when everyone didn't want to be this first-hand man, a minister stood up and said that he had thought of a wonderful second couplet. Zhu Yuanzhang became interested as soon as he heard this and hurriedly asked him to speak the second couplet.
The minister said slowly and loudly, "The grandson is unparalleled." When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this second couplet, his face turned green, and the rest of the court didn't dare to show it. Is this second couplet calling Zhu Yuanzhang a "grandson"? Anyone with a discerning eye can see it.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face remained clear and he suddenly became furious and shouted loudly, "Drag it out and behead him." The minister didn't know what was going on. The battles were very neat, so why was he killed?
It seems that this minister is really a novice in the workplace. Now the couplet is released so that anyone feels uncomfortable when they hear it. Laozi vs. grandson, the world's number one pair, is unparalleled. It does look very neat, but the meaning is like a swearing person. No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang was angry.
It seems that couplets cannot blindly pursue the level and neatness, but also have to consider the charm and meaning of the sentence. Otherwise, once such quatrains are released, no life will be enough to give away.
Couplets changed official positions
This minister lost his official position and life because of couplets, but some people also gained a career because of couplets. There is no harm without comparison. This story also happened to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Once Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his hometown Fengyang for a private visit. He came to a restaurant for a meal and happened to see a young man drinking to drown his sorrows on the table next door. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that this person must have encountered some trouble. As the king of a country, if you can help, please help.
He went over to talk to the scholar and learned that this young man was from a poor family. He studied hard for decades, but he didn't expect that he failed the exam one after another. He was not satisfied with his talent and could only "get drunk now."
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was thinking about getting fame and fame, so he wanted to give him a shortcut, so he wanted to use couplets to test his talents. Then Zhu Yuanzhang talked to him about couplets, but he didn't expect that he also liked these arts and elegance.
Because the young man comes from Chongqing, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a suitable couplet: Thousand miles are the most important, and the mountains and rivers are the most important. Chongqing Prefecture . This sentence is not difficult for people who often couplets. After a while, young people will express the second couplet: One person becomes a big country, a great wise king.
This pattern is really domineering, it hits Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts and praises the young people repeatedly. This second couplet is both neat and flattering Zhu Yuanzhang, which can be called "one kills two birds with one stone."
Then Zhu Yuanzhang revealed his identity and promised to give him an official position. In this way, this young man had a career because of a couplet, which is a very lucky thing. Comparing these two things together, you can see who is really talented and knowledgeable. It is useless to waste the minister's slew of reading for so many years, and he is still worthy of death.
