3. After the exam, I passed the Jinshi
Zeng Guofan commented that
From the exam for the scholar to the exam for the juren, I have been trained. No matter how good the talent is, I am like this. Zeng Guofan was admitted to the exam for the juren. If he still wanted to go to the path of becoming an official, he had to take the exam, and it was just beginning.
Zeng Guofan boarded the boat alone, and went to Beijing with a hard work, and was about to participate in the Ministry of Rites examination the following spring.
left home for the first time, took the first Beijing exam. After arriving in Beijing, Zeng Guofan moved into the Changsha Association and studied hard again. However, after half a spring sprint preparation, he failed the first exam.
Fortunately, there is still a chance. According to the court’s practice of opening a vocational school, an enrollment will be added at this time. Yes, for Zeng Guofan, he met, that is, he still has another chance after the New Year.
Zeng Guofan thought: If he went back at this time, Hunan was thousands of miles away from Beijing, and the back and forth was a lot of money. In addition, it took a lot of time to go back and forth, which delayed his study. He felt that it was better not to go back at this time and stay in Beijing and take the exam again after the New Year. So he wrote a letter to his father Zeng Lin, and with the consent of his grandfather and father, he stayed there.
The life of "Beijing drifters" has begun. Since ancient times, it has not been easy to "Beijing drifters", and the same is true for Zeng Guofan, a poor juren from Hunan. The food in the "Changsha Association" is not good, and there is no money, so I can only endure it and it is very uncomfortable. But there are also times when we forget these bad feelings. First of all, the change in our mind and demeanor as we gradually broaden our horizons. This is reflected in the study. In addition to continuing to study the classics and history and practicing the eight-legged essays, Zeng Guofan also became very interested in Tang and Song poetry and ancient essays. I also love the ancient Chinese texts of Han Yu . I have to spend a certain amount of time studying every day, and I can't let it go.
Zeng Guofan is often immersed in Han Yu's "In general, things will sound if they are not calm... People speak in words. There are no choice but to speak later, their songs will think, and their crying will be thoughtful. Those who speak out from the mouth and make sounds are all uneven." He admires Han Yu's statement that "if they are in a hurry to write books" in "will be uneven" and admires the article. After failing to get a pass, Zeng Guofan had to pack his luggage and take the canal boat. I went south to Hunan with the melancholy of a frustrated scholar.
Zeng Guofan's study and understanding of Han Yu's ancient Chinese, during which he realized the Tao of the points-based writing articles, deeply understood the foundation of moral cultivation, and had a profound impact on the formation of the "Xiangxiang Literature School" which was dominated by him later. It can be seen that he was also very hardworking at that time. However, a year later, the provincial examination in Enke, the capital, which Zeng Guofan was looking forward to, was still unknown on the list.
The days after failing this time, Zeng Guofan was extremely disappointed and felt extremely depressed. Although he has been frugal for a year, he has only a small amount of money and is extremely poor. After failing to get a stubborn score, Zeng Guofan had to pack his luggage and take a canal boat. I went south to Hunan with the melancholy of a frustrated scholar.
The boat passed by Suining, Jiangsu Province. Zeng Guofan had no money anymore. Fortunately, he met the local magistrate, Yi Zuomei, his fellow villager, so he borrowed 100 taels of silver from this person. So Zeng Guofan thought that he could arrive in Hunan with ease. Who would have thought that if there is a hundred taels of silver, it is not easy to pass by Nanjing. When Zeng Guofan saw a set of exquisitely engraved Twenty-Three Histories. When asked about the price, it was exactly the same as all the remaining money around him. He thought about it over and over again and gritted his teeth and bought the book. The road from Nanjing to Xiangxiang, Hunan was pawned by Zeng Guofan, so he could barely get home.
is empty and even her pants are sold, but she brings back a set of historical books. Dad Zeng Linshu Seeing his son Zeng Guofan’s behavior, he not only did not blame him, but instead encouraged him: "Borrowing money to buy books is not a bad thing. I just hope that you can study it carefully and circle this book carefully, even if it is worthy of me!"
After hearing his father's words, although Zeng Guofan was a little disappointed, he thought that he was still young and felt that he still had many opportunities in the future, so he was indifferent to the setbacks at this moment.
Zeng Guofan knew that this time he was going to make a desperate bet. If he didn’t make the list, how could he go back to Hunan!
In the 18th year of Daoguang (1838), Beijing met with the imperial examination again. Zeng Linshu wanted Zeng Guofan to enter the capital again, but Zeng Linshu was really a little difficult this time. He was originally not wealthy in the farmer family, and to repay the 100 taels of silver that Zeng Guofan had borrowed from Yi before, he had already used up his family's income. This time he had no money to support Zeng Guofan's travel expenses, so Zeng Linshu had to borrow again.
Zeng Linshu asked Zeng Guofan to borrow money from his cousin who went to Tongmuchong, 15 miles away. However, Jiang, a uncle from Nanwu, who was not far away, heard about it, and took the initiative to send him all the cash of 12 hangs from his family. He raised more than 20 hangs at home. Zeng Guofan took the more than 30 hangs and
hangs and set off on the road. When Zeng Guofan joined the Huguang Guild Hall in the capital again, he only had 3 hanging money left.
Zeng Guofan knew that this time he was going to make a desperate bet. If he didn’t make it to the list, how could he go back to Hunan!
This time, another hard study and sprint. After the exam was released, Zeng Guofan passed the third place and the 42nd Jinshi was ranked 3rd.
third place, 42nd place, this Jinshi is not very valuable. This makes many people feel happy about the original golden list, and it is a little regretful. Because according to the rules of the imperial examination, it is unlikely that the third-class Jinshi will be admitted to the Hanlin, and his ranking is only 42nd. Therefore, this great joy of Guangyao did not make Zeng Guofan feel honored, but on the contrary, he was both ashamed and angry.
After Zeng Guofan looked at the list, he decided to take a bus home that day. But when a friend tried to persuade and comforted Zeng Guofan and agreed to help Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guofan changed his mind and took the exam for on time.
Next, Zeng Guofan made another sprint. After the fight between the re-examination, palace examination and court examination, he ranked first third with excellent results. After the test paper was submitted to Daoguang Yuqing, Emperor Daoguang specially put him in the first place and finally successfully entered Hanlin Academy . After attending the emperor, he appointed Hanlin and was appointed as a Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy.
Zeng Guofan finally realized his wish to strive for "great fame" in his life, and reached the peak of the "fame" in the imperial examination. This also marks that Zeng Guofan has the most basic capital to move towards the Tenda Shinza journey.
