The eighth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty , which is 1138 AD. This year, the Lin'an palace examination ended, and the Jinshi results were released. Many candidates who won the honors accepted the worship of their colleagues. Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty and Zhao Gou also appeared at the event where the Jinshi results were released. What is strange is that Emperor Zhao Gou did not meet with the top pick and the second place winner. Instead, he particularly favored the third-ranked Tanhua, who was also rewarded by Gaozong Zhao Gou as a palace maid. Why was the No. 1 pick ranked higher than the top pick turned a deaf ear by Emperor Zhao Gou?
In 1138 AD, many big things happened. In this year, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou officially designated Lin'an as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. In 1127, the first year of Jianyan of the Southern Song Dynasty, Gaozong Zhaogou had moved the capital from Kaifeng Bianliang to Lin'an. But it wasn't until 1138 that the capital was officially designated as Lin'an. It was also this year that the Jin army was eager to move south. Therefore, Emperor Gaozong and Zhao Gou came to the scene when the imperial examination results were announced. Perhaps they wanted to use this festive event to get rid of their bad luck.
When the Lin'an Palace Examination is over, the candidates who have won the honors will naturally stay on the spot, while the "empty-handed" students will go back in despair. The top three picks, the second pick, and the third overall pick are all top picks. However, among this group of successful students, there was an old man with gray hair who attracted Zhao Gou's interest. Zhao Gou summoned the old man for questioning. It turned out that the old man's name was Chen Xiu and he was 73 years old. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, he had been going to Beijing every year to take the exam, but Chen Xiu, who had "repeated defeats and defeats," had no choice but to lose his reputation. It was not until the eighth year of Shaoxing that the 73-year-old Chen Xiu won the title of Hualang. Zhao Gou asked with great interest how old Chen Xiu was? He has several sons. After all, a 73-year-old man might have had a great-grandson in ancient times.
But Chen Xiu blushed and said, "Reporting to your Majesty, I am not married yet, let alone have any heirs." Song Gaozong was surprised by this. It turned out that Chen Xiu had never married before taking the imperial examination. To put it bluntly, this person is a bookworm and a bookworm. He even wants to be a bachelor for the rest of his life in order to pass the Jinshi exam. Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou heard that Chen Xiu was not married yet, so he ordered his officials to reward Chen Xiu with two maids. As an emperor, he also gave Chen Xiu a large amount of gold and silver. This new scholar, Chen Xiu, got married to these two palace ladies. This was the "imperial marriage" granted by Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou himself.
This old man not only gained fame from this exam, he also picked up two beautiful wives for nothing. During the Yuan Dynasty, many drama artists compiled Chen Xiu's incident into countless dramas. There were even some limericks among the people to ridicule Chen Xiu: "If a newlywed asks how old he is, it was twenty-three fifty years ago." In short, this old man After Tanhua Lang met the sage Zhao Gou in person, his career progressed smoothly. According to legend, Chen Xiu and the two palace ladies had a son and a daughter. Chen Xiu, who had both children, died at the age of 82. However, in the Jinshi Examination in 1138, the top and second place candidates who ranked higher than Chen Xiu were unable to take the exam.
The author believes that Song Gaozong Zhao Gou did not have any personal relationship with the old Tanhualang. Zhao Gou was old and established at that time. For the actual power in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou did not have any heirs. Zhao Gou saw the gray-haired Chen Xiu and wanted to ask him if he had children? However, Chen Xiu has not married and had children in order to become a Jinshi. This may have touched Zhao Gou's compassion. In this way, Zhao Gou and Chen Xiuda shared the same fate to a certain extent. That's why Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty gave gifts to palace maids and gold and silver to Chen Xiu.
In 1187 AD, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou died of illness. He passed the throne to Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's seventh-generation grandson, who was the famous Song Xiaozong Zhao Bocong (Zhao Gou's youngest son died young). Therefore, such a story between Zhao Gou and Chen Xiu is also a coincidence in history, but it leaves endless room for imagination for future generations.
Reference: Song History
