Small stories from The Scholars

1. Yan Jiansheng:

Yan Jiansheng’s original name was Yan Dayu, and his courtesy name was Zhihe. He was a timid and wealthy man. When Yan Jiansheng was dying, he held out two fingers and refused to die. His eldest nephew, second nephew, wet nurse and others all came forward to try and give advice, but none of them got it right.

In the end, Mrs. Zhao stepped forward and said: "Sir, what others say is irrelevant. Only I know what you mean! You lit two lamp grasses in that lamp. Don't worry, I'm afraid. It's a waste of oil. I'll just pick out one stalk now." It wasn't until Zhao picked out a lamp grass that he nodded and breathed his last.

2. Fan Jin passed the imperial examination:

There was a poor boy in Guangdong, Fan Jin, who started taking the scholar examination at the age of 20. His ideal was to be a successful candidate. It wasn't until he was 34 that he won the title of Scholar. His father-in-law, Tutu Hu, was a man who favored others and disliked poverty and loved the rich. He was very dissatisfied with his son-in-law.

In front of Fan Jin, he was arrogant, rude and violent, but Fan Jin just kept talking and being humble. Finally, Fan Jin won the imperial examination the following year. He was so happy that he went crazy. Later, he was slapped awake by his father-in-law, Hu Buthu.

3. Young Wang Mian:

In the late Yuan Dynasty, there was a young man named Wang Mian in a village in Zhuji County. Because his family was poor, he had been herding cattle for others since he was a child. He was smart and enlightened. Diligent and studious, the lotuses he painted were lifelike and vivid, and he was well-read and talented.

He is unwilling to make friends, let alone seek fame and fortune. When the county magistrate came to visit him, he avoided seeing him; when Zhu Yuanzhang offered him the position of "consulting to join the army," he did not accept it and willingly fled to the Kuaiji Mountains to live an anonymous life.

4. Kuang Chaoren:

Kuang Chaoren, formerly known as Kuang Jiong and nicknamed Chaoren, was born in Yueqing County, Wenzhou Prefecture. He was originally a simple rural boy, well-behaved, hard-working, and filial to his father. While living in a foreign country, he gradually changed under the influence of society.

In Hangzhou, Kuang Chaoren was influenced by Mr. Ma Er and regarded the imperial examination as the only way out in life. After being admitted as a scholar, he regarded himself as a celebrity as a means of pursuing fame and fortune. He brags and lies, seeks fame, betrays his friends for glory, is ungrateful, and turns into a beast in disguise.

5. Zhou Jin passed the imperial examination:

Zhou Jin was originally a teacher and was very enthusiastic about the imperial examination. Unfortunately, in his sixtieth year, he did not even pass the examination as a scholar. One time, he and his brother-in-law came to Gongyuan, the examination center where subjects were held to obtain scholars in the provincial capital. They were so moved and heartbroken that they bumped into a wooden board and fainted.

When he woke up, he cried loudly and rolled on the floor. This scene was seen by several businessmen. Out of compassion, they donated a prisoner to the poor old man. Zhou Jin was overjoyed and kowtowed to them to thank them. Later, through his status as a supervisor, he actually won the imperial examination.

Reference materials

Baidu Encyclopedia-The Scholars