Chapter 134 The Charcoal Seller (Part 2)
In the early Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system had not yet been customized, and most officials still relied on recommendation and recruitment. A large number of important positions were held by aristocratic families.
But don't think that the officials selected by this official selection system are all second-generation ancestors who are ignorant and unskilled. Compared with ordinary people, the descendants of these wealthy families are better in terms of knowledge and quality.
In this era of extremely backward information, transportation, and printing technology, educational resources are seriously imbalanced. Relying on connections, wealth, and knowledge, aristocratic families have built up a huge education system to provide elite education to the next generation. But ordinary people's lives are still difficult, and they have no money or energy to learn knowledge.
Under the circumstances, the aristocratic families are getting better and better from generation to generation.
The field officials present were all well-educated people. Even if they were uneducated and had no skills, and had grown up in an atmosphere of learning since childhood, they were not comparable to those from the countryside.
You may not be able to compose poetry, but you definitely have the ability to appreciate it.
As soon as Fang Jun's poem comes out, those with quick thinking will immediately understand the essence of the poem and Fang Jun's intention behind it. Those with slower thinking will also understand it after a little thought.
How to make a person's name spread through the ages?
There are two most direct ways. One is to do a big thing that attracts the attention of the world. It does not need to be unprecedented or unprecedented, but it must at least shock for a while. The other is to write the person's name in a book and make the article immortal. ……
Obviously, Fang Jun did the latter.
This era is not yet the era of splendid masterpieces of Tang poetry. After experiencing the turmoil of the late Sui Dynasty, society has just stabilized, and literature, like wealth, still needs to be slowly accumulated.
Therefore, Fang Jun's song "Charcoal Seller" shocked everyone!
Although the text is simple and straightforward, there is no gorgeous vocabulary to create a gorgeous effect, but there is a smart rhythm in the plainness, and the words are meaningful and full of flesh and blood!
The first four sentences describe the charcoal seller's hard-earned charcoal.
"Chopping firewood and burning charcoal" summarizes the complex procedures and long labor process, while "the face is dusty and smoky, and the temples are gray and the fingers are black" vividly depicts the portrait of the old charcoal seller, describing the hardship of labor. Absolutely amazing!
"Nanshanzhong" points out the workplace. Where is "Nanshan"? It is said that Zhongnan Mountain is where "if you want to find a place to stay, ask the woodcutter across the water", there are jackals and wolves there and there is no human habitation. In such an environment, under the stars and the moon, in the frost and snow, "cutting firewood" with axe, and "burning charcoal" in kiln after kiln, it is easy to burn "more than a thousand kilograms", and every kilogram is soaked with hard work. It also embodies hope.
This is foreshadowing.
"What do you do with the money you get from selling charcoal? You wear the clothes you wear but eat in your mouth." This question and answer not only turn the board into life, but also make the writing ups and downs and sway.
Still paving the way.
"My poor clothes are only in so many clothes, but my heart is so miserable and I wish the weather would be cold." This is a stroke of genius. This is simply a famous saying...
"Wearing just the right clothes" naturally means we hope the weather will be warm. However, the old charcoal seller pinned all his hopes of solving the problem of food and clothing on "getting money from selling charcoal", so he was "worrying about the price of charcoal and wishing that the weather would be cold." When he was shivering from the cold, he only hoped for an even colder weather. . The charcoal seller's difficult situation and complex inner activities were so vividly expressed in just a dozen words, and the word "poor" poured out infinite sympathy and made people cry.
Keep laying the groundwork!
"It snows a foot outside the city at night", this heavy snow finally arrived, and I no longer feel "worried"! The dignitaries and wealthy businessmen at the "emperor's feet" would not haggle over the negligible price of charcoal in order to keep themselves warm.
When the old charcoal seller "drove his charcoal cart over the ice," what he was thinking about was not complaining about how difficult it was to walk on the ice and snow road, but calculating how much money he could sell in such a cold weather. How much money will be exchanged for how much food and clothing.
The old charcoal seller finally managed to burn a load of charcoal and was looking forward to a snowfall. Along the way, he was hoping to get money from selling charcoal for food and clothing. However, he met the steward of Prince Wei's palace who "held a document in his hand and verbalized the imperial edict". In front of the steward of the Wei Palace, there was still the sound of "screaming at the cow", and the old charcoal seller was "cutting firewood", "burning charcoal", "wishing the weather would be cold", "driving a charcoal cart", "rolling over ice tracks", until " Everything I had planned and hoped for during the long process of "resting in the mud" was all in vain.
The road from "Middle of Nanshan" to Chang'an City is so long and so difficult. When the old charcoal seller "rested in the mud outside the south gate of the city", he was already "the cow was trapped and the people were hungry"; now he is "turning back to scold the cow" "Lead it to the north" and send the charcoal to the Wei Palace. Of course, the cattle are more sleepy and the people are more hungry.
When the charcoal seller walks back to Zhongnan Mountain hungry, what will he think about, and how will he live in the future?
A cart of charcoal weighs more than a thousand kilograms... half a piece of red silk and one foot of silk, tied to the cow's head to fill it with charcoal!
After layers of preparation, it finally reaches the climax!
A poem with simple words vividly portrays the tragic image of an old charcoal seller who is on the verge of despair and all his hopes have been dashed.
The officials who were watching were all surprised. There is no doubt that this poem will be spread to all directions by the officials present, and it will definitely be passed down...
Who is this young man, who actually goes against His Highness the King of Wei like this? It is simply to place the reputation of His Highness the King of Wei on the pillar of shame in history!
The officials all understood the intention of this poem, but it did not mean that the several stewards of the Wei Palace also understood it. These slaves, who were proficient in some simple arithmetic and could at most read a few big words, did not realize the serious consequences that this poem was about to bring.
"Um... Erlang, have you ordered this again? You obviously gave me two pieces of silk, how can you say it is 'half a piece of red silk and one foot of silk'? The number is wrong, and there is no silk in this silk." Silk is valuable...Besides, such a broken carriage can hold only three to five hundred kilograms of charcoal, and he can't even pull a thousand kilograms..."
The steward of Prince Wei's Mansion was very resentful and argued in a low voice with very gentle words. The person in front of me is not a good person, and he dares to "confront" his prince. Don't get beaten up on your little arms and legs. If you are older than the Chinese New Year, you can't do it...
The officials next to me were all speechless. Are you a fool? This is not a matter of silk or silk, a thousand catties or five hundred catties, okay?
This is the rhythm of stamping your prince's reputation into the mud!
Fang Jun glanced at the steward with a half-smile, which frightened the steward so much that he subconsciously took a step back. Then he waved to the servant behind him to take out a small piece of silver and gave it to the old charcoal seller.
He said pleasantly: "It's freezing cold and it's not easy to make charcoal. Since the old man's cart of charcoal was sold to the Prince of Wei, no matter how much these two feet of silk are worth, his arm can't twist his thigh, right? Accept it as bad luck... I see how pitiful you are, Don’t wait here to enter the city. I will buy your carriage and give it to the Wei Palace, and let them drive into the city by themselves. The old man can go home now..."
The old charcoal seller was feeling depressed and miserable. He had worked hard for a month to burn such a load of bamboo charcoal, and the two rolls of silk silk were not worth a lot of money in exchange. What would he do with his life?
I vaguely took the silver in my hand and was immediately overjoyed!
Now, I can finally ask a doctor to give medicine to the old woman at home, buy a chicken to replenish her, and even hire a few bricklayers to repair my dilapidated house with air leaks everywhere. The remaining money is still enough to buy another one. An ox cart...
But he didn't know Fang Jun, and he was afraid that the steward of the palace would not obey him, so he looked at the steward tremblingly.
The steward glared and scolded: "Fang Erlang rewards you, and then comes, why don't you get out of here?"
The old man was overjoyed, took the silver, and the two rolls of silk between his hands, and walked away tremblingly. (End of chapter)