Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 69 The competition begins

On the ninth day of September, the Double Ninth Festival, the literary competitions of the six major academies are held on this day.

Early in the morning, thousands of literati, students, and gentry had spontaneously gathered near Yueyang Tower.

Originally, the cultural gatherings of the five major academies were a grand gathering of scholars in Jiangnan, attracting the attention of many scholars every time.

A few days ago, news came from Yueyang Academy that the young poet Jia Qiong is a student of Wansong Academy and will also participate in this literary conference.

This was a big deal, and it immediately detonated the literati circle in Yueyang City.

You must know that Jia Qiong has never participated in any literary gathering since the Lan Yueting Poetry Festival four years ago.

As the No. 1 poet in Dachu poetry today, Jia Qiong's appeal is terrifying.

The first literary gathering that Jia Qiong attended in four years attracted all the scholars from around Yueyang.

Although many of them are not qualified to climb the Yueyang Tower, they still want to see the little Shixian up close.

Yueyang Tower is located on the high hill platform in the northwest of Yueyang City. Standing on the platform, you can already overlook the beautiful scenery of Dongting.

Not to mention the Yueyang Tower, which has three floors and is tens of meters high.

Looking at the Dongting from the front, with the Golden Osprey on the back, facing Junshan Mountain in the distance.

Looking at the four rivers of Hunan in the south and the Yangtze River in the north, the Yueyang Tower has a magnificent view that is rare in the world.

I watched my husband Baling's victory in a lake in Dongting.

It holds distant mountains, swallows up the Yangtze River, is vast and boundless, has morning light and evening shadow, and has a myriad of weather conditions. This is the grand view of the Yueyang Tower.

Fan Zhongyan's Yueyang Tower in the Northern Song Dynasty has already described the infinite scenery on the Yueyang Tower.

The students who came here for the first time were all very excited, especially everyone in Wansong Academy.

Because they arrived too late and had no time to go out and play, it was their first time to Yueyang Tower.

Early in the morning, the professors from the five major academies were picked up, and the students had to set off from the inn to Yueyang Tower by themselves.

The distance is not far, and there is no need to worry about getting lost. It is easy to find it.

Jia Qiong and others were the first to set out, but as soon as they left the inn, they were blocked by a group of people.

Guan Shanyue, who was walking in front, said to the crowd: "Everyone, please give way. We are going to Yueyang Tower to attend a cultural conference."

At this time, someone in the crowd asked: "Which academy are you from?"

"I'm from Wansong Academy."

When they heard it was Wansong Academy, the crowd cheered and gathered around.

"Who is the Little Poet Fairy?"

"Please come out and meet the little Poet Fairy."

The classmates all looked at Jia Qiong. He could only walk to the front of the crowd and salute and said: "I am Jia Qiong. Thank you for your kindness. I don't deserve the name of the Little Poet Fairy."

"The little Shixian is indeed extraordinary."

"Liu Wenjing from Huai County has met the little poetry fairy."

"Master Jia, I would like to give you a hundred taels of silver to beg you for a calligraphy treasure."

……

Everyone in Wansong Academy was surrounded by people all the way. The first to leave was the last to arrive.

Climbing up the high-rise building, you can see the vast misty waves of Dongting Lake, boundless as far as the eye can see.

The rolling Yangtze River merges into it, like a dragon entering the sea, and the scenery is very magnificent.

Jia Qiong and others were admiring the beautiful scenery, and the student from Wuyi Academy next to him said something strange.

"Master Jia is really famous all over the world. The people in Yueyang City are probably coming to see him. They are almost here to see Wei Jie."

"Who makes you a little poetry fairy? We can't envy you."

"I wonder how many famous poems Jia Shixian will be able to produce at this literary event. We have been looking forward to it for a long time."

"That's for sure. If "Jia" Shixian couldn't do it, wouldn't he be said to be a person who deceives the world and steals his reputation?"

The students at Wansong Academy were very angry when they heard their cynicism.

Zhao Lingfeng was about to step forward to argue, but Jia Qiong raised his hand to stop him: "Zilong, don't see anything inappropriate, hear nothing inappropriate, and say nothing inappropriate."

"But they bully people too much." "It doesn't matter, just treat it as a crow and ignore it."

Jia Qiong stopped Zhao Lingfeng from acting impulsively, but kept this account in mind.

This small friction between Wansong Academy and Wuyi Academy did not cause any disturbance, and soon the professors and guests arrived.

The heavyweight guests who came this time included former Chaoge Lao Hu Yan, Hunan Chief Minister Feng Chu, academician Li Wenying, great Confucian Zhou Zhidao, Tian Wenyun and others.

The guests had arrived, and in order to let the many students and squires who came to join in the fun have a glimpse of the students from the six major academies, Jia Qiong and the others were called to the city platform outside the building.

A temporary platform was built here that was two meters higher than the city platform, and the cultural meeting was held here.

Ten students from each academy participated in the competition and were arranged to sit around the platform.

In this way, important guests above the Yueyang Tower can enjoy the cultural gathering from a high position.

Many ordinary guests who paid money to watch the ceremony on the city platform also had a good viewing experience.

The scholars and squires who came spontaneously from the city platform could see the competition scene even though they couldn't hear it.

"Today, all the talented people have arrived, and the seats are full of distinguished guests. It is indeed a grand event in the Jiangnan literary world.

……

I hope all the students will show their abilities and show their style..."

After the heavyweight guests gave some uninspiring opening speeches, the conference finally got down to business.

The host of the cultural conference had six screens placed on the platform. There were no patterns on them, just a whole piece of white silk.

The host said: "We will compete in three literary competitions today, and finally the total number of votes of each college will be calculated to determine the ranking.

The first competition is a pair of couplets, and all students can participate.

Each academy has a couplet for other academies, written on the screen.

There is a time limit of one stick of incense (one stick of incense is equal to 30 minutes in ancient times). If the opponent fails to match, then our side will get the upper hand.If it is matched, the opponent gets an advantage.

Now you can think about the first couplet. There are five first couplets to be produced within the time of one stick of incense.

You must come up with the questions yourself, you cannot write about the previous ones, and the time starts now. "

Couplets are a very basic word game for readers.

There have been many interesting pairs in history, and there are also some absolutes that have been passed down for many years and no one has been able to match.

Couplets are also an item that often appears in various cultural gatherings, and everyone is familiar with them.

Gongsun Yue asked: "Do you have any inventory?"

"I do have a first couplet, but I haven't come up with a second couplet." Guan Shanyue.

"I have one too." Zhang Zhaoyang.

Xu Fengnian said: "There is still time, everyone should think about it.

Tell me everything you think is right, and finally select five. "

Jia Qiong knew the absolutes of several future generations, but after thinking about it, he still didn't say it immediately.

This round, he planned to let his classmates perform more, but if it didn't work, he would continue.

The time for burning incense soon came, and the host asked everyone to come on stage and write a couplet.

There is actually some saying about this. Each academy has five questions, which are naturally easy and difficult.

It is important to give it to someone who has difficulty and to whom it is easy.

Wansong Academy, Wuyi Academy, Bailudong Academy, and Yuelu Academy all gave the most difficult questions.

Only those from Yingtian Academy and Yueyang Academy are relatively simple, but they are also quite difficult.

This was not because the other five academies jointly squeezed out Wansong Academy, but because they were afraid of Jia Qiong.

He is a little poet in Wansong Academy, so everyone naturally regards them as the biggest competitor in this literary competition.

If they weren't afraid of losing face, they would definitely give the most difficult couplet to Wansong Academy.

For Jia Qiong, these are nothing, he can immediately play the second line.

But it's different for other people. When the students saw these questions, they felt a little speechless.

(End of this chapter)