preface
He Juan was born in the 53rd year of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, originally named Haiwang, and was born in a family of eunuchs under the former Qing Manchurian Zhenghong. Kaikan's father, Kaisei, was a member of the household department, but unfortunately died early, and his mother died soon after, leaving Wakan, who was still a child, an orphan.
1. Hejun's talent and hard work
Hekan, whose parents died, has lived a difficult life since childhood, but he is gifted and hardworking, and he is deeply loved by tutors. Every day, he would get up early and read in the dark, and whenever he had free time, he would curl up in his study and read non-stop. He not only studied the traditional Confucian classics, but also Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan and other scripts. As a result of such hard work, Hekan quickly grew into a versatile young talent.
He Juan is well versed in "Zeng Zi said: 'A soldier cannot fail to carry on his work, and the task is heavy and the road is long. Isn't it important to be benevolent and take it seriously? After death, isn't it far away?', so he never dared to slacken off in the slightest. Whenever he encounters difficulties in study or life, he will encourage himself and persevere. He believes that in life, you should bear and pursue, so that you can make your life worthwhile and worthy of the expectations of your ancestors.
At the age of 20, he took the imperial examination and won the jinshi in one fell swoop. At that time, the Kangxi Emperor took a fancy to this young man's talent and insight, and specially approved him to study in the Hanlin Academy. After entering the Hanlin Academy, he immediately devoted himself to studying. He participated in reading discussions in the morning and evening, and dabbled extensively in ancient Chinese words. Three years later, he passed the palace examination and obtained the second class of Jin Shi and the first, officially starting his career as a scholar.
After Qianlong's accession to the throne, the new emperor also noticed the talented young official. The Qianlong Emperor often summoned and Juan into the palace to have a strong knowledge, and the two also had a lot of experience in talking. The Qianlong Emperor greatly appreciated Hejun's knowledge and eloquence, and was promoted to a cabinet bachelor and held a key position.
He worked diligently, achieved remarkable political achievements, and was also trusted by the emperor. During his tenure as a cabinet bachelor, he worked hard to handle major affairs of the DPRK and put forward many positive policy proposals, which were affirmed by Qianlong.
For example, he once suggested adjusting the imperial examination system, emphasizing that the selection of talents should pay attention to actual ability, rather than just empty talk. These suggestions were adopted by Qianlong and played a positive role in the Qing Dynasty's selection of meritocracies.
By the thirty years of Qianlong, Helong had been promoted to the rank of Minister of Military Aircraft, in charge of the imperial power, and could be described as the second center of power in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, there was a saying that "there is no harmony on the outside, and there is no cold treasure inside", which shows the status of Helong in the emperor's mind. He was very careful about this and did his best to handle government affairs and ensure that the imperial court was well governed.
Second, Ji Xiaolan's prodigy talent
Different from Hejun's origins, Ji Xiaolan was born with a silver spoon and was the sister-in-law of the famous family Ji Clan at that time. Ji Xiaolan was born in the third year of Yongzheng, and his uncle Ji Xiaowei served as the chief assistant of the cabinet, which can be said to be born in a family of powerful people in the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
However, Ji Xiaolan's talent does not depend on family lineage. He was brilliant from an early age, able to compose at the age of 5 and proficient in classical Chinese at the age of 7. Ji Xiaolan has shown an amazing memory since she was a child, not only can memorize texts, but also recite classical poems catchily. His teachers praised him as "brilliant" and a complete prodigy.
In the children's examination, Ji Xiaolan's results ranked first in all fields and was known as a "prodigy". At the age of 12, Ji Xiaolan participated in the township examination and won the first place again. This is extremely rare under the imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty and can be called a miracle. The examiners were amazed, and Ji Xiaolan became famous in one fell swoop.
With this brilliant reputation, Ji Xiaolan was soon promoted by the Qing court and entered the Hanlin Academy to study. When the dean of the Hanlin Academy saw the talented young man in front of him, he couldn't help but praise: "Xiaolan is talented and intelligent, and he will become a great master." Hanlin Academy needs such talents to continue our academic tradition!"
During her studies at Hanlin Academy, Ji Xiaolan was diligent and studious, listening to the lectures of other students, and extensively involved in ancient and modern knowledge. Later, he took the Chinese-style palace examination, became a jinshi, and served in the dynasty.
Ji Xiaolan also shined in the DPRK. He is well-versed in ancient texts. After middle age, he was appointed by the Qianlong Emperor as the chief compiler, and presided over the compilation of the compilation of ancient classics "Siku Quanshu" as a summary of Qing Dynasty scholarship.
After the compilation of this largest collection of books in ancient times, Ji Xiaolan's reputation rose to a higher level. He was also appreciated by the Qianlong Emperor and became a popular man around the emperor. Qianlong praised: "Xiaolan's rigorous study has added a brilliant stroke to the academic glory of my Great Qing Holy Ancestor!"
Third, Qianlong went down to the south of the Jiangnan, accompanied by two major civil servants
In the forty-seventh year of Qianlong, the Qianlong Emperor left Beijing and toured the south. On this trip, Hejun and Ji Xiaolan were all around. The group had been out of the capital for more than a month, crossing the mountains and sleeping in the wind. On this day, everyone came to Zhenjiang Mansion, and the Qianlong Emperor decided to rest and stay and treat everyone well.
Qianlong led the entourage of civil and military officials to a long-established restaurant in Zhenjiang, occupied the private room on the second floor, called the shop Xiaoer, and ordered the banquet to be prepared so that everyone could eat and drink to their heart's content.
Everyone is tired from the journey, and now they can finally relax. A table of delicious food and wine was over, and everyone drank happily. Qianlong was also very drunk and talked and laughed with the courtiers with great interest.
Qianlong was overjoyed and decided to compete with the Wen Chens in a couplet competition to see who had the better literary brilliance. All the courtiers will agree, and they will all respond. At this time, Qianlong's gaze fell on Hejun and Ji Xiaolan, and let the two come first.
He cleared his throat, straightened his waist, and straightened his robe. I saw him sitting upright, and his expression calmly came out of the upper link: "Three catties, four two and five pork belly."
This uplink number enigma poem, the words are beautiful, and the counting is coherent. Everyone present was impressed by Hejun's profound knowledge. Although Ji Xiaolan was smiling, her heart was drumming. He knew that Hejun was deliberately giving himself a difficult problem so that he could show himself in front of the emperor.
Ji Xiaolan's brows frowned slightly, and she seemed to be stumped by this uplink. Everyone present secretly rejoiced, thinking that Ji Xiaolan had met an opponent this time.
Who knows, Ji Xiaolan pondered for a moment, her eyes lit up, and blurted out the next link: "Five two six money and seven green onions." Ji Xiaolan not only coherently counts, echoing up and down, but also matching the flesh on the table with vegetarian green onions, intertextuality and meaning, and seamless cooperation. Such a couplet, seemingly simple, but deep in the edge, can be described as a new meaning.
In this way, the couplet that Ji Xiaolan coincidentally set up difficulties with Juan has become a good story for thousands of years and a good example for future generations to learn allusions. We can also get a glimpse of the style and knowledge of the two major civil servants of the Qing Dynasty.
IV. Conclusion
He Juan and Ji Xiaolan can be said to be the two most prestigious civil servants of the Qing Dynasty, and although they fought openly and secretly, they both had outstanding literary knowledge. He Juan worked hard to become a talent from a poor scholar, and Ji Xiaolan was a prodigy, and the rivalry between the two made a good story.
We can find examples to learn from this history, and we can also feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture. The ancients said that "articles are written for the time, songs and poems are written for things." Good articles and poems are not only beautiful and moving, but also need to convey the spirit of the times and contain the philosophy of life.
I hope that we can also not forget our original intention and inherit and carry forward the spiritual essence of this excellent tradition. As long as you keep learning, you will succeed. At the same time, we must maintain a humble and cautious character and use our talents to benefit society, so as to win the respect and recognition of others.