CH 47

The Ming Dynasty had infamous supplementary books about the eight-legged essays[1], which were often continued to be published despite the Imperial court’s prohibition efforts to prevent such articles. Just like floating wine goblets on a stream[2], every year without fail, the new edition of the Jingcha Record was released with the topics speculated to appear on the imperial examinations——in the preface that encourages learning——to his surprise, his surname, ancestral home, couplets and name of his book had been mentioned, what an honor this was!

【The day I become the almighty Official Cui is not far away.】

Cui Xie quietly stood up and planned to invite Assistant Liu after the August provincial imperial examinations ended, so the older man could lend a hand to compile together a collection of Shuntian Prefecture’s published weimo[3] papers.

Shopkeeper Ji looked on at Cui Xie anxiously and only dared to speak after seeing Cui Xie had finished reading the article from start to finish, “Boss, I think now that you have caught the attention of the Minister of War, in the future, you will be able to reach the heavens in one step! We are no longer as destitute as before and a few thousand taels of silver is easy to obtain. Even if you fail the exam, you can easily obtain the jiansheng[4] title through donations. With the Minister of War currently still serving in Imperial court and looking after you, aren’t you still able to become an official?”

Cui Yuan forcefully suppressed his excitement and said, “Young Master, you have become a child prodigy and even received the Minister of War da-ren’s praises, do you think Master will allow you to return home?”

Cui Xie spread out the《Encouraging Learning》 article and pointed to the beginning of the preface where it mentioned an atmosphere of law and order had been erected at the military academy and explained to Shopkeeper Ji, “Looking at what Minister Zhang meant here, he said this for the purpose of establishing an image of a poor, yet steadfast model student for the students at the military academy. In order to be worthy of others’ praise and favor I must go to school by my own initiative. Since he has described me as a poor, yet studious student, if I all of a sudden turn around to buy an official title, what would the shengyuan[5] think of me? Doesn’t this go against Minister Zhang’s meaning?”

Cui Xie glanced at Cui Yuan again and straighforwardly rebutted, “It is the same result if I am to return home to be the son of an official. Our da-ren has already cut off any ideas of me returning.”

With an unreconciled and unwilling sigh, Cui Yuan exclaimed, “The Young Master was originally the son of an official, how could he write such an inappropriate article. No matter how respected that Minister of War is, he should be reasonable. Moreover, the Master has always been upright and outstanding. He is not the type to fawn on or curry favor with higher-ranking officials……”

Cui Xie shook his head slightly, donning a faint smile, “Let’s talk about this matter later. Now that I have a reputation, I will have an extra guarantee for the examination next year, it is time to celebrate. Uncle Yuan, ask Huang sao[6] to steam the ham and in the evening, let’s celebrate by ourselves. Don’t make too much noise to avoid people from saying that we are not dignified enough.”

Cui Yuan knew that Cui Xie was now just like Empress Chen who was stuck in the Long Gate Palace and could no longer wait for Emperor Wu to turn around. To have been endowed with Sima Xiangru’s poem had been merely luck and was a gift[7]. Cui Yuan hurriedly restrained his delusional thoughts and asked Huang sao to prepare a few more good dishes. He then headed to Fengshun Pavilion to order some wine and food. In the evening, he invited those working at the bookstore to drink and feast.

After seeing Cui Yuan leave and that the Young Boss was unable to become an official, Shopkeeper Ji could not help but feel disappointed, so he got up and also said his farewells. Cui Xie lifted his hand and held Shopkeeper Ji down, “Shopkeeper Ji, please stay behind, I still have a few questions about the matters of the 《Compilation of Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》.

Cui Xie felt no desire to return to Beijing at all and did not want to set his sights on Official Cui and his furen[8] ever again. In contrast, he was more concerned as to how the books were sold in the capital and how it entered the eyes of the Minister of War——

Ever since this 《Compilation of Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》was printed, it had been laid out on the stalls outside and was of no interest to anyone. Why did such a big customer buy all of the copies and then coincidentally have the Minister of War read it? And just how did Minister Zhang suddenly become interested in a collection of antithetical  pairings from an elementary school student? Not only did he not toss it after reading it, but it even stirred up the idea for him to use it as an example to persuade students to study?

It most definitely could not be due to Official Cui’s guilty conscience and that he had asked someone to round up all the books that he couldn’t sell and specially recommended his son, a child prodigy, to Minister Zhang, right?

Even if Official Cui had such a change of heart to do this kind of thing, the other was a second-rank Minister of War, in what world would such a person of high status concede and cooperate with those of lower rank ah!

But if this was to be called a coincidence, then it would be an insult to all those detective novels and TV shows Cui Xie had watched for so many years. It had to be someone who had a certain identity in Beijing, one with power and was easily able to make friends with those in the Ministry of War, kind-hearted and generous and willing to pull him, this feeble youth, up with him….

Among his extremely limited and interpersonal relationships, each of these requirements almost directly pointed to the same person.

Cui Xie looked down in thought, his fingertips lightly tapping the page of the book in front of him. He then asked Shopkeeper Ji, “Do you still remember the person who came to buy these books from the stall?”

Shopkeeper Ji replied without hesitation, “Of course! He was a very lavish, rich-looking man wearing crimson silk robes lined with leather. He even brought a few ferocious servants with him that looked as if they were soldiers, that kind of imposing air was truly awe-inspiring! With one glance, one can tell they are not our county locals! At that time, not only did they order the clerks around until they were running around in circles, even the customers who were crowded inside the store didn’t dare to approach.”

Cui Xie further inquired, “Then do you still remember his eyebrows, eyes or facial features? Was he particularly elegant, with a smile tracing the corner of his lips, just like a scholar?”

Some points were correct, but some were wrong. He was a tall, slender rich man who looked pretty handsome, but the tails of the eyebrows were thick and messy. He had slightly protruding cheekbones and his cheeks were a bit sunken. When smiling, it brought out a bit of heroic vigor, not like a scholar.

Cui Xie did not feel disappointed and planned to draw down a draft of the person based on the description so that he would not be unable to recognize his benefactor if they were to meet in the future. He went into the room to retrieve his self made wood charcoal pen and whitewashed paper. He then carefully asked Shopkeeper Ji to describe the eyebrows, eye shape, lip shape, facial structure, expressions….after repeated revisions, he finally made out an outline on the paper that felt familiar to him.

It was Xie Shan who often came over to his residence to give him things.

Before the portrait could be finished, he threw the unfinished product into the charcoal furnace and burned it, silently recording down the good intentions of the master behind Xie Shan. Smiling, he said, “Alright, I already understand what is going on, you do not have to worry about it any longer. Head to the rear courtyard and take the printed portrait of ‘Diao Chan tricks Lu Bu’ over to the store to show to the customers. If everyone can accept the figures of the generals inside the portrait, I will start to paint the hero portraits: Oath of the Peach Garden and Zhang Fei Thrashes the Imperial Inspector.”

Shopkeeper Ji looked at Cui Xie in bewilderment, feeling a strong urge to ask, but did not dare to.

Cui Xie could see that he was curious, but he was unwilling to explain the matter. He only faintly smiled, “My benefactor does not want to be repaid, yet is it possible for me to give him silver to repay him for his helping hand? I will simply remember these good intentions first. Once I am successful in my studies and am qualified to stand on the same stage as them, I will put off the discussion of repayment until then.”

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Ji seemed to have descended amidst the clouds and mist[9], but after shaking his head, he headed over to the rear courtyard to get a few copies of the printed colored portrait. He brought them over and chose a copy to display on the counter, inviting all the customers to come take a look. The remaining ten or so pieces were placed in the cabinet as a bonus for those who bought books. Big spenders who bought enough merchandise worth one hundred taels would get a free copy of the portrait included with their purchase.

He also ordered the artisans to rush print a few copies of the 《Compilation of Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》and still displayed them on the stall outside to sell. They also used red paper and good ink to personally copy down Minister Zhang’s 《Encouraging Learning》onto the paper, making a poster. When a few shengyuan visited the store to buy a copy of the《Jingcha Record》 , the clerk in charge of the stall took the initiative to tell customers that they were selling the《Compilation of Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》by “Qian’an Child Prodigy Cui Xie” mentioned by Minister Zhang and asked the guests if they would like to buy a copy.

The 《Jingcha Record》proved to be an exceptionally good place for advertisement and in addition to the Minister of War’s strong recommendation, even the unpopular 《Compilation of Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》sold 50 or 60 copies. Later on, merchants from the capital came to ask about the book and even asked someone to inquire about where Cui Xie’s residence was located so they could invite him to pen another child prodigy book——Or, it didn’t need to be necessarily written by him, the book merchant had his own shengyuan he was familiar that could write it. Cui Xie only needed to provide his name for the project.

Boss Cui firmly refused all such offers.

Even if he needed to find a ghostwriter to write reference books, he had a bookstore under his disposal to do the entire process himself, how could someone else borrow his name to do the same?

Since he became famous so quickly, several of the shengyuan who were still planning on helping him to establish a reputation after taking the capital’s autumn provincial exam were a bit surprised. They withdrew from their studies momentarily and followed the others to congratulate him. Seeing that he was still that refined and gentle primary school student and hadn’t wagged his tail to the sky just from the Minister of War’s commendations, they felt relieved.

Cui Xie did not bring up the matters that occurred in they capital and only gave them a set of the 《Three Kingdoms》that was plastered full of various colorful commentaries, footnotes and other articles written by these scholars, asking them to select and modify the draft by themselves. That way, the text in the commentaries were more polished and that the conflicting points in the commentaries were more emphasized and impassioned.

Among 1000 people, there were 1001 different versions of the Three Kingdoms. It was not only a historical play, but it was also combined with the aspirations of the Three Kingdoms. The characters in the book were all totally different in the hearts of different people. For these talented scholars to read the criticisms of others that were inconsistent with their own thoughts, they could not help but plead a few words for their favorite councilors and heroes. Or if one were to share the same opinions,  it was necessary to praise the exquisite writing style and grand scenes in the book. They would straightforwardly ask just the reasons behind why the other party’s opinions differed from their own line of thinking and then continue to debate…..

After going back and forth like this, they debated until they were extremely engrossed and invested in the matter. Several people originally came here for Minister Zhang and that 《Compilation of Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》, but after arriving, they had been bustling around making commentaries for an entire day. As they were leaving, they remembered what they were here for and asked him, “The Minister of War’s 《Encouraging Learning》mentions you in the article, just how did that happen?”

A faint smile traced Cui Xie’s lips,”That is merely the da-ren’s arrangements. I am just a primary school student, how would I know? As such, I did not give much thought about it. What matters right now is whether our 《The Six Talents and their Commentaries on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms》should be printed by each volume and be sold separately that way or be sold as a set with all the volumes after all the plates are carved?”

Of course they should be sold by each volume? Those of them who had already read their commentaries hated that they could not get their hands on the book right away and declare a few more days of war with those they disagreed with!

Seeing how eager these talented scholars were to hold the finished product, Cui Xie established a baseline in his heart. He called Shopkeeper Ji over and informed him that he intended to make one volume at a time and then publish the volume for sale once it was finished. After the serialization was complete, the hardcover version with the fabric cover would be released.

Shopkeeper Ji’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise, pushing aside his beard to show Cui Xie the blisters on his lips and pouted, “The customers have all been hooked by that portrait of yours, pressuring us to sell the books everyday. The clerks and I are almost afraid to open the store at this rate. If you can print the book out as soon as possible, even if it is not the entire thing, I can have an explanation for the customers!”

Since the customers didn’t seem to care about Lu Bu’s belly, Cui Xie had free rein and chose various handsome generals from the old and new remakes of the Three Kingdoms in the entertainment folders in his hard disk to draw.

《The Romance of the Three Kingdoms》only has five chapters in each volume and according to the spaces designated for portraits as outlined by the original printing blocks, he would replace it with a portrait. He only drew about one or two portraits a day and his progress was not particularly fast. In the end, he still needed to study during the day and then draw portraits when he went home. Apart from memorizing more study materials in the evening, his days did not change much due to the praise received from the Minister of War.

Although he was unchanged, the attitudes of outsiders towards him were slowly shifting——If people used to think he was just an ordinary elementary school student who had the qualifications to be a child prodigy, but was not, he was now considered a true child prodigy.

During his day off, County Magistrate Qi summoned Cui Xie over to the yamen and after counseling him for a long time, he warmly smiled, “I know you have heavenly talent, but I did not expect your talent to reach to this point. I have already asked someone to send your book over to the prefectural capital. The Chief Ambassador da-ren praised without ceasing and after knowing that you have only started official studying in these last two years, regards you as a rare child prodigy in this county. As for the matter of the prefectural exams, there should be no problem at this step.”

Cui Xie’s eyes lit up and he stood up in his excitement. He lowered his head and uttered in a choked voice, “This student is lacking in virtue and ability, and is undeserving of da-ren’s continuous guidance.”

County Magistrate Qi laughed and said, “What is this talk about guiding or not guiding, in my heart, you are like a junior of the younger generation. Are you not looking forward to this next step? Have you begun to learn how to write essays by now?”

Cui Xie let his head fall down and replied, “I have only started studying with Teacher Lin for around two months and have not done that well yet. However, the set of 《Compiled Transcriptions of the Six Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song》that the da-ren gave to me has already been memorized and there is a certain scale and standard that has been established in my mind.”

With satisfaction, County Magistrate Qi praised, “Good child. I know you have a highly retentive  memory, memorizing a few hundred ancient essays is nothing.  It is just that it is rare for you to take my teachings to heart. First, familiarize yourself with the Tang and Song essays, learn their tone, so that you can be as fluent as a gushing spring and a string of pearls when you write an essay.”

Cui Xie replied respectfully and County Magistrate Qi patted him on the shoulder, “You have only learned to write essays for a short amount of time and one cannot write up a good article immediately….how about this, during the slack winter season, with the utmost care and effort, try to revise out a few essays and I will see if they are presentable or not. If they are okay, I will give it to Wang da-ren to solicit feedback——he is a jinshi[10] who entered the two lists. If he can help you revise the essays, it will be your good fortune.”

Footnotes:

TN: New chapter for the week, sorry its a little later than usual. Midterms are coming up and I haven’t been able to make time for translating the advance chapters, sorry  I will try to put out a new one for TMD this weekend!