Chapter 55

In fact, Lin Yanchao knew his guess was correct. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial examinations were based on the eight-legged essay, and cheating in the examinations was rampant, despite repeated prohibitions. There were countless cases in the metropolitan and provincial examinations, and even more in the lower-level child examinations that were never exposed.

This "Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books" was equivalent to a question bank in modern times. If the eight-legged essay were changed to an open-book exam, not everyone would bring the Four Books and Five Classics or Zhu Xi's annotations, but this compendium would definitely be in everyone's hands.

Seeing this book, Lin Yanchao couldn't help but think, if I memorize this question bank, I can go to the child examination...

Lin Liao, seeing Lin Yanchao lost in thought, immediately guessed what he was thinking and said, "Don't use your good memory to take shortcuts. You can just read these model essays and study how the masters break down and develop their topics. That's the right way. Don't try to memorize everything. Only those who fail repeatedly and have no prospects do that. They are just gambling on luck, hoping to guess the right questions in the exam. You are young; you should focus on how to break down and develop topics and start the essay."

Lin Liao's intentions were certainly for his own good. Since he said so, Lin Yanchao agreed. He took the four volumes of "Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books" from Lin Liao and said, "I will return them to you after I finish reading them."

"Good, you can come anytime. Also, bring the lecture notes you wrote," Lin Liao reminded him.

Thus, Lin Yanchao returned to the Two Plum Study House in high spirits and greeted everyone.

The disciples were all surprised. How could this person be in such a good mood after being scolded by the teacher? Is he a weirdo?

Lin Yanchao didn't think much about it. He returned to his desk and studied the "Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books" that Lin Liao gave him.

The "Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books" refers to major topics, which are complete passages from the Four Books and Five Classics, such as "The Master said, 'Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned? Is it not delightful to have friends come from afar? Is it not a gentleman who is not angry when others do not know him?'" This is considered a major topic.

If the question lists only one sentence, such as "Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned?" it is also considered a major topic.

However, if the question is "Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned?" but only the first half is given, and the second half is omitted, it is a minor topic. Similarly, if the question is "Is it not delightful to have friends come from afar?" but only the second half is given, and the first half is omitted, it is also a minor topic.

Simply put, "Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned?" can be used to form three questions, and an essay on the Four Books must be at least 300 characters long. It's not uncommon for someone to write 500 to 600 characters when they get carried away.

These three model essays alone total over 1,000 characters, not including the Five Classics. The Four Books together have over 50,000 characters. The examiners can form countless combinations and questions from this, so it's unrealistic to memorize the entire question bank.

Moreover, Lin Liao looked down on this practice, calling it something only those who repeatedly failed the exams and had no prospects would do.

So, even though Lin Yanchao was confident in his memory, he had no intention of memorizing the "Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books." As Lin Liao said, he should read carefully and study how the masters break down and develop topics and start the essay. Just like solving problems in modern times, the key is to master the methods and thinking, not to memorize questions and hope to guess the right ones in the exam.

So, Lin Yanchao followed Lin Liao's method and started reading. This scene caught the attention of some people, who began to whisper.

"This person was scolded by the teacher, yet he still has the heart to read. There must be something strange."

"Definitely."

"Let me see what he's reading."

A disciple walked to Lin Yanchao's side, pretending to chat with someone, occasionally glancing at the book in Lin Yanchao's hands.

Lin Yanchao was fully focused on reading and didn't notice, and even if he did, he wouldn't have said anything.

After a while, the disciple returned to the group with a mocking smile and said, "Guess what the bookworm is reading?"

"Stop being mysterious, just tell us, tell us."

The disciple laughed and said, "The bookworm is reading the 'Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books.'"

"What, there's actually someone reading that book?"

"That's a book with dozens of volumes. The teacher once told me to study the model essays from it, but I gave up after reading a few. It was too much."

"Right, this person is both stupid and not stupid. He knows his essays are weak, so he's trying to guess the questions. If he gets three or four right in the county or prefectural exams, who knows?"

"Ha, Lin, do you really believe that? If this method worked, the old bookworms wouldn't be lined up from the city gate to the bridge."

"I'm telling you, in the past, some people memorized this 'Compendium of Major and Minor Topics from the Four Books' day and night until their hair turned white. How long would it take for a bookworm to memorize it? Even if he did, what if he encounters a tricky question or a partial question in the county or prefectural exams? It wouldn't help."

Everyone laughed.

"Ah, why did the great master accept this person as a disciple and not me? This is so unfair."

"You're right, there must be some dark dealings."

"Next month's exam, we'll see his embarrassment."

Lin Yanchao, ignoring the outside world, focused on reading the classics. He was surprised when he read a passage from the book. He couldn't believe that after reading any passage of the eight-legged essay carefully, he could recite it immediately after closing the book.

This was strange. He used to need to read the Great Learning and Mencius three or four times to memorize them. When reading the Thousand Character Classic, the Young Scholar's Treasury, and the Cheng-Zhu annotations of the Great Learning and Mencius, he could memorize them after two or three readings. But with these model essays of the eight-legged essay, he could recite them after just one reading, at most two.

Lin Yanchao continued reading, and after finishing half a volume, he closed the book and tried to recite it from memory. He really had a photographic memory!

Lin Yanchao stopped reading and pondered. He remembered Lin Liao saying that the Four Books were easier to understand than the Five Classics. The Cheng-Zhu annotations explained the Four Books, so they were simpler. Therefore, he needed to read the Four Books three or four times to memorize them, while the Cheng-Zhu annotations only required two or three readings. The eight-legged essay, though written in the voice of a sage, did not exceed the scope of the Cheng-Zhu annotations and included the author's own words, making it even simpler.

Simpler texts were naturally easier to understand and memorize compared to the obscure Four Books and Five Classics.

Lin Liao had told him not to memorize but to study the masters' techniques. Lin Yanchao didn't disobey his teacher, but he found that he could memorize the texts after just one reading!

It was all because of his photographic memory. What could he do?

Blame me!

After reading one volume, or rather, memorizing one volume, Lin Yanchao felt a bit tired and returned to his dormitory.

Inside the dormitory, the atmosphere was different. The exams were over, and the disciples who usually studied hard were enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

Yu Ziyu, who ranked second in the outer dormitory, was very happy. His roommates also did well. Ye Xianggao, Huang Biyou, and Zhu Xiangwen all ranked in the top ten, while Chen Wen only ranked 22nd.

Yu Ziyu and the others bought a lot of snacks to share with the other disciples.

Yu Ziyu looked at Lin Yanchao and teased, "Brother Yanchao, why are you back so early today?"

Huang Biyou, who was next to Yu Ziyu, laughed and said, "Not because you did poorly today and lost heart, right? Brother Lin, please forgive me, but I think you are not cut out for writing essays."

"That's right, Brother Huang is right!" Lin Yanchao smiled faintly, as if it didn't bother him at all.

Huang Biyou felt like he had punched into thin air and added, "Brother Lin, as a disciple of the chief examiner, you ranked 28th this time. Do you want to know what the other disciples in the outer dormitory are saying about you?"

"Others' opinions are not necessary to know," Lin Yanchao said with a chuckle.

Huang Biyou sneered, "Brother Yanchao, you are like a thief who covers his ears while stealing a bell. I admire you, I really do!"

"Brother Huang, I assume you did well this time?"

"Not great, ninth in the outer dormitory, but much higher than Brother Yanchao."

"Then how about we compete in the next monthly exam?"

Hearing this, the other roommates gathered around.

Huang Biyou looked both surprised and angry, as if to say, who gave you the courage!

"If I lose to you, I will write a thousand '服' (submit) characters for you and stick them on the wall. What if you lose?"

"I will also write a thousand '服' characters for you."

Huang Biyou snorted, "A gentleman's word."

"Is as good as a swift horse's whip," Lin Yanchao replied.

PS: Finally, two updates. There will be another update tonight, but it will be a bit late. Please give me some recommendations, brothers?