Chapter 57

Sorry for the delay, I'll write the next chapter right away...

The Song Dynasty academies were divided into three types: one was primarily academic, focusing on the discussion of classics; another was mainly for teaching, aimed at preparing students for the imperial examinations; and there were also specialized academies that taught subjects such as medicine, painting, and mathematics.

Zhongyan Academy clearly belonged to the second type. Compared to the loosely organized academic academies and the lower-tier specialized academies, these teaching-focused academies faced much greater pressure—imperial examinations held every few years were the sole standard for evaluating their teaching quality. If many students passed the exams, the academy would gain both fame and fortune, securing resources unimaginable to other academies; otherwise, it would face the pressure of being abandoned by the government and parents.

The requirements for students in such academies were naturally much higher than in other academies. Strict selection was just the first step; once students entered the academy, they had to adhere to strict academic regulations and complete heavy coursework. To ensure students made daily progress, the academy issued various record books on the first day of enrollment, including daily journals, daily schedules, daily coursework, and assignment books.

The "daily coursework book" contained the daily assignments set by the academy, requiring students to follow the curriculum and fill in their progress daily. The "daily schedule book" required students to allocate their daily studies into four segments: morning, before noon, after noon, and evening. The former was for review by teachers, while the latter was for students' self-management.

There was also a "daily journal" for students to record their reading insights and questions, which had to be submitted to the teacher every five days for supervision and guidance. Additionally, there was an "accumulation book" to record students' daily performance. Any such academy required students to take these record books seriously and strictly supervised them, as they were the lifeline for managing students.

Moreover, the headmaster could adjust the pace and focus of students' studies based on their individual situations, implementing differentiated teaching.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although Chen Ke and his classmates were day students, they had to arrive at school at dawn and begin a half-hour of morning reading. During this time, the teacher would check each student's daily coursework book one by one.

After the coursework check, the day's classes would begin. The academy operated on a five-day week, with four teachers—specializing in classics, history, philosophy, and literature—giving lectures on the Four Books and Five Classics, ancient and modern literature, poetry, and policy essays in the morning.

After lunch, students would work on assignments given in the morning, such as writing essays, composing poetry, or drafting policy essays. In the afternoon, the teacher would comment on the assignments in class and invite students to point out any shortcomings, ultimately giving a score between one and five, which would be recorded in red ink in the "score book."

Afterward, the teacher would assign homework, and the students would be dismissed.

In addition to using these record books to supervise academic progress, the academy held monthly exams set by the headmaster, covering poetry, classics, or historical essays. All enrolled students had to participate. The top scorer would receive 100 points, the second 90 points, the third 80 points, the fourth 70 points, and so on, with the lowest score being 0 points.

The academy would then add the monthly scores to the students' daily performance to determine their monthly grades, which would be used to evaluate their performance and provide rewards or punishments. Rewards could take various forms, including moral encouragement and material incentives. The most effective method was to publish the best works in the academy and distribute them for public reading, which was a significant motivation for the honor-seeking young students.

After repeating this process for half a year, the critical moment arrived. The academy would rank the students based on their total scores over the six months and divide them into different levels. The economic benefits for students at different levels varied greatly—there were five levels in total. First-level students not only had their tuition waived but also received four guan of money per month from the government. Second-level students had their tuition waived but received no scholarship. Third-level students had their tuition reduced by half. Fourth-level students had to pay full tuition, and fifth-level students had to pay an additional half.

The academy also allowed outstanding students to skip grades and would expel those who fell behind.

For the many students from ordinary families, they would use all their strength to try to have their tuition waived or even receive a scholarship. Even students from wealthy families did not want to fall behind, let alone be expelled from the academy. Thus, the academy successfully created a highly competitive atmosphere among the students, making them never relax for a moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chen Ke and his classmates had cursed Wang Fang countless times in private... saying that this old man, who appeared to be a learned scholar, was actually full of cunning ideas and would be a cruel official if he were in government.

But complaining solved nothing, and they had to continue working hard after complaining. The Su brothers and Song Duanping came from families that were not very well-off, so they all aimed for the first level. Although Si Lang did not say much, he was also a hard worker, studying until midnight every night.

Chen Ke did not lack the money, but he could not be content with just getting by like Wu Lang... his father, Chen Xiliang, knew him well and understood that this young man, though indifferent in words, was unwilling to lose to anyone in his heart.

In Chen Ke's mind, what did it matter if Su Xian was a great scholar or one of the Eight Great Masters? He had lived two lives, with a thousand years of knowledge and a sharp mind. If he still could not outperform them, he would be a complete failure.

In this competitive atmosphere, the students naturally focused all their attention on their studies. Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was September...

Although Sichuan was still lush and green, the weather had turned cooler, and the autumn air was refreshing, dispelling the summer heat and making people feel comfortable.

The end of the month was the first major exam after enrollment, and the atmosphere in the academy was tense. Many students, in a last-ditch effort to improve their rankings, studied day and night, even neglecting to return home. Since the academy did not have enough dormitories, they slept in the temple's main hall... at first, the monks were unhappy, thinking the students would disrupt their morning and evening prayers, but they soon realized that the students went to bed much later and woke up much earlier than they did, so they never saw each other.

But at this tense moment, Chen Ke and his classmates took a day off. Their fathers had successfully passed the autumn examination and were about to set off for Bianjing to take the imperial exams.

Although it was not a major event like a wedding or funeral, the academy considered it an excellent incentive and strongly supported the students in seeing their fathers off.

At the East Gate dock, the crowd was bustling, mostly people coming to see off the students. The most impressive group was Chen Xiliang's entourage, which included his six sons—Chen Yu, Chen Chen, Chen Ke, Chen Yong, Chen Xun, and Chen Zao—along with neighbors and friends like Cai Chuanfu, Pan the carpenter, Li Jian, and Tu the sauce merchant. Just the dock boss and the porters numbered over a hundred.

Chen Xiliang never hid his past work at the dock and was proud of it. The people at the dock were naturally proud of him as well. The dock boss set up a banquet to see him off, and his old colleagues from the dock toasted him one after another.

Chen Ke was worried that his father might drink too much, so he signaled Cai Chuanfu and Pan the carpenter to help him avoid some of the toasts... in fact, a few days earlier, Cai Chuanfu and the others had planned a grand farewell banquet for Chen Xiliang, but Chen Xiaoliang refused to avoid being laughed at later.

Cai Chuanfu and the others said they would make it up when he returned in glory, but now they were upset that Bi Mingjun, an outsider, had beaten them to it. They decided to take the opportunity to get back at him. The two sides engaged in a fierce drinking contest, completely forgetting the main person.

This gave Chen Xiliang and his sons a chance to have a quiet conversation.

Chen Xiliang, slightly tipsy, his face flushed, looked at his six sons and nephews and said, "You must stick together, or others will look down on you!"

"Look at this," Pan the carpenter, slurring his words, said as he raised his glass, "With this kind of support, what does the master have to worry about? In Qingshen County, only your son can bully others..." Before he could finish, someone pulled him away to continue the drinking contest.

"Alright, let's talk about your studies," Chen Xiliang said. "Da Lang and Er Lang will be taking the exams next year. I think Da Lang will be fine, but Er Lang, you... I hear you're always listless. How can that be?"

"Father, don't worry about me," Er Lang said with a bitter smile. "When you were my age, you were already a father."

"That's true, you're a grown man now," Chen Xiliang said, his breath reeking of alcohol. He turned to San Lang and Si Lang, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There's not much to say to you two..." He then looked at Wu Lang, "Smile more, life is beautiful..."

"Father, what about me?" Seeing that Chen Xiliang had not mentioned him, Xiao Liulang asked.

"You, just two words, be obedient," Chen Xiliang said, smiling and patting his youngest son's head. "Listen to Aunt Su, listen to Sister Su, listen to your brothers, and listen to Aunt Zhang..."

"Okay..." Xiao Liulang pouted, clearly feeling the pressure of so many authorities.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Chen Xiliang asked, looking at his five strong sons with pride. "We won't see each other for half a year, so speak your minds."

"There is something," Chen Ke said. "Father, I heard that officials in the capital have a habit of catching sons-in-law after the exam results are announced."

"Um, yes," Chen Xiliang, a bit dazed, said, not quite understanding. "What's the matter?"

"Is there an age limit?" Er Lang asked. "For example, they don't want older men."

"Heh, the last time I went to the capital for the exam, after the results were announced, a man named Han Nan was caught by someone. When asked his age, he recited a poem: 'I have read a hundred loads of books, and only now, in my old age, have I earned a green robe. When the matchmaker asked my age, I replied, 'Thirty-three, forty years ago...'"

"Is that so? Then Father, at thirty-three, will surely be very popular," the children teased.

"Uh, what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing else, just a reminder. When the time comes, don't be too reserved, just go with the flow..." the children said seriously.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－分割－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

I didn't realize how advanced the teaching and evaluation methods of Song Dynasty academies were until I researched them. It's clear that the subsequent cultural renaissance was not a coincidence.

<a href="