What will happen to Gui Youguang who failed the exam for the seventh time?

Gui Youguang's life can be evaluated like this:

First, China's famous imperial examination didn't go well.

Gui Youguang, whose real name is Xifu, whose real name is Zhenchuan, was born in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month (1506). When he was eight years old, his 25-year-old mother left three sons and two daughters and died. His father was a poor county student, and his family declined sharply. Perhaps it was this dilemma that forced young Gui Youguang to understand human worries prematurely and began to study hard. Gui Youguang was a man of great understanding since he was a child, and he could write at the age of nine. At the age of ten, he wrote "On Begging for the Extreme" with more than a thousand words. At the age of eleven or twelve, he became "interested in the ancients". At the age of fourteen, he took a boy exam. At the age of twenty, he won the first place among students in Suzhou. In the same year, I went to Nanjing to take the provincial examination. Gui Youguang, who is "familiar with the Six Classics and Three History, everyone writes" (Wang Xijue's Epitaph of the Ming Palace), was full of confidence at the beginning. However, after having obtained the provincial examination, I failed repeatedly. On the fifth day, I went to Nanjing, and I was unknown on the list. During this period, he was badly managed, and he was cold for fifteen years. At the age of 35, he won the second place.

At this time, Gui Youguang has been reading three generations of Han books and visiting hundreds of books, from Nine Classics, Twenty-one History to Agricultural Nursery Medicine. Gui Youguang's ancient prose, Yu Zhongwei's poems, and Zhang Zibin's craftsmanship are known as "the three wonders of Kunshan". At that time, Jiangnan examiners called Gui Youguang "the reincarnation of Jia and Dong". With Gui Youguang's talent and reputation, he should be a shoo-in. In the winter of the same year, after having obtained the provincial examination in high school, Gui Youguang hired horses and chariots to go north day and night to prepare for the next year's does examination. Who knows that Sun Shan failed in the exam this time? After returning to his hometown from the south, he moved to the Anting River near Jiading and began his career of speaking while studying and taking exams. Scholars from all over the world come here, ranging from a dozen to more than a hundred.

Gui Youguang's family has always been relatively poor, relying on his wife Wang to take care of the housework for a living. During his stay in Anting, Wang cultivated more than 40 mu of land, supervised the reclamation of slaves, and irrigated rice with ox carts for his family and disciples, so that Gui Youguang could concentrate on giving lectures. Gui Youguang talks about literature and history and classics. At that time, the disciples were full, and domestic scholars and scribes called Gui Youguang Mr. Zhenchuan.

Mr. Zhenchuan is famous at home and abroad, and even Xu Wenchang, who is proud of his talent, is in awe of Gui Youguang. One day, Xu Da, an assistant minister who was born as the top scholar, returned to his hometown and invited Xu Wenchang to a party. But from dusk until late at night, Xu Wenchang was still late. Asked why, he said, "The gentleman took shelter from the rain and saw' Gui Youguang Today's Ouyang Zi' hanging on the wall and door. It was too late to go back to Luo Xiang to study." . Mr Ogata ordered his servant to pick up Gui Youguang's article and read it quickly, which was relatively appreciated. As for Da Dan. (Zhang Chuanyuan and Yu Meinian's Chronicle of Returning to the Truth) However, Gui Youguang's fate is difficult. I will try every three years, and every time I travel a long way, I will go back to the bottom eight times in a row. At the age of forty-three, he lost his beloved eldest son, and a year later, he lost his wife Wang, who worked hard for him and shared his worries. The trampling of official career has long abandoned this famous ancient prose writer in a desolate land. Coupled with the grief of losing his son and wife, his life is even more difficult. However, the rough life also tempered Gui Youguang's deep and determined character, and he did not yield to power and bad luck.

The second is not to cling to powerful people and bravely resist the giants.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a strong tendency to cheat in imperial examinations. Although the habit of writing was not heavy in the Tang Dynasty, it was an important shortcut to be promoted by masters and bureaucrats. Gui Youguang has been stuck in other places for a long time, so he should know the inside story of this imperial examination. However, he never rose from heresy to career. Zhang Wenyi, the master after having obtained the provincial examination, admired Gui Youguang very much. He deeply regrets that Gui Youguang can't be a China person for three transgressions and five times. He "tried to attract him with old friendship" several times, but Gui Youguang "refused to go straight". (Ji Dong's Inscription on the Ancestral Temple of Mr. Zhenchuan after the Reconstruction of Shunde House) When Gui Youguang repeatedly refused to be a native of China, Ming Muzong had not yet ascended the throne. A lucky eunuch around Mu Zong longed for the name of Gui Youguang, made his nephew worship Gui Youguang as his teacher, and made Gui Youguang visit the eunuch in Beijing several times, but Gui Youguang flatly refused. After Mu Zong ascended the throne, eunuchs became more powerful, and Gui Youguang still refused to associate with him. (Zhang Chuanyuan, Yu Meinian's Chronicle of Returning to Zhenchuan) Gui Youguang's character of integrity and not dealing with powerful people is reflected in all aspects of his life. In the field of ancient prose, he always insisted on his own opinions, was not confused by everyone, and dared to fight against the "giants" who ruled the literary world at that time.

In the Ming Dynasty, after Liu Ji and Song Lian left some good articles in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there began to be an antique atmosphere in the literary world. During the decades from Yongle to Chenghua, "Sanyang", who has lived in pavilions for a long time, ruled the literary world, advocated prosperity and broad style, and his writing style was elegant and commonplace, which was called "Taige Style". As a result, the "first seven sons" led by Li Mengyang and He Jingming rose up against the "Tiger Wind". They hold that "literature must be in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and poetry must flourish in the Tang Dynasty", and the imitation and twisting of words are regarded as ancient. Both Li and He Qizi are devoted to poetry creation. Although prose is not their strong point, it is so powerful that it once dominated their lives. During the Jiajing period, Li Panlong, Wang Shizhen and other "last seven sons" followed the "first seven sons" and added fuel to the fire, which intensified the wind of copying the ancient times. Gui Youguang is a brave man who rises suddenly in this moldy archaize, and an upright writer who dares to resist the trend.

Third, he became an official in his later years and kept his position.

Although Gui Youguang "got on the bus for eight times, but he didn't meet", he still didn't want to rest, because taking part in the imperial examination was the only way out for the lower literati in feudal society. In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (1565), Gui Youguang finally won the top three in the imperial examination for the ninth time. By this time, he was sixty years old. Gui Youguang, who is full of poetry and dedicated to serving his country, has not lost his ambition, although he is in his prime. Because it is the top three, I can't be appointed as a librarian, so I can only go to Changxing, a remote place, as a magistrate. Changxing is located in the mountainous area and has no magistrate for a long time. Everything is controlled by petty officials, and rich and powerful families collude with the government to do evil. The prison is full of innocent people, business thieves and villagers are restless. At that time, Gui Youguang was advised not to take office until he was replaced, but he resolutely went. The first thing he did after he arrived in Changxing was to run a school and train backward people. The second thing is to punish evil officials and rehabilitate unjust imprisonment. More than 30 innocent people who committed capital crimes were released from prison, 107 innocent people who were wrongly detained were rehabilitated, and Aauto Quicker, an evil official and a fisherman, was severely punished. Every time a court hearing is held, women and children are required to hear the case in Wu instead of Putonghua before filing a case, so that the people can complain. I often make decisions in class, but rarely in prison. Provide food and clothing to those who are imprisoned according to law. A heavy prison mother died, and Gui Youguang allowed him to go home to take care of the funeral and go back by himself. After arranging the funeral, the prisoner disobeyed other people's orders and went back by himself.

Gui Youguang wants to learn from the officials of the Han Dynasty and be an upright official. When the boss's orders are inconvenient to carry out, they are shelved and "go straight to their own will." He publicly announced on the editorial notice of Changxing County: "When you take office, you will send a hundred miles of life, only knowing how to support the king by imperial decree; I dare not go to court for sponsorship. This is a shame and I don't care. " In just two years of knowing Changxing, Gui Youguang actually did several good things for the people, which was well received by the people.

In the second year of Qin Long (1568), 63-year-old Gui Youguang moved to Shunde to serve his sentence. According to the Ming system, "Jinshi is the order, nothing moves." So Gui Youguang's promotion is really heavy. Gui Youguang once said angrily: "The so-called three helpers are close, which is no different from Hunan Water Investment." Upright and integrity, keeping one's place, these are two aspects of Gui Youguang's character. Although he was greatly dissatisfied with moving to Shunde, he was still conscientious and meticulous when he took office. He made use of Ma's leisure time, extensively read historical records and interviewed anecdotes, and compiled a complete Collection of Horses. In the fourth year of Qin Long (1570), Gui Youguang went to Beijing to celebrate Wanshou Festival, and in the same year he was promoted to Taipu Temple in Nanjing. However, in 1750, he remained in Beijing as a cabinet, compiling A Record of Sejong. Gui Youguang hated that "the footprint of his life is not as good as that of the world, and he can't write outstanding books", so he read different books in the library. Unfortunately, just as I was about to open my eyes to show my talents, I was troubled by the disease. Although he persisted in his illness for some time, he finally died in Beijing in the second year (the fifth year of Qin Long, namely 157 1 year) at the age of 66.

Fourth, works are rich and prose is popular.

Gui Youguang's life works are numerous and rich, involving all parts of the subset of classics and history, but his main achievement lies in prose creation. Wang Mingsheng, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, commented on Gui Youguang's contribution from the perspective of prose development in his Plain Manuscript: "Ming is always there, and under propaganda, it is still a cabinet style; Under the rule, it is still a pseudo-Qin and Han dynasties; There have been no real articles in the world for hundreds of years. Zhenchuan's returning home originated in our county, with unpredictable purpose, making a dull sound, sweeping away the skin of Taige and rejecting the evil turbidity of the false body. However, the Tang and Song Dynasties and Taoism in eastern Zhejiang did not follow each other, and Gavin surpassed it. " Gui Youguang's essay "My Home is in Longmen, My Home is in Changli" (Qian's Preface to the Collected Works of Mr. Zhenchuan, a new issue) draws on the strengths of the Tang and Song Dynasties, inherits the tradition of the ancient prose movement in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and develops on this basis. He further expanded the subject matter of his prose, introduced trivial matters in daily life into serious ancient prose, and made it more closely related to life. In this way, it is easy to make the article appear sincere, approachable and fresh. In particular, some short stories about family chores or getting together with the elderly are simple, concise and moving, "making the viewer feel sad and hidden."

For hundreds of years, people have read Gui Youguang's Burial Records of Cold Flowers, Ridge Tips, A Brief Account of the Past and The Death of a Son. Sun's records, women's records, and women's records like Lan's records are all deeply moving. Gui Youguang's narrative prose, like a clear spring, opened up a new realm for the development of prose at that time.

Gui Youguang is good at capturing ordinary details and scenes in life, and a few of them are vivid and unforgettable. In plain and simple pen and ink, he is full of touching and sincere feelings.