The record of being a master becomes a burden —— On Xiao Jinzhong, the top scholar of Qing Dynasty

There was a A Qing dynasty headed by Xiao Jinzhong, and Hunan was full of talented people. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, because of the rise of Xiang Army, Xiang Army had an important influence in China's political, military and cultural fields. However, as far as scientific research achievements are concerned, Hunan is not outstanding, not as good as neighboring Jiangxi, Hubei and Guangdong, and even has little advantage compared with remote Guangxi. As far as the highest honor of scientific research is concerned, there were four top scholars in Guangxi in the Qing Dynasty (all from Lingui), and only two in Hunan. One is Peng Jun, who was the first in palace examination in the 10th year of Jiaqing (1805) and a native of Hengshan County (now Hengdong), and the other is Xiao Jinzhong in Chaling House in the 25th year of Daoguang (65438+). Of course, the champion is the champion among the champions. No matter how bad today's scientific research system is, there is no doubt that those who pass the county, government, college entrance examination, and after having obtained the provincial entrance examination, and finally win the top prize in palace examination, must be knowledgeable and talented. However, good test scores do not mean strong ability to handle affairs, let alone strong emotional intelligence in officialdom. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the champion was immediately awarded the title of "imperial academy's Compilation", which was six categories. The starting point was higher than the general champion's choice of imperial academy and Jishi Shu, allocation of ministries or going to a local place to be a magistrate. Keren's career is running a marathon, and the person who wins at the starting line may not be able to come second in Guangdong. Being an official is influenced by many inexplicable factors, such as his age, personality, luck and so on. Since winning the highest prize, Peng Jun has always been an official dealing with words in the Korean War, and a noble position with no real power. Examiner of Fujian Provincial Examiner, Bachelor of The Cabinetshi Read (Grade 4). Later, I returned to my hometown to be an official and lived a mediocre life. Xiao Jinzhong, born in the eighth year of Jiaqing (1803), was born in Taiping, Shilou. Looking at his resume today, you will feel incredible. He has been an official for less than two years and returned to his hometown. There is a story in my hometown. Xiao Jinzhong resigned early for fear of sinister career. The reason is that he was scared to death by the emperor's moodiness when he first won the first prize. According to the story, after the court exam came out, the emperor held a royal banquet as usual and became a new scholar of the son of heaven to attend the banquet. At that banquet, both the emperor and the queen were present. After the banquet, Xiao Jinzhong, who didn't know the rules, looked back at the Queen when he left. "What are you staring at" is a tragedy because it doesn't respect people. The emperor was furious and wanted to behead Xiao Jinzhong. Some ministers begged for it. The emperor ordered Xiao Jinzhong to be called to his side and asked him why he was so presumptuous. Xiao Jinzhong argued that he grew up in rural Hunan and loved poetry couplets since childhood. He must write it down by heart. When I attended the honor banquet, I saw so many famous poetry couplets in the palace, and my old habit was broken again. For a moment, I got carried away and only remembered these famous sentences, so I committed the crime of disrespect before the holy driving. With a grain of salt, the emperor asked him to recite the couplets and poems hung in the palace where the banquet was held. Xiao Jinzhong took his time and recited the couplets of poems in the temple word for word. The emperor believed his excuse and pardoned him. This is obviously a story made up by ordinary people in a small place according to the drama, because it is really hard for ordinary people to understand that they finally got the top spot and resigned. Rong En Banquet, also called Qionglin Banquet, was in the Qing Dynasty. On the second day of the legend of Jinshi, does held a banquet in Rong En. Ministers who read volumes, ministers who make funerals, ministers who make funerals, assistant ministers and officials who take volumes, affix their seals, take the palm, supervise, protect the army, enter the ranks, fill out forms, print volumes, supply and praise them, and go to dinner with the new Jinshi. Qin appointed a minister as chairman. There is one seat for the master book and the minister, one seat for the entrance examination officer, one seat for the champion, one seat for the second place and the flower detective, and one seat for the rest of the Jinshi. It can be seen that the emperor will not attend the banquet in person, let alone the queen. Besides, although Daoguang Emperor was mediocre, he was a thrifty king and generous to his ministers. He would never cut off someone's head just because they looked back. According to historical records, after Xiao Jinzhong won the first prize, his two younger brothers died one after another. Sad, he was tired of his official career and returned to his hometown to support his parents. This explanation is still far-fetched. The medical conditions in ancient times were not good, and it was common to die in the prime of life. Two younger brothers died of illness, and the younger brother who won the first prize should be more stressed, make some achievements in his career and honor his ancestors. I'm afraid only Xiao Jinzhong knows the real reason. However, from Xiao Jinzhong's record of Zeng Guofan, a fellow villager in Changsha, we can infer the reason for his resignation. On the fifth day of May 25th, Zeng Guofan wrote to his fourth brother: There are many good books among new students this year, especially in Hunan. Shaw History Tower was the top scholar, Zhou Yinong (Shou Chang) went to Zhongnanyuan, and Sun Zhifang (Ding Chang) took Yuan Chao, which was extremely prosperous. At present, there are many scholars who pay attention to Ci and Zhang, and there are also many scholars who pay attention to sexuality. In the future, the province will be prosperous. Zeng Guofan encouraged his younger brothers with the achievements made by several fellow villagers, hoping that his younger brother would follow their example. In the letter, "provincial transportation will flourish" is just a casual remark, but I didn't expect it to come true in the future. Today, I will evaluate this prediction again. I think it is an important promoting factor to divide the two lakes into provinces in Kangxi year and Changsha into two lakes in Yongzheng year. Hunan talents have been well cultivated and blossomed in the big environment. All three are from Changsha. Therefore, Zeng Guofan wrote a domineering couplet in the Changjun Guild Hall in Beijing: "Ten scholars are in the same subject, celebrating the list of three yuan." In the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang, there were eight scholars in Changsha, and Huang Fuxiang, a new scholar in Guizhou, and Huang Pengnian, an uncle, were originally from Changsha (it seems that they are suspected of emigrating from the college entrance examination). On the third day of July in the 26th year of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan was a cabinet bachelor of Sipin at that time. In his letter to his parents, he talked about the imperial seal requested by his grandparents and their parents, and his grandparents' upcoming birthday: Shou Ping asked Shaw History Building to write, and the stone building is not bad now. If the school administration is not finished in August, the canal will ask for leave to go home, or it may take it home. Everyone knows what to do. This passage shows that Xiao Jinzhong's handwriting is really good. Among Zeng Guofan's fellow friends in Beijing, there are many people who are fond of reading, including He, the largest calligrapher in modern times, but Zeng Guofan still asked Xiao Jinzhong to write a birthday screen for his grandparents. I think one is to increase festivals by winning titles; But the person who can win the first prize will certainly be able to write a neat, graceful and graceful "pavilion", which is more suitable for writing Shou Ping. Zeng Guofan also revealed another news. Xiao Jinzhong is going to take time off to go back to his hometown. He just waits for a brief release of learning politics on August 3, and if it is released, he will continue to be an official. Xiao Jinzhong is really impatient. It's only one year and three months since I entered the official career from the top scholar. No matter how beautiful the number one scholar is, it is impossible to become a "prefect of learning politics" in charge of a province's culture and education in such a short time. Of course, Champion Xiao was in a hurry for a reason. He was forty-three years old when he became a scholar, and time waits for no one. There were many high-ranking officials in the Qing dynasty, and they didn't become officials until they were about forty years old. Luo was a scholar at the age of forty. The starting point is Hanlin Jishi Shu, who took three years to be appointed. The starting point is much lower than that of the No.1 middle school champion, who was compiled from Liu Bohan's forest. However, Keren later became the governor of Sichuan and a college student. After Xiao Jinzhong returned to his hometown in Chaling, he made a living by selling words and writing articles. Of course, the champion's articles and calligraphy sell well. Because of too much writing, there is a local saying: the little champion's handwriting is precious, but his pen is too cheap. "Xianfeng two years, Zeng Guofan back to the old family, after yong ying. He thought of Jinzhong, a book that once worshipped him very much, and wrote to ask him to help himself. Xiao Jinzhong declined. But it's normal to think about it. This scholar who resigned from his post and returned to his hometown without studying politics was eight years older than Zeng Guofan. What's the shame of making him a staff member? If you are a scholar or a juren, there is no psychological gap between you and Zeng Assistant Minister. The number one scholar became an unbearable burden for Xiao Jinzhong. In the winter of the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), Xiao Jinzhong died of carbon monoxide poisoning at home, at the age of 52. Cui Jue cried Li Shangyin's poem, "I have failed to achieve great achievements in my life", and this sentence can also be applied to him.