At present, millions of candidates and parents are waiting for the announcement of college entrance examination results. As in previous years, when the results are announced, millions of families will be filled with joy and sorrow.
College entrance examination scores are very important. It not only determines what kind of university to attend, but also often affects a person's entire life. However, no one is absolutely sure that he will do well in the exam. Because whether you do well in an exam depends on many factors other than your usual academic performance, such as on-the-spot performance, mental state, physical condition... and whether the review is correct, whether the exercises are accurate, and whether the teacher's guidance can Match the number and so on. Zhang Zhang's test papers made people
have ups and downs, like a fierce wild horse that was unruly and unruly. What kind of mentality should candidates, parents, and even society as a whole treat? I think of Fan Zhen, who was not supposed to be the number one scholar in the Song Dynasty.
On March 17, the fifth year of Jingyou's reign (AD 1038), the emperor of the Song Dynasty sat on the dragon throne. The courtiers of the Song Dynasty gathered in the court hall, and the emperor's relatives, princes, and nobles gathered outside the court hall. Everyone was waiting eagerly. Waiting for the grand roll call ceremony after the palace examination. "If there are three people who come first in singing in the palace, the one who is chosen by the Ministry of Ceremonies will have to stand up and speak out more often, and he will be ranked higher. Wu Yu and Ouyang Xiu are known as Geng Jie, and they also follow the crowd." ("Song History·Fan Zhen Biography") After the examiner Pang Ji loudly sang "Lü Qin, Li Xuan, and Xu Liangzuo", Song Renzong and all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty set their sights on Fan Zhen, the new champion. Why? It turns out that the order of imperial examinations in the Northern Song Dynasty was not based on grades, but on the location of the students' origins. This year's top scholar in a new subject selected by the Ministry of Rites, after the examiner sings out the first three names, "must protest and present himself more and more times." They will skip the order and directly recommend themselves to the emperor. In the end, they will all be "ranked among the top", and the emperor He was directly appointed as the number one scholar in the new subject and given a very high position. This was even the case for Wu Yu and Ouyang Xiu, who were still in the world. But this year's new champion Fan Zhen seemed to be fine, "It's not like Zhendu... he didn't move. When he reached the 79th person, he responded from time to time, retreated and lined up, without saying a word." ("History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Fan Zhen") Pang Ji saw that there was no movement at all among the new champions, so he waited for a long time before continuing to roll the names in order. It was not until he reached the 79th place that Fan Zhen should sing out, and quickly entered after responding. Lie, without saying a word. Fan Zhen's words and deeds were "different in the court."
Fan Zhen should not sing, and later generations have a lot of understanding. I think "History of Song Dynasty: Biography of Fan Zhen" actually has the answer. By analyzing Fan Zhen's life, the biography clearly tells future generations that this is due to Fan Zhen's nature. He just felt that I am who I am, and I can do whatever I do in the exam. There is no need to use the highlight moment of the emperor's presence and the whole court's focus to show off and gain fame. From this, "everything in the court is different."
If you think about it carefully, Fan Zhen's forthright words and deeds should not be "different". No matter what kind of exam, the scores will always be high or low, and the rankings will always go up and down. The most important thing to pay attention to is whether the scores are true to your own situation. As long as it is a reflection of one's true level, there is no need for high scores to make it to the top of the rankings and low scores to fail. Wang Yangming once said: "It is a shame to be tempted by failure." He, like Su Xun, Du Fu, Li Bai, Li Shizhen, Pu Songling and many other famous people in Chinese history, failed in the imperial examination, but worked hard on the ship of life and put his true talents to the test. Contribute to society and win praise from generations.
Fan Zhen should not sing, but it is not limited to the imperial examination. Whenever there is a "singing" scene in life, he is basically silent. Once, there was an adjustment in official positions in the imperial court, and everyone thought that Fan Zhen should be given the position of school administrator. However, Fan Zhen said nothing, did not express anything, and ended up in a lower position. Fan Zhen smiled and accepted it happily. "Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi became prime ministers and ordered hundreds of officials to greet Wen and others in the suburbs. Zhen said: 'It is better to treat people with false courtesy than to promote them with sincerity... I would like to stop welcoming people in the suburbs and remove the ban on visiting." The emperor asked all officials to greet Wen and Wen in the suburbs. When the two rich prime ministers entered the court, everyone else "should sing", but Fan Zhen persuaded the emperor to "go to the suburbs to welcome them". It can be seen from this that Fan Zhen's "should not sing" character allows him to live a straightforward, plain, low-key and comfortable life.
Although Fan Zhen didn't like "singing", his true talents and excellent character were well-known throughout the Song Dynasty. He went through the four dynasties of Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong and Zhezong, entered the Imperial Academy three times, and learned tribute four times. He was famous for his writing and proficient in music. Sima Guang said that he was "brave and invincible", Su Dongpo praised him for "honoring and humiliating the world with one word", and he was awarded many titles of Shu. The Duke of the county died at an old age, and his posthumous title was Zhongwen. (flood)
