On the day of the main session of the prefectural examination in mid-June, Pei Shaohuai accompanied his younger brother Jin to the examination hall to take the examination. The journey passed without incident — no one maliciously blocked their path, nor did they lose their brushes and ink.
On the street in front of the examination hall, carriages came and went in a constant stream, all families who had come to see their candidates off.
The Xu family’s carriage had arrived a step ahead. Pei Shaohuai and Pei Shaojin went forward to meet up with Xu Yancheng.
Little Yan Gui had insisted on coming along, saying he wanted to personally see his elder brother and Little Uncle Jin enter the examination hall to take the test. But halfway there, he had dozed off into a drowsy sleep again. By the time he stretched and woke up, he found himself lying in the carriage, with bright daylight already showing beyond the curtain.
Little Yan Gui shot upright.
“Awake?”
It was Little Uncle Huai.
Little Yan Gui rubbed his eyes and asked: “Have Elder Brother and Little Uncle Jin already entered the examination hall?”
Pei Shaohuai nodded and said: “At this hour, the supervising official has most likely already released the first question.”
Little Yan Gui deflated all at once and muttered: “It’s all because I was too excited last night to sleep well, and then fell asleep in the carriage instead — I’ve gone and missed what mattered…”
Pei Shaohuai found this rather amusing. He ruffled Little Yan Gui’s head and said: “It is not yet your turn to sit the examination — why were you so excited you couldn’t sleep?”
“Precisely because it is not yet my turn — I always have a bit of curiosity about it.”
Truly the heart of a child.
Pei Shaohuai took Little Yan Gui and found a teahouse on the street in front of the examination hall, ordered some delicate pastries and a pot of tea, and settled in to wait for Yancheng and his younger brother to finish the examination and come out.
Two essays and one verse — Pei Shaohuai guessed they would both hand in their papers before the first-tier deadline, since “speed” was also one of the evaluation criteria for the prefectural examination.
When the hour of Shen arrived, the southern gate of the examination hall opened, the heavy door planks letting out a low groan, and then nearly a hundred candidates walked out in orderly succession.
From the teahouse above, Pei Shaohuai spotted Xu Yancheng and his younger brother Jin from a distance. They were walking over with their examination baskets, their steps unhurried — Yancheng’s hands were gesturing left and right as he spoke, his face animated with expression.
From the look of things, they had both done well. Pei Shaohuai sent Chang Fan downstairs to bring them up.
As soon as Xu Yancheng sat down, he said: “Shaohuai, it turned out exactly as you predicted — Supervisor Zhao set small-scale topics again. For the two classical essay questions, he only drew from ‘what the gentleman holds fast to’ and ‘thoughts without error.’ It was the verse question that came from a more obscure source — he used ‘reclining high on the Eastern Mountain.’ If not for Little Shaojin having explained the allusion of ‘reclining high on the Eastern Mountain’ to me a few months back, I would surely have misunderstood the meaning. It was truly a close call.”
“Reclining high on the Eastern Mountain” carried neither the meaning of ascending a height to gaze into the distance, nor of resting without a care — it referred to the leisurely contentment of living in seclusion.
For Supervisor Zhao to set such a theme of relaxed and refined sentiment in the prefectural examination was quite interesting indeed. He was, as expected, one of the old learned scholars of the Hanlin Academy.
“Then you should both be safe,” Pei Shaohuai said happily.
Yancheng and Shaojin gave light nods, and the group cheerfully made their way home.
At the end of the month, the examination results were posted. Both Yancheng and Shaojin ranked high on the list — Shaojin placed second, Yancheng third. The top placer for the examination was a veteran candidate who was nearly thirty years old; after years of steady accumulation, his two essays were written with exceptional precision and depth, and he claimed first place.
Following Pei Shaohuai, the Earl’s manor had gained another young Scholar, and one who ranked near the top at that.
When something happens only once, it might perhaps be attributed to luck. When it happens again and again, it inevitably draws greater attention.
There was a popular saying among the common people — a family that could draw two stipended scholar rations would be blessed enough that smoke rose from their ancestral grave. By that reckoning, with two youngsters from the Jingchuan Earl’s manor developing at this pace, the ancestral grave might well burst into flame — though of course that was said in jest. Others made sour remarks, saying that a bright child does not always make a great adult.
In any case, the long-silent Jingchuan Earl’s manor had truly made a stir among the circles of titled nobility for a while.
……
Interactions between the Jingchuan Earl’s manor and the Jinchang Marquis household grew considerably more frequent.
After Chen Xingchen had read through Pei Shaohuai’s manuscript, he had gained a great deal from it. Many algorithms that he had pondered deeply without being able to solve suddenly became clear once a corner had been opened up — Chen Xingchen had found the key.
Immersed and thoroughly satisfied.
Pei Shaohuai also held nothing back. Except for those algorithms that were too far ahead of their time and those unusual natural-investigation methods that were inconvenient to reveal, everything covered in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was shared without reservation, imparted in full.
One day, while Pei Shaohuai was savoring tea in a teahouse, an elderly manservant arrived. His clothing was understated yet made of silk — one glance was enough to tell he was the personal attendant of some person of rank; a servant takes on the dignity of his master.
“Greetings to Young Master Pei,” the elderly manservant said with respectful ceremony. “The Jinchang Marquis invites you to come for a conversation.”
Chen Xingchen’s grandfather?
Pei Shaohuai had only ever interacted with Chen Xingchen. The Jinchang Marquis summoning him for a conversation without prior cause was either a matter of passing fancy, or something related to Chen Xingchen.
Inside the private room, a single column of sandalwood incense smoke descended from the censer on the table, then diffused into every corner.
“This junior pays his respects to the Marquis.”
“No need for formalities.”
The Marquis of the Chen household had kind, gentle features and was exceedingly amiable toward Pei Shaohuai. He first exchanged pleasantries, asking after Elder Master Pei and the Old Madam, before saying: “Today I have sought out my grand-nephew because I have a favor to ask of him.”
He explained: “You are well acquainted with Xingchen, so you surely know his obsession with mathematics borders on forgetting to eat and sleep. Since receiving your guidance of late, his skills have advanced by leaps and bounds, and I am deeply grateful. The thing is, on the path of the imperial examination, it is ultimately essay writing that determines one’s standing, and if he wishes to enter officialdom he must still follow the eight-legged essay format… yet his mind is not on writing essays these days.”
Pei Shaohuai, upon hearing this, realized he had been negligent.
The world revered the eight-legged essay. If the Jinchang Marquis household were the sort to take offense, would they not resent him for leading Chen Xingchen astray? In this era, devoting oneself to mathematics was not considered a worthy pursuit.
Pei Shaohuai’s expression showed a flush of embarrassment.
“Grand-nephew, please do not misunderstand — this matter has nothing to do with you, and I have not the slightest intention of blaming you,” the Marquis said hastily. “What Xingchen is like by nature from childhood, I know well. I too would like him to be a carefree young master, but he is clearly endowed with a full measure of intelligence and talent — if he were to stop at the level of a mere Scholar, it would be something of a pity. And so I have privately nurtured other hopes, wishing him to take a step further.”
He then put his difficulty into words: “But he grew up away from home, and counting on my fingers, the days we have spent together amount to no more than a few months. If I were to reprimand or lecture him, I fear he would mistakenly think I was trying to obstruct his study of mathematics, and that would damage our bond as grandfather and grandson.”
Finally, he stated his purpose: “These past years, word has spread throughout the capital that the Jingchuan Earl has a fine pair of grandsons, both young Scholars. Grand-nephew, you excel at mathematics and can also manage the eight-legged essay — you must have your own insights. You and Xingchen are also fellow students and kindred spirits… I wonder whether grand-nephew might be willing to persuade him on my behalf and share some of your experience.”
Though he was a Marquis, to speak with such humble sincerity before a junior — the Marquis of the Chen household was utterly earnest.
His deep love for his grandson was plain to see.
Persuading someone was no easy matter, for changing a person’s way of thinking was inherently difficult. Pei Shaohuai should by rights have declined, but he agreed — for the person before him was the Jinchang Marquis.
In forming a friendship with Chen Xingchen, Pei Shaohuai had no ulterior motives. But in forming a connection with the Jinchang Marquis household, he could permit himself to have them.
Among all the titled households in the capital, the Jinchang Marquis household kept to proper conduct and a clean reputation — it was undoubtedly an excellent choice of alliance.
Pei Shaohuai said: “This junior is naturally willing. However…”
Before he could finish, the Marquis said: “If he can take it to heart, all the better. If he cannot, it is simply a matter of his own temperament — grand-nephew need not worry about any consequences.”
“Then this junior shall give it a try.”
……
In September, when the rations of winter clothing were distributed, the prefectural academy took a break, giving students half a month’s holiday to return home and prepare warm garments for the cold season.
During his time at home on holiday, Chen Xingchen came to call at the Earl’s manor more frequently.
“With this method of yours, no matter how oddly shaped a plot of land may be, one can easily calculate its area. Push it one element further, and the same method can be applied to calculating earthwork volumes.”
After no more than half an hour of exchange, Chen Xingchen had gained abundantly and could not hide his delight.
Pei Shaohuai assumed a leisurely manner and, feigning nonchalance, asked: “I have a question — given Chen Xingchen’s devotion to mathematics, would he consider himself of the practical school or the theoretical school?”
“What practical school? What theoretical school?” Chen Xingchen did not understand.
Pei Shaohuai explained: “If one studies mathematical methods with the aim of applying them to governing the nation and relieving the people — such as measuring earthwork volumes, constructing water conservancy works, or the craftsmanship of engineering — that would be the practical school. If one studies purely to explore the mysteries within and satisfy the desire for knowledge, that would be the theoretical school.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
Chen Xingchen pondered for quite some time before saying: “The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was drawn from everyday incidents among the people, and through clever solutions and calculations, its algorithms were finally systematized — from this I can see that I am more fond of the practical school. What is more, a man lives but a few short decades in this world — it is easy enough to sustain oneself, and not too difficult to provide for a family. But if one could benefit a thousand or ten thousand people, that would be a great blessing. If the opportunity presents itself, I too would wish for my learning to bring benefit to a whole region.”
“Then the practical school is not enough for Chen Xingchen.”
“What do you mean?” Chen Xingchen’s interest was immediately piqued, and he ventured a guess: “Surely, Little Brother Huai, you are not also going to give me the lecture about essays being supreme?”
“Of course not.” Pei Shaohuai shook his head and said: “Today let us only speak of the practical and theoretical schools of mathematics. If Chen Xingchen wishes to be of the theoretical school, he need only bury himself in study — the more he learns, the greater the joy. The problem is that Chen Xingchen wants to be of the practical school, and that is absolutely not something that can be achieved by burying oneself in study alone.”
Pei Shaohuai had thoroughly piqued Chen Xingchen’s curiosity, making him more and more eager.
“Please enlighten me, Little Brother Huai.”
Pei Shaohuai continued: “Let us use the method of mathematics to envision this. First, suppose Chen Xingchen were a commoner — though possessed of a full measure of mathematical skill, he could only use it to haggle over prices. Should the proprietor of a tavern one day happen to discover his talent, at most he would end up as an accountant. Is that not right?”
Chen Xingchen had been about to argue that he could assist the local official in the government office, but then recalled that a commoner would have no channel to enter a government office and could only nod in agreement.
“Second, suppose Chen Xingchen’s family had some business and the household was comfortably well-off — his mathematical ability could then be used to pursue wealth through trade. Once the business grew large enough, distributing some of that silver to the poor… that might also be considered a blessing, perhaps?”
Chen Xingchen shook his head and said: “No, no — one man’s wealth supporting the pleasures of many people would only breed resentment at greater generosity, and it would not last long.”
“Third, suppose Chen Xingchen were the descendant of a titled family with the scholarly rank of a Scholar — that is, the current situation, precisely. Even without continuing in the imperial examinations, he could use his family’s influence to enter the Imperial College as a hereditary student. Once he came out, he would start from the eighth rank — and his mathematical abilities would likely have even less room to be put to use.”
“Why?”
“Because when you are not the one in charge, you have no standing to speak.” Pei Shaohuai said: “We are speaking only from the perspective of the practical school — whether or not mathematics is applied or used, naturally the one in charge has the final say.”