Chapter 52 Hanlin's Own Hanlin Festival

When He Shen was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, in order to show his prestige, he asked the Hanlin to bow down to him.Liu Dingfu insisted on bowing his hands only, but He Shen actually removed him.Liu Dingfu returned to his hometown with five carts of books. He was thirty-seven years old at the time, and he was in a period of vigorous energy. He wrote angrily: This hatred has been born for a thousand years, and it can't be grinded.He Shen's power is beyond imagination. People who dare to be disrespectful to He Shen are extraordinary.Liu Dingfu is a native of the Zhuang nationality, named Xuchen, also named Shuda, and nicknamed Lingxi. Because of his resistance to Heshen, he became a hero in the hearts of the people of Guangxi.

Liu Dingbo was born in the fifty-ninth year of Kangxi (1720) in a scholarly family in Geyang Village, Taiping Township, Wuyuan (now Wuming County), Guangxi.He was a child prodigy when he was a child. He was smart and studious since he was a child.In the 20th year of Yongzheng (1734), he took the county examination, won the first place in the case (the first place), entered the academy, and continued his studies.In the sixth year of Qianlong (1741), Gongsheng was selected.In the ninth year of Qianlong (1744), Jieyuan (first place) participated in the Guangxi provincial examination.In the thirteenth year of Qianlong (1748), he went to Beijing to take part in the palace examination, was awarded a Jinshi and rank, and was awarded the editorship of the Imperial Academy. Later, he returned home because he offended Heshen.After returning to his hometown, he first set up a private school in Tuohou Village, Long'an County, and then made a living by teaching apprentices in Geyang Community in his hometown. Soon he was hired by Si'en Mansion as the head of Yangming Academy.In the sixth year of Jiaqing (1801), he lectured at Binzhou (now Binyang) Academy.It has been engaged in teaching for decades and has trained a large number of talents.In the ninth year of Jiaqing (1804), after the provincial examination was held in Guangxi, the 84-year-old Liu Dingbo was specially invited to attend the Luming Banquet again.Because he participated in this banquet as the first candidate in the provincial examination in the ninth year of Qianlong, people at that time respected him very much.Zhang Bailing, the governor of Guangxi at that time, wrote Yuqing Zunsu in four characters to indicate his family.Guangxi Xuezheng Shuai Chengying also wrote two impromptu poems in recognition of his achievements in nurturing talents and raising scholars.

Liu Dingfu advocates taking the Four Books and Five Classics, the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Principles as the foundation of life.He respected Confucianism and tried his best to spread feudal culture, which had a certain historical influence on the progress of Zhuang culture and the enlightenment of ideology.He despised the powerful, outspoken, and sympathetic to the common people, and folk stories about his qualities are still widely circulated today.He was the author of "The Analects of Confucius", "The Four Books", "Exhortations to Solve the Three Difficulties", "Reading Liuzi Jue", "Liu's Genealogy", "Liu Lingxi's Poetry Draft", etc., which had a great influence at that time.His "Analects of Confucius" is recited by scholars, and after reading it, he feels happy. His instructions and formulas are the most enlightened. He is known as the first-class person in western Guangdong. contemporary.He also wrote several short essays and dozens of poems, such as "Reconstructing the Stele of Lingshui Temple", "Removing the Stele of Gexu Pass", "Rebuilding the Stele of Zhongyi Temple in Wuyuan County", "Record of the Ancient Luoyi Temple".In the eleventh year of Jiaqing (1806), Liu Dingfu died of illness at the age of eighty-six.In the "Epitaph of Liu Dingfu", the academician Jiang Youzhen praised his virtue as the water of the Lijiang River, which is clear and rippling, and his knowledge is like a unique peak. He is a highly respected educator and a talented poet.

When he was a teenager, Liu Dingbo participated in the county examination, won the first place in the examination, and entered the local school official.Xu Xueguan doubted whether he had real talent and learning. He once passed the entrance examination for him: the green water is not worry-free, but the face is wrinkled by the wind.Ask him to answer the second couplet, and he will answer right away: Qingshan is not old, but has white hair.Xu Xueguan was very surprised. In the thirteenth year of Qianlong (1748), the high-spirited Liu Dingbo left home for the capital, preparing to take part in the palace examination presided over by Emperor Qianlong.Liu Dingfu is short in stature and unattractive in appearance.Passing by Shandong, I happened to meet a group of candidates from Shandong who were also going to Beijing for the exam.Shandong is the hometown of the sage Confucius, and talents have emerged in large numbers since ancient times.These Shandong students felt that they were from the hometown of sages, and they didn't pay attention to this Guangxi Juren who was thousands of miles away.

There was a young man who thought he was talented and wanted to play tricks on Liu Dingbo, who came from the wild land of Guangxi, so he wrote a couplet sarcastically: The pony is ignorant and thinks the road is narrow, Liu Dinglu immediately said without arrogance or humility: Dapeng spreads its wings and hates the sky. Seeing that Liu Dingfu should not be underestimated, the Shandong student thought for a while and drew up a more difficult couplet: Birds fly from west to east, phoenixes are everywhere, and it's hard to get down. This is obviously comparing Shandong Juzi to a phoenix everywhere, and Liu Dingbo from Xilai to an ordinary bird, implying that this bird has no place in a group of phoenixes.

Seeing that the people in the hometown of the sage Confucius were nothing more than that, Liu Dingfu smiled lightly, without thinking about it, he responded accordingly: Nan Lin walked north, and the tigers and leopards in the mountains bowed their heads. In the second couplet, Liu Dingfu compared Shandong Juren to tigers and leopards, and himself to a unicorn, implying that there are people beyond people, and there is a sky beyond the sky, so we should not be arrogant.When the Shandong student heard this, he felt that he had encountered a master, so he looked at Liu Dingfu with admiration, respected him, and hurriedly saluted.Liu Dingfu hurriedly returned the gift, and the two exchanged names and discussed knowledge.

Sure enough, Liu Dingfu succeeded in one fell swoop, and was admitted to Jinshi that year.After the palace examination, Emperor Qianlong asked casually: What is the best taste in the world?Liu Dingfu replied: "Salt, immediately won a lot of applause, and Emperor Qianlong was also very happy that the country had a pillar of talent."Since then, Liu Dingbo's name has also spread among the officials. A few days later, Emperor Qianlong took Xin Ke Jinshi out for an outing, and at the same time wanted to test their knowledge.Qianlong saw a stone tablet in a dry ditch under a pond, so he asked people to pour water into the pond, and asked the accompanying Jinshiji inscriptions to see who could remember the fastest and most.Because the water rose so fast, many Jinshi could only recite the first half of the inscription.When it was Liu Dingbo's turn, he recited all the content smoothly, word for word.Emperor Qianlong was very surprised and asked him how he did it.Liu Dingfu said that when the water rose from the bottom, the lower part of the stele was submerged first, so he wrote the inscriptions from the bottom to the top. When the water overflowed the stele, he had memorized all the inscriptions.Everyone admired his wit.

Later, Qianlong granted Liu Dingbo to study in the Imperial Academy for three years, and ordered him to be the editor of the Imperial Academy.Liu Dingfu has profound knowledge, straightforward personality, and easy-going manner, so his stay in the Imperial Academy went smoothly. Unexpectedly, within a few years, Heshen's status rose day by day, and he soon took control of the Hanlin Academy.He Shen showed strength everywhere, and finally had a conflict with Liu Dingfu. When He Shen was not in charge of the Hanlin Academy, Hanlin saw the bachelor in charge of the academy and only paid respects to his disciples (students).When a student sees his husband, he just bows his hands and salutes.When saluting, stand straight with your legs, stand upright or slightly bent your upper body, and clasp your hands in front of your chest to show respect.When Heshen was also in charge of the Hanlin Academy, in order to show off his prestige, he even asked the Hanlin to bow down to him.

Those in Hanlin who wanted to curry favor with Heshen would kneel down and bow down every time they saw Heshen, and even those who wanted Heshen took the initiative to kneel down and bow down; Had to salute.Liu Dingbo is considered an old man of the Hanlin Academy, and he has heard of Heshen's corruption for a long time, so he is very disdainful of Heshen's behavior. Since Heshen entered the Hanlin Academy, other Hanlins had to bow down when they saw Heshen; Liu Dingfu still insisted on bowing his hands only, which is really unique.Although He Shen is in charge of the Imperial Academy, he has no fame, and Liu Dingbo, who is educated, despises him even more.Liu Dingfu's various behaviors offended the powerful He Shen, so he was regarded as a thorn in his side.

There are a lot of books in He Shen's house, and some of them have to be moved out to dry from time to time to prevent the books from getting moldy. In addition, it also means to prove to the world that he is a person who has read a lot of poetry and books.Liu Dingfu thought that He Shen was posturing, which felt very funny.One day, Liu Dingfu deliberately lay on a bench with his belly exposed.He Shen was surprised when he saw it, and asked him why he did this?Liu Dingfu replied unhurriedly: I want to dry the books in my stomach to prevent them from getting moldy.He Shen immediately understood that he was mocking himself, so he threw up his sleeves and left.

There were many such things that violated Heshen, and Heshen finally became angry from embarrassment. He just found a reason that the big exam was not as good as the style, participated in Liu Dingbo's book, and with some tricks, he expelled Liu Dingbo from the Imperial Academy. After He Shen drove Liu Dingbo out of the Hanlin Academy, Liu Dingbo had no title of Hanlin, but his life was not settled for a while, so he temporarily lived in the home of Luo Yuanhan, a colleague and friend in the capital.Luo Yuanhan was an editor of the Hanlin Academy, a native of Changsha, Hunan, and a famous eunuch in the capital. He admired Liu Dingbo's talent and learning, so he was very polite to Liu Dingbo. Although Liu Dingfu was dismissed from office, he didn't care much about it, and lived a leisurely life.There was a pawn shop in the capital that kept a vicious dog. The owner didn't control it. The dog often chased and bit passers-by.So Liu Dinglu decided to speak out for the people. On this day, Liu Dingbo took his servants to the pawn shop and accidentally looked at the ledger on the table. The owner saw that he was a literati and not in business, so he didn't care.Suddenly, Liu Dingfu tore up the ledger and threw it into the fire.The owner was shocked and hurriedly put out the fire to fetch the books, but unfortunately the account books had already been reduced to ashes. The owner was so angry that he wanted to beat him. Liu Dingfu's servant said to the owner of the pawnshop: Don't worry, my owner. My master has a good memory. I just came here as a joke.All your accounts, the master can remember them after reading them once.My master likes to eat dog meat, as long as you kill the dog and treat him to a meal, he will naturally write out the account book for you.Seeing that there was no account book, the boss had no choice but to treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor, killed the vicious dog, and invited Liu Dingbo to have a big meal.Sure enough, Liu Dingfu wrote the account book, and the account numbers were exact, and this matter became a good story for a while. One day, He Shen went to Luo Yuanhan's house on business.After He Shen finished his work, he made a favor for Luo Yuanhan by the way, and said to him: I heard that Liu Dingfu is with you, are you friends?He didn't make any big mistakes, you let him come out to see me. Luo Yuanhan also wanted to take the opportunity to make the two reconcile, so he quickly said: "I have a lot of trouble with my lord, I'll call him right now, if there is any offense, just let him admit his mistake to you." Luo Yuanhan knew that although He Shen changed Liu Dingbo's post, it was still the establishment of the Imperial Academy. As long as Liu Dingbu reconciled with He Shen, he would be able to return to work in the Imperial Academy soon. Unexpectedly, when Liu Dingfu heard that He Shen had come, he refused to meet him.This made He Shen very embarrassed, and was very annoyed, so he left Luo Yuanhan's house bitterly.It was embarrassing that Luo Yuanhan failed to be a good guy.He said to Liu Dingfu: Why is Brother Liu so stubborn?As the saying goes, people have to bow their heads under the eaves.He Shen is a person who will take revenge, why do you have to make trouble with him? Liu Dingfu smiled lightly, and said: I am a Jinshi handpicked by the current emperor and a Hanlin bestowed by the emperor, what can he do to me?Who in the capital doesn't know that He Shen is in charge of the Imperial Academy, which is an insult to scholars. I just don't buy him, and let him know that I am a scholar in the Qing Dynasty. Luo Yuanhan quickly persuaded him: "Nowadays He Shen's power is in power, everyone is afraid of him, even the emperor sometimes listens to him, let alone you and me, the little Imperial Academy?"Now the emperor doesn't know much about the Hanlin Academy, and He Shen is in charge of daily affairs.Don't be too stubborn, or He Shen won't let you go. Liu Dingfu said disdainfully: Let him go.I have long been bearish on the situation in the officialdom, and I don't care if I serve as an official under someone like He Shen. As expected.A few days later, He Shen went to the Hanlin Academy and found an excuse to directly erase Liu Dingbo's name from the Hanlin list.Liu Dingfu knew that He Shen would not let it go, so he simply left the capital where he had lived for many years, returned to his hometown in Guangxi, and ended his official career.Before leaving, Liu Dingbo wrote down a poem that has been hated for thousands of years, and he can't be grieved, and predicted: He Shen's reckless behavior will eventually be destroyed one day. After returning to Guangxi, Liu Dingbo devoted himself to teaching.Because of his profound knowledge, his influence in the local area is very large, and he often gives lectures in colleges and universities in various places.He also wrote a couplet for Guilin Xiufeng Academy: One point of effort within the Three Cardinal Principles and Five Constant Principles is considered a true career; Only by talking about the ages in the Six Classics and Four Books can we understand the great articles of the ages. This couplet incorporates his lifelong understanding of education, so it has been handed down. He also formulated the "School Regulations of Xiufeng Academy" and wrote "Examinations on Three Difficulties" and hung them in the lecture hall of the academy as the code of conduct for students. Since then, no one dared to change a single word for a hundred years.Until the reign of Emperor Daoguang, the famous scholar Lu Huang presided over the Xiufeng Academy in Guilin, and he still highly praised the "Three Difficulties Tongjie Xunyan" written by his predecessor Liu Dingfu, saying that its words should be immortal, and that it should also be Xuanzun in Taoism. Liu Dingfu is very rigorous in his studies. He has written manuscripts such as "Lingxi Shiwen" and many poems.Until the sixth year of Jiaqing (1801), Liu Dingfu, who was over 80 years old, was also invited to give lectures at Binzhou Academy (in today's Binyang County) and served as the head of the academy. For decades, Liu Dingbo has taught and educated people in Guangxi and gained a great reputation.Liu Dingfu's set of teaching and educating theories convinced all the scholars in Guangxi at that time. Under this influence, the local style of study changed.Liu Dingfu is recognized as the first-class figure in Guangxi, and his thoughts have had a profound impact on the academic circles in Guangxi. His student Wei Fenghua said in "Today Is the Song of the Mountain House": If you want to know the full amount of Mr., you should seek it in Neo Confucianism Yes. Zhang Bailing, who was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi at the time, was deeply moved by this, and in recognition of Liu Dingbo's contribution to Guangxi education, he personally wrote the words "Yuqing Zunsu" and presented it to him as a plaque. Liu Dingfu is destined to be an extraordinary figure, and even his redress is very dramatic.In the ninth year of Jiaqing (1804), during the Guangxi Examination, Governor Zhang Bailing invited the former Hanlin Liu Dingbo to Guilin.When the governor entertained the chief examiner from the capital, he specially invited Liu Dingfu to accompany him.At that time, He Shen had already been executed by Jiaqing, and the chief examiner who came from Beijing was a newcomer, and he had also heard of Liu Dingfu who contradicted He Shen face to face, and only then did he know that he was still alive.The examiner felt strange: Liu Dingbo used to be an Hanlin, why is there no Liu Dingbo's name in the list of the Imperial Academy in Beijing? Liu Dingfu then slowly told the story of offending Heshen and having to leave the capital.After the chief examiner returned to Beijing, he immediately reported the situation to Emperor Jiaqing.Jiaqing ordered an investigation, and it turned out that He Shen had avenged his personal revenge in the past, but did not report it to the emperor, so he erased Liu Dingbo's name privately.Jiaqing immediately issued an edict to restore Liu Dingfu's reputation in the Hanlin, commended him for his integrity that he did not fear the powerful, appointed him as the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and patrolled hunting on behalf of the emperor. Make a decisive decision to correct customs and revitalize discipline. When Liu Dingfu received the imperial edict, he was very pleased that he could be rehabilitated, but he was very sober about being an official. He reported to the emperor and said: Thank you for your holiness.I am now over eighty years old, and I really want to contribute to the country, but unfortunately I can't do it, let's leave the opportunity to the young people!Emperor Jiaqing was deeply moved by his loyalty and clear mind.This year, Emperor Jiaqing held a Luming Banquet, and specially ordered Liu Dingbo to attend the banquet as the number one in the ninth year of Qianlong's rural examination. The Luming Banquet is usually a banquet held by the prefects and counties on the second day after the results of the provincial examinations are released during the imperial examination era.At the banquet, "Xiaoya."Luming", so it is called Luming Banquet.In addition, there is a banquet for the number one scholar in the civil and military examinations in the palace examination, and the same year's group worship is invited, which is also called the Luming Banquet. When Liu Dingfu was young, he was the first in the provincial examination. Now sixty years have passed, and he went to the Luming Banquet again, and the banquet was presided over by the emperor himself. good story.Emperor Jiaqing respected him as a highly respected academic senior. The Governor of Guangdong, Guangxi and Liangjiang, Jiang Youkai, came to Guangxi for inspection and talked with Liu Dingbo.Jiang Youkai also promised that when Liu Dingbo dies, he will personally write the epitaph for him. In the eleventh year of Jiaqing (1806), Liu Dingfu died of illness at the age of eighty.Liu Dingbo's grandson traveled thousands of miles to Yunnan on foot, and found Jiang Youkai, who was transferred to the chief secretary of Yunnan.Jiang Youkai really kept his word, and wrote an epitaph for Liu Dingbo with a length of more than 1,000 characters.At the same time, many well-known scholars inside and outside the province wrote articles to mourn Liu Dingfu, which were cited as good stories. After Liu Dingfu died, the local folks and elders missed him very much.During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the government of Wuyuan County (now Wuming) reported that Liu Dingbo had made great contributions to the education and culture of the Zhuang people. Memorial tablets were set up in the Xian Temple in Miaoxiang, and sacrifices continued. Although Liu Dingbo ended his career as an official because of He Shen's intentional difficulties, he played a huge role in education, which is really gratifying.