Chapter 9, Literary Competition (Part 3)

Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Hang has already regarded Jiang Zhuliu as his primary rival

What a pity. If there were a bamboo shoot, Brother Zhao would understand my second line even better

"I also lost the second round," Zhao Hang said, cupping his hands in salute. "Brother Jiang is indeed remarkable."

The people from Yanghe Village have once again sent someone to light the third incense stick

Jiang Zhuliu bowed his head in deep thought, not even bothering to wipe the sweat from his forehead. In such weather, holding a literary competition under the blazing sun is rather inhumane, isn't it? During the time when Jiang Zhuliu took the college entrance examination, every examination room was equipped with air conditioning.

Jiang Zhuliu was suddenly awakened, turning his head to glance at the incense that had burned down to less than half, feeling a tightness in his heart. The current situation seemed to transport him back to the examination hall during his college entrance examination years, where there was a question he had clearly seen the answer to before but could not recall, with only ten minutes left in the exam. In the end, he still could not come up with that major question worth eighteen points, and as a result, he missed out on the first batch of key universities by a few points, ending up at the second batch, the Henan University of Finance and Economics, a third-tier institution.

My upper couplet is: Frosty rain splashes on the window, two points in the east, three points in the west

Eh?

Ah? It was only then that Jiang Zhuliu noticed a young servant standing in front of him, holding a plate with a slice of watermelon.

Jiang Zhuliu also fell into deep thought, desperately racking his brain to recall. He had seen this couplet before, definitely seen it, but due to the passage of time, he could not remember it at the moment

Time passes second by second, the fragrance burns rapidly in the scorching air of a summer afternoon

Jiang Zhuliu glanced at the Jiang brothers and thought to himself, most people are aware of the saying "pulling up the bridge after crossing it," yet the Jiang brothers have not even finished crossing this bridge and are already planning to pull it up? Well, let’s see how you respond to the second couplet. Jiang Zhuliu silently held back and took a step back.

A few days ago, on a book day, Zhao Hang passed by a rice field and saw villagers bundling seedlings with straw. This inspired him to come up with the first line of a couplet. The brilliance of this couplet lies in its ability to evoke emotions through imagery and its apt metaphor, personifying both the straw and the seedlings, making it lively and endearing to read. However, despite having the first line, Zhao Hang could not come up with the second line no matter how hard he tried. He spent several days in deep thought, yet could not produce the second line.

Liu Feipeng, seeing Jiang Zhuliu's hard work, quietly instructed, "Someone, send a piece of melon to that Jiang boat."

The incense is about to burn out. Zhao Hang sighed, it seems the Jiang brothers are unable to come up with a second couplet.

At this moment, someone said: "I would like to compose a couplet and seek Brother Zhao's advice."

Taking the couplet proposed by Zhao Hang as an example, the character "冻" can be cleverly split into the character "东" plus the radical "两点水". Similarly, the character "洒" can be divided into the character "西" plus the radical "三点水". Therefore, in crafting the corresponding lower couplet, it is essential to identify two suitable characters that can be ingeniously split apart.

My response is, "The river flows as I wipe my mouth with my hand, speaking indistinctly: 'Cut the melon into pieces, with seven cuts horizontally and eight cuts vertically!'"

In the blink of an eye, that incense stick had already burned halfway down, and the two brothers, Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu, racked their brains in thought, yet still found themselves at a complete loss.

I have it! I have it! Jiang Zhuliu exclaimed with great joy, "I have thought of the second line."

Jiang Zhu Liu picked up a watermelon and took a big bite, the juice running down his chin and soaking his collar, without a care in the world

Will history repeat itself today?

Liu Feipeng sat under the pergola accompanying Old Master Zhao for tea, yet his thoughts were entirely focused on Jiang Zhuliu outside the pergola. He had just inquired about Jiang Zhuliu's background from Old Master Zhao and learned that this fellow named Jiang Zhou was generally regarded as a good-for-nothing. This only heightened Liu Feipeng's curiosity; he was eager to understand what had led this seemingly incompetent individual to display such remarkable talent, and whether this miraculous performance could continue.

Fortunately, Zhao Hang did not pay much attention to his words; his focus was entirely on Jiang Zhuliu's lower couplet

The second incense stick was lit. Zhao Hang waved his hand, and immediately a young servant presented a basket. Zhao Hang took a straw from the basket, then took a handful of green seedlings, tied the seedlings together with the straw, waved the seedlings in his hand towards the Jiang brothers, and said with a smile: "My second couplet is: Straw ties seedlings, father embraces son"

The Jiang brothers exchanged glances, and even if given ten days or half a month to ponder, they might not be able to come up with a couplet like this. To have them respond within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense is not merely to challenge them, but to intentionally put them in a difficult position

Zhao Hang's eyes continuously scanned between the incense burner and the Jiang brothers. He was deeply conflicted, wishing that the Jiang brothers would not be able to respond, thus losing the first round; yet he also hoped they would respond, so that his brilliant upper couplet would not remain a solitary line.

In the morning, County Magistrate Liu visited the house, and Zhao Hang eagerly shared the first line of a couplet with him, hoping that Liu could provide guidance on how to compose the second line. Unexpectedly, Liu Feipeng pondered for half a day without arriving at a solution. He shook his head and sighed to Zhao Hang, saying, "Esteemed nephew, a fine line is naturally formed, and a skilled hand may occasionally grasp it. If you wish to complete this couplet, you can only wait for a fortuitous moment; perhaps then it may come together."

A servant cut open a watermelon and distributed it to Liu Feipeng and Old Master Zhao. The others could only swallow their saliva as they smelled the sweet aroma of the watermelon—at that time, watermelons had just been introduced from the Liao Dynasty, and their prices were exorbitant, making them a luxury only the wealthy could afford. In Lianghe Village, it was only Old Master Zhao who could occasionally enjoy such a lavish summer delicacy.

Yanhe Village is located near the Xiaqin River, and it is generally not short of water. Zhao Hang's uncle serves as a governor in Jiangnan. Noticing the fragrant and sweet rice, he specially brought some rice seeds back home to see if they could be cultivated in Yanhe Village. To his surprise, the rice indeed thrived in Yanhe Village. Thus, small patches of rice fields began to appear in Yanhe Village

The villagers of Jiangcun were filled with surprise. They did not expect Jiang Zhou to be so fortunate, accidentally hitting two pairs in succession. Everyone silently prayed, hoping that the heavens would continue to bless Jiang Zhou, allowing his good luck to persist, as the thousands of acres of irrigated land in Jiangcun depended entirely on him

Following the sound, I looked over and saw the embroidered pillow and the river boat again

The villagers of Jiang Village became anxious; if Jiang Zhuliu could not answer this couplet, it would mean a loss of four hours of water, which meant that at least over 300 mu of land in Jiang Village would be unable to be irrigated

The more Jiang Zhuliu tried to think, the less he could remember anything. Usually, his mind was filled with thousands of couplets, but now he had no idea where they had all gone. He turned his head to look at the incense stick that was about to burn out, and his mind felt increasingly empty.

Zhao Hang said slowly from the side. Although his words seemed to be a reminder, in reality, they were disturbing Jiang Zhuliu's state of mind, preventing him from thinking clearly.

Aren't you going to step down yet?" Jiang Wen said in a low voice, admonishing Jiang Zhuliu.

As soon as Zhao Hang spoke the third couplet, the Jiang brothers, Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu, immediately decided to give up. This couplet was several times more difficult than the previous two, which they had already failed to decipher; there was no need to strain their brains over this third one. The only hope for the Jiang brothers now was to wish that Jiang Zhuliu would also be unable to solve it, thereby revealing the true nature of this foolish giant, a mere decorative pillow.

If we consider the analysis of characters and the coupling of words purely in terms of form, it would be manageable. However, the challenge lies in the fact that this analysis involves layers within layers. In the upper couplet, the characters "East" and "West" represent opposite directional terms, creating a parallel relationship. Therefore, to construct a corresponding lower couplet, the two separated characters must also maintain a parallel relationship, which significantly increases the difficulty. In Zhao Hang's view, the couplet "Frozen rain splashes on the window" is as difficult to deal with as his willful and headstrong cousin, both tricky and intricate, making it exceedingly challenging to respond to. Because in the upper couplet, the characters "East" and "West" are precisely opposite directional terms, forming a parallel relationship, thus requiring the two separated characters in the lower couplet to also be in a parallel relationship, which raises the difficulty to an extreme level. In Zhao Hang's perspective, the couplet "Frozen rain splashes on the window" is simply as difficult as his willful cousin, both cunning and intricate, making it very hard to handle.

This couplet was not originally created by Zhao Hang; it was presented to him in a letter from his cousin Wang Yawen, who lives in Bianliang, six months ago. It is this couplet that has consumed more than half a year of Zhao Hang's time, and he still has not come up with a suitable response.

Jiang Zhuliu secretly laughed. Compared to the first couplet, the second couplet was far too easy. The first couplet required him to think, while the answer to the second couplet was readily available, as Jiang Zhuliu had seen this couplet in a book before. It was said that the second line was created by Su Dongpo, who was born several years later. Although he had the answer in mind, Jiang Zhuliu was not in a hurry to reveal it. He greatly enjoyed watching the Jiang brothers, Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu, go from being arrogant to scratching their heads in confusion. After all, there was still plenty of time; it wouldn't be too late to reveal the second line when the incense was about to extinguish. "If no one offends me, I will not offend anyone; if someone offends me, I will surely retaliate!" This was Jiang Zhuliu's life motto. Just now, the Jiang brothers had arrogantly reprimanded Jiang Zhuliu, and they certainly did not expect that retribution would come so swiftly.

The upper couplet is indeed exquisite, and the lower couplet is equally remarkable. "Straw" and "Seedling," as well as "Bamboo Basket" and "Bamboo Shoot," both represent a generational relationship, likened to "Father" and "Son," and "Mother" and "Child" respectively. Furthermore, the terms "Embrace" and "Tie" echo each other, as do "Hold" and "Contain," creating vivid imagery and precise parallelism. This is truly a masterpiece of harmonious pairing.

Hehe, Jiang Xiandi, the deadline has already passed for one and a half books, do you have any conclusions in mind?

Jiang disregarded the gazes of the crowd, approached Zhao Hang, and tipped over the basket on the ground, spilling out all the seedlings inside

In a moment of ecstasy, Jiang Zhuliu inadvertently let slip that he did not say he had come up with the second line, but rather that he had "thought of" the second line.

"Jiang Xiandi, what is your response to the couplet?"

Zhao Hang's eyes lit up, and before he could react, Jiang Zhuliu had already blurted out the second line: "A bamboo basket holds the bamboo shoots, a mother cradles her child"

A collective gasp echoed throughout the venue. Clearly, it was not just Zhao Hang who felt astonished

"Wonderful!" Zhao Hang's exclamation almost coincided with Liu Feipeng's.

This couplet, according to the terminology of couplets, belongs to the category of "disassembled character couplets." Disassembled character couplets refer to those that employ the technique of disassembling the forms of Chinese characters, either by separating or combining them to form a couplet: some combine several characters into one, creating a literal antithesis; others break a single character into several characters, some of which also involve an analysis of the character's form and meaning. Some of these couplets are immediately clear, while others require careful consideration to appreciate their subtleties.

Zhao Hang did not pay attention to the Jiang brothers, but spoke to Jiang Zhuliu, saying: "The third couplet, Brother Jiang, listen carefully..."

Straw binds the seedlings, while a bamboo basket holds the shoots in a mother's embrace

Young Master Jiang, my grandfather appreciates your hard work and has specially sent you a slice of watermelon

Watching the servant carry the watermelon to Jiang Zhuliu, the eyes of the Jiang brothers, Wen and Wu, seemed ready to burst into flames. The county magistrate rewarding a watermelon is a tremendous honor; this honor rightfully belonged to them, yet it was snatched away by that fool Jiang Zhou. However, in this moment, what could the brothers do besides swallow a few mouthfuls of saliva?

In the afternoon Douwen competition, Zhao Hang specifically presented this upper couplet. Even he, the creator of the couplet, had pondered for several days without coming up with an answer; how could the Jiang brothers, who are not divine beings, possibly respond within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense