Achieving fame is the lifelong wish of many ancient people. Today, most people still regard the college entrance examination as the only way out. They spend the first 18 years of their lives focusing on studying, praying for a good result in the college entrance examination. score. In ancient times, obtaining fame could change a person's destiny, and it was the only way to get ahead. But what happened to those students who had obtained fame in the past? In other words, what about their descendants?
Niu Shijing, a famous descendant of the number one scholar of the Qing Dynasty in Mingyue Slope, his family was once prominent in Mingyue Slope. You can feel the prestige of his ancestors at that time by looking at the mansion where he lived. How high. The senior Niu Fengshan was once a Jinshi, and achieved first place in the first class. Later, he passed the Wu Zhuangyuan examination, and his official position was promoted all the way to the level of the general soldier. Niu Fengshan is not only a highly educated person, but also very friendly to others. When he returned to his hometown, Niu Fengshan almost never rode a horse and never looked at the neighbors from a high position. Instead, he led the horse and greeted the neighbors warmly when he saw them. He was very humble. In addition to being kind to his neighbors, Niu Fengshan is also a person who is very good at teaching his children. He taught his children to study carefully since childhood, and was very strict with his son. His strict supervision was also very effective, and his son later passed the Jinshi.
Niu Fengshan's son is called Niu Xuanyu. After passing the Jinshi examination, he continued to study hard and had profound attainments in calligraphy. His calligraphy works were also very popular. After becoming the number one scholar, Niu Fengshan renovated the originally poor mansion and turned it into the number one scholar's mansion. The Niu family's Zhuangyuan Mansion is very grand, covering an area of ??more than 2,000 square meters, with many rooms and is very grand. The Niu family has quickly become a big family in the local area. The neighbors admire and respect it very much. Every time they pass by the Niu family's compound, they look at it. Seeing the lush green plants and the cheering of the birds, the neighbors will sincerely lament the fate of the Niu family who won the top prize and flew up the branches to become phoenixes.
If you look closely at Niu Fengshan's renovation of the Niu family's mansion, you can see his thoughts. Inside the Zhuangyuan Mansion, the middle courtyard spreads out to the east and west. There are two small courtyards on both sides. The east courtyard The design is very unique, with peonies planted and cave facilities. There is a stone cave in the front of the courtyard, which is fully ten meters high. The middle courtyard is fifteen meters deep and twenty meters wide. It is very large. Judging from the area, it is enough to feel the spaciousness and grandeur of the Niu family mansion. It is not inferior to the Grand View Garden described in "A Dream of Red Mansions". The two imposing words "imperial edict" on the door make the whole number one scholar's temperament a higher degree. This is also a sign that two generations of the Niu family are appreciated by the imperial court.
Although the Niu family manor was prominent for a while, its current situation is not good. The dynasty fell and modern society came. The inheritance of the Niu family mansion from generation to generation was finally taken over by Niu Shijing. The mansion has long lost its vitality. And because later generations have become increasingly poor and dilapidated, they are already desolate. Niu Shijing has no future or ability. He only guards this ancestral home. He has no job, wife and children. He lives alone in the Number One Scholar's Mansion in the mountains. To maintain his life, he can only live by going out to beg. He was once prominent. It is a pity that one's family background has fallen to such a state now.
In fact, Niu Shijing certainly did not want to fall to such a point, but some reasons in the middle led to such an ending. Niu Shijing originally inherited the brains and thoughts of his ancestors, got into a good university, and wrote good articles, but later he seemed to have suffered a severe mental shock, which left him with sequelae and no expectations for life. .
The place where Niu Shijing lives has only one bed. It is very simple, without water, electricity, or light. To this day, he still relies on lighting candles to get light. Although caring people sent help, Niu Shijing refused to accept the subsidy. This was his last strength. The elderly can also take care of their own daily life, such as sewing and mending clothes and making simple quilts. Niu Shijing's family was once prominent, but now it is in such a state of decline. This is not only the decline of a family, but also the end of an era. As time goes by, everything may change. All we have to do is adjust our mentality. , accept it slowly.