As the romantic emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong left behind many anecdotes, such as the first couplet "The smoke locks the pond and the willows" is one of them. It is said that when Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River, he happened to catch up with the imperial examination in Hangzhou. In this examination, two students ranked among the best, and their essays were evenly matched, making it difficult for the examiner to decide who came first. It happened that Emperor Qianlong was touring the south of the Yangtze River, so he presented the answer sheets of the two candidates to the emperor and asked him to make a decision. After reading the essays of the two candidates, Qianlong could not make up his mind for a while, so he decided to publish another one the next day. Let’s see who can take the top spot. Portrait of Qianlong
In the early morning of the second day, the examination room for the candidates’ written examination was on the shore of the West Lake. It is said that the breeze was gentle that day and the sky was high and the clouds were clear; the two candidates were respectful and anxiously waiting for Qianlong’s questions. . While Qianlong was admiring the beautiful scenery, the first couplet "Smoke Locks Pond Willow" appeared in his mind. He chanted the first couplet unhurriedly and asked the two candidates to answer the second couplet. As soon as this couplet came out, one of the candidates thought for a while and then resigned in panic. When asked why, he said that the couplet was too difficult and he couldn't do it. Another candidate thought hard for a long time, but in the end he couldn't come up with the second line, so he had to give up. Qianlong went to Jiangnan
The next day, the top list of the imperial examination was announced to the world. The candidate who won the first place was actually the first to leave. Everyone was very puzzled by the number one pick chosen by the emperor. After all, in the eyes of the officials, the candidate who was the first to give up on his pair easily gave in and resigned without any thought or attempt. He was really not the best candidate for the number one pick. However, Qianlong said that the first couplet he created was "the most difficult couplet in history". Although it is a five-character sentence, the left radical of each word contains the five elements of "gold, wood, water, fire, earth". This kind of couplet Almost literally. The candidate who was the first to leave could see the difficulty of the first couplet at a glance, and was willing to give up, which proved that he was no ordinary person. The other candidate just wanted to express himself in front of the emperor, but it was a pity that he was not talented enough and was not someone who could make a couplet. After listening to Qianlong's explanation, the minister understood the reason. The beautiful scenery of Jiangnan
In fact, the author believes that the reason why Qianlong chose the first candidate was not only because this candidate could see the difficulty of the couplet at a glance. In addition to his talent, this candidate also has the excellent qualities of integrity and courage. When he instantly judged that the couplet was not correct, he immediately said to Qianlong: "It's too difficult, too difficult!" Sorry, I can’t come out! ?, which reflects his honest side of not knowing what he is doing. On the other hand, another candidate knew that the couplet could not be correct, but he thought about it for a long time and refused to leave. He wanted to leave a good impression on the emperor. Although he was also talented, he was not as honest and trustworthy as the previous candidate. This is one of the reasons why Qianlong chose the previous candidate. Qianlong stills
The candidate's bravery was also shown when he left the stage. The reason why he chose to leave immediately and give up the exam questions was not a sign of cowardice, but a very wise choice. Because he could see at a glance that he couldn't understand the content of this couplet at all, so he didn't need to pretend to be aloof and stand in the examination room, thinking hard and forcing a ridiculous answer. Since his talent was not enough, he would have left in a hurry and left this opportunity to others, so he bravely chose to give up. From these two points alone, Qianlong must have had his considerations in choosing this candidate.