Chapter 373 - "Ode of Mulan" is Born! (2/2)
Chen Mo was stunned!
What?
Serve on her father's behalf?
Disguised as a man to serve in the army?
Everyone suddenly became quiet. No one spoke anymore!
Zhang Ye began to write even faster.
”In the East Market, she buys a spirited horse,
In the West Market, she buys a saddle,
In the South Market, she buys a bridle,
In the North Market, she buys a long whip. At dawn, she takes leave of Father and Mother,
In the evening she camps on the Yellow River's bank.
She doesn't hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears the Yellow River's flowing water cry tsien tsien. At dawn, she takes leave of the Yellow River,
In the evening she arrives at Black Mountain.
She doesn't hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears Mount Yen's nomad horses cry tsiu tsiu.”
A slightly plump, middle-aged woman's eyes turned red.
A few other women, who had heard up to here, were also greatly touched!
What a pitiful girl! What a filial daughter! What a brave woman!
Upon reaching this point, Zhang Ye's brush suddenly turned sharply. It was as if the characters in his folk song poem were about to jump out with the change of his strokes. The atmosphere heated up.
”She goes ten thousand miles on the business of war,
She crosses pa.s.ses and mountains like flying. Northern gusts carry the rattle of army pots,
Chilly light s.h.i.+nes on iron armor. Generals die in a hundred battles,
Stout soldiers return after ten years. On her return she sees the Son of Heaven,
The Son of Heaven sits in the Splendid Hall. He gives out promotions in twelve ranks
And prizes of a hundred thousand and more. The Khan asks her what she desires.
“Mulan has no use for a minister's post.
I wish to ride a swift mount
To take me back to my home.”
All of them froze again!
After so many people had died, Mulan was so lucky to have survived?
When the Khan wanted to reward her, she had rejected the chance to become a minister?
Zhang Ye wrote:
”When Father and Mother hear Daughter is coming
They go outside the wall to meet her, leaning on each other.
When Elder Sister hears Younger Sister is coming
She fixes her rouge, facing the door.
When Little Brother hears Elder Sister is coming
He whets the knife, quick quick, for pig and sheep.”
An image formed in everyone's heads!
It was a scene of an excited family in a jubilant mood! Their family member had escaped death and came home with military honors!
When Su Na read this, her voice also began to choke up. It was as if the story had hit her soft spot and she could barely continue narrating!
Zhang Ye took over Su Na's job and began narrating as he wrote.
”I open the door to my east chamber,
I sit on my couch in the west room,
I take off my wartime gown
And put on my old-time clothes. Facing the window she fixes her cloudlike hair,
Hanging up a mirror she dabs on yellow flower powder She goes out the door and sees her comrades.
Her comrades are all amazed and perplexed.
Traveling together for twelve years
They didn't know Mulan... was a girl!”
Xiaojiang felt her blood boil with pa.s.sion!
At the side, another woman started to tear up.
The scene depicted in the folk song poem had caused many people to be unable to hold their emotions in anymore!
Finally, Zhang Ye chuckled and as he wrote, he seemed to ask everyone:
”The he-hare's feet go hop and skip,
The she-hare's eyes are muddled and fuddled.
Two hares running side by side close to the ground...”
His final words were written more forcefully one after the other.
”How can they tell if I am he or she!?”
He finished writing!
There was total silence!
Zhang Ye held up ”Ode of Mulan” and left it to dry before putting down his brus.h.!.+
When Chen Mo finished reading, his face turned purple! His few disciple brothers were also left speechless!
Master Wei’s hand slammed down on the chair he was sitting in as he laughed heartily, ”What a good 'How can they tell if I am he or she'! Great! Great! Great!”
Master Zhou's feeling at this moment could not be described with words either. He looked in shock at Zhang Ye, having been totally stunned by this great poem called ”Ode of Mulan”!
That's right!
He had truly been stunned!
Wu Zeqing eyes flashed!
The women present were all amazed!
”Hua Mulan? She is definitely a role-model to all women!”
”Right! This is what a woman is! Who says a woman can't be equal to a man?!”
”Anything a man can do, anything a man can achieve, we women can do just as well!”
The women were all visibly agitated. This ”Ode of Mulan” was so well written, that it had already made its way into their hearts!
That's right! You people always want to judge with bias. Unless you hold up a rabbit by its ears, you would not be able to tell if it was male or female. A male rabbit's two legs would always move, while a female rabbit's eyes were usually squinting. Only then could you differentiate, but when male and female rabbits ran alongside each other, who could tell the difference?! Everyone was the same!
”Splendid!” Master Zhou started applauding!
In that moment, the sound of claps resounded as applauses began one by one, ”It's too awesome! We've truly been enlightened today! Indeed, however strong you are, there is always someone stronger!”
”Ode of Mulan” was too excellent!
It was so excellent that it reached the point of stunning amazement!
The worse thing for anything was comparison. There were people, who had felt that Chen Mo was good, since he could compose a folk song poem that almost had a thousand words, but now, this poem, which was written by the youth in shades, when placed beside Chen Mo's piece, had made his look like c.r.a.p! Chen Mo's praising of men and their dreams had used women as a burden to contrast it. The work itself was a petty one and the thought behind it did not deserve to be brought up. Right now, it even looked like Chen Mo's usage of words and phrases were like that of a child's and should not be praised at all! Just look at how the folk song poem, that was given by the youth in shades for Wu Zeqing, was written? When he wrote about women, he did not belittle anyone. The man you wrote about wanted to become an official? Yet the woman that the other person wrote about just did not want to be one. She did not want merit or reward and just wanted to go home to her family! The man you wrote about complained about things every time? Cursing women who are not good at this or that? While the other person's female character risked the chance of being beheaded by serving in the army on her father's behalf while disguised as a man! For her father and family, she fought with the enemy as a girl. In the midst of knives and swords, she wore her brains as armor to kill the enemy soldiers before returning home as a warrior after more than 10 years!
10 years!
A weak woman!
She had done what a man might not have been able to achieve!
Comparatively, the levels between Chen Mo and the youth in shades were clearly too far apart. The youth's ”Ode of Mulan” was clearly written in opposition to Chen Mo's work! Every sentence was a smack to the face! Every word refuted Chen Mo's essay, repressing and smacking him hard!
Chen Mo's expression turned very ugly. He never expected Zhang Ye woul be able to write such a poem!
Zhang Ye looked at Chen Mo and said impolitely, ”I can tell you once again. What you wrote is nothing at all. It cannot be called a folk song poem, nor is there any literary or entertainment value.” Saying that, he pointed at his own Xuan paper. ”This, is a folk song poem. It is nowhere close to anything like yours.”
Chen Mo said coldly, ”What qualifications do you have to evaluate my poem?”
Suddenly, Master Zhou's eyes flickered. After some thought, for some reason, he laughed with enlightenment. ”Little Chen, the person in front of you really has the qualifications to evaluate your poem. If he says your folk song poem is not orthodox, then it definitely is the case. If he doesn't have the qualifications, then not many in this country have the qualifications. In the realm of literature, even all of us present combined are not his match!” Then, he looked at Zhang Ye and chuckled. ”Young lad, I know who you are already!”
Chen Mo was stunned. What was Master Zhou saying?
He had the qualifications? What qualifications did he have!?
Furthermore, what was that about all of us combined would not be his match in literature? Impossible!
”Ah?”
”Who?”
”Elder Zhou knows?”
Everyone was curious. Who was this youth!?
Master Wei and those calligraphers looked over. Some began ruminating!
Master Zhou roared out with laughter. ”I should have guessed earlier. In this country, to be able to write an ancient poem in such manner, and also be proficient in couplet culture, to the point of not needing any thought or drafts to produce such an amazing piece like 'Ode of Mulan' on the spot! There is only one person in the country that can do it!”
Finally, a few smarter people suddenly realized it!
Few people in the country were both proficient in poetry and couplets. In addition to this, he was invited by President Wu? And he knew Su Na, a Peking University teacher?
”Holy sh*t!”
”I know who he is!”
”Heavens! It's Zhang Ye!”
”You are Teacher Zhang Ye!!!”
Everyone was stunned. This was something no one expected!
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