Was It Original?

The dean of studies froze. An essay in classical Chinese?

A senior high school student writing an essay in classical Chinese—wasn't that ridiculous? Classical Chinese was so complex that it was a feat for high schoolers to learn even a little of it. And now someone wanted to use it to write an essay? How could that be possible?

Several students sitting near the front heard the proctor and looked up in shock. What had he just said? The essay was written in classical Chinese?

Was the guy who had just handed in his paper really that incredible?

And someone that incredible was stuck in this exam room?

The proctor handed the answer sheet to the dean of studies and continued in a low voice, "I took a quick look through it twice and didn't find any major problems. But ancient Chinese isn't my area of expertise. I specialize in Western literature, so I can't really tell whether the essay is any good. You're an expert in ancient Chinese. Could you take a look?"

The dean took the answer sheet, his brows still furrowed. He wanted to say that it was surely complete gibberish—what kind of classical Chinese could a senior high school student possibly write? But out of respect for his fellow teacher, he didn't say it outright.

But as he held the answer sheet and read the first few lines, the dean's expression of impatience vanished, replaced by astonishment.

This opening... had a certain flair to it?

As he read on, the dean's expression grew more and more solemn.

Halfway through, he couldn't help reading aloud in a low voice:

"Ten days' effort from a nag yields results through perseverance. Give up carving halfway, and even rotten wood will not break; carve without giving up, and even metal and stone can be engraved. The earthworm has no sharp claws or strong bones, yet above it eats dust and below it drinks from the Yellow Springs. This is because its mind is focused..."

"The Book of Songs says: 'The turtledove rests in the mulberry tree, with seven young. The virtuous gentleman is one in his conduct...'"

"To walk a thousand miles and not arrive is not to be skilled at driving a chariot; to be ignorant of categories and inconsistent in benevolence and righteousness is not to be skilled at learning..."

At first, a few students near the front had perked up their ears and tried to eavesdrop, hoping to copy a bit of Chen Zhao's essay.

But as they listened, the students were dumbfounded, their faces blank.

What was all this?

Why couldn't they understand a word?

It really was classical Chinese!

If they couldn't even understand it, how could they copy it? They were all struggling students in the very last exam room. How could they be unable to copy even from one another? Was there really such a huge gulf even between struggling students?

When he finished reading, the dean's face was flushed with excitement.

"This essay is incredible!" The dean looked up at the proctor, his hand trembling slightly as he held the answer sheet. "It's a masterpiece, and there are no obvious errors!"

The proctor froze. The dean was an expert in classical Chinese studies, yet he'd actually said things like "incredible" and "a masterpiece." Was this student's essay really that good?

"Could a senior high school student... really have written this? Maybe he memorized some classical text and copied it down?" the proctor suggested doubtfully.

"I usually have at least some recollection of the classical texts I've read, but I've never seen this one." The dean's excited expression settled for a moment. "Still, you have a point. I'd believe it if this essay had been carefully polished and published by a university professor. I don't think a senior high school student could have written it. We can find out by searching online."

The dean took out his phone, photographed Chen Zhao's answer sheet, then scanned the image to extract the text. He copied and pasted it into a search engine.

Soon, some results appeared, but they had little to do with the essay. They were a jumble of irrelevant search results.

The dean tried several other search engines. Plenty of results came up, but they were just as jumbled and unrelated. He couldn't find the original text.

"Strange. Nothing comes up. Could he really have written it himself?" the dean said, surprised.

"Search engines are so advanced these days. If it's not online..." the proctor said, somewhat alarmed. "Then it's very likely an original work."

"Where's the student who wrote this? I want to ask him." The dean looked around the classroom.

"He left. He handed in his paper and ran off right away," the proctor replied, glancing at the empty seat Chen Zhao had left behind.

The dean fell silent for a moment, then turned and walked out, still holding Chen Zhao's answer sheet. After this, he no longer felt like checking on the other exam rooms. He went downstairs and headed straight for the senior-year Chinese teachers' office. The senior-year Chinese teachers were practically the best in the whole school, all widely read and exceptionally talented.

Aside from a few teachers who had gone to proctor exams, most of them were still in the office, drinking tea, grading papers, and chatting. As soon as the dean entered, they all greeted him.

"I've got an essay a student just wrote. Could one of the teachers familiar with classical Chinese take a look?" the dean said.

The Chinese teachers were all taken aback. Why did a student's essay need to be reviewed by someone who knew classical Chinese?

All the Chinese teachers gathered around to look at the answer sheet in the dean's hand. They were in for a shock the moment they saw it!

"An essay in classical Chinese?"

"And it's this long?"

"When did we get a student who can write essays in classical Chinese? Teacher Gao, is this one of your students?"

"No, not mine. This student is in Class One. He's Teacher Li's student."

Chen Zhao's homeroom teacher checked the name, looking deeply shocked. "This student... has always been terrible at writing essays. His Chinese grades are almost always failing. How could he have written something like this?"

The dean cut off the teachers' excited chatter. "Let's not worry about which student wrote it for now. I've just taken a look, and this essay is exceptionally good. Calling it a masterpiece is no exaggeration. There are two things we need to determine. First, is this essay an original work, or is it from some obscure classical text? Second, if it is original, are there any hidden errors in it?"

The Chinese teachers all nodded. Indeed, their most important task now was to determine whether the essay was original and, if so, whether it contained any errors.

Many of the Chinese teachers began reading the essay carefully. When they finished, they were all shocked and perplexed. They were shocked because the essay was so good—an absolute masterpiece. They were perplexed because they ought to have read such an excellent essay at university, yet none of them remembered it.

Many teachers started searching online. After digging through more than a thousand results, they still couldn't find the essay.

Many teachers began calling the professors who had taught them at university, asking whether the essay came from some classical text. But after asking around, they got only one answer: no one had ever heard of it!