The Inkstone's Voice by the Bian River

By the banks of the Bian River in the Chongning era, Su Yanqing, a poor young scholar, clutched half a broken inkstone and took on the power amassed by three generations of the Liu family with ten years of hard study. Liu Chengsi entered the Imperial College through family privilege, then cheated his way into an official post, mocking him: “A peasant like you will never pass the exams.” Liu Wanshan used donations to buy office for personal gain, seized farmland, silenced dissent, and threatened, “One word from the Liu family, and you’ll lose your post.”

From the hardship of practicing calligraphy on the ice to the covert battles over exam fraud, from the struggle of controlling floods in Muzhou to the unyielding integrity of an investigating censor, Su Yanqing wielded his words as a blade. He recorded the people’s suffering with his broken inkstone and impeached corrupt officials. He endured the despair of losing his father and stood firm against the Liu family’s suppression. In the end, he brought new policies into effect: candidates had to pass an examination to benefit from family privilege, and cheating in the imperial examinations was forbidden. He also showed that the meaning of ten years of hard study went beyond competing over status: it was about opening a path for the poor and upholding justice for the people.

The Bian River flowed on, its waters rushing, while the fragrance of ink lingered from his inkstone. Su Yanqing spent his life proving that three generations of service for private gain would eventually be rejected by the people, while ten years of hard study, guided by one’s original convictions, could leave an enduring legacy of integrity in the history books.