The Ninety-Fourth Rank-A Scholar from a Poor Family and His Perseverance in Troubled Times

Main title: Top 94 Subtitle: The perseverance of a poor scholar in troubled times This book uses the life growth trajectory of Huang Dingchen, the 94th Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty, as a clue to unfold a long scroll of society at the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. From his childhood years in the countryside of Lingnan, to his youthful spirit studying hard in academies, to his wanderings on the way to Beijing for exams, Huang Dingchen's footprints are all over the mountains and rivers, and he has witnessed the suffering of people's livelihood in troubled times - the panic of bandits, the hunger and death in famine years, and the people's humble desire for stability. After becoming a Jinshi, he did not indulge in the joy of fame. Instead, he held on to his original intention amidst the ups and downs of officialdom with his original intention of "worrying about the world first" when he was young. He once promoted benevolent government in the local area, imitating the "benevolent style" of the sage Lin Tianci, trying to maintain peace for the people; he also argued hard in court disputes and petitioned for the lives of displaced disaster victims. The book contains not only his sincere relationship with his close friends such as Wen Taihe, but also the warm bond with his family, as well as a scholar's practice and choice of the word "family and country" in the tide of the times. From a young scholar to a white-haired official, Huang Dingchen's life is the epitome of an individual's adherence to morality in troubled times. It is also an epic of a scholar engraved with the word "for the people". Every line of the words is a deep inquiry into "the security of thousands of mansions".