Shang Zhou’s Exam Taker Turns His Life Around Through Exams

Ning Yanxi, a poor young man born into a family of tenant farmers during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, gathers firewood and studies from an early age, though his family is too poor to afford paper or writing brushes. His mother pawns her hairpin to buy paper, and his father’s dying wish is for him to “make something of himself.” He studies hard, passes the provincial examinations, and enters government service. Faced with rampant corruption and widespread hardship, he takes up his brush like a sword and pleads for the people. From assistant county magistrate in Longxi to a high minister at court, he presses forward with unyielding determination, unafraid of the powerful. His new policies encounter fierce resistance, and he is repeatedly caught in peril. Yet he remains true to himself, redistributing land, reducing burdens, providing disaster relief, helping the people, redressing wrongful cases, and rooting out corruption. After achieving success and renown, he refuses a marquisate, returns to his hometown, and devotes himself to teaching. Upright and incorruptible throughout his life, he earns the people’s respect.