The old man I want to talk about today is named Niu Shijing. His ancestors used to be the number one scholar in the Qing Dynasty. Because of the achievements of several ancestors in the Qing Dynasty, the Niu family was once famous and everyone in the local people knew it. Niu Fengshan, who won the first place in Group A, was the champion of Chinese Wushu and his official position soared. Niu Fengshan was a celebrity in the mouth of neighbors at that time. He said he was knowledgeable, but he never liked to show off. He is very friendly to his neighbors. After returning home, he took a horse for a walk in the country, and his neighbors liked him very much.
Although Niu Fengshan is friendly to his neighbors, he is strict with officials and his family. His son Niu Xuan has been closely protected by Niu Fengshan since his birth. Niu Fengshan has high hopes for his son. Therefore, Niu Xuan has made great achievements in calligraphy since he was a child. Everyone around him knows that a young son is knowledgeable and writes well. Later, Niu Xuan was promoted after having obtained the provincial examination, and both Jinshi and his father and son were highly valued by the imperial court.
Niu Fengshan and Niu Xuan are the first and second outstanding talents of Niu family. After their outstanding knowledge achievements, they all built their ancestral houses. Under the construction of Niu Fengshan and Niu Xuan, the Zhuangyuan Mansion in Niu Fengshan was richly decorated, covering an area of 2,400 square meters, with many rooms and caves. The Grand View Garden in A Dream of Red Mansions can be compared with it. Of course, the most prominent thing is the construction of the gate of the mansion, and the word "imperial edict" on the gate shows the status of Niujia incisively and vividly.
As a descendant of Niu Fengshan and Niu Xuan, Niu Shijing may continue the glory of his ancestors and carry forward the family, but the reality is completely different. With the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the power of Niujia was completely washed away, but the once crowded Niujia is now empty. The cave has not been decorated for a long time, and the gate is dilapidated. All the flowers and plants have turned into dead branches, birds have stopped coming, and the ground is full of bird droppings that cannot be cleaned up.
This dilapidated scene is hard to remind people of its prosperity, and what is even more unforgettable must be the descendants of the champion of the Qing Dynasty. Niu Fengshan used to be handsome and boastful, but now this old man is in rags and stinks, not to mention his temperament. People can only see the ignorance and enthusiasm erased by life from his eyes. Old Newman Ishii lived alone in the scholar's mansion in the deep mountain, guarding his ancestral home. Without income, he had to beg in the street for a living. There is no water and electricity at home, and he has no bridge to communicate with the outside world. Of course, he doesn't even know how to communicate with the outside world. Looking at old Newman Ishii today inevitably makes us feel a little cold.
It is said that if a family's ancestors are prosperous, then even if there will be a trough in the middle, they will eventually prosper. For Niu Shijing, it seems that he can't have his fantasy, because he has been poor all his life, let alone getting married and having children, and even food and clothing has become a problem. The blood of Niu family is completely broken for him.
However, people may see the situation of old Newman Ishii and wonder why he didn't make some money on his own. But in fact, the old man didn't think about it. When he was young, he wrote a good hand and was admitted to a key university. But in the end, he didn't read it or write it down. Some neighbors said that the old man was stimulated, but no one knew what he had experienced. But the old man didn't complain about anything. He just guarded his ancestral home carefully and was satisfied with his life. The story of Old Newman's The Book of Songs also tells us that it is a historical necessity to let fate take its course.