Rebirth of a star - Chapter 4

It had been so long since she came to modern times. Through the whole year, she had studied hard and improved her skills.

She was getting used to everything in Módōu*, the high buildings, the fast pace of life and the charm of the combination of the Chinese and western culture. 

The fear she felt at the beginning, slowly calmed down. In such a busy life, there was no time to think about anything else. The way of thinking of the modern people had slowly and unconsciously integrated into her own thoughts. And she became more and more herself as she was able to control her new vessel.

When she smiled, her eyes shone like crystals. The corner of her mouth rose gracefully, which seemed as if it was cut out by a straight edge ruler, showing her charm that blended well with her good manners: slender and elegant as light, simple yet aesthetic like a lily.

Susu was a little nervous. She had only one chance, and if she failed to pass the examination, she must follow her father’s advice and become an ordinary office-bearer, starting from the basic level.

Her mother watched her as she packed her luggage one by one, picked it up, folded it again, and put it back. 

“Susu, you really don’t want me to go with you?” Her mother had already requested for a leave, and was ready to accompany her.

“There is no need to.” Susu finally got tired and sat on the bed, and crossed her legs. Like a little monkey, she scratched her head. The action seemed to be natural for such a young lady with elegance.

“I have a flight early in the morning. And when I booked my ticket online, I only bought one.”

“Then you’re going to get up early tomorrow. Go to bed early.” 

When her mother heard that her flight was the next morning, she frowned, and couldn’t help but ask, “Why on earth would you book a ticket for an early flight? Isn’t that your own fault? It’s only a few days before the exam, you child.”

“Oh, Mom, you don’t understand. It’s cheap. You fly with public funds, while I had to take a private one. It’s different.” Susu bought the ticket on the Internet, and that was for her first flight.

Her mother was mad when she saw her smile, “You’re saying it like I’m corrupted and I accept bribes. It was actually a business trip.”

“Okay, okay, you were on a business trip, I get it. Walk slowly.” Susu waved her hand and prepared to go to bed early. The plane at 7 in the morning would be up in the early hours. As a result, Susu woke up with bags under her eyes. The more she wanted to sleep, the more she couldn’t. She tossed and turned on her bed for all the night. Then, the alarm clock rang and it was dawn.

A person who carried a large bag arrived at the airport of Módōu.

She just finished all the tedious procedures, and sat in the waiting room holding a hamburger and chips.

“The plane from Módōu to dì dū* is delayed due to the weather, please wait patiently,” she heard a voice coming from the speaker.

Susu opened iBook with understanding. Cheap things aren’t good, she understood that from ancient people. 

So after playing Angry Birds for more than an hour, she finally got on board. The air conditioning on the plane felt comfortable. Susu was very excited at first, she looked right and left. And after a while, she got bored and fell asleep.

Here it came, the Imperial Capital.

She stepped on the land of God. 

Susu was a bit stunned. So she reached to the Imperial Capital like this? 

As she reached the hall, she took her luggage back and suddenly, she didn’t know where to go. 

After being in a daze for a while, she remembered that she had booked in Lu Song Yuan Hotel. She went to the entrance hall, where she recalled something.

Talking about the food in the Imperial Capital, in her last life she was from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In this one, she was a Módōu person. She didn’t really like the food there in the capital. However, it is good to have other dishes in addition to the local dishes of the Imperial Capital. The variety was relatively rich, as long as you don’t eat at local restaurants for Szechuan, Cantonese, Japanese. Fortunately, you could still find barbecue, pizza, burgers and vegetarian plates.

These early days, she strolled east and west, visiting the whole drama academy. Fortunately, she had arrived a little early. Two days before the exam, there were a lot of students who came to take the exam. They also came with their parents and their families. She had seen many anxious faces in the room.

To take an exam she must be calm and collected, Susu assured herself from the heart. When she happened to pass through the hall, she heard a sharp female voice rise, “You must help me out of the room. I know that your room is definitely free. It’s not a question of money, I live in the Presidential Suite.”

Wow, rich people!

Susu couldn’t help but look back. Rich people watched the scene in awe. What a beautiful girl. With the progress of human genetics, people are bound to grow taller and more beautiful, so the quality of the Central Academy of Drama was expected to be higher year by year.

Susu had been there for three days, and she had seen a variety of beautiful women, where a large number of young and beautiful girls gather. But this girl was different.

Flamboyant, that was the proper description.

White shirt, khaki trousers, a lot of luggage in one hand, a thick coat in the other. Her makeup was not thick, but very beautiful. The five senses radiated exquisiteness and vigor.

Susu didn’t want to join them and went upstairs. The next day, at breakfast, she saw her in the cafeteria. Presumably, she succeeded.

Finally, it was the day of the exams.

Altogether there were three qualifying trials exams: first, second and third.

On the day of the exam, she couldn’t wear make up. On the way to school, Susu felt the chilly winds. She touched her little face with her fingers, and thought that she was lucky that her appearance was beautiful.

The future students have been waiting calmly in the waiting room. The first test was about reciting and they were asked to prepare for it. Although it was a recitation, it needed to be memorized.

Susu went to the classroom where many people were in front of a sheet of paper, making final preparations, and sat quietly.

“Yu Susu,” suddenly her name was called. She shivered all over. Was she ready?

She entered the examination room and sat in front of three examiners. She took a deep breath, showed a big smile and greeted, “Hello teachers!”

The plain girl made the three examiners suddenly light up. There was no powder on her face, she looked very friendly, with an infectious smile.

“Yu Susu, hello, the first test is recitation. Ready to start?” the woman  in the middle of the panel couldn’t help softening her voice.

Susu cleared her throat, “I prepared Qu Yuan’s Lisao*.” 

The room turned silent, and only the voice of the young girl came out.

“A prince am I of ancestry renowned,

Illustrious name my royal sire hath found.

When Sirius did in spring its light display,

A child was born, and Tiger marked the day.

When first upon my face my lord’s eye glanced,

For me auspicious names he straight advanced,

Denoting that in me Heaven’s marks divine

Should with the virtues of the earth combined.

With lavished innate qualities induced,

By art and skill my talents I renewed;

Angelic herbs and sweet selineas too,

And orchids late that by the water grew,

I wove for ornament; till creeping Time,

Like water flowing, stole away my prime.

Magnolias of the glade I plucked at dawn,

At eve beside the stream took winter-thorn.

Without delay the sun and moon sped fast,

In swift succession spring and autumn passed;

The fallen flowers lay scattered on the ground,

The dusk might fall before my dream was found.

Had I not loved my prime and spurned the vile,

Why should I not have changed my former style?

My chariot drawn by steeds of race divine

I urged; to guide the king my sole design.”

This was the first paragraph of Lisao. As a compulsory text for non-senior high school textbooks, people usually ignore it. But in general, when deducing, this paragraph must be read with integrity and generosity.

If we analyzed the time and content of Qu Yuan’s poem and the purpose he wanted to achieve, he wrote it when he was being plotted against by evil factions at court with his resulting rejection by his lord. It meant that “I struggled inside and could not be put in an important position, so I wanted to go back to work in my hometown.” From this point of view, Qu Yuan used “Lisao” as the title of the poem, meaning “Encountering Sorrow”.

In the first sentence of Lisao, Qu Yuan recounts his noble origin, “A prince am I of ancestry renowned,” a descendant of Emperor Gao Yang.

We know that Qu Yuan was born in the Ba ethnic group of Chu State, whose ancestors were Taihao and Shaohao. Compared with the ancestors of King Chu, Chu people and nobles of Chu State, Shaohao Zengyi Emperor Zhu, Shanhai Jing, Dahuangdong Jing, “Dahu, Shaohua Country, Beyond the East China Sea”.

Therefore, the meaning of Qu Yuan’s sentence was that he shouldn’t despise me, because his ancestors are more noble than his ancestors (King Chu and nobles of the State of Chu). Qu Yuan recounts that he was born on the auspicious day of the Tiger Year, Tiger Moon and Tiger Day (the Ba people advocate tigers). He is talented and wise. He attaches importance to his self-cultivation and lofty ambition. He also describes his political ambition of striving only for the day and night, reforming and striving for strength, and daring to be the first in the world.

“Had I not loved my prime and spurned the vile,

Why should I not have changed my former style?

My chariot drawn by steeds of race divine

I urged; to guide the king my sole design.”

When Susu was reciting, her sadness was prominent. First suppressed, then raised, and then she sighed passionately.

Lisao was the oldest and longest lyric poem in Chinese classical literature.

The expression of that poem does not necessarily have to be rage, or vehement. In this paragraph, although Qu Yuan showed his birth nobility, it couldn’t change the fact that he didn’t have an important position. The nobleness of birth and the fact that he cannot develop his talents make the contradiction more prominent. Susu expressed her sorrow through the poem. The performance was more innovative and had its own idea. 

The judges looked at each other, and the female teacher in the middle asked, “Yu Susu, I wanted to ask why did you choose this poem?”

Because this year or in the previous years, the poem “Qu Yuan Spring Snow” was the most popular, followed by Yue Fei’s “Man Jiang Hong Fury and Crown” and “Lisao” occasionally, but not the first verse of it.

“Because I hope that I would be able to study at the Central Academy of Drama and show my ambition through this platform.” The answer was well-mannered, but it was what Susu really felt. Without a formal learning, She had a natural talent than wild fox Zen*.

“Well, then go back and prepare for the second exam,” the woman teacher smiled and waved her hand to let her pass. When Susu left, she heard the teachers discussing. The child was quite good. She couldn’t help her lips from raising up, laughing secretly for getting praised.

*Módōu is Shanghai’s Nickname which literally means Devil Capital.

*dì dū is Beijing’s Nickname which means imperial capital.

*Qu Yuan’s Lisao: The poem “Li Sao” is the lead poem and the main inspiration for the Chuci collection. This famous piece was written by the person generally known as Qu Yuan.

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