Based on the background of treacherous political struggle in the Northern Song Dynasty， taking the rise and fall of the Song Dynasty as time cues， with Kou Zhun’s life experience as the main plot， the book tells the stories of Kou Zhun vividly， while examining the change in the political system of the Song Dynasty and restoring its social landscape. The book is rich in content， and the narrative is interspersed with comments and discussions.

Kou Zhun

Jin Buyao

Taibai Literature and Art Publishing House

May 2021

58.00 (CNY)

Jin Buyao

Jin Buyao’s birth name is Chen Mei. She is a member of the Shaanxi Writers Association and a guest writer for the activity “Female Readers” of Hongqi Press. She was once elected as one of the “Top 100 Young Outstanding Literary and Artistic Talents” in the city of Xi’an. Her main works include the historical novel Kou Zhun and the children’s novel Always Remain True.

In the spring of 945 CE of the Later Jin Dynasty of the Five Dynasties， the imperial announcement of the new imperial examination results was posted in Bianjing (now Kaifeng City， Henan Province).

Kou Xiang， a candidate for the imperial examination from Shaanxi， made zhuangyuan (number one scholar， title conferred on the one who comes first in the highest imperial examination) and rose to fame overnight. How honorable and proud he was when parading through the streets to share his joy with the crowd. Streets were lined with people who wanted to see him， and some people unexpectedly climbed to the roof. An old scholar， standing beside a big， burly man， with only his gray hair seen， sighed， “What more can one ask for in life?” Those men and women stretched their necks and evaluated Kou Xiang’s appearance. One said， “Kou is dapper and nice-looking at first sight.” The other said， “Look at the mole on the back of his hand. It is said that a mole is the sign of God’s blessing!” It caused uproar in the crowd， and people looked at Kou’s hands.

Kou Xiang， riding on a horse with a frigid smile， kept his eyes far from the crowd because he was not used to being in the spotlight. Therefore， some stage fright was inevitable. Kou struggled to keep his upper body straight and look forward so that he appeared as stable as those court officials usually seen in the street.

A Shaanxi cake restaurant appeared on the roadside. The elderly owner has given Kou Xiang steamed cake and hot soup countless times and cheered for Kou Xiang from time to time in his hometown dialect. At that moment， the elderly owner， in excitement， held a firecracker in his left hand up high and a lighter in his right hand， and the firecracker emitted a loud sound. Kou Xiang， riding on horseback， saw the sign of “Shaanxi Pancakes”， which suddenly made him think of his hometown and his parents. “Father and mother， I succeeded in the imperial examination and upheld our family honor.” he said happily in his mind， with moist eyes. He waved at the owner， and then went on forward.

Suddenly came the sound of horses at a gallop. A team of cavalry in yellow came from the opposite direction. They were heavily armed and barged about， with no regard for the safety of the street crowd. People screamed and tried to avoid but failed. Some fell under their horses’ hooves， and some lost their shoes amongst the panic. However， the team of cavalry did not slow down， constantly whipping their horses to push forward and quickly coming to Kou Xiang’s horse. Kou Xiang fell from the horse as it reared up on its hind legs. Kou Xiang was homesick then and did not know what had happened.

“Ah!” Kou Xiang exclaimed. A servant quickly pulled him to the roadside.

“Are you okay? They are Army Cavalry. There must be an emergency at the border，” said the servant.

Seeing his embarrassment， the servant laughed and said， “Please don’t frown. Good things are still to come in the future. You will have a bright future after entering the palace， visiting the emperor， and accepting the officials’ congratulations.”

Knowing that dealing with state affairs was difficult and not focusing much on worldly fame， Kou Xiang’s mind was not a mess. In a time of chaos， battlefields could be seen everywhere in the Central Plains. Dead bodies were left exposed in the wilderness， and in many places， there was not a trace of life. What he thought in his mind was to apply what he had learned in his life to make the state peaceful and the people live tranquilly.

After a long wait， all the ceremonies were simple， but Kou Xiang did not see the emperor at all， not even an appointment from the court. At the thought of being forgotten， he became depressed and reclusive. He simply stayed in the bed and read military books all day. One day， just as he was choosing formations of soldiers in his mind when being immersed in the book， the eunuch from the palace came and delivered the imperial order.

At once， Kou Xiang jumped out of bed to tidy up and kneeled down to receive the order. The minor eunuch read， “Kou Xiang， the new zhuangyuan， is appointed as the secretary of the Prince of Wei， and is asked to assume his duties immediately.”

The Prince of Wei， Fu Yanqing， with the courtesy name Guanhou， was born into a warrior’s family. He was the fourth son of Fu Cunshen in the Later Tang Dynasty. He was brave and wise. At this time， when the Khitan invaded southward， he was named the commander of the Zhongwu army， leading the soldiers in Youzhou into battle against the Khitan. Kou Xiang rushed to the army to visit Fu Yanqing as appointed. With average height， dashing eyebrows， and a bushy beard， Fu Yanqing was very dignified. Knowing that Kou was the number one scholar in the imperial examination， he was easygoing with him. He asked about Kou’s plan to fight against the Khitan once they met. “A military camp of soldiers with spears should be formed when camping and a square formation when marching. It can prevent the Khitan from attacking so that infantry would not fear.”

Kou Xiang talked with confidence and composure， and Fu Yanqing nodded approvingly and ordered him to deal with the documents.