SBCSM | Chapter 2 Part 1: The Stroke That Divides Light and Darkness

May, the season when climbing winter creepers stretch its long vines, and at their tips, delicate white flowers bloom, emitting a fragrant and sweet scent. Li An was visiting Anguo City, the capital of the first Ryohan in the Kingdom of Sui, in order to take the civil service examination.

The Kingdom of Sui has six provinces, and in the central city area of each province, there are administrative districts called ‘Shiyu District’, which houses the central administrative functions of government. Among them, the Anguo District is particularly famous as the most bustling commercial area in the Kingdom of Sui.

The civil servant examination was scheduled to be held at one of the national facilities, located slightly southeast of the central city area of the City of Anguo.

Although there was still plenty of time before the exam started, by the time Li An arrived, more than half of the seats in the venue were already filled. Furthermore, the atmosphere inside the hall was filled with tension, as if her skin was being pricked by needles. Enduring the oppressive heaviness that made even breathing feel like a burden, Li An took her seat, which had been assigned in advance.

A few people seated nearby casted sharp glances at Li An. Though she had prepared herself to some extent for this, the discomfort was overwhelming, and Li An quietly lowered her face.

Civil servants are the most well-treated profession within the Sui Kingdom. As more and more people aspire to become civil servants, attracted by the large salary and the promise of a stable life, the difficulty of the recruitment exams has been steadily increasing each year.

In addition, during the reign of the previous king two generations ago, the system for appointing female civil servants was established. Despite the country’s desire to promote gender equality, there are still many who harbor strong resistance to the presence of female officials in certain circles. The recruitment exams were already highly competitive, but some people arbitrarily made the unfounded claim that the entry of women into the profession had further increased the competition.

Enduring those piercing gazes, Li An arranged the stationery she had brought with her on the desk and began grinding her ink. As she did so, little by little, she was able to regain her composure.

The civil servant recruitment exam covers an exceptionally wide range of subjects. In addition to knowledge of the laws, history, geography, and arithmetic deemed necessary by the country for the duties of a civil servant, it was also essential to have a broad understanding of the historical texts of the Sui Kingdom. Moreover, all past exam questions are kept confidential, and the contents of the exam change every year. Among these, the most challenging part is called Shosho, which is also known as writing essays, and those aiming to become civil servants dedicate the most time to mastering this skill. There is even a specialized school known as the Shosho Academy, dedicated to its study.

[T/N: “Shosho” (しよしよ) literally translates to as “writing skill”.]

Li An, however, has never stepped foot in Shosho Academy.

Instead, ever since she was a child, Li An had been reading the numerous books her mother, who was a civil official, had left behind, and continued to copy the characters her mother had written. This was the only way the young Li An could connect with her mother and reflect on her affection for her.

Before the civil official exam, Li An learned for the first time that these were the skills of Shosho.

Ding.

The cool sound of a bell rang out, and shortly after, several men entered the venue through a door on the right side at the front of the room.

They were likely examiners, as all of them were dressed in dark-colored attire. The hall fell into a deathly silence, as if water had been poured over it, and an intense tension filled the air. The first examiner stepped up to the podium placed at the front of the hall, while the other examiners dispersed throughout the room. The man who climbed onto the podium had somewhat sleepy-looking eyes. “Well then,” he said quietly. His voice was so calm and gentle that it almost makes one feel lethargic.

However, there were no further words, and a long silence followed. The examinees, waiting for the instructions to begin, gradually began to feel a sense of unease, wondering if something had gone wrong.

Just as if waiting for the right moment, the examiner’s drawn-out voice finally sounded.

“Now, we will begin the first selection for the 38th year of the Sui Kingdom National Civil Service Examination. Everyone, please prepare yourselves.”

Sighs of relief could be heard from all around the hall, and the examinees all unfolded the papers that had been distributed to them beforehand. The paper was made from the cheapest rice straw, measuring from Li An’s elbow to her palm, while the horizontal width was about the same as the span of Li An’s outstretched arms. As she lightly stroked the rolled up paper to unfold it, the light earth-colored paper felt rough to the touch.

Li An carefully rolled the left edge of the paper to avoid disturbing the person sitting next to her, and placed a paperweight on the right edge of the paper before picking up her brush. The way she moved, up to this point, was so synchronized with the other examinees in the venue that it seemed as if they had all previously coordinated their actions.

“Now, let’s begin with the first line. Three lines down from the top, each of you is to write your local district and name in regular characters on one line.”

At that moment, the venue was filled with an indescribable murmur.

──Really, it’s this hard right from the very beginning.

Li An steeled herself at those words and dipped the tip of her brush into the ink. The examiner, in that single sentence, had included three questions within it.

First, ‘Three lines down’ refers to a technical term used in calligraphy. If one were to follow the instructions accurately, the text must be placed at a position three lines down, or precisely three-eighths of the vertical length of the paper. This means the first characters of the text should be positioned at the spot that is three parts below the top if the paper is divided into 8 parts.

Originally, in the literary language of Sui Kingdom, there was a custom of indenting one’s own name to show humility, as opposed to the technique of placing the name of the other person at the beginning of a sentence to show respect. This custom was typically used in letters written by those of lower status to those of higher rank.

Furthermore, in official documents of the Sui Kingdom, accurately aligning the beginning of a sentence was considered a crucial indicator that the document was an official and formally written record.

If one were to write the characters according to these instructions, the starting position of the text would have to be very precise. It would be extremely difficult to determine this position if one was not used to writing characters on a regular basis.

And then there’s the cadastral register and name. In the Sui Kingdom, only the Royal Family is allowed to inherit a family name, and it is customary for ordinary citizens to combine their cadastral register and their given name. All citizens of the Sui Kingdom possess a household registration, which is linked to their place of residence, called the cadastral register or local district. This allowed the country to know who was living where and when. The cadastral register is further subdivided into domains, prefectures, and townships. Following the examiner’s instructions, the number of characters required to write this would be approximately twenty or so.

The biggest problem was that it would all have to be written in regular characters. Regular characters are characters imported from the neighboring Kyo Dynasty.

The characters that were originally used in the Sui Kingdom are called Seiji. The elegant and delicate strokes, which seems to represent the national character of this country, is also a phonetic script, in which each character represents a different sound.

On the other hand, the characters imported from the neighboring Kyo Dynasty about 1,300 years ago are called “kai characters.” These are ideograms, where each character holds meaning within its square proportions. To the ancient citizens of Sui, it must have appeared as a very strange symbol.

For this reason, in the early days of the Sui Kingdom, the kai character script was initially used to conceal important confidential state secrets. However, as time passed, kai characters gradually spread among civil officials, and eventually became one of the important parts of their education.

As the trend became widespread that it was natural for civil officials to know kai characters, all official documents in the Sui Kingdom came to be managed in regular kai characters. For the people of the Sui Kingdom, who were often described as having a meticulous and orderly character, it is likely that maintaining a neat appearance was also one of the purposes. At the same time, this also served as proof that the characters were written by someone educated enough to use regular kai characters correctly. In other words, the ability to read and write regular characters correctly became a fundamental prerequisite for being a civil official in the Sui Kingdom.

“And then, after leaving a three-line gap, write each answer concisely so that it fits within five lines.”

All around the hall, examinees were seen holding their heads in frustration. They were probably those who were unsure of where to begin writing after the three-line gap. For them, the next words from the examiner came too soon. By this time, Li An had already finished writing in regular characters as instructed and was waiting for the examiner’s next words.

“Furthermore, the question will be repeated only twice. No further explanations will be given, and no questions will be accepted, so make sure not to miss any details.”

About half of the examinees in the hall straightened their posture at those words, while the rest looked as if they were about to burst into tears, glued to their papers. This was the civil servant exam that people have heard rumors about. When the examiner began reading the first question, Li An’s focus was entirely on the tip of her brush.