谁不逐炎凉

Stephen

The Imperial Examination was the most important thing for the entire nation in Ming Dynasty. In the preliminary test of the Imperial Examination in the year 1499， there was a cheating scandal. The examiner The Cheng Min of that year was accused of having alleged leak the test subjects to Xu Jing in advance. Tang Yin was a friend of Xu Jing， and might knew the test subjects by chance. All three of them were in custody and it took a few months to clear this matter and clean their names. The scandal， however， haunted the talented yet proud Tang Yin ever since. He was a little less than 30 when the scandal broke out， an age most of the scholars were still struggling and dreaming of becoming an officer of the imperial court. He was ashamed of this matter for the rest of his life， and turned to sensual pleasures and made a living out of selling his paintings.

If the scandal never had happened， there might be an officer in the imperial court named Tang Yin， who might not become a high rank officer judging from his pride showed in this scandal. When it happened， China welcomed one of its most talented painter in the history. His paintings， especially his portraits of the ladies， vividly showed his loneliness and distress as an outcast of the imperial system.

弘治十二年，即公元1499年，命太子少保禮部尚书兼文渊阁大学士李东阳、礼部右侍郎兼翰林院学士程敏政为会试考试官。科考取仕，对于上至朝野、下至黎民，都是天大的事。然而，就在这一年的会试中，却爆出了一桩丑闻。

《明孝宗实录》记载，此事由户科给事中华昶上奏揭发：“翰林学士程敏政假手文场，甘心市井，士子初场未入而《论语》题已传诵于外，二场未入而表题又传诵于外，三场未入而策之第三、四问又传诵于外。江阴县举人徐经、苏州府举人唐寅等狂童孺子，天夺其魄，或先以此题骄于众，或先以此题问于人。”简而言之，考官程敏政泄题给了江阴县举人徐经、苏州府举人唐寅。

科场舞弊，朝野震怒，程敏政、徐经、唐寅都给下了大狱。案情复杂，几位主角的供词又多有前后矛盾。徐经上奏华昶挟私诬指程敏政，又“自言敏政尝受其金币”，后来却辩称“来京之时慕敏政学问，以币求从学，间讲及三场题可出者；经因与唐寅拟作文字，致扬之外。会敏政主试，所出题有尝所言者，故人疑其买题，而昶遂指之，实未尝赂敏政。前俱拷治，故自诬服”。最后虽对舞弊之事无法定论，但考官程敏政与考生徐经、唐寅之间却有金钱往来已毋庸置疑。

经此一事，本为江阴望族的梧塍徐氏由盛转衰，天资聪颖、才华横溢的唐寅亦从此一蹶不振。

如果没有发生这件事，中国历史上或许会多出一个叫做唐寅的官员，从其在科考案中展现的政治情商而言，或许爬不到很高的地位；但是，在这件事彻底挫败了这个年轻人的政治理想之后，中国历史上却迎来了一位叫做唐伯虎的画家。

科考案发那一年，唐寅尚不到30岁。在他的后半生中，始终以此事为耻。他放浪形骸、纵情声色、卖画为生，正所谓“不炼金丹不坐禅，不为商贾不耕田。闲来就写青山卖，不使人间造孽钱”。

即便不懂画史的人，也该看过至少听说过《唐伯虎点秋香》。电影虽是虚构，但却给人留下了“风流才子”唐伯虎这一抹不去的印象。其实，说是风流，却不过是其落魄人生中无奈的旷达。再多的才华也遮不住他心底的失意，看似潇洒的行径只是为了掩饰其内心的脆弱。为了温饱，唐寅来者不拒，甚至画了很多春宫图来换酒钱。很多人说，唐寅就如同他笔下的仕女，落寞、寂寥、感伤、无奈。

唐寅的仕女图，大抵可分为两类，一类工笔重彩，线条劲细，敷色妍丽，气象高华，人物情态生动入微，但技巧大于内心，以《王蜀宫妓图》为代表；一类兼工带写，笔墨流动，线条抑扬，格调简逸，携带着画家的情感基因，如最能代表其内心世界的《秋风纨扇图》——“秋来纨扇合收藏，何事佳人重感伤。请把世情详细看，大都谁不逐炎凉”，真是何等的凄楚与悲凉。